Category: Chicago, Illinois Local News

February 7, 2026 | Ball Arena, Denver | 9:00 PM ET | ESPN, NBC Sports Chicago

Well, here we go. Fresh off whatever happened in Toronto, we’re heading straight into the lion’s den to face the defending NBA champions. The Denver Nuggets (36–15) are rolling at 8–2 in their last 10, sitting pretty in 2nd place out West. Meanwhile, we’re at 25–27, clinging to 9th in the East and trying not to fall completely out of the play-in picture.

This is the kind of game where you find out what you’re really made of.

What Happened Last Time

The Nuggets already handled us 118–104 earlier this season. Nikola Jokić casually dropped a triple-double like he was playing a pickup game, and we had no answer. That’s been the story all year against elite centers—we just don’t have the personnel to slow them down.

Now we’re walking into Ball Arena, where Denver has been absolutely dominant all season. They don’t lose at home unless something goes seriously wrong.

The Nuggets: Still the Team to Beat

Record: 36–15 (8–2 in last 10)

Let’s be real—Denver is just better than us right now. They score 119.3 points per game with ridiculous 50.1% shooting from the field. That’s not a typo. They’re shooting over 50 percent as a team.

Jokić is putting up MVP numbers again: 25.4 points, 11.8 rebounds, 9.6 assists. He’s not just scoring—he’s conducting a symphony out there. Jamal Murray gives them clutch scoring and actually plays defense, and Michael Porter Jr. spaces the floor perfectly.

Their offense is top-three in the entire league in efficiency. They move the ball (29.4 assists per game), they don’t turn it over much, and they execute in crunch time. Everything we struggle with, they excel at.

Where the Bulls Stand

Record: 25–27 (5–5 in last 10)

At least we’ve been .500 over our last 10 games, which feels like progress after some of the rough patches this season. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan can absolutely get buckets—we’re scoring 117.1 per game, which isn’t bad at all.

The problem? Everything else.

Our defense ranks bottom-10 in efficiency. We turn the ball over too much (14.1 per game compared to Denver’s 12.2). And when games get tight in the fourth quarter, we fold more often than not. Against elite teams like Denver, those weaknesses get exposed ruthlessly.

Nikola Vučević has been solid offensively, but asking him to contain Jokić is like asking a garden hose to stop a flood. It’s not happening.

Breaking Down the Matchup

They beat us in literally every category. They shoot better, pass better, rebound better, and take care of the ball better. The only advantage we might have is in transition—we average 17.6 fast break points per game. If we can’t get out and run, we’re cooked.

How Chicago Can (Somehow) Win This Game

Push the Pace Relentlessly

Our only chance is turning this into a track meet. We need Ayo Dosunmu and Alex Caruso creating havoc, getting steals, and pushing in transition before Denver’s defense gets set. If we let them walk the ball up and execute their half-court offense, it’s going to be a long night.

Vooch Needs His Best Game

Vučević isn’t stopping Jokić—nobody really stops Jokić. But he needs to at least make the MVP work on defense and stay out of foul trouble. If Vooch picks up two quick fouls and has to sit, we might as well pack it in early.

Hit Threes at a High Clip

Denver shoots 38.2% from deep while we’re at 35.4%. That gap matters, especially in a high-scoring game. We need LaVine, DeRozan, and whoever else to knock down open looks. If we shoot another 14% from three like we did in Miami, just turn the TV off.

Jamal Murray Can’t Go Off

Murray loves playing against us, and if he gets hot from the perimeter while also clamping up LaVine on the other end, it’s game over. We need someone—anyone—to make him work on both ends.

The Betting Reality Check

• Spread: Nuggets -9.5
• Over/Under: 235.5
• Moneyline: Nuggets -420, Bulls +320

Denver’s covered in 7 of their last 9 home games. We’re 2–6 against the spread in our last 8 road games. Vegas is basically begging you to take the Nuggets, and honestly, they’re probably right.

The over has hit in 6 of Denver’s last 8 games, which makes sense given their offensive firepower.

Bulls Fan Prediction: What’s Really Going Down

Final Score: Nuggets 122, Bulls 108

I want to believe we can go into Denver and shock the world. I want to believe LaVine and DeRozan will both get hot and we’ll defend well enough to keep it close. I want to believe we’ll execute down the stretch for once.

But I’ve watched this team all season.

Denver’s going to control the tempo from the opening tip. Jokić will rack up another triple-double while making our defense look silly. Murray will hit timely threes, and their depth will overwhelm us in the second half. We’ll compete for a quarter, maybe a half, but then the talent gap will show.

The altitude doesn’t help either. By the fourth quarter, our legs will be heavy, our shots will be short, and Denver will pull away.

Why We Should Still Watch

Because we’re Bulls fans, and this is what we do. We show up. We believe. And every once in a while, this team surprises us.

Maybe tonight Zach drops 40. Maybe DeMar gets that mid-range going and doesn’t miss. Maybe Vooch has the game of his life against the best center in basketball. Maybe our defense actually shows up for once.

It’s a long shot, but it’s our long shot.

The play-in race is tight, and we need to start stealing games we’re not supposed to win. If not now, when?

See Red, let´s go Bulls! Let’s get this upset.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The draft class that produced Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has a long way to go to live up to the hype and stand as one of the greatest in NFL history, but it’s off to an incredible start.

The quarterbacks have spent their first two seasons jumping ahead of each other, and the Patriots’ Drake Maye now has the lead near the end of a spectacular season in which he was the runner-up for NFL MVP and has his team in Super Bowl LX on Sunday against the Seahawks.

The class is so strong, however, that winning a championship wouldn’t necessarily end the debate. One of the other quarterbacks might be in Maye’s shoes a year from now.

Williams never can be counted out of anything. The Commanders’ Jayden Daniels outplayed them on his way to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and going to the NFC Championship Game last season. The Broncos’ Bo Nix has thrown more touchdown passes than any of them and missed out on a shot at Maye in the AFC Championship Game after he broke his ankle.

This is an early chapter of what should be an epic saga. Maye is the main character for now, but even he makes no assumption it’ll stay that way.

‘‘We’re all trying to get to the same stage and get Super Bowl wins,’’ Maye said. ‘‘It just so happened that I got here first. But those guys are great players, and we’re going to have a lot of great matchups down the road.’’

A record six quarterbacks were selected among the top 12 picks in 2024, matching the six picked in the first round of the historic 1983 class that included John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly, and four have established themselves in the league.

Williams, Daniels and Maye were the top three picks, in that order, and Nix went 12th. They all have at least one playoff victory and look like good bets to get contract extensions when they’re eligible after next season.

‘‘Already, you can see this draft class is making some noise,’’ Maye said. ‘‘Props to how strong our class was and props to us for putting work in to be game-changers and prove our worth to these franchises.’’

Michael Penix went eighth to the Falcons and J.J. McCarthy 10th to the Vikings, but both are on shaky ground.

Regardless of what happens Sunday, this season belonged to Maye. For all of Williams’ heroics and Nix’s steadiness, Maye is definitively in front.

He led the NFL with a 113.5 passer rating, which was 20-plus points ahead of anyone else from his class. He threw 31 touchdown passes (third in the league) and only eight interceptions and was fourth in the league at 258.5 passing yards per game.

‘‘Two main things: One was the humility to want to be coached and invest in the process and master the offense in its entirety, and [two was] also being a good leader in his own way to his teammates,’’ said Patriots assistant Thomas Brown, who was the Bears’ interim coach after Matt Eberflus was fired last season. ‘‘Drake is built in every aspect to be a great leader. He understands who he is and how to communicate with guys.’’

Brown, by the way, wasn’t able to track Williams closely this season, but he said he saw some of those ‘‘off-the-wall, outlandish throws he made.’’

Among the 2024 picks, Williams was second to Maye in passer rating (90.1), touchdown passes (27) and passing yards per game (231.9). Nix had an 87.8 passer rating and 25 touchdown passes and threw for 231.2 yards per game, and Daniels played in only seven games because of injuries.

Williams has been good enough in his first two seasons to warrant a wait-and-see view of the 2024 class. This is nowhere near the conversation that hounded Mitch Trubisky as Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson soared; it’s merely a snapshot of where things stand at the moment.

Maye and Williams are friends and fans of each other. Williams, who called it ‘‘a pretty badass class,’’ said in October he enjoyed watching Maye flourish and didn’t get caught up in comparisons.

Maye said during Super Bowl week that seeing Williams’ stunning throws was nothing new because, ‘‘He’s been making those since high school. His game translates to any stage.’’

Maye and Williams had turbulent rookie seasons, then found stability under new coaches. The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel and veteran offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and the Bears brought in Ben Johnson.

As the quarterbacks ascended, so did their teams. The Bears jumped from 5-12 to 11-6, won the NFC North and made it to the divisional round of the playoffs. The Patriots had been even worse at 4-13 and flipped that to a league-best 14-3 alongside the Broncos and Seahawks.

If the 2024 class proves to rival the 1983 class, the king will be crowned by the number of Lombardi Trophies, not by sparkling statistics or goosebumps-inducing highlights. Marino far exceeded Elway in yards and touchdown passes and is considered by many to be more talented, but Elway reigns because of his two Super Bowl victories.

That’s how the score ultimately will be tallied, and it’s the only thing the Bears, Patriots and the other teams cared about when they drafted these quarterbacks.

If Maye can upend the Seahawks and become the first quarterback in the class to get a ring, the pressure on Williams and everyone else will rise.

Washington — Republican lawmakers condemned President Trump on Friday for sharing a video that portrayed former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. 

The criticism continued even after the White House removed the video after the initial backlash. 

Several GOP lawmakers publicly urged the president to remove it, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate. 

“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” wrote Scott, who leads Senate Republicans’ campaign arm. “The President should remove it.” 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt initially defended the video, which amplified false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Leavitt said the footage that showed the Obamas’ heads edited onto the bodies of apes was part of an “internet meme video” that portrayed Mr. Trump as “King of the Jungle” and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.  

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Friday night, Mr. Trump said that he “just looked at the first part” of the video, but not the part that included the former president and former first lady.

“I guess during the end of it, there was some kind of a picture that people don’t like,” Mr. Trump said. “I wouldn’t like it either, but I didn’t see it.”   

Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Nebraska Republican, said: “Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this. The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.” 

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York called the post “wrong and incredibly offensive.” Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, said it was “totally unacceptable.” Both said Mr. Trump should apologize. 

Several shared their condemnation after the post — which was shared by Mr. Trump on Thursday night — was removed Friday afternoon. A White House official said a staffer “erroneously made the post.” 

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said it was “appalling.” Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, said he was glad the White House removed the “offensive” post. 

Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican, said the video “should have never been posted to begin with, and is not who we are as a nation.” Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, wrote that the post was “racist and offensive and not who we are as a nation.” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, said it “sent the wrong message despite how it may have been originally intended.” 

Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah shared a similar sentiment as his colleagues, referring to the post as “blatantly racist and inexcusable.” 

“It should never have been posted or left published for so long,” Curtis said. 

GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio also weighed in: “I do not feel the need to respond to every inflammatory statement made by the White House. However, the release of racist images of former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama is offensive, heart breaking, and unacceptable. President Trump should apologize.” 

GOP Rep. John James of Michigan, who is Black, defended the president as “not racist,” but said he was “shocked and appalled” by the post. 

“I’m glad to see that trash has been taken down,” he said. 

Rep. Burgess Owens, a Utah Republican, added to the chorus on Friday afternoon, saying “we all have a responsibility to use care and good judgment with the content we produce and distribute.” 

“The imagery was wildly offensive and inappropriate, and as a Black man, I find it especially troubling,” he said. “It never should have been shared or even created, and I’m glad it has been taken down.”

GOP Rep. French Hill of Arkansas also said he was glad the post was removed, explaining that “racism and dehumanizing rhetoric have no place in our country. Every American deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.” 

Voters in 32 Illinois counties will be asked to weigh in on an education-related advisory question during the March primary election, focused on whether the state should participate in the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program.
The federal initiative would allow K-12 students from households earning up to 300% of their area’s median income to qualify for education-related funding. Eligibility would extend to students attending public, private, religious, or home schools.
Funds could be used for a variety of qualified elementary and secondary education expenses, including tutoring, special-needs services, books, supplies, and tuition. Scholarship-granting organizations would administer the funds, with additional guidance expected from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Supporters note that the program differs from traditional voucher systems because it does not redirect funding away from Illinois public schools. Beginning in 2027, donors would be eligible for an annual $1,700 federal tax credit regardless of whether Illinois opts into the program. If the state does not participate, donations from Illinois taxpayers would instead support students in other states. At least 28 states have already taken steps toward joining the initiative.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has not indicated whether he would allow donated funds to be used for Illinois students if the state participates. Results from the advisory questions could help guide state leaders as they consider whether to opt into the program.
Mailee Smith, vice president of policy and litigation at the Illinois Policy Institute, said: “This is something students in counties all over Illinois could benefit from. This program helps students at or below 300% of the median income level in their area, which means all low-income children in the state would be eligible for funding. It’s a win-win-win program: students get money, taxpayers get a tax credit, and it boosts academics at public schools, private schools, and homeschools. There are nearly as many reasons why Gov. Pritzker should join, as there are students in Illinois.”
The Illinois Policy Institute, based in Chicago, is an independent nonprofit think tank focused on policy analysis within the state. The organization emphasizes fiscal responsibility, government reform, and free-market principles, and researches issues including education, taxes, state budgets, and pensions.

Hundreds gathered Friday at the corner of 79th and May streets, where 26-year-old Gabryel Ayers was shot and killed, to remember her life and call to end gun violence in the city.

“We need justice for our children,” said Pamela Bosely, co-founder of Purpose Over Pain, a South Side organization formed by parents who have lost their children to gun violence.

“These are our children’s lives being shot and killed. If you don’t do anything about it, let me tell you, you’re going to stand up with us here next. And this is not where you want to be,” Bosely said.

Ayers was sitting in the front seat of a vehicle Wednesday afternoon with 27-year-old Devin Draper when they were both shot. Draper’s 1-year-old daughter was in the backseat.

Adrienne Swanigan-Williams, the mother of Tremayne Henderson, who was killed in 2017, was in the crowd and said she remembers Ayers as a sweet and loving person.

Chicago continues to face mounting financial and public safety challenges, including persistent budget deficits, growing pension obligations, population decline, and weakening property values. Against that backdrop, recent actions by the Chicago City Council have redirected attention toward federal immigration enforcement.

A newly advanced ordinance would grant the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) authority to investigate Chicago police officers accused of cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under the proposal, officers could face disciplinary action for assisting federal agents in ways city officials deem inappropriate, even when such actions are lawful or framed as public safety measures.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has backed the initiative and intensified his criticism of federal involvement. He has described federal agents as “masked, terrorizing police forces” and raised doubts about whether the federal government could be trusted to provide security for major events, including a future Democratic National Convention. “He has embraced the rhetoric, endorsed the investigations, and echoed language describing federal agents as ‘masked, terrorizing police forces.’ He has even suggested that Chicago cannot trust the federal government to provide security for a future Democratic National Convention.”

Chicago aldermen have also consulted with officials in Minneapolis regarding strategies to resist federal immigration enforcement. Minneapolis has faced its own period of unrest in recent years, marked by strained relations between law enforcement leadership and city government.

Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling has sought to distinguish between city politics and day-to-day policing. He has emphasized that CPD’s engagement with federal agencies centers on reducing conflict and maintaining public safety rather than engaging in political disputes. “Superintendent Larry Snelling has made clear CPD’s interactions with federal agents are focused on de-escalation and public safety. He has not encouraged ideological warfare between agencies. He has not demonized law enforcement colleagues. He has not turned policing into a political purity test.”

The policy debate is unfolding as concerns about crime persist across the city, including assaults on public transit riders and repeat offenders cycling back onto the streets.

Critics argue the city’s priorities are increasingly misaligned with its challenges. “Those of us who still believe in the city — who refuse to accept decline as destiny — must say so plainly: this path leads nowhere good. A city already in financial peril cannot afford ideological tantrums masquerading as policy.”