“Operating at Chicago O’Hare continues to be challenging,” according to a Southwest Airlines spokesperson in a Friday statement, “and we are confident we can serve Chicagoland through our strongly-held position at Chicago Midway.”

O’Hare is likely to see its busiest Thanksgiving travel week in the airport’s 70-year history, according to the city’s aviation department. In Illinois, more than 4.1 million residents are expected to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period, setting a new record for Thanksgiving travel in the state, according to AAA.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday it would reduce air traffic by 10% across “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers go unpaid and exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown.

The dispute highlights the remarkable push by the Department of Homeland Security to insert a political message into the airport security experience that virtually every air traveler must go through.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Illinois Drivers Alliance plan to launch “Know Your Rights” trainings for rideshare drivers across the Chicago area, while also working to add signage around the O’Hare rideshare lot prohibiting entry for civil immigration enforcement.

Federal immigration agents targeted Uber and Lyft drivers in a raid at a parking lot near Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Friday, according to a coalition of rideshare drivers.

The federal government shutdown has entered its second week, and already shortages of air traffic controllers have strained operations and disrupted flights at some U.S. airports.

The busiest day for O’Hare and Midway airports is expected to be Friday, with O’Hare seeing nearly 285,000 passengers and Midway seeing nearly 58,000 passengers, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation

President Donald Trump’s so-called “big beautiful bill” pledges to fill those gaps, setting aside $12.5 billion to modernize the air traffic control system.

The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports, according to media reports.

The busiest day at O’Hare is expected to be Sunday, with 300,000 passengers passing through the airport, a nearly 40% surge from the airport’s daily average, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

More than 3.3 million travelers are projected to pass through the airports between Thursday and March 31, a 4% increase from the same period last year, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Former Mayor Richard M. Daley traveled to the nation’s capital twice as mayor. His successors, Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot, never made the trip in their official roles.

Illinois has nearly 300 new laws taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025, covering everything from specialty plates for motorcycles to the creation of a task force on water quality.

Nearly 1.5 million travelers are expected to pass through O’Hare — an 11% increase in passenger traffic compared to last year, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. Sunday is expected to be the busiest travel day for the city’s airports.

Firefighters found a dead woman entangled in machinery Thursday in a non-public baggage-processing area at O’Hare International Airport.