| Good morning. Let's hope for a better week, at least in terms of everything but Chicago sports. Today, the editorial board takes the temperature of the complex 2026 economy, just underway. It's no time for you to let your guard down, say we. See below for why. We also look at the state of free speech at Harvard and an interesting new admission by that university's president about what has gone on in Harvard's classrooms. Sunday, we wrote about something that should matter greatly to anyone who pays an electric bill: the pending impact on demand of the power-sucking data centers heading to Illinois. Since more demand for electricity generally means higher prices in our system, we argue that current electricity users should not be forced to see increases they do not deserve. Our great cartoonist Scott Stantis had some fun with that, too. And the board we wrote again about last week's killing of a woman by an ICE official in Minneapolis. We argue that a recent call by local activists for an investigation into alleged police cooperation with ICE in Chicago is misguided and unhelpful. We think that had the police been there to keep order in the city to our north, Renee Nicole Good likely would still be alive. Don't blame our local police officers, we say, for the conduct of ICE and Border Patrol. I want to point to a couple more great reads in our section today: Two doctors take a look at the lessons learned so far from marijuana legalization in Illinois and argue that the money flowing into state coffers is doing so with a heavy price. Speaking of heavy costs, LyLena D. Estabine writes that, notwithstanding their benefits for workers, unions cost Illinoisans plenty, and sometimes egregiously so. Enjoy the start to your week. — Chris Jones, editorial page editor Submit an op-ed | Submit a letter to the editor | Meet the Tribune Editorial Board | Subscribe to this newsletter | 
