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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Dec 3, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: After ominous signs from 7th Circuit, attorneys abruptly move to dismiss lawsuit restricting use of force by immigration agents. Tribune…
- In the request, lawyers representing a consortium of media outlets and other plaintiffs noted that the immigration enforcement surge “has ended” in Chicago — at least for now — and that “counsel has not received a single report of unconstitutional behavior that necessitated this case” since Nov. 8. - In a statement Tuesday, the board for the Chicago Headline Club, the lead plaintiff in the case, claimed victory, saying that Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and his team of agents left town soon after Ellis’ injunction was entered. * Related stories… Sponsored by PhRMA
* Governor JB Pritzker will be at Navy Pier at 10:30 am to “highlight Illinois’ plans to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary.” Click here to watch. * Capitol News Illinois | Appeals court weighs release of immigration detainees to electronic monitoring: The judge ruled in response to immigration and civil rights lawyers’ allegations that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly violated a 2022 federal consent decree restricting the use of warrantless arrests for undocumented immigrants. But the Trump administration appealed, and on Tuesday argued to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that the judge overstepped his authority by modifying the consent decree. At least one of the three judges on the panel — Trump appointee Thomas Kirsch II — seemed to agree. He criticized Cummings’ November order to release detainees along with his Oct. 7 order extending the consent decree until February. Cummings was appointed by President Joe Biden. * NBC | Illinois officials warn rental car companies that it is illegal for immigration agents to swap license plates: The office’s review of more than 600 public complaints alleging the practice has so far led to one license plate revocation, according to another letter obtained via the FOIA. That revocation was of a license plate belonging to a 2026 Chevy Tahoe that had been rented by immigration agents, according to a statement from the Illinois secretary of state. The rental company targeted in the Nov. 10 letter, EAN Holdings LLC., which is the parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and other brands, can request a hearing to challenge the decision. A company representative did not respond to a request for comment. * Tribune | Ray LaHood, former GOP congressman and Obama’s transportation secretary, named head of Edgar Fellows program: He was named distinguished director of the program by the nonprofit board Wednesday and will take on a larger role in outreach and civic engagement as well as in supporting the financial sustainability of the organization’s initiatives. “Edgar Fellows is Jim’s living legacy to the State of Illinois,” former Illinois first lady Brenda Edgar said in a statement. “The entire Edgar family is pleased that longtime friend and respected Illinoisian Ray LaHood will be joining the organization in this important role. * CNI | Pritzker signs bill allowing Illinois to issue state-specific vaccine guidelines: IDPH will now be able to form guidelines using a combination of the CDC’s guidance, recommendations from the World Health Organization and other medical and scientific disease prevention experts — and require that immunizations recommended by the state be covered by state-regulated insurance plans. House bill sponsor Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, emphasized the timeliness of the issue, referencing breaking news from Tuesday morning that indicated the CDC vaccine advisory committee planned to discuss child immunization schedules and the efficacy of Hepatitis B vaccines when it meets on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5. * WTVO | Illinois extends financial aid to undocumented students starting January 1st, 2026: Beginning January 1st, 2026, undocumented students living in Illinois will become eligible for state and local financial aid under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in August. House Bill 460 extends eligibility for grants, scholarships, stipends, and other state funded student aid to all Illinois residents regardless of immigration status. Bill sponsor Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) said, “If you live in Illinois and are pursuing higher education, you should have access to the same opportunities as your peers.” * Tribune | First, ICE raided their Chicago apartment building. Now, they’re being forced to vacate it: The Circuit Court of Cook County granted an order on Nov. 24 from Wells Fargo Bank to have residents at 7500 S. Shore Drive to vacate by Dec. 5 for those with valid leases and all other occupants were instructed to leave by Dec. 12 of this year. The South Shore Tenants Union, supported by the Metropolitan Tenants Organization and Southside Together, said they were blindsided by the court order, which was granted without tenant input and leaves members “scrambling to find housing in bitterly cold weather.” “This is my community and I should not be forced out especially at a time like this when it’s literally freezing outside,” said Travaris Ivy. * Sun-Times | Mayor Brandon Johnson makes emotional plea for embattled corporate head tax proposal: Johnson began his weekly City Hall news conference with defiance, but ended it emotionally as he talked about his father, now fighting Alzheimer’s, who taught him the work ethic and drive to protect everyday people, something that has guided the mayor through this second straight budget stalemate. “There are lines of Chicagoans, right now, of people who do not have food. … And if you’ve never gone hungry, you wouldn’t know why I have that urgency — if you’ve never opened up your refrigerator and there’s nothing in it. Poverty sucks,” the mayor said. * Block Club | Mayor Johnson Doubles Down On Corporate Head Tax As Majority Of Alders Pitch Alternative Budget Plan: “Corporations are making a killing right now, and we have alders that are more interested in defending these big corporations than families like mine who went without food and electricity and could not afford rent and mortgage,” Johnson said. “The vast majority of the people in this city are struggling every single day just to make the ends meet. And we have alders that are playing games with those families.” * Crain’s | Breakaway aldermen offer counter-budget that kills head tax: The plan, presented in a letter to be sent to Johnson and provided to Crain’s, accounts for hundreds of millions in changes to Johnson’s $16.6 billion plan and includes new or increased taxes on rideshare trips, garbage collection, liquor sales — with an exemption for bars and restaurants — and an additional $90 million in potential savings the mayor has previously said would not be feasible in 2026. * WBEZ | As cold weather settles over Chicago, advocates call out Trump’s new homelessness policies: Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced plans to shift $3.9 billion in long-term housing to transitional housing requiring work and addiction treatment. More than 7,500 Illinoisans could be at risk of losing housing. * Crain’s | Illinois EPA signs off on revamp of old South Works site to quantum campus: The site had previously received a letter from the IEPA requiring no further remediation at the vacant former U.S. Steel South Works, but the developers voluntarily enrolled in the state’s site-remediation program. […] The IEPA’s approval clears the way for construction to begin at the quantum park, which takes up 128 acres of the site south of 87th Street. Work on a facility for PsiQuantum, which plans to build one of the world’s first commercial-scale quantum computers on the site, will begin this month, along with remediation work. Clayco is building PsiQuantum’s facility. * Higher Ed Dive | University of Chicago nearly halves its budget deficit to $160M: The University of Chicago cut its fiscal 2025 budget deficit by about 44% to $160 million after years of belt-tightening measures amid financial headwinds, it announced last week. The private nonprofit’s operating loss fell by over half to $86.4 million, per its latest financials. * Daily Herald | O’Hare ‘conundrum’ could upend when Global Terminal, new concourses are built: The challenging logistics are why Chicago might revise a hard-won 2024 deal with United and American airlines that prioritized building a Global Terminal and a new satellite “Concourse D.” A second, satellite “Concourse E,” would come last. Instead, the city might construct both satellite concourses first and put the Global Terminal, which replaces Terminal 2, on temporary hold. “O’Hare planners face a conundrum,” DePaul Professor Joseph Schwieterman and analyst Samantha Rouzan wrote in “O’Hare’s Traffic Trajectory,” a study released Wednesday. * Sun-Times | DuSable Black History Museum, CEO misused public funds, whistleblower alleges: The lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing whistleblower campaign by Kim Dulaney, a retired Chicago State University professor who joined the South Side museum in 2021 as director of education and programs. She later became the vice president of the same department. Dulaney alleges in her suit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, that she was retaliated against after “questioning DuSable’s irregular fiscal practices.” Dulaney claims in the suit that she was excluded from meetings, harassed and ultimately terminated in October. The lawsuit brings the claims forward under the Illinois Whistleblower Act. * Block Club | Should Christkindlmarket Move? Mayor Floats Idea, But Vendors And Organizers Not So Sure: Johnson did not share details about where the popular market could go. “We want to make sure that we have a safe mechanism in which people can enjoy Downtown, and so that may include looking at a much larger space,” he said. “And that’s a good thing for our economy.” * Sun-Times | Cook County’s top prosecutor touts increase in pretrial detention, urges electronic monitoring reform: Since taking office, judges have granted detention in 80% of violent crime cases, 85% of aggravated domestic battery and 76% of machine gun cases, all higher than under the previous state’s attorney, Kim Foxx, according to the state’s attorney’s office. “We are not asking for detention on every case,” Burke said. “We are asking for detention when someone presents a danger to the community, and we will continue to do that on each and every case when someone is a danger.” * Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi released his first video ad of his reelection campaign…
* Daily Herald | Hanover Park police officer detained by ICE returns to active duty: Department leaders previously stated that Bojovic’s hire in January was made in full compliance with federal and state law. Officials said Bojovic presented the village with a valid Work Authorization Card issued by the federal government’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additionally, both FBI and Illinois State Police background checks revealed no criminal history, officials said. Bojovic returned to active duty Monday, and village will provide him back pay for the time he was on administrative leave. * Tribune | Lake Bluff trustees closer to a vote on policies on possible federal agents’ immigration actions in the village: At their Nov. 24 meeting, trustees unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance outlining village procedures in light of Operation Midway Blitz, a controversial federal immigration crackdown in which officers have detained numerous people, including some in nearby communities. * Daily Herald | DuPagePads receives historic $5 million grant from Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez Bezos: The 40-year-old organization plans to use the $5 million over the next five years to expand outreach, create a year-round family overflow shelter and accelerate rapid rehousing for families, officials said in a grant announcement. The funds will also sustain educational and transportation supports for children experiencing homelessness. * Illinois Times | Grayson’s attorneys ask for new trial: Former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson’s lawyers say he deserves a new trial for the 2024 murder of Sonya Massey because the presiding judge erred when allowing the jury to hear Grayson’s disparaging remarks about Massey after the fatal shooting. “As a result, the events following the shooting had no relevance to the issues in the case,” attorneys Daniel Fultz and Mark Wykoff wrote in their Nov. 26 motion for a new trial. “The only purpose served by the introduction of that evidence was to improperly inflame the passions of the jury – which was substantially prejudicial to the defendant.” * WGLT | Connect Transit awarded $5 million grant for planned Bloomington transfer center: Officials have said the project has been targeted for a late 2026 opening. Transit officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday. “This funding is a welcome addition to the resources we are investing in our new Downtown Bloomington Transit Center, which is a major step forward,” Connect Transit Board Chair Julie Hile said in a statement. “We are eager to deliver on its modernized infrastructure, expanded access, and improved efficiency and safety as a member of the downtown business community. We are grateful for the federal support that makes this possible.” * WCIA | U of I researchers get $1M FDA grant to study foodborne illness: In a news release, the College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences announced that a U of I research team will use the grant money they received to monitor meat products for resistant bacteria. “These pathogens can cause disease, and they can transfer their antimicrobial resistance properties to other pathogens. We risk being surrounded by ‘superbugs’ which are difficult to kill by using traditional, anti-microbial drugs,” said principal investigator Pratik Banerjee, associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. * NYT | 5 Years After His Death, John Prine Gets a Cinematic Send-Off: For someone so close to his family, friends and community, John Prine’s funeral was an uncharacteristically distant affair. The memorial service for the singer-songwriter, who died from complications of Covid-19 in April 2020 at 73, had been made strange by the pandemic. “We had to beg for the opportunity for the immediate family to even gather at the funeral home here in Nashville,” recalled his wife, Fiona Whelan Prine. “We were literally sitting eight feet apart. There was no hugging. There was no commiserating.”
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