Former Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass to shut down website

The latest: In a message to contributors obtained by Axios, Kass said he plans to publish a "winding down" column before closing JohnKassNews.com on Thanksgiving.

• "It's not that I want to, but I have to," Kass wrote, describing his struggles with brain fog.
• He also thanked contributors for helping him keep the website running, including former Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas, comedian Mike Houlihan and his brother, Nicholas Kass.

Flashback: Kass spent 38 years at the Tribune, becoming a columnist after the legendary Mike Royko died in 1997.

• He left in 2021, accepting a buyout amid a wave of departures following the paper's acquisition by hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
• His departure followed a 2020 controversy in which the Tribune's newsroom union accused him of invoking antisemitic tropes in a column about billionaire George Soros. Kass denied the accusation.

The bottom line: "And now it's time to say goodbye to the readers and to thank them for this voyage that we've all been on together," Kass wrote.

Of note: Reached by Axios, Kass declined to comment, saying, "I'll talk to Dan Proft."