It’s Tuesday. Keep your week’s momentum going strong by reading the latest headlines from WTTW News.
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(Mindaugas Dulinskas / iStock)
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The U.S. Supreme Court’s annual “June boom” is about to begin, bringing an end to months of speculation.
The justices are poised to hand down decisions in several landmark cases in the weeks ahead. Their rulings could have sweeping implications for birthright citizenship, transgender athletes and more.
Here’s what to watch for:
Birthright Citizenship
One of the most closely watched cases has been Trump v. Barbara, which scrutinizes an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day of this term in office.
Executive Order 14160 targeted the citizenship status of children born in the U.S. to unauthorized immigrant parents or to parents living in the U.S. temporarily.
The order was subsequently blocked in multiple federal courts, and the Supreme Court heard arguments in early April from the Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing “Barbara” — the pseudonym of a Honduran asylum seeker who was scheduled to give birth in October 2025.
Transgender Athletes
The Supreme Court will also determine whether state laws banning the participation of transgender athletes in sports violate Title IX, a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education and programs that receive federal funding.
In Little v. Hecox, Idaho Gov. Brad Little is defending his state’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which bans transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports outright, against Lindsay Hecox, a transgender woman who was barred from trying out for the Boise State University track team.
In West Virginia v. B.P.J, state officials are defending the Save Women’s Sports Act, which bars transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports teams in public secondary schools and universities, against Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 15-year-old trans high school student looking to join the girls track team.
Campaign Finance
The justices will also reexamine a decision the Supreme Court made 25 years ago, which limited how much party campaign committees can spend in coordination with a particular candidate running for Congress or the White House.
In FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee, the Supreme Court enacted limits on coordinated spending, arguing they were necessary to limit the amount large donors could route through organizations like the Republican National Committee or the Democratic National Committee to be used however a specific candidate wants.
A potential decision could have ramifications for how the parties spend money during the upcoming midterm elections.
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Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama view their portrait by artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby in the Obama Presidential Center Museum's Hope and Change Lobby on June 14, 2026. (Courtesy of The Obama Foundation)
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The Obama Presidential Center recently unveiled the first official portrait of the former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The portrait, “The Obamas: Springing Forth,” by the artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby is on display in the museum’s lobby, an area open to the public and that does not require a ticket, according to a Monday news release.
The unveiling of the portrait — which weaves together archival images, family albums and symbolic elements — comes as the Obamas are back in Chicago again ahead of the Obama Presidential Center’s grand opening celebrations this week.
The Obama Presidential Center officially opens to the public on Friday.
Layered throughout the work, Akunyili Crosby chose images for her signature image transfers that span the Civil Rights Movement, the Obama presidency, the Obamas’ personal histories, Chicago landmarks, political activists, artists, friends and family.
The portrait includes symbols and historic references, such as:
Michelle Obama’s childhood home on Euclid Ave., with her father’s beloved 1970 bronze, 2-door Buick Electra 225 hardtop coupe;
The carved relief pattern of the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office;
The Martin Luther King, Jr. bust by the Harlem Renaissance artist Charles Alston, which was displayed in the Oval Office during the Obama administration;
An array of items on the bookshelf, including the Obamas’ four Grammys, a framed photograph from the March on Washington, a basketball, books they love and books they have authored and more.
More context:
Akunyili Crosb was born in Nigeria in 1983. She earned a BA from Swarthmore College in 2004, a post-Baccalaureate Certificate in 2006 from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and an MFA from Yale University in 2011, according to an artist biography.
Before the Obama Presidential Center officially opens to the public, an invite-only, livestreamed grand opening ceremony will be held at the campus on Thursday. Community celebrations are scheduled throughout the museum campus this weekend as part of the grand opening celebrations.
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Storms damaged buildings on Chicago's Southwest Side as pictured on June 11, 2026. (Courtesy of Ald. Silvana Tabares)
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The tornado tally is now up to 20 for the June 11 storms, including an EF-2 twister that cut a path from suburban Hickory Hills to an area near Midway Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
An EF-0 tornado has also been identified from Naperville into Lisle.
EF-2 tornadoes pack winds of 111-135 miles per hour, while EF-0 winds reach 65 to 85 miles per hour.
Teams are continuing to survey damage and map the paths of the numerous tornadoes that occurred in the area covered by the Chicago office of the National Weather Service, which is responsible for 18 counties in northeast Illinois and 5 counties in northwest Indiana.
In addition to the tornadoes, parts of the Chicago metro region suffered damage from destructive straight-line winds that brought down thousands of trees and led to widespread power outages.
Efforts to restore power were complicated by fallen trees, which damaged utility equipment and blocked access to neighborhoods, ComEd said in a statement.
Nearly 500 utility poles and close to 300,000 feet of cable wire were replaced, according to ComEd.
As cleanup continues from last week’s storms, more severe weather is in the forecast for this week, with the greatest threat on Wednesday.
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Back in the Day: June 16, 1981 - Tribune Co. Buys the Chicago Cubs
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On this day 45 years ago, the Chicago Cubs were sold by longtime owner William Wrigley to the Tribune Company, parent of the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News, for $20.5 million. The sale included Wrigley Field and all of the team’s debts. It was also the second purchase of a Chicago baseball team that year: Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn had bought the White Sox in January for roughly $20 million. (The record sale at the time was $21.1 million for the Mets). It wasn’t new for a media company to purchase a Major League Baseball team: CBS owned 80% of the New York Yankees before Steinbrenner purchased the team and mogul Ted Turner had bought the Atlanta Braves
in 1976. In 2009, the Tribune Company sold a $845 million 95% controlling interest of the Cubs to the Ricketts family and officially divested from the team in 2019.
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations
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Every Tuesday, WTTW News staffers highlight their favorite things about Chicago. This week, it's Brandis Friedman, the Alexandra and John Nichols Chief Correspondent and Anchor for “Chicago Tonight," on her favorite Chicago movies.
While it’s technically still spring, your girl Chicago is giving summer already. For Chicagoans, that typically means as much time outside as humanly possible. And that’s great and all. But at the end of a warm day—whether you were outside working or playing—I love a good, cool evening. On the couch. With air conditioning. And maybe an adult beverage. So with that, my friends, I give you my favorite Chicago movies for a summer movie night!
Now, there are a ton of movies set in Chicago, but here, I’m focusing on the movies that let the real city shine. Here goes:
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” — this one is a classic for a (kinda) family-friendly night. Ferris and the gang play hooky from school to romp around the city: checking out the Art Institute, the *Sears* Tower and giving the snooty/snotty maitre d’ at some fancy restaurant a run for his accent. And this year is the film’s 40th anniversary! I mean…some of us weren’t even born!
“The Dark Knight” — summer movie season isn’t right without some action. In this DC classic, the Batman series grows up and takes some wild rides on lower Wacker. Amazing cast and action sequences.
“Primal Fear” — Another great cast. This one’s a suspenseful thriller, set around the Catholic church in Chicago. And some lawyers. If you haven’t seen it…wait for that twist at the end.
“Southside with You.” OK, I technically haven’t seen this one. But I’m definitely planning to check it out this summer. And it’s a perfect fit now, since the Obama Presidential Center is opening this week. Tickets for the center are already sold out through October 12th, y’all (and that’s as of this writing). So, it might be a while before you can get your Obama fix. This feels like a way to be a part of action until you can get in to see it for yourself. Architectural Digest has a good wrap up of the Chicago locations where the film is shot.
I did not forget “The Fugitive” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” but I’m running out of room here, people.
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What's your favorite beach in Chicago? Tell us why.
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