Chicago tests war-rattled muni market with $800M bond sale – Crain’s/Bloomgerg

While muni bonds are typically seen as a safe haven for investors, debt sold by borrowers with ratings below benchmark securities carry greater risks. Chicago’s 10-year bond yields have widened more than the broader market as the city’s financial stress mounts. The average yield on long-dated Chicago bonds this month has jumped 23.6 basis points to above 4%, compared with the benchmark rising about 18 basis points to 2.65%, data show.

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Editorial: An Illinois bag fee wouldn’t fix Springfield’s spending problem – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

“If it passes, House Bill 5112 would impose a carryout bag fee of $0.10 on each carryout bag starting Jan. 1, 2027. Ten cents is just the beginning. This fee would rise annually until it reaches 25 cents in 2030. But even that limit can increase ‘if certain goals are not met,’ meaning hikes would continue until bag usage drops to 90 percent below 2027 levels statewide, according to our reading of the legislation.”

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An easy way to get more education money for Illinois – Illinois Policy

Gov. JB Pritzker wants a bipartisan effort from Illinois lawmakers to demand more education money from the federal government. If he wants to keep money in Illinois and away from the Trump administration, the answer is easy: Opt into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Program, which provides a tax credit to donors who give money that can go to public, private or homeschool students.

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Supporters of Cook County’s guaranteed income program will help shape distribution – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo

Cook County’s Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot, which launched using $42 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, gave 3,250 low- to moderate-income families $500 a month in no-strings-attached cash — meaning no work requirements or spending restrictions — for two years. In its 2026 budget, Cook County set aside $7.5 million to extend the program beyond the pilot, making it one of the first local governments in the country to commit to ongoing funding.

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Jesse Jackson Jr. turns to AI to amplify Rush endorsement – Politico

U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 1st district Bobby Rush talks to media.An AI-enhanced former congressman is hitting the Chicago airwaves. As he campaigns to reclaim the South Side congressional seat he once held, Jesse Jackson Jr. is launching a new TV and digital ad featuring an endorsement from fellow former Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush — delivered with an assist from artificial intelligence.

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From Redcoats to Robots: AI and Robotic Are Challenging our Republic’s Future – Jonathan Turley

The danger is that politicians will react predictably and try to subsidize jobs that are no longer viable and industries that are being dramatically downsized. At the same time, they are likely to expand model programs in Democratic cities for universal basic or guaranteed income. Democrats have moved forward with more than 60 bills creating such programs, and this week, Cook County, Ill. (the second-largest county in the U.S.) made permanent the universal basic income program it had originally launched with federal COVID-19 relief funds.

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