Good morning, Chicago.

Malört has been testing Chicagoans’ creative limits for decades, with descriptions becoming more foul as the drink gets more popular.

The bitter wormwood-based Swedish schnapps has been compared to baby tears mixed with gasoline, wrung-out sweaty gym socks and bug spray.

The Tribune asked the bars that go through the most bottles of Malört annually what makes the concoction so loved and so hated. Chicago-based CH Distillery, the sole distributor of Malört, estimates that its top accounts sell upward of a quarter-million shots a year.

“Whether you like it or not, it is a Chicago staple,” said Ryanne Mainard, bartender and manager at Reggies, the top account, on the Near South Side. “You see it and you feel like it’s a taste from home.”

Mainard is known as the “Queen of Malört” at Reggies. It’s not just because she decided to exclusively drink Malört six years ago, but also because she’s persuaded numerous customers and Reggies employees to appreciate what she describes as Aqua Net hair spray mixed with grapefruit. Read the full story here.

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Former President Donald Trump faced new charges Thursday in a case accusing him of illegally possessing classified documents, with prosecutors alleging that he asked a staffer to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct a federal investigation into the records.

The indictment includes new counts of obstruction and willful retention of national defense information, adding fresh detail to an indictment issued last month against Trump and a close aide. The Florida charges came as a surprise at a time of escalating anticipation of a possible additional indictment in Washington over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The latest allegations also make clear the vast, and still not fully known, scope of legal exposure faced by Trump as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024 while fending off criminal cases in multiple cities.

City Council allies of Mayor Brandon Johnson announced their intentions to get a real estate transfer tax hike that would fund homelessness services on the 2024 primary ballot, seeking to advance a key promise from the mayor’s progressive campaign eight months after similar efforts failed in a dramatic showdown.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a downstate Republican congressman and two GOP officials that sought to block the state from counting mail-in ballots cast on or before Election Day, but received by election authorities up to two weeks afterward.

After striking out last year, Illinois has come up with one bidder in its second try to award three online-only sports betting licenses.

Three people injured after a car plowed through the front of Fontano’s Subs in Hinsdale on July 17, killing a 14-year-old bystander, have filed a lawsuit against the driver, his father and employer, according to court records.

“She had a lovely voice and a beautiful, quiet personality, and her complementary personality to (co-host and program director) Norm Pellegrini’s on the Lyric Opera broadcasts was perfect,” said retired WFMT announcer Marty Robinson.

Keeping the Bears in Chicago bedeviled Johnson’s predecessor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who floated the expensive idea of putting a dome over Soldier Field in order to keep the franchise and deflect blame if they leave town.

Now it’s Johnson’s turn to negotiate with the franchise, which spent nearly $200 million to buy land for a move but hasn’t been able to finalize the deal.

It’s the type of performance over the past week that can sway the direction the Cubs take ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, writes Meghan Montemurro.

One of the federally endangered piping plover chicks that’s been roaming a North Side beach in recent weeks has ties to a prominent local family.

When the chick, who was rescued in New York state, was brought to Chicago for release at Montrose Beach, members of the relocation team noticed that the chick’s father was born at the same Michigan park as Chicago’s beloved piping plover Monty.

A member of the region’s plover conservation team did some genealogical research and discovered that Monty was the chick’s uncle.

The first album actor Roman Banks remembers playing around his house growing up was “The Ultimate Jackson 5 Collection.” He recalled dancing with his family to Michael Jackson’s “Rockin’ Robin” and learning the dance to “Thriller” in his living room, playing the song over and over again trying to get the moves down. In a surprising turn, he even learned that his uncle was in Jackson’s “Bad” music video.

In August, Banks will take the stage as the king of pop when the biographical musical “MJ” kicks off its national tour at the James M. Nederlander Theatre.

Look for another summer weekend of live music, as well as Fiesta Del Sol, Chinatown Summer Fair and a Bollywood-inspired performance in the park. Plus a Chicago automobile museum shows off its stuff.