Jonathan Bullington

Jonathan Bullington is a Chicago Tribune senior reporter. A Chicago-area native, he previously worked at the Tribune as well as The Times-Picayune in New Orleans and The Courier Journal in Louisville, where he was part of the team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news.

Street activity off of Route 66 in the International District of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 10, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: $13M visitors center and a neighborhood in peril in Albuquerque, New Mexico

April 24, 2026 at 2:49 p.m.

This isn't how most people picture Route 66. No diners or Art Deco gas stations on this stretch through Albuquerque. Just a $13 million unused visitors center and a neighborhood...

Angel Delgadillo, 98, known as the “guardian angel of Route 66,” in an old barber chair at his shop, Angel and Vilma Delgadillo’s Original Route 66 Gift Shop, in Seligman, Arizona, June 6, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: Meet the Mother Road’s ‘Guardian Angel’ in Seligman, Arizona

June 20, 2025 at 11:32 a.m.

At 98, Angel Delgadillo’s entire life has played out along what John Steinbeck called “the mother road.” And the historic road likely wouldn't exist today without him.

Friends from a local car club along with tourists passing through town mingle outside the Hackberry General Store on Route 66 in Arizona on June 6, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: A rainy day at the General Store in Hackberry, Arizona

June 20, 2025 at 11:31 a.m.

Two Illinois natives helped preserve an old general store in Hackberry, Arizona. We spent a rainy day there — and tried not to wake the mayor as he slept on...

Wild burros on Route 66 near Oatman, Arizona, on June 4, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: The Sidewinder, wild burros and a living statue in Kingman, Arizona

June 13, 2025 at 3:22 p.m.

In Kingman, Arizona, an 8-mile section of Route 66 at the western edge of this state may be one of the most scenic — and white-knuckled —drives this country has...

Roy's Motel and Café is a motel, cafe, and gas station, currently being restored in the ghost town of Amboy, California, on Route 66, June 3, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: Visiting a desert ghost town in Amboy, California

June 13, 2025 at 3:22 p.m.

Situated along Route 66, Amboy, Calif. once boasted 200 residents, three gas stations, three motels, two cafes, a post office, a school and a church. Now it's a ghost town.

Visitors pose for pictures at the Santa Monica Pier, where Route 66 ends, on June 1, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: The end of the road at a pier in Santa Monica, California

June 13, 2025 at 3:18 p.m.

A Route 66 sign, perched on a pole at the famed Santa Monica pier, advertises the spot as the “end of the trail.” But for these road trippers, it's just...

FBI agents leave the Albany Park apartment building where Washington shooting suspect Elias Rodríguez was believed to have resided. Two Israeli Embassy workers were fatally shot Wednesday night near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

‘This was an act of cowardice’: Charges filed against Chicago man in the fatal shooting near DC Jewish museum

May 22, 2025 at 8:39 p.m.

A Chicago man who railed on social media against the ongoing bombing of Gaza fatally shot two members of the Israeli Embassy near the Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. on...

Cardinal Blase Cupich blesses a picture of Pope Francis during a memorial Mass on April 23, 2025, at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

At Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral, a memorial Mass for ‘the people’s pope’

April 23, 2025 at 4:19 p.m.

Hundreds of people — including leaders of various faiths — attended a memorial Mass for Pope Francis at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral.

People kneel in prayer during a regularly scheduled Mass at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on April 21, 2025, following the announcement of Pope Francis’ death. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

‘Blessed to be part of his time as pope’: Cardinal Blase Cupich joins Chicago area in mourning Pope Francis’ death

April 21, 2025 at 8:45 p.m.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, prayed that "God comfort us" following the death of Pope Francis. Cupich will be among those electing the next pope.

Brian Burch, a west suburban resident who co-founded the advocacy organization CatholicVote, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as ambassador to the Holy See. Burch, whose organization has taken credit for helping rally Catholic voters for Trump, has been vocally critical of Pope Francis. (CatholicVote.org)

‘A controversialist’: President Donald Trump picks Chicago-area man for Vatican ambassador

March 24, 2025 at 4:31 p.m.

Some say Brian Burch's appointment could be a harbinger of further tension between the Vatican and the Trump administration.

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