Bracing for rising Obamacare costs — or no care at all
Good morning, Chicago. ✶
???? Below: With Congress on the verge of letting Obamacare subsidies expire on Dec. 31, many Chicagoans are bracing for much higher health care costs — or no coverage at all.
????️ Plus: The Bears eye new stadium spots beyond Arlington Heights, what's next for Lincoln Yards and more news you need to know.
???? Keeping score: The Bulls beat the Cavaliers, 127-111 — their first home win in 25 days.
???? After you're caught up: We've got a brand new Chicago Mini Crossword — and a new hint — for you.
???? Subscribe: Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: A 9-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ????️
Rainy with a high near 50.
TODAY’S TOP STORY ????
Chicagoans brace for rising ACA costs or no coverage with Congress poised to end subsidies
By Elvia Malagón
Care costs: For the last several years, the majority of the more than 465,000 Illinoisans on the Affordable Care Act relied on enhanced federal tax credits to lower their premium health insurance costs. Those subsidies expire Dec. 31 and despite a push by Democrats, the U.S. House on Wednesday did not take a vote on extending them.
D.C. decisions: In a surprise move, four Republicans signed on with the Democrats Wednesday to force a House vote on extending subsidies for three years, but the earliest that vote could happen is January. Passage of an extension in the new year with no adjustments is highly unlikely.
Bottom line: Without enhanced subsidies, one estimate is that 3.5 million Americans could decide to go without health insurance.
SHARE YOUR STORY ????️
Is your Obamacare health insurance getting more expensive? Tell us about it.
Share your story via this form and one of our journalists may contact you for follow-up reporting in the Sun-Times and on WBEZ.
BEARS ????
Bears are looking past Arlington Heights for possible stadium sites
By Patrick Finley and Mitchell Armentrout
The Chicago Wheres?: In the team’s latest change of heart, as part of a yearslong quest for a new home, Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren sent a letter to fans Wednesday saying the team will explore locations other than Arlington Heights for a new domed stadium — including northwest Indiana.
Key context: In 2023, the Bears paid $197 million to buy the 326-acre former Arlington International Racetrack site, pitching a massive, $5 billion mixed-use development anchored by a 60,000-seat stadium. But the team has said it’s not financially feasible without legislation allowing them to negotiate a discounted property tax rate in Arlington Heights — and state lawmakers have shown zero willingness to throw any blocks on their path out of Soldier Field.
'Slap in the face': Gov. JB Pritzker's camp blasted Warren’s thinly veiled threat to leave the state. "Suggesting the Bears would move to Indiana is a startling slap in the face to all the beloved and loyal fans who have been rallying around the team during this strong season," Pritzker's spokesperson said.
CITY HALL ????️
Revised $16.6B budget advances to full City Council without corporate head tax
By Fran Spielman
Council mutiny?: The Chicago City Council moved one step closer toward full-blown political mutiny Wednesday, approving an alternate city budget pushed by opposition aldermen that does not include Mayor Brandon Johnson’s corporate head tax. The Budget Committee voted to advance the revised budget to the full City Council by a 21-13 vote.
What happened: The Budget Committee, chaired by mayoral ally Jason Ervin (28th), approved the spending plan a day after the Finance Committee signed off on a revised revenue package that would raise taxes on plastic shopping bags and off-premises liquor sales, authorize video gambling, and apply congestion fees to Uber and Lyft rides in a broader downtown area.
Will he veto?: The question is whether Johnson will veto a budget he believes isn't balanced. Sources would only say the mayor has given up on his twice-revised corporate head tax and decided not to veto a budget without a head tax.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED ????️
Patrons give after burglary: Burglars early Thursday broke into Olive Black Chicago in Lake View, damaging the tavern and stealing donated gifts collected for the needy. In response, neighbors and patrons have raised more than $5,000 for the establishment.
- Pardon ask pushback: U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood, Mary Miller and Mike Bost, the three GOP members of the Illinois congressional delegation, are asking President Donald Trump to deny ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's request for a pardon.
- Hicks heads to New York: Pope Leo XIV has appointed Joliet Bishop Ronald Hicks to be the next Catholic archbishop of New York, taking over for retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
- Watchdog’s findings: The city’s watchdog agency says poor recordkeeping is hindering the Chicago Police Department from properly tracking officers’ disciplinary histories.
- Affordable housing boost: Reclaiming Chicago, a community-led campaign to build 2,000 new homes on the South and West sides, was awarded a $10 million grant from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation.
- Cameron Winters review: The Geese frontman, touring in support of his solo album, delivered an intimate two-night stint at Rockefeller Chapel to sold-out, reverent crowds, writes Selena Fragassi in a review for the Sun-Times.
IMMIGRATION ✶
Meet the teens raising money to help classmates with parents in immigration detention
By Cindy Hernandez, Sophie Sherry, Ashlee Rezin and Dan Mihalopoulos
DREAM Team: For nearly a decade, students at Solorio High School on the Southwest Side have joined the DREAM Team. The club offers support to students without legal status, for example by selling hoodies to raise college scholarship funds for students shut out of federal financial aid.
Help for families: As President Trump's federal immigration blitz escalated in Chicago, the advocacy work took on a renewed urgency. Now club members are using their funds to help Solorio students whose parents have been detained or deported to pay rent and other expenses. So far they’ve raised more than $6,000.
MORE ON IMMIGRATION ✶
Border Patrol boss continues renewed Chicago area immigration blitz
By Cindy Hernandez, Sophie Sherry, Ashlee Rezin and Dan Mihalopoulos
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and several Border Patrol agents traversed the city and suburbs Wednesday, making arrests in locations like a Home Depot parking lot in Evanston and the rideshare lot at O'Hare Airport.
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A woman’s baby was in the NICU while she was in ICE detention
By Mel Leonor Barclay and Shefali Luthra
Nayra Guzmán was arrested 15 days after her daughter’s difficult birth. Before Trump took office, postpartum immigrants were rarely detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT ????️
Lincoln Yards megadeal on North Side morphs into a tale of two projects
By David Roeder
Two projects: The dormant North Side property, once branded for the Lincoln Yards megadevelopment, has morphed into two different projects — with one entering the city approval process while the other awaits a new owner.
Scaling back: Developer Jim Letchinger has submitted a zoning proposal for the northernmost chunk of the property — a "walking" neighborhood on a smaller scale compared with a prior developer’s plan. Letchinger proposes a mix of housing styles. His zoning application calls for up to 3,737 dwellings, from high-rise condos to single-family homes
Key context: Sterling Bay imagined the moneyed crowds of Lincoln Park, Bucktown and Wicker Park populating the place. The firm had the city’s blessing — and a pledge of up to $1.3 billion in tax incentives — for a plan called Lincoln Yards that was studded with riverfront towers. But the pandemic and higher interest rates conspired against everything, and Sterling Bay lost control of the site this year.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ????????⚾????
- NABJ HOF: Former Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lacy Banks is among this year’s inductees to the National Association of Black Journalists' Chicago chapter’s hall of fame.
- Bears predictions: Sun-Times sports reporters have made their picks for Saturday night's primetime rivalry game against the Packers.
- Sox staff cemented: With two hirings announced Wednesday, the White Sox have completed their 2026 coaching staff.
- PWHL comes to Rosemont: The Professional Women’s Hockey League is growing, and the Chicago area is getting a chance to show why it should be part of future expansion, writes Brian Sandalow.
- High school superlatives: Jonas Williams of Lincoln-Way East is the Chicago Sun-Times High School Football Player of the Year.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD ????
Today's clue: 3D: ___ vortex (weather phenomenon responsible for some brutal Chicago cold snaps)
BRIGHT ONE ????
After ‘America’s Got Talent’ run, the Leo Catholic High School Choir is in demand
By Mitch Dudek
Chicago isn’t ready to let go of its feel good story of the year.
The Leo High School choir, which captured hearts while placing fourth on "America’s Got Talent" in September, is booking gigs around town at an unparalleled clip — with no end in sight.
Recent samplings include a carnival-themed holiday party for employees of Leo Burnett, one of the city’s largest ad agencies; a corporate event held by Honda at The Old Post Office; a Commercial Club event attended by former President Barack Obama; and a spirit-lifting performance for detainees at the Cook County Jail.
In November, the choir was slotted between country music stars Keith Urban and Blake Shelton at a benefit concert during the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.
"We try to remind people they are high school students and not professional entertainers," choir manager Yolanda Sandifer-Horton said.
The choir averages about three performances a week.
"Requests are coming in every other day," said Sandifer-Horton, who estimates a tenfold increase from previous years. "At this point, we’re booking six months in advance because the schedule is so filled."
DAILY QUESTION ☕️
How do you feel about the Bears looking past Arlington Heights for possible stadium sites, including in Northwest Indiana?
Email us here with your answer (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in Friday's Morning Edition newsletter.
Yesterday, we asked: What’s something every authentic Chicago tavern has?
Here’s some of what you said…
"A lighted 4x4 Old Style sign." — Chuck Parkhill
"Paneled walls, dented wood bar top, leaking urinals [and a] robust offering of drafts." — Craig Barner
"The Caravelle Shuffle Alley bowling game. Including the shaker bottle full of saw dust. Loved it as a kid when my dad took me to his local tavern. Great memories." — Steven Christopher
"Tiny bathrooms." — Michelle Lemmons Walker
"A nice vintage wooden bar and high ceilings. A personal favorite is Jarvis Square Tavern." — Shelly Harris
Thanks for reading the Sun-Times Morning Edition!
Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
Hat tip: Sun-Times' Joel Carlson for "Chicago Wheres?" — which you'll find on the front page of today’s print edition.
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