Good morning, Chicago.
On the Mauser Packaging Solutions plant floor, laborers do the dirty work of reconditioning steel containers used to transport chemicals. The workers blast residue off the “dirties,” clean them and repaint them to be used again. As they work, the chemicals in the air irritate their eyes.
But for the last 12 weeks, the workers, many of whom are Latino immigrants, haven’t been cleaning or painting anything inside the facility at the end of a quiet residential street in Little Village. Instead they have been outside the plant picketing, demanding the company provide them with safer workplace conditions — and protect them from federal immigration enforcement raids.
More than 100 workers, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 705, have struck through the summer’s heat and storms for their demands. And this Labor Day, as Chicago braces for the possibility of a federal immigration crackdown this week, they are still out on the line.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Talia Soglin and Nell Salzman.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including a look back at the massive Illinois salmonella outbreak tied to raw milk, a one-on-one with Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles and our review of ‘44 — The Musical’.
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Activists participate in a rally at Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 2025. Activists held a rally and a march to mark Labor Day and protest the federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital. (Alex Wong/Getty)
President Trump’s takeover of Washington, D.C., offers insights on what could be in store for Chicago
Along the streets of the nation’s capital, signs planted in front yards exclaim “Free DC,” neighbors keep watch to ensure immigrant children walking to school are protected, and short bike rides are routinely interrupted by sightings of federal agents milling about and troops carrying guns.
The fight for control over Washington’s streets these days is not — as President Donald Trump portrays it — much of a clash between law enforcement and would-be criminals. Instead, it’s mostly between the swarms of federal agents and troops disrupting everyday life in the district and the vast majority of city residents who want them to go away.
Related:
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem acknowledges ICE surge in Chicago; says National Guard deployment up to Trump
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s executive order urges law enforcement to not wear masks amid impending immigration crackdown
Members of Etnos dance ensemble perform while a rally happens outside of the Wrigley Building, Aug. 24, 2025, to celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day and protest the war in Ukraine. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Local Ukrainians oppose Putin’s demands as US-led peace talks stall. ‘Donbas is Ukraine. Free us all.’
Hundreds of Ukrainian Americans recently celebrated the 34th anniversary of their ancestral nation’s independence with a march and rally in downtown Chicago. The event was late last month held amid continuing U.S.-forged efforts to mediate a peace settlement as the war continues in its fourth year.
Chicago Public Schools Board of Education President Sean B. Harden waits as the FY 2026 budget is voted on during a board meeting at CPS headquarters Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Despite budget passage, CPS funding future remains unclear
The vote marked a public setback for Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer navigating the shift from movement politics to municipal governance. It also exposed the political fragility of the city’s hybrid school board — long championed by progressives as a vehicle for equity, now emerging as a challenge to Johnson’s authority.
Mario Butler, left, and Charles McKenzie lead members of the Englewood First Responders as they patrol the streets of Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood on July 31, 2025. Over the past year, the group has lost two volunteers to gun violence. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
After losing two anti-violence workers to gunfire, Englewood nonprofit persists: ‘We have to be strong’
Despite insistence from the White House that Chicago is in need of a federal crime crackdown, efforts by both elected officials and people like Charles McKenzie, the founder of Englewood First Responders, to prevent shootings and disrupt cycles of violence have been — and are — in force. The city is now well into its fourth consecutive year of declining violent crime. Through late August, Chicago had recorded 266 homicides in 2025, a 32% decline in killings from the same period in 2024, while total shooting incidents are down 36%.
The Rev. Corey Brooks, also known as “The Rooftop Pastor,” laughs with congregation member Shari Lewis after a service at New Beginnings Church of Chicago in Grand Crossing on Aug. 31, 2025. Brooks begins his Walk Across America campaign to raise $25 million for a new community center and violence prevention initiatives on Sept. 1. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Pastor Corey Brooks to make second cross-country walk to fundraise for Woodlawn community center
Chicago’s “Rooftop Pastor,” the Rev. Corey Brooks, is set to embark on another yearlong cross-country journey on foot to raise funds for a community center.
Interstate 90 passes alongside Roxana Marsh, a major restoration site along the Grand Calumet River, on July 31, 2025 in Hammond. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Grand Calumet River cleanup efforts making headway, but more work is needed
Just north of the clamor on the Indiana Toll Road in East Chicago, an inconspicuous side street leads to Roxana Marsh on the Grand Calumet River. Songbirds chirp and great blue herons rest by the water in this hidden urban oasis.
Across from the marsh, a chemical plant interrupts the natural landscape. Buildings like it have dominated life in the region since heavy industry moved in from Chicago in the 1800s; today, 75% of East Chicago is zoned for industry. The impact has reverberated along the river ecosystem, once considered one of the world’s most contaminated waterways.
During the northern Illinois salmonella outbreak, Jewel store employee Jack Navin dumps the Downers Grove store’s stock of Bluebrook and Hillfarm milk down a sewer behind the store on April 9, 1985. (Walter Neal/Chicago Tribune)
Massive Illinois salmonella outbreak 40 years ago highlights risks of raw milk as nation debates unpasteurized dairy
Four decades ago, a multistate salmonella epidemic traced to milk from a Melrose Park farm sickened an estimated 168,000 to 197,000 people across the Midwest, according to Tribune articles at the time. The public health crisis was linked to around a dozen deaths and is believed to be the largest outbreak of its kind in fluid milk in the nation.
Bears coach Ben Johnson watches his team during a preseason game against the Dolphins on Aug. 10, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Is Ben Johnson’s offense ready for prime time? Chicago Bears will find out soon after up-and-down preseason.
They open the season Sept. 8 on “Monday Night Football” against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. If the offense isn’t ready for prime time, there will be nowhere to hide. The nation will be watching, curious to see what Ben Johnson’s offense looks like in Chicago and what Williams, last year’s No. 1 draft pick, has done to improve from Year 1 to Year 2.
Related:
One-on-one with Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles: ‘You want the team to take an image of the head coach’
Phil Dalhausser, center, and Trevor Crabb of the Palm Beach Passion celebrate winning the title against the LA Launch on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, during the AVP League Championship in beach volleyball on Oak Street Beach in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Winning ‘never gets old’ as Phil Dalhausser takes the AVP League Championship at Oak Street Beach
The AVP season ended with the team championships Sunday, starting with the Brooklyn Blaze team of Lexy Denaburg and Julia Donlin capturing the women’s title. Trevor Crabbe and Phil Dalhausser took out crowd favorite Hagen Smith and Logan Webber of the L.A. Launch, 15-12, 16-14, to win the men’s title.
Sky forward Angel Reese, right, fights for position with the Storms’ Ezi Magbegor on Aug. 19, 2025, at Wintrust Arena. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Chicago Sky lose for 17th time in 19 games, falling to Seattle Storm 79-69
With five games remaining in coach Tyler Marsh’s first season, the Sky (9-30, .231) are locked in to finishing with the second-worst winning percentage in team history. The 2006 Sky went 5-29 (.147) in the franchise’s inaugural year.
T.J. Wilkins (center) and the cast of “44 — The Musical” in the Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building. (Michael Brosilow)
Review: ‘44 — The Musical’ is back, still making the Obama era the funniest show in town
“44 — The Musical” has survived a run in the wilderness known as Los Angeles and is now on its way to New York, and has returned to Sweet Home Chicago for a few precious autumnal weeks in the Studebaker Theater downtown. Its original cast is still there, too, led by the uber-smooth T.J. Wilkins, who I think will get a lot of attention once this show hits New York. Deservedly so. Not only does he look and move like his man, he sings in a way that the hoops-loving 44 could only dream of doing and evidences just the right deadpan D.C. tone. Wilkins really offers a masterclass in the comedic merits of just slightly underplaying to make the jokes land, writes Tribune theater critic Chris Jones.
Gerard Way leads My Chemical Romance at Soldier Field in Chicago on Aug. 29, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Review: My Chemical Romance brings its intense and shadowy ‘Black Parade’ tour to Soldier Field
An authoritarian dystopia, public executions decided by grand jury, a murderous clown — and that was just the first half of My Chemical Romance’s concert on their “Long Live the Black Parade” tour.
Related:
Review: Oasis goes through the motions and gets paid in a ho-hum reunion show at Soldier Field
Review: Neil Young arrives in Chicago as strong and outspoken as ever
Joanna Hernandez of Yorkville enjoys some Mexican corn smothered in a creamy mayo sauce topped with chili powder, cheese and lime during last year’s Fiestas Patrias festival at RiverEdge Park in Aurora. This year’s fest is set for Sept. 9 and 10 at RiverEdge Park. (Linda Girardi / The Beacon-News)
Aurora Fiestas Patrias celebration set to take place this weekend
The city of Aurora’s Fiestas Patrias celebration, including the first parade to be held for the holiday in Aurora since 2019, is set to take place this coming weekend.
