It happened again. A line of hyper and hungry Bears fans started forming outside The Wieners Circle at 5 a.m. Tuesday, despite the bitter 23-degree temperature. It was all in the name of free hot dogs, courtesy of Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who rose to the hot dog stand’s challenge.

4-year-old evacuated from Gaza finds sense of normalcy in Tinley Park while being treated for amputation. A story of our times from @zareensyed.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/02/g...

Today's page 1 story ❤️‍🩹 Adam, 4, lost his entire family in an Israeli airstrike when he was just 2. He's been with a host family in Tinley Park since being medically evacuated from Gaza earlier this year. But he'll soon have to leave them too. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/02/g...

The front page of today's Chicago Tribune. Read the e-edition here: trib.al/k2cp8Hq

15 Chicago street vendors were detained since the launch of Operation Midway Blitz despite the operation being promoted as an effort to target people with violent criminal records who dont have legal status: “We aren’t the criminals they said they would target." story w/ @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social

As ICE detains longtime Chicago street vendors with no criminal history, neighbors rally with emergency funds by @zareensyed.bsky.social @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/25/c...

In other NEWS: Masked agents took at least 15 street vendors from Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz. “Worst of the worst,” they aren’t. Story by @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social & @zareensyed.bsky.social about neighbors rallying to support culture under attack www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/25/c...

The front page of today's Chicago Tribune. Read the e-edition here: trib.al/RI9Qa8x

I love this story! The Rich Goodwill is a very fun follow on Instagram

The Michelin Guide Northeast ceremony in Philadelphia on Tuesday night saw Chicago add a new one-star restaurant, Feld, and a two-star restaurant, Kasama, to its repertoire. The ceremony featured restaurants from Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston.

Chicago Tonight | The Week in Review: CPS Watchdog Flags Travel Spending; Government Shutdown Ends, with @robhartmedia.bsky.social @zareensyed.bsky.social @mikepuentenews.bsky.social @colinbphoto.bsky.social & host @ndblumberg.bsky.social news.wttw.com/2025/11/14/w...

You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants. We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Chicago Public Schools Office of Inspector General is urging district officials to reform travel policies amid excessive spending on trips.

THE northern lights as seen above the pond in front of my house in the western suburbs. Unbelievable experience and one I won't ever get over. I hear we might see the storm again tonight?!

Dan Raskin, owner of Manny’s Deli in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, said the restaurant initially planned to give away 100 meals a day, but it quickly jumped to 300 after customers started asking if they could donate to the cause.

When Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen posted on social media that they’d be handing out free meals to SNAP recipients starting Nov. 1, the line the next day started forming at 3 a.m. The deli doesn’t open until 8.

Oh my god. He's a BLUESKY ELDER

Marcos Carbajal, owner of Carnitas Uruapan, is operating at a loss. Ambrocio Gonzalez of La Catedral Cafe said he won't let anyone in wearing a gator/ski mask. And a hospitality group is reporting a 35%-40% loss in sales since September. The restaurant industry has been hit from all sides. More:

Intense immigration enforcement continues to ripple across the Chicago area as part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz.” And the restaurant industry has been feeling the impact: Significantly fewer customers are dining in and businesses are operating at a loss.

At a growing number of cafes and restaurants in Chicago: 'Everyone is welcome, except I.C.E.' ✍️ my latest

"Everyone is welcome, except I.C.E." Cafes, restaurants across Chicago put up signs barring immigration agents. A story of the times from @zareensyed.bsky.social www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/14/c...

It’s a small, but mighty sign: “Everyone is welcome here, except I.CE.” Chicago business owners are searching for ways to support and protect their staff. Solidarity signs have been a quieter approach to denouncing ICE. 📝 @zareensyed.bsky.social

Almost 55,000 children in Gaza acutely malnourished, Lancet study estimates

🍕 Free gift link to my review here: chicagotribune.com/2025/10/07/restaurant-review-pizzamici/?share=zghztucrapt1m0cuiasa

HAPPENING NOW — This morning, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order establishing “ICE-free zones.” “That means that city property and unwilling private businesses will no longer serve as grounds for these raids,” Johnson said to applause. thetriibe.com/2025/10/mayo...

Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood is an expansion of Liz Abunaw’s community-focused effort to offer fresh produce via home deliveries and pop-up markets.

Liz Abunaw, owner of Forty Acres, said her store is a business-driven approach, not an idealistic project to “solve hunger” in Austin. But it's addressing a gap in the market, intensified by the differences between Chicago neighborhoods and how those differences break down along racial lines.

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram. Community action works. Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

NEWS: Trump is federalizing 300 National Guard troops in Illinois, Gov. Pritzker announced.

30% decline in international student enrollment at DePaul. The financial impact of that is staggering.

He's one of a handful of local doctors, w/ Jewish Voice for Peace, calling on lawmakers to block bomb sales to Israel and speak out against famine in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank. Read the story, but most importantly, press play👂 www.wbez.org/politics/202...

Chicago doctor Thaer Ahmad will never forget one of the 1st times he declared a patient dead in Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, after a father carried in his three lifeless daughters. Those girls weigh heavy on Ahmad's mind as he demands action from Illinois politicians. www.wbez.org/politics/202...

It's not all investigations, politics and crime news. A good daily newspaper captures the flavor of its city. @zareensyed.bsky.social did that masterfully with her coverage of the craziness at the Wiener Circle yesterday www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/23/w...

The Wieners Circle had promised free hot dogs if Bears QB Caleb Williams threw four TD passes Sunday vs. the Cowboys — which he did. Now it was showtime behind the counter. @zareensyed.bsky.social's story with photos by E. Jason Wambsgans. trib.al/JERFTZg

Don’t miss this fun story: @zareensyed.bsky.social filed a great dispatch from Weiner Circle’s free hot dog day @chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/23/w...

A pop up box on Tylenol dot com

ICE agents held a man’s five year old autistic daughter and taunted him with “Is that your daughter” in an attempt to get him to come out of the house. They were rebuffed but two days later took him from his car.

A culture at risk: Chicago’s street vendors quietly disappear from familiar corners during ICE surge By @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social and @zareensyed.bsky.social Gift 🔗

Chicago's street vendors carry a cultural legacy that's slowly shrinking away from familiar city corners in the middle of the current ICE surge. "What they do is a dying art, born of love.” ✍️ An important story with @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social

A culture at risk: Some Chicago street vendors quietly disappear from familiar corners during ICE surge. On the ground reporting @chicagotribune.com @lauranrodriguez.bsky.social @zareensyed.bsky.social t.co/Ngn42kEAPt

Residents of a DuPage County town were worried about two escaped horses. Then they learned at least one of the animals was caring a highly contagious disease.

Today in things that should never be happening but especially now of all times:

Black McDonald’s operators detail history of alleged racial discrimination in lawsuit. Story from Darcel Rockett www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/08/m...

Recent higher ed reporting ✍️ ➡️ Some faculty members expressed sympathy for Schill, who heeded several unprecedented demands from the right toward the end of his troubled 3 year tenure as Northwestern's leader. Others on campus say they were glad to see him go.

Eeek! I'm so nervous to watch this because I know I'm going to compare every frame and every scene to the perfection that is The Office but I also want to like it in support of the office

The life of displaced Gazans is the focal point of this free exhibit at the Walls Turned Sideways space in East Garfield Park. There's an ambient sound that plays overhead to supplement the viewing experience...drones, sounds of the sea, children. It's very moving. Thurs-Saturdays through Aug. 23.

Air quality alerts issued Thursday in Illinois because of Canadian wildfire smoke marked the latest bout in an increasingly common summer occurrence. The alert covers 34 Illinois counties designated as having unhealthy air for all residents.

Palestinians have been forced to routinely choose between risking death by starvation or risking death by gunfire to reach food aid sites where Israeli soldiers have repeatedly fired at the crowds, killing hundreds of people over the last two months, according to the UN. nyti.ms/3GLjBCH

Absolutely gutted. Our colleagues are the best and brightest and their incredible work speaks for itself. Heartbroken for them and for us having lost such unique voices in the newsroom

Pinar Istek anchored the night shift on the photo desk, directing after-hours visual coverage of breaking news. She is a proactive leader who looks out for the whole photo desk and was an essential part of dozens of breaking stories.