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Northern Illinois Transit Authority interim Executive Director Jamie Rhee $350,000 annually while she collects a taxpayer-funded Chicago pension exceeding $213,000 a year. “This is not the reform that people were promised,” state Sen. Don DeWitte said. “I think this is simply business as usual by Chicago and Cook County Democrats who ultimately now control our entire mass transit system.”
Truth in Accounting founder and CEO Sheila Weinberg said Illinois’ taxpayer burden is $36,900, and the state does not currently have the money to pay $166.3 billion in bills. “In the private sector, this would be considered bankruptcy, but in the state of Illinois, they claim everything is good."
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Illinois recently enacted the Transportation Network Driver Labor Relations Act, which establishes a statewide bargaining unit for rideshare drivers and creates a process through which an exclusive bargaining representative may be certified.
“Let me be clear up front: Violent criminals who are undocumented and convicted of violent crime should be deported. I do not want them in my state. I don’t think they should be in the United States,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in December 2024. Since then, Pritzker and the Democrat-controlled Illinois legislature have done nothing to tweak Illinois’ sanctuary laws.
With tight races for the Illinois General Assembly taking place across the state, some downstate races receive less attention than some of the races in the Chicagoland area – even as many downstate races may be just as close this year.
"For (Gov. JB) Pritzker, the decision also presents a political opportunity. As he looks toward the 2028 presidential election and considers his legacy, opting into the scholarship credit could help set him apart. ... Leaving an available federal tax benefit on the table makes little sense when it could help Illinois families secure educational services their children need."
Quigley: “Putting aside the recent law we passed to sanction Russia, in 2022 we passed a law that said that we can not buy energy from Russia,“ said Quigley. “So [Trump’s] violating that law [too].”
According to the indictment filed Oct. 7, Andrea Wellington, 35, was hired by the Illinois Department of Employment Security through a subcontractor in July 2021 to work as a customer service representative to handle calls from people seeking unemployment benefits.
The Digital Asset Kiosks Act created new requirements for operators, including reporting of kiosk locations and consumer protections to address fraud and scams. This law established a transaction fee cap of 18 percent at crypto kiosks and limited daily transaction amounts for new customers to $2,500
On Oct. 2, the Illinois Policy Institute sent cease-and-desist letters to 17 school districts in Tazewell County, alleging that school boards appeared to have authorized the use of public funds to urge voter support of the referendum. Days later, Americans for Prosperity Illinois asked Attorney General Kwame Raoul and state's attorneys in Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will counties to investigate whether 24 local taxing bodies used taxpayer resources to campaign for more taxpayer money.
The incumbent’s optimism seems to be cresting for a resolution arriving five years after the Bears’ drive for a new home began, 11 months after the team’s first Hoosier threat — and a few weeks after the polls close.
The institute also links to a University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health page addressing “weight stigma and fatphobia in public health.” The UIC guide attributes historical changes in attitudes toward fatness to “racism and eugenics.”
Two weeks from the midterm election, some statehouse races are close, potentially putting some Chicagoland-area GOP seats at risk of flipping and creating more of Democrat dominance in Illinois.
Reason Foundation’s Public Schools Without Boundaries report evaluated open enrollment laws based on seven criteria, including whether districts are required to allow transfers between schools and districts, transparency requirements and parents’ ability to appeal rejected applications. Illinois and 32 other states got Fs.
Falling enrollment does not eliminate taxpayer exposure. Illinois’ payment error rate (a measure of overpayments and underpayments, not fraud) reached 14.67 percent in fiscal 2025, significantly higher than all its bordering states and fifth-highest among the 50 states. Failing to improve the error rate could cost Illinois hundreds of millions of dollars.
Jones was charged with bribery in 2022, with charges alleging he agreed to help a red-light camera company block unfavorable legislation in exchange for $5,000 and a job for his legislative intern. Shortly after, Gov. JB Pritzker called for him to resign. Jones entered into a deferred prosecution deal in December to leave him with no conviction so long as he paid a $6,800 fine, stayed out of legal trouble and admitted to certain illegal conduct, including making false statements to the FBI.
"Last fall, Illinois passed an ambitious law requiring 3 gigawatts of batteries on the state’s grid by the end of 2030. In August, the Illinois Power Agency, which procures electricity on behalf of the state’s large utilities, ran an auction-type proceeding to hand out incentives for companies promising to develop these batteries. The results were mixed. Statewide, deals were made for 600 megawatts of storage — less than two-thirds of the target that the law set for the initial procurement."
Jim Dey: "(Gov. JB) Pritzker has tried to be diplomatic about the movement, urging downstaters unhappy with the state of the state to 'stay,' 'get involved' and 'make (Illinois) a better place.' 'But if you want to leave, get up and move,' he said in a 2025 interview."
"Am I scaring anyone yet? Because the real ghouls children should be dressed up as for Halloween are the politicians who made promises with your money for services and contracts that most Illinoisans cannot afford."
It has been a rollercoaster ride when it comes to pricing for the Bears stadium relocation. A move to Indiana was priced at over 60 percent probability in May 2026. A new location in Illinois jumped to over 55 percent by July of 2026. After another flip-flop, "a new location in Illinois" has settled as the preferred outcome, at least with traders.
The ballot question asks, "Should the Illinois General Assembly establish reasonable limits on the percentage of a public school district's operating budget that may be spent on central administration, with the goal of directing more funding to classrooms?" Illinois law currently limits the growth of certain administrative spending for most school districts (not Chicago).
Land is cheaper, Indiana passed comparable tax exemptions and the sites sit about 25 miles from downtown Chicago. Andy Cvengros, of JLL’s U.S. Data Center Markets team, points first to Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, which he said has created enough uncertainty around how AI data is handled that hyperscalers have pulled back or canceled major projects.
"Researchers know how to communicate with academic audiences, but not necessarily with the general public. The curriculum makes it plain that not every research conversation needs to be funny in and of itself; but by using the stage savoir-faire explained throughout the workshop to personally engage those they address, researchers can repair the trust lost in some of these communities and walk away with better, clearer data."
Illinois’ unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in September. The rate was down 0.1 percentage point from August, when the revised rate was 4.7 percent, and up 0.1 percentage point from September 2025. The labor force shrank 0.1 percent from August and 1.3 percent over the year.
"It’s understandable that (Gov. JB) Pritzker is dismayed by the higher costs the state faces because of the 14 percent (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP) error rate penalty. But it would be a wiser approach to view the situation as an incentive to fix what’s not working and save what’s currently being stolen. Reacting with anti-Trump anger misses the point entirely, even if this is an election year."
"The policy of Tribune Publishing’s Board of Directors is that we do not formally endorse in this race, nor that of governor.... Stratton is to the far left of her party; Tracy is on the moderate wing of his. But by moderate wing, we don’t want to imply he’d be a Republican revolutionary. And, given where we are at this moment, many will conclude that will just not be enough."
The new site, called Disappeared in America, is backed by Pritzker's Illinois Accountability Commission and documents roughly 
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“There’s greater evidence of working people being pushed out of the city of Chicago than any sort of claim of the possibility of a business leaving Chicago. Working people are being forced out of cities across America. Corporations are not,” Johnson said.
Prosecutors allege Rajesh Patel, 53, of Schaumburg, fabricated approximately 380,000 negative COVID-19 test results for tests the laboratory never completed and submitted them to a federal program that reimbursed providers who administered tests to people without health insurance.
While the Justice Department agreed governments, like Evanston, can seek to remedy "specific, identified instances of past discrimination," that is not what they city is doing in this case. Rather, the federal filing asserts, Evanston is all but simply doling out grants to black current and former residents of Evanston, and their descendants, solely on the basis of race.
The plan estimates a $610 million (of the overall $9 billion plan) to improve Union Station to allow trains to run through it. If that happened, someone in Aurora could take the BNSF line through downtown all the way to O’Hare. More Highlighted Chicago Area Stories
Despite attempts to change the law, Illinois remains among the strictest in the nation for felony thresholds for theft and retail theft laws. Retailers, though, say profit margins, particularly for small businesses, are tight, and they want to see shoplifting taken seriously.
"I recently invited several Chicago police officers to visit my community center, Project H.O.O.D. They came in full Chicago blue uniforms, with their police visor caps with the checkered bands, and their guns. At first, there was tension in the room. ... The gulf was profound, and that is why I invited the police in to do my part to repair the damage done by the defund the police movement, one encounter at a time."
A DHS spokesperson said an FPS Protective Security Officer reported an active shooter on federal property, which prompted a response from the Chicago Police Department. Officers responded to the scene and took one person into custody.
Ald. Marty Quinn questioned why state lawmakers would let the city raise taxes without recouping any of the money for the state’s own budget gaps. “I think the mayor may be utilizing a Springfield agenda to distract Chicagoans from his own shortcomings in his budget-making process,” he said.
For residents trying to escape poverty, these conditions can compound each other. When violent crime is common, businesses may be less willing to open, expand or invest in a neighborhood. Residents may be less willing to spend time in local businesses or feel like they can travel safely to jobs and services.
"Black political power includes the right of Black elected officials to tell a Black mayor no. Demanding that everyone who looks like us vote alike once we reach the table isn’t empowerment. It’s obedience. ... And I won’t accept that questioning this administration’s math makes me a tool of corporations, a cause of crime or a party to anything resembling the Three-Fifths Compromise."
Keith Hill, president of Amalgamated Transit Union local 241, said the placement of 50 Cook County Sheriff's officers on CTA lines has had a positive impact on safety across the transit system where available, while Chicago Police Department efforts have been a waste of taxpayer funds.
"Sacks’ self-promoted narrative aims to portray himself as a selfless, successful businessman driven by a desire for good governance. While there is no doubt that he relishes and covets the spotlight as a major influencer while screaming persecution at the criticism, the fact remains that his company has been a massive beneficiary of earnings secured through the management of city, school district, and state pension funds."
Oscar Soto’s quest for a certificate of innocence stands apart in a sea of cases in which current and former inmates claim they were wrongfully convicted. His case raises a question: What happens when someone who maintains his innocence knowingly accepts a conviction because he believes the alternative is worse?
They included Ald. Chris Taliaferro, chair of the council’s police and fire committee, who was out of town during the hearing. Amid a deadly surge in domestic violence, the city poured millions of dollars into a floundering program that survivors and advocates called a misuse of resources.
"In the short term, Chicago’s controversial tax-increment district financing program is increasingly lucrative and serves as a much needed lifeline for the school system’s financial crisis. But in the long term, it muddies Chicago Public Schools’ budgeting process and hardens its financial dependence on the city."
The lawsuit is but one of many the city has faced in recent years related to police chases that ended in a crash in which someone has died. Most recently, the Illinois Supreme Court left the city no choice but to pay $10.5 million to the family of a man who was killed by a criminal fleeing police in 2018, rejecting the city’s appeal of a 2023 Cook County jury verdict.
"Palatine, Illinois, police allege that Alexandros Paporakis had plotted a 'mass shooting of Indian people' at a Hindu temple in nearby Aurora. ... The attempted attack is part of a broader pattern: internet-radicalized, lone-wolf shooters, often young men, plotting or carrying out bias-motivated attacks. The archetype is increasingly the face of twenty-first-century domestic terror. But the effective check against it remains the same as ever: zero tolerance, whether the behavior is based on hate or otherwise."
He has made little headway with city residents since NORC/Mansueto began measuring mayoral approval in the second quarter of 2025. His approval rating has stayed below 30 percent, and his disapproval rating has remained above 50 percent in every survey except the first three months of this year,
As security personnel escorted the demonstrators out of the auditorium, one audience member shouted, "Rough her up!"
"The report’s first footnote says that on Oct. 9, CPS told the inspector general that Dominguez 'is still on a ‘special leave’ relating to his position with the [redacted].' If this is union leave from his job at CPS, it’s the same arrangement Mayor Brandon Johnson has used. ... A June 2023 internal CPS memo from the district’s chief talent officer flagged his employment status as a potential conflict of interest in his dealings with CPS. A school board president who is also a CPS employee on leave would raise the same questions."
The Obama Foundation, former President Barack Obama's private nonprofit, reported 172 employees receiving more than $100,000 in salary in its 2025 tax filing, roughly half its 342 reported employees - led by CEO Valerie Jarrett at $771,000.
"We're here for a singular purpose and it's reminding people to vote," said Ald. Timmy Knudsen.
According to New Life Center, a group of volunteers had taken teens to Feed My Starving Children on Friday night to pack meals for families in other countries. Two staff members and another volunteer were all injured, and were taken to area hospitals for treatment. A fourth victim was also hospitalized, though it was unclear if the individual was just a bystander.
A Northwest Side man who has been arrested five times this year is now charged with first-degree murder, accused of beating a homeless man to death in Belmont Cragin just two days after being removed from electronic monitoring but still on pretrial lease in a separate case involving allegations of aggravated assault and possession of a replica firearm.
"It's not that I want to, but I have to," Kass wrote, describing his struggles with brain fog after suffering five strokes in three years.
The executive order establishes a Mayor’s Office on Aging (MOA) and creates a working group to explore how to re-establish a Department of Aging in city government. That agency merged in 2009 with the Department of Family and Support Services. Johnson said he would include money for a new director of the Office on Aging in next week’s budget proposal.
Charter school backers and a few prominent billionaires aligned in a shared antipathy for the teachers union have aimed their millions attacking the Chicago Teacher Union’s choice for board president rather than at bolstering any particular candidate.
"This process was tainted from the start. The Mayor's hand-picked CPS Inspector General rushed a finding to meet the deadline he publicly demanded, sending a devastating message to every girl weighing whether to report abuse," the 16 alders wrote. Mayor Brandon Johnson has maintained support for Dominguez despite the allegations against him.
Eighteen-year-old write-in candidate Alexander Angeles aligns with the progressive Chicago Teachers Union and was heavily influenced by his teachers at Hancock High School. He considered circulating signatures earlier in the year, but said he didn't want to oppose incumbent Cydney Wallace. Then she was kicked off the ballot.
Over half a dozen police district councils asked the city to look into whether police are complying with the city’s sanctuary policies and executive orders Mayor Brandon Johnson passed to limit cooperation with federal immigration agents and guide the department’s interactions with them.
Homebuyers in Chicago are walking away from home purchase agreements as the U.S. housing market struggles with rising mortgage rates, high home prices and weakening demand, according to a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin.
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To top it off, Stratton is funded mostly by Gov. JB Pritzker, who has long purported to be a rock solid supporter of Israel's right to exist. El-Sayed is anything but. SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
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What Pritzker doesn't tell you that it cost taxpayers billions, not millions, in higher taxes to get those upgrades, vastly exceeding the savings. 
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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.
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