Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: What we know about the Trump administration’s plans to mobilize hundreds of National Guard members to Chicago “immediately,” as a memo from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth puts it.
🗞️ Plus: A woman shot by U.S. Border Patrol is charged, ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s surrender nears and more news you need to know.
🧩 New puzzle: We’ve got a new Chicago-style crossword puzzle for you to try. This week’s theme is “The Chicago Marathon.”
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⏱️: A 9-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a chance of storms and a high near 83.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Illinois, Texas Guard troop mobilization to begin ‘immediately’
By Kaitlin Washburn and Tina Sfondeles
On guard: Hundreds of National Guard troops, including members from Illinois and Texas, are being called into service effective “immediately” for an initial period of two months, according to state and national officials and court filings. Gov. JB Pritzker said late Sunday he was told 400 troops from Texas would be sent to Illinois, Oregon and other locations. He had received word Saturday that 300 troops from Illinois were being mobilized.
Details in memos: Details of deployments were revealed in memos sent Saturday from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to leaders of the National Guard in Illinois and Texas. The Texas order was included in a court filing in Oregon, in a case in which a judge temporarily halted Trump’s plan to send troops there late Sunday.
The plan: Troops will be stationed “in places where there are violent demonstrations in the state, or where they’re likely to occur based on current threat assessments,” a memo stated. Pritzker said no one had contacted him as of late Sunday to “discuss or coordinate” the deployments.
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Woman shot by Border Patrol is charged; Brighton Park residents say feds antagonized community
By Kaitlin Washburn, Jon Seidel, Violet Miller, Kade Heather and Araceli Gómez-Aldana
Felony charges: Federal prosecutors filed felony assault charges against a woman who was shot Saturday by U.S. Border Patrol on the Southwest Side, in what led to a heated confrontation between federal agents and nearly 100 protesters. Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, are accused of driving their vehicles in a civilian “convoy” that was following federal agents.
Chaotic day: Following the late-morning incident in Brighton Park, an angry crowd gathered. Witnesses described Saturday as a day of chaos, fueled by federal agents who they said antagonized the community by firing tear gas canisters and shooting pepper balls at protesters for several hours.
Governor’s response: Gov. Pritzker said Sunday little was known about Saturday’s shooting and that the Trump administration was known to release misleading information. On CNN, Pritzker referenced the fatal ICE shooting of a man last month in Franklin Park, saying Trump and his administration are “just putting out their propaganda, and then we have got to later determine what actually happened.”
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After military-style raid on South Shore apartments, Congress members rally around residents
By Mary Norkol
Resident account: Pertissue Fisher, 54, is still recovering from being detained by federal immigration agents who burst into her South Shore apartment building and pulled her and other residents from their beds early Wednesday morning. An agent put a gun in her face, she said. Another placed her in handcuffs tight enough to leave bruises. Fisher and other victims of the raid are U.S. citizens, but they were still held for hours.
Key context: Gov. Pritzker is directing the state’s Department of Child and Family Services and Department of Human Services to evaluate how children were treated during the raid. It was the latest in a string of aggressive tactics by the feds in the Chicago area, which have angered local elected officials, including U.S. Reps Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Delia Ramirez, Robin Kelly and Jonathan Jackson. They are now calling for an end to all raids and federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.
Calls for solidarity: At a Sunday news conference, the Congress members spoke alongside activists and residents touched by the raids, and urged unity and cooperation among Black residents and immigrants. Many residents detained from the South Shore building are Black. Agents from the U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people, officials said.
MORE ON IMMIGRATION ✶
Masked federal agent throws chemical irritants outside Logan Square grocery
By Mohammad Samra and Emmanuel Camarillo
Videos taken by several witnesses captured the moments when the agent could be seen dropping a canister from an SUV.
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Ald. Jessie Fuentes is handcuffed by ICE while asking agents for patient’s warrant at Humboldt Park hospital
By Kade Heather
Video shows two ICE agents detaining Fuentes on Friday afternoon inside Humboldt Park Health as she repeatedly asked them if they had a warrant for a man they detained.
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Are Illinois State Police helping ICE in Broadview?
By Alex Degman
Top state Democrats have said for months that local police won’t participate in immigration investigations, but they also won’t stand in the way.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED
- Cops face charges: Chicago police officers Dana Hillard and Kendall Waller, sons of former top cops, have both been stripped of their police powers. Hillard has been accused of defrauding a pandemic-era benefits program. Waller faces allegations of domestic battery, breaking into a home and stealing a car.
- Madigan’s surrender nears: A federal appeals court rejected former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan’s bid to remain free while challenging his corruption conviction, meaning the country’s longest-serving state House leader is almost certainly headed to prison this month.
- Israel-Hamas war protest: More than 300 protesters rallied downtown Saturday in support of Palestinians, marking two years since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
- Damen Silos demo halted: Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) said Friday that “excessive dust” and nearby residents’ complaints halted demolition, which has been underway since July.
- Kennedy update: The express lanes on the Kennedy Expressway are set to return to normal for the Monday morning rush, offering relief to inbound commuters for the first time since the lanes were made outbound-only in the spring for construction.
- No snow removal: A joint City Council committee on Friday buried a proposal to clear sidewalks of snow at the city’s expense — a setback for advocates of transportation and people with disabilities.
- Remembering John Morris: An architect who designed many of Chicago’s theaters, Mr. Morris was known for his knack for walking into a space and, within moments, envisioning its future layout. He died Aug. 23 at age 77.
RED LINE EXTENSION PAUSED 🔴
Trump freezes $2.1B for Chicago projects, Red Line extension in shutdown fight with Democrats
Reporting by Tina Sfondeles, Fran Spielman and David Struett
Frozen funds: The White House said Friday it was withholding $2.1 billion in funding for Chicago infrastructure projects, including the CTA’s Red Line extension, as President Trump escalates his fight with the city and follows through on his threat to punish Democrats over the government shutdown.
At issue: White House budget director Russ Vought wrote on social media that he was specifically targeting the CTA’s Red Line extension and the Red and Purple Line modernization project “to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.”
Cuts postponed: In related news, potential cuts to CTA bus and rail service could be pushed to the last half of 2026, according to revised budgets shared Friday by transit agency bosses.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚾🏈⚽
- Cub confidence: The Cubs made resilience part of their identity in the regular season. After Saturday’s loss in Milwaukee, they need it now more than ever, writes Maddie Lee.
- Bears gut check: Previous Bears coaches couldn’t win after the bye — can Ben Johnson?
- Fire coach assessment: Coach Gregg Berhalter is getting results for the Fire in his first season with the team, writes Brian Sandalow.
- High school football: Sun-Times sports reporter Michael O’Brien recaps this weekend in high school football, featuring unstoppable offenses, Jonas Williams breaking a record and Wheaton Academy’s camel ride.
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
State-funded sculpture trail is celebration of public art on the Northwest Side
Reporting by Erica Thompson
Northwest Side residents may see some unique new figures while running errands, shopping or strolling along Milwaukee Avenue.
Visit Parkway Bank and you may spot a 13-foot woman in a flowing white dress outside. Catch a bus at Jefferson Park Transit Center and you may notice an 8-foot dragonfly chained to a pile of rocks. Take the kids to Wilson Park and you may pass a bright red character frozen mid-run atop a column.
They are three of five new sculptures unveiled Saturday during the inaugural Northwest Art Trail connecting Jefferson Park and Portage Park.
Stretching along the 4000 and 5000 blocks of the street, the path also includes five older sculptures and multiple murals, theaters, galleries and other arts organizations. Visitors can access the route at nw-art-trail.com or via the Otocast app, which includes photos and audio commentary from the artists.
The trail was developed by state Sen. Robert Martwick and the Arts Alive Chicago nonprofit, with additional support from the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit. The creation of the new sculptures was funded with a $300,000 capital grant from the state.
Martwick joined city officials, artists and community members Saturday to launch the project with a day of tours, performances and activities.
“This art was paid for by government,” Martwick said during the dedication ceremony. “Art is essential.”
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