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Community activists, including Leo Pargo, have been conducting daily patrols in Little Village and nearby Pilsen to monitor for signs of ICE activity. “Looking for any ICE agents or any potential raids that would be happening. So far nothing,” Pargo said.
First-year state Rep. Regan Deering said people on both sides of the aisle are calling for ethics reform.
Many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire at the end of this year including the current individual tax brackets and standard deduction.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law Tuesday the Dignity in Pay Act, which implements a 5-year plan to phase out subminimum wage authorizations in Illinois for people with disabilities.
Gov. JB Pritzker, whose net worth is estimated at $3.7 billion by Forbes, is one of the 1,000 wealthiest people in the world. As one of the richest politicians in U.S. history, he largely self-funded his two campaigns for governor. But on Tuesday, he raised concerns about the prominent appearance of several large tech company CEOs at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“News of 311 S. Wacker’s sale negotiations sheds light on just how rough the city’s prolonged post-COVID recovery has been, especially for our commercial real estate market. … We want Chicago to return to its roots as the fastest-growing city in the world, and we can become a city on the rise again, but only by reforming government and the way we do business.”
According to CPD, bargoers are being robbed while they wait outside for their Uber or Lyft to arrive. Three or four males approach them and either display a gun or use physical violence. In most cases, the robbers took the victims’ phones and used them to access the victims’ bank accounts.
“None of those threats can really be made effective in a town that isn’t going to cooperate with them because state law is what applies. We follow state law. State law says we don’t ask for someone’s immigration status. We don’t use immigration status as the sole instrument for detaining somebody,” said Ricardo Diaz, director of the New American Welcome Center at the University of Illinoi.
The Chronicle is the last print news publication in Ford County, and every day co-owner Will Brumleve is fighting to make sure that next issue drops and the doors stay open. “Just because it’s rural America doesn’t mean nothing’s happening,” he said. “And if people aren’t there to watch your government, people aren’t there to cover the accidents and crime and, you know, the the people of their communities and their stories, you know, you get all the all the history gets lost, you know, and people can’t make informed decisions.”
Gov. JB Pritzker said he would cooperate with the incoming administration to help the working families of Illinois. “Individual rights are under attack, causing fear for people with disabilities, for pregnant women, for legal immigrants and temporary migrants, for LGBTQ Americans, small business owners and so many others,” Pritzker said. “Our Midwestern values are under siege.”
“I, myself, am a child of immigrants from Haiti. So I’m a birthright baby,” Raoul said. “Birthright citizenship has been challenged in the past and has been upheld by the Supreme Court.”
The group plans to gather Tuesday at the Arch in Little Village to express opposition to mass deportations, described by organizers as a “fascist assault” on immigrants. Details on the specific ICE raids or deportation actions referenced by the organizers remain unclear, as federal authorities have not confirmed these activities.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s opposition rang loud and clear when he vowed to oppose Trump’s plans. “Chicago stands strong: regardless of the circumstances, our commitment to protecting and supporting this city remains unwavering,” Johnson wrote in a social media post Sunday. “We will continue to fight for the justice and safety of all who call this place home.”
Gabriel Calixto was granted DACA status at age 15, but was supposed to be deported after serving time for kidnapping Katie O’Brien. Calixto was released from the Illinois Department of Correction in 2020, and in 2023 allegedly stabbed a woman from Springfield. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has not explained the photograph of he and Calixto that Calixto shared to social media and captioned: “Thanks for all you do for the immigrant community.”
Among them is Rebuild Illinois, a $45 billion, multiyear capital improvement plan passed in 2019.Through it, the state allocated $100 million for early childhood facilities. But in the first round of funding, only eight programs out of 238 applicants received a combined $55 million in January 2023, with most grants awarded in Chicago and suburban areas. No providers in the southern half of the state received funding. A second $45 million round is planned, but no timeline has been announced.
“If President Trump wields his pardon pen for the debt-paid felon, as it is expected he will for January 6th insurrectionists, I believe he will make inroads into the base of the Democratic Party on a scale that we have not seen,” Jackson said.
Ted joined Chicago Tonight to talk about the disruption Trump will bring to Illinois on the border, on energy, on free speech, etc. – but he also talked about how real disruption must come from ordinary Illinoisans, what we must do to really honor MLK day, and more.
Mark joined Ray Stevens to discuss the illegal immigration crisis occurring across the country, what the consequences will be for Gov. Pritzker calling Illinois “the most progressive state,” why the unprecedented pardons issued by Joe Biden matter, the danger of Illinois losing federal grants, Chicago’s credit downgrade, and more.
“As the city of Chicago, we will not bow down to the oligarchs. We will not bow down to a golden calf,” Johnson said, a reference to the Bible’s warning against false idols. “Even as the lawlessness gets revealed, so does the character of Chicago. And we are the greatest love story in America.”
Gov. JB Pritzker called it “a challenging day for Americans” and slammed Trump for arranging prime seats in Capitol rotunda for tech billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. “He does not care about ordinary Americans. You haven’t seen any issuance of any executive orders that would lower prices, or deal with what people have to fight every day. … Here in Illinois, we’re going to stand up, we’re going to fight back, we’re going to follow the law, and we’re going to make sure they’re following the law.”
“I saw Donald Trump make a lot of promises in order to distract the American people from his plan to reward the billionaires sitting in that front row next to his family members and make sure that those folks got a tax break at the expense of hard working families across northern Illinois,” said U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood. “And so I do not have any kind of conviction that Donald Trump is inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., and I take him at his word when he makes these promises to harm families in our community.”
The Illinois law that prohibits local police from detaining a person because of their immigration status was actually signed by former Republican governor Bruce Rauner during the first Trump administration. “I asked leaders in law enforcement, ‘Should I veto the bill or sign this bill?’” Rauner said in 2017. “They all said to me, ‘Governor, this is a reasonable compromise and it will help us do our jobs better.’”
“By all means, Chicago needs to make capital investments. But, to do so affordably, the Johnson administration must cut costs on the operating side of the ledger — something it has shown no willingness to date to do. Something has to give, and the City Council is the only entity with the power to force the mayor to face reality.”
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