U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just handed down the written opinion version of her preliminary injunction order, regarding use of force by federal agents in Chicago.
It's the one already put on hold by the 7th Circuit.
* The judge spent quite a bit of time talking about “credibility” of the federal defendants. She devotes an entire section to the topic. Here’s some of it…
With respect to this footage, Defendants specifically directed the Court to certain videos and timestamps “to aid the Court in its review of those videos.” Presumably, these portions of the videos would be Defendants’ best evidence to demonstrate that agents acted in line with the Constitution, federal laws, and the agencies’ own policies on use of force when engaging with protesters, the press, and religious practitioners. But a review of them shows the opposite—supporting Plaintiffs’ claims and undermining all of Defendants’ claims that their actions toward protesters, the press, and religious practitioners have been, as Bovino has stated, “more than exemplary.” The Court is mindful of the fact that, as Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Kristopher Hewson testified at the preliminary injunction hearing, BWC footage does not always reveal all the circumstances that agents face in the field. But given the extent of the footage in this case, submitted by both sides, the Court finds that, in many cases, video footage “evaporate[s] any factual disputes that would otherwise exist.”
For example, Defendants directed the Court to two videos of agents outside the Broadview facility the evening of September 19, 2025. In those videos, agents stand behind a fence preparing to leave the facility’s gates and disperse what Defendants described as an unruly mob. The scene appears quiet as the gate opens, revealing a line of protesters standing in the street holding signs. Almost immediately and without warning, agents lob flashbang grenades, tear gas, and pepper balls at the protesters, stating, “f*ck yea!”, as they do so, and the crowd scatters. This video disproves Defendants’ contentions that protesters were the ones shooting off fireworks, refusing orders, and acting violently so as to justify the agents’ use of force. … see also… (agents admitting that explosions on September 27 were not “fireworks” shot off by protesters but rather “flashbangs”).
On September 26, 2025, video from an agent’s BWC shows a line of agents standing at least thirty feet away from protesters outside the Broadview facility on Harvard Street. … see also Doc. 172-11 at 8 (“[T]he crowd [ ] was approximately 30-40 feet away.”). Despite this distance, the agents start yelling “move back, move back” to the protesters and then shoot pepper balls and tear gas at them without any apparent justification. While the agent wrote in his use of force report that protesters were “becoming increasingly hostile,” Doc. 172-11 at 7, the BWC video shows that the protesters were simply standing there when agents first deployed any force.
Defendants also highlighted an October 3, 2025 video, presumably to show that agents driving the streets faced constant danger from cars ramming them on purpose. But instead of leaving this impression, the video, which almost entirely consists of a view of the back seat of the car and some dialogue about how the agent’s “body cam is on” and he is “still recording,” suggests that the agent drove erratically and brake-checked other motorists in an attempt to force accidents that agents could then use as justifications for deploying force. This also calls into question Hewson’s testimony that motorists have rammed into agents every day during the operation. On October 4, 2025, in Brighton Park, Defendants directed the Court to BWC footage of an agent pushing a protester to the ground, with tear gas and pepper balls released thereafter The footage shows the agents allowing the protester they had tackled to the ground to stand up and then tackling him again, kneeling on his head or neck. Only after agents threw tear gas and pepper balls and pushed the protester to the ground did other protesters throw some bottles of water at the agents, which cannot support the agents’ use of force.
These are not the only inconsistencies and incredible representations in the record. While Defendants may argue that the Court identifies only minor inconsistencies, every minor inconsistency adds up, and at some point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to believe almost anything that Defendants represent. The Court discusses these inconsistencies in greater detail below, highlighting only a few here. For example, Hewson testified that people held shields with nails in them, but video demonstrates that at least some of these shields were merely pieces of cardboard, none of the shields had nails in them, and nothing warranted the aggression that the agents showed toward the protesters holding these shields. In Albany Park, agents wrote in their reports and DHS publicized that a bicyclist threw a bike at agents, but video from that event makes clear that agents actually took a protester’s bike and threw it to the side after they had deployed tear gas.
I’ve removed most of the citations from these excerpts to make it easier to read, but they’re in the original if you want to see them.
At least some of the agents involved in pushing the protesters back and maintaining the perimeter found the experience to be “fun.” (Agent 1: “This is f*cking fun. This is fun.” Agent 2: “Dude, these are some f*cking great experiences for you guys, eh?”); (“Dude, that’s a hell of a drug, let me tell ya. Seeing f*cking hippies getting [unintelligible].”)
Despite the relative calm, multiple agents made derogatory comments about the protesters. (“Yeah, these people got big mouths, don’t they? F*ck, man.”); (“You can’t reason with these people, they’re nuts.”); (“Of course the spots where all the females going crazy, that’s where the crowds are the f*cking most riled up. Like these dudes are just talking sh*t, but if the females came over here, they’d get ’em all worked up.”).
The first factor for injunctive relief is likelihood of success. To meet this requirement, the “plaintiff must demonstrate that ‘its claim has some likelihood of success on the merits.’” […]
Protected Speech and Newsgathering
Speech
Second, even if some individuals have engaged in violent and unlawful acts, Plaintiffs here do not contend that the First Amendment protects these individuals. Perhaps recognizing that the First Amendment provides no protection for speech that constitutes true threats of violence or incitement of imminent lawless action, see Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66, 74 (2023); Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 447–48 (1969), Plaintiffs do not include individuals engaged in this behavior in the relief they seek. […]
The Court does not find any evidence that any of Plaintiffs engaged in unlawful or violent conduct, and the certified class expressly excludes individuals who did. […]
Newsgathering
(T)he First Amendment protects non-violent newsgathering. The record indicates that Plaintiffs Block Club Chicago (Doc. 22-20), Raven Geary (Doc. 22-17), Stephen Held (Doc. 22- 18), and Charles Thrush (Doc. 22-16) all wear clear press identification when reporting, do not engage in protests, and do not talk with (or to) federal officers unless to ask them journalistic questions. See also Doc. 22-19 ¶¶ 7, 16 (Colin Boyle); Doc. 22-22 ¶¶ 7, 10 (Shawn Mulcahy). The Court rejects Defendants’ implication that Plaintiffs are suggesting that members of the press should receive special treatment. Instead, “the Supreme Court has long recognized a qualified right of access for the press and public to observe government activities.” […]
Content-Based Discrimination Under Strict Scrutiny
The Court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to show that Defendants have restricted Plaintiffs’ speech, assembly, and press based on their content. Plaintiffs have been open and vocal about their dislike for Defendants’ actions, and, in return, Defendants have publicly announced their intention to target such protesters. Plaintiffs’ declarations and testimony at the preliminary injunction hearing clearly establish that protesters have gathered at the Broadview facility and around the Chicagoland area to non-violently express their views opposing Operation Midway Blitz. Plaintiffs’ declarations describe the specific language that protesters have used to voice their views opposing the government’s immigration enforcement efforts and tactics in Chicago. […]
Defendants contend that their actions are content-neutral because they have only expelled those engaged in violent and obstructive conduct, or those intermingled with such people. This assertion, however, ignores many examples in the record where Defendants restricted the speech or behavior of those who were not acting violently or obstructively. Tellingly, Defendants admit that they would treat pro-ICE and CBP demonstrators more favorably. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to show that Defendants have placed content-based restrictions on Plaintiffs.
The Court agrees that Defendants have a compelling interest in the protection of federal property and personnel and enforcement of federal laws. (The Court questions, however, whether Defendants have the right to issue dispersal orders on non- federal property given that “the United States Constitution reserves the general police power to the states.”) Defendants argue that “the use of lawful, less-lethal crowd control devices” is narrowly tailored to achieve these goals, Doc. 173 at 57, and point to a declaration describing these devices as “the most effective method” that law enforcement has to push an “entire crowd back” from destroying property and blocking traffic, while claiming that such less lethal devices do not cause permanent harm, Doc. 35-4. Yet the Court does not find that Defendants will likely succeed in showing that their use of tear gas, pepper balls, and other less lethal force is sufficiently narrowly tailored to achieve these interests. […]
First Amendment Retaliation
To prevail on a First Amendment retaliation claim, Plaintiffs must ultimately show that they “(1) [ ] engaged in activity protected by the First Amendment; (2) [ ] suffered a deprivation that would likely deter First Amendment activity in the future; and (3) the First Amendment activity was ‘at least a motivating factor’ in the Defendants’ decision to take the retaliatory action.” […]
Despite Defendants’ attempts to paint all protesters as violent or disobedient, as discussed above, Plaintiffs have provided evidence that they engaged in newsgathering, religious exercise, and/or protesting, all activities protected by the First Amendment. Further, the evidence before the Court indicates that individuals have been hit with less lethal munitions, gassed, pepper sprayed, threatened with arrest for recording and observing, tackled, and had guns pointed at them… such actions “would likely deter a person of ordinary firmness from continuing to engage in protected activity,” (“Neither can Defendants meaningfully dispute that being subjected to rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper balls, and other crowd control weapons would deter individuals of ordinary firmness from continuing to engage in the protected activity.”) […]
Finally, Plaintiffs have sufficiently suggested at this stage that they can meet the third element of this claim, that their First Amendment activities were motivating factors in Defendants’ conduct. Plaintiffs can establish proof of motive through either direct or circumstantial evidence, including “suspicious timing, ambiguous oral or written statements, or behavior towards or comments directed at other [people] in the protected group.” […]
Further, as detailed in the Court’s factual findings, agents have used excessive force in response to protesters’ and journalists’ exercise of their First Amendment rights, without justification, often without warning, and even at those who had begun to comply with agents’ orders…. The Court also does not find persuasive Defendants’ argument that the fact that agents refrained from using less lethal munitions in some situations where agents encountered protesters indicates a lack of retaliatory motive. Agents’ “use of indiscriminate weapons against all protesters—not just the violent ones—supports the inference that federal agents were substantially motivated by Plaintiffs’ protected First Amendment activity.” The record before the Court, therefore, suggests that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment retaliation claim. […]
Free Exercise and RFRA
The First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . prohibiting the free exercise” of religion. U.S. Const. amend. I. “The Free Exercise Clause prohibits the government from ‘plac[ing] a substantial burden on the observation of a central religious belief or practice’ without first demonstrating that a ‘compelling governmental interest justifies the burden.’” […]
Under the RFRA’s burden-shifting framework, “[o]nce a RFRA claimant makes a prima facie case that the application of a law or regulation substantially burdens his religious practice, the burden shifts to the government to justify the burden under strict scrutiny.” […]
Further, Plaintiffs argue that Defendants’ actions force the religious exercise sub-class to choose between their health and safety on the one hand or authentically practicing their faith on the other. […]
As discussed above, the Court recognizes that Defendants have a compelling interest in protecting federal property, personnel, and governmental functions. But even assuming this, the Court does not find it likely that the government can carry its burden to demonstrate that its unprovoked use of force against Rev. Black, Rev. Holcombe, Rev. Johnson, and others engaged in religious exercise is the least restrictive means of furthering this governmental interest. The record is replete with evidence of Defendants using less lethal force against religious personnel. As discussed, Defendants have targeted Rev. Black, visibly attired in clerical garb, with multiple pepper ball shots, including in the head, and have fired tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber bullets against religious groups praying and singing hymns. Certainly, less restrictive means exist to protect federal property, personnel, and governmental functions, particularly given the peaceful nature of Rev. Black’s, Rev. Holcombe’s, Rev. Johnson’s, Fr. Curran’s, and others’ exercise of their religion.
Accordingly, the Court finds that Rev. Black, Rev. Holcombe, Rev. Johnson, Fr. Curran, and the religious exercise sub-class have shown that they are likely to succeed on their RFRA claim.
Fourth Amendment
… Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on their Fourth Amendment excessive force claim. Initially, Defendants argue that the proper standard is the Fourteenth Amendment shocks the conscience standard for substantive due process, not the Fourth Amendment, because agents have not seized any individuals. But the Court disagrees. A seizure occurs under the Fourth Amendment when an officer “by means of physical force or show of authority has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen.” … “The appropriate inquiry is whether the challenged conduct objectively manifests an intent to restrain, for we rarely probe the subjective motivations of police officers in the Fourth Amendment context.” […]
In light of this evidence, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have made a strong showing that agents’ uses of force objectively manifested an intent to restrain or confine protesters. Defendants took direct aim at protesters, including at areas of the body that their own agency policies indicate should only be targeted if deadly force is authorized, suggesting an intent to incapacitate. […]
Under the Fourth Amendment, based on the record before it, the Court sees little justification for the extent of the use of force that federal agents have used against Plaintiffs and other peaceful protesters, journalists, and religious practitioners. Pointing guns, pulling out pepper spray, throwing tear gas, shooting pepper balls, and using other less lethal munitions do not appear to be appropriate uses of force in light of the totality of the circumstances.
The Illinois Accountability Commission is continuing to ramp up even as the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign in the Chicago region winds down, at least for now.
Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday announced the appointment of two new commissioners and additional staff to the independent commission he created via executive order last month. It is tasked with producing a public record of alleged abuses perpetrated by federal agents during “Operation Midway Blitz.” It will also examine the impact of such conduct on Illinois residents and communities and offer recommendations for accountability and reform.
Pritzker appointed attorney Jimmy Arce, a former federal prosecutor who was involved in the Justice Department’s civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department; and Ric Estrada, the CEO of Metropolitan Family Services, which is one the state’s largest human services organizations. Eight commissioners have now been appointed. […]
Commissioners and staff have started outreach efforts, explored community partnerships and are conducting a “landscape analysis” of information already in the public domain to examine the impact of related and ongoing litigation, according to the governor’s office.
But it’s still a work in progress. Pritzker notably encouraged people to document interactions with federal agents by taking videos with their phones. But on the commission’s website, there was still no method to submit such evidence directly to the commission as of Thursday afternoon. Instead, people are encouraged to contact a hotline operated by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, an outside group. […]
The commission has been tasked with providing an initial report on its findings and recommendations to Pritzker no later than Jan. 31. A final report will be issued no later than April 30, 2026.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just handed down the written opinion version of her preliminary injunction order, regarding use of force by federal agents in Chicago.
It's the one already put on hold by the 7th Circuit.
Judge Sara Ellis says in her injunction ruling that body camera footage showed an immigration agent using ChatGPT to "compile a narrative" for his report on an encounter with protesters ? pic.twitter.com/lrqcqaxFSV
* Former House Speaker Madigan has been officially disbarred. The Tribune’s Jason Meisner…
Former House Speaker Michael Madigan has been officially disbarred by order of the Illinois Supreme Court. Madigan, 83, earned his law license in 1967. He’s currently serving a 7 1/2-year sentence in federal prison in West Virginia. pic.twitter.com/sDedfY600Z
* Sun-Times | CHA, developers mark end of Henry Horner Homes redevelopment on Near West Side: The CHA, city officials, developers Brinshore Development and The Michaels Organization, among others, held a ribbon cutting Wednesday for the apartment building Westhaven Park Station. It’s the seventh and final phase of the Henry Horner Homes redevelopment, down the street from the United Center. The 12-story building, which is already fully leased, was designed as a gateway to the city, according to the developers. It’s also the end of work that was agreed to under a consent decree in 1995, when residents of the Henry Horner complex sued the CHA over building conditions. The decree stipulated that the housing authority would build new public housing units in place of the torn-down Henry Horner high-rises.
* Art Net | School of the Art Institute of Chicago Guts Video Data Bank Staff, Sparking Outcry: The future of one of the world’s leading archives of video art has been thrown into uncertainty after the School of the Art Institute of Chicago abruptly laid off three of the five staff members of its Video Data Bank (VDB), among them its director. The sweeping cuts have sparked outcry across the new-media art community and renewed concerns about the financial pressures buffeting U.S. art schools. Founded in 1976, VDB has long served as one of the most indispensable resources for video and media art, distributing more than 6,000 works to museums, universities, and libraries worldwide.
* Tribune | Chicago architect Bruno Ast, who designed memorial for Kent State shooting victims, dies at 88: “Bruno somehow managed to navigate the dysfunctional and political world of academia, run a small practice and gain the respect of the contractors that built for him,” said Joel Putnam, a former graduate assistant of Ast’s at UIC who now works for Capri Investment Group, the firm that is redeveloping the former James R. Thompson Center in the Loop. “He was truly an architect’s architect.”
* Crain’s | O’Hare clears a big hurdle as traffic tops pre-COVID levels — and heads to a record: Passenger volume during the first nine months of 2025 rose 6% from a year earlier to 63.9 million, topping the 63.6 million who traveled through O’Hare during the same period in 2019, according to Chicago Department of Aviation data. It’s an important milestone for the airport. O’Hare began its recovery from the pandemic slowly but gathered strength the past two years, fueled by the sharp growth of the airport’s two largest carriers, United and American airlines. United has 9% more seats in its schedule than a year ago, and American’s is up 23%.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Daily Southtown | Riverdale appoints trustee acting mayor, following former Mayor Lawrence Jackson’s perjury conviction: A week and a day after former Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson’s Nov. 12 conviction on federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges, the Riverdale Village Board voted Thursday morning to appoint Trustee Cassandra Riley-Pinkney as acting mayor. Under Illinois law, anyone who has been convicted of a felony becomes immediately ineligible to serve in public office, with their position automatically vacated.
* Daily Herald | Naperville panel endorses data center plans after ‘intense scrunity’: Karis Critical is under contract to acquire roughly 40 acres near Naperville and Warrenville roads. The developer originally proposed two data center buildings on the site, but instead seeks approval of only one — a 36-megawatt facility. Environmental advocates and neighbors have raised myriad concerns about noise, the use of backup diesel generators and power consumption. Still, the data center development has received the commission’s endorsement with an 8-1 vote. The final decision rests with the city council. The project has faced “intense scrutiny,” said Whitney Robbins, chair of the advisory panel.
* Daily Herald | Naperville could create new police unit to respond to mental health calls: Naperville City Council members this week said they want to include $1.26 million in the 2026 budget to establish a mobile crisis intervention team within the police department. The new unit would include six officers and a canine and would respond to calls involving mental health concerns. According to city officials, police responded to about 900 such calls in the past year.
* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora looks to up parking prices at Metra stations in the city: The proposal, set to go before the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, would increase parking prices from $2 per day or $42 for a monthly pass to $3 per day or $60 for a monthly pass. City officials say the change would bring the prices in line with other parking along the BNSF-Metra rail line, in particular matching the daily rates of Naperville’s parking lots at Metra stations.
* Daily Herald | ‘Perfect location’: Lake Zurich authorizes $2.1 million land buy for potential fire station site: Comprised of three parcels known as the Breslow property, the vacant site was identified in a November 2024 analysis as a desirable location for a new fire station. According to information provided by the village, a recent appraisal determined the market value at $3.75 million. However, the property, which has been for sale intermittently since 2017, had a history of diverse uses that required environmental remediation by the current owners.
* Sun-Times | White Eagle banquets in Niles to close at end of year: Ted Przybylo opened the business in 1947 in Chicago and moved it to Milwaukee Avenue in the northwest suburbs in 1967. His six children, including former Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo, took over the business after he died in 1992 and then sold it in 2015 to Mario Ferraro, whose family founded Victoria Banquets in 1937. […] The 1,500-person capacity venue has played host over the years to well-known figures including President Jimmy Carter, Pope John Paul II, Muhammad Ali, Larry Hagman. It was also a popular setting for political fundraisers. Former Poland President Lech Wałęsa also visited.
*** Downstate ***
* WCIA | Sean Grayson’s pretrial release appeal ‘moot’: Illinois Supreme Court: While this appeal was pending, Grayson’s trial began, and just more than a week later, he was found guilty of second-degree murder in Massey’s death. Because of the conviction, the Illinois Supreme Court said they find the detention question in the appeal “moot,” which is cited in a separate case as meaning “no actual controversy exists or if events have occurred that make it impossible for the reviewing court to grant the complaining party effectual relief.” “When an appeal is rendered moot and we do not reach the merits of the appeal, we cannot speak to the correctness of the judgments rendered by the circuit and appellate courts,” the Illinois Supreme Court said in its opinion filed on Thursday.
* BND | Metro-east law firm used ‘fraud playbook’ to get asbestos settlements, suit claims: A federal lawsuit is accusing Alton-based law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy of filing sham asbestos claims in handpicked jurisdictions such as Madison County to profit from large settlements. J-M Manufacturing Company alleges the “fraudulent scheme” was carried out for years by the firm and several of its attorneys and staff, including senior partner Perry Browder, who is also president-elect of the Illinois State Bar Association. In November, J-MM added new allegations to its complaint against another law firm with ties to Alton, Sokolove Law. J-MM also indicated in a motion that it would like to accuse the Gori Law Firm in Edwardsville of conspiring with them.
* WICS | Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office launches new mobile app for residents: Available for download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app offers features such as inmate search, sex offender information, jail details, records requests, news updates, and non-emergency tip submissions. It also includes program information, court security guidance, and job application capabilities. Sheriff Paula Crouch emphasized the app’s role in keeping residents informed, stating, “Our goal is to give residents a simple and reliable way to stay connected with our office.”
* WGLT | McLean’s old water tower gets new look ahead of Route 66 centennial: The nonprofit CORE of McLean [Community Organization for Revitalization and Expansion] negotiated an agreement to buy the decommissioned water tower from the village last year for $1 and is working to paint and refurbish the tower in time for the Route 66 centennial celebration next June. […] CORE of McLean Vice President Jeff Hake said the tower was built “like a battleship” and has a much longer life expectancy now that it no longer holds water.
*** National ***
* AP | Trump says Democrats’ message to military is ‘seditious behavior’ punishable by death: President Donald Trump on Thursday accused half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” after the lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.” The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”
* CBS | Federal immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina, has ended, sheriff’s office says: The sheriff’s office in Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, said federal officials have confirmed with Sheriff Garry McFadden that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation known as ” Charlotte’s Web,” has officially concluded. No border agent operations will occur on Thursday, a news release from the sheriff’s office said.
* Huff Post | Chief Border Patrol Agent Accuses Anti-ICE Protesters Of ‘Cult Behavior’: One U.S. citizen in Charlotte told The Associated Press that border patrol agents threw him to the ground and briefly detained him. However, Bovino, who appeared on Thursday’s episode of Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” told Watters that it was a “tall order” for him to understand the backlash, later adding, “it’s beyond understanding in some ways.”
A drug-related incident over the weekend at the Pinckneyville Correction Center is yet another example of the total breakdown happening under Governor JB Pritzker’s watch, according to the Darren Bailey/Aaron Del Mar campaign.
Six inmates reportedly overdosed after being exposed to illegal drugs inside the prison on Saturday. How the drugs got inside — and why basic security continues to fail — remains unanswered by the Pritzker Administration.
The Bailey/Del Mar campaign for Governor issued the following statement Monday from Aaron Del Mar:
“Let’s be clear: this is what happens when a governor is more focused on political games than public safety. Under JB Pritzker, the Department of Corrections has become a leadership vacuum. Drugs making their way into a state prison is not an accident – it’s a symptom of an administration that has lost control.
For years, Pritzker has pushed policies that weaken discipline, embolden offenders, and demoralize the men and women who actually keep our prisons running. When you treat corrections like a social experiment instead of a serious responsibility, this is the result. Officers are put at risk, inmates are put at risk, and taxpayers are left wondering who is actually in charge.
When Darren Bailey and I take office, that changes on day one. We will restore order, support correctional officers, and make sure prisons operate like prisons – not playgrounds. And let me be perfectly clear: if a director under a Bailey Administration allowed drugs to infiltrate a facility, they’d be removed immediately. That’s accountability. That’s leadership. And it’s something Illinois hasn’t seen from JB Pritzker.”
* I asked IDOC for a response…
On Saturday, November 15, 2025, a staff member observed an individual in custody exhibiting seizure-like symptoms near the shower in A-Wing. A correctional officer initiated a medical emergency code, and additional staff responded to the location. A sergeant then observed five other individuals in custody on the bottom deck of the housing unit on the ground, also experiencing seizure-like symptoms and vomiting.
Staff secured the housing unit and escorted all six individuals to Pinckneyville’s Health Care Unit for evaluation. They were subsequently transferred to restrictive housing while the incident remains under investigation. Staff conducted a search of all property belonging to the affected individuals and found no hazardous or suspicious materials. No staff reported symptoms. The investigation is ongoing.
Criminal justice advocates are encouraging Illinois residents to join their campaign and “say no” to mail scanning in state prisons. Mail scanning is a practice implemented at prisons across the U.S. in recent years, allowing prison officials to use programs to scan original physical mail intended for incarcerated people, convert it into digital copies, and transfer them to individual tablets, shared kiosks or print them on paper.
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) started using mail scanning at all prisons in September. However, this doesn’t include legal mail, such as correspondence from an attorney. The original copy under IDOC’s policy is retained for at least six months. […]
The law requires IDOC to collect and publish data on contraband annually. This move to mail scanning was made despite relevant data showing that it would not address issues with contraband, according to criminal justice advocates. The law, they say, restricts a form of connection between incarcerated people and their loved ones, doesn’t make prisons safer and undermines rehabilitation. […]
“In recent years, smuggling drugs into prison through the mail has become frighteningly common among individuals in custody, and as a result, drug exposures and hospitalizations of prison staff have gone through the roof,” according to AFSCME Council 31, the union that represents most correctional workers in Illinois, said in a news release on Nov. 17.
So, if those Pinckneyville prisoners didn’t obtain whatever caused that reaction through the mail, now what?
* The Department of Homeland Security on October 4th…
This morning, Border Patrol agents were conducting a routine patrol, near the intersection of 39th Place and S. Kedzie Avenue, when they were attacked and rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars. The officers exited their trapped vehicle, when a suspect tried to run them over, forcing the officers to fire defensively. This is an evolving situation. FBI is on the scene.
Statement from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin:
“While conducting routine patrolling in the greater Broadview area, near the same area of Chicago that law enforcement was assaulted yesterday, our brave law enforcement officers were rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars this morning. Agents were unable to move their vehicle and exited the car. One of the drivers who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Law enforcement was forced to deploy their weapons and fired defensive shots at an armed US citizen who drove herself to the hospital to get care for wounds.
“The armed woman was named in a CBP intelligence bulletin last week for doxing agents online.
“Thankfully, no law enforcement officers were seriously injured in this attack.
“Unfortunately, JB Pritzker’s Chicago Police Department is leaving the shooting scene and refuses to assist us in securing the area. There is a crowd growing and we are deploying special operations to control a growing crowd.
Body-camera video of a Border Patrol agent involved in the shooting of a woman who was allegedly chasing agents in Brighton Park over the weekend shows an officer saying, “Do something, b—-,” before pulling over and shooting the woman five times, the woman’s attorney said in federal court Monday.
The video appears to contradict the government’s allegation that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire on her late Saturday morning on Kedzie Avenue near 39th Street, her attorney, Christopher Parente, said at a detention hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
U.S. District Judge Heather McShain denied a request by the federal government to detain Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, pending trial. Martinez and Ruiz, who wore orange jumpsuits for the detention hearing, were charged Sunday with felony assault of a federal officer.
The judge said it “is a miracle to me that no one was more seriously injured” in the incident in which Martinez and Ruiz allegedly followed agents for more than 20 minutes as they drove after conducting an operation in Oak Lawn. But she said the defendants’ lack of criminal history and extensive family and community ties compelled her to release them pending trial.
The feds moved Thursday morning to dismiss the indictment that had been brought against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ruiz, hours ahead of a status hearing in the case. Defense attorneys for the pair have been aggressively challenging evidence and sought a speedy trial.
The motion from assistant U.S. attorneys Ronald DeWald and Aaron Bond did not explain the decision. A U.S. attorney’s office spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. […]
Prosecutors alleged that Martinez drove a Nissan Rogue that side-swiped Exum’s Tahoe. Ruiz allegedly drove a GMC Envoy that struck its rear right end.
Exum opened fire on Martinez, who suffered seven gunshot wounds. Exum allegedly bragged about it in text messages later, writing to friends in a “support group” that, “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.”
Redacted versions of those messages were made public during a Nov. 5 hearing in Alexakis’ courtroom. But Monday, she wrote on the court docket that she’d since reviewed unredacted copies. She wound up having a meeting with government counsel afterward.
The judge told the feds to “promptly” deliver additional text messages to the defendants, according to the docket.
The U.S. attorneys office made the surprise move just hours before a hearing before U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis where defense attorneys were expected to describe new texts from the Border Patrol agent who shot Martinez and discuss witnesses for an upcoming hearing over what the agent did with his vehicle after the Oct. 4 incident. […]
Martinez’s attorneys, meanwhile, argue it was Exum who sideswiped Martinez and that his extreme use of force was completely unjustified. They’ve also alleged evidence tampering, saying Exum was inexplicably allowed to drive the Tahoe more than 1,000 miles back to his home base in Maine, where a Border Patrol mechanic attempted to “wipe off” some of the scuff marks from the crash.
An upcoming evidentiary hearing was expected to feature several witnesses who would testify about the decision to release the vehicle, including Exum’s direct supervisor, the FBI agent who helped process it, and a federal prosecutor working early stages of the case.
That followed a bombshell hearing earlier this month where it was revealed that after the shooting, as news of the incident was making national headlines, Exum texted a group of other agents that he was “up for another round of “f––– around and find out.”
Federal charges have been dropped against a U.S. Air Force veteran who was accused in late September of forcibly assaulting or resisting federal agents during a demonstration outside an ICE processing facility in west suburban Broadview. […]
[Dana Briggs, 70.] was released from custody following an initial hearing. He was initially charged with a felony, but the case was later reduced to a misdemeanor with a trial date scheduled for December, according to Jason Meisner of the Chicago Tribune.
In the September incident, Meisner reports, video showed Briggs being pushed to the ground and bumping an agent’s arm as he attempted to hand his phone off.
Meisner also reports that Briggs intended to call Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino as a witness during his trial. Bovino, who became the face of the immigration enforcement crackdown in the Chicago area known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” and his team of federal agents are now conducting operations in and around Charlotte.
An appellate court has temporarily paused a lower court order that could have soon released hundreds of people in Immigration and Customs and Enforcement custody.
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Thursday granted the Trump administration’s motion to pause the order as the appeal proceeds. The brief order gave no explanation for the decision but scheduled oral arguments on the matter for Dec. 2.
The decision comes after the district court judge declined the government’s request that he stay his own rulings.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings had allowed their release on a $1,500 bond and some form of monitoring, including electronic ankle monitors, pending the outcome of immigration proceedings. Most of those arrested were originally processed at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview, but have since been moved to jails around the country.
But the Trump administration has asked an appeals court to block the release Friday of some 450 Chicago-area immigration arrestees, arguing the judge made a “bevy of legal errors” that put public safety at risk and “cripple” immigration enforcement.
“The district court’s orders subject the government to burdensome, costly and intrusive mandates — including training, documentation and reporting requirements — and cripple the government’s renewed implementation of the nation’s immigration laws after years of non-enforcement,” the administration argued. […]
The order comes nearly a week after the Trump administration released the names of 614 people whose Chicago-area immigration arrests may have violated the consent decree, showing that only 16 of them have criminal histories that present a “high public safety risk.”
The Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security used “shifting, contradictory, and often opaque communication” to deny clergy the ability to pray with detainees at the ICE facility in Broadview, including late immigrant activists Sister Pat Murphy and Sister JoAnn Persch.
The group attempted to provide communion for detainees at the facility in October as well as earlier this month, but were denied both times, with officials citing “safety and security concerns,” according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court. The group accused the government of violating federal law as well as the First Amendment rights of religious officials and detainees.
“A non-specific reference to safety and security is not sufficient to deny the rights of Catholic clergy and laypersons, or persons of any other denomination or religion, to practice their faith, especially as others have been allowed to do so at the ICE facility in Broadview since it became an immigration-related facility in 2006,” the lawsuit states. “The United States has a long history of accommodating such religious freedom and practice inside of prisons and jails, and there is no reason to deny them altogether at Broadview, where the vast majority of detainees have no criminal records.” […]
Clergy were previously allowed to pray with detainees before they were bused to deportation flights as well as during the 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. family visitation hours the facility used to have, according to the lawsuit. Murphy and Persch would pray with detainees in the early hour mornings every Friday from 2010 to 2020, only stopping due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The visits then continued virtually.
* More…
* Fox Chicago | Chicago Police address misinformation after ICE shooting, confirms federal agents leading probe: In a statement, Chicago police clarified that officers did respond to the shooting scene involving federal agents on Saturday near the intersection of West 39th Street and South Kedzie Avenue around 10:30 a.m. Police said their purpose was to “maintain public safety and traffic control.” No injuries to any law enforcement officers were reported. CPD said they are not investigating the shooting, but federal authorities are. Chicago police also stated they responded to a separate call for service from federal officers involved in two hit-and-run crashes. The crashes were unrelated to the incident earlier in the day.
* TIME | Trump Administration Accused of ‘Propaganda’ for Shifting Story in Shooting Amid ICE Protests: Murphy noted, however, that the criminal complaint filed against Martinez the next day tells a different story. The complaint, written by FBI Special Agent Caitlin Malone, said that only two cars rammed federal agent vehicles, rather than the overwhelming 10. There is no mention of her brandishing a weapon, as the original DHS statement implied, nor any firearms at all on Martinez. Police audio later confirmed that Martinez had a concealed carry permit for a weapon that stayed inside her purse throughout the incident, according to Fox Chicago.
* AP | Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with ‘suspicious’ travel patterns: The predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement. Suddenly, drivers find themselves pulled over — often for reasons cited such as speeding, failure to signal, the wrong window tint or even a dangling air freshener blocking the view. They are then aggressively questioned and searched, with no inkling that the roads they drove put them on law enforcement’s radar.
* NYT | ICE Frees Blind Migrant Who Was Detained for Days in Isolation: For at least five days, a blind Ecuadorean man who was arrested this month in New York City by U.S. immigration authorities was held in isolation at a county jail, locked in his cell for 24 hours a day and deprived of his cane. “I feel so terrible I cannot see and that I cannot walk, read or do things on my own,” Carlos Anibal Chalco Chango, 40, said last week in a declaration prepared by his lawyers based on their conversations with him.
* AP | Federal immigration crackdown ends in Charlotte, North Carolina, sheriff says: A news release from the sheriff’s office in Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, said that federal officials have confirmed with Sheriff Garry McFadden that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation known as “ Charlotte’s Web,” has officially concluded. No border agent operations will occur on Thursday, the news release said. The operation that began over the weekend is the latest phase of Republican President Donald Trump ’s aggressive mass deportation efforts that have sent the military and immigration agents into Democratic-run cities — from Chicago to Los Angeles.
* NYT | As Border Patrol Floods North Carolina, Charlotte Asks, ‘Why Us?’: Now, his operation — named Charlotte’s Web in a reference to the children’s book — has drawn criticism for its aggressive tactics. Attendance has dropped at public schools. Adults have skipped work, prompting small businesses to close. And many have accused agents of profiling Latinos. Some residents have been fighting back, honking horns at the agents in parking lots, raising their middle fingers and shouting expletives at them. Two men were charged in separate incidents and accused of using their vehicles to assault, resist or impede federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations in Charlotte.
* The Atlantic | Every State Is a Border Patrol State: When President Donald Trump ran for office in 2024, his campaign wanted voters to tie the problems in their communities and personal lives to the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump’s surrogates adopted a talking point long used by Homeland Security officials when they wanted more attention and funding from Congress. “Every state is a border state,” they’d say, meaning that problems generated at the border—illegal migration and drug trafficking—don’t stay there.
* South Side Weekly | Feds Used Chemical Agents Dozens of Times in Chicago—Even After Judge Said To Stop: The events of October 4 also helped establish a pattern of force by federal agents. Our investigation found that federal agents used chemical weapons on protesters at least 49 times across 18 incidents across Chicago and the suburbs since October 1. Federal agents have used chemical irritants at least thirty times since a judge placed restrictions on their use of tear gas and pepper spray. Contrary to federal claims about attacks on agents, most of these incidents appear to involve nonviolent protesters or bystanders.
More than 60% of Illinois voters supported a statewide advisory referendum last year calling for a property tax constitutional amendment. Former governor Pat Quinn is using that momentum to push lawmakers to pass a property tax relief bill [and put a constitutional amendment question before voters]. […]
Quinn told reporters in Springfield Wednesday that millionaires should pay a 3% surcharge on their income taxes to help lower property taxes for families and businesses. The Illinois Department of Revenue estimates the millionaire surcharge could generate $4.5 billion. […]
Lawmakers would need to pass the legislation by May 3 for the question to appear on the 2026 general election ballot.
Quinn also told reporters he had breakfast with Senate President Don Harmon Wednesday to talk about the plan. He hopes to speak with House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Gov. JB Pritzker soon.
Four Democrats seeking the office of state comptroller put their pitches to the test on Tuesday at a candidate forum on Chicago’s South Side. […]
Each candidate proclaimed their support for a graduated income tax, which would require an amendment to the state constitution. Voters rejected such a proposal in 2020 despite its backing from Gov. JB Pritzker, but the candidates all said they support giving it another try.
[Sen. Karina Villa] argued the state needs more revenue to pay for progressive priorities and a graduated income tax, which has also been called the “progressive tax” or “fair tax,” would help.
“The fact that it has failed does not mean that we shouldn’t go at it again,” Villa said.
She added “the name sucked,” while criticizing how the amendment was pitched to voters. Villa said another try at passing it should tie the amendment to public school funding and property tax relief.
[Rep. Margaret Croke], a Pritzker ally, said a better name would have helped, but she defended Pritzker’s ability to sell it to voters.
“I thought the governor did an incredible job trying to push that initiative and I guarantee that if we were able to get it back on the ballot, which is something that I would support in the legislature … that same fervor and that same coalition-building would be utilized again,” Croke said.
* The Question: Do you support Quinn’s property tax relief amendment idea, prefer another run at the graduated income tax, think lawmakers should do something else, or nothing at all? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Tomorrow, Thursday, November 20th at 2:00 PM, Raja Krishnamoorthi will be joined by a coalition of 100 faith leaders from across Illinois for a press conference on the West Side of Chicago, announcing their unified support for his campaign for U.S. Senate.
Faith leaders are traveling from all throughout Illinois to stand in solidarity with Raja. Their support marks another major show of momentum among Illinois leaders uniting behind his campaign. Last week, Teamsters Local 705 – the state’s largest Teamsters local – added its name to a growing labor coalition that includes UFCW Local 881, multiple Illinois Letter Carriers Association locals, and more. Support has also swelled among local officials, with more than two dozen mayors and hundreds of local leaders backing his campaign. From city halls to labor halls to houses of worship, leaders across the state are uniting behind Raja, a proven champion for working families.
A mother and her young son were attacked by a group of students on their walk home from school Monday — sparking outrage as neighbors say Chicago Public Schools and other agencies have done little to stop bullying and other issues impacting the school community. […]
State Sen. Willie Preston has been in contact with [Corshawnda Hatter] and said she had brought bullying complaints to [Orville Bright Elementary School’s] administration for at least two years.
“Her son is very afraid,” Preston said. “He’s been going through a lot. When I sat down with him, I looked into his eyes, and saw that he’s extremely sad. He’s been bullied for some time by the same group of kids. His mom has been complaining about bullying for two years to the administration.”
Preston alleged that the same group of students had jumped other students and even adults in the past. He called for a piece of anti-bullying legislation to be brought up to the federal level.
Sen. Preston is running for congress in the 2nd Congressional District.
Cook County Commissioner and IL-08 congressional candidate Kevin Morrison plans to introduce a sweeping resolution today condemning federal lawmakers — especially Sen. Dick Durbin — who voted for the Republican-led FY2026 funding bill without securing an extension of the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits.
Morrison’s measure outlines what he says are severe financial consequences Illinois families will face if the tax credits expire at the end of 2025, noting that roughly 500,000 Illinoisans rely on them to keep coverage affordable, according to the proposed resolution obtained by Playbook.
In criticizing Durbin, the resolution says the senator’s vote came even after he publicly acknowledged insurers warned him that the loss of tax credits would be “a disaster.”
Morrison’s political plug. The resolution concludes by declaring that “Illinoisans require representatives…who will actually stand up for them and their interests.”
A would-be congressional candidate from the North suburbs who has an extensive history of antisemitic social media posts was removed from ballot consideration Tuesday.
Zion resident John Minarcik won’t appear on spring 2026 Democratic primary ballots for Illinois’ 10th District seat because he didn’t gather enough petition signatures to qualify, the Illinois State Board of Elections ruled.
Only three people signed Minarcik’s petition, an elections board spokesperson said. Nearly 1,000 signatures were required to qualify in that primary race. […]
His exit from the race leaves [Mundelein’s Morgan Coghill] and longtime U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park as the Democratic candidates.
* WAND | Forum gives Springfield residents a voice in upcoming House of Representatives election: Voters got the chance to hear directly from candidates running for Illinois’ 15th congressional district. The forum gave voters the opportunity to ask tough questions and eventually decide who they want representing them in Washington. Republican candidates and Incumbent Representative Mary Miller were invited to the forum. Organizer Karen Broquet said the community should hear from all candidates regardless of the political party.
* Patch | Richard Boykin Engages Oak Park Seniors At Oak Park Arms Lunch And Learn: Oak Park Arms Senior Living will host a lunch and learn with Richard Boykin, Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 7th District at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 21, 2025. The event will provide a direct forum for the community to engage with the former Cook County commissioner on issues critical to the district. The lunch and learn is free and open to the public. The event will focus on Boykin’s commitment to addressing public safety, ensuring quality healthcare and social services for seniors, and leveraging his federal experience to secure necessary appropriations and programs for the 7th District.
* US Term Limits | Overwhelming support in IL CD-07 race for congressional term limits: U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader in the non-partisan national movement to limit terms for elected officials, praises 2026 U.S. House candidate for Illinois, Reed Showalter (District 7), for signing the pledge for an amendment to term limit Congress. Previously, candidates Jerico Brown, Kina Collins, and Chad Koppie also signed the pledge.
* ICYMI: 7th Circuit stays judge’s order restricting immigration agents’ use of riot control weapons. Capitol News Illinois…
- The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday sided with the Trump administration and granted a stay on a federal judge’s order restricting immigration agents’ use of riot control weapons against protesters, clergy and journalists.
- Wednesday’s ruling marks the second time the Chicago-based appellate court rebuked Ellis; last month the 7th Circuit blocked the judge’s demand that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino report to court every day for a week.
- The appeals court’s decision comes as U.S. Department of Homeland Security has wound down its Chicago-area “Operation Midway Blitz” immigration enforcement campaign.
340B hospitals mark up medicines and pocket the profit
Did you know 340B hospitals can charge thousands of dollars for medicines they might have bought for a penny? And they pocket the profit – passing the bill to Illinois patients, employers and taxpayers who are hit with higher medicine costs. The fact is this government program was created in 1992 to help patients access more affordable medicines. Today, the 340B program has become less about patients and more about boosting the bottom lines of hospitals and for-profit pharmacies. Tell Congress it’s time to fix 340B. Read more.
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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***
* Capitol City Now | Petition-passing Pat Quinn is back: His latest idea is one which he says would save $4.5 billion for most Illinois property owners, and he would raise that money on the backs of those who make more than $1 million. This would be an extra three percent tax after you’ve earned your first million, via a Constitutional amendment which the legislature must approve for November 2026. “We need three-fifths of each house to vote it onto the ballot by May 3, and then we’ll have a referendum (campaign) for six months,” Quinn told a statehouse news conference Wednesday.
* Alton Telegraph | Illinois Secretary of State workers charged with bribery: According to court documents, on July 2, the Edwardsville woman allegedly accepted a $25 bribe, and the East St. Louis woman accepted a $50 bribe to expedite the processing of identification. Court documents did not say what office the two worked out of.
* WREX | Illinois high school seniors offered admission to state universities with new initiative: High school seniors from Illinois have been offered admission to several state colleges if they meet certain requirements. The Illinois State Board of Education announced on X the One Click College Admit program. The initiative is said to give all eligible high school seniors (the class of 2026) offers of general admission to Illinois public universities and their local community college, based on their GPA.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Capitol News Illinois | Comptroller candidates spar over taxes, experience in candidate forum: Each candidate proclaimed their support for a graduated income tax, which would require an amendment to the state constitution. Voters rejected such a proposal in 2020 despite its backing from Gov. JB Pritzker, but the candidates all said they support giving it another try. Villa argued the state needs more revenue to pay for progressive priorities and a graduated income tax, which has also been called the “progressive tax” or “fair tax,” would help.
* Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey…
Thank you, @realDonaldTrump , for this incredible letter I recieved today. We will FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT — and we will WIN.
Cindy and I aren’t backing down. Not now. Not ever. Illinois families are hurting, and we’re standing shoulder to shoulder with every single one of you… pic.twitter.com/vxLVqm5KRs
* Sun-Times | Budget chair claims Mayor Johnson’s corporate head tax isn’t dead yet: Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) told the City Club of Chicago Wednesday that Johnson could use his veto to thwart any budget proposal that eliminates his proposed head tax and replaces the $100 million in lost revenue with a property tax increase, higher garbage collection fees, and other alternate revenue sources.
* Sun-Times | Johnson pledges to use head tax for youth programs, then wants to cut funding for proven mentoring efforts: Mayor Brandon Johnson has tried — and so far failed — to sell his corporate head tax by rebranding it as a “community safety surcharge” with $100 million in annual revenue for crime fighting and prevention programs that include summer jobs and mentoring for Black and Hispanic youth. And yet, in his proposed 2026 budget, the mayor wants to cut funding for one of Chicago’s most successful youth mentoring programs, and change city guidelines to disqualify school-based group counseling programs known as “Becoming a Man” (BAM) and “Working on Womanhood” (WOW). “It’s devastating. We have 1,400 young people benefiting from programs they get so much out of. Most of them are in the program because they’ve already been exposed to trauma. And we’re risking traumatizing them again by ripping these supports out in the middle of the school year,” said Michelle Adler-Morrison, CEO of Youth Guidance, which oversees BAM and WOW.
* Crain’s | Alderman urges union concessions as budget tensions spike: O’Shea said the broader conversations haven’t happened because Johnson has been unwilling to take on unions that represent roughly 90% of city workers. “It’s an uncomfortable conversation, and it’s potentially a political problem, but that’s what leaders do in difficult times,” he said. “If you don’t ask them, they’re not going to volunteer. If I was running a union, I wouldn’t be volunteering unless they asked.”
Well… labor has been at the table, in addition to being on the table. But maybe we can start with Alderman O’Shea returning my phone call and text messages. We can start there. https://t.co/x70KF8B08o
* WTTW | CPD’s Increasing Use of Force Threatens Consent Decree Push: Illinois Attorney General: The significant increase in the number of times Chicago police officers have used force against Chicagoans since 2022 threatens the effort to reform the Chicago Police Department, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office told a federal judge on Tuesday. The coalition of police reform groups, which forced the city to agree to federal court oversight, told U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer in September that the number of times officers have shot, tased, struck and choked a member of the public violates the consent decree, the federal court order requiring officers to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights.
* NBC Chicago | ‘Spreading fast’: New, mutated flu strain has Chicago-area doctors ‘on guard’: The new variant, known as “Subclade K,” is part of the H3N2 parent group, or a type of Flu A. “This mutation has been associated with an increased rate of flu infections in countries that are already witnessing it and also in parts of the United States,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Arti Barnes.
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* WTTW | Ex-Aurora Mayor Backed $450K Line of Credit Without Council Approval; Nonprofit Leader Racked Up Charges at ATMs and Strip Clubs: OnLight Aurora, a city-supported nonprofit, aims to provide high speed internet to the west suburban community’s institutions, businesses and residents. The nonprofit, according to an analysis by local officials and documents reviewed by WTTW News, is nearly $1 million in the red, operating at a $27,000 monthly deficit with some $20,000 in monthly debt service payments. Those charges include tens of thousands of dollars in ATM cash withdrawals, additional thousands spent at strip clubs across the country and travel to places as far-flung as Madrid and Dublin, to name just a few.
* Daily Herald | Aurora firefighters protest proposed budget cuts: The union representing Aurora’s firefighters is speaking out against Mayor John Laesch’s proposed 2026 budget, saying he and the fire chief are not being truthful when they say having fewer workers won’t hurt public safety. “It is misleading and factually inaccurate to suggest that eliminating 18 firefighters, three battalion chiefs, one training officer and two fire trucks, regardless of the method, will not affect emergency response, readiness or service delivery,” wrote union President Ron Deubel, in a statement Local 99 of the International Association of Firefighters posted on its website and Facebook page Wednesday morning.
* Daily Herald | Elk Grove Village mayor announces prostate cancer diagnosis: “I’ve got four kids and 10 grandkids, with more grandkids coming. I want to see them grow up,” Johnson said at a village board meeting Tuesday night. “It’s not a death warrant. You can fight it. You can beat it. I plan on beating it.” It’s the third major health scare for the longtime mayor, who had double-bypass heart surgery in 2014 and was severely injured in a biking accident in 2010.
*** Downstate ***
* Fox 2 Now | Ameren Illinois rate hike cut by $55.8 million: On Wednesday, The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) slashed Ameren Illinois’ natural gas rate request by nearly half, cutting $55.8 million from the proposed $128.8 million increase. Commissioners said the decision was made to help balance utility needs with affordability. “The ICC’s responsibility is to balance the interests of Illinois’ utilities and their consumers,” ICC Chairman Doug Scott said in a statement. “The commission opted to strike excess charges and approve necessary and justified projects.”
* 25 News Now | Concussion, broken bones: Women pay more than fines after East Peoria traffic stops: Two unrelated women are alleging excessive use of force by the same East Peoria police officer after traffic stops quickly turned violent and left them with lasting injuries. The stories share similarities. In both cases, the women are stopped for a traffic violation and forcefully arrested within a minute of Officer DeVonte Tincher’s approach. In both cases, the women complained to the East Peoria Police Department, and the department found no issues with the officer’s use of force. On July 30, 2025, Klein was arrested for resisting arrest about two minutes after she ran a red light. Klein was pulled to the ground from the driver’s seat of her car, breaking her humerus and scapula bones.
* BND | Republicans at odds over error on Madison County clerk’s election paperwork: The objector, Harold Wathan Jr., president of the Madison County Conservative Caucus, pointed out that all of Andreas’ nominating petitions listed the wrong handwritten election date of March 17, 2025. “(The county clerk’s office) is charged with running elections,” he said after the hearing. “She’s supposed to make sure paperwork is correct. She counsels other people on what to do.” Ultimately, the board — comprised of State’s Attorney Tom Haine, Circuit Clerk Patrick McRae and Sheriff Jeff Connor, all Republicans — voted to allow Andreas’ name to remain on the ballot.
* WICS | Ex-Champaign County deputy pleads guilty in $10K+ theft from Back the Blue fundraiser: A former Champaign County Sheriff’s Deputy has pled guilty to theft exceeding $10,000 in a fundraising scandal for the 10-78 Foundation (Back the Blue Champaign County). Matthew Stuckey, 40, was sentenced on Monday, November 17 to 36 months of supervised probation, 30 hours of community service, and financial penalties. Because the judge chose Withhold Judgment, Stuckey may avoid a felony conviction if he fully complies with all sentencing terms.
* WSIL | SIU Launches Free Dual-Enrollment Program for 26 Southern Illinois High Schools: Beginning next semester, students at 26 Southern Illinois high schools will be able to take online, tuition-free college courses through Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s new Saluki Start Dual Enrollment Program. […] Students will take one SIU course per term, taught by university faculty, with credits applying toward a degree at SIU or transferable to other public institutions in Illinois.
* WIFR | Parents worry Harlem School District’s plan to close schools could ‘dismantle’ families: On Monday, Harlem superintendent Terrell Yarbrough and administrators revealed a proposal to consolidate its elementary education. The plan would close Maple and Olson Park elementary schools, reduce the early childhood program, cut staff and more. […] He maintains the proposal doesn’t reflect on students, staff or leadership. Rather, the plan addresses declining enrollment due to a fall in birth rates in Winnebago County, under-utilization of buildings and a $3.1 million deficit.
* WGLT | City of Bloomington Township provided $67,000 in food assistance during SNAP suspension: The township approved setting aside up to $150,000 for emergency assistance earlier this month after the Trump administration paused benefits. From Nov. 4-13, 521 residents completed the intake process, and a total of 496 family members received emergency food benefits. “Our small but dedicated team worked early mornings, through lunch hours and late into the evening to meet the needs of our community,” township supervisor Deb Skillrud said. “Their commitment meant that every eligible household with complete documentation received assistance without delay.”
* PJ Star | Why Peoria’s police chief is in favor of new system for self-reporting some crimes: During the monthly meeting of the Peoria Advisory Committee on Police-Community Relations Monday night, Echevarria showed off the new system – the Citizen’s Online Reporting System – which allows citizens to report crimes such as assault, battery, criminal damage to property, vandalism and theft. He said that the system will reduce the workload of officers who would otherwise be distracted from more important tasks to complete reports for these crimes.
*** National ***
* Defector | John Fetterman’s Memoir Is As Low-Effort As His Senate Tenure: There is no audience for Unfettered, and I do not think Crown will get its money’s worth on this memoir. The day after Fetterman’s book dropped, I called a handful of Barnes and Nobles and independent bookstores in Pennsylvania. The Barnes and Noble in York—where Fetterman was born and raised—had sold zero copies. The Barnes and Noble in Philadelphia had sold two copies. An independent store in Pittsburgh and an independent store in Philadelphia each told me they weren’t stocking Unfettered, at least not at the moment. Another independent store in Philadelphia described interest in Unfettered as lukewarm.
* WBEZ | Newly released cache of Epstein emails reveal deeper ties with Thomas Pritzker, governor’s cousin: Pritzker, Gov. JB Pritzker’s cousin, exchanged at least 20 back-and-forth emails with Epstein that show the two remarking on current events and making plans to see each other, according to a review of some of the 20,000 pages of documents released by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform committee last week. […] Thomas Pritzker has not been accused of any wrongdoing, nor has he been named in any investigation into Epstein’s crimes. Thomas Pritzker declined to comment on the newly released documents through a spokesperson for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, where he currently serves as executive chairman.
* The Harvard Crimson | Summers Will Not Finish Semester of Teaching as Harvard Investigates Epstein Ties: On Monday, Summers — who served as United States Treasury Secretary under the Clinton administration — said he would step back from all public commitments, while continuing to teach undergraduate and graduate students and leading the Mossavar-Rahmani center, according to a spokesperson. But by Wednesday night — just one day after Harvard announced that it would probe his ties to Epstein — he had changed his mind amid mounting pressure. University spokesperson Jason A. Newton confirmed in a Wednesday statement that Summers had communicated his decision to Harvard.
