| Good afternoon, Chicago. Think about a large
can of soup, being thrown at you 80 miles an hour. That’s about how much the largest hailstone recorded in Illinois weighs, said Ian Giammanco, lead research meteorologist at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. The institute helped weigh and measure the stone after it was found in a Kankakee backyard during severe storms this March. At 6.6 inches, it officially broke the previous, 11-year record, held by a 4.75-inch stone that fell near the village of Minooka, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced yesterday. Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History news A Chicago Fire Department boat sprays water on the stuck DuSable Lake Shore Drive bridge on Sept.
2, 2026. According to the Chicago Office of Emergency Communications, the bridge is stuck in the up position and drivers are advised to seek alternate routes. (Arthur Maiorella/Chicago Tribune) A DuSable Lake Shore Drive bridge at Grand Avenue Navy Pier is stuck slightly upright this morning, causing delays and backups for cars on the major Chicago highway. More top news stories: business Executive Director Leanne Redden attends the final regular Regional Transportation Authority board meeting on Aug. 20, 2026, in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) A day after the governance shake-up mandated by Illinois’ transit reform legislation took effect, the executive director of the now-defunct Regional Transportation Authority announced her retirement. More top business stories: sports Illinois quarterback Katin Houser participates in spring practice at Geis Memorial Stadium on April 17, 2026, in Champaign. (Michael Hickey/Getty) The Illini built fan interest the last two seasons as they racked up 19 wins, a program record for a two-year stretch. That has carried over to this summer, when the athletic department announced it sold out season tickets for the public for the second year in a row and anticipates selling out student season tickets. More top sports stories: eat. watch. do. The SS Badger, the last steam-powered passenger ferry on the Great Lakes, on Aug. 29, 2026. Its overnight run takes passengers between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan. (Christopher Borrelli/Chicago Tribune) Labor Day is the last day this year when the SS Badger, pride of Lake Michigan since 1953 and the last steam-powered passenger ferry on the Great Lakes, takes overnight travelers across the lake, in the dead of night. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: nation & world People look out across Lake Ontario and the Toronto Skyline from the Toronto Harbour in Toronto on Aug. 25, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP) As of this morning, Apple Maps displayed “Lake America” for U.S. users looking at the lake that sits between the state of New York and Canada’s Ontario province. Users outside of the U.S. still saw the Lake Ontario name. More top stories from around the world: | 
