Chicago Tribune media bias and reliability
The rating organisations do not give Chicago Tribune one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. We have seen it on 215 published stories of ours.
The short answers
Is Chicago Tribune biased?
The rating organisations do not give Chicago Tribune one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. An outlet rating describes a broad pattern in its output, not every article it publishes.
Is Chicago Tribune left or right?
The rating organisations do not give Chicago Tribune one shared verdict in the records we hold. Their published ratings are AllSides: Centre; Ad Fontes Media: Centre; Media Bias/Fact Check: Leans right. In the three-way grouping used on story pages, that puts it under Centre.
Is Chicago Tribune reliable?
The factual-reliability assessments we hold for Chicago Tribune are Ad Fontes Media: Very high factuality; Media Bias/Fact Check: High factuality. These are outlet-level assessments, not a guarantee that every report is correct.
What Chicago Tribune has been covering
Our account of each story, written from every outlet that ran it, with Chicago Tribune’s own report linked underneath.
The Kennedy Center has announced its 2026 honorees: Paul Anka, David Foster, Andy Garcia, David Mamet, and Barbara Mandrell. The ceremony will be moved from the venue for the first time due to a legal dispute involving President Donald Trump's renovation plans.
Chicago Tribune reported it asKennedy Center names 2026 honorees as Trump renovation battle moves show offsite (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
The Trump administration has announced $15 billion in aid for agriculture producers, intended to mitigate increased expenses for diesel and fertilizer. The package includes direct payments, guaranteed loans, and commodity purchases, with details emerging in the weeks before the midterm elections.
Chicago Tribune reported it asTrump administration promises US farmers $15 billion in weeks before the midterms (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will campaign with former primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens in Detroit. This marks their first joint public appearance in months, with Rep. Jim Clyburn also set to attend a get-out-the-vote event.
Chicago Tribune reported it asDemocrat Haley Stevens endorses GOP’s Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race 2 days before election (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Alaska's Republican-run state government has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed at President Trump's direction that seeks to halt the certification of the state's Senate race. The state argues the Justice Department's demand to separate ballots is impossible and violates voter privacy.
Chicago Tribune reported it asJudge dismisses Trump-backed lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s US Senate race if GOP incumbent loses (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied facilitating Flávio Bolsonaro's departure from Brazil to the United States. While Rubio stated President Trump authorized Bolsonaro's entry, he asserted the US government was not involved in arranging the travel itself.
Chicago Tribune reported it asMarco Rubio says the US government did not facilitate Bolsonaro’s flight to the US (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
An analysis of a Trump administration list of alleged noncitizen voters in California found that 42% of the names could not be found on the state's voter rolls. The study, conducted by UCLA data analysts, also indicated that thousands of U.S. citizens may have been incorrectly flagged.
Chicago Tribune reported it asOver 40% of names on DOJ list of alleged noncitizens are not on Calif. voter rolls, analysis finds (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Iran's army has warned that any new US attack would spread the conflict to a wider geographical area. The warning comes amid diplomatic efforts to avert further hostilities and as both the US and Israel hold crucial elections.
Chicago Tribune reported it asIran’s leader says response to attack would have no ‘geographic limits,’ and other Mideast news (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Patrick Stewart, the British actor famous for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 'Star Trek' and Professor Charles Xavier in 'X-Men', has died at the age of 86. His death was announced by his family.
Chicago Tribune reported it asPatrick Stewart, stage giant also of ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men’ fame, dies at 86 (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Scientists have identified an icy object, named 2026 ED138, orbiting the sun beyond Pluto. The object's size is estimated between 600 and 1,500 kilometres in diameter. Classification as a dwarf planet depends on further study.
Chicago Tribune reported it asNew dwarf planet (probably) spotted beyond Pluto (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Immigration authorities have detained a mentally ill man for almost a year, despite claims from his mother, lawyers, and public records that he is a U.S. citizen born in Florida. ICE disputes his citizenship, alleging a fraudulent birth certificate, but has not provided evidence.
Chicago Tribune reported it asDocuments support claim ICE has detained a mentally ill US citizen since January, AP investigation shows (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
A localized ceasefire in Oleshky, Ukraine, brokered by First Lady Melania Trump, began on Tuesday to facilitate humanitarian aid. This comes as President Zelenskyy reported a significant overnight barrage of Russian missiles and drones.
Chicago Tribune reported it asLocal Ceasefire Between Russia and Ukraine in Oleshky Comes Into Force; More Attacks on Kiev (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Matthew Unglesbee has been charged with mailing threatening communications and false information after allegedly sending four letters containing a white powdery substance to congressional offices in northern Illinois. The letters included notes such as "HA HA" and "enjoy your gift."
Chicago Tribune reported it asDownstate man charged with sending threatening letters to Congress members in Chicago (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
The NBA has announced agreements with prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, alongside a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These deals aim to enhance transparency and prevent abuses in NBA-related betting markets.
Chicago Tribune reported it asNBA strikes deals with Kalshi and Polymarket as the league’s preferred prediction markets (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Asian stock markets saw a significant rise following Anthropic's initial public offering filing, which disclosed strong revenue growth alongside substantial losses. Meta Platforms' large equity fundraising also contributed to the positive sentiment.
Chicago Tribune reported it asArtificial intelligence giant Anthropic files papers to sell shares to the public for the first time (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Democratic lawmakers have called for a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump's alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein. A new report details accusations against Trump and claims the DOJ sought to protect him.
Chicago Tribune reported it asJeffrey Epstein haunts GOP in midterms as Democrats vow fresh probes (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
A report by House Democrats includes a new allegation from Beatrice Keul, who claims Donald Trump raped her in 1993. The report also alleges Trump was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse. The White House denies the claims.
Chicago Tribune reported it asJeffrey Epstein haunts GOP in midterms as Democrats vow fresh probes (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Several US cities are exploring the use of driverless trains, with Washington D.C. and Los Angeles advancing plans for automated subway systems. Honolulu already operates a driverless metro. The move sparks debate over safety, cost, and the future of transit innovation.
Chicago Tribune reported it asSome US transit systems weigh whether to run trains without a human at the controls (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
At a Fort Myers rally, President Donald Trump unveiled a programme to recruit nurses for nursing homes. Reports differ on the funding level, $250 million or $275 million, and on the number of nurses to be hired, ranging from more than 4,000 to at least 5,000.
Chicago Tribune reported it asPresident Trump at South Florida rally revives the idea of military intervention in Cuba after Iran (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Erika Kirk is pushing back against a defense proposal to delay the murder trial of Tyler Robinson until 2029. She is asking a judge to set a trial date in 2027, arguing that further delays will prolong the family's suffering and noting the significant cost of the defense.
Chicago Tribune reported it asDefense attorneys in Charlie Kirk’s killing want to have a trial in 2029 (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Russia will send its first tanker of diesel fuel to the United States on October 22, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Contracts are in the final stages of signing, and Russia stated it would meet US needs within its capabilities.
Chicago Tribune reported it asThe Kremlin says a first tanker of Russian diesel sets sail for the US despite Ukraine’s protests (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Who says so
3 organisations have published a rating for this outlet, in their own words. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the useful part and it is left standing.
How reliably it reports fact
A rating of the newsroom in general, by others, and a different thing from the Trust score we publish on each story, which judges one piece of reporting.
Very high factuality
Who owns it
- Tribune Publishingunknowndirect owner
- Alden Global CapitalPrivate Equityparent group
Where it publishes from
- Publishes from
- Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States
- Official site
- chicagotribune.com
- Seen publishing on
- chicagotribune.com
- Access
- Paywalled
- Wikipedia
- Entry
What we have seen ourselves
Counted across the stories this site has published, which is the only denominator a reader can check: every one of them has a page, and every page lists the reports it was written from.
- Stories
- 215
- Reports listed
- 220
- We could read
- 0
- First seen
- 4 August 2026
220 of those reports were paywalled or blocked to us. Our reading of this outlet is built on the 0 we could open, not on everything it published.
A blindspot is measured against one side of the spectrum. Chicago Tribune is rated centre, so there is no side for it to be counted against and we publish no figure here.
Across the 215 stories of ours where at least three of the reports we listed carried a time, we logged no report earlier than Chicago Tribune’s on 1 of them. Overall it filed a median of 21 hours after the earliest report we logged.
Measured 2 November 2026. Last seen in a coverage list 2 November 2026. Ratings pulled 5 October 2026.
Other outlets rated the same way
Publishers carrying the same published leaning as Chicago Tribune, also publishing from United States, ordered by how often we have seen them on a story. Sharing a rating is not the same as being alike.
Think this page is wrong?
The leanings above are published by AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias/Fact Check, and we republish them rather than make them. If you think one is misapplied, the strongest place to say so is with the organisation that made it, and every verdict here links to their page.
What we are responsible for is everything else: the ownership chain, where Chicago Tribune publishes from, which of our stories we have listed it on, and whether we have the right publisher at all. Tell us what is wrong and an editor reads it.
Report something wrong on this page
Anything we correct is written up in the public corrections log. We do not publish reader votes as a rating, because an unattributed rating is the thing this site exists to argue against.
Every rating on this page is a named third party’s published work, republished with its author and, where one exists, a link to it. Our own coverage record is the section we measure ourselves. Neither is a judgement of any individual report: those are scored story by story, and the reasoning is on our methodology page.