Chicago

blue

Get smarter, faster on what matters in Chicago with Monica Eng, Justin Kaufmann, and Carrie Shepherd.

Axios Chicago

Standard

Chicago Alerts

Alert

Axios Chicago Partners

Axios Chicago Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

A guide to fun things to do in Chicago this weekend.

Axios Chicago Weekender

Weekender

Chicago Members

Membership

Chicago lawmakers pump brakes on stadium plan to keep Bears in Illinois

The Illinois House adjourned before voting on a package to help the Bears with property tax payments.

News

Illinois lawmakers are championing a bill to keep the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Chicago Bears" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/02/19/illinois-lawmakers-bears-indiana-stadium-hammond-pritzker" data-vars-content-id="4106e73d-d170-40a0-b1da-8fe18a4c4eb1" data-vars-headline="Chicago lawmakers pump brakes on stadium plan to keep Bears in Illinois" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/02/19/illinois-lawmakers-bears-indiana-stadium-hammond-pritzker" target="_self">Chicago Bears</a> in-state, but Chicago Democrats have serious concerns. The latest: An Illinois House committee voted 13-7 to advance a new bill that provides property tax flexibility to the Bears in the hopes they will build their long-awaited domed stadium in the Land of Lincoln. <ul><li>Before the bill could get a full House vote, Chicago Democrats, including bill sponsor Rep. Kam Buckner, threatened to pull support if the bill didn&#x27;t include, among other things, financial concessions for the city if the Bears moved to Arlington Heights. </li></ul>

Chicago company offers model as Illinois phases out subminimum wages

Illinois will phase out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities by 2029.

Business

Illinois is in a multi-year rollout to ensure companies pay all workers a fair wage.The big picture: Gov. JB Pritzker signed the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Dignity in Pay Act " data-vars-click-url="https://icdd.illinois.gov/dignity-in-pay-act.html" data-vars-content-id="793847ab-9771-4a13-9cfc-3bcc6692693d" data-vars-headline="Chicago company offers model as Illinois phases out subminimum wages" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://icdd.illinois.gov/dignity-in-pay-act.html" target="_blank">Dignity in Pay Act </a>last year, requiring companies to pay workers with disabilities at least <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="minimum wage" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/18/minimum-wage-increase-states-2024" data-vars-content-id="793847ab-9771-4a13-9cfc-3bcc6692693d" data-vars-headline="Chicago company offers model as Illinois phases out subminimum wages" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/18/minimum-wage-increase-states-2024" target="_self">minimum wage</a> by 2029.

Lincoln Park High School students protest ICE

The school joins others in a district that has been hit hard by immigration enforcement surges.

Immigration

Hundreds of Lincoln Park High School students left class early Friday to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="protest ICE" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/16/chicago-ice-protests-immigration-body-cameras" data-vars-content-id="51e6172a-b1e4-4aa3-a1b3-3d76eaae4304" data-vars-headline="Lincoln Park High School students protest ICE" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/16/chicago-ice-protests-immigration-body-cameras" target="_self">protest ICE</a>, joining a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="growing wave " data-vars-click-url="https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/02/hundreds-of-students-protest-federal-immigration-crackdown-with-a-school-walk-out-we-are-fed-up/" data-vars-content-id="51e6172a-b1e4-4aa3-a1b3-3d76eaae4304" data-vars-headline="Lincoln Park High School students protest ICE" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/02/hundreds-of-students-protest-federal-immigration-crackdown-with-a-school-walk-out-we-are-fed-up/" target="_blank">growing wave </a>of Chicago-area students speaking out against federal immigration tactics.Why it matters: The protests underscore how profoundly stepped up ICE raids over the last year have <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="affected Chicago Public Schools" data-vars-click-url="https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/12/02/as-immigration-agents-swept-chicago-this-fall-communities-stepped-in-to-get-kids-to-school-safely" data-vars-content-id="51e6172a-b1e4-4aa3-a1b3-3d76eaae4304" data-vars-headline="Lincoln Park High School students protest ICE" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/12/02/as-immigration-agents-swept-chicago-this-fall-communities-stepped-in-to-get-kids-to-school-safely" target="_blank">affected Chicago Public Schools</a>. <ul><li>They also suggest that the next generation of Chicago voters cares deeply about the issue. Several 18 year olds at the rally vowed make their voices heard at the ballot box this year. </li></ul><figure><img alt="Crowd of young protesters holding signs with messages like &quot;ICE OUT&quot; and &quot;Skipping a lesson 2 teach you one&quot; outside a brick building with bay windows on a cloudy day." height="3418" id="72fba85b-4e55-41ce-a4b5-895cf606a2e8" src="https://images.axios.com/LNcvvAZL1G3vnr4hQ1nEIOVLOEw=/2026/02/27/1772231423049.jpeg" width="4687"/><figcaption>Lincoln Park High School students march down Lincoln Avenue Friday. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios</figcaption></figure>Context: The march was organized by the LPHS chapter of Civic Leaders of America, which organized its yearly student rally around &quot;No Kings&quot; last year and chose immigration as its focus this year. <ul><li>While immigration actions have subsided in recent months, some federal officials have vowed to remount a local surge in March. </li></ul>What they&#x27;re saying: &quot;No one should have to fear walking out their homes or face discrimination for the color of their skin,&quot; LPHS senior London Robison tells Axios. &quot;No one is illegal on stolen land.&quot; <ul><li>&quot;I think it&#x27;s really important to use our voices to create opportunities and make the world a better place for everybody,&quot; junior Sophie Lejeune told Axios. &quot;We all have to work together to show those who fear they might be taken away that we&#x27;re with them.&quot;</li></ul><figure><img alt="Group of protesters holding signs like &quot;ICE OUT! Free Our ICE&quot; and police officers in black uniforms with gear, standing on dry grass with city buildings and leafless trees in background." height="2020" id="394297ae-f10b-479d-acce-1a2e5cb1df35" src="https://images.axios.com/wGPMAG9TlRDeOL84SL-Ezn8df9M=/2026/02/27/1772231609008.jpeg" width="2796"/><figcaption>A man in a trench coat confronts student protesters in Lincoln Park on Friday. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios</figcaption></figure>What happened: The large procession marched with a police escort down Lincoln Avenue to Armitage and over to Clark, where they gave speeches on the steps of the former Academy of Sciences building in Lincoln Park. <ul><li>Near the end of the rally, a man in a trench coat approached the teens, shouting obscenities and insisting they had been &quot;fed lies.&quot; </li><li>Police prevented a physical confrontation by moving the man away from the area. </li></ul>&quot;He definitely had the right [to shout at us],&quot; LPHS junior Isabella Scaffai told Axios, &quot;but it highlighted the importance of numbers and staying peaceful so we don&#x27;t appear to be aggressors.&quot; What&#x27;s next: Scaffai says organizers hope to build on the momentum and join forces with other local high schools to &quot;empower young people throughout CPS.&quot;

From Chatham to Wrigley: Ernie Banks' CTA commute and Black Chicago history

Banks famously took the CTA to games. We remap what his commute would look like today.

Culture

The Chicago Transit Authority <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="highlighted" data-vars-click-url="https://bsky.app/profile/chicagocta.bsky.social/post/3mehhcn3lls2n" data-vars-content-id="8506d2f9-1877-4795-aa1d-682f299c2dac" data-vars-headline="From Chatham to Wrigley: Ernie Banks&#x27; CTA commute and Black Chicago history" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://bsky.app/profile/chicagocta.bsky.social/post/3mehhcn3lls2n" target="_blank">highlighted</a> late Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks for <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Black History Month" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/02/14/black-baseball-trailblazers-ernie-banks-rube-foster-minnie-minoso" data-vars-content-id="8506d2f9-1877-4795-aa1d-682f299c2dac" data-vars-headline="From Chatham to Wrigley: Ernie Banks&#x27; CTA commute and Black Chicago history" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/02/14/black-baseball-trailblazers-ernie-banks-rube-foster-minnie-minoso" target="_self">Black History Month</a>, celebrating his avid use and support of the city&#x27;s rail system during and after his career.The big picture: In 1953, Banks — known as Mr. Cub — became the first African American to play for the franchise. He lived in Chatham on the South Side but took the CTA Northbound to Wrigley Field every day, often sitting and talking with fans as he approached the ballpark.

Connor Bedard snub stings Chicago as NHL shuts down for Olympics

The Blackhawks star couldn't crack the Team Canada roster.

Sports

The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="2026 Winter Olympics" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/04/olympic-village-2026-milan-cortina" data-vars-content-id="29387e8a-d57b-4381-9a73-68f16f9d22dd" data-vars-headline="Connor Bedard snub stings Chicago as NHL shuts down for Olympics" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/04/olympic-village-2026-milan-cortina" target="_self">2026 Winter Olympics</a> will put a freeze on the NHL season to let star players participate in Italy. The big picture: While the Blackhawks have two players competing, their biggest star, Connor Bedard, was left off the Canadian Olympic roster.

Meet the Illinois athletes competing in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris

Illinois has the second-most athletes competing in the country.

Olympics

The Paralympic games kick off Wednesday in Paris, and Illinois athletes will be well represented.The big picture: Except for California, Illinois boasts the most athletes on the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Team USA roster" data-vars-click-url="https://www.teamusa.com/paris-2024/paralympics/roster" data-vars-content-id="d860dcf8-9223-40b2-957b-c35e8101e213" data-vars-headline="Meet the Illinois athletes competing in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.teamusa.com/paris-2024/paralympics/roster" target="_blank">Team USA roster</a>. Fourteen Illinois athletes will compete, with nine of them hailing from the University of Illinois.

Chicago athletes to watch at 2024 Paris Olympics

Nearly 30 athletes from a range of sports were raised in or still live in Illinois.

Opening ceremonies for the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Summer Olympics" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/07/04/gender-equality-paris-olympics-2024" data-vars-content-id="475ee726-a3fd-4dba-8ba6-cef5e5d33715" data-vars-headline="Chicago athletes to watch at 2024 Paris Olympics" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/07/04/gender-equality-paris-olympics-2024" target="_self">Summer Olympics</a> in Paris are July 26, and there are plenty of hometown athletes to keep an eye on.The big picture: 29 Olympians from Illinois will be competing in the games, many from Chicago and the suburbs. Several more will compete in the Paralympics, which begin Aug. 26.