Good morning, Chicago. President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order today calling for the shutdown of the U.S. Education Department, according to a White House official, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives. Trump’s Republi can administration has already been gutting the agency. Its workforce is being slashed in half, and there have been deep cuts to the Office for Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences, which gathers data on the nation’s academic progress. Amid national debate over the feasibility of this without act of Congress, local education officials seek to settle a monthslong fight over school district finances. Mayor Brandon Johnson called Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates on the carpet yesterday in a bid to avert a strike. The rare convening of the three major players in a long-running power struggle over the fate of the district’s finances came the day before a school board vote on a budget amendment that has been in the works for months. The City Hall sitdown was the Johnson administration’s latest bid to settle the teachers contract amid steep obstacles on how to ensure the school district can afford a new deal. And it also placed the mayor more prominently at the center of the dispute, potentially meaning Chicagoans will blame him more if the talks fall apart. Read the full story from the Tribune’s Nell Salzman, Alice Yin and Jake Sheridan. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: a report from transportation authorities detailing the moments before the near-collision at Midway last month, new foods to try at White Sox games this season and Tribune film critic Michael Phillips’ thoughts on the live-action adaptation of “Snow White.” Today’s eNewspaper edition | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Secret servicemen standing on running boards follow the presidential limousine carrying President John F. Kennedy, right, rear seat, and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, left, as well as Texas Gov. John Connally and his wife, Nellie, in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 22, 1963. (AP Photo/Jim Altgens, File) Newly released JFK assassination files reveal more about CIA but don’t yet point to conspiracies Newly released documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 gave curious readers more details into Cold War-era covert U.S. operations in other nations but didn’t initially lend credence to long-circulating conspiracy theories about who killed JFK. Assessments of the roughly 2,200 files posted by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration on its website came with a huge caveat: No one had enough time as of Wednesday to review more than a small fraction of them. Demonstrators gather outside of the Edward A. Garmatz United States District Courthouse in Baltimore, on March 14, 2025, before a hearing regarding the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to Social Security data. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) Social Security Administration to require in-person identity checks for new and existing recipients The Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures — which will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone. The change will apply to new Social Security applicants and existing recipients who want to change their direct deposit information. In an image from video, Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 aborts a landing at Midway Airport on Feb. 25, 2025, after a business jet crossed the runway. (StreamTime Live) NTSB initial report details moments leading up to near-collision at Midway A Southwest plane passed less than 200 feet behind a business jet at Midway Airport last month as the two nearly collided, a preliminary report from federal investigators shows. As the captain of the business plane, operated by Flexjet, approached the Southwest aircraft’s designated runway, he mistook it for a different runway, he told investigators. The crew of the plane looked both ways as they approached the intersection but didn’t see the Southwest plane. The Southwest crew, meanwhile, saw the business plane approaching their runway but assumed it would stop, according to the report. When the first officer realized the smaller plane wasn’t stopping, he called for the captain piloting the commercial jet to pull back up in a maneuver called a “go-around.” State Rep. Terra Costa Howard, left, and state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado listen to debate on the House floor on Jan. 7, 2025, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Lawmakers advance homeschooling bill as thousands pack Capitol to voice opposition Illinois lawmakers yesterday advanced a controversial bill that would place a number of regulations on homeschooling as a few thousand opponents occupied the State Capitol building and decried the legislation as a prime example of government overreach. Richard Globensky, a former warehouse employee at Augusta National Golf Club, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse March 19, 2025, after being sentenced for stealing Masters merchandise including Arnold Palmer’s 1958 green jacket. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Judge gives a year in federal prison to ex-Augusta National employee who stole Arnold Palmer’s green jacket In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman said Robert Globensky’s crime, even though it involved the “genteel, aristocratic sport of golf,” was not much different from many cases that come before her involving greed and opportunity. Before he was sentenced, Globensky, 40, of Augusta, Georgia, choked back tears in court as he apologized for his actions and asked for the judge for mercy. Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse during his ongoing corruption trial on Jan. 29, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Sentencing set for ex-Speaker Michael Madigan on bribery conviction A federal judge has set sentencing for former House Speaker Michael Madigan on bribery and other charges for June 13. The order by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey comes more than a month after Madigan, once the most powerful politician in the state, was convicted by a jury on bribery conspiracy and other corruption charges alleging he used his public office to increase his power, line his own pockets and enrich a small circle of his most loyal associates. Nicole Georgas speaks during a Deerfield School District 109 board meeting, accusing school staff of forcing her daughter to change into gym clothes with a transgender student and demanding the school change its policies relating to locker rooms and bathrooms. Georgas also filed a complaint with the Department of Justice. Transgender-related locker room complaint puts Lake County middle school in national spotlight A Deerfield middle school has been thrust into the national spotlight after a parent filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Justice and went on Fox News over a transgender student using the girls locker room. Indiana Senate holds hearing on bill to ban transgender women from collegiate sports Trump administration suspends $175 million in federal funding for Penn over transgender swimmer Maine’s education office ordered to ban transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports or face federal prosecution White Sox manager Will Venable stands in the dugout before a spring training game against the Cubs on Feb. 22, 2025, in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Column: Chicago White Sox decisions may come down to last minute — but does it matter who’s on opening roster? With one week to go until opening day, the Chicago White Sox roster remains in flux, writes Paul Sullivan. Several jobs are open for position players, the bullpen and even the back end of the rotation. Could the Sox break camp and head back to Chicago without knowing the answers to all of these questions? Lucky’s El Diablo and All-American Korean dogs are displayed by the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on March 19, 2025. These will be offered in Section 154. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) New year, new milkshake: Chicago White Sox unveil new ballpark food options, including Korean-inspired dishes The Chicago White Sox are well aware of the challenges they face as they look to rebound from a 121-loss season in 2024. As the team bottomed out, so too did attendance at home games. It comes as little surprise, then, that the Sox are making a strong push to bring people to the ballpark for more than just nine innings of baseball. New food and drink offerings at the ballpark for the 2025 season were unveiled yesterday, ranging from a new take on last year’s viral milkshake to several iterations of Korean dogs. Photos: What to eat at Chicago White Sox games this season Rachel Zegler stars in Disney’s live-action remake of “Snow White.” (Disney Enterprises, Inc.) ‘Snow White’ review: It’s live-action and insurrection time for the apple of Disney’s eye “Snow White” is the latest in Disney’s subset of animated musicals turned into live-action remakes. It is far from a disaster, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips. It’s one of the better ones, in fact. There’s little bloat; we’re talking about a 100-minute movie, minus the end credits. Director Marc Webb moves it along, with a rock-solid lead, very well sung, courtesy of Rachel Zegler. ...read more read less