Good morning, Chicago.
Horse racing makes Heidi Sheridan nervous, worrying whether the animals will get hurt. But now Sheridan is taking lessons and learning to ride a former racing thoroughbred, not for business, but for pleasure.
“I never in a million years thought I would own a horse,” Sheridan said. “My husband wasn’t a big fan, but he showed up in my driveway with a ‘96 Mustang, so I said, ‘I’m going to get my own horse.’”
As she spoke, her horse, Finley, a bay-colored gelding that won more than $50,000 in his racing year at tracks including the former Arlington Park and Churchill Downs, caught her under the chin with his muzzle, making her smile as she leaned out of the way.
Sheridan, a school social worker, bought Finley through Galloping Out, a program that retrains retired racehorses for new lives and careers. The recent closing of Hawthorne Race Course brought a surge in the number of surplus thoroughbreds. But programs like Galloping Out have been working for years to save them.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Robert McCoppin.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including a mostly receptive crowd greeted Trump at Presidents Cup in Medinah while dozens protested outside the club, Brad Biggs discusses if the Bears can do it again in Philly and submit your recipes now for this year’s Holiday Cookie Contest.
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Keeping federal agents in check still a challenge one year after Operation Midway Blitz
Operation Midway Blitz was the most dramatic test to date of the rules of engagement Illinois has established for how local law enforcement deals with federal immigration agents. In the months since, the Tribune found, those rules have grown no clearer.
In Illinois governor race, Darren Bailey sticks to SAFE-T Act attack despite falling crime numbers
Four years after he called Chicago a “hellhole” and lost the race for governor by nearly 13 percentage points, Darren Bailey’s attempt at running a different kind of campaign has included declaring he’s ready to “stop some of the political rhetoric that I’ve been a part of” and trying to avoid being portrayed as a MAGA Republican amid President Donald Trump’s unpopularity in Illinois.
The overwhelming problem of plastic
From flax that can be used in clothing and cars to robotic skimmers to stricter laws, researchers, activists and volunteers fight an industry intent on making more plastic.
Read the full series:
- Great waste in the Great Lakes: How plastic pollution is clogging our waters
More Top Picks Best Foot Massagers For Plantar Fasciitis For Sleeping
More than 175,000 people have visited the Obama Presidential Center since its June opening
There were four known marriage proposals, three bald eagle sightings and about 11,000 “Obama Burgers” eaten at the campus..
Mostly receptive crowd greets Trump at Presidents Cup in Medinah while dozens protest outside the club
President Donald Trump delivered very brief opening remarks and stuck around until the closing ceremony at the Presidents Cup on Sunday, speaking to a crowd of thousands — many in patriotic gear — at Medinah Country Club as protesters gathered far out of sight.
“These people want to see golf. They don’t want to hear speeches,” Trump said during morning remarks that lasted less than three minutes. “I’ll only say this: Our country is doing great, better than ever before.”
Column: Chicago Bears dressed up ground and pound with eye candy in Philly last year. Can they do it again?
Ben Johnson is a big believer in pre-snap motion. It was a huge part of the offense’s success last year, especially at Philadelphia. Will the Chicago Bears lean into it again?
Chicago White Sox end the regular season with a win and head to Houston for the playoffs
The Houston Astros gave the Chicago White Sox fits during their regular-season meetings.
The Sox hope for better results when the teams square off in an American League wild-card series. The best-of-three matchup begins tomorrow at Daikin Park in Houston.
Column: Can Alex Bregman be the difference for the Chicago Cubs in another wild-card showdown with San Diego?
The Chicago Cubs begin their playoff journey tomorrow against the same wild-card foe as last year, hoping for the same outcome.
Many of the same core players are back on both the Cubs and San Diego Padres, though the Cubs added Alex Bregman, who could be the X factor in the series.
What makes this Cubs team believe it can repeat last year’s success?
Vintage Tribune: Uncorking a classic Prohibition yarn in Chicago
One hundred years ago this week, an Illinois state senator who publicly favored Prohibition found himself accused in a scheme of bootleg wine and “phantom rabbis” as the clock ticked down to voting day.
Tribune’s 2026 Holiday Cookie Contest: Submit your recipes now
Chicago may be just settling into autumn, but it’s already time to kick off the annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest, which is celebrating its 40th edition. So whip out your signature holiday cookie recipe and see if you have what it takes to be one of this year’s winning readers.