Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Tribune…
![]() Illinois families are already stretched thin and a delivery tax would push them even further. For Illinois residents, delivery services are essential, not optional. Working parents, seniors, and those with limited mobility rely on them for groceries, meals, and everyday needs. Now, a proposed delivery tax threatens to raise costs on the families who can least afford it. Learn more about the impact of a delivery tax and why we MUST stop it. * Press release…
Uniejewski had just $29K in his campaign account at the end of September.
…Adding… The Will County Executive Office…
* Semafor | Governor JB Pritzker on Chicago, ICE, and the information war with Trump’s White House: This week, Ben and Max bring on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to talk about how he’s navigating a communications crisis and a messaging battle against the Trump White House in the new media landscape. They also talk about how conservative media is shaping the situation on the ground, what he thinks of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s trolling approach to Trump, and whether we should bet on the Chicago Bears. * The Southern | Mueller launches campaign for Illinois State Senate: Tamiko “T.C.” Mueller is hoping her message of unity, economic growth and working across party lines will help carry her to victory next year as she seeks the open seat in the Illinois State Senate’s 59th District. Mueller formally launched her campaign this week, aiming to return the seat to Democratic control after Gary Forby last held it from 2003 to 2017. She told supporters she’s ready to bring a fresh voice of action and results to Springfield. * Tribune | ‘Feeling the pain’: Chicago’s federal court starts reducing operations amid ongoing government shutdown: The ongoing federal government shutdown is starting to have dire consequences at Chicago’s Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where money has run out to pay staff for non-essential duties and jury trials are being canceled amid growing uncertainty. The shutdown, which began Oct. 1, initially affected only civil litigation involving the United States as a party since the court keeps a reserve of funds that allow most operations to continue. * Block Club | Belmont Cragin Business Owners Beg For Support As ICE Fears Devastate Sales And Closures Loom: The Northwest Side neighborhoods have seen increased immigration arrests and ICE activity in recent weeks under the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration operations — ICE’s Midway Blitz and Border Patrol’s At Large — which started in September. That has stoked fear among would-be customers, with foot traffic and sales dropping, business owners said. “It’s been really difficult. We could close the restaurant if we don’t get more business in the next two months,” said Jesus, the manager of Las Casitas restaurant, 5746 W. Belmont Ave. in Belmont Cragin. Jesus, who has worked for the restaurant since 2020, asked to not have his last name published out of fear federal agents would target him. * Block Club | Unmarked Officers At Calumet Park Station Aren’t Immigration Agents, Coast Guard Says: The officers are “additional Coast Guard security forces,” not immigration agents, U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson and Lt. Cmdr. Steve Roth told Block Club Thursday. Additional security was deployed in response to “destruction of Coast Guard property at the station and threats made against Coast Guard members,” Roth said. * Sun-Times | Ex-CBP chief details ‘unreasonable use of force,’ ICE cites ‘brazen’ hostility in dueling lawsuit narratives: A day after President Donald Trump summoned 300 Illinois National Guard troops into federal service, one of his immigration enforcement officials 700 miles away in Illinois sent an email praising the people who turned out to be “the difference maker” in calming local protests. His email didn’t brag about soldiers, border agents or any branch of federal law enforcement. Instead, the official wrote that the Department of Homeland Security “did not have to intervene with any protesters” the weekend of Oct. 4 — after the Illinois State Police showed up outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. “It’s clear that ISP is the difference maker in this scenario, and we are grateful for their leadership,” Peter Sukmanowski, assistant director of ICE’s Chicago field office, wrote. “Hopefully, we can keep it up for the long-haul.” * Block Club | Chicago Cyclists Are Buying Out Tamale Carts To Keep Vendors Home And Safe From ICE: Cycling x Solidarity, a collective of Chicago cyclists who organize group rides and mutual aid efforts, will host a Street Vendor Bike Tour Saturday with the Street Vendors Association of Chicago. The ride will begin 10 a.m. at Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park and wind through Pilsen and Little Village, where the group will buy food from street vendors. * WBEZ | ‘Incredibly important’ Imagist Roger Brown gave his collection to Chicago. How’d it end up in Wisconsin?: Against this backdrop comes a new exhibition at the Kohler Center that gives audiences a look of Brown’s visual world and what inspired his cartoonish, folksy style and depictions of semi-imaginary architecture and landscapes. The exhibition, located at Kohler’s satellite Art Preserve and running through spring 2026, shows only a fraction of the newly acquired objects but aims to provide visitors with an introductory taste of the artist’s vast collection, which it plans to fully showcase down the road. * Tribune | More arrests outside Broadview ICE center as protests continue: Friday’s confrontation was the first in almost a month to take place on Beach Street after federal officials removed what the town called an illegally constructed fence from outside the facility. Protesters began to chant around 8 a.m. Friday in violation of Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson’s recently issued order that protests only occur between 9 a.m. and 6 a.m. * Block Club | State Police Led Broadview Protesters Into Street And Attacked Them, Demonstrators Say: About 8:15 a.m. Friday, state police told a crowd of about 100 protesters they could go into the street — but then attacked them with billy clubs and arrested several people, activists said. […] In a statement, Illinois State Police said “a number of individuals repeatedly blocked a street” outside the facility and “after providing repeated instructions and opportunities to move to the designated protest areas, 11 individuals were ultimately arrested.” * MediaITE | Democratic Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh Claims Cop Hit Her With Baton During ICE Protest: Abughazaleh, who is running for Congress in Illinois’s 9th district, was among numerous protesters at the ICE facility in Broadview on Friday morning when Illinois State Police advanced while clutching batons. “Cops led us into the street as the new ‘protest zone’ and then beat us repeatedly,” Abughazaleh said in a social media post. “Got hit in the face with a baton. Leaving to pick up my friends who were arrested.” * Tribune | Aurora’s proposed 2026 city budget includes funding, staffing cuts: In total, the budget proposed for next year is $163.6 million less than this year’s, city officials told reporters at a meeting on Thursday. That decrease, which sets the overall budget at around $569 million, is mostly because of bonds the city took out this year for big construction projects, according to Mayor John Laesch. Actual cuts to the city’s main operating fund made throughout the budget process totaled around $19 million, or around 7% of the starting budget, city officials’ presentation showed. The proposed 2026 budget still has a difference between revenue and expenses of $2.5 million in its main operating fund, down from the nearly $30 million deficit that officials said the budget had earlier in the process. * Daily Herald | More cargo, more problems? Why retired suburban police chief is leading fight against heavier trucks: To former Buffalo Grove and Cary Police Chief Steve Casstevens, the formula is obvious: bigger, fuller and heavier trucks equal bigger, more and worse crashes. That’s why the retired law enforcement leader has found a new role helping to lead the fight against proposals before Congress allowing more densely packed semis on federal highways. “There’s never been a study by anyone saying higher weights are safer,” said Casstevens, who also served as president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. “Common sense, engineers and truck drivers will tell you higher weights mean more crashes. Everything tells us it’s a bad idea.” * Daily Herald | Schaumburg panel endorses more flexibility on when apartments must switch from heat to A/C: Last month his air conditioning was turned off a week before the Sept. 15 requirement for heat to make the transition. During the hot days that recurred for the rest of the month, not only was he without A/C but the heat was actively on. “There’s radiant heat coming from the vent,” Finch said. He shared a general email from the management of The Grove explaining to residents the village’s requirement to maintain a temperature of at least 68 degrees from Sept. 15 to June 1. * WIFR | Federal courts in northern Illinois reduce operations due to government shutdown: If the shutdown continues after Judiciary funds are exhausted, the courts will then operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows work to continue during a lapse in appropriations if it is necessary to support the exercise of Article III judicial powers. Under this scenario, each court and federal defender’s office would determine the staffing resources necessary to support such work. * WSIL | Southern Illinois regions receive portion of $2.5M for childhood development: The award, consisting of 43 subcontracts for fiscal year 2026, is funded by the Illinois State Board of Education. Since fiscal year 2023, Birth to Five Illinois has invested a total of $11,875,000. The organization has provided funding to 35 out of 39 regions in Illinois. This demonstrates their commitment to enhancing existing Early Childhood Collaborations and investing in less-funded areas. * WSIL | New ADA doors enhance accessibility at Alexander County polls: These changes aim to improve accessibility for all residents in the county. Doors are already in place at the Tamms community building. The Olive Branch community building and McClure City Hall are set to have their doors installed next week. * WCIA | 2025-2026 Wooly Worm Forecast: Judy Fraser is back in the studio with us this season with the 2025-2026 Wooly Worm Forecast. Watch her full forecast above as she talks more about the Wooly Worms, how she forecasts with them and some memories from over the years. * LA Times | Susan Stamberg, NPR ‘founding mother’ and ‘All Things Considered’ host, dies at 87: Stamberg joined NPR in the early 1970s when it was getting off the ground as a network of radio stations across the country. During her career, she interviewed thousands of people, from prominent politicians and artists to the less well-known like White House chefs and people who work behind the scenes in Hollywood. She explained in an oral history interview with Oregon station KLCC in January that she didn’t have women in broadcast to model herself after when she became the host of “All Things Considered” in 1972. * AP | US blocks a global fee on shipping emissions as international meeting ends without new regulations: The world’s largest maritime nations had been deliberating on adopting regulations to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels to slash emissions. But U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia and other countries vowed to fight any global tax on shipping emissions. The U.S. had threatened to retaliate if nations support it. Trump urged countries to vote “No” at the International Maritime Organization headquarters in London, posting on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday that “the United States will not stand for this global green new scam tax on shipping.” * United States Courts | Judiciary Still Operating as Shutdown Starts: If the shutdown continues after Judiciary funds are exhausted, the courts will then operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows work to continue during a lapse in appropriations if it is necessary to support the exercise of Article III judicial powers. Under this scenario, each court and federal defender’s office would determine the staffing resources necessary to support such work.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - News update (Updated)
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Musical interlude: ‘I’ve Been Everywhere in Illinois’
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * From comments this morning…
* The video…
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Catching up with the federal candidates
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * 8th CD candidate Melissa Bean…
Click here for more on that poll. Melissa Bean reported a $540K fundraising haul for Q3, but 299K was self funded.
More from the Tribune…
* Evanston Now…
* Playbook…
* US Rep. Bill Foster…
* More…
* Daily Herald | Two newcomers in 6th Congressional District race: Two political newcomers are running for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District seat, a post now held by Democrat Sean Casten of Downers Grove. Chicagoan Joseph “Joey” Ruzevich has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission indicating he’ll challenge Casten in the Democratic primary. Additionally, Shorewood resident Skylar Duensing is seeking the Republican nomination.
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Critical 340B Program Needs Federal Reforms
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] A federal program created in 1992 to support safety-net clinics with the care they provided to uninsured patients is being abused by for-profit pharmacies and large hospital systems. The 340B program has become a cash cow with profits flowing away from the very patients and communities the program was meant to help. Reform at the federal level is critical to ensure that the 340B program works as it was intended by providing necessary funds to safety-net clinics that serve some of the neediest patient populations in Illinois and across the country. Multiple investigations have found that the program has created perverse incentives for hospitals to prescribe more and higher-cost medicines, as well as buy up smaller independent clinics and practices to benefit from their prescriptions as well. Meanwhile for-profit pharmacies are making millions of dollars off hospitals, with no requirements to provide low-cost medicines to patients. Sisters Working It Out supports reforms that increase transparency and improve oversight to help return 340B to its original purpose of helping low-income patients and the safety-net clinics they rely on. Congress must act to reform this critical federal program.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign news
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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It’s Time To Bring Safer Rides To Illinois
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Waymo is ready to bring safe, reliable, autonomous rides to Illinois – but we need your help! Waymo is designed to follow all traffic laws and obey speed limits, and the data shows Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are involved in five times fewer injury-causing collisions compared to humans (as of 6/2025, see waymo.com/safety). Let’s bring safer rides to Illinois. ![]() Waymo’s autonomous vehicles can improve access to transportation for Illinois residents with travel-limiting disabilities like vision impairment, to reach medical care, groceries, and social activities. Waymo’s all-electric autonomous vehicles also provide a more sustainable way for people to get around, preventing 315+ tons of carbon emissions with every 250K trips provided through our ride-hailing service.
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Republican state legislator: ‘I don’t trust billionaires’
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Background is here if you need it. Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) was asked yesterday about Gov. JB Pritzker winning $1.4 million playing Black Jack in Vegas last year…
Rep. Keicher did not mention the names of any other billionaire politicians.
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Keep ROFR And Anti-Competitive Language Out Of The Energy Bill
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Voters and the Governor already rejected lawmakers’ push for anti-competitive “Right of First Refusal” (ROFR) bills that handed transmission contracts to incumbent utilities. Now, the same principles that would raise costs on ratepayers are back. They are trying to rebrand ROFR and pretend it’s about protecting Illinois. As energy legislation is finalized in Springfield this month, let’s keep ROFR and anti-competitive language out of bill. Let’s remember Illinois voters:
• 76% say anti-competition laws only strengthen utilities, not citizens. • 75% say ending competition drives up prices and kills savings. The message is clear: voters want more competition, not less. Voters’ concerns about higher energy prices are only on the rise. Since this poll, they’ve endured a sizzling summer with skyrocketing prices, and a new report says the cost of heating a home this winter is expected to jump nearly 8%. Voters have made their voice clear: Say no to energy inflation. Don’t hand more power and control to ComEd and Ameren. Say no to ending cost-cutting competition. And say yes to policies that provide lower cost to consumers.
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Chief US Border Patrol Agent: Pritzker has ‘more in common’ with ‘terrorist drug cartels than he does with American citizens’
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * The latest outrage of the day started with a federal government press release…
* Except, Bojovic was apparently cleared by an FBI background check and the village said its officials were informed by the feds that he had legal authorization to be in the country…
As he was being taken away, Bojovic told a right-wing influencer embedded with federal police that he did not have a FOID card. Police in Illinois are not required to have a FOID card for on-duty responsibilities. They cannot possess firearms when not on duty, however. The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board cleared Bojovic in August for police duty, but ILETSB’s backgroud investigation is only limited to conduct and criminality. “We are not the employing agency,” a board official said. “Under federal law, it’s the employer’s obligation to ensure citizenship or that the person they’re employing is here legally,” which the village claims to have done. * Despite the reported facts, Fox News is all-in on the hype…
Doubt has been cast on that bounty claim. And the feds have not yet mentioned these alleged threats in their court filings over federalizing the National Guard here.
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Vote YES On HB 2371 SA 2 To Protect The 340B Program And Invest In Low-Income Chicago Communities
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Sinai Chicago serves an area including 1.5 million people on Chicago’s West and Southwest sides, where poverty rates range from 30%-50%. As the state’s largest private safety net provider, Sinai considers the federal 340B program a “safety net in and of itself.” With 340B savings, the health system has provided patients with free or deeply discounted medications, and it has invested in specialty clinics and medication management services. Yet, drugmaker restrictions on hospitals have reduced Sinai Chicago’s ability to expand access to care and offer new healthcare services—counter to the 340B program’s intent. The program requires drugmakers participating in Medicaid to discount outpatient medications to healthcare providers caring for uninsured and low-income patients. One glaring drugmaker restriction is limiting where patients can get discounted drugs. In some instances, hospitals are only allowed to contract with one pharmacy for an entire community. “Such a policy does not ensure access to essential drugs for a patient population like the one Sinai serves,” the health system said. “The threat and fear of 340B program reductions can prevent planned extensions of care and new programs in clinical areas greatly needed in our community that would not otherwise have access to care.” Support House Bill 2371 SA 2 to stop drugmakers from restricting the 340B program and patient access to care. Learn more.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: SNAP benefits slated to be cut off on November 1. WSIU…
- As a result, SNAP customers will not have access to any new food benefits starting on November 1, unless the government is re-opened. - SNAP is a 100 percent federally funded benefit and the federal government withholding payments to the state would impact all 1.9 million recipients in Illinois. The state administers more than $350 million in SNAP benefits each month, funding that feeds families in every corner of the State. * Related stories… Sponsored by Ameren Illinois
* STLPR | Judges recommend state regulators cut Ameren Illinois’ rate hike request by $44M: The final decision will be left to the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is expected to make a ruling by Dec. 1 in the case. However, consumer advocates are celebrating the judge’s recommendation and hoping the commission cuts the request even further. “For the sake of Ameren’s customers, who have suffered through one gas rate hike after another, we urge the Illinois Commerce Commission to go far beyond the proposed order — and slash Ameren’s money grab,” said Jim Chilsen with the Citizens Utility Board on a call with reporters on Thursday. * Tribune | ‘Political opposition is not rebellion’: Chicago appeals court leaves judge’s order barring National Guard deployment intact: In its 18-page ruling, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the findings by U.S. District Judge April Perry were not “clearly erroneous” and that “the facts do not justify” President Donald Trump’s actions in Illinois. The three-judge appellate panel unanimously agreed with Perry that even giving the president “great deference” when it comes to his power to call up the military, there was no evidence that he needed troops to help enforce immigration law or quell any kind of organized rebellion. * Chalkbeat Chicago | Illinois releases draft numeracy plan to improve math education: The first draft of the “Comprehensive Numeracy Plan,” unveiled during an Illinois State Board of Education meeting Wednesday, comes as Illinois students’ math scores continue to lag behind where they were five years ago before COVID-19 shuttered schools and disrupted learning. The draft plan outlines evidence-based practices for improving numeracy and the intent is to give districts resources to plan strategically, but schools are not mandated to follow it. * Subscribers know more. Crain’s | Illinois lawmakers weigh hospital protections as ICE enforcement intensifies: It is unclear what steps a hospital or health care facility can take if Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents arrive with the intention of arresting or detaining a patient, although providers are already blocked from providing patient information to agents by federal HIPAA regulations. A proposed bill being discussed in Springfield this week could provide some protection and policy direction to hospitals if ICE shows up, state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, told Crain’s. * WJOL | Legislators pass weight exemption for ‘greener’ vehicles: State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, defended House Bill 2394 on the Senate floor Wednesday. “We’re trying to balance infrastructure transportation with trying to use alternative methods that can lower carbon emissions. This is one way that one of the manufacturing businesses in my district has decided to help and have a greener footprint, so that’s what we’re doing,” Loughran Cappel said. * CNI | Former military leaders decry National Guard deployment in Illinois: During a Thursday news conference, several speakers pointed to troop deployments in Memphis, Los Angeles and other cities. “Today we have to draw a line in the sand, respectfully, firmly and without equivocation,” Janessa Goldbeck, a retired Marine and head of the Vet Voice Foundation, said. “This is not normal, this is not American, and this is not what the military is for.” * WMBD | Discover Peoria CEO worries over a decrease in tourism at Springfield committee: According to Dalfonso, the U.S. is predicted to have 6.3% drop in international tourism. Most of that drop is due to Canadian travelers not traveling to the U.S., according to Dalfonso. Federal government changes on international travel, including an increased wait time on visas, have negatively impacted tourism across the country, according to Dalfonso. * WAND | Lawmakers hear about impact of tariffs on Illinois manufacturing, tourism: The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association told lawmakers Thursday that this industry is split on tariffs since it is a complex issue. IMA President and CEO Mark Denzler said tariffs can be an effective tool if countries are cheating or gaming the system by failing to follow trade agreements. However, manufacturers also need stability and predictability. * BND | Illinois Rep. Charlie Meier faces fines for blocking Facebook comments: Poettker was represented by Bond County attorney Tom DeVore, who declined to comment because his law license was suspended for 60 days by the Illinois Supreme Court. DeVore, who previously ran as a Republican for Illinois attorney general and has filed lawsuits against Gov. JB Pritzker over executive orders issued regarding the COVID pandemic, began serving his suspension on Oct. 10. * Chicagoland Journal | Chicago Political Trailblazer Emil Jones Jr. Celebrates 90th Birthday: Political leaders across Illinois and the nation are celebrating the 90th birthday of Emil Jones Jr., the longtime Illinois Senate President whose influence helped shape a generation of leaders — including former President Barack Obama, who once called him his “political godfather.” * NOTUS | Democrats Lay Out ‘Damning’ Examples of ICE’s Tactics in Chicago: “The federal government has effectively invaded an American city, as gunmen atop armored vehicles train their sights on civilians, agents rappel from Black Hawk helicopters onto an apartment complex rooftop, and officers routinely shoot at and deploy chemical agents against civilians,” Reps. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the committee, and Chuy Garcia, who represents the Chicagoland area, wrote in the letter. The five-page letter from Judiciary Democrats says not only has the Trump administration gone against the wishes of local authorities with its deployment of National Guard troops into Chicago but have taken things a step further by using violent tactics against protesters and journalists. * WTTW | Chicago to Pay $35.6M to Settle 6 Police Misconduct Cases: Nine months into the year, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $266.8 million to resolve nearly two and a half dozen lawsuits, exceeding the city’s annual budget to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct by nearly $185 million, city records show. It is unclear how the city will find the money to make the payments approved Thursday by the City Council, since it has already exhausted the $82 million officials set aside to cover police misconduct settlements and judgments in 2025. * ABC Chicago | Federal agents take people into custody at Back of the Yards flea market, protesters detained nearby: Witnesses say as many as 30 federal officers swarmed a flea market, taking multiple people into custody who tried to run away … while leaving fear and uncertainty with the vendors left behind.”Federal agents detained several people at a Swap-O-Rama flea market located near 41st Street and South Ashland Avenue in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. * Sun-Times | Chicago Housing Authority contractor accused of ‘intimidating’ staff: After being confronted about her “exorbitant proposals,” the contractor turned hostile toward staff at the housing authority, threatening to complain to the CHA’s chief executive or the board, the I.G. said. WBEZ has learned the vendor at the center of the I.G.’s investigation was Angela Parker — the sister of longtime CHA Commissioner Debra Parker. The station reported last week that the CHA has paid a combined $22 million to Angela Parker’s cleaning and construction firm and two companies who also have close ties to Debra Parker. Those other companies who do business with the CHA are owned by Debra Parker’s boyfriend and the commissioner’s daughter. * NBC Chicago | New data show pedestrian traffic in the Loop surpasses pre-pandemic numbers: The Chicago Loop Alliance said it’s seeing a positive trend in visitors, tourism, and money spent in the Central Business District despite the national conversation around crime in the city. “The rhetoric is not true about Chicago and the things that we see with our own eyes as Chicagoans on a daily basis are real like statistically proven to be more accurate and positive than what the media is portraying nationally and what the administration is portraying nationally,” Ariella Gibson of the Chicago Loop Alliance said. * Daily Herald | Arlington Heights board rejects ban on sleeping in public places: “Anything that targets and creates consequences for someone based on housing status has been and will be perceived as criminalization of homelessness,” said Trustee Bill Manganaro, one of five board members who opposed the new rules Wednesday night. “Arlington Heights is moving into a leadership position in terms of visibility, certainly in the Northwest suburbs and throughout Chicagoland, and the Bears are making it more national with every time they talk about moving here. What we do here about this issue will survive any of our terms on this board.” * Sun-Times | ICE arrests Hanover Park officer who allegedly overstayed visa, but village says cop had valid work permit: Radule Bojovic, a native of Montenegro, was “encountered during a targeted enforcement action,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He remained in immigration detention as of late Thursday in the Clay County Justice Center in Indiana, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detainee locator. According to the Village of Hanover Park, Bojovic presented a valid and recently renewed work authorization card when he was hired back in January. The department also conducted a full background check with Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. * Oak Park Journal | Oak Park changes enforcement of gas leaf blower ban over ICE activity: Oak Park leaders considered scrapping an ordinance that a trustee said sits at a bone of contention between two of the village’s progressive values — prioritizing environmental sustainability and being welcoming to immigrants. Oak Park village trustees questioned the appropriateness of the village’s ban on gas powered leaf blowers in response to the widespread fear that’s taken hold of the local Hispanic community as result of intense federal immigration enforcement seen throughout Chicagoland in recent months. The federal government says it’s arrested more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants in its so-called Operation Midway Blitz, which has also led to chaotic scenes across the region and allegations that federal agents are illegally violating residents’ rights and racially profiling Latino people. * Elgin Courier-News | Elgin police officer put on leave after Facebook post about ICE immigration efforts: Officer Jason Lentz’s page is no longer available online but it featured an “I Stand With ICE” emblem next to his name when he posted this on Oct. 5: “If I were from ICE, I wouldn’t check La Movida at 840 N State St in Elgin looking for undocumented. There is definitely none there! Also wouldn’t check the flea market where the Milk Pail used to be at 14N630 Rt 25 in West Dundee; no way they’d find anyone there. And I wouldn’t check out The Elgin Mall in East Dundee, located at 535 Dundee Ave — I guarantee there’s no undocumented there either!” […] It is the second time Lentz has been linked to a questionable social media post. The first was in 2014 when he wrote, ““Hmmm…innocent victim my ass. Did society a favor,” in reference to an unarmed Black man who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, triggering riots and civil unrest. * Daily Herald | ‘Deeply disturbed’: Lawmakers demand answers about ICE actions in Hoffman Estates: The video, taken from the window of a house Friday, Oct. 10, shows officers pulling over a sedan on a residential street and dragging the 18-year-old from the passenger side of the vehicle. As she screams in protest, she is forced to the ground then placed into one of the agent’s vehicles. A Hoffman Estates patrol vehicle appears briefly in the video and pulls away as the scene plays out. ICE agents later stopped in the parking lot of the Hoffman Estates Police Department, where a crowd that included Illinois Rep. Fred Crespo and his attorney daughter Jennifer Crespo gathered. * Daily Herald | Preckwinkle bans ICE operations on Cook County property: The order will prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using county sites for any enforcement actions, including staging for and debriefing from operations, according to a statement from Preckwinkle’s office. “It is critical that the government’s interactions with the public adhere to our nation’s laws and values,” Preckwinkle said in the statement. “Yet, ICE’s increasingly aggressive, inhumane and unlawful actions continue undermining the safety and stability of our communities.” * ABC Chicago | Harvey requests to be declared ‘financially distressed’ under state law during special meeting: The designation was approved, and they city will request for the state to take control of the city’s finances. After the contentious meeting with the south suburb taking the step to declare itself a distressed city, they are preparing for all the political fallout that entails. Harvey citizens filled a local church to witness a hastily-called city council meeting, where the mayor sought to pass an ordinance that opens the door to the state helping to bail out a city that is $164 million in debt with little ability to pay its bills. * Daily Southtown | Tinley Park District 146 approves teacher contract with 6% salary increase over 5 years: The board voted 7-0 in favor of the contract after it was approved by 72% of union membership. In a news release issued Tuesday, District 146 board President Julie Berry said with contract negotiations behind them, district leaders are “moving forward with optimism.” “While negotiations can be challenging, they reflect the deep commitment we all share to our schools, our students, and our community,” Berry said. “Together, we look ahead with continued dedication to providing the highest quality education and environment for the students of District 146.” * Naperville Sun | Naperville data center vote delayed after opponents flood commission meeting: Residents remained negative to the development even with Karis Critical Member announcing that plans had been scaled back to just one 211,000-square-foot, 36-megawatt data center being built on the 40-acre property, rather than the two initially requested. “This is an opportunity to find investment in the (Interstate 88) corridor that has been lacking,” Karis attorney Russ Whitaker said at the Wednesday night meeting. * WGLT | Stalled Route 66 Bike Trail project back on track with nearly $2 million state grant: This trail project extends the trail along a 9-mile stretch within the county near Towanda, heading north to the Livingston County line near Chenoa. The nearly $1.9 million award, which the McLean County Board announced during its meeting on Thursday, comes from the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] Local Project Funding Grant Program. * WAND | Macon County State’s Attorney adds domestic violence investigator to strengthen victim support: State’s Attorney Diane Couri has hired longtime law enforcement officer Shannon Gutierrez Seal as a part-time domestic violence investigator. It’s a move Couri said that is already changing lives across the community. The idea came after noticing the widespread problem in Macon County. Couri said the majority of arrests right now are domestic violence, domestic battery, violation of an order of protection, and domestic-related arrests. * Illinois Times | Peoria rally planned for first day of trial: The rally, which organizer Chama St. Louis-Boone said will be peaceful and is designed to “support the Massey family” and call for “accountability of police,” will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a blocked-off section of Main Street between Adams and Jefferson streets. Sontae Massey, a cousin of the late Sonya Massey, said, “Peoria is set to be ground-zero, for lack of a better term, as to what we will accept in regard to how policing and police killings are judged from this moment on.” * NYT | Trump Refiles His $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against The New York Times: A federal judge had previously dismissed the complaint as unnecessarily lengthy and digressive. The president claims that The Times sought to defame him during the 2024 election. * 404 Media | Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors: “We welcome new ways for people to gain knowledge. However, AI chatbots, search engines, and social platforms that use Wikipedia content must encourage more visitors to Wikipedia, so that the free knowledge that so many people and platforms depend on can continue to flow. Sustainably,” the Foundation’s Senior Director of Product Marshall Miller said in a blog post. “With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”
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What Illinois Can Learn From Texas On Battery Energy Storage
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] As Illinois confronts skyrocketing electric bills, legislators are on the hunt for solutions that provide relief as quickly as possible. Battery energy storage is our best and most cost-effective solution. But last session— without evidence —opponents attempted to claim that battery energy storage wouldn’t work. Try telling that to Texas, where the rapid deployment of battery storage has already prevented blackouts and saved consumers billions. Called “Ground Zero for the US Battery Boom” by Bloomberg, Texas added enough storage in 2023 to power 3 million homes and drop grid emergency risk during peak hours from 16% to less than 1%. The result? Storage saved consumers an estimated $750 million in 2024. Texas has proven that storage is the quickest, cheapest, most reliable way to get consumers relief from skyrocketing, demand-induced price spikes. Storage is a nimble way to address growing populations, power-hungry data centers, and meet other electrification-related power needs. These are benefits Texas saw from storage even as the state reduced its gas generation capacity by 166 MW last year. Illinois lawmakers should follow Texas’s lead and pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Act this fall to deploy 6GW of energy storage by 2035. Click here for more information.
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Good morning!
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Friday, Oct 17, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news on the website formally known as Twitter. We’re experimenting this week with a new app which feeds Bluesky posts. Still tweaking it…
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