Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* CBS…

The Department of Homeland Security has escalated its clash with so-called sanctuary states this week, warning California, New York, and Illinois in letters obtained by CBS News that refusal to honor immigration detainers could trigger federal legal action.

In letters dated Sept. 10, Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons ordered the attorneys general of the three states to declare within two days whether they would comply with “thousands of ICE detainers” lodged against individuals in state custody, according to DHS. Immigration detainers are formal requests by ICE asking local jails and prisons to notify the agency before releasing an individual, and to hold them briefly so federal agents can take undocumented migrants into federal custody.

According to DHS, Illinois and New York formally declined to cooperate. California initially did not respond. On Thursday, Lyons sent follow-up letters obtained by CBS News accusing each state of obstructing immigration enforcement and vowing to enlist the Department of Justice in response. Senior DHS officials tell CBS News the department will tap the DOJ to sue states, blocking future federal funding.

In his follow-up letter to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Lyons wrote that the state’s refusal “will result in thousands of criminal aliens being released into Illinois communities,” adding that “ICE will engage with the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal partners to pursue all appropriate measures against you.” […]

The Illinois attorney general’s office referred CBS News to a letter it sent to Lyons on Sept. 12, which also said ICE detainers are “requests” and state and local authorities cannot be forced to comply with them. The office also noted that it doesn’t oversee pre-trial detention in Illinois, so the office “rarely, if ever, receives ICE detainers,” and it can’t “unilaterally override state law” by forcing local police departments to honor ICE’s requests.

“Responding to an ICE detainer based on erroneous information could subject Illinois law enforcement agencies to liability for ICE’s mistakes,” the letter read. “And unfortunately, the number of erroneous detentions by ICE continues to grow at an alarming pace.”

* AP…

U.S. Steel reversed course and said Friday that it will continue processing raw steel at its Granite City Works plant in Illinois, nixing a decision that had put the plant on track to stop work in the coming weeks.

U.S. Steel did not explain its reasons for changing course, now barely three months after Nippon Steel sealed a deal with President Donald Trump to buy the iconic American steelmaker by giving the government a say over decisions that affect domestic steel production.

In a brief statement, a U.S. Steel spokesperson said it will continue to supply raw steel slabs to Granite City “indefinitely.”

Initially, it had said ending processing operations at Granite City would allow U.S. Steel to “maintain future flexibility.” On Friday, it said “our goal was to maintain flexibility, and we are pleased to have found a solution to continue slab consumption at Granite City.”

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Chicago dealmaking ahead of the curve despite slower than expected ramp-up: While mergers and acquisitions activity has remained light this year as potential buyers and sellers wait for borrowing costs to come down and economic conditions to stabilize, Chicago is ahead of the curve. Local dealmakers have been busier than their national counterparts, with data from research firm PitchBook pegging the number of Chicago-area deals announced this year at 318 through August, down just 1.2% from the comparable period of 2024. Nationally, 9,425 deals had been announced through August, a drop of 9.9% from the 10,462 in the first eight months of 2024.

* Crain’s | Compass scoops up 2nd-largest Chicago-area residential brokerage in latest mega-deal: New York-based Compass announced a $1.5 billion acquisition of New Jersey-based Anywhere, a deal that is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Anywhere’s residential real estate brands with offices in the Chicago metro area are Coldwell Banker, Sotheby’s (represented locally by Jameson Sotheby’s International Real Estate), Century 21 and Corcoran. Compass was already the nation’s biggest real estate brokerage by far before announcing this latest deal that will make it a $10 billion firm. It became the leading firm in the Chicago-area market when it acquired @properties Christie’s International Real Estate. The deal, reportedly valued at $444 million, was announced in December and closed in early 2025.

* Tribune | A Tribune photographer describes capturing a compelling image from protests outside Broadview’s ICE facility: On Friday, she was assigned to document a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding center in Broadview, where activists have been gathering routinely to show their opposition to the Trump administration’s surge in illegal immigration enforcement actions in the region. During the protest on Sept. 19, federal agents deployed a significant amount of a chemical agent upon protesters who were attempting to obstruct ICE workers and others at the facility. During an ensuing melee after gas was deployed, Wescott made a photograph of former Marine Curtis Evans carrying an American flag amid a cloud of gas in the middle of the confrontation.

* WTTW | Longtime Chicago Publisher, Arts Leader Bruce Sagan Dies at 96: Bruce Sagan, the longtime owner and publisher of the Hyde Park Herald and arts leader who served on the WFMT Radio Committee for more than two decades, has died at the age of 96. The former journalist, who was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Joe Biden in 2024 for his contributions as an arts leader in Chicago, died at his home Sunday following a brief battle with cancer.

* Block Club | Kennedy Mural Blasted As ‘AI Slop’ By Local Artists, Commuters: The building currently features an organization that commissioned AI-generated art, which was hung about nine weeks ago. Since then, passersby have taken to Instagram and Reddit to slam the use of AI on a mural that would typically be created by local artists. […] The current artwork was intended to highlight Hope Ignites Chicago, a nonprofit whose mission is “to guide and nurture young people in need to become college-educated, career-ready, and community-minded men and women.” The group’s work is important, and it’s unfortunate that the use of AI has distracted from that, artists and commuters told Block Club. Hope Ignites did not respond to critics in an Instagram post about the artwork, and has not returned Block Club’s requests for comment.

* ABC Chicago | Free tours of Obama Presidential Center to start soon in Chicago: The Obama Foundation will start offer free community tours to take a look at the property. People can ask questions, see the renderings, and take a walking tour outside the fence of the construction site. Michael Strautmanis, the chief corporate affairs officer at the Obama Foundation joined ABC7 to talk about the tours.. The next monthly perimeter tour will take place on Tuesday, September 30, at 5:30pm.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Inmates sue McHenry County over jail bus crash in Grayslake: Six inmates who were traveling in a McHenry County Sheriff’s Office bus when it was involved in a crash last year are suing the county, the bus driver and the other driver involved, claiming negligence and carelessness. The crash occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 4, 2024, when 16 inmates were being taken back to the county jail after court hearings at the Lake County courthouse. […] According to the lawsuit, the driver of the sedan “suddenly and without warning made an improper left turn within the intersection and failed to yield the right-of-way and collided with” the bus. The suit claims that the driver of the bus “carelessly and negligently failed to avoid a collision.”

* Aurora Beacon News | Oswego locally extends grocery tax that would have expired at end of year: Trustees as a committee of the whole will meet Oct. 25 to discuss whether the approximately $1 million expected to be generated annually by the grocery tax should remain in the village’s general fund or to transfer some of the revenue to the Water and Sewer Fund to help offset the costs associated with the project to bring Lake Michigan water to Oswego. Oswego’s 2026 proposed budget would have had a $200,000 deficit had the grocery tax not been extended, village officials said

* Aurora Beacon News | Batavia modifying its EV charging station rates: Under the modified ordinance, users of city charging stations will be charged 25 cents per kilowatt-hour for Level 2 charging stations and 50 cents per kilowatt-hour for Level 3 charging stations. Currently, Batavia has just one Level 2 charging station in the west parking lot at City Hall, per the city. But it’s set to get two Level 3 chargers soon: one downtown and another at Batavia High School, a project partially funded by state grant money.

* Daily Southtown | Officials unveil state’s first 24-hour library in Palos Hills: The futuristic-looking library material vending machine sits outside the main entrance of the library, 10331 S. Interlochen Drive in Palos Hills. Teri Wilson, head of Patron Services, said the new feature “gives patrons the opportunity to browse, check out and return materials whether we are open or closed.” “It’s useful to a lot of patrons, especially those who are unable to come in directly during opening hours,” she said. “No need to rush over to retrieve available holds or check out last-minute films for a late-night movie or book read.”

* Daily Herald | With controversial church plan progressing in South Barrington, could lawsuit’s end be near?: “Area N Development and the church welcome the progress recently made with the Village of South Barrington,” the Schaumburg-based organization said in an e-mailed statement. “Both sides have been working to resolve outstanding issues.” South Barrington Trustee Daniel Zierk is hopeful. Village officials can’t be perceived as “dragging our feet” on real estate developments, he said.

* CBS Chicago | Village of Romeoville, Illinois to plant 2,500 new native trees: Many of the trees will be brand-new plantings, but some will be replacements for trees that belong to invasive species — which will be cut down because they are either already dying or are a threat to the environment, the village said. New plantings will fill open spaces where trees have been lost due to storms, or will replace trees that are damaged or dying. They will be planted in residential subdivisions, roadside rights-of-way, and park sites and village owned properties, the Village of Romeoville said.

*** Downstate ***

* WSPY | Former DeKalb County administrator indicted on 15 counts:: A former DeKalb County administrator is being charged with concealing and destroying public records, as well as official misconduct. Court documents accuse 70-year-old Gary Hanson of DeKalb of destroying email records without receiving written permission, as required under state law. Fifteen indictments were filed in DeKalb County Court by a special prosecutor on Friday. Hanson was issued a notice to appear in court on October 14 at 9 a.m.

* Tribune | Setbacks and hope as America’s oldest Black town fights for its survival: The brick building at Madison and South 5th streets is still vacant, still boarded up, still tagged with faded gang graffiti. For the second time in as many years, it’s been slated for a $2.5 million makeover, courtesy of the federal government, that would transform the building — once a grocery store and, later, a skating rink — into a community center for this historic town of 650 people across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. And once again, the project has stalled, its future uncertain, amid partisan spending battles in Washington, D.C., and the looming threat of a government shutdown.

* PJ Star | Who is Cameron Jones? Illinois native chosen for 2025 NASA astronaut candidate class: An astronaut candidate from Illinois was introduced today as one of 10 selected by NASA for potential exploration missions to the moon and Mars. The class will now begin nearly two years of training before being eligible for space missions in 2027. […] Cameron Jones is a 35-year-old native of Savannah, Illinois, according to a press release published by NASA. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a major in the U.S. Air Force.

* Fox2 Now | Former O’Fallon bank executive sentenced in $2M check-kiting scheme: A federal judge has sentenced a former second-in-command Bank of O’Fallon executive to several years behind bars in connection with a $2 million check-kiting fraud scheme. Andrew Blassie, 70, was sentenced to five months and three years in prison on Thursday and also ordered to pay nearly $2.5 million in restitution. He pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud and interstate transportation of security or funds obtained by fraud in May. Blassie served as the Executive Vice President for the Bank of O’Fallon from September 2023 to September 2024 and stole $1,972,887.67 in a check-kiting scheme while employed, according to his federal indictment.

* Fox 2 Now | Little Mary’s River Bridge in Chester, Ill set to reopen: The restoration project, which cost more than $300,000, included modern safety modifications to the bridge. The bridge was originally closed after a severe windstorm in 2023 that caused damage to its roof, fire suppression system, and video monitoring equipment. The 86-foot-long pedestrian-only bridge, located along Illinois 150 about 4 miles north of Chester, was built in 1854. It is the oldest remaining covered bridge in Illinois and the only one in Southern Illinois.

*** National ***

* LA Times | ICE offers big bucks — but California police officers prove tough to poach: “We’re not trying to pillage a bunch of officers from other agencies,” said Tim Oberle, an ICE spokesman. “If you see opportunities to move up, make more money to take care of your family, of course you’re going to want it.” But despite the generous new compensation packages, experts said ICE is still coming up short in some of the places it needs agents the most. “The pay in California is incredible,” said Jason Litchney of All-Star Talent, a recruiting firm. “Some of these Bay Area agencies are $200,000 a year without overtime.”

* NYT | Kennedy Said to Focus on Unproven Link Between Common Painkiller and Autism: Federal health officials are expected to link rising rates of autism to the use of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in the common painkiller Tylenol, in a report to be released on Monday. Scientists have studied a potential connection for years, but the research so far has yielded inconclusive results. “I think it’s a very big factor,” President Trump told reporters on Sunday, referring to acetaminophen.

* La Times | Predator drones shift from border patrol to protest surveillance: When MQ-9 Predator drones flew over anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles this summer, it was the first time they had been dispatched to monitor demonstrations on U.S. soil since 2020, and their use reflects a change in how the government is choosing to deploy the aircraft once reserved for surveilling the border and war zones. Previous news reports said the drones sent by the Department of Homeland Security conducted surveillance on the weekend of June 7 over thousands of protesters demonstrating against raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Predators flew over Los Angeles for at least four more days, according to tracking experts who identified the flights through air traffic control tower communications and images of a Predator in flight.

* NBC | Jimmy Kimmel’s show returning on Tuesday, ABC announces: “Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” the Walt Disney Company said in a statement Monday. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.”"We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney added.

4 Comments

How long can this go on?

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As we’ve discussed before, Western Illinois University enrollment has plummeted over the years. The school laid off several employees last year, 57 faculty and 32 staff were let go and the university “opted not to renew contracts for 35 non-tenure-track workers and staff,” according to Crain’s. It’s now working on a reorganization. From Tri States Public Radio last month…

TSPR asked [President Kristi Mindrup] if WIU can maintain an enrollment of around 5,000 with a freshman class of that size.

“With new strategies that we’ll have in place, looking at data, working with experts, we are looking at expanding and changing some of our markets and so attracting new students to Western Illinois University is one strategy,” Mindrup said.

She said the administration also has “a number of other strategies” designed to keep students at WIU once they come, and she said they will develop a new strategic plan in the coming year.

Mindrup said WIU can be a great university even with 5,000 students.

“We can leverage the idea of 5,000 students to ensure that students understand that they’re not just a number at Western Illinois University, that they’ll have personalized attention,” Mindrup said.

She said the administration has made adjustments that will allow WIU to be sustainable with a lower enrollment.

But what happens if enrollment falls below 5,000? It’s getting close.

* The spin after the new enrollment numbers were published last week…

From 6,332 total enrollment to 5,337 this fall, enrollment numbers from WIU show a decline over the years, though officials noted that enrollment is higher than its forecast weeks earlier of 5,100 students.

“By enrolling more students than our projected number, we can build upon our momentum and allow our student supports to reach further,” according to Vice President for Student Success Justin Schuch. Schuch also said 197 students enrolled at WIU were students who had left the university, but have since returned to finish their degrees.

At that pace, WIU will be below 5,000 next year.

Those 2024 layoffs may have further spooked prospective students and their parents. Freshman enrollment was down 26 percent this year compared to last. And it’s down almost 50 percent since fall of 2021.

Back in 2021, 17.7 percent percent of freshmen who were accepted decided to enroll. This year, that’s down to 8.8 percent.

* Back to Crain’s…

The continued drop in students has put strain on the school’s ability to balance its budget. Last year, WIU’s board of trustees approved a round of layoffs as it stared down a $22 million deficit, which it estimated would be reduced to $10 million following the cuts.

I’m a big proponent of the directional schools. Not everyone can move to a far-away university town.

But if WIU winds up with just a few thousand students, then maybe letting area community colleges offer four-year degrees might not be such a bad thing. And I kinda suspect that’s what was at the heart of Gov. Pritzker’s push last spring to allow the colleges to do just that.

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Broadview protest coverage roundup (Updated)

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Broadview ICE facility is in House Speaker Chris Welch’s district. He had earlier refused comment, but spoke out on Saturday…

…Adding… From the Speaker’s spokesperson Jon Maxson…

The Speaker knows this is difficult situation for community leaders who do not want this federal presence, but cannot control the decisions of the Trump Administration. In fact their concern is anything they say will only result in escalation of an already volatile situation. But federal agents tear-gassing people peacefully exercising their constitutional rights is unwarranted escalation. That undemocratic violence needs to be called out for what it is.

* From the Department of Homeland Security regarding Broadview…

Any allegations that ICE Broadview Processing Center is temporarily closing is FALSE. Since Friday, rioters and sanctuary politicians have obstructed and assaulted law enforcement. These rioters have thrown tear gas cans, rocks, bottles, and fireworks at law enforcement, slashed tires of cars, blocked the entrance of the building, and trespassed on private property.

Police under JB Pritzker’s sanctuary jurisdiction refused to answer multiple calls for assistance.

The Prizker administration confirmed that neither Broadview nor Cook County have requested assistance from the Illinois State Police. They also released this statement…

The media needs to use extreme caution before reporting what the Trump Administration is saying given their record of lies, lack of transparency, and failure to coordinate with the state and local law enforcement. It’s completely false to suggest the state or local municipalities have been obstructing federal officials. The state has not received multiple calls for assistance from the federal government and would remind them the importance of coordinating with local law enforcement to protect public safety. Governor Pritzker has been clear that violence is unacceptable and everyone needs to follow the law, which includes federal agents respecting constitutional rights to peaceful protest.

* Back to the DHS statement…

So far, federal law enforcement arrested 16 rioters.

Sun-Times…

All of the people arrested during Friday’s protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview have been released.

Brad Thomson, a spokesperson for the National Lawyers Guild, confirmed that 10 protesters were arrested, but he could not say whether any of them had been charged.

Protesters were arrested during Friday’s demonstration after they clashed with federal immigration agents who fired pepper balls and launched tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

“Our legal observers witnessed federal agents using indiscriminate violence against demonstrators,” Thomson said. “Numerous people suffered physical injuries, including people who required treatment at the hospital.”

* More Sun-Times…

Among masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and fired-up protesters, Abraham Aguirre stood outside the ICE building in Broadview on Sunday with a red suitcase and dark duffel bag.

He believed his cousin was inside.

Aguirre knocked on the boarded-up windows and handed off the provisions: clothes, personal items, toiletries.

“Not scared, not nervous, but I feel a deep sense of injustice,” Aguirre said in Spanish through a translator.

* Sen. Graciela Guzmán also went to the facility looking for people. Sun-Times…

Illinois State Sen. Graciela Guzmán (20th District) used a bullhorn to try to communicate with six federal officers who looked down on the protesters from atop the Broadview facility.

“I am asking for the release of my two constituents, as well as all of the folks that you have detained,” Guzmán said as dozens of protesters gathered behind her. “As a reminder, they are U.S. citizens exerting their freedom of speech as well as the right to protest.”

“Could I just ask for a conversation with someone one-on-one?” she asked. “That’s all I’m asking for, respectfully. Please advise.”

Guzmán repeated the request several times.

The officers, battle-clad and masked, showed no interest. And, over the next half-hour, there was no response from anyone inside the building.

* Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton showed up Friday as well…

This morning at the Broadview ICE facility, people were singing, praying, and linking arms for their neighbors. DHS responded with tear gas and throwing protesters on the pavement. This is Trump’s attempt at control and intimidation, but our courage and community are louder. pic.twitter.com/Jzlip2esL4

— Juliana Stratton (@JulianaStratton) September 19, 2025

* 9th Congressional District candidate Kat Abughazaleh had a much different experience…

This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights. pic.twitter.com/EneI3BAkPF

— Kat Abughazaleh (@KatAbughazaleh) September 19, 2025

* Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, also a CD9 candidate, was gassed…

we. will. not. be. intimidated. pic.twitter.com/ZLrf07EFPA

— Daniel Biss (@DanielBiss) September 19, 2025

Block Club Chicago…

At least one officer was seen with his gun unholstered and out at his side while he stood near the protesters.

“I’ve seen shocking violence,” said Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who was out with protesters. “I mean, throwing people to the ground, pepper balls, tear gas. … It seems gratuitous, right? They’re trying to intimidate. They’ve got guys up there on the roof with cameras.

* Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle…

The recent incidents at the ICE facility in Broadview are deeply troubling. We have seen reports of people exercising their First Amendment rights being tear gassed, pushed, threatened and pepper sprayed by masked federal agents. Members of the press were also targeted with tear gas.

We have passed a resolution calling out ICE’s callous tactics: stopping people in unmarked cars, refusing to identify themselves, hiding their faces with masks and terrorizing our communities. These tactics are unlawful, they are dangerous and have already cost the life of Silverio Villegas Gonzáles.

Let me be clear: I stand firmly with the residents of Cook County who have organized to support, inform and speak out against these tactics and strongly condemn these violent actions on our residents.

* But not everyone is supporting the protests. Village of Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson focused her ire on Mayor Biss…

Evanston Mayor and congressional candidate Daniel Biss’ repeated appearances and provocations at the ICE facility in the Village of Broadview, with his videographer and photographer in tow, are helping to fuel the agitation of an already tense situation, which could endanger our police officers, fire fighters, demonstrators themselves, and the surrounding Proviso Township communities. He has lacked the decency and respect to call me or to notify my office when he comes to my community to engage in provocative campaign activities at the ICE facility. He should know better. He’s a mayor. Broadview would be better served by the presence of Evanston police officers helping to bolster our small force to protect demonstrators rather than a candidate creating Instagram videos and giving media interviews boosting his campaign. This is not the leadership that we need in Congress.

No mention of anyone else who was there.

Biss’ response…

The only people endangered right now are our neighbors being abducted off the street and the peaceful protestors being tear gassed by masked federal agents. I encourage the mayor of Broadview to join the many protestors, advocates, and elected leaders in standing up to ICE – instead of facilitating their illegal, immoral, and dangerous tactics.

* Another person who believes the protesters are doing more harm than good, via ABC 7…

Ana Nikolic, with the International Chaplain Alliance, believes that some protesters are making it more difficult for families to get information from the Broadview Processing Center.

She said she’s been there every day since Wednesday, trying to get an update on the status of someone who was detained for a family she’s helping.

She was outside the facility on Friday when protesters blocked the entrance of the driveway and white smoke and pepper bullets were deployed to disperse the crowd.

“The big challenge with protesters attacking ICE is that they have closed the doors for lawyers, closed the doors for families, closed the doors for ministers, for chaplains like me,” Nikolic said. “Because if you’re behind me, they are not going open the door….so when they see you’re not with them, of course they will open the door and help you as much as they can.”

* Meanwhile, in Naperville…

Neighbors told [homeowner Bobby Fischer] masked agents, who they believe to be ICE, arrived at his Naperville home around noon and targeted the crew working on his roof.

“They had to jump off the roof, because to trap them, the agents knocked down the ladders so they could not leave the roof and basically they said either jump or stay up there,” Fischer said.

Fischer said five of the six crew members jumped down and ran. He said one of his neighbors told him one of the crew members injured his leg before he was detained.

What shocked Fischer the most was how agents allegedly detained another crew member who ran out of fear.

“My neighbors witnessed two agents chasing one guy down the street in a residential area, guns drawn,” Fischer said. “A roofer running for his life.”

Also…

Fischer later learned from the owner of the company that all five of the detained workers were documented.

“This is just people trying to make a living and you’re harming us, the homeowners,” Fischer said. “This isn’t a business, this isn’t you raided a factory. This is a home that you surrounded with guns. I have children I don’t want that here. There was no reason for it to be here.”

Discuss.

38 Comments

Catching up with the federal candidates

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here for some background. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s Senate campaign…

Today, U.S. Senate Candidate Juliana Stratton released a new video, calling on her opponents, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and Congresswoman Robin Kelly to join her in refusing corporate PAC money in the Senate race.

During their time in office, Congressman Krishnamoorthi and Congresswoman Kelly have accepted a combined sum of more than $7 million dollars from corporate special interests. So far, Juliana is the only viable candidate in the race to reject corporate PAC money, a clear differentiator between her and the rest of the field.

The video…

Transcript…

Corporate greed is squeezing Illinois families at every turn, from our health care system to our housing market to the halls of Congress.

Corporations don’t care about the middle class. They don’t care if your family can afford a home, put food on the table, or afford your medication. They only care about their bottom line.

And for too long, DC politicians have let these corporate overlords go unchecked – looking the other way while pocketing money from these same special interests.

Let’s call that system what it is: broken.

My opponents have taken millions of dollars each from corporate PACs. How are Illinoisans supposed to believe that politicians have their best interest at heart when they’re benefiting from this broken system?

It’s time for that to change. I’m not taking a cent of corporate PAC money in this race because I answer to Illinoisans, not special interests.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi and Congresswoman Kelly, I’m challenging you to join me in rejecting corporate PAC money in this Senate race.

Let’s put Illinoisans above corporate interest.

* SEIU is backing Anthony Driver Jr., the SEIU Illinois State Council director, in his campaign for the 7th Congressional District. Sun-Times…

Anthony Driver Jr., a community organizer and head of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, has garnered the support of a powerful union in the 7th Congressional District race, his campaign announced Saturday.

The Illinois branch of the Service Employees International Union endorsed Driver in his run for the 7th Congressional District seat. The district encompasses Chicago’s West Side, and stretches from west suburban Hillside into the Loop and down to the South Side. SEIU Illinois represents more than 150,000 janitors, healthcare, childcare and other public employees.

Driver is currently the executive director of the SEIU Illinois State Council.

* Austin Weekly News…

An Oak Park resident who owns his own law firm, Richard Boykin announced his candidacy [for the seventh Congressional District seat] on Sept. 6, hoping to take over the position of the man whose congressional career he helped launch. 

Boykin was Davis’ chief of staff from 1997 to 2006, starting when Davis was first elected to the position. Boykin was responsible for 22 staff in Chicago and Washington D.C. and served as Davis’ liaison to federal and local officials. 

“All of his legislative activities and successes for the first 10 years, I helped lay a foundation for his 30-year career in Congress,” Boykin said. […]

He also worked for Carol Moseley Braun — the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate and the first female U.S. senator from Illinois — and Bobby Rush, a congressman from 1993 to 2023 who co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. Boykin has worked with members and staff of the Congressional Black Caucus on multiple issues.

* Evanston Now…

Chicago community organizer Miracle Jenkins, one of nearly 20 candidates vying to replace Rep. Jan Schakowsky in Congress next year, suspended his campaign Sunday evening, announcing he’s endorsing Bushra Amiwala of Skokie in the 9th Congressional District Democratic primary.

Jenkins, who helped lead Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in Illinois, is the first candidate to back out of the crowded primary, netting Amiwala a key endorsement ahead of November’s deadline to gain ballot access. He launched his campaign in mid June, when just a handful of candidates had joined the race. He previously served as a community organizer for Schakowsky after graduating from Evanston Township High School.

Amiwala, a member of the Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education, announced the endorsement Sunday evening, just days after she joined two other high-profile candidates, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and content creator Kat Abughazaleh, in Broadview for a protest against the federal immigration processing facility Friday, which led to agents tear gassing the candidates along with dozens of other demonstrators.

“Jenkins ran a laudable campaign that challenged the status quo of gross economic inequality in our district,” Amiwala said in a news release Sunday night, writing she was “honored to accept his endorsement.”

* More…

* WJHL | Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly Endorses Neil Khot for U.S. Congress at Campaign Office Grand Opening: At the grand opening of Neil Khot’s new campaign office in Schaumburg on September 14, Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly announced his endorsement of Neil Khot, Democratic candidate for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District. […] Neil Khot expressed gratitude for the Mayor’s support: “I’m honored to have Mayor Dailly’s trust and endorsement. Schaumburg is a cornerstone of this district, and I’m committed to fighting for working families, protecting Medicare and Social Security, and ensuring government works for the people — not just the political elite.”

* WGLT | U.S. Army veteran wants to continue oath of service in 16th Congressional District: Despite the 16th Congressional District having no Democratic candidates in the 2024 general election, there is no shortage of candidates clamoring for the nomination in the 2026 midterms. Brendyn Morgan of Chicago is a U.S. Army veteran and one of three Democratic candidates running in the district. […] “I took an oath to this country … I’m still young, like I said I just turned 30, and in my eyes that oath, I’m not finished serving it,” he said. “Right now, I see people living in poverty, I see people living in distress and I see, quite frankly, a lot of inaction from Congress, specifically in Illinois’ 16th district with our current representative Darin LaHood.”

* Journal Courier | Bowlby announces run for Mary Miller’s congressional seat: Judy Bowlby of Riverton held a news conference Thursday to announce her intent to seek the Republican nomination for Illinois’ 15th Congressional District. She made the announcement in the House of Representatives chamber at Springfield’s Old State Capitol State Historical Site. Bowlby is the fifth person to declare a run for Miller’s seat and the first person to challenge her as a Republican. Bowlby invoked Abraham Lincoln’s “A House Divided” speech, which he delivered in the Old State Capitol, to explain why she is running for office. She described the state of the nation as divided against itself, decrying the “absence of cooperation” between government officials and saying most people are “stuck in the middle” between far-right and far-left stances, not identifying with either the Democratic or Republican parties.

* Patch | ‘These Workers Do Their Jobs, But Dist. 130, You Need To Clean Up Your Act Today.”: State Sen. Willie Preston (18th District), who is running for an open seat in the Illinois 2nd Congressional District, said he started his career as a union janitor. “So I know what it feels like to go to work, work hard and have no respect at the end of the day,” Preston said. “Let me be clear to Dist.130. These workers do their jobs, but you need to clean up your act today.”

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News coverage roundup: Former Gov. Jim Edgar remembered for integrity and bipartisanship

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* CBS Chicago…

Calling his impact on the state of Illinois “incalculable,” hundreds came to Springfield in Saturday to say their final farewells to former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar.

The funeral service was held at Central Baptist Church in Springfield.

In a world of deep partisanship, Edgar was lauded by his fellow Republicans and also by Democrats as a leader with great integrity.

“I’ve been around politics for 35 years,” former U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood said at the funeral. “Jim Edgar is the gold standard for public service, for honesty, and for integrity.”

Click here to watch the full memorial service.

* The Tribune…

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who consulted Edgar for advice, said the former governor’s “values and judgment and service have been a model to follow” and called the former governor “an icon of Illinois.”

“Jim Edgar believed deeply in our individual and our collective responsibility to one another — that regardless of where we live, what we look like or who we voted for, our foremost obligation is to serve one another. That is how he governed,” Pritzker said.

“As governor, Jim was a steady hand and a comforting, calming presence for our state. Through times of crisis, he could walk into a room of people he disagreed with, hold on to his strong views and still listen and learn with a full heart. All of these characteristics, so inherently Illinois, made Jim a force for unity, with a unique ability to bring people together despite their differences. These are lessons that I think all of us could use right now,” he said.

Pritzker added that “earnestness, honesty, unwavering loyalty to the people he served have made Jim Edgar an icon of the great state of Illinois, no matter what party we belong to. His impact is incalculable, and it changed our state for the better.”

Rev. Dr. Kent Lolling of Laurel United Methodist Church, who officiated the memorial ceremony, said Edgar had specifically requested Pritzker offer remarks at his funeral because “he believed it was important to show that bipartisanship still matters, that it still lives in Illinois and in America.”

* WBEZ…

Edgar was known for his willingness to work across the aisle. Edgar, a moderate Republican, supported abortion access while also being a fiscal conservative. Last year, he endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in her bid for president over Donald Trump.

Felicia Norwood said Edgar never asked her what political party she belonged to. She was brought on as his senior policy adviser at the start of his first gubernatorial term in 1991. Norwood called him “demanding, but very fair.”

“He asked me whether I had a passion for service,” Norwood said. “We worked together for long hours, tackling some of the state’s biggest challenges as a team. We challenged each other.” […]

Several political luminaries attended the Saturday service, including former Gov. Pat Quinn, and Jayne Thompson, the widow of former Gov. Jim Thompson. Also attending were Rep. Nikki Budzinski, a Springfield Democrat, as well as Democratic and Republican leaders from the state Legislature.

* WQAD…

As Illinois mourns the passing of former Gov. Jim Edgar, the program he founded more than a decade ago continues to carry his vision of leadership.

Edgar launched the Edgar Fellows Program in 2012 at the University of Illinois, aiming to strengthen public service through ethics, civility and bipartisan cooperation. Executive Director Janet Mathis said the program was born after Edgar was asked to create a course on government ethics. Instead, he pushed for something broader: a focus on leadership. […]

To date, more than 500 Illinois leaders have completed the program. Alumni include U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood and Nikki Budzinski, along with State Sen. Mike Halpin and Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie. […]

Mathis said Edgar remained closely involved in the program until his final months, often spending the first day of the leadership institute sharing his lessons on compromise and honesty in government. She said the program will continue as a living tribute to his leadership style.

…Adding… Gov. Edgar’s hearse was outfitted with 1996 governor’s plates…

* More…

Capitol City Now | A bipartisan showing at Former Gov. Jim Edgar’s funeral, just the way he would have wanted:

* NYT | Jim Edgar, 79, Popular Moderate Republican Governor of Illinois, Dies: Perhaps Mr. Edgar’s greatest accomplishment was grappling with a budget deficit of almost $1 billion, the largest in the state’s history, which he inherited on assuming office in 1991. Saying the state’s finances couldn’t tolerate a repeal of a temporary income tax increase, he instead made it permanent. Angering Democrats, he called for cuts in social spending and in the state work force, among other budget-trimming moves, in an effort to preserve funding for education. The speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Mike Madigan, a Democrat, wasn’t having it. Mr. Edgar eventually won over Mr. Madigan. “By the end of the session, when we were in overtime, about every day he’d be down in my office, and we’d have lunch together,” Mr. Edgar recalled to Illinois Public Media in 2015. “We knew we were going to have to compromise.”

* ABC Chicago | Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar laid to rest following funeral services: His son and daughter spoke at the service, quoting the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Edgar’s son said that “in true Jim Edgar style” they were giving him the last word, and a video played in which the former governor reflected on his life, saying he had “a good run.”

* NBC Chicago | Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar laid to rest Saturday: “It is with heavy hearts we share the news that our beloved husband, father and grandfather Jim Edgar passed away this morning in Springfield from complications related to treatment for pancreatic cancer,” a family statement read Sunday. “We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months.”

* Alton Telegraph | Remembering Jim Edgar’s Alton bookstore visits after his death at 79: “On Dec. 23,” the letter began, “my book shop, The Second Reading, hosted a most distinguished patron, Gov. Jim Edgar. A private helicopter landed the governor in Riverfront Park, where a waiting car brought him to my place. As though a visit from our state’s chief executive wasn’t extraordinary enough, Edgar even purchased some books, including a collector’s quality first edition about the 1916 Irish Easter Sunday Uprising.” After so many years, I don’t recall if “Easter Sunday” is my fault or that of the editor. The 1916 Irish uprising occurred on Easter Monday — the day following Easter. This event heralded the beginning of Ireland’s struggle for independence from Great Britain. “I might add,” my letter continued, “that, a bit later, he also visited Books and Co., where, I have been informed, he purchased yet more books.”

* SJ-R | With a clear-eyed approach, Edgar had a governance style ‘you just don’t see anymore’: Longtime State Journal-Register political writer and columnist Bernard Schoenburg recalled spending a day with Gov. Jim Edgar during his 1994 campaign. As they were flying from Chicago to southern Illinois, Schoenburg recalled that Edgar was pointing to different counties, breaking down the percentages of Democrats and Republicans in each and ticking off who the county chairpersons were.

* Tribune | Photos: Former Gov. Jim Edgar funeral service held after lying in state

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What Illinois Can Learn From Texas On Battery Energy Storage

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

As Illinois confronts skyrocketing electric bills, legislators are on the hunt for solutions that provide relief as quickly as possible. Battery energy storage is our best and most cost-effective solution.

But last session— without evidence —opponents attempted to claim that battery energy storage wouldn’t work. Try telling that to Texas, where the rapid deployment of battery storage has already prevented blackouts and saved consumers billions.

Called “Ground Zero for the US Battery Boom” by Bloomberg, Texas added enough storage in 2023 to power 3 million homes and drop grid emergency risk during peak hours from 16% to less than 1%. The result? Storage saved consumers an estimated $750 million in 2024.

Texas has proven that storage is the quickest, cheapest, most reliable way to get consumers relief from skyrocketing, demand-induced price spikes. Storage is a nimble way to address growing populations, power-hungry data centers, and meet other electrification-related power needs. These are benefits Texas saw from storage even as the state reduced its gas generation capacity by 166 MW last year.

Illinois lawmakers should follow Texas’s lead and pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Act this fall to deploy 6GW of energy storage by 2035. Click here for more information.

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Edgar knew how to win races in Illinois and worked hard to keep his legacy of ‘civility, compromise and compassion’ alive

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

Jim Edgar ran a brilliant campaign for governor in 1990. He set the template for every winning statewide race since then by focusing on the importance of independent suburban women.

The Republican Edgar defeated a Catholic Democrat — Neil Hartigan — in that race, with a boost from the National Abortion Rights Action League’s endorsement. That endorsement most definitely helped him with suburban women, who were just starting to lean Democratic.

Every successful high-profile statewide candidate since then has focused on winning the votes of suburban women. No major statewide candidate has won without them. Edgar broke the code. And 35 years later, his approach still works.

Edgar also realized property taxes were a much more important issue than the income tax in the suburbs and everywhere else. Hartigan campaigned on a pledge to repeal a temporary state income tax surcharge for education and local government. Edgar said he’d keep the surcharge in place and tackle property tax increases instead, understanding those property taxes were more important to voters than a half point on the income tax.

The Illinois Education Association, which represented (and still does) lots of suburban and Downstate teachers, endorsed him over the Democrat Hartigan. After he was elected, Edgar forced an overtime session that eventually produced a cap on suburban property tax increases.

Statehouse denizens often referred to Edgar as “Governor No” back in the day.

Edgar had succeeded Gov. Jim Thompson, who tried for 14 years to be everything to everyone. Edgar inherited a ballooning budget deficit and after he was elected insisted the state had to live within its means.

That insistence meant repeated clashes with lefty activists, many of whom loudly pounded on the Illinois House doors in protest during an Edgar budget address announcing his proposed Medicaid cuts. At the time, Medicaid costs were rising far faster than state revenues, and Edgar insisted something had to be done.

“Governor No” was often better at blocking things than passing things, as evidenced by his eventual abandonment of an election-year push in 1994 for an assault weapons ban.

But he remained popular among the electorate, and he hammered his ’94 Democratic opponent Dawn Clark Netsch’s campaign pledge to increase income taxes to reduce property taxes, cruising to a 30-point victory.

Edgar had actually favored a tax swap plan since the 1970s, and he introduced his own variation on the Netsch plan after he was reelected.

But because of the 1994 national Republican landslide and a Republican-drawn legislative map, the Republicans held the majority in both legislative chambers, and his proposal went down in flames. (He said at the time he had polling that showed his plan was popular, but when I pressed him for his numbers, he said I made more money than he did so I should do my own poll.)

He put the state on a path to pay down its pension debt, agreeing to a plan that didn’t kick in with higher payments until long after he would be gone from office.

But Edgar realized that something was better than nothing, and even though the plan was flawed and the state is still struggling all these years later to pay down its pension debt, Illinois has mostly remained on track.

Edgar increased K-12 education and higher education funding; implemented an “instant” background check on gun buyers; and left the state with a $1.2 billion budget surplus (almost $3 billion in today’s dollars). That surplus was almost immediately spent when his successor George Ryan took office and was eventually restored under the current governor.

Since leaving office, Edgar has focused on promoting bipartisanship and leadership building with his tremendously successful Edgar Fellows program, which trains new politicians (mainly legislators) to govern and work with others.

Edgar spoke out frequently against the rightward drift of his beloved Republican Party, eventually parting ways with the GOP because of Donald Trump. In a speech last May, he also stressed what he called “the three C’s.”

“Civility, compromise and perhaps most important, particularly today, is compassion.”

By then, Edgar had acknowledged he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “I look forward to seeing you next year,” he told his audience in May, “And I look forward to being seen next year.”

Jim Edgar passed away this month. I think Darren Bailey (yes, Darren Bailey) probably said it best after Edgar’s death was announced: “He was a man of integrity and strong moral character who dedicated his career to public service. His contributions to Illinois will not be forgotten.”

I couldn’t agree more.

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RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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.

Retailers like Shayne in Joliet enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA are showcasing the retailers who make Illinois work.

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Nuclear power, battery storage funding at center of energy policy debate. Capitol News Illinois…

* Related stories…

• CNI: As Illinois energy bill continues to take shape, a key Senate architect plans to retire
• WMBD: Illinois lawmakers reveal their solutions to the energy crisis
• IPM News: Local lawmakers addressed rising energy costs and social service cuts at a joint town hall in Champaign

***************** Advertisement *****************

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If you know of someone who is struggling to pay their energy bill, please encourage them to visit www.AmerenIllinois.com/PathToSavings for information on available financial assistance and energy saving programs.

*************************************************

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Protesters clash with agents at Broadview ICE facility as official denies its closure: In a statement to the Sun-Times on Sunday afternoon, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Broadview facility wouldn’t be closing, but she didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether operations there would be changing in response to the protests. McLaughlin also confirmed 16 protesters in total had been arrested at the Broadview facility this month. A state official told the Sun-Times that Broadview police and Cook County sheriff’s haven’t asked the Illinois State Police for help despite DHS claims to the contrary. Matt Hill, a spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker denied the state has received multiple calls for assistance and said the Trump administration shouldn’t be trusted “given their record of lies, lack of transparency, and failure to coordinate with the state and local law enforcement.”

* Tribune | Brace for impact: Tax hikes loom for South, West side homeowners: Thomas saw a nearly 60% increase in his assessment, but it could have been a lot worse, given what’s happening to many of his neighbors. More than 37,000 residential properties on the South and West sides saw their tax assessments more than double between 2023 and 2024. In parts of Englewood, Roseland and just east of Thomas in North Lawndale, the median homeowner saw their valuation increase between 119% and 160% — far more sharply than anywhere else in the city, according to the Illinois Answers and Tribune analysis.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WJBD | State Representative Blaine Wilhour running for another term: 110th District State Representative Blaine Wilhour will be running for re-election next year. Wilhour made the announcement while participating in the Marion County Republican Party’s petition signing event in Salem Wednesday afternoon.

* Press release | AG Raoul wins court order protecting SNAP recipients’ sensitive information: In a lawsuit brought by Raoul and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general and the state of Kentucky, the District Court for the Northern District of California ordered a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from enforcing its demands that states turn over the personal information of all SNAP applicants and recipients. “I join others in our coalition in applauding the court in this decision, which ensures SNAP recipients can receive the benefits they rely on without the concern of their private personal information being involuntarily shared outside the program,” Raoul said. “SNAP provides access to food for millions of Illinois families while also supporting thousands of local grocers, farmers’ markets, and other merchants who are critical to states’ economies, and I will continue to protect their privacy.”

* Democrat Nick Uniejewski is running against Sen. Sara Feigenholtz in the 6th District. Press release…

Carbondale City Councilmember Clare Killman announced her endorsement of Nick Uniejewski for State Senate in Illinois’ 6th District, citing his record of coalition building, leadership, and bold policy ideas as what Illinois needs right now—especially on housing.

“Nick Uniejewski is already doing the work of a state leader,” said Killman. “He doesn’t just talk policy; he brings people together to make it happen. On housing especially, Nick understands the only way to win real change is through collaboration, and that’s exactly the kind of coalition builder we need in Springfield.”

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | A culture at risk: Chicago’s street vendors quietly disappear from familiar corners during ICE surge: On Sept. 7, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a flower peddler with no known criminal record. Concerned bystanders recorded his arrest and the video went viral. He was deported a few days later. Five days later, images of federal immigration agents arresting two palateros selling popsicles in Mount Prospect circulated on Facebook, garnering hundreds of comments. Many of them said they had bought a popsicle from the vendors a day ago, or that buying from those paleteros had been a long-standing tradition for families in that neighborhood.

* An update on Paul Vallas’s lawsuit alleging a consultant defrauded his failed mayoral bid in Chicago. People’s Fabric…

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools rebuffs Trump administration’s threat to cut magnet school funding over diversity efforts: A letter sent by CPS’ Acting General Counsel Elizabeth K. Barton called the department’s demands outlined in a letter the Trump administration sent Tuesday as “unreasonable and untenable” and requested 30 days to respond. Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary of civil rights in the U.S. Department of Education, said his office found CPS violated anti-discrimination laws and would lose grant dollars through the Magnet School Assistance Program. But Barton wrote back that the district’s “policies and practices are prescribed by state and local law, and CPS remains in compliance with those laws.”

* Crain’s | Inside the UIC medical simulation preparing students for health care realities: Actors behind two-way mirrors voice the patient’s symptoms, complaints and reactions, as students take turns with exams and consulting with colleagues, or with actors playing doctors or nurses in on the consultations. The institute has five bays with mannequins, as well as more available in simulated operating rooms.

* Tribune | ‘This guy was scary’: Ex-Chicago cop, Outfit hitman Steve Mandell dies in prison: While never one of Chicago’s more high-profile mob figures, Mandell, who once went by the name Steven Manning, has a story that’s unique even in the city’s heavily chronicled underworld. Not only was he the first former law enforcement officer to ever be sentenced to Illinois’ Death Row, he later became a celebrated exoneree and won a landmark $6.5 million judgment against the FBI for framing him — only to have the judge reverse the jury’s award.

* Tribune | Fifty years ago, Richard J. Daley sought an early remap of congressional districts – and lost: In 1975, the next scheduled reassessment of Illinois’ congressional districts was still five years away. But Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley didn’t want to wait. The way the mayor saw it, the existing map was harming his beloved Chicago and keeping his political organization from expanding its influence into the suburbs. So he had a friendly state legislator propose a new map, years before the next federal census would normally trigger the process.

* Block Club | Swimmers Return To Chicago River For 1st Time In A Century, Marking Waterway’s Dramatic Transformation: But today, the Chicago River is cleaner than it was decades ago, and Sunday marked the first time an open-water swim has been held in the river since 1926. Organized by nonprofit A Long Swim, the event celebrated the city’s progress toward cleaning the river while raising money for ALS research and youth swim education programs. For Olivia Smoliga, a two-time Olympian from suburban Glenview, the opportunity was too historic to pass up. After finishing her one-mile race in first place, she felt ecstatic to be part of history.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Oath Keepers’ founder convicted as part of Jan. 6 riot to speak to GOP-tied group, creating conflict in Geneva: Rhodes’ event is part of a series of talks, titled “Pints & Politics,” sponsored by the Geneva-based Three Headed Eagle Alliance, a group headed by a member of the Illinois GOP State Central Committee. […] While Rhodes indeed did not enter the U.S. Capitol with the mob of Trump supporters who sought to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, a federal jury convicted the Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate of seditious conspiracy and other crimes for his role in fomenting and preparing for the violence in Washington.

* Daily Herald | Schools, advocates work to reassure parents, students amid growing fears over ICE raids: At West Chicago Elementary District 33, school principals reported buses were running half full on Tuesday, Superintendent Kristina Davis said. “And we had between 15% to 25% absenteeism, which is very much out of the normal for us,” Davis said. “My understanding from the principals was that the primary reason for many was fear of leaving their homes.”

* Daily Southtown | Will County OKs addiction recovery center at horse farm in Crete Township: The program will serve up to 14 men. The foundation intends to keep one single bedroom unoccupied to offer a short-term refuge for anyone who may come to them in crisis, documents indicated. There is no set departure date unlike most recovery programs, but many men are anticipated to stay at the facility and work the farm for anywhere from six to 18 months, attorney Nathaniel Washburn said. The longest a person stayed at a similar recovery facility was 20 months, he said. “Everybody’s recovery journey is different,” he said.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Bloomington and Normal claim McLean County has defaulted on shared sales tax agreement: Now, according to documents WGLT obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the town and city have formally accused the county of defaulting on the decade-old intergovernmental agreement on use of the shared revenue. “Given the historical lack of transparency and critical concerns, which are only exacerbated by recent reports and information now coming to light, the City and Town have exhausted efforts to address these concerns. The Town and City have a strong interest in ensuring the Pledged Revenue is used effectively and appropriately as intended by the IGA and therefore must insist the County cure these defaults without further delay,” wrote Bloomington City Managers Jeff Jurgens and Normal City Manager Pam Reece on Sept. 11 in the notice of default.

* WGLT | Bloomington to consider adding local grocery tax and more gambling licenses: However, Bloomington also has been laboring under a structural deficit, and the city now says such a tax would prevent the loss of $1.5 million in revenue it gets from the state version of the tax. “We know no one likes taxes, and we do not make this recommendation lightly. But maintaining this modest 1% tax allows us to protect services and move forward with investments that strengthen our entire community,” City Manager Jeff Jurgens said in a statement. “Without this revenue, we would be looking at deeper cuts to services and no ability to address major projects.”

* WCIA | Urbana’s Sola Gratia planting roots, growing for the future: More than 80 volunteers planted over 400 fruit and nut trees in Urbana over the weekend. The project took place at Sola Gratia farm on Saturday. Organizers said it was for their edible windbreak project — which they hope will serve multiple different purposes. Sola Gratia plans for the trees to protect crops from the wind, produce food for multiple generations, serve as a wildlife habitat, aid with soil and water conservation, and help to absorb carbon.

* IPM Newsroom | ‘Quite remarkable’: The Farm Aid benefit concert, which started in Champaign, celebrates 40 years: The first show included performances from Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Loretta Lyn and many more. Jennifer Fahy, the current Farm Aid co-executive director, said the three had no idea they were founding a legacy. “Willie was very aware of [the farm crisis] from his background, growing up in agricultural areas of Texas, and also from traveling the country, as he does to this day, even at the age of 92,” Fahy said.

* BND | Southern IL road closes to allow 20-plus snake species to cross: The snakes spend the winter in limestone cliffs that overlook the road, and many of them summer in LaRue Swamp across the road. Some likely go farther, possibly down to a nearby river, Vukovich said, but more research is needed to know exactly how far and where the snakes are traveling.

*** National ***

* NBC | Pentagon places further restrictions on journalists’ access: Journalists who cover the Defense Department at the Pentagon can no longer gather or report information, even if it is unclassified, unless it’s been authorized for release by the government, defense officials announced Friday. Reporters who don’t sign a statement agreeing to the new rules will have their press credentials revoked, officials said.

* AP | Kennedy’s vaccine advisers change COVID shot guidance, calling them an individual choice: In a series of votes Friday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step of not recommending them even for high-risk populations like seniors. Instead they decided people could make individual decisions after talking with a doctor, nurse or pharmacist. The panel also urged the CDC to adopt stronger language around claims of vaccine risks, despite pushback from outside medical groups who said the shots had a proven safety record from the billions of doses administered worldwide.

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Open thread

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

3 Comments

Selected press releases (Live updates)

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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