* Tribune…

A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday issued a sweeping injunction that puts more permanent restrictions on the use of force by immigration agents during “Operation Midway Blitz,” saying top government officials lied in their testimony about threats that protesters posed and that their unlawful behavior on the streets “shows no signs of stopping.”

“I find the government’s evidence to be simply not credible,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said in an oral ruling from the bench, describing a litany of incidents over the past month and a half where citizens were tear-gassed “indiscriminately,” beaten and tackled by agents and struck in the face with pepper spray balls. […]

The judge noted in particular that Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino lied repeatedly in his deposition testimony about force that his agents and he personally inflicted in incidents across the Chicago area.

“In one of the videos, Bovino obviously attacks and tackles the declarant, Mr. Blackburn, to the ground,” Ellis said. “But Mr. Bovino, despite watching this video (in his deposition) says that he never used force.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

Chicago-area public transportation agencies won’t need to raise fares, cut routes or lay off workers next year after state lawmakers approved a bill overhauling public transit, the head of the Regional Transportation Authority said Thursday.

The RTA held a special meeting to approve new funding projections for 2026 through 2028 based on revenue estimates from new funding sources for public transportation. Those were approved by the General Assembly last week in Senate bill 2111, which Gov. JB Pritzker said he will sign.

The new funding is good news for the future of public transportation in the Chicago area, RTA Chair Kirk Dillard said.

“We can say confidently that in 2026 we will not see any cuts to service,” Dillard said. “We will not see any layoffs pending our action today, and riders will not see fare increases, and instead, will continue to see improvements in service.”

*** Immigration-related ***

* Tribune | Judge orders release of US Border Patrol head Gregory Bovino deposition videos: Watch them here: Bovino, who is leading Trump’s immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area, testified that he is leading roughly 220 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents as part of the so-called Operation Midway Blitz. He said he reports directly to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

* Tribune | What to know about immigration enforcement raids in Chicago after 3 months: Political tensions have deepened, hundreds of immigrants, protesters and bystanders have been detained or arrested during raids, and thousands have protested across Chicago and the suburbs, from Home Depot and Target parking lots to outside the two-story brick U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview to the massive No Kings Rally downtown.

* AP | Judge will order federal agents in Chicago to restrict using force against protesters and media: Ellis said it is “simply untrue” that the Chicago area is a violent place of rioters. “I don’t find defendants’ version of events credible,” Ellis said. She described protesters and advocates facing tear gas, having guns pointed at them and being thrown to the ground, saying “that would cause a reasonable person to think twice about exercising their fundamental rights.”

* WTTW | Federal Judge Imposes Strict Restrictions on Immigration Agents’ Use of Force Against Protesters, Media, Clergy: Ellis is now the second federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois to find that federal agents have presented unreliable testimony about their actions and the actions of Chicagoans in response to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort.

* Sun-Times | Federal judge enters broader order governing feds’ use of force during immigration blitz: Bovino, in full uniform, testified on video that the use of force by federal agents in Chicago has been “more than exemplary.” He also admitted that he threw tear gas in Little Village last month before he was purportedly hit in the head by a rock, contradicting earlier claims, lawyers said. But Steven Art, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the judge the Trump administration defendants in the case “should be ashamed of themselves.” “It’s a disgrace,” Art said of the way people in Chicago have been treated during Operation Midway Blitz. “And one of the great things about our Constitution is that, if that’s what we think, we can say it.”

* 9th CD candidate Daniel Biss talked with detained ICE protestors Jennifer Moriarty…

*** Statewide ***

* WAND | ISBE opens applications for $37.8m after school grant competition: ISBE said that the grant competition will provide an estimated $37.8 million in federal funding over the next three years. The competition is funded through Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the program that ultimately supports schools and other community organizations in establishing or expanding after-school programs helping students meet learning expectations.

* Stand for Children | Confused about… ISBE’s Accountability System Overhaul?: The “consistent attendance” (i.e., inverse of chronic absenteeism) metric sorts schools into categories based on whether they hit certain attendance benchmarks. For example, if over 85% of high school students are consistent attendees, the school is ‘Exemplary.’ If 70% – 85% are consistent attendees, the school is ‘Commendable.’ (Keep in mind here that 70% is five points lower than state average.) If fewer than 40% of students are consistent attendees, the school is ‘Comprehensive.’ But if a school grows its consistent attendance rate from 70% to 80%, the system does not recognize that.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | ‘Clean Slate’ Act passes after failing to clear legislature in past years: The Clean Slate Initiative — a bipartisan organization that seeks to pass automatic record sealing laws across the U.S. — estimates that sealing records would infuse $4.7 billion in lost wages back into the state’s economy annually. “To me, this is a jobs bill,” Sims said of the Clean Slate Act. Twelve other states and the District of Columbia have similar laws in place, according to advocates.

* CBS Chicago | Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch touts success of transit funding bill: Supporters said it will avert the need for drastic cuts to the Chicago area’s mass transit systems without a significant statewide tax hike.”We did that without new taxes on ridesharing, on food delivery, on streamlining services, or on homes,” Welch said. “We improved public transit in Illinois with reforms and funding.”

* Obituary | Mark D. Obrien: Mark was born August 7, 1950 in Springfield, Illinois, the son of Edward P.O’Brien, Sr., and Virginia (Davlin) O’Brien. Shortly after graduating from Griffin High School, Mark began working for the Democratic House of Representatives staff in 1971, retiring as a Special Assistant to the Speaker of the House in 2003. Mark married the absolute love of his life, Paulette Rettinghaus O’Brien, on August 1, 1975. They had celebrated their 50th anniversary shortly before Mark’s death. Upon retiring, Mark then spent several years on his personal project, “Pretty City,” volunteering to help elderly people with their yardwork or anything else they might need done. While known for his loud growl and occasional bark, Mark had no bite, all he really wanted to do was help others.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson defends budget plan despite warning of credit downgrade: Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his $16.6 billion 2026 budget proposal today despite what amounted to a warning it could lead to the city’s credit being downgraded because of an over-reliance on one-time solutions. ​​”In the past two and a half years, every single budget that I put forth has been overwhelmingly structural in nature,” Johnson said, despite S&P Global Ratings lowering the city’s credit outlook one notch to negative.

* AP | Texts appear to show Border Patrol agent bragging about shooting a woman in Chicago: The messages were presented as evidence in federal court Wednesday. Martinez, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, are charged with assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon. In the text, agent Exum wrote that he had “an amendment to add to” his story. “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys,” the text read.

* Sun-Times | Chicago’s new transit money, set to kick in late 2026, will first revive disability ride-share program: The bill awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature is set to pump an additional $1.5 billion a year to the state’s money-starved transit system. But the additional revenue won’t kick in until the last half of 2026, when new taxes are expected to raise nearly $320 million for transit by year’s end, officials said. That’s not enough money in 2026 for the promised “transformational” change to public transit. Officials say to expect that in 2027, when a full $1.2 billion in extra funding is expected for the CTA, Metra and Pace. But there is enough cash expected next year to shore up the system’s workforce and revive an ADA ride-share program that was on the chopping block.

* Chicago Reader | Many unhoused Chicagoans uncounted among the disappeared: These factors make the abductions of unhoused Chicagoans difficult to verify and track. Their disappearances further highlight their vulnerability in a city that has seen multiple high-profile closures of tent encampments, some in below-freezing temperatures. For example, Gompers Park, near where Samuel and Theo were taken, has featured prominently in headlines this year. It’s become a flash point for intense community disagreement about whether unhoused residents living in tents in the park should be evicted or allowed to stay at a time when Chicago is enduring an affordable housing crisis. (There is no emergency shelter for unhoused single people on the city’s northwest side, where Gompers Park is located.)

* Daily Herald | Here’s what to know about shutdown-related flight cancellations at O’Hare: CEO Scott Kirby told employees that long-haul international flying and hub-to-hub flying “will not be impacted by this schedule reduction.” United’s domestic hubs are at O’Hare plus Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark (New Jersey), San Francisco and Washington Dulles international airports. “Instead, we will focus our schedule reductions on regional flying and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between our hubs,” Kirby said.

* Sun-Times | How Merit School of Music built a culture of inclusion for Chicago music students: The school’s 20-year-old band program is run by Merit School of Music, a West Loop nonprofit that removes barriers to classical music through its community programs and tuition-free conservatory. The school serves more than 2,900 students, across nearly 140 zip codes. A third of the students are Latino. And a Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ survey revealed that, compared to the slow progress of some of the city’s other large arts and culture organizations, Merit has made sizable efforts to diversify its organization, with people of color making up 44% of its board and 61% of its full-time staff. In Chicago, people of color make up 68% of Chicago’s population, with Latinos representing 30% of residents, according to the 2023 American Community Survey.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | Naperville commission vote on data center delayed again after residents pack meeting: “I think there’s certainly been more residential in the corridor in the last couple years,” Whitaker said Wednesday. “But I think the corridor has to evolve. … It’s going to take some reimagining. It’s going to take uses that are consistent with the future of the economy.” But residents — especially those who will live in the nearby Naper Commons, Fairmeadow and Danada Woods subdivisions — have been pushing back against the plan. A petition circulating online in opposition to the project had more than 3,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

* Tribune | Banana-selling robots pitch customers in test run at three suburban Jewel stores: Take Servi, an AI-powered robotic cart that has popped up recently in three suburban Jewel-Osco stores, following shoppers around the produce aisle and spouting prerecorded witticisms in an effort to sell bunches of bananas atop its trays. “We’re still gathering data, but so far, it shows very promising results,” said Danny Dumas, senior vice president for Florida-based Fresh Del Monte, which is testing out the produce robots in the Chicago area for a potential national rollout. “The robot may have a voice that can scare a few people away, but overall, people like it.”

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora considering new location, provider for winter warming shelter : The proposal, which will go before the Aurora City Council for potential final approval on Tuesday evening, would have the shelter operated by Becoming Oswego Church at a cost of around $135,000. The temporary warming shelter would be open overnight when temperatures are at or below 32 degrees for at least six hours within a 24-hour period, a change from past years’ threshold temperature of 15 degrees.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | Murphysboro Food Pantry receives $11K from Samron Midwest: Samron Midwest Contracting employees have made a significant contribution to the Murphysboro Food Pantry. Their donation of $11,000 will support families in need during the holiday season. “This generous gift will help us provide countless families in our community with full tables and warm meals,” said a representative of the Murphysboro Food Pantry.

* BND | Backed by state grant, construction of metro-east grocery store is set to begin: The Illinois Grocery Initiative covered $2.4 million of the $5 million total cost to build the store and restaurant in Venice. The General Assembly created the $20 million program in 2023 to help seed grocery stores in food deserts in urban and rural parts of the state. The closest grocery stores or supermarkets are at least four miles away from Venice residents in Granite City. Urban communities are considered to be a food desert if grocery stores are more than one mile away, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

* The Southern | $2 million Carbondale street project aims to connect key corridors, boost safety: Funded through Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois program, the $2 million project will rebuild sections of three downtown streets — Poplar Street between Mill and Oak streets, Cherry Street between Oakland and Illinois avenues and College Street between Forest and University avenues. The streets serve as vital links connecting Southern Illinois University, SIH Memorial Hospital and downtown Carbondale and the improvements aim to enhance safety and accessibility throughout the area.

* The Daily Egyptian | Carbondale grocery tax replaces Illinois state levy starting Jan. 2026: Mayor Carolin Harvey said after a City Council meeting on Oct. 28 that the decision maintains existing revenue streams. “The 1% was already there,” Harvey said. […] The grocery tax revenue is deposited into the city’s general fund, which has revenues of approximately $31 million and expenditures of $31.5 million out of a total city budget of approximately $80.1 million, according to Davis.

* SJ-R | Illinois’ oldest living resident Wenonah Bish of Sherman dies at 113: Bish turned 113 years old just a month prior. Born in Springfield in 1912, Bish was cited by the Gerontology Research Group as being the fifth oldest-living person in the U.S. and the 19th oldest-living person in the world. […] Family friend Kathryn Harris noted that Bish had seen “everything from the beginning of automobiles to moon landings. ‘It happened, it’s done, let’s just keep moving,’ seemed to me her philosophy and outlook.”

*** National ***

* CNBC | Job cuts in October hit highest level for the month in 22 years, Challenger says: Job cuts for the month totaled 153,074, a 183% surge from September and 175% higher than the same month a year ago. It was the highest level for any October since 2003. This has been the worst year for announced layoffs since 2009.

* WSJ | Builders Are Offering Mortgage-Rate Discounts. Home Buyers Aren’t Biting.: America’s biggest builders are struggling to sell homes even when they offer buyers a 4% mortgage. Their experience suggests rate cuts alone won’t be enough to boost weak sales in the wider housing market. The number of completed but unsold new homes has reached levels last seen in the summer of 2009, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows. At the end of last year, builders were confident that sales would recover in 2025 and built tens of thousands of units to have enough supply for the spring-buying season. But demand didn’t pick up, and more homes sat unsold.

* The Hill | Household debt hits record $18.6T as delinquencies remain elevated: Total household debt climbed to a record $18.6 trillion last quarter, and while most borrowers remain on track with payments, young Americans are feeling the pressure. During the third quarter, 3 percent of outstanding balances became seriously delinquent — 90 days or more past due — the largest quarterly increase since 2014, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Among those ages 18 to 29, the rate was about 5 percent — more than double a year earlier and the highest of any age group.

* NBC | Jury acquits D.C. ’sandwich guy’ charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent: The jury — which feasted on sandwiches for lunch Thursday, according to a person familiar with jury lunches — deliberated the charges for several hours Wednesday and Thursday before delivering the verdict. […] Border Patrol Officer Greg Lairmore received two “gag gifts” related to the incident — a plush sandwich and a patch featuring a cartoon of Dunn throwing the sandwich with the words “Felony Footlong” — which the defense team argued showed this was not a serious event in his life.

* NYT | Meg White’s Drumming Spoke Louder Than Words: The rest has been silence. After exactly a decade with the White Stripes, Meg White disappeared into the quiet banality of a private life. It’s highly unlikely that she will break that lull by appearing at this weekend’s Rock Hall ceremony in Los Angeles, even as her band earns the honor of being inducted alongside Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Chubby Checker and others.

* Electrek | Australia has so much solar that it’s offering everyone free electricity: So, the Australian government has decided on a scheme to bring those electricity savings to the consumer, with what its calling its “Solar Sharer” program. The program would require electricity retailers to provide free electricity to everyone for at least three hours a day, in recognition of the incredibly low wholesale cost of electricity during daytime due to extensive solar power penetration.