States moving to end ‘judicial deference’ to unelected regulators: Report – Legal Newsline

Across the U.S., a growing number of states are joining a movement to rewrite the rules governing how courts interpret the laws, explicitly declaring that courts can no longer simply defer to unelected bureaucrats and state regulators when deciding what state laws actually mean, according to a new report. At this point, 28 U.S. states still require judicial deference to administrative agency interpretations, in full or at some level. These states include some of the most prominent states dominated by Democrats, including Illinois, which the report says requires full judicial deference.

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‘It’ll Be Violent’: Chicago Teachers Union Hosts Israel-Hating Communist Convention Where Radicals Call for Sabotaging US Ports, Backing Iran – Washington Free Beacon

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) hosted a Marxist, virulently anti-Israel conference last weekend which openly celebrated terrorism, introduced fledgling activists to “the growing BDS movement,” and called on its members to support Iran’s “axis of resistance” and prepare for violence against the United States and Israel.

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With Larry Snelling’s Retirement as Chicago’s Top Cop, Progress on Court-Ordered Reforms Hangs in Balance – WTTW (Chicago)

When Supt. Larry Snelling took the helm of the Chicago Police Department in the fall of 2023, it was in full compliance with just 6 percent of the federal court order that requires CPD to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights. By the time Snelling retires Wednesday, CPD will have fully completed 25 percent of the nearly seven-and-a-half-year-old court order.

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Illinois state diversity leader resigns amid criticism – Center Square

Former executive director of the Commission on Equity and Inclusion Alexandria Wilson was recently hired as chief operating officer of the Illinois Power Agency — another state department. The commission reported that the state awarded about $1.6 billion of contracts to certified businesses last year — a new high — but that the money went to about 9 percent fewer businesses.

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Chicago Teachers Union likes Brandon Johnson’s tax on sites like LinkedIn, TikTok – Illinois Policy

The social media tax — 50 cents per user per month after the first 100,000 users — was expected to raise $31 million for Chicago in 2026. But the city is on pace to collect $49.2 million. Because of a pending lawsuit, the city is apparently holding money from the tax in escrow, so its intended use, mental health programs, is coming out of the corporate fund.

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Chicago’s Coming Pension ‘Pneumonia’ – Wall Street Journal

Chicago property taxes rank among the highest in the nation. Yet residents are receiving fewer and fewer public services as pensions consume about 80% of Chicago’s property tax dollars. Blame state lawmakers, including Mr. Pritzker, who have sweetened benefits, and local politicians who for many years diverted money from pensions to boost pay for their government union friends.

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The Scourge of Teen Takeovers – City Journal

Police officers, district attorneys, and sheriffs offer a different explanation for the teen takeovers: they are the consequence of a decades-long demonization of the criminal-justice system. Asked how the Chicago Police Department would have responded to a stampede on the Magnificent Mile before that demonization took hold, a recently retired officer with over 30 years on the force replied: ‘We would have cleared the streets, arrested those breaking windows, looting stores, and assaulting passersby. We would have used pepper spray, fists, and batons to restore order—all of which we did during the Bulls riots [in 1992], the Democratic National Convention

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