How Chicagoans are coping with costlier groceries
Good morning, Chicago. ✶
???? Below: Grocery prices keep increasing. We look into how Chicagoans are coping.
????️ Plus: City Hall mulls cuts to domestic violence programs, federal agents pepper spray an infant and more news you need to know.
???? Keeping score: The Bears rallied in a 24-20 win vs. the Giants; Connor Bedard moved into the NHL scoring lead with the Blackhawks’ 5-1 win over the Red Wings.
???? After you're caught up: We've got a new Chicago-style crossword to try.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ❄️
Sunny with a chance of more snow and a high near 34. A winter storm warning is in effect for northern Cook County until noon.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES ????️
Rising grocery prices dampen holiday cheer — here’s how some Chicagoans are coping
By Stephanie Zimmermann
Price check: Since December, the Sun-Times has been tracking shelf prices monthly of 35 common grocery items at four major Chicago retailers. So far, most items' costs have edged higher or remained unchanged.
Our findings:
- Our total basket price at Jewel-Osco was $282.95 this month, a $20.50 increase from last December’s basket total of $262.45.
- At Mariano’s, our total was $18 higher than in December.
- Our total at Target was up $11.04 from December.
- One bright spot was Walmart. While the store doesn’t always have the exact items in stock, making it difficult to track monthly, the cost of our basket dipped by $4.56 since December, led by unusually low prices this month for bacon, butter and cheese.
Why the hike?: Analysts have blamed pricier beef, for example, on a combination of drought, low herd sizes and higher feed costs. For coffee, the culprit is poor harvests overseas. Hikes for diapers and menstrual pads are blamed on inflation and higher costs for raw materials. Economists have also been bracing for the effects of tariffs on imported grocery items.
Key context: Common Pantry Executive Director Margaret O’Conor says higher prices at supermarkets, combined with high housing costs, fewer jobs and missed payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are pushing many families over the edge.
SNAP confusion: President Donald Trump’s administration over the weekend demanded that states “undo” full SNAP benefits that were paid during a one-day window between when a federal judge ordered full funding and a U.S. Supreme Court justice put a temporary pause on that order.
What shoppers say: We spoke with some Chicago area residents about how they're saving money while shopping these days. One drives from Wicker Park to Hammond, Indiana, for cheaper groceries; another opts for smaller chain grocers in the suburbs; and a third uses food pantries.
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RESOURCE GUIDE ????
As SNAP confusion persists, here's our list of Chicago area food pantries and restaurants that are offering free and discounted meals.
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City Hall mulls deep cuts to domestic violence programs as funding dries up
By Mariah Woelfel
Survivor's story: After being brutally attacked in her home by an acquaintance who'd broken in, one woman was able to secure a new apartment with the help of a city-run rapid rehousing program. But the initiative that she says changed her life is now at risk of being severely scaled back as the city faces a nearly $1.2 billion budget gap due to overwhelming debt, increasing labor costs and expiring federal grants.
Budget cuts: Funding for gender-based violence services would shrink by 43% — to $12 million from $21 million — in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget proposal. That’s largely because of spent-down COVID-19 relief dollars that were always set to run out.
Key context: The fiscal cliff comes while fatal domestic violence persists as one of the only violent crime categories on the rise in Chicago. Johnson hasn’t spoken much about the cuts publicly, but has tied a new corporate head tax proposal to the funding that his budget does include for domestic violence.
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After ICE detained her husband, mom juggles care for 3 kids
By Mary Norkol and Anthony Vazquez
Husband detained: Brayan Plata was detained by federal immigration agents last week while working a landscaping job in north suburban Skokie. Since then, his wife, Ingrid Guanume, has been fielding calls from lawyers and caring for the couple's three children — a 9-year-old, a 1-month-old and a 4-year-old who has autism and can't understand why his dad won't come home.
Key context: The couple immigrated from Colombia six years ago, seeking asylum. Plata has a work permit, a driver’s license and a clean criminal record, Guanume said. A search of Plata’s name in Cook County court records returned no results. A federal spokesperson said Plata overstayed his visa by more than six years. Guanume tells her children their dad will be home soon. But with her husband in custody awaiting a court hearing later this month, she doesn’t know if she believes what she’s saying.
More headlines:
- 14 moms are arrested in sit-in protest outside Broadview ICE facility
- Magistrate judge plans visit to ICE facility amid lawsuit over conditions
- Indian IDOT employee is asked about immigration status, if he was ‘aware’ of NYC mayor-elect Mamdani
MORE ON IMMIGRATION ✶
He worked hard to give me a home, then ICE took his
By Vanessa Lopez
"Deportation has taken away the father I once knew and has given me back a person I no longer recognize," writes a Sun-Times staff member, who shares her family's story.
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1-year-old is pepper sprayed by federal agent in Cicero
By Violet Miller
Video shows federal agents spraying chemical irritants from a moving vehicle at a line of cars waiting to leave a Cicero Sam’s Club on Saturday, appearing to violate a judge’s restriction on use of force.
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Masked ICE agents put damper on Oak Park Girl Scout food drive
By Casey He
Federal immigration agents were confronted in Oak Park on Saturday morning by residents blowing whistles as Girl Scouts collected food for local pantries, rattling some girls and their parents.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED ✶
- Will Bally’s be punished?: Regulators are mum on whether Bally's will face a fine over allowing a reputed mob-tied garbage hauler at their casino site.
- Megachurch sued over alleged abuse: Chapelstreet Church, a large evangelical congregation in the far western suburbs, is being sued by a man who says he was molested as a boy by former youth leader Don Vanthournout.
- Shutdown status: The U.S. Senate took the first step to end the government shutdown Sunday after a group of moderate Democrats agreed to proceed without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who say Americans want them to continue the fight, the Associated Press reports.
- Jeff Tobolski dies: The former Cook County Commissioner was a central figure in a corruption probe that roiled Chicago and was due to report to prison early next year. He died Sunday at age 61.
- Possible $17M settlement: The City is weighing a proposed settlement for Jose Maysonet, who spent 27 years in prison after allegedly being beaten by disgraced Chicago ex-police detective Reynaldo Guevara into confessing to a double murder he did not commit.
- CPS CEO search: Meisha Ross Porter, a school leader from New York City, is a finalist for Chicago Public Schools' top job after a Denver candidate announced he'd stay put.
- Package tax?: Chicago residents and businesses would pay $1.25 for every package they have delivered under a proposed ground delivery tax that could generate as much as $275 million a year.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ????????????⚾
- No. 35 delivers: The Bears' C.J. Gardner-Johnson adventure is off to a great start, considering his game-changing plays Sunday.
- How it’s going: Ben Pope breaks down seven important stats from the Blackhawks' first 15 games.
- Lagging Bulls: The Bulls haven't crossed over into the NBA's elite — and it hurts, writes Joe Cowley.
- GM meetings: These are the Cubs storylines to follow during MLB's GM meetings this week — plus an offseason primer for the White Sox.
- Sky decide: Entering Year 3 of the Reese era, the Sky should decide who they're trying to be, writes Alissa Hirsh.
- High school football: Bolingbrook, St. Laurence and Lake Zurich are making their season debuts while St. Rita returns in Michael O'Brien's Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 12.
GAMES AND CROSSWORDS ????
This week's Chicago-style crossword theme is: Chicago food ????
Can you solve this clue?
32A: Chicago "Bar-B-Q" restaurant so famous it had its own Wikipedia page
BRIGHT ONE ????
Auditorium Theatre will restore original Sullivan and Adler elements like stained glass atrium
By Ambar Colón
The skylight and atrium at Chicago’s historic Auditorium Theatre will undergo a significant restoration project that aims to return key design elements to how architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler intended.
Leaders at the 135-year-old landmark theater, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, say they plan to update the building’s iconic 108-panel stained glass skylight and the surrounding atrium, located directly above the main balcony.
"We know we’ve got our work cut out for us," said architect Matt McNicholas, who is also an Auditorium board member. "We’re very excited about the way this is going to shock people, because it hasn’t been seen in anyone’s lifetime."
The restoration, intended to wrap by fall 2027, will cost nearly $3 million and be funded by donations from local organizations and a prestigious $625,000 federal grant from the National Park Service, known as the Saving America’s Treasures grant.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What are your strategies or tactics to save money at the grocery store? ????
Email us (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in Tuesday's Morning Edition newsletter.
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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