* Oscar is such a good boy, but he does need a holiday haircut…
If he could talk, Oscar would certainly encourage you to contribute to our annual fundraiser to buy Christmas presents for foster kids. Please, click here and brighten those kids’ (and Oscar’s) day. Thanks!
Any police officer shot in the line of duty has one expectation: that they can immediately count on their fellow officer to come to their aid. Chicago Police Officer KRYSTAL RIVERA should have been able to rely on her partner to do just that when she was shot, but—against all decency—her partner not only shot her but then ran in an opposite direction and left her to die. […]
RIVERA’s death was not instantaneous. Indeed, she lay bleeding and was breathing and desperately called in her own shooting to dispatch while Defendant BAKER stood by, failing to provide any form of medical care, aid, or assistance, as is required by Chicago Police Department (“CPD”) policy and training. Defendant BAKER failed to apply pressure to stop the bleeding or take any basic first aid measures to try to save RIVERA’s life, as taught in CPD policy and training. He never called for an ambulance. He failed to promptly notify dispatch of the shooting; he failed to disclose that he was the person who discharged his weapon, blaming it instead on a third party when he was the only one who discharged a weapon at the scene; and he failed to properly identify the location of the shooting so that paramedics or other officers could quickly come to her rescue.
Antonio Romanucci, an attorney for the Rivera family, said that Rivera and Baker became involved in an on-again, off-again romantic relationship dating back to 2023, which was known to other CPD employees.
Rivera eventually broke that relationship off this year after learning Baker was involved with another woman, attorneys said Thursday, and threatened to inform the other woman of their relationship.
Attorney Maura White said Rivera expressed concerns about Baker’s “adverse reaction” to the breakup and his continued attempts to contact her outside of work. Less than 48 hours before she was shot, Baker showed up at Rivera’s home uninvited after she told him not to come, White said.
This tragedy was not only the foreseeable result of Defendant BAKER’s willful and wanton conduct, but also the foreseeable consequence of the Defendant CITY OF CHICAGO’s (“THE CITY”) own negligence. THE CITY, through the Chicago Police Department, chose to continue to employ BAKER and keep him partnered with RIVERA, even after it knew (or, at a minimum, should have known) that BAKER had a lengthy record of misconduct, including complaints for domestic violence, an improper search and seizure, neglect of duties, insubordination, inadequate/failure to provide service, and conduct unbecoming of an officer.
In particular, THE CITY also knew or should have known—based on a prior complaint against BAKER from a woman who he was dating—that BAKER posed a particular risk of harm to women with whom he has, or has had, a dating relationship. At the time of her death, that included RIVERA, who had recently ended a romantic relationship with BAKER. At least two of BAKER’s CPD supervisors were aware of RIVERA and Defendant BAKER’s romantic relationship, and the risk to RIVERA’s safety. One or more members of CPD knew that BAKER and RIVERA’s relationship had ended, knew that RIVERA believed BAKER was a threat to her personal safety, and knew that RIVERA was eager to be transferred to a different CPD district away from BAKER or be reassigned to a different partner. Despite this knowledge, CPD chose to retain BAKER as a CPD officer and maintain his and RIVERA’s assignment as partners. In doing so, CPD exposed RIVERA to the foreseeable risk that BAKER would fail to provide aid or medical care to RIVERA in the event she needed it. And that is exactly what happened. BAKER left RIVERA suffering from mortal injuries, instead of coming to her aid or even calling for help.
A month before his retrial on bribery charges, state Sen. Emil Jones III has agreed to enter into a deferred prosecution deal with prosecutors that will leave him with no conviction as long as he admits to certain illegal conduct and pays a fine.
The agreement was announced at a hearing Thursday before U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood and scuttles a trial that had been set for Jan. 12.
Under the terms of the deal, Jones would pay a fine of $6,800, agree to stay out of legal trouble, and make admissions about his meetings with FBI mole Omar Maani and agree that his later statements to the FBI about how much Maani paid Jones’ intern were false.
If Jones lives up to his end of the agreement, the charges against him will be dropped in December 2026.
The case was flawed from the start. He never took the money offered by a government mole, who himself admitted on the stand to passing bribes to important people through other important people (none of whom were charged). The government also used some questionable tactics against Jones, including trying to paint him as having a gay relationship.
When Wood asked Jones whether he wanted to go forward with the arrangement, Jones said “absolutely.”
Federal prosecutors in Chicago struck a similar deal in October with ex-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza, whose own trial also ended with a hung jury.
* Another poll from the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association conducted by PPP…
● In the initial matchup, 39% are undecided, down slightly from 41% in September. Krishnamoorthi leads with 32%, followed by Stratton at 20% and Robin Kelly at 9%. In September, Krishnamoorthi led with 33% to Stratton’s 18% and Kelly’s 8%. So, despite Krishnamoorthi spending another $5 million, he has not continued to grow his support.
● Krishnamoorthi’s name identification also saw no movement, stagnating at 61%.
● Stratton’s name identification continues to grow despite zero spending from her campaign, going from 37% in September to 42% in December.
Public Policy Polling surveyed: 667 likely Democratic primary voters from December 8-9, 2025. The margin of error is +/- 3.8%. 58% of the interviews for the survey were conducted by text message and 42% by telephone.
Seems like no real movement by anyone.
* The react from the Raja campaign didn’t actually talk about the poll, but instead focused on the campaign’s current messaging about Stratton…
Today, following the release of yet another DLGA poll on behalf of Juliana Stratton, Raja for Illinois spokesperson Hannah Goss released the following statement:
“Once again, the Stratton campaign is showing that their alleged ‘no corporate PAC pledge’ is nothing but a hypocritical sham meant to confuse voters and hide her corporate ties. Juliana Stratton has taken a quarter of a million dollars in contributions from corporations and continues to drive her polling through a corporate-funded super PAC. This is why people hate politics — cheap games and empty pledges that have become typical of the Stratton campaign.”
ICYMI: Chicago Sun-Times: Stratton vows to not take corporate PAC money in Senate bid but has history of getting corporate backing
• But Stratton has a history of accepting corporate PAC and direct corporate contributions into her state campaign funds since 2016 — and this year returned a $5,000 check from The Marquis Energy Corporate PAC for her Senate campaign while taking in $21,000 from the same family controlling the company.
• This year, she also received $5,000 in corporate PAC money and $46,000 from corporations in her super PAC, the Level Up PAC, a hybrid PAC she created in January in anticipation of a Senate run.
• She has also taken in thousands of dollars from corporate executives and company leaders in her Senate bid. While the money is not coming from corporate PACs — as she vowed in her pledge — it is still coming in steadily from people who run corporations and companies.
• Corporate PACs that have previously contributed to Stratton’s state campaign fund include the Illinois Restaurateurs PAC, the Illinois Bankers PAC, Manufacturers PAC, Illinois Hotel-Motel PAC, AT&T Illinois Employee PAC, the Illinois Merchants PAC Team and United Airlines PAC.
• “This is what people hate about politics — people who say one thing and do another,” the congressman told the Sun-Times in a statement. “It’s rich that someone who condemns others for taking corporate PAC money has accepted nearly a quarter of a million dollars in direct corporate contributions, including multiple checks just weeks before launching her Senate bid.”
* That response appears more of a react to this press release sent by Stratton yesterday…
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi continues to avoid accountability for the MAGA allies funding his campaign. Krishnamoorthi claims to be a fighter against Trump, but his donor list proves otherwise, and rather than taking responsibility, he continues to double down. While the Congressman is known for his “prolific” fundraising, it’s about time he answered some questions about where his money is coming from.
FIRST: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi’s Senate campaign downplayed the tens of thousands of dollars he accepted from MAGA advisers and ICE profiteers, calling them “just .2%” of his fundraising, and stating they “welcome anyone” who supports his mission.
THEN: After being pressed by CNN’s Brianna Keilar, Congressman Krishnamoorthi said he “may revisit the contributions” from one of those MAGA allies, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar. Over 50 elected officials and community members signed a letter urging him to donate the funds.
NOW: Krishnamoorthi’s campaign says they’ve donated the money, but they refuse to say where, and they have not answered to the other tens of thousands in MAGA money.
So which is it, Congressman? Do you “welcome anyone” or are there more contributions you’d like to revisit?
Before Illinoisans head to the polls, Krishnamoorthi owes voters answers – so we have some follow up questions:
• Will you revisit the $120,000 you’ve taken from the corporations building Trump’s ballroom, which you called “corrupt special interests”?
• Will you revisit the $34,000 you’ve taken from a man who “saluted” Trump’s “historic leadership,” praised Pete Hegseth, and celebrated Kristi Noem for “aligning border security, ICE operations, and inter-agency force in a way no administration has before”?
• Will you revisit the repeated donations from Bharat Barai, who believes Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is a “great Patriot”?
• Will you revisit Project 2025 contributor and Heritage Foundation advisor Michael Pillsbury’s $5,000?
• Will you revisit the $1,667 from “DOGE’s unpaid intern” Marc Andreessen?
“Despite Team Raja originally doubling down on their ICE money and saying they welcome support from “anyone,” we’re glad to see that they’ve course-corrected, and we look forward to their full and transparent accounting of where the money was sent,” said Juliana for Illinois spokesperson Allison Janowski. “While they’re busy revisiting their donations, they should also revisit the tens of thousands of dollars they’ve collected from Trump advisors and MAGA colluders. Values that you only uphold when you’re held publicly accountable aren’t values – they’re talking points. Illinoisans see through it.”
* Following a CBS 2 report that basically just took everything Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart told them as gospel (it’s really quite something, so click here), I reached out to the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice for a response…
Sheriff Dart Lies Again About Pretrial Fairness Act Electronic Monitoring Provisions
We are incredibly disappointed and angry to see Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart once again exploiting community safety concerns to spread misinformation about the electronic monitoring provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act.
The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice continues to keep Bethany Magee and her family in our hearts as she works to recover and heal. But we cannot remain silent as the Sheriff continues to weaponize the harm Bethany and her family experienced to achieve his policy goals of incarcerating people who are presumed innocent while they await trial.
It is incredibly irresponsible and self-serving to utilize isolated incidents to change the law governing tens of thousands of people’s rights while awaiting trial—all while ignoring data that shows the vast majority of people on electronic monitoring return to court and are not rearrested while awaiting trial. These cynical attempts to blame pretrial reforms are only a distraction from effective evidence-based efforts to reduce violence.
The Pretrial Fairness Act requires that people subject to house arrest under electronic monitoring be given permission to leave their homes to take care of basic needs such as buying food and doing laundry. Each electronic monitoring program in the state can choose how to implement that requirement. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office chose to implement this law by creating a default schedule that allows each person two, eight-hour periods of time per week to take care of their essential needs. Judges must order that movement and can choose to order different and shorter or longer periods of movement for essential activities.
For years, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office created a human rights crisis by denying people on electronic monitoring the ability to contribute to their households, perform life-affirming tasks, and even access healthcare. The electronic monitoring reforms in the Pretrial Fairness Act are intentionally designed to correct that history. Even now, current Sheriff’s Office policy prevents people in apartment buildings from doing laundry or checking their mail in common areas of the building without the kind of movement permission the Sheriff is once again attacking.
Since taking effect in 2022, the electronic monitoring provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act have been incredibly successful. Ensuring people on electronic monitoring are able to go grocery shopping, attend doctor’s appointments, pick their children up from school, and apply for jobs increases community safety. Removing these provisions would violate basic human rights principles by returning to a system that locked people in their homes with no way to access food or other necessities—and made them less likely to succeed.
Facts on Pretrial Fairness Act’s Electronic Monitoring Provisions
• Nothing in the Pretrial Fairness Act or any other law requires the Cook County Sheriff’s Office not to track people during the time they are on essential movement. Every person on Sheriff’s EM is on a GPS ankle monitor, and those GPS monitors continue to record people’s exact location the entire time they are outside of their home. You can read the provision of the Pretrial Fairness Act that authorizes essential movement at 730 ILCS 5/5-8A-4(A-1).
• Before these reforms were implemented, the lack of movement caused immense harm to people on Cook County Sheriff’s electronic monitoring, as detailed in a report submitted to the Cook County board by CGL Industries and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts. (See page 47 here for discussion of harms of lack of movement.) The trauma that young people suffered while on Sheriff’s Dart’s EM program was unnecessarily cruel and ineffective, and had real life effects such as the ones described here.
• Between January 2016 and June 2020, 91% of people on electronic monitoring in Chicago were not re-arrested for any crime. Only 1.75% of people were re-arrested for a serious felony (Class 2 or higher).
* From former US Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s 2nd Congressional District campaign page…
Jesse Jackson Jr. represented Illinois’ Second Congressional District for 17 years and served as a Member of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Political and business leaders who drafted him to enter the race know the former congressman would use his considerable knowledge, intellect and experience to help improve quality of life across the District. Jesse Jackson Jr. was considered one of the hardest-working and most effective members of Congress. He never missed a vote and he delivered nearly a billion dollars in federal grants and appropriations to the District.
* The American Prospect’s Emma Janssen took a closer look at his attendance…
But publicly available data shows a completely different picture—Jackson missed 376 votes over the course of his 17 years in Congress, including a whopping 278 in 2012 alone.
When asked about the discrepancy, John Digles, who heads communications for the Jackson campaign, initially seemed confused: “That’s not our understanding at all. I’m a little confused by that.” He later clarified that the vast majority of Jackson’s missed votes happened after he “ran into his health issues” during his last term in Congress. Between 1995 and 2009, Jackson only missed two votes. In the last six months of 2012, he missed 100 percent of votes held.
Also in 2012, Jackson disappeared from the public eye entirely. His office initially declined to share information about where the sitting congressman was; the Mayo Clinic eventually revealed in a statement that Jackson was being treated there for depression and bipolar disorder.
In October 2012, just two months after his hospitalization, news broke that Jackson was under criminal investigation for misuse of campaign funds. He won re-election that November and resigned just weeks later. The next February, he pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud his campaign of $750,000.
* Part of Janssen’s story is about Jackson’s attempt at redemption…
Jackson is framing his entry into the race as an almost spiritual redemption project. “Even when I was exiting prison after I was sentenced, I said I still seek forgiveness, and I still seek the restoration and the resurrection of my life and the life of others, and I’m still right there,” he said on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight: Black Voices in 2024.
So check this out, a young freshman congressman can’t afford her apartment until she gets sworn into congress and is on the payroll. This is what happens. Then when you have kids and they need to attend decent schools in DC and you want to have a life while serving, guess what? You start calling everything you do a campaign expense.
This is what happened to me. Yes there were excesses but working between your district and Washington DC will definitely put you in the poor house and legal jeopardy. Unless you come to Congress a millionaire or a billionaire, it is easy to call and justify everything you do “a campaign expense.” She needs to be real careful. Especially now that she is on the public record as being broke.
Over the course of my 17 years in Congress, the Government looked at a 10 year snap shot of my life, and they said I was padding my life to the tune of 75,000 dollars a year. And it was true. Two kids showed up, their education, and some of my lifestyle choices all showed up at the same time. I was elected in 1995, my first child came in 2000, and my next child was born in 2003. I was 31 when I started the job, and a life long vow of poverty, I did not take for me or my family. when you truly represent people you have a lot of personal standards that you have to maintain and they are expensive. […]
I would buy my kids what they wanted for Christmas, and I said to myself, “self, they deserve it, my supporters won’t mind, because I’m working hard as hell.”
Former Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., 47, pled guilty today to conspiring to defraud his re-election campaigns of about $750,000 in funds that were used to pay for a range of personal items and expenses, including jewelry, fur capes and parkas, high-end electronics, celebrity memorabilia, furniture, kitchen appliances, and a home renovation project.
Jackson, who has residences in Chicago and Washington, D.C., also admitted taking steps to conceal seven years of illegal activities, including the filing of false and misleading reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Jackson’s wife, Sandra Stevens Jackson, 49, a former Chicago alderman, pled guilty in a separate proceeding to filing false tax returns for her role in the scheme. […]
DIRECT EXPENDITURES: Jackson made $57,792 in direct expenditures from the Campaign’s bank account from January 2006 through July 2011. In July 2007, for example, he withdrew $43,350 in Campaign funds to purchase an official check made payable to a jeweler for a men’s gold-plated Rolex watch. In addition, he used $14,442 in Campaign funds to pay down balances on person credit cards maintained by the Jacksons.
CREDIT CARD EXPENDITURES: The Campaign maintained a credit card account, “Jackson for Congress,” from at least August 2005 through August 2012. Individual credit card members on this account included Jackson and his wife. During this period, the Jacksons used the credit cards to purchase merchandise and services that were personal in nature, including high-end electronic items; a washer, a dryer, a range and refrigerator; collector’s items; clothing, food and supplies; movie tickets; health club dues; personal travel, including a holistic retreat, and personal dining expenses.
All told, Campaign funds were used to pay $582,773 of these purchases. During the conspiracy, the Jacksons made approximately 3,100 purchases that were personal in nature. A large number of these personal expenditures fit into these categories:
• Restaurants, nightclubs, and lounges, approximately $60,857.
• Airfare, approximately $31,700.
• Sports clubs and lounges, including gym membership, approximately $31,700.
• Tobacco shops, approximately $17,163.
• Alcohol, approximately $5,814.
• Dry cleaning, approximately $14,513.
• Grocery stores, approximately $8,046.
• Drug stores, approximately $6,095.
[…] GIFTS AND LOANS: At Jackson’s direction, two companies made payments on the balance of a personal credit card of Jackson and his wife. The owner of an Illinois consulting firm issued a check in 2009 for $3,500 from a business account to pay down the balance of a personal credit card. The owner of an Alabama-based family issued a check for $25,000 from a corporate account in 2011, also to pay down a personal credit card balance. […]
For example, in May 2008, “Person A” reported that the Campaign spent $1,553 in January 2008 at a Chicago museum for a fundraiser. In fact, Jackson spent these funds to purchase porcelain collector’s items. In July 2008, “Person A” reported that the Campaign spent $387 for equipment for office repairs. Jackson actually used this money to purchase grass seed and fertilizer for the lawn at his Chicago home.
* Last word to Sen. Robert Peters, who is also running for the open seat created by US Rep. Robin Kelly’s US Senate bid…
“He’s a name. He’s someone who literally spent a bunch of money to live a lavish lifestyle while people are just trying to be able to go to the doctor,” Peters said. “What we’ve seen in the last year or so is a lot of people who’ve tried to make a political comeback off of their name and fail. This election cannot be about your name. It’s about what you’re going to deliver for the working people of the Second Congressional District.”
Except, that name is still golden in the Chicago area. So, we’ll see.
* Today is the Third House’s annual holiday party. And since we’ve moved into the lobbyist portion of our Golden Horseshoe Awards, it doesn’t seem right to do that when they’re mostly otherwise occupied with their festivities. So, we will have no awards today. Yesterday’s categories are therefore still open until tomorrow.
*** UPDATE *** Ed Peck is the new Third House “Speaker”…
* Isabel arrived at her paternal grandparents’ (my parents) house yesterday and is staying through the end of this week. So, we won’t be publishing an afternoon news roundup nor any of her regular posts except for the morning briefing today or tomorrow. Some of you know they’re both having some health issues, particularly my mom. We’re all taking turns being with them and Isabel stepped up this week like a champ.
* ICYMI: Illinois National Guard still federalized as President Trump extends order, despite troops sitting idle. Tribune…
- Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said Wednesday that the 60-day federalization order — issued Oct. 4 in conjunction with the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz deportation efforts — was earlier extended for at least another month.
- The 300 Illinois National Guard troops have mostly remained at an Illinois Army National Guard training site in Marseilles and were never deployed for the White House’s stated purpose of protecting federal officers and assets.
- In a statement, U.S. Northern Command, which oversees the National Guard deployment, said the soldiers “are conducting planning and training but not engaging in Federal Protection Mission operational activities.”
* Tribune | Charges formally dismissed after grand jury refused to indict Laugh Factory manager accused of assaulting agents: Prosecutors’ move to drop the case against Griffin is the latest instance in a string of high-profile cases against U.S. citizens caught up in “Operation Midway Blitz” to fall apart only weeks into proceedings. U.S. District Judge Keri Holleb Hotaling, walking into a 17th floor courtroom of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse Wednesday morning, asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Snell about the move to dismiss the charges, filed Dec. 3 in what Hotaling called a “bare bones” motion. Snell said the deadline to return an indictment in the case had already been extended once and the grand jury assigned to the case had not seen fit to indict Griffin.
* Sun-Times | Family of Chicago cop killed in botched chase sues Chicago Police Department and partner who shot her: The mother of Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday in which she says her daughter’s partner, Officer Carlos Baker, was struggling to accept her decision to end their romantic relationship when he fatally shot her during a foot chase on June 5. […] Baker then “ran in the opposite direction and left her to die,” according to the lawsuit, which says he failed to provide medical aid, call for an ambulance or acknowledge he was the shooter.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Daily Herald | 33rd state Senate candidate removed from ballot: The Illinois State Board of Elections ruled that he did not have enough valid signatures on his petition. It said that after signatures were checked, Holt fell 120 signatures short. Former St. Charles alderman Rita Payleitner and Patrick Carroll of St. Charles had filed the objection, questioning 225 of the 1,047 signatures Holt submitted. The board agreed that 167 were invalid for various reasons.
*** Chicago ***
* Sun-Times | Chicago’s bond rating likely to drop to a notch above junk, no matter how and when budget stalemate ends: “The danger is that it will be incredibly expensive to issue a lot of debt,” said Dana Levenson, who spent three years as Chicago’s chief financial officer under former Mayor Richard M. Daley. “It’ll be at a higher price and the property tax will be impacted. That’s where the average Joe gets affected.” Levenson said Chicago has no choice but to issue general obligation debt backed by property or sales taxes. It’s the only way to bankroll upkeep of roads, bridges, sidewalks and other infrastructure that every city needs to function.
* Sun-Times | Council opposition wins Round 1 in budget battle with Mayor Johnson: Council members who oppose Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget and its corporate head tax showed Wednesday that they have more than the 26 votes needed to pass their alternate spending plan, which steers clear of short-term financial fixes that threaten Chicago’s beleaguered bond rating.
* WTTW | CTA Board OKs $1.75M Settlement, Pushes Back on Federal Claims of Lax Transit Safety: Separately, the board approved a $1.75 million lawsuit settlement. The case was brought by the estate of a man who fell while riding on a northbound #50 Damen bus in July 2022. The lawsuit accused the bus driver of slamming on the brakes as the man was waiting to exit the bus, causing him to fall and suffer serious injuries that eventually resulted in his March 2024 death.
* Crain’s | Hemp ban delayed, but one carve-out makes City Council OK more likely: The ordinance, first introduced by Ald. Marty Quinn, 13th, was deferred until at least the next City Council meeting by Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33rd, and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th. There are expected to be multiple meetings through the end of the year as the city looks to pass a 2026 budget. The measure is opposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson and local entrepreneurs who instead want to tax and regulate the industry, including banning the sale of the products to those under 21. By excluding hemp beverages from the ban, Quinn neutered what would have been a significant block of opposition from local bars, restaurants and the hospitality industry and he believes he is closing in on 30 votes, which would secure approval but fall short of the 34 votes necessary to override a potential veto from Johnson.
* Tribune | New Chicago teen curfew plan would require 12-hour notice by police: The mayoral opponent said that’s a necessary tool after a chaotic “teen takeover” outside the Chicago Theatre last month ended with a 14-year-old boy killed and eight other teens wounded in shootings. “We wanted to have reasonable restrictions. There were concerns about the possible abuse of the curfew tool under the previous snap curfew ordinance,” Hopkins said. “The point is to prevent these events from happening in the first place, and this new time and place curfew will absolutely accomplish that goal.” A spokesperson for the Chicago police did not immediately comment Wednesday morning.
* Sun-Times | A union wave is rolling through more Chicago cultural venues, even at precarious moment for museums: Employees at the Adler Planetarium could soon join them after a vote on Thursday. Separately, staffers at the Chicago Botanic Garden are organizing under the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United. But such votes are happening at what museums say is a perilous time, as about a third of U.S. museums have lost government grants or contracts. More than half of U.S. museums reported fewer visitors in 2025 than in 2019, according to a November report by the American Alliance of Museums. As a result, financial performance has stalled or declined for about half.
* WTTW | In Chicago’s War on Rats, Cats Lack the Killer Instinct, Study Suggests: The question Murray’s team posed: Are feral cats likewise likely to become collateral damage in the campaign to control Chicago’s rat population? Initial results suggest no. Of the 57 free-roaming cats tested in the study, only four — or just 7% — were found to have traces of rodenticide in their blood samples. The amount of rat poison was significantly less than that of other local species subjected to the same test.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Herald | ‘A win for fiscal responsibility’: DuPage County lauds latest ruling in ongoing legal battle with county clerk: On Wednesday, DuPage County Judge Bryan Chapman denied a motion for a summary judgment in which Kaczmarek argued that she has the authority to procure services and that contracts awarded to two election-related vendors fit under the professional services exemption for public bidding. Chapman also ruled in favor of the county’s request for a summary judgment. Attorneys for the county had argued that the contracts had been bid during previous years. If Kaczmarek had determined the services were exempt from bidding, the county argued that she should have communicated that to the county auditor.
* Sun-Times | Former Summit police chief convicted of bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice: A federal jury on Wednesday convicted a former police chief of southwest suburban Summit, finding him guilty of bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice at the end of a seven-day trial tied to several corruption cases that swept Chicago’s suburbs. John Kosmowski seemed to close his eyes for an extended period of time after U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger read the three guilty verdicts in a 23rd-floor courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. Kosmowski now faces significant prison time at his sentencing, set for March 27.
* Daily Southtown | Oak Lawn sets $277 million budget with 4.7% property tax levy increase: “It was a difficult budget,” Village Manager Thomas Phelan. “We started six, eight weeks ago with an $8 million projected deficit, and through a coordinated effort with all our department heads and chiefs worked very hard to focus on needs, not wants.” Phelan said village staff prioritized “cutting down as much as they could” considering future economic uncertainty and “all the political drama and fighting” nationally.
* Patch | Hinsdale Likely To Keep Lobbyist To Deal With Expressway Project: The lobbyist, John D’Alessandro of JLD Consulting Group, has been working for the village for six years. The village wants the lobbyist to help in dealing with the state’s years-long Interstate 294 project. According to a village memo, Hinsdale continues to negotiate several issues with the Illinois Tollway, many of which are related to the Hinsdale Oasis.
* Daily Herald | Mundelein creates local 1% grocery tax — but revenue won’t arrive for months: Months after many neighboring towns took the same action, Mundelein trustees this week approved a 1% local tax on groceries to replace a state tax set to expire at year’s end. But whereas the towns that acted before an October deadline can start collecting that tax Jan. 1, Mundelein’s grocery tax won’t become effective until July 1. That means the village won’t see the tax money until October 2026.
* Daily Southtown | Tinley Park’s Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre adds parking charges for the 1st time in venue history: General parking will cost $20 per vehicle if customers pay online in advance or $25 per vehicle if paid on the event date. Parking spots can be reserved and upgraded on Ticketmaster. Premier parking spots, closer to the venue, cost $50 online. Reserved, oversized and limo parking spots cost $90. Parking spots labeled as easy out, which provide an easy entry and exit according to the website, cost $120.
* WCIA | New shelter coming to Champaign to help homeless families: Families who are interested can go to the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission facility next to the C-U At Home offices. That’s on South Neil Street and West Springfield Avenue. From 7 to 7:30 p.m., the RPC is screening applicants. You do have to be a parent or legal guardian of a person under the age of 18. If you are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, you’ll be given the location of the shelter, which the RPC said it’s keeping secret for safety.
* BND | Former metro-east cop pleads guilty to stealing from union fund: A former Alton police officer has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $58,000 from the department’s union fund for officers, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Wednesday. Jeremiah T. Dressler, 42, of Brighton, Illinois, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of felony theft, one count of felony theft by deception and three counts of felony wire fraud, according to a news release from Raoul.
* WCIA | Champaign City Council approves next step for U of I themed hotel: The hotel will be University of Illinois themed and will go on the corner of Neil and Hill Streets. At Tuesday’s meeting, the council heard a presentation on the tax incentive agreement with the developers. The city said it won’t be giving the builders more money from its general fund, and instead, it will give $7 million in reimbursements from revenue the hotel itself generates. They’re expecting these incentives to pay off in a big way for the city long-term.
*** National ***
* NYT | How Online Crypto Casinos Use Celebrities and Livestreamers to Recruit Gamblers: Many sites do not have strong identity verification and are able to advertise on social media with little oversight. Tech-savvy young people in the United States can gamble on them using false identities and readily available software to mask their locations, often unbeknownst to their parents. Eight years ago, crypto casinos were obscure websites. Now they are a multibillion-dollar industry with dozens of operators. The success of Stake and Roobet, two of the largest casinos, has enabled them to sign partnership deals with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Premier League soccer teams and celebrity rappers like Drake and Snoop Dogg.
* AP | Trump wants to keep farmers happy with cash. They’re still worried about the future: “It’s a bridge. It’s not the ultimate solution we’re looking for,” said Charlie Radman, a fourth-generation farmer who grows corn and soybeans on the land his family has owned near Randolph, Minnesota, since 1899. “What we really want to have is a little more certainty and not have to rely on these ad hoc payments.”
Thanks to you all, we have raised enough for 1,810 gifts. That is 45,260 dollars toward LSSI’s 63,250 dollar goal to provide 2,530 gifts for foster kids this holiday season. We still need 720 more gifts to reach the goal. If you are able, please chip in and help us get there for these kids. Thank you!
