Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* We’ve only raised $115 so far today, and we can’t afford to lose momentum. Every little bit keeps us moving toward getting a Christmas gift into the hands of every child in LSSI’s care.

If you haven’t given yet, or can chip in a little more, it truly makes a difference. Thank you.

* Belleville News-Democrat…

U.S. Steel is eyeing an April 1 restart of the second of its two blast furnaces at Granite City Works, but it could come sooner, the local steelworkers union president said.

“It’s definitely going to be a lot of hard work — but, at the end of the road, it’s going to pay off because Nippon has not got to see what we can do with primary operations,” said Craig McKey, who leads United Steelworkers Local 1899. […]

McKey said his phone has already been inundated with calls from workers laid off in 2023, when U.S. Steel first idled the blast furnace, asking about jobs. The company will prioritize anyone who had quit, retired or been let go.

“There’s going to be a lot of them that come back,” he said.

Restarting the second blast furnace is likely to cost U.S. Steel between $25 million and $30 million. Management said that cash will not come out of the $11 billion that the Japanese have promised to invest in other existing U.S. Steel facilities, McKey said.

* Click here for some background. 4th Congressional Dstrct candidate Mayra Macías…

In case you missed it, Back of the Yards native Mayra Macías raised over $100,000 in 72 hours for her campaign to succeed Congressman Chuy García — a clear sign that her message is resonating. She’s running a grassroots-powered campaign and is not accepting corporate PAC dollars.

“I’m overwhelmed by the response we’ve received in fewer than three days,” said Macías. “I’ve talked to so many people who are contributing to a political campaign for the very first time. They and everyone I’m meeting throughout the district want a choice, and they want someone who understands them — who’s never had anything handed to them. They want a fighter who will protect our immigrant community, make life more affordable, and have the credibility to protect our democracy from Trump. That’s exactly what I’ll do in Congress.”

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | State pension shortfall improves, thanks to strong market: The gap between the assets available to pay retirees and how much they’ll be owed fell to $143.5 billion from $143.7 billion a year earlier, just the fourth time in 15 years that the overhang has declined. Pensions for schoolteachers, university employees, state workers, legislators and judges were 47.8% funded as of June 30, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability said today.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Chronicle Media | Planning leader won’t stop push for better mass transit: Erin Aleman has pushed for better mass transit in Illinois for years and was ever-so-hopeful for a solution to aid financially strapped Chicago area transit agencies. Then came the end of the fall veto session and what had looked like a light at the end of the tunnel suddenly turned into a freight train. “If you had asked me the week that the legislation passed, I would have told you, ‘Forget it, it’s not happening,” Aleman said.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson floats head tax overhaul amid budget stalemate: Mayor Brandon Johnson is offering a revamped version of his corporate head tax — targeting only the city’s largest employers and raising the rate to $33 per worker — in a last-minute effort to salvage his $16.6 billion budget and head off a potential government shutdown. Johnson’s aides began testing support for the tweak with aldermen this afternoon — even while the mayor publicly downplayed a counter-proposal from 26 council members who want to scrap the head tax altogether.

* WTTW | Johnson Warns Chicago is Headed for Shutdown Amid Budget Deadlock: In a letter to the 26 members of the Chicago City Council who have signed on to a plan to bridge Chicago’s $1.19 billion budget gap without hiking taxes on large firms, Johnson said he was open to new ideas and continuing negotiations but said he would not allow the city’s budget to be balanced “on the backs of working people.” “These proposals by some members of the Council are not ‘shared sacrifice’; it is only the poor who are sharing the sacrifice,” Johnson wrote. “Doubling garbage fees, cutting youth employment, and selling Chicagoans’ debt to the highest bidder puts significant additional financial strain on those with the least ability to afford it.”

* CBS Chicago | Youth organizations call for Chicago to keep corporate head tax in budget plan: A group of organizations that offer summer jobs to young people is encouraging city leaders to keep the proposed corporate head tax in next year’s city budget, as proposed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. The organization representatives spoke at a news conference Monday morning, saying that without the tax, they would be forced to cut thousands of jobs. The tax is being called a “community safety surcharge.” It amounts to a $21 per month per employee tax on businesses with more than 100 employees, also known as a head tax.

* Block Club | Affordable Apartments At Logan Square Church Break Ground After 6 Years In The Making: The project will preserve the 1928 church’s façade while creating 10 affordable apartments — a mix of studios and one-, two- and three-bedrooms — in Logan Square for Black and Brown families earning 15-50 percent of the area median income. LUCHA, the development company behind the project, plans to renovate the church’s 12 existing apartments and convert the church’s sanctuary and fellowship space into 10 more apartments for a total of 22 units.

* Block Club | Delivery Robots Take Over Chicago Sidewalks, Sparking Debate And A Petition To Hit ‘Pause’: “This is a vehicle in the pedestrian path space that’s meant for people, and yet we ended up stepping aside, and something about that felt a little off,” Robertson said. “I began to wonder, what are our sidewalks going to be like if these programs are successful from the company’s point of view, and they continue to scale, and there are dozens and dozens of them on our sidewalks, even on quiet residential sidewalks?”

* Crain’s | U.S. cuts fine against Southwest over 2022 travel meltdown at Midway: The Trump administration has waived part of a $140 million settlement against Southwest Airlines over a 2022 holiday travel meltdown that was largely centered at Midway Airport. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Dec. 6 the airline would not need to pay the final $11 million of a $35 million fine issued as part of the settlement after investing more than $1 billion in its operations, Reuters reports.

* Crain’s | Chicago Botanic Garden names new CEO: Illinois native Gretchen Baker is returning to her roots as the incoming president and CEO of the nonprofit Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Baker, who will begin her post on March 16, was hired by the Botanic Garden board of directors after current CEO Jean Franczyk, who has led the garden since 2016, informed the board she plans to retire this coming spring.

* Sun-Times | Bally’s Chicago casino renderings preview poker room, gaming floor: Besides the 3,400-slot casino and 500-room hotel, the $1.7 billion Chicago complex is slated to include a rooftop pool and bar and restaurants, plus a 3,000-seat theater and a public park with a riverwalk extension. Bally’s had previously shared its proposed images of a 36-story hotel tower and adjacent casino. The latest images preview its expansive floor of slot machines and table games, plus dedicated poker and baccarat rooms.

* Tribune | John Corkery, a Chicago attorney and ‘performer at heart,’ dies at 82: John Corkery was an attorney and a distinguished one, a frequent radio and TV legal expert, a powerful courtroom presence, and an admired teacher and administrator. He was much more. “John was a performer at heart,” said his wife, Denise Corkery, an advertising executive. “He always referred to teaching his law classes as giving ‘five performances a week.’” Corkery died at home in Chicago on Nov. 27, on Thanksgiving morning. He had been on home hospice care for a lengthy battle with brain cancer, with which he had been diagnosed in 2019. He was 82.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss questions how Trump-Northwestern deal impacts protests and campus oversight: He also expressed skepticism about the agreement’s provisions that aimed to limit Northwestern’s consideration of students’ racial backgrounds in admissions. In the letter, Biss demanded “unambiguous guidance on what you believe Northwestern is now prohibited from doing, required to do, or required to dismantle — especially if these requirements touch community-based scholarship programs, DEI partnerships, or joint initiatives involving our schools and nonprofits.” And Biss — who has said he has “two children who are thriving because of gender-affirming care,”— also questioned the federal government’s authority to use the agreement to compel Northwestern and its medical affiliates to change their transgender health care practices.

* Daily Southtown | Calumet region celebrates progress in flood mitigation efforts funded by relief funds: The project the Calumet City steering committee chose was to create stormwater bumpouts at Sibley Boulevard and Wentworth Avenue, creating a safer crossing for a nearby day care. The Center for Neighborhood Technology developed the RainReady plan for the region about 10 years ago, Savad said, but there was no funding at the time to put the project into practice. It wasn’t until rescue plan was signed into law in 2021, dispensing billions in funds for pandemic relief and infrastructure improvement, that the project was able to get moving. Cook County committed $6 million of funds it was allotted to making the center’s plan a reality.

* Daily Southtown | Longtime Monee Democrat William ‘Billy’ Morgan tapped to lead Will County party: Morgan said one of his main focus will be on county offices next year, including reelecting countywide Democrats and flipping the county clerk and regional office of education seats from Republican to Democrat. “I’m focused like a laser on our county,” Morgan said.

* Daily Herald | ‘They always provide’: JOURNEYS offers a lifeline and a path out of homelessness: Last year, JOURNEYS served 1,051 people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. It was the fifth consecutive year of growth for the nonprofit organization. Its services range from overnight stays, meals, showers and laundry, to mental health counseling, job training and transportation. Its shelter in Palatine hosts 50 to 70 people daily, and JOURNEYS also partners with PADS shelters operated by 12 faith communities.

* Daily Herald | ‘A real balm’: Catholics headed to Des Plaines this week in annual pilgrimage: The event typically draws as many as 300,000 people from across the U.S. Most make the pilgrimage “because there’s a great need in their life,” Sanchez said. “An experience such as this is a real balm, a real healing, for them,” he said.

*** Downstate ***

* News-Gazette | Piatt County Circuit Clerk earns top honors for modernizing court information: Let’s face it, most people have their eyes buried in phones — Seth Floyd, the Piatt County circuit clerk, knew that, so he modernized the decades-old court system and implemented an accessible and online record database. “The idea (was born from) a better way to reach jurors, because when I came into the office, we were using a recently thrown-away 1990s answering machine as a call-in line,” he said. The app, released in 2023, featured accessible records, information, links to make payments and acted as a hub for various websites.

* WMBD | Peoria City Council to decide on $11M riverfront amphitheater donation: The vote and its likely approval Tuesday night given the Horseshoe’s endorsement of the idea at an earlier meeting, will formally accept the donation from the Hengst Foundation and give them “authority over the design of the Amphitheater,” according to a memo in the council’s packet. At their meeting in Setpember, the council voted to accept a “letter of intent” by the foundation to build the 5,000-seat facility on Peoria’s riverfront.

* WMBD | More than 90 cadets graduate from Lincoln’s ChalleNGe Academy at Peoria Civic Center: The program is run by the Illinois National Guard and serves youth ages 15 1/2 to 18 through a 22-week, quasi-military academy focused on structure, discipline and life-skill development. Leaders said the goal is to help young people build consistency, confidence and a clearer path forward. […] The program is voluntary and offers students the opportunity to earn academic credentials, develop vocational skills and learn essential tools such as time management, teamwork and anger-management strategies.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Supreme Court poised to expand Trump’s power over independent agencies: The Supreme Court on Monday appeared poised to allow President Donald Trump to fire a leader of the Federal Trade Commission, a ruling that could limit or overturn a 90-year-old precedent that curbs executive power to dismiss the heads of agencies Congress set up to be independent.

* AP | Redistricting in Indiana faces ultimate test in state Senate: Senators will take action on a bill designed to favor GOP candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. However, many Republicans, who control the chamber, have been hesitant or even outright opposed to the idea of mid-decade redistricting. Several have also been threatened over their opposition or unwillingness to immediately declare support. Their deciding votes could test Trump’s typically iron grip on the Republican Party. Monday’s expected committee hearing could give a first glimpse at how many senators plan to go on record against the bid to consolidate power in the staunchly conservative state.

* NYT | How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration: Some Biden aides believed that the less the president said about immigration, the better. In June, the White House planned for Mr. Biden to give a speech on the border. Officials circulated the president’s remarks, Ms. Flores said, only to change their minds at the last minute. Angela Kelley, who was then a senior immigration adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, described a collision between Mr. Biden’s campaign promises and “reality on the ground.” “We didn’t really have a grip on it,” Ms. Kelley said.

* WaPo | Trump pardons major drug traffickers despite his anti-drug rhetoric: On President Donald Trump’s first full day in office this year, he pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted of creating the largest online black market for illegal drugs and other illicit goods of its time. In the months since, he has granted clemency to others, including Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and Baltimore drug kingpin Garnett Gilbert Smith. And last week, he pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for running his country as a vast “narco-state” that helped to move at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

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Some good advice for legislators and the news media

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Jennifer Pahlka, author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better, on the An Honorable Profession podcast…

Pahlka: The last piece that I think is the most abstract, but probably the most important, is closing the loop between policy and implementation.

So right now, it sort of works in sort of a waterfall method. You pass a law or policy and it gets handed off to successive layers of a bureaucracy. By the time it’s actually being implemented on the ground by folks that are so distant from the folks who passed the law, a game of telephone has occurred. They don’t quite know what the real intention was. It’s been burdened with lots of procedure. It’s now more about the process than it is about the outcome, and they’re not able to sort of loop back and say, ‘Is what we’re doing what you intended? Is this working? Are we getting the results that we were hoping to get?’

And we have to really fundamentally think differently about the relationship between the executive and legislative branches in order to build these tight feedback loops so that by the time you’re actually hitting the ground we have tested things. We know what works, and we’re confident that we’re going to get there, and that we keep having those feedback loops all the way along.

But right now, most legislators are like, ‘I passed the law. It’s someone else’s job now. I’m moving on to the next piece of legislation, the next bill that I want to introduce.’

That’s a really big mind shift, but I would absolutely encourage anybody here in the legislative branch to shift their thinking. I think your voters will actually reward you for it, for caring more about the outcome than the bill. And that doesn’t mean you spend your days and your staff spend their days on fundamentally different things, but it will pay off.

Host: And that’s an interesting thing, because I think for a lot of elected officials, there’s been a little bit of a using how many bills you introduced or passed as the measurement for success. And so I think that’s a really interesting point to be able to talk instead about what you’ve delivered, because that’s really to your point. That’s what people are looking for.

Pahlka: Almost all of my friends, just like regular voters, people nodding, do you vote for somebody on the basis of the number of bills they passed? They’re like, I have no idea. Like, they don’t even know. They don’t know. But the reason that we introduce those bills, or your audience here introduces those bills, is because they get attention.

And what we have to do is create the mechanisms and affordances that give you the same kind of attention from the press, from the community, from academics, from community groups, that you get the same attention for the follow-up that you do for introducing the bills. And I think that’s the work that the civil service groups will do, that either the good government groups will do that. Academia can do that. You can train the media to pay attention to these things. You have to challenge that conventional wisdom that the reason that you’re doing this is either for votes or attention, because it’s not getting you the votes. There’s a different way to get attention that will also get outcomes, and your people will reward you for that.

She’s right that legislators too often just pass bills and move on to the next thing. She’s also right that successful implementation of laws can lead to much better news coverage.

But writing stories about bill intros is a whole lot easier and completely ingrained into news coverage norms than stories about successful implementation. Often, implementation stories are written after failures, and quote angry legislators railing at the bureaucracy, even though many of them had no idea that their bills were being implemented so poorly.

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Poll: Chicagoans want more city and state money for schools, favor taxing upper income, oppose service tax, confident in Pritzker but not in Johnson

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A recent citywide poll conducted by the University of Chicago’s NORC for Kids First Chicago showed that two-thirds of Chicagoans were unaware that the city is moving to a fully elected school board in 2027.

From the executive summary…

○ Roughly six in ten Chicago adults say the City of Chicago should provide more money to CPS, forming the base for the City revenue questions.

■ There is a significant association between parent/non-parent status and belief that the City should provide more money to CPS; 67% of CPS parents believe the City should provide more money, compared to 58% of non-parents.

● Among those who believe the City should provide more funding, support is strongest for corporate and high-end real estate taxes:
○ 74% support increasing taxes on large corporations based in Chicago.
○ 56% support starting or increasing taxes on real estate transactions for homes priced above $500,000.
○ 53% support creating a new local income tax for individuals making above $100,000 per year.

● Support for tourism taxes and TIF reforms is more mixed or uncertain.

○ 48% support increasing certain tourism taxes (hotel, car rental); 32% oppose; 20% are unsure.
○ 45% support closing certain TIF districts early and moving the maximum legally allowable unused TIF funds to CPS, 11% oppose, and a large 43% are unsure.

* The public wants the state to step in, and opposes borrowing and, mostly, layoffs…

When asked how CPS should prioritize closing a $569 million budget deficit, respondents rated five options as high, medium, or low priority.

● High-priority actions

○ Advocate for more money from the State:
■ 43% high
■ 27% medium
■ 18% low

○ Advocate for the State to take on the full cost of Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund and combine it with the statewide Teachers’ Retirement System:
■ 34% high
■ 27% medium
■ 16% low

○ Advocate for more money from the City:
■ 33% high
■ 30% medium
■ 23% low

● Low-priority actions

○ Staff layoffs:
■ 19% high
■ 18% medium
■ 50% low

○ Borrow money:
■ 8% high
■ 19% medium
■ 53% low

Respondents were not asked about closing under-utilized schools.

* However, Chicagoans oppose a sales tax on non-essential services, according to the poll…

Only 28% support expanding the sales tax to certain services (excluding essentials), while 52% oppose it; 18% are unsure.

* Confidence levels that the following will act in the best interests of CPS students…

● Governor J.B. Pritzker

○ 63% have a great deal or some confidence.
○ 27% have not much or no confidence.
○ Net: +36.

● Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)

○ 46% have a great deal or some confidence.
○ 39% have not much or no confidence.
○ Net: +7.
○ CPS parents are more likely to report a great deal/some confidence (54%) compared to non-parents (44%).

● Members of the Chicago Board of Education

○ 43% have a great deal or some confidence.
○ 37% have not much or no confidence.
○ 19% are unsure.
○ CPS parents have more confidence (54% great deal/some) in the Board than do non-parents (39% great deal/some)
○ CPS parents have less uncertainty (12%) than non-parents (21%)

● Mayor Brandon Johnson

○ 35% have a great deal or some confidence.
○ 55% have not much or no confidence.
○ Net: –20.

● Interim CPS CEO / Superintendent Macquline King

○ 30% have a great deal or some confidence.
○ 33% have not much or no confidence.
○ 36% are unsure.
○ 40% of non-parents report uncertainty, compared to 22% of CPS parents.
○ Most parents (57%) report not much / some confidence, compared to non-parents (40%)

* Methodology…

● Study target population: Adults age 18+ living in the City of Chicago.
● Completed interviews: 1,361
● Sample units: 2,887
● Eligibility: Expected 100%; observed 100%.
● Field period: September 16–29, 2025
● Median survey duration: 15 minutes
● Margin of error: ±3.73 percentage points, with a design effect of 1.97.

The survey was conducted using a probability-based sample and weighted to be representative of Chicago’s adult population by age, race/ethnicity, gender, and geography. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding. […]

“CPS parents” are defined as respondents who reported “Yes” to the question, “Are you a parent or guardian of a student currently enrolled in Chicago Public Schools (CPS)?” “Non-parents” are defined as those who responded “No” to this question.

19 Comments

Question of the day: 2025 Golden Horseshoe Awards

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2025 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Republican State House Staff Member goes to Jayme Siemer…

Jayme Siemer is one of those people you’re grateful is in the building. She’s sharp, dependable, and brings real institutional knowledge to every conversation. She makes herself accessible to stakeholders and does a great job helping people understand what her members are trying to accomplish. Jayme is responsive, measured, and consistently on top of tough issues, all while keeping her focus on getting the work done.

Jayme was not the top vote-getter by any means, but she’s very good at what she does and I thought she deserved it.

* The 2025 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Democratic State House Staff Member goes to Madeline McCune…

It felt like when Madeline came back to staff there was a collective exhale. She’s known to be generous with her time, thoughtful in her decision making, and always focused on doing right by the caucus.

Congratulations to our winners!

* On to today’s categories…

Best State Government Spokesperson/Comms

Bridget Shanahan and Becky Carroll won for best PR people last year, so they’re not eligible this year. Jordan Abudayyeh won for best 2024 government spox, and she’s now in the private sector.

The government spokesperson/comms award applies to all branches of state government. As always, please make sure to explain your nominations or they won’t count and do your best to nominate in both categories. Thanks!

* After you’ve submitted your nominations, please click here and contribute to our annual fundraising drive to buy Christmas presents for foster kids.

Donations during the second week are always lower, but you can change that by stepping up. If you’ve already contributed, please reach out to your friends to encourage them to help spread some Christmas cheer. Remember, those children are in this predicament through no fault of their own. You have the power to help them enjoy the holiday season in a small, but real way. So, again, please click here. Thanks!

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When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

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Findings of a recent economic study were clear — the retail sector is a cornerstone of the state’s economy and crucial to our everyday lives. Retail in Illinois directly contributes more than $112 billion in economic investment annually – more than 10 percent of the state’s total Gross Domestic Product.

Retailers like Becca in LaSalle enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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The news media’s favorite bogeyman

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

In the days after the horrific burning of a woman on a CTA train, allegedly by a clearly deranged habitual criminal suspect last month, some in the news media immediately focused on their go-to issue: The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T Act.

“Illinois leaders blast SAFE-T Act after repeat offender charged with lighting woman on fire on CTA Blue Line,” reported WGN, as just one example. Former Cook County and federal prosecutor Bob Milan told the station: “The SAFE-T Act forces state attorneys to file petitions instead of just giving judges the discretion [to detain arrested suspects]”

Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey demanded that judges be given “100 percent discretion” to detain anyone they viewed as a danger to society. Several other sheriffs have since weighed in with the same demand, although some also want to increase the number of what are known as “detainable offenses,” which are the alleged crimes that allow judges to keep suspects locked up before trial.

The state law was mentioned repeatedly because the prime suspect Lawrence Reed was not held in custody in August after he attacked a social worker at a psychiatric center, knocking her unconscious, giving her a concussion and damaging her eye.

However, Reed was charged in August with aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm, which is a detainable offense under the SAFE-T Act. Considering his long criminal history and lots of other factors, he was a prime candidate for pretrial detention.

Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez instead sided against prosecutors, who argued for detention, and with the public defender in the case, who said that Reed was back on his medication and doing better. During the hearing, Molina-Gonzalez publicly acknowledged Reed’s long list of 70-plus arrests and convictions, and, according to CWBChicago.com, took a report from a court officer claiming that Reed’s chances of committing another crime was “four out of six” if released, with a likelihood of violence. After saying she couldn’t lock up everyone that prosecutors wanted detained, the judge ended up placing Reed on monitored home confinement, then another judge subsequently loosened that restriction.

So much for the idea of giving judges complete discretion without prosecutor involvement.

It’s worth noting that pretty much all of Reed’s previous offenses and releases happened under the cash bail system, before the SAFE-T Act’s Pre-Trial Fairness provisions took effect in September of 2023 — a fact ignored by the detractors.

Also, the Cook County Jail has experienced a 16 percentage point increase in inmates between the end of last year through the end of this year’s third quarter, according to a Loyola tracking dashboard. The county jail’s population was about 8% higher at the end of the third quarter than it was just before the SAFE-T Act was fully enacted.

And a chart recently posted by CWBChicago.com, which focuses exclusively on crime and is not exactly known as a liberal site, shows that a wide array of violent offenses committed by people awaiting trial in Cook County dropped from 116 victims in 2021 (before the SAFE-T Act) to 52 last year and 37 so far this year. Attempted murder victims dropped from 50 victims in 2022 to eight so far this year.

Point being, too many reporters, pundits and others are far too quick to bring up everybody’s favorite bogeyman before any facts are known or even acknowledged.

Is the SAFE-T Act perfect? Of course not. No law designed by human beings can ever be perfect. Could it be improved? Again, humans should always try to improve on their work. But the people at the table should not be the ones who are angrily and ignorantly preening for the TV cameras.

Also, one of those downstate sheriffs advocating for changes in the SAFE-T Act kinda let the cat out of the bag last week.

In addition to granting judges more discretion and increasing the number of detainable offense, Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard talked about the loss of local revenue with the abolition of cash bail.

The old bail system helped fund an array of things like jail staffing, victim services and law enforcement, Bullard said.

“The elimination of cash bail has created financial gaps for counties statewide,” the sheriff claimed.

Oddly, though, Bullard also griped that “some arrestees are now being held longer while awaiting a judge, where previously they could bond out quickly.”

So, the sheriff is upset that people deemed dangerous by judges are being held too long behind bars?

That kinda makes me think this is a lot about the money.

People really need to read the actual law before publicly dragging in their cherished bogeyman. It’s not that complicated. Also, here’s a handy chart.

35 Comments

Catching up with the federal candidates

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Sun-Times…

U.S. Senate candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi is running a TV ad about his plans to “stop” President Donald Trump, but he has also accepted more than $90,000 in contributions from key Trump and MAGA donors.

The fundraising leader in the Senate Democratic primary race to replace outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin has also taken in more than $120,000 in corporate PAC contributions from the same companies that are helping to fund Trump’s new $300 million White House ballroom construction, including Google, Amazon, Booz Allen Hamilton, Microsoft, T-Mobile, NextEra Energy, Union Pacific and Lockheed Martin.

Krishnamoorthi’s donors include Marc Andreessen, a Trump adviser and venture capitalist, Michael Pillsbury, Project 2025 contributor and Heritage Foundation senior adviser and Shyam Sankar, a Trump adviser who donated at least $260,000 to Republican causes this year alone.

Asked for comment, Krishnamoorthi’s campaign told the Sun-Times the donations from Trump allies represent just .2% of the more than $24 million he has raised. And a campaign spokesperson said Krishnamoorthi, a U.S. representative and a Democrat from Schaumburg, “welcomes anyone who supports” his mission.

* Capitol News Illinois…

[T]he three top Democrats vying to become the party’s nominee for U.S. senator in Illinois have released proposals detailing how they plan to make life more affordable for Americans. […]

Each candidate announced substantial proposals to address housing affordability.

[Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s] plan calls for creating tax incentives to encourage construction companies to build homes below the median price point, creating a tax penalty for hedge funds that buy single family homes in hopes of keeping them affordable, and restricting the ability of artificial intelligence to set rents and screen applicants.

Krishnamoorthi said he wants to reestablish an Obama-era refundable tax credit for qualified first-time home buyers in their first five years of ownership. He also called for opening more land for residential development by rezoning vacant commercial buildings.

[U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly] supports capping annual rent increases. She and Krishnamoorthi also generally support policies that limit a corporation’s ability to buy single family homes.

Both Stratton and Kelly say they support the concept of “Medicare for All,” which would establish a single-payer, government-run health insurance program that all Americans would have access to. Stratton’s plan also calls for Medicare to cover long-term care home services, hearing and vision, while Kelly only said it should cover dental and vision. […]

Krishnamoorthi’s plan does not indicate he supports the Medicare for All plan popular among many progressive Democrats. Instead, he calls for allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for more drugs each year and for passing legislation to regulate pharmacy benefit managers in hopes of reducing drug prices.

* Politico…

— In IL-09: State Sen. Laura Fine has raised more than $800,000 so far in the fourth quarter in her bid for the 9th Congressional District, her campaign told supporters in an email. […]

— In IL-07: State Rep. La Shawn Ford has been endorsed by fellow state Reps. Natalie Manley, Suzanne Ness, Lisa Davis and Anthony DeLuca in his bid to succeed Congressman Danny Davis, who has also endorsed him.

— In IL-07: Anthony Driver Jr. has been endorsed by Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker, and Maywood Trustees Asia Ousley, Ray Williams, Steven Smiley and Antonio Sanchez, and Clerk Tori Love-Garron.

* Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 have endorsed Mellissa Bean for the 8th Congressional District. Press release…

Today, Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 endorsed Melissa Bean in the race for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District seat.

Statement from Pat Cleary, President of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2:
“Labor needs allies in Washington now more than ever. Melissa Bean showed up for the men and women of organized labor in Congress, and she’s ready to show up for us once again. Just like fire fighters do every single day, Melissa has demonstrated what it looks like to deliver for her district, her community, and our entire state – and we are proud to endorse her campaign for Congress.”

Statement from Melissa Bean:
“Chicago fire fighters put their lives on the line for their neighbors each and every day, but their work doesn’t stop at the frontlines. The men and women of organized labor fight day and night because they care about the wellbeing of their communities. That’s what our movement is about, and I’m honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 in the fight to improve the quality of life for families all across our communities.”

* More…

Tribune | Illinois’ US Senate primary race shows candidates still must court shrinking downstate Democratic base:

* 8th CD candidate Dan Tully | Pete Hegseth’s contempt for military rules of engagement on display in the Caribbean: I served as a judge advocate, or military lawyer, for eight years in the Army Reserve, including 3 1/2 years on active duty. As a national security law attorney in Iraq, I advised commanders on the application of the rules of engagement and the law of armed conflict to the full spectrum of operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. I’ve also been involved with shaping rules of engagement requests during the planning of operations in other theaters. Even a freshly minted judge advocate out of the basic course might identify Operation Southern Spear’s strikes as violations of U.S. obligations under international law, not to mention Department of Defense policy. Hegseth’s argument that the boats are manned by drug traffickers doesn’t change the legal analysis.

* Evanston Now | Who’s endorsed whom so far in IL-09: This story has been updated to reflect Lake County Commissioner Esiah Campos having been inaccurately listed as endorsing Bushra Amiwala’s campaign. In an Oct. 6 post on social media, Amiwala shared that Campos had endorsed her. Campos told Evanston Now on Thursday that he is not endorsing Amiwala and is instead endorsing Daniel Biss.

* Daily Herald | Ninth District congressional candidate was convicted of sex crime against a juvenile, records show: A Republican running to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the largely suburban 9th District was convicted of a sex crime against a juvenile decades ago. Paul S. Friedman, 55, of Chicago, was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct while living in Michigan in 1998, public records show. The crime occurred in Washtenaw County that year when Friedman was 27 and the victim was 13, records indicate.

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Waymo wants to bring self-driving taxis to Illinois. Does the Land of Lincoln want them?. Tribune…

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | ICE agents use tear gas in Elgin as hourslong standoff ends in man’s arrest: Elgin-born state Sen. Cristina Castro was among those present Saturday afternoon as agents detained the man. “Some folks were throwing him blankets and food, and ICE had all this region surrounded [and] eventually broke in, grabbed him, and yanked him out,” Castro said. Several dozen protesters were in the neighborhood providing supplies to the man as he stayed on the balcony, witnesses said.

* Tribune | Illinois researchers say versatile grass could be used for sustainable fuel, building materials and more: The versatile grass has a multitude of end products and uses, including compostable packaging, livestock bedding and erosion control. It can also be used as a solid fuel for electricity and heating, like coal, wood and municipal waste. Scientists are hoping it will open doors to new markets, such as renewable natural gas, sustainable aviation fuel, building materials, and chemicals for household and industrial products. One variety in particular, Miscanthus x giganteus, has demonstrated “unsurpassed productivity” in the Midwest, according to researchers.

* Crain’s | CME data center outage caused by human error, Cyrus One says: Onsite staff and contractors at the facility in Aurora, Illinois, failed to follow standard procedures for draining cooling towers ahead of freezing temperatures, a spokesperson for CyrusOne, a company owned by KKR & Co. and Global Infrastructure Partners, said in a statement to Bloomberg News on Saturday. That resulted in the cooling system being overloaded and rising temperatures.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Daily Herald | State Rep. Marty Moylan to resign from Illinois House Dec. 16: Democratic state Rep. Marty Moylan of Des Plaines has followed up his decision not to seek an eighth term by submitting his resignation this week to take effect Dec. 16. His resignation letter is dated Dec. 1 and marked as received by the clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives on Dec. 4. “It has been my greatest honor and privilege to serve my district and my state as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois General Assembly,” Moylan wrote. “I extend my deepest regards and gratitude to you and your staff for their diligence and hard work as we served together to improve the lives and futures of the people of the state of Illinois.”

* Windy City Times | Ridge Knapp campaigns for 13th District seat in one of Illinois’ most queer-represented races: Knapp later worked full-time on Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s 2020 reelection campaign, served as a data analyst in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office under Kim Foxx, and most recently joined President Biden—and later Vice President Harris’s—reelection campaign on its national analytics team. He said work inside government shaped how he thinks about policy impacts on marginalized people. “At the State’s Attorney’s Office, I got a chance to work with data and policy and look at making sure our criminal justice system was actually just—no longer overly criminalizing marginalized communities,” Knapp said. “My sense of justice is informed by that work, but also by my father’s experience with homelessness.”

* WAND | Behavioral healthcare parity law awaiting Pritzker’s approval: A bill awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature could increase access to behavioral healthcare and substance use treatment by improving insurance adequacy. This comes after state lawmakers spent three years working on the mental health parity plan. The proposal calls on the Illinois Department of Insurance to utilize a new formula to calculate minimum reimbursement rates for providers and publish them in a bulletin for insurance companies. Sponsors said proper compensation could encourage more behavioral healthcare specialists to join insurance networks.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Homeland Security Boss Kristi Noem Met By Protesters While Attending Navy Pier Christmas Charity Event: Protestors, many of whom sang Christmas carols and held signs, had been gradually pushed back from Navy Pier by Chicago police after the beginning of the event. But as Noem gave her address, they could still be heard. Noem has been a public face of Trump’s immigration raids in Chicago, even joining federal agents on a sweep of a Home Depot parking lot in Austin. She also gave media briefings on the operation, falsely saying no U.S. citizens have been detained during the immigration enforcement operation.

* Tribune | Chicago Bears drop from No. 1 seed to No. 7 after loss to Green Bay Packers: “We had a lot of options there,” Johnson said. “Don’t know exactly who is going to pop necessarily but between the options that we have and then Caleb using his legs, was hopeful we could find a way to get a yard there.” Williams sort of waited, allowing Nixon time to close, and then put air under the throw as if to give the 6-foot-6 Kmet a chance to outplay the 5-10 Nixon for the ball. The throw never made it that far. It was an easy interception for Nixon. “I think he can take (the first down running) but I don’t know what he saw,” Kmet said. “I’m just running my route. It’s unfortunate. It sucks.”

* WBEZ | Here comes Krampus: How the half-goat, half-demon became a cultural phenomenon: “Krampus became more than a fad in America. It became a cultural phenomenon … and it all started here in Chicago,” [graphic designer/illustrator Monte Beauchamp] recently told the Chicago Sun-Times. […] Beauchamp introduced America to Krampus in its pages in a feature about century-old postcards in 2000. The issue became so popular, it led to a partnership with comics publisher Fantagraphics to produce the first book in America about the character, 2004’s “The Devil in Design: The Krampus Postcards.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Federal immigration agents use tear gas on Elgin crowd on day of Kristi Noem’s visit to Chicago: The standoff began around 10 a.m. Saturday when about 15 agents showed up to arrest an unidentified man at an apartment building on the 1600 block of Maple Lane in Elgin. Elgin police said there had been a traffic crash that morning involving a federal agent and the man, who then fled to the building. The crowd, blowing whistles and shouting at agents to leave, grew throughout the morning, eventually swelling to at least 200 people by the afternoon. By 2:30 p.m., the man the agents were attempting to arrest was still on the second-floor balcony. About 30 agents tried to negotiate with him, while protesters told the man not to talk to them.

* CBS Chicago | Federal agent involved in crash, chemical agents dispersed in Elgin, Illinois, police say: Mari Elena and Eddy are part of a rapid response group in Elgin and were among dozens who arrived at the scene on Saturday, monitoring the agents’ activity. The confrontation led to agents tackling a person to detain them and using chemical irritants to try to disperse the crowd. “They tear-gassed at us, and then more people, more people started showing up protesting, and then more agents,” Mari Elena said.

* WaPo | The US citizens getting caught in Trump’s immigration crackdown: If you rolled past Bedrosian Park after the final bell rang at Waukegan High School on any given weekday this fall, you were likely to find Diego Rosales and his mop of unruly black hair, basketball in hand, permanently grinning and playing down to the level of local middle-schoolers. Until Oct. 6, when Rosales watched two dark SUVs come to an abrupt stop while he waited for the bus to school. Rosales brought his eyeglasses to his nose just in time to see three White men in green fatigues, cloth masks and body armor emerging from the vehicles with pistols on their hips. They stared and then rushed toward him. […] Surveillance footage from a nearby school captured Rosales in full sprint, curving around a building and through a parking lot, backpack in hand, the agents trailing by a stride. After a three-block race, they tackled the teenager to the pavement and shouted a question: “Where were you born?”

* Sun-Times | Stealing from one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen gets ex-Cook County judge 4 years of probation: Patricia Martin, former presiding judge of the juvenile court’s child protection division, bilked a decorated WWII vet out of more than $380,000. She pleaded guilty to theft and also was ordered to pay $122,763.73 in restitution.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora’s proposed 2026 budget, with controversial cuts, heads to final approval: The city is proposing a $680.8 million budget for 2026, which is $78.8 million less than this year’s. While most of the year-to-year change could be attributed to a one-time increase in revenue from bonds the city took out this year for big construction projects, the general operating fund proposed for 2026 also saw cuts, including to roughly 140 positions.

* Tribune | Political veteran George Cardenas fighting to stay on March primary ballot: George Cardenas has been a fixture in Southwest Side politics for decades, a consummate insider who followed five Chicago City Council election wins with another victory that took him to the obscure but powerful Cook County Board of Review. But now he finds himself in a fight befitting a novice, after a challenge to the petition signatures his campaign collected left him 273 short of what he needs to run for reelection in March’s Democratic primary. On Friday, seated across from a foot-tall stack of evidence, his legal team began the painstaking, line-by-line rebuttal to try to claw Cardenas’ way back onto the ballot.

* Crain’s | Rivian planning sales and service center in Northbrook: The electric vehicle maker has leased the site at 1818 Skokie Blvd. for a 39,000-square-foot facility to be built by Mount Prospect-based Wingspan Development Group, a spokesperson for the company confirmed today. “It’s a great partnership with the village of Northbrook and Wingspan and in support of our continued growth in that market,” said Peebles Squire, senior manager of corporate communications at Rivian.

* Tribune | White Eagle in Niles closes after decades as a hub for Polish community and political powerhouses: The phone at the White Eagle in Niles keeps ringing, with longtime customers asking for one last pierogi or a final bowl of its famed mushroom barley soup. An older woman cried when she learned it wouldn’t be possible, recalled office manager Diane Palazzo of Victoria Venues, the current owner. The banquet hall had quietly closed its doors several weeks ago.

*** Downstate ***

* NYT | A Small Illinois City at the Center of a Seismic Shift in Abortion Access: Two of Carbondale’s three clinics offer a range of health services, but Alamo Women’s Clinic only does abortions, both procedural and medication, all on-site. It does not dispense abortion pills through the mail, a practice targeted by anti-abortion groups and conservative states. Fewer than five percent of Alamo patients are from Illinois. Some women come by train, but most drive, traveling with partners, family or friends. Like women who seek abortions nationwide, many of them already have children and need to return home on the same day.

* WGLT | Bloomington and Normal join McLean County in suggestion they back away from legal cliff and restart talks in sales tax dispute: The most recent county letter offered one such change to the agreement — an 18-month pause in collection of shared sales tax revenue while other issues are worked out, coupled with an extension of the agreement identical in duration to the pause. That differs from a previous city and town proposal that would have paused sharing, but not extended the agreement. The county had called that idea a cut, not a pause.

* WCIA | Community unites as Piatt Co. village enters second day without running water: The Village of Bement has been under a boil order since early Saturday morning, but as of Sunday afternoon, there was no water to boil. The problem started after a water main broke Saturday around 1 a.m., affecting the pressure from the village’s water tower. Neighbors said that the lack of tap water was impacting everything from flushing toilets to taking showers. Community members, Piatt County Emergency Management Agency and the police and fire departments were handing out water on Sunday at the Lion’s Club Community Center.

*** National ***
* AP | Unseen photos of Rosa Parks return to Montgomery, Alabama, seven decades later: The photos were taken by the late Civil Rights photographer Matt Herron, and they depict Parks at the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 — a five-day-long, 54-mile (87-kilometer) trek that is often credited with galvanizing political momentum for the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965. History lessons tend to define Parks by her act of civil disobedience a decade earlier, on Dec. 1, 1955, which launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On Friday, some boycott participants and many of the boycott organizers’ descendants gathered to mark 70 years since the 381-day struggle in Alabama’s capital caught national attention, overthrowing racial segregation on public transportation.

* The Wichita Eagle | Kansas may get mile-deep nuclear reactor, and the groundbreaking is Tuesday: Deep Fission will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking on Tuesday at Great Plains Industrial Park. Company leaders hope to receive U.S. Department of Energy authorization and get its nuclear reactor up and running by next Fourth of July. The company is part of a presidential pilot program that aims to demonstrate new reactors by then. After that, Deep Fission hopes to pursue commercial operations. “The industrial park is looking to bring in, to attract industry and possibly data centers or other large uses of electricity,” Deep Fission CEO Liz Muller said in an interview with the Kansas News Service. “But in order to attract them, it needs to have a source of electricity.”

* The Hill | ACA approval hits new high: Gallup: More Americans approve of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) than at any point since it took effect more than a decade ago, according to a new Gallup survey. In the survey, released Monday, 57 percent of respondents approve, and 35 percent of respondents disapprove of the landmark legislation, which, the survey notes, was “signed into law by President Obama” and “restructured the U.S. healthcare system.”

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Good morning!

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Jerry Granelli Trio…

It’s Monday morning and I want to start the week with an update on our LSSI Christmas drive. You’ve helped raise $39,783, enough to buy Christmas gifts for 1,591 foster kids, which means we’re now over halfway there.

It’s an incredible start, but many more kids in LSSI’s care still need our help to have a brighter Christmas. Every dollar gets us closer to reaching all of them.

So as we kick off a new week, please take a moment to give what you can. You’re making a real difference for these kids. Thank you.

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

Comment

Live coverage

Monday, Dec 8, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news on the website formally known as Twitter. Our Bluesky feed…

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Reader comments closed for the weekend

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I would hang out with these guys any day…

It smells like Christmas,
get out the tambourines!
Let’s party all over the world!

* Before I go, just one more reminder to please contribute to our annual fundraising drive to buy Christmas presents for foster kids. Thanks, and don’t forget to tell a friend!

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* It’s Friday, the end of a long week, and before we all unplug for a bit I want to remind you why our LSSI Christmas fundraiser matters so much.

For so many of these kids, Christmas isn’t guaranteed to feel like Christmas. These kids are navigating so much in their young lives. A gift may seem small, but to them it’s a moment of joy, a reminder that someone out there actually cares.

Since Monday, we’ve raised $36,525, which is enough to buy presents for 1,461 foster kids.

But that’s still only about 57 percent of the foster kids in LSSI’s care system. And since it’s the weekend, we’re not going to be able to hype this fundraiser much until Monday. So if you have a moment today, please contribute. If you already have, please tell a friend or share the link on social media. The more people who hear about what this drive does for these kids, the more smiles we can bring to them on Christmas morning. Thank you so much!

* Bloomberg…

The Canadian government told Stellantis NV it’s in default on its taxpayer-backed financial aid after it moved auto production to its plant in Belvidere, Industry Minister Melanie Joly said.

Joly first threatened to take legal action in October, shortly after Stellantis announced it was canceling plans to make the Jeep Compass SUV in Brampton, Ontario, and moving that vehicle to Illinois. The automaker said it would invest $13 billion in the US over four years, partly to mitigate tariff costs.

Governments in Canada pledged more than $358 million to Stellantis to help pay for capital costs in its two assembly plants in the country. About $157 million of that pledge has been paid to date, according to testimony reported by the New York Times.

“Today, on Dec. 4, I’m formally announcing that we’re serving Stellantis with a notice of default under the contracts,” Joly told a parliamentary committee.

* Crain’s…

Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago’s pre-eminent pediatric facility, will be out of network for all Affordable Care Act marketplace plans in 2026, cutting off access for families who rely on the exchange for coverage.

The loss reflects broader upheaval in Illinois’ and others states’ ACA marketplaces, where several insurers are exiting, premiums are surging and families face shrinking options during the current enrollment period.

Lurie, a safety-net hospital, accepts Medicaid and many commercial insurance plans. But in 2025 its sole contract with an ACA marketplace insurer was with Aetna CVS Health’s Individual & Family Plan PPO. However, starting next year Aetna will exit the Individual & Family Plan business. […]

“Lurie Children’s has consistently cared for ACA exchange-covered children since 2014, despite most exchange insurers choosing not to contract with academic centers for in-network coverage,” [Lurie Children’s] statement said. “Our website clarifies that we are out-of-network with all 2026 exchange plans so families can understand their benefits. We continue to work with families and their payors when children need specialty care unavailable in their network.”

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois educators hope to tackle thorny issue of math competence: Even on the international stage, American students do not perform as well in math as their counterparts in many other industrialized democracies. Scores from the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS exam — a project of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics — showed eighth grade students in the U.S., on average, scored below their peers in countries like Singapore, Japan, Sweden and Australia.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Pacific Legal Foundation | Following PLF’s Discrimination Suit, Pritzker Signs Bill Ending Illinois’ Race-Exclusive Scholarship: The law, House Bill 3065, which took effect November 21, struck racial classifications from scholarship eligibility in Illinois. “Illinois cannot disqualify students from competing for a taxpayer-funded college scholarship because of their race,” said PLF attorney Samantha Romero-Drew. “Race-based discrimination is a blatant violation of the Equal Protection Clause.”

* WAND | New year, new laws: Illinois to roll out measures on roads, libraries and government efficiency: One new law gives clarification on cheating on DMV exams, allows the Secretary of State’s Office to give written tests online and enhances bicycle safety. The measure clarifies that any attempt to have someone else give answers to someone taking a DMV exam, including trying to use a hidden microphone or cell phone, is cheating.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago headed for a bond rating drop if City Hall doesn’t get budget right, Civic Fed president says: In trying to salvage a proposed corporate head tax shot down by the City Council’s Finance Committee, Ferguson said Johnson has demonstrated an “almost willful blindness to the red flashing lights” all around him. One of those warnings was the recent decision by S&P Global Ratings to reduce Chicago’s credit outlook to negative, citing Johnson’s decision to cut in half — to $120 million — the city’s annual pension advance over and above the state mandated payment.

* Tribune | Chicago-based American Medical Association slams committee’s hepatitis B vaccine recommendations: The Chicago-based American Medical Association is blasting a federal vaccine advisory committee’s decision Friday to no longer recommend that all babies get the hepatitis B vaccine when they’re born. The committee’s decision “is reckless and undermines decades of public confidence in a proven, lifesaving vaccine,” said Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, an American Medical Association trustee in a statement Friday morning. “Today’s action is not based on scientific evidence, disregards data supporting the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine, and creates confusion for parents about how best to protect their newborns.”

* Sun-Times | Belmont Cragin restaurant owners say business ticking up — but not back to pre-immigration enforcement levels: “Some restaurants are starting to recover, but aren’t at pre-raid business yet,” said Alonso Zaragoza, a community organizer and founder of Belmont Cragin United, an online resource center for residents. “Things are looking up for businesses in the area though, and hopefully they are able to get back on track.”

* Sun-Tmes | Chicago’s 20-year development plan for Downtown calls for more nightlife, housing and greenery: The plan proposes extending the Chicago Riverwalk between Lake Street and the south branch of the Chicago River. It also proposes an extension between Wolf Point and the Wild Mile, as well as new water taxi stops. A southern extension would bring the Riverwalk to the Harrison Street bridge — and to Chinatown and The 78, where development of the Chicago Fire FC’s new stadium will soon take place.

* NBC Chicago | How the Bears-Packers rivalry began: A look at the oldest enemies in the NFL: “It’s almost like its own world championship on its own - Bears vs. Packers,” said former Bears player Israel Idonije, who played with Chicago for a decade. “I was here from ‘03 to ‘13. Chicago is always better when the Bears are winning, then you 10 times that when the Bears beat the Packers. It’s just another level of joy and excitement.” The two NFC North teams are founding members of the NFL and have played more games against each other than any other teams in the league.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Ninth District congressional candidate was convicted of sex crime against a juvenile, records show: Paul S. Friedman, 55, of Chicago was found guilty of misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in Michigan in 1999, public records show. The crime occurred in Washtenaw County in 1998, when Friedman was 27 and the victim was 13, records indicate. In a telephone interview, Friedman said the charge was filed after he greeted a young customer at an Ann Arbor skateboard and snowboard shop he co-owned by kissing her cheek. The girl made other accusations, too, he said. Friedman said he pleaded no contest to the charge and avoided a trial. He was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to register as a sex offender, documents show.

* Daily Southtown | Orland Park $236 million budget calls for 18 new hires: The board also approved a property tax levy increase of 3.75% and signed off on a Dick’s Sporting Goods being added to the vacant Sears space at Orland Square mall. The village expects to spend $236 million and receive $201 million in revenues in 2026. The Police Department will receive a large portion of new funding to hire eight officers and one Freedom of Information Act clerk for an increase in requests for body camera footage, according to the village budget presentation.

* Aurora Beacon News | Preliminary plans for 900-unit residential development get approval from Campton Hills Village Board: The proposed development, called LaFox of Campton Hills, is set to be built on 962 acres generally bounded by Route 38 to the north, Keslinger Road to the south, Harley Road to the west and Brundige Road to the east. The area was previously unincorporated, but in September was annexed into Campton Hills in anticipation of the development. The area has weathered numerous proposals for development over the years, none of which have come to fruition. Proposals for developing the area have historically faced opposition by resident groups, but Shodeen’s pitch ultimately secured their support — through meetings with the local organizations and proposing a project with a lower density of homes and considerable open space.

* Daily Herald | Elgin manufacturing facility to close, eliminating 111 jobs: Printpack Inc. will close its Elgin manufacturing facility, resulting in the layoff of 111 employees. A statement from the Atlanta-based company, which manufactures flexible and rigid packaging for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, said the company will wind down operations over the next six months. “It is never easy to make decisions that affect the lives and livelihoods of our associates,” Jack Austin, Printpack’s chief operating officer, said in the statement. “Our Elgin associates have demonstrated exceptional dedication and professionalism throughout the years.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | ‘Just a milestone’: Massey Commission final report asks public to help continue the work: “You know, we’re structuring something new and try to figure out how many recommendations we’re going to have for 2026 and 2027 and for years to come. But I think that as long as we’re keeping Sonya at the at the forefront of it all, we’ll be just fine,” Sontae said. Sontae and members of the commission said the push for change now falls on the public. They said it’s not just county officials who should be reading the report.

* WGEM | Tax levy increase due to growing public safety pension demands, Quincy mayor says: Moore said public safety personnel are generally living longer and retiring earlier while facing increased costs of living, making their pensions a growing expense. “As more people retire, and we have fewer active duty officers than retired officers, what’s coming in isn’t offsetting what’s going out, you know. That’s part of the problem as well,” Moore added.

* WGLT | ‘Disappointment’: Central Illinois Scouting leader reacts to military’s possible breakup with Scouts:Hegseth claimed the group was no longer a meritocracy and is designed to “attack boy-friendly spaces.” “We’ve had girls involved in our exploring and venturing programs, and when we made the decision as a movement to allow girls to begin to join … that decision was based off our members’, our families’ desire to be able to have a character education program that served their whole family,” [Ben Blumenberg is Scout Executive and CEO of the W.D. Boyce Council of Scouting America,] said. “Their sons and their daughters.”

* BND | Metro-east superintendent moving from one district to another: Castelli was officially appointed as Roxana’s new superintendent during the school board’s Nov. 25 meeting. She will begin her role July 1 and said she accepted the district’s annual salary offer of $155,000. Castelli said the Smithton Consolidated School District 130 board will officially accept her resignation at a special meeting in December, at which point the search for a new superintendent will begin. She will replace current Roxana Superintendent Debra Kreutztrager, who is retiring at the end of this school year.

* PJ Star | ‘Panic’ gives way to relief after fire at Downtown Peoria shelter: Panic and uncertainty gripped the residents of a supportive housing homeless shelter in Downtown Peoria on Thursday after a third intentionally set fire at New Hope Apartments broke the building’s fire alarm system. Residents of the building had worried Thursday morning they might have to leave after the city of Peoria deemed it was unsafe without a working fire alarm system. However, city officials and outreach teams worked Wednesday night and Thursday to make sure that no one had to be put out on the street.

* News-Gazette | Homeless shelter for families with children opens in downtown Champaign: The first-come, first-served pilot program screens families at a remote facility at 307 S. Neil St. Once approved, they can check into the shelter, which is within a half-mile, also in downtown Champaign. The RPC isn’t releasing the shelter’s specific location in the interest of guests’ safety. The shelter can hold around eight households each night, with a capacity of 24 individuals. There is no limit to how often a family can stay.

* WREX | Area chamber of commerce to cease operations at end of year: The Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce announced on Facebook that it will suspend its current operations on Dec. 31. The Chamber said the decision was made after several years of financial hardship that made their current business model unsustainable. The Chamber said they made efforts to reduce costs, including selling their building and moving to Phelps Plaza, lowering spending, limiting software expenses, and cutting staff hours.

* WREX | Realtors say immigration fear is influencing Rockford housing market: Rockford realtor and broker Jeanette Solis says she has seen the impact firsthand. “A lot of my clients decided not to move forward with the purchase because they’re afraid that they may or may not be picked up by ICE, whether it’s by racial profiling or at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

*** National ***

* WaPo | Frank Gehry, who stretched architecture’s boundaries, dies at 96: Mr. Gehry was considered one of the most imaginative and expressive architects of his generation and ranked among the most important designers since Frank Lloyd Wright. His works became landmarks around the world, challenged the rigid formalism of modernist architecture, blurred the borders of architecture and sculpture, and impelled new methods of design and construction. The Guggenheim Museum and Walt Disney Concert Hall — audaciously curvilinear monuments to high culture clad in shimmering titanium and steel — became Mr. Gehry’s ravishing signatures. Architect Philip Johnson, whose works epitomized modernist cool, once proclaimed Bilbao “the greatest building of our time.”

* The Hill | Supreme Court to decide if Trump can restrict birthright citizenship : In an unsigned order Friday, the Supreme Court announced it would review one of those underlying lawsuits backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. It is set to be heard during the justices’ current term, with a decision expected by summer. The Trump administration petitioned the high court to review the order’s constitutionality after judges blocked the executive order nationwide this summer.

* Indy Star | Indiana House passes Trump-requested mid-decade redistricting bill: It’s a significant milestone for the new congressional map proposal, drawn in direct response to a request from President Donald Trump after months of pressure, both direct and indirect. A dozen Republicans joined with Democrats in voting against the proposal.

* Politico | Trump-allied PACs target Indiana Republicans blocking redistricting push: Andrew Kolvet, spokesperson for Turning Point, told POLITICO that the group would partner with other aligned PACs to dedicate an “eight-figure spend” to “primary people that are standing in the way of the president’s agenda.” “We look at Indiana as a test case and a cautionary tale, potentially one or the other, it’s their choice,” Kolvet said. “This is a super high priority, and we’re going to be working with the local, grassroots to make sure their voices heard and their priorities are not steamrolled by an out-of-touch elected class.”

* KFF Health News | Health savings accounts, backed by GOP, cover fancy saunas but not insurance premiums: With the tax-free money in a health savings account, a person can pay for eyeglasses or medical exams, as well as a $1,700 baby bassinet or a $300 online parenting workshop. Those same dollars can’t be used, though, to pay for most baby formulas, toothbrushes — or insurance premiums.

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COGFA’s latest pension report

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* COGFA’s latest pension report gives us the ramp in a nutshell…

Chart 1 on the following page shows a 15-year history of the cumulative unfunded State pension liability and is based upon calculations performed by the retirement systems’ actuaries using the market value of assets for all years, including FY 2025. Overall, the aggregate unfunded liability has grown significantly over the past 15 years from $83.1 billion in FY 2011 to $143.5 billion in FY 2025.

Since the enactment of P.A. 88-0593 in FY 1996—commonly known as the 1995 funding law, which created the 50-year funding policy that governs annual required State pension contributions—the primary driver behind the growth in the combined unfunded liability has been actuarially insufficient State contributions determined under the current pension funding policy in P.A. 88-0593. As the actuaries for the State retirement systems have noted in their respective annual actuarial valuation reports, the funding plan under P.A. 88-0593 produces employer (State) contributions that are typically below what is considered actuarially adequate. As a result, the aggregate State contributions have historically not been sufficient to stop the growth in the combined unfunded liabilities, even under a hypothetical scenario in which all other actuarial assumptions were met. (Table 5 in a later section compares the statutory State contributions with Actuarially Determined Contributions (ADC).) Hence, there is a distinction between contributions that are statutorily sufficient and contributions that are considered actuarially sufficient. The annual reports of the State Actuary have noted this distinction as well

* Chart 1…

Narrative…

Over the recent five-year period, the unfunded liability on the market value of assets has increased from $129.7 billion in FY 2021 to $143.5 billion in FY 2025. In FY 2021, the unfunded liability saw a significant improvement, due in large part to exceptional investment returns across all systems. However, it has gradually risen again since then. Poor investment performances—below 0% on a market value basis from all systems in FY 2022—added upward pressure on the unfunded liability, and higher-than-projected salary increases across all five systems in FY 2023 also contributed to an increase as well. In FY 2024, the unfunded liability rose slightly to $143.7 billion, nearing its previous peak again. While all systems achieved investment returns above their assumed rates of return on a market value basis, which helped contain the growth of the unfunded liability, it was not enough to prevent it from increasing. Changes in actuarial assumptions by TRS and SURS were among the main factors contributing to the increase, as well as to higher-than-assumed salary increases from all five systems.

* Some progress on whittling down the unfunded liability…

Specifically, SERS, JRS, and GARS have experienced actuarial gains from employer (State) contributions, meaning their actual State contributions have been sufficient to cover both the normal cost and the interest on the unfunded liability—a pattern that differs from historical experience. SERS experienced these gains from FY 2022 through FY 2025; JRS from FY 2021 through FY 2025; and GARS from FY 2020 through FY 2025. However, actuarial losses from TRS and SURS offset these gains, resulting in net actuarial losses from State contributions across the combined five systems, including in FY 2025.

State payments into the pension systems are projected to increase by a bit over $200 million next fiscal year.

* Buyout program…

(T)he “Big 3” systems’ buyout programs and salary-increase experience have reduced the unfunded liability by $1.528 billion and $1.466 billion, respectively. Although higher-than-assumed salary increases have generated actuarial losses in the most recent six years—particularly during FY 2023 through FY 2025— the cumulative effect since FY 1996 has resulted in a net actuarial gain

* More…

The two primary contributors to the FY 2025 increase were higher-than-assumed salary increases ($1.068 billion) and changes in actuarial assumptions ($982 million), which together increased the unfunded liability by $2.050 billion. While all five systems experienced salary increases above their assumptions, SERS and TRS accounted for most of the actuarial loss, with SERS contributing $573.9 million and TRS contributing $399.4 million. Regarding assumptions changes, only SERS, JRS, and GARS updated their economic and demographic assumptions—including inflation rates, general payroll increases rates, and retirement rates, among others. SERS also updated its assumed participation rate in the total buyout program from 3% to 4%. Of the $982 million attributable to assumption changes across these three systems, $963.2 million (98%) came from SERS, largely reflecting the significantly larger size of SERS relative to JRS and GARS.

However, the increase in the unfunded liability was largely offset by $2.005 billion in actuarial investment gains, resulting in a modest net increase. As mentioned earlier, all five systems experienced actuarial investment gains in FY 2025, with TRS accounting for $1.519 billion (76%) of the total.

* Related chart…

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Caption contest!

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* ‘Tis the season…

Context is here.

* After you’ve come up with an appropriately funny comment, please click here and contribute to our annual fundraising drive to buy Christmas presents for foster kids. Thanks!

27 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Some news

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

Comments Off

Asked if he’s looking at a guaranteed income program, Pritzker says ‘No’

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Let’s start with some background. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Cook County had about 663,000 people living at or below the poverty line at the beginning of 2023. That’s way down from its peak of 927,000 in 2012, but it’s still a lot.

From a press release…

The Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot provides unconditional $500 monthly cash payments to 3,250 low-to-moderate income families in Cook County for a period of two years. The County held an open application period in October 2022 and participants were selected by lottery in November 2022.

It’s basically a lottery program, except you don’t have to buy a ticket. And it’s open to people who are up to 250 percent of the poverty level, so the odds of getting in are pretty small.

* For those fortunate enough to be chosen, it’s been life-changing. Fox 32…

The Cook County government’s guaranteed income pilot program helped its thousands of recipients feel more financially stable and less stressed, according to a survey of participants. […]

• 75% reported feeling more financially secure
• 94% experienced a financial emergency or unexpected expense and used program funds to manage it
• 73% of participants believed the payments will continue to impact them after the program ends
• 56% reported reduced stress
• 70% say the program had a positive impact on their mental health

* But, since its reach is so limited, comparatively few people are being helped. There’s just no way that the county, or the state for that matter, could afford to turn this limited project into a broad-based program covering all eligible households. The $7.5 million put into the county program this fiscal year is only enough to cover 1,250 recipients at $500 a month.

* Center Square…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he is not planning to follow Cook County by implementing a guaranteed income program, and one Statehouse Democrat wants to prevent government units from funding such programs with taxpayer dollars. […]

When asked for his thoughts about Cook County’s program, he said it was not inappropriate for counties and municipalities to try things.

“It’s not a policy that we’re looking at doing for the state of Illinois but, on the other hand, sometimes things that you don’t imagine would work do,” Pritzker said.

The governor said it was important to make sure people have the basics they need in life.

“I am concerned, I think that we should be providing jobs for people so they can earn a good living, and the dignity of work really matters,” Pritzker said.

* From the transcript…

Q: Cook County is using $7.5 million for a guaranteed income program. Is that something you are looking at, or your team is looking at at the state level, the state taxpayer dollars when it makes sense?

Pritzker: No. No.

Q: Any other thoughts on the program for Cook County? Is it a good idea?

Pritzker: Listen, I think that you know you’ve heard the old expression that states are the laboratories of democracy, meaning, you know, that states can try things out that ultimately, sometimes end up being federal policy. Municipalities and counties trying things out to see how they work, I think it’s not inappropriate. It’s not a policy that we’re looking at doing for the state of Illinois, but, on the other hand, sometimes things that you don’t imagine would work do. I haven’t looked at the data, so I can’t tell you whether the program is an effectual program.

I am concerned, I think that we should be providing jobs for people so they can earn a good living, and the dignity of work really matters, and so I guess I would throw that into the question of, is a universal basic income type program going to work to give people the dignity that they want? Ultimately, though, what we want is to make sure that people have the basics that they need in life, right? A roof over their heads, the ability to buy the groceries that they need to survive.

* Except a tiny pilot project appears to be in this year’s state budget. Legislators appropriated $827,274 for a guaranteed income program out of the Fund for Illinois’ Future. Hat tip: Illinois Policy Institute.

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Catching up with the congressionals (Updated)

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Sun-Times…

Federal prosecutors in Chicago are being asked to turn over “White House communications” by attorneys defending six people — including four Democratic politicians — charged with a conspiracy tied to protests outside an immigration holding facility in Broadview.

A defense attorney for congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, one of the six charged, also told a judge Thursday that a “selective prosecution motion” could be on the way in the case that’s one of the most high-profile to result from the feds’ “Operation Midway Blitz.”

Defense attorneys have yet to file any motions, and U.S. District Judge April Perry made no rulings during a brief status hearing in the case Thursday. It’s not even clear if any relevant communications exist between the White House and Chicago’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. […]

Charged along with Abughazaleh are Cook County Board candidate Cat Sharp, who is chief of staff to Ald. Andre Vasquez; Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw; 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt; Andre Martin and musician Joselyn Walsh.

Evanston Now…

Federal prosecutors argue in the indictment, unsealed in late October, that the defendants “conspired with one another and others … to prevent by force, intimidation and threat,” federal agents from entering the ICE facility on Beach Street in Broadview.

The agent, who is not named in the indictment, was able to enter the facility in his vehicle early on the morning of Sept. 26, but “was forced to drive at an extremely slow rate of speed to avoid injuring any of the conspirators” in doing so.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri H. Mecklenburg told Judge Perry Thursday that she had taken the defendant’s counsel to the “garage” earlier this week, presumably in Broadview, to view the vehicle the government alleges was damaged in the encounter.

Although a key piece in the indictment, pointed out by [Abughazaleh’s attorney, Josh Herman,] last month, is that prosecutors don’t allege the six defendants are directly responsible for damaging the car itself, but rather it was part of a larger “conspiracy.”

* Also in the 9th CD, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss announced a new endorsement from U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal. From the press release…

Today, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) announced her endorsement of Daniel Biss in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District. Since taking office in 2017, Rep. Jayapal has become a national leader on progressive issues and currently serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

“Daniel Biss is a bold, thoughtful, progressive leader who has been deeply rooted in the district, organizing people and challenging corrupt systems,” said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. “He brings vision, compassion, and a deep understanding of the communities he serves. I’m supporting Daniel Biss for Congress because he will be a powerful partner in the fight for justice, economic fairness, and a democracy that works for everyone.”

The Congressional Progressive Caucus, chaired by U.S. Rep. Jayapal, endorsed Biss last month.

* Press release…

Congressional candidate Bushra Amiwala welcomed nearly a hundred volunteers into Bushra for Congress headquarters on Tuesday night to celebrate the momentum her campaign has built so far.

It was the largest volunteer gathering any candidate in the district has held to date.

“Look around this room. Every age, race, gender, ethnic background and geographic part of the district is represented,” Amiwala, an elected school board member, told the crowd. […]

Amiwala was joined by Miracle Jenkins, a former IL-09 candidate and lead organizer for Bernie Sanders. Jenkins recently endorsed Amiwala for Congress.

“I’m happy to endorse Bushra,” Jenkins told the attendees.

“Bushra understands, much like Zohran Mamdani, that the core issue of our day is affordability.

Amiwala is participating in a Skokie candidate Town Hall tonight at Skokie Sketchbook Brwery at 6:30. The event is hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America’s Chicago Chapter.

* Another 9th CD candidate, Sen. Mike Simmons announced a couple of endorsements this week…

State Senator Mike Simmons’ campaign for Congress has been endorsed by ATU Local 308 and their 4,000+ members. Mike has been a leader on investing and improving public transit in the State Senate, and will bring a much-needed voice for transit workers and services to Congress.

“Mike Simmons has always stood with train and transit workers, and we are proud to stand with him in his campaign to represent Illinois’ 9th District,” said ATU Local 308 President Pennie McCoach. “We need his authentic leadership and proven record of results in Congress, and Local 308 is ready to support him in every way.”

Sen. Simmons was also endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus PAC.

* Politico…

In IL-07: State Rep. La Shawn Ford has been endorsed by fellow state Reps. Michael Kelly, Rita Mayfield, Justin Slaughter and Debbie Meyers-Martin in his bid for Congress.

— In IL-08: Junaid Ahmed has been endorsed by Unrig Washington, a national group advocating for getting big money out of politics and protecting the right to vote.

— In IL-06: Joseph “Joey” Ruzevich, a Democrat challenging Congressman Sean Castin in the primary, has been endorsed by DuPage County Board member Lynn LaPlante.

…Adding… Press release…

Laura Fine’s campaign for Congress in Illinois’ 9th District announced new endorsements today from local leaders, including former Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen, Buffalo Grove Village President Eric Smith, and Buffalo Grove Trustee David Weidenfeld.

“Laura Fine has been a strong stalwart in the Illinois General Assembly for progressive values. She’s thoughtful and reliably effective,” says Mayor Van Dusen. “She will follow in the great tradition of Sidney Yates and Jan Schakowsky. We need her brand of leadership in Congress today.”

…Adding… Press release…

This week, 6th Ward Alderman William Hall and 3rd District Cook County Commissioner Bill Lowry endorsed Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in her campaign for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, noting her record of delivering for communities across Chicago and Cook County.

The endorsements come on the heels of Conyears-Ervin announcing the support of former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and sitting Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, joining the dozens of elected and community leaders across the 7th Congressional District supporting her run.

* More…

* Aftermath | Instead Of Relying On Wealthy Donors, Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh Is Using A Twitch Stream To Raise Money – And Fight A Federal Indictment: “We did a big recap and looked at our [livestream] numbers as opposed to call time, but also specifically what stream segments were good, which were bad,” Buerk told Aftermath. “We got a lot of positive feedback from our audience and from constituents of not only how good a tool it was for soliciting donations, but for community connection and constituent connection as well.” Call time, Buerk said, is also only really an effective use of time if people are donating the maximum amount, which is $7,000 from an individual.

* Intelligencer | Seven questions with Senate candidate Robin Kelly: Kelly, who sat down with The Intelligencer for an interview on Oct. 4, believes she has what is needed to take on the job. “I’ve been an effective leader on every level of government — from municipal, to state representative, to chief of staff for the state treasurer, to chief administrative officer for Cook County,” she said. “I love my job. I love representing Illinois, and I know that I’m very ready and very able to move to this next level.”

* Intelligencer | Seven questions with Senate candidate Juliana Stratton: Stratton, a Democrat, was serving as the primary caregiver for her mother with Alzheimer’s when she decided to run for a position in the State House of Representatives in an effort to oppose state health-care cuts. Just six months into that role, she was tapped to be the lieutenant governor candidate during JB Pritzker’s successful campaign for governor in 2018. Now in her second term as lieutenant governor, Stratton says she sees another urgent need — a federal government she believes is failing to meet people’s everyday concerns.

* Intelligencer | Seven questions with Senate candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi: Krishnamoorthi has represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional District for five terms, gaining a reputation for bipartisanship on issues, including U.S.-China competition. He said he’s seeking “a promotion” to the Senate to expand the effects of his core mission — ensuring that the opportunities his family found in the United States remain accessible to future generations.

1 Comment

Question of the day: 2025 Golden Horseshoe Awards

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 2025 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Republican State Senate Staff Member goes to Nicole Besse…

This is a no brainer. A previous commenter noted that the Senate couldn’t run without her — couldn’t agree more. The institutional knowledge she’s come to possess over the past 26 years is priceless in an industry with high staff turnover rates. It’s clear that members and staff alike defer to her judgement for good reason. She’s a joy to work with, funny, a mentor and advocate to newer staff, and keeps staff and members in line and focused. The SGOP Floor Director deserves this award.

The votes were all over the place on that one. That’s a real credit to the caucus for having such a strong staff.

* The 2025 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Democratic State Senate Staff Member goes to Maddie Wilkins…

Maddie Wilkins for Sen Dem Staff for her work on public transit. Maddie has been indispensable on this issue - from helping organize the Subject Matter Hearings last summer, meetings with stakeholders, bill negotiations, and helping draft what ultimately became SB2111.

Again, lots of very strong nominations.

Congrats to everyone, whether you won or not!

* On to today’s categories…

Best Democratic State House Staff Member

Dane Thull won it for the Republicans last year, but he’s no longer on staff. Kat Bray won last year and is therefore not eligible this year.

Make sure to explain your nominations or they won’t count. Also, please nominate in both categories. If you can’t do that, please tell us why so we know you’re not just tanking for one person.

Have fun!

* And after you submit your nominations, please click here and help buy Christmas presents for foster kids. Thanks!

35 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: DOJ lawyer says it’s ‘wrong to allege’ Operation Midway Blitz is over. Capitol News Illinois…

* Related stories…

• Tribune: Trump lawyer claims dismissal of Operation Midway Blitz suit would block future use-of-force claims
• Sun-Times: Agency was created to help immigrants. Now, it’s being turned against them
• Sun-Times: Durbin reintroduces DREAM Act in hopes of paving citizenship pathway for child immigrants

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* Good morning! Before the day gets away from you, please take a moment to think about foster kids who could really use a little brightness this season.

With your help, LSSI can turn $25 into a Christmas present for a foster kid. If you can help, now is a great time to do it. Click here today and give what you can. Thank you!

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* STLPR | U.S. Steel to restart second blast furnace at Granite City Works: U.S. Steel will begin the process to restart its second blast furnace at Granite City Works, the company announced late Thursday. “After several months of carefully analyzing customer demand, we made the decision to restart a blast furnace,” David Burritt, president and CEO of U.S. Steel, said in a statement. “Steel remains a highly competitive and highly cyclical industry, but we are confident in our ability to safely and profitably operate the mill to meet 2026 demand. We look forward to partnering with all stakeholders, including the United Steelworkers and elected officials, to ensure a safe and efficient start-up and to discuss support for Granite City Works.”

* WGLT | Illinois Supreme Court justices want to see McLean County’s Family Treatment Court replicated: Justice Mary K. O’Brien joined Rochford in McLean County with a specific interest in observing Family Treatment Court. As part of her responsibilities for the Illinois Supreme Court, O’Brien serves as a liaison to the juvenile courts committee. “We have invested deeply in treatment courts [and] problem-solving courts for mental health, for drug use, for veterans,” she said. “But we have not done so statewide for families impacted with abuse and neglect — what we call a JA case.” McLean County operates the state’s only Family Treatment Court, a voluntary program offered to parents involved in child welfare cases involving substance abuse. The program launched in 2024, funded by a $750,000 federal grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

* News-Gazette | Sheriffs across Illinois inundated with FOIA requests: Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said that he, like other sheriffs “all across the state,” has been inundated with Freedom of Information Act requests, placing a burden on the time of his staff. “Basically, individuals/organizations (usually under random gmail accounts, etc.) are requesting a month’s worth of calls for service, then FOIA’ing body camera footage for anything that seems interesting out of those calls,” Heuerman said in an email to the Ford County Chronicle on Thursday. “Then they will post these on a website and charge people to view (or get advertisers on the site due to many followers).”

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Thousands leaving Illinois prisons face high risk of housing instability, new study finds: A significant portion of more than 10,000 people released from Illinois state prisons each year are at risk of housing instability, according to a new study by the Illinois Reentry Council and Loyola University’s Center for Criminal Justice. Policymakers, researchers and advocates have long been long aware of the need for housing for people leaving incarceration, with criminal records, poor credit history and no job. The survey, for the first time, links data to that need, said Dave Olson, professor and co-director of the Center for Criminal Justice.

* WGLT | Private vs. public debate persists at IHSA state football championships: Debates over perceived advantages private schools have over public schools in Illinois High School Association [IHSA] athletics continued as the state football championships played out in Normal and DeKalb. For IHSA sports, playoff classes are determined by the student enrollment of a school. Private schools that meet certain success criteria have their enrollments multiplied by 1.65 and then are placed in a class based on that number. This multiplier puts them into higher classes with bigger and often more difficult schools to face. Each of the seven private schools to earn a championship game appearance in 2025 had the multiplier applied.

*** Statehouse News ***

* ABC Chicago | New IL laws in 2026 address missing persons investigations, sexual assault victims, senior drivers: A new Illinois law will require landlords to include a summary of the special housing rights that survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault have under six state statutes on the first page of each written residential lease or lease renewal. A University of Illinois Chicago professor and her students from a domestic violence law course helped create the legislation.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration shoots down Council members’ alternate budget ideas: If there is room for compromise, it was tough to tell by the Johnson administration’s response. Virtually all of the ideas from a group of moderate and conservative alderpersons, with help from a brain trust of civic groups and former city finance experts, were dismissed as either unwise or unworkable. The proposal to nearly double a garbage fee that has been frozen at $9.50 a month since its inception to $18 a month — while charging eligible seniors $9 a month — was dismissed by the mayor’s team as politically untenable “at a time when communities are already experiencing substantial property tax increases through the recent property tax assessments” that hit hardest on the predominantly Black South and West sides.

* Crain’s | Johnson pours cold water on council bloc’s budget plan: Committee meetings that were scheduled for Dec. 8 to take up budget votes have been canceled, and it’s uncertain when Johnson will call for new votes. The mayor’s office also responded to a letter from Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, today confirming his budget team would meet a portion of the group Dec. 6.

* Tribune | Chicago Tribune sues Perplexity AI for copyright infringement: The complaint challenges the unauthorized use of often fully reproduced Tribune reporting to provide answers on the Perplexity AI platforms – both a chatbot and newly launched search engine – essentially bypassing the need to link to the newspaper’s website. Using large chunks of the Tribune’s original reporting – sometimes inaccurately – diverts traffic away from the newspaper’s website, threatening its business model of paid subscriptions and advertising, the lawsuit alleges.

* NBC Chicago | Former student reacts to $17.5M sex abuse settlement with CPS: “I can move on and heal in peace,” the former student we’ll call “Jane” told NBC 5 Investigates during an exclusive interview. “No amount of money can take my pain away, but I do feel like I can heal in peace now and finally turn the page.” The woman, now in her 20s, sued CPS last year alleging that her former dean, Brian Crowder, at Little Village Lawndale High School had sexually abused her.

* Capitol News Illinois | ComEd launches new discount program for low-income customers: The Low-Income Discount program will provide price breaks starting Jan. 1, 2026, to qualifying households in its service area. ComEd delivers energy to more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, approximately 70% of the state’s population. “ComEd understands that families are struggling with a perfect storm of economic uncertainty and rising energy supply costs due to capacity auctions, which make up as much as half of ComEd bills, and we are committed to helping address these higher costs by providing practical support,” the company wrote in its announcement Monday.

* Tribune | Chicago Housing Authority head told HUD ‘we do not recommend’ Mayor Brandon Johnson ally as CEO: CHA board Chair Matthew Brewer wrote to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Oct. 1 laying out what he said were Johnson’s attempts to influence the agency to name former Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. as CEO, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Tribune. The six-page message said the public housing agency’s board of commissioners never seriously considered Burnett, noting he lacked management experience, and only interviewed him as a courtesy. Brewer was first appointed to the board by Mayor Rahm Emanuel before Johnson named him its interim chair last year. The board appointed him interim CEO, too, when Angela Hurlock resigned that post in September. He then wrote to HUD’s public housing director just before the federal government shutdown in response to HUD’s request for additional information on the CHA CEO selection process.

* Block Club | Gale Street Inn Reopens Thursday, Bringing Back Its Famous Ribs: Villabona said reservations are already booked through the weekend “We’re really excited to meet everyone in the community. So many people have already reached out and given us such a warm reception on social media and in emails,” Villabona said during a Wednesday afternoon ribbon-cutting.

* Block Club Chicago | Humboldt Park Getting Upgrades — But No Pickleball Courts After All: In 2023, the district announced the park would get pickleball courts as part of its Pickleball Mania program, which aims to establish 50 pickleball courts across Chicago by this year. But after hearing from residents and community members, the plan was scrapped. A survey of more than 200 people from the area gauged interest on whether the community wanted the tennis courts to be rehabbed or converted into pickleball courts, district spokesperson Michele Lemons said this week. Results from the survey indicated there was a preference to rehab the existing courts for tennis.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Broadview conspiracy defendants want to see if White House played a role in their case: Federal prosecutors in Chicago are being asked to turn over “White House communications” by attorneys defending six people — including four Democratic politicians — charged with a conspiracy tied to protests outside an immigration holding facility in Broadview. A defense attorney for congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, one of the six charged, also told a judge Thursday that a “selective prosecution motion” could be on the way in the case that’s one of the most high-profile to result from the feds’ “Operation Midway Blitz.”

* Daily Herald | How a wrong turn led to a possible safe haven for abuse survivors: “The problem that we’ve been experiencing, which started with COVID but now has really continued, is the demand for our services far exceeds the supply that we have,” A Safe Place CEO Pat Davenport told us this week. “We have been seeing between 80 to 100 people (a week) that need emergency shelter, who are fleeing their homes because their lives are in danger, with their children, and they are the ones that we’re hoping that this new facility will be able to help.” The agency currently has shelter space for 33 people, which means others in need are put up in hotels. That isn’t financially sustainable at a time when federal and state assistance is waning, Davenport said.

* Daily Herald | Hanover Park prohibits use of village property for federal immigration enforcement: Village board members ultimately chose a more binding ordinance over a resolution. Though the peak of suburban activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers seems to have passed for now, Mayor Rod Craig believes Hanover Park’s action is far from too late. “I don’t think it’s over,” he said. “I just think it may become more strategic. The politics aren’t going to change in the next two years. We have to be honorable, representing the people of Hanover Park.”

* Daily Southtown | Arab American activists to continue protest after Oak Lawn settlement of lawsuit accusing cop of beating teen: In light of Oak Lawn’s settlement of a lawsuit alleging police in 2022 struck a 17-year-old more than 10 times in the face and head as he was lying face down in the street during his arrest, Arab American activists say they will continue to demand accountability at public meetings. “Remember when you all stood here and told us how we were liars and how we were wrong?” said Arab American Action Network lead organizer Muhammad Sankari, who led a protest of the Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission meeting on Tuesday. “At the end of the day, the village just paid $825,000 of taxpayer money … because your officers beat a minor almost to death.”

* Daily Southtown | Will County Board taps reserves to cover $2.77 million deficit: The Will County Board voted Thursday to use just over $2.77 million from its cash reserves to balance its budget for its 2026 fiscal year that started Monday. The board voted 20-0 Thursday to reconcile its budget during a nearly two-hour special meeting after an unbalanced budget was approved two weeks ago. While all board members present agreed to use cash reserves to close the gap, some members said they did so reluctantly because there was no other choice.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey residents and officials try to piece together city finances in midst of fiscal crisis: Harvey residents gathered at a Thursday discussion event hosted by Alds. Colby Chapman and Tracy Key and City Treasurer Aisha Pickett to try to understand the city’s opaque finances. Pickett was elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. She said throughout her time as treasurer, she has not been provided the necessary information to understand the city’s financial situation and do her job. “My tenure as treasurer has not been the easiest. As they mentioned before, there are things I don’t necessarily have access to,” Pickett said. “It makes my job very difficult.”

* Tribune | Cook County property taxpayers get another shot at appeals: Every Cook County township will reopen for appeals to property tax assessments, the county’s estimate of a home or business’ value, through Dec. 12. Successful appeals won’t offer any immediate relief on the bills that just landed, however. Any savings would apply to next year’s second installment bills, which typically land in the summer. People who already appealed aren’t eligible.

* NBC Chicago | Park Forest police detective dies nearly 10 years after being paralyzed in shooting: The rookie cop was 24 when he was critically injured responding to a break-in in March of 2016. The shooting left Jones paralyzed as he underwent multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation. His road to recovery was filled with unwavering love and support. The community stood by him every step of the way from his release to fundraisers to even a street dedication. “You drive around now, and you see stickers on people’s cars that say Tim Strong and that hashtag is going to live on forever—he’s just a tremendous young man,” said Hazel Crest Police Chief Mitchell Davis.

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | AI error blamed for post wrongly reporting injured Springfield firefighters: Even though there were several fires Wednesday night, none of them resulted in injuries to first responders. An AI software shared two separate emergencies as one incident. According to [Springfield Assistant Fire Chief Julie Plun], Springfield Fire was transporting a patient to the hospital for a medical emergency. Around that same time, the Springfield Police Department had some problems with some individuals, and there were nine individuals.

* WGLT | Cannabis plant in Livingston County set to close: A cannabis cultivation operation in Livingston County is closing, putting 82 employees out of work. According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s monthly report of mass layoffs, PharmaCann has informed employees that it plans to close its plant in Dwight on Jan. 13.

* WGLT | Cybercriminals target vendor used by the Town of Normal: A cybercrime organization has breached a system used by the Town of Normal to send out emergency and event notices to subscribers. “Any people who have subscribed to Notify Normal or Code Red via a managed account, which means they created a password and used an email address, should go in, if they have reused that password with any other personal or business account, and change that password on those accounts immediately,” said town spokesperson Cathy Oloffson.

* WaPo | A widow and widower fell in love during water aerobics. They wed in the pool.: When they met in 2022, Parsons and La Rue were still grieving their respective partners: Dale, who died in 2020 of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Georgia, who died in 2019 after suffering from a blood disease Between stretches and jumping jacks during water aerobics classes at a YMCA facility in Maryville, Illinois, La Rue got a kick out of splashing the other 30 class members. While some people didn’t appreciate it, Parsons laughed and splashed him back. They visited a Chinese restaurant for their first date in December 2023 — the first date either had been on since their spouses died. They had similar hobbies: Cooking soup, reading and completing word-search puzzles. At water aerobics classes, they kissed when they didn’t think anyone was looking.

*** National ***

* CNBC | Layoff announcements top 1.1 million this year, the most since 2020 pandemic, Challenger says: The firm said layoff plans totaled 71,321 in November, a step down from the massive cuts announced in October but still enough to bring the 2025 total up to 1.17 million. That total is 54% higher than the same 11-month period a year ago and the highest level since 2020, when the Covid pandemic rocked the global economy.

* AP | Supreme Court allows Texas to use a congressional map favorable to Republicans in 2026: The Supreme Court’s order puts the 2-1 ruling blocking the map on hold at least until after the high court issues a final decision in the case. Justice Samuel Alito had previously temporarily blocked the order while the full court considered the Texas appeal. The justices have blocked past lower-court rulings in congressional redistricting cases, most recently in Alabama and Louisiana, that came several months before elections.

* Post Tribune | Indiana House advances redistricting bill to Friday final reading: The Indiana House voted against more than a dozen Democratic amendments to the redistricting bill Thursday, which allowed the bill to advance, as is, for final approval by the House Friday. House Bill 1032, authored by State Rep. Ben Smaltz, would allow the legislature to amend congressional districts “at a time other than the first regular session of the general assembly convening immediately following the United States decennial census.”

* WaPo | Trump’s attack on DEI may hurt college men, particularly white men: While much of the president’s recent scrutiny of college admissions practices has focused on race, these experts say his ban on diversity, equity and inclusion is likely to hit another underrepresented group of applicants: men, and particularly White men — the largest subset of male college applicants. “This drips with irony,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, or ACE, the nation’s largest association of universities and colleges, who said he expects that colleges and universities will end any consideration of gender in admission. “The idea of males, including White males, being at the short end of the stick all of a sudden would be a truly ironic outcome.”

* AP | MLB players union meets to prepare for potentially contentious labor negotiations in 2026: Clark said the MLBPA’s main focus continues to be centered on a few large issues heading into bargaining. One is finding more ways to encourage all 30 teams to spend on the free-agent market to make teams as competitive as possible. While the Dodgers have spent roughly $890 million over the past two years building back-to-back World Series champions, the Athletics have committed less than $150 million over the same period. MLB is the only major U.S.-based professional sports league without a salary cap. The players’ association is bracing to resist a renewed push for a cap. Demand for a cap from owners is what led to a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 and the first cancellation of the World Series in 90 years.

* Market Watch | Manufacturers shrink for 9th month in a row, ISM finds. Tariffs hurt sales and keep lid on hiring.: A closely followed manufacturing index fell to a four-month low of 48.2% in November from 48.7% in the prior month, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday. Any number below 50% signals contraction.

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Good morning!

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Pretenders…

In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream, you appear

Isabel’s plea worked yesterday afternoon. We raised about $4,000 after she pointed out to folks that we’d only raised $700 all day.

But we still have a very long way to go. Please, click here to chip in whatever you can so we can help by Christmas presents for more than 2.500 foster kids. Thanks!

* This is an open thread.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Friday, Dec 5, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news on the website formally known as Twitter. Our Bluesky feed…

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