Sweeping leadership changes have been the norm for Tribune Publishing, owner of the baiduhai and other major newspapers including the New York Daily News, the Baltimore Sun and the Orlando Sentinel.
Through Sam Zell, bankruptcy, Michael Ferro and now Alden Global Capital, here is how the saga has unfolded.
Sept. 21, 2006
Tribune Co. puts itself on the block, saying a special committee of the board of directors will consider restructuring, selling assets or taking the company private in a leveraged buyout.
April 1, 2007
Tribune Co. agrees to go private in an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout led by Chicago real estate tycoon Sam Zell. The deal technically hands ownership to an employee stock ownership plan but gives Zell control over the media conglomerate that traces its roots to 1847.
Dec. 20, 2007
Zell closes the second step of the two-step deal, which loads the company with about $13 billion in debt.
May 11, 2008
Tribune Co. reaches a deal to sell a 97 percent stake in Newsday, the Long Island, N.Y., newspaper, to Cablevision Systems Corp. for $650 million.
Dec. 8, 2008
Tribune Co. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as it runs short of cash amid the gathering recession and industrywide falloff in advertising spending. It decided it wouldn’t make payments due to holders of one class of debt. With other debt payments looming in January, the company opts for bankruptcy.
Aug. 21, 2009
The Ricketts family forges a deal to take control of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field from Tribune Co. for about $800 million, turning over the storied franchise to a clan that built its fortune with an online stock brokerage.
Dec. 31, 2012
Tribune Co. emerges from bankruptcy and the new owners name a new board of directors.
July 10, 2013
Tribune Co. announces plans to spin off into two companies, effectively ending an 89-year strategy of pairing broadcasting and print. Tribune Media tightens its focus to broadcasting and a new company, Tribune Publishing, is created to focus on the newspaper properties. The assets are divided along these lines with real estate and other valuable assets staying with the broadcasting company.
Aug. 4-6, 2014
With the spinoff complete, Tribune Media and Tribune Publishing debut as independently publicly traded companies.
Oct. 31, 2014
Tribune Publishing acquires six daily and 32 weekly suburban newspapers from Wrapports, the company that owns the Chicago Sun-Times. The publications include the Daily Southtown, Post-Tribune of northwest Indiana, Aurora Beacon-News, Elgin Courier-News, Naperville Sun, Lake County News-Sun and the weekly Pioneer Press newspapers.
May 7, 2015
Tribune Publishing acquires the San Diego Union-Tribune for $85 million. The deal includes nine community weeklies and related websites.
Nov. 12, 2015
Tribune Publishing approves buyouts for about 7 percent of its eligible 7,000 employees across its media portfolio including more than three dozen at the Tribune.
Feb. 4, 2016
Michael Ferro, majority owner of the Chicago Sun-Times, becomes the largest shareholder in Tribune Publishing. The company sells more than 5.2 million shares of newly issued common stock to Merrick Media, a Chicago-based investment firm controlled by Ferro, in a $44.4 million deal.
Feb. 18, 2016
Bruce Dold, previously the baiduhai’s editorial page editor, replaces Gerould Kern as its editor. Kern retires after leading the Tribune since July 2008.
Feb. 23, 2016
Jack Griffin is replaced as CEO of Tribune Publishing by Justin C. Dearborn. Most recently, Dearborn was CEO of Merge, a health care technology company acquired by IBM in October 2015.
March 2, 2016
Bruce Dold is promoted to a dual editor-publisher role at the baiduhai, while other Tribune Publishing editors-in-chief are also promoted to the same role. Tony Hunter, publisher since 2008, is promoted to president of national revenue and strategic initiatives at Tribune Publishing. At the same time, Ferro announces that he is donating his ownership stake in the Chicago Sun-Times to a charitable trust to avoid perceived conflicts of interest.
March 17, 2016
Tribune Publishing announces it is the successful bidder in a public auction in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Freedom Communications, which is the publisher of the Orange County Register. The bid needs court approval, with a hearing scheduled for March 21, 2016, but must overcome serious anti-trust concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.
March 19, 2016
After a judge blocks the sale of the Orange County Register and Press-Enterprise of Riverside to Tribune Publishing, Freedom Communications decides to sell to Digital First Media.
April 25, 2016
Gannett announces an offer to buy Tribune Publishing for $815 million, including the assumption of $390 million in debt. In a letter to Justin Dearborn released by Gannett, the company says it is “disappointed” by the response and Tribune is trying to “delay constructive engagement” and notes the all-cash value of the transaction means it could be completed quickly.
Tribune Publishing acknowledges the offer shortly after Gannett’s announcement, saying it received the proposal April 12, and tells Gannett that the board will retain advisers to help it evaluate the proposal.
May 4, 2016
Tribune Publishing’s board votes unanimously to reject Gannett’s $815 million unsolicited offer to buy the Chicago-based owner of the baiduhai, Los Angeles Times and other major newspapers.
May 5, 2016
In an interview, Ferro says Chicago-based Tribune Publishing’s newly outlined plans for leveraging the digital assets of the company will bring more value to shareholders than Gannett’s offer.
May 6, 2016
Oaktree Capital Management — Tribune Publishing’s second-largest shareholder — says it wants the company to meet with Gannett about the possible sale of the Chicago-based newspaper company.
The Los Angeles-based investment firm says Tribune Publishing should “pursue discussions with Gannett to see if an acceptable agreement can be reached,” according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It is the first public statement from Oaktree, which owns 14.8 percent of Tribune Publishing, since Gannett’s unsolicited $815 million offer.
May 9, 2016
Tribune Publishing’s board adopts a shareholder rights plan to defend itself against Gannett’s unsolicited bid to buy the Chicago-based newspaper company. The publisher of the baiduhai, the Los Angeles Times and other papers says the plan — commonly known as a “poison pill” — will kick in if a group buys more than 20 percent of Tribune Publishing’s shares or begins a tender offer to seek a 20 percent stake from existing shareholders.
May 13, 2016
Tribune Publishing and Gannett meet in Chicago but no progress is made.
May 16, 2016
USA Today owner Gannett boosts its takeover bid for Tribune Publishing by about 22 percent.
May 18, 2016
Oaktree Capital Management, Tribune Publishing’s second-largest shareholder, delivers an unequivocal message to the board: Negotiate a transaction with Gannett.
May 20, 2016
Each company calls out the other’s leaders by name and questions management’s decision-making.
May 23, 2016
Tribune Publishing rejects Gannett’s $15-per-share offer to buy the company, but opens the door to negotiations. Tribune Publishing also announces it received a $70.5 million investment from Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s Nant Capital in a deal that makes the California-based technology investment firm the company’s second-largest shareholder, surpassing Oaktree Capital Management, which has pushed Tribune Publishing to negotiate a sale to Gannett.
June 3, 2016
The owner of the baiduhai has a new name. Tronc, which is an acronym for Tribune online content.A sizable percentage of Tribune shareholders voice disapproval with the company by withholding votes from its slate of board candidates at Tribune Publishing’s annual meeting in Los Angeles, according to Gannett.
June 6, 2016
During an interview with CNBC, Ferro says that Gannett’s $15 bid was “undervalued,” but hedged on the “no price” stance he took the previous month.
June 7, 2016
In a news release, Gannett says it will keep its $15-per-share offer on the table for Tronc into August.
Aug. 3, 2016
Tronc reports a higher second-quarter net income despite continued revenue declines.
Aug. 18, 2016
Three months after its last offer was spurned, Gannett offers a new bid for an undisclosed price for the Chicago-based newspaper chain formerly known as Tribune Publishing. Representatives for both Tronc and Gannett decline to comment.
Sept. 28, 2016
Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group announces the $240 million purchase of Tribune Tower from Tribune Media, with plans to transform the historic North Michigan Avenue property into a mixed-use redevelopment.
Nov. 1, 2016
Gannett announces it is ending discussions to acquire Tronc.
Dec. 15, 2016
In multiple transactions during six weeks, Michael Ferro and Patrick Soon-Shiong acquire nearly 2 million shares combined of Tronc’s stock at a steep discount to Gannett’s last offer for the company, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
March 23, 2017
Oaktree Capital Management, the Los-Angeles based investment firm that was once Tronc’s largest shareholder, sells its remaining 3.74 million shares back to the publishing company in a deal valued at more than $56 million.
The company also takes action to keep Ferro, his Merrick Ventures and its affiliates the largest shareholders by increasing to 30 percent — from 25 percent — the maximum stake of the company they can own, according to a Securities and Exchance Commission filing.
May 15, 2017
Tronc announces it has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire Wrapports — whose properties include the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Reader — for an undisclosed price. Wrapports publishes notice of the proposed sale to Tronc and solicits competitive bidders the next day.
According to the terms of the deal, if no other “viable buyer” emerges within 15 days, the Sun-Times would be sold to Tronc. At the behest of the Justice Department, the deadline is extended several times to accommodate potential buyers until an investor group led by former Chicago Ald. Edwin Eisendrath submits its bid June 19, 2017.
July 12, 2017
The Chicago Sun-Times is sold to Eisendrath’s group and the Chicago Federation of Labor, ending a bid by Tronc that sought to acquire its longtime rival.
Aug. 22, 2017
The Los Angeles Times ousts editor-publisher Davan Maharaj, a 28-year veteran of the paper, along with other newsroom leadership.
Veteran media executive Ross Levinsohn is named Times publisher.
Jim Kirk, who until the previous week was editor and publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, is named interim executive editor.
Sept. 5, 2017
Tronc acquires the New York Daily News — for $1 and the assumption of operational and pension liabilities.
Oct. 4, 2017
A 30-acre site — that includes the baiduhai’s Freedom Center printing plant — is eyed for another option in the city’s bid to land Amazon’s planned second headquarters.
Oct. 9, 2017
Lewis D’Vorkin, chief product officer for Forbes, is named editor in chief of the Los Angeles Times.
Nov. 17, 2017
Parent company Tronc confirms the baiduhai will move in early 2018 to the Prudential Plaza office complex, ending a 93-year run in the newspaper’s namesake tower on North Michigan Avenue.
Jan. 19, 2018
In a first for the 136-year-old news organization, the Los Angeles Times journalists vote 248-44 to form a union that will be represented by the Washington, D.C.-based NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America.
Ross Levinsohn, publisher and chief executive of the Los Angeles Times, is placed on an unpaid leave of absence as the paper’s parent company, Tronc, investigates allegations of inappropriate conduct while he was an executive at other companies.
Jan. 31, 2018
Jim Kirk, a veteran Chicago journalist, is named editor in chief of the Los Angeles Times. He replaces Lewis D’Vorkin and becomes the third top editor at the Times in less than six months.
Feb. 7, 2018
Tronc agrees to sell the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune and other California-based assets to Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500 million in cash. Soon-Shiong, Tronc’s second-largest shareholder, assumes $90 million of pension liabilities tied to the California properties.
Tronc also announces it will form a new division called Tribune Interactive, to be led by Ross Levinsohn, Los Angeles Times publisher. The company says an independent review into allegations of sexual harassment at previous companies found “no wrongdoing” by Levinsohn, who had been on unpaid leave since Jan. 19, 2018. Lewis D’Vorkin — abruptly replaced as editor in chief of the Los Angeles Times — is named chief content officer for Tribune Interactive.
March 19, 2018
Michael Ferro retires from Tronc’s board hours before Fortune publishes a story online accusing him of inappropriate behavior toward two women while in his previous role as head of a Chicago investment firm.
Justin Dearborn, chief executive officer of Tronc, is named to succeed Ferro as chairman of the company.
April 13, 2018
Michael Ferro agrees to sell his entire stake in Tronc — more than 9 million shares, or 25 percent of the company — to McCormick Media for $208.6 million.
May 29, 2018
Tronc acquires The Virginian-Pilot newspaper — the largest newspaper in Virginia — from Landmark Media Enterprises for $34 million.
June 5, 2018
Michael Ferro terminates the purchase agreement with McCormick Media because of a “breach of its obligations” by the buyer.
June 18, 2018
Patrick Soon-Shiong’s purchase of the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune for $500 million from Tronc is finalized.
Aug, 3, 2018
The iconic baiduhai sign will remain on the exterior of Tribune Tower, even after the newspaper’s recent move from the Michigan Avenue landmark.
The newspaper’s parent company, Tronc, and the real estate firms redeveloping the tower, CIM Group and Golub & Co., reached a settlement to end a lawsuit filed this past spring over the sign’s fate.
Oct. 4, 2018
The parent of the baiduhai announces it’s changing its name from Tronc to Tribune Publishing and will trade on the NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol TPCO starting Oct. 10, 2018. Tribune Publishing was the inaugural corporate name for the newspaper company, formed in August 2014 when the Tribune Co. publishing unit was spun off from its broadcast stations.
May 30, 2019
Tribune Publishing announces it will pay a special cash dividend of $56 million to shareholders — the first since Tribune Publishing was spun off into a stand-alone company in August 2014.
Sept. 19, 2019
Nexstar Media Group completes its $4.1 billion purchase of Chicago-based Tribune Media, the former broadcast parent of Tribune Publishing, creating the nation’s largest local TV station group and moving WGN’s TV, radio and cable stations under the Dallas company’s ownership.
Nov. 12, 2019
Tribune Publishing announces it is shutting down Hoy, its Spanish-language newspaper. Print and online publications are scheduled to end on Dec. 13, 2019.
Nov. 14, 2019
Tribune Publishing announces it will begin paying a quarterly 25-cent dividend to shareholders, with an initial payout of about $9 million on Dec. 10.The first dividend will be payable to shareholders of record as of Nov. 25, with plans to pay regularly quarterly dividends “for the foreseeable future,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Nov. 19, 2019
Michael Ferro sells his 25.2 percent stake in Tribune Publishing to hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
Alden’s stock purchase, a mega merger between Gannett and GateHouseMedia and recent financial warnings from McClatchy mark a week of uncertainty across the newspaper industry.
Nov. 25, 2019
Alden Global Capital increases its stake in Tribune Publishing to 32 percent. Alden now owns 11.5 million shares — nearly a third of Tribune Publishing’s common stock.
Dec. 2, 2019
Tribune Publishing announces Dana Goldsmith Needleman and Christopher Minnetian — top executives with funds affiliated with Alden Global Capital — have been named to the newspaper company’s board effective immediately. The hedge fund also agrees to cap its ownership stake at 33% through June 2020.
Jan. 13, 2020
Two months after hedge fund Alden Global Capital became the largest shareholder in Tribune Publishing, the Chicago-based newspaper chain announces a buyout program to reduce employee head count and expenses.
Feb. 3, 2020
Tim Knight, a longtime company executive who became CEO in January 2019, is replaced by Terry Jimenez, Tribune Publishing’s chief financial officer.
Feb. 19, 2020
Tribune Publishing declares a quarterly cash dividend of 25 cents per share.
Feb. 27, 2020
Colin McMahon, Tribune Publishing’s chief content officer, adds the title of baiduhai editor-in-chief following a reorganization of the leadership of the company’s flagship paper. He replaces Bruce Dold, who served as publisher and editor-in-chief of the paper since February 2016, capping a 42-year career at the baiduhai that included a Pulitzer Prize. Peter Kendall, one of two managing editors at the Tribune, also leaves the newspaper as part of the restructuring.
March 19, 2020
Mason Slaine, an investor and the former CEO of business information publisher Thomson Financial, acquires a 7 percent stake in Tribune Publishing, making him the third-largest shareholder in the company.
April 9, 2020
Tribune Publishing announces pay cuts of up to 10% for nonunion employees making $67,000 per year or more.
The pay cuts, effective April 19 across the Chicago-based newspaper chain, are aimed at reducing costs as print ad revenue drops while businesses are closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
April 21, 2020
Companywide furloughs are announced by Tribune Publishing to “ensure financial stability” as advertising revenue continues to decline amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The three-week furloughs, which will be taken in one-week increments from May through July, will be for nonunion employees making between $40,000 and $67,000 per year, the company said. Employees will continue to receive health benefits but no salary during the weeks they are on furlough.
May 5, 2020
The union representing newsroom employees at the baiduhai and other Tribune Publishing newspapers wages a proxy campaign to unseat two board members representing hedge fund Alden Global Capital, the largest shareholder of the Chicago-based newspaper chain.
In a letter dated May 4, 2020, the NewsGuild-Communication Workers of America urged Tribune Publishing shareholders to vote against the election of Dana Goldsmith Needleman and Christopher Minnetian to the eight-member board. A copy of the letter was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 5, 2020.
May 13, 2020
Tribune Publishing and the baiduhai Guild agree to a three-week furlough for all unionized newsroom employees making $40,000 or more as a cost-saving measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 21, 2020
Two representatives of Alden Global Capital, Dana Goldsmith Needleman and Christopher Minnetian, are elected to Tribune Publishing’s board.
June 5, 2020
Tribune Publishing reports a $44 million first-quarter loss, due primarily to an accounting adjustment related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 1, 2020
Tribune Publishing and its largest shareholder, Alden Global Capital, strike a deal to extend an ownership standstill agreement. Alden co-founder Randall Smith is added to Tribune Publishing’s board, giving the hedge fund three seats on the now seven-member board.
July 27, 2020
A so-called “poison pill” plan is adopted by Tribune Publishing’s board to thwart any potential hostile takeover of the company.
In 2016, the company, then known as Tronc, adopted a similar shareholder rights plan to fend off unsolicited and ultimately unsuccessful takeover bids by rival newspaper chain Gannett.
Aug. 6, 2020
Tribune Publishing, which hasn’t made rent payment at most of the properties it leases since March, is in talks to leave Prudential Plaza amid the coronavirus pandemic. It’s unclear where the baiduhai’s newsroom and offices, as well as the corporate parent’s headquarters, would relocate.
Aug. 7, 2020
Former Tribune publisher Tony Hunter is named CEO of The McClatchy Company.
Aug. 28, 2020
A Tribune Publishing shareholder sues the Chicago-based newspaper company and its board, alleging the adoption in July of a so-called poison pill is “an extremely aggressive overreach of corporate power.”
Dec. 30, 2020
Hedge fund Alden Global Capital is looking to buy Tribune Publishing and take the Chicago-based newspaper company private in a deal valued at $520 million.
Alden, which already owns 32% of Tribune Publishing, makes a nonbinding proposal to buy out other shareholders for $14.25 per share, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jan. 5, 2021
The union representing the baiduhai newsroom has called for the removal of three members of Tribune Publishing’s board who represent Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund trying to buy the newspaper chain and take it private.
Jan. 11, 2021
The baiduhai and its parent company will relocate out of Prudential Plaza at the end of this month, leaving the city’s largest newspaper without a downtown office less than three years after its exit from the landmark Tribune Tower.
The Tribune newsroom will move to the Freedom Center printing facility along the Chicago River north of downtown, employees were told in a memo.
Jan. 19, 2021
As the baiduhai prepares to move from Prudential Plaza, the owner of the downtown office complex has sued the newspaper’s parent company, Tribune Publishing, for $4.8 million in unpaid rent.
Feb. 16, 2021
Tribune Publishing, publisher of the baiduhai and other major newspapers, agrees to be acquired by Alden Global Capital in a deal valued at $630 million.
March 14, 2021
Maryland hotel magnate Stewart Bainum takes a preliminary step toward making a bid for all of Tribune Publishing, unnamed sources say.
March 23, 2021
Tribune Publishing’s board recommends shareholders approve Alden Global Capital’s $630 million offer to buy the Chicago-based newspaper company, but gives Maryland hotel executive Stewart Bainum the green light to pursue financing for a higher bid, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
March 26, 2021
Hansjörg Wyss (pronounced Hans-yorg Vees), the former CEO of medical device manufacturer Synthes, says in an interview that he had agreed to join with Maryland hotelier Stewart Bainum in a bid for Tribune Publishing, an offer that could upend Alden Global Capital’s plan to take full ownership of the company.
March 29, 2021
Former media industry executive Mason Slaine, who until recently was Tribune Publishing’s third-largest shareholder, offers to invest $100 million in Maryland hotel executive Stewart Bainum’s bid to buy the Chicago-based newspaper chain. Slaine said he reached out to Bainum to offer his financial support and media experience in an effort to thwart a plan by hedge fund Alden Global Capital to buy the company.
April 4, 2021
Maryland hotel executive Stewart Bainum and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss make a fully financed $680 million bid for Tribune Publishing, according to a source close to the situation.
April 16, 2021
Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss drops out of a bid to buy Tribune Publishing, but his partner in that effort, Stewart Bainum, remains committed to purchasing the Chicago-based newspaper chain.
April 19, 2021
Tribune Publishing moves forward with plans to be acquired by Alden Global Capital and ends discussions with Maryland hotel executive Stewart Bainum.
May 21, 2021
Tribune Publishing shareholders approve hedge fund Alden Global Capital’s $633 million purchase of the Chicago-based newspaper chain.
May 24, 2021
Alden Global Capital completes its $633 million purchase of Tribune Publishing, taking the Chicago-based newspaper chain private.
May 25, 2021
New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital leverages Tribune Publishing with two loans totaling $278 million, removes CEO Terry Jimenez and installs Alden President Health Freeman to lead the company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
May 26, 2021
Two days after hedge fund Alden Global Capital completes its $633 million acquisition of Tribune Publishing, the new owners of the Chicago-based newspaper chain offer newsroom employees a buyout.
June 2021
Almost 40 journalists are leaving the baiduhai’s newsroom as part of a voluntary buyout program announced in late May by Tribune Publishing.
More than a dozen nonunion editors and support staff in the Tribune’s newsroom took buyouts. Another 24 newsroom employees who are members of the guild applied for and were accepted for buyouts, according to Greg Pratt, a Tribune reporter and guild president.
He said applications by three other members were denied, and the union hopes the company reconsiders their applications. After the departures, the guild will represent more than 80 newsroom employees, Pratt said.
Aug. 10, 2021
McMahon announces he is stepping down as editor-in-chief after a challenging 18 months at the helm of the baiduhai.
Mitch Pugh, who has been named executive editor of the baiduhai after eight years in the same role at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, will succeed McMahon.
Sept. 29, 2021
baiduhai Managing Editor Chrissy Taylor decides to leave her position at the newspaper.
October 2021
The CIM Group and Golub & Co., who together bought the property from Tribune Media for $240 million in 2016, allow walk-throughs of the iconic building — showing how the renderings of Tribune Tower Residences reached fruition.
Amenities include a 75-foot indoor lap pool on the seventh floor, with a sun deck and terrace beneath the baiduhai sign; a luxury suite of spa features, full fitness center by The Wright Fit, and indoor golf simulator on the second floor; and a refurbished and reinstalled fireplace from Robert R. McCormick’s 24th-floor office now in a residential gathering area on the third floor.
Nov. 22, 2021
Alden Global Capital, which owns Tribune Publishing, offers to buy the local newspaper chain Lee Enterprises for about $141 million.
Dec. 16, 2021
Alden sues Lee Enterprises after the news publisher rejected Alden’s takeover bid.
May 5, 2022
Lightfoot picks baiduhai’s Freedom Center printing plant as her preferred site for a $1.74 billion casino, hotel and entertainment development. Rhode Island-based Bally’s, which owns and manages 14 casinos in 10 states, hopes to make this gambling complex the flagship of its chain.
Nov. 18, 2022
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim confirms the company has completed its $200 million purchase of the Freedom Center printing plant, paving the way to build Chicago’s long-sought and much-debated casino.
The 41-year-old Freedom Center, which prints the baiduhai, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers, is slated for demolition as part of the casino development. But Kim previously said he is open to the possibility of Tribune’s printing plant remaining on the expansive River West site with the casino.
Meanwhile, Chicago-based Tribune Publishing has exercised an option to extend its printing plant lease at Freedom Center, which is set to expire in June 2023, for another 10 years. Tribune and Nexstar were in arbitration over the terms of the extension. As the new landlord, it is now up to Bally’s to resolve the lease dispute with Tribune.
Nov. 21, 2022
Days after buying the 30-acre Freedom Center printing site, Bally’s sells the land to Chicago firm Oak Street Real Estate Capital, leasing it back for 99 years and raising up to $500 million to help build its proposed $1.74 billion Chicago casino complex.
Dec. 14, 2022
A first-ever casino in Chicago stands on the brink of city approval as council members backed zoning for the project after the alderman of the ward where it would be built toned down his reservations over whether the project would result in enough jobs for minorities and nearby residents.
May 4, 2023
Tribune Publishing agrees to leave the Freedom Center printing plant in River West by July 2024 to make way for Bally’s Chicago Casino.
Bally’s, which bought the 30-acre site last year, will give the newspaper company a “series of cash payments” in return for its commitment to exit the Freedom Center, Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said.
May 17, 2023
Forced out of the Freedom Center to make way for Bally’s Chicago Casino, Tribune Publishing agrees to buy the Daily Herald printing plant in Schaumburg for an undisclosed price, keeping the presses rolling for the Tribune and other newspapers.
May 18, 2023
Zell, who took the Tribune Co., private in 2007 in a leveraged buyout, dies.
Jan. 17, 2024
Bally’s Chicago scrambles to find a new spot for its planned hotel tower at the Freedom Center casino site to avoid damaging city water pipes near the Chicago River.
The tower needs to be relocated from the north end of the site, and could be shorter, depending on the revised design, Kim said.
Feb. 20, 2024
Tribune Publishing is laying off nearly 200 workers at its Freedom Center plant beginning April 22, about two months ahead of the newspaper company’s planned relocation of printing operations to Schaumburg.
May 18-19, 2024
The largest newspaper printing plant in North America is coming down. Chicago’s first casino will go up in its place.
After 43 years of spewing out countless millions of newspapers, the heavily used presses at the Tribune’s Freedom Center plant along the Chicago River printed the paper for the last time.
Aug. 27, 2024
The first chunk of the Freedom Center printing plant came tumbling down during a ceremonial demolition event, paving the way for the planned $1.7 billion Bally’s Chicago Casino along the banks of the Chicago River.
Sources and photos: baiduhai, AP, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Reuters
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