People cheer while watching Bad Bunny perform during Super Bowl 60 at a Benito bowl watch party at La Bruquena in the Humboldt Park neighborhood Sunday evening in Chicago.

so far tonight bad bunny has sung more reggaeton songs than the patriots and seahawks combined

We’re putting the finishing touches on our judicial election guide. Want to be the first to get it? Subscribe to our (free) newsletter for a first look at the guide. buff.ly/0Upa6K8

Spare a thought for my hometown as it battles an onslaught of extremely mean turkeys.

Amateur lawyer on a hot streak against Cook County prosecutors who keep accusing him of being a fake cop.

A note from our editors:

Newsletter subscribers will get early access to our Cook County judicial election guide for the March 2026 primary. Sign up (it’s free!) here: buff.ly/0Upa6K8

Georgia Fort's is chilling, and it's being overshadowed by the equally chilling arrest of Don Lemon. A GoFundMe is being set up for Fort. In the meantime, you can support her work directly – without paying massive fundraising platform fees – through her website: www.georgiafort.com/support

Notes: The authority encouraged to do the prosecuting here - Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke - has not made clear how she views this. And here's the line from the union that represents most Chicago police, whose leaders are vocal Trump and Tom Homan supporters.

Hearing a media executive say her extremely old company is actually a startup while also sending buyout offers gave me concussion-level deja vu from my time at the Tribune.

Join our team! We’re seeking an ambitious and thoughtful development director to lead our fundraising efforts. buff.ly/qBOqRtj

📻 Tune in to WCPT 820 AM today at 4 p.m. CT to hear Investigative Project on Race and Equity reporter Emeline Posner discuss their recent reporting for "Taken by Taxes," our joint project on property tax foreclosure in Cook County. buff.ly/KUDMpSt

Glad Defector is playing Dan McQuade's hits after his death because I love his stroll through the 90s internet and music fandom. I lived through it but didn't know what Save Ferris sounded like. I won't say I'm better off knowing, but I'm also not worse off. RIP to Dan and many things described here

McQuade personally used the power of the press to get the Jon Bon Jovi Rest Stop to take down the "Acting is like scoring a touchdown" quote erroneously attributed to Ed Harris. What have you ever done? defector.com/the-garden-s...

Rest in peace to one of the great bloggers and the de facto mayor of Philadelphia. It was my honor and pleasure to work with him. defector.com/dan-mcquade-...

“The Menswear Guy can be tedious, but he knows his stuff—he had some really nice things to say about Jimmy Sweatpants last week,” I say to my wife as she quickly puts on headphones

Tuesday morning: New CBS boss promises “huge emphasis on scoops.” Tuesday evening: CBS Evening News anchor interviews his mom. www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...

Porter wrote to the Cook Co. Conviction Integrity Unit -- prosecutors tasked with freeing the innocent -- in 2013. They rejected him. 13 years later, a judge tossed his case, and he's free pending retrial. This shares similarities with many cases detailed in my @injusticewatch.org series on the CIU.

We're still taking applications! Let me know if you have any questions.

Congratulations to Little Clown Pizza for winning every single one of these awards again.

Bolts is always looking to work with freelancers to report on critical voting rights and criminal justice stories across the United States. If you have a story that you think would fit Bolts, here is how to pitch us:

announcer voice: fran leeeeebowiiiiiiiiiiitz

Paula Poundstone, ladies and gentlemen

Worth noting that one reason you’re benefitting so fully from the Star-Tribune’s timely, extensive coverage of unfolding events is that it’s a metro newspaper that hasn’t been systematically starved to further enrich shareholders and executives.

BREAKING: The Tribune confirmed on Instagram that the man shot has died, according to two sources with knowledge of the incident. ICE attempted to order local police from the scene, but Chief Brian O'Hara refused, sources also told the Tribune. O'Hara instructed his officers to preserve the scene.

Two women trained as first responders were abducted by three ICE agents. One of the agents starts seizing. The other two don’t know what to do. The women jump into action and save the agent’s life, only to be re-handcuffed and processed. www.startribune.com/detained-by-...

"In St. Paul, at least one-fourth of students from Spanish-speaking homes have missed every day of school since Dec. 12."

Thirty-one known defendants have been charged in Chicago with non-immigration crimes tied to “Operation Midway Blitz.” With today’s acquittal, 15 of them have been cleared. No one has been convicted.

As an addendum, the feds are now 0 - 15 (by my count) in prosecutions deriving from Operation Midway Blitz. You can read more about how they keep losing here:

Took a federal jury about three hours to acquit.

#BREAKING: Federal jury finds Chicago man NOT GUILTY of offering $10K for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino. The trial of Juan Espinoza Martinez was the first to result from “Operation Midway Blitz”: chicago.suntimes.com/live/closing...

Absolutely dying at the idea of suffering a devastating loss and being consoled by a guy in a big funny novelty hat

Boban.

Before CPD Officer Carlos Baker fatally shot his tactical team partner Krystal Rivera, Patrol Chief Jon Hein blocked his bid to join the team because of his disciplinary record. Hein later reversed course a few months before the shooting. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

this is by the Post reporter whose house was just searched by the FBI www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...

We’re hiring an editor in chief to execute a strategy for scrutinizing the Cook County court system, provide direction and supervision to our editorial team, and work across departments to maintain a standard of excellence that aligns with our mission. buff.ly/m2ySFTD

Defense attorneys today challenging attempts by the feds to link their client to the Latin Kings through his "affinity" for the gang: "Counsel has an 'affinity' for the Chicago Bears, lives in Chicago, and even wears Bears' colors, but alas, is not a member of the Chicago Bears."

It has been remarkable to see the historical echoes between the Democratic response to Renee Good’s killing and the cycle of reform touched off by Laquan McDonald’s murder in Chicago. I see we are now knee-deep in the Training Discourse. abcnews.go.com/amp/US/chica...

If you approach my desk, you’d better be ready to laugh.

We’re looking for an experienced manager and editor with a track record of successful investigative work who can demonstrate an understanding of the way courts impact local communities. buff.ly/m2ySFTD

A wonderful recent development is the wide availability of this candy in the Chicago area. They’re the answer to “how about circus peanuts, except good?”

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says they've been informed by the FBI that US DOJ has said FBI will solely lead the investigation into Renee Nicole Good's killing by a federal officer. State investigators no longer have access to "case materials, scene evidence/investigative interviews"

I covered the Chicago Police Department for years and it's impossible to miss the similarities to shootings here over the years. The tactical chaos. The car-as-weapon official account that doesn't match the known evidence. The immediate insistence on justification by forces representing the shooter.

After border patrol agents fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, agents showed up to a high school and released chemical weapons during dismissal, Minnesota Public Radio reports. Their live reporting here: www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Update: As of January 7, The Trace has identified 28 incidents, including 14 shootings, in which federal agents shot someone or held them at gunpoint during an immigration enforcement action under Trump’s crackdown. At least four people have been killed and five others have been injured.

Context: A decade ago, Border Patrol agents had to be ordered not to put themselves in front of moving vehicles as a pretext to use deadly force www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/new-dir...

NOW: During a pretrial conference for Juan Espinoza Martinez, accused of putting a hit on U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino, AUSA Minje Shin says a key issue will not necessarily be Martinez's alleged membership in the Latin Kings, but his "affinity" for the gang.

We’re looking for an experienced newsroom leader with a track record of producing and editing impactful, community-centered journalism. If that sounds like you, apply to be our next editor in chief: buff.ly/jKsWWgE