“Cities have also had little success convincing state leaders to provide help as local challenges become more acute. Last year, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker firmly rejected Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s request for more than $1 billion in additional funds for the city’s school system, which is facing a significant fiscal crisis. … These examples may be an early sign that history is repeating: States tend to address their own fiscal challenges in part by limiting support for local governments.”

“We need all the help we can get from the federal government, but we don’t need another level of law enforcement to pretend they’re going to solve some problem related to violence and crime,” Davis said. “Our authorities are doing well.“

Sen. Tammy Duckworth said on Face the Nation that President Trump “essentially just declared war” on Chicago as he has signaled he wants to send the National Guard to the city. However, Duckworth said she visited the Great Lakes Naval base, and that there are no “indications” that troops are getting ready to be sent into Chicago.

Chicago — where it’s already incredibly tough to secure an apartment — tops the list with the largest drop in new construction, falling by a staggering 60.4 percent to 3,756 units compared to 2024.

The post went viral on Instagram, showing city salt trucks parking end-to-end along a city street, with the video’s caption saying there was a “wall of trucks, moving slow, making it clear: ICE isn’t welcome here.” But that isn’t the case, and the video in the post shows city salt trucks blocking off a section of Grant Park hosting the Taste of Chicago. City trucks have for years been used to enable barriers around major events including the taste and Lollapalooza.

“We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities,” President Trump said.

“A city charter wouldn’t just prevent selective rule changes by the mayor. It would strengthen checks and balances, enshrine rules for special elections, and more clearly define the balance of power between the mayor and the City Council. Perhaps most importantly, it would create consistency, so standards could not shift to favor a friend or the relative of a longtime alderman.”

A graduate of Whitney Young Magnet High School, Walter Redmond Burnett spent nearly a decade in New York, including five years at Goldman Sachs, before founding Hannibal Valley, a consulting firm focused on hospitality, real estate, entertainment and financial literacy programs. Since returning to Chicago in 2022, he has volunteered on local political campaigns and completed a leadership fellowship with The Black Bench Chicago.