Jonathan Bullington

Jonathan Bullington is a Chicago Tribune senior reporter. A Chicago-area native, he previously worked at the Tribune as well as The Times-Picayune in New Orleans and The Courier Journal in Louisville, where he was part of the team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news.

Navajo Code Talker Thomas H. Begay, who is at least 100, sits at a war memorial in Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 9, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

In Arizona, a fading Route 66 motel hides a story of the Navajo Code Talkers

November 11, 2025 at 3:44 p.m.

Only two of the Navajo Code Talkers are still alive. The Route 66 motel where some of these World War II heroes were recruited may not outlive them.

Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino walks with agents conducting immigration enforcement sweeps in the Edison Park neighborhood on Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Judge orders release of US Border Patrol head Gregory Bovino deposition videos: Watch them here

November 6, 2025 at 6:58 p.m.

The recordings were filed under seal as part of a lawsuit led by the Chicago Headline Club.

The sun sets on Brooklyn, Illinois, as two people bike through town on Nov. 24, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Setbacks and hope as America’s oldest Black town fights for its survival

September 26, 2025 at 12:27 p.m.

The government has twice promised Brooklyn, Illinois, money for preservation and twice failed to deliver.

Angel Delgadillo, 98, known as the “guardian angel of Route 66,” in an old barber chair at his shop, Angel and Vilma Delgadillo’s Original Route 66 Gift Shop, in Seligman, Arizona, June 6, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66: Meet the Mother Road’s ‘Guardian Angel’

July 6, 2025 at 9:20 a.m.

At 98, Angel Delgadillo’s entire life has played out along what John Steinbeck called “the mother road.” And the historic road likely wouldn't exist today without him.

Wild burros on Route 66 near Oatman, Arizona, on June 4, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66: The Arizona Sidewinder, wild burros and a living statue

June 16, 2025 at 2:45 p.m.

This section of Route 66 may be one of the most scenic drives in the U.S.

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