| Good afternoon, Chicago. Thousands packed Midway Plaisance Park today to watch a livestream of the star-studded Obama Presidential Center dedication ceremony on a large screen, sitting on lawn chairs and blankets. Many were ecstatic about the newest 19-acre addition to Jackson Park, just steps away from the South Side neighborhoods they live or work in. They also said they wanted to celebrate the Obamas’ legacy in Chicago. “This is a historic event. A once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Jackie Mills, 72, of Bronzeville. “We will never see this again. … They’re going to save this neighborhood.” 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 Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are introduced during the Obama Presidential Center dedication ceremony on June 18, 2026. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) During her speech, Michelle Obama paid tribute to her husband as she called the center ”a beacon of hope, a monument to our unshakable values, the ones my husband has exemplified his entire life — equality, empathy, honesty, inclusion, fairness.” More top news stories: business Cars and trucks travel the Tri-State Tollway between the Thornton Quarry, left, and the Thornton Composite Reservoir on Aug. 8, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority on Thursday proposed its first passenger toll hike since 2012. More top business stories: sports Chicago White Sox's Everson Pereira runs into the wall to catch a ball hit by New York Yankees' Ben Rice for an out during the seventh inning of a baseball game, June 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) The early season showdown between two first-place teams has fizzled out in big-time fashion, with the Yankees seemingly showing the Sox they’re in a different league. More top sports stories: eat. watch. do. Julian Casablancas leads the Strokes at the United Center in Chicago on June 17, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Taking over
the United Center last night for the very first time as headliners on the third stop of their “Reality Awaits” tour, the five-piece band tore through 19 tracks spanning six albums in roughly an hour and 40 minutes, delivering one of its most muscular arena sets in recent memory. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: nation & world Vice President JD Vance speaks in Bethpage, N.Y., June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The rollout of JD Vance’s second book has been largely crowded out by something else he’s put his name on: the tentative deal to end the Iran war. More top stories from around the world: | 
