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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * WTVO…
* Sun-Times | Something amid the junk caught their eye, and a bidding war was on : Bigmike11 peered into the plastic tub filled with a tangle of sparkly bangles, bracelets, even someone’s military dog tags, and decided there was something in there that he must have. Ditto for Repostl1975 and 41junk72. How else to explain why these three were in a bidding war — up to $4,050 as of mid-November — for what to most people would appear to be a heap of junk? But here’s the thing: None of the bidders (Bigmike11, Repostl1975 and 41junk72 are their online names) had actually examined the thing (or things) they wanted. They’re online bidders in the State of Illinois’ Online Auction, which runs year-round. Each auction typically lasts a week, offering items as tiny as a set of earbuds or as big as a dump truck. All of it is housed in a one-story, 40,000-square-foot warehouse in Springfield, which isn’t open to the public. * Press Release | Chicago Abortion Fund Launches Statewide Visibility Campaign to Expand Awareness of Abortion Access Across Illinois: The campaign will run from mid-October through December 21, 2025, with placements across Chicago, Chicagoland, Champaign/Urbana, Bloomington, Decatur, Springfield, Ottawa, and targeted border-state digital extensions. It directs people to CAF’s secure landing page and helpline, offering immediate access to funding, logistical coordination, and confidential guidance. Total estimated impressions across Out-of-Home (OOH), digital, and audio exceed 26.6 million statewide. * Capitol City Now | Former Ameren owner settles with Illinois Attorney General on 10-year-old price-fixing allegations: According to a news release, the Illinois Attorney General’s office says Texas-based Dynegy has agreed to pay $38 million to settle allegations it manipulated the energy market back in 2015, a few years after Dynegy purchased the utility. They essentially, the AG says, manipulated the market “to overcharge electric customers by taking advantage of rules that already been deemed unjust and unreasonable.” * Illinois Times | Turner and Coffey find agreement on veto session bills: Turner, a Democrat, and Coffey, a Republican, both voted against the transit bill, explaining that the reform package to fill a funding gap for the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago area did little for central Illinois, though a move to fill the funding gap for the RTA felt inevitable. “The reason why I voted no is because I really felt like it was more of a bailout for Chicagoland and wasn’t going to benefit downstate,” Turner said. “There was going to be some type of legislation that was going to be passed, because just looking at what was happening in Chicago with transportation, you knew something was going to happen,” she said. * WAND | Pritzker signs bill increasing weight limit for electric, hydrogen trucks: Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Friday to create a weight limit exemption for clean energy trucks. The change could help businesses using hydrogen and electric vehicles, but downstate lawmakers are concerned about potential road damage. The legislation calls for a 2,000-pound allowance for vehicles operated by engines fueled wholly or partially by natural gas, electric batteries, or hydrogen fuel cells. Sponsors filed the plan to help a southwest suburban company working with DHL to add hydrogen-powered trucks to their U.S. fleet. * WCSJ | Assisted Suicide Bill Passed “Out of the Blue”: 38th District State Senator Sue Rezin was in our studios recently providing the latest details about a controversial bill that passed during the fall veto session. “Two-thirty in the morning, they called the assisted suicide bill out of the blue. This bill has been assisted suicide has been talked about and come before committees for the last two years, but really hadn’t gained momentum. Well, they called the bill at two thirty in the morning. There’s a tremendous amount of pushback rightfully so from the faith based community. we didn’t support the bill. We haven’t supported the bill because we have heard from not only our constituents, but, you know, I, again, coming from the faith based community, believe that it is not the appropriate approach. The fact the bill was called at two thirty in the morning so people who oppose it could not contact us and really come out and advocate against the bill is exactly why the bill was called and passed at two thirty in the morning.” * Tribune | Who’s to blame for this year’s property tax bills? Finger-pointing and opportunism abound: This year’s bills showed Chicago homeowners’ median property tax bills jumped 16.7% over last year, according to the Cook County treasurer, while the collective bills for commercial real estate in the Loop dropped by $129 million. […] Fueling much of it is a crisis of timing: a monthslong technology snafu involving Tyler Technologies, the Texas-based vendor whose software underpins the county’s tax system. The glitch delayed the release of bills by months, landing them not in the usual quiet of midsummer but at the peak of budget negotiations and election-season maneuvering. […] The collective levies of governments inside the city of Chicago grew $528.6 million in 2024, reaching $8.87 billion, according to the treasurer’s analysis. Chicago Public Schools make up the largest part of Chicagoans’ bills. CPS increased its levy by 4.5% to nearly $4 billion earlier this year, a hike unanimously approved by the Chicago Board of Education this summer, including members aligned with the teachers union. * Sun-Times | Alternative to Mayor Johnson’s budget could entail higher trash collection fee, new package delivery fee: The plan they hope to unveil later this week would likely hold the line on property taxes, but increase the $9.50 a month garbage collection fee that has been frozen since its 2015 inception. Sources said the proposal could more than double the garbage collection fee — to roughly $20 a month — while exempting senior citizens * Block Club Chicago | Construction To Begin Soon On South Loop Data Center: Urbanize Chicago reported that a foundation permit has been issued to HydraVault to renovate a two-story building at 2538 S. Wabash Ave., where the 76,000-square-foot data center will be housed. Construction is set to begin before year’s end, according to the real estate blog. Building owner Scott Greenberg shared details of the plan at a town hall this year, telling neighbors the data center would be available to a wide range of clients, including researchers and government agencies. The facility will have a power supply of 20 megawatts and deliver up to 200 kilowatts per rack, using a hybrid liquid-and-air cooling system that operates on a closed loop, promising “scaleable usage,” per HydraVault’s website. * WTTW | Lawsuit Filed by Man Police Shot in CTA Red Line Station Set for Trial: Roman’s shooting was captured on cellphone video and was one of several instances of police violence that drew widespread attention during 2020, fueling calls for criminal justice reform that grew after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in May 2020. The trial, set to start Dec. 8 and last 10 days, represents a high-stakes gamble for the city, whose lawyers typically recommend settling civil cases involving actions by the police that led to criminal charges and are ruled to have violated department policy. […] Chicago taxpayers paid $1.15 million through Aug. 28 to defend the lawsuit filed by Roman, according to documents obtained by Roman’s lawyers through a Freedom of Information Act request and provided to WTTW News. * Tribune | Union Pacific says rail merger could unclog Chicago. Critics worry about costs and traffic tie-ups: Union Pacific says the $85 billion merger would serve the public interest and win federal approval by unclogging Chicago, the cradle of American railroading and still its biggest and most notorious bottleneck. But the “increased monopolistic power” of the combined railroad will drive up shipping costs and could kneecap America’s global competitiveness, according to nine Republican attorneys general in a letter last month. Shipping costs are already a pocketbook issue for everyday Chicagoans. Americans received 66 packages on average in 2024, a 78% increase over seven years, according to Capital One retail data. During this time, the average price per package dropped by just 4%. * Tribune | Judge’s unusual criticism in dropped immigration case is latest strange twist for US attorney’s office: In granting the prosecution’s motion to dismiss assault charges against Dana Briggs, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes took the opportunity to opine more generally on the U.S. attorney’s office’s role in prosecuting a number of other immigration-related cases that have since fallen apart. In his nine-page opinion, Fuentes wrote he could not “help but note just how unusual and possibly unprecedented it is” for Chicago’s venerable U.S. attorney’s office to bring charges “so hastily” that, once more facts came out, they were unable to obtain an indictment in the grand jury or were forced to dismiss the case as not provable. * Press Release | Chicago Board of Elections Welcomes New Commissioner Laura Kotelman: The Chicago Board of Elections welcomed its new Commissioner Laura Kotelman, who was sworn in by the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County on November 26, 2025. A long-time public servant and lawyer, Commissioner Kotelman is the first Republican woman to be appointed, and for the first time in its 130-year history, the Board will be comprised of all women. * Sun-Times | 227 vehicles towed on first night of winter parking ban, frustrating unaware drivers: ‘It sucked’: The 227 tows on the first night of the ban were the lowest in four years and the second-lowest this decade. Last year, 244 cars were towed, while 263 cars were hauled away in 2023, according to the department. Those who violate the parking ban will be towed and face a minimum $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket, and a storage fee of $25 per day. Vehicles are towed to auto pounds at 10301 S. Doty Ave. or 701 N. Sacramento Ave. * Block Club | Chicago Could See 4 Inches Of Snow Monday And ‘Bitter’ Cold Through The Week: After seeing its snowiest November day ever Saturday, Chicago is expected to get 2-4 more inches of accumulation Monday, the National Weather Service’s forecast states. The agency issued a winter weather advisory from 2 p.m. through midnight. Chicagoans can expect slippery road conditions and “hazardous conditions” including reduced visibility, with high temperatures only hitting 25-30 degrees and low temperatures falling to 11-21 degrees. * ABC Chicago | New Cook County Circuit Court chief judge sworn in for first time in over 20 years: The new chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court was installed Monday morning. The Honorable Charles S. Beach II took the oath during a ceremony inside the Chicago-Kent College of Law. He was elected in September. […] Chief Judge Beach is an eight-year veteran of the bench. He took over for former Chief Judge Tim Evans, who served eight terms since 2001. * Chicago Reader | Cook County law enforcement agencies get more money in 2026: The 2026 budget includes massive investments in digital surveillance, including millions of dollars in servers and hardware, as well as dozens of positions in digital forensics and predictive analytics. In all, more than 56 percent of the county’s general fund is earmarked for the public safety system—which encompasses the Cook County Department of Corrections, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the various facets of the county court system. The $1.5 billion allocated for law enforcement in 2026 represents an increase of more than $300 million, or about 30 percent, from the previous year, driven mostly by personnel costs. * Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County Board shoots down chair’s pick for District 2 seat, as some members criticize selection process: Then, on Nov. 17, the full board met, and Pierog recommended Berman’s widow, Mary Berman, for the seat. At that meeting, Pierog said that other candidates under consideration were interested in running for the seat when it is up for election in 2026. She expressed concern that, with early voting beginning in just a few months for the primary election, selecting one of those candidates to fill the seat now would allow them to claim to be the incumbent. * Aurora Beacon-News | Fox Valley Park District gets $330K grant to help fund after-school program in West Aurora District 129: The Fox Valley Park District was receiving the federal funds on a three-year grant cycle, which expired in June. But uncertainty surrounding federal funding availability prompted the park district to look for other funding sources to continue on with an after-school program at West Aurora, explained Fox Valley Park District Recreation Superintendent Becky Harling. “The grant world … can be kind of fluid at times,” Harling said. “You’ll have funding one year and not the next, and trying to make sure that there’s stability within your program when you’re looking at grant funding can be a little tricky.” * Muddy River News | Pike Co. budget shows $880,328 shortfall, county chair gets no confidence vote: Tensions linger from last week’s Pike County Board meeting, which then carried over to a special meeting on Tuesday. Discrepancies emerged after a budget was passed, delaying its filing until late Thursday, with the new budget year beginning today, Dec. 1. Pike County’s projected revenue is $5,876,900. The projected expenses are $6,767,228. That’s a $880,328 shortfall. “$500,000 is debt service that we had to borrow this year to cover payroll and other operational costs,” Board Chair Reta Hoskin told Muddy River News over the weekend. “That leaves $380,328 in 2026 estimated expenses that are not covered by regular revenue sources. * Capitol News Illinois | Budzinski intervenes in local housing dispute on behalf of low-income residents: Yet, past reporting has documented HUD’s inspection process as failing to flag dangerous living conditions in federally subsidized housing. HUD has since shifted to a new set of standards for inspecting publicly subsidized housing, but full implementation of requirements to meet those standards has faced delays. Although Sangamon Towers received a satisfactory score on the inspection, HUD’s September letter to Budzinski notes deficiencies “for cockroach presence in two units and a mold-like substance in a bathroom of another unit.” Neither issue was associated with the original complaint submitted to HUD. * Illinois Times | HSHS to pay cyber attack settlement : The nonprofit health system, based in rural Sangamon County near Riverton, discovered the suspicious cyber activity “by an unauthorized third-party threat actor” on its computer network in mid- to late August 2023, according to Sangamon County Circuit Court documents. The breach caused the personal information of almost 869,000 former and current patients to be disclosed and resulted in several lawsuits to be filed against HSHS, which posts about $2.8 billion in annual revenues and operates HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield as its flagship. * AP | Federal review finds 44% of US trucking schools don’t comply with government rules: The Transportation Department said Monday that it plans to revoke the accreditation of nearly 3,000 schools unless they can comply with training requirements in the next 30 days. Another 4,000 schools are being warned they may face similar action. […] The list of schools being targeted wasn’t immediately released. * The Hill | Flying without REAL ID may cost you $45 under new TSA program: On Monday, the TSA announced it “will refer all passengers who do not present an acceptable form of ID and still want to fly an option to pay a $45 fee to use a modernized alternative identity verification system, TSA Confirm.ID.” The $45 fee would allow the traveler to use TSA Confirm.ID for 10 days. “This fee ensures the cost to cover verification of an insufficient ID will come from the traveler, not the taxpayer,” Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator for TSA Adam Stahl said in Monday’s press release. * NYT | The ‘Race Against Time’ to Save Music Legends’ Decaying Tapes: A huge portion of the world’s recorded musical heritage is stored on magnetic tape, used regularly from the 1940s into the digital age to capture musicians’ sounds in the studio. But as analog tape ages, it grows more fragile and vulnerable, posing a challenge for engineers like Pribble, 60, an audio preservation expert with the giant storage company Iron Mountain. For 15 years, he has been at the forefront of an obscure but vital industrywide effort to save old tapes — for which he employs an assortment of handmade tools and Rube Goldberg-worthy machines in a cramped workshop.
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Question of the day: 2025 Golden Horseshoe Awards
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * It’s time once again for our annual Golden Horseshoe Awards. Our first two categories… * Best Place to Gather for Dinner During Session Weeks * Best Place to Gather for Drinks, Etc. During Session Weeks As always, do your very best to nominate in both categories. And make sure to explain your nominations or they won’t count. This isn’t a poll. Let us know why you think your nominees are deserving of this award. This year, we have one new rule to try and mix things up: No repeats from last year. Last year’s winners were Saputo’s and JP Kelly’s. Have fun!
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Here we go!!! Our annual LSSI Christmas gift fundraiser (Updated x2)
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * It’s time to kick off our annual fundraising drive to buy Christmas presents for foster kids! Lutheran Social Services of Illinois cares for more than 2,500 foster children and you’ve helped spread a whole lot of joy in the years we’ve been raising money. I believe it’s one of the most important things this website does. The average cost of each gift is about $25, although that can vary depending on need. Your donations are used exclusively for gifts. LSSI does not take a cut for overhead. Last year, we raised $45,442. Y’all are amazing. As usual, I’ll match the first $2,000 in donations. So, click here and let’s get going! Thanks! *** UPDATE 1 *** Well, that was fast. We’s already reached $2,000 and then some. With my matching $2,000 donation, we’re now at $5,375! Thanks! Please, click here to keep the momentum going! *** UPDATE 2 *** We just hit the $10K mark. We have a long way to go, but thanks! Please, click here.
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Rising electricity costs starting to dominate campaigns
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
* Illinois’ electricity costs have also been rising fast, and were a major component of the recent energy omnibus bill…
* Illinois has a strong subsidy program for data centers, which is backed by powerful construction unions. Worker demand is pushing wages up, but a massive labor shortage is growing. Wall St. Journal…
* Gov. Pritzker has long been a strong supporter of the subsidy program. From last year…
* But the future looks dicey. The Economist…
* The country got a taste of how reliant business has become on centralized data centers when a key Aurora center went down. Crain’s…
* Related… * Endeavour Energy, behind proposed 560-acre DeKalb data center, won’t use water to cool servers, plans show: According to the city, Edged has proposed a data center build that uses air instead of water to cool its servers. Natural gas instead of diesel would fuel the generators that spin and create electrical energy to run the operation, according to the project proposal. * Potential data center in Illinois village raises local concerns: At the meeting, residents fear their local infrastructure cannot support a large industrial facility. “We are in a very dry area in terms of the groundwater,” Raney said. She noted that when a fire broke out at the High Point Golf Course, land later acquired by Constellation, crews had to haul water from multiple towns. “They actually had to drive to get water from like 10 other municipalities near us because we do not have the fire hydrant system,” she said. * Opinion: Illinois consumers can’t foot the bill for runaway data-center demand: While there’s a lot we can do here in Illinois to protect consumers from data center costs, we can’t do it alone. PJM — a little-known organization that has a tremendous impact on how affordable and clean electricity is for 67 million customers across 13 states — has been struggling to manage runaway data center energy demand. Current PJM policy socializes the costs of those centers across all customers, which means everyday consumers — you and me — are paying big electric bills to cover the wealthiest companies in the world. At a recent media briefing hosted by the Citizens Utility Board, representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council warned that if nothing is done to manage the estimated 30 gigawatts of data centers seeking to connect to the grid, the PJM region could face rolling blackouts and bill spikes averaging $70 a month. … Although no plan gained decisive support, an advisory vote from members produced striking results: The comprehensive proposal that won the most votes called for the toughest standards. That plan — from the Independent Market Monitor — took a wise “Bring Your Own Generation” approach that would prohibit data centers from connecting to the grid until they brought their own new electricity resources to power their facilities. * AI data centers’ massive demand for aluminum is crushing the US aluminum industry: But data centers guzzle enormous amounts of power, and electricity prices are skyrocketing. In the US alone, electricity demand is expected to grow five to 10 times faster over the next 10 years than it did in the previous decade, per Bank of America. For aluminum smelters, this is a problem. Producing aluminum is incredibly energy-intensive, and without cheap power, those smelters can’t operate. * Flood of AI Bonds Adds to Pressure on Markets: Companies were able to complete their sales. But some had to pay unexpectedly high interest rates. Prices of bonds from the companies have also been sliding—a sign that investors were caught off guard by the sheer quantity of bonds entering the market and of growing concern about the worsening credit metrics of the businesses. Stock investors, already nervous about the sky-high valuations of AI businesses, have taken note of the weakness in the bond market. Meanwhile, the cost of insuring those bonds using credit-default swaps also has climbed, with negative sentiments from different groups of investors feeding into each other. * Trump’s push for more AI data centers faces backlash from his own voters: Political leaders across the U.S. are urging a rapid expansion of data-center capacity and new power production to keep the country competitive in AI. Trump, a Republican, is promoting the build-out as an economic and national security priority and has directed his administration to bypass environmental rules and permitting that give local communities a voice. In Pennsylvania, Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro and Republican Senator Dave McCormick are courting developers with incentives and infrastructure upgrades to attract investment in the fast-growing industry. * Critics scoff after Microsoft warns AI feature can infect machines and pilfer data: Microsoft’s warning on Tuesday that an experimental AI agent integrated into Windows can infect devices and pilfer sensitive user data has set off a familiar response from security-minded critics: Why is Big Tech so intent on pushing new features before their dangerous behaviors can be fully understood and contained? … Both flaws can be exploited in attacks that exfiltrate sensitive data, run malicious code, and steal cryptocurrency. So far, these vulnerabilities have proved impossible for developers to prevent and, in many cases, can only be fixed using bug-specific workarounds developed once a vulnerability has been discovered. * Health care AI will generate real value in 2026: West Monroe: A multisite survey of physicians revealed lower rates of self-reported clinician burnout and less after-hour documentation. A second study of a UChicago Medicine pilot compared ambient AI scribe users to a “look-alike” group of non-users. That study found clinicians using the ambient clinical documentation tool spent 8.5% less total time in the electronic health records, with more than 15% less time spent composing notes.
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Catching up with the federal candidates
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * US Senate candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi…
* The Edwardsville Intelligencer: “Seven questions with Senate candidate Juliana Stratton”…
* Evanston Now…
* Evanston Now…
* Politico…
* Evanston Now political reporter Matthew Eadie…
According to the State Board of Elections, Sigcho-Lopez would need 10,816 valid signatures to run as an Independent. He could collect up to 17,304 signatures. * More…
* Sun-Times | Dolton mom turned away from hospital during labor calls for changes to maternal health: “After being kicked out of the hospital and begging to stay but still being pushed away was hurtful, disgraceful,” Mercedes Wells told reporters Tuesday. “I felt unheard. I felt ignored. I felt treated less than human.” She was joined by U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who said she plans to file a bill to make sure what happened to Wells does not happen again to anyone else. “It’s clear that Mercedes’ story isn’t an isolated incident,” Kelly said. “This is not a Franciscan Health problem but rather a systemic issue.” * Advocate | Illinois Democratic candidate glitter bombs anti-LGBTQ+ Christian group: In his campaign for the state’s 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, Reed Showalter, 32, recently received a survey from Christian nonprofit the Illinois Family Institute. The form asked for his stance on various issues, including LGBTQ+ and abortion rights — with an obsessive focus on trans participation in sports. […] “If it weren’t already clear, this organization is gleefully transphobic and homophobic, so I think it’s only fair that they get a little sparkle in their life,” Showalter concluded in the video.
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More SNAP peril
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Discuss.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Indiana lawmakers in state House to convene session with redistricting top of mind. AP…
- Republicans who control the House chamber have said there’s no doubt that redistricting will pass that chamber. But the fate of any proposal to emerge remains uncertain in the Senate. - Senate leadership recently backed off from previous intent not to meet at all, agreeing to convene next Monday. But it’s still unclear if enough senators will back a new map. As you’ll recall, Gov. JB Pritzker said he would push for a congressional remap here if Indiana redrew its congressional boundaries. * Related stories… Sponsored by PhRMA
* Sun-Times | Illinois sues USDA to block changes to SNAP eligibility of immigrants: Illinois is among a group of Democratic states suing the Trump administration, seeking to block a change to the federal food stamps program that the states say unlawfully prevented some legal immigrants from accessing the aid. Kwame Raoul, Illinois’ top lawyer, and attorneys general from 20 other states and Washington, D.C., filed the lawsuit Wednesday in an Oregon federal court against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its secretary, Brooke Rollins, asking the court to block the change’s implementation. * NYT | Times Analysis Finds Errors in Trump’s Supreme Court Filing That Calls for National Guard in Chicago: The Trump administration made erroneous claims to the Supreme Court, mischaracterizing the responsiveness of local police and the actions of protesters in a filing asking the justices to sign off on the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago, a New York Times investigation found. The emergency request, filed by the solicitor general, D. John Sauer, which draws heavily from court declarations made by two Homeland Security officials, misstates what happened in the aftermath of a car crash and shooting on Oct. 4 in Chicago that involved Border Patrol agents. * NPR | Northwestern settles with Trump administration in $75M deal to regain federal funding: Earlier this month, Cornell reached a deal requiring the university to pay $60 million to unfreeze $250 million withheld by the Trump administration over alleged civil rights violations. The private Ivy League university said the settlement did not come “at the cost of compromising our values or independence.” Per the agreement, Northwestern will pay out the $75 million over time through 2028 and “shall maintain clear policies and procedures relating to demonstrations, protests, displays, and other expressive activities, as well as implement mandatory antisemitism training for all students, faculty, and staff,” according to the DOJ. * Tribune | Chicago city employee charged with threatening Illinois state senator from Freeport in emails: Joseph Haggerty, 59, of Chicago, was charged with two felony counts of threatening a public official after authorities said he sent the emails in September to state Sen. Andrew Chesney, a conservative Republican from Freeport. The Illinois State Police, which conducted the investigation, announced the charges Tuesday. Haggerty remained in the custody of Stephenson County authorities, police said. […] The first email from Haggerty stated he would “love to meet” the senator “on the street anywhere” and explained how he “would cave your f−−−−−− teeth in and make you sip your food through a straw for the rest of you dumb −−−hole coward life.” The second email called Chesney “spineless” and contained another threat and insults. * The Nation | Illinois Has Put an End to the Injustice of Cash Bail: Now that the law is in place, “it’s going dramatically better than any of us had expected it would be,” McLoughlin said. In Cook County, most people who are arrested are going free before trial. Because of the law’s provision for low-level offenses, many aren’t even required to go to court; 44 percent of people who were charged by police were given a citation and sent home. Across all arrests that resulted in court appearances, the prosecutor declined to ask for jail time in 82 percent of cases. Nearly all those charged with misdemeanors have been allowed to go home to await trial. All of this has translated to a 14 percent decline in the jail population in Cook County. * Capitol News Illinois | Trump cuts could shrink Illinois economy by $10B: report: Recent cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration could reduce the size of Illinois’ economy by nearly $10 billion each year, according to a new report released Monday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. […] “The depth of economic reductions and jobs losses caused by federal actions cannot be mitigated by expenditure reductions at the state and local levels,” researchers Frank Manzo and Robert Bruno wrote in the report. “Policymakers will need to examine new revenue sources to counter the damage done to public schools, Illinois families, and the state’s robust economy.” * Sun-Times | Bodycam video shows feds’ aggressive tactics in vivid detail: ‘Deploy f—ing gas’: A federal judge has released footage from nearly four dozen body cameras showing immigration agents’ ‘unprecedented’ use of force during their months-long deportation blitz in the Chicago area. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, handed down a historic order restricting agents use of force in “Operation Midway Blitz,” claiming the tactics she’d seen so far “shocks the conscience.” * WaPo | With ICE in the area, FEMA workers were pulled from storm damage work: The decision to halt the disaster assessment teams’ work on Nov. 6 came amid an ongoing immigration crackdown in the city, leaving the coordinating state and agency officials worried that FEMA’s efforts could put residents as well as the groups of surveyors at risk. The shift meant about 10 groups of federal, state, county and local workers had to stop work surveying hundreds of homes that sustained heavy water damage in parts of the city hit hard by recent storms — assessments that help the federal agency document disaster impacts, and can help make a case for why an area may need help paying for recovery. * WTTW | Former Inspector General Joe Ferguson Fined $5K for Revealing Botched Little Village Smokestack Implosion Could Have Been Prevented: The Chicago Board of Ethics voted 4-1 to fine former Inspector General Joe Ferguson $5,000 for violating the city’s ethics ordinance by divulging a confidential report that found city officials could have prevented a plume of dust from enveloping Little Village in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when crews demolished the former Crawford Power Plant. Ferguson is now the head of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group, and has been fiercely critical of Johnson’s financial stewardship of the city. Ferguson paid the fine, which was levied on Nov. 10, according to records published Friday morning by the board. * Block Club | Christkindlmarket’s New Capacity Limit Poses ‘Existential Threat’ To Popular Holiday Market: Organizers: The city recently implemented a capacity of 1,553 visitors at a time at Christkindlmarket, the German-themed Christmas market that has been a beloved Downtown holiday tradition for nearly 30 years, market organizers announced Friday. The capacity restriction, which was implemented after the festival opened Nov. 20, is less than half of the limit during the pandemic, when visitors were capped at 3,494 at a time in 2021. * ABC Chicago | Chicago begins towing cars with winter overnight parking ban in effect: The ban is enforced on 107 miles of main streets in the city, from 3 to 7 a.m. It applies even when there’s no snow on the ground. Violators will be towed and ticketed, with a $150 towing fee, a $60 ticket and a storage fee of $25 a day. * Tribune | Saturday snow breaks record in Chicago, National Weather Service says: The last time O’Hare saw so much snow on a single day in November was 74 years ago, Nov. 6, 1951, when 8 inches fell, according to the weather service. Snowfall reached 8.7 inches at O’Hare by noon Sunday. Amid the record-breaking snowfall, O’Hare saw at least 1,322 flight cancellations and Midway Airport had 250 cancellations, according to FlightAware. * CBS | “How did you get this through security?” Pope Leo asks CBS News’ Chris Livesay of White Sox baseball bat gift: Many on board continued the long-standing tradition of presenting gifts to the pontiff as a courtesy, but Livesay had a particularly personal gift for the Chicago native: a Louisville Slugger baseball bat that once belonged to Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox — a Chicago White Sox legend whose career coincided with Leo’s childhood. * Sun-Times | ‘His word means nothing’: Dismissed case reveals dishonesty of Border Patrol commander, protester says: In a criminal complaint, Bovino accused Sheridan of pushing him. An agent under Bovino’s command accused Sheridan of taking a swing at Bovino. The federal charges accused Sheridan of “forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding and interfering with a federal officer.” Most of those charges held up until, four weeks later, a friend happened to spot Sheridan getting pushed down in footage from an Oct. 31 news report. “The video demonstrates that, not only did I have no kind of altercation with Bovino, I wasn’t even in front of him,” Sheridan said. * Naperville Sun | Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission votes in favor of proposed data center: The Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission voted 8-1 in favor of a controversial data center proposal Wednesday evening, marking the fourth and final commission meeting on the topic. “This has been long, it’s been unlike any case we’ve ever worked through,” Commissioner Whitney Robbins said. Developer Karis Critical is proposing one 211,000 square-foot, 36-megawatt data center to be built on the 40 acres of land at the former Alcatel-Lucent site at 1960 Lucent Lane, located off the Interstate 88 (I-88) corridor. The request is scaled back from the initial proposal, which called for two data center buildings that would total 72 megawatts. * Daily Southtown | Will County holds the line on taxes, but now faces budget shortfall: The board voted 12-10 to approve no increase in the levy, but will capture any new construction, which expands the total tax base and adds to the overall assessed value of property. The levy to hold the line on taxes passed with 11 Republicans and Democrat Destinee Ortiz, of Romeoville, supporting it. The budget that was approved was based on a 1.75% levy increase. “As of right now we have an unbalanced budget,” Speaker Joe VanDuyne said. “It’s illegal.” * Tribune | McHenry County takes on an old client in court: ICE: McHenry County has filed suit against ICE, trying to get the federal government to pay for potential liability for allegedly making immigrant detainees do forced labor. The court battle pits conservative McHenry County, which once fought in court for the ability to hold accused immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission in its jail, against the agency that once paid it millions of dollars every year to do so. Both county and federal officials have denied liability. * Forest Park Review | House Speaker Welch joins town hall on D209’s Sports Complex at Proviso West: “Yes, $40 million is in this state budget for Proviso West High School to build a sports complex and I make no apologies about it,” said Chris Welch, speaker of the Illinois House. Welch is widely credited, and sometimes criticized, for getting the Proviso funding into a tight state budget. Welch was back in the cafeteria of his alma mater on Thursday, Nov 20. to speak with D209 administrators, community members and stakeholders about the $40 million grant designated for the construction of a new sports complex at the high school. * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora expands number of gambling machines allowed in local businesses: City code previously allowed licensed establishments to have up to five “video gaming” terminals, but now that number has been increased to six. The change, approved by the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, also raised the total number of allowed terminals within city limits by 40 for a total of 240. The increased cap on video gambling terminals is expected to bring in new revenue both for the local businesses they are installed in and for the city through taxes and licensing fees. * Daily Herald | Geneva council considering referendums for new police station, home rule: If approved, the referendum for a new police station would be on the March 17, 2026, primary ballot. The home rule question would appear on the April 6, 2027, ballot. Home rule status is automatic when a municipality’s population exceeds 25,000. Geneva’s population is 21,393, according to the 2020 census, requiring voter approval for home rule status. * Naperville Sun | YMCA urges Naperville Park District to halt referendum plans: The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and Naperville’s Fry Family YMCA are urging the Naperville Park District to not pursue a referendum for the March 2026 ballot, citing possible duplication of services and affordability concerns for residents. As part of its efforts, the YMCA sent a letter asking the park district to pause its referendum plans. The YMCA has also created a website to help communicate its stance with others, which includes a section where residents can send a letter opposing the referendum. * Injustice Watch | Timothy Evans Expects to Endure: In September, his tenure came to a surprising conclusion when he lost his eighth reelection bid to Circuit Judge Charles Beach — a relative newcomer to the bench with no background in politics. As the county’s vast and complex court bureaucracy prepares for its first change in leadership in decades, questions about Beach and his plans abound. His election would have many believe the courts no longer need a career politician at their helm. But Evans’ story suggests otherwise. Evans’ political acumen allowed him to endure as chief judge for 24 years and to enact significant progressive change in the inherently conservative courts, often for the benefit of the most vulnerable people to come through the system. His actions often seemed to come under duress, and his inaction was often criticized. But he achieved longevity in this role by keeping enough judges happy, absorbing public pressure, and weathering scandals unperturbed. His deliberative and self-assured leadership style was also well suited to the peculiar nature of the circuit court, an institution whose opaqueness is baked into law, whose principal actors are themselves elected officials, and whose bureaucracy is an entrenched extension of Chicago’s old political machine. * BND | Ameren Illinois gas customers to see average $3.65 increase on bills in January: Ameren Illinois residential customers will see an average $3.65 increase on their natural gas bills in January after the Illinois Commerce Commission last week slashed proposed rate hikes for two of the state’s largest utilities. Ameren, which serves approximately 816,000 customers in central and southern Illinois, initially held off on estimating the impact to customers until it could conduct an in-depth review of the ICC’s order, Brad Kloeppel, Ameren senior director of gas operations and technical services, said after the ruling. * WGLT | Bloomington City Council OKs anticipated $3M increase in property tax levy: The Bloomington City Council on Monday voted 7-2 in favor of the staff’s recommended tax levy estimate that is based on McLean County’s projected equalized assessed value of $2.7 billion. The pending tax levy reflects a rate of 0.98%. “We realize that property taxes are certainly a burden. We do not want to put all of the stress on the taxpayers,” City Manager Jeff Jurgens said near the end of his lengthy presentation during the 70-minute regular council meeting. “We work really hard to be inventive and to try and be more lean and as efficient as a government as we can be.” * WJBD | Marion County Board Approves Budget with 2.9-Percent Levy Increase: The Marion County Board has voted to approve a $13,452,049 budget with a 2.9-percent property tax levy increase and a new 1-percent state mandate levy to fund a county veterans commission. The decision came at a special meeting on Friday to get the budget passed before the county’s new fiscal year begins on Monday, December 1st. The initial vote did not pass by the required two-thirds majority, but Brock Waggoner changed his initial no vote to yes to allow for passage by a nine-to-three margin. * NYT | ‘The New Price of Eggs.’ The Political Shocks of Data Centers and Electric Bills: As loyal Republicans, Reece Payton said that he and his family of cattle ranchers in Hogansville, Ga., had one thing on their minds when they cast their ballots in November for the state’s utility board — “to make a statement.” They were already irked by their escalating electric bills, not to mention an extra $50 a month levied by their local utility to cover a new nuclear power plant more than 200 miles away. But after they heard a data center might be built next to their Logos Ranch, about 60 miles southwest of Atlanta, they had enough of Republicans who seemed far too receptive to the interests of the booming artificial intelligence industry. “That’s the first time I ever voted Democrat,” Mr. Payton, 58, said. * AP | What a federal ban on THC-infused drinks and snacks could mean for the hemp industry: But the ban doesn’t take effect for a year. That has given the industry hope that there is still time to pass regulations that will improve the hemp THC industry — such as by banning synthetically derived THC, requiring age restrictions on sales, and prohibiting marketing to children — rather than eradicate it. “We are very hopeful that cooler heads will prevail,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “If they really thought there was a health emergency, there would be no year-long period.” The federal ban would jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax money, the group says.
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Good morning!
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Monday, Dec 1, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Monday, Dec 1, 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 Thanksgiving week
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Isabel and I are taking next week off. Have a great holiday. And, now, allowing perfunctory time for the clerk, we’ll adjourn with our annual tradition…
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Sun-Times…
* WBEZ | Trump administration to strip protections for wetlands and streams, leaving Illinois habitat at risk: At the heart of the proposal announced earlier this week is a new, stricter definition to the long-debated legal term, “Waters of the United States,” the federal guidance that determines which bodies of water are protected under the 1972 Clean Water Act. The proposal codifies a 2023 Supreme Court decision that limited federal protection to wetlands indistinguishable from larger, relatively permanent bodies of water like streams, rivers and lakes. Effectively, the new definition excludes seasonal streams and wetlands, which remain dry for much of the year. * Capitol News Illinois | 9 months after federal bribery conviction, former Speaker Madigan disbarred: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court approved Madigan’s motion, although the official order mistakenly listed his middle name as “James” two of the five times it appeared on the document. The others correctly stated it as Joseph. * Alton Telegraph | State’s top doc, others blast change in CDC site linking vaccines to autism: U.S. Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Dixon said in a statement that “studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities” and that prompted the change. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime vaccine critic and has made multiple claims of a correlation between autism and vaccines and acetaminophen use during pregnancy. Saying the medical community is unhappy would be an understatement, with many lashing out — including Illinois Department of Public Health Director Sameer Vohra. * Tribune | Program that allows police to directly file some gun charges to expand citywide: The program, which means prosecutors in the office’s Felony Review Unit will not first assess charges in some cases, has been controversial among some advocacy groups and community members, who objected to the pilot programs starting out in majority-Black neighborhoods and argued that an initial review was an important oversight measure. But officials with the state’s attorney’s office said prosecutors still review the charges early in the case, adding that the process change has eased bottlenecks and freed up prosecutors and police officers for higher priority, victim-centric work. * Tribune | Federal gun charges unsealed against man arrested after alleged shots at immigration agents in Little Village: A few hours before Gómez’s arrest, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents had called 911 to report that someone in a black Jeep had fired at them one block to the north. Law enforcement sources said the 9mm pistol Gómez had on his lap at the time of his arrest was being analyzed to see if it matched shell casings found on the street near that shooting. * Crain’s | British menswear brand Charles Tyrwhitt plans Mag Mile store: The deal helped push the slowly recovering shopping strip’s vacancy rate down slightly to 28.7% at the end of the third quarter, according to data from Chicago-based retail brokerage Kirsch Agency. It’s also a sign of life at a property that traded hands via a deed in lieu of foreclosure last year. Global asset management firm Barings took over the retail space in June 2024 after the former landlord, New York investor Ashkenazy Acquisition, defaulted on a $61 million loan in 2023. Barings didn’t respond to a request for comment on the Charles Tyrwhitt lease. * Sun-Times | Off-duty Chicago cop accidentally shoots himself in groin outside police station in Gresham: The man, 22, was in the parking lot of the station, 7808 S. Halsted St., when the firearm in his waistband went off around 10:05 p.m. and grazed him in the groin, police said. He was “wearing street clothes” and “heading for duty” when the gun discharged and “he accidentally shot himself in the testicles,” according to Office of Emergency Management and Communications records obtained by the Sun-Times. An officer in distress call was made around the time of the shooting. * Tribune | Feld, Ever and Kasama react to Chicago Michelin awards: ‘I don’t think we ever cooked with a star in mind’: On the heels of a newly coveted Michelin star, chef Jake Potashnick of Feld is still just processing the fact that his Ukrainian Village restaurant lives to see another winter. He’s chuffed — completely. Creating his own restaurant has been a dream since he was 7 years old. But a star within 16 months of being open is unmistakably impressive, and something he struggles to wrap his head around. * Chicago Mag | Why Are There So Many Old Style Signs in Chicago?: Old Style, which controlled a third of the local market in the 1980s, isn’t as popular here as it used to be. (Budweiser took its place as the Cubs’ official beer in 2014.) Still, the Old Style sign remains as a symbol of a classic Chicago tavern, labeled “Cerveza Fría” in Latino neighborhoods and “Zimne Piwo” on the Polish Northwest Side. The Old Style Bar Project has documented hundreds of Chicago-area signs on its website, out of the 2,000 installed throughout the Midwest. We may not drink as much Old Style as we once did, but no other beer is so beloved. * Crain’s | Forget dinner. Chicago execs are helicoptering clients to Michigan wine country: Vertiport Chicago, a commercial helicopter facility located blocks from the Illinois Medical District, is ramping up its business with tours that take clients winery hopping on the southwestern coast of Michigan. The round-trip tours, which start north of $9,000, have attracted both international and local business folks, said Vertiport executive director Daniel Mojica. They’re looking to entertain, incentivize or reward employees and clients. * Sun-Times | Cook County townships to reopen property tax appeals window: The Cook County Board of Review is reopening the property tax appeals window in townships that have closed it for the 2025 appeal season. The Board typically gives taxpayers in townships a 30-day filing window to appeal assessed property values after bills are sent. But “unprecedented circumstances” following a four-month delay in mailing second installment bills has led the Board to reopen the window in every closed township, the Board of Review said in a news release Thursday. * Crain’s | River Forest doctor charged with $1M Medicaid, Medicare fraud scheme: The Illinois attorney general’s office alleges Dr. Mohammad Khamis received more than $1 million in Medicaid and Medicare payments for care and prescriptions not rendered by Khamis himself, but by his unlicensed medical student. Khamis, 56, is detained at the Cook County Department of Corrections, according to a press release yesterday from Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office. * Daily Herald | Ex-cop working as school security officer charged with breaking into kids’ bedroom in Bloomingdale: A former Bensenville police officer has lost a job as a high school security officer after being accused of breaking into the bedroom of two Bloomingdale children in the middle of the night. The Fenton High School District 100 school board terminated Carmen Mirandola on Wednesday night. In a letter to parents, the district announced it had fired someone who was involved in a Nov. 8 “law enforcement incident.” The incident was a home invasion, according to charges filed against Mirandola in DuPage County Circuit Court. * Pioneer Press | Elmwood Park’s lead pipes become poster child in push for EPA funds for replacement: A group of area mayors and other politicians gathered in Elmwood Park recently to make a plea for financial support for efforts to replace aging lead pipes used in water delivery systems statewide. U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for the U.S. Senate, stepped just outside of his 8th District to Elmwood Park to announce a proposal urging the federal Environmental Protection Agency to create a grant program that would eliminate lead pipes that can lead to contaminated drinking water in household taps. * BND | Metro-east employees are first in Illinois to get workers’ comp for radiation: Roughly 70 former employees of a metro-east factory tied to the Manhattan Project—and the spouses of deceased workers—have become the first group in Illinois to receive workers’ compensation for radiation exposure. “I am literally a landmark decision,” said Larry Burgan, one of the former employees of Spectrulite Consortium Inc. * WSIL | Former pastor from Southern Illinois jailed for COVID relief fraud: A former pastor from Hamilton County received a 21-month prison sentence for fraudulently acquiring COVID-19 relief funds meant for his church. The US Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Illinois, said Terry Hall, 58, of McLeansboro, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making false statements. The attorney’s office said he was ordered to repay $199,900 plus interest to the Small Business Administration and will serve two years of supervised release after imprisonment. * WSIL | Cairo families to receive Thanksgiving meals from Comptroller: The initiative is supported by donations from Laborers’ Local 773 and Operators 318 in Marion, Sen. Dale Fowler of Harrisburg, and the Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union. Krispy Kreme in Marion is contributing boxes of donuts. This marks the ninth year the Illinois Office of Comptroller has provided Thanksgiving meals to Cairo families. Employees in Chicago and Springfield have also collected canned goods and toiletries for the Cairo Women’s Shelter. * IPM News | This niche card game has a loyal following in an Illinois prison: In 2001, Danville Correctional Center banned the family and friends of those incarcerated from sending them Magic: The Gathering cards. “At the time, the cards were identified as a potential security risk because of their perceived value and their ability to be used in trading,” Illinois Department of Corrections spokesperson Naomi Puzzello said in an emailed statement. But in 2021, the prison began hosting Magic: The Gathering tournaments, using old cards it had from before the ban. * ProPublica | “We’re Broken”: As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Are Leaving in Droves for ICE: And at some facilities, staff said the agency had even stopped providing basic hygiene items for officers, such as paper towels, soap and toilet paper. “I have never seen it like this in all my 25 years,” an officer in Texas told ProPublica. “You have to literally go around carrying your own roll of toilet paper. No paper towels, you have to bring your own stuff. No soap. I even ordered little sheets that you put in an envelope and it turns to soap because there wasn’t any soap.” * CNBC | Fed won’t get key inflation data before next rate decision as BLS cancels October CPI release: The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it was canceling the release of the October consumer price index, leaving the Federal Reserve without a key piece of inflation data to ponder when it next decides on interest rates on Dec. 10. The CPI data, previously scheduled to be released on Nov. 7, was canceled because the government shutdown made it impossible for the BLS to “retroactively collect” certain parts of survey data, the agency said on its website. * AP | Fugees rapper Pras Michel sentenced to 14 years in prison over illegal donations to Obama campaign: In April 2023, a federal jury convicted Michel of 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The trial in Washington, D.C., included testimony from actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Justice Department prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines recommended a life sentence for Michel, whom they said “betrayed his country for money” and “lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out his schemes.”
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CTA board chair inadvertently makes strong case for busting up the transit fiefdoms
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Tribune op-ed by Lester L. Barclay, who chairs the Chicago Transit Board: “Transit funding was secured, but the CTA paid a price”…
Hilarious. “Local accountability” that delivered “responsive, community-centered service” while the CTA operated “efficiently and responsively”? Right.
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Pritzker says graduated tax not his priority for spring session
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Gov. JB Pritzker was asked about Ald. Sigcho-Lopez’s recent criticism that the governor isn’t doing enough to tax the rich. His response seemed to contradict itself. First, he said…
And then, in defense of his own history, Pritzker said…
Um. * More from his response…
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Campaign updates (Updated)
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Politico…
* The Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles has this piece today: “Stratton vows to not take corporate PAC money in Senate bid, but has history of getting corporate backing.” Her story included this important bit of context…
[From Rich: One of the other big problems that Poshard faced was that when he tried to get around his contribution restrictions, he was portrayed as the bad guy in the race. As this story shows, it could happen to Stratton this time around as well.] * Raja Krishnamoorthi rolled out another batch of endorsements…
* Dan Biss’ campaign released a poll this month that is more recent than the independent poll we talked about earlier today. Biss’ poll was taken November 4-9. From the memo…
* Moving to the Comptroller race, Rep. Margaret Croke has announced a new round of endorsements…
* Another Democratic candidate for Comptroller, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim also announced an endorsement…
* Republican candidate for Comptroller, Bryan Drew…
* Sen. Lakesia Collins endorses José “Che-Che” Wilson for 12th District Cook County Commissioner. Press release…
Interesting. …Adding… The Burg…
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Independent poll shows Biss, Abughazaleh tied; Pritzker hugely popular in the district
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Evanston Now…
* Head to heads…  * Major issues…  Candidates better get on the Democratic voter bandwagon. * Pritzker, of course, is very popular in the district…  The problem is, Pritzker still holds a grudge against Biss for his 2018 gubernatorial campaign. I’m not kidding. The governor still petulantly reminds even very powerful Democrats about their support for Biss back in the day (the dude has a severe case of what we in the biz call “Irish Alzheimer’s” - when you only remember the slights). I doubt he’ll say anything about this race, even though he lived in Evanston for a very long time. Whatever, the numbers clearly show that the folks in that campaign ought to tie themselves to the governor as closely as they can. …Adding… When I wrote this last night, I meant for it to come off as a bit cheeky. I read it again this morning, and it’s not cheeky. Oops. Pritzker does give people guff about their support for Biss, but he did endorse Biss for mayor earlier this year.
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RETAIL: The Largest Employer In Illinois
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] JT’s CarmelKorn Station in Galesburg is a passion project for owner Jackie Turner. As a small retailer, she says lawmakers need to know that policies can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach because “some of the rules that they need for these large companies, they don’t fit for a small business, and they have to keep that in mind.” Retail generates $7.3 billion in income and sales tax revenue each year in Illinois. These funds support public safety, infrastructure, education, and other important programs we all rely on every day. In fact, retail is the second largest revenue generator for the State of Illinois and the largest revenue generator for local governments. Policies that support small businesses help communities thrive as retailers like Jackie are better equipped to meet local needs. We Are Retail and IRMA are showcasing the retailers who make Illinois work.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: ‘Unusual and possibly unprecedented’: Judge calls out Chicago feds as Midway Blitz cases fall apart. Sun-Times…
-Fuentes used a nine-page opinion not only to dismiss, with prejudice, a misdemeanor charge against Dana Briggs, but to highlight how each of those five cases, all tied to Operation Midway Blitz, “were highly unusual in this district for several reasons.” - “The court cannot help but note just how unusual and possibly unprecedented it is for the U.S. attorney’s office in this district to charge so hastily that it either could not obtain the indictment in the grand jury or was forced to dismiss upon a conclusion that the case is not provable, in repeated cases of a similar nature,” Fuentes wrote. * Related stories… Sponsored by PhRMA
* Pritzker will be in Skokie at 1 pm to make an announcement about small businesses in Illinois. Click here to watch. * Chalkbeat Chicago | School transportation funding a top request for Illinois State Board of Education’s 2027 budget: What do Illinois teachers, families, and educators want the state’s Board of Education to prioritize? Reliable transportation funding and a $350 million increase toward K-12 education are the top concerns, according to budget requests submitted throughout the fall. The Illinois State Board of Education held budget hearings in September and October to get input from the public regarding the budget for the next fiscal year. During a board meeting Thursday, officials said they received a total of 938 budget requests this year, up from 826 last year. * Daily Herald | Tollway leaders assert rate hikes tucked into transit legislation are their call: Toll hikes passed by the General Assembly in October will need to go through the Illinois tollway board, agency officials said Thursday. The controversial legislation intended to avert a transit funding collapse also would raise tolls by 45 cents on cars and 30% on trucks starting in 2027, and generate about $1 billion a year for the tollway’s latest capital program. In addition, the bill would impose toll increases tied to the Consumer Price Index every two years, effective in 2029. * Subscribers know more. WAND | Illinois Department of Human Services working to minimize SNAP error rate amid threat of federal funding cuts: The Illinois Department of Human Services told the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules this week that they are working to ensure the state can minimize errors and follow the new federal rules. DHS leaders said they are looking at multiple options to prevent taxpayers from being on the hook for roughly $800 million of funding. * WBEZ | Illinois public university enrollment rises, driven by gains for Black, Latino students: Chicago State University enrolled its largest freshman class in a decade this fall — an encouraging trend at the state’s only predominantly Black university, which has struggled with declining enrollment and funding cuts in recent years. Undergraduate enrollment was up by 3.7% at public universities across the state, according to state data released this week. Statewide, students of color drove much of that growth. * Subscribers know more. Daily Herald | ‘I am not perfect’: District 220 school board finds member violated board policies in her statehouse campaign: The Barrington Area Unit District 220 school board voted 6-1 this week to accept an outside investigator’s findings that board member Erin Chan Ding violated district policies by using school resources, property and social media for prohibited political campaign activities. Investigators described the violations as merely technical, but board members agreed that Chan Ding’s campaigning as a Democratic candidate for District 52 state representative were flagrant violations instead. Chan Ding was the lone dissenting vote but agreed to undergo remedial board policy training as a result of the board decision. * Sun-Times | Stratton vows to not take corporate PAC money in Senate bid, but has history of getting corporate backing: But Stratton has a history of taking in corporate PAC and direct corporate contributions into her state campaign funds since 2016 — and this year returned a $5,000 check from The Marquis Energy Corporate PAC for her Senate campaign while taking in $21,000 from the same family controlling the company. This year, she also received $5,000 in corporate PAC money and $46,000 from corporations in her super PAC, the Level Up PAC, a hybrid PAC she created in January in anticipation of a Senate run. * ABC Chicago | Black pastors from Illinois endorse Raja Krishnamoorthi in US Senate race: “So we need to trust Raja, trust him with our vote, trust him with our feet on the ground,” said Warren Dorris with Prayer Tower Ministries in Joliet. Dozens of Black pastors from around the state gathered to deliver an ecumenical endorsement Thursday in the U.S. Senate race, rallying behind Raja Krishnamoorthi. “We don’t need another politician,” Bishop Shirley Coleman said. “We need a public servant.” * WTTW | Amid Controversy Sparked by Chuy García’s Resignation, Patty Garcia Vows to Stand on Her Own: During an appearance on WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight,” Patty Garcia acknowledged that the congressman’s decision not to announce his retirement until after the deadline to qualify for the March primary election had triggered a political firestorm. “This isn’t a done deal,” Patty Garcia said, noting that members of the Republican and a third party filed to run to represent the district drawn to include a significant majority of Democratic voters. “I’m taking this seriously, and I’m going out to every voter, to every municipality, to every neighborhood and ward.” * Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to borrow money to pay police settlements raises questions: The borrowing proposal revives a practice past mayors discontinued and derided as financially reckless. While members of the City Council raise concerns and questions, Johnson’s team is defending the move as a way to finally clear a backlog of looming police misconduct lawsuits and save money. “The Department of Law has been very focused on settling cases and lowering our costs by getting them settled quicker,” Johnson’s chief financial officer, Jill Jaworski, told aldermen Monday. “Instead of increasing those costs all in the budget this year and spiking up our expenses, we’re spreading that out over a five year repayment period.” * Fox Chicago | Former CPS student speaks out on alleged abuse by gym teacher: While CPS settled for $1.1 million with the former student over the summer, that man, who wishes to remain anonymous and who we are referring to as John Doe, wants his story heard. FOX 32 Chicago reached out to the accused gym teacher — who was terminated from CPS in 2022 — and his attorney but did not receive a response as of filing this report. “It’s just something that never leaves you. It’s just always there,” Doe said. * Tribune | Plan Commission approves DePaul’s controversial plan for Lincoln Park athletic facility: The Chicago Plan Commission approved a proposal Thursday by DePaul University to build a $42 million basketball practice facility in the heart of its Lincoln Park campus, a controversial plan that will require demolishing a row of century-old residential buildings. University officials told commission members DePaul’s lack of modern practice courts makes it hard to compete for athletic talent with schools in the Big East Conference, decreasing DePaul’s national visibility and potential to attract other students. * Sun-Times | Cook County Board votes to approve Toni Preckwinkle’s $10 billion 2026 budget: The Cook County Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s $10.1 billion budget for next year, a spending plan without a deficit or layoffs, new taxes, fees or fines. The budget was also widely popular among commissioners for funneling cash toward health care, public safety and legal representation. Passing the budget was also a counter to President Donald Trump and his policies, including cuts to health care and the deportation campaign that has left the Chicago area reeling, Preckwinkle said. * The Triibe | Cook County becomes the first county in the US to establish permanent funding for guaranteed income : oday, Cook County became the first county to establish permanent funding for guaranteed income at the county level. The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved $7.5 million for the program through its FY 2026 budget, which totals $10.12 billion. With permanent funding for guaranteed income, the county is providing relief for low-income families “who have been severely impacted by inflation and federal budget cuts,” the Economic Security Illinois (ESIL) wrote in a press release. ESIL works in partnership with Cook County on the guaranteed income program. * WTTW | Cook County Assessor Pushes to Ease Property Tax Burden on Homeowners: Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, who is running for reelection, argues the property tax system favors corporations. He has said he’s working to change it. Kaegi’s office assesses the value of nearly 2 million parcels in Cook County. When property owners think their bill is too high, they can file appeals with the Board of Review, which reviews valuations. * Sun-Times | Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison says he won’t seek reelection: Morrison stepped down as the chair of the Cook County GOP in April, saying it was “time for new energy” in the party. This time, he said he believed public office should be “a season of contribution, not a lifetime occupation, and it is important that I lead by example.” * The New Republic | ICE Suddenly Loses Key Evidence One Day After Being Sued: 404 Media reports that after ICE’s Broadview Detention Center outside Chicago was sued October 30 for allegedly abusing detainees, the agency said that two weeks of video footage that could have shown how immigration detainees are treated in the facility was lost in a “system crash” on October 31.* “The government has said that the data for that period was lost in a system crash apparently on the day after the lawsuit was filed,” one of the lawyers representing detainees, Alec Solotorovsky, said in a Thursday hearing about the footage, according to 404 Media. “That period we think is going to be critical … because that’s the period right before the lawsuit was filed.” * Illinois Times | A family’s quest for justice: Second-degree charge controversial, but Grayson is one of only a few on-duty cops convicted of murder: Of the 211 nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers charged nationwide in fatal shootings since the beginning of 2005, Stinson and other experts at Bowling Green State’s Police Integrity Research Group wrote that 171 cases have been concluded, and 73 of those cases, or 43%, ended in conviction. Of those convicted, only 11 officers, or 15%, have been convicted of murder, including second-degree murder and the various other ways states have created to classify murder. The 11 cases include Grayson’s conviction. * BND | Carlyle suspends police chief amid FBI investigation: The statement noted no charges have been filed and that the city was informed of the FBI investigation on Wednesday. Pingsterhaus announced earlier this year that he was running for the Republican nomination in the Clinton County sheriff’s primary scheduled for March 17. * WAND | New Urbana solar farm will give customers discounted energy: Urbana City Council approved a special use permit Monday night for Total Energies, which will build a solar farm on a closed landfill currently owned by the City. The closed landfill already houses solar panels that create 5.3 MW of Community Solar Power. This second solar farm will be a market-rate community solar array, meaning that residents in Ameren’s territory can subscribe to be part of the program. The panels are targeted to be 4.3 MW of solar power. * BND | St. Clair County veterans assistance warns of service delays without added funds: Leaders of the Veterans Assistance Commission of St. Clair County warned county officials Monday that veterans could face waitlists and service delays if the agency does not receive additional funding for increased staffing. The commission provides financial aid to veterans for rent, mortgage, utilities or food, and helps veterans and their families claim disability and pension benefits. […] The county initially rejected the commission’s request for a $282,000 budget increase, which included about $100,000 for a new office and furniture, according to Kern. The request also included a $67,000 increase for payroll. * WREX | Rockford local organizations brace for impact: New HUD rules pose potential threat to funding: hanges to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding criteria have local organizations concerned about the future of homeless services in the area. The new criteria could significantly reduce funding for permanent housing, which has been the focus of local efforts to support the homeless community. * WREX | Freeport to consider adding public transit route strictly within city: The City of Freeport and Pretzel City Area Transit (PCAT) announced they will start to look into the development of a fixed or deviated fixed-route public transit system within the City of Freeport. The initiative comes after there was increased ridership demands within city limits, according to the City. Currently, PCAT operates a countywide service, providing more than 50,000 trips a year across Stephenson County. But over the past 200 days, more than 90% of all PCAT trips started and ended within Freeport, which the City said highlighted the need for reliable in-city transportation. * WICS | https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025/11/20/illinois-fy-2027-budget-requests-for-transportation-evidence-based-funding/: The City of Decatur has announced a shift from mandatory to voluntary Stage 1 Water Rationing, citing several chances for rain in the current forecast. Officials are urging all water customers to continue their conservation efforts despite the easing of restrictions. The city anticipates that, with the slowing drop in lake levels, the voluntary status will remain in place for the next two months. * PJ Star | Super Bowl champ named head football coach at Illinois high school: Former Super Bowl champion James White has been hired as the new head football coach at Lisle Benet Academy, the school announced on Thursday afternoon. White, 33, replaces Patrick New, who retired early this month following 15 years with 89 wins and 10 playoff appearances. The Redwings are coming off a 3-6 season as a member of the East Suburban Catholic Conference. * WGEM | Missouri attorney general challenges abortion medication: Missouri’s attorney general is attempting to limit abortion access by challenging the FDA-approval of a medication used in chemical abortions. Missouri is joining Kansas and Idaho in challenging the recent approval of a generic version of mifepristone. Mifepristone is one of the drugs used to induce abortion, it’s also used to treat miscarriages. Medical abortions make up two-thirds of all abortions performed in the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute. * Financial Times | Lawrence Summers’ extraordinary fall from grace: Others said it was typical of his hubris. “Nobody writes things like that in an email unless they think they’re untouchable,” said one economist who knows him. “Which he has been — for a long time.” * Media ITE | Nick Fuentes’s 6 Most Hateful, Disturbing Moments: Fuentes, who is only 27, has a long history of explicitly anti-Semitic rhetoric, Holocaust denial, and praising Hitler. He has regularly called for limiting the rights of women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community, while often using alarmingly violent rhetoric. “All I want is revenge against my enemies and a total Aryan victory,” Fuentes said, for example, in 2022.
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Good morning!
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * “I wanted to tell you, before I played any further, that I might, over the course of the night, share a couple of my opinions with you. But I’m not going to share them with you because I think that they’re smart. I’m going to share them with you because they rhyme. And I mean I’m sincere when I say that. I ain’t traveling around trying to change nobody’s mind. I’m traveling around trying to ease my own”… It’s the feel good hit of this endless summer * Thanksgiving plans?
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Friday, Nov 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Friday, Nov 21, 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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