Kathryn Sears
Good morning, Chicago.
Some 136 newspapers in the United States have closed in the past year, news deserts are expanding and web traffic to the nation’s top newspapers has dropped markedly this decade, according to a report issued yesterday that struggles to find hope for the beleaguered news industry.
While entrepreneurs are launching digital news sites, often backed by philanthropies, they haven’t sprouted at a rate that makes up for the losses, the report from Northwestern University said.
Taking a step back for an even broader look at the industry is even more troubling. Since 2005, the numbers of newspapers published in the United States has dropped from 7,325 in 2005 to 4,490 now, said the Medill State of Local News report. Daily newspaper circulation that averaged between 50 and 60 million people at the turn of the century now stands at just over 15 million.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including where the request to send the National Guard to Illinois stands, Captain Nick Foligno returns to the Blackhawks after his daughter’s heart surgery and a new sports bar opens in Chicago, showing exclusively women’s sports.
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Illinois asks Supreme Court to deny Trump’s ‘dramatic’ request to clear National Guard deployment
Attorneys for Illinois asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny the Trump administration’s “dramatic” request to be allowed to send National Guard troops to the Chicago area to help with immigration enforcement while the issue is on appeal.
In the 46-page response, the state said it would be inappropriate for the high court to get involved at this stage in the proceedings, where a district court’s decision has yet to be decided on appeal.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accuses Gov. JB Pritzker and media of ‘trying to demonize’ immigration officers
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem criticized the media and politicians yesterday, including Gov. JB Pritzker, for “trying to demonize” federal immigration agents and the Trump administration’s enforcement operations, and she urged citizens to thank law enforcement officers and “cook a meal for their families.”
The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump’s ballroom
The White House started tearing down part of the East Wing yesterday, the traditional base of operations for the first lady, to build President Donald Trump’s ballroom.
James Comey’s lawyers say case against him is driven by Trump’s ‘personal animus’ and must be thrown out
Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey urged a judge to dismiss the case against him, calling it a vindictive prosecution motivated by “personal animus” and orchestrated by a White House determined to seek retribution against a perceived foe of President Donald Trump.
Federal judge declines to block Northwestern from disciplining students boycotting antibias training
A federal judge in Chicago declined to issue a temporary restraining order to a group of Northwestern University graduate students yesterday, who are boycotting the school’s controversial antibias training video on antisemtism.
Disney+ and Hulu cancellations rose after ABC briefly pulled ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Disney+ and Hulu subscription cancellations rose during the month that ABC briefly cancelled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ” according to data from subscription analytics company Antenna.
Captain Nick Foligno returns to Chicago Blackhawks after daughter’s heart surgery: ‘She’s an inspiration to me’
Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno returned to practice yesterday after a five-day leave of absence for his daughter’s heart surgery.
Milana Foligno, 12, was born with congenital heart disease and first had surgery at 3 weeks old.
Coby White will miss at least the 1st 2 weeks of the Chicago Bulls season as his calf injury lingers
The Bulls will start the season without their longest-tenured player as guard Coby White remains sidelined with a right calf strain.
Restaurant news: Babe’s Sports Bar opens in Logan Square, the first to show only women’s sports in Chicago
Babe’s Sports Bar, the first and only bar in Chicago exclusively showing women’s sports, has opened in the Logan Square neighborhood.
‘White Flight’ is a new novel from the boxer, storyteller and professor Bill Hillmann
In Bill Hillmann’s new novel “White Flight” (Tortoise Books), you will encounter a story of substance and style, power and passion. Like much of Hillmann’s writing, it is autobiographical, real-life infused with creative imagination. It tells of a family in the 1990s moving from Rogers Park to La Grange and later Brookfield. It is peppered by excitement and trouble, focused on Joe Walsh (based on Hillmann), a sister suffering a gunshot wound, a brother back to his old bad ways after being released from prison, boxing success and derailed dreams of the Olympics, the power of love and dreams and the fragility of hope.
Review: Back and bigger than ever, 2025’s Ear Taxi is a smooth ride
Against all odds, the Ear Taxi Festival is back — and how.
Uplifting the niche, little-celebrated world of contemporary classical music, the massive musical festival happens just once every few years. But in a disruptive arts funding landscape, this one might have sprouted in the most challenging environment for music festivals yet, writes Hannah Edgar. That’s saying something, seeing as the last Ear Taxi happened in, oh, fall 2021.
But where national and city funding has flagged, state funding stepped up in a big way this Ear Taxi.
Kathryn is the main contributor to the quiz section of LaDailyGazette.com. If you have an idea for a quiz, let us know.