Give delivery robots a break

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Chicago Tribune Opinion

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Good morning, Chicago. This past weekend, I watched as a delivery robot ambled along a sidewalk in Uptown while pedestrians passed by, paying it no mind. But these automatons are causing some in the City Council to take notice. The Tribune Editorial Board has this to say to these aldermen: Just chill. The robots aren't a nuisance (yet), and there are more important things to focus on.

Such as the exodus of companies and their workers from Chicago. Mayor Brandon Johnson recently observed that Citadel — founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, who fled to Florida — still has a presence in Chicago. But the size of its staff here is a shadow of what it once was. The editorial board considers what Chicago lost out on with Griffin's exit.

In commentary, two criminal justice experts advise that expanding CPD's power to bring gun charges requires a lot of caution, considering the department's history with abuses. Another op-ed reveals that many Chicago voters disapprove of the mayor's budget plan, per a recent citywide poll. And our foreign affairs columnist Daniel DePetris, making a surprise Thursday appearance, looks at the good and bad in President Donald Trump's national security strategy.

And I'd like to highlight a letter from an attendee of the ceremony heralding the arrival of Chicago's Christmas Tree Ship. The Coast Guard cutter attracted the homeland security secretary, a heavy law enforcement presence and protesters. The letter writer notes that the beloved event shouldn't be a stage for such a spectacle.

We'll be back tomorrow!

— Colleen Kujawa, opinion editor

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Editorial: Chill out aldermen, the delivery robots are cute

Let the sandwich robots be. They're fun additions to our sidewalks.

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Editorial: The mayor doesn't understand what Ken Griffin and Citadel meant for Chicago

In arguing for his corporate head tax, Mayor Brandon Johnson made it seem like Citadel has a meaningful presence in Chicago after moving its headquarters.

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Arthur Haynes and Benjamin Ruddell: Chicago must proceed cautiously on expanding police power to file gun charges

A new policy that allows Chicago police to directly file certain felony gun charges could potentially be harmful given the department's history.

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Civic leaders: Our poll finds Chicagoans prefer a garbage fee increase to the mayor's head tax

A new poll shows that voters reject the head tax proposal and that if Chicago fails to pass a budget, a majority would blame the mayor.

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Daniel DePetris: The good and the bad in Donald Trump's national security strategy

The White House preaches the value of noninterventionism, but this is hard to square with Donald Trump's incessant meddling in foreign elections.

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Letters: The Christmas Tree Ship event was marred by political staging.

I hope future Christmas Tree Ship events remain rooted in community. Chicago doesn't need spectacle for this tradition to matter.

Read more →

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