-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
William Swetz, the man accused of backing his pickup toward former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and throwing a Big Gulp of root beer in her face during a roadside confrontation, quietly went on trial last month in Markham.
Tobolski was headed to federal prison in January after he pleaded guilty to accepting over $250,000 in bribes. He admitted to shaking down a restaurant owner in his role as McCook liquor commissioner. Tobolski also admitted to tax fraud.
A Democrat-backed bill sitting on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk would turn Illinois into an assisted suicide destination and severely curtail the rights of Christian doctors, a conservative legal group is warning. Peter Breen, the head of litigation at Thomas More Society, said that the text contains provisions that would “force institutions and physicians to refer for and to inform about the opportunity to take deadly drugs and end your life.”
“One of the other things (Rahm Emanuel) did was he closed 50 schools, he closed half of the city’s mental health clinics, and he closed the police districts, and crime went up,” political consultant Delmarie Cobb said about Emanuel’s tenure as Chicago mayor. “And why do we think [Emanuel] closed those things? Because he was trying to close the hole that he created by getting rid of the head tax and nobody seems to connect the dots.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson said that he was going to actively oppose the enforcement of federal law within his jurisdiction in Chicago. ICE, as we remember, two weeks ago, were blockaded, under siege. And local Chicago area law enforcement—which was requested by ICE to help them get out from being surrounded by these Antifa-like protesters—refused to come to their aid. JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, on numerous occasions, has characterized these federal officers as Gestapo, Nazis. And they are acting, in his view, illegally and will be held to account by his state authorities. “This is all very dangerous.”
With Chicago’s downtown office vacancy rate now at a record-high 28 percent, Illinois Policy Institute researcher LyLena Estabine says city policymakers have become their own worse enemy when it comes to addressing the area’s changing demographics.
Running as an independent means collecting a lot more signatures to get on the ballot. It also means limits on campaign cash.
“We hope Illinois Republicans can find the fortitude to be disciplined and focus on Illinois’ financial issues and its economy, the issues — along with crime in the Chicago area — that will continue to be top of mind for the foreseeable future. Voters want those addressed now. Illinois Democrats have all the power, and yet they often refuse to make hard decisions to fix our problems.”
An affiliate of real estate firms Prime Group and Capri Investment Group purchased the building at 400 S. La Salle St. for $12 million in June 2024. The pair of developers are transforming the James R. Thompson Center into Google’s new Chicago headquarters. The property will still become a data center, but it will now be helmed by Legacy Investing. An affiliate of Legacy Investing purchased the building from Prime and Capri for $40 million in late October.
Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education and managing director of the violence prevention organization Chicago CRED, said ICE’s actions are “not about law enforcement. … The point is to shock and scare.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging states like Illinois to redraw congressional maps, but voting rights group CHANGE Illinois warns that such pressure risks undermining transparency and public trust in the redistricting process.
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