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Just one month into the year, the city of Chicago already has run through well over half of the $82 million that Mayor Brandon Johnson set aside for 2025 to cover police misconduct settlements and judgments. There still are more than 220 wrongful conviction lawsuits pending.
The alleged attack comes just days before early voting opens for Cicero’s Feb. 25 municipal elections, where the town’s policies to protect undocumented residents have become a contentious issue. Esteban Rodriguez, whose home and campaign office were vandalized with rocks, and his allies have campaigned on government transparency and establishing “sanctuary city” protections in Cicero.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, said DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s data raises security problems and the possibility for an illegal freeze in federal funds.
“The world’s finest geographers, experts who study the Earth’s natural environment, have concluded a decades-long council, and determined that a Great Lake deserves to be named after a great state,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a minute-long video posted to his campaign social media accounts. “So today, I’m issuing a proclamation declaring that hereinafter, Lake Michigan shall be known as Lake Illinois.” The governor ended his straight-faced video by saying he’s planning “an important announcement next week regarding the Mississippi River.”
Since its passage last June, the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act has garnered national attention as Illinois is the only state to have passed a law regulating interchange.
“The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ list of Medicaid recipients by House and Senate districts has been urgently circulated among legislators for the past several days, mainly because of congressional threats made to reduce or eliminate federal funding for the Medicaid expansion program. … Illinois has a trigger law that requires the state to withdraw from the expansion program three months after federal reimbursement falls below 90 percent.”
Freedman Seating, a Chicago-based vehicle seat manufacturer, agreed to invest $4 million for capital upgrades at its Chicago facility and is set to get a state tax credit as part of a deal to create 50 new jobs and keep 676 existing ones. The deal is part of Illinois’ Economic Development for a Growing Economy program.
State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, introduced HB 2969, the Balanced Earnings And Record Standards & Stadium Oversight Expectations Act, also known as the BEARS Act. The legislation proposes using a merit-based framework for determining when tax dollars can be used for public funding of sports stadiums, according to a news release.
Wisconsin has long had a similar law on the books. Simply put, if you’re 18 and you go into a bar with your parents, you can legally drink a beer.
LaSalle County Farm Bureau President David Isermann has been keeping a close eye on the tariff talks as well. Isermann said during the first Trump term in 2018, China responded to U.S. tariffs by putting tariffs on U.S. soybeans, instead buying soybeans from Brazil. “We’ve either talked to our banker or are going to talk to our banker,” Isermann said. “And we have to explain how we’re going to get through this.”
State Senator Doris Turner introduced two new pieces of legislation aimed at implementing a stricter review process for potential police officers and establishing the ability to recall an elected county official. The move comes seven months after the death of Sonya Massey, who was killed by Sean Grayson, a former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy.
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton said that the success of the sales shows that polices focused on equity can create “meaningful change.”
“Our public defender’s office is playing a key role in this fight. They have been working to provide legal representation to our immigrants facing deportation, ensuring that due process isn’t a privilege reserved for just a few,” Preckwinkle said. She said the county receives 111 federal grants totaling $746 million.
“In Illinois, we have grit, we are tough, we are strong and Donald Trump has no idea what he’s up against when he attacks Illinois,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event Friday.
The debates on the House floor Wednesday evening, and the legal developments Thursday, illustrated the deep partisan chasm that exists between the Democratic-controlled state government of Illinois and the Republican administration of President Trump, particularly over the issues of immigration and the rights of undocumented residents.
Two of the unions that helped get Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson elected are now at odds. The Service Employees International Union said it’s under attack by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Chicago has had a CEO since 1995, when the Legislature handed over control of the school district to former Mayor Richard M. Daley. The only qualification for a CEO in state law is that it “shall be a person of recognized administrative ability and management experience.” But superintendents must have a master’s degree, usually in education, two years of experience in an administrative role and a superintendent endorsement from an accredited university. That endorsement requires training, classes and a 12-month internship.
Wind has tapered off locally, according to John Delurey, of the national advocacy organization Vote Solar, due to issues with increased local opposition around where renewables can be installed. “At the peak, about 15 counties in the windiest part of Illinois had effectively banned wind projects,” he said. That was before Illinois passed a 2023 bill to limit what local governments could do to restrict wind and solar energy facilities.
“What is the difference between the 30,000 Ukrainians that are here and the Venezuelans that were sent here? We have spent 20 times more on Chicagoans than we have in this new arrivals mission,” Johnson said. “I am not going to stand for anybody in the White House or any other right-wing extremists who want to divide our communities. We can do both. This city has stood firm as we look to expand reparations opportunities in this city, and we can stand firm to ensure that families who want to make Chicago their home, there’s enough room for all of
About 42 million people nationwide have federal student loans, including about 1,595,200 borrowers in Illinois. Borrowers in Illinois carry an average debt load of $39,055. Statewide, student loan debt is about $62.3 billion, according to an analysis of publicly available data by Education Data Initiative researchers. Even if the Education Department were eliminated, borrowers would still have to repay their loans.
A look at ISBE data shows that the connection between teacher evaluations and student test scores has been bastardized for years. Take 2024. Even though just 39% of students statewide could read at grade level, 97% of all teachers were rated “excellent or proficient.” Now things are about to get worse.
Ted joined Scott to talk about DOGE’s attempt to rein in costs at the federal level, why another tax hike might be on the way in Illinois, the need for school choice in Illinois considering how bad the state’s student outcomes are, the controversy surrounding Tier 2 pension benefits, and more.
The laws and ordinances targeted by the lawsuit include the state’s so-called Way Forward Act and TRUST Act, as well as Chicago’s “Welcoming City” ordinance and its equivalent enacted by Cook County. In the lawsuit, the Justice Department asserts state and local officials are using the laws to effectively thumb their noses at federal law enforcement – but only when federal agents are attempting to enforce immigration laws.
House Democrats approved the resolution on a 73-0 vote. Still, local GOP members argue the majority party deflected from important state issues. “We aren’t talking about food safety and security,” said Rep. Chris Miller. “We aren’t talking about quality education. We aren’t talking about economic opportunity. We aren’t talking about inflation, which is just absolutely destroying the middle class and hard-working families.”
Ald. Gilbert Villegas — who, along with Ald. Chris Taliaferro and Ald. Bill Conway, is a veteran — said the oath they take to defend the U.S. “doesn’t have an expiration date. … We don’t have our weapons … [but] we do have the power of the pen as legislators,” Villegas said. “I thought it’d be very hypocritical for folks that were being convicted to then want to work for government — the same process that they tried to
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