Good morning, Chicago.
With both the Trump administration’s now monthslong local mass deportation mission and the impending loss of federal food aid looming over the city and suburbs, the Chicago area is celebrating Halloween more cautiously this year.
Amid the fear and trepidation, community members are stepping up where they can to combat hampered festivities and traditions with a helping hand, including by delivering pint-sized candy baskets for those who don’t feel safe enough to go door-to-door, and handing out nonperishable food items alongside sweets to trick-or-treaters. Still, the differences are hard to ignore.
All the while, benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, are set to abruptly stop on Saturday as the government shutdown persists. The U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a message Monday affirming that no federal food assistance will be distributed after the end of the month. The cuts stand to affect nearly 2 million Illinoisans.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Tess Kenny.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including a push from Illinois lawmakers to tackle constitutional violations in immigration raids, why Harrison Ford received an award at the Field Museum and what’s holding back the Bears in the red zone.
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State Reps. Kam Buckner and Eva-Dina Delgado exit after talking with reporters following a House committee meeting on a transit funding plan during the legislative session at the Illinois Capitol, Oct. 29, 2025, in Springfield. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois Democrats push through massive $1.5 billion plan that overhauls Chicago-area public transit
With the clock ticking down to avert an impending public transit fiscal cliff, Illinois Democrats in the pre-dawn hours today muscled through a $1.5 billion plan that diverts state gas tax and road fund revenue for mass transit, likely raises the sales tax in the Chicago region and significantly hikes fares on the Illinois Tollway.
Senate President Don Harmon speaks at an executive committee hearing before introducing legislation in response to aggressive federal immigration enforcement tactics during the legislative session at the Illinois Capitol, Oct. 30, 2025, in Springfield. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois lawmakers push to tackle constitutional violations in immigration raids, ban courthouse arrests
Amid increased public calls for Illinois elected officials to more strongly push back against the Trump administration’s sometimes-violent crackdown on undocumented people in the Chicago region, state lawmakers proposed yesterday trying to formally ban federal agents from arresting people near courthouses and allowing lawsuits if individuals’ rights have been violated in civil immigration arrests.
State Rep. Jay Hoffman introduces a resolution on the House floor during the legislative session at the Illinois Capitol, Oct. 30, 2025, in Springfield. Hoffman is the energy bill’s main House sponsor. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Gov. JB Pritzker set to approve energy bill boosting battery storage for renewables despite debate over costs
Sweeping energy-related legislation that backs the use of big batteries to help make wind and solar power more effective but has raised questions about whether it will increase or decrease energy bills cleared the Illinois Senate last night and will be headed to Gov. JB Pritzker, who signaled he would sign the measure into law.
Chicago Board of Education member Michilla Blaise speaks during a meeting, Aug. 13, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
CPS board agrees to pay $175 million pension payment to city, tables decision on EPIC Academy
The yearlong debate over who will pay for the pensions of non-teaching Chicago Public Schools employees ended after a tense, hourslong meeting where the Chicago Board of Education voted to agree to finance $175 million toward the payments.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks Oct. 30, 2025, at the Gary Chicago International Airport in Gary. (Michael Gard/for the Post-Tribune)
Kristi Noem, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun talk ICE, state police partnership in Gary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced yesterday that through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, more than 223 undocumented immigrants have been arrested on Indiana highways.
U.S. Rep. Mrvan discusses government shutdown, Indiana’s redistricting efforts
Prince Andrew looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
King Charles III strips Prince Andrew of titles and evicts him from royal residence
King Charles III stripped his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence after weeks of pressure to act over his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Buckingham Palace said the king “initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.”
Harrison Ford accepts the E.O. Wilson Legacy Award for Transformative Conservation Leadership at the Field Museum on Oct. 29, 2025. (Talia Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)
Harrison Ford recalls first encounters with nature in Chicago during visit to receive environmental activism award
On a quiet day at a pond near his childhood home in Morton Grove, a teenage Harrison Ford went down to the water looking for frogs to hunt and rocks to collect. He was alone, but after a while, the air shifted with a new presence.
He looked up to see a red fox a few feet away. “Just sitting there, looking at me. And I looked at him, and he looked at me.”
Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly (36) guards Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (15) while he tries to make a catch in the end zone during the first quarter at Allegiant Stadium Sunday Sept. 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
What’s holding back the Chicago Bears in the red zone? ‘We need to fix it and score touchdowns’
Seven games in, the Bears have been unable to get on track in the red zone.
They might be inclined to rename it the “orange zone” this weekend. The Cincinnati Bengals defense ranks 30th in red-zone defense at 70.27%.
What we learned from the Bears, including DE Austin Booker ‘impatiently’ awaiting his return
Column: Ryan Poles has been a dealer at the trade deadline before. Do the Bears have a move this year?
Jonathan Toews of the Jets arrives for a game against the Islanders on Oct. 13, 2025, at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Jonathan Toews reflects on time in Chicago — ‘definitely a dream’ — before facing Blackhawks for 1st time
The Hawks are on the road when their former captain Jonathan Toews will be wearing Winnipeg Jets blue. Still, the Hawks are in his heart forever.
“I’m very thankful for how things went in Chicago — it was definitely a dream,” Toews told reporters before last night’s game in Winnipeg.
Blackhawks open 6-game trip with a 6-3 loss to Jonathan Toews and the Winnipeg Jets
This Dictionary.com page shows the newest word of the year “6-7” on a computer screen, Oct. 30, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
Dictionary.com’s word of the year is ‘6-7.’ But is it even a word and what does it mean?
Go ahead and roll your eyes. Shrug your shoulders. Or maybe just juggle your hands in the air.
Dictionary.com’s word of the year isn’t even really a word. It’s the viral term “6-7” that kids and teenagers can’t stop repeating and laughing about and parents and teachers can’t make any sense of.
Warren Township High School student Lilani Devries leads her friends as they trick-or-treat in a neighborhood in Gurnee on Oct. 26, 2025. Gurnee does trick-or-treating on the Sunday before Halloween. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
How old is too old to trick or treat? The answer is more complicated than it sounds.
Oh, Great Pumpkin, please, an answer: How old is too old to trick or treat?
At least in Illinois, the answer — or rather, an answer — has more complexity, contemporary resonance and fascinating history than you might have considered. It is partly rooted in a chaotic Halloween party in Ogden Park exactly 100 years ago, a night when Chicago police found themselves shooting at teenagers, a night once defined by packs of older kids and vandalism.
