Good morning, Chicago. Today is a notable anniversary in the city’s history: Ninety-two years ago, a blaze tore through the Union Stock Yards, which lawyer and amateur historian Michael Peregrine calls the city’s second most destructive fire. Peregrine always engages us with his deep dives into local history, and we hope you’ll be as drawn into his latest one like we were.

The Tribune Editorial Board today writes about a University of Chicago K-12 school effort to curb ideological influence in the classroom and Michael Madigan’s surprising insertion of his voice, via a controversial Crain’s op-ed, into the debate over whether Illinois should opt into the federal tax credit scholarship program. The board applauds the “viewpoint-neutral” policy adopted by the U. of C. Laboratory Schools, and while it champions Illinois accepting federal money in support of school choice, it thinks Madigan should butt out.

Also in commentary, three state lawmakers make a case for shoring up Illinois’ budget against significant cuts in federal funding through revenue ideas they believe are sustainable. We also have a letter today authored by two Chicago-area lawmakers who call attention to state cuts that target homelessness funding at a time when federal decisions are significantly weakening homeless response programs.

Last but not least, foreign affairs columnist Daniel DePetris concludes that President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has proved to be irrelevant to efforts aimed at ending the bloodshed in Gaza and restoring it to a functioning community.

From content on historic fires to meddling former House speakers, we like to keep it interesting for you.

— Colleen Kujawa, opinion editor

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