Demolition of the exterior and atrium of the Thompson Center have begun as Google’s plans to convert the former state government building into its Chicago headquarters progresses. Crews used excavators to tear off lower exterior portions of the building at 100 W. Randolph St. on Thursday, marking an unofficial start to Google’s $280 million renovations of the 17-story building. Permits issued last October by the Department of Buildings called for removing the structure’s metal and glass skin. Renderings released by Google last year show a similar-looking building, with its trademark ..read more

One of Chicago’s most iconic ice cream shops is honoring mom’s with a sweet treat this Mother’s Day. Sunday, May 12, The Original Rainbow Cone is offering free rainbow cones for moms in honor of the Mother’s Day holiday, according to the store’s website. The offer requires a $5 minimum purchase, the website said. It is only available at Original Rainbow Cone ice cream shops. The offer comes on the heels of a new Original Rainbow Cone location soon set to open in Wicker Park. The new shop will open May 28 at 1750 W. Division St., according to a spokesperson. The Original Rainbow Cone has 11 per ..read more

The Bears’ proposal for a new lakefront stadium faces an uphill climb after Governor Pritzker’s office called it a “non-starter” after aides met with the Bears on Wednesday. Arlington Heights mayor Tom Hayes anticipated these difficulties. “We expected there to be challenges associated with the lakefront proposal and remain willing and ready to resume discussions with the Bears on redevelopment of their property in Arlington Heights,” Hayes said in a statement to NBC Sports Chicago. Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren unveiled a $5 billion plan that called for public money to build a fully en ..read more

Summer in Chicago is just around the corner — and with it comes the popular summer film and music lineup in Millennium Park. The city announced the lineup for its 2024 Millennium Park Summer Season, noting that its the event’s 20th anniversary this year. “Over the last 20 years, Millennium Park has become one of Chicago’s biggest cultural gems, recognized both locally and around the world for its wide breadth of programming, culture and entertainment,” Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth said in the announcement. “Whether you come from one of Chicago ..read more

The prosecution’s star witness has yet to take the stand in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. But jurors are already hearing Michael Cohen’s words as prosecutors work to directly tie Trump to payments to silence women with damaging claims about him before the 2016 election. The second week of testimony in the case will wrap up Friday after jurors heard a potentially crucial piece of evidence: a recording of Trump and Cohen, then his attorney, discussing a plan to pay off an ex-Playboy model who claimed to have an affair with Trump. The former president denies the affair. Prosecutors have spent ..read more

Only 13 thoroughbreds have won the coveted Triple Crown of horse racing in the 100-plus years since Sir Barton became the first to win all three big races — the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes — in the same year. American Pharoah’s sweep in 2015 ended a 25-year Triple Crown lull. Three years later, Justify’s sweep made him the 13th horse ever to win the Triple Crown. But which of the 13 champions had the fastest time overall? That would be horse racing legend Secretariat, who earned the three-race title in 1973 and holds the fastest combined time for each of the th ..read more

Chicago officials are set to provide an update after the man suspected of killing Chicago Police officer Luis Huesca was captured and arrested after he was found hiding inside a suburban apartment complex Wednesday. According to a release, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Police Supt. Larry Snelling, Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday to “discuss the apprehension and charging” of Xavier Tate Jr. for the murder of Huesca, the release said. At 11:30 a.m. Friday, Tate Jr. is expected to make his first court ..read more

An aviation worker — who went public with safety concerns and alleged retaliation by his employer — has died following a brief illness, weeks after another Boeing whistleblower’s death, attorneys who represented both men said Thursday. Joshua Dean, 45, of Wichita, Kansas, died Tuesday after he received multiple diagnoses that included the flu, pneumonia and MRSA, prompting his family to seek an autopsy, attorney Robert Turkewitz said. “He was a healthy individual who ate well and exercised,” Turkewitz told NBC News. “So it just seems odd that he went so fast.” Dea ..read more

Finished just in time for the 150th Kentucky Derby is Churchill Downs’ latest enhancement that promises to give spectators a keen look at the 20 thoroughbreds competing in Saturday’s milestone race. Some fans will have a closer view than others in the track’s new $200 million paddock that offers a clear vista of the Twin Spires from inside and allows spectators to observe horses from several levels of a stadium-like layout as they parade around a circle before heading to the track. “The Twin Spires are back in focus, and that’s very important to us,” Churchill Downs spokesman Darren Rogers sai ..read more

An Illinois woman’s lawsuit claiming she developed colorectal cancer from taking the heartburn drug Zantac for nearly 20 years goes to trial this week — a first among many similar claims made nationwide. Opening statements are expected Thursday in a jury trial in Cook County circuit court over allegations the over-the-counter drug and its generics have an active ingredient that causes cancer. Jury selection began Tuesday. Angela Valadez, 89, is suing two pharmaceutical companies, GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim. She alleges that as the drug’s active ingredient, called ranitidine, ages, it turns i ..read more