* ICYMI: Hundreds of hotline calls but no clear arrest numbers days into federal immigration ‘blitz’. Tribune…

- Immigration rights groups have seen a massive spike in hotline calls for legal and other help as federal Homeland Security officials this week launched a much-anticipated immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago area, the groups said Thursday.
- The executive director at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said the group’s family support hotline received 500 calls on Tuesday alone. Before the start of the Trump administration, the hotline received about 100 calls per month.
-ICIRR did not have an estimate for the number of people detained this week. But the group’s leadership said that more people are being arrested than initially reported by the Trump administration.

* Related stories…

• Sun-Times: Feds tout ‘worst of the worst’ arrested in Chicago immigration blitz, but some were caught out of state
• Fox News: Architect of LA ICE raids reportedly arrives in Chicago as focus shifts to Windy City, agent’s history
• Sun-Times: A portrait of immigrants in Chicago: Immigrant population reaches its highest point in nearly two decades

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Oak Park Journal | State Board of Elections to rule Oct. 21 on $9.8M Harmon campaign fine : The hearing will take place in both the ISBE’s Chicago and Springfield offices and will be live streamed on You Tube. “It should be conclusive,” Matt Dietrich, ISBE spokesman, said of the board meeting, with the caveat, “Barring anything out of the ordinary.”

* Crain’s | Take a photo tour of Gotion’s $2B battery factory in Manteno: The factory floor is massive, bright and surprisingly quiet. Robots do the heavy lifting, and much of the configuring, welding and other work required to create batteries used for industrial and home power storage, electric vehicles and EV chargers. Automated vehicles, which look like industrial-size Roombas, are a constant presence on the factory floor. The assembly line is highly automated. Some workers mind the machines, others interact with them.

* Evanston Now | Service cuts unlikely for PACE in 2026: The three transit operators, PACE, CTA, and Metra still face a combined $771 million fiscal cliff deficit next year, which, if not covered by the state legislature, will mean up to a 40% reduction in bus, “L”, and commuter train operations. However, PACE, which serves Evanston, among other places, apparently has enough unspent federal COVID relief dollars to make it through 2026 without cutting bus routes or frequency.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press release…

Political outsider, former international banker, and public policy expert Ted Dabrowski will make a campaign announcement and outline his plan to offer change, deliver results, and restore Illinois as a national leader for families and businesses.

WHO: Ted Dabrowski, political outsider, former international banker, and public policy expert Ted Dabrowski.

WHAT: Formal campaign announcement with brief remarks. Streamed live on Facebook.com/TedForIllinois/

WHEN:
Friday, September 12, 2025
10:15 a.m.

* WCIA | Illinois’ veto session will have focus on energy, overcoming federal funding cuts: McCombie said her biggest red flags are coming from conversations around energy. “A really bad bill that actually scares me more than any increase in tax because at the end of Illinois, with a policy of bring your own energy,” said McCombie.

* Center Square | IL Secretary of State candidate talks issues, Giannoulias yet to announce: Although Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has yet to announce plans for reelection in 2026, an Illinois Republican has launched her campaign. Diane Harris is a trustee for Joliet Junior College and the Joliet Public Library. Harris said her main focus is service. “My campaign is based on change and making sure that all Illinoisans have access to DMV services,” Harris told The Center Square.

*** Chicago ***

* Fox Chicago | Poll: Chicago Latinos oppose Johnson and Trump, support more police: According to the results, Latinos are overwhelmingly opposed to both Mayor Brandon Johnson and his ideological opposite, former President Donald Trump. Fourteen percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Johnson, while 65% said they had an unfavorable opinion. Twenty percent said they had a favorable view of Trump, compared with 66% who said they had an unfavorable view. Gov. J.B. Pritzker fared better in the poll: 51% of respondents had a favorable view, while 33% had an unfavorable view.

* Sun-Times | Residents plan flag-waving caravans for Mexican Independence Day weekend as a form of protest: Standing on top of the vehicle was Ricky, a driver who told the Sun-Times that “there will be a few caravans, starting Thursday or Friday, especially with everything going on,” referring to the arrests by ICE and immigration authorities in recent days. “We are not afraid and we are here to speak up and defend those that can’t because of their legal status,” said Ricky, who did not share his last name. “We will represent and defend ours.” He referenced some car clubs that would be participating in an organized way: Rack Em Ent, Santisima Trucking, 660, Los Rusos and La Clika 312.

* WBEZ | How does immigration enforcement work in Chicago?: Immigration authorities primarily operate in three facilities in Chicago: one for court hearings, another for check-in appointments for those being monitored and a third that’s an administrative center. Under the Trump administration, those places have served an additional purpose: to arrest people.

* WBBM | RTA survey: CTA satisfaction lags Pace, Metra: Since 2016, the RTA - which oversees CTA, Metra and Pace has surveyed riders at regular intervals about what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want changed. In that first survey nearly ten years ago, CTA rider satisfaction was around 85%. Now, it’s 70%. During Thursday’s RTA board meeting, agency deputy executive director Maulik Vaishnav spelled out what CTA riders are most concerned about: “Cleanliness, personal security, condition of assets and accuracy of real-time information.” That’s a fancy term for “ghost buses.”

* WGN | Unique Pope Leo painting from Italy gifted to Chicago high school: His work has honored the canonization of Pope John Paul II and John XXIII. But it was another painting that put Pallotta on the map. He mounted the piece called Super Pope on a building near the Vatican. The image went viral, even Pope Francis was a fan.

* Sun-Times | Taste of Chicago will move back to July next year, top cultural official says: Clinée Hedspeth, the head of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, said the pause in next year’s NASCAR will allow the city to return the popular food fest to mid-summer.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Chronicle | Addison Township sues former supervisor, three others for ‘misappropriation’ of grant: The Addison Township Board voted Wednesday to sue former Supervisor Dennis Reboletti and three other former officials for allegedly misappropriating more than $78,000 in funds, and using part of it to purchase a pickup truck. According to documents, the money was given to the township for its food pantry. Beside Reboletti, the lawsuit names former township Executive Director Sandy Bays, former Human Services Administrator Darcy D’Alessandro, and former Township Accountant Mary Mattia as defendants.

* Tribune | Federal agents’ vehicles arrive in Evanston to serve warrant: The federal vehicles “received a parking citation from Parking Enforcement,” she wrote, but Deputy City Manager Carina E. Sanchez said Thursday that law enforcement officers associated with the federal vehicles identified themselves as law enforcement to an Evanston parking enforcement employee, and consequently no parking citation was given. […] Evanston police were not informed of any arrests on Wednesday, and had no further contact with the federal agents, Sophier said. EPD did not assist in any operations or investigation, he added.

* Patch | Felony Charges Tied To Elmhurst Politician’s Petition: On Aug. 21, a grand jury indicted 74-year-old Lawrence Moretti of Addison on charges of possession with intent to deliver any document known to be altered or forged, according to DuPage County court records. Last December, Patch reported on problems with the signatures that Moretti purportedly collected for then-mayoral candidate Mark Mulliner’s petition.

* Daily Herald | Federal suit alleges harassment, inappropriate practices in St. Charles Police Department: When longtime St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan resigned in March, after the previous four months on personal leave, city officials heaped praise on his nearly 11-year tenure but wouldn’t explain the reasons behind his departure. However, a lawsuit filed last Friday in U.S. District Court alleges he ran a department where discrimination, sexual harassment and questionable practices took place in the months leading up to his exit.

* Daily Herald | St. Charles city considers new regulations, taxes for short-term rentals like Airbnb: With the goal of reducing short-term rentals’ impact on their neighbors, council members advocated for adding measures that would give the city power to enforce violations, a power the city currently doesn’t hold. […] Taxing short-term rentals would also access untapped revenue for the city. Staff estimated that over $70,000 in possible tax revenue from short-term rentals went uncollected in 2024, based on a 5% tax rate.

* Daily Southtown | Dolton plans celebration for Pope Leo XIV’s 70th birthday on Sunday: House and other village trustees are also focused on efforts to highlight the home and support visitors. With Prevost’s 70th birthday on Sunday, the village will host a program and celebration outside of his childhood home from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., complete with a balloon release and a photo op with a Pope Leo XIV cardboard cutout. House said he hopes to make the party an annual event.

* Crain’s | Highland Park blocks plan to sell million-dollar shares of former Michael Jordan estate: At a Sept. 8 meeting, the city council voted to amend its zoning ordinance to prohibit timeshares in single-family homes. The vote shuts down the plan John Cooper announced in January to sell ownership shares in the gated property he bought from Jordan in December for $9.5 million. Cooper declined Crain’s request for comment this week, but in a July email he wrote that Highland Park officials began looking into whether his proposed use was allowed under zoning regulations. “They are taking the position that my proposed use is not allowed,” he wrote. “I disagree with their assessment.”

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | Firefighters call for stronger protections after Champaign crews attacked on duty: Associated Firefighters of Illinois President Chuck Sullivan said what happened in Champaign is part of a broader issue.
“Every 46 hours across the United States, a firefighter or EMS worker is abused. Every nine days, a firefighter is injured severely enough to require hospitalization,” Sullivan said. “Whether it’s Chicago, Clinton, Champaign, or Carbondale, workplace safety has to be a priority.”

* WGLT | Fired CDC worker seeks to rebuild trust in public health at conference in Normal: Public health workers in Bloomington-Normal and across Illinois got a pep talk Thursday from someone who lost her job in public health. Abby Tighe was fired from her “dream” job in overdose prevention at the Centers for Disease Control in February. That’s when the Trump administration fired all probationary workers at the health agency.

* WREX | Two Rockford Hispanic celebrations canceled amid immigration enforcement fears: On Thursday afternoon, 11th Ward Alderman Jaime Salgado posted a statement to socials, saying, “This difficult decision was made due to concerns for our residents’ public safety, stemming from the current climate of immigration enforcement, rhetoric, and the targeting of our Latino residents. The public safety of our community is our main priority, and we have therefore decided on this course of action to protect our residents from any potential safety concerns.

* WQAD | Moline to deploy ‘Goosinator’ to help keep geese out of local parks: The ‘Goosinator’ is a device that designers describe as a combination of a Border Collie and a remote-control boat, meant to safely and nonlethally chase geese from public spaces “Birds can see colors very well so colors like orange, silver and yellow make a lasting impression on most migratory birds. All of the other materials are state-of-the-art and meant to last a very long time,” the Goosinator’s website reads.

*** National ***

* NYT | $10 Million in Contraceptives Have Been Destroyed on Orders From Trump Officials: Internal State Department and U.S.A.I.D. documents and correspondence obtained by The New York Times show that several international organizations, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, had offered to buy or accept a donation of the contraceptives. The government would have incurred no costs or might have even been able to recoup taxpayer funds under those scenarios.

* Korea Economic Daily | Korea’s major US investment projects halted as detained LG Energy workers set for release: The incident has thrown Korea’s flagship investment projects in the US into disarray. Sources said at least 22 other factory sites involving Korean business groups, in autos, shipbuilding, steel and electrical equipment, have been nearly halted.

* NPR | They want COVID shots to protect their health or family. They can’t get them: Jason Mitton wanted one of the new COVID-19 vaccines before leaving on a business trip. But the pharmacists at a drug store near his home in Austin, Texas, refused. “He’s like: ‘Do you have a doctor’s note?’ I said: ‘No, I don’t.’ He said: ‘Well, the FDA standards say that you don’t qualify. And our policy is that we won’t administer it unless you qualify,’” says Mitton. Mitton, who’s 55 and says he has high blood pressure and high cholesterol that’s controlled by medication, plans to keep trying to get vaccinated.