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A US judge in Chicago is considering today whether to block the president from sending troops to the Windy City to counter protests against his immigration policies. Miranda Davis and Isis Almeida are here from the Bloomberg News Chicago bureau to report on the effect a deployment may have on the city’s economic life. Plus: What experts are saying about an AI bubble, and why shoemakers are focused on tired feet.

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Chicago is getting ready to welcome 1.7 million spectators this weekend as runners take to the streets for its annual marathon, one of the most important and popular races in the world. The success of this year’s event, though, is clouded by the US immigration crackdown, protests against it and the deployment of National Guard troops in the city.

The race is known for a flat course and often-mild temperatures—which means it’s historically attracted droves of international elite runners seeking to break records. More than 160,000 people applied to run on Sunday, the most ever. It’s also a boon for the city, with last year’s race bringing an estimated $683 million into the metro area, according to Bank of America, the event’s sponsor. That was a 22% increase from 2023.

Whether fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or National Guard troops keeps visitors or runners away and Chicago residents at home is yet to be seen. But AirDNA, a provider of data for the short-term rental industry, has said they haven’t seen a material increase in cancellations for the weekend. The Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association declined to provide data but said plans for the marathon remain unaffected. Bank of America declined to comment. The mayor’s office and the Chicago Police Department didn’t respond to requests for comment on how the city is preparing to ensure the safety of the race.

Marcos Paulo Reis, a coach who’s bringing a team of 130 from Brazil, says he’s been watching the news and sharing information with other runners. It’s been hard for him to tell exactly where ICE activity is taking place, so he called a friend in Chicago, who reported back that downtown, where the race starts and finishes, is mostly calm.

Runners at the start of the 2024 Chicago Marathon last October. Photographer: Michael Reaves/Getty Images

“The Chicago marathon is one of the city’s biggest events, with a lot of tourists,” he says. “At no point did anyone in my group think about canceling the trip.”

Last Saturday, President Donald Trump ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to Illinois over the objection of state officials. Governor JB Pritzker has said that Trump is using ICE raids and protests as a pretext to normalize the American military in major Democratic cities ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Trump threatened to jail Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for failing to protect ICE officers.

“The Trump administration is following a playbook—cause chaos, create fear and confusion, make it seem like peaceful protesters are a mob by firing gas pellets and tear gas canisters at them,” Pritzker said this week. “Why? To create the pretext for invoking the Insurrection Act so he can send military troops to our city. He wants to justify and normalize the presence of armed soldiers under his direct command.”

While the president and members of his administration have called Chicago a “war zone” and a “hellhole,” the statistics are on Pritzker’s side. Chicago experienced its least violent summer since 1965. Murders are down 49% year-to-date from 2021, and shooting incidents are down 57% during the same four-year window, according to Chicago Police Department data.

The city’s economy has been slowly improving from its post-pandemic slump as well. Traffic at O’Hare International Airport has set records in recent months, and investment is returning to the city in the past year or so, with a tech startup investing $1 billion in a quantum campus on the south side. Chicago billionaire Joe Mansueto also announced he will pour $650 million into a new soccer stadium.

The deployment of troops might have come too late to affect this year’s marathon, as runners who’ve spent months preparing are likely hesitant to give up on their dream. Local business officials warn that won’t be the case forever.

“It’s fundamentally going to impact our tourism, it’s fundamentally going to impact people around the city from the suburbs to the outer portions of the city that want to come downtown,” says Chris Deutsch, founder of Chicago-based Lofty Ventures, which invests in startups. “It’s not acceptable. People need to speak up.”

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Is This an AI Bubble?

Photographer: Tylor Macmillan for Bloomberg Businessweek

The new technology would change everything, the evangelist said. It was “transforming culture, economics and politics far more thoroughly than the computer age did,” he wrote. “A new economy is emerging, based on a new sphere of cornucopian radiance—reality unmassed and unmasked, leaving only the promethean light.”

George Gilder, the writer and tech guru, published these words in late 2000. The revolutionary technology to which he was referring: fiber-optic cable. He had cause for optimism. In the previous few years, the so-called information superhighway had snaked its way across the country, introducing many Americans to the internet. The boom gave rise to hundreds of telecommunication companies, many of whose stocks Gilder recommended in his popular investing newsletter.

Months later, the telecommunication companies crashed. The industry lost $500 billion, and more than 200 businesses went bankrupt. Some executives went to jail. The Promethean light had been so bright, it was blinding.

Gilder’s soaring rhetoric might sound familiar if you’ve been listening to tech executives talk about artificial intelligence.

Many critics are saying a crash is ahead for AI as well. Christopher Beam explores the possibilities: ‘I Believe It’s a Bubble’: What Some Smart People Are Saying About AI

How to Rest Your Feet

Illustration: Tylor Macmillan for Bloomberg Businessweek

Trail-running legend Scott Jurek strides across the rolling hills of Colorado’s scenic Loveland Pass, framed before a backdrop of snowcapped peaks, in a slickly produced commercial spot. He’s selling shoes, but not the performance trainers you’d expect. Halfway through the commercial, the ultramarathoner completes his run, pulls off his sneakers and slips into a pair of classic Birkenstocks. “When it comes to recovery, how I treat my feet when I’m not running is just as important as what I do when I’m running,” says Jurek, who’s famous for winning the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run seven times straight. The sandals’ distinctive arch support, the argument goes, will help restore his tired moneymakers so they’re ready for the next workout.

International sportswear companies have long competed to get their high-end running shoes on athletes’ feet during the hours they spend pounding the pavement or trails. Now they see a new opportunity: targeting that even longer period of the day when runners aren’t logging miles. Companies, including some that ordinarily have nothing to do with sports, are rushing into the so-called recovery footwear market. They’re not promising new world records or personal bests but a little self-care after the finish line for professional athletes and casual joggers alike.

Chicago marathoners might want to bookmark this story from Tim Loh for post-race: Shoemakers Target a New Market: Rest Days

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