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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Thursday, Nov 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Background is here if you need it. Jon Seidel…
* More from Judge Ellis’ ruling…
* Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Announces More than $400 Million in Medical Debt Erased Since Launch of Medical Debt Relief Program: Every dollar the state invests in the Medical Debt Relief Program erases over $100 in medical debt. To date, Illinois has allocated approximately $2.8 million in the program to eliminate $430 million in debt – an extraordinary return on investment. The FY26 state budget includes a $15 million reappropriation to continue acquiring and forgiving outstanding, un-payable medical debt. * Former House Speaker Madigan has been officially disbarred. The Tribune’s Jason Meisner…
* Sun-Times | CHA, developers mark end of Henry Horner Homes redevelopment on Near West Side: The CHA, city officials, developers Brinshore Development and The Michaels Organization, among others, held a ribbon cutting Wednesday for the apartment building Westhaven Park Station. It’s the seventh and final phase of the Henry Horner Homes redevelopment, down the street from the United Center. The 12-story building, which is already fully leased, was designed as a gateway to the city, according to the developers. It’s also the end of work that was agreed to under a consent decree in 1995, when residents of the Henry Horner complex sued the CHA over building conditions. The decree stipulated that the housing authority would build new public housing units in place of the torn-down Henry Horner high-rises. * Art Net | School of the Art Institute of Chicago Guts Video Data Bank Staff, Sparking Outcry: The future of one of the world’s leading archives of video art has been thrown into uncertainty after the School of the Art Institute of Chicago abruptly laid off three of the five staff members of its Video Data Bank (VDB), among them its director. The sweeping cuts have sparked outcry across the new-media art community and renewed concerns about the financial pressures buffeting U.S. art schools. Founded in 1976, VDB has long served as one of the most indispensable resources for video and media art, distributing more than 6,000 works to museums, universities, and libraries worldwide. * Tribune | Chicago architect Bruno Ast, who designed memorial for Kent State shooting victims, dies at 88: “Bruno somehow managed to navigate the dysfunctional and political world of academia, run a small practice and gain the respect of the contractors that built for him,” said Joel Putnam, a former graduate assistant of Ast’s at UIC who now works for Capri Investment Group, the firm that is redeveloping the former James R. Thompson Center in the Loop. “He was truly an architect’s architect.” * Crain’s | O’Hare clears a big hurdle as traffic tops pre-COVID levels — and heads to a record: Passenger volume during the first nine months of 2025 rose 6% from a year earlier to 63.9 million, topping the 63.6 million who traveled through O’Hare during the same period in 2019, according to Chicago Department of Aviation data. It’s an important milestone for the airport. O’Hare began its recovery from the pandemic slowly but gathered strength the past two years, fueled by the sharp growth of the airport’s two largest carriers, United and American airlines. United has 9% more seats in its schedule than a year ago, and American’s is up 23%. * Daily Southtown | Riverdale appoints trustee acting mayor, following former Mayor Lawrence Jackson’s perjury conviction: A week and a day after former Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson’s Nov. 12 conviction on federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges, the Riverdale Village Board voted Thursday morning to appoint Trustee Cassandra Riley-Pinkney as acting mayor. Under Illinois law, anyone who has been convicted of a felony becomes immediately ineligible to serve in public office, with their position automatically vacated. * Daily Herald | Naperville panel endorses data center plans after ‘intense scrunity’: Karis Critical is under contract to acquire roughly 40 acres near Naperville and Warrenville roads. The developer originally proposed two data center buildings on the site, but instead seeks approval of only one — a 36-megawatt facility. Environmental advocates and neighbors have raised myriad concerns about noise, the use of backup diesel generators and power consumption. Still, the data center development has received the commission’s endorsement with an 8-1 vote. The final decision rests with the city council. The project has faced “intense scrutiny,” said Whitney Robbins, chair of the advisory panel. * Daily Herald | Naperville could create new police unit to respond to mental health calls: Naperville City Council members this week said they want to include $1.26 million in the 2026 budget to establish a mobile crisis intervention team within the police department. The new unit would include six officers and a canine and would respond to calls involving mental health concerns. According to city officials, police responded to about 900 such calls in the past year. * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora looks to up parking prices at Metra stations in the city: The proposal, set to go before the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, would increase parking prices from $2 per day or $42 for a monthly pass to $3 per day or $60 for a monthly pass. City officials say the change would bring the prices in line with other parking along the BNSF-Metra rail line, in particular matching the daily rates of Naperville’s parking lots at Metra stations. * Daily Herald | ‘Perfect location’: Lake Zurich authorizes $2.1 million land buy for potential fire station site: Comprised of three parcels known as the Breslow property, the vacant site was identified in a November 2024 analysis as a desirable location for a new fire station. According to information provided by the village, a recent appraisal determined the market value at $3.75 million. However, the property, which has been for sale intermittently since 2017, had a history of diverse uses that required environmental remediation by the current owners. * Sun-Times | White Eagle banquets in Niles to close at end of year: Ted Przybylo opened the business in 1947 in Chicago and moved it to Milwaukee Avenue in the northwest suburbs in 1967. His six children, including former Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo, took over the business after he died in 1992 and then sold it in 2015 to Mario Ferraro, whose family founded Victoria Banquets in 1937. […] The 1,500-person capacity venue has played host over the years to well-known figures including President Jimmy Carter, Pope John Paul II, Muhammad Ali, Larry Hagman. It was also a popular setting for political fundraisers. Former Poland President Lech Wałęsa also visited. * WCIA | Sean Grayson’s pretrial release appeal ‘moot’: Illinois Supreme Court: While this appeal was pending, Grayson’s trial began, and just more than a week later, he was found guilty of second-degree murder in Massey’s death. Because of the conviction, the Illinois Supreme Court said they find the detention question in the appeal “moot,” which is cited in a separate case as meaning “no actual controversy exists or if events have occurred that make it impossible for the reviewing court to grant the complaining party effectual relief.” “When an appeal is rendered moot and we do not reach the merits of the appeal, we cannot speak to the correctness of the judgments rendered by the circuit and appellate courts,” the Illinois Supreme Court said in its opinion filed on Thursday. * BND | Metro-east law firm used ‘fraud playbook’ to get asbestos settlements, suit claims: A federal lawsuit is accusing Alton-based law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy of filing sham asbestos claims in handpicked jurisdictions such as Madison County to profit from large settlements. J-M Manufacturing Company alleges the “fraudulent scheme” was carried out for years by the firm and several of its attorneys and staff, including senior partner Perry Browder, who is also president-elect of the Illinois State Bar Association. In November, J-MM added new allegations to its complaint against another law firm with ties to Alton, Sokolove Law. J-MM also indicated in a motion that it would like to accuse the Gori Law Firm in Edwardsville of conspiring with them. * WICS | Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office launches new mobile app for residents: Available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app offers features such as inmate search, sex offender information, jail details, records requests, news updates, and non-emergency tip submissions. It also includes program information, court security guidance, and job application capabilities. Sheriff Paula Crouch emphasized the app’s role in keeping residents informed, stating, “Our goal is to give residents a simple and reliable way to stay connected with our office.” * WGLT | McLean’s old water tower gets new look ahead of Route 66 centennial: The nonprofit CORE of McLean [Community Organization for Revitalization and Expansion] negotiated an agreement to buy the decommissioned water tower from the village last year for $1 and is working to paint and refurbish the tower in time for the Route 66 centennial celebration next June. […] CORE of McLean Vice President Jeff Hake said the tower was built “like a battleship” and has a much longer life expectancy now that it no longer holds water. * AP | Trump says Democrats’ message to military is ‘seditious behavior’ punishable by death: President Donald Trump on Thursday accused half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” after the lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.” The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.” * CBS | Federal immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina, has ended, sheriff’s office says: The sheriff’s office in Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, said federal officials have confirmed with Sheriff Garry McFadden that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation known as ” Charlotte’s Web,” has officially concluded. No border agent operations will occur on Thursday, a news release from the sheriff’s office said. * Huff Post | Chief Border Patrol Agent Accuses Anti-ICE Protesters Of ‘Cult Behavior’: One U.S. citizen in Charlotte told The Associated Press that border patrol agents threw him to the ground and briefly detained him. However, Bovino, who appeared on Thursday’s episode of Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” told Watters that it was a “tall order” for him to understand the backlash, later adding, “it’s beyond understanding in some ways.”
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- Steve Polite - Thursday, Nov 20, 25 @ 3:50 pm:
=However, Bovino, who appeared on Thursday’s episode of Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” told Watters that it was a “tall order” for him to understand the backlash, later adding, “it’s beyond understanding in some ways.”=
If Bovino does not understand the backlash to zip tying children in the middle of the night, tear gassing a clergy member who is praying, assaulting peaceful protesters, or any of the myriad examples of fear and terror his gang has caused, then my conclusion is he may suffer from anti-social personality disorder.