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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Sep 4, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Gov. JB Pritzker expecting federal ‘actions’ by weekend as local officials brace for 300 immigration agents. Tribune…
- The officers will stay in hotels in Waukegan, Gurnee and possibly other area communities. National Guard troops will be used as they were in Los Angeles to protect federal buildings, Jackson said. - “I’m not suggesting that I am absolutely certain of whether or not the Texas National Guard will, in fact, end up in the state of Illinois. What I know is that we’ve been told by people who seem to have the credentials to know,” Pritzker said Wednesday at the Metropolitan Peace Academy on the Lower West Side. * Related stories…
• Crain’s: Pritzker: Trump’s immigration raids could start as soon as Saturday • CBS Chicago: Gov. Pritzker meets with violence interrupters as Chicago prepares for possible federal troop deployment NBC Chicago: Feds plan to reassign 600 military attorneys to serve as immigration judges * Governor Pritzker will be in Berwyn at 12:30 to make the start of the school year at Prairie Oak Elementary School. Click here to watch. * WCIA | Illinois joins 23 other states in opposing rule change that could cut homecare workers pay: The Trump Administration wants to do away with an Obama era rule that required homecare workers to be paid at least the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. The rule also guarantees overtime pay if it is required. “If something bad happens right before my shift ends with that individual that you’re serving, then that worker has to choose between either not doing it for that individual or doing the work without the pay,” Keller said. * CBS Chicago | Broadview mayor says ICE campaign “will soon be underway” at local immigration facility: Federal officials have informed us that a large-scale enforcement campaign will soon be underway,” Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson wrote in a letter to residents and business owners. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Beach Street — a brick building with barbed-wire fencing — will serve as the primary processing location for detainees, according to Thompson. “This effort may draw protests and demonstrations, like those seen earlier this year in Los Angeles, where property damage and assaults against law enforcement were reported. As a result, we will be working closely with all businesses along Beach Drive to alert them to the possibility of traffic disruptions that may affect employees and deliveries over the next 45 to 60 days,” Thompson wrote. * Capitol News Illinois | The federal farm policy trap: why some farmers are stuck raising crops that no longer thrive: In these Mississippi River bottoms, federal farm policy became a trap. Farming is one of the most heavily subsidized industries in America. Each year, Congress allocates billions to keep crops in the ground, cushioning the blow from droughts, floods, fires and market swings — a safety net that dates to the 1930s, when the Depression and Dust Bowl put the nation’s food supply at risk. But today, in some of the most flood- and drought-prone parts of the country, those programs can also keep people hanging on, even when it makes more sense to walk away. That’s increasingly clear along parts of the Mississippi River Valley and especially here in Alexander County, at the rural tip of Illinois. As the climate changes and as aging levees fail, the risk is becoming more predictable, the losses so frequent it is clear some land will no longer yield what it used to. * Tribune | Fall foliage tracker 2025: Where and when to go leaf peeping in Illinois, the Midwest and throughout the U.S.: The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center expects above normal temperatures and normal chances of precipitation from September through November. So, the sweaters might have to stay tucked away for a bit longer. What does the weather forecast mean for leaves? When will they change color? Since 2013, SmokyMountains.com has used historical temperature, precipitation and regional tree data and feedback from foliage fans around the United States to produce a map that shows a county-by-county view of the best times to visit for peak leaf-peeping. * Republican Jimmy Ford has announced a bid against Rep. Katie Stuart. Press Release…
* Sun-Times | Illinois attorney general joins push for bond hearings for detained immigrants: In the amicus brief, Raoul and 19 other attorneys general rejected the federal policy giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement the authority to detain unauthorized immigrants without giving them opportunity to attend a bond hearing. The policy was implemented in July as a new interpretation of an existing law that says immigrants in the U.S. without legal status “shall be detained” after their arrest, according to The Washington Post. In a memo sent to immigration enforcement employees, ICE acting director Todd Lyons said such immigrants should be detained “for the duration of their removal proceedings.” * Sun-Times | ICE detains woman at Chicago courthouse as Trump threatens to ramp up immigration enforcement: Lauren Hanna, an advocate at the courthouse, said she saw four plainclothes agents take the woman into custody around 8:45 a.m. One of the agents told Hanna that they wanted to talk to the woman “about her immigration status.” The woman was a defendant in a case that was scheduled to be heard 15 minutes later. Her domestic violence charges were dismissed during the hearing, and the presiding judge wrote in a court document that the woman was in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. * Sun-Times | CTU calls for remote learning option for families amid looming immigration raids: Union President Stacy Davis Gates said the district should have a plan to shift those students to online learning to minimize the impact of being outside of the classroom. But Gates wasn’t optimistic that the district would be able to achieve that. “CPS is not ready for that,” she said, though she noted CPS was in a better position to stand up remote learning than it was when the pandemic hit. * Sun-Times | Pilsen Mexican Independence Day parade to be held with precautions amid potential deportation campaign: Volunteers stationed along the route will carry radios, cellphones and whistles to quickly report any issues, said Rigoberto Gonzalez Jr., executive director of the Pilsen Chamber of Commerce. “We want people to feel safe,” he said. * Second City Cop | FOP Charges Filed (huge post): We’re told that five charges were filed against the president of Lodge 7 Tuesday afternoon. We don’t have a list yet, but supposedly this will be THE topic discussed at the Board Meeting Wednesday with a possible suspension pending investigation. * FOP President John Catanzara’s response to the “drama”…
* Sun-Times | As Chicago braces for troops, a reminder — soldiers have been here before, and often made things worse: That first military effort in Chicago — for years called the Fort Dearborn Massacre, but really a battle, a minor skirmish in the War of 1812 that went very badly for one side — was a mixed bag. The Army’s presence planted the seeds of the city. They also got its residents killed by mishandling relations with the local Native Americans. The history of American soldiers in Chicago — about to get a significant new chapter with President Donald Trump planning to deploy the National Guard to the city — is also checkered. * MediaIte | Daily Wire Host Calls for the Execution of Chicago’s Mayor: Daily Wire host Matt Walsh accused Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson of treason and said Johnson should be “given the requisite punishment for a capital offense.” Speaking on Wednesday’s edition of The Matt Walsh Show, which airs on Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire platform, Walsh expressed support for President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard soldiers to large cities controlled by Democrats, ostensibly to combat crime. * Sun-Times | City-owned vacant lots near United Center could become housing, retail: The city of Chicago is looking for developers to revive more than a dozen vacant lots near the United Center, ahead of the arena’s ownership kicking off construction of its $7 billion 1901 Project. The city opened up requests for proposals last month for four clusters of city-owned lots, totaling 19 sites, along West Madison and West Fifth streets in the Near West Side and East Garfield Park. On Wednesday, it held a presubmission meeting for interested parties. * Chicago Reader | Nancy Faust transformed the sound of baseball: During a particularly good Sox season in 1972, Faust and announcer Harry Caray ramped up the showmanship. When she was hired, Faust had been asked to play the state song of each batter as he strolled to the plate, but she also had license to get more creative. In ’72, she debuted a customized version of “Jesus Christ Superstar” for popular White Sox slugger Dick Allen. * Daily Herald | Batavia alderman to resign: Batavia is looking for a new 7th Ward alderman, as Alderman Sarah Vogelsinger is resigning. Mayor Jeff Schielke announced the news at Tuesday’s city council meeting. Vogelsinger said she is doing so due to increased obligations to her family because her husband is working more hours at his job. “It was a really hard decision,” she said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the time here learning from all the experts” on topics that come before the council, she said. * Daily Herald | A ‘terrible desecration’: Antisemitic graffiti painted outside Vernon Hills synagogue: A retaining wall near the parking lot at Congregation Or Shalom, 21 Hawthorn Parkway, was vandalized about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. Someone used spray paint to draw a lewd symbol and write a short phrase targeting Jews, Vernon Hills police said. The graffiti, which faced the synagogue, was discovered Tuesday morning by an employee arriving for work, Rabbi Ari Margolis said. It was being removed Wednesday in a laborious process. * Daily Herald | Aurora mayor says broadband service mismanaged its finances: Aurora Mayor John Laesch is shaking up OnLight Aurora, saying the fiber-optic broadband service has mismanaged its funds and is deep in debt. He is questioning more than $337,000 in marketing expenses that the former chairman of the city-affiliated not-for-profit paid since 2018. Laesch said there is little to show for the money that was spent. The list of expenses includes $7,206 on what the mayor called adult entertainment and $50,937 in debit card withdrawals at ATMs by OnLight’s former chairman. * Lake & McHenry County Scanner | ‘Reckless and dangerous’: County board member to introduce resolution opposing ICE, National Guard in Lake County: Lake County Board Member Esiah Campos said Wednesday that he will call for an emergency meeting of the Lake County Board. Campos said he is introducing a resolution opposing President Donald J. Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard units and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County. Campos, a Navy reservist, said the resolution is about defending the values of Lake County and rejecting federal action that would bring fear and division into the community. * Patch | Addison Township Official’s Home In Question: Bobby Hernandez, a Democrat, is currently the supervisor of Addison Township. In the April election, he ousted Republican Dennis Reboletti, who served two terms. On Oct. 15, he registered to vote at a house in the 400 block of West Diversey Avenue in Addison. He remains registered there, according to records from the DuPage County Clerk’s Office. Two months later, Hernandez, 36, used that address in a filing with the state Board of Elections as the chairman of Democratic Candidates for Addison Township. The Diversey house is now in foreclosure, with more than $253,392 still owed, according to DuPage County court records. * Aurora Beacon-News | Oswego Village Board discusses possible extension of 1% grocery tax: Oswego trustees meeting as a committee of the whole Tuesday evening directed village staff to prepare an ordinance to locally extend a 1% state grocery tax set to expire at the end of the year. The Oswego Village Board is set to take a formal vote on the measure Sept. 16. However, trustees have yet to decide whether the funds generated by the proposed grocery tax extension should remain in the village’s general fund or to direct some or all of the revenue to the Water and Sewer Fund to help with debt service payments. * Naperville Sun | Naperville D203 contract keeps current school day, increases base salary: A new four-year contract for members of the Naperville Unit Education Association, approved unanimously Wednesday by Naperville District 203 School Board, calls for the current school day structure to remain as is and the annual base salary to increase between at least 2% and 3.85%. The ratification ends several contentious weeks during which members of the teacher’s union overwhelmingly voted to strike after teachers started the school year without a contract and bargaining sessions failed to produce results. * Daily Herald | Naperville city council to vote on appointing Supna Jain to vacant spot: Jain was first elected to the District 204 board in 2021 and won reelection this past April. She is the principal lecturer in communication and media studies at North Central College in Naperville. * Fox Chicago | Suburban attorney accused of forging hundreds of service hours for client, prosecutors say: The indictment alleges Luster “knowingly delivered to the DuPage County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office a false document apparently capable of defrauding another, being a volunteer community service documentation form … dated Dec. 16, 2024, that indicated” her client had completed 247.5 hours of community service at a daycare facility in Calumet City. * Lake County News-Sun | Lake County Forest Preserves wage war on invasive buckthorn; ‘Lots of people hate this’: While visually unremarkable to the layman, the plant is the bane of people like Matt Ueltzen, the manager of restoration ecology with the forest preserves, who is one of dozens of staffers and teams of volunteers that work year-round to combat the invasive species that has detrimental impacts on local ecosystems. Today, more than 50% of Lake County’s trees are buckthorn. At the Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area, Ueltzen pointed out a few small buckthorn shrubs, maybe a few feet high. The tips of their trunks have a pair of buds resembling deer hooves. […] But its competitive advantages have allowed it to outperform native plants. Ueltzen said it spreads seeds at a young age, leaves out earlier in the spring than native plants and remains green into the fall. * WTVO | Could Illinois ICE surge extend to Rockford? City officials issue warning: The City posted a notice to its Facebook page in both English and Spanish, saying, “We are aware that Homeland Security recently confirmed plans to expand ICE operations in Chicago. While there is no confirmation that these operations will extend to Rockford, we recognize it is a possibility. And, we also recognize the fear and uncertainty this news may cause.” “It’s also important to be clear – the Rockford Police Department follows the Illinois Trust Act. We do not participate in ICE raids, nor will we,” the statement continued. “To our immigrant neighbors: please know this — you are valued, you are cared for and you are an important part of who we are.” * Tribune | A year after opening, Hard Rock Casino Rockford looks to add hotel as it anticipates competition from Wisconsin: One year after launching its $300 million permanent casino, the Hard Rock Casino Rockford is looking to add a hotel and other amenities to defend its turf against the Ho-Chunk Nation, which is building a casino complex 18 miles away in Beloit, Wisconsin. The casino border war could see millions of dollars in play across state lines in an escalating competition for customers when Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit opens next summer. Both sides are preparing for battle. * WTVO | Over 1 million guests visit Hard Rock Casino Rockford in first year: Since its opening, the casino has generated over $8 million in tax revenue for Winnebago County. A significant portion of this revenue supports the Rockford Promise Scholarship Program, which benefits local students. * OCPA | Federal judge strikes down Oklahoma’s in-state tuition for illegal immigrants: In his order and final consent judgment in United States of America v. State of Oklahoma, U.S. District Judge Ronald White declared that the Oklahoma law is “unconstitutional and invalid.” […] The Higher Ed Immigration Portal notes that Oklahoma state law allowed illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition if a youth graduated from high school in Oklahoma, resided in Oklahoma with a parent or guardian for at least two years prior to high school graduation, and had applied with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for legal status. * The Hill | Oz backs Florida dropping school vaccine mandates: In an interview on “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” the Fox News host asked Oz whether he agrees with officials who want to make Florida the first state in the nation to end childhood vaccine requirements and whether Oz would “recommend the same thing to your patients.” “I would definitely not have mandates for vaccinations,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator told MacCallum.
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Good morning!
Thursday, Sep 4, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Thursday, Sep 4, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Thursday, Sep 4, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.
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