Good morning.

Gun buybacks have become a popular tool in the fight against gun violence in Chicago but as David Greising points out today in his column, those weapons don’t always stay off the streets. One example is a Glock pistol that ended up in the hands of a 16-year-old around one year after it was taken off the streets at a gun buyback event in Chicago.

“CPD owes a full report to the city about what those remedial measures are. And we need to know, too, if the Glock’s disappearance was part of a larger problem,” Greising writes.

It was an exciting day in Chicago yesterday, as the Catholic Church elected it’s very first American pope, Leo XIV. He also happens to be from Chicago. The Tribune Editorial Board offers its congratulations and asks the Holy Father to come home soon.

Elsewhere in Opinion, Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson says that transit agencies in Chicago not only need more funding but also governance reform. One cannot happen without the other, he writes. Cook County Commissioner George Cardenas is also back in our pages today responding to a recent report from the treasurer’s office that says that nearly $2 billion in property taxes has shifted from businesses to homeowners through a broken appeals process.

Lastly, before you head off to enjoy your weekend, don’t miss a particularly punny piece.

— Grace Miserocchi, opinion editor

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