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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois lays new pathway for internationally trained doctors to earn licenses here. Crain’s…
- Applications for the limited, two-year license is available to international medical graduates now, IDFRR said in a press release. - Over the course of the two-year limited license, IMGs must practice under the supervision of a fully licensed physician at an approved sponsoring institution, the release said. * Related stories… * Governor Pritzker will attend an 11:00 am luncheon with Lutheran Social Services of Illinois to receive the Paul Simon Courage in Public Service Award. Click here to watch. * Tribune | Federal immigration agents sweep across Chicago area as advocates try to make sense of ‘patchwork’ enforcement: “We don’t know the true scale, but we know activity has increased” in the area over the last couple of weeks, said Brandon Lee, spokesperson for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. The organization is mostly relying on intake numbers from legal partners, hotline calls and networks of community members to get a sense of what is happening and who has been affected. * Capitol News Illinois | Amid backlash, Pritzker calls for leaders — especially Trump — to tone down rhetoric: Gov. JB Pritzker said political leaders — starting with President Donald Trump — need to do more to condemn political violence. “He actively fans the flames of division, as he did on Friday, regularly advocates violence for political retribution, and in more than one case, declares we are at war, not with a foreign adversary, but with each other,” Pritzker said. “I don’t believe any of that.” Pritzker’s critique of the president comes after the governor faced backlash last week for immediately tying conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination to Trump’s rhetoric. * Republican Joseph Johnson has launched a bid against Rep. Marty Moylan in the 55th House District. Press release…
The 55th District leans Democratic. Rep. Moylan won reelection by 9 points in 2022, while Gov. JB Pritzker carried it by 17. The last Republican to prevail there was Leslie Munger, who won the 2016 comptroller’s race by 3 points. * Sun-Times | In a spirit of pride, Pilsen turns out for El Grito celebration: The Mexican Cultural Committee of Chicago hosted the annual Mexican Independence eve celebration — El Grito, on Monday evening at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Pilsen. However, the mood was subdued amid concerns of increased enforcement activity in Chicago by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Committee president Teresa Fraga says she doesn’t regret hosting the event under the current circumstances. * WBEZ | South Chicago charter school may abruptly close, stranding 250 students: Epic Charter School in South Chicago with about 250 students informed CPS on Aug. 21 that it was facing “persistent enrollment declines and rising operational costs,” according to the district. The board of the privately managed, publicly funded school is expected to formally vote on the closure at its meeting Wednesday. “While CPS is not making this decision, we are deeply committed to supporting Epic students, families and staff throughout any transition,” district officials said in a statement. * WTTW | 2 More Developments Designed to Transform Chicago’s Financial District Into a Residential Neighborhood Advance: The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee endorsed the $241 million plan from Riverside Investment & Development/AmTrust to transform the 1.3 million-square-foot building that used to be home to Bank of America at 135 S. LaSalle St. into an apartment building with 386 units, including 116 units set aside for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans. The project relies on $98 million in city subsidies, and includes “event and cultural spaces as well as a fresh-market grocer,” according to the developer. * NYT | 20 Years Ago, Alinea Electrified Chicago Dining. Does It Still Matter?: Flames leap. Ice smokes. Servers march and whirl. You’re in for a show, and maybe for the price, you’d better be. This can be fun when it’s not domineering. “Eat immediately,” I was warned in the blandly elegant Salon upstairs. “And keep your mouth shut.” Servers in the more intimate Gallery downstairs were gentler, recasting commands as helpful advice: If you don’t shut your mouth, the contents of the exploding raviolo will likely end up all over the table. * Sun-Times | Federal agents make immigration arrests in West Chicago and at West Side courthouse: More than a dozen people were taken into custody by federal immigration agents Monday in raids near a west suburban police station and a Chicago courthouse, according to a state lawmaker and court officials. State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, said her office received reports that immigration agents would be out across DuPage County early in the morning, and she spotted about nine agents in the West Chicago Police Department parking lot. * Evanston Now | Grocery tax passes, Biss promises veto: Once Biss formally vetoes the ordinance, the six members of the City Council in favor of reinstating the tax are expected to add a veto-override vote to the regularly scheduled Sept. 29 City Council meeting. The state set a deadline of the end of September for municipalities to reinstate the tax locally, after abolishing it statewide last year. * ABC Chicago | Some seek East Aurora school board member’s resignation over alleged racially insensitive comments: On Monday night, District 131 School Board member Mayra Reyes publicly apologized for comments she allegedly made a year ago during an interview for a then-vacant school board position. “I deeply apologize for the hurt and frustration. Clearly, it was never my intention to offend or discriminate in any way, shape, or form against any minority group,” Reyes said. * Tribune | Black leaders concerned about ‘unwelcome’ climate in East Aurora School District: According to audio obtained by The Beacon-News of last year’s interview for the vacant school board position, Reyes claimed she was “not as in support of (the dual language program) as I once was” because “I struggle with the fact we are now giving the advantage that Spanish speakers may have at one point … over somebody who wasn’t bilingual.” According to the audio recording, she went on to say, “Now we are making all of us kind of all even in that playing field.” And as an example Reyes on the recording described “an African American kid who did not grow up speaking Spanish” now being able to speak Spanish “along with the kid who did grow up speaking Spanish” and might seek a job as a translator. “And now the African American kid can, too,” she said on the audio recording of the interview. “So I feel like that advantage has been taken away.” * Daily Herald | Pace reveals passenger upgrades at Schaumburg bus hub but specter of fiscal cliff looms: After years of being exposed to the elements, riders at Pace’s Northwest Transportation Center in Schaumburg finally have a place to warm up, cool down and stay dry. Officials marked the opening of a $7.2 million renovation that includes a large indoor waiting room, expanded park-n-ride lot and the region’s first ADA paratransit transfer facility last week. * Daily Herald | Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates to establish emergency connection of water systems: They along with the neighboring suburbs of Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Mount Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Streamwood found themselves already prepared to rely on backup sources during the four-day repair of a leak in a Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency water main in the spring. Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said his village had kept its wells in working order for such an eventuality in addition to having already completed an emergency interconnect with unaffected Palatine. * Tribune | Suburban La Luz Del Mundo church leader ordered held in child sex trafficking case: A federal judge in Chicago on Monday ordered the pastor of a local chapter of the La Luz del Mundo megachurch held in custody to face federal charges alleging he helped cover up a widespread child sex trafficking operation that authorities say victimized young members of the church for decades. * WGLT | Toxic bacteria shut down this town’s water supply. Fertilizer runoff is fueling the issue: After that crisis, Toledo installed sensors and carbon filtration to ensure its water supply is clean. Similarly, in August, the Mattoon City Council voted to invest in new measures to help protect its water system from algal blooms. The city will spend roughly $300,000 to spray algaecide to control algae blooms in both of its reservoirs and replace a broken water pump. City Manager Kyle Gill said that eventually, they’ll need to dredge both reservoirs to get rid of fertilizer-laden silt. * BND | What Trump priorities, EPA firings mean for sewage spills in metro-east city: At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the employee tasked with coordinating the local, state and federal response in Cahokia Heights and tracking the projects and funding was assigned to a different job in January, according to the lawmakers. Other employees at the EPA were fired under former Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Duckworth said the regional EPA office that oversees Cahokia Heights is now understaffed. * WGLT | Young Democrat Montez Soliz to challenge incumbent Eric Sorensen in 17th District primary: Montez Soliz is another example of the trend. The Rockford native said he’s running against Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen in the March primary for the 17th Congressional District in Illinois. “My platform runs on three basic points: economic justice, health care and rights and building strong communities. I believe that we need to be making work pay with better wages and benefits, legislatively, expanding earned tax income credit, child tax credit,” said Soliz. * Capitol City Now | Massey Commission shares final recommendations for change following Sonya’s death: Johnson says they also recommend a publicly-accessible database for incidents of potential officer misconduct. Another recommendation was that some officer training should be given before they leave the academy, and not, in some cases, after a couple of years of work on the street — especially in the area of de-escalation. * WCIA | Champaign Co. Circuit Clerk offering Amnesty Week: The Champaign County Circuit Clerk’s office has announced that it’ll host Amnesty Week in October, helping people save money when paying fines. Amnesty Week will run from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31. The Circuit Clerk’s office said during that time, anyone who owes money on any criminal, traffic, DUI, ordinance violation or conservation violation can avoid paying late fees and collection fees. * NYT | Appeals Court Says Lisa Cook Can Remain on Fed Board: A federal appeals court on Monday denied a last-minute attempt by President Trump to fire Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, and prevent her from participating in a crucial two-day Fed meeting to set interest rates. As a result, Ms. Cook will be able to cast a vote at the gathering, which begins on Tuesday. * Art News | Trump Orders National Park to Remove Famed Photograph of Formerly Enslaved Man: Following a threatened crackdown on what he his administration called “corrosive ideology” in American museums, Donald Trump has ordered a national park to remove a famous photograph of a formerly enslaved man baring his scarred back. The Washington Post, which first reported the news on Monday night, did not specify which park would be impacted by the removal of the photograph and cited anonymous sources. But the article said it was one of “multiple” parks impacted by the orders, which target “signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks,” per the article.
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