* The Sun-Times…

Six people, including congressional candidate and social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh, are set to be arraigned at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon on charges stemming from protests outside the feds’ immigration facility in Broadview.

It’s one of a series of controversial prosecutions at the federal courthouse tied to the feds’ “Operation Midway Blitz” deportation campaign. The arraignment is expected to draw protests and prompt speeches in the Federal Plaza across the street from the courthouse.

One of the six charged, Catherine Sharp, told followers on social media Wednesday she was “heading to court today for my arraignment on ludicrous charges” tied to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the western suburbs.

The charges stem from a protest Sept. 26 outside the Broadview facility, which has been the subject of separate litigation. Video of the incident shows Abughazaleh and several others crowding and pushing against a black SUV, slowing its approach toward the facility.

The Tribune’s Jason Meisner is in the courtroom…

Judge McShain is on the bench
Abughazaleh pleads not guilty though her attorney, as do all the other 5 defendants.
Prosecutor Sheri Mecklenberg says they face up to 6 years in prison on the conspiracy charge.

— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) November 12, 2025

* Bloomberg…

China’s purchases of American soybeans appear to have stalled, less than two weeks after the U.S. touted a wide-ranging trade truce that signaled thawing relations between the world’s two biggest economies.

After a flurry of orders late last month — which were the first of this season — Chinese imports of U.S. cargoes seem to have faltered, according to traders who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. They said they were not aware of new shipments. The pause is fueling uncertainty over whether the biggest consumer of American soybeans will import as much as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration claims to expect. […]

Washington said Beijing had pledged to buy 12 million tons of soybeans by the end of this year, followed by 25 million tons annually over the next three years. China has yet to confirm the specific purchase commitments mentioned by Trump’s team, but Beijing has reduced tariffs on American soybeans and lifted import bans on three American exporters, including CHS Inc., reciprocating similar conciliatory actions from the U.S. […]

China has spent the past few months buying massive amounts of South American beans in a bid to diversify its sources. Therefore, Chinese demand is expected to be lower in the coming months regardless of any trade deal with the U.S., according to Vitor Pistoia, senior grains and oilseeds analyst at Rabobank.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson sues to keep $6 million federal grant for community policing: The new lawsuit filed this week in federal district court in Chicago challenges conditions that the Justice Department imposed on a $6.25 million grant that the Johnson administration had hoped to use to recruit, hire and train 50 Chicago police officers to fill vacancies in the city’s community policing program. St. Paul, Minnesota, joined Chicago in asking the court to declare such grant conditions illegal.

* Injustice Watch | ‘Horrific’ video of incident at Chicago’s juvenile jail raises questions about recent trial, experts say: The minute-and-a-half-long video, which was provided to Injustice Watch by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in response to a public records request, appears to show former detention center rapid response specialist Kevin Walker flinging a handcuffed 15-year-old boy to the floor by his shirt. Shortly after, the boy can be seen lying motionless on the floor of a holding cell. The boy was knocked unconscious and sustained visible bruising around his left eye, according to the testimony of a doctor who treated him afterward.

* AP | Chicagoans buy out street vendors amid a federal immigration crackdown: In Little Village, Rick Rosales, community organizer with Cycling x Solidarity, helps organize two of these “buy out” rides per week that typically support five street vendors each. “The vendors are often speechless,” Rosales said. “They’ll say, ‘I have a lot of tamales. You want all of them?’”

* Sun-Times | CTA board approves no fare increase in 2026 budget, questions when new transit bill money will come: The board’s Wednesday budget vote closes the door on a potential fare increase after the Regional Transportation Authority walked back its 10% fare hike requirement last week for CTA, Metra and Pace. The RTA did so after the state legislature passed a $1.5 billion transit bailout last month, sparing the agencies from drastic service cuts. Without the CTA’s 25 cent fare hike for bus and train tickets, the agency expects to lose nearly $30 million in additional revenue next year, according to budget figures shared at the board meeting. Those lost funds will be made up by $141 million in extra money from the transit bill, which Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to sign.

* WTTW | With No Easy Fixes in Sight, Debate Over Chicago’s 2026 Spending Plan Reaches Tipping Point: But a marathon session before the City Council’s Budget and Government Operations Committee on Monday made it clear there is no easy way to bridge the city’s $1.19 billion projected shortfall, leaving alderpeople across the political spectrum frustrated as the budget debate hits a tipping point. Even as departmental budget hearings are set to wrap up Thursday, there is no clear consensus on the bulk of Johnson’s proposal to impose $617 million in new taxes on the wealthiest Chicagoans and largest firms. That makes it likely negotiations over the city’s spending plan will once again stretch past Thanksgiving, forcing alderpeople to scramble to meet a Dec. 31 deadline.

* WBEZ | What happens to survivors of police torture after the big payout?: James Gibson is a busy man. The 59 year-old has his hand in a number of projects, from starting an investment firm to writing an autobiography to producing music. He feels he has no time to waste because he spent nearly 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. “I lost everything,” he said. “I never had a chance to serve my country. I never had no kids. I never had a chance to get married. I don’t know what it feel[s] like to be feeling emotions. I don’t know what it feel[s] like [to have] human contact.. [The] only thing I had was God.”

* Sun-Times | Try to see the Northern Lights over the Chicago area Wednesday night: Residents got their first taste Tuesday night when the aurora borealis lit up the night sky in pink, yellow and green. It was the most visible example of the Northern Lights in the Chicago area since at least October 2024, when another geomagnetic storm sent heads looking up to the sky. Forecasters say those who missed it might get another shot.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Bodycam video shows how Palatine police officer assisted immigration agents with arrest: The arrest, and the officer’s involvement, led some residents to call for Palatine leaders to ban immigration agents from using village property and resources. Village Manager Reid Ottesen told a packed crowd at Monday’s village board meeting there are no plans to enact such policies because they are merely cosmetic and unenforceable. The village also defended the officer’s actions, saying the unidentified officer “made a split-second decision to assist in stabilizing the situation.”

* Daily Herald | Barrington delays ICE ordinance, Palatine rebuffs citizen proposal: arrington officials delayed action on a proposal restricting federal immigration agents from village property, while Palatine leaders rejected a similar proposal. Both boards met Monday night. A packed audience at village hall in Palatine was upset with the decision announced by Village Manager Reid Ottesen. “As a longtime Palatine resident, I have never felt unsafe in our community until today,” said resident Jennie Lussow, who captured video of two masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with guns detaining a man Monday afternoon at the corner of Colfax and Schiller streets.

* Naperville Sun | Police make gun-related arrest No. 17 near Naperville Topgolf: Naperville police were patrolling the Topgolf parking lot at 3211 Odyssey Court when officers “took note of an odor of fresh cannabis coming from a parked vehicle,” Naperville police Cmdr. Rick Krakow said. When officers observed multiple people, including Billups, return to the vehicle, they pulled it over for an unlawful tint violation, Krakow said. Billups was seen reaching down as if he was placing something on the floorboard, leading police to conduct a probable cause search that revealed open cannabis and alcohol. Under the front passenger seat, which was just in front of Billups, officers found a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun, Krakow said. Billups did not possess a valid Firearm Owners Identification card or a concealed carry license, leading to his arrest.

* Aurora Beacon-News | St. Charles adopts new rules for e-bikes, e-scooters: St. Charles officials have indicated that the city’s ordinance reflects current state law, which offers some guidance about where e-bikes can be used and who can ride them, but also gives local municipalities some leeway to make their own rules. Under Illinois law, e-bikes, which are sometimes referred to as low-speed electric bicycles, are different from an electric motorcycle. An e-bike must have an electric motor of less than 750 watts, and is split into three classes.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville rules for e-bikes, e-scooters would set age limits, make parents liable for fines: If adopted, the new minimum age requirement for e-bikes in Naperville would be 16. Fines ranging from $100 to $500 would be assessed on the parents of children caught violating the law.

* Daily Herald | ‘We are listening’: Wauconda District 118 officials pause proposed deficit reduction plan: The school board was to have voted on the budget deficit reduction plan Thursday but the item will be removed from the agenda to allow for more discussion and input. Parents and others say the situation remains concerning and there is no transparency or accountability about how the deficit happened.

* Shaw Local | Dale Berman’s widow among 4 to be interviewed for his seat on Kane County Board: Mary Berman, Dale Berman’s widow, is one of the candidates for the seat. The other three are Batavia Township resident Kimberley Young and North Aurora residents Martha Quetsch Davison and Matt Dingeldein. Mary Berman described herself as a “dedicated and compassionate professional with over 42 years of experience in retail, specializing in fine jewelry sales and customer service.”

* NASCAR | NASCAR appoints Jacqueline Herrera as general manager of Chicagoland Speedway: As a child, Jacque Herrera was heading to Chicagoland Speedway to watch the stars of NASCAR rip around the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, Illinois. She gets to relive those glory days in a new way now as Herrera was introduced as general manager of Chicagoland Speedway on Tuesday, just under eight months before NASCAR makes its triumphant return to Will County for the 2026 Fourth of July weekend.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | U of I College of Media removes Illinois Public Media executive director, promotes from within to fill: Staff at the Urbana-based station learned in an email Tuesday morning that the College of Media is removing current executive director Moss Bresnahan, moving him to an advisory role within the college. Longtime development and operations leaders John Steinbacher and Lillie Duncanson are being promoted to share the executive director role. “The fact that they picked two people within the organization who had been working here for so long, I think, says that they have a lot of confidence not only in Lillie and I but in the entire team and in the direction that Illinois Public Media has been heading,” Steinbacher said.

* 25News Now | New chemical manufacturing plant to run along Illinois River in Peoria: Viridis Industrial Chemistry will be operating next to the former BioUjra facility. Based in Nebraska, the company specializes in producing ethyl acetate, a renewable chemical compound commonly used in manufacturing. This compound has previously been made using fossil fuels, but Viridis will use corn-based ethanol as a greener alternative.

* WNIJ | Rockford panel to discuss local housing shortage and homelessness on Nov. 12: The League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford is hosting a community housing meeting Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 6-8 p.m. at the Rockford District 1 Police Station. The meeting will discuss needed resources such as affordable housing, homelessness and home maintenance. Gina Meeks is an alderwoman in Rockford who represents the city’s 12th ward. She says Winnebago County faces a shortage of between 3,000-9,000 housing units over the next decade to meet demand.

* WSIL | Carterville library trades food for fines to help with food insecurity: “This is the time of year when the community needs to come together and support people who maybe don’t have that support on their own,” said Adult Services Librarian Mike Terrana. All collected items will be donated to the Crainville and Cambria pantries.

* WCIA | EIU looking to improve emergency messaging after Monday’s false threat: While the call wasn’t credible, students said it wasn’t any less alarming to receive emergency notifications from the university on the situation or false information from friends that a campus shooting was underway. “EIU recognizes that some of its emergency messaging created confusion or concern,” university officials said in a news release. “Emergency situations are dynamic and complex, and EIU recognizes the importance of clear, timely, and easily understood communication in such moments.”

*** National ***

* NYT | The Penny Dies at 232: The American penny died on Wednesday in Philadelphia. It was 232. The cause was irrelevance and expensiveness, the Treasury Department said. Nothing could be bought any more with a penny, not even penny candy. Moreover, the cost to mint the penny had risen to more than 3 cents, a financial absurdity that doomed the coin. The final pennies were minted on Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. Top Treasury officials were on hand for its final journey. No last words were recorded.

* 404 Media | Judge Rules Flock Surveillance Images Are Public Records That Can Be Requested By Anyone: In a ruling last week, Judge Elizabeth Neidzwski ruled that “the Flock images generated by the Flock cameras located in Stanwood and Sedro-Wooley [Washington] are public records under the Washington State Public Records Act,” that they are “not exempt from disclosure,” and that “an agency does not have to possess a record for that record to be subject to the Public Records Act.” […] Stanwood’s attorneys first argued that the records were Flock’s, not the city’s, which is clearly contradicted in the contract, which states “customer [Stanwood] shall retain whatever legally cognizable right, title, and interest in Customer Generated Data … Flock does not own and shall not sell Customer Generated Data.”