Good morning, Chicago.
The National Weather Service considers Christmas to be white only when snow depth on the ground is 1 inch or more the morning of Dec. 25.
So, any snow that could fall later that day? Pretty, but it doesn’t count.
On Christmas Day, the only thing blanketing Chicago rooftops will likely be fog, and the only thing falling from the sky might be an intermittent drizzle. Meteorologists are forecasting no snow in the Chicago area on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Rather, temperatures will be unseasonably warm in the 40- to 50-degree range.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including the Supreme Court dealing President Donald Trump a defeat on his bid to deploy the National Guard in Illinois, the NWSL creating a “high-impact player” rule and our 20 New Year’s Eve picks.
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Members of the Texas National Guard arrive, Oct. 7, 2025, at the Army Reserve Training Center in Elwood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Supreme Court deals Trump a defeat on bid to deploy National Guard in Illinois
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from President Donald Trump’s administration yesterday to allow the Republican president to deploy National Guard troops to Illinois streets while a court battle over a restraining order plays out.
Pope Leo XIV talks to journalists as he leaves the Castel Gandolfo residence to head to the Vatican, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope disappointed over approval of assisted suicide legislation in his home state of Illinois
Pope Leo XIV said yesterday he was “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois had approved a law allowing for medically assisted suicide, and he called for greater respect of life.
Leo said he had spoken “explicitly” with Gov. JB Pritzker and urged him to not sign the bill into law. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich did the same, Leo told reporters as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
Mayor Brandon Johnson signs an executive order in his ceremonial office at City Hall on Dec. 23, 2025, ahead of a news conference about the city’s 2026 budget. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson surrenders in budget fight, will not veto opponents’ package
Speaking outside the mayor’s office on the fifth floor of City Hall, Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed he will not veto the $16.6 billion counterproposal to his spending plan for next year, despite his ongoing objections to his council rivals’ package, which nixes his corporate head tax. His decision comes days before the end-of-year deadline to either finalize a budget or imperil vital city services as well as tens of thousands of paychecks.
A CTA Red Line train travels through the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway south of the Chicago skyline, Dec. 15, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Ready, set, soon? Trump admin’s funding freeze threatens Red Line Extension.
Banners posted at the Chicago Transit Authority’s 95th Street station promise: “Ready, set, soon! The Red Line Extension is coming.”
Anticipation for the rail project has been building since January when, just 10 days before President Donald Trump took office, the CTA locked down almost $2 billion in federal grant dollars to help extend the Red Line from 95th Street to 130th Street. But in October, the Trump administration froze the Red Line grant dollars, citing the transit agency’s diversity requirements for contractors.
Jan M. Grayson, who was appointed as director of the Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Community Affairs by then-Gov. Jim Edgar, stands in the James R. Thompson Center in April 1991. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
Jan Grayson, who led state’s department of commerce and chaired Chicago Architecture Foundation board, dies at 84
Jan Grayson led the state agency formerly known as the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs — the state’s economic development arm — for four years during the administration of the late Gov. Jim Edgar, and he later chaired the board of the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
“Jan was an affable business leader and problem solver,” said Regional Transportation Authority Chair Kirk Dillard, who served as Edgar’s chief of staff. “He was instrumental in the early 1990s in guiding Illinois’ economy through a severe national economic downturn.”
The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, on Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Student loan borrowers in default may see wages garnished in 2026
The Trump administration said that it will begin garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers who are in default early next year.
The department said it will send notices to approximately 1,000 borrowers the week of Jan. 7, with more notices to come at an increasing scale each month.
Injured Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze walks the field before the game against the Packers on Dec. 20, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Injured WR Rome Odunze will ‘be able to help us this year,’ Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson says
While Bears wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III weren’t on the field yesterday afternoon when practice at Halas Hall was open to reporters, coach Ben Johnson offered up some holiday hope.
Washington Spirit’s forward Trinity Rodman runs for a ball during the first half of a NWSL soccer match against Bay FC on Aug. 23, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy)
NWSL creates ‘high-impact player’ rule allowing clubs to sign stars such as Trinity Rodman over the salary cap
The National Women’s Soccer League has created a rule to give clubs flexibility to sign “high-impact players” to contracts that go over the salary cap.
The issue has attracted attention as the Washington Spirit have attempted to re-sign Trinity Rodman, one of the league’s biggest stars.
Record label co-founder John Corbett and saxophonist Ken Vandermark, at the Empty Bottle in Chicago circa 2000. (Provided by John Corbett)
When a rock dive became a jazz destination: New album ‘The Bottle Tapes’ revisits epochal Empty Bottle series
A time capsule hit shelves physical and digital: “The Bottle Tapes,” a six-CD box set released on the Corbett vs. Dempsey label. To curate the set, John Corbett parsed through 250 hours of recordings, most of them by Malachi Ritscher, an avid listener and anti-war activist who recorded thousands of Chicago concerts from the 1980s through the mid-aughts. Thanks to Ritscher, many earth-shaking live shows have been preserved for posterity — a minor miracle in the ephemeral world of free improvisation.
New Year’s Eve fireworks
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
New Year’s Eve fireworks explode over the Chicago River on Jan. 1, 2024, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
New Year’s Eve 2025: Our 20 from ‘Rockin” downtown fireworks to the concerts and dance parties
The mainstage Chicago event for New Year’s Eve has, for the past several years, been the downtown fireworks — this year to be shared with the nation via the cameras for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” But there’s lots more going on for the big night.
