Chicago Tribune

The City Series always has juice. But there was a noticeable additional buzz Friday that had been missing from some of the more recent gathers.⁠ ⁠ For the first time since June 2008, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the White Sox and Cubs met with both teams above the .500 mark.⁠ ⁠ “Let’s go White Sox” echoed throughout the ballpark in the 6th inning shortly after a tying home run by Miguel Vargas. And Cubs fans in attendance began a “PCA” chant when Pete Crow-Armstrong made his way to the plate in the 7th, drowned out by boos from Sox fans.⁠ ⁠ The teams matched the electric atmosphere for much of the evening, with the score tied through 6 innings.⁠ ⁠ But the Cubs broke loose late, scoring twice in the seventh and four more in the eighth to defeat the Sox 10-5 in front of a sellout crowd at Rate Field.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ — — — ⁠ ⁠ Photo 1: Cubs' Carson Kelly gestures to teammates after hitting a two-run ground rule double in the eighth inning against the White Sox at Rate Field on May 15, 2026.⁠ ⁠ Photo 2: White Sox fan CJ Mendez and Cubs fan Gus Padilla grill burgers and hot dogs.⁠ ⁠ Photo 3: White Sox catcher Drew Romo turns around after tagging out Cubs' Moisés Ballesteros on a fielder's choice bunt in the third inning.⁠ ⁠ Photo 4: Cubs pitcher Ryan Rolison throws to first base to get White Sox's Munetaka Murakami out on a grounder in the fifth inning.⁠ ⁠ Photo 5: Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki cannot catch a ball hit by White Sox's Drew Romo for an RBI double in the fifth inning.⁠ ⁠ Photo 6: White Sox manager Will Venable sits in the dugout.⁠ ⁠ Photo 7: Cubs manager Craig Counsell waits to trade lineups.⁠ ⁠ Photo 8: Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong runs after hitting an RBI single in the seventh inning.⁠ ⁠ Photo 9: A White Sox fan celebrates after catching a ball hit for a two-run ground rule double by Kelly.⁠ ⁠ Photo 10: Cubs' Dansby Swanson looks up in celebration of a 10-5 win over the White Sox.⁠ ⁠ 📝 LaMond Pope / Chicago Tribune / @lamondpope ⁠ 📷 John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune / @johnkimpictures

The Union League Club of Chicago, a storied private institution founded nearly 150 years ago in the wake of the Civil War, is facing its own internecine battle — and a lawsuit — over a rescinded dinner party invitation.⁠ ⁠ Steven Goodwin, 63, a Chicago-based investment adviser who has been a Union League member since 2009 and formerly served on its board, is suing the club after he was suspended for refusing to disinvite his date to an annual dinner.⁠ ⁠ The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges club leadership waged an eleventh-hour campaign to get Goodwin to cancel his date with fellow member Stephanie Capps to the Feb. 28 invite-only affair honoring Frank DeVincentis, the club’s outgoing president. The reason given to Goodwin for the demand was that Capps, who had previously dated the since-married DeVincentis, would cause “personal discomfort” to the president’s wife if she attended, according to the lawsuit.⁠ ⁠ Goodwin and Capps refused, tensions escalated, and he was suspended on the eve of the event, according to the lawsuit. Neither attended the dinner.⁠ ⁠ “I’ve attended multiple events with high-level VIP dignitaries,” Goodwin told the Tribune Thursday. “I could never imagine a day where I would register for an event and then 72 hours before the event, somebody at my club would call me and say don’t come because we don’t like your guest.”⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo 1:⁠ The Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd., May 14, 2026, in Chicago.⁠ ⁠ Photo 2:⁠ Steven Goodwin poses for a photograph outside the Union League Club.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷️ John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune / @johnkimpictures

The Chicago Bears are ready for the national spotlight — at least in the NFL schedule-makers' minds.⁠ ⁠ The Bears will play seven stand-alone games: five prime-time matchups against the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills and marquee contests against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving and Green Bay Packers on Christmas.⁠ ⁠ Last season the Bears played five nationally televised games: versus the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener, at the Washington Commanders, at the Eagles on Black Friday, versus the Packers and at the San Francisco 49ers.⁠ ⁠ Thanks to their NFC North Division crown last season, the Bears landed a first-place slate this year and with it the league's toughest schedule — their opponents had a combined .550 winning percentage in 2025.⁠ ⁠ Seven opponents made the playoffs last season, and five had at least 10 wins: the Seahawks (14-3), Patriots (14-3), Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4), Bills (12-5) and Eagles (11-6).⁠ ⁠ Here's a breakdown of the full schedule, along with our Bears writers' takes on what it all means for the Bears.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ — — — ⁠ ⁠ Photo: Bears quarterback Caleb Williams scrambles in the fourth quarter against the Packers at Soldier Field on Dec. 20, 2025.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Phil Thompson, Sean Hammond and Brad Biggs / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷 Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune

There was a time, not so very long ago, when the most famous tavernkeeper in the history of this city could be found alone in the quiet, empty hours between last call and sunrise, placing chairs upside down on tables and sweeping the floor.⁠ ⁠ He was in one of the six taverns he owned, the oldest of the Billy Goat brood, on Hubbard Street tucked in perpetual twilight under Michigan Avenue.⁠ ⁠ Sam Sianis, a Greek immigrant who became one of the most successful saloonkeepers and a popular figure in the sports and media worlds, died in Endeavor Swedish Hospital in Chicago early Friday morning. He had recently had gall bladder surgery, but died of complications of old age. He was 91 years old.⁠ ⁠ “He was an inspiration and everything else to me and my siblings,” said William, the eldest of Sianis’ six children and the one who has been most involved in the business with his father. “He always talked reverently about his uncle and about Greece, and he carried with him many traditions. And he loved this city passionately and became a real part of it.”⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more. ⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo: The Billy Goat Tavern’s Sam Sianis at his famous restaurant and bar at Hubbard Street and lower Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, Feb. 18, 2026.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Rick Kogan / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷️ E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune

Scores of people gathered outside Makeda E. Designs design shop Wednesday evening after being told their dresses and suits would be complete, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune.⁠ ⁠ Each of them said they had already paid for their outfits in full, according to the report. Some of them have proms as soon as this weekend to attend. ⁠ ⁠ When they arrived, witnesses said the doors were locked and designer Makeda Evans stopped answering her phone.⁠ ⁠ “She obviously wasn’t at the shop,” said Chiquita Hodges, another mother who said her daughter was left without a dress. “Someone said she initially was there, but she barricaded the front doors and she left out the back.”⁠ ⁠ Attempts by the Tribune to reach Evans for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.⁠ ⁠ But on Wednesday night, as Hodges watched the crowd grow outside, Evans took to social media informing her Facebook followers she could not complete their dresses because of a “serious mental health crisis.”⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo 1: T.F. North senior Emon’ee Miller, 18, shows off some of the accessories to go with the custom prom dress she and her mother, Beverly Fisher, purchased from Makeda E. Designs in Humboldt Park more than a year ago. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 2: A person rides a scooter past the boarded-up Makeda E. Designs, at 1530 N. Pulaski Road in Humboldt Park, on May 14, 2026, the morning after a report of a break-in. ⁠ ⁠ 📝 Audrey Pachuta and Caroline Kubzansky / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷️ Chris Sweda and Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune / @emeslar

Skokie officials are exploring the possibility of extending the Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line north to the area of Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center, which could markedly expand transit access and spur economic growth.⁠ ⁠ Mayor Ann Tennes floated the potential extension during her State of the Village address Friday at the Skokie Chamber of Commerce’s 101-year anniversary celebration.⁠ ⁠ “I’m happy to tell you we’ve begun very preliminary conversations with the governor’s office and community partners about the possibility of extending the CTA Yellow Line, the ‘Skokie Swift,’ to the Old Orchard corridor,” Tennes said to the nearly 150 event attendees.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo 1: A CTA Yellow Line train in 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)⁠ ⁠ Photo 2: Skokie Mayor Ann Tennes speaks during an Interfaith Community Thanksgiving service at Central United Methodist Church in Skokie on Nov. 25, 2025. ⁠ ⁠ 📝 Claire Murphy / Pioneer Press⁠ 📷️ Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune / @apereztribune ⁠ 📷️ Talia Sprague / Pioneer Press⁠

Andrej Stojaković said he is “both feet in” the NBA draft process right now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t return to Illinois.⁠ ⁠ Speaking Wednesday at the draft combine at Wintrust Arena, the 6-foot-7 wing said he's approaching the draft process with a mindset “to kill every workout moving forward.” Then, when the withdrawal deadline arrives May 27, he will have all of the information he needs to make the right decision for himself.⁠ ⁠ ESPN’s latest mock draft has Stojaković going at No. 53 in the second round, a spot that might not be as valuable as the combination of NIL money and draft-stock improvement that another season in Champaign could provide. But he said he will consider which destination is the right fit for him.⁠ ⁠ “Making it to the NBA has been a dream of mine since I was young,” said the son of three-time All-Star Peja Stojaković. “Doing this for myself, committing to it until I’m not anymore, is something I’ve been approaching constantly. I’m just looking forward to the feedback I get from it.”⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ — — — ⁠ ⁠ Photo 1: Illinois guard Andrej Stojaković speaks with members of the press in the locker room before the Final Four on April 3, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.⁠ ⁠ Photo 3: Stojaković is guarded by UConn's Jayden Ross during the second half of the Final Four on April 4, 2026.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune / @chitribkane ⁠ 📷 Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune / @mandophotos

The woman parked her car and thought about going to the front entrance of her luxury River North apartment building. But walking through the front door felt impossible.⁠ ⁠ So the woman instead hurried from the parking lot through the building’s back entrance, bypassing the front desk where she worried that the security guard who allegedly sexually assaulted her would be sitting. ⁠ ⁠ Once back at her apartment, she still wasn’t safe from her thoughts. She worried someone could break into her unit. ⁠ ⁠ “I was just in a state of fear and panic,” she told the Tribune. “It was terrifying.”⁠ ⁠ That’s why the woman said it was so “devastating” when she wasn’t permitted to break her lease at Niche 905 in late 2024. For two months, when she couldn’t stay with her mom or friends, she had to sleep in the apartment — and in the bed — where the alleged rape took place, she said. ⁠ ⁠ In January 2025, the woman sued Willow Bridge Property Co., the property manager, and Titan Security Group, the company Willow Bridge contracted to provide security services. The suit accused the companies of “systemic failures” that led to the assault as well as inflicting “emotional distress” by refusing to allow her to break her lease.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo 1: Niche 905, a luxury River North apartment complex is seen on May 6, 2026. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 2: A woman stands in a Cook County forest preserve on May 6, 2026, where she likes to walk to calm her mind.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Rebecca Johnson / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷️ Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune / @WescottImages ⁠

Chicago slightly reversed its recent population loss, while outlying suburbs like Plainfield and Lockport continued to grow at the fastest rates in Illinois, reflecting nationwide growth in medium-sized towns, new U.S. Census estimates show.⁠ ⁠ Chicago gained 5,253 residents in the year leading up to July 1, 2025, remaining the third largest city in the United States, at 2,731,585. Still, since 2020, the city has lost 16,748 people, or 0.6%.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo: People cross Wacker Drive at Monroe Street in Chicago on May 13, 2026.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Robert McCoppin, Kori Rumore and Jake Sheridan / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷️ Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune⁠ 🗺️ Kori Rumore / Chicago Tribune

A few decades ago, massive malls were rife with crowds of loitering teenagers who spent hours mingling in arcades and food courts. Much like their youthful, emotional heartbeats, malls in the ’80s and ’90s bustled, becoming as quintessential to American culture as hot dogs and apple pie.⁠ ⁠ Today’s teens have no shortage of movies and TV shows romanticizing what malls were like in their parents’ youth. Look no further than the opening sequence in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” or Regina George summoning her fellow Plastics with the line “Get in loser, we’re going shopping” in “Mean Girls.”⁠ ⁠ Across Chicagoland, malls memorialize “the good old days.” But now, many of them are past their prime, becoming as old and gray as the generations that once frequented them.⁠ ⁠ For some local malls, the end is already inevitable.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo 1: A mall walker rests at a sparsely populated Lincolnwood Town Center on April 30, 2026. The Village Board and property owners recently agreed to a phased demolition of the mall as part of a predevelopment plan.⁠ ⁠ Photo 2: The food court sits empty in the Ford City Mall on May 6, 2026, in Chicago. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 3: The exterior of Northbrook Court mall is next to a portion of a demolished building on May 6, 2026.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Audrey Pachuta / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷️ E. Jason Wambsgans, Armando L. Sanchez and Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune / @ejwamb and @mandophotos ⁠

A year since Dolton learned native son Robert Francis Prevost would be the first U.S. pope, the village’s officials remain eager to celebrate Prevost and learn more about the Catholic faith while capitalizing on tourism to his childhood home at 212 E. 141st Place.⁠ ⁠ While the home remains closed to the public, the village recently began offering private tours of the humble two-story building for some reporters and religious groups, along with Prevost’s brother, John, last month.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ -----⁠ ⁠ Photo 1: The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV was purchased by the village of Dolton. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 2: A remnant of original wallpaper under the basement stairs.⁠ ⁠ Photo 3: Bedrooms in the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV.⁠ ⁠ Photo 4: The back of the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV.⁠ ⁠ Photo 5: A stone patio that was reportedly built by Pope Leo XIV in the backyard.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Olivia Stevens / Daily Southtown⁠ 📷️ E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune / @ejwamb

After reviewing hundreds of nominations and thousands of votes, we’re excited to reveal this year’s Readers’ Choice Food Awards winners.⁠ ⁠ Many of this year’s winners have embraced the idea of being more than just establishments that offer great food and drinks; they’re also welcoming spaces where the community can gather to support each other.⁠ ⁠ Tap on our bio link to read more.⁠ ⁠ ——⁠ ⁠ Photo 1:⁠ The Italian beef pizza at Woodfire Pizza.⁠ ⁠ Photo 2:⁠ Owner and CEO Trez Pugh at the Sip & Savor coffeehouse (@sipandsavorchicago ) on 43rd Street in Chicago, May 4, 2026. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 3: Owner Mindy Segal at Mindy’s Bakery (@mindysbakery ) in Wicker Park on May 1, 2026, in Chicago. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 4: Chefs Jacob Dela Cruz, left, and Zubair Mohajir at Lilac Tiger (@lilactigerchi ) on West Division Street in Chicago on Dec. 16, 2025.⁠ ⁠ Photo 5: Chef and partner José Sosa prepares a USDA Prime bone-in ribeye at The Greggory (@_thegreggory_ ), May 1, 2026, in South Barrington. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 6: Alexis Battle enjoys brunch with her children, Kamden, 6, and Charlie, right, 8, at Brûlée (@bruleechicago ) on May 2, 2026. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 7: Co-owner Joe D’Astice checks on a crab rangoon pizza at Woodfire Pizza (@woodfirewestdundee ) in West Dundee on April 22, 2026. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 8: The Burger Bar’s (@burgerbarchi ) signature stacker.⁠ ⁠ Photo 9: Britteny Ibitoye, senior operation manager, packs radishes into boxes at Dion’s Chicago Dream (@dionschicagodream ) in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on May 5, 2026. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 10: Restaurant owner and singer Dave Samber, center rear, visits with diners Beki Darin, right, and Kurt Rosenberg, left, during the Gospel Brunch at The Polo Inn (@thepoloinn ) on May 3, 2026, in Chicago. ⁠ ⁠ Photo 11: Owner Rose Stevenson, right, prepares a Vienna Beef Hot Dog at Jimmy’s Red Hots (@jimmysredhots ) in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, April, 29, 2026.⁠ ⁠ 📝 Kayla Samoy, Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Zareen Syed, Lauryn Azu, Eva Remijan-Toba and Madeline King / Chicago Tribune⁠ 📷️ Terrence Antonio James, Antonio Perez, Stacey Wescott, John J. Kim, Chris Sweda, Eileen T. Meslar and Josh Boland / Chicago Tribune