The Chicago Tribune is quite conservative, if I'm not mistaken. They've not endorsed a Democrat since 1872.
You are mistaken.
The Chicago Tribune purchased the LA Times and both are liberal rags.
“If this issue of media bias is to be discussed, there is a need for some standard of left-to-right. Let me suggest a simple one. If Al Gore is center-left and George Bush center-right, one measure of whether a publication is liberal or conservative would be whether it endorsed Gore or Bush – and which party's presidential candidate it almost always endorses. And if being pro-life and in favor of Bush's tax cuts is conservative and being pro-choice and against the Bush tax cuts is liberal, what then constitutes the liberal press?
Answer: All three major networks, PBS, NPR and virtually all major U.S. papers – Boston Globe, New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times. While the Wall Street Journal editorial page is neoconservative, USA Today – the nation's largest newspaper – is left of center.”
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33103
Only the Editorial Page.
A couple years ago I sold every last share or TRIB stock we had, ending a 70+ year family connection to that newspaper.
And I let the Editor know why - the leftist reporting slant got to be too much. If it wasn't for John Kass, that paper would be entirely worthless.
In 1980, it endorsed the "independent" John Anderson over Ronald Reagan.