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Poll shows broad Chicago opposition to ICE, National Guard
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release…
Public Policy Polling conducted the survey. * Let’s focus on the racial/ethnic crosstabs. This is a poll of 582 Chicago voters with a Margin of Error of +/- 4.1 percent. But the MoE for the subsets we’re looking at are much, much higher…
White +/- 6.0 Black +/- 7.5% Other+/- 16.6% * With that in mind, we’ll start with Trump’s Chicago approval…  * Trump sending the National Guard into Chicago…  * President Trump has called Chicago a ‘hellhole and ‘most dangerous city in the world.’ He says deploying the National Guard would ‘clean up’ the city, though the National Guard would not have police powers. Local officials say they welcome federal anti-violence resources and law enforcement cooperation, but declining crime rates show there is no emergency that merits a military response and deployment of the National Guard in Chicago. Having heard some more information, let me ask you again: do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose President Trump’s proposal to send the National Guard into Chicago?…  Notice how support rises among Latinos with the “informed” question, but opposition remains the same. That indicates some persuadability. This poll was taken before everything really ramped up, so we’ll see what happens when reality has kicked in. * Chicago crime…  * Trump increasing federal immigration enforcement in Chicago…  * President Trump has directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE to aggressively enforce immigration laws nationwide. These enforcement actions have increased deportations of undocumented residents, but have also resulted in cases of unidentified agents detaining and deporting American citizens and valid visa holders, while separating some families. Supporters say that strict enforcement of immigration laws upholds the rule of law, while critics say that recent enforcement action undermines the rule of law, because it lacks due process and transparency. Having heard some more information, let me ask you again: do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the Trump Administration increasing federal immigration enforcement in Chicago through aggressive ICE detainments, expedited deportation removals, and workplace raids?…  No real change in the Latino response with the “informed” question. * How worried are you that deploying the National Guard or aggressive immigration enforcement in Chicago could violate residents’ rights or freedoms: very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?…  Again, this was taken before the big ramp-up.
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Crain’s…
* Sun-Times courts reporter Jon Seidel…
* Edgar Fellows Executive Director Janet Mathis…
…Adding… Press release…
More here. * Press Release | Illinois Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.4%, Payroll Jobs Decrease in August: The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that total nonfarm payrolls decreased over-the-month in August, down -13,300 (-0.2%) to 6,153,700. The July monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from -2,500 to -1,100. The industry sectors with over-the-month jobs increases included: Information (+800), Manufacturing (+400), and Construction (+300). The industry sectors with the largest monthly payroll jobs decreases included: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-4,500), Private Education and Health Services (-4,000), and Professional and Business Services (-2,600). * Press Release | AG Raoul files lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment Ticketmaster over deceptive business practices: Attorney General Kwame Raoul, in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit today against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (Live Nation), and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ticketmaster LLC (Ticketmaster), over the company’s unlawful coordination with ticket brokers that drives up prices for tickets in resale markets. The lawsuit also alleges that Ticketmaster deceptively displays lower ticket prices on its website, only to charge customers substantially more at checkout. * WTTW | Feds Threaten to Withhold CPS Grant Funds Due to Black Student Success Plan, Transgender Student Guidelines: “The Black Students Success Plan, however, is designed for and exclusive to black students and black educators,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for Civil Rights, wrote in the letter. “It is not, for instance, available to white or Asian American students and educators. This is textbook racial discrimination, and no justification proffered by CPS can overcome the patent illegality of its racially exclusionary plan.” […] A CPS spokesperson said Wednesday the district would not comment on “ongoing investigations.” The district’s Black Student Success Plan aims to bring in more Black teachers, reduce suspensions against Black students, promote teaching on Black culture, increase belonging and close opportunity gaps. It provides a five-year roadmap to improve the outcomes of Black students, who make up a third of the district’s population. * Block Club | Cook County Public Defender Opens Legal Center In Austin: The centers specialize in supporting neighbors navigating criminal court, including offering walk-ins for free legal information. Private pods are available at the office to attend virtual court hearings with staff support, if allowed by the court. The Public Defender’s Office will also use the Austin center to offer legal education for situations such as traffic stops, immigration issues, how to get a gun license and carry a firearm, how to legally possess cannabis and other topics that involve potential encounters with law enforcement. * Block Club | In Little Village, Residents Are Blowing Actual Whistles To Warn Neighbors About ICE: In June, after consulting with Los Angeles residents who have recently experienced immigration raids and a militarized federal law enforcement presence, the Little Village group added a new tool to its efforts: a bright orange whistle. “We had the idea of coming out with a whistle so people could hear that noise, and if they don’t have legal status, go the other way — run as quickly as possible to safety and to make sure they don’t open their doors,” said Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council. * Block Club | South Loop Fire Stadium Traffic Won’t Snarl Streets — If Fans Bike Or Take Transit, Traffic Study Says: The $650 million stadium project will have limited on-site parking, development representatives said at a recent community meeting. Between on-site parking and the use of nearby lots and garages, there will be roughly 2,800-3,000 parking spaces available on Fire game days. Shuttle services are planned for fans using off-site parking facilities. To accommodate fans, the development team is pitching a plan to use temporary street closures on game days along with temporary parking restrictions and increased public transit service. The stadium would also rely on existing infrastructure, including pedestrian and bike lanes and water taxis. * Chicago Mag | Jeff Tweedy Just Wants to Let His Light Shine: Fresh from a rehearsal with his 20-something musical sons, Spencer and Sammy, and local musician and songwriter Liam Kazar for a show at the Newport Folk Festival, and before that a promotional photo shoot, Tweedy is tired and feeling a bit wonky in the head at the moment. While the migraines he’s long suffered from have abated of late, he’s well attuned to signs that his body needs recharging. For now, though, he’s still game for talking. And so he does, about everything from his long marriage and his latest album to the downside of ego and his determination to fight for democracy. “What I have control over,” he says, “is keeping my mind free.” * WTTW | Minority-Serving Colleges in the Chicago Area Push Back Against Federal Funding Cuts: Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the agency is cutting this funding because MSIs racially discriminate “by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.” But Michael Anthony, president of Prairie State College, a community college in Chicago Heights, said he wouldn’t describe how his school handles enrollment that way. “These are our students,” Anthony said. “These are your citizens, your constituents that are in this community that choose to come here. 90% of our students are from the southwest Chicago region. This is not a quota. This is who lives here.” * Daily Herald | Mount Prospect renews contract with controversial license plate camera reader outfit: “We inadvertently clicked on (it) because we didn’t realize (on) the other side, anybody who checked on nationwide lookup had access to everybody else who clicked that same box,” explained Mount Prospect Police Chief Michael Eterno. “That was something we did not know at the time.” Flock Safety implemented several new safeguards in response, including complete removal of agencies that violated Illinois data-sharing agreements and AI-powered audits to flag any search terms that go against Illinois law. * Shaw Local | ‘We have lost our minds’- Debate over Dome of Unity sculpture for downtown Joliet gets heated: The City Council is divided on whether to move ahead with the $197,000 sculpture that proponents say will help bring visitors to downtown Joliet but which one councilwoman derided as resembling an “old wiffel ball.” The City Council is slated to vote Tuesday on whether to add the sculpture to a $9 million city square under construction. The matter was hotly debated at the pre-council meeting Monday night. * Sun-Times | Sen. Tammy Duckworth wants ICE agents out of Hines VA Hospital parking lot: “It is preposterous that VA would believe allowing ICE to operate on the Hines campus will not adversely impact delivery of care for Hines’ patients,” Duckworth wrote. The senator said she is a Hines patient — and has experienced the limitations of the parking lot, which has long lacked the capacity to handle the daily volume of patients, family members and caregivers. * CBS Chicago | Central Street Busker Fest in Evanston, Illinois to celebrate street performance: The businesses on Central Street offer up everything from cuisines of the world, fashionable clothing, books, toys, games, plants, dance classes and hand-ground spices. But a day on Central Street does typically not involve mimes, puppeteers, poets with typewriters strapped to their bodies, or the mayor of Evanston himself juggling fire. * Illinois Times | Grayson’s background ruled irrelevant for trial: Jurors at former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson’s murder trial won’t hear potentially disturbing details from Grayson’s military service and previous jobs in law enforcement even though the revelations led to new requirements for background checks of police statewide. Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin on Sept. 12 agreed with Grayson’s defense lawyers that the information wasn’t relevant and could unfairly sway jurors based on longstanding rules of evidence and case law. Except in certain circumstances, testimony, evidence and legal arguments must focus on what happened immediately before, during and after an alleged crime. Prosecutors argued the details they want the jury to hear are exceptions to those rules. * STLPR | Increased SIUE enrollment and program cuts led to balanced budget, chancellor says: After a $10.3 million deficit last year at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the SIU Board of Trustees voted on Thursday morning to unanimously approve a balanced budget for the 2026 fiscal year. The now accepted proposal has the university bringing in and spending nearly $341.6 million, according to university documents. Along with the deficit came “really difficult decisions by the university,” said SIUE Chancellor James Minor, who’s led the campus since 2022. * WCIA | Little rain, high variability in farmers’ yields trending in Central IL this harvest season: The Champaign County Farm Bureau said that the name of the game this year is variability Yields aren’t only varying from farmer to farmer, but from field to field, and sometimes, within fields. […] “There’s been a lot of differences in rainfall, even mile to mile this year. And so, that’s making a big difference in our numbers. I think some farmers are getting out there, and they’re finding more crop than they maybe expected. But then, there’s also farmers that are out in the fields, and they don’t have near the crop that they would in a year where they got normal rainfall,” Champaign County Farm Bureau’s Manager, Bailey Conrady, said. * Health Care Dive | House lawmakers scrutinize nonprofit hospitals’ tax-exempt status: Nonprofit hospitals have long been criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for benefiting from tax breaks and under-delivering on promises to deliver community or charity care to low income patients. Several watchdog reports and investigations from lawmakers have concluded large nonprofits routinely receive more benefits from tax breaks than they provide in community care, and can even “price gouge” low income patients. However, on Tuesday, Republicans at a Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee hearing mostly led the charge for reform, claiming nonprofits don’t pass along financial benefits to patients. * Crux | In Crux interview, Pope stresses welcome of LGBTQ Catholics, won’t change teaching: “What I’m trying to say is what Francis said very clearly when he would say, “todos, todos, todos.” Everyone’s invited in, but I don’t invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity. I invite a person in because they are a son or daughter of God,” the pope said. * Change Research | The New American Mythology: Belief in Conspiracy Theories and Their Political Impact: A consistent theme across all three groups is the belief that much is hidden from the public. These sentiments are not confined to the most conspiratorial segments but run broadly through the electorate. In fact, more than four in five voters say many very important things happen in the world without the public ever being informed. Nearly eight in ten agree that politicians usually conceal their true motives, while two-thirds suspect that powerful people work in secret to shape major political and economic events. Even when accounts of an event conflict, large numbers assume deception: over four in ten think such contradictions almost always signal a cover‑up, and nearly as many believe it happens at least some of the time. * Bloomberg reporter…  The story is here.
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A stubborn double-down
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here if you need it. Streetsblog…
* And then the publication goes on to claim that he voted “No” because of campaign contributions from unions like LiUna (Laborers) and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150…
Um, Senate President Don Harmon has received millions of dollars from Local 150 and LiUNA and he voted for the bill, which wasn’t mentioned until the site updated the post after a protest from Leader Curran’s spokesperson. * And when it was pointed out to them that Local 150’s lobbyist filed a witness slip in favor of the bill, this was the response…
The union opposed a revenue source involving a toll increase. But it, along with all other unions, supported the final bill, which was in flux all day. That’s the only floor vote which matters. And Local 150 did, indeed, issue support for the bill as passed. Anyone who demands support for legislation as “originally conceived” demonstrates a complete lack of awareness about how the legislative process works. Bills are amended all the time. * But the bottom line here is that no Republicans voted for that bill when it hit the floor. And their “No” votes weren’t because of Local 150 because 150 supported the final version. They mainly opposed it because the bill would raise taxes. That’s the default Republican Party position on pretty much everything. Occam’s Razor, etc. The SGOPs are currently working on an alternate funding proposal that wouldn’t raise taxes, but it uses some one-time revenues for ongoing operations and critics warn that dipping into the Rainy Day Fund would lead to a credit downgrade for the state. Also, that rapidly evolving bill was passed shortly before midnight on the last day of session, so everybody knew it was doomed in the House. The main reason for passing it out of the Senate was so Senate Democrats could go home and say they tried, and to attempt to set the terms of the upcoming summer talks with the House and stakeholders. * Leader Curran demanded a correction/retraction and didn’t get one. Local 150 is now demanding a retraction. Click here to read the letter. Harsh.
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Competition Works: Lower Bills. Reliable Power. Say NO To Right Of First Refusal
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Illinois families are sweating through heat and higher electricity bills this summer. Across the Midwest, some relief from energy inflation is in the forecast. Thanks to competitive bidding, dramatically lower costs have resulted compared to no-bid Right of First Refusal (ROFR) proposals. Here’s the proof:
Fairport to Denny Transmission Line (MISO – Missouri)
Reid EHV to IN/KY Border Transmission Project (MISO)
• Delivered long-term cost savings
Matheson–Redbud Transmission Line (SPP – Oklahoma)
• Provided a superior engineering solution compared to other proposals In many cases, incumbent utilities won these bids, proving that when they compete with other qualified builders, consumers win. It saves money and drives better results.  Competition Works. Legislators should choose competition and protect Illinois families.
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Pritzker takes heat over event pic with accused criminal (Updated)
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * August 25…
* September 5 press release…
* CWB…
You simply can’t possibly vet everyone who wants to take a pic with a governor at events, particularly events like this where many of the participants have past criminal records. But, hey, it’s definitely a gotcha moment for Pritzker…  * ILGOP…
* Pritzker administration response…
…Adding… Chicago CRED and Metropolitan Peace Initiatives…
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Mayor still trying to point fingers over bill that passed unanimously
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here for some background. WTTW in August…
From Rich: The bill passed both chambers without a single “No” vote. * Also in August, here’s Crain’s…
From Rich: Martwick is one of the mayor’s strongest legislative supporters. * Days later, Gov. Pritzker was asked about the topic at the Illinois State Fair…
From Rich: The mayor never actually said that he called the governor about the bill. * Fox Chicago yesterday…
* From the governor’s office…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Study finds recidivism down among youths in Cook County court program offering links to social services. Tribune…
- The Chapin study examined 144 participants between 2022 and 2023 during a time when the initiative expanded beyond a pilot program. - The study found that 18% of participants picked up a new charge, in contrast to 28% of a comparison group. The review also found high participation among the juveniles referred to the program, with 85% graduating and nearly all successfully hooking up with at least one community-based service. * CBS Chicago | Woman charged in shooting at Illinois state senator’s home; attack not politically motivated, police say: Based on surveillance video footage from several homes and license plate reader technology, detectives were able to identify the vehicle used in the shooting, and Thompson was taken into custody within 30 minutes in south suburban Lansing, near the Indiana state line. During questioning, Thompson confessed to the shootings, and said her intended target was an estranged relative who lives in the area. Police said the shooting was not politically motivated, and Thompson was not at the home she intended to target. * Investigate Midwest | Rural Illinois’ food economy depends on immigrants: In Macon County, anchored by Decatur and the global headquarters of Archer Daniels Midland, nearly 1,000 immigrants have arrived in the last four years – but the county has still lost more than 3,000 residents in that time, showing how immigration can slow but not always reverse population loss. While two-thirds of Illinois’ land is devoted to farmland, the state’s hundreds of food processing plants also drive its nonmetropolitan economies — and they rely heavily on immigrant workers, both legal and unauthorized. Food manufacturing is concentrated in the Chicagoland region, including Kane, DuPage, Lake, and suburban Cook County. Between 2023 and 2024, over 50,000 migrants arrived from the southern border to Chicago. * WAND | Illinois Supreme Court hears arguments over class action lawsuit filed against Walgreens: Calley Fausett used a debit card at a Walgreens in Arizona and realized 10 digits of her card number were included on the receipt. The federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act states that receipts cannot show more than five digits of a card. Fausett filed a class action lawsuit in Illinois stating the company broke the law and put customers at risk for identity theft. Walgreens’ attorneys argue this violation was not enough to give Fausett standing to sue, as she did not suffer concrete harm. * NBC Chicago | Video of Illinois senator goes viral as she warns of masked agents on suburban street: Villa said individuals who appeared to be masked ICE agents approached people in the community. “These masked individuals came upon people with the color of my skin and picked them up,” she stated. “One of them was in a van. There was about 13 people, including a minor. One was at a grocery store, an apartment complex, and someone simply walking on the side of the street. This is why we have gathered here today to talk about and show the strength of this community, this immigrant, beautiful community.” * Daily Cardinal | Pritzker talks preserving democracy, encourages peaceful protest at Cap Times Idea Fest: Pritzker said he “hates” the mid-decade redistricting currently going on, adding that President Donald Trump is clearly trying to “manipulate” the system, which directly goes against what the framers intended. […] “If Missouri does it, Maryland is going to need to do it. If Indiana does it, it may be that Illinois has to do it,” Pritzker said. “That may be what happens now that you know they’re going to take advantage of every opportunity they’ve got. I don’t like any of this again. I don’t want to do it… But it can’t just be the good Democrats that are doing independent commissions.” * WGN | Pritzker slams ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show: ‘An attack on free speech’: “A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say,” Pritzker said on social media Wednesday evening, as his comment came within minutes of news breaking that ABC would pre-empt “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely over the host’s remarks. “This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand,” Pritzker added. “All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.” * Founder of Cor Strategies Collin Corbett…
* 25News Now | Republicans and Democrats oppose potential statewide delivery tax in Illinois: “For us, especially in central Illinois, maybe even some of the more rural areas of the state, a lot of people really do rely on deliveries to be able to be connected to the world, so to pay a tax on those deliveries to me, to fund transit up in the Chicagoland area, seems not like a really great idea,” said Democratic State Representative Sharon Chung of Bloomington. * WMBD | Quad Cities area Democrat to challenge for Illinois House seat against Peoria Republican: 25 News reports that Nicole Dopler of Rapids City is running as a Democrat for the 73rd District. The seat is currently held by Republican Ryan Spain of Peoria. The district covers portions of Peoria, Woodford, Marshall, and Stark Counties. Dopler says she is campaigning to protect healthcare and education, as well as getting young people access to affordable housing and higher education. * Crain’s | Union-backed amendment scrambles granny-flats legalization push: At the Sept. 25 meeting, Ald. Marty Quinn, 13th, plans to introduce an amendment that would let aldermen block accessory dwelling units in their wards. Quinn, a longtime opponent of ADUs in single-family neighborhoods, also wants contractors on such projects to use certified apprenticeship programs. * Sun-Times | Snelling pushes to keep police vacancies in budget, seek other cuts to close city deficit: Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling vowed Wednesday to resist any attempt to eliminate altogether 984 police vacancies — even as Mayor Brandon Johnson struggles to erase a $1.15 billion shortfall after two straight years of deficit spending. Johnson has ordered all of his department heads to cut 3% to 5% from their 2025 budgets. Instead of cutting vacancies, Snelling said he plans to meet that $92 million mandate through a hiring slowdown. He plans to hold open those 984 police positions, but budget less money for those vacancies he knows the city won’t be able to fill. * Sun-Times | 30 arrests reported in Trump’s deportation campaign in Chicago — but feds won’t provide full tally: But about half of the names and alleged charges released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security couldn’t be definitively matched to court records. Officials have also released sparse details about the past arrests, making it difficult to independently verify some of the alleged crimes. * Evanston Now | Metra hoping to avoid service cuts in 2026: The Metra Board of Directors was told on Wednesday that, according to a presentation, the * Sun-Times | Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemns fatal ICE shooting in Franklin Park: Sheinbaum joined a growing chorus of calls for a thorough investigation into the death. Villegas González appears to be the first person shot and killed by an on-duty ICE agent since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said his office has asked ICE for “all the information around” the shooting, but admitted, “they have given very little.” * Daily Herald | Mount Prospect proposes regulations for e-bikes, e-scooters, e-motos: “I believe in stronger fines than what’s in place here,” said Trustee Vince Dante. “I don’t think $50 up to $500 is going to be a deterrent for them to not do it again.” Police Chief Michael Eterno pointed out the safety concern by sharing a photo of a young rider performing a wheelie on Northwest Highway. Eterno quoted figures from the Consumer Product Safety Commission showing nearly 361,000 emergency room visits from 2017-2022 for micro-mobility device accidents, with children under 14 representing 36% of injuries. * Evanston Now | Biss vetoes grocery tax: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss Wednesday vetoed the city’s grocery tax ordinance, passed by the City Council on Monday. The ordinance would implement a local 1% grocery tax, filling the $2.5 million annual revenue gap that city staff estimated Evanston would face with the expiration of state-imposed grocery tax at the start of 2026. * BND | East St. Louis schools address unreliable bus service as frustrations mount: The district contracts with Illinois Central School Bus in Caseyville to transport its students. The drivers are employees of Illinois Central, not the district. A shortage of bus drivers — which drivers say is the result of alleged mistreatment by Illinois Central — has led to delays, overcrowding and, in some cases, buses not arriving at all, community members reported. * Illinois Times | WICS anchor resigns following her unauthorized on-air tribute to Charlie Kirk: WICS news director Heather Voudrie Nodine told Illinois Times no one at the station has been suspended or fired in the last 90 days. … In most of the stories she is described as a “news anchor.” But the WICS news director also said that is inaccurate. Nodine said Harmony has never worked for WICS’ news division. She said Marketplace, the show Harmony hosted, is produced by the station’s advertising department and that she was an advertising employee * WGLT | Concerns over ICE limits attendance at Hispanic heritage celebration at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bloomington: Organizer Criselda Joaquin said this year’s attendance was down an estimated 2,000 visitors because of fear of ICE raids. “The turnout has been less this year. I did have a couple of community members drop out selling food, and their reason being everything that’s been going on with immigration in Chicago, which has been disheartening but I completely understand,” Joaquin said. * WGLT | Panel: Accessing prenatal care in Central Illinois is not easy for some women: Transportation challenges, difficulty acquiring obstetric care, and the limitations of language barriers are major priorities to be addressed in Central Illinois, according to the panelists. […] Statistically, higher rates of diabetes and hypertension are present in some Black and brown communities, said Rebert. But sometimes those aren’t addressed during pregnancy. “Historically Black women have been mistreated by the medical community, [and that’s resulted in that population having] a fear of the medical community. And there are some biases within providers against those communities, as well,” she said. * WIFR | Pearl Place Apartments in Belvidere wins 2025 Landmarks Illinois preservation award: The 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards honor Pearl Place Apartments in Belvidere. The restoration of the historic Garfield School made it possible for the building to continue serving seniors and veterans in the area, rather than being converted to market-rate apartments, according to Landmarks Illinois. * NYT | The Hepatitis B Vaccine Is Under Threat. Here’s What to Know.: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly questioned whether babies should continue to receive the vaccine on their first day of life. […] Most pregnant women in the United States are screened for hepatitis B in the first trimester. But screening isn’t perfect, and testing negative in the first trimester “doesn’t mean you cannot contract hepatitis B later on,” said Dr. Amanda Kost, a family medicine doctor at University of Washington Medicine. Some research suggests as many as 14 percent of pregnant women may not get tested, which may be because of inadequate prenatal care or because they refuse the test. There is also a rare risk of false negatives. These screening gaps are one reason doctors recommend a first dose of the vaccine the day a baby is born. * Crain’s | Nonprofits push back as Trump hints at crackdown after Kirk killing: “At a moment that is fragile and fraught, we must rise to the higher standard we all collectively desire. Now is a moment for leadership that drives unity rather than sows further division. Our organizations will continue focusing on helping people across all backgrounds, geographies, ideologies, and belief systems, to heal, thrive, and live peacefully together, protected by the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution,” the letter concludes. Among the 100 philanthropies to sign the open letter are the MacArthur Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, Woods Fund Chicago, Spencer Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, Michael Reese Health Trust and Grand Victoria Foundation. * The Atlantic | Who to Trust If You Can’t Trust the CDC: Today, Monarez testified before a Senate committee that Kennedy fired her after less than a month in her role because she refused to accept his vaccine policy. According to Monarez, Kennedy demanded “blanket approval” of all recommendations made by the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which Kennedy dismantled in June and has since remade in his own anti-vaccine image. Over the next two days, the group is scheduled to discuss vaccines for COVID, hepatitis B, and other diseases. According to a Washington Post report, at the meeting, Trump-administration officials also plan to use a database of unverified vaccine-injury reports to link COVID shots to the deaths of 25 children.
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Open thread
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * How are you?
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Thursday, Sep 18, 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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