|
Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Crain’s…
* Sun-Times…
* Crain’s…
* Sun-Times | Sen. Duckworth travels to Portugal, Poland to strengthen Illinois National Guard ties: “I am always proud of what the Illinois National Guard is doing. And the 200 who were activated were not activated in a way that our governor, or that we, agreed with. But they conducted themselves well, and I’m always going to support the Illinois Guard,” Duckworth said. “And frankly, I think this is an opportunity to highlight what the Guard should be doing. They shouldn’t be out terrorizing, being told that you’re supposed to help ICE terrorize the citizens of Chicago. They should be doing what they have been doing for 35 years, which is strengthening the bond between the United States and our NATO allies.” * Sun-Times | Subzero temperatures expected by end of week — ‘Don’t spend time outdoors unless you have to’: “Don’t spend time outdoors unless you have to,” said Gino Izzi, senior meteorologist at the weather service. “If you have to spend time outdoors, you’re going to want to wear a lot of layers, multiple layers of loose-fitting clothing. The more layers you put on between yourself and the outside is better.” Meanwhile, before the colder temperatures roll in at the end of the week, Izzi said a system that could blanket the Chicago area with 1 to 2 inches of snow will move through Tuesday night but end before rush hour Wednesday. * ABC Chicago | Illinois has filed more than 50 lawsuits against Trump administration, AG Raoul says: Over the past 365 days, Illinois has filed more than 50 lawsuits. The attorney general said the state is locked in a series of legal battles with the Trump administration challenging everything from federal funding freezes to “aggressive and unconstitutional” immigration enforcement tactics. Raoul said his office has been trying to combat what they deem unlawful actions in Trump’s first year of his second term. * Sun-Times | Slightly smaller share of Chicago families choosing CPS for their children, report finds: Though overall enrollment at CPS has declined for years, the district steadily served roughly 75% of the city’s school-age population between 2008 and 2018. That’s despite major disruptions including mass school closures and multiple budget crises that could have caused more families to look elsewhere. Since then, the district’s share of the population has dipped, falling to 71% in 2023, the report found. * Block Club | Despite Fears, Chicago’s Rapid Responders Vow To Continue Facing Down Federal Immigration Officers: “They’ve gotten much more brutal,” said Diego Morales, a rapid response organizer with Pilsen Unidos por Ñuestro Orgullo (PUÑO), “They’ve abandoned any pretense of respecting the law, and the risks for everybody involved have gotten higher and higher.” “The federal government is not doing this behind a curtain. They are doing it plain, at the public eye, and with no remorse,” said Marièn Casillas Pabellón, executive director of the West Suburban Action Project, or PASO. “People can see the harm that it causes and the trauma that it causes long-term … even if they are not directly impacted.” * Block Club | Award-Winning Alarmist Brewing Closing After Almost A Decade On Northwest Side: He said the business struggled to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic. Gulley said people “just aren’t drinking as much” post-pandemic, a trend that has hit breweries and wineries across the country. “We got into November and I was looking at the numbers and when I was having trouble buying ingredients, I knew we were in trouble,” Gulley said. * Tribune | Burst pipe in air traffic tower causes delays at O’Hare: The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that a water pipe burst in the tower shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. Air traffic controllers were evacuated and were able to continue operations at the airport’s other air traffic facilities, according to the FAA. Still, a ground delay program was in place at O’Hare Tuesday and the main air traffic tower remained closed, according to an FAA alert. Delays were expected to average around an hour and twenty minutes. * Daily Herald | No longer a bridesmaid, O’Hare clinches busiest U.S. airport award: After seven years of second best, O’Hare International Airport once again holds the title of the nation’s busiest airport. Preliminary federal data posted Tuesday shows 857,392 flights at O’Hare in 2025 compared with arch-rival Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s 807,625 operations. That represents a nearly 10.5% climb from 2024, when 776,036 flights landed and departed at O’Hare. * Aurora Beacon-News | Districts 2 and 9 still without board members in Kane County: Kane County’s District 2 board seat has been vacant since early October, when board member Dale Berman died at the age of 91. Berman was a longtime resident of North Aurora and a four-term village president, and had been serving on the Kane County Board since 2021. The board sought applications for Berman’s seat and made several attempts to appoint someone to fill the position until it’s up for election in the fall of 2026, but ultimately failed to vote in a candidate in November. The situation prompted some concern from board members about the transparency of the selection process and the board’s procedure for appointing candidates. * Daily Southtown | Orland Park board approves Amazon retail development at 159th and LaGrange Road: The Plan Commission ultimately approved the proposal 6-1, with Daniel Sanchez voting no due to lingering concerns raised by residents. “Overall, I think it’s great, I think it’s pretty exciting,” Sanchez said. “Some of the other comments about traffic and overall scale and fit in that location do concern me a little bit.” Dodge told the Daily Southtown developer interest for the 35-acre parcel has been high, with the village previously considering to zone it for mixed use including residential. * Naperville Sun | Naperville student’s nonprofit delivers food to shelters, offers English classes: Empower Futurewave Foundation started by providing English as a second language courses to students from around the world who did not have access to such programs. The organization now provides English and STEM courses to students in eight countries, including Mexico, Guatemala and Vietnam. In addition to the global classes, it also has a local initiative called EmpowerEats, which helps restaurants in the Naperville area donate meals they do not sell to local shelters. Shah said that through the EmpowerEats initiative, about 150 meals are donated every week to Hesed House, a homeless shelter in Aurora and the largest second largest shelter in Illinois. * Tribune | Elmhurst museum explores history of healthcare in DuPage County in new exhibit: One surprising thing she discovered was that, even though the county was affected by such diseases as influenza and the Spanish flu, the second-biggest killer was train accidents. “They didn’t have alarms, bells and whistles, and arms going down to stop you from crossing train tracks,” she explained. Artifacts in the exhibit include doctors’ instruments and tools, medications, original documentation from the establishment of Elmhurst Hospital, and nurses’ uniforms from different eras, among other items. * WGN | Prohibition-era gun discovered in walls of Thornton distillery: The gun was found tucked inside a wall in an underground catacomb beneath the distillery. Howell says he immediately contacted police. “The police ran the number on it, and they said it’s not in their database. He said it’s technically an antique,” Howell said. “What’s really scary is that it’s a loaded clip. He said the bullets look like they’re from the 1920s. When we had the model number, we pulled it and it looked like it was manufactured between 1903 and 1923.” […] The building is the oldest standing brewery in Illinois. It was built in 1857 and continued operating through Prohibition as an illicit bootlegging operation. * WGLT | Unit 5 and Baby Fold pivot after Department of Education cancels grant money: The grant, at $1 million annually over five years, was used to support and expand programming at both schools. In December, the U.S. Department of Education announced the rest of the grant money will not be awarded. The cuts were another step in a series of Trump administration actions meant to defund “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives. * WIFR | The Issues: Winnebago County Sales Tax Referendum: A referendum question on Winnebago County’s upcoming primary ballot asks voters if they want to impose a 1% sales tax, with revenue going toward area school districts. WIFR’s Jake Pearson sits down with a pair of Winnebago County Board members, learning where they will cast their vote this March and the concerns they have around the tax. * Illinois Times | Roundabout slated for West White Oaks: If all goes according to the city’s plans, such traffic chaos will soon have a solution in the form of a new roundabout involving Hedley Avenue, Cascade Drive and West White Oaks Drive. The Springfield City Council will consider ordinances at its Jan. 20 meeting that would set the wheels in motion for the purchase of three parcels of land near the intersection. The total cost to the city for the three parcels would be close to $130,000, with five other smaller parcels of adjacent property needed to finish construction currently in the negotiation stage. * NYT | Swan Seeks Mate: Must Like Cold Lake and Small Flock: The swan, who had recently lost his mate, would not move away from a vending machine at Tri-Township Park in Troy, Ill. The swan stared at his reflection below the Dr Pepper dispensers, thinking it showed his mate, park officials said. […] On Thursday, the department posted a flyer on social media that asked the public to donate money to help the swans “find companionship again.” * 404 Media | ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice: In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman’s face during an immigration raid. ICE has said the app’s results are a “definitive” determination of someone’s immigration status. * Popular Information | ICE has stopped paying for detainee medical treatment: ICE, however, has not paid any third-party providers for medical care for detainees since October 3, 2025. Last week, ICE posted a notice on an obscure government website announcing it will not begin processing such claims until at least April 30, 2026. Until then, medical providers are instructed “to hold all claims submissions.” ICE’s failure to pay its bills for months has caused some medical providers to deny services to ICE detainees, an administration source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, told Popular Information. In other cases, detainees have allegedly been denied essential medical care by ICE. * AP | The US is on the verge of losing its measles elimination status: The reevaluation is largely symbolic and hinges on whether a single measles chain has spread uninterrupted within the U.S. for at least 12 months. Public health scientists around the country are investigating whether the now-ended Texas outbreak is linked to active ones in Utah, Arizona and South Carolina. But doctors and scientists say the U.S. — and North America overall — has a measles problem, regardless of the decision. “It is really a question of semantics,” said Dr. Jonathan Temte, a Wisconsin family physician who helped certify the U.S. was measles-free in 2000. “The bottom line is the conditions are sufficient to allow this many cases to occur. And that gets back to de-emphasizing a safe and effective vaccine.”
|
|
Pritzker moves from ‘prerequisite’ that Bears must ‘pay off what’s owed on the existing stadium,’ to ‘That is not the core issue’
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Last September…
* Last week, Pritzker was asked about the “core issue” of paying off the debt. His response…
I think this Indiana gambit may have some folks spooked a bit. Either way, the tone has changed. State capital money for infrastructure is still on the table and has been from the beginning. But there remains zero appetite to shovel state GRF money at the team to build its stadium complex. Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey rcently whacked Pritzker for allowing the Bears to consider Indiana, but would not, in the end, support giving the team tax money…
Property taxes, as indicated above, might be a different story because that’s on the locals, not the state. * Last week, we linked to former Rep. Mark Batinick’s white paper on the Bears stadium. He focuses mainly on property taxes…
Discuss.
|
|
Illinois drought worsens
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Isabel posted this story earlier today…
I can see out my window that Lake Springfield water levels are very low. * From the Washington Post…
Check out the drought map…  Click here for an interactive Illinois county map. It appears that ten counties are at least partially within the “Extreme Drought” area. Several more are in “Severe Drought” areas. If you click here and scroll down and then compare it to the first map posted above, you can see how the drought has spread here since the fall.
|
|
If you’re coming to Springfield today, avoid southbound I-55 near town
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * WICS TV…
Traffic has been at a dead stop for a long while. I’m told by one person who’s been stuck that it’s slowly crawling forward. A legislator I spoke with earlier said she was passed north of Springfield at a high rate of speed by a fast-moving SUV followed by several police cars. Then, just beyond the Sangamon Ave. exit, traffic came to a full stop. Police eventually cleared the interstate north of the accident and she was able to turn around and get off the interstate, but others north of there were apparently bottle-necked. An online report from a crime watcher site claimed the driver of the vehicle fired a shot, and that it may have been self-inflicted. The driver reportedly was transferred to the hospital, but “southbound traffic will be diverted for hours,” the site claimed. * From ISP…
|
|
Catching up with the federal candidates
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Sun-Times…
Krishnamoorthi clarified on CNN that “in theory” ICE should exist…
…Adding… Click here if you want to watch the full CNN clip.
* Jewish Insider ran a story this morning claiming congressional candidate Daniel Biss sought AIPAC support last year. But the piece relies on a single source who happens to be running against Biss for state central committeeperson and has also endorsed Sen. Laura Fine in the congressional race, something the story doesn’t mention…
The Biss campaign’s response…
Meanwhile, some back and forth between Kat Abughazaleh and Biss…
* Neil Knot, a candidate in the 8th CD, ran an ad during the Bears playoff game. Press release…
* Politico…
* More…
* Press Release | Congressional Candidate, Donna Miller, Receives Endorsement from Elect Democratic Women: “Elect Democratic Women is proud to endorse Donna Miller for Congress,” said Congresswoman Lois Frankel, chair of Elect Democratic Women. “As a health care advocate, Donna has fought to expand access to quality care, advance health equity and deliver real results for working families. As a Cook County Commissioner, she’s been a solutions-oriented leader who brings people together to tackle tough challenges–from supporting veterans to strengthening community health systems. Donna has the experience and values Chicago residents need in Congress representing them and we’re proud to stand with her.” * Press Release | L-07 Congressional Candidate Anabel Mendoza Stands With Harrison Courts Tenants Demanding Immediate Action from the Department of Housing and Urban Development: This MLK Day, Illinois’ 7th Congressional District candidate Anabel Mendoza and Rev. Robin Hood stood alongside community leaders and more than 20 tenants from Harrison Courts Apartments in East Garfield Park, calling for immediate action from the Department of Housing and Urban Development following months of unsafe and unlivable conditions in the building. Harrison Courts Apartments is currently governed by a special contract between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), under which the federal government has placed restrictions on how CHA may use federal funding for repairs and redevelopment at the complex. Tenants and advocates say those restrictions have contributed to dangerous delays while residents continue to live in unsafe conditions.
|
|
Credit Unions: Expanding Access To Responsible Credit
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] January is a natural fit for Financial Wellness Month, as credit unions have long treated financial literacy as a core part of their mission. Coming on the heels of the holiday spending season, the month offers an ideal opportunity for a financial “fresh start,” encouraging individuals to set meaningful goals and build healthy, lasting habits. Access to fair, transparent credit is essential to financial wellness. Illinois credit unions often take a relationship‑based approach to lending, looking beyond credit scores to understand a member’s full financial picture. Many credit unions also provide small‑dollar loans and alternatives to payday lenders, giving members responsible options during financial emergencies. These products help prevent cycles of high‑interest debt that can derail financial progress. Financial Plus Credit Union’s Trent Threadgill discusses how credit unions look beyond the credit score: Learn more at www.betterforillinois.org
Comments Off |
|
It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Tribune…
* Rep. Mike Crawford…
* SB 2884 from Sen. Graciela Guzmán would allow cities and towns to adopt rent control if voters approve it by referendum…
* Sen. Michael Hastings introduced SB2866 last week…
* SB2876 from Sen. Terri Bryant…
|
|
The Illinois Supreme Court’s patronage system needs reform
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Discuss.
|
|
Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Retail provides one out of every five Illinois jobs, generates the second largest amount of tax revenue for the state, and is the largest source of revenue for local governments. But retail is also so much more, with retailers serving as the trusted contributors to life’s moments, big and small.
Comments Off |
|
Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: At one time, Illinois was a top oil producer. Today, that legacy is a $160M problem. Tribune…
- Left unplugged, some of these wells leak toxic chemicals hundreds of feet below the surface, potentially contaminating groundwater, and spit climate-warming methane gas into the atmosphere. - For the last 35 years, a portion of annual fees paid by Illinois oil operators has been deposited into a fund to plug wells and restore the land they once occupied. And yet, the state cannot account for where most of that money has gone over the years, only to say that much of it has been swept away for uses other than intended. * Related stories… * At noon, the governor will sit down for a roundtable with Illinoisans who’ve been impacted by federal actions and funding cuts during the first year of Trump’s second term. Then at 2 p.m., Gov. Pritzker will make an announcement celebrating International Jazz Day. Click here to watch. * Capitol News Illinois | States say paperwork tied to $10B funding freeze is an intentionally ‘impossible task’: “As Defendants know, that is an impossible task on an impossible timeline, offered only as pretext to maintain the freeze against Plaintiff States,” the lawsuit states. For the Child Care Development fund, the Administration for Children and Families is asking for the documented attendance for subsidized child care services, which include the days and hours when care is provided as well as payment information. The administration said it will use the data to decide whether the money the state gets is “‘reasonable, allowable, and allocable.’” * WGLT | Former Illinois Farm Bureau president refuses to resign seat on Country Mutual board in unprecedented move: In a statement to WGLT, Duncan said his stepping down is a tradition, not a requirement. “The Country Board serves one‑year terms that start at the Country Annual Meetings each April,” said Duncan. “The next one is on April 22, 2026. Board members can step down earlier if they want to. Some choose to do that when their IFB Board service wraps up, but they don’t have to.” * Injustice Watch | Cook County allows tax foreclosures by municipalities. Poor oversight led to misuse by local officials.: Several months into her term as the mayor of south suburban Ford Heights in 2017, Annie Coulter learned about alarming irregularities in the village’s real estate records. Village officials discovered that her predecessor, Charles Griffin, had arranged to give away 17 village-owned houses: At least four of them were transferred to friends and family members, while another six went to his political supporters, school board members and fellow village officials, including Freddie Wilson, the village’s current mayor, court records show. * Hollywood Reporter | New Jersey, New York and Illinois See Gains In Film and TV Production As California Loses Ground: Meanwhile Illinois, home to Dick Wolf procedurals on NBC (Chicago Fire, P.D. and Med) along with FX’s The Bear, saw film count in the fourth quarter increase 70 percent year-over-year while production spend increased 46 percent. Prior indicators — namely major year-over-year growth in background actors’ jobs booked, per one payroll firm’s estimate — had suggested that Illinois was poised to be a bigger production hub, and in the latest quarter it appears to be closing the gap with a more established state, Georgia, that saw year-over-year declines in projects shooting and in spend. * Sun-Times | How changes at the U.S. Postal Service could affect when your mail is postmarked: Approximately one-third of Illinois voters are at risk of experiencing postmark delays, the Brookings report found, which is more moderate exposure compared to other high-risk states like South Dakota and Arkansas. The agency said the postmark wasn’t intended to serve as proof of when mail is sent. A postmark also doesn’t necessarily indicate the date on which the item was collected, but it can serve as proof of possession by the agency, according to the Postal Service. * Capitol News Illinois | Few fireworks as Illinois GOP governor hopefuls share stage for first time: Far ahead of his Republican primary opponents in the most recent public polling, Darren Bailey told a half-filled central Illinois auditorium in that he expected to be “the punching bag.” Instead, Bailey walked away relatively unscathed from a candidate forum Thursday evening as the four Republican candidates for governor struck a conciliatory tone with one another. The four candidates preached unity after years of intraparty conflict, called for an end to the state’s robust protections for immigrants and took aim at Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker while pitching themselves as the most electable candidate in a general election. * Center Square | GOP hopefuls seek support, blast Pritzker at IL gubernatorial candidate forum: The candidates generally avoided criticizing each other, but all four took aim at the state’s policies and governance under Pritzker. Mendrick said Chicago, Springfield and the entire state needs emergency management. “Crime is out of control. That’s because of the SAFE-T Act, which I vow to get rid of. Day one, SAFE-T Act is gone, executive order. We’re violating federal law. It should not be allowed. It’s causing us to spend billions,” Mendrick said. * Evanston Now | State Senate race heats up: Evanston Democrat Rachel Ruttenberg has taken a fundraising lead over Winnetka Democrat Patrick Hanley in the race for State Senate District 9, ending the year with over $145,000 cash on hand, closing a gap Hanley opened in the fall. Ruttenberg, who’s the Democratic Party of Evanston’s deputy committeeperson, drew the bulk of her new support a single PAC, which reported a $72,800 contribution to her campaign in mid-December, most of the $92,800 she reported raising since Oct. 1. The large contribution came from the Jewish Caucus PAC. * Sun-Times | Bears, Bally’s elbow way onto General Assembly’s spring agenda as lawmakers eye $2.2B shortfall: State lawmakers return to the Illinois House on Tuesday to gavel in the 2026 legislative session and prepare for months of wrangling over how to bridge a $2.2 billion budget gap in a critical midterm election year. Leaders of Democratic supermajorities in the Illinois General Assembly are sticking to the national party message of addressing affordability for voters who face rising costs on utility bills, health care, home insurance and just about everything else. * WCIA | IL state senators set priorities entering 2026 legislative session: Up in New Salem, another economic hotspot is grabbing Senator Steve McClure’s attention. Last year, his legislation earmarked $8 million for renovations to Lincoln’s New Salem. The funds are for renovating log cabins, and McClure said he wants to make sure it stays that way. […] Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) said he wants to make sure a hard-fought win from 2025 isn’t wiped away by data centers. New laws now prohibit any carbon capture in areas around the Mahomet Aquifer. * WAND | New IL law increases access to early intervention services for NICU babies: The Illinois Department of Human Services’ early intervention program helps children with disabilities or developmental delays up to age three learn and grow. Youth in the program are evaluated for movement, learning and behavior among other areas, but many families are unaware they are eligible for these services. The new law states hospitals must sign a letter referring babies to early intervention services if the child is born weighing less than 2.2 pounds. * WBEZ | Chicago parking meters up for sale, but Johnson urged to proceed carefully on potential buy-back: The meters generated roughly $160.9 million in 2024, audits show. “Do we think we could grow that over the next 57 years? If we were to think that we could grow that at, say, 3% a year, what kind of value does that have?” Conway asked. He also wondered whether the city could save money by no longer having to pay “true-up” costs which are due to the investors to keep them whole whenever meters are taken out of service. * Bloomberg | Chicago Splits 2026 Advance Pension Payment on Cash Crunch: Chicago is dividing up its annual advance supplemental payment to its underfunded pensions into two, a departure from paying the entire amount at the start of the year. The third-largest US city is paying the first half — about $130 million — on Friday and the balance later this year, according to a statement from a spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson. Almost $260 million has been earmarked for the advance payment to the city’s four retirement systems in the 2026 budget, which was passed in late December after contentious negotiations between the Johnson administration and the City Council. * Sun-Times | Chicago’s first ‘Midway Blitz’ trial could revolve around the feds’ Bovino murder-for-hire claim: Espinoza Martinez’s trial is expected to be swift. He faces one murder-for-hire count, and prosecutors have signaled they’ll call just a few witnesses. Bovino is not among them. […] Espinoza Martinez’s lawyers, Jonathan Bedi and Dena Singer, have described their client as a “working man with deep roots” in the community and an “unblemished record.” They say he worked at his brother’s construction company for a decade, took his children to soccer games, and has never been convicted of a crime. Now he’s been in federal custody since Oct. 6. * WBEZ | Chicago Teachers Union leaders question timing of second federal inquiry into finances: But CTU officials said the timing is suspicious. The letter arrived one day before the CTU was due to submit five years of audits and other financial documents to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in response to a demand from the committee to examine the union’s audits. Committee members said they wanted to determine if “reforms” were needed to the federal law that requires unions to submit financial information to the Labor Department. * Sun-Times | Cardinal Blase Cupich, fellow cardinals criticize Trump administration foreign policy: Cardinal Blase Cupich joined two other U.S. Catholic leaders in denouncing President Donald Trump’s military action in Venezuela and overtures to take over Greenland. The policies raise “basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace,” Cupich and two other cardinals wrote. Trump’s name was not used in the letter. * Crain’s | Gary dangles three development sites in bid to woo the Bears: City officials announced today that three sites, ranging from 145 to 760 acres, are available to help woo the team, which nearly one month ago announced it would consider sites in northwest Indiana for a stadium amid an impasse with Illinois leaders over sites in Chicago and northwest suburban Arlington Heights. “Gary’s proposal gives the Bears the tax certainty and stability that the organization says is key to success,” Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said in a written statement. “No other location offers this combination of proximity, identity alignment, and iconic visual connection to Chicago.” * Sun-Times | Rams’ social-media team trolls Bears after L.A.’s victory: Another clip asks, “Chicago fans: Did the cold affect the Rams?” with a picture captioned, “Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy.” The Rams were amused by the attention given the weather during the lead-up to the game, presumably including billboards that welcomed them to Bears weather. * Daily Herald | A ‘data center next to homes’? Naperville council weighs Karis development: “At the end of the day, the biggest issue is that having a large industrial facility such as a data center, and in particular, a data center next to homes, does not make any sense,” said James Butt, a technologist who has consulted for data center companies and customers who have moved into them. “Other municipalities have learned this the hard way.” Karis earlier proposed building two data centers near Naperville and Warrenville roads. The current request calls for a single data center. * Daily Southtown | Cook County opens courthouses for cold weather shelter second time this season: The three courthouses used as warming centers, in Markham, Skokie and Maywood, were activated as warming centers around the clock for four days in December, when the National Weather Service expected wind chill temperatures to reach 20 degrees below zero. These warming centers were activated again at 6 p.m. Saturday and will be open until 8 a.m. on Wednesday because of the predicted cold weather this week. They open if wind chill temperatures are forecast to fall into the negative range, said Audrey Jonas, the communications deputy director of the Cook County Asset Management Bureau. * Naperville Sun | Park district lands $600K grant to help fund Naperville’s Nike complex upgrades: he grant money comes from the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development program, administered through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which provides matching funding for park and forest preserve district conservation projects throughout the state. […] “It’s been a tremendous program. It’s certainly benefitted Naperville with the park district being able to bring on various projects and add amenities throughout the community,” park district Executive Director Brad Wilson said. “We’re excited to be able to receive the grant to help with fast-tracking and bringing improvements to the Nike Sports Complex.” * Daily Herald | Elgin’s crime rate down 8% in 2025, shots fired incidents reach historic low: The statistics show an 8% drop in “Group A” serious crimes, which includes reductions in assault, theft and criminal damage offenses compared to 2024. The city recorded one murder in 2024, down from seven the previous year. “It’s one of the lowest crime levels we’ve recorded in decades,” Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley said before passing the credit to her officers. “This happens because of a group of people who are very thoughtful about trying to make a safe community.” The city also experienced a 63% drop in gunfire incidents, finishing 2025 with 24 shots fired reports after recording 65 in 2024. * Daily Herald | From AI-powered robotic mayor to aircraft fuselage, plans for $3 million Rosemont museum unveiled: “We are pretty far along with the face and the head of what it’s going to look like. It’s all in a sculpt right now before they actually start fabricating it,” said Brad Stephens, who plans to travel to the Jacksonville, Florida-based Sally Dark Rides design studio next month to check on the progress in person. The robot will be motion activated — coming to life, so to speak, as visitors walk into the mayor’s office — and have a set of at least four prerecorded lines. The creators are now finalizing the script, and the younger Stephens signed an affidavit giving them permission to use AI to re-create his dad’s voice. * WAND | Sullivan joins Decatur in pushing for water conservation amid drought: “We were, I believe in Decatur, about 12 inches below average for the year [2025)],” said WAND News Meteorologist Nick Patrick. “It was worse in Springfield and Champaign. They’re almost 20 inches below the average. That’s a huge departure. We need a lot of rain to make up for that this year.” Sullivan has asked residents and businesses to conserve as much water as possible until further notice and to limit non-essential water use. The city goes on to say in a post that its wells are having difficulty keeping up with demand, which is causing a water shortage in the community. * WCIA | Effingham Co. woman crowned Miss Illinois County Fair Queen: 21-year-old Krista Phillips of Effingham was selected from a field of 75 contestants to reign over the 2026 Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair. Phillips will graduate from the University of Illinois-Champaign in May with a bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing. After graduating, she plans to return to the Effingham-area and open a small business. * WGLT | Kathleen Lorenz testifies in marathon public hearing about McLean County GOP’s $28K campaign contribution to her mayoral campaign: Lorenz is accused of knowingly accepting $28,000 from a private donor who funneled the money through the McLean County GOP. Lorenz said she only later learned of a donation to the GOP that was intended to benefit her campaign. A former member of incumbent mayor Chris Koos’ campaign, Ben Matthews, made the complaint and questioned Lorenz for more than an hour Friday, using public statements made on social media and to WGLT by phone suggesting private donors used the GOP as a passthrough for Normal landowner Greg Shepard and his wife to give to Lorenz’s campaign anonymously. That maneuver would allow the Shepards to send more money to Lorenz than they would’ve otherwise been allowed to. * WCIA | Illinois Supreme Court places Champaign Co. attorney on probation: An attorney in Champaign County is facing disciplinary action from the Illinois Supreme Court after officials said he lied about completing work for a client and made false statements about the integrity of a judge. Jason Spangehl, who was licensed in 2010, was issued a suspension from practicing law for six months. Although the suspension was issued, Spangehl will actually be placed on probation — with conditions — for two years. The details of these conditions were not immediately clear, but if they are violated, then Spangehl will need to serve out his suspension * The Atlantic | America Is Slow-Walking Into a Polymarket Disaster: The more that prediction markets are treated like news, especially heading into another election, the more every dip and swing in the odds may end up wildly misleading people about what might happen, or influencing what happens in the real world. Yet it’s unclear whether these sites are meaningful predictors of anything. After the Golden Globes, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan excitedly posted that his site had correctly predicted 26 of 28 winners, which seems impressive—but Hollywood awards shows are generally predictable. One recent study found that Polymarket’s forecasts in the weeks before the 2024 election were not much better than chance. * NYT | No Link Between Acetaminophen in Pregnancy and Autism, a Study Finds: A scientific review of 43 studies on acetaminophen use during pregnancy concluded that there was no evidence that the painkiller increased the risk of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders. “We found no clinically important increase in the risk of autism, A.D.H.D. or intellectual disability,” Dr. Asma Khalil, a professor of obstetrics and maternal fetal medicine at St. George’s Hospital, University of London, and the lead author of the report, said at a news briefing. The study was published on Friday in the British medical journal The Lancet.
|
|
Good morning!
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Anyone else feel that earthquake last night? This is also an open thread.
|
|
Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
Comments Off |
|
Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
Comments Off |
|
Selected press releases (Live updates)
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
Comments Off |
|
Live coverage
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news on the website formally known as Twitter. Our Bluesky feed…
Comments Off |
|
Reader comments closed for the holiday weekend
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
Comments Off |
|
Dem Party and state Dem leaders ask to move 2028 Illinois primary to an earlier date
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * The Democratic Party of Illinois, backed by the state’s top leaders, wants to move the 2028 primary up to sometime before the first Tuesday in March of that year. Press release…
Thoughts? …Adding… Good one in comments…
|
|
Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Crain’s…
* Rep. La Shawn Ford is running in the 7th Congressional District…
Sounds like a smoke alarm chirps at around the 20-second mark. * Evanston Now | Top congressional contenders face off: Biss, who leads most polls and recently earned coveted endorsements from Schakowsky, the AFL-CIO and the Progressive Caucus PAC, seeming to garner the most direct attacks Thursday. He was singled out at least twice by Andrew, a former FBI agent, hostage negotiator and gun violence survivor from Wilmette. But it wasn’t until the end of the forum, which Dumke requested remain on-topic without any attacks at each other, that Andrew seemed to look directly at Biss while answering a question about what he’d do differently than Schakowsky in Congress. * Daily Herald | Upcoming debates set for 8th Congressional District primaries: Two of the four candidates in the Republican primary for the 8th District will meet in a debate at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Fairfield Inn and Suites, 700 National Parkway in Schaumburg. Jennifer Davis of Huntley and Mark Rice of Arlington Heights will participate in the Schaumburg Township Republican Organization event moderated by radio talk show host Amy Jacobson. Fellow candidates Kevin Ake of Elk Grove Village and Herbert Hebein of Chicago weren’t invited by STRO because they have no campaign fundraising registered with the Federal Election Commission. * Daily Herald | Democrat drops out of 5th Congressional race: Chicagoan Jonny Antonio Bishop formally withdrew from the contest Monday. His name won’t appear on ballots in the 5th District, which includes parts of Cook and Lake counties. Bishop revealed he’d ended his bid Thursday night to friends and followers on Facebook. * Sun-Times | Kamala Harris tells Chicago audience to ‘bear down’ and resist Trump agenda: “To the leaders here, I saw, let us continue to be clear-eyed. They may want us to be afraid, to be divided, to be silent. But we don’t give them that satisfaction. We will continue to fight with determination, with resilience and, I dare with, with joy. So, in the spirit of Chicago, it is time to bear down.” This year’s MLK breakfast’s theme was “defending democracy, protecting our rights.” Other speakers included Mayor Brandon Johnson and state House Speaker Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch. The breakfast honored author and peace activist Jacqueline L. Jackson and the Rev. David Black with its Champion of Freedom award. * Sun-Times | Chicago Teachers Union leaders question timing of second federal inquiry into finances: The letter did not specify what prompted the audit, but it listed several possible reasons that can prompt a review, including not filing on time, document discrepancies or complaints from union members. The letter also said some unions are randomly selected. The Labor Department conducts several hundreds of these audits every year. But CTU officials said the timing is suspicious. The letter arrived one day before the CTU was due to submit five years of audits and other financial documents to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in response to a demand from the committee to examine the union’s audits. Committee members said they wanted to determine if “reforms” were needed to the federal law that requires unions to submit financial information to the Labor Department. * Block Club | St. Stanislaus Kostka Academy To Close In Wicker Park After More Than 150 Years: In his letter Thursday, Buś said the parish school, which serves students from pre-K to eighth grade, has been on “life support” for some time, citing plummeting enrollment and a loss of government scholarship funds. Despite fundraising efforts in recent years, St. Stanislaus is anticipating a deficit of almost $500,000 at the end of the school year, he wrote. * Sun-Times | Religious group that some ex-members describe as a ‘cult’ sees its footprint grow in Chicago area: While the group identifies as Christian and publicly preaches love and volunteerism, court records and various ex-members portray it as a money-fueled operation that’s falsely predicted the end of the world, helped isolate members from nonbelieving friends and relatives, arranged marriages for congregants, and at times pressured pregnant members to get abortions. “I think they try to fulfill every stereotype of a cult,” says Adam Stillman, a resident of Utah who belonged to the group for a decade until 2024, when he and his wife quit after becoming disillusioned with the teachings and practices. * Daily Herald | Diocese of Joliet sued in Will County over priest sex abuse allegations from 1990s: John Doe’s lawsuit claims the Rev. John F. Barrett, who died in 2014, had sexually abused him while he was attending St. Alexander Catholic School in Villa Park between 1991 and 1992. […] In 2002, Barrett was removed from ministry when the latter accuser claimed he was sexually abused by Barrett in 1968 at Notre Dame Catholic Church in Clarendon Hills, according to a 2002 article from the Chicago Tribune. In the article, diocesan chancellor Sister Judith Davies was quoted as saying an independent review was “unable to substantiate the allegation by gaining further information from the accuser or by finding any evidence to support his accusation.” * Lake County News-Sun | Potential impact of AI a topic at Forecast Lake County event: ‘We don’t fully understand the concept yet’: Darlene Bembry, a real estate broker with Real People Realty active in Lake County, was at the event. Like Walstrum, she does not know how AI will impact the residential real estate business. She considers the human element vital. AI holds long-term promise, but it hasn’t yet translated into measurable productivity or wage growth,” Bembry said in an email. “In real estate, it will enhance data and efficiency over time, but it won’t replace the human relationships that drive the market.” * WAND | Mid-Illinois Big Brothers Big Sisters to close after 50 years: Mid-Illinois Big Brothers Big Sisters said the decision “reflects the realities” facing its organization, and was made following a “deep reflection” of its long-term outlook. The organization said in the letter that it will go through a “careful” conclusion of its programs and will be in “clear communication” with families and volunteers up until it closes. * IPM News | Tuition is going up for incoming University of Illinois undergrads: The Trump administration upended the stability of research grants going to universities over the last year. The University of Illinois has felt the impacts but has not been as affected as some institutions. Board of Trustees Chairman Jesse Ruiz said state support helps keep costs relatively low. “We’re very fortunate that the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor’s Office has been very supportive of higher education and has increased higher education funding in our state,” he said. * Illinois Times | City launches Minority Business Institute: The city of Springfield is launching the Springfield Minority Business Institute, a new multi-week educational initiative that will begin in February. The program is designed to support minority-owned businesses and nonprofit organizations through targeted instruction, access to resources and meaningful networking opportunities. Classes will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in February and March. The program will conclude with an April 1 graduation ceremony at University of Illinois Springfield. * The Hill | Trump says there’s no reason ‘right now’ to use Insurrection Act in Minneapolis: “I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for Palm Beach, Fla. Trump threatened to use the 1807 law on Thursday following a shooting involving a federal officer. […] This is not the first time Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act. Last October, the president told reporters he was “allowed” to use the measure if the courts denied his move to send the National Guard to U.S. cities. * NYT | Trump Sets Fraudster Free From Prison for a Second Time: In July, Ms. Herrera donated another $1 million to MAGA Inc. She did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Trump this week pardoned Mr. Herrera, Ms. Vázquez and Mark Rossini, a former F.B.I. agent who had worked as a consultant for Mr. Herrera. All three had pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor campaign finance charges.
|
|
Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Harrell; Cowley; Kim
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
Comments Off |
|
Heidner makes unusual admission, Bailey says he no longer favors 401K plans for government retirees
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Chicago Tribune…
So, he admitted that he was essentially attempting to buy access to Mayor Johnson. That says quite a lot. * Meanwhile, WGLT had a good writeup about the forum, including this…
Interesting policy switch by Bailey. Also, Heidner appears not to have heard about Tier 2, which may have to be changed because at least some member benefits aren’t up to Social Security standards. * WMBD…
WGLT actually fact-checked Mendrick…
|
|
Huge turmoil at the Illinois Farm Bureau, Country Financial
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Farm Progress reporter and Illinois Farm Bureau member Betty Haynes last month…
A little bit of background: The Illinois Farm Bureau founded Country Financial in 1925 to insure farmers. Country is an IFB affiliate. The change to no longer require policyholders to be Illinois Farm Bureau members resulted in a loss of 169,000 IFB members. * And on Dec. 9, IFB members voted in former IFB president Philip Nelson. WGLT…
The IFB’s legal bills are now more than $4 million. * Which brings us to today. Farm Progress…
* Related… * WGEM | Uncertain future for Illinois Farm Bureau after national membership terminated: According to the 21-page lawsuit, the IFB’s membership with the AFBF was terminated due to the IFB’s affiliate company, COUNTRY Financial, dropping the requirement for non-farm insurance policyholders to become farm bureau members. The lawsuit states that COUNTRY Financial made the change because, beforehand, the underwriting rules could leave policy not being renewed, leaving clients without insurance. * IPM Newsroom | Illinois Farm Bureau delegates reject president’s bid for 2nd term: A separate policy change that would have made it easier to remove a president and vice president failed by a wide margin. Delegates voted 204-83 against changing organization bylaws to allow delegates to remove those officers via a two-thirds majority vote at an annual, regular, or special meeting. It would have taken effect in January. A midterm effort to oust Duncan failed at last year’s annual meeting amid parliamentary maneuvering that centered on a requirement to give 20 days’ written notice before a president or board member can be removed. Members voted in secret ballot to retain Duncan. * Farm Progress | AFBF, Illinois Farm Bureau dispute limited to state group, AFBF president says: [AFBF President Zippy Duvall] has said the move to terminate IFB membership was in response to IFB’s decision to allow its controlled affiliate company, Country Financial, to eliminate the Farm Bureau membership eligibility requirement for nonfarm insurance policyholders in Illinois. The move by AFBF to expel IFB by Dec. 20 has been delayed until pending litigation has been settled.
|
|
It’s just a bill (Updated x2)
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller …Adding… Crain’s…
…Adding… The governor was asked about the half a billion dollars or so still owed on the Soldier Field stadium remodel and if it was the Bears’ debt to pay off…
More from Crain’s…
* Rep Hoan Huynh filed HB4467 this morning…
* HB4457 from Rep. Amy Briel…
* Sen. Lakesia Collins introduced SB2832 earlier this week…
From the bill…
|
|
Today’s number: 3 million Wally’s visitors per year
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Gov. JB Pritzker held a press conference this week at Wally’s, a massive and beloved gas station and travel center in Pontiac, to announce several new EV charging stations. Wally’s CEO Michael Rubenstein spoke at the event and said the business hosted 3 million visitors last year. 3 million. That’s about a third of the number of people who visit Navy Pier every year. Astounding. Anyway, discuss.
|
|
Investing In Illinois
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Illinois American Water is more than just a utility. We’re your neighbor, committed to the long-term health and vitality of the communities we serve. Our employees live and work locally, investing their expertise right where it matters most, to modernize water systems and strengthen water quality, reliability, and public health for the long term. Environmental stewardship is also central to who we are. Illinois American Water is committed to protecting the environment and using our most precious resource wisely. Across our footprint, our state-of-the-art treatment facilities and team of water quality experts help ensure we go beyond compliance, holding ourselves to standards that not only fulfill expectations but set new benchmarks for our industry. Community partnership and clean water go hand in hand. We’re dedicated to safeguarding both the resources and the places our customers call home, today and for generations to come. Our community is one worth investing in, and we are proud to spend every day working to help ensure the water we deliver is of the highest quality. Learn more about us.
Comments Off |
|
Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Recent postal service changes could disrupt mail-in voting, county clerks warn. Capitol News Illinois…
- Some localities’ mail may be sent to a different distribution center than in the past, which can increase the amount of time it takes for the USPS to receive and then postmark mail at these centers. - “It’s a question mark of when will it actually get through a distribution center. So I’m advising my voters to make sure that they get their vote-by-mail ballot in the mail no less than a week before Election Day,” John Ackerman, the Tazewell County clerk, said. * Related stories… * Gov. JB Pritzker will sign the Clean Slate Act into law at 10 am. Click here to watch. * Tribune | Judge who blasted Operation Midway Blitz use-of-force tactics will hear new lawsuit by city, state: The federal judge who issued a landmark preliminary injunction in November limiting the use of force by immigration agents agreed Thursday to take over a new lawsuit filed by the state and city of Chicago alleging a much broader swath of illegal actions during the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz. U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis made the decision over the strenuous objection of Justice Department lawyers, who argued there were not only contrasting legal issues in the two cases but that they were at diametrically different stages of litigation. * WTTW | Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on State’s Legal Battles, Immigration Enforcement: A recent report from Raoul’s office found that four Illinois sheriff’s offices complied with immigration detainers or civil immigration warrants, defying the state’s sanctuary laws. “They’re self-reporting to us,” Raoul said. “We communicate back once they alert us that there may have been a violation as to how to avoid it happening again. These are situations where we’ve been alerted and we try to work with our law enforcement partners into making sure they’re abiding by the state law.” * Governing | Nearly 100 People Died in Illinois Jails Over 4 Years: Between 2021 and 2024, almost 100 individuals died in the custody of a municipal or county jail in Illinois, according to data from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. However, a monthslong investigation by the Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team and The Pantagraph show that many of these deaths — whether they are the result of withdrawal, chronic medical conditions or mental health complications — could be prevented. * WGLT | GOP candidates for governor blast sanctuary cities and SAFE-T Act in Central Illinois forum: Immigration was a major theme for all the candidates. They spoke out against so-called sanctuary cities. Dabrowski said his immigrant parents supported assimilation. “I don’t like this, teaching kids in Spanish in our schools. That doesn’t make sense. We’re in America, so you have to get rid of that. That’s got to go,” said Dabrowski. * Center Square | IL Senate GOP: Pritzker, not Trump, raised power bills: Pritzker spoke Wednesday at the ribbon cutting for an electric vehicle charging site in Pontiac and said Trump administration policies have raised electricity prices. “They’ve taken away all the incentives, particularly from solar and wind, and said, ‘Now we’re going to advantage fossil fuels,’” Pritzker said. State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, spoke during a press conference Wednesday at the Illinois Capitol and said it was Pritzker who signed energy legislation that increases rates and lifts price caps. * Independent | Pritzker likens Trump’s America to the early days of Nazi Germany: In an interview with independent journalist Aaron Parnas, Pritzker attacked the Trump administration for indiscriminately going after people, comparing it to dictator Adolf Hitler’s leadership in the 20th century. The governor said that in his state of the state address last February, he “likened what Donald Trump was doing in this country to what was happening in the early days of Nazi Germany.” * Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools to borrow more as it faces property tax revenue delays: The board is expected to boost that amount by $400 million, to $1.65 billion — a change that district officials estimate will set the deficit-plagued Chicago Public Schools back about $6.6 million in added short-term borrowing costs. District officials told the board this week they estimate that delays in receiving property tax revenue from Cook County have cost the district more than $70 million over the past eight years. This school year, they are costing CPS about $220,000 in interest costs a month — “a lot of money and definitely more than the cost of one teacher,” as school board member Carlos Rivas put it at a Wednesday meeting to review the board’s monthly agenda. * Sun-Times | Bovino murder-for-hire case on thin ice after judge bars gang evidence from trial: “Without evidence showing that [Espinoza Martinez] is a member of the Latin Kings or that the Latin Kings instructed [Espinoza Martinez] to send the alleged murder-for-hire information, the prejudicial nature of such testimony outweighs any probative value,” she wrote. The judge also denied a request from prosecutors that she allow a key witness, identified only as an anonymous “source of information” to testify without disclosing his full name. The feds had cited a social media post that had been taken as a threat against him. * Sun-Times | Chicago launches first support center for formerly incarcerated women in Pilsen: The center, which will help women returning from incarceration access resources designed to meet their specific needs, was made possible by a $375,000 grant from the city’s Department of Family and Support Services. “Coming home from incarceration is not simply about relief. It’s about rebuilding,” said Dyanna Winchester, reclamation specialist for WJI. “ It’s about healing trauma, restoring dignity, reconnecting families and learning how to believe in yourself again in a world that too often refuses to see your work.” * Crain’s | Foundry Park megaproject clears first hurdle despite infrastructure concerns: Chicago developer Jim Letchinger is a step closer to his $3 billion vision for thousands of apartments on the former Lincoln Yards property, winning city planning officials’ sign-off despite key unanswered questions about new infrastructure needed to serve the former industrial site. […] Winning the Plan Commission’s approval, however, may not be the trickiest obstacle for JDL and Kayne Anderson. The developers still need to come to terms with city officials on how much public funding could be used for new infrastructure at the site, which is notoriously plagued by traffic congestion. * Block Club | South Side Group Offering Free Trees To Chatham Residents In Effort To Curb Flooding: unded partially by a grant from The Morton Arboretum, the South Side organization hopes to plant 400 trees in the Greater Chatham Area this upcoming spring and summer, Fears said. Over the past 18 months, they’ve already planted 600, she said. The goal is to add 17,000 trees over the next few years to the Greater Chatham Area, which includes Chatham, Avalon Park, Greater Grand Crossing and Auburn Gresham, Fears said. * Sun-Times | Country star — and Ben Johnson’s former teammate — will play Bears halftime Sunday: It will be a glitzier halftime show than last week; for the Packers game, the Bears featured two youth football scrimmages at halftime. Jim Cornelison will sing the National Anthem before Sunday’s game, the team said on Thursday. * Sun-Times | Looking for a pen? Shoppers overwhelm Chicago stationery shops as social media touts ‘return to analog’: Stationery stores like Paper & Pencil — packed with stickers, fountain pens, washi tape, planners and notebooks — have seen sales surge. But it’s not because consumers are looking to get organized in the New Year, though it has been a factor. Chicago shop owners credit social media and influencers who have marked this year as a return to analog, opting for physical media, entertainment and, yes, pens and paper. * Daily Herald | ‘Taking money and throwing it into a fire pit’: School districts struggling with property tax distribution delays: Several suburban school superintendents told the Cook County Board Thursday their districts are hurting financially because of delays in receiving revenue from property tax collections. The problems stemmed from Tyler Technologies’ Integrated Property Tax System purchased by the county, which repeatedly has failed to distribute property taxes on time, resulting in millions of dollars lost to suburban public schools. Palatine Township Elementary District 15 absorbed about $2 million in losses. This included about $1 million in interest income lost from delayed collections and $715,000 from early redemption of investments. * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora to financially support city-connected fiber network: Aurora will be giving financial support to OnLight Aurora, a city-connected organization established to manage the city’s fiber network, amid ongoing budgetary issues at the organization. Mayor John Laesch has previously said that OnLight was nearly $1 million in debt after failed attempts to bring internet service to residents’ homes and “unregulated debit card expenses for marketing purposes” that took place before he took office. The city-owned fiber network managed by OnLight stretches for over 60 miles and provides internet access to city government facilities as well as other institutions, nonprofits and businesses in Aurora. * Daily Herald | Investigation reveals several Cook County employees falsified PPP loan applications: The Cook County Independent Inspector General has concluded investigations of 18 mostly former employees who were accused of violating county employment policies, and some were found to have falsified federal documents to obtain Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling a combined $329,500. According to Inspector General Tirrell Paxton’s quarterly report released Thursday, his office “conducted investigations to determine if the employees informed the county that they were engaging in secondary employment and otherwise complied with county personnel rules.” * Daily Herald | Mundelein District 120 to issue $75 million in voter-approved bonds for facility improvements: Property owners in Mundelein High School District 120 will see increases on tax bills in June for ongoing improvements to school facilities approved by voters in late 2024. School officials Tuesday approved a not-to-exceed amount of $75 million in bonds to be issued in February as the first phase of funding approved by voters to pay for an array of projects. The school board approval provides for the levy of an annual tax to pay the principal and interest on the bonds. The owner of a home valued at $300,000 will pay an estimated $414 per year. * Daily Herald | Hindu temple development in Elgin clears hurdle after zoning change approved by council: On Wednesday, the council voted 6-3 in favor of changes that would allow Umiya Mataji Sastha Chicago Midwest to construct a religious and residential development on the 34-acre vacant property at 890 Galt Boulevard, just north of Route 20 and east of Shales Parkway. Council members Diana Alfaro, Dustin Good and Steve Thoren voted against the plan. However, the temple still faces another challenge, as the property in question is subject to a consent decree issued by the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1967 following litigation by residents of the neighboring Sherwood Oaks subdivision. * WAND | Critical Illinois mental health programs spared after federal funding scare: Illinois service providers were alerted that funding had been cut for five behavioral health and suicide prevention programs. These funds not only provide critical services for communities, but they also provide hundreds of jobs. “These grants are really hitting the mark in getting scientifically proven suicide prevention research into the spaces where they really need to be and then therefore educating people and saving lives,” Cummings said. * Illinois Times | City Council approves contract with alderman’s brother: Gregory Moredock, the city’s legal counsel, told Illinois Times that Ralph Hanauer voting present on the ordinance related to his brother’s contract falls in line with the general trend of how council members vote on ordinances that potentially present a conflict of interest. He also clarified that there are two kinds of conflicts of interest, common law and perceived. “A contract directly with one of the alderpersons or the mayor,” Moredock said, “would involve a direct conflict of interest and any participation in that actually could be considered a crime, so that’s something that would be evaluated. We don’t have that here, or at least that’s not what was presented.” * Illinois Times | Court finalizes HSHS settlement: A $7.6 million court settlement stemming from a data breach that affected almost 869,000 Hospital Sisters Health System patients will result in average payments of $40 to $50 for 80,000 people. That estimate – representing patients who responded by mail to become part of the class-action settlement – came from Nickolas Hagman of the Chicago law firm of Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel. He was representing current and past HSHS patients in the lawsuit. * WGLT | McLean County Board approves agreement for scope of mental health fund audit: The MOU clarifies the scope of the audit, as clarified by a working group consisting of representatives from the county, Town of Normal and City of Bloomington. More specifically, it defines the term “audit” for the purpose of allowing an examination of spending in a way that is slightly different from what the term audit typically entails. This includes expenditures, outgoing transfers and contractual obligations of the fund existing on or before Dec. 31, 2024. * WCIA | Sullivan residents asked to conserve water as aquifer level drops: “We’ve lost 15 feet of static water in our aquifer,” said Sullivan Public Health Commissioner Chuck Woodworth. “We’ve been drawing water from this aquifer since 1924, so 100 years. This is the first time we’ve had this issue.” * Muddy River News | Adams County to look at putting non-binding secession question on the November ballot: The Adams County Board’s Legislative and Judicial Committee heard from supporters of an initiative to place a non-binding referendum on the November ballot that would allow voters to voice their opinion on whether Adams County should be part of a new state separate from Chicago and Cook County. David Blickhan of Illinois Separation addressed the committee Tuesday night, giving four examples of when other states were formed by separating from an existing state (with the latest being West Virginia breaking away from Virginia in 1863) and bringing up that 33 other Illinois counties have already voiced support of the initiative. […] “It’s a non-binding referendum,” Reich said. “We’re not giving support to it as a board, even though some members might support it. It’s just a question.” * NYT | Cracks Begin to Appear at the Nation’s Biggest Banks: Results at Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all fell short of expectations, and their shares fell. Troubles ranged from delayed merger deals (JPMorgan) to stubborn expenses (Citi) to questions about the efficacy of artificial intelligence tools (Bank of America). Banks that do business largely with rich individuals and corporations, such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, fared comparatively better. * WaPo | Trump’s promised manufacturing boom is a bust so far: Manufacturing employment has declined every month since Trump declared “Liberation Day” in April, saying his widespread tariffs would begin to rebalance global trade in favor of American workers. U.S. factories employ 12.7 million people today, 72,000 fewer than when Trump made his Rose Garden announcement. * NYT | Couple Says ICE Agents Gassed Them as They Drove With 6 Children: Shawn Jackson and his wife, Destiny, both 26, said they were driving home from a son’s basketball game when the family found themselves caught in a clash between protesters and federal agents in North Minneapolis. The couple sensed the encounter could quickly spiral out of control, they said, but when they tried to turn their car around to exit the blocked-off street, they were surrounded by federal agents. […] One agent told the couple that they needed to get out of the area. Ms. Jackson said she and her husband responded that they were trying to do exactly that, but their path was blocked by agents coming up the street. * Reuters | Fewer foreigners visited US in 2025 as global tourism spending rose: The United States registered a 6% drop in foreign visitors in 2025 even as global tourism overrode concerns about saturation in some locations to generate a 6.7% rise in spending compared to the previous year, according to an industry group. More than 1.5 billion tourists spent $11.7 trillion on hotels, cruises and flights last year, according to the data from the World Travel and Tourism Council.
|
|
Rate the Illinois Future PAC’s new TV ad for Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (Updated x4)
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Subscribers know more about the reasoning why the pro-Stratton super PAC is going with a purely positive intro ad… * Script…
…Adding… The Raja for Illinois campaign has sent a letter to TV stations notifying them that the campaign plans to file an FEC complaint and that the stations have “an obligation to cease airing this advertisement immediately”…
…Adding… As you can see above, the ad is no longer available. But you can still watch it here. …Adding… The disclaimer has been updated. From a Spokesperson for IL Future PAC…
The new ad is here. Some really fast talking at the end to fit that disclaimer in. …Adding… Raja for Illinois…
|
|
Good morning!
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * The 1970 Harpur College acoustic set is widely acknowledged as one of the best of the best and is definitely one of my favorites. Beat It On Down The Line… Yeah, I’m goin’ back to that shack way across the railroad track, This is an open thread.
|
|
Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
Comments Off |
|
Selected press releases (Live updates)
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
Comments Off |
|
Live coverage
Friday, Jan 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news on the website formally known as Twitter. Our Bluesky feed…
Comments Off |
| « NEWER POSTS | PREVIOUS POSTS » |
