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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino praises police assistance in immigration enforcement as CPD denies support. Tribune…
- At a Home Depot in Evanston afterward, Bovino told the Tribune that “luckily we’re, for the first time, receiving some assistance from both Chicago PD and Evanston Police Department.” -Evanston police officers directed traffic out of the parking lot, appearing to slow the progress of civilian cars. Evanston Mayor Biss said, however, that he didn’t personally see Evanston police blocking residents from protesting. He said police don’t help or facilitate the agents’ actions, rather that they “keep the peace.” * Related stories… Sponsored by the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF) No More Pain: Protect Illinois from Federal & State Cuts Illinois’ disability service system has come too far to go backward. In 2026, Illinois will face deep federal Medicaid cuts coming from Washington under the Trump administration — reductions that will threaten critical health and disability supports used by thousands of families across our state. That storm may be unavoidable. Creating a second storm now is not. The state’s planned Jan.1 cuts to Direct Support Professional (DSP) service hours would immediately reduce care for more than 10,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in 24-hour residential homes. These individuals rely on DSPs for medication support, personal care, health monitoring, and more. When you cut hours, you cut access, independence and safety. Illinois has spent years rebuilding a more stable, person-centered system that allows people with disabilities to live with dignity in their communities — not institutions. Stacking state cuts on top of looming federal reductions would unravel that progress. There is a better path forward: delay the January 1 cuts. Allow Illinois to transition to the planned “Zero Hour” staffing model — a long-term improvement everyone supports — without punishing the people the system exists to protect. No more pain. Protect the workforce. Keep Illinois moving forward. * Capitol News Illinois | Illinois Education officials brace for lean fiscal year ahead: With economic forecasts projecting little or no growth in state revenues over the next year and growing demands for increased spending in other areas of state government, Sanders said the budget proposal he plans to bring to the board in January is likely to be modest. “I just want to level set for the board that as we bring in our budget proposal asking for an increase in education funding, it’s coming at a time there’s a lot of other fiscal pressures on state government,” Sanders said. “So we’re keeping that in mind in our preparation.” * Sun-Times | ‘There is no accountability.’ Lawmakers, advocates call for more oversight of prison health care: Peters said he and his legislative colleagues must provide more oversight of the system, and are still working out specific measures to hold IDOC as accountable as other state agencies. “There is so much oversight in long-term care in Illinois. There are also systems of accountability built into the [Illinois Department of Children and Family Services] that we can use as examples,” Peters said. * Chalkbeat | Illinois quietly changes scholarship for teachers of color amid lawsuit, threats from federal government: The changes are a response to a lawsuit by a conservative group that challenged the scholarship in 2024 and the Trump administration’s push against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at K-12 schools and higher education. A spokesperson for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission confirmed that the lawsuit was dismissed in court earlier this month. The motion to dismiss cited changes in Illinois’ law. Illinois lawmakers passed House Bill 3065, which replaces the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship with the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship, during the General Assembly’s veto session by a vote of 96-0 in the House and 59-0 in the Senate. It was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in November. * WGLT | Rediscovering an overlooked linchpin of Illinois industry: Bicycling: Sweet said the hub of Chicago, access to rail, and to raw materials such as iron from Michigan and Wisconsin allowed bicycle makers to take up a large part of the market. “Chicago is already a manufacturing center,” he said. “They were very good at building all sorts of things. Factories could flip in a matter of a month and move from making like an agricultural implement to making bikes. And some did choose to do that.” […] Peoria had some of the same advantages as Chicago. It was the second largest Illinois city and a manufacturing center. In at least one case, bicycles became a side business for a watch company, said Sweet. * Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Celebrates 2025 Accomplishments: “This year, Illinois doubled down on our work to improve the lives of hardworking Illinoisans that make our state the best in the nation,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “In 2025, we ushered in critical investments and improvements in infrastructure, education, workforce development, healthcare, and civil rights for working families statewide. In a year full of economic uncertainty and chaos at the federal level, I’m focused on protecting our state and investing in the safety, education, and well-being of the People of Illinois.” * Center Square | IL House Speaker: ‘not even close’ to school choice legislation: “I have said, in our chamber, if you can get 60 Democrats to support it, we put it on the board and call the bill, but there’s more work to do because they’re not even close,” Welch told The Center Square. At Tuesday’s transit bill signing in Chicago, Welch said school choice supporters need to build coalitions the way lawmakers did with transit legislation. * WAND | Illinois law expands opportunities for craft distillers, brewers: A new Illinois law will help craft brewers and distillers grow their business by updating state regulations. The legislation also makes the popular cocktails to go program permanent. The new law creates a Class 3 distiller license, allowing distilleries to make up to 100,000 gallons of spirit annually. License holders can then apply to self-distribute up to 2,500 gallons of liquor each year. * NBC Chicago | New Illinois laws will impact thousands of students in the new year: Schools will not be permitted to discourage students from going to school based on their real or perceived immigration status, such as asking for Social Security Numbers. They also cannot disclose information about a student’s immigration status, and must develop protocols for when law enforcement seek to enter school property, according to the text of the bill. In addition to the immigration enforcement actions taken by the Pritzker administration, numerous other laws are also going into effect that will affect the learning programs of students. Under provisions of HB 3039, all seventh and eighth grade students are permitted to enroll in high school courses to receive high school credits. * ICYMI…
Governor Pritzker’s response…
* ABC Chicago | Full City Council meets Thursday as committee moves alternative budget forward: Right now, the alternative budget is falling just short of being able to override a mayoral veto ,which requires 34 votes. The alternative budget calls for raising a plastic bag shopping fee from 10 to 15 cents, includes a pilot program that would place advertising on bridge houses and light poles, youth jobs and other efforts. * The Chicago Mayor’s Office…
* Crain’s | City Council pushes ahead on rival budget despite $163 million warning: By pushing their proposal through committee, those behind the alternative budget have shown they have the numbers to get their plan approved, but it’s unclear if they have strength to overcome a potential Johnson veto, which would require 34 votes. The committee also approved the so-called management ordinance that will require more frequent budget data from the administration, but stripped out a proposal from Johnson that would have required the City Council to approve any overtime spending in the Chicago Police Department above what is budgeted in an effort to rein in spending. * Tribune | Lead prosecutor in Bovino murder-for-hire case unexpectedly leaving US attorney’s office ahead of trial: Bradley Tucker, who joined the U.S. attorney’s office in June 2022 and had been assigned to the Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, would be the latest in a string of federal prosecutors to depart in recent months. His final day is scheduled to be in early January, said Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. It’s not clear why Tucker is leaving. But news of his departure comes a little over a month before he had been scheduled to lead the prosecution of Juan Espinoza Martinez, whose arrest on murder-for-hire charges at the height of Operation Midway Blitz made national headlines amid daily clashes between agents and protesters. * Block Club | Residents Pushing To Place Quantum Campus Referendum On March Primary Ballots: A March referendum would ask residents near a South Side quantum computing development whether local leaders should stop the project. The elections board is reviewing the effort, but it appears to meet signature requirements for ballot placement, officials said. * Center Square | IL comptroller: Chicago mayor’s policies chase businesses away: Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza says the city’s most crippling policies are the ones that chase job creators away. “I think that rather than punish our business community for creating jobs which are necessary for people’s quality of life, we should be partnering with our business community and not creating policies that, frankly, chase them away pretty quickly,” Mendoza told The Center Square. * Block Club | Vote-By-Mail Registration Is Open For March Primary. Here’s How To Apply: Voters can request their vote-by-mail ballot using an online form. Voters can also opt to join the permanent vote-by-mail roster to receive a ballot by mail without needing to request one ahead of every election by completing this form. The deadline to apply to vote by mail is 5 p.m. March 12. * Block Club | Chicago Hip Hop Heritage Museum Closes As Curators Prepare For Next Chapter: The team — Darrell “Artistic” Roberts, Carrico “Kingdom Rock” Sanders, Danta “StylesRaw” Williams and Brian Gorman — will vacate the two-story greystone at 4505 S. Indiana Ave. by the end of the month. The building’s owner is in poor health and has decided to sell, Roberts told Block Club. The museum will go dark Dec. 27. […] Though the museum will be without a physical home for now, the quartet will continue pop-up activations and collaborations. A multimedia exhibit now being displayed at Columbia College — “On Record” — explores the history of hip hop at the liberal arts school and will run through the spring. * Daily Herald | Reese says she plans to return to Sky for third season: Speculation about her future have swirled after her late-season team suspension. “I’m under contract, so yes, I plan on returning to the Sky,” Reese said last week at Team USA’s training camp at Duke. “(I’m) continuing to talk to (coach) Tyler (Marsh) and building that relationship with (general manager) Jeff (Pagliocca) and Tyler.” Reese is one of four players under contract with Chicago next season, joining fellow 2024 all-rookie player Kamilla Cardoso and 2025 draftees Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld. * Daily Herald | Tinley Park appoints Frederick Melean police commander, after predecessor arrested: The Tinley Park Village Board swore in Frederick Melean, a retired Chicago deputy police chief, as village police commander Tuesday after the previous commander, Patrick St. John, resigned and was charged with domestic battery and violating an order of protection. Melean begins the position Jan. 5, and he said Tuesday he looks forward to gaining trust and establishing partnership with the Tinley Park community. * Fox Chicago | Brighton Park woman says federal agent pointed gun at her while she recorded immigration enforcement: Viviana Corral, a mother of four, told Fox 32 Chicago she was documenting a neighbor being detained when the confrontation occurred. “Who knows if he would have reacted and pulled the trigger and I could have been hurt or maybe dead,” Corral said. Corral said she was at home when she heard honking outside and saw federal agents detaining a man, the neighbor captured in the video. She rushed outside and began filming the encounter. * Aurora Beacon-News | District 204 board OKs contracts, bids for secure entryway projects and solar installation at some district schools: In 2024, voters approved a proposal from District 204 to sell up to $420 million in bonds to pay for facility improvements. Without the bonds, the district would have needed to cut the equivalent of 50 full-time positions to pay for some of these projects, officials said. The bonds are to be paid for using a continuation of an existing 37-cent property tax per $100 of equalized assessed value that would otherwise have expired at the end of 2026, meaning the tax rate for residents in terms of their contribution to capital projects will effectively remain flat as a result of the referendum question’s passage. * WaPo | After secret church trial, Illinois N. American Anglican bishop acquitted: An ecclesiastical court in the Anglican Church in North America has acquitted a Chicago-area bishop who was accused of violating church laws by mishandling a sex abuse case and allowing men with troubling histories into his diocese as worshipers or leaders Stewart Ruch III, who oversees the denomination’s Upper Midwest diocese of 18 churches across six states, was found not guilty of violating his ordination vows and engaging in conduct that brought “scandal,” among other church charges. Ruch, 59, denied all charges before the trial, which was conducted on Zoom and closed to the public. * NBC Chicago | Pope names fellow Chicagoan, Bishop Ronald Hicks, as new archbishop of New York: Bishop Ronald Hicks, the current bishop of Joliet, Illinois, replaces the retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a prominent conservative figure in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy. Hicks takes over after Dolan last week finalized a plan to establish a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who had sued the archdiocese. * WGEM | Performance evaluation supports WIU president, stability and sustainability remain priorities: One thing that Dillard said jumped out to him was the rating of overall satisfaction with Mindrup’s priorities, and if she’s moving the university towards a stable and sustainable future. “To me, that’s the equivalent of if we’re moving in the right direction and her score was almost perfect on that,” Dillard told the board. “She’s very good on the vision thing, which I think is really important where we’re going in the future.” * WAND | Springfield to install EV charging stations with state funding: The Office of Public Utilities will begin installing Level 2 chargers thanks to state dollars. Springfield City Council heard the first reading of a proposal Tuesday night to set the rate for what customers will pay. The rate will be set at about 26 cents per kilowatt, but could be adjusted later based on how much chargers are used. * WGLT | Unit 5 board approves 2025 tax levy, hears from Carlock Elementary supporters: Thomas Hoerr, director of financial services, said he anticipates Unit 5 to continue having one of the lowest tax rates in the county. In 2024, it wound up being the third lowest. This year, Hoerr said it dropped about 25 cents. “If other districts’ tax rates stay the same for the 2025 levy, Unit 5 will probably move over into that number two position, or possibly even the first position,” he said, adding the drop in the tax rate will help minimize the impact of rising EAV [Equalized assessed value] issues. * WCIA | City of Decatur seeking input on Oakwood District revitalization project: It’s an area that officials said was vibrant and well-loved for a while but has seen little activity recently and a few challenges. The city partnered with local developers, business owners and Millikin University to bring the district back to life, with new parking, lighting and neighborhood safety measures. * WMBD | Peoria Airport goes sky high breaking an old record: Peoria International Airport is cheering a successful year before it even ends, as their all-time passenger record whizzed past their previous personal best. In 2019, the airport saw 689,416 passengers. In 2025, PIA saw 741,724 passengers. They got the updated numbers this November, that even with a government shutdown, they were able to beat their personal best. * LA Times | A California newspaper, back from the dead: A paper born in 1868, the second oldest in Southern California, the Santa Barbara News-Press had withered away before shutting down entirely in 2023, when its parent company declared bankruptcy. When the company’s assets went up for sale, locals feared they would be sold to an offshore content mill that had no stake in Santa Barbara. Instead, up stepped locals, including William Belfiore, a recent Harvard grad who grew up in Santa Barbara. He wrote an op-ed in the Santa Barbara Independent. “Santa Barbara’s Collective Memory, Sold for Kindling,” read the headline. The story galvanized locals to submit a winning bid for the News-Press’s archives, which they promptly turned over to Newswell. The nonprofit, in turn, hired Belfiore as general manager to oversee the second coming of the News-Press. * AP | DOJ vowed to punish those who disrupt Trump’s immigration crackdown. Dozens of cases have crumbled: The Justice Department has struggled to deliver on that commitment, however. In examining 166 federal criminal cases brought since May against people in four Democratic-led cities at the epicenter of demonstrations, The Associated Press found: — Of the 100 people initially charged with felony assaults on federal agents, 55 saw their charges reduced to misdemeanors or dismissed outright. At least 23 pleaded guilty, most of them to reduced charges in deals with prosecutors that resulted in little or no jail time. * The Verge | AI’s water and electricity use soars in 2025: AI created as much carbon pollution this year as New York City and guzzled up as much H20 as people consume globally in water bottles, according to new estimates. The study paints what’s likely a pretty conservative picture of AI’s environmental impact since it’s based on the relatively limited amount of data that’s currently available to the public. A lack of transparency from tech companies makes it harder to see the potential environmental toll of AI becoming a part of everyday tasks, argues the author of the study who’s been tracking the electricity consumption of data centers used for AI and crypto mining over the years.
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- ChicagoVinny - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:14 am:
If Indiana taxpayers want to fund a Gary Bears stadium that will primarily benefit fans in IL, ok? I watch the games on tv.
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:15 am:
To be eligible for the federal tax credits, the schools (like Leo) will have to open their doors to & fully accomodate students with physical disabilities, special needs, IEPs. Right?
- The Kevin B morrison Files - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:29 am:
Word on the street is that cook county commissioner Kevin B. Morrison was late to work yesterday. Will update the fax heads if he is on time today.
- Start slow, taper off - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:32 am:
At this point, the Bears just need to go home to Decatur
- very old soil - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:44 am:
Cairo. So they can keep the C on their uniforms.
- Pundent - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:49 am:
The Bears aren’t very good at this. And at some point, if a new stadium is truly a necessity, they’ll have to resign themselves to selling the team.
- Huh? - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:58 am:
“Afternoon Roundup?”
As the song says, “It’s 5:00 somewhere”.
- Jocko - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:02 am:
I’m giving Kevin Warren the benefit of the doubt and thinking the McCaskeys put him up to this.
Is Ebenezer Scrooge running their goodwill campaign?
- Isabel Miller - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:09 am:
== “Afternoon Roundup?”==
Ope! Sorry about that! Been getting over some kind of flu.
- Charles Edward Cheese - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:10 am:
Kevin Warren and the Bears really cannot read the room. At this point Pritzker should start throwing more barbs, lean on his billionaire status and just offer to buy the Bears, since the billionaire McCaskeys are obviously so impoverished.
- Charles Edward Cheese - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:13 am:
@Jocko don’t let Kevin off the hook here, he has a history of bumbling decision making, not just in this stadium saga.
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:13 am:
Did I miss the Super Bowl victory parade?
- low level - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:14 am:
That graphic from the Mayors Office regarding the alternative budget proposal was startling. That is them essentially saying your proposal is the worst without actually saying it. They threw down in other words. That leaves very little room for compromise.
- Remember the Alamo II - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:17 am:
=== If Indiana taxpayers want to fund a Gary Bears stadium that will primarily benefit fans in IL ===
LOL. They don’t even want to pay for salt for the Indiana Toll Road.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:20 am:
Kevin Warren clearly hates Chicago and has taken zero time to bother understanding the city that has been home to the Bears. He is also broadly incompetent when it comes to lobbying a government entity and has decided to come as an enemy and attempt to turn the public against their elected officials to get what he wants without ever bothering to understand the public.
Obviously they understand that there is not a better media market in the country nor a better potential fan base in the country for them to seriously entertain leaving Chicago but they still expect the public to support their many billion dollar franchise and support efforts to make their franchise more valuable and make more money.
Moving to Northwest Indiana is even more of a joke than moving to Arlington Heights because such a site will never have the mass transit options nor the ability to draw all of the people that they’re expecting to patronize the business area that they are planning on developing around the stadium for year round use with the public bearing hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of expense to support without receiving the total value of property tax.
No one, absolutely no one, is going to treat a location in Northwest Indiana as a “Chicago” destination.
Kevin Warren might just be the most toxic influence that the Bears have incorporated into their team in the entire course of my life.
He might as well appear on the Field in a Trump hat, dedicate the national anthem to ICE, give Greg Bovino a life time achievement award and list his height as 6′1″ in the program while announcing the first ever McCaskey Peace Prize is being awarded to Donald Trump — None of those things will help him get public money in Illinois for a stadium, but at this point it might improve his reputation with the Governors of other states who want to commit billions of the public’s money to keep one family very rich.
Kevin Warren is the worst high profile political operator in the State of Illinois.
Let the McCaskeys lick Hoosier boots.
- Save Ferris - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:23 am:
For what the Bears are supposedly paying Kevin Warren and all the people he has hired, they could have completed building in Arlington Heights already.
- Huh? - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 9:47 am:
Somehow the Hammond Bears doesn’t have the same ring.
- *ducks* - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:00 am:
“I’m giving Kevin Warren the benefit of the doubt”
You shouldn’t. He hasn’t earned a shred of it.
- lake county democrat - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:03 am:
Is there a single *neutral* expert who thinks the Bears proposal or anything like it is a good deal for the taxpayers of this deeply-in-debt state? If not, what are we even talking about? The Bears aren’t leaving Chicagoland and I doubt they would go to Indiana, but if they do so be it.
- Google is Your Friend - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:08 am:
Helpful to note for the Bears timeline that they bought the Arlington Park site then changed team presidents.
This is the same failed 1990s playbook all over again, which means we’ll end up with a Soldier Field renovation. Maybe Lightfoot’s dome plan? LOL!
https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2022/7/25/23277473/soldier-field-dome-chicago-bears-museum-campus-future-lightfoot
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:19 am:
What is unreasonable about government funding infrastructure to a multi billion dollar private sector investment that will provide thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in tax revenue?
Can you name another stadium built in the US has paid for the roads and sewers?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:25 am:
===What is unreasonable about government funding infrastructure===
When has anyone in power said they wouldn’t do that? You’ve constructed an imaginary straw man and presented it as participating in a debate. Up your game.
- H-W - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:30 am:
Re: Center Square and Public School Choice
As a professor, I would love the opportunity to sit down with advocates of public school choice to debate the irrationality of creating public choice, as well as the immorality of vouchers more generally. These things benefit the upper-middle class by taking away from the poor and the working class, who already have less quality education. The only system that shows any promise is public magnet schools, because these represent direct public investments into the public system, so as to create higher quality public schools.
Giving money to the private schools, and those already attending private schools and upper-middle/middle class, suburban families (as well as homeschoolers) does nothing to address the problems in working class and poor neighborhood schools.
Having published on the mathematical falsehood of such ideas, I would love the debate. I am glad to hear the speaker poo-poo this idea.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:49 am:
Immorality of vouchers because they benefit the upper middle class?
Eligibility to receive Invest in Kids scholarship money required families to have low incomes- under 300% of federal poverty level- around 45,000 to $49,000 for a family of four.
- hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:49 am:
The Kevin Warren stadium press release is enraging on so many levels.
It’s Bears-Packers week! Da Bears are playing possibly the most meaningful game in the post-Lovie era this weekend and Kevin Warren thinks now is the time to step on all the excitement around all that and remind fans about all the org’s dysfunction around a stadium that only a fraction of the fanbase will ever visit?
The notion of moving to Indiana (when “pride and joy of Illinois” is in the freakin’ team song) is enraging enough, but it’s even worse with Kevin Warren bringing up this Indiana trial balloon in what looks like just a face-saving attempt by him to explain why he failed at his promise to get shovels in the ground in 2025.
I just want to put on sports talk and enjoy the dreams of postseason and listen to hopeful talk of what the Bears can do if they make the playoffs or how they have better chances of winning with Micah Parsons out and instead I am treated to some Indiana Bears fan from Merrillville calling in about what a terrible state Illinois is for business and taxes. Way to kill the vibe, Kevin, with all the negativity and divisiveness you have injected into Bears-Packers week.
If Kevin Warren thought this weird ransom was going to get Bears more eager for their politicians to give them money, he is sorely mistaken
Vote down, Chicago Bears
Make the McCaskeys pay their own way for a football field
Vote down, Chicago Bears
Stand up to Kevin Warren’s threats and make him yield
We’ll never forget your last taxpayer solicitation
For the still-unpaid Soldier Field renovation
Vote down, Chicago Bears
For we know your Indiana threats make you look a clown
If you’re the pride and joy of Illinois then
Chicago Bears, vote down
- Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:51 am:
The support on local infrastructure should be a given for over $2B in investment, and some commitment on property taxes for a period of time should be able to be negotiated. Why hasn’t that happened already? They are not asking for support to fund the build itself…
- Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:53 am:
If Indiana is interested in adding the secession counties, helping the Bears is a much better deal for them. One makes money while the other never will.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:54 am:
===The support on local infrastructure ===
Again, the state’s top leaders have said infrastructure is not a problem. It’s the rest of the proposal.
- JB13 - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:55 am:
– Welch said school choice supporters need to build coalitions the way lawmakers did with transit legislation –
The Speaker has a career in comedy waiting for him should he decide to hang up the gauntlet. Funny stuff.
Could school choice get a majority of elected state legislators (you know, from BOTH parties) to vote for it? We’ll never know, because “Captain Democracy” here won’t call the bill unless HE SAYS 60 Democrats will vote for it.
Totally constitutional, too, you know. Democracy in action.
- hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:57 am:
The Bears minority owner Patrick Ryan found $200 million in his couch cushions for a new football stadium at Northwestern that is being constructed with private funds as we speak.
The Bears are valued at over $8 billion and the NFL allows cash-poor owners like the McCaskeys to get private equity funding if they need it.
The Bears wanting taxpayer investment around a new stadium and locked-in cheap property taxes isn’t the same thing as needing it.
- Former Downstater - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 10:58 am:
At a time when the Bears have their best record in years and fan enthusiasm is at an all time high, they drop this bomb? The Bears are not good at this.
Also, it will be amazing how quickly the hyper-capitalist, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, anti-welfare state of Indiana lines up to give the billionaire owners of the Bears truckloads of taxpayer money.
- City Zen - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:01 am:
Chicago’s very own Meadowlands.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:12 am:
If the Park District replaced a few seats in Soldier’s Field, the Bears probably would’ve renewed their lease by now. Half snark and half truth. They do not actually want to leave the safety of their hobbit hole and go on an adventure of building a stadium
- low level - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:17 am:
== We’ll never know, because “Captain Democracy” here won’t call the bill unless HE SAYS 60 Democrats will vote for it.==
You realize this is Mike Johnson’s rule as well, yes? He will not call anything unless 218 House Republicans are for it. Legislative leaders around the country generally will not call something for final passage unless a majority of the majority is in favor.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:19 am:
=== It’s the rest of the proposal. ===
It is perhaps an over simplification, but they want massive public investment in infrastructure to support their project but also don’t want to help pay for that massive investment, nor do they want to help pay for the massive public investment that we made the last time they insisted on a public investment.
Perhaps Kevin Warren doesn’t understand that lying to the public about why their proposal is unpopular won’t help them gain votes.
- granville - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:19 am:
Wow! I never thought I’d see the name of the Santa Barbara News Press again. In case people aren’t familiar, the story of its demise is absolutely crazy! It’s a wealthy, liberal community and the paper punched way above its weight (I think it got a Pulitzer for articles about the John Birch Society or something similar). It was bought by Wendy McCaw after her divorce from a telecom founder and seemed to do so entirely to torment the staff and community. That might sound like an exaggeration. It’s not. Writers and editors were arrested, fired, there was a union election, charges of union busting, the police were told a former EIC was accused of accessing CSAM, etc. She even sued local merchants that put up a little sign in their shop windows calling for a boycott of the paper. I think it got down to employing ONE staffer eventually before bankrupting (and there was some stuff with the paper’s buildings which they owned and were really interesting local Southwest design). I’d heard the IP was purchased and it’s incredible they’re bringing it back.
- Amalia - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:45 am:
If you live in the City of Chicago, are you wondering why the Mayor objects to getting people to pay what they owe to the City? apparently some large building owners owe. why does he object so strongly to making a greater attempt to get people to pay their bills?
- Pundent - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:49 am:
As a refresher, the Bears main issue at this point is their insistence on a new PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes bill). The state has essentially agreed to infrastructure support and the local taxing bodies have made concessions on property taxes. Essentially they want to lock in their future certainty around what they owe. It’s an arrangement that solely benefits the Bears, although they would argue that other similarly situated organizations could benefit as well. It’s a level of certainty that any of us would want but could never get. The organization has found little support and urgency for getting the PILOT bill moving in Springfield. A sweetheart deal for the Bears who will leave the city with $600M+ in bond debt for Soldier Field. An audacious ask for an $8B enterprise.
- Jurist - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 11:55 am:
hisgirlfriday and Candy Dogood get ten out of ten no notes.
- Johnny O - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 12:13 pm:
I guess I’ll root for the packers this weekend, nice work Kevin!!
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 12:17 pm:
Who said there are no Republicans in Chicago? /s
Vallas Republicans in the City Council want to nickel and dime poor Chicagoans but don’t want to tax wealthier people more. Chicago is a corporate hotspot, and less wealthy people have been leaving. Find a compromise, if possible.
- AlabamaShake - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 1:12 pm:
**The Bears minority owner Patrick Ryan found $200 million in his couch cushions for a new football stadium at Northwestern that is being constructed with private funds as we speak.**
Actually… he gave $480M!
- low level - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 2:07 pm:
==Vallas Republicans in the City Council want to nickel and dime poor Chicagoans but don’t want to tax wealthier people more. ==
Sorry, but no. Alders like Pat Dowell, Nicole Lee snd Scott Waguespack can hardly be described as “Vallas Republicans”. You may disagree with them but that term is inaccurate.
- H-W - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 2:41 pm:
=== Immorality of vouchers ===
Let’s start here:
All pay, some win, and other communities lose investment.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 2:55 pm:
Vouchers help level the playing field and help poor kids win by not being forcing them to attend an underutilized school that is failing.
It gives them means to attend the school of their choice, like Chicago’s Hope Academy, and get a quality education just like the wealthy and middle class kids.
- H-W - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 7:30 pm:
=== Vouchers help level the playing field ===
Proof. Data please. Show that where vouchers are used, schools where poor people and working class people send their real kids have ever benefited. You cannot. All you can show with real, extant data, is that the poor and working class communities have never benefited. Your “thesis” is dumb and wrong.
- H-W - Thursday, Dec 18, 25 @ 8:24 pm:
=== Immorality of Vouchers===
Wrong. Your theory does not disprove “all pay, some win, and others lose.” You only suggest “some” poor people get a chance; most poor people and working class people only pay for a system that does not benefit them to the degree that middle class and upper middle class people benefit. You do not show aorvecen suggest the poor school in poor neighborhoods benefit. Ironic to you, you actually argue the poor in poor neighborhoods should suffer more to the benefit of those in the middle class.
Dumb argument. Show how your preference will lift schools in poor neighborhoods up to the qualify of suburban schools, or admit you are arguing for the benefit of some at the expense of all, and to the detriment of those who already suffer 0poof quality schooling.