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Reader comments closed for the Labor Day weekend
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Valerie June… Been pushin’ my weight up against a stone
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Crain’s…
* Daily Herald | Former Elgin school board member running for state Senate: Holt served on the U-46 school board from 2015 to 2017. During his tenure, he opposed a district policy allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that don’t correspond with their biological sex. Holt unsuccessfully ran for the Kane County Board in 2022 and for the Elgin City Council in 2013. He isn’t the only Republican candidate for [retiring GOP Sen. Don DeWitte’s] Senate seat. Geneva resident Jessica Breugelmans and Elburn Trustee Chris Hansen also are seeking the GOP nomination. * Tribune | ‘Ridiculous’: Top cop pushes back against alderman who suggests city crime stats could be altered: Speaking with the Tribune, Snelling said Napolitano’s social media statement was “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard” and “a slap in the face” to members of the police department. The superintendent also pointed to the years of crime data the city already makes public. * NBC Chicago | Chicago Public Schools sends letter to parents amid increased ICE activity: That letter acknowledged the increased federal presence that could be observed next month is “creating anxiety and fear about safety at school,” but assured parents and students that policies are in place to keep children safe on school grounds. “While there are no specifics on when — or even if — this will happen, please know that the safety of our students, families, and staff is our top priority,” the letter read. Within the text of the letter, CPS said it will not coordinate with ICE or other federal agents, and will not share student records with ICE or other agencies without a court order. ICE agents are also not allowed access to schools or facilities without a criminal judicial warrant. * Daily Herald | ‘Extremely unusual’: Former Illinois National Guard chief on Trump threat to dispatch troops to Chicago: But “the president’s authority to call out the National Guard is not absolute,” said Harris, who’s also served as a Republican state lawmaker from Arlington Heights and chief of staff of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office in 2005 and 2006. […] But “the governor normally makes the request to the president to activate the guard. In this case, it’s the president totally ignoring the governor and saying, ‘I’m going to activate the guard.’ It’s just wrong,” Harris said. * The Triibe | Chicago’s public defender explains why Illinois should fight Trump’s threats on cashless bail: Sharone Mitchell, the chief public defender of Cook County (home to Chicago) and a leading champion of the state’s bond reform, says Chicago’s downward trend in crime proves that the new system, which he argues is more fair, is working and hasn’t harmed public safety. […] “I don’t think there’s really much logic or much policy behind Trump’s declaration here,” Mitchell told Bolts. “I really do think this is much more about politics. It’s about getting over a blue state.” * WGN | Chicago-area clergy gather to denounce potential National Guard deployment to Chicago: While the White House’s plans to send in the National Guard are still largely unknown, some members of the faith-based community in Chicago say they feel the National Guard is neither warranted nor wanted and are urging the president to rethink his plans. “It is deeply disturbing and frustrating that a sitting president would dare override the duly elected leadership of our city’s mayor and our state’s governor,” Ira Acree, the pastor of Greater St John Bible Church of Chicago, said. * Block Club | Pedestrian Safety Upgrades Along Dangerous Portage Park Stretch An ‘Instant’ Success, Locals Say: The school, 5330 W. Berteau Ave., is next to Long Avenue, a residential street that has become known as a cut-through route for drivers trying to avoid traffic on Central and Laramie avenues. Portage Park Elementary also sits across the street from the 38-acre Portage Park, which brings even more pedestrian traffic to the area. “When you combine the cut-through traffic with the parent dropoff and pickup traffic, it was kind of the worst of both worlds that was happening,” Corcoran said. “You saw a lot of unchecked, bad driver behavior.” * WTTW | UIC Students Helping NASA Prepare for Human Return to Moon: For NASA, Taha was creating 3D models of lava tubes. Lava tubes on the moon may one day be used to provide the basis for lunar habitats, shielding astronauts from harmful radiation. Despite her initial skepticism, Taha said her NASA experience was “amazing.” * Daily Southtown | Oak Lawn High School installs AI system designed to detect guns: The district announced this month it was selected as part of Omnilert’s nationwide Secure Schools Grant Program that covers costs for three years of the company’s gun detect appliance. It can be integrated into existing security camera systems, online training sessions and workshops, and technical support. […] Security measures in place at the school include ensuring security officers patrol the school’s limited entrances during busy times and keeping classrooms locked. The district has so far abstained from installing traditional weapon detection methods including metal detectors, which he said can create the stigma of a prison-like atmosphere. * Crain’s | Owner razing part of Walgreens’ old Deerfield offices to help land a buyer: The move comes more than two years after Phoenix-based Orion was under contract to sell the property to Chicago developer LG Group, which was planning a massive redevelopment into a mixed-use complex with entertainment and retail uses. That deal has since fallen apart as elevated interest rates and tight lending have made it difficult to finance any new group-up development in the area. Orion executives said during a conference call with analysts earlier this month that it was demolishing the existing buildings “to lower carrying costs materially and make the property more attractive to potential investors while we continue to evaluate our alternatives.” * Tribune | Northwestern’s postdoctoral researchers vote to unionize: Researchers cast 515 votes to be represented by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, and 13 votes against. The final tally was certified Wednesday by the National Labor Relations Board. “It’s beyond exciting to be part of something like this,” said Julia Fadjukov, 36, a postdoctoral fellow researching ophthalmology. “Every postdoc that will now come to Northwestern, not just us, will have this. And we all built it together.” * Evanston Now | District 65 fires principal: In keeping with district policy, the resolution did not publicly state the name. So Evanston Now filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the paperwork, which revealed that the individual in question was Shalema Francois-Blue. The documents state that “Ms. Francois-Blue’s conduct constitutes cause and grounds for her dismissal as a non-tenured principal in this School District.” The specific allegations … the “basis for dismissal for cause” … were not disclosed in the documents received via FOIA. * WJBD | Former manager of Franklin County Mine pleads guilty to conspiring to defraud mine safety in underground fire: On Aug. 13, Parsons tried to conceal the existence of the fire from those not already aware of it by evacuating the mine on the false pretense that a belt used to carry coal from underground to the surface was broken. Later that morning, MSHA received an anonymous tip about the fire and then later ordered that the mine be evacuated after inspectors confirmed the existence of the fire. * WCIA | Urbana Police Chief sets record straight on traffic stop that caused officer to pass out: Boone said that all six officers — including the one who passed out — are doing well. The department said they are stilling trying to figure out what substance could have caused the reaction. […] One of the questions being asked on social media is whether or not the toxicology reports will be released. “In this particular case, I wouldn’t have a problem releasing whatever the substance was,” Boone said. * Center Square | Du Quoin State Fair gets $50M as senator defends two state fairs in Illinois: State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said she will “keep fighting” for the Du Quoin State Fair, even as critics argue taxpayers should not maintain two state fairs. “For people living in Alexander or Massac counties, Springfield is a four-hour drive — they’re actually closer to Nashville, Tennessee, than to our state capital. That’s why the Du Quoin State Fair is so important to deep southern Illinois,” said Bryant. “It may be funded at only a fraction of what Springfield receives, but it still serves a critical purpose. Some argue Illinois doesn’t need two state fairs, but in a state this large, we do.” * The Detroit News | Stellantis pauses launch of automated driving tech due to ‘very limited’ market demand: Reuters first reported the automaker’s in-house Level 3 system had been shelved. The news outlet, citing several people familiar with the issue, said high costs, technological challenges and consumer demand had been factors in the decision. Back in February, the automaker had also acknowledged that — while the technology was “ready for deployment” and could be used across all types of Stellantis vehicles — there would be initial challenges with customer demand for such a high level of autonomous driving. * LA Times | Newsom, California lawmakers strike deal that would allow Uber, Lyft drivers to unionize: The companies have argued that current insurance requirements are so high that they encourage litigation for insurance payouts and create higher costs for passengers. “Labor and industry sat down together, worked through their differences, and found common ground,” Newsom said in a statement. The agreement, he said, will “empower hundreds of thousands of drivers while making rideshare more affordable for millions of Californians.” * NYT | Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Certain Procedures: A pilot program in six states will use a tactic employed by private insurers that has been heavily criticized for delaying and denying medical care. […] The government said the A.I. screening tool would focus narrowly on about a dozen procedures, which it has determined to be costly and of little to no benefit to patients. Those procedures include devices for incontinence control, cervical fusion, certain steroid injections for pain management, select nerve stimulators and the diagnosis and treatment of impotence.
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IDPH looking at buying covid vaccines directly from manufacturers
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Wednesday…
* Thursday…
* Also yesterday…
* Today…
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Bailey asked about ICE agents: ‘As governor of Illinois, there would be no one wearing masks’
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Our old pal Mark Maxwell of KSDK interviewed possible gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey. This part stood out to both Isabel and myself…
At least he’s consistent on this.
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Pritzker urges disgruntled secessionists to help build a better state by getting involved, showing up, voting - If not, ‘get up and move’
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Gov. JB Pritzker was asked yesterday in southern Illinois about the people pushing counties to vote on seceding from Illinois and forming their own state or joining another one…
Discuss.
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Your moment of zen
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * It’s been one of those weeks, so here are some Oscar photos I don’t think we’ve shared… 
He wasn’t the biggest fan of the hammock.
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M3 poll: 70 percent of Chicagoans oppose sending in the Army, 65 percent oppose National Guard intervention (Updated)
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Fox 32…
Oops. …Adding… And, as Jake rightly notes, these oppositional numbers were high despite a very slanted question…
Question: “4. Recently, President Trump deployed National Guard troops to help local law enforcement make Washington D.C. safer. Since the Federal Government has stepped in, arrests are up and crime is down. But armed troops are visible, walking the streets, which critics argue is authoritarian. Please tell us whether you support the following ideas to help reduce violent crime in Chicago.” * Methodology…
* However, this is not a reliable result…
So that means only 82 Latino voters were surveyed. No way is that a reliable subset number. The MoE is astronomical. Plus, let’s see what happens to those numbers after ICE deals with the crazy chaos of Chicago’s Mexican Independence Day celebration. * Meanwhile…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Evanston, Oak Park end contracts with Flock Safety, license plate reader company under investigation in Illinois. ABC Chicago…
-”Company leadership was unaware of a pilot program with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection Agency. This put them in direct violation of Illinois law,” Giannoulias said. - Flock’s attorney said the company is making changes, adding safeguards, and has stopped sharing data with federal agents through Illinois. - Giannoulias also said other companies in Illinois, like Flock Safety, are subject to the same audits. He would not reveal if there are companies under investigation for similar data sharing * Related Stories… * Governor Pritzker will visit Wagoner Elementary School in Sauk Village at 11:00 am to kick off the school year. Click here to watch. * SJ-R | County: Man wanted in murder of Emma Shafer in Springfield apprehended in Mexico: A Mexican national wanted in connection with the 2023 murder of a well-known Springfield activist and community organizer has been apprehended in Mexico. Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, the Springfield Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service announced via a news release on Aug. 28 that Gabriel Calixto-Pichardo, 27, was caught. Calixto-Pichardo was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated domestic battery for the fatal stabbing of Emma Shafer, 24, at her apartment in the 1000 block of South Eighth Street on July 11, 2023. * Sun-Times | Chicago activists decry Trump threats to send National Guard, call on O’Neill Burke to refuse to cooperate: When asked to respond to the activists’ criticisms, a spokesperson for O’Neill Burke referred the Sun-Times to a statement released by Illinois leaders, including a quote from O’Neill Burke which “states our position clearly.” O’Neill Burke attended a press conference Monday with other Illinois Democrats rejecting the plan to sent troops, but didn’t speak. “The State’s Attorney was proud to stand alongside several dozen other Illinois political, civic, and business leaders on Monday afternoon to oppose the deployment of federal troops to Chicago,” an O’Neill Burke spokesperson said. * Tribune | The National Guard has been activated to Chicago 18 times from 1877-2021. Here’s a breakdown: “The Pullman Strike (1894) and Railroad Strike (1877) were both considered state active duty,” said Adriana Schroeder, command historian for the Illinois National Guard. “Both of those involved the union, spread throughout the United States, and drew the attention of the president who was in close communications with the governors of the affected states.” On occasion, state and city officials have disagreed if a National Guard response was warranted. * WBEZ | Trump administration threatens state funding unless ‘gender ideology’ content yanked from sex ed curricula: Illinois is one of 46 states and territories that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has put “on notice” to “remove gender ideology content from sex ed materials” used in its Personal Responsibility Education Program, or IPREP as it’s shortened in Illinois. A spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration characterized the demand as a “cruel attack” against transgender youth. The program, created by federal statute, targets teens in low income or otherwise disadvantaged areas with education about abstinence, contraception, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and more. It also focuses on adulthood preparation in areas like life skills and financial literacy. * Capitol News Illinois | Gun rights groups ask U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Cook County assault weapons ban: The Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation filed a petition with the court Wednesday, asking it to reverse the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. In June, the 7th Circuit said plaintiffs in the case had shown no reason for the court to reverse its own precedents that have upheld assault weapons bans, including a 2019 decision upholding the Cook County law. The petition was filed on the same day two children were killed and 17 other individuals were injured in a mass shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis. As of Thursday, authorities had not yet publicly identified the specific weapons used in that shooting, only to say one of them was a rifle. * WSPY | Upcoming fall veto session could include discussion on publicizing energy usage by data centers: 84th District State Representative Stephanie Kifowit says lawmakers are gearing up for some big discussions when the fall veto session takes place in Springfield. One major talking point will be energy, including a focus on the energy usage of data centers. Kifowit says Senate Bill 2181, which was introduced during the spring session, would require data centers across the state to disclose the amount of water and electricity that they use annually to the Illinois Power Agency. She says many of these data center companies are signing non-disclosure agreements with municipalities, which does not allow for transparency with the public regarding how much of their natural resources are being used at these facilities. * WAND | Illinois to launch student chronic absence task force to examine ongoing impact of COVID-19 pandemic: * Chalkbeat Chicago | CPS adopts $10.2 billion budget without high-cost loan for pensions: King, who previously worked in the mayor’s office and is a former teacher and principal, is the second schools chief who has stood by a budget that refrains from short-term borrowing to balance it. Defying Johnson on the issue contributed to the firing of her predecessor, Pedro Martinez, by a Johnson-appointed board last school year. King’s administration and its supporters on the school board argued that the district shouldn’t add to its massive debt burden that drains away hundreds of millions of dollars meant to educate students each year. At Thursday’s school board meeting, King urged the board to pass her original budget blueprint, saying it reflected extensive input from parents and vowing to continue advocating for more revenue for CPS. * Tribune | Chicago school board approves budget without controversial $200 million loan: “Some of us, including myself, grew up poor, but that doesn’t give us the right to make poor decisions,” said Che Rhymesfest of District 10A on the South Side. This year, unlike last fall when tension rose, the mayor — a former teachers union organizer — had more influence over the budget’s future. Besides having the majority of board members’ support, Mayor Johnson also appointed interim CEO Macquline King, a former city employee, to helm the challenging budget decision. But in recent weeks, she, like Martinez, had pushed back on the $200 million borrowing scenario proposed by Johnson. On Thursday, King sat, poised, and delivered a speech that recognized the political intensity and also the importance of the budget process for hundreds of thousands of children and parents in Chicago. * SEIU Local 73…
* Tribune | HUD asks Chicago Housing Authority to delay Walter Burnett CEO hire until review of potential conflicts of interest: The move was in response to a letter interim CHA Board Chair Matthew Brewer sent to the federal agency Wednesday that outlined Burnett’s potential conflicts. The same day it sent the letter, the CHA board scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday to appoint the new CEO, according to its board meeting schedule. HUD officials told CHA the federal agency is currently evaluating the contents of the letter and that it already has some concerns. HUD will need some time to review CHA’s letter and formally respond, the official said, as the local general counsel office must review the CHA’s letter. * Tribune | Pilsen Mexican Independence Day parade to go on despite President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown: ‘We are not going to be stopped’: But Lugo said organizers are not worried that immigration enforcement efforts will affect next weekend’s events because the parade isn’t “an act of violence or aggression,” rather an event to “celebrate our traditions.” She said organizers are putting extra security measures in place for the parade, including placing volunteers along the parade route who will communicate if they see immigration agents. The Chicago Police Department will also help ensure safety, she said. She said they expect about 3,000 spectators to attend. * Crain’s | Layoffs and budget cuts hit University of Chicago: In messages to the school’s faculty and students, leaders laid out a plan to reduce expenses by $100 million, which includes measures such as staff reductions through layoffs and retirements, pauses on certain master’s and PhD admissions, reduction in spending on capital projects and other administrative cuts. The spending plan comes as the school deals with the fallout from years of budgetary shortfalls and as the Trump administration cuts federal funding for research and grants nationally. UChicago posted a $288 million operational deficit in its fiscal year ending in 2024, making it more than a decade since it has been in the black. * WBEZ | Violence intervention worker didn’t even know dream job existed when she was locked up: Baines didn’t know the job existed until after she was released from prison. Her lawyer connected her to someone from the agency by chance. The expansion of violence intervention groups in Chicago over the last decade has created a career path for people like Baines, whose records make it harder for them to get a job elsewhere. It’s a career Baines didn’t know existed — but says she feels like she was made for. “I knew I had a dream to help people, but I never knew that this was where it would lead me.” * Lake County and North Chicago leaders are holding an 11 am press conference to reject Trump’s use of Naval Station Great Lakes…
* Daily Southtown | Country Club Hills District 160 suspends Superintendent Duane Meighan for second time in 2 months: About a month after voting to suspend Superintendent Duane Meighan for 10 days, the Country Club Hills Elementary District 160 board on Wednesday decided to suspend him again, this time indefinitely and without pay. The vote came after a prolonged closed meeting where board President Sharon Mack said the board members discussed their reasoning for Meighan’s most recent suspension. In response to a Daily Southtown Freedom of Information Act request received on Aug. 13, the district said no formal disciplinary action had been taken against Meighan prior to his July suspension. […] Meighan has been a target of district parents’ strife as the district uncovers massive spending on board member conference travel, including more than $25,000 spent in 2024 alone, according to a Daily Southtown analysis of district financial records. * Elgin Courier-News | Elgin backs off most of its demands on DNA, approves 3-year contract: The Elgin City Council has approved a new three-year contract with the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin, including provisions that they must hire a consultant to explore new revenue sources and conduct an audit within a year. DNA had submitted a contract similar to the previous three-year deal that expired in June. The $180,300 deal — Elgin funds about 64% of the nonprofit’s overall budget — included 3% increases in the second and third years. * Tribune | Evanston Library union workers protest proposed city, library split: As the Evanston Public Library Board of Trustees considers splitting off the library from the City of Evanston and becoming its own library district, union workers representing close to 100 library employees staged a protest Aug. 20, marching from Fountain Square to the library airing their grievances over a proposal that they say could cut library employee positions, as well as employees’ benefits and hours. The Library Board president said the library will not make such cuts, and is considering splitting off because it is not receiving adequate administrative and financial support from the City. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss said he opposes a split and wants to keep the library part of city government. * WGLT | Jurgens: Community policing is not at risk by pulling BPD out of immigration event: In an interview with WGLT, city manager Jeff Jurgens said the decision was an isolated incident, primarily related to a promotional flyer suggesting BPD could advise residents on what to do during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] raid in McLean County. “I’ve spoken with the pastor from that church, and I don’t think there was any ill intent—I’m sure there was not,” Jurgens said. “But the way it was presented, it really looked like we were going to be speaking at a political event and on something we simply do not speak on and don’t get involved in.” * WSIL | Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in Gallatin County for groundbreaking on a new river terminal: SGI President Patrick Scates says the Old Shawneetown location will ultimately be more cost-effective for local farmers in the long run “It will be moving fertilizer for farmers and regional retailers. Most of the fertilizer leaving here, probably 75% of it, will go straight to the field. It will have a high-speed blending system in it, and that’s going to save money for the farmers,” Scates said. The future structure will be located on the site of a former loading dock, previously used for coal and now set for fertilizer distribution. * KWQC | Quad-City Times shuts down press, moves printing to Indiana: The Quad-City Times will move its printing operations to Indiana at the end of September, the newspaper announced on Thursday. The Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus and Muscatine Journal will be printed in Munster, Indiana, starting on Sept. 30, the Quad-City Times reported. Because of this, 49 press room jobs, 20 full-time positions and 29 part-time positions will be cut. * AP | Jim O’Neill to serve as acting CDC director as leadership turmoil leaves agency reeling: Two administration officials said O’Neill, the second-in-command at the Department of Health and Human Services, would supplant Susan Monarez, a longtime government scientist. O’Neill, a former investment executive who also served at the federal health department under President George W. Bush, does not have a medical background. The officials, who confirmed the change, requested anonymity to discuss personnel decisions before a public announcement. * NYT | 2 Weeks, 1,000 Arrests: How a Surge of Feds Changed D.C. Policing: “I’ve never seen this much police presence in my whole life,” said Mr. Dela Torre, 37, a massage therapist who has lived in Washington since 1994. “You guys are worried about some guy smoking a joint on the corner on a Friday night?” President Trump declared that crime in Washington was “out of control” earlier this month and said he would use the power of the federal government to “rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor — and worse.” But a review by The New York Times of about a thousand arrests that were made during the first two weeks of the federal law enforcement surge suggests that the operation has been more of a sprawling dragnet than a targeted crime-fighting operation. * AP | 2 firefighters battling Washington state wildfire arrested by Border Patrol: Two firefighters who were part of a 44-person crew fighting a wildland blaze on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula were taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents during a multiagency criminal investigation into the two contractors they worked for, federal authorities said Thursday. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management asked the Border Patrol to help check the workers’ identities Wednesday when crews were working in a remote area, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol said in a statement. Border Patrol agents found two workers who were in the U.S. illegally and detained them, the agencies said.
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Good morning!
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller Your sweet love Peter Bunetta really knows how to make that drum kit swing and Roberto Vally hits that bass just right. More here. * Tell us what’s going on by you.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Friday, Aug 29, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.
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Pritzker said his administration has spoken to AG Raoul about Adams County sheriff: ‘There’s no member of law enforcement that should be breaking the law’
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here if you need it. Gov. JB Pritzker was asked today about the Adams County sheriff. As you already know, news reports indicate that the sheriff has apparently violated state law by transferring two men into ICE custody and by having a contract with the US government that allows the county jail to detain people for ICE. Pritzker’s response…
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* 25News Now…
* Governor JB Pritzker…
* Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady Davis has endorsed Sen. Sara Feigenholtz for reelection…
* NPR | With no federal facial recognition law, states rush to fill void: Illinois’s requirement that companies receive written permission before gathering biometric data goes farther than most states, which require digital consent — or checking a box for a company’s terms and conditions policy, something experts say is a largely symbolic gesture in practice.”I’m not saying it’s better than nothing, but if you’re hanging these legal frameworks on a model of informed consent, it’s clearly ineffective,” said Michael Karanicolas, a legal scholar at Dalhousie University in Canada who studies digital privacy. “Nobody is reading these terms of service. Absolutely nobody can effectively engage with the permission we’re giving these companies in our surveillance economy.” * WAND | Life insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people with criminal records under Illinois law: The law will ban insurance companies from limiting or denying life insurance coverage based on a criminal record. Sponsors said families should not be put in debt because of a crime their loved one committed a lifetime ago. They also argue life insurance companies should provide coverage regardless of the crime someone committed. * WAND | Illinois law empowers certified nurse midwives, addresses maternal healthcare deserts: “In a healthcare provider shortage area or maternal care desert, a certified midwife can collaborate with a full practice authority,” said Rep. Yolanda Morris (D-Chicago). Advanced practice registered nurses certified as midwives will also have the ability to provide out-of-hospital births if they have been granted clinical privileges from a birth center. * ABC Chicago | Chicago Board of Education set to vote on CPS budget ahead of deadline: According to the budget proposal, officials say they were able to close the deficit through a combination by repurposing funding in the district, like central office department reductions and increasing the district’s TIF revenue. King said if the board can’t reach a deal, “That would be history making moment. It has not happened and we don’t expect it to happen now. However, if that were to happen the district would not be able to operate normally.” * WBEZ | Millions of travelers expected in Chicago area airports, highways during Labor Day weekend: Friday is expected to be the busiest day for both airports with nearly 285,000 passengers traveling through O’Hare and 58,000 going through Midway, according to a press release from the CDA. “Being the home of one of the world’s busiest and most prominent aviation systems, Chicago always stands ready to serve all passengers at our airports,” CDA Commissioner Michael McMurray said. “After yet another wonderful summer in our city, we can’t wait to assist all who will be arriving and departing O’Hare and Midway this weekend.” * Crain’s | Chicago Amtrak routes see fastest ridership growth in the nation: Ridership on seven train lines connecting Chicago and Midwest cities is up 8% for the nine months ending June 30, compared with 7.5% for similar lines in the Virginia-North Carolina corridor and 3.6% in California and 0.2% on the New York-Vermont corridor, according to a new report from the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University. * ABC Chicago | Chicago reverend honors cousin Emmett Till 70 years after murder: ‘You didn’t die in vain’: Reverend Wheeler Parker, Till’s cousin, is the last living witness to the deadly kidnapping. Back in 1955, they traveled from Chicago to Mississippi together. He’s remembering his cousin as he takes the same route they took seven decades ago. “You didn’t die in vain, and you still speak from the grave, and we are going to carry on your legacy,” Reverand Parker said before boarding the train. * Evanston RoundTable | Flock challenges city’s termination of contract for license plate readers: Flock sent the city a response letter Wednesday written by Dan Haley, the company’s chief legal officer. A copy was shared with the RoundTable by a company spokesperson, Josh Thomas. Haley confirmed that Flock has deactivated all of EPD’s cameras as directed, but rebuked the termination notice as being “replete with conclusory and unsupported assertions” and wrote that the company “denies categorically” that it broke any laws or terms of the contract. * Fox Chicago | Another Chicago suburb cracks down on electronic scooters, bikes: Under Illinois law, e-scooters are prohibited in Grayslake, while e-bikes are allowed but must follow bicycle rules. Gas-powered dirt bikes remain banned. Local ordinances also bar any motorized vehicles — including e-bikes and e-scooters — from village bike paths and sidewalks, a rule that has been on the books for years. Officials said the village may consider local ordinances in the future but will remain consistent with state regulations. * Crain’s | Mounting legal costs add new pressure to Northwestern’s finances: The school recently settled a $130 million lawsuit with its former head football coach, as well as with former football players earlier this year, in the fallout from a hazing scandal that rocked the Evanston campus. Just this month, the school was named in an antitrust lawsuit seeking class-action status and settled in a separate suit over financial aid calculations for $43.5 million in February. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has frozen at least $790 million in federal funds and grants headed for the school, leading to Northwestern continuing to hit the gas on its lobbying efforts. The school has spent almost $1 million on lobbyists so far this year after it spent a million last year, its largest figure on record, according to the nonprofit database OpenSecrets, which tracks lobbying expenditures. The school is also reportedly nearing a deal with Trump that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars in order to restore federal funding. * First Alert | Brown Water Blues: Illinois leaders promise action to Bethalto residents, IEPA to do testing: State leaders in Illinois have announced water quality testing being done this week in Bethalto — after First Alert 4 voiced residents’ concerns over brown water coming out of showers, taps and toilets across the small village. On Thursday, Illinois Senator Harris and Rep. Elik said they have met with the Village leaders, and contacted the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), requesting information and “action” from them about the water quality concerns. * WCIA | Arthur nursing home closing, citing financial challenges, ‘inattentiveness by the State’: In a letter to residents obtained by WCIA, the Arthur Home stated that the letter served as a formal 90-day discharge notice due to the facility’s closure. The nursing home cited ongoing financial challenges “from the insurance companies and inattentiveness by the State of Illinois and local hospitals” that left the nursing home unable to continue operations. “This decision has not been made lightly and is the result of careful consideration of our current financial status,” staff said. “While Eberhardt Village will continue to serve our community as an assisted living facility, we must sadly bid farewell to the Arthur Home and its dedicated skilled care services.” * PJ Star | Summer travel been very good at Peoria’s airport. See the record numbers: The airport hosted 80,836 passengers last month, marking the first time in its 93-year history that it has exceeded 80,000 passengers. The 26% increase over its July 2024 numbers not only sets an all-time high for the airport, but continued a trend where it has set monthly records in 10 of the last 12 months, according to Gene Olson, director of airports for the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria. * KFVS | Gov. Pritzker announces $16.4M investment in road repairs at Du Quoin State Fairgrounds: With more than $30 million allocated by his administration and the Illinois General Assembly, the fairgrounds have seen several upgrades across its 750 acres. According to the governor’s office, an additional $21.7 million in repairs has been done by the Du Quoin Buildings and Grounds team for a total investment of $50 million. * Crain’s | AHA slams federal pilot to replace hospitals’ drug discounts: The Chicago-based American Hospital Association blasted the plan in a letter sent to Health Resources and Services Administrator Thomas Engels on Wednesday, saying it would upend the way safety-net providers access lower-cost medications and lead to higher spending. The pilot program is scheduled to begin in January, run for at least a year and may later be expanded, HRSA announced last month. Only medicines subject to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program are eligible for inclusion. Pharmaceutical companies must apply by Sept. 15 and HRSA plans to announce the participants on Oct. 1. * AP | Mystery surrounds $1.2 billion Army contract to build huge detention tent camp in Texas desert: When President Donald Trump’s administration last month awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to build and operate what it says will become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex, it didn’t turn to a large government contractor or even a firm that specializes in private prisons. Instead, it handed the project on a military base to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small business that has no listed experience running a correction facility and had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million. The company also lacks a functioning website and lists as its address a modest home in suburban Virginia owned by a 77-year-old retired Navy flight officer. * 404 Media | Flock Wants to Partner With Consumer Dashcam Company That Takes ‘Trillions of Images’ a Month: Nexar, the dashcam company, already publicly publishes a live interactive map of photos taken from its dashcams around the U.S., in what the company describes as “crowdsourced vision,” showing the company is willing to leverage data beyond individual customers using the cameras to protect themselves in the event of an accident. “Dash cams have evolved from a device for die-hard enthusiasts or large fleets, to a mainstream product. They are cameras on wheels and are at the crux of novel vision applications using edge AI,” Nexar’s website says. The website adds Nexar customers drive 150 million miles a month, generating “trillions of images.” * NYT | C.D.C. Standoff: Kennedy’s Push to Fire Director Devolves Into Chaos: In meetings this week, Mr. Kennedy demanded that Dr. Monarez fire top agency officials. He also insisted that she agree to accept recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Policy, or A.C.I.P., an expert panel that has recently been reconstituted by Mr. Kennedy with some members who have questioned the safety of current vaccines. The committee is scheduled to meet again on Sept. 18 and 19, and may consider recommendations for a wide array of vaccines, including those for hepatitis B, Covid, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and a combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella, according to an agenda posted on the Federal Register
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Report: Armored vehicles, surge in federal agents expected in Chicago as two-pronged strategy takes shape
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * CNN…
* Meanwhile, in the Tribune…
* Lots of people are very concerned about what will happen during this celebration…
* And the local FOP President is cheering it on…
* Meanwhile, some stories collected by Isabel…
* WTTW | CPD Will Be Ready if Trump Sends National Guard, ICE Strike Team to Chicago: Top Cop: Tom Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Trump’s pick to serve as his “border czar,” told reporters at the White House that the Trump administration was considering using Naval Station Great Lakes, which is about 35 miles outside Chicago, to house federal immigration agents or National Guard troops who could be deployed in Chicago, confirming news first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. If Trump federalizes the National Guard or sends additional ICE agents to the city, all Chicago police officers will be required to wear their uniforms so “they can be clearly identified,” Snelling said during a virtual news conference. * Block Club | Chicago Leaders Brace For Federal Troop Deployment With No Guidance From White House: “It’s next to impossible to answer that question without knowing if they’re going to be here, what their orders are, what purpose they intend to serve,” Snelling said. “But the key here is to … to have some type of communication so that nothing gets out of hand, nothing gets out of control and we maintain peace in our city.”
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AG Raoul finally talks (a little) about the Adams County sheriff’s apparent Trust Act violations
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here and here if you need it. Attorney General Kwame Raoul appeared on Chicago Tonight last night…
Video is here. He’s had well over a month to examine the specifics. Just saying. My own thought is other sheriffs will see AG Raoul’s essentially non-reaction and decide they can do the same thing. But, hey, I could be wrong. Your view?
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Three Senate Democratic candidates talk about whether they support Schumer
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * I’ve been saying for a while that there’s not much difference between the three major Democratic US Senate candidates. So, I decided to ask them all the following question, figuring there wouldn’t be a whole lot of space between them, but thinking maybe there might…
Answers are presented here in the order they were received. * Raja Krishnamoorthi…
* Juliana Stratton…
* Robin Kelly…
Discuss.
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Trump says he won’t fund carp project until Pritzker ‘asks’ — but the money’s already set aside
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Axios earlier this month…
* Trump took another shot at Gov. Pritzker over the invasive carp during a Monday news conference. The Daily Beast…
* Trump’s full remark…
* The Tribune…
Thoughts?
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The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association: Protecting Working People & Fighting Trump’s Predatory MAGA Agenda
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Don’t be fooled by the same front groups, associations and companies that are backing Trump’s predatory MAGA agenda of raising prices, slashing Medicaid, and gutting the Environmental Protection Agency, Food & Drug Administration, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They want Illinois to turn its back on people who have been harmed by the negligence and malfeasance of big corporations, and wrongly believe our state can’t be pro-worker and pro-business. The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association is proud to stand with state elected officials who are aggressively fighting Trumpian policies and those who support them. While the federal government and other states abandon their responsibilities to protect Americans from preventable harms, Illinois is a beacon in the nation’s dark night, showing what responsible government looks like. Our state balances the needs of business with workers’ rights and consumer protections to create opportunities for everyone to thrive, not just the wealthy and well-connected. Trial lawyers will always fight for working people and the most vulnerable, helping them to receive justice and holding corporate wrongdoers accountable. For more information about the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, click here.
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Another know-it-all
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Sun-Times…
“Legally or not”? That ain’t gonna work. * Rahm Emanuel cut a deal with organized labor on pensions, but the Illinois Supreme Court completely knocked it down. Analysis from the Civic Federation…
Pension benefits are constitutionally protected individual rights. They can’t be collectively negotiated away. Also, the city had to cough up refunds after that “not legal” ruling came down. * However, the Supremes also said this…
In other words, if the city and the unions can come up with a scheme which allows workers to agree to individually opt-in to some sort of plan to reduce the pension debt, then that’s allowed. This will only net you incremental change, however. * The state has a pension buy-out program (click here for more) that has knocked a small chunk off its unfunded liability and reduced annual costs since it was approved by the legislature in 2018. From GOMB earlier this year…
OK, what about the borrowing to pay for it? Well, there is a cost, for sure. But the borrowing costs are lower than the 7 percent it costs the state every year for the unrealized gains due to the unfunded liability. Again, this is a small win, but it’s still a win. Maybe some Chicago geniuses can come up with an even better idea. * Also, the last time Illinoisans voted on a constitutional convention (which I supported), it lost 67-32. If you’re pushing a convention to cut pension benefits, I’m guessing you ain’t gonna win.
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IPA: SB40 With Energy Storage Will Slash Sky-High Electric Bills
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Consumers across Illinois are seeing massive increases in their bills because of inadequate energy supplies and rising demand. And yet a tool that numerous studies have shown could have averted some of these increases now and in the future, battery energy storage, waits for legislative action. Last session, without evidence, opponents claimed adding energy storage in Illinois would spike ratepayer bills. But no fewer than a half dozen studies in Illinois and across the country from groups like the Illinois Power Agency, Clean Grid Alliance and NRDC have shown that storage saves billions for ratepayers. The Facts:
- ComEd customers would save “from $1.52/month to $2.32/month by 2030 and $7.89/month to $8.52/month by 2035.” The facts don’t lie – consumers are seeing the cost of doing nothing in their spiking electric bills NOW. Adding energy storage to Illinois’s electric grid will save consumers billions. That’s why CUB is asking lawmakers to pass SB40 as the best way “to contain costs for electric customers while managing unprecedented energy demand.” Illinois must follow the facts and enact SB40 this fall to deploy 6 gigawatts of energy storage by 2035. Click here for more information.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI:10 years after state budget impasse, human services in Illinois again brace for ‘tsunami.’’ Illinois Answers Project…
- As governor, Pritzker has touted significant growth in spending under his administration; annual General Funds state spending on human services jumped by 60% from 2014 to 2024 — from $12.3 billion to $19.7 billion. - But that progress very well may be upended by large cuts to Medicaid benefits and cuts to housing and food assistance contained in congressional Republicans’ recently passed federal budget signed into law July 4 by President Donald Trump. * Governor Pritzker will give remarks at the 100% solar-powered Manner Polymers facility at 11:20 am, then attend the Shawneetown Port groundbreaking at 1:30 pm. Click here to watch. * AP | Guard not needed in Chicago, Pritzker tells AP during tour of city to counter Trump’s crime claims: “Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker said. “He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems.” * Active Transportation Alliance | More than 70 organizations urge lawmakers to pass transit funding & reform in veto session: Without decisive intervention, Illinois will face gridlocked streets, heightened pollution, and a dramatic decline in safe, affordable transit options. If lawmakers neglect this crisis, communities will lose their freedom to move—and thousands of good transit jobs will be wiped out. The time to act is now. * WGN | Pritzker says he has ‘received no calls from the White House,’ as Chicago grapples with a possible National Guard deployment: Meanwhile, Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President John Catanzara expects there will be notice if the National Guard is mobilized. “I think once they make up their mind and the president says it’s a go, at that point, the federal partners will start contacting CPD, the superintendent, and the city officials and let them know this is what’s going on. This is what we’re doing and this is what we’re tasked with, and you are either working with us or you’re not,” Catanzara said. “I guess we will see how that plays out.” The FOP president told WGN-TV the National Guard’s presence is needed, even if they do not have arresting powers like everyday officers with the Chicago Police Department. “It would be nice to have some extra bodies,” Catanzara said. “We are well over 1,000 people short in this department, and some extra bodies—especially for that crazy week of Mexican Independence Day—[are] greatly appreciated.” * Tribune | Advocate Health Care no longer prescribing gender-affirming care medications for patients under 19: Advocate Health is pulling back on its gender-affirming care for minors, joining a growing list of hospital systems in Illinois and across the country cutting the services amid threats to their federal funding. Advocate Health has “revised our policy to no longer provide or prescribe gender-affirming care medications for patients under age 19,” Advocate said in a statement. “We recognize that this is a deeply complex issue, and this decision was made after a multi-disciplinary team spent numerous hours carefully considering the options and outcomes,” Advocate said. “This new policy allows our hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to continue caring for all patients’ health needs in the changing federal environment.” * Capitol News Illinois | Hundreds of police departments use camera company accused of breaking state law: Giannoulias’ office told Capitol News Illinois it is “conducting an investigation” into the matter. The office has been in talks with the state’s attorney general, although it declined to describe specifics. At least one city, Evanston, has deactivated its Flock cameras and begun the process of canceling its contract with the surveillance company. In a statement, the city called the situation “deeply troubling.” A spokesperson for Flock, meanwhile, said that they were unaware of any ongoing investigation and that the company disagreed with the secretary of state’s legal assertions. * Tribune | Republican US Senate hopeful Don Tracy lends $2M to his campaign fund: “This shows how committed I am to winning this race so all of Illinois has a leader working for them to lower the cost of living and defend our Midwestern values,” Tracy said. Tracy announced his Senate candidacy on Aug. 13. The $2 million loan stands against six GOP rivals, none of whom had more than $15,000 in campaign cash as of July 1. * Pantagraph | Darren Bailey ‘considering’ another run for Illinois governor in 2026: Bailey confirmed to Lee Enterprises in an interview that he is “considering” another run for governor and would make a decision within the next two to three weeks. “We’re just checking out all the options,” Bailey said. “I remain frustrated at the state that the state is in. I didn’t think it could get any worse in Chicago. I didn’t think it could get any worse in the state. But in my opinion, it has. And I think the people are fed up. It finally hit their pocketbooks hard enough that people are angry.” * WAND | New Illinois laws could improve response for school shootings, hazmat emergencies: Senate Bill 2057 requires the Illinois State Board of Education to provide school districts with standards for threat assessment procedures. The law allows ISBE and the State Fire Marshal to create new rules that guide public schools, private schools and first responders on how to develop threat assessment procedures and rapid entry response plans. * Illinois Times | Frank Lesko to take on Doris Turner: Lesko has also come under fire for issues related to his recent transition from the city to the county. He assumed the position of county recorder Dec. 2 but did not vacate his city clerk post until more than a month later, despite several council members calling on him to resign and questioning how he could be allowed to hold two full-time jobs simultaneously. Lesko told the council at the time, “I challenge anybody to qualify anything that hasn’t been done in the city clerk’s office. That office has been covered.” * Sun-Times | Chicago Public Schools deficit deadline: CPS started the summer with a $734 million deficit for the school year that begins Aug. 18. WBEZ and the Sun-Times are tracking how the Board of Education and CPS officials work to close the budget hole, this month and long-term. * Block Club | AI Use And Data Centers Are Causing ComEd Bills To Spike — And It Will Likely Get Worse: With demand surging, ComEd’s price for electricity jumped by about 45 percent this summer compared to last summer, according to the Citizens Utility Board. The price jump this summer means the average ComEd customer will pay an extra $11 per month through May, the utility watchdog group reported. Data centers’ impact on power bills is already evident — and there are no signs the centers’ demand for energy is slowing down. * Tribune | ‘It’s like a slap in the face’: Laid off CPS custodians frustrated, worried about future: Positions such as Salazar’s are represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 1, which oversees custodians and other workers under private contracts with companies and organizations, including CPS. An estimated 700 laid-off privatized custodians are expected to be rehired under SEIU’s Local 73, which represents public sector employees in Illinois and northwest Indiana, including some CPS custodians and non-teacher employees. Salazar, who planned to retire next school year, is now worried about her bills and medical insurance. Her husband is diabetic and depends on medicine to regulate his body, medicine that will skyrocket in price if she loses insurance. Another concern is the pay cut which would change her personal budget. * WBEZ | How we mapped Chicago’s lead service lines and what we learned: The city offers a lookup tool where residents can search for their address to see what their service line is made from. It also provides overall statistics on the number of lines requiring replacement. But that information has never been mapped in a way that shows the public how the problem with lead service lines is distributed across Chicago — and how that intersects with poverty and race. Inside Climate News, Grist and WBEZ have analyzed city data obtained through a public records request to create a lookup tool that allows Chicagoans to find out their risk by searching their own address. Users can also see where the problem is most acute and compare lead pipe distribution against race and poverty. * CBS Chicago | Black Men United renovates Maywood, Illinois building for affordable housing that has residents pleased: “We have 23 families that currently live in the construct of this great building,” said Pastor John Harrell, president and cofounder of Black Men United. The nonprofit was launched in a church parking lot five years ago, and has now made an impact in Maywood and beyond. “That’s been their mission — to make communities better,” said Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Westchester). * Tribune | ‘Our president is listening’: Handful of Black MAGA activists in Chicago catch Trump’s eye: Some of the Trump supporters say they are driven by unresolved gripes against Chicago government. Others livestream their City Council criticism and post to social media, where they solicit donations and sell merchandise. Easley recently launched a bid for Congress, running as a Republican for the seat U.S. Rep. Danny Davis plans to vacate. * WGN | Arlington Heights considers criminalizing homelessness after woman sits on bench for too long: The bench in question sits across from the Arlington Heights Metra Station on Vail Avenue, where a woman without a home often spends most of her time. Right now, staying or sleeping on a park bench in the village isn’t illegal, but the board of trustees met Monday night to discuss the issue and whether the village could enact a new ordinance to regulate the behavior. […] “Do we want to be a village that criminalizes somebody without having a home?” Nabors said. “How is somebody paying a fine with no money? How is somebody remembering a court date without a phone with an Outlook calendar on it?” * Tribune | Dolton 148 approves contract for interim superintendent at $1,500 per day: * Daily Herald | DuPage County will spend up to $147K to retain Springfield lobbyists: Though the political makeup of the county board has changed over the years, officials continued using Roger C. Marquardt & Co. as a state-level lobbyist. In 2024, Scott Marquardt and Humes solidified their business partnership, forming Marquardt & Humes, according to a firm overview. The county also will pay Raucci & Sullivan Strategies no more than $52,500 for one year of lobbying services through August 2026. Former Republican state Sen. Dave Sullivan is the firm’s president. Marc Poulos, who was a member of Gov. JB Pritzker’s transition team, also is part of the firm. * Tribune | Aurora City Council agrees to continue grocery tax amid budget concerns: Aurora is already facing a nearly $30 million deficit in the 2026 budget, which is currently being developed, according to city officials. The grocery tax expiring would have only added to the problem, officials said. The 1% tax on groceries provides Aurora with around $4.5 million in revenue each year, which helps pay for public safety, road maintenance, public works, community programs and environmental services, according to past reporting. Officials have said that, if the tax were to expire, the city would likely need to find alternative funding sources or make cuts to services. * Daily Herald | Crystal Lake man convicted in $8M Ponzi scheme wants to take back plea to defrauding American Legion group: But in a motion to withdraw his guilty plea filed Aug. 21, Hanke claims that the plea was entered “under a misapprehension of the law … (and) the facts” and he now wants his case heard by a jury. A new lawyer representing Hanke wrote in the court filing that Hanke’s previous attorney “forced and coerced” him into the plea deal. In Hanke’s plea — which he now seeks to reverse — he admitted to using the Legion’s debit card fraudulently between January 2023 and March 2024, while he was a commander for the post, according to court records. * KWQC | Sheriff says cashless bail works fine in Rock Island County: Rock Island County Sheriff Darren Hart said that the bail reform system was drastic but said it has run smoothly for his county. “We are seeing a similar amount of jail bookings, so that really hasn’t decreased during this period of time. Some of the data that we know here for Rock Island County: we’re issuing about the same amount of warrants, so when you talk about community safety, we’re not seeing that there has been a big change in the sense of violent crime. ‘Is it on the rise?’ We’re not seeing that,” Sheriff Hart said. * WGLT | As DOJ questions Illinois voter rolls, McLean County election authorities double down on their confidence: “As far as what they’re trying to ask for, I think it’s an overreach,” he said. “I’m not a lawyer, that’s something for legal minds to debate. I know that the State Board of Elections did give what they would give any … political action committee or any other member of the state of Illinois that can purchase the voter registration data.” Michael said the McLean County clerk’s office welcomes scrutiny from citizens and, if lawful, the questions the DOJ has about voter rolls. * WCIA | Champaign Township board member calls for supervisor’s resignation: The preliminary City of Champaign Township budget was approved by a vote of 6-3 Tuesday night, after being delayed for “a lack of reasoning” from Township supervisor Kyle Patterson. Two weeks ago, increases in more than $100,000 in spending for the Strides Shelter and contractor fees were presented without reason, according to several board members. * WCIA | Vermilion Co. solar farm says they’re still moving forward despite USDA announcement: Earthrise Energy says they have plans to build a 1,400-acre solar farm between the villages of Catlin and Tilton. The USDA recently announced they will not be funding any more solar or wind farms on farmland, leading some to question whether this project will continue. “So, the USDA’s announcement will not affect our project,” said project manager Ellis Ginnis. “We have no plans to use federal grants for the Tilton solar project.” * WCIA | Title IX investigation into PBL teacher ignores ‘problematic information’: Last week, WCIA reported that investigators looked into the alleged misconduct but found “insufficient evidence” to support the claims. The investigators cited the length of time it took for the conduct to be reported, and the fact that they were not able to speak with the complainant directly. WCIA’s partner’s at the Ford County Chronicle submitted a Freedom of Information request for documents and correspondences submitted by Chicago civil rights attorney Bhavani Raveendran. In return, the Ford County Chronicle obtained information about how Raveendran and her client’s family disagrees with what the investigation found, as well as its thoroughness. * LA Times | L.A. teen is moved to ICE detention center out of state without parents’ knowledge: Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz’s family was stunned and heartbroken when the 18-year-old was grabbed by immigration agents while walking his dog in Van Nuys just days before he was set to start his senior year at Reseda Charter High School. This week, his family was caught off-guard once again when they learned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had transferred him to Arizona without notifying any relatives, according to the office of U.S. Rep. Luz Rivas (D-North Hollywood), which spoke to his family and reviewed ICE detention records. * The Hill | 4 CDC leaders resign over ‘weaponizing of public health’: The resignations came the same day that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a slew of changes to limit access to the COVID-19 vaccine, and just hours after news broke that CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted from the agency. Demetre C. Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry have all submitted their resignations, according to emails shared with The Hill. * Harvest Public Media | ‘Solar For All’ would have powered emergency housing in a Midwest town. Then the EPA cut the funds: Grantees weren’t immediately worried by the rescinded funding in the new law, since Solar for All funding has been fully obligated. Now, with the funds frozen, the path forward isn’t clear. Some grantees and advocacy groups have threatened legal action, though no litigation has been filed as of Aug. 25. In Nebraska, multiple projects were in the final planning phases with about $20 million of the state’s $63 million award set to go out in the coming months, said Brian Depew, the executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs. For a state like Nebraska, where not even 1% of the state’s electricity generation comes from solar, Depew said the funds were a generational opportunity to kickstart the industry.
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Open thread
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.
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Report: ICE planning to send ’strike team’ to Chicago (Updated)
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here if you need it. Washington Post…
* Looks like we missed something…
Info here. * More from the Sun-Times…
Months? * The governor told reporters earlier today that he’d heard nothing official, but was hearing at least some through back channels…
…Adding… Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton…
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * WTTW…
* Attorney General Kwame Raoul…
* The 74th House District is currently held by Rep. Bradley Fritts (R-Dixon). Shaw Local…
[Note from Rich: This district leans Republican. No word on whether the HDems will step in, but they have many other closer contests next year.] …Adding… Tribune…
* Illinois Manufacturers’ Association | New Report Underscores Importance of International Trade to Manufacturers in Illinois and Across Midwest: In Illinois, Canada is the largest source of imports, with nearly $64 billion annually, followed by China at $42 billion with Mexico coming in third with $19 billion. Top imported products to Illinois include oil and gas, communications equipment, pharmaceuticals and medicines, computer equipment, and beverages. * WICS | Illinois tourism booms with record visitor spending in 2024: Illinois experienced a tourism surge in 2024, welcoming 113 million domestic and international visitors who spent a record $48.5 billion, according to data from Tourism Economics. This marked an increase of 500,000 visitors and $1.3 billion in spending compared to 2023. * Bloomberg Law | M.A.C. Cosmetics Violates Illinois Biometric Law, Class Alleges: M.A.C. Cosmetics’ virtual try-on feature, with which customers can virtually apply makeup via video live-stream, violate Illinois biometric privacy laws, according to a class complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court. Plaintiff Fiza Javid went to a M.A.C. store at a mall in the Chicago suburbs and was offered the option to virtually try on lipstick and lipliner, after which a salesperson scanned her face, according to the complaint. * Chalkbeat Chicago | Days before budget vote, CPS tells school board it can borrow in the future in a ‘true emergency’: In a memo obtained by Chalkbeat, Chief Financial Officer Miroslava Mejia Krug said the district’s legal counsel advised that the school board can authorize emergency borrowing after the budget is passed through a simple majority vote, even though budget amendments typically require a two-thirds vote. “This would ensure that any additional borrowing would be used to prevent cuts to schools and core district operations — in line with the request from many board members regarding a contingency plan in the case of a revenue shortfall,” Krug wrote in the memo sent Tuesday to board members. * Block Club | Some Call It The ‘Death Hospital’: Inside The Northwest Side Medical Center Plagued By Problems: Then there is the facility itself, which is in disrepair. The hospital’s garage deteriorated so much that the city shut it down last summer, and it didn’t reopen for more than a year. In January, a water pipe burst, flooding portions of the emergency room’s ambulance bay. Despite these problems, since 2020, the hospital has spent more than $140,000 donating to state political committees, including campaign funds for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Senate President Don Harmon, records show. * WTTW | Chicago Paid $100K to 14-Year-Old Boy Pinned to Park Ridge Sidewalk by Off-Duty CPD Sergeant: Records: Chicago Police Sgt. Michael Vitellaro was acquitted by a Cook County judge on felony charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct in connection with the incident that began when his son told him on July 1, 2022, that his bicycle had been stolen from outside the Park Ridge Public Library. Vitellaro, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, located the bicycle outside a coffee shop, and forced the teen he saw with the bicycle down to the pavement and pinned him there. The teen testified during Vitellaro’s trial that he thought he was going to die. * Sun-Times | Black Chicago cop sues city, claims he was called N-word by fellow officers: Officer Anthony Banks claims the racist onslaught came after he responded to a heated exchange involving another officer and a pregnant woman on March 17. Banks eventually stepped in and tried to deescalate when the other officer bumped into the woman, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court against the city and a group of cops. Back at the district station later that day, the other officer pressed Banks about his conduct, the lawsuit says. Other officers then surrounded Banks and allegedly made a series of racially charged remarks, calling him the N-word and telling him to return to his old post in the Grand Crossing District, which the suit says “is known for having predominantly African-American officers.” “Go back to where you came from,” one officer allegedly said. * ABC Chicago | City unveils free Narcan Newsstands program ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day: City officials will launch the program during the Harm Reduction Fair on Wednesday at the Department of Family & Support Services at 845 W. Wilson Avenue. The public can get free naloxone at Nourishing Hope on Sheridan, Cornerstone Community Shelter on Clinton, ICA Building on Sheridan, and the Department of Family and Supportive Services on Wilson. * WGN | ‘It was a rush’: Fisherman’s epic catch on Chicago River goes viral: The 47-year-old Vivar has caught big carp over the years. But without a scale on Saturday night, the 235-pound, 6-foot-tall master fisherman could only offer a guess. Vivar estimates the catch to be close to 35-40 pounds. At the end of Saturday’s epic struggle, Vivar did what he always does: he released his catch back into the river. * Evanston RoundTable | Evanston shuts down license plate cameras, terminates contract with Flock Safety: A city news release issued Tuesday evening says that all 19 cameras operated by the city are “deactivated,” and that the city issued a notice to terminate its contract effective Sept. 26. The decision is attributed to the findings of a system audit ordered by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, which were announced Monday afternoon. “The findings of the Illinois Secretary of State’s audit,” the city’s statement reads, “combined with Flock’s admission that it failed to establish distinct permissions and protocols to ensure local compliance while running a pilot program with federal users, are deeply troubling.” * Daily Herald | DuPage County clerk a no-show for budget presentation: The DuPage County Clerk’s Office was a no-show for a scheduled budget presentation at the county board’s finance committee meeting Tuesday — one day after a judge ruled the clerk must follow the county’s accounting procedures. Neither DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek nor a representative from her office were on hand to review their proposed budget. “That makes her the only elected official who has refused to come before the board to present,” said Paula Deacon Garcia, who heads the county board’s finance committee. * Crain’s | A mystery semiconductor investment lands in Aurora: The investment in Aurora is part of a broader $700 million domestic R&D investment announced earlier by the company. “A portion of this investment will be used to develop its Aurora, Illinois, location into a state-of-the-art U.S. Technology Center,” Entegris said in a written statement. The company offered few details on the project, such as how much will be invested, how many jobs it will create or a specific timetable. Economic-development officials don’t have much to add, either, and the city of Aurora didn’t respond to a request for comment. * Evanston RoundTable | With deadline looming, council sets Sept. 8 discussion on grocery tax: Council members voted 5-3 to postpone further discussion until their Sept. 8 meeting on implementing a local grocery tax to replace the state tax, which expires Jan. 1. The tax generates roughly $2.5 million annually for the city and is one of its major revenue sources. After the vote, Mayor Daniel Biss informed members that the item will require six votes — the number needed to override a mayoral veto — if the council were to move ahead Sept. 8 on passing a grocery tax. Biss made it clear during discussions he supported a property tax hike as less regressive. * Shaw Local | DeKalb city budget deficit coming, city warns amid pension reform plea: DeKalb city staff acknowledged during a recent special joint meeting of the City Council and Finance Advisory Commission that they expect to run into budget shortfalls by 2034 due to pension obligations. For years, city leaders have been grappling with potential shortfalls between property taxes and what the city owes, officials said. Mayor Cohen Barnes said the city has a growing problem. “We have a shortfall between … all the property taxes that the city of DeKalb receives, all that economic development on the south side goes directly toward the police and fire crisis, and it’s not enough,” Barnes said. * Daily Herald | After ‘big misunderstanding,’ Mueller returning to Glenbard District 87 school board: Mueller recently took a job as a routing coordinator for busing provider Safeway, the district’s regular and special education transportation contractor, Glenbard Superintendent Jessica Santee said last month. […] But “on the mistaken assumption that this created an unlawful conflict of interest,” Safeway advised Mueller that she had to either resign from her job or resign from the board, Santee said. * Daily Herald | ‘It just doesn’t seem very Barrington’: Commission opposes gated community at former PepsiCo site: “It just doesn’t seem very Barrington,” Plan Commission Chairperson Anna Bush said. “It just doesn’t seem community focused.” Commissioner David Holtermann added: “I think gated community promotes things we don’t like. It promotes a sense of division. It reduces social cohesion.” * Daily Herald | A seasoned conductor agreed to conduct the Wheaton Municipal Band when he turned 100. He just kept his word: [Arnald Gabriel] turned 100 years old in May, but because he now struggles to walk, he couldn’t fly to Illinois. Moss found another way for Gabriel to keep his word. Moss sent a film crew to record Gabriel conducting two songs in his Alexandria, Virginia, condominium, last month. During the concert a week later, his wrinkled face, creased with experience, appeared on an auditorium screen, as CBS News first reported. * WCIA | Vermilion Co. union hosts meeting listing grievances against Viscofa: Union representatives say it started three years ago. Then, in the spring of last year, they say food casing manufacturer Viscofan tried to get rid of the union. The effort failed after employees voted to keep it, but workers at the factory say it didn’t end there. “They just want you to come in, do this job. If you don’t like it, that’s too bad,” said former employee Tim Miller. “You can leave. You know, we’ll get rid of you.” * WCIA | Meta, Constellation celebrate new partnership in Clinton: Executives and employees from both companies gathered at Clinton’s nuclear plant recognized the 20-year partnership. The plant’s current agreement with the State of Illinois expires in 2027. “Meta of course, is consuming electricity in other places on the United States electric grid and it’s important to them they can match up their usage with clean energy,” Constellation Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Kathleen Barrón said. * ProPublica | How DOGE Left Mohammad Halimi’s Life in Tatters: It was early morning on April 1 when Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar, got a panicked message from his son. Halimi’s name had just appeared in a viral post on X, shared by none other than the site’s owner and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. […] The work he was pursuing with USIP had nothing to do with supporting the Taliban. It was the opposite. ProPublica has obtained records making clear that Musk and his team at the newly formed DOGE should have known this too. Halimi’s work at USIP was spelled out in precise detail in the agency’s records, down to the tasks he performed on specific days. His role at the institute was far from top secret, but it had been treated as highly sensitive and confidential. Among other tasks, it involved a program gathering information on the ground about living conditions for Afghan women, who are largely barred from education past primary school or from having a role in public life. * WIRED | The Magic Phrase Behind Donald Trump’s Power Grab: Nestled in the order was a phrase that’s become increasingly familiar to me over the past seven months as I’ve read piles of boring documents issuing from the administration, trying to figure out what it’s doing. “Discretionary awards must, where applicable,” it read, “demonstrably advance the President’s policy priorities.” This phrase, and variants, come up a lot. It has popped up everywhere from the White House’s description of the Office of Presidential Scheduling (it works to “create an agenda that strategically advances the President’s priorities,” apparently) to a website where the Coast Guard explains that its secretary is assigned to “fully align the Service to execute the President’s priorities.” * AP | ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ will likely be empty within days, top Florida official says: top Florida official says the controversial state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades will likely be empty in a matter of days, even as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and the federal government fight a judge’s order to shutter the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by late October. That’s according to an email exchange shared with The Associated Press. In a message sent to a South Florida rabbi on Aug. 22 related to providing chaplaincy services at the facility, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said “we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days.” The rabbi’s executive assistant who sent the original email to Guthrie confirmed its veracity to the AP. * AP | FDA approves updated Pfizer COVID shots but limits access for some kids and adults: Pfizer said in a release its vaccine is now approved for all seniors to protect against the virus this fall. But the Food and Drug Administration narrowed its use for younger adults and children to those with at least one high-risk health condition, such as asthma or obesity. That presents new barriers to access for millions of Americans who’d have to prove their risk — and millions more who may want to get vaccinated and suddenly no longer qualify. * WaPo | National Guard troops deployed in D.C. add sanitation, landscaping duties: Typically, custodial work like this falls to the National Park Service, which was already facing staffing shortfalls when the Trump administration this spring directed additional cuts as it gutted the federal workforce. The service used to have 200 people assigned to maintain thousands of acres of trees and gardens in D.C., and now there are 20, a Park Service official told The Post.
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Tariffs Impact Everyone
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] At Hello Tokyo, a variety store in Niles, one hundred percent of the merchandise is imported from overseas with much of the inventory originating in Japan and China, thus putting the store directly in the crosshairs of the global tariff battle now taking shape. Tariffs impact everyone. Hello Toyko’s owner, Jin Park, says his store is in a holding pattern to see what to do next, because there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Retailers like Jin enrich our economy and strengthen our communities, even during the uncertainty of increased tariff expenses. IRMA is showcasing some of the many retailers who continue to make Illinois work.
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Tracy says he put $2 million into his US Senate campaign (Updated)
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release from a Republican US Senate candidate…
Discuss. Also, I’m assuming this is a loan, but I’m awaiting a response on that point. …Adding… The campaign confirmed that this is a loan.
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Insurance company claims Wyndham hotel damage was inside job, refuses to cover losses
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Some background from a WAND TV report in March…
* And now a new bombshell report from WAND…
Mr. Rajabi’s lawsuit is here. * From the insurance company’s counter-suit…
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Navy captain: Potential federal surge in Chicago will focus on downtown
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Sun-Times…
* Scroll down…
At least it’ll be convenient for most of the Chicago teevee stations, which may be the whole point. I do feel sorry for all those folks who will have to suffer through commuting on the expressways every day. Maybe they should look into buying monthly passes from Metra.
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More state bashing
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Earlier yesterday, Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke at an organized labor event alongside several Democratic state legislators. He turned on them later. From a Tribune city hall reporter…
The legislators who were with him earlier yesterday are all in favor of progressive revenue. But then he threw them under the bus with everyone else? Between the Johnson folks and the Eastern Bloc, I’m really not sure who’s the more tiresome Illinois bashers. * More from Alice’s thread…
* Fox 32 was also there…
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Consumers Are Getting Slammed With Higher Electric Rates – Don’t Add Fuel To The Fire With ROFR
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Illinois consumers are feeling the heat, both from triple-digit temperatures and soaring electricity bills. Ameren customers are seeing 18–22% rate hikes. ComEd has customers paying as much as triple-digit increases. And it’s going to get worse. In July, the PJM Capacity Auction hit another record high - a 22% increase on top of the record highs everyone just started paying. This will already lead to further rate increases next year! As frustration heats up, lawmakers must choose: support competition that drives prices down or fan the flames of electricity inflation with “Right of First Refusal” (ROFR) legislation. ROFR kills competition and boosts prices by giving incumbent utilities exclusive rights to build transmission lines. It’s so anti-competitive that both presidents - Biden and Trump - opposed it in 2020 and 2023. As the ICC has said, “The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) believes that competition among transmission developers spurs innovative results and helps control costs.”  ROFR would send electricity prices even higher. Springfield should focus on long-term strategies to lower electricity bills, not raise them. As ROFR may resurface this fall, legislators should reject it and stand up for cost-cutting competition that benefits consumers.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Former Illinois National Guard general says troops can’t act as law enforcement in Chicago. CBS Chicago…
- “They could stand on corners and basically do nothing. They could certainly protect federal property, that’s a reasonable thing to do,” Hayes said. “But it’s not a law enforcement function.” - Chicago is different than the Washington, D.C., deployment because, one: they don’t have a governor and the president does exert more control there than almost anywhere in the country over the National Guard. But because the National Guard doesn’t have the authority to arrest or handle law enforcement, they would be largely restricted to protecting federal buildings and federal agents in Chicago. * Related stories… * Governor Pritzker will join Black Men United at 11 am in Maywood for a ribbon-cutting to open a new affordable housing facility. Click here to watch. * WBEZ | Federal loan limits could turn off prospective social workers from going to school, advocates say: Starting July 2026, students will only be allowed to borrow $20,500 from the federal government per year. Master’s degrees in social work can cost upwards of $45,000 a year, particularly at private universities — and in most cases a graduate degree is needed to work in the field. […] “The rub is that colleges cannot reverse years of price increases overnight,” Granville wrote. “Students will still face high tuition bills and living costs despite the new borrowing limits, and they will shoulder the burden of this change if they want to continue to pursue higher education.” * Sun-Times | Trump’s planned Chicago blitz would use naval base to house ICE agents, possibly National Guard: Agents with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection would be housed at Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago from Sept. 2-30, according to an email Monday from Navy Cpt. Stephen Yargosz to his leadership team. “These operations are similar to what occurred in Los Angeles earlier this summer. Same DHS team,” wrote Yargosz, the commanding officer of Naval Station Great Lakes. “… This morning I received a call that there is the potential to also support National Guard units. Not many details on this right now. Mainly a lot of concerns and questions.” * WAND | Wyndham owner faces allegations of intentionally vandalizing hotel: According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, WAND News learned that the Springfield fire and police departments were investigating after they said it appeared that the property was intentionally vandalized. The State Fire Marshal shuttered the hotel March 28. Then in June, hotel owner Al Rajabi sued his insurance company, claiming Affiliated FM Insurance was stalling to pay the claim. Rajabi said he was losing thousands of dollars on cancelled reservations and events. * Center Square | WATCH: IL Hospital Association: $50B rural hospital fund ‘woefully inadequate’: Illinois Hospital Association President and CEO A.J. Wilhelmi acknowledged the $50 billion fund for rural hospitals. “But I think we would all agree that when we’re talking about $50 billion out of a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid, that is woefully inadequate,” Wilhelmi said sitting next to Pritzker Friday. “Nevertheless, these funds are critically important to rural hospitals and providers in this room and across the state of Illinois.” * WIFR | Illinois sees record-breaking tourism in 2024: According to data from Tourism Economics, Illinois saw 113 million domestic and international visitors spending $48.5 billion in 2024. That’s an increase of 500,000 visitors and $1.3 billion more than in 2023. Visitor spending generated $4.7 billion in state and local tax revenue, and supported nearly 300,000 jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry, according to the report. The increase in tourism also led to a 14% increase in hotel tax revenue, totaling $367 million. * Capitol City Now | Frank Lesko to run for Illinois Senate seat: Former Springfield Alderman, City Clerk and Park Board member Frank Lesko — the current Sangamon County Recorder — says he wants the seat in the Illinois Senate currently occupied by former city colleague and Democrat, Doris Turner. * Capitol News Illinois | Trump threatens Illinois’ federal funding for eliminating cash bail: “It’s clear that the president really hasn’t read any of the background or actually what’s happened as a result of the law being put in place,” Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters in Decatur on Tuesday. […] Illinois’ law does not automatically allow people charged with felonies to remain out of jail before their trial. Local prosecutors decide whether to petition a judge to keep a person detained as they await trial, and the law directs the justice system to cite and release most low-level, nonviolent offenders. * WNIJ | Illinois has significantly increased MAP grant funding since the budget crisis. What has it done for college affordability?: “If you go back a decade, the MAP grant (max award), at least at NIU, was covering about 38% of tuition and fees,” said Jensen. “Today, that is covering about 60% of our tuition fees.” Jensen says another thing to note about MAP is that it’s a first-come, first-served system. During the budget impasse, funding ran out quickly. At NIU, it meant that around 10% of students who qualified for awards didn’t get any. * Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools’ debt has hit over $28,000 per student. Here’s what that means: In the years before the 2008 financial crash, district officials also engaged in risky borrowing in an effort to lower interest rates on existing debt that backfired when the economy collapsed, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. And in the mid-2010s, at a time of intense financial strain before the state overhauled how it funded public education, Chicago’s school board did what officials today call “crisis borrowing” — much of it to pay for servicing its existing debt. * Chalkbeat Chicago | About 200 students with disabilities in Chicago don’t have classroom placements as second week of school begins: Although CPS added nearly 100 new cluster programs in the past two years with classes exclusively for students with disabilities, families were notified in an Aug. 15 letter that there are “limited seats available.” District officials said the delay is not impacting all special education programs, just students slated for placements in cluster programs. Cluster classrooms are only for students with disabilities and serve up to 10 students in early childhood education programs and 13 students from kindergarten up until a student ages out of the school district at 22, according to district officials. * Sun-Times | Civil rights attorney with history of suing CPD to serve as Mayor Johnson’s strategy chief: Sheila Bedi is a clinical professor of law at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and director of the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic. The clinic describes itself as providing “students with opportunities to work within social-justice movements on legal and policy strategies aimed at redressing over-policing and mass imprisonment.” […] Bedi was also the attorney who represented activist Miracle Boyd and persuaded the city to compensate Boyd with a $280,000 settlement for being roughed up and having her front tooth knocked out by a Chicago police officer during a 2020 protest at the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park. That statue has since been removed from its pedestal. And Bedi served on the legal team for the family of Dexter Reed, who was shot to death by police officers in 2024 after Reed shot and wounded one of them during a traffic stop. A $1.25 million proposed settlement that would have compensated the Reed family stalled in the Council’s Finance Committee amid opposition from pro-police Council members. * Tribune | Family members raise questions about arrest after video appears to show officers throwing punches: After about a minute, as Douglas continues to resist, the video appears to show one officer punch him in the stomach. “Why you punch me?” Douglas is heard asking. The officer replies: “You just punched me” as Douglas then says, “I didn’t punch you.” The second officer then swings twice at his face, according to the video. The video did not appear to show Douglas punch the officer, though the officers partially block him from view of the camera. * WBEZ | Johnson to appoint new CPS board member ahead of tight budget vote: Ángel Vélez is a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant with a doctorate in education policy, organization and leadership, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He’ll be sworn in at Thursday’s board meeting to represent District 9A on the South Side, a seat that has been empty since June. In a statement, Vélez said he brings his professional experience and lived experience as an Afro-Latino man who went to Clemente High School in Humboldt Park and now lives in West Englewood. His child attends a Chicago public school. * CBS Chicago | Lawmakers call for federal relief after repeated flooding on Chicago’s West Side: Also Tuesday, leaders on the city’s West Side called for flood relief from the federal government. The West Side has been hit hard by flooding in recent years. This summer, many West Side residents had their homes inundated after significant rain on July 25. Some got hit again last week. Many residents are dealing with expensive repairs and costly mold removal projects. * Tribune | Chicago police issue community alert after latest antisemitic stickers, graffiti found in Hyde Park: Since June, vandals have tagged eight locations in the South Side neighborhood — including a mailbox, stop sign, emergency bell and lockers — with stickers or graffiti carrying antisemitic messages, the latest found Monday afternoon in the 1300 block of East 53rd Street, authorities said. * NBC Chicago | Restaurant launches legal fight to restore Chicago Riverwalk location: Robert Gomez, owner and operator of Beat Kitchen, says city officials pushed him out at the conclusion of a five-year contract without providing an explanation of why, and he’s fighting to get his location back along the Riverwalk. Tuesday marked the first hearing in civil court on the matter, with Gomez having filed a lawsuit against the city. * High Speed Rail Alliance | Metra’s South Chicago Branch and the Illinois Quantum Campus: The Quantum Campus brings attention to a unique Metra line: the Metra Electric District South Chicago Branch, a 4.7-mile spur from the Metra Electric Main Line, built in 1883 by the Illinois Central Railroad, and electrified with overhead wires in 1926. The South Chicago Branch is the only Metra line that operates entirely within Chicago, it’s electric, no freight trains operate on the branch, and it serves the densely populated urban neighborhoods of South Shore and South Chicago. With minimal upgrades, it would operate more like a CTA L line than a traditional Metra commuter rail line. * WTTW | Chicago Grocery Mart Owner Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison For Defrauding Millions in SNAP Benefits: Prosecutors alleged Alhawa maintained multiple checking accounts at different banks set up to receive benefit payments purportedly redeemed through his store. From 2011 to 2019, Alhawa fraudulently redeemed SNAP and WIC benefits for non-eligible items or cash even though no eligible food items were ever sold by Olive Mount Mart to those recipients or their designees. Alhawa admitted in a plea agreement with the government that he caused a loss to those programs of more than $8.3 million. * Daily Southtown | Calumet City calls for new trial in document destruction lawsuit against Clerk Nyota Figgs: The lawsuit claiming Figgs illegally shredded records shortly after Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones first entered office was thrown out last month when Judge Joel Chupack found the city’s case “woefully insufficient.” Jones and Figgs independently won reelection to their seats this year in a race characterized by political divisions and personal attacks. Calumet City requested the judge hearing a separate lawsuit overrule Chupack’s verdict or grant a new trial, after Chupack denied a city request for extra time to file posttrial motions on Aug. 20. The city also filed a motion asking to enforce a settlement it says was reached with Figgs before Chupack ruled. * Daily Herald | ‘Hiring slushie’: Aurora mayor to limit filling of vacant city jobs: Aurora Mayor John Laesch plans to limit filling vacant municipal jobs, as he believes the city should rein in spending amid a potential $29 million budget deficit next year. Laesch outlined his plans Monday, as he and city finance officials discussed the general fund portion of the budget they are preparing for 2026. Laesch said he is instituting a “hiring slushie,” under which city departments won’t be able to hire new people to increase staff or fill vacancies without first getting approval from his office. * Naperville Sun | Gun-related arrests at Naperville Topgolf now top 15 for the year: Officers conducting a foot patrol of the Topgolf parking lot at 3211 Odyssey Court about 10:30 p.m. Aug. 21 observed a handgun in plain view inside an unoccupied Kia Forte, Naperville police spokeswoman Kelley Munch said. Upon further investigation, they learned the registered owner of the vehicle, identified as Wright, did not possess a valid FOID card or a concealed carry license, Munch said. He also had a previous felony conviction out of Indiana. * Evanston RoundTable | New Illinois law protecting students is ‘relief’ in Evanston immigrant community: Mendoza told the RoundTable that COFI members had brought up concerns about the safety of kids in schools. She specifically cited concerns about information and data privacy. Both Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston School District 202 are Safe Haven School Districts. Neither district asks for student or family immigration statuses, and they are never asked to provide documentation regarding their immigration status. * Daily Herald | Extra trains on track for Metra BNSF riders and more stops on the UP West: Here’s what it means to you: On the UP West Line from Chicago to Geneva, up to four stops will be added at off-peak hours. […] For BNSF riders traveling between the suburbs and downtown, two additional morning trains will make stops from Lisle to Downers Grove, then head straight to Union Station. On the evening commute, two trains will travel express from Chicago to Congress Park, then make all stops until Fairview Avenue; two other trains will express to Downers Grove, then stop at all stations to Aurora. * WCIA | Carle announces expanded services in CU as OSF shrinks: The healthcare landscape in Champaign-Urbana is getting a shakeup as one provider reduces services in the region and another expands its services in response. OSF previously announced that it will be consolidating its hospital system into two campuses and closing down several of its units in Urbana. Carle, meanwhile, expects that this will result in a substantial increase in the number of patients at its hospital, adding to an already high demand. * WGLT | Access-to-care gaps persist in updated Community Health Needs Assessment for McLean County: A foundational planning tool used to tackle some of McLean County’s most pressing health challenges has just been refreshed. It’s the first update to the Community Health Needs Assessment in three years. The document packed with data will be used in many ways, including the creation of a new three-year health improvement plan. The three significant health needs selected for action are access to care, behavioral health (including mental health and substance abuse), and healthy eating and active living, the same as last time. * BND | Controversy over cemetery solar farm draws Belleville Diocese into fray: For at least two decades, the Catholic Diocese of Belleville has been leasing a small section of Mount Carmel Cemetery land to a trucking company that’s digging a borrow pit and hauling out fill dirt, east of the burial grounds on the bluff. The operation didn’t attract much attention until last year, when a group of local residents began fighting the city of Belleville’s plan to buy nearby Mount Hope Cemetery, clear-cut 25 acres of woods and build a solar farm. City and solar officials addressed environmental concerns, in part, by portraying the solar farm as the lesser of two evils. Mount Hope’s fate would be so much worse, they said, if the trucking company or some other private developer got control of the land. * WCIA | Decatur PE teacher among those arrested during human trafficking operation: Olson is listed on the DPS staff directory as a PE teacher at Eisenhower High School, and on Tuesday, the district sent a recorded robocall to parents to address the matter. […] “ The district is aware of the recent arrest of an employee. In accordance with the court’s * WSIL | Cairo Alumni Launch Labor Day Revitalization Effort: Organizers are inviting all Cairo High School alumni to join the first annual Labor Day Revitalization event on Saturday, August 30, 2025. The community-wide effort will focus on cleanup and beautification projects designed to spark pride and show what’s possible when neighbors work side by side. Organizers say there are several ways to show your support. You can volunteer your time, donating supplies, make a financial contribution, or simply just spreading the word. * AP | Researcher who has distorted voter data appointed to Homeland Security election integrity role: Pennsylvania activist Heather Honey is now serving as the deputy assistant secretary for election integrity in the department’s Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans, an organizational chart on its website shows. The political appointment, first reported by Democracy Docket, shows how self-styled election investigators who have thrown themselves into election conspiracy theories since 2020 are now being celebrated by a presidential administration that indulges their false claims. Her new role, which didn’t exist under President Joe Biden, also comes as Trump has used election integrity concerns as a pretext to try to give his administration power over how elections are run in the U.S. * Working Economics Blog | Unions can play a critical role in safeguarding reproductive freedom: When looking at these state policies, it’s worth noting that many of the states with abortion protections are also states with higher levels of unionization. Our recent report documents the strong correlation between high union density and a range of economic, personal, and democratic well-being metrics. In the same way unions give workers a voice at their workplace, unions also give workers a voice in shaping their communities. * AP | A US tariff exemption for small orders ends Friday. It’s a big deal to some shoppers and businesses: Although the president previously ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will require vetting and be subject to their origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%. For the next six months, carriers handling orders sent through the global mail network also can choose a flat duty of $80 to $200 per package instead of the value-based rate. * NBC Chicago | The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses: As of July 1, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) program has reduced surveillance to just two pathogens: salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told NBC News. Before July, the program had been tracking infections caused by six additional pathogens: campylobacter, cyclospora, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia. Some of them can lead to severe or life-threatening illnesses, particularly for newborns and people who are pregnant or have weakened immune systems.
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Open thread
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * “The world’s first Grateful Drag band BERTHA performing ‘Mississippi Half Step’ by the Grateful Dead at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, CO on June 17, 2025.” Well, OK then… They say that Cain caught Abel rolling loaded dice * What’s going on in your neck of the woods?
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.
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