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Johnson’s comptroller Michael Belsky worked for EKI-Digital as it was pushing City Hall to pay nearly $10 million in questionable invoices. Johnson’s former chief operating officer John Roberson also once worked for the company and was part of a city review of EKI amid billing concerns.
It is not clear how much revenue a new digital ad tax could raise, or whether it would withstand an all-but certain legal challenge. Johnson also praised state lawmakers for following the path blazed by Chicago in the city’s 2026 spending plan, which imposed a tax on social media companies under the city’s amusement tax authority, officials said. That tax has been challenged in court.
More students could qualify for in-state tuition at Illinois colleges and universities under a bill that will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker. House Bill 5093 would loosen one of the requirements for paying in-state tuition by making it available to students who attended Illinois high schools for at least three years, even if they established residency outside the state before enrolling.
Illinois has added a net of only 9,400 private-sector jobs since JB Pritzker became governor in January 2019. A net 36,600 jobs have been added in state and local government in that time. That total of 46,000 is an increase of only 0.75%, ranking Illinois 44th in the country since Pritzker took over and the lowest growth rate among the 20 largest state job markets.
Federal grants to Illinois increased 75% from 2019 to 2024, the 8th highest percentage growth in the nation.
While most of Pritzker’s legislative housing package failed to make it out of the General Assembly, lawmakers did pass the governor’s proposal for about $250 million in capital funding related to housing, which will go to a mix of local infrastructure, middle and affordable housing financing and down payment assistance programs, some of it through programs previously on the books.
The $21 million program is funded by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $1.25 billion housing and economic development bond that was approved by the City Council in 2024. A spokesman said it’s a one-time funding effort for HomeGrown, but the city may revisit the program if it proves successful.
“No civilized society can tolerate the incarceration of truly innocent persons for crimes they did not commit. Nonetheless, the opposite concern is equally serious: When courts vacate murder convictions and release defendants convicted of brutal killings, victims’ families and the public deserve confidence these decisions were reached only after rigorous, individualized investigations grounded in evidence — not through blanket assumptions, political expedience, or informal understandings reached behind closed doors.”
“Chicago cannot build a successful school system through permanent political combat. We also cannot build one by pretending legitimate questions about governance, spending, priorities, or accountability are attacks on public education itself. Healthy institutions welcome scrutiny because they believe in their mission.”
“We are continually picking fights with the federal government,” said Republican House Floor Leader Rep. Patrick Windhorst. Failing to “work together with the federal government to resolve the issues, particularly related to immigration and enforcement of our laws, has resulted in huge problems in our state.”
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