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Johnson argued that Chicago “did not get its fair share” of revenue when the state legalized the sale of marijuana in 2019. This time, the mayor, who has aired his frustrated belief that Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly boxed him out of securing new tax revenue, is trying to beat Springfield to the punch.
The teachers union is supportive of taxing the rich to fund public services, including transit. But much of their focus Wednesday was to push lawmakers to fully fund public school districts and universities.
According to the poll of 812 registered Chicago voters by the Democratic polling firm Change Research for One Future Illinois, 31 percent of those surveyed approve of the job Johnson is doing. That a slight improvement from the 26 percent approval rating that Johnson received in a poll conducted this summer by the nonpartisan organization NORC. Even at 31 percent, Johnson remains “deeply under water” with a “credibility problem,” according to Change Research.
State Rep. Amy Elik urged the Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee not to decouple from the federal legislation, saying manufacturing benefits are crucial to U.S. Steel’s potential investment in her community: “I need them to have those immediate tax benefits. I can’t give them five years when other states are giving them immediate tax benefits. Like, it is that desperate. We are desperately trying to save manufacturing in Granite City.”
Though U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis herself said Tuesday that she didn’t want to “micromanage” Commander Gregory Bovino, Department of Justice lawyers accused her of doing just that in their motion, writing that Ellis had “exceeded (her) judicial role by arrogating to (herself) the role of supervising and micromanaging the day-to-day operations of an Executive Branch law-enforcement agency.”
Critics of a capital tax proposal from the Biden administration argued that taxing unrealized gains stretches the definition of income beyond its legal limits, potentially making the proposal unconstitutional under the 16th amendment. The tax also runs the risk of double taxation which is also prohibited under the Illinois constitution.
The planned vote on an agreement to pay $175 million into a city pension fund that covers city workers and non-teaching Chicago Public Schools staff comes less than two weeks after Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a record $552.4 million funding boost to the district. The intergovernmental agreement the school board will consider states that the pension payment will only take place if the district receives this money, which would require City Council approval.
Besides signs, physical barriers like locked gates and fences will be used to keep agents away, according to the resolution. Waukegan’s resolution is similar to an executive order issued by North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. Oct. 20.
Grayson was charged in July 2024 in the fatal shooting of Massey, who had called authorities over concerns about a possible prowler outside her Springfield home. Body camera video shows the moments she was shot and killed in her kitchen during a confrontation over a pot of boiling water. Her death led to calls for justice, protests across the country and reignited scrutiny about law enforcement shootings of Black people in their homes. Grayson is white.
Proposed bills — some yet to be introduced to the state legislature — would ban immigration agents from making civil arrests at courthouses statewide, ask federal agents to comply with health centers’ rules to protect patients’ privacy and increase protections for immigrants, among other things, advocates said.
Lou Sandoval, of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce: ” It’s not simply wrapping ourselves in ‘Chicago pride’ while silently allowing policies that undermine job growth, scare away investment and sap the future of our children. If we truly love Chicago and Illinois, we must ask: Are our leaders and our policies aligned with building a future of opportunity — or are they writing checks to decline?”
Gov. JB Pritzker declared an agricultural export crisis, directing state agencies to take immediate action to enhance domestic markets for the state’s agriculture industry and continue investment in mental health support for farm families.
The legislation would allow officials to request that their personal information not be posted online by government agencies, people, businesses or associations. They could also request information be removed from a website if it has already been published. Anyone who violates the proposed law could be charged with a Class 3 felony.
Federal prosecutors allege that Abughazaleh, along with five others, tried to impede a federal agent at the Broadview facility Sept. 26. They allege that the group “surrounded” a government vehicle driven by the agent “with the intent to hinder and impede” the agent.
California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey hold the largest long-term debt totals. Together, these five states account for $2.5 trillion, over half of the national total of $4.9 trillion in long-term liabilities. State and local long-term debt exceeds $20,000 per person in Connecticut ($30,998), Illinois ($28,291), Hawaii ($26,271), Massachusetts ($24,520), and California ($20,280).
Senate Democrats on Tuesday voted for the 13th time to block a House-passed bill to reopen the federal government, despite a plea this week by the nation’s largest federal workers union toend the 28-day shutdown. Only three members of the Democratic caucus voted to advance the bill: Sens. John Fetterman (Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Angus King (Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
Appearing Monday on MSNBC’s The Best People podcast, Pritzker told host Nicolle Wallace that he has “never suggested Donald Trump is Hitler.” Wallace didn’t push back on the lie. Instead, she backed his claim, saying, “I don’t think any Democrat has.” She then added that accusations of that are “a smear that they project back onto critics.”
Richard Porter: “In the Illinois Democratic Party electorate, circa 2025, the fringe has gone mainstream.”
Johnson said he demonstrated his own willingness to “go first” by proposing a $16.6 billion budget that includes nearly $600 million in tax and fee increases that “challenge the ultra-rich and corporations to pay their fair share.” State lawmakers “had 33 proposals last year for progressive revenue. They got three across the finish line… There’s a little bit more work to do,” Johnson said.
The lawsuit argues the USDA does have money to continue paying benefits in November. It claims Congress has appropriated contingency funds for emergencies such as a government shutdown that USDA can tap into now to continue funding SNAP.
“In other words, the levy would be a government-instituted disincentive to bringing more office workers back to the Loop for the majority of the workweek. That would harm restaurants and retailers who depend on downtown workers for much of their revenue. And it could well set back the fitful improvement in central business district activity that we’ve seen over the past 12 months or so.”
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