Afternoon Briefing: Cook County unveils $218 million budget gap for 2025

Good afternoon, Chicago.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is projecting a $218 million budget gap next year, largely driven by raises she granted to county employees and the resulting growth in needed pension payments.

While Preckwinkle’s finance team said this week it’s “a little too early” to say how that gap will be closed, they also projected the county is on track to end 2024 with a surplus of about $367 million, according to figures released as part of the county’s midyear forecast.

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Chicago-area immigrants hopeful over Biden’s executive order that offers pathways to citizenship to spouses of US citizens

Though some local stakeholders applaud President Joe Biden’s offer to provide relief to hundreds of thousands of such immigrants, they pledge their commitment to continue pushing their agenda to encourage the Biden administration to provide much more expansive and comprehensive immigration reform. Read more here.

More top news stories:

• 2 teens die in jet ski crash on Lake Marie in Antioch, officials say
• City orders audit after pay mix-up for hundreds of laborers

Gary airport breaks ground on $12 million hangar

The Gary/Chicago International Airport’s extended runway, customs facility and proximity to Chicago played a big role in landing its newest tenant. Read more here.

More top business stories:

• Global council on business sustainability opens office in Chicago, its second in the US
• Tinley Park approves kratom ban despite community and industry concerns

Column: Baseball icon Willie Mays saluted at Wrigley Field on a memorable night

A gorgeous sunset served as a backdrop to the Wrigley Field video board Tuesday night during the announcement of the passing of baseball icon Willie Mays. Read more here.

More top sports stories:

• Column: It’s starting to look like 2013, the last time the Cubs and White Sox both finished last in their divisions
• Kyle Hendricks maintains perspective as the Chicago Cubs right-hander takes on the ‘most adversity’ of his career

At the Newberry Library and onstage, the return of Mike Royko

A one-man play opens here in early September at the Chopin Theatre titled “Royko: The Toughest Man in Chicago.” Read more here.

More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:

• Column: AI is coming for Hollywood
• Aurelio’s Pizza in Naperville closing after 12 years: It was a ‘very difficult and emotional decision’

Donald Trump wasn’t going to stay in Milwaukee for the RNC, but at a Chicago hotel. Then reporters asked. 

Trump has been on the defensive about his views on Milwaukee since news outlets reported last week that he had called it a “horrible” city in a private meeting with House Republicans in Washington. Read more here.

More top stories from around the world:

• A US aircraft carrier and its crew have fought Houthi attacks for months. How long can it last?
• Russia and North Korea sign partnership deal that appears to be the strongest since the Cold War