Good morning, Chicago. The city of Chicago could be on the hook to pay drivers back millions of dollars following a class-action lawsuit that alleged it violated state law by tacking expensive late fees onto tickets for infractions like parking without a city sticker. After years of litigation, Circ uit Court Judge William B. Sullivan ordered the city to pay drivers back for the overcharges in an order Feb. 19. Read the full story from the Tribune’s Talia Soglin. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including why the head of a beleaguered Cook County technology contractor announced this week he was cutting off communication between his staff and Treasurer Maria Pappas, the latest with the Indiana Bears stadium bill and meet Julius Mondragon, TikTok’s Computer Guy. Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles Games | Today in History President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) President Trump uses longest-ever State of the Union to try to convince voters that US is ‘winning so much’ President Donald Trump declared during yesterday’s marathon State of the Union that “we’re winning so much,” insisting he’d sparked an economic boom at home and imposed a new world order abroad in hopes it can counter his sliding approval ratings. Trump’s main objective was convincing increasingly wary Americans that the economy is stronger than many believe, and that they should vote for more of the same by backing Republicans during November’s midterm elections. In all, Trump spoke for a record 108 minutes, breaking — by eight minutes — the previous time mark from his address before a joint session of Congress last year. Related:  A look at President Trump’s false and misleading claims in his State of the Union speech President Trump honors National Guard members shot in Washington at State of the Union Army pilot wounded in Maduro raid gets Congressional Medal of Honor during State of the Union US men’s hockey team feted at State of the Union; Trump says women’s team will be honored ‘soon’ Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger questions whether Americans feel the ‘golden age’ Trump describes Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas speaks during the Cook County Democratic Party primary slating at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall on July 17, 2025, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune) Cook County tech company says it will not talk to Treasurer Maria Pappas due to ‘abuse’ The head of a beleaguered Cook County technology contractor announced this week he was cutting off communication between his staff and Treasurer Maria Pappas after what he described as months of verbal abuse and threats to ruin the company’s reputation. Tommy Schaefer, right, and Heather Mack, both of Chicago, arrive for their trial at Denpasar's district court in Bali, Indonesia, on April 9, 2015. Schaefer and Mack were on trial for the murder of Mack's mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, whose badly beaten body was found in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi outside an upscale hotel in August 2014 on the resort island of Bali. (Firdia Lisnawati/AP) Ex-boyfriend of Heather Mack flown to Chicago to face charges in Bali suitcase killing After spending more than a decade in prison overseas, the former boyfriend of Heather Mack is set to appear in a Chicago courtroom tomorrow on conspiracy charges stemming from the infamous 2014 murder of Mack’s mother at a Bali resort. Related:  The Bali ‘suitcase murder’: Heather Mack’s murder conviction, Indonesian imprisonment, deportation Miguel Alvelo-Rivera, candidate for the 40th Illinois House District, canvasses in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood on Feb. 24 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Illinois Democrats are trying desperately to tie their opponents to ICE, including in one key state House race In the fall, Democrats in Illinois were largely unified against President Donald Trump’s ramped-up Chicago-area immigration enforcement crackdown. Now the issue is being used as a political wedge in this spring’s Democratic primary races. Perhaps nowhere has that been made clearer than in the race for the 40th Illinois House district representing parts of Chicago’s North and Northwest sides, where a veteran lawmaker backed by the Democratic Party of Illinois has blanketed neighborhoods with campaign fliers that tenuously tie an upstart progressive opponent to the federal immigration agents that wreaked havoc on the community. Wolf Lake Memorial Park, seen on Feb. 19, 2026, with Chicago in the distance behind it, is one potential site for a proposed Chicago Bears stadium in Hammond. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune) Indiana Bears stadium bill passes House, nears end zone The Indiana bill that outlines a financial structure for a proposed Chicago Bears stadium in Hammond passed the House yesterday, bringing the bill closer to the end zone as all that remains for it to become law is final approval by the Senate and the signature of Governor Mike Braun. Journalists get a look at a replica of a suite in the forthcoming Chicago Fire soccer stadium planned for The 78 development, Feb. 19, 2026. The replica is located in the Wrigley Building in Chicago. The mural on the wall represents the view from the suite. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune) Chicago Fire open up marketing center to sell suites and seats at new $750M soccer stadium As the Bears waffle between destinations for their new planned stadium, including potentially moving across state lines to Indiana, another Chicago team is ready to break ground next week inside the city it represents. Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis tumbles over Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kon Knueppel as the two fight for a loose ball in the second half of a game at the United Center in Chicago on Feb. 24, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Chicago Bulls lose 131-99 to the Charlotte Hornets in Coby White’s debut for his new team Brandon Miller scored 23 points, Kon Knueppel added 21, and the hot-shooting Charlotte Hornets won a team record eighth straight road game, routing the Chicago Bulls 131-99 last night at the United Center. Julius Mondragon,(@okjuskiii), left, raises his hand and tries to “program” a man near “the Bean” on Feb. 19, 2026, in Chicago. In just a month, Mondragon has amassed 152k followers on instagram and become an online celebrity of sorts for walking around Chicago and approaching random people and “programming” them with random proclamations. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune) Chicago, you’ve been programmed: Meet Julius Mondragon, TikTok’s Computer Guy The Computer Guy wears black, thick-framed Ray-Ban Meta glasses with a camera, through which he records all of these interactions, later posting the brief videos on TikTok. Should he approach you, here’s what to expect: The Computer Guy will simply begin talking nonchalantly, tapping absentmindedly at a desktop keyboard he carries, a prop, connected to nothing. He swats at keys the way people do in movies, when they’re not really typing. Once he has your attention, he regales you with commands. Like, “Computer, give this guy the strength of a thousand warriors.” “Computer, activate hair follicle reactivation.” Blues harmonica players Billy Branch poses for a portrait on stage at Rosa's Lounge in Logan Square on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Column: How Billy Branch bought a harmonica, found the blues and changed his life The blues world was changed forever on a sunny day around 1960 when a little boy walked into a five-and-dime in Los Angeles. “I was 8, maybe 9 when I saw it, all shiny in a display case,” says Billy Branch. “It was a harmonica. I had never heard one played live but it seemed to talk to me. It cost a dollar and as soon as I put it in my mouth, I played the only songs I knew, folk songs and Christmas carols.” That harmonica, a Valencia, cost Branch $1. That was money well spent. Photographer Kelli Connell's "Pictures for Charis" at the Elmhurst Art Museum includes portraits and landscapes that revisit iconic sites photographed by Edward Weston in the 1930s and 1940s. On the walls are Connell's photographs, on the display tables are Weston's. (Lizzie Moo) Review: Love and Modernism: Photographer Kelli Connell at the Elmhurst Art Museum Between 1934 and 1945, Edward Weston traveled throughout California and the West, shooting some of the most consequential photographs ever made of the American landscape. With him was his lover, Charis Wilson, who modeled for him, drafted his successful Guggenheim application and wrote the texts for his photographic books. ...read more read less