Ultra-wealthy Illinois Dem gov hits back at Mamdani for declaring billionaires shouldn’t exist – New York Post

Gov. JB Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, Sunday rattled off his beliefs in universal healthcare, free public education, democracy and opposition to “MAGA Republicans” as evidence that he is a legit Democrat. “It does not matter what your income level is. What matters is what your values are. And that’s what makes me a Democrat,” the ultra-wealthy pol contended.

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Leaked video shows Brandon Johnson faced allegations of ‘hiding’ $8M in Chicago Teachers Union funds – The Last Ward

“You had a Black woman and a Black man, myself, who were running the political department,” Johnson said in response to members’ questions about the union’s financial reporting. “Don’t you think if we had done anything illegal, don’t you think that there are forces that would love to destroy and tear us down?“ At the time of the event, Johnson was employed as a CTU “legislative coordinator” and serving as a Cook County commissioner.

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Editorial: Gerrymandering now truly is a dangerous threat to American democracy – Chicago Tribune*

“The Illinois State Fair, which began Thursday in Springfield, is typically the kickoff of the new political season. But this year serious Republican candidates in districts now held by Democrats are outnumbered not just by cows but maybe even the one made of butter. Party representatives tell us that donors can read maps with impossible odds like anyone else and thus no longer see much point in supporting Republican efforts in Illinois.”

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‘What more could the governor do?’: Illinois lawmakers doubt state’s districts could be more gerrymandered – Daily Herald*

While Gov. JB Pritzker last week repeatedly said he and his allies in the General Assembly might pursue gerrymandering Illinois’ congressional districts to benefit Democratic candidates even more than they already are, legislators on both sides of the aisle doubt it’ll happen. They don’t question Pritzker’s desire to wrest congressional power from Republicans to counter the GOP’s effort to build its House majority by redrawing district maps in Texas. They just don’t think it’s possible to widen the Democrat’s 14-3 majority in Illinois’ congressional delegation through mapmaking.

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Trump takes shot at Illinois governor over Asian carp plan – Axios

President Donald Trump in May signed a memorandum offering his support to Michigan and Illinois for a $1 billion effort aimed at preventing invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. While Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is an outspoken proponent of the project and has remained in close contact with Trump about it, White House officials say their calls to Gov. JB Pritzker haven’t been returned.

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Judge tosses lawsuit likening pro-Gaza expressway shutdown near O’Hare to ‘false imprisonment’ – Chicago Sun-Times

In her ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland wrote, “The Court does not doubt that Plaintiff felt trapped in his car and in fact could not easily go where he wanted to. … But to state claim for false imprisonment, the confinement must be ‘involuntary;’ it is not enough for a plaintiff to voluntarily remain in a place even if they believe they are justified in doing so.”

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Northwestern named among top universities in price inflation lawsuit – Daily Northwestern

Northwestern was one of 32 elite colleges and universities named in a Friday lawsuit that alleged the schools exploit a “core misrepresentation” of early decision admissions policies to drive up attendance costs. The class action complaint, which was filed in a Massachusetts federal court, claims that schools violate the Sherman Act, an 1890 antitrust law, by cooperating with one another and mandating their early decision admits to pull applications from other institutions.

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