Good morning, Chicago.
A federal judge in Rockford ruled it unconstitutional for Illinoisans with concealed carry permits to be prohibited from carrying guns on public transportation, a decision with uncertain implications for a decade-old state law.
The decision was a result of a 2022 lawsuit filed by four people who alleged the section of Illinois’ concealed carry law that bars holders of concealed carry licenses, or CCLs, from carrying the guns on public buses or trains violated their Second Amendment right to self-defense under the U.S. Constitution.
At issue in U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston’s ruling was a constitutional test requiring gun laws to be “historically” consistent with laws on the books in the 18th century, when the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms was written, or before that.
This arose from the landmark 2022 case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative 6-3 majority established the new constitutional standard, which will also take center stage later this month when a federal judge representing southern Illinois hears arguments over the constitutionality of the state’s ban on so-called assault weapons.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner.
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Detention in brutal Russian prison years ago still haunts Ukrainian now living in Highland Park
The Russian prison was notorious for the torture and human rights abuses of its inmates, a mix of prisoners of war and illegally detained civilians.
Although it has been a decade since his release, Oleksandr Korobov of Highland Park says the psychological scars remain from his 26 days in captivity in Izolyatsia, one of more than a hundred illegal and highly secretive prisons or detention centers dotting Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Two years after migrants began to arrive, many have settled in Chicago even as some continue to struggle
Since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing migrants to Chicago in August 2022, asylum-seekers have transformed the fabric of the city and beyond.
More than 47,200 — mostly from Venezuela — have passed through Chicagoland and tens of thousands have settled here. Local officials have opened up over 20 buildings to temporarily house them and spent hundreds of millions of dollars. They’ve watched their hospitals, schools and food pantries fill with record numbers of people.
4 killed in shooting on CTA Blue Line train in Forest Park
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Chicago native mourns at funeral of son killed as Hamas hostage: ‘Forever my sweet boy’
Chicago native Rachel Goldberg told thousands of mourners at her son’s Jerusalem funeral Monday that the 23-year-old killed in the captivity of Hamas was finally “free.”
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College senior from Plainfield killed in Wisconsin remembered as ‘full of life’ and dedicated gymnast
A Plainfield native and dedicated gymnast going into her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was killed Friday evening, according to school officials. Her friends, mentors and fellow gymnasts — both at home and school — remembered her as a sunny, bubbly presence who took her athletic passion to heart.
With marijuana at a new level of scrutiny, here’s what the research says
Chicagoan Sheila Hogan, one of 140,000 people registered in the state to use medical cannabis, believes in its powers. She uses mild gummies at bedtime to relieve debilitating pain from spinal stenosis, which has allowed her to get back to gardening and pickleball.
“I could not even believe it,” she said. “It was remarkable. I was able to get a lot more active.”
Demolition of Hoffman Estates’ iconic Sears complex starts, opening a new era for high-tech industry
Workers have started tearing down the vacant Sears world headquarters in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, a necessary next step in converting the iconic 2.4 million-square-foot complex into a data center site.
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Count Cole Kmet among the Chicago Bears believers sensing an imminent breakthrough: ‘Super Bowl-driven’
As if all the enthusiastic anticipation for the upcoming Chicago Bears season needed any more juice, a respected insider in Lake Forest is happy to inject his optimism.
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Titanic expedition yields lost bronze statue, high-resolution photos and other discoveries
A bronze statue from the Titanic — not seen in decades and feared to be lost for good — is among the discoveries made by the company with salvage rights to the wreck site on its first expedition there in many years.
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A director returns to Writers Theatre to work her magic on ‘Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812’
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