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Top Illinois Stories
"The rejection of her petition came without dissent or comment from any Supreme Court justices. And the rejection came despite warnings from Jeanne Hedgepeth's attorneys and other legal observers that to allow the lower courts' decisions to stand would essentially give the green light to public school districts to censor and potentially fire teachers and other school staff, should they say things that might offend the political sensibiities of students, other faculty or others in the 'school community' who may cause a commotion in protest of the disfavored speech."
Senate Bill 2873, introduced by state Sen. Mike Simmons, would create the Illinois Health Services Program, a single, state‑administered health care system designed to replace most private insurance and expand access to care statewide. Eligibility under the plan is based solely on residency, not citizenship or immigration status.
The governor and his allies in the statehouse have introduced legislation that would remove some zoning control from municipalities to clear a path for faster development of multiunit housing. They are facing opposition from a group of cities and towns. More Highlighted Illinois Stories
Tom Demmer and Ravi Mishra, of the Illinois Policy Institute: "A Medicaid-style program for undocumented immigrants ended up costing billions more than expected, and corporate tax changes were adopted without meaningful analysis of their economic effects. That’s not budgeting. It’s guesswork."
"Hard work used to be enough for a middle-class working family to be able to afford a home and put down some roots. Now, with housing prices skyrocketing, young people feel like they’re failing to reach an essential benchmark in life. The truth is, this isn’t about a personal failure; it’s about a policy failure."
“Imagine having to tell a victim’s family the technology that could have identified the suspect was taken off the table by lawmakers,” state Rep. Patrick Sheehan of Homer Glen said on social media last month.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance announced the lawsuit Tuesday against Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, challenging the constitutionality of the Illinois Firearms Owner’s Identification Card.
The short time for a budget to be reviewed can deter debate and largely eliminates opportunity for scrutiny from taxpayers and even lawmakers themselves. The tactic is used despite laws that outline how a budget bill should be passed.
The new system will use the term “consistent attendance,” the percentage of students present 90 percent or more of the school year. But the revised system also changes attendance from a “core indicator” in the rankings to merely an “elevating indicator.” Why that matters: Strong “consistent attendance” will raise a school’s rating, but a weak performance won’t hurt it.
State Reps. Nicolle Grasse and Kevin John Olickal, and state Sen. Rachel Ventura: "Long term, we need to move to an income tax system that requires the wealthiest to pay their fair share. But urgent action cannot wait for a constitutional fix. That’s why the Affordability and Tax Justice Coalition, a group of more than 40 state lawmakers, has put forward several targeted reforms that would generate the revenue Illinois needs to protect families — without asking working people to chip in one additional dollar.
When asked if he would consider suspending his state’s gas tax, Pritzker said Illinois is a transportation hub and must be careful. “When we stop investing in our roads and our bridges and our water ports and our airports, that's bad for our overall economy, so we have to weigh those things,” Pritzker said.
Nicor's spending has significantly increased since 2015 – mostly attributed to a state law that required the replacement of old delivery pipes. Despite the law’s sunset and all replacements having been completed by 2018, critics say the company’s spending has only continued to trend upward.
State Rep. Tom Weber said he was unaware of there being any issue related to restrooms or menstrual products for women on work sites, despite having worked in the industry. Weber also pushed back on the narrative that the bill would be exclusively beneficial.
"Too much time got wasted by Democrats when we were in control. We should move swiftly in 2029 and boldly to refocus on working families and the most vulnerable, the middle class, and to swiftly enact universal health care, to swiftly enact hiking the minimum wage, and think more broadly about how we make people’s lives easier. We can no longer move incrementally."
In a statement, Illinois State Police Chief Public Information Officer Melaney Arnold said, “ISP may use image matching for an active or ongoing criminal investigation, to mitigate an imminent threat to health or safety, or when there is reasonable suspicion an identifiable individual has committed a criminal offense or is involved in or planning criminal activity, including terrorism, that presents a threat to any individual, the community, or the nation."
Most recently, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she also intends to opt her state in to the program as she is “supportive of the federal tax credit scholarship and its potential to help New York students and schools.” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis plans to opt his state into program, calling it a no-brainer.
The move is good news for students Peoria Public Schools, where 71 percent of third through eighth graders couldn’t read at grade level in the most recent state data.
"Illinois can’t tax or subsidize its way out of decline; the state’s survival depends on reversing mass immigration and restoring an American majority."
House Bill 5776 would impose a 4 percent excise tax on short-term rentals across Illinois, with the money dedicated to a new Community Land Trust Fund to support affordable housing initiatives. The money would be used for development, staffing and technical assistance for community land trusts, which aim to create permanently affordable housing.
Some cited the Pritzker administration’s slow pace in releasing “a standardized list of demographic classifications” for nonprofits to report. One nonprofit said it simply didn’t know the requirement existed. “Frankly, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher that we’re hearing about this from you and not the state, or our compliance partner, or our attorney,” said Jim O’Kelley, director of the Elks National Foundation.
Years of mismanaged fees and inadequate record keeping have hobbled the state’s efforts to plug orphan wells, which, as of May data from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, reached nearly 3,900 in number. The agency calculates the cost to plug them is around $155 million.
Illinois state Rep. Adam Niemerg, who serves on the Immigration and Human Rights Committee, is calling for the resignation of John Laesch after social media posts and videos circulated online alleging the Aurora mayor shared the live locations of federal immigration agents operating in the city.
Jim Dey: "(State Sen. Chapin Rose, who represents both the UI and Eastern Illinois University) points out that in 1995, Illinois had eight four-year institutions. Now it has 13, he said, and 'everybody has been cannibalizing everybody.' At the same time, other states have been recruiting Illinois-based students. 'Illinois has had a surplus of capacity for 15 years,' he said."
"Republicans are also raising alarms about gun-related legislation pending in Springfield."
In a report provided exclusively to The Center Square, The Oversight Project explains it started looking into a contract Oak Brook, Illinois entered with Fusus police technology after reviewing an inspector general report from Atlanta that included more than a dozen other cities.
Rep. Steve McClure revealed that IDHS was allegedly sending packets to noncitizens that included voter registration applications already addressed to county clerk offices. He warned that such practices create confusion and could open the door to unlawful voter registration.
Fuyao manufactures about 1,200 tons of glass per day and provides glass for one in three cars globally.
Since 2000, retail giants and developers have erected more than 146 million square feet of warehouse space in the Chicago metropolitan area, equivalent in size to roughly 1,400 Home Depot stores.
A spokesperson for the governor’s office confirmed the governor’s team is reviewing the federal tax credit. “We will evaluate the issue through a lens focused on affordability for working families and what best supports Illinois students, families, and public schools,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
Top Chicago Stories
The agreement also calls for the city to build or rehabilitate 2,000 new affordable units accessible to those with limited mobility as well as an additional 840 new affordable units accessible for Chicagoans with limited hearing and sight during the next 12 years, according Managing Deputy Corporation Counsel John Hendricks.
"Chicago is already the nation’s most desirable destination for recent college graduates, and more affordable housing options will only increase our appeal. By attracting these energetic new residents and supporting our existing ones, we can turbocharge the city’s growth. I’ve said before we can conservatively fit 400,000 more people in Chicago — but why make little plans?"
“Didn’t we do that already? I believe the Emanuel administration made the same argument, right? And here we still are. Why are we continuing to ask working people of this city to embrace the same policies of old that continue to fail us?” Johnson asked Thursday during a wide-ranging interview to mark the end of his third year in office.
More Highlighted Chicago Area Stories
David Glockner used his confirmation hearing to differentiate himself from his predecessor. He said he won’t hesitate to “call balls and strikes,” but he added he plans to try to minimize clashes with the mayor’s office by emphasizing “problem-solving over fingerpointing.”
Asked whether she’d be comfortable wearing the hat if the legislation failed and the Bears chose Hammond, Indiana instead, Davis Gates said the bill should have nothing to do with whether or not the Bears choose to go to Arlington Heights. “I have no idea how school funding and the Chicago Bears Stadium are intertwined. Our position is property tax dollars currently go to fund our schools. That's what we want to happen,” she said.
Johnson appeared to argue that pushing for property tax breaks for the Bears was antithetical to lawmakers’ responsibility to their constituents. "The difference or the disconnect is, look, we do come from different experiences," Johnson said. "I’m not a billionaire. I’m not the heir of billions of dollars. I’m a working-class brotha that was teaching middle school a handful of years ago."
"Strengthening both policing and prosecution of property crimes is the key to bringing Walgreens and other businesses back to the South Side. Rhetoric like (Ald. William) Hall’s, by contrast, continues to send the message that Chicago is closed for business."
"There is something profoundly bizarre about the mayor of a financially struggling American city darting off to the Vatican to deliver a White Sox baseball cap to the Pope while the transit system back home increasingly resembles a rolling crime scene."
If the full council approves the $5 million TIF sweep when it meets Wednesday, the move would follow a roughly $1 billion sweep of TIF funds to CPS by the council last December. Days earlier, the Chicago Board of Education raised its property tax levy from 3.8 percent to 4.7 percent during what board president Sean Harden called a “special” meeting held during the district’s winter break.
South Holland city leaders said "a physical altercation occurred among a group of attendees" during the graduation ceremony Sunday at the Thornwood football field. Video of the ceremony shows several people running, throwing punches, including someone in a cap in gown.
A group of Black state lawmakers is calling for accountability at CPS after video of a play at Carver Military Academy on the South Side depicting Latino students auctioning off Black students as slaves went public. In response, the district sent leaders at Carver a pamphlet entitled "10 Practices for Culturally-Responsive and Inclusive School Celebrations."
Separately, police responded to a large teen gathering in Hyde Park Sunday night. Police say a 14-year-old girl was arrested and charged with aggravated battery after she ignored verbal warnings and hit an officer on the head.
“While we are proud of what we have built alongside the Chicago Cubs, we are taking a more focused approach to where we invest in the state,” the company said. “The cost of operating in Illinois, including its high tax structure, makes it more difficult to justify continued investment in a standalone retail sportsbook.”
A federal judge wrote that such rejections had been “virtually unheard of” in Chicago “until Operation Midway Blitz” last year, when grand jurors refused to hand up indictments against three known defendants charged while opposing the deportation campaign.
The pending state case that had Donald Dailey, 32, on the ankle monitor stems from an arrest last May by Chicago police, who charged him with possessing a stolen firearm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The ATF agent alleged that Dailey was wearing the monitor during the gun sales.
The lawsuit details the Oct. 3 encounter, which took place at Humboldt Park Health, after Fuentes was summoned by rapid response group members after ICE agents chased and arrested a man working at a nearby construction site.
The new Regional Transit Task Force is a partnership between her office, the Cook County Sheriff's Office, the Chicago Police Department, CTA, Metra, Pace, and several federal agencies, including the U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, DEA, and ATF.
The mayor wants the city — not Springfield — to control the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the agency that finances public stadiums. That would give Chicago more autonomy over how public stadium money is spent. It's unlikely lawmakers would surrender that authority.
Gov. JB Pritzker also criticized the Chicago mayor when he was asked about Brandon Johnson’s suggestion that the city of Chicago could take over the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. “We’ve seen almost nothing out of the mayoral administration here on that subject or really any other, so to show up in May and have a bunch of demands seems like late in the game, and it’s unfortunate that’s happened most years,” Pritzker said.
"The crisis stems from three converging pressures: Collapsing enrollment, the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds, and a teachers' contract whose costs the district cannot sustain. Compounding the problem is the city's own fiscal stress, which would severely limit Chicago's ability to rescue the school district."
When prosecutors ask a judge to detain someone during their first appearance on a new felony charge at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago, the judge will side with prosecutors nearly 7 out of 10 times. That is, unless prosecutors are asking Judge D’Anthony Thedford.
The ages of the victims range from 19 to 55, according to Chicago police.
"I think this center is going to be an example of what we can do across America in urban areas," Brooks said. "If we don't wait on government and take responsibility for ourselves, we can change the trajectory of these neighborhoods and urban centers."
Nearly 400 households currently are on waitlists to move, records show. About 150 of the requests are labeled an “emergency” by the CHA. And 241 of the transfer requests are to accommodate disabilities. Among the other reasons CHA residents have sought emergency transfers: “infestation … mold … fire.” Records also show 103 transfer requests cite the Violence Against Women Act, and 24 are described by CHA as “not habitable.” This comes as about 18 percent of the CHA’s roughly 21,400 public housing units — 3,978 apartments — are vacant, most of them because they are uninhabitable, records show.
"What’s so interesting about this dynamic in Chicago [are] the intentions versus the outcomes. What does it look like if your goal is European-style social democracy, but you’re elected to City Council of Chicago? What levers do you really have to bring that about? You don’t have a lot."
A new policy at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools establishes “standards for viewpoint-neutral education” and gives teachers guidance on how to handle “contested issues.” The policy says teachers are allowed to take a stance on “widely settled historical judgments,” like denouncing slavery and the Holocaust, but taking a position on current debates is discouraged. A list of “active areas of disagreement in contemporary public debate” where teachers should remain neutral includes abortion, immigration laws and enforcement, policing and climate policy.
On average, 220 homeowners lose their homes to the county's tax sales every year, entitling them to an average estimated compensation of $70,000 each,
"The dying, violent city is scheduled to produce it’s own version of the hunger games. And the city is invited to bring popcorn."
A coalition of community and labor organizations, including Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU Healthcare Illinois, United Working Families and others gathered outside the Amazon warehouse to disrupt the company's deliveries and call upon elected officials to make large companies "pay what they owe in taxes," organizers said. State Sen. Graciela Guzmán was also in attendance.
Wirepoints Research and Commentary
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
Everybody needs a side hustle these days, and mine is Ukraine, where I am now.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
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Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do. 
The state's existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis. 
Illinois lost another 54,000 tax filers and dependents, net, according to the IRS. Since 2000, fleeing taxpayers have taken $94 billion of annual adjusted gross income with them. 
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