Good morning, Chicago.

Applications are now open for one lucky Cook County couple to become the first to start the new year with wedding bells.

Clerk Monica Gordon announced yesterday that couples interested in tying the knot in 2025 can apply for the first marriage license of the year and to exchange vows on Jan. 2 at the annual First Marriage Ceremony at the Cook County clerk’s office.

There’s also special gifts for the winning couple, including a sparkling wine basket, a wedding dance lesson, tickets to a comedy show and a meal of strip steaks and lobster tails.

“I encourage any couple in Cook County considering marriage in the New Year to join the fun and throw their names in the drawing to become our First Couple,” Gordon said.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Rebecca Johnson.

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.

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Palestinians stand outside their tents at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians stand outside their tents at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli strike in Gaza kills 25 people as US makes new push for a ceasefire

The strike on a multistory residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp was just the latest in a series of Israeli attacks throughout Gaza that killed a total of 54 Palestinians since late Wednesday night.

The Social Security Administration office is seen in Mount Prospect, Ill., Oct. 12, 2022.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
The Social Security Administration office is seen in Mount Prospect, Ill., Oct. 12, 2022.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people

The Senate is pushing toward a vote on legislation that would provide full Social Security benefits to millions of people, setting up potential passage in the final days of the lame-duck Congress.

President Joe Biden speaks at the White House Conference on Women's Health Research from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden speaks at the White House Conference on Women’s Health Research from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Suburban Chicago woman among 39 Americans pardoned by President Biden

President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes, including a 51-year-old suburban Chicago woman. Here’s the full list of those pardoned by Biden.

A picture of a quantum computer is on display during an announcement of the future construction of the National Quantum Algorithm Center on Dec. 12, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
A picture of a quantum computer is on display during an announcement of the future construction of the National Quantum Algorithm Center on Dec. 12, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Quantum Park, approved by City Council, adds IBM as newest tenant

The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a groundbreaking computer research development planned for the former U.S. Steel site on the city’s South Side, has lined up another major tenant.

Backed by a new $25 million state grant, IBM announced plans yesterday to build the National Quantum Algorithm Center at the long-dormant South Works site, which is being redeveloped as a sprawling commercial hub to advance what has been hailed as the future of computer science.

Gary mayor Eddie Melton speaks as Takahiro Mori, vice president of Nippon Steel, on right, listens nearby during a press conference at the Gary City Hall concerning the planned acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japanese company Nippon Steel, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
Gary mayor Eddie Melton speaks as Takahiro Mori, vice president of Nippon Steel, on right, listens nearby during a press conference at the Gary City Hall concerning the planned acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japanese company Nippon Steel, on Dec. 12, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, Nippon executive meet to talk steel deal

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton and Nippon Steel’s vice chairman met yesterday — two days after news broke that President Joe Biden is expected to block the Japanese company’s purchase of U.S. Steel.

Lil Durk performs at Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash at Douglass Park on Aug. 22, 2021. (Vashon Jordan Jr./Chicago Tribune)
Lil Durk performs at Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash at Douglass Park on Aug. 22, 2021. (Vashon Jordan Jr./Chicago Tribune)

Federal prosecutors link Lil Durk to 2022 Chicago killing as rapper is denied bond in LA

Newly unsealed court records link embattled Chicago rapper Lil Durk — already facing murder-for-hire charges in Los Angeles — to the fatal 2022 shooting of an alleged gang leader outside a community center on Chicago’s Far South Side.

The warrant application was filed in April 2023 but was unsealed in advance of a detention hearing yesterday in Los Angeles in Lil Durk’s murder-for-hire case, where prosecutors presented the information as evidence he should not be released pending trial.

A U.S. magistrate judge denied Banks’ request for bail at a lengthy hearing that was attended by many of Durk’s relatives and supporters, his attorney, Jonathan Brayman, told the Tribune.

Mateo Temple, 4, watches a program on a phone as his mother, Anita Guaman, left, a teacher, listens to speakers during a Board of Education monthly meeting at a Chicago Public Schools administrative office at 4655 S. Dearborn St. Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Mateo Temple, 4, watches a program on a phone as his mother, Anita Guaman, left, a teacher, listens to speakers during a Board of Education monthly meeting at a Chicago Public Schools administrative office at 4655 S. Dearborn St., Dec. 12, 2024, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

New member joins CPS board for heated debate over Acero school closures

Chicago Public Schools officials presented a new plan to potentially absorb seven Acero schools slated for closure, at a late Board of Education meeting Thursday evening that began with a surprise development and then dragged on for hours.

With Chicago Teachers Union members packing the meeting at CPS’ Bronzeville administrative offices, debate over whether the union contract should be resolved before new board members are seated in January dominated the proceedings.

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson leaves the field after a 29-9 loss to the Cardinals on Nov. 3, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson leaves the field after a 29-9 loss to the Cardinals on Nov. 3, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Jaylon Johnson leans into gratitude as this latest Chicago Bears skid drags on: ‘There’s always something to prove’

While Jaylon Johnson is trying to use gratitude to ease the frustration of the Chicago Bears’ lengthy losing streak, his desire to compete remains high.

Coby White celebrates with Bulls teammates after a win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 13, 2024. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Coby White celebrates with Bulls teammates after a win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 13, 2024. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Chicago Bulls’ Coby White has the green light from behind the arc — and he loves it. ‘Any airspace, we want to shoot 3s.’

Coby White can’t remember shooting this many 3-pointers ever in his life. But this Chicago Bulls season, that limit doesn’t seem to exist.

Meteors from the Geminid meteor shower streak across the sky above the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a program of the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab, in Tucson, Arizona, on Dec. 14, 2023. (NSF's NOIRLab)
Meteors from the Geminid meteor shower streak across the sky above the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, in Tucson, Arizona, on Dec. 14, 2023. (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Best viewing of the Geminids meteor shower is early Saturday. Here’s how to watch.

The Northern Hemisphere will get an additional show of glittering lights this holiday season as a major annual meteor shower peaks during the weekend, bookending a year of magical celestial happenings that included a total solar eclipse and visits from the Northern Lights.

Hometown hero Jennifer Hudson, here in Chicago in Aug. 2021, is touring behind her first holiday album,
Hometown hero Jennifer Hudson, here in Chicago in August 2021, is touring behind her first holiday album, “The Gift of Love.” (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

What to do in Chicago: Jennifer Hudson, a Christmas carol singalong and plenty to do at the MCA

Also this weekend, a Latin American Christmas concert and Manual Cinema’s take on Dickens.

Julio Abrego lights a firework with his son, Brian, 5, during the Fourth of July holiday in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)
Julio Abrego lights a firework with his son, Brian, 5, during the Fourth of July holiday in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

The best images of 2024 by Chicago Tribune photographers

Each December, the Chicago Tribune publishes its Photos of the Year, a collection of images that chronicle the most significant events and provide evocative glimpses into the lives of Chicago-area residents.

In 2024, Tribune photographers captured the emotions — anger and joy, determination and fear — that defined an unforgettable year. We hope you find them as moving, maddening and magical as we do.



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