…Adding…The Tribune…

Only 2.6% on list of 614 ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories, DOJ records show

The Trump administration on Friday released the names of 614 people whose Chicago-area immigration arrests may have violated a 2022 consent decree, and only 16 of them have criminal histories that present a “high public safety risk.”

The list was produced as part of an ongoing lawsuit alleging immigration agents have repeatedly violated the terms of the in-court settlement, mostly during “Operation Midway Blitz,” that puts a high bar on making so-called warrantless arrests without a prior warrant or probable cause.

The Department of Homeland Security has claimed since the outset of the operation that they were going after the “worst of the worst,” including convicted murderers, rapists and other violent offenders who were allegedly taking advantage of Illinois’ sanctuary policies to terrorize the citizenry.

But the government’s own data, provided in a filing posted to the public docket Friday, appeared to show otherwise. Of the 16 arrestees with criminal histories — or about 2.6% of the 614 people — five involved domestic battery, two were related to drunken driving, and one allegedly had an unidentified criminal history in another country.

* Sun-Times…

What started as a peaceful protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview erupted into scuffles, shoving and multiple arrests Friday morning. Four police officers were hurt and 21 demonstrators, including faith leaders, were arrested during the demonstration demanding an end to immigration “abductions” in the Chicago area. […]

Officers from the Cook County sheriff’s police, state police and Broadview police were on hand during the event. During the fray, several demonstrators could be heard yelling and chanting as a Broadview police officer pulled out a taser and shot it in the air as an apparent warning.

Oak Park resident Sue Humphreys was trying to call for de-escalation as protesters spilled into the streets and the shoving began. […]

“The violence by out-of-town protesters that has led to two Village of Broadview police officers, one Illinois State police officer, and a Cook County Sheriff’s deputy being injured this morning, with the two Broadview officers and the sheriff’s deputy being transported to Loyola hospital, is unacceptable and outrageous,” [Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson] said in a statement.

“I have repeatedly pleaded to protesters to raise their voices, not their fists. They have chosen their fists,” Thompson said in the statement. “These out-of-towners have chosen to brutalize police officers who have been protecting their free speech and protecting them against assaults by ICE agents. We will see them in court,” Thompson said in the statement.

*** Statewide ***

* The Grist | ‘They’re playing games’: Illinois lawmakers press Trump administration over stalled lead-pipe funding: Lead pipes are ubiquitous. At this point, no state has gotten rid of all of its toxic lead service lines, which pipe drinking water to homes and businesses. But some cities like Chicago, New York City, and Detroit have more lead plumbing than others, and replacing it can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Biden-era infrastructure law, promised $15 billion for lead pipe replacements across the country to be disbursed over five years. But in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency sent earlier this week, a group of Illinois congressional delegates allege that $3 billion appropriated for lead pipe replacements nationwide for the fiscal year that ended in September has not reached communities yet. They warn that the delay is a “dangerous politicization” that puts children and families at risk.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WCIA | New gun legislation looking to make a difference in Illinois: Mayors, police chiefs and more heard the breakdown of the Responsibility In Firearms Legislation Act, or RIFL. Experts say people being hurt from firearms costs the public in Illinois between $18-20 billion each year. This new act would pass those costs onto gun manufacturers instead.

* The Real Deal | Pritzker’s attack on surging home-insurance rates killed in Springfield: Illinois’ regulatory void has become a political liability. Pritzker, speaking Thursday in Chicago, framed the State Farm hike as exactly the kind of move that should trigger state oversight. The Bloomington-based giant blamed extreme weather and rising repair costs, but the governor said that explanation wasn’t enough. “We don’t know if homeowners are being gouged,” he said, adding that a nearly 30 percent jump “ought to be reviewed by a state regulator.”

* BND | ‘Something came off’ Bailey helicopter before it crashed, witness says: The witness, whose name was not released, said she saw the helicopter flying low over the Chalk Buttes ahead of the Cessna. […] “She stated that the helicopter then began to gain altitude, and something came off it, after which it descended out of her line of sight,” the report states.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Key alderman warning Mayor Brandon Johnson a vote on budget ‘premature’: Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, told reporters after weeks of budget hearings for Johnson’s $16.6 billion spending plan concluded Thursday that she advised the Johnson administration not to proceed with a vote in her committee Monday. But she stopped short of saying she would try to block a vote should the mayor proceed regardless. “I think going on Monday is premature. I have said that to the administration,” Dowell told reporters. “My role as the Finance chair is to give advice, and on Monday I’m going to have a meeting, and those things will either be on the agenda or they won’t. And I will call balls and strikes, and we’ll see where this goes.”

* Fox Chicago | Chicago alders urge Mayor Johnson to slow down on $16.7B budget push: Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) is questioning the timing, as folks will be hearing about these higher taxes just as their second installment Cook County property tax bills arrive in the mail. “But that’s going to create the kind of atmosphere that will make it difficult for this mayor to pass a budget that doesn’t include any cuts and efficiencies,” he said. “People will open their tax bill and they’ll get angry, and they’ll call their elected official and they’ll say, ‘what’s going on here? Why did my bills go up?’ They don’t want to hear that elected official say, ‘well, you know, we’re going to tax you even more this year, but don’t worry about it.’ That’s a very hard sell in an anti-tax environment like we’re faced with right now.”

* WTTW | DoorDash Agrees to Pay $18M to Settle Chicago Lawsuit Alleging Firms Hurt Restaurants During COVID-19 Pandemic: The lawsuit was brought by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The city also sued Grubhub, another third-party delivery service, and that lawsuit is scheduled for trial on Dec. 10. A spokesperson for DoorDash could not immediately be reached for comment. The city’s lawsuit against DoorDash claimed the firms “lured consumers into a bait-and-switch with deceptively small delivery fees upfront, only to charge misleading fees at the end of the transaction.” That inflated the final bill by as much as six times higher than the advertised amount, city officials said.

* Crain’s | Realtor group’s turnaround CEO rolls out plan to hang onto members: Two years after she was brought in to take over the troubled National Association of Realtors, Nykia Wright yesterday laid out a lengthy agenda for building up the trust and transparency she said the Chicago-based association’s membership is demanding. With just under half of NAR’s members saying they are somewhat or very satisfied with the organization in the wake of its sexual harassment scandal, $418 million settlement in the legal battle over agent commissions and reports of past officers’ lavish spending, Wright and NAR President Kevin Sears took the stage at one of the industry’s biggest conferences to lay out a three-year plan for rebuilding the organization’s ties to its base.

* The Triibe | Emmy win highlights Dilla’s quest to preserve Chicago’s Black heritage: Winning an Emmy is no easy feat. Usually networks submit the works of creators, but in Thomas’s case, he submitted his own after sifting through what he describes as“hundreds” of categories. He also paid a submission fee. Voters from the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences view the content and select finalists and then a winner. When asked if he thought he had a chance of winning, Thomas was quick with a “Hell no.”

* WBEZ | Obama Presidential Center takes shape after 10 years of delays and construction: My full critique of the complex will have to wait until the project is done. But enough work has been completed to get a solid look at what will be the most expensive presidential center in U.S. history. Construction costs come to $620 million. The current leader, the George W. Bush Presidential Library, cost $327 million to build, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. More importantly, enough has been built to get a sense of what the public will get for giving up 20 acres of historic Jackson Park for a campus of new buildings, gardens, parkland — and the much-discussed 225-foot museum tower.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Following Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson’s perjury conviction, village faced with filling vacant seat: According to Illinois law, any person who has been convicted of a felony is automatically ineligible to hold public office unless they are pardoned or receive a restoration of rights from the governor. The statute says that a qualifying guilty plea or verdict constitutes an automatic resignation. An attorney representing the village confirmed the mayor’s position is now officially vacant following the verdict, and said the Riverdale Village Board would have to select an acting mayor from among its ranks to serve until the April 2027 municipal election.

* AP | Protesters arrested after clashing with police outside Chicago-area immigration facility: Authorities arrested 21 protesters Friday outside a Chicago-area federal immigration facility that activists say functions as a de facto detention center and is plagued by inhumane conditions. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office said the arrests were made by midday, and that it was working on verifying identities and potential charges. Just moments before the clash, demonstrators were singing and chanting. Around 10 a.m., a large group, knowing they were going to be arrested, allegedly crossed the protest barrier and attempted to walk up toward the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

* Tribune | Activists rally outside Morton Grove board meeting, calling for ICE-free rules in town. Mayor Witko says they would only be ‘symbolic.’: Demonstrators chanted and hoisted signs during the nearly hourlong rally, pushing for legislation that activists say would help protect residents – and others in the village – against federal immigration enforcement agents, including from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. […] “I feel your frustration. I feel your anger. And I understand that protesting against inhumane immigration policies can feel futile. Sometimes, it can seem like our objections to this invasion are just a drop in the bucket,” Bushra Amiwala, a member of the Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education and candidate for Congress, said to the rally goers. “But they’re not.”

* Tribune | West Chicago brothers are on the front lines against ‘Operation Midway Blitz.’ And they’re only teenagers.: At 16 and 17 years old, Sam and Ben for the past two months have made it their mission to follow, investigate and capture federal immigration activity across the Chicago area. It’s an undertaking the brothers say happened naturally after growing up in a household where social justice and civic duty were as much a part of their homeschool curriculum as math and science. “If I get the opportunity to fight like this for the rest of my life, I would be totally OK with that,” Ben said.

* Crain’s | Chicago-area warehouse space is almost full. Are developers getting back to building?: Local warehouse developers ought to be hurrying to kick off new projects, based on the lack of available space in the area. But with wishy-washy tariffs and stubborn borrowing costs clouding the future, they’re taking their time. The Chicago-area industrial vacancy rate ticked down to 4.67% midway through the year from 4.79% at the end of the first quarter, according to data from real estate services firm Colliers. The metric is down from 4.84% one year ago and inching closer to the all-time low of 4.5% set at the end of 2022, when companies adjusting to a pandemic-induced online shopping boom were scrambling for space to store and distribute goods.

* Daily Herald | All about that new roundabout art in Woodstock — and the artist’s response to critics: The sculpture is by Woodstock artist Bobby Joe Scribner, who named it “Whorled.” He said the name is a play on words, as it sounds like “world” and “whirl.” […] Social media reaction has been mixed, with some people calling the art a welcome addition and others saying it’s too expensive, unnecessary and a potential distraction for drivers. A few people called it ugly. Regarding the public’s response, Scribner said you can’t please everyone and that he hasn’t really read the comments.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | McLean County Board approves 2026 budget; hears concerns over aquifer protections: No changes were made from the first presentation made in September. The $144.5 million budget calls for a nearly 5% increase — $7.2 million — over the previous budget, and is less than the $147 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year. “Staff worked very hard this year,” said board chair Elizabeth Johnston. “I would like to applaud the staff for their excellent work in creating a budget that is well within reason, given the inflationary pressures that we all face.”

* WGIL | Objections filed against 5 Knox County GOP candidates for 2026 primary: Five Republican candidates for Knox County office face objections to their nominating petitions ahead of the March 17, 2026, primary election, County Clerk Scott Erickson confirmed Thursday. The objections, filed Monday with the Knox County Clerk, allege that the candidates filed multiple invalid signatures, sometimes indicating “a pattern of fraud, that would undermine the integrity of the nominating process in Illinois.”

* WQAD | Sheriff: Whiteside County man arrested for threatening judge: A man has been arrested after a judge received a death threa, the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office said According to the sheriff’s office, deputies began investigating the threat on Oct. 30. During the investigation, officials said they identified 30-year-old Alexander A. Lopez as a suspect. Lopez had attempted to purchase a handgun at a business in Whiteside County earlier the same day, according to the sheriff’s office.

* WICS | Springfield, Decatur, and Champaign engage public in superintendent selection process: Respondents emphasized wanting a superintendent who stays long-term, is visible in schools and the broader community, and builds trust through strong relationships with families and staff. Springfield District 186 saw more than 1,500 responses.

* WCIA | Former employees of a Vermilion Co. factory blame chronic diseases on work conditions: One employee who worked for almost 50 years at the plant said she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after she retired and believes it was caused by working in the factory. Another person said her spouse suffers from chronic respiratory illness, something many at Thursday night’s meeting said comes from the building’s conditions — although they aren’t sure.

* WCIA | Parkland College announces new auto maintenance apprenticeship program: Parkland College and Rick Ridings Automotive Group have announced a new partnership to offer a student apprenticeship program in the field of automotive maintenance. The school’s Director of Apprenticeships, Aimee Densmore, said she knows how much Central Illinois employers value local hires. The program’s goal is to help students grow during college and set down roots in the area after graduation.

*** National ***

* Thresholds | Housing Advocates Urge HUD to Avoid Forcing Thousands of Illinoisans into Homelessness: For several weeks, there have been reports that the NOFO would be a vehicle for fast-tracking a dramatic restructuring of the program, including a 30% cap on the funds that can be used for Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and other permanent housing, which is in the released NOFO. Currently, more than 80% of federal CoC funding in Illinois is used for these purposes—an evidence-backed, market-based approach to ending homelessness that also generates economic activity in the form of rent to property owners and on-site services. “Rather than making drastic changes to the CoC program with no input from stakeholders or Congress, we urge HUD to renew existing grants for one more year as authorized by Congress to prevent a devastating gap. This will keep our community members safely, stably housed, and avoid pushing them back into homelessness,” said Mark Ishaug, President and CEO of Thresholds, one of the state’s largest providers of permanent supportive housing. 

* WaPo | First, the frogs died. Then people got sick: What is becoming increasingly clear is that without them, humans are in trouble. It turns out that frogs — in biblical times regarded as a plague — are actually guardians against disease. As dozens of frog species have declined across Central America, scientists have witnessed a remarkable chain of events: With fewer tadpoles to eat mosquito larvae, rates of mosquito-borne malaria in the region have climbed, resulting in a fivefold increase in cases.

* HR Dive | Front-line workers are more difficult to find, train and retain, study says: Three-quarters of front-line workers feel burned out, and 51% say they “feel like a number, not a person,” fueling their sense of feeling overworked, underappreciated and disconnected, the Nov. 5 report found.

* Courier | We created a searchable database with all 20,000 files from Epstein’s Estate: To make this massive data dump more accessible, COURIER has compiled the 20,000 documents from Epstein’s estate into an easily searchable repository via Google Pinpoint. Use the search tool here.

* AP | Epstein emails reveal enduring ties with influential figures even after his sex crime conviction: During that time, Epstein’s network was eclectic, spanning the globe and political affiliations: from the liberal academic Noam Chomsky to Steve Bannon, the longtime ally of President Donald Trump. Some reached out to support Epstein amid lawsuits and prosecutions, others sought introductions or advice on everything from dating to oil prices. One consulted him on how to respond to accusations of sexual harassment.