Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

Ain’t nobody else, can walk it for you

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Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

A federal judge in Chicago on Friday clarified that all immigration-enforcement agents must have body-worn cameras in the field as part of a temporary restraining order over the tear gassing and rough treatment of protesters and media during the Trump administration’s ongoing “Operation Midway Blitz.”

In a hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Friday, U.S. District Judge Sarah Ellis said she was displeased by the lack of response from the government Thursday when she asked them to come up with suggested language to modify her restraining order when it came to body-worn cameras.

“Nothing came in,” Ellis said Friday. “This was not a suggestion, it was not a hint, it wasn’t a topic of conversation. It was an order.”

The move came in the wake of a public statement from the Department of Homeland Security. After Thursday’s hearing, a DHS spokesperson said there was currently no order requiring body cameras, but if a court were to enter such an order, it would be “an extreme act of judicial activism.”

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* Press release…

State Senate candidate Nick Uniejewski today called on incumbent Senator Sara Feigenholtz to return a $5,000 campaign contribution from Sam Sanchez, a well-known restaurant owner who has publicly said he voted for Donald Trump and serves as a leader in the Illinois Restaurant Association—a group that has fiercely opposed efforts to raise wages for low-wage workers.

“We shouldn’t settle for a Democrat who jumps at the biggest check from someone who proudly voted for Trump,” Uniejewski said. “If Senator Feigenholtz truly stands with working people, she should return that money—or better yet, donate it to 19th District Mutual Aid, a grassroots group supporting immigrant families right here on the North Side.”

Uniejewski had just $29K in his campaign account at the end of September.

* Capitol News Illinois…

People in Illinois who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are likely to see big increases in the cost of their premiums next year, but state officials are encouraging them to reach out for help before they decide to drop their coverage.

“We’re really encouraging people, don’t walk away. Come and talk to a navigator,” Illinois Insurance Director Ann Gillespie said in an interview this week. “Make an appointment to talk to a navigator, because there are over 1,100 plans that we’re going to be offering on the marketplace. There might be an option that will be affordable for you.”

Open enrollment for the 2026 plan year begins Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15. This year will be the first year in which Illinois residents will use a state-based online platform, Get Covered Illinois, to shop for their plans.

“Last year, we were a state-based marketplace, but on the federal platform still. It was our transition year,” Gillespie said. “So last year was technically the first year of the state-based marketplace. This year, we’re on our own platform for the first time.”

…Adding… The Will County Executive Office…

Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant has issued an executive order that clarifies how county government will respond to increased federal immigration enforcement actions. The order creates restrictions on the use of county property for immigration enforcement staging areas, establishes guidelines for immigration enforcement actions on county property, and provides guidance on referring residents to legal resources and temporary visas available to crime victims.

“I am deeply concerned about reports I am receiving about federal immigration activity occurring locally and tactics causing fear throughout the community,” said Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant. “The steps we are taking today are aimed at ensuring our residents voices are heard by providing resources and actions that fall under the county jurisdiction. All people should be safe in their neighborhoods and supported in their community.”

The four-part Executive Order, officially titled Executive Order 25-01, includes two directives to Will County offices and departments that set guidelines on federal immigration enforcement actions on county property. This includes prohibiting the use of County-owned properties under the control of the Executive’ Office, including buildings and lots, to serve as staging areas for enforcement operations.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Semafor | Governor JB Pritzker on Chicago, ICE, and the information war with Trump’s White House: This week, Ben and Max bring on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to talk about how he’s navigating a communications crisis and a messaging battle against the Trump White House in the new media landscape. They also talk about how conservative media is shaping the situation on the ground, what he thinks of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s trolling approach to Trump, and whether we should bet on the Chicago Bears.

* The Southern | Mueller launches campaign for Illinois State Senate: Tamiko “T.C.” Mueller is hoping her message of unity, economic growth and working across party lines will help carry her to victory next year as she seeks the open seat in the Illinois State Senate’s 59th District. Mueller formally launched her campaign this week, aiming to return the seat to Democratic control after Gary Forby last held it from 2003 to 2017. She told supporters she’s ready to bring a fresh voice of action and results to Springfield.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | ‘Feeling the pain’: Chicago’s federal court starts reducing operations amid ongoing government shutdown: The ongoing federal government shutdown is starting to have dire consequences at Chicago’s Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where money has run out to pay staff for non-essential duties and jury trials are being canceled amid growing uncertainty. The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, initially affected only civil litigation involving the United States as a party since the court keeps a reserve of funds that allow most operations to continue.

* Block Club | Belmont Cragin Business Owners Beg For Support As ICE Fears Devastate Sales And Closures Loom: The Northwest Side neighborhoods have seen increased immigration arrests and ICE activity in recent weeks under the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration operations — ICE’s Midway Blitz and Border Patrol’s At Large — which started in September. That has stoked fear among would-be customers, with foot traffic and sales dropping, business owners said. “It’s been really difficult. We could close the restaurant if we don’t get more business in the next two months,” said Jesus, the manager of Las Casitas restaurant, 5746 W. Belmont Ave. in Belmont Cragin. Jesus, who has worked for the restaurant since 2020, asked to not have his last name published out of fear federal agents would target him.

* Block Club | Unmarked Officers At Calumet Park Station Aren’t Immigration Agents, Coast Guard Says: The officers are “additional Coast Guard security forces,” not immigration agents, U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson and Lt. Cmdr. Steve Roth told Block Club Thursday. Additional security was deployed in response to “destruction of Coast Guard property at the station and threats made against Coast Guard members,” Roth said.

* Sun-Times | Ex-CBP chief details ‘unreasonable use of force,’ ICE cites ‘brazen’ hostility in dueling lawsuit narratives: A day after President Donald Trump summoned 300 Illinois National Guard troops into federal service, one of his immigration enforcement officials 700 miles away in Illinois sent an email praising the people who turned out to be “the difference maker” in calming local protests. His email didn’t brag about soldiers, border agents or any branch of federal law enforcement. Instead, the official wrote that the Department of Homeland Security “did not have to intervene with any protesters” the weekend of Oct. 4 — after the Illinois State Police showed up outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. “It’s clear that ISP is the difference maker in this scenario, and we are grateful for their leadership,” Peter Sukmanowski, assistant director of ICE’s Chicago field office, wrote. “Hopefully, we can keep it up for the long-haul.”

* Block Club | Chicago Cyclists Are Buying Out Tamale Carts To Keep Vendors Home And Safe From ICE: Cycling x Solidarity, a collective of Chicago cyclists who organize group rides and mutual aid efforts, will host a Street Vendor Bike Tour Saturday with the Street Vendors Association of Chicago. The ride will begin 10 a.m. at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park and wind through Pilsen and Little Village, where the group will buy food from street vendors.

* WBEZ | ‘Incredibly important’ Imagist Roger Brown gave his collection to Chicago. How’d it end up in Wisconsin?: Against this backdrop comes a new exhibition at the Kohler Center that gives audiences a look of Brown’s visual world and what inspired his cartoonish, folksy style and depictions of semi-imaginary architecture and landscapes. The exhibition, located at Kohler’s satellite Art Preserve and running through spring 2026, shows only a fraction of the newly acquired objects but aims to provide visitors with an introductory taste of the artist’s vast collection, which it plans to fully showcase down the road.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | More arrests outside Broadview ICE center as protests continue: Friday’s confrontation was the first in almost a month to take place on Beach Street after federal officials removed what the town called an illegally constructed fence from outside the facility. Protesters began to chant around 8 a.m. Friday in violation of Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson’s recently issued order that protests only occur between 9 a.m. and 6 a.m.

* Block Club | State Police Led Broadview Protesters Into Street And Attacked Them, Demonstrators Say: About 8:15 a.m. Friday, state police told a crowd of about 100 protesters they could go into the street — but then attacked them with billy clubs and arrested several people, activists said. […] In a statement, Illinois State Police said “a number of individuals repeatedly blocked a street” outside the facility and “after providing repeated instructions and opportunities to move to the designated protest areas, 11 individuals were ultimately arrested.”

* MediaITE | Democratic Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh Claims Cop Hit Her With Baton During ICE Protest: Abughazaleh, who is running for Congress in Illinois’s 9th district, was among numerous protesters at the ICE facility in Broadview on Friday morning when Illinois State Police advanced while clutching batons. “Cops led us into the street as the new ‘protest zone’ and then beat us repeatedly,” Abughazaleh said in a social media post. “Got hit in the face with a baton. Leaving to pick up my friends who were arrested.”

* Tribune | Aurora’s proposed 2026 city budget includes funding, staffing cuts: In total, the budget proposed for next year is $163.6 million less than this year’s, city officials told reporters at a meeting on Thursday. That decrease, which sets the overall budget at around $569 million, is mostly because of bonds the city took out this year for big construction projects, according to Mayor John Laesch. Actual cuts to the city’s main operating fund made throughout the budget process totaled around $19 million, or around 7% of the starting budget, city officials’ presentation showed. The proposed 2026 budget still has a difference between revenue and expenses of $2.5 million in its main operating fund, down from the nearly $30 million deficit that officials said the budget had earlier in the process.

* Daily Herald | More cargo, more problems? Why retired suburban police chief is leading fight against heavier trucks: To former Buffalo Grove and Cary Police Chief Steve Casstevens, the formula is obvious: bigger, fuller and heavier trucks equal bigger, more and worse crashes. That’s why the retired law enforcement leader has found a new role helping to lead the fight against proposals before Congress allowing more densely packed semis on federal highways. “There’s never been a study by anyone saying higher weights are safer,” said Casstevens, who also served as president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. “Common sense, engineers and truck drivers will tell you higher weights mean more crashes. Everything tells us it’s a bad idea.”

* Daily Herald | Schaumburg panel endorses more flexibility on when apartments must switch from heat to A/C: Last month his air conditioning was turned off a week before the Sept. 15 requirement for heat to make the transition. During the hot days that recurred for the rest of the month, not only was he without A/C but the heat was actively on. “There’s radiant heat coming from the vent,” Finch said. He shared a general email from the management of The Grove explaining to residents the village’s requirement to maintain a temperature of at least 68 degrees from Sept. 15 to June 1.

*** Downstate ***

* WIFR | Federal courts in northern Illinois reduce operations due to government shutdown: If the shutdown continues after Judiciary funds are exhausted, the courts will then operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows work to continue during a lapse in appropriations if it is necessary to support the exercise of Article III judicial powers. Under this scenario, each court and federal defender’s office would determine the staffing resources necessary to support such work.

* WSIL | Southern Illinois regions receive portion of $2.5M for childhood development: The award, consisting of 43 subcontracts for fiscal year 2026, is funded by the Illinois State Board of Education. Since fiscal year 2023, Birth to Five Illinois has invested a total of $11,875,000. The organization has provided funding to 35 out of 39 regions in Illinois. This demonstrates their commitment to enhancing existing Early Childhood Collaborations and investing in less-funded areas.

* WSIL | New ADA doors enhance accessibility at Alexander County polls: These changes aim to improve accessibility for all residents in the county. Doors are already in place at the Tamms community building. The Olive Branch community building and McClure City Hall are set to have their doors installed next week.

* WCIA | 2025-2026 Wooly Worm Forecast: Judy Fraser is back in the studio with us this season with the 2025-2026 Wooly Worm Forecast. Watch her full forecast above as she talks more about the Wooly Worms, how she forecasts with them and some memories from over the years.

*** National ***

* LA Times | Susan Stamberg, NPR ‘founding mother’ and ‘All Things Considered’ host, dies at 87: Stamberg joined NPR in the early 1970s when it was getting off the ground as a network of radio stations across the country. During her career, she interviewed thousands of people, from prominent politicians and artists to the less well-known like White House chefs and people who work behind the scenes in Hollywood. She explained in an oral history interview with Oregon station KLCC in January that she didn’t have women in broadcast to model herself after when she became the host of “All Things Considered” in 1972.

* AP | US blocks a global fee on shipping emissions as international meeting ends without new regulations: The world’s largest maritime nations had been deliberating on adopting regulations to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels to slash emissions. But U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia and other countries vowed to fight any global tax on shipping emissions. The U.S. had threatened to retaliate if nations support it. Trump urged countries to vote “No” at the International Maritime Organization headquarters in London, posting on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday that “the United States will not stand for this global green new scam tax on shipping.”

* United States Courts | Judiciary Still Operating as Shutdown Starts: If the shutdown continues after Judiciary funds are exhausted, the courts will then operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows work to continue during a lapse in appropriations if it is necessary to support the exercise of Article III judicial powers. Under this scenario, each court and federal defender’s office would determine the staffing resources necessary to support such work.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - News update (Updated)

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Musical interlude: ‘I’ve Been Everywhere in Illinois’

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From comments this morning…

I finished my quest to visit all 102 counties in Illinois. I documented it in song form. It’s on YouTube as I’ve Been Everywhere in Illinois.

* The video…

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Catching up with the federal candidates

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* 8th CD candidate Melissa Bean…

Today, United States Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) endorsed Melissa Bean in the race for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District seat. Duckworth represented IL-08 from 2013-2017 before being elected to the U.S. Senate.

Statement from Senator Tammy Duckworth:

“For 20 years, I’ve been proud to call Melissa Bean a friend – and today, I’m proud to endorse her campaign to represent IL-08 in Congress. Melissa has proven time and again to be a hard working and effective leader who knows how to deliver real results. As a member of Congress, she helped pass the Affordable Care Act, hold Wall Street accountable and support our small businesses – legislation that made a real impact for families across Illinois. The people of Illinois’s 8th District deserve steady, proven leadership in Washington, D.C., and Melissa is the best person for the job.”

Statement from Melissa Bean:

“Senator Tammy Duckworth is one of Illinois’ fiercest advocates and most trusted leaders who has devoted her career to defending American families and values – first in the Illinois Army National Guard, then in Congress, and now in the United States Senate. I’m so grateful for her continued friendship and support, and I couldn’t be more thankful to have her in my corner as I fight to protect our legacy of progress for the families of IL-08.”

Today’s endorsement is another sign of the campaign’s building momentum, following an early endorsement from Congressman Bill Foster and a strong first fundraising quarter. Polling shows that Bean has an edge over her opponents in a competitive primary, and that when voters are reminded of her record, her lead continues to expand.

Click here for more on that poll. Melissa Bean reported a $540K fundraising haul for Q3, but 299K was self funded.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Since early July, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has been a familiar face on Illinois television screens, with the Schaumburg Democrat telling the state’s voters in a set of biographical ads to “just call me Raja” as he campaigns for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat.

Krishnamoorthi’s campaign spent an average of more than $450,000 per week on television ads between July and September to maintain that constant presence, according to his quarterly campaign finance report, filed earlier this week.

By contrast, Krishnamoorthi’s two main rivals in the Democratic primary, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, have yet to spend a dime on television advertising. And the pair were once again significantly outraised by Krishnamoorthi, whose massive campaign war chest is six times larger than both of theirs combined and has helped him secure frontrunner status in the race […]

This structural disadvantage continued last quarter, with Stratton raising $1 million and having $919,774 on hand at the end of September — an amount that would cover only two weeks of Krishnamoorthi’s ad campaign.

More from the Tribune…

Stratton spent $747,314, largely on fundraising, consultants and staff, and she had $919,774 in her campaign fund to start this month.

Kelly spent $500,795, leaving her with $1.98 million in cash available to begin October.

Steve Botsford, who made an unsuccessful bid for the Chicago City Council in 2023, announced his U.S. Senate candidacy on Thursday after filing a campaign finance report showing he had given himself $101,791.

On the Republican side, former GOP state Chair Don Tracy of Springfield reported having just over $2 million in cash on hand, largely his own money.

* Evanston RoundTable…

Supporters, political action committees and candidates themselves put another $4.7 million into the crowded race for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District seat over the last three months, according to new disclosure reports, leaving two neck-and-neck front-runners and a pack of others seeking to close the cash gap as candidates work to qualify for the March primary ballot in a few weeks. […]

Abughazaleh and Biss maintain lead: Taking up the front in both fundraising and overall war chests are Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and content creator Kat Abughazaleh, who virtually tied in both measures over the third quarter. Biss recorded raising $620,809.19 against Abughazaleh’s $620,152.83, while Abughazaleh had $1,012,275.28 available at the quarter’s end against Biss’ $1,010,267.72. These two are the only candidates to reach the seven-figure mark, setting them financially apart the rest of the field, though a few candidates aren’t far behind.

Self-funding boosts: Technically, neither Biss nor Abughazaleh actually received the most funding this quarter — that honor instead goes to former FBI agent Phil Andrew, who logged $726,034.73 after jumping into the race at the start of the quarter. However, Andrew boosted his total by loaning his campaign $200,000 of his own money on Sept. 30, the final day of the reporting period. Joining him in ponying up personal funds are economist Jeff Cohen, who gave himself $200,000, Army veteran Sam Polan, who gave himself $275,000, and 50th Ward Democratic Committeeman Bruce Leon, who pitched in another $190,000 on top of the $610,000 he’d already given himself at the end of June.

* Evanston Now…

Over 270 donors, many of whom have backed dozens of Republican politicians and the nation’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group, donated over $319,000 to State Sen. Laura Fine’s [9th CD] campaign since May, campaign records show. […]

One donor, a physician from Fort Myers, Florida, donated $500 to Fine’s campaign on Sept. 18, just three days after a fundraising email from AIPAC calling her opponents, Kat Abughazaleh and Daniel Biss “dangerous detractors” from AIPAC’s mission. The donor had previously donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republicans, including over $20,000 to two of Donald Trump’s largest super PACs in 2024.

Of the over 740 individual donations Fine received since launching her campaign, over 270 came from donors with strong links to AIPAC, which has often been criticized for targeting critics of the Jewish state, previously supported candidates directly through AIPAC, Evanston Now’s analysis of hundreds of records shows. […]

Among the list are groups like the Republican Jewish Coalition PAC and, in over a dozen instances, controversial figures like Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), who introduced a bill in Congress that would allow Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke U.S. passports of citizens critical of Israel.

Many of the donors had supported Democratic candidates, too, sometimes donating to both Republicans and Democrats at the same time, so long as the candidates were pro-Israel. Some of the Democratic candidates include Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan, who’s now running for U.S. Senate, Rep. Wesley Bell in Missouri and dozens supporting Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, also running for Senate in 2026.

As of Sept. 30, Fine had raised over $660,000 in total, with over 90% being from large-dollar donors ($200 or more).

* Playbook…

U.S. Senate race: Steve Botsford is joining the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, vowing “to make life more affordable for working families and to build a future worthy of America,” according to his launch statement.

In IL-02: State Sen. Robert Peters has been endorsed by Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (IL-03) and Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller is out with a list of endorsements, including from suburban mayors. The full list is here.

* US Rep. Bill Foster…

Today, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) announced that he will once again donate his Congressional pay earned during the government shutdown to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Foster also donated his paycheck to the food bank during previous Republican Shutdowns in 2013 and 2019.

“It is unacceptable that federal employees are going without a paycheck, health insurance costs are skyrocketing, and families are seeing SNAP benefits threatened, while House Republicans stay out on vacation and refuse to come back to Washington and negotiate a bipartisan funding bill,” said Foster. “Republicans control the House, Senate, and the White House, and they remain totally committed to cutting health care and children’s food assistance to preserve tax cuts for their billionaire donors. Until they do their job and work with Democrats to protect vulnerable families and reopen the government, I will be donating my Congressional pay to the Northern Illinois Food Bank.”

* More…

The Telegraph | Seven questions with Senate candidate Robin Kelly:

* Daily Herald | Two newcomers in 6th Congressional District race: Two political newcomers are running for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District seat, a post now held by Democrat Sean Casten of Downers Grove. Chicagoan Joseph “Joey” Ruzevich has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission indicating he’ll challenge Casten in the Democratic primary. Additionally, Shorewood resident Skylar Duensing is seeking the Republican nomination.

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Critical 340B Program Needs Federal Reforms

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A federal program created in 1992 to support safety-net clinics with the care they provided to uninsured patients is being abused by for-profit pharmacies and large hospital systems. The 340B program has become a cash cow with profits flowing away from the very patients and communities the program was meant to help.

Reform at the federal level is critical to ensure that the 340B program works as it was intended by providing necessary funds to safety-net clinics that serve some of the neediest patient populations in Illinois and across the country. Multiple investigations have found that the program has created perverse incentives for hospitals to prescribe more and higher-cost medicines, as well as buy up smaller independent clinics and practices to benefit from their prescriptions as well. Meanwhile for-profit pharmacies are making millions of dollars off hospitals, with no requirements to provide low-cost medicines to patients.

Sisters Working It Out supports reforms that increase transparency and improve oversight to help return 340B to its original purpose of helping low-income patients and the safety-net clinics they rely on. Congress must act to reform this critical federal program.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign news

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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It’s Time To Bring Safer Rides To Illinois

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Waymo is ready to bring safe, reliable, autonomous rides to Illinois – but we need your help!

Waymo is designed to follow all traffic laws and obey speed limits, and the data shows Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are involved in five times fewer injury-causing collisions compared to humans (as of 6/2025, see waymo.com/safety). Let’s bring safer rides to Illinois.

Waymo’s autonomous vehicles can improve access to transportation for Illinois residents with travel-limiting disabilities like vision impairment, to reach medical care, groceries, and social activities. Waymo’s all-electric autonomous vehicles also provide a more sustainable way for people to get around, preventing 315+ tons of carbon emissions with every 250K trips provided through our ride-hailing service.

Ready to ride? Help bring Waymo to Illinois.

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Republican state legislator: ‘I don’t trust billionaires’

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) was asked yesterday about Gov. JB Pritzker winning $1.4 million playing Black Jack in Vegas last year…

I have a problem with billionaires. I’m going to admit that I don’t know if I need my hand on Bible or what. I don’t trust billionaires. I don’t trust them because they’ve never had to make payroll with $0 in the bank. I don’t trust [billionaires] because of how they take care of their money like this. It was a $1.4 million win, wasn’t that approximately the number?

Billionaires are out of touch with reality, and we see that with how the governor has treated our most needy and vulnerable. We look at Meals on Wheels. We look at adults with disabilities in the long term care facilities. And we look at how we have continued to fund excess programs, violence interruption grants, health care for illegal immigrants. He has no basis in reality for what a dollar means the working people the state of Illinois.

My mom waited tables to keep a roof over my head after her and my father got divorced. I remember the mortgage company calling because at the time $323 was just too much for us to be able to meet. There were more days than dollars. We had the power shut off when I was a kid.

Until you’ve got a sense of reality of what a dollar means, you can’t judge accurately what needs to happen with the tax regiment. And I think the perfect example of that leader Davidsmeyer talked about, the increasing revenues that we’ve had over time since the governor took office, 40% additional they have continued year in and year out along the way to continue to raise taxes and fees each and every year, there’s an enhancement each and every year. How can that be? How? Yes, I understand things go up over time.

But the disconnect with reality, the disconnect for not knowing what a zero balance means in a checking account. I don’t trust billionaires. I don’t trust this governor. I didn’t trust the last governor. I’ve met a few billionaires in passing just because they happen to come down and lobby from time to time. I don’t trust them at all, because they’ve never had to be responsible. What they say goes in all of their experience up to this point in time.

So $1.4 million dollars in winnings, that is so absolutely disconnected. And I think if I do the math right in my head, that probably represents what a 35 year old, making $45,000 a year, would make from 35 to 65 years old, and he won it sitting there. Tell me how that relates to the common man.

Rep. Keicher did not mention the names of any other billionaire politicians.

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Keep ROFR And Anti-Competitive Language Out Of The Energy Bill

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Voters and the Governor already rejected lawmakers’ push for anti-competitive “Right of First Refusal” (ROFR) bills that handed transmission contracts to incumbent utilities.

Now, the same principles that would raise costs on ratepayers are back. They are trying to rebrand ROFR and pretend it’s about protecting Illinois.

As energy legislation is finalized in Springfield this month, let’s keep ROFR and anti-competitive language out of bill.

Let’s remember Illinois voters:

The message is clear: voters want more competition, not less.

Voters’ concerns about higher energy prices are only on the rise. Since this poll, they’ve endured a sizzling summer with skyrocketing prices, and a new report says the cost of heating a home this winter is expected to jump nearly 8%.

Voters have made their voice clear: Say no to energy inflation. Don’t hand more power and control to ComEd and Ameren. Say no to ending cost-cutting competition. And say yes to policies that provide lower cost to consumers.

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Chief US Border Patrol Agent: Pritzker has ‘more in common’ with ‘terrorist drug cartels than he does with American citizens’

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The latest outrage of the day started with a federal government press release…

In Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Illinois, Illegal Alien Is Working as a Sworn Police Office with Badge, Gun, and a Pension

Release Date: October 16, 2025

It is a felony for an illegal alien to possess a firearm

WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announced the arrest of Radule Bojovic, an illegal alien from Montenegro, who was working as a sworn police officer with the Hanover Park Police Department in sanctuary state Illinois. Radule Bojovic was encountered during a targeted enforcement action as part of Operation Midway Blitz.

Hanover Park Police Department records confirm, Radule Bojovic was approved by the Pension Fund Board of Trustees in January 2025 and was eligible to receive a starting salary of $78,955.70. Additional records indicate his 2025 earnings cost taxpayers $205,707 including $9,276 for FICA/Medicare taxes.

“Governor J.B. Pritzker doesn’t just allow violent illegal aliens to terrorize Illinois’s communities, he allows illegal aliens to work as sworn police officers. Radule Bojovic violated our nation’s laws and was living ILLEGALLY in the United States for 10 years—what kind of police department gives criminal illegal aliens badges and guns? It’s a felony for aliens to even possess a firearm. A so-called law enforcement officer who is actively breaking the law,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem ICE is restoring law and order. Criminal illegal aliens have NO PLACE in our communities, especially on our police forces.”

* Except, Bojovic was apparently cleared by an FBI background check and the village said its officials were informed by the feds that he had legal authorization to be in the country…

“Before hiring Officer Bojovic, the Village confirmed that he was legally authorized by the federal government to work in the United States,” the village’s statement read. At the time of his hire, Bojovic provided a valid and recently renewed work authorization card, which was issued by Citizenship and Immigration Services, the village stated, noting that it also conducted a full background check into Bojovic’s criminal history with both the Illinois State Police and the FBI.

“Clearly, without that authorization, the Village would not have hired him,” the village stated. “Additionally, the Village has not received any notice from any federal or state agency that his work authorization status had even been revoked.” […]

“(The Village) also confirmed, based on a memorandum issued by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on January, 5, 2024, that (Bojovic’s) immigration status allows him to carry a firearm while on duty.”

As he was being taken away, Bojovic told a right-wing influencer embedded with federal police that he did not have a FOID card. Police in Illinois are not required to have a FOID card for on-duty responsibilities. They cannot possess firearms when not on duty, however.

The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board cleared Bojovic in August for police duty, but ILETSB’s backgroud investigation is only limited to conduct and criminality. “We are not the employing agency,” a board official said. “Under federal law, it’s the employer’s obligation to ensure citizenship or that the person they’re employing is here legally,” which the village claims to have done.

* Despite the reported facts, Fox News is all-in on the hype…

Sandra Smith: Wow. It is actually hard to believe what we’re reporting here. I mean, in JB Pritzker’s Illinois, an illegal alien is working as a sworn-in police officer with a badge with a gun and a pension. Your reaction?

Chief Border Patrol Agent Greg Bovino: Well, Sandra and John, it’s good to be with you again, thanks for having me. It’s unbelievable that the state of Illinois and Governor JB Pritzker would hand an illegal alien a weapon. Title 18, USC, ocde 922, says it’s a felony for an illegal alien to possess or own a firearm. But yet, here we have an illegal alien with a firearm in the state of Illinois, as per JB Pritzker and those leaders. It’s absolutely amazing what’s going on here in Illinois. We do have a crime problem here. This is yet another example of the out of control crime problem, this time perpetrated by the state in Illinois.

Sandra Smith: This is JB Pritzker, however, this is earlier today, Greg claiming that it’s President Trump’s actions that are bad, that they echo authoritarianism as he is deploying his policies.

JB Pritzker video clip: Trump is looking to cause mayhem and lay the foundation for actions far more craven. We cannot accept any of this as normal, and we cannot remain silent. We must continue to call this what it is, a dangerous power grab that echoes the rise of authoritarianism and authoritarian regimes throughout world history.

Smith: I thought he woke up and he was actually talking about this illegal alien from Montenegro who was sworn as a police officer. But no, he’s talking about President Donald Trump. Greg?

Bovino: Sandra, at this point, I think JB Pritzker has more in common with drug cartels, terrorist drug cartels than he does with American citizens. He calls us terrorists, thugs all the while there’s $50,000 bounties on the heads of American law enforcement. And he takes this approach. You know, I think he’s got more in common again, with terrorist cartels than he does his own citizens.

Doubt has been cast on that bounty claim. And the feds have not yet mentioned these alleged threats in their court filings over federalizing the National Guard here.

32 Comments

Vote YES On HB 2371 SA 2 To Protect The 340B Program And Invest In Low-Income Chicago Communities

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Sinai Chicago serves an area including 1.5 million people on Chicago’s West and Southwest sides, where poverty rates range from 30%-50%. As the state’s largest private safety net provider, Sinai considers the federal 340B program a “safety net in and of itself.” With 340B savings, the health system has provided patients with free or deeply discounted medications, and it has invested in specialty clinics and medication management services.

Yet, drugmaker restrictions on hospitals have reduced Sinai Chicago’s ability to expand access to care and offer new healthcare services—counter to the 340B program’s intent. The program requires drugmakers participating in Medicaid to discount outpatient medications to healthcare providers caring for uninsured and low-income patients. One glaring drugmaker restriction is limiting where patients can get discounted drugs. In some instances, hospitals are only allowed to contract with one pharmacy for an entire community.

“Such a policy does not ensure access to essential drugs for a patient population like the one Sinai serves,” the health system said. “The threat and fear of 340B program reductions can prevent planned extensions of care and new programs in clinical areas greatly needed in our community that would not otherwise have access to care.”

Support House Bill 2371 SA 2 to stop drugmakers from restricting the 340B program and patient access to care. Learn more.

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: SNAP benefits slated to be cut off on November 1. WSIU…

* Related stories…

• SJ-R: Illinoisans could stop receiving SNAP benefits in November
• USA Today: SNAP benefits face ‘insufficient funds’ in November if shutdown continues, USDA warns
• NPR: At least 27 states turned over sensitive data about food stamp recipients to USDA

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

Sponsored by Ameren Illinois

The summer of 2025 has been a tough one for residents and businesses in the Ameren Illinois service territory. Supply constraints, extreme hot and humid conditions, and increased energy usage have led to a significant spike in electricity prices and higher-than-normal monthly bills for residential, commercial and industrial energy users. We appreciate and thank legislators, regulators and stakeholders who are working hard to address the energy challenge in Illinois. Energy policy is complex, and we’re encouraged that there are some creative ideas being proposed and a willingness to work together to find answers.

While Ameren Illinois cannot control the price or availability of energy, we can ensure that the system that delivers energy to homes and businesses — electric poles, wires, and technology; and natural gas distribution pipelines and storage fields — is equipped to operate at peak performance to withstand severe weather events, facilitate business expansions that grow local communities, and enable the transition to renewable generation.

We have an opportunity to build an energy system that is smarter, cleaner, reliable, resilient, and affordable for Illinois families and businesses. As discussions on short- and long-term legislative solutions occur this fall, we will continue to advocate for our 1.2 million customers.

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.

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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* STLPR | Judges recommend state regulators cut Ameren Illinois’ rate hike request by $44M: The final decision will be left to the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is expected to make a ruling by Dec. 1 in the case. However, consumer advocates are celebrating the judge’s recommendation and hoping the commission cuts the request even further. “For the sake of Ameren’s customers, who have suffered through one gas rate hike after another, we urge the Illinois Commerce Commission to go far beyond the proposed order — and slash Ameren’s money grab,” said Jim Chilsen with the Citizens Utility Board on a call with reporters on Thursday.

* Tribune | ‘Political opposition is not rebellion’: Chicago appeals court leaves judge’s order barring National Guard deployment intact: In its 18-page ruling, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the findings by U.S. District Judge April Perry were not “clearly erroneous” and that “the facts do not justify” President Donald Trump’s actions in Illinois. The three-judge appellate panel unanimously agreed with Perry that even giving the president “great deference” when it comes to his power to call up the military, there was no evidence that he needed troops to help enforce immigration law or quell any kind of organized rebellion.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Illinois releases draft numeracy plan to improve math education: The first draft of the “Comprehensive Numeracy Plan,” unveiled during an Illinois State Board of Education meeting Wednesday, comes as Illinois students’ math scores continue to lag behind where they were five years ago before COVID-19 shuttered schools and disrupted learning. The draft plan outlines evidence-based practices for improving numeracy and the intent is to give districts resources to plan strategically, but schools are not mandated to follow it.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Subscribers know more. Crain’s | Illinois lawmakers weigh hospital protections as ICE enforcement intensifies: It is unclear what steps a hospital or health care facility can take if Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents arrive with the intention of arresting or detaining a patient, although providers are already blocked from providing patient information to agents by federal HIPAA regulations. A proposed bill being discussed in Springfield this week could provide some protection and policy direction to hospitals if ICE shows up, state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, told Crain’s.

* WJOL | Legislators pass weight exemption for ‘greener’ vehicles: State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, defended House Bill 2394 on the Senate floor Wednesday. “We’re trying to balance infrastructure transportation with trying to use alternative methods that can lower carbon emissions. This is one way that one of the manufacturing businesses in my district has decided to help and have a greener footprint, so that’s what we’re doing,” Loughran Cappel said.

* CNI | Former military leaders decry National Guard deployment in Illinois: During a Thursday news conference, several speakers pointed to troop deployments in Memphis, Los Angeles and other cities. “Today we have to draw a line in the sand, respectfully, firmly and without equivocation,” Janessa Goldbeck, a retired Marine and head of the Vet Voice Foundation, said. “This is not normal, this is not American, and this is not what the military is for.”

* WMBD | Discover Peoria CEO worries over a decrease in tourism at Springfield committee: According to Dalfonso, the U.S. is predicted to have 6.3% drop in international tourism. Most of that drop is due to Canadian travelers not traveling to the U.S., according to Dalfonso. Federal government changes on international travel, including an increased wait time on visas, have negatively impacted tourism across the country, according to Dalfonso.

* WAND | Lawmakers hear about impact of tariffs on Illinois manufacturing, tourism: The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association told lawmakers Thursday that this industry is split on tariffs since it is a complex issue. IMA President and CEO Mark Denzler said tariffs can be an effective tool if countries are cheating or gaming the system by failing to follow trade agreements. However, manufacturers also need stability and predictability.

* BND | Illinois Rep. Charlie Meier faces fines for blocking Facebook comments: Poettker was represented by Bond County attorney Tom DeVore, who declined to comment because his law license was suspended for 60 days by the Illinois Supreme Court. DeVore, who previously ran as a Republican for Illinois attorney general and has filed lawsuits against Gov. JB Pritzker over executive orders issued regarding the COVID pandemic, began serving his suspension on Oct. 10.

* Chicagoland Journal | Chicago Political Trailblazer Emil Jones Jr. Celebrates 90th Birthday: Political leaders across Illinois and the nation are celebrating the 90th birthday of Emil Jones Jr., the longtime Illinois Senate President whose influence helped shape a generation of leaders — including former President Barack Obama, who once called him his “political godfather.”

*** Chicago ***

* NOTUS | Democrats Lay Out ‘Damning’ Examples of ICE’s Tactics in Chicago: “The federal government has effectively invaded an American city, as gunmen atop armored vehicles train their sights on civilians, agents rappel from Black Hawk helicopters onto an apartment complex rooftop, and officers routinely shoot at and deploy chemical agents against civilians,” Reps. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the committee, and Chuy Garcia, who represents the Chicagoland area, wrote in the letter. The five-page letter from Judiciary Democrats says not only has the Trump administration gone against the wishes of local authorities with its deployment of National Guard troops into Chicago but have taken things a step further by using violent tactics against protesters and journalists.

* WTTW | Chicago to Pay $35.6M to Settle 6 Police Misconduct Cases: Nine months into the year, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $266.8 million to resolve nearly two and a half dozen lawsuits, exceeding the city’s annual budget to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct by nearly $185 million, city records show. It is unclear how the city will find the money to make the payments approved Thursday by the City Council, since it has already exhausted the $82 million officials set aside to cover police misconduct settlements and judgments in 2025.

* ABC Chicago | Federal agents take people into custody at Back of the Yards flea market, protesters detained nearby: Witnesses say as many as 30 federal officers swarmed a flea market, taking multiple people into custody who tried to run away … while leaving fear and uncertainty with the vendors left behind.”Federal agents detained several people at a Swap-O-Rama flea market located near 41st Street and South Ashland Avenue in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

* Sun-Times | Chicago Housing Authority contractor accused of ‘intimidating’ staff: After being confronted about her “exorbitant proposals,” the contractor turned hostile toward staff at the housing authority, threatening to complain to the CHA’s chief executive or the board, the I.G. said. WBEZ has learned the vendor at the center of the I.G.’s investigation was Angela Parker — the sister of longtime CHA Commissioner Debra Parker. The station reported last week that the CHA has paid a combined $22 million to Angela Parker’s cleaning and construction firm and two companies who also have close ties to Debra Parker. Those other companies who do business with the CHA are owned by Debra Parker’s boyfriend and the commissioner’s daughter.

* NBC Chicago | New data show pedestrian traffic in the Loop surpasses pre-pandemic numbers: The Chicago Loop Alliance said it’s seeing a positive trend in visitors, tourism, and money spent in the Central Business District despite the national conversation around crime in the city. “The rhetoric is not true about Chicago and the things that we see with our own eyes as Chicagoans on a daily basis are real like statistically proven to be more accurate and positive than what the media is portraying nationally and what the administration is portraying nationally,” Ariella Gibson of the Chicago Loop Alliance said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights board rejects ban on sleeping in public places: “Anything that targets and creates consequences for someone based on housing status has been and will be perceived as criminalization of homelessness,” said Trustee Bill Manganaro, one of five board members who opposed the new rules Wednesday night. “Arlington Heights is moving into a leadership position in terms of visibility, certainly in the Northwest suburbs and throughout Chicagoland, and the Bears are making it more national with every time they talk about moving here. What we do here about this issue will survive any of our terms on this board.”

* Sun-Times | ICE arrests Hanover Park officer who allegedly overstayed visa, but village says cop had valid work permit: Radule Bojovic, a native of Montenegro, was “encountered during a targeted enforcement action,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He remained in immigration detention as of late Thursday in the Clay County Justice Center in Indiana, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detainee locator. According to the Village of Hanover Park, Bojovic presented a valid and recently renewed work authorization card when he was hired back in January. The department also conducted a full background check with Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

* Oak Park Journal | Oak Park changes enforcement of gas leaf blower ban over ICE activity: Oak Park leaders considered scrapping an ordinance that a trustee said sits at a bone of contention between two of the village’s progressive values — prioritizing environmental sustainability and being welcoming to immigrants. Oak Park village trustees questioned the appropriateness of the village’s ban on gas powered leaf blowers in response to the widespread fear that’s taken hold of the local Hispanic community as result of intense federal immigration enforcement seen throughout Chicagoland in recent months. The federal government says it’s arrested more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants in its so-called Operation Midway Blitz, which has also led to chaotic scenes across the region and allegations that federal agents are illegally violating residents’ rights and racially profiling Latino people.

* Elgin Courier-News | Elgin police officer put on leave after Facebook post about ICE immigration efforts: Officer Jason Lentz’s page is no longer available online but it featured an “I Stand With ICE” emblem next to his name when he posted this on Oct. 5: “If I were from ICE, I wouldn’t check La Movida at 840 N State St in Elgin looking for undocumented. There is definitely none there! Also wouldn’t check the flea market where the Milk Pail used to be at 14N630 Rt 25 in West Dundee; no way they’d find anyone there. And I wouldn’t check out The Elgin Mall in East Dundee, located at 535 Dundee Ave — I guarantee there’s no undocumented there either!” […] It is the second time Lentz has been linked to a questionable social media post. The first was in 2014 when he wrote, ““Hmmm…innocent victim my ass. Did society a favor,” in reference to an unarmed Black man who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, triggering riots and civil unrest.

* Daily Herald | ‘Deeply disturbed’: Lawmakers demand answers about ICE actions in Hoffman Estates: The video, taken from the window of a house Friday, Oct. 10, shows officers pulling over a sedan on a residential street and dragging the 18-year-old from the passenger side of the vehicle. As she screams in protest, she is forced to the ground then placed into one of the agent’s vehicles. A Hoffman Estates patrol vehicle appears briefly in the video and pulls away as the scene plays out. ICE agents later stopped in the parking lot of the Hoffman Estates Police Department, where a crowd that included Illinois Rep. Fred Crespo and his attorney daughter Jennifer Crespo gathered.

* Daily Herald | Preckwinkle bans ICE operations on Cook County property: The order will prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using county sites for any enforcement actions, including staging for and debriefing from operations, according to a statement from Preckwinkle’s office. “It is critical that the government’s interactions with the public adhere to our nation’s laws and values,” Preckwinkle said in the statement. “Yet, ICE’s increasingly aggressive, inhumane and unlawful actions continue undermining the safety and stability of our communities.”

* ABC Chicago | Harvey requests to be declared ‘financially distressed’ under state law during special meeting: The designation was approved, and they city will request for the state to take control of the city’s finances. After the contentious meeting with the south suburb taking the step to declare itself a distressed city, they are preparing for all the political fallout that entails. Harvey citizens filled a local church to witness a hastily-called city council meeting, where the mayor sought to pass an ordinance that opens the door to the state helping to bail out a city that is $164 million in debt with little ability to pay its bills.

* Daily Southtown | Tinley Park District 146 approves teacher contract with 6% salary increase over 5 years: The board voted 7-0 in favor of the contract after it was approved by 72% of union membership. In a news release issued Tuesday, District 146 board President Julie Berry said with contract negotiations behind them, district leaders are “moving forward with optimism.” “While negotiations can be challenging, they reflect the deep commitment we all share to our schools, our students, and our community,” Berry said. “Together, we look ahead with continued dedication to providing the highest quality education and environment for the students of District 146.”

* Naperville Sun | Naperville data center vote delayed after opponents flood commission meeting: Residents remained negative to the development even with Karis Critical Member announcing that plans had been scaled back to just one 211,000-square-foot, 36-megawatt data center being built on the 40-acre property, rather than the two initially requested. “This is an opportunity to find investment in the (Interstate 88) corridor that has been lacking,” Karis attorney Russ Whitaker said at the Wednesday night meeting.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Stalled Route 66 Bike Trail project back on track with nearly $2 million state grant: This trail project extends the trail along a 9-mile stretch within the county near Towanda, heading north to the Livingston County line near Chenoa. The nearly $1.9 million award, which the McLean County Board announced during its meeting on Thursday, comes from the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] Local Project Funding Grant Program.

* WAND | Macon County State’s Attorney adds domestic violence investigator to strengthen victim support: State’s Attorney Diane Couri has hired longtime law enforcement officer Shannon Gutierrez Seal as a part-time domestic violence investigator. It’s a move Couri said that is already changing lives across the community. The idea came after noticing the widespread problem in Macon County. Couri said the majority of arrests right now are domestic violence, domestic battery, violation of an order of protection, and domestic-related arrests.

* Illinois Times | Peoria rally planned for first day of trial: The rally, which organizer Chama St. Louis-Boone said will be peaceful and is designed to “support the Massey family” and call for “accountability of police,” will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a blocked-off section of Main Street between Adams and Jefferson streets. Sontae Massey, a cousin of the late Sonya Massey, said, “Peoria is set to be ground-zero, for lack of a better term, as to what we will accept in regard to how policing and police killings are judged from this moment on.”

*** National ***

* NYT | Trump Refiles His $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against The New York Times: A federal judge had previously dismissed the complaint as unnecessarily lengthy and digressive. The president claims that The Times sought to defame him during the 2024 election.

* 404 Media | Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors: “We welcome new ways for people to gain knowledge. However, AI chatbots, search engines, and social platforms that use Wikipedia content must encourage more visitors to Wikipedia, so that the free knowledge that so many people and platforms depend on can continue to flow. Sustainably,” the Foundation’s Senior Director of Product Marshall Miller said in a blog post. “With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”

11 Comments

What Illinois Can Learn From Texas On Battery Energy Storage

Friday, Oct 17, 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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Good morning!

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Little Walter…

Oh, yeah, she don’t stand no foolin’

What’s up by you?

4 Comments

Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

We’re experimenting this week with a new app which feeds Bluesky posts. Still tweaking it…

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RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Retailers throughout Illinois remain focused on serving their neighborhoods. Luckeyia Murry, owner of Luckeyia’s Balloons & Distribution in the city of Homewood, says running a small business is a lot of hard work. She wants policymakers to understand it is small businesses who build community and keep people connected.

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 Luckeyia 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 afternoon roundup

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Sun-Times federal courts reporter Jon Seidel…

#BREAKING The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to undo order blocking deployment of National Guard troops within Illinois.

"We conclude that the district court's factual findings … were not clearly erroneous, and that the facts do not justify the President's actions." pic.twitter.com/yguUR1sZSp

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) October 16, 2025

And on the question of whether the president can execute federal law: "The administration has been proclaiming the success of its current efforts to enforce immigration laws in the Chicago area." pic.twitter.com/FCZEIbh2aQ

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) October 16, 2025

Click here for the full opinion.

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

Learn more about the impact of a delivery tax and why we MUST stop it.

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*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Dabrowski sets fundraising bar at $1.5M in GOP primary for governor: According to quarterly fundraising and spending reports that campaigns filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Wednesday, Dabrowski raised $1.5 million since forming his campaign on Aug. 20. A sizeable portion of that, $250,100, came from Dabrowski himself. Dabrowski, of Wilmette, is a former researcher for Wirepoints, a conservative media website dedicated to researching and proposing public policy solutions in Illinois.

* IPM Newsroom | New Illinois law looks to put guardrails on AI in mental health as researchers push for innovation: Morgan said he thinks the increased use of artificial intelligence is inevitable. He said the goal of the new law is not to ban companies from using AI to help treat mental health, but to establish a set of standards guiding how the technology can be used. “This need for mental health care is just so high that it’s unrealistic to think that our existing network of actual people, of licensed professionals, are going to be enough to satisfy the need,” he said. “That’s why we have to have guardrails.”

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Mayor Brandon Johnson Calls for $617M in New Taxes to Close Budget Gap, Avoid Layoffs: Instead, it would close the city’s massive shortfall in part by imposing a $21 per employee tax on large companies to generate $100 million to fund violence prevention and youth employment programs. Johnson also proposed a first-of-its-kind tax on social media companies to generate $31 million to fuel the city’s public mental health clinics and crisis response programs, according to the proposal.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson’s $16.6B budget would revive corporate head tax, tax social media companies: “It’s not a job killer. It’s a job creator. The top priority that businesses have expressed over and over again is to ensure that our city is safe,” Johnson told reporters during a budget briefing this week. “We’re talking about 3% of companies who will be asked to put more skin in the game; 97% of businesses won’t be impacted by this.”

* The Triibe | Mayor Brandon Johnson reveals budget to ‘Protect Chicago’ from Trump cuts: Recommendations include $200 million in cost cuts that will result in savings, along with no “new property taxes or regressive fees,” according to materials provided by the city’s Office of Budget Management (OBM). Johnson’s FY 2026 budget equates to $16.6 billion, a 3.2% decrease from last year’s budget due to losses of pandemic-era grants and pension costs, according to materials sent by the OBM.

* Tribune | CPS gets $522 million boost from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal: The draft budget, unveiled Thursday, calls for the city to draw $1 billion from its Tax Increment Financing districts, or TIFs. More than half of that money is slated for CPS, covering the $379 million the district already anticipated and a controversial $175 million municipal pension payment. The move marks a rare victory for CPS, allowing school officials to maintain their August spending plan — which relied heavily on TIF money — and spare classrooms from deeper cuts.

* Sun-Times | Chicago police supervisor hopes $1M settlement over traffic stop quota sends ‘clear message’ to bosses: He insisted that his crusade against Barz and the police department “was never about the money.” He said he plans to use the settlement to make charitable contributions, including to the scholarship fund honoring Officer Ella French, a member of the Community Safety Team who was fatally shot during a traffic stop.

* Crain’s | Weiss Memorial, West Suburban owe $69 million in taxes: report: The owner of shuttered Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown and financially troubled West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park owes more than $69 million in state taxes and penalties, the Chicago Tribune reports. Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services records obtained by the Tribune showed Manoj Prasad, CEO of Resilience Health, was sent letters from the department about both hospitals. An HFS spokeswoman told the Tribune the taxes and penalties are up to $27.7 million owed by Weiss and $41.6 million owed by West Suburban.

* WBEZ | ICE activity is stressing Chicago’s building managers, who warn rents could rise: Other property managers and owners said workers are not showing up to job sites — frightened by ICE — and it’s causing delays on building repairs and maintenance. Some residents are not able to pay rent on time as they are holed up at home, too afraid to go to work with federal agents popping up throughout the city. This adds to the already rising business costs for building owners and managers, some of whom say they are eating the increased expenses connected to ICE raids. But if the enforcement activity continues into the busy spring moving season, property managers and owners like Warren said they may have to increase rents to recoup some of their costs.

* Tribune | Immigration agent who shot Chicago woman drove ‘rammed’ vehicle to Maine, attorneys reveal: [Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente] said he was particularly worried about the Border Patrol agent’s vehicle, since where and how it sustained any damage would be pivotal evidence in the case. Parente said after he demanded to inspect the vehicle, he was notified the agent was allowed to “drive it back to Maine, which I believe is 1100 miles away.” “I assumed this car was being kept as evidence,” Parente said, adding the agent should be instructed immediately to not get the vehicle repaired or washed. “I shouldn’t have to find that out…how they let this happen is beyond me.”

* Crain’s | Former generals warn against troop deployment in Chicago: “It is imperative that as citizens we stand up to the overreach of the federal government today in Illinois, in California and elsewhere,” retired Maj. Gen. Bill Enyart, former adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard, said today during a press conference after meeting with Gov. JB Pritzker. “Our National Guard members joined and serve to defend our nation to respond to national disasters. They are not policemen, they are not political pawns.”

* Block Club Chicago | Criterion Collection’s Famed Movie Closet Coming To Chicago: The Criterion Mobile Closet will be parked at NEWCITY Lincoln Park, 1457 N. Halsted St., Friday through Sunday. This is the Closet’s first visit to Chicago. “We love curation,” said Vivian Teng, managing director of the Chicago International Film Festival. “Just like how we consider ourselves curators of international independent film, Criterion shares that same philosophy. We both serve cinephiles and film lovers.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Video of teen arrested in Hoffman Estates prompts call for federal investigation: Agents from ICE went into the police station Friday afternoon to file a report alleging an assault, the chief said, but left, saying they would come back later after protesters gathered at the police station as word of their presence in the suburb spread. […] Hoffman Estates police confirmed that the video posted online was of the arrests. The intersection is the same area where the Hoffman Estates squad car was and the squad car in the video bears markings that match those of Hoffman Estates police.

* Daily Herald | Ex-Campton Hills police chief Steven Millar charged with money laundering, gun crime: Steven Millar is charged with official misconduct, forgery, money laundering, misapplying governmental funds, wire fraud, theft, and delivering guns before a 72-hour waiting period is over. Illinois State Police arrested him, Douglas Kucik and two former officers — Scott Coryell and Daniel Hatt — Thursday morning. The other three were charged with official misconduct, theft, money laundering and delivering guns before a 72-hour waiting period.

* Crain’s | Walgreens lays off 80 corporate employees: Newly private Walgreens Boots Alliance has fired 80 employees this week from its corporate offices in Chicago and Deerfield, according to an internal memo obtained by Crain’s. The layoffs come a little more than a month into private equity firm Sycamore Partners’ $10 billion acquisition of the retail pharmacy giant.

* Daily Herald | Elgin asks residents to weigh in on potential plastic shopping bag ban: The city’s Sustainability Commission brought the issue to the city council in April. The council, in turn, directed city staff to draft an ordinance that mirrors an Illinois Senate bill introduced by Sen. Cristina Castro of Elgin. If passed, SB 1872 would prohibit retailers from offering single-use bags to consumers starting in 2029. Under the draft ordinance, the ban and fees would apply to retail establishments larger than 5,000 square feet. Restaurants, small nonchain retailers and pop-up shops would be exempt. There are also exceptions for bags for frozen foods, flowers, bakery goods, and several other items.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Illinois soybean farmers react to short and long-term tariff effects: Severs says they’re focusing on making diesel and grease for farm equipment out of soybeans as another way to help make up the loss. But, ideally, he would want to see China’s market open back up with a new deal.

* WCIA | 1.8 million pounds of soybeans spilled after Martinton grain bin collapse: First responders said it happened around 1 p.m. at a Donovan Farmers’ Cooperative facility in the small village of Martinon. The 90-foot-tall grain bin, which officials said was built in 1972, structurally failed and collapsed, spilling over 30,000 bushels of soybeans — or 1.8 million pounds — that were stored inside. No one was hurt, but the village was without power until Thursday morning.

* WSIL | Illinois JusticeCorps aids court users in southern Illinois courthouses: Illinois JusticeCorps has placed volunteer Brock Freeman at courthouses throughout the First Circuit. Freeman provides non-legal support, including help with court procedures, e-filing, and self-help resources. Freeman’s role is to assist court users in navigating the courthouse. He does not provide legal advice but offers clear and respectful assistance to make the court experience more user-friendly.

* Harvest Public Media | Corn, but shorter: Why Midwest farmers are experimenting with smaller varieties: Moore is a third-generation farmer who grows corn and soybeans on about 1800 acres in central Illinois, south of Decatur. He’s also the self-described guinea pig among farmers in his area and is now in his second year growing the short-stature corn, called the Preceon Smart Corn System. The new variety doesn’t look too different from the road. It’s only about three to four feet shorter than the rows of corn you see as you drive through states like Illinois — corn that is largely used to feed livestock and make ethanol fuel.

*** National ***

* ProPublica | Immigration Agents Have Held More Than 170 Americans Against Their Will, ProPublica Finds: “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States,” Kavanaugh wrote, “they promptly let the individual go.” But that is far from the reality many citizens have experienced. Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents. They’ve had their necks kneeled on. They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear. At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them. One of those women had already had the door of her home blown off while Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem watched.

* Investigate Midwest | The shutdown is poised to deepen hunger in America — just as the Trump administration stopped tracking it: In the midst of it all, America’s ability to track the real-world impacts of the shutdown on hunger is disappearing. Shortly before the shutdown, the Department of Agriculture moved to scrap the Household Food Security Report, the nation’s primary tool for tracking food insecurity, and in doing so, stripped away the very infrastructure needed to remedy rising hunger in America.

* AFP Fact Check | White House’s Chicago ‘chaos’ video uses footage from other cities: But many of the video’s sensational scenes purporting to depict the “mess” in Chicago are outdated and were filmed outside of the city. The Daily Beast first reported that some of the shots were from April in Florida, a Republican-leaning state home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate (archived here). An AFP investigation, based on reverse image searches and a review of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service’s (DVIDS) video archive, has revealed that the White House’s video lifted numerous additional shots from footage of immigration-enforcement operations in California, Arizona, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska. Some of the videos date to 2024 and 2023, when former president Joe Biden was in office.

* The American Prospect | The AI Ouroboros: There’s just one problem with this master plan: OpenAI doesn’t have the money to pay for it. For example, OpenAI is committing to pay Oracle $60 billion in capex investment annually for five years. For reference, Meta, one of the most valuable and profitable companies in the world, which brought in $164.5 billion in revenue in 2024 and ended the year with a free cash flow of $52.10 billion, plans to spend $72 billion in 2025 building data centers. OpenAI, on the other hand, is on pace to bring in $12.7 billion this year, expects to lose $9 billion, predicts its losses will swell to $47 billion by 2028, and doesn’t expect to break even until 2029. How can OpenAI plan to spend five times what it brought in?

8 Comments

Pritzker pressed on gambling winnings (Updated)

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From earlier…

Since reporters noticed ⁦@GovPritzker⁩ reported $1.4M in gambling winnings on his income tax filing - so many questions. Today his spokesman says the Las Vegas blackjack winnings will be donated. pic.twitter.com/pXcYHHntLp

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) October 16, 2025

* From the governor’s press conference today…

Q: On your income, are you concerned that AOC or another potential rival in a presidential primary could use the capital gains, the gambling winnings against you as fodder in the campaign?

Pritzker: No. (Laughs). No. I think people know when I got elected, and have known for some time that, you know, I’m very fortunate in my life. And if they want to use something like that in the campaign, I don’t know, but I’m not, you know, right now I’m focused on running for reelection as governor. That’s the only thing I’m focused on politically, and of course, most importantly in my job as governor today, protecting the people of Illinois from the unlawful acts of Stephen Miller and Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, Tom Homan and Gregory Pavino.

Q: Governor, can you just explain a little more the circumstances of the $1.4 million? That’s some big winnings. Was it a high roller table? Were you gambling millions and millions of dollars?

Pritzker: I, I obviously, I’ve explained this, or at least we did in a statement. You know that I went on vacation with my wife, with some friends. I was incredibly lucky. You have to be to end up ahead, frankly. Going to a casino anywhere, it was in Las Vegas, and I like to play cards. And so you know that I founded a charitable poker match here in Chicago called the Chicago Poker Challenge that raises millions, has raised millions of dollars for the Holocaust Museum here, and particularly to stand up for civil rights. That’s much of what the Holocaust Museum does. And so anyway, that’s that’s all I can say about it. Had fun doing it. I encourage people to come to the state of Illinois and gamble in our casinos here, we have some really lovely places to go.

Q: The number that was reported, can you say how much you’ve lost gambling?

Pritzker: I believe that’s a net number. So, yeah, but, but, I mean, it was, it was all, you know, it all happened over one trip and again, it was just, I mean, incredibly lucky. And as you know, most of the time, anybody who’s been to a casino, you win, and you know all of anybody who’s played cards in a casino knows that you know you often play for too long and lose whatever it is that you won. I was fortunate enough to have to leave before that happens.

Q: What was the final hand?

Pritzker: Oh, I don’t remember.

Thoughts?

…Adding… Darren Bailey…

While hardworking Illinois families are stretched thin by record taxes and rising costs, Governor J.B. Pritzker was sitting at the high-roller tables in Las Vegas, winning $1.4 million.

According to his 2024 tax filings, Pritzker reported $1.4 million in gambling winnings from Las Vegas – a snapshot of just how far removed he is from the economic reality most Illinoisans live every day as a result of the Governor’s failed policies.

The Darren Bailey/Aaron Del Mar campaign is issuing the following statement:

“While hard working families are struggling, JB Pritzker is living the high life in Las Vegas. Not only is he gambling with his own money, but he also is gambling away the future of working families. Instead of rolling up his sleeves and working to improve public safety or bringing legislators to the table to lower property taxes in Illinois and solving the state’s pension crisis, JB Pritzker is playing high stakes games in Las Vegas.

We need and deserve a Governor who is focused on the problems of Illinois. The JB Pritzker/Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson cabal has been an abject failure. Both of these inept leaders are making our communities less safe and spending us into bankruptcy. We can’t afford to gamble on Illinois’ future. We need to make the safe bet and elect Darren Bailey and Aaron Del Mar.”

75 Comments

Business groups put Chicago mayor’s budget proposal on blast, while CTU strongly supports (Updated)

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sun-Times…

Mayor Brandon Johnson Thursday delivered on his promise to “challenge the ultra-rich” and make corporations pay their fair share, proposing a $16.6 billion budget for 2026 that includes $586.6 million in progressive tax and fee revenues and a record $1 billion tax increment-financing surplus to rescue the city and Chicago Public Schools.

The tax-heavy budget, which aims to erase a $1.15 billion shortfall, would hit Chicago businesses hard. It includes a revived and dramatically expanded employee head tax, a second consecutive increase in the tax on cloud computing, a first-of-its-kind social media tax and a broadening of the city’s amusement tax to include online sports betting.

In his budget address to the City Council, Johnson said Chicago is the 10th wealthiest city in the world, with 127,000 millionaires and 24 billionaires — while 1 in 4 Chicagoans under the age of 18 are mired in poverty.

“Our budget proposal asks large corporations and the ultra-wealthy to chip in more so that working families are not burdened with higher property taxes, or grocery taxes or garbage fees,” Johnson said. “This intense and growing wealth inequity is not sustainable for our city.”

Click here to read the mayor’s budget outline, which includes some cost reductions and program expansions.

* IRMA…

Illinois Retail Merchants Association Statement on Mayor Johnson’s Proposed 2026 Budget

CHICAGO – The Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) released the following statement regarding Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget proposal:

“For several years now, Chicago retailers have faced smash-and-grab robberies and organized theft rings that have forced shop owners to lock up merchandise, reduce store hours, or close their doors entirely. Rather than supporting retailers, the City has responded with higher taxes, added regulations, and onerous licensing requirements. The mayor’s budget plan does nothing to reverse these trends and will instead lead to more empty storefronts in neighborhoods across Chicago, including shuttered restaurants, grocery stores, and pharmacies,” said Rob Karr, president and CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “Taxing job creators won’t drive economic growth or improve public safety. What we need are real, immediate solutions—not budget gimmicks or political blame games.”

* Illinois Manufacturers’ Association…

The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) today released the following statement regarding Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget proposal:

“Under the Mayor’s budget proposal, manufacturers would be punished for creating jobs in Chicago. Instead of fostering economic development, which is key to addressing the city’s underlying financial problems, he is giving businesses yet another reason to take their investments elsewhere,” said Mark Denzler, President & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “It’s time for this administration to get serious about solving problems, supporting growth, and creating opportunities for families throughout Chicago.”

* Illinois Chamber…

Illinois Chamber of Commerce Statement on the City of Chicago FY26 Budget Address

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce represents more than 3,000 member companies across the state, including hundreds of employers that are proud to call Chicago home. On behalf of these businesses and the thousands of employees and families they support, we must express our deep concern and disappointment with several challenging provisions contained in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed FY26 budget.

At a time of economic uncertainty, a stagnant labor force, and rising costs of doing business, this budget sends the wrong signal about the future of our great city. Proposals to revive an outdated and harmful head tax, presented as a tool for “community safety”, along with yet another increase to the cloud tax, and the creation of incredibly flawed social media tax place Chicago at a competitive disadvantage nationally. At a time Chicago seeks to establish itself as a global hub for quantum computing and technological innovation, policies that penalize job creators in rapidly growing sectors are shortsighted and risk damaging the city’s economic vitality.

The Illinois Chamber urges the City Council to reject this proposal and instead work in partnership with the business community to pursue solutions that foster growth, attract investment, and strengthen every Chicago neighborhood. We stand ready to collaborate with the Administration and Council members on pragmatic reforms, identifying efficiencies, applying reasonable cost controls, and advancing pro-growth policies that support both residents and employers across Chicago.

* Civic Federation…

Statement from The Civic Federation on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Budget Proposal

CHICAGO — Today, The Civic Federation released the following statement:

“The proposed FY2026 budget repeats past mistakes and fails to provide progress toward sustainable, structural solutions to the City’s immense fiscal challenges. Especially disappointing is that the proposed budget does not meaningfully engage or incorporate the recommendations of the Chicago Financial Future Task Force, relying on revenue increases over structural cuts and savings. As proposed, this budget limits prospects for future growth and leaves unaddressed the even larger deficit the City itself projects for 2027, all but ensuring that the City will likely be in a worse position next year. We see this as the start of a longer process that must involve deeper engagement by the City Council. We look forward to working with the Council and the Mayor’s Office to achieve a stronger, more sustainable plan that will support Chicago today and going forward.”

* CTU…

Chicago Teachers Union Applauds Mayor Brandon Johnson’s “Protect Chicago” Budget, Historic Investment in Public Schools

CHICAGO— Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates issued the following statement following Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget address:

Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered the most transformative budget to come out of City Hall in generations. He is protecting our city from Trump’s cuts and proposing a budget that fights for working people instead of against them.

The record half a billion dollars proposed for Chicago Public Schools helps the majority of aldermen who lobbied CPS with a promise of a TIF surplus actually keep that promise. It goes above and beyond what our district was counting on. While we fight for the $1.6 billion the state owes, the City is stabilizing funding, protecting Black Student Success from Trump, and securing the retirement of the workers whose MEABF pensions have been treated as a political football.

Our union will be pushing every city councilmember to vote ‘yes’ on the Protect Chicago budget and then moving on to Springfield to demand Governor Pritzker and the IL General Assembly do their part.

Our mayor inherited generations of divestment – including school and mental health clinic closures in Black and brown communities – and is rebuilding broken systems while federal dollars are being withheld. He is showing us, to maintain vital services without burdening already overburdened working families, we must tax the wealthiest corporations and individuals – the entities that have profited from Trump’s tax breaks for billionaires.

Neither Chicago nor Illinois needs austerity or cuts; we need political leadership willing to stand up to Trump by delivering on the promise that brought generations here in search of freedom and opportunity: good jobs, safe communities, and fully funded schools. Today, we are one step closer.

Discuss.

…Adding… Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association…

CHICAGO – The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association issued the following statement in response to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed 2026 budget.

“While we appreciate that Mayor Johnson did not propose raising Chicago’s already high property and hotel taxes, we are disappointed that his proposed 2026 budget includes implementing a job-killing head tax. Businesses, especially hotels, continue to face a host of challenges caused by rising costs and ongoing economic uncertainty. This additional tax will only make it harder for them to grow, create jobs, invest in their employees and remain competitive. Rather than continuing to add to the existing burden, the city should prioritize policies that will allow long-term growth, create new opportunities for our workforce, and drive investment across the city. The hospitality industry stands ready to collaborate on creative ways to increase revenue and keep Chicago a world-class destination and a place where businesses and workers alike can thrive,” said Michael Jacobson, President and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association.

* Chicagoland Chamber…

CHICAGO – The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce issued the following statement in response to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed 2026 budget:

“Mayor Johnson’s proposed 2026 budget relies on placing a tariff on jobs in Chicago and implementing policies that will further inflationary burdens on Chicago businesses and residents. If we want to be serious about fixing Chicago’s fiscal challenges, we need to focus on long-term strategies to grow and create jobs, not quick fixes and job-killing taxes like the head tax and cloud tax that hurt businesses of all sizes and sectors. The 2026 budget proposal includes about $200 million in cost reductions, when the budget has increased by more than $6 billion in recent years. Rather than embracing shared sacrifice, this budget seeks to tax and borrow its way out of a deficit and, in the process, disincentivize job creation and hiring, deter relocation and expansion, and make Chicago less attractive at a time when national and global competition for jobs and investment is at an all-time high.

“The best way to address our fiscal challenges and strengthen essential city services is through growth. We stand ready to work with the mayor and members City Council to find serious solutions that will attract and support new employers, expand growing industries, and strengthen our tax base through opportunity and investment in every neighborhood,” said Jack Lavin, President and CEO of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

* Chicago Federation of Labor…

(Chicago, Ill.) – Today, Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter issued the following statement on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget address:

“Chicago needs a responsible budget with realistic revenue that protects the workers and services city residents rely on every day. Chicagoans recognize how dedicated city workers pick up trash, fill potholes, and help keep residents safe and healthy, even as the city’s workforce has shrunk over the past decade. They already do more with less.

“We are glad that the mayor’s budget proposal appears to avoid new layoffs beyond those previously announced. But we are concerned that shorting the advanced pension payment and filling long-term operational shortfalls with one-time maneuvers does not address the structural problems that put us in this $1.2 billion hole to begin with. These tactics impede public infrastructure projects across the city while continuing to kick the can down the road.

“This proposal will be the first draft of many. The CFL is ready to partner with those interested in exploring pragmatic revenue options, identifying operational efficiencies, and ultimately passing a budget that protects the high level of service Chicagoans expect and deserve.”

* Institute for Public Good…

“We applaud Mayor Johnson’s 2026 budget released today as it represents a major shift in how the city solves its budget problems. For decades, the city has relied on regressive taxation on working class Chicagoans, privatization, and cuts in city employment and services – and in this moment when the infrastructure working families rely on is being attacked by Trump, we need leadership that is willing to fight back. This budget turns the page on those decisions of the past and decades of corporate welfare. It taxes large corporations that will receive almost a trillion dollars in tax breaks from Trump’s tax policies over the next decade, and asks a portion of them – less than 3% of Chicago businesses – to give just a drop of those tax breaks back to the city. Mayor Johnson has opened the door to progressive revenue in this city, and we need to continue to push those largest corporations to increase their contribution to the city services we all rely on that make Chicago the cultural, economic, and talent hub that it is.

We are also heartened to see that this city is taking serious the responsibility to ensure we have consistent funding within the Department of Public Health. While Donald Trump has slashed federal funding for CDPH, we need to find every available pathway to protect our public health services – it’s the highest ROI we can have on every dollar that goes into the budget.

The choice is clear: To further Trump’s agenda to take money from working families and give it to corporations or to ask corporations to pay their fair share in order to invest in our people and our neighborhoods. This budget has made a clear choice, and we hope that City Council does the same.”

26 Comments

Judge orders ICE field director to court to explain alleged violations of her order: ‘I’m not blind’

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Jon Seidel at the Sun-Times…

A week ago, a federal judge forbade agents from using gas and other “riot control” weapons without warning in Chicago as they carried out President Donald Trump’s deportation blitz.

That same judge took the bench early Thursday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, where she told one of Trump’s lawyers, bluntly, “I’m not blind.”

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis cited reports in the Chicago Sun-Times and other media that have given her “serious concerns” about whether the Trump administration has followed her order in recent days.

Then she insisted that Russell Hott, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Chicago field office, appear in her courtroom Monday to clarify what’s going on. […]

“The field director is going to explain to me why I am seeing images of tear gas being deployed and reading reports that there were no warnings given before it was deployed,” Ellis said.

* The Tribune’s Jason Meisner…

Ellis: “If everybody kind of follows what's outlined in this TRO, conforms their decisions and behavior to what the Constitution demands, then, you know, all copacetic and we can go on and live our lives."

— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) October 16, 2025

* More from Seidel…

Ellis tells both sides to get together and discuss this. "I would not require people to turn on a body camera that they don't have."

But, she says she'll want to know from Hott how many agents in Chicago have them, and if this area will be getting them soon.

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) October 16, 2025

* Tribune…

Ellis’s restraining order forbids agents from firing tear gas and other projectiles at peaceful protesters, clergy or journalists unless they pose an immediate threat of physical harm to a person, and to do so only after issuing warnings. Agents were also ordered to stop dispersing people if they have a lawful right to be at a location. […]

In advance of Thursday’s hearing, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking for expedited discovery ahead of a hearing next week on a full injunction. The motion stated that both sides had met on Wednesday to discuss potential violations of the TRO, “in which federal officers appear to be using violence, tear gas, and other munitions against protestors and journalists.”

“Young children and even babies appear to have been subjected to the indiscriminate use of tear gas by defendants’ officers,” the motion stated. “And it does not appear that defendants’ agents are consistently wearing prominently displayed visible identification.”

The government, according to the motion, “believes the TRO has not been violated at all.”

30 Comments

What Illinois Can Learn From Texas On Battery Energy Storage

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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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It’s just a bill

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Sen. Cristina Castro…

State Senator Cristina Castro led a measure through the Senate that would make a temporary “cocktails to-go” state law permanent and create new rules to allow more small Illinois distilleries to self-distribute spirits. […]

The measure would create a class 3 craft distiller’s license, which would allow the distillery to manufacture up to 100,000 gallons of spirits annually. These licensees would then be able to apply for the ability to self-distribute up to 2,500 gallons annually.

The legislation would also make permanent a temporary law permitting bars and restaurants to sell cocktails and mixed drinks for delivery and curbside pickup — often referred to as “cocktails to-go.”

To ease barriers for small businesses seeking a liquor license, the measure would also eliminate the requirement for a business applying for a liquor license to provide a tax bond during the application process. On average, a tax bond costs small craft manufacturers or distributors $500 to obtain from a financial institution, creating another monetary barrier for those seeking to start or expand their business.

* Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts…

Chief Judge Evans has issued a General Administrative Order (GAO), effective today, asserting the common law privilege against civil arrests of people attending court in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

The order states that no one attending court, as a witness or otherwise, “will be subjected to a civil arrest in or around the courthouse” except in cases where there’s a judicial warrant or order authorizing that arrest or an emergency. This includes civil immigration arrests by ICE agents and other federal officials. The order notes: “The fair administration of justice requires that courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses may appear without fear of civil arrest.” […]

Both Chicago Appleseed and our partners at the Chicago Council of Lawyers have also joined in support of the Court Access, Safety, and Participation Act.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Norma Hernandez and Senator Celina Villanueva, would ban civil arrests—including immigration arrests made without a judicial warrant—in courthouses and codify common law privilege in Illinois. In the past several months, the unprecedented increase in civil arrests by federal immigration officials in and around Illinois courthouses has made communities less safe and hindered access to justice, with at least 14 Illinois residents being subjected to civil immigration enforcement actions at courthouses.

The Court Access, Safety, and Participation Act does not apply to any federal or immigration courts, but would prohibit civil arrests from taking place “inside, on the way to, or coming home from, any Illinois courthouse.” It would also allow for a civil action to be taken against those who violate the law. We urge the Illinois Legislature to pass the bill and encourage Governor Pritzker to sign it promptly.

* Inside Climate News…

The [Illinois Environmental Council rally] coincided with the second day of the state legislature’s brief fall veto session, six days spread through this month that are the last chance this year to pass bills. In addition to transit funding, many attendees advocated for passage of the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act, a sweeping omnibus energy bill aimed at ensuring the state meets its goal to transition to renewable energy by 2050.

State Rep. Ann Williams, a Democrat representing Chicago’s North Side, introduced the CRGA Act during the spring legislative session, but the bill never made it to a vote. Disagreements over battery financing, data center regulations and lifting a moratorium on nuclear plant construction drove a wedge between environmental, labor and industry groups.

Kady McFadden, a legislative strategist for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, thinks a lot has changed about the political landscape since then. […]

The state legislature has a full schedule during the session this month. But McFadden believes that rising electricity costs paired with sharp federal funding cuts add urgency to the push for energy legislation.

“This bill is ready to go,” said McFadden. “We’ve been able to take the summer to make sure that stakeholders are in alignment. … Now all that’s left is to vote.”

* Subscribers know much more. Daily Herald…

The Chicago Bears are poised to move to the suburbs. But are Illinois lawmakers — and local taxpayers — going to help them do it? […]

Among those proposals is a bill sponsored by state Rep. Mary Beth Canty, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, where the Bears plan to build a new stadium on the former Arlington Park site.

Canty’s bill would allow mega projects — defined as those in which at least $500 million is invested within seven to 10 years — to freeze their property tax assessments and make annual payments negotiated through a local review board that would include representatives from municipalities and other local governments. […]

Democratic state Rep. Anne Stava of Naperville cited similar reasons for her opposition to Canty’s bill in its current form.

“Property taxes are already a huge burden for too many families, so giving special property tax breaks to billionaires and developers is tone deaf. … If local governments want to give tax breaks, they should go ahead. But they should bear the cost, not shift it to others,” Stava said.

* NBC Chicago…

Illinois lawmakers are facing a series of tough questions during their fall veto session, including the future of public transit and of the Chicago Bears.

While lawmakers have been cool on the idea of approving public funding to help support the Bears’ proposed stadium project in suburban Arlington Heights, State Rep. Kam Buckner is looking to demand plenty of transparency should any deal take place. […]

The STARS Act was introduced by Buckner this week in Springfield, requiring teams to fund cost-benefit analysis studies and to publish the findings online for public perusal before any deal can be agreed to. […]

It’s unclear whether that measure, or the Bears’ pursuit of a property tax freeze and assistance in upgrading infrastructure around the proposed stadium, will even be discussed during the veto session.

* Illinois Public Interest Research Group director Abraham Scarr…

Across America and here in Illinois, homes and cars are among the most expensive things people buy. But payments on these pricey purchases don’t end with mortgage or car loan installments. Insurance to protect these investments is costly as well — but much less costly than not having insurance, in case of some sort of disaster or accident.

Like almost every other state, Illinois requires that vehicle owners hold an active auto insurance policy. And while no state law mandates homeowners insurance, mortgage lenders, who want to protect their financial stakes in our homes, do. […]

Gov. JB Pritzker is trying to fix this. His Department of Insurance filed legislation in the spring that would give the department the ability to reject or modify home and auto insurance rate increases. Along with state House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and state Senate President Don Harmon, the governor called on legislators in a Tribune op-ed to act on this issue when the Illinois General Assembly convenes for two weeks this October. Despite this strong message from leaders in Springfield, change won’t be easy. The insurance industry is working to block or water down the proposed reforms.

Nothing has highlighted the need for reform more than State Farm’s half-billion-dollar homeowners insurance rate hike this summer. State Farm, which covers roughly one-third of insured homes in Illinois, raised average premiums by 27%, or $750 annually, with some policies rising as high as 40%.

11 Comments

Credit Unions Spread Kindness

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Each year, Illinois credit unions designate special initiatives to support the people and communities they serve. This year’s CU Kind Day showcased the incredible power of credit unions coming together to make a difference across Illinois and beyond. This one-day initiative continues to grow - spreading kindness, inspiring collaboration, and creating lasting community impact.

Our Springfield team spread kindness by supporting The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois! We donated $500 and stocked up on after-school snacks to fuel the 1,000+ kids who participate in their programs, helping them grow into healthy, responsible citizens.

Learn more about CU Kind Day: https://creditunions.com/features/theres-nothing-random-about-these-acts-of-kindness/

Paid for by the Illinois Credit Union League.

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Illinois Republicans say Pritzker, Johnson ’should be in jail’

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the Illinois Republican Party…

Who should be held accountable when leaders defy the law, endanger our communities, and protect illegal immigrants over American citizens?

President Trump just said what many Illinoisans have been thinking for a long time:

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker should be in jail.

Why? Because instead of standing with our ICE agents and instead of helping law enforcement protect our border, they stood in the way. They chose open borders. They chose sanctuary policies. They chose criminal chaos over American security.

I’M WITH TRUMP

HOLD ILLINOIS DEMOCRATS ACCOUNTABLE

Now, National Guard troops are being deployed to Chicago — not to protect citizens from foreign invasion but to stop our own leaders from undermining immigration enforcement.

This isn’t just political theater. It’s life and death for families across Illinois. Every illegal immigrant released, every ICE officer obstructed, every criminal protected by Democrat leadership is a threat to our safety.

And while Pritzker and Johnson cry foul, a federal judge just confirmed what we already knew: ICE was following orders, and Democrat leaders were deliberately obstructing justice.

The Left is furious that Trump is holding them accountable. We say: it’s about time.

We stand with law enforcement, with ICE, and with every American who believes in the rule of law. But we need your help to fight back.

STAND WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT

This is bigger than politics. This is about justice and safety. Are you with us?

Sincerely,

Illinois Republicans

* Response from the Democratic Party of Illinois…

This email is nothing but an extension of the President’s dangerous disregard for the law. What’s clear here is that Donald Trump is a wannabe dictator who does not value the Constitution and Illinois Republicans are nothing more than his lap dogs. Instead of seeking to jail their political opponents and inciting violence in their communities, every single Republican in the state should condemn this violent, hateful rhetoric.

40 Comments

Vote YES On HB 2371 SA 2 To Protect The 340B Program And Invest In Low-Income Chicago Communities

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Support House Bill 2371 SA 2 to stop drugmakers from restricting the 340B program and patient access to care. Learn more.

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Isabel’s morning briefing (Updated)

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: ‘Dramatic, quick, and devastating’: Prairie Research Institute losing millions in funding. WCIA…

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

Sponsored by Ameren Illinois

The summer of 2025 has been a tough one for residents and businesses in the Ameren Illinois service territory. Supply constraints, extreme hot and humid conditions, and increased energy usage have led to a significant spike in electricity prices and higher-than-normal monthly bills for residential, commercial and industrial energy users. We appreciate and thank legislators, regulators and stakeholders who are working hard to address the energy challenge in Illinois. Energy policy is complex, and we’re encouraged that there are some creative ideas being proposed and a willingness to work together to find answers.

While Ameren Illinois cannot control the price or availability of energy, we can ensure that the system that delivers energy to homes and businesses — electric poles, wires, and technology; and natural gas distribution pipelines and storage fields — is equipped to operate at peak performance to withstand severe weather events, facilitate business expansions that grow local communities, and enable the transition to renewable generation.

We have an opportunity to build an energy system that is smarter, cleaner, reliable, resilient, and affordable for Illinois families and businesses. As discussions on short- and long-term legislative solutions occur this fall, we will continue to advocate for our 1.2 million customers.

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.

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

* Governor Pritzker will hold a press conference with former U.S. Major Generals, Admirals, and veterans to discuss the militarization of American cities. Click here to watch at 11 am.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Gov. JB Pritzker won $1.4 million via gambling, 2024 tax returns show: The latest windfall was boosted by $1,425,000 in gambling winnings, their federal filing shows, in addition to $4.2 million in capital gains, nearly $3.9 million in ordinary dividends and more than $800,000 in taxable interest. Pritzker doesn’t take a salary as governor.

…Adding… NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern…

Since reporters noticed ⁦@GovPritzker⁩ reported $1.4M in gambling winnings on his income tax filing - so many questions. Today his spokesman says the Las Vegas blackjack winnings will be donated. pic.twitter.com/pXcYHHntLp

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) October 16, 2025

* Capitol City Now | SNAP changes leave a bitter taste: Kate Maehr, executive director and CEO of the Greater Chicago Food Depository and co-chair of the Illinois Commission to End Hunger, said the federal government, which has been paying virtually 100 percent of the costs, will eventually offload up to $800 million per year to Illinois. Maehr said such requirements add unnecessary hoops to jump through and do not promote work or economic stability.

*** Statewide ***

* Abortion, Every Day | Illinois Woman Denied Treatment for Ectopic Pregnancy: The 28-year-old—who had to go to multiple healthcare centers and hospitals before getting the care she needed—tells me that she was sure she was going to die. “I was 100% convinced,” she says. That’s in no small part because Harmonie lost her right fallopian tube in another ectopic pregnancy a few years ago. So when she was diagnosed again last week, she knew how dangerous the situation was—and how important it was to get quick treatment. […] Here’s what Harmonie didn’t know: this particular OBGYN was affiliated with Ascension—a multi-billion dollar Catholic health system that’s been at the center of similar firestorms. A federal investigation actually found that an Ascension hospital in Texas violated EMTALA when they refused another woman care for her ectopic pregnancy in 2023.

*** Statehouse News ***

* NCSL | His Advice After Beating Cancer? ‘Maximize the Moments’: “I’ve always had an enthusiasm and positivity,” Evans says. “But when you have cancer, and you’re near death, and you make it through, you just value time more. It has changed me tremendously because I don’t want to miss an opportunity. I just try to maximize the moments.” He adds, “I’m going to live life until life is no more. You’ve got to keep moving through life’s challenges.”

* AP | Illinois Joins Other States in Forming a Public Health Alliance in Rebuke of Trump Administration: They’re framing it as a way to share data, messages about threats, emergency preparedness and public health policy — and as a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s administration, which they say isn’t doing its job in public health. “At a time when the federal government is telling the states, ‘you’re on your own,’ governors are banding together,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said in a statement.

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker tax summaries show more than $10M in 2024 income — not including trusts: The 2024 summary prepared by Deloitte Tax LLP shows Pritzker and his wife, MK, made $10.7 million, including $4.2 million from capital gains. Pritzker received a $4.8 million standard deduction, meaning he paid taxes on $5.9 million in income. The trust benefiting the Pritzkers paid $4.5 million in state taxes and $30.2 million in federal taxes last year, according to his campaign. The first family also reported $3.3 million in charitable donations. […] Mitchell made $595,830 last year and claimed a $65,841 deduction.

* WMBD | Illinois lawmakers clash on how to condemn political violence: Democrats and Republicans went back and forth, criticizing the other party in its failure to reduce political violence. […] Two lawmakers on the House floor said they have received death threats over being a lawmaker. Democrat state Rep. Harry Benton said he’s been physically assaulted and had his cars taillights smashed in. State Rep. Nicole La Ha has recently received threats to her life for being a lawmaker. The Republican from Lemont said the House should do more to reduce political tensions.

* WAND | Insurance group calls for ‘fairness’ in response to IL SOS town halls: Illinois Insurance Association Executive Director Kevin Martin told WAND News that no one from the Secretary of State’s office has “engaged experts” from the insurance industry. “Political theater is not the best approach for public policy development and risks doing a disservice to the millions of Illinoisans who rely on a stable, competitive insurance marketplace,” Martin said in a statement to WAND.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Same Name, New Legacy: Ald. Walter ‘Red’ Burnett on His New Role and Development in the West Loop: The 29-year-old Walter “Red” Burnett was confirmed Sept. 25, officially making him the youngest member of the City Council. Burnett says he is charting a new path for the 27th Ward, overseeing several development projects and addressing affordability for longtime residents.

* Sun-Times | What to know about PIT, the driving maneuver feds used in Southeast Side car chase: The maneuver, known as a precision immobilization technique, or PIT, is a driving tactic used by some law enforcement agencies to end a vehicle pursuit. However, some law enforcement professionals, legal experts and advocates say the move is ineffective and dangerous. Many police departments across the country, including the Chicago Police Department, bar or limit their officers from using the maneuver.

* Tribune | CPS tells JROTC students to only wear military-issued uniforms inside: The district is immediately revising its dress code policy to require students to travel to and from school in civilian clothes, wrote Tyese Sims, executive director of CPS’ JROTC department, in a Friday letter to families. “Unfortunately, when they are in uniform, there is no way for the general public to distinguish these CPS students from members of the military, including the National Guard,” Sims said.

* Sun-Times | Driven by arts and culture, pedestrian traffic in Downtown Chicago exceeds pre-pandemic levels, report finds: New data from the Chicago Loop Alliance show that Downtown pedestrian traffic now exceeds pre-pandemic levels from 2019, with more visitors drawn by arts and culture and dining. The new numbers validate efforts to make the Loop a social destination and combat high retail and office vacancy rates that have plagued the area since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CLA President and CEO Michael Edwards. But even as the Loop evolves into a more complete urban district, there are concerns that threats from President Donald Trump to send the National Guard to Chicago — currently delayed due to a federal appeals court ruling — could impact progress.

* Chicago Reader | Chicago’s creatures of the night: Fidino studies how animals change their behavior according to their environment, especially when their environment contains humans. In Chicago, he and his colleagues at the zoo monitor one hundred or so motion-triggered trail cameras, or camera traps, that they’ve scattered in a 25-mile radius from the city’s center: in city parks, outside forest preserves, on golf courses, along the 606 trail, and in cemeteries. “We’ve got cameras next to the Bean!” he told me. Four times a year, for the last 15 years, those cameras are turned on for a month.

* Sun-Times | ‘Chicago Rat Hole’ was not made by a rat, say rodent researchers: The “Chicago Rat Hole” captured hearts in Chicago and on social media last year. Researchers analyzed the anatomical dimensions of the famous imprint and found the creature responsible was not a rat, but most likely a squirrel.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Press release…

U.S. Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Chicago, and Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago, join elected officials, community leaders, advocates and voters to launch Juanita Irizarry’s candidacy for District 1 commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review.

The Chicago Democrat will be supported by Illinois’ Latino and progressive communities, including state Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago; former Cook County Clerk David Orr; Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th); Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st); Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd); Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th); Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th); Ald. Jeylú B. Gutiérrez (14th); Josina Morita, County Board commissioner; and Ebony DeBerry, member of the Chicago Board of Education. They will stand with Irizarry as she draws sharp ethical contrasts between herself and her opponent who has long been supported by corporate interests.

WHO: Speakers at the news conference will include:

U.S. Rep. Jesús G.
“Chuy” García, D-Chicago
U.S. Rep Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago
State Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th)
Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd)

WHEN & WHERE: 9:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20, 2025

Northwest Corner of Wabash Street and Wacker Drive on the Chicago River across from Trump International Hotel & Tower

* Shaw Local | McHenry County Board to consider raising property tax levy to pre-referendum level: Under the state lookback law, a taxing body is permitted to reset its property tax levy to the highest level in the past three years. In the county’s case, doing that would bump the levy up to the $73.8 million it approved in 2023. The levy was lowered to about $65 million last year after voters approved switching the Mental Health Board funding mechanism to a sales tax.

* Tribune | Hollywood Casino Joliet posts higher revenue at new land-based facility in September: The new Joliet casino, which opened in August, generated more than $11.2 million in adjusted gross receipts last month, ranking fourth in revenue among the state’s 17 casinos, according to Illinois Gaming Board data. That’s up 48% year-over-year, when Hollywood Casino Joliet was an aging vessel docked on the Des Plaines River. Admissions to Hollywood Casino Joliet topped 96,000 for September, ranking fifth in the state and up nearly 75% over last year, according to Gaming Board data.

* Daily Herald | Metra reviewing cause of glitch that delayed thousands: About 80 trains and thousands of passengers on the Metra Electric Milwaukee District, Rock Island, Southwest Service and Union Pacific lines were delayed. The glitch started around 5 p.m. and involved the Positive Train Control (PTC) system, technology designed to stop a train if a crash is imminent. “What happened was a telecom network time-source failure,” Metra spokesperson Meg Thomas-Reile explained Wednesday. “Basically, the times weren’t syncing in the system, and when it did that … some of the devices went back to 2006.

* Daily Herald | Barrington borrowing $6.8 million to replace iron filtration plant: The village board this week agreed to issue general obligation bonds to be paid off over a 20-year period. It will pay off the bonds by charging water users a fixed monthly fee. Deputy Village Manager Marie Hansen said the village is still deciding out how much users will pay. That will be determined when the village passes next year’s budget.

* Crain’s | Maplewood Brewery expands to Glen Ellyn, defying industry headwinds: Maplewood plans to take over the home of Two Hound Red, a brewpub that closed Oct. 12. Co-founder and CEO Adam Cieslak said he expects the new location, which will be Maplewood’s second, to open by early spring. “For some time, we had been looking at just growth and expansion opportunities,” said Cieslak, who grew up in the western suburbs along with co-founders Paul Megalis and Ari Megalis. “We’ve looked at a lot of different buildings, a lot of different areas. . . .We went and saw (this one) and really, really liked the spot, and thought it’d be a nice growth opportunity out into the suburbs.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Officials share more information about Martinton grain bin collapse: Terry Winger, General Manager of the Donovan Farmers Cooperative location in Martinton, said employees noticed one of the cement silos showing “signs of distress.” Employees evacuated the site and contacted first responders. Several hours later, the silo collapsed.

* BND | Metro-east IDOT supervisor back at work, despite scathing report on bad behavior: Yet the yard supervisor, Joe Hamm, a non-management union member whose formal title is “lead worker,” returned to the job last fall after being on administrative leave for 10 months with full pay during the investigations, according to employees. “It was a paid vacation,” said Highway Maintainer Mike Turner, 32, of Godfrey, one of seven employees who complained about Hamm’s behavior in 2023, prompting the investigations. Investigators interviewed more than 25 other employees, past and present, before concluding that “sufficient evidence” existed to back up most of the allegations and that Hamm’s superiors had failed to intervene or take corrective action.

* Rockford Register Star | Rockford area judge suffers ‘threats and harassment’ after releasing homicide suspect: Winnebago County Chief Judge John Lowry is blaming a Facebook post by Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara for a spate of “threats and harassment.” They come after McNamara posted comments critical of Associate Judge Heidi E. Ruckman-Agustsson’s decision to grant pretrial release to a suspect charged with first-degree murder. The release came over the objections of the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s office which has filed a motion asking the courts to reconsider.

* IPM News | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign unlikely to join federal higher education compact: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign leaders said Monday the school would likely decline to join the kind of compact the Trump administration has proposed for higher education institutions. Illinois’ flagship university was not one of the nine universities invited to join the compact. During a student and faculty senate meeting, Provost John Coleman recognized a similar request could come from the White House in the future.

* WGLT | Bloomington mayor says sales tax vote is consistent with earlier decisions: Last month, the council created the local tax to begin when a similar state tax expires at the end of the year. It was supposed to help narrow a structural budget deficit and be used for infrastructure. Brady broke a tie vote Monday night that now dedicates all the $3 million in estimated annual grocery tax money to infrastructure. “We tangibly show the electorate, the taxpayers, what are we going to do with the money. It’s not just going back to the city general fund,” said Brady.

* SJ-R | With the Sean Grayson trial on the brink, a timeline of the Sonya Massey shooting: With the trial of former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, accused of murdering Sonya Massey, set to begin in Peoria on Oct. 20, The State Journal-Register has compiled a timeline of events, beginning with the fatal shooting on July 6, 2024.

* WCIA | Central Illinois National Guard units under federal command in Chicago: WCIA confirmed with U.S. Northern Command, which is in command of National Guard troops in Chicago, that the troops will be mobilized for 60 days and will be under the command and control of the Commander of U.S. Northern Command for that time. This means the troops are under federal command, not state command. While the Northern Command was unable to break down the specific number of troops from each Central Illinois armory, staff could confirm troops from the armories in the region were among those in Chicago.

* WCIA | SNAP benefit cuts impacting food banks in Central Illinois: Volunteers with the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Champaign said with more SNAP benefit cuts on the horizon… the soup kitchen will be serving more people and handing out more meals. The president, Bob Goss, said they went from serving around 600 meals a day to nearly 1,000 in just the past six months. He said they serve a five-course-meal every day at noon… and then send their guests home with a sack lunch.

* WBEZ | Students for profit? University of Illinois campuses pay company per online student: The University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Illinois Springfield are paying a for-profit company for each student it recruits to online programs — a practice that would be illegal if done by the universities’ admissions offices and one that’s been banned by another state, a WBEZ investigation has found. Critics, including U.S. senators and consumer protection advocates, say this kind of arrangement incentivizes the company, Risepoint, to recruit as many students as possible, whether the online programs are a good fit or will help the students get better jobs or make more money.

*** National ***

* NYT | Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People: The proposals also advise Mr. Trump to prioritize Europeans who have been “targeted for peaceful expression of views online such as opposition to mass migration or support for ‘populist’ political parties.” That appeared to be a reference to the European far-right political party Alternative for Germany, whose leaders have trivialized the Holocaust, revived Nazi slogans and denigrated foreigners. Vice President JD Vance has criticized Germany for trying to suppress the views of the group, which is known as the AfD.

* The Atlantic | The Lincoln Way: How he used America’s past to rescue its future: Cautions aside, Lincoln’s claim that the Declaration carried across generations set him squarely against those who sought to narrow its promise. In its Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court declared that Black Americans “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect” and sought to anchor that exclusion in the very history of the founding. To Lincoln, that teaching did not merely misread the past—it rewrote it, extinguishing the Revolution’s promise in the present. He claimed that whoever “teaches that the negro has no share, humble though it may be, in the Declaration of Independence” was “muzzling the cannon that thunders” the Revolution’s “annual joyous return.”

* SCOTUS blog | Court appears ready to curtail major provision of the Voting Rights Act: The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared ready to strike down a 2024 congressional map that a group of voters has challenged as the product of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering – that is, according to them, it sorts voters based on race in violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. During nearly two-and-a-half hours of oral arguments, the court’s conservative justices signaled that they are likely to undermine a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, even if they may not ultimately strike it down altogether.

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Good morning!

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This one’s for the Herbivore…

Let us do our living
Right down here

What’s up?

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

We’re experimenting this week with a new app which feeds Bluesky posts. Still tweaking it…

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WGLT…

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has filed a lawsuit against State Farm alleging the insurance giant has not complied with a regulatory examination.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Illinois Department of Insurance [IDOI] Director Ann Gillespie, alleges the Bloomington-based company did not comply during an examination into its nationwide homeowner’s insurance business.

State Farm said the lawsuit is without merit and “has nothing to do with Illinois customers or the cost of their insurance.”

Raoul’s office said IDOI is seeking zip-code level nationwide data about State Farm’s policies, including premiums collected, the types of policy coverage and insurance limits, and the number of claims against the policy.

Raoul charges State Farm violated the Illinois insurance code by refusing to provide the data.

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Learn more about the impact of a delivery tax and why we MUST stop it.

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* Stelantis announced plans to reopen the Belvidere plant yesterday. Bloomberg today…

Canada threatened legal action against Stellantis NV after the carmaker announced it would shift Jeep Compass SUV manufacturing from Brampton, Ontario to Belvidere, Illinois following President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Industry Minister Melanie Joly would consider Stellantis in “default” in light of government support extended to the automaker, following an agreement to “maintain its full Canadian footprint, including Brampton,” she told Chief Executive Officer Antonio Filosa in a letter seen by Bloomberg, dated Wednesday.

Joly called the plan to move Jeep manufacturing south of the border “unacceptable” and demanded Stellantis “quickly identify new mandates for Brampton that ensure the facility remains central to your manufacturing footprint, and that contracts with Canadian suppliers be honored.” […]

Joly specifically identified “legally binding commitments” Stellantis made in the past such as by accepting support via Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund.

* WAND…

Governor JB Pritzker has joined the launch of the Governors Public Health Alliance, a new multi-state coalition aimed at defending public health and science-based healthcare policy.

The Alliance includes 15 governors, collectively representing 129 million Americans — or roughly 37% of the U.S. population.

The group plans to coordinate efforts on issues like vaccine policy, healthcare access, and emergency response, especially in light of recent federal actions that state leaders say have undermined trust in science and created confusion around public health guidelines.

*** Statewide ***

* WAND | IDNR grants send 740+ Illinois students to historic sites: More than 740 students across Illinois will have the chance to explore the state’s rich history this school year, thanks to over $6,740 in grants awarded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The funding comes from the IDNR’s State Historic Sites Field Trip Grant Program, which helps schools cover the cost of transportation for educational field trips to state historic sites. According to the IDNR, this year’s awards — distributed through 14 grants across 12 counties — mark the largest amount of funding given by the program since it began in the 2020-2021 school year.

*** Congressionals ***

* Tribune | Laura Washington: Former US Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. explains how he hopes to win voters back: “So, of the petitions that we will file, 80% of them will have been gathered in front of the Markham courthouse, the single busiest building in the 2nd Congressional District,” he said. Thousands of people flow through the courthouse every week, Jackson Jr. said, and they are “walking past our circulators, signing our petitions. So, I’m not running away from the criminal justice system. I’m not running away from what I’ve been through or the story that men and women in this district are experiencing every single day.”

* In the 9th CD…

In #IL09, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss just barely edged out Kat Abughazaleh, raising $620,809 to her $620,152 last quarter. Abughazaleh has slightly more cash on hand — $1,012,275 to Biss' $1,010,267. #twill

— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) October 15, 2025

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson rejects IG recommendation he fire top advisor: Johnson declined to fire the advisor, senior Jason Lee, and denied that he failed to cooperate with the investigation. The back and forth was revealed in a summary report released Wednesday by the city’s top watchdog. Lee is not named by the inspector general’s office, which is generally prohibited from identifying officials by name, but he called the Tribune to defend his handling of the case. Witzburg’s report stems from fall 2023 encounters between Lee and Ald. Bill Conway. At the time, Johnson was pushing an increased real estate transfer tax on properties over $1 million to help fund citywide homeless services and an end to the tipped wage for restaurant workers. Conway was looking to have an encampment near Union and Ogilvie stations removed, which he said was a trouble spot for drugs and violent crime in the ward.

* Block Club | 15-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Taken By Feds For 5 Hours After East Side Protest, Attorney Says: In the commotion the 15-year-old boy, a Black and Hispanic U.S. citizen, was slammed to the ground, kneed in the back and zip-tied by Border Patrol agents, attorneys from the Romanucci and Blandin law firm said in a statement. The boy was taken to a federal facility and handcuffed inside a car in a garage for five hours, according to the attorneys. He was never booked, read his rights or allowed to contact his mother, who had “no idea where her son was or whether he [was] safe,” according to the attorneys.

* Crain’s | Bally’s faces lender wrath on debt plan involving Chicago casino: A group of lenders have banded together in a cooperation pact to block Bally’s latest attempt on Tuesday to amend some of its roughly $1.9 billion term loan, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Bally’s had failed to secure their support by last week’s deadline, with investors concerned about the value of their collateral and future paydowns, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private situation.

* Tribune | Two Chicago cops, firefighter and ex-city employee charged with lying about income to get housing subsidies: Charged in four separate indictments were: Fredrick White, 37, and Sherry Chester, 44, both veterans of the Chicago police department; Kaneasha Twyman, 37, a veteran firefighter and paramedic; and Tyrone Coleman, 61, a retired hoisting engineer with the Department of Water Management. Each defendant was charged with defrauding a government program and wire fraud. Coleman pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Tuesday before U.S. District Judge John Kness, court records show. His lawyer, Chris Hotaling, declined to comment.

* WTTW | ‘Back Off’: Pritzker Blames ICE Strike Teams for Creating ‘Mayhem’ Across Chicago: “ICE is causing this mayhem,” Pritzker told reporters after an unrelated event. “They’re the ones who are tossing tear gas when people are peacefully protesting. ICE is the one who’s going into neighborhoods where they, frankly, are causing fear among people who live in those neighborhoods, work in those neighborhoods, so they need to back off.”

* Tribune | Feds target ride-share drivers at O’Hare: ‘They didn’t focus on anybody who didn’t look Mexican’: Last Friday, Border Patrol officers arrested 18 people at O’Hare, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed. Labor groups said immigration officers targeted the ride-share drivers’ parking lot. Stacy McCloud, who works at a food truck in the lot, told the Tribune she saw it all. Immigration agents came to the parking lot twice Friday, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, McCloud said Monday. They surrounded the lot and blocked off its entrance, she said.

* Block Club | Hundreds Pack ‘Whistlemania’ Events To Fight ICE In Chicago: ‘We Have To Stand Up For One Another’: Participants put together the kits that included a whistle, a Know Your Rights printout, a zine with instructions on how and when to use the whistle and rights cards that can be handed to an immigration officer if someone is detained. Ultimately, people helped pack more than 17,000 whistle kits that can help protect neighbors, said Alonso Zaragoza, one of the organizers and leader of Belmont Cragin United.

* Block Club | Block Club Chicago Launches WhatsApp Channel Focused On Chicago Immigration News: Block Club’s team knows how confusing and fast immigration news is hitting Chicago as Operation Midway Blitz continues. So, in the hopes of simplifying the news for our readers, we’ve launched a WhatsApp channel to share Block Club’s daily recaps of ICE news and other breaking immigration news directly to your phone.

* Tribune | Chicago man indicted for allegedly soliciting killing of Gregory Bovino, but without contention of gang involvement: The initial criminal complaint filed earlier this month alleged Martinez was a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings street gang and was marshaling gang resources to go after Bovino, who was not specifically identified as the target. While the indictment does not mention any gang affiliation, prosecutors could still revive those allegations later in superseding charges or if the case were to get to trial.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Lake County News-Sun | Lake County votes to bar federal agents from government-owned property: ‘We are in a time of fascism’: Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, District 13, said State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart tracked down the executive order and drafted a similar resolution. According to a State’s Attorney’s Office representative, officials have identified 28 locations that would be impacted by the decision, although additional research might lead to the discovery of more locations. The move comes as Lake County finds itself caught up in a broader immigration enforcement fight in the Chicago area. Last week, a Waukegan incident caught on video drew notable media attention when Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham attempted to intervene in the arrest of native-born American citizen Dariana Fajardo.

* ABC Chicago | Evanston-Skokie District 65 presents proposed school closure scenarios to address budget deficit: The school board talked about school closure scenarios to address a combination of money problems and declining enrollment. On Tuesday afternoon, people started to gather at Dawes Elementary in Evanston to protest some of these proposed plans. “You were wrong, and your misjudgment has harmed real people,” one parent at the meeting said.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora looks to expand allowed number of gambling machines: Aurora is looking at expanding the number of gambling terminals establishments are allowed to have, which officials say could bring in over $200,000 a year in new revenue for the city. Currently, city code allows licensed establishments to have up to five “video gaming” terminals. The new proposal would increase that number to six and increase the total number of allowed terminals within city limits by 40 for a total of 240.

* Daily Southtown | Will County state’s attorney employee faces felony charges: Amy Burgett-Masse, an employee of the state’s attorney’s office, was also charged with two counts of official misconduct, both felonies, for knowingly using her position “with the intent to obstruct, impede, or prevent the investigation, apprehension, or prosecution of (a) criminal offense or person,” the charges state. The computer tampering incidents allegedly took place between Sept. 20, 2024 to May 6, according to court documents.

* Daily Herald | E-bike and e-scooter regulations coming to Mundelein: Mundelein is joining the growing list of suburbs taking on the battery-powered bikes, scooters and other motorized wheeled machines that have become omnipresent in recent months — and the safety issues that has created. Responding to a resident’s grievance during Monday’s village board meeting, Mayor Robin Meier said the issue “is under discussion” at village hall.

* Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Unveils Zero-Emission Locomotives Manufactured in Minooka: Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) joined Innovative Rail Technologies (IRT) and Motive Power Resources, Inc. (MPR) to celebrate the commissioning of their latest zero-emission, battery electric locomotive. Bolstered by a Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) agreement, Motive Power Resources, Inc. has been expanding their facilities to increase production of IRT-designed battery electric locomotives and battery configurations to retrofit diesel locomotives for use in the United States and Canada.

*** Downstate ***

* WQAD | Legality concerns over Rock Island’s social services licensing ordinance: Advocacy groups are claiming the City of Rock Island’s ordinance on social services licensing violates the Illinois Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act On Monday, Rock Island City Council passed an ordinance regulating what social services must do to receive licensing. The new ordinance will affect any new services, while existing services such as Project NOW and Christian Care have 90 days to apply for the license.

* WMBD | CASA expands to Fulton County, boosting foster child advocacy: This will allow more children in the foster care system to have advocates make sure their voices are heard in court, CASA Executive Director Kelly Price said. CASA is a nonprofit organization that recruits and trains Court Appointed Special Advocates for children who have experienced abuse or neglect.

* WCIA | Former EIU staff, union president speak out on job cuts: “I have devoted 20 years to public broadcasting, you know, WEIU TV. This has been my dream job. I have loved PBS so much that this is what I wanted to do for a living. I started out at the bottom of the barrel, I was a master control operator, and then I just got promoted, and I wanted to be the program director because I want to pick the shows that people watch, the shows that I love, and now I can’t do that,” White said. He is one of the 17 staff members being laid off.

* Fox Chicago | Forgotten 1800s cemetery finds new life thanks to local volunteers: After nearly a century of neglect, the Naramor Cemetery in LaSalle County, about 90 miles southwest of Chicago, is re-emerging from the weeds, thanks to some dedicated volunteers and an amateur historian. FOX 32’s Dane Placko reports the old cemetery is providing a treasure trove of new information. “You’re looking at a cemetery that was completely forgotten and destroyed,” said John Kettman, caretaker of the cemetery.

* BND | Judge rules Cahokia school district broke labor law at start of last year : “By their words and actions, viewed objectively from the standpoint of a reasonable employee, (Superintendent Curtis) McCall (Jr.) and (Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Tanya) Mitchell conveyed to the District’s gathered employees (that) the Union was ineffectual and it was futile to trust it could make gains on their behalf,” Brosnan wrote. “And, accordingly, those words and actions had the effect of coercing, restraining or interfering with those employees’ exercise of protected rights.”

* BND | SWIC to spend millions on capital improvements and other metro-east college news: SWIC is moving ahead with $62 million in capital projects. These aim to improve and expand its campuses, yet significant details remain undisclosed. Plans involve constructing a multi-use building for the police academy. SIUE announced a balanced budget after a previous deficit. Chancellor James Minor shared enrollment growth and program cuts that contributed to this financial achievement.

*** National ***

* Hollywood Reporter | YouTube Just Ate TV. It’s Only Getting Started: When asked a few minutes later whether that means YouTube is in a strong position to carry exclusive NFL games going forward, Goodell was unequivocal. “Absolutely,” he said. But as big a deal as YouTube becoming a league broadcast partner would be (on top of its existing $2 billion deal for NFL Sunday Ticket), the platform’s scale and cultural relevance were also on display in Santa Clara. Even with the 49ers on the field, a large group of kids on a rope line near the stands were screaming for one of the creators that had joined Mohan, sports influencer Jesse “Jesser” Riedel, as parents jockeyed to get them closer for a photo or autograph.

* AP | Supreme Court seems inclined to limit race-based electoral districts under the Voting Rights Act: During 2 1/2 hours of arguments, the court’s six conservative justices seemed inclined to effectively strike down a Black majority congressional district in Louisiana because it relied too heavily on race. Such an outcome would mark a fundamental change in the 1965 voting rights law, the centerpiece legislation of the Civil Rights Movement, that succeeded in opening the ballot box to Black Americans and reducing persistent discrimination in voting.

* Bloomberg | China’s Soy Imports Hit September Record, Despite Avoiding US: China’s soybean imports hit a record high for the month of September, even as the country avoids US supplies amid a resurgence in trade tensions between the agriculture powerhouses. The world’s top buyer brought in 12.9 million tons of soybeans in September, the highest ever recorded for that month, customs data showed. Chinese crushers have been bolstering supplies of the oilseed with shipments mainly from Brazil, and in the meantime, shunning US cargoes as high tariffs and political risks make the trade unviable.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - An update to yesterday’s edition

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition and a bit more

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Critical 340B Program Needs Federal Reforms

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update to today’s edition

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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It’s Time To Bring Safer Rides To Illinois

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Waymo is ready to bring safe, reliable, autonomous rides to Illinois – but we need your help!

Ready to ride? Help bring Waymo to Illinois.

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It’s just a bill

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Subscribers know more. WAND…

While [House Minority Leader Tony McCombie] is not optimistic about work getting done this week, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told WAND News it is time to address actions threatening public safety.

“We’re seeing the chaos that Donald Trump is causing in American cities with military troops and ICE, and border patrol hundreds of miles from the border,” Welch said. “It’s just total chaos being created by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.”

Democrats hope to limit ICE agents from detaining people in courthouses, expand the definition of law enforcement prohibited from cooperating with immigration enforcement, and potentially ban law enforcement from wearing masks or neck gaiters on the job. Yet, Republicans strongly oppose those ideas.

House Speaker Chris Welch…

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and members of the House Democratic leadership team will address the media Wednesday to discuss work ahead during the fall session against the backdrop of unprecedented federal overreach affecting communities across Illinois.

Welch and members will hold a media availability at 11:45 a.m. outside of the Speaker’s Capitol Officer (Room 300), before proceeding to the floor for session.

* The Illinois Gaming Board recently adopted a rule banning credit card use for sports betting. Rep. Curtis Tarver filed HB4149 yesterday…

Amends the Illinois Lottery Law. Prohibits a person from selling a lottery ticket or share on a credit basis. Amends the Illinois Gambling Act. Provides that an automated teller machine (ATM) located within a casino shall not be able to perform cash advances on credit cards. Prohibits a person from using a credit card to participate in a gambling game.

* Sen. Laura Fine filed SB2684…

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that no insurance company that is authorized to do business in the State and that issues policies for personal multiperil property coverage, commonly known as homeowners insurance, shall use premiums collected from policyholders for executive employee compensation and bonuses, including, but not limited to, Chief Executive Officer stock buy-backs; any marketing materials, including, but not limited to, any print, radio, television, electronic, or digital advertisements; costs associated with lobbying; and contributions to State candidates for elected office, federal candidates for elected office, or political committees. Provides that, if an insurer that sells homeowner insurance policies in the State cancels or refuses to renew a policyholder’s insurance policy or if, upon renewal, a policyholder’s premium will increase by 10% or more, the insurer shall automatically provide a written notice to the policyholder disclosing the causes of any policy cancellation, non-renewal, or premium increase. Sets forth requirements for the content of the required notice. Provides that an insurer shall, within a reasonable time after providing notice to a policyholder, file electronically with the Department of Insurance a copy of the notice and any supporting documentation provided to the policyholder. Provides that, on or before July 1, 2026, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall establish a homeowners and renters insurance affordability assistance pilot program. Sets forth criteria for participating in the pilot program. Repeals the provisions concerning the pilot program on July 1, 2030.

* Rep. Bob Rita…

State Rep. Robert “Bob” Rita today urged legislators to pass House Bill 1812 to help Cook County Homeowners appeal their property tax assessments and reduce their tax burdens.

House Bill 1812 would ensure Cook County homeowners have a voice in the property tax appeal process:

- Affords homeowners sufficient time to respond to Board of Review decisions on the assessed value of their homes
- Allows for all homeowners to have a hearing about their appeal at the Board of Review when they or their attorney requests one
- Ensures Board of Review decisions include information submitted by homeowners by requiring the Board to consider all evidence submitted by homeowners with their appeals
- Allows for Board of Review to continue its practice of assisting homeowners who do not have attorneys for their appeals
- Requires Board of Review to provide an explanation of its decision to homeowners and their attorneys

HB1812 was introduced early this year and did not move during spring session.

* SB2675 from Sen. Willie Preston…

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that notwithstanding any prior exclusion, any person incarcerated under an indeterminate sentence on the effective date of the amendatory Act whose minimum term was 20 years or more as of February 1, 1978, may elect to be resentenced under the 1978 determinate sentencing law. Provides that the election must be made in writing to the Department of Corrections, which shall inform all eligible persons within 60 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that the Department of Corrections shall provide all necessary forms and assistance to eligible persons. Provides that upon election, the person’s indeterminate sentence shall be converted to a determinate sentence consistent with the 1978 sentencing structure and the offense for which the person was convicted. Provides that time served shall be applied retroactively, and the person shall be credited with all sentence credits and earned time applicable under the law in effect since the date of original commitment. Provides that any person whose recalculated determinate sentence has been fully served shall be immediately released to a mandatory supervised release term under the terms applicable to the offense class and sentence length at the time of original sentencing. Provides that the Prisoner Review Board shall schedule hearings for eligible persons who elect the option within 180 days after receiving their request. Provides that thereafter, continued review shall occur no less frequently than every 12 months, unless earlier action is deemed by the Board to be appropriate. Provides that nothing in the provision shall be construed to require parole or mandatory supervised release for any person who does not elect the option, or who is otherwise ineligible. Effective immediately.

* The Tribune…

One of the Illinois legislature’s biggest opponents of the Chicago Bears’ plan to relocate outside the city introduced legislation on Tuesday that could stall or hinder the team’s efforts, but significant questions remain about whether the bill will garner enough support or when it might be voted on.

The legislation from state Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago — a former University of Illinois football player who represents the district where Soldier Field is located — calls for greater transparency around stadium deals in Illinois and could require the team to dig deeper into its pockets. It remains silent, however, about major financial issues, including whether the franchise would have to pay off outstanding debt for the 2003 Soldier Field renovation, a point some opponents of the team’s move have said is a bare minimum for their support. […]

“I want to at least lay down the tracks for what the rules of engagement are for us,” Buckner said. “We’ve asked the Bears to come forward with a plan and show their work and show how this is a net benefit to the people. I think they’ve fallen short of that. And so, I think now the ball is back in our court. It’s incumbent upon us to tell what we need to hear from them.” […]

In addition, the Buckner bill targets the Bears’ plans to negotiate a long-term property tax deal with local schools and other taxing bodies, which is a crucial aspect of the team’s plan to relocate to northwest suburban Arlington Heights. Under Buckner’s proposed legislation, sports franchises would instead have to reimburse schools, libraries and emergency services for property taxes lost as a result of stadium agreements.

* SB2700 from Sen. Christopher Belt…

Amends the Local Mass Transit District Act. Provides that the board of trustees of any local mass transit district may: (1) initiate transit-oriented developments and trail-oriented developments; (2) partner with public bodies, private entities, non-profit organizations, or institutions for the purpose of these developments; (3) acquire real property or facilities for the purpose of these developments; (4) own, maintain, design, construct, reconstruct, improve, repair, operate, or lease any facilities for the purpose of these developments; (5) use funds and property of these districts for the purpose of these developments; and (6) borrow money, issue bonds, apply for grants, and enter into lease agreements or intergovernmental agreements for the purpose of these developments.

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Vote YES On HB 2371 SA 2 To Protect The 340B Program And Invest In Low-Income Chicago Communities

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Support House Bill 2371 SA 2 to stop drugmakers from restricting the 340B program and patient access to care. Learn more.

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Over half of Illinois municipalities have implemented a local grocery tax

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Illinois Municipal League…

The Illinois Municipal League (IML) announced [Monday] that 656 municipalities across Illinois – more than half of all municipalities in the state – have adopted an ordinance establishing a 1% local grocery sales tax to replace the statewide grocery tax when it expires on January 1, 2026.

The statewide 1% grocery sales tax, a critical revenue source for essential local government services, was repealed as part of the State Fiscal Year 2025 budget. Without this funding, many communities would face significant budget shortfalls affecting essential services such as public safety, public utilities and infrastructure maintenance and repair.

To address these challenges, IML successfully advocated for legislation granting both home rule and non-home rule municipalities local authority to implement a 1% local grocery sales tax by ordinance.

“Sales tax revenues – for general merchandise or groceries, alike – are a cornerstone of many local budgets across Illinois, which is why 50.7% of municipalities took action to preserve this funding,” said IML Chief Executive Officer Brad Cole.

October 1, 2025, marked the deadline for municipalities to have passed an ordinance and file it with the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) to ensure it takes effect January 1, 2026, preventing any loss of revenue when the statewide tax ends. IML maintains an up-to-date list (available via this link) of the Illinois municipalities that have adopted these ordinances.

Municipalities considering adoption of a local grocery sales tax can still do so going forward, by submitting a certified copy of an ordinance to IDOR, postmarked by April 1 for July 1 implementation or by October 1 for January 1 implementation. IML encourages communities to adopt the tax promptly, even if they do not currently have a local grocery store, to prevent further revenue losses. A model ordinance, along with additional information and resources, is available at iml.org/grocerytax.

* Capitol News Illinois…

[The law] also gives non-home rule municipalities the authority to impose sales taxes by up to 1% without a referendum. Many communities took advantage of that option, including six of the state’s largest cities: Elgin, Rockford, Aurora, Joliet, Naperville and Peoria.

Enacting a local tax saves some municipalities from suffering a large budget shortfall, such as the $4.5 million Aurora would’ve lost without the tax, according to IML data.

Other small communities will receive far less from the tax, such as $30,000 for Oregon in Ogle County. Revenue from the tax varies in each community based on factors such as how many grocery stores there are in the municipality.

Springfield and Chicago were the only municipalities with more than 100,000 residents that did not enact a tax. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson supported a city tax, but the City Council never approved the ordinance. Going forward without the tax will cost the city $60-80 million, according to the IML. Chicago faces a $1.2 billion budget deficit in 2026. […]

Some communities have increased other taxes instead. Mundelein, Gurnee and Bartlett have each raised their sales tax rate to replace the grocery tax revenue, the Daily Herald reported.

Thoughts?

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When Times Are Tough, Credit Unions Step Up

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Illinois credit unions know life doesn’t pause when paychecks do. That’s why we’re here for our members — especially during moments of uncertainty like the federal government shutdown.

Cooperative Choice Network Credit Union has specially designed a Relief Loan Program designed to help bridge the gap and bring peace of mind when their members impacted by the government shutdown need it most. Highlights of the program include:

• 60-day Loan at 0% APR — Borrow up to your most recent net pay with no interest for 60 days.
• Flexible Repayment Options — If needed, refinance for up to 24 months once pay resumes.
• No Credit Check — For members with full direct deposit.
• Skip-A-Pay Option — Defer existing qualifying CCNCU loan payments until you’re back on your feet.

This program embodies the credit union difference of “people helping people.” Because at credit unions, you’re more than a member — you’re family. We show up for you when it matters most.

Learn more at https://www.ccncu.com/borrow/loan-specials

Paid for by the Illinois Credit Union League.

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Stellantis announces it will make Jeep SUVs again in Belvidere. Crain’s…

* Related stories…

• Fox 32: Stellantis says it will invest $600M to reopen Illinois assembly plant
• AP: Stellantis says it will invest $13 billion to expand its US operations, including at Belvidere plant
• WREX: Stellantis to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to reopen Belvidere plant

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

Sponsored by Ameren Illinois

The summer of 2025 has been a tough one for residents and businesses in the Ameren Illinois service territory. Supply constraints, extreme hot and humid conditions, and increased energy usage have led to a significant spike in electricity prices and higher-than-normal monthly bills for residential, commercial and industrial energy users. We appreciate and thank legislators, regulators and stakeholders who are working hard to address the energy challenge in Illinois. Energy policy is complex, and we’re encouraged that there are some creative ideas being proposed and a willingness to work together to find answers.

While Ameren Illinois cannot control the price or availability of energy, we can ensure that the system that delivers energy to homes and businesses — electric poles, wires, and technology; and natural gas distribution pipelines and storage fields — is equipped to operate at peak performance to withstand severe weather events, facilitate business expansions that grow local communities, and enable the transition to renewable generation.

We have an opportunity to build an energy system that is smarter, cleaner, reliable, resilient, and affordable for Illinois families and businesses. As discussions on short- and long-term legislative solutions occur this fall, we will continue to advocate for our 1.2 million customers.

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.

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

* Governor JB Pritzker will be in Minooka at 10:35 to give remarks at the unveiling of the latest zero-emission, battery-electric locomotive from Innovative Rail Technologies. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Crain’s | State Farm faces lawsuit from Illinois amid scrutiny over rate increases: Illinois filed a lawsuit against State Farm today claiming the insurer refused to comply with a regulatory examination into its homeowners business. The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of Illinois Director of Insurance Ann Gillespie, alleges State Farm did not provide the state examiners data related to premiums, types of policy coverage and insurance limits and claims against homeowners policies.

* Sun-Times | Top Cook County judge bars civil arrests at courthouses, citing chilling effect: The order takes effect Wednesday and bars the civil arrest of any “party, witness, or potential witness” while going to, remaining at or returning from court proceedings inside the courthouse or the larger property — such as parking lots, sidewalks or entryways — though judicial warrants can still be carried out.

* Tribune | State Board of Elections will decide next week on appeal of Senate President Harmon’s appeal of nearly $10 million fine: The board at its Tuesday meeting will consider the recommendation of Northbrook attorney Barbara Goodman, who heard arguments from Harmon’s attorney on Aug. 20 and found last week that Harmon’s campaign committee “failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the assessment was in error or that no actual violation of (the law) occurred.” At issue is an Illinois election law, which Harmon co-sponsored, aimed at curbing the influence of big money in political campaigns and one key provision that ostensibly was written to ensure lesser-funded candidates weren’t hurt by the campaign contribution limits. The provision sought to offset challenges from deep-pocketed rivals who self-fund their campaigns or have help from wealthy independent expenditure groups by lifting contribution limits for all candidates in a contest.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Ex-AT&T Illinois head could see bribery charges dismissed under agreement with feds:
But the government’s narrative was challenged by testimony from former AT&T Illinois lobbyist Steve Selcke, who denied Acevedo’s contract was a bribe and that it had anything to do with AT&T’s legislation. After Selcke took the stand under an immunity agreement from the feds during La Schiazza’s trial, prosecutors dropped him from their witness list in Madigan’s trial, leaving defense lawyers free to call him

* Illinois Review | PillowGate: McCombie and Norine Hammond Face Growing Backlash Over Taxpayer Spending and Political Favoritism: Even if no law was technically broken, the situation undermines public confidence in the Republican Party’s credibility on issues of ethics and fiscal discipline. Conservative watchdogs, including the Illinois Freedom Caucus, are demanding a full audit of McCombie’s office expenditures and an investigation by the House Ethics Commission.

* WMBD | Illinois lawmakers criticize state’s Department of Corrections new mail scanning system: “We received some answers to questions from our September meeting on Friday last week,” said state Rep. Ryan Spain, a Peoria Republican. “We have to accelerate and improve the collaborative process between the Department of Corrections and this committee.” Another sore point for lawmakers have been the tablets themselves. Even though the tablets were specifically designed to scan mail for inmates, lawmakers said they’ve heard the scanning apps are not working.

* Center Square | Lawmakers, advocates discuss battery storage, consumer costs in energy bill: State Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, expressed concerns about the cost of battery storage. “I know that any other line item put on a utility bill, a light bill, could just crush working-class people in these high inflationary times,” Preston told The Center Square last Friday. Preston said he’s a “hard no” on an energy omnibus.

* WAND | Back in action: Illinois House Speaker, Minority Leader break down veto session priorities: While McCombie is not optimistic about work getting done this week, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told WAND News it is time to address actions threatening public safety. […] Democrats hope to limit ICE agents from detaining people in courthouses, expand the definition of law enforcement prohibited from cooperating with immigration enforcement, and potentially ban law enforcement from wearing masks or neck gaiters on the job. Yet, Republicans strongly oppose those ideas.

* CBS Chicago | Illinois lawmakers could take up transit funding, immigration in fall veto session: GrubHub has warned customers their order might soon include an extra tax of $1.50. Experts in the restaurant industry said the added cost could hurt small businesses that have grown increasingly reliant on delivery services. “Seventy-six percent of restaurants now you know, basically offer a delivery service. And upwards to 20% of their business is through deliveries as well,” said Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association.

* Newsmax | Sen. Mullin to Newsmax: Pritzker Broke Law Threatening ICE: “When Pritzker comes out and threatens federal agents from doing their job, saying that you may be prosecuted during the next administration, that is a direct threat to a federal agent and trying to inhibit him from doing his job; that in itself is a crime,” Mullin told “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”

* US Senator Tammy Duckworth…

“Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth underwent a long-awaited, preplanned procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to address residual pain and mobility constraints associated with her combat wounds. She expects to be back on Capitol Hill later this week.”

*** Chicago ***

* ABC Chicago | Agents tackle US citizen after East Side operation leads to crash, spills into Walgreens: That is where 19-year-old South Side native Warren King says he was shopping with friends and family before he was tackled and arrested. The takedown by immigration officers was recorded outside a Walgreens store as loved ones pled for his release. King’s relative can be heard saying in the video, “He’s a citizen! He’s a citizen!”

* Sun-Times | In financial maneuver, Mayor Brandon Johnson finds millions for Chicago Public Schools: Johnson will unveil the city’s budget Thursday and, at that time, it will become clear how much he will pull out of the special taxing districts, called TIFs. But sources say it will provide CPS the $379 million it counted on in its budget, plus $8 million that the federal government recently stripped from CPS. It will also provide some of the $175 million the city needs from the school district to cover a controversial municipal pension payment.

* Tribune | Former CPS board Vice President Sendhil Revuluri to run for top seat: If victorious in the November 2026 election, he aims to unite the board behind a common goal: making sure the children of Chicago are learning, Revuluri said in an interview with the Tribune ahead of his campaign announcement. “There is a massive consensus across Chicago, in every neighborhood, across different identities, different affiliations, that we want our students to learn as much as they can, because that’s how we give them opportunity in the future,” he said. “That’s how we give them choices about what they do next.”

* Block Club | Hundreds Of Lots Owned By ‘City’s Worst Landowner’ Went Up For Sale. But Only A Fraction Have Sold: The city signed off on the plan, hoping the sale would bring in millions of dollars to its coffers, reduce blight and take properties out of the hands of what city attorneys have called Chicago’s “worst landowner” and put them back on the tax rolls. But the plan failed to reach its lofty goals because nobody wanted most of the properties, and those that sold went for a fraction of their estimated value. That leaves the city without the money it anticipated and homeowners still saddled with weed-strewn vacant lots with little prospect of a solution.

* Daily Herald | ‘We’re not just figures in this tall tower — we’re real people’: O’Hare controllers worry about shutdown, no pay: “We’re regular American workers,” said Ellington of Round Lake, who was handing out information about the shutdown impact with co-workers Tuesday outside Terminal 2. “Most of us don’t have thousands and thousands of dollars just sitting around waiting for a government shutdown. “We’ve got mortgages to pay, we’ve got kids to take care of, we’ve got groceries, day care expenses. We’ve got everything,” added Ellington, a member of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “Just like everybody else walking into the terminals right now. The only difference is we’re coming to work and aren’t getting paid.”

* Block Club | Chance The Rapper Turned The Red Line Into The ‘Star Line’ For His Chicago Homecoming: As the train moved south to Chatham, stopping at 79th, Chance walked between train cars meeting, rapping, singing and dancing with fans as his new album played over the speakers. “Thank you to everybody that made today possible. Thank you to my team, to all the people at CTA and to everybody that got on the train with early this morning,” he told fans after the ride. “We had like a fake musical on one of the trains. …

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Federal immigration agents to continue to use Naval Station Great Lakes until at least December: Federal immigration agents’ use of Naval Station Great Lakes will continue through “at least December,” leaders at Naval Station Great Lakes have been informed, according to an email obtained by the Sun-Times. Naval Station Great Lakes referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, both of which didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

* Sun-Times | ICE facility fence in Broadview has been removed, in compliance with federal judge’s order: Illinois State Police guarding the fence Tuesday night said they had no information about the fence, and one officer was overheard saying federal agents had given them no notice it would be removed.

* Crain’s | Metra trains running again after technical issue halted all lines: The commuter rail service posted announcements on social media for nearly all of its lines attributing the problem to “positive train control issues,” which is the computer system responsible for coordinating all of Metra’s trains throughout the system. Metra now says trains are operating again with extensive delays. The system has also been posting cascading delays for other scheduled departures later tonight.

* ABC Chicago | South Barrington woman still waiting on $9K refund 1 year after proving home was wrongly assessed: She has been waiting on more than $9,000 since ABC7’s first I-Team report on her square-footage error one year ago. “I feel that we are owed. It is only fair. We paid it when we shouldn’t have been paying it,” Schnell said. So, what’s the holdup? Cook County leaders now blame the county’s computer upgrade, which the treasurer says has jammed up more than $84 million in property tax refunds to more than 37,000 homeowners. But Schnell’s battle began years ago, when she noticed that homes like hers had lower county assessments and even larger homes had lower assessments.

* Daily Herald | ‘Nothing to compare it to’: Immigration attorneys describe chaotic and complex system: “A lot of what we as practitioners are navigating is within the same sort of environment of chaos that you see on the outside,” said Trisha Chokshi, an immigration attorney based in Mount Prospect. As ICE pursues enforcement goals, due process is being ignored, she said.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Paxton City Council formally requests Robert Pacey’s resignation: The Paxton City Council unanimously approved a resolution censuring Robert Pacey Tuesday night. While the council does not have the ability to remove Pacey from his position as Alderman, the censure formally recognizes that Pacey’s resignation would be in “the best interest of the City and its residents.” WCIA’s partners at the Ford County Chronicle attended Tuesday’s night’s meeting. According to the Chronicle, seven council members voted to censure Pacey. Alderman Pacey abstained from the vote. […] The City Council said that while the Title IX investigation and lawsuits were happening, Pacey only attended two City Council meetings since March 2025. And, at one of the meetings he attended, Pacey’s presence caused “disruption in the meeting.” The City Council added that residents and taxpayers deserve an Alderman who regularly attends meetings.

* WGLT | Public gets answers, raise concerns about McLean County Strategic Land Use plan: Planning officials answered questions from residents Tuesday night on a range of topics, including road safety, the strain on infrastructure, and the impact of data centers, during an open house on the second draft of the McLean County Strategic Land Use plan. Among other things, the plan attempts to address “development pressures” from the expansion of large employers such as Rivian and Fererro. It also looks to address the housing shortage, and suggests McLean County should add more than 8,000 housing units to accommodate growth.

* WCIA | National Guard deployment to Chicago includes U of I students, university confirms: “We are aware that some of our students in the National Guard have been contacted, but we don’t know how many,” Vance said. “Each student has to self-report if they are contacted.” Under the university’s deployment military drill policy, students who are called to active service must inform the Office of the Dean of Students and they will be encouraged to officially withdraw from the university while they are in service. If students have completed 75% of the courses they are enrolled in, they can request incomplete grades in some courses and depart from others.

* WREX | Two northern Illinois elementary schools honored by House Minority Leader McCombie for excellence: Warren Elementary School was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School, which represents excellence in education. Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie congratulated Warren Elementary on their accomplishment. “Warren Elementary’s success is a reflection of its educators’ dedication, its students’ hard work, and its community’s unwavering support,” said Leader McCombie. “I couldn’t be prouder to see this Northwest Illinois school recognized among the top in our state.”

*** National ***

* NYT | Trump Targets Democratic Districts By Halting Billions During Shutdown: Two weeks into the government shutdown, the Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion that had been reserved for more than 200 projects primarily located in Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

* NYT | Trump Renews Threat to Cut ‘Democrat Programs’ During Shutdown: The president said his administration was “closing up Democrat programs that we disagree with, and they’re never going to open again.” He promised to release a list of programs by Friday.

20 Comments

Good morning!

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My neighborhood goes bonkers for Halloween. Here’s Jesse Welles…