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Top Illinois Stories
Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson speaks exclusively to Fox News Digital as they expand their ‘Free Enterprise’ campaign to Chicago, Illinois, naming Gov. Pritzker as runner-up for Florida’s ‘Economic Developer of the Year.’
"I‘m not focused on the streamers and what they‘re saying. There‘s a whole lot of them and they got a whole lot of views," Pritzker said when asked if the Democratic Party should outright denounce the streamer, citing Piker's position that Iran having a nuclear weapon would bring more stability to the Middle East.
Jim Dey: "It’s a wise strategy for Stratton. She has a negligible background in elected office and virtually no exposure to national and international issues. As of now, the low-profile Stratton stands to coast into the Senate, and she’s not about to risk that possibility by letting the public in on her views."
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The bill "would create a new human- and community-centered federal department," Ramirez wrote in the announcement to promote "collective safety." Ramirez was joined at the announcement by Ald. Jessie Fuentes, state Sen. Graciela Guzman, state Rep. Norma Hernandez, and Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vasquez.
Asked if early voting resulted in additional staffing costs and taxpayer impact, Rock Island County Clerk Karen Kinney said, “Oh yes, it does, because we have to bring in election judges. There are additional employees throughout the election season."
Credit rating agencies reward a government’s demonstrated ability and commitment to meeting its short-term financial obligations. Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly met them not through structural reform but by asking more of Illinois taxpayers.
A handful of counties will also have advisory questions, including on a potential “Millionaire’s Tax” or whether a consolidation effort should be undertaken for townships, school districts and more.
Attorneys for Randall Stafford told justices the Pretrial Fairness Act states defendants should be given credit for each day they are subjected to electronic monitoring or home confinement pretrial.
Officials from Chicago, Bloomington and Peoria all said their cities engage in long-term contracts to procure both regular gasoline and diesel fuels at fixed rates, mostly avoiding recent market fluctuations.
It’s an opening for candidate Darren Bailey due to Gov. JB Pritzker and the Democratic supermajority’s failure to get stadium legislation across the finish line this spring. But it’s also a tightrope. Bailey has campaigned as fiscal conservative and taxpayer watchdog.
Attorneys from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed another lawsuit challenging Illinois' new so-called medical assistance in dying (MAiD) law, seeking again to strike down the law they say enshrines a "regime of death" and attempts to conscript religious health care practitioners against their will, in violation of their First Amendment rights. After bringing a lawsuit on behalf of Chicago's Roman Catholic Cardinal and a group of nuns who run elder care and health care facilities in Illinois, the new action lands on behalf of four Muslim physicians.
The governor signed an executive order Tuesday, and will name his AI Cabinet members “in the coming weeks” to work alongside numerous state agency leaders, including from the Department of Innovation and Technology, the Department of Public Health and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. They’re expected to come from backgrounds in academia, law, ethics and governance, and provide recommendations on potential public safety threats, protecting public assets and evaluating possible regulations, according to Pritzker’s office.
Republican Illinois attorney general candidate Bob Fioretti said the U.S. Postal Service should have authority to establish uniform requirements for handling mail-in ballots, while Democratic Attorney General Kwame Raoul has challenged the federal rule in court.
The rest areas where the centers are located will continue operating.
Bringing rideshare drivers into a union could reduce employment for drivers and raise prices.
Growing Muslim populations spark controversy.
Revolution Medicines’ new drug for one of the deadliest forms of cancer traces its molecular origins to a University of Illinois chemistry lab. But for the state’s growing biotech sector, it’s another painful “what could have been” story: The company that turned the research into an FDA-approved drug, catching national headlines in the process, is now in California, not Urbana.
Russia has seized control of an Aptar Group Inc. plant, reportedly handing control of the site to the nephew of the iron-fisted ruler of Chechnya.
"Chicago provides the case study everyone can see and no one is required to act on...." Municipal bond buyers "deserve a ratings framework that says what the numbers say when the numbers say it, not two cycles later. Until the three major agencies publish a timeliness standard, an A1 or A rating on a state carrying a 40% funded pension system means considerably less than the letter suggests."
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in August, down -0.2 percentage point from July, and up +0.4 percentage point from the same month, one year ago, based on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s net worth has jumped by $1 billion since first taking office and now stands at $4.2 billion overall. And even though he had a major jump in his net worth over the last year, he dropped in the overall rankings of the richest people in the world.
Pritzker’s comments drew immediate criticism from Republicans. On X, an account managed by the Republican National Committee said the governor “refuses to condemn Hasan Piker,” as it alleged Piker believes “America deserved (the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks) & America is worse than Al-Qaeda.” On Friday, Emanuel, who most recently served as U.S. ambassador to Japan in President Joe Biden’s administration, noted Piker also said Communist China’s regime is the “model” for America and that the fall of the Soviet Union was “one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century.” Emanuel called the “pound for pound” comment “a ridiculous
"That’s why, in 2024, I made Illinois one of the first states in the country to cover GLP-1s on the state employee health insurance plan. Saving money and saving lives seem like two of the most laudable goals we could achieve in government."
Professor Justin Marlowe, director of the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, said state and local governments are already borrowing at higher interest rates because of their relatively low credit ratings (Illinois has the lowest credit rating of any U.S. state.) and concerns about their long-term financial sustainability. “Increasing interest rates make that problem worse," he said.
Licensing determines whether someone must get government permission and often spend time and money before legally working in a particular occupation. This burden affects more than 20 percent of U.S. workers and close to 25 percent of working Illinoisans.
"Even Ohio and Iowa, after trending Republican for years, are battlegrounds in the midterm elections."
“You can't do this state by state. This needs to be a national effort as well as an international endeavor, especially together with our allies, because AI is not going to go away,” Pritzker said. He personally prefers Claude for researching public policy. 
Asked why the state is spending so much taxpayer money when the homelessness problem does not appear to be getting better, state Sen. and task force member Li Arellano said, “That’s a great question."
An Injustice Watch investigation showed the Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit — the elite squad of state lawyers who typically handle cases when local prosecutors have conflicts — has faced accusations of ethical breaches, including withholding evidence and favoring political insiders, while operating with little public oversight.
Top Chicago Stories
William Quinlan, who announced his candidacy for mayor last week, is arguing that a recent change to Illinois’ election calendar has created a legal conflict that did not exist in previous election cycles. He points to the Secretary of State’s statewide responsibilities and its regulatory and supervisory functions involving municipalities.
Speaking in New York at “Powering Justice: Data Centers and Building a Just Digital Future,” a panel discussion led by the NAACP Center for Environmental and Climate Justice and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Mayor Brandon Johnson said, “Looking at this issue through an environmental justice lens is absolutely necessary, because in the name of economic growth it has been Black and Brown communities that have had to bear the risks of pollution and environmental issues."
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With Renee Hatcher’s appointment, Johnson is also recasting the Law Department’s priorities. He wants to see more affirmative litigation — a legal approach of proactively going after bad actors to protect consumers and residents from abuse. “We have to be far more aggressive in protecting working people” because of the rise of “right-wing extremism,” he said.
"The children who live on the West Side and South Side did not all disappear. They chose not to go to their neighborhood public high schools. I cannot blame them. Students stuck in these schools tell me they can't learn because the teachers cannot control the rowdier kids. There's a lack of discipline, and rules are hardly enforced. Some students even tell me that some teachers don't even try and just pass the kids. So kids know that if they challenge the teachers and make trouble, they will often give up and award them a passing grade."
“So you don’t think the Mayor is entitled to have a background check done on someone who opens a business in town?” the lawsuit quoted the mayor telling plaintiff Josh Watson. He said he was then fired in that same meeting.
The move represents a bright spot for a city that has lately seen high-profile confectionery plant closures like Blommers’ and Mars Wrigley’s in addition to Ferrara, which shuttered the Jelly Belly plant in 2024. As far as Sweet Stash is concerned, Chicago remains “Candyland USA,” Ezra Potash said. “Every major candy brand is manufactured here, all the innovation is happening here.”
Some CPS parents say they want a stronger firewall to protect against electioneering on school grounds. It comes after a nonprofit affiliated with the Common Ground Collective, a group heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks that opposes the Chicago Teachers Union, paid for the DJ at a back-to-school fair and handed out fliers that directed to endorsements.
"The mayor bragged about being part of a 'radical tradition of shifting power and disrupting the status quo.' He didn’t have many accomplishments to cite besides resisting the Trump administration’s immigration policies, opposing data centers, and pouring more funding into public schools and mental-health clinics. He presented his fiscal recklessness as a victory, since he didn’t balance the budget 'off the backs of working people.'"
Once slated to be part of the Lincoln Yards megadevelopment, JDL Development and Kayne Anderson Real Estate now plan to build more than 3,700 homes as well as a hotel, office buildings, shops and restaurants as part of the $3 billion Foundry Park. The city subsidy means that Chicago’s affordable housing ordinance requires 20 percent of the new units, or 709 new homes, to be set aside for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans.
The CTA assignment would be voluntary for Chicago police officers, who would get overtime pay. “And it's been a program that many of us that are former police officers have worked, and I believe that it works," said Ald. Chris Taliaferro, who is a retired police officer. "And I think I certainly believe that it's going to be instrumental in mitigating some of the crime we see on our trains.”
Geoffrey Cubbage, of the Better Government Association, said CPD has far exceeded its line item for misconduct settlements every year since 2020. “Pretty much everybody knows that it is not sufficient to meet the amount the police department is going to face every year, but they've still never changed that in the budget,” Cubbage said.
"Asked about the proposal and potential TIF assistance, Johnson again declined to take a position. Instead, he once again played the artful dodger — quoteth the Mayor — 'community voice has to be centered in all of this;' he then made the absurd assertion that the proposal demonstrated business confidence in Chicago and his administration."
Lester Barclay's election as chair means the revamped boards of the CTA and commuter rail system Metra will both be led by people who have chaired their boards before.
Shannon Stephens, 24, pleaded guilty to both robberies. Judge Carol Howard sentenced him to six years on each case, with the sentences running concurrently. With the state’s standard 50 percent sentence reduction for good behavior, along with credit for time spent on electronic monitoring and in jail, Stephens is expected to be released Sept. 7, 2028.
Attorneys for the city are expected to argue this week that Chicagoans have a right to know what happens to officers accused of the most serious misconduct, while police union lawyers are set to tell the justices that Chicago police officers should be treated no differently than other municipal employees facing termination or lengthy suspensions and have those decisions made in private.
Chicago’s corporation counsel is appointed by the mayor and can be removed at the mayor’s discretion. Allegiance to the mayor may affect legal decisions, such as whether to pursue litigation against politically connected interests.
"Last year at this time, the situation was even worse. ... The primary culprit identified then by county officials was Texas-based Tyler Technologies, the vendor the county chose over a decade ago to modernize its ancient computer systems. ... This year? Tyler doesn't appear to be the problem. Or at least we haven't heard county officials make that case. ... Unsurprisingly, no elected official at the county level is raising their hand to take responsibility. You know how it is. This kind of thing just … happens."
Residents shared videos showing crowds gathering during the day and late into the night. They also provided images from an incident in which cars were shot up. "They need to bring some officers over here to get these people out of this gas station," one person can be heard saying. "There's like 200 people up in there."
The system had three chances to stop Alex Cusick. Each time, he was released. On the fourth arrest, prosecutors say, he escalated from stealing restaurant tip jars and hopping a CTA turnstile to violently trying to rob a woman in the Loop.
"With disinvestment and gentrification — especially on the South and West Sides — Chicago is confronting declining housing stock in some neighborhoods and property taxes on owner occupied homes and rental properties driving up rents, leading to displacement. The shortage of affordable rental housing is increasingly severe, and requires more than another bureaucracy."
"Simply put, the city cannot come to Springfield demanding legislators magically find $150 million for Chicago Public Schools while simultaneously refusing to implement a law that has already passed and would ultimately generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for the city and state."
As in previous years, most departments stayed within their allotted budgets in 2025. CPD’s $145.8 million overspend was the largest departmental net variance, positive or negative. The Chicago Department of Aviation had the largest departmental net under-spend, coming in $134.3 million under-budget.
"And the state could help. Illinois in 2025 passed a new law allowing the State Board of Education to award grants to school districts that embark on reorganization feasibility studies. Districts can receive up to $16,000 for studies examining factors like school capacity and building closures. Today, CPS has no real framework for addressing the problem of under-utilized schools."
"In the face of the first mayoral administration in our memory to treat corporate Chicago as an enemy, the Civic Committee is trying to show Chicagoans that, while the business community doesn't have all the answers to the city's numerous challenges, the people who've made a success of themselves here and provided countless Chicagoans with careers to support their families do know a thing or two about problem-solving."
"While Whites have a right to be offended by his antics, the real tragedy is that in the end his policies are punishing the Black community, as businesses and middle-class residents of all races leave the city, eroding the tax base, which leads to higher taxes, reduced public services, and fewer job opportunities — disproportionately harming vulnerable, low-income Black residents who remain."
Several south suburban local governments were among the group that requested much more than they got. City of Harvey officials, for example, sought $24 million from the loan program; The county ultimately loaned the city about $1.7 million. CPS did not officially apply for the $109 million leftover in the county's allocated fund, which a CPS spokesperson said was an inadequate amount to meaningfully help with its yawning shortfall.
"According to some of the protestors, they related that they were 'staging' in the middle of street and blockings ICE agents from entering/exiting onto the property, which ensued confrontation with the ICE agents," according to village spokesperson.
Wirepoints Research and Commentary
Ballots start going out next week and Stratton has yet even to attempt to show that she’s qualified for the Senate. She has assessed that Illinois' media environment and one-party political culture will let her get away with hiding. 
State investment totals have skyrocketed since 2015 from about $10 billion to over $41 billion and political abuse of the money has been common. The money is currently returning just 3.7% per year. SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
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Most of Illinois' local municipal pensions are distressed and hundreds are deeply distressed, imposing a costly drag on the towns and cities that sponsor them. 
There's an irony surrounding the battles over solar farms in Illinois. Residents are being forced – through mandatory surcharges in their electric bills – to pay for the very subsidies that help make solar projects profitable. Their own money is being used to finance solar farms that many residents don’t want. That’s exactly what’s playing out in Effingham today. 
Summary and audio 
Much of the routine trade and investment between China and America is entirely appropriate and in America's interest. But inserting the Chinese Communist Party into America's pay-to-play system and its economic development strategy isn't just crossing a line. It's a leap into an abyss of stupidity. 
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