Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The State of New Illinoisi? By the peole? Hilarious…

* As the Kinks told us…

Should feel happy, should feel glad.
I’m alive and it can’t be bad,
But back on planet Earth they shatter the illusion,
The world’s going ’round in a state of confusion.

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SB 328: Protects Working People & Helps Fight Trump’s Predatory MAGA Agenda

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

The same front groups, associations and companies that are backing Trump’s predatory MAGA agenda of raising prices, slashing Medicaid, and gutting the Environmental Protection Agency, Food & Drug Administration, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also against SB 328.

They wrongly believe our state can’t be pro-worker and pro-business, and want Illinois to turn its back on people who have shared their stories about big corporations that have poisoned them or their loved ones:

“Because of my career, I was exposed to a tremendous amount of asbestos coming from various automotive companies. These companies came into our state, sold their products, and now are trying to skirt having to pay for what they did [by] trying to make me file a lawsuit in the state where they are headquartered, or ever worse, in Germany or some other country when all of the asbestos was in Illinois? That doesn’t seem fair.”

— Retired union mechanic from Chicago suburbs suffering from asbestos-caused cancer

SB 328 is good legislation and another way to show that Illinois will always stand up for working families and the most vulnerable.

For more information about SB 328, click here.

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Trump, Sims and Peters on the end of cash bail

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* President Donald Trump yesterday…

This dire public safety crisis stems directly from the abject failures of [Washington, DC’s] local leadership. The radical left city council adopted no cash bail. By the way, every place in the country where you have no cash bail is a disaster. That’s what started the problem in New York and they don’t change it, they don’t want to change it. That’s what started it in Chicago. I mean, bad politicians started it, bad leadership started it. But that was the one thing that’s central, no cash bail. Somebody murders somebody and they’re out on no cash bail before the day is out.

We’re going to end that in Chicago, we’re going to change the statute. I spoke with Pam and Todd and everybody. We’re going to change the statute and I’m going to have to get the Republicans to vote because the Democrats are weak on crime, totally weak on crime. They don’t know why. They want it to stop because they get mugged, too. But we’re going to change no cash bail. We’re going to change the statute and get rid of some of the other things and we’ll count on the Republicans in Congress and Senate to vote. We have the majority so we’ll vote. We don’t have a big majority, but we’ve gotten everything including the great Big Beautiful Bill. Got that done and that’s one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to people in this country. They’re starting to figure it out, how good it is. Biggest tax cut in history, so many things.

But we’ll be able to get that done. So Todd, if you and Pam can draw up things working with the people, I’ll get it passed. We’ll get it passed with the Republicans. Think of this, probably won’t get one Democrat vote because they have no idea what they’re doing. That’s why they want men playing in women’s sports, that’s why they want transgender for everybody. Everybody, transgender. And they just got walloped in an election, in a landslide and they haven’t changed one thing. I saw the other day, the certain gentleman who is a very well-known politician, Democrat, was fighting like hell that men should be allowed to play in women’s sport. They just don’t get it. They said it’s an 80/20 issue and I think it’s a 97 to three issue, and I don’t know who the three are. I’ve never heard anybody come. Nobody’s ever come up to me, “Sir, you have to let men play in women’s sports. You have to do it, sir.” Nobody’s ever approached me, I don’t know where this issue even comes from. Never seen anything like it. But they turned our nation’s capital into a sanctuary jurisdiction. That’s the other thing, we have to get rid of sanctuary cities as quickly as possible. We’re going to do it, too. We have to, because it’s sanctuary for criminals. Releasing illegal alien gang members onto the streets. In 2022, nearly 70% of criminals arrested in Washington went un-prosecuted. That’s not going to happen with the group we have standing aside and standing behind me. And at the Metropolitan Police Department, it’s now reached a small number relatively compared to what it was, but it’s thousands of people. We have thousands of police. I was told today, “Sir, they want more police.” I heard a number, 3,500 police.

That’s a lot of police, 3,500. I thought they’re going to say, “We only have 30 policemen or women.” He said, “We have 3,500. We need more.” You don’t need more, that’s so many. I’d never heard… That’s like an army. How could you need more than 3,000? It just happened two minutes ago. “Sir, they’ve requested more police.” “Oh, what do they have?” “About 3,500.” I said, “3,500?” This is not a big area, it’s ridiculous. What you need is rules and regulations and you need the right people to implement them. And we have the right people here, that I can tell you. Look at the border. Biden said there’s nothing you can do. Kamala was the border czar, she never called one of the border patrol agents, who are great. ICE is great. Never spoke to anybody, never went there. But she was the border czar and everybody said it was impossible to fix.

I fixed it in three months. No, really, I fixed it the first week, but really fixed it over the last couple of months. And I mean literally to a point where, as I said, zero illegals entering our country in the last 90 days. Pretty amazing. It’s time for dramatic action. We’re going to do the same thing over here. It’s going to be a very safe city very soon. We’re not looking to just take years because a lot of people die in years, and we’ve got incredible people in this country, except we have to allow them to do their job. And that, we will deliver like nobody’s ever delivered before. I actually think it’s easy. If you’re competent, it’s easy. If you’re incompetent, it’s impossible. But I’m very competent. […]

Again, cashless bail, watch what we do with that. Today, we’re formally declaring a public safety emergency. This is an emergency. This is a tragic emergency and it’s embarrassing for me to be up here. I’m going to see Putin, I’m going to Russia on Friday. I don’t like being up here, talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was with graffiti all over the walls. It’s another part of it, by the way. Because we’re talking about safety, but we’re also talking about beautification. We are the most beautiful, potentially, capital in the world. We always had. But people come from Iowa, they come from Indiana, they come and then they get mugged. Not going to happen.

Keep coming because by the time you get your trip set, it’s going to be safe again and it’s going to be clean very quickly. We’re going to replace the medians that are falling down all over the roads, we’re going to replace the potholes. We’re going to put a nice new coat of asphalt over the top, knowing we don’t have to rip the road out and spend seven years building a new road because they cut everything. Because some designers said, “Well, we need a quarter of an inch more turn for safety reasons.” No, we’re going to do it right, we’re going to get it done quickly. So today, we’re declaring public safety emergency in the District of Columbia. And Attorney General, Pam Bondi, who’s fantastic, is taking command of the Metropolitan Police Department as of this moment. […]

We’re going to have a tremendous success on what we’re doing. Other cities are hopefully watching this, they’re all watching just like everyone’s watching here, they’re all watching and maybe they’ll self-clean up and maybe they’ll self-do this and get rid of the cashless bail thing and all of the things that caused the problem. I mean if you go back, this whole thing with cashless bail is a disaster. So many problems came that we never had before. So they’re watching us today, and if they don’t learn their lesson, if they haven’t studied us properly… Because we’re going to be very successful, I have zero doubt about that. It’s a question of will it be really fast?

Like the border, and everyone said, they used to say, Biden used to say, I need legislation. I didn’t get any legislation. I called up our people and we did a great job. Tom Homan was great. As you know, our Secretary did a great job. They did a great job. There’s no games. They didn’t play games. And we’re going to have the same thing here. But then I’m going to look at New York in a little while. Let’s do this. Let’s do this together. Let’s see. It’s going to go pretty quickly. And if we need to, we’re going to do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster, we have a mayor there who’s totally incompetent. He’s an incompetent man and we have an incompetent governor there. Pritzker is an incompetent. His family threw him out of the business and he ran for governor. Now I understand he wants to be president. But I noticed he lost a little weight, so maybe he has a chance. You never know what happens. But Pritzker is a gross, incompetent guy, thrown out of the family business. […]

But when I look at Chicago and I look at L.A., if we didn’t go to L.A. three months ago, L.A. would be burning, like the part that didn’t burn. If he would’ve allowed the water to come down, which I told him about in my first term, I said, ‘You’re going to have problems, let it come down.’ We actually sent in our military to have the water come down into L.A. They still didn’t want it to come down after the fires. But that was it, we have it coming down. But hopefully L.A. is watching. That mayor also, the city’s burning, they lost like 25,000 homes, I went there the day after the fire, you were there, and I saw people standing in front of a burned down home. Their homes were incinerated. Even the steel was literally, it was all warped and literally disintegrated because of the winds and the flame, like a blowtorch.

* React from two strong supporters of ending cash bail. First up, Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago)…

State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. — the lead sponsor of the SAFE-T Act —released the following statement after the president falsely attacked Illinois’ nation-leading measure to end cash bail:

“The president’s misguided attacks on Illinois’ elimination of cash bail are par for the course. When he doesn’t want to answer for his administration’s mounting failures, he reverts to his usual playbook: distraction, denial and diversion.

Illinois is seeing positive results. According to the Illinois State Police, both violent and property crimes have decreased since the end of cash bail. The nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice also found no statistically significant link between bail reform and crime rates in its analysis of 33 cities, both with and without such reforms.

The SAFE-T Act and the Pretrial Fairness Act made Illinois the first state to fully eliminate the use of money to decide who stays in jail and who walks free before trial. This system is based on risk—not riches. Judges now consider actual threats to public safety and the likelihood of flight, not the size of someone’s bank account.

Let’s be clear: under the new system, no one charged with a serious violent crime—like murder—can simply walk free. That was the case under the cash bail system, where those with money could buy their freedom, regardless of the danger they posed to the public. There are countless examples of violent offenders paying bail and walking free under the old model—something the president conveniently ignores.

What the president wants is a justice system that favors the wealthy. That’s exactly the kind of system that has long failed our communities and allowed the rich to evade consequences. It’s no surprise from someone who also wants to criminalize poverty and homelessness.

In Illinois, we reject that approach. We believe public safety should not be sold to the highest bidder. The SAFE-T Act represents true criminal justice reform—one based on accountability and evidence, not personal wealth.

I urge the president to read the law before spreading dangerous and false narratives.”

* Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago)…

In recent public remarks, the federal administration threatened to change statutes on cash bail in Illinois and Washington, D.C., accusing the SAFE-T Act and the end of cash bail of increasing crime rates in Chicago. To set the record straight on both the law and the facts, State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) released the following statement:

“Once again, the federal administration is spreading dangerous misinformation – this time falsely claiming the end of cash bail in Illinois has led to rising crime rates across the state, particularly in Chicago, and that murderers are being released the same day they commit a crime. This could not be further from the truth.

“Not only are these claims blatantly wrong, they are intentionally misleading in order to spread fear. The truth is very simple: Illinois now prioritizes public safety over wealth. Under our state’s criminal justice system reform, individuals are detained or released based on whether they pose a risk to the community or are likely to flee – not on whether they can afford to foot the bill. That means someone with money doesn’t get a free pass, and someone without it isn’t jailed simply because they’re poor.

“No one accused of a serious crime – like murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, sex offenses, domestic violence or other non-probationable, felony crimes – is eligible for automatic release. Our judges can and do order pretrial detention when the facts warrant it.

“Crime is a complex issue, but stoking fear with false narratives doesn’t help. In fact, we’re in a historic period, with violent and property crimes down nationwide. The real threat to hardworking Illinois families isn’t smarter bail policies – it’s legislation like the Washington-backed budget bill, which would strip health care from hundreds of thousands, hike grocery prices and cut jobs in key industries like construction and manufacturing.

“Americans deserve honest leadership, not scare tactics. The cash bail system is flawed, and Illinois will not go back to using it against our residents. We’re committed to staying focused on facts, fairness and building safer communities for everyone – not just the people who can afford it.”

Discuss.

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Pritzker: Taxpayers shouldn’t be ‘propping up’ Bears stadium plan. Daily Herald…

* Related stories…

∙ Crain’s: Pritzker ’still considering’ bill that could advance Bears’ Arlington Heights plan
∙ Rep. Kam Buckner: Springfield should think twice before giving the Bears a property tax break
∙ CBS Chicago: Pritzker unenthused about tax relief bill for Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois

* At 3 pm, Governor Pritzker will sign Sonya Massey’s bill, which requires more thorough background checks in police hiring. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* The Southern | Joe Cervantez launches bid for Illinois Attorney General: In an exclusive interview with The Southern Illinoisan, former Jackson County State’s Attorney Joe Cervantez is making his first statewide run, announcing his candidacy for Illinois Attorney General as a Republican. […] So far, incumbent Democrat Kwame Raoul has filed for reelection, and former Chicago Alderman Bob Fioretti is circulating petitions to appear on the March primary ballot, according to a report in Capitol News Illinois.

* Tribune | Gov. JB Pritzker again makes Nazi comparisons after President Trump threatens DC-like takeover in Chicago: “You’ve seen that he doesn’t follow the law,” Pritzker said. “I have talked about the fact that the Nazis in Germany in the ’30s tore down a constitutional republic in just 53 days. It does not take much, frankly, and we have a president who seems hell-bent on doing just that.” Pritzker previously made a comparison between Trump’s second term and the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. During his State of the State speech earlier this year, the governor, who is Jewish, likened the actions of Trump and his administration to the quick rise of Nazism in Germany, adding that he was “watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. … The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here.”

*** Statewide ***

* WTVO | Illinois plans to swap federal healthcare marketplace for state-funded option: Starting November 1st, all Illinois resident who were enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid through Healthcare.gov will be transitioned to Get Covered Illinois for their 2026 coverage. Last year, Get Covered Illinois launched a $6.5 million grant to create a statewide navigator program to assist residents in enrolling in healthcare coverage.

* Inside Climate News | As Climate Change Makes Hail More Destructive, Illinois Residents Pay the Price: The big rate increase continues a statewide trend. Illinois homeowners’ rates have gone up 50 percent over the last three years, more on average than in any other state but Utah, from roughly $2,000 to roughly $3,000, said Abe Scarr, state director for Illinois PIRG, a public-interest advocacy group.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WTTW | Illinois Lawmakers on How to Fix Chicago Public Schools’ Budget Challenges:“Of course the state will have a very critical role in providing funding not just for Chicago Public Schools but for districts throughout the state,” said state Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago). “Exactly how that happens really depends on what we see on Wednesday when CPS does release its budget.”

* After nearly 20 years with the company, Donovan Pepper is leaving his role as the Senior Director of Government Relations and Civic Engagement for Walgreens…

As the old saying goes, “all good things must come to an end”…thus my almost 20-year run at the corner of “happy & healthy” has come to a close. I have truly enjoyed my time with this great company and have enjoyed being a part of so many initiatives, memorable moments and experiences.

As part of Walgreens’ original state government relations team overseeing lobbying and advocacy work in various state capitols, and later directing and leading Walgreens’ priorities in local municipalities, cities and counties across the U.S., I am so thankful for all of the elected and public officials, business leaders and individuals that I have had the privilege to meet and work with over the last two decades.

* Daily Herald | Wheaton city councilwoman running for state House seat: Current Wheaton City Council member Erica Bray-Parker, a Democrat, has launched a campaign to succeed retiring Republican Amy Grant in an Illinois House seat. Bray-Parker, a teacher at Glenbard North High School in Carol Stream, has been on the Wheaton council since 2019. She holds one of the two council at-large positions, which represent all of Wheaton. Bray-Parker has now emerged as a candidate for the 47th state House district seat.

* Tribune | State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit joins growing Democratic field running for Illinois comptroller: Kifowit joins a field that includes House colleague, state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim and Champaign County Auditor George Danos. State Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago is also expected to enter the contest. Croke narrowly won the endorsement of Cook County Democratic slatemakers last month. Kifowit called herself “one of the few fiscal experts in the General Assembly” and said she has been “the voice of fiscal responsibility since that day I got there.”

* TSPR | New Illinois law to protect rural auctioneers: State Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, introduced Senate Bill 2351. It will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and will require a licensed auctioneer to be involved in any online auctions, estate sales, and estate services in Illinois. “Illinois must guarantee that all auction services are carried out by credible, licensed auction professionals. This law will protect our local auctioneers and give bidders peace of mind when they make their transactions,” Halpin said in a release.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | City Gives 27th Ward Aldermanic Hopefuls Just A Week To Apply For Ald. Walter Burnett’s Job: The requirements are starkly different than the ones the city listed when former Ald. Carlos Ramirez Rosa’s 35th Ward seat vacated earlier this year, when candidates were required to have “at least five years of experience working in government or public service.” Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said the requirements are different because each selection committee creates their own requirements for applicants. Mayors have historically had wide discretion in appointing replacements to vacant City Council seats, often selecting candidates recommended by the departing alderperson — frequently a close aide or political ally, Simpson said.

* Sun-Times | Trump’s warning on replicating a DC police takeover in Chicago an empty and illegal threat: local officials: Johnson said Trump’s repeated attempts to portray Chicago as a cesspool of violent crime run contrary to the 30% drop in homicides and nearly 40% reduction in shootings over the last year. In an interview with ABC-7, Johnson said a federal takeover of law enforcement in Chicago would “destabilize our city” and be unpopular to boot. “No one in the city of Chicago — residents that I’ve spoken to, the people of this city — no one has ever asked for the National Guard to come to Chicago,” the mayor said.

* WTTW | At Least 47% of Jobs Charged With Implementing Court-Ordered Police Reforms Are Empty, Another 226 Are Unaccounted For: Records: Of 439 positions in the Chicago Police Department charged with implementing the court order known as the consent decree, 207 positions, or 47%, were empty seven months into 2025, according to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by WTTW News. CPD officials and representatives of Mayor Brandon Johnson failed to account for another 226 positions that city officials told the federal judge responsible for overseeing the reform effort would be charged with implementing the consent decree designed to reform CPD, which has faced decades of scandals, misconduct and brutality.

* Crain’s | Northwestern, UChicago named in price inflation conspiracy lawsuit: A lawsuit seeking class-action certification, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, takes aim at the early decision practice — where students apply early to a college and commit to attending in order to increase their admissions chances — which plaintiffs allege is a violation of antitrust law. […] The complaint argues that students, once selected in the early decision process, are prevented from receiving competitive offers from peer institutions and are subject to changes in tuition prices and financial aid package changes without recourse.

* CBS Chicago | Chicago to install 50 flood sensors providing real-time alerts of flash flooding: Many of the flood sensors will be in the Chatham neighborhood, where CBS News Chicago has covered flooding issues for years. “This sonar sensor here? That’s how we track how far away the water is,” Hyfi chief executive officer Brandon Wong said. […] “This device measures the flooding on the ground and then through Verizon’s connectivity, it links up with all the other 50 sensors to help inform where to send of an alert in a given part of a neighborhood,” Wong said.

* Sun-Times | Canal that famously reversed the Chicago River deserves a better name, group says: The canal that made it all happen has since been known as the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal. It’s an unglamorous name. But maybe not for long. Organizations, including Friends of the Chicago River and Friends of the Forest Preserves, are pushing to change the name of the canal to something more inspired. The current name, supporters of the change say, is too focused on the canal’s past.

* Sun-Times | Right-hander Drew Thorpe joins White Sox as he continues recovery from Tommy John surgery: “A lot better than last year, just vibe-wise,” Thorpe said of being around the 2025 Sox. “Everything seems like it’s meshing well. We’re playing a lot better than last year, and I think we’re still very young, so a lot of progress to be made, but I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Oak Park ends contract with license plate reader camera company: “At a time when the federal government is making overreaching attacks on norms, institutions, civil rights and due process and the rule of law, Oak Park should not be spending taxpayer funds on a technology that can easily be abused to advance a universal system of authoritarian style surveillance and control,” said John Slocum, the executive director of Refugee Council USA, in a public comment before the vote. Voting to terminate the Flock contract were village Trustees Jenna Leving Jacobson, Chibuike Enyia, Brian Straw, Derek Eder and a reluctant Village President Vicki Scaman. Village Board members Jim Taglia and Corey Wesley voted against terminating the contract with Flock. Instead Taglia and Wesley supported a motion to turn off the cameras for 90 days to give the village more time to study the issue. That motion was defeated by a vote of 4 to 3 as Scaman joined Taglia and Wesley in supporting the motion.

* Daily Herald | Pace paratransit rideshare program is victim of its own success: As regards paratransit funding, the Chicago-based Taxi Access Program (TAP) was created over 20 years ago. It lets certified ADA/paratransit passengers pay the first $2 of any trip. Pace covers the remainder up to $30, with riders paying costs exceeding $30, plus tips and surcharges. In 2024, Pace introduced a similar service, the Rideshare Access Program, for city and suburban paratransit riders using Uber and UZURV. Those combined have resulted in a projected 2.2 million more rides and an estimated $53 million shortfall in 2025, planners said.

* Daily Herald | One year later, Mount Prospect says new fourth fire station working according to plan: The $1.75 million station at 1415 E. Algonquin Road addressed a long-standing imbalance in coverage. Prior to Station 11’s opening, more than 50% of calls originated south of the tracks, forcing the engine at Station 13 to cross from the north side more than 1,300 times annually. “We now have two fire suppression vehicles south of the tracks, where well over 50% of our calls had always originated,” Dolan said.

* Daily Southtown | Blackface performers at Oak Forest charity picnic draw backlash, distancing efforts: Video posted on social media show at least two performers wearing what appears to be black or very dark-colored makeup or stage paint, one of them dressed as a nun. […] The Archdiocese of Chicago also, after the event, issued a statement saying the picnic was “not sponsored, co-hosted, or affiliated with any parish of the Archdiocese of Chicago.”

* Daily Southtown | Orland Square Starbucks workers join union; cite pay and working conditions: Nick Brown, a shift supervisor of five years in Orland Park, agrees and said shifts can be inconsistent. “We deserve consistent schedules, a living wage and a louder voice at work,” said Brown. “I hope that by unionizing we can model for other stores in our community.” Workers at two Chicago Starbucks became the first unionized Starbucks workers in the city in 2022, and similar efforts have increased since.

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois scrambling to save after-school programs:
District 117 allowed the organization to have two additional sites, but it will cost parents $60 per week. Posey said this does not reflect the desires of the organization.
“While it is not ideal for us to have to move to a fee-based model, it was either that or not have but two programs in the Jacksonville area,” Posey said.

* WCIA | Neoga School District provides update on tornado repairs entering 2025-26 school year: The elementary school is ready to welcome students back, as priority repairs have been completed. Remaining repairs such as the exterior walls, roof membrane, metal work and the front entrance will not be complete until the late fall, but officials said they will have minimal impact on the learning environment. […] Junior and senior high school students, however, will continue to see the accommodations that were implemented last year. Renovations continue at their facility and officials said interior demolition and repairs continue and are expected to take 12-24 months.

* WCIA | Illinois State Fairgoers jump into action, rescue 3-year-old from Sky Glide: Townsley said she immediately began yelling for the operators to stop the ride. After about a minute, Hailey said the Sky Glide paused, and she held on to her son. A crowd formed, and a group of people eventually lifted a woman in the air, who grabbed onto Townsley’s son and lowered him to the ground. She estimated that she held onto him as he dangled over the edge for about five to six minutes.

* WGLT | Ford County Chronicle among 40 newsrooms getting new tax credit to curb Illinois news deserts: With co-publisher Andrew Rosten as the Chronicle’s two reporters, they’ll receive $30,000 in tax credits for the next five years. Brumleve said that’s lot of money for a small operation like the Ford County Chronicle — about 10% of their annual budget. But the overall impact is bigger than that. “If it wasn’t for this tax credit our paper would be closed,” said Brumleve.

* WICS | Megan Moroney sets new attendance record at Illinois State Fair: Megan Moroney made history Sunday night at the Illinois State Fair, drawing a record-breaking crowd of 15,532 fans. The audience sang along to her hits, including “Am I Okay?,” “Tennessee Orange,” and her latest single, “6 Months Later.” Moroney’s performance surpassed the previous attendance record of 15,427 set by Lil Wayne last year. Before that, Jason Aldean held the record with 15,329 attendees in 2011, followed by Florida Georgia Line in 2014 with 15,204 tickets sold. Reba McEntire drew 14,823 fans in 2019, and Hootie and the Blowfish rounded out the top five with 13,956 tickets sold in 1995.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Trump nominates Bureau of Labor Statistics critic to replace fired agency head: [E.J. Antoni] has a PhD in economics from Northern Illinois University and contributed to Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation policy blueprint that laid out many of the strategies that the Trump administration has followed since taking office. He is a fellow at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, a conservative economic group helmed in part by informal Trump adviser Stephen Moore.

* Study Finds | How Profit-Driven AI Jesus Chatbots Prey On Prayer-Driven Christians: A new study by Anné H. Verhoef, a professor of philosophy at North-West University in South Africa, examines this growing trend, warning that these chatbots pose a new kind of challenge: they don’t just imitate humans made “in God’s image” — they claim to be God. Verhoef analyzed five popular “AI Jesus” platforms: AI Jesus, Virtual Jesus, Jesus AI, Text with Jesus, and Ask Jesus. He found none were created or endorsed by any church. Instead, they are run by for-profit companies with names like SupremeChaos, AllStars Productions LLC, and Catloaf Software.

* NPR | Lawyers, judges see a chilling effect from immigrants’ arrests at criminal courthouses: As the Trump administration seeks to scale up deportations, ICE agents have been increasingly seen at immigration courts and criminal courthouses. Defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges say they’re seeing a chilling effect on criminal proceedings, not only on the defendants but on witnesses and victims.

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Open thread

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Last night on Lake Springfield…

What’s happening by you?

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Tuesday, Aug 12, 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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