Illinois enacted a law that prohibits a credit card holder’s bank from charging or receiving interchange fees on the portions of transactions that include Illinois state or local taxes and gratuities, in effect starting July 1, 2025. Challengers won a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the law while the challenge proceeds.

“Equity is the cornerstone of this grant program,” the governor said. “DEI is this idea that it’s a term that occurs in the back rooms of big corporations, Wall Street and otherwise. The reality is what they’re trying to tear down is something much broader: civil rights in the United States. That’s what they’re attacking.

Illinois ranks third highest with a rate of 9.5%.

Big Three automaker Stellantis is making a number of US moves in response to the new Trump administration and its focus on building products in America. To that end, Stellantis said it would build a new midsize pickup truck at the recently shuttered Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant. Stellantis previously ended production at Belvidere for the Jeep Cherokee SUV, angering UAW representatives and workers. Now Stellantis said it will return approximately 1,500 UAW members to work, a reversal of the move by former CEO Carlos Tavares, who resigned in early December.

PJM Interconnection, which operates the largest U.S. grid from Washington, D.C., to Illinois, issued a Level 1 emergency alert for Wednesday as cold weather boosts electricity demand. PJM’s grid includes the Chicago area and most of northeastern Illinois. The emergency alert is issued when a grid operator foresees conditions where all available resources are committed to meet electricity demand and is concerned about sustaining its required energy reserves. PJM said it didn’t anticipate a need to use demand response measures that require some customers to curtail their use.

The NO GOTION Act will ensure that companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, Russia, Iran, and North Korea cannot, in any way, benefit from the energy incentives in our tax code. Gotion is building a heavily subsidized EV battery plant in Manteno, Illinois.

Illinois among the 13 states that added the most employees per student.

Crystal M. Moten, Ph.D., the curator of collections and exhibitions at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, will deliver a talk titled “Building a Home for Change: The Obama Presidential Center.”

Entries include classes at Northwestern and University of Chicago.

Chicago will be an early target, with as many as 200 officers being sent to carry out the operation, say people familiar with the planning.

Already, one of the two leaders tapped by Trump to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Vivek Ramaswamy, has said the incoming administration will scrutinize billions of dollars in “11th-hour transactions,” including the loan offer to Rivian.

“I’ll just say Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people when they’re in need, and so I don’t think it’s attractive for anybody in Illinois where wages are higher where the standard of living is higher, and we do provide health care for people in need,” Pritzker said.

If HB 1008 passes, the Indiana General Assembly would create an “Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission” tasked with helping those Illinois counties become part of the Hoosier State. ”That is a process that follows a Constitutional process for redrawing state boundaries,” Speaker Huston said. ”We think there might be some interest in the Illinois Legislature to do that.”

Gotion has spent a total of $183 million in its purchase of 672 acres, including the plant and surrounding land and property.

With diversity initiatives under sweeping attack nationwide, minority and women contractors in Illinois are bracing for changes, or even the elimination of the government set-aside programs that for years have ensured a steady stream of work.

Judge Caroline Glennon-Goodman was reassigned, ordered to undergo bias training and will face a state disciplinary investigation for allegedly circulating a racist meme.

“Tightening up regulation on delta-8 and other forms of synthetic THC should be a relative no-brainer…. And yet, lawmakers in the Illinois House failed last spring and failed again in this year’s veto session to pass just such a set of rules despite winning passage in the Senate — and despite the governor’s backing. In fact, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch didn’t even call the bill, which meant the legislation was declared more or less dead on arrival on Jan. 6.”

Dr. Ngozi Ezike has agreed to pay a $150,000 fine to settle allegations that she violated Illinois ethics laws when she took the CEO job at Sinai Chicago shortly after leaving the state’s public health department. She headed the Illinois Department of Health during the Covid pandemic.

Homebuyers have far fewer homes to choose from now than they did in the last normal days before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shortage is especially acute in Illinois, according to a new study.

Hawaii lost the greatest share of its population to other states (0.65 percent). Not far behind were New York and California, which each lost 0.61 percent of their residents to other states, followed by Alaska (0.51 percent) and Illinois (0.44 percent).

Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and New York, have 590,000, 490,000, 420,000, and 410,000 unauthorized immigrants, respectively, according to Department of Homeland Security.

TRS, the Illinois Teachers Retirement System, has 34 investments totaling over $2 billion in China.

United Van Lines 48th annual study: 60% of Illinois moves were outbound. Only New Jersey was higher. A recent, new U-Haul study ranked Illinois 6th worst.

Unfortunately, many Republican members of Congress don’t seem to understand that federal subsidies for wind and solar included in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are the driving forces behind the emerging reliability crisis, and any continued support for these taxpayer handouts will bring America’s grid closer to the brink of blackouts. The region most at risk, which includes roughly the southern two-thirds of Illinois, is the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO), which could see rolling blackouts during normal summer and winter grid conditions as early as the summer of 2025, meaning it won’t take a freak winter storm or

“If you aren’t for E-Verify, you aren’t serious about controlling immigration,” says border expert Mark Krikorian, who heads the Center for Immigration Studies. Yet many blue states go out of their way to discourage E-Verify’s use. Illinois penalizes companies that “misuse” the E-Verify system, discouraging them from using the program at all.

“We’re dealing with a crisis that is about to get even worse once the shelters for migrants close,” said Antonio Gutierrez, a community organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations in Chicago.

The next big challenge for the controversial movement: Can it win in enemy territory — that is, blue states — too? A school choice researcher sees external pressures forcing blue states like Illinois to get with the program. With school choice now in a majority of states, he says, Illinois will come under pressure to adopt it or risk losing residents to four of its neighbors with choice programs. Such peer pressure explains why public charter schools are now in 46 states.

Peoria and Rockford are number one and number two.

One culprit is a surge in migration…. Chicago reported “that an influx of new arrivals,” mostly migrants bused and flown from other states, “accounted for more than 13,600 people in emergency shelters.” Since 2019 the number of homeless has soared in Illinois (15,633).

Starting Jan. 1, many employers in Illinois that post a job opening will have to disclose the wage or salary range and benefits for that position.

In Illinois, Chicago has long been plagued with illegal border crosser crime, serving as a major hub for drug trafficking operations run by the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and transnational criminal organizations working with street gangs, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has reported.

“Want government money? Better surrender to the unions that back Democratic politicians.” Rivian has also struck a so-called neutrality agreement with the UAW that commits the company not to oppose unionization efforts at its factory in Illinois, where all its vehicles are made today and which is subsidized by the state. Rivian lost $107,043 on each vehicle it sold during the first nine months of the year.

In February 2019, when the law passed, the state’s unemployment rate was 4.8 percent. It’s now 5.3 percent, third highest in the U.S.

While many migrants moved to Texas (319,569) and Florida (411,322), masses also flocked to California (361,057), New York (207,161), Illinois (112,955) and New Jersey (130,692). In the latter sanctuary states, foreign migration more than offset domestic out-migration: California (-239,575), New York (-120,917), Illinois (-56,235) and New Jersey (-35,554).

According to an Illinois Auditor General report, over 100 state boards in Illinois were inactive, and 28% of active boards failed to meet the minimum number of times.

Illinois Immigrant and Refugee Rights senior official Fred Tsao is leading the charge as his organization plots strategy to President-elect Donald Trump’s deportation plans.

“Other Democrats,” including Gov. JB Pritzker, “have taken decidedly more combative stances.”

Illinois nearly 100 years ago could boast the highest national average for an entry level hourly wage, but it is currently ranks close to last amongst other states. Average entry level workers earn $14.06 hourly in Illinois, but in 1935 they would have earned $15.43 hourly with inflation adjustments.

A thoughtful look at the roots of Obama’s strategy in Illinois with David Axelrod.

“He’s one big, fat projectionist,” he added. “For him to say that Trump is a congenital liar, he frankly ought to look in the mirror. That’s him.”

“Like the kid who discovers that his shiny new toy came without batteries or a warranty, Chicago soon will figure out if it already hasn’t that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s big Christmas present is less than wonderful.”

The lawsuit also said the “egregious” polling miss in favor of Democrats came “just days before the most consequential election in memory,” and that its results were apparently “leaked” because Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker mentioned the poll’s findings during a meeting with Duke University alumni hours before the results were published.

“Among Illinois’ 17 House districts, 14 were won by Democrats and three by Republicans, which the gerrymander guaranteed. … When people criticize the threat to democracy posed by who wins the White House, one need only look more locally, where the bigger threat to democracy resides.”

Huge list of new mandates and requirements for insurers.

It’s critical that grid operators and state regulators consider and implement all transmission technology tools when planning and building a system that will enhance national security, facilitate regional economic development, and withstand new and growing reliability threats for generations to come.

University of Illinois Accounting Professor Li Zhang is under fire this week after warning students about their “unconscious and unintentional biases” against women and minorities before they completed their evaluations.

His ideas include forcing state pensions to invest 10% of assets in housing and pushing higher density on suburbs.

A report outlining public education reform in Illinois doesn’t address a core issue facing students: reading proficiency. It also lowers standards for students and threatens to muddle the understanding of students’ progress.

A federal judge on Thursday declined to acquit former AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza after his September trial on charges that he bribed ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan ended in a hung jury.

The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reports the latest unfunded liability is $143.7 billion. That’s $1.5 billion higher than last year and the second highest since 2020 when the total was $144.2 billion.

In Cahokia Heights, Illinois, years of sewage backups have left residents grappling with bacterial infections, mold, and neglect. Will a federal order end the crisis

Pritzker frustrated several of his counterparts by trying to get them to sign on to a group he started postelection to push back on Trump, but only Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed on as a co-chair. Pritzker has his staff exploring ideas such as blocking GPS tracking on apps for women who may be traveling to the state to get abortions, so that there would not be records to potentially subpoena back home. “We all have apps on our phones that track where we go. If an attorney general or US attorney wanted to pull that

“Rather than responding to every ridiculous boast from Trump lackeys, Governor Pritzker is focused on what he was focused on during the first Trump term: leading our state with competence instead of chaos,” said a Pritzker spokesman.

Comment: More interesting in this article is the water situation. The city had to sell off its wastewater treatment plant to pay for its pensions.

Using the actuarial (smoothed) value of assets, the total unfunded liabilities of the State systems totaled $144.3 billion on June 30, 2024. Utilizing the market value of assets, the combined unfunded liabilities of the State systems totaled $143.7 billion on June 30, 2024. The combined funded ratios based on the actuarial and market value of assets for FY 2024 were 45.8% and 46.0%, respectively. Those numbers are essentially flat over the last five years.

“You come for my people, you come through me,” Pritzker told reporters last month in a warning to the incoming administration.

“Extremely frustrating. A terrible experience. A problem from the word ‘go.’ These are just some of the characterizations of the saga involving electric school buses provided to eight Maine school districts by Lion Electric, a now cash-strapped Canadian manufacturer with a production site in Illinois that was supported by the state. “These buses, which we know to be very defective, have wreaked havoc throughout the state.”

“We were deeply troubled to learn of the allegations made against a former temporary staffing agency,” a spokesperson for HelloFresh told ABC in a statement, adding, “As soon as we learned of these allegations, we immediately terminated the relationship.”

“This crap is ongoing. Plenty of old posts/’news’ are in here… but really, none of this is news. These situations have been building for decades.”

Vivek Ramaswamy, who co-chairs a cost-cutting effort for the new administration alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has said he wants to undo the Department of Energy’s proposed $6.6 billion loan to Rivian. Even though the loan is for a new plant in Georgia, it’s seen as crucial to the survival of Rivian, which employs about 900 people at its factory in Normal.

Jim Dey: “November revenues jumped by $211 million to $3.274 billion thanks to an increase in federal sources. But the state’s ‘Big Three’ — personal income taxes, corporate income taxes and sales taxes — struggled.”

Liberty Steel is temporarily shuttering its Peoria wire mill as the company continues to struggle financially, facing deep debts around the globe amid a challenging steel market. The company has furloughed over 500 employees at its Peoria facility, according to the union representing workers.

The loss of manufacturing jobs in Illinois’ Madison County points to a key factor in the narrowing income gap.

Healthcare will be set back by centuries, says the president of Good Trouble Coalition. “Not years, not decades, but centuries.”

Gotion High-Tech, which owns the U.S.-based battery company Gotion, entered into a research and development memorandum of understanding with Tsinghua University, a Beijing university with a “documented history” of advancing China’s military and security state with defense research and alleged involvement in cyberattacks. Gotion, which is tied to the Chinese state through its parent company, is seeking to build major taxpayer-subsidized facilities in Michigan and Illinois, but its China connections have complicated its plans to do so by inviting scrutiny from China hawks and elected Republicans.

Operations at Lion Electric’s Joliet electric bus factory were suspended amid a layoff of more than half of its staff companywide

Lion Electric came to Joliet with fanfare for its place in the future electric vehicle industry in Illinois. The state provided the company with $7.9 million in tax incentives tied to 745 future jobs at the Joliet plan, a number that Lion executives said they would exceed .

It’s unclear how those hospitals and providers would survive, or whether they would continue to provide that care, if Trump pulled their Medicare or Medicaid dollars — major sources of funding for most hospitals and health care providers.

“The company is losing $107,043 per EV sale, and taxpayers could end up paying….. Enter the Biden DOE, which on Monday awarded Rivian the $6 billion loan to build a factory in Georgia with the capacity to make 400,000 SUVs and crossovers. This follows Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s pledge this spring of $827 million in state “incentives” for Rivian to expand production at an Illinois plant to 215,000 vehicles a year.”

Lion, with a production facility in Joliet, is subsidized by the State of Illinois.

Illinois enacted the inaccurately named “Worker Freedom of Speech Act” into law, which prohibits most employers from speaking to their employees about certain topics — religion and politics — in any setting where the employee is required to listen. It’s inaccurately named because it doesn’t protect workers’ speech at all. And it clearly violates the First Amendment by prohibiting certain employer speech.

“In fact, we might well see the most direct confrontation between federal and state power since the 1963 crisis when President John F. Kennedy ‘s deputy attorney general, Nicholas Katzenbach, challenged Gov. George Wallace over desegregating the University of Alabama.”

“He needs to park the jet, focus on the Illinois citizens he represents today, and work collaboratively with us to close that budget hole without heaping another huge tax increase on Illinois families and businesses.”

“As Wirepoints notes, Illinois is a dark blot of red ink and irresponsibility on the Midwest map compared to its neighbors. None of the six surrounding states bordering Illinois have anywhere near the pension bomb Illinois has.”

Rivian, which currently makes its vehicles in Illinois, said the funds will support the construction of its EV plant in Georgia and the production of more midsize vehicles.

“For the past 30 years, progressive policies have fueled a mass exodus of the citizens of California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts, whether with high-, middle-, or blue collar incomes…. The trend is undeniable: Americans are fleeing progressive states for conservative ones, and they are bringing their incomes with them.”

The group Judicial Watch is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse federal court rulings that upheld Illinois’ law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted for 14 days after Election Day.

Tom Weitzel, former Riverside Chief of Police: “Crime data can be misleading for numerous reasons…. The public deserves to be able to make their own decisions about safety, and the only way you can choose how to make your life safer for you and your family is to have accurate crime data released in a timely fashion. Anything else is just ‘data dump garbage.'”

The disparity in Illinois is even larger. The state’s Democratic Legislature packed Republicans into three of 17 districts while sprinkling Democrats out across the others. As a result, two Republican incumbents in safe districts ran uncontested. But Republicans won only 18% of Illinois districts even though Mr. Trump carried about 44% of votes statewide.

“We are calling on this government to grow some common sense, cut spending, give taxpayers some relief and welcome ICE and border agents into Illinois.”

“Dick Durbin has a knack for rehashing old mistakes, which is why he wants to stomp on the credit-card business. The Illinois Senator is pushing a bill in Congress’s lame-duck session that would shift the cost of processing card transactions from retailers to consumers. If it passes, rewards programs could vanish as they did with debit cards.”

“Under no circumstance should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) be allowed to benefit from the tax dollars of hardworking American families. Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s 45X rule has left the door open for CCP-affiliated companies, like Gotion, to reap billions in taxpayer funding. That’s wrong and the commonsense bipartisan legislation we are introducing today will stop it,” Moolenaar said. Note: Gotion is eligible for $7.5 billion of tax credits for its factory being built in Manteno, IL.

“Governor Pritzker’s postelection press conference was the sole heartening thing I have heard since the debacle of November 5.”

“Ensuring every Illinois student has access to a safe, validating learning environment where they can be their true self is a top priority for my administration,” Pritzker said. In Illinois, biological males can compete with females under Pritzker’s guidance in school or club sports. Additionally, “use of restrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms may not be restricted based upon a student’s physical anatomy or chromosomal sex.

Across Illinois and California, more red counties that feel steamrolled by blue-led governments are trying to split off.

Gov. JB Pritzker — who warned at a news conference two days after the election, “You come for my people, you come through me” — announced a new initiative Wednesday with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, himself a potential presidential aspirant, branded “Governors Safeguarding Democracy.”

Volkswagen has raised its investment in the new joint venture by an additional $800 million, signaling its commitment to its new US partner even as electric vehicle demand softens and the incoming Trump administration threatens to curtail supportive policies. The increase may ease concerns about Rivian’s cash flow problems.

Shares of Rivian, which makes its vehicles in Illinois, were hardest-hit among major EV makers, plunging as much as 11% in New York trading.

“We will do everything in our power to stop Gotion….”

“Take Illinois for example…..”

“Then there was Pritzker, doing the community theater version of ‘Avengers’ and declaring, ‘You come for my people, you come through me.'”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also said Thursday that he has spoken with other Democratic governors since the election about how to best Trump-proof their states. “There are many people whose lives and livelihoods are at risk, and there are many people who cried at the [election] result because they know what impact it may have on their families,” Pritzker said at a press conference Thursday.

A particularly good insight into Pritzker’s strategy brain, Anne Caprera.

“To anyone who intends to come take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans: I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior,” he continued. “You come for my people, you come through me.”

The fight to end lead contamination in drinking water is playing out with high stakes in the Midwest. The region accounts for a disproportionate share of the roughly 9.2 million lead pipes across the U.S.

Barrington Township voters accepted the proposal gauging residents’ interest on constitutional pension reform, with 73% voting “yes” and 27% voting “no” with all precincts reporting.

With the state’s notoriously cold winter just around the corner, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has joined a group of governors now demanding that grid operator PJM Interconnection take steps to address its record-high electricity rates.

Population shifts in the 2010s reduced Democrats’ advantage in the Electoral College after the post-2020 Census reapportionment. California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia each lost a vote. Furthermore, voters fleeing states like Illinois are making other states more Republican.

The state of Illinois is in the midst of a transformative project to establish a state-based health insurance exchange marketplace that it says could help fill coverage gaps and lower plan costs for residents throughout the state.

“This guy’s spending like a drunk sailor for the first six years of his governorship. Here we are,” said state Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Comment: This column by former Illinois gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine applies to Illinois as well as Michigan, given Illinois’ heavy bet on electric vehicle makers and adoption.

Effective property tax rates are highest in Texas. Effective tax rates are highest in Austin, TX (1.8%), followed by Newark, NJ, San Antonio, Houston and Chicago, each of which have a 1.7% rate.

Gotion’s plans include a similar sized battery factory for Manteno, Illinois.

The ticketing program has helped slash the number of asylum seekers reliant on the city. The top destinations for migrants asking to leave the Big Apple include Illinois.

The American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by lawyer Edward Blum, has sued Gov. JB Pritzker and Kevin Huber, chairman of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, over the 32-year-old Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program,which awards as much as $7,500 to qualified minority applicants.

Gotion’s nearly $4.4bn collective investment in Michigan and Illinois has spawned the No Official Giveaways Of Taxpayers’ Income to Oppressive Nations Act — or ‘No Gotion Act’ for short. This would prohibit CCP-affiliated companies from receiving green energy tax credits under the federal Inflation Reduction Act. Iran, North Korea and Russia also would be prohibited under the act. A co-sponsor of the No Gotion Act, Darin LaHood, a Republican Representative from Illinois, says in a statement that foreign adversaries who have launched “malign efforts” to undermine domestic supply chains and national

Electric vehicle marker Rivian is struggling to make cars and earn a profit, but it has proven adept at winning subsidy and tax credit packages from governments around the country. If the company cannot reverse its financial fortunes, it could go under before it uses all the incentives it has been offered. All its vehicles are made in Normal, Illinois.

“There has never been more people living in the state of Illinois than there is today,” Manar said. “The Census is the Census. There’s a thing called the Post Enumeration Survey which shows Illinois gained population. It’s a correction. And it’s a real correction from the Census Bureau. So I just want to dispel that right away. Illinois is not losing people. Illinois is gaining people.”

Pritzker graded ‘C.’ “Pritzker seems unconcerned that Illinois is losing workers, entrepreneurs, and retirees, who are fleeing to warmer and lower-tax states. IRS data show that Illinois has the worst ratio of in-migration to out-migration of any state except New York. Illinois loses more than two households earning more than $200,000 per year for each one moving in. To reverse the migration outflow, the state needs to reduce taxes and embrace leaner government.”

Jordan Abudayyeh and Jason Rubin, names synonymous for years with Gov. JB Pritzker’s team, have launched Abudayyeh Rubin Communications Strategies (ARC Strategies), a firm focused on helping companies and organizations tell their stories.

Gotion has a substantially identical project underway in Manteno, Illinois, which is likewise heavily opposed, yet Gov. JB Pritzker has expressly refused to answer any questions about it.

House GOP Leader Tony McCombie’s bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in Illinois. Right now, people just have to, under penalty of perjury, say that they are citizens.

Pritzker’s office released lengthy details on his trip the day before he left. According to a statement his team released, the governor was accompanied not only by ranking aides but Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, officials from top research schools such as Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, and the heads of key trade groups representing manufacturers, the hospitality industry and quantum computing, plus the state’s leading corporate relocation operative. Johnson’s office released its statement the morning after he left — and after two full days of requests from Crain’s. The trip description included

With intensive remodeling inside its 1.5-million-square-foot facility — and with employees being hired in waves — Gotion is, by all accounts, in motion.

Gotion is building a substantially similar EV battery plant in Manteno, Illinois, heavily subsidized by the state.

llinois’ bonds are underappreciated, Wells Fargo Head of Municipal Markets Strategy Vikram Rai said Monday as he released a report on the state titled, “Why Illinois Beckons.”

Following an Enterprise Risk Assessment and evaluations conducted by local fire departments and workplace protection in each hub and corporate headquarters, fire risks were identified in the parking garages that cannot be mitigated at this time.”

As of August 31 2024, Illinois had not released its fiscal year 2023 annual financial report. Based upon the state’s last audited financial report for the fiscal year 2022, it had a Taxpayer Burden of $37,000, earning it an “F” grade from Truth in Accounting. At that time, Illinois needed $175.4
billion to pay its bills. Unfunded pensions and other employee retirement obligations continued to plague the state in 2022, and

When foster children were physically and sexually abused at a South Side facility, state officials tried to backdate documents. Injustice Watch exposed the abuses and shoddy oversight – and now state lawmakers are calling for a comprehensive audit.

After news broke that federal prosecutors have charged five Chinese nationals for spying in 2023 on Michigan’s Camp Grayling training facility, lawmakers have renewed calls for the state to cease giving taxpayers funds to Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech.

Camp Grayling is approximately 90 miles north of the area where China-linked battery company Gotion is looking to set up shop with the help of hefty state and federal subsidies. Gotion plans a substantial similar factory in Manteno, Illinois.

A Kankakee judge ruled against a citizens group that is fighting to stop the opening of an electric-vehicle battery plant in Manteno but left the door open for the lawsuit to continue.

“There’s been massive migration all throughout the world, people literally moving from one country to another. And that began to increase significantly over the last four years. So it’s natural, of course, that you adapt your policies to meet the moment,” Pritzker said.

Gotion is developing a sister project in Manteno, Illinois, parts for which are supposed to come from the pending Michigan project.

Republican Reps. John Moolenaar of Michigan and Darin LaHood of Illinois will be hosting the affair in Manteno, Illinois, where battery maker Gotion — which is fully “owned and controlled” by its China-based parent company Gotion High-Tech — plans to build a $2 billion facility. The event will feature local stakeholders and national security experts, and it is meant to provide “transparency” for locals who may be concerned about Gotion’s plans to set up shop in their community.

A roughly 50,000-square-foot Los Angeles estate is slated to come on the market following a lengthy fight between billionaire Tony Pritzker and philanthropist Jeanne Pritzker.

“Please stop calling them alarmists – how about calling them truth-tellers?”

Court filings show that at least two former board members in Michigan stood to receive financial benefits from Gotion while it was seeking approval for its project there. Gotion’s Michigan project is planned to supply parts to the Gotion factory in Manteno, Illinois being built with taxpayer subsidies.

“At a minimum, the U.S. should not effectively finance genocide by supporting a business such as Gotion. Although Biden may not be particularly active in enforcing the Genocide Convention, residents in Michigan and Illinois, trying to preserve their communities, are. Yes, Gotion is the place to draw the line.”

Stellantis delayed retooling a shuttered plant in Belvidere, Ill., for EV production. The Energy Department awarded Stellantis $335 million in subsidies to convert the plant to make EVs. President Biden boasted about the plant in his State of the Union address this year. Before I came to office the plant was on its way to shutting down. Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods,” he said. “A new state-of-the art battery factory is being built to

In their brief, the RTOs explicitly argued that the rules would jeopardize Americans’ ability to reliably secure sufficient amounts of power if they are enforced as is, despite claims by the Biden-Harris administration that the regulations would “improve public health without disrupting the delivery of reliable electricity.” Note: Illinois’ electrical grid is managed entirely by two of those RTOs — PJM and MISO.

John Deere, Harley-Davidson, and Ford are some of the other major companies to roll back or rethink DEI initiatives.

Let’s face it — no one enjoys paying property taxes, especially when they increase without notice — and by as much as 1,000%, as in Chicago’s Cook County in 2023.

There has been no disclosure of a design plan; no timeline for demolition, groundbreaking or even deciding what will happen to prison staff.

According to a complex funding formula to be laid out in the bill, colleges and universities in the Prairie State would receive $6,000 for every black or American Indian student enrolled. Hispanics don’t fetch that much — only $4,000 per student. White and Asian students don’t get any money at all.

The state budgeted over $700 million for the U of I system. This was a 1.8% increase from last year.

Epstein reviews growing up in Chicago, and asks, “Is self-chosen segregation among Jews a good thing? In one sense, it feels like taking a step backward toward a less open society. Yet when the politics of a country swing too far in either direction, antisemitism is almost certain to come in its train. The swing today is unmistakably and strongly leftist, and self-segregation strikes me as the first step in combating the attacks on Jews that attend it.”

“The union has also spotlighted the company’s delays of a planned multi-billion dollar investment into a new battery plant and factory in Belvidere, Illinois.”

“This inequity is playing out in Chicago’s south suburbs. In towns such as Harvey, Ill., where the median household income is relatively low, a property tax hike of 30% has left many residents in precarity.”

“The deal with CCP-backed Gotion Inc. [which has a substantially identical deal in Illinois] has been fiercely resisted by voters.”

In 2022, Illinois voters approved what they likely thought was an innocuous ballot measure, the Illinois Workers’ Rights Amendment, also called Amendment One. Little did Illinoisians know, this constitutional amendment was being tested as a blueprint for unscrupulous union executives to consolidate power nationwide.

Johnson is asking for billions in state bailouts, and good luck with that. He and the Chicago Teachers Union have indicated they plan to blame Pritzker for the school district’s financial woes.

“Now, even Michigan Democrats who had touted the project as a source of jobs in the state’s rural western part are starting to distance themselves from Gotion, the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese battery company Gotion High-tech.”

Note: Gotion has a sister project underway in Manteno, Illinois, subject to the same issues.

Electric vehicle sales are decelerating in Illinois, as car buyers slow their roll toward electrification. And that’s casting a shadow over Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s ambitions to make Illinois not only a center of EV manufacturing but a place with more than 1 million EVs on the road by the end of the decade. New EV registrations this year averaged 2,457 per month through August, or about 12% less than during the same period a year ago, according to the Illinois secretary of state.

Jeep and Ram maker Stellantis will spend $406 million retooling three Michigan factories so they can build electric vehicles or battery parts to support a strategy of making vehicles powered by both gasoline and batteries. Yet no date has been given for the company to restart the Belvidere, Illinois factory or to open a new battery plant and a new parts warehouse, both which were also promised in the contract agreement that ended the UAW’s strike against Stellantis last year. At stake are more than 2,700 jobs.

See also Wirepoints’ column here on this very surprising vote.

“…but God love her.”

More bad news for California, Illinois and New York. A recent analysis finds that their most upwardly mobile millennials are fleeing for lower-tax states. Call it a high-tax state brain drain. Damage to high-tax state economies will compound as more young, upwardly mobile people leave.

Kelly Cushway, 63, Lori Block, Deborah Dygert, 71, and Jeffrey Thorne, 64, spoke to DailyMail.com about their concerns regarding Chinese-backed company Gotion purchasing land for a battery plant in their community.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos said the town would have to cut its budget in unacceptable ways to make up the $2.3 million revenue reduction from losing the grocery tax. In contrast, City of Bloomington leaders have expressed the hope that natural revenue growth would make up the stagger over time and have shown no interest in creating a local tax.

“For the most part of my career, you would see kids within a classroom that were plus or minus one or two, maybe, in terms of their academic skill set. At this point, you may see kids within one classroom that are plus or minus three to four grade levels.”

“The debate over Gotion Inc., a U.S.-based subsidiary of a Chinese company, has quickly developed from a hyperlocal issue into a national one.“They’re moving up the food chain, and it’s starting from the grassroots level,” Michigan GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra said, referring to the activists who rallied to oust local officeholders. Note: Gotion has a very similar factory planned for Manteno, Illinois, subsidized by state and federal taxpayers.

Comment: The State of Illinois is still not talking on the effect of this on the Belvidere, Illinois project that it proudly announced last year. We wrote here recently that the deal looked fishy from the start.

Savage-Williams promoted her school district’s “Social Consciousness Series” programming, which features “Special events open to the Evanston community that encourage participants to engage in critical thought about their racialized experiences and its relation to the systemic oppression rooted in anti-blackness.”

Rich Miller: “I don’t know if he pioneered it or not, but while reading the national commentary, it occurred to me that Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has been pressing home the importance of ‘freedom’ for several years here.”

On Monday, plans for a separate, $400 million solar cell facility in Colorado were halted, two months after Secretary of State Antony Blinken touted the project as an example of world-leading foreign investment.

An opponent of the project told The Post she was “mortified” to learn, about a year-and-a-half ago, how many politicians had signed NDAs on the deal. “I was disgusted,” she said. “I had no idea people were that dishonest as to sign NDAs to not discuss what’s going in on our own community.” Note: The Michigan Gotion project is the sister of the Manteno, Illinois Gotion project, which is planned to use parts made in the Michigan plant.

The lawsuit accuses Deiters of violating the Illinois Civil Liability for Doxing Act, a law that went into effect in January. The legislation, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker Aug. 4, 2023, makes anyone in Illinois civilly liable for partaking in doxxing, or the sharing of personal identifiable information about another person for the purpose of harming them.

The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act is a flawed law that will harm both taxpayers and small businesses across Illinois.

Note: Headline should say far left’s philanthropy now dominating local news, as most of the examples in this forum show.

In the 17 states where Democrats boast a “trifecta”—control of the governorship and both legislative chambers—the share is 98%. In the 23 states with Republican trifectas, it’s 47%.

“All I’m saying here is that we need to live more in the present than in the past. Our aging president has dropped out of the race, and now our aging news media narratives need to do the same.”

It is Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s lofty goal to have one million electric vehicles on Illinois roads in less than six years, and now a public service campaign is critical of his political party’s EV agenda. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) has launched an ad campaign called “Driver’s Seat” that highlights Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for a 100% ban on sales of new gas cars in the U.S.

“Stellantis this week said it would delay investments to retool its shuttered plant in Belvidere, Ill., for EV production…. Kamala Harris in 2019 supported banning the sale of new gas-powered cars in 2035. When auto makers bleed red ink trying to comply with the government mandates, will she force taxpayers to rescue them?”

Highland, a town just across the Illinois border, was the only place in Chicagoland ranked among “hottest zip codes” by Realtor.com.

Manteno resident Annette LaMore, who is a spokeswoman for the Concerned Citizens, said she was blown away that Gotion is sponsoring the Oktoberfest. “We cannot believe it,” she said. “This is a foreign entity who is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. Why in the world are we inviting them into our town, making them the sponsor of our biggest fundraiser of the year?”

“People in town for the DNC got to experience the power of Chicago drag,” Miss Toto said. “Chicago drag is at the forefront of advocacy.”

The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that tossed out a law barring political parties from choosing candidates for the General Assembly when they had no one run in a primary election.

A Cook County judge says Chicago’s city public health commissioner had the power to act beyond the limits of her power spelled out in the law to block a permit that would have allowed a new Southwest Side metal recycling center to open, even after prior approvals from other city reviewers had led the company to invest more than $80 million in the project, before the project was suddenly nixed by the public health commissioner.

Immediately after Sanders dumped on billionaires, Pritzker spoke and said, “Donald Trump thinks we should trust him on the economy because he claims to be very rich. Take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity.”

“Consider: “The formidable [former] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is running around the convention in heels as a rock star,” MK Pritzker said. “I can’t keep up!”

Years of declining enrollments, combined with a decade-plus of state underfunding, are finally coming to a head in Illinois as some public colleges are staring down gaping budget deficits with no quick and easy fixes in sight.

The Biden-Harris administration’s recently proposed national security regulations would, as crafted, give a free pass to Gotion High-Tech, a Chinese government-tied company developing an electric vehicle battery facility just 63 miles away from a sensitive military facility in northern Michigan. The company plans a sister project in Manteno, IL.

Battery maker Gotion is gearing up to start production soon at its new facility in Manteno, largely keeping to the aggressive timetable it laid down a year ago. The Chinese maker of lithium-ion batteries for commercial energy storage and electric vehicles announced plans last September to convert a former Kmart distribution center into an assembly facility that would be operating within a year.

“The array of discriminatory scholarships collectively discriminates against almost everyone,’” legal scholar says.

Former President Donald Trump stated in a Tuesday evening social media post that he is completely opposed to a China-linked, Democrat-backed electric vehicle (EV) battery components factory planned for construction in Michigan. Note: Gotion’s Michigan and Illinois projects are mutually dependent since the Michigan plant is to supply parts to the Illinois plant.

The union said that the Belvidere Consolidated Mopar Mega Hub will not launch this year, and that stamping operations at the Belvidere Mega Hub will not begin in 2025 as previously expected. Plans to convert the Belvidere plant to make electric midsize trucks by 2027 — a project that has been given more than $583 million in federal funding and is expected to employ 1,450 union workers — has also been delayed.

“It’s good to be a Democrat politician. They get all the security. Just ask Donald Trump. But really, for a city that’s known for high crime, all-the-time crime, round-the-clock crime, gang crime, thug crime, violent crime and regular weekend crimes of murder — it’s a tad despicable to see that when security is perceived as necessary — when the high brow are in town — then security, by gosh, is not just top notch. It’s full blown. It’s armed, and then some.”

Governor JB Pritzker confirmed Sunday that about 250 members of the Illinois National Guard have been called up to be on standby during the convention.

Gary is the second city in Indiana to drop its sanctuary city policy. Last month, officials in East Chicago, Indiana, repealed their sanctuary city policy to comply with the state’s ban on sanctuary jurisdictions.

The changes upend more than a decade of industry procedures and could impact how real estate agents have traditionally been paid. It could also open up more opportunities for homebuyers and sellers.

Trade groups representing banks and credit unions are suing the state of Illinois over a new law that would exempt state and local taxes and tips from the interchange fees charged by credit-card processors. Bankers were surprised by the law, which emerged at the 11th hour of this year’s budget session in Springfield. Lawmakers decided to reduce the interchange fees,largely paid by merchants, on credit- and debit-card transactions as a way to soften the blow of a new law that would generate $100 million in state revenue by reducing the amount of money paid to merchants for collecting state and

Northern Illinois University reported a $31.8 million deficit for fiscal year 2024 and now faculty and staff brace for what’s next as the school year approaches. NIU has experienced a prolonged drop in enrollment, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic.

Pritzker will speak in a prime time address Tuesday night, the same night former President Barack Obama will address the convention, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Johnson, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood have also been confirmed as speakers.

Gotion is slated to build electric vehicle lithium battery plants in Illinois and Michigan, heavily subsidized by both states and the federal government.

Darius Jones ,senior advisor at National Black Empowerment Action Fund: Illinois has enacted some of the nation’s most progressive laws, including legalizing adult-use cannabis and pairing emissions-reduction requirements with workforce development programs. There has been some progress, but neither effort is faring well.

Illinois now ranks as the least affordable state for housing in the Midwest, with 1 in 3 households paying more than 30% of their income for housing as property taxes continue to rise.

For the first time in more than a century, Illinois has updated the state’s child labor regulations, a move the AFL-CIO applauds.

“We analyzed seven Great Lakes states with connected electricity grids—Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. For decades, these states have bought and sold electricity in regional markets, benefiting from the abundance of reliable power generated from sources like coal, natural gas and nuclear. But through a combination of state mandates and utility company decisions, all of them are moving away from those reliable sources toward unreliable wind and solar power, in pursuit of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.”

The company plans to establish facilities in Michigan’s Green Charter Township — within 100 miles of Camp Grayling, a National Guard installation where Taiwanese forces have trained — and Manteno, Illinois, with the help of generous state and federal subsidies.

“The Chicago area is home to the biggest Palestinian diaspora in the US. They’re going to make sure the Democratic National Convention hears them.”

“Climate change = urban shootings? According to the research presented at the webinar, “climate change contributed to 370 additional shootings in Chicago.”

Her bullying came amid the Internal Revenue Service’s notorious targeting of conservative nonprofits; Wisconsin’s probe of GOP donors; Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin’s intimidation of donors to the American Legislative Exchange Council; and a campaign of harassment against donors who supported California’s Prop 8.

The Illinois State Board of Education introduced framework for the literacy plan in January. This law will ensure schools are not limited by their vendors.

Howard Tullman, general managing partner for G2T3V, LLC and for the Chicago High Tech Investors, LLC: “The message and the bottom line are pretty simple. The hapless and the half-hearted are happy to hang around as long as you’re stupid enough to have them. When piety and political correctness are prioritized over performance, it’s the doers and the highly valued talent that leave the firm and the DEI do-rights, the do-nothings, and the dregs that remain.”

Today’s opportunity is being teed up by a coalition of hard-left organizations called March on the DNC 2024. They are determined to bring their demands to the Chicago convention. They don’t like “Genocide Joe” because they consider him the war’s enabler. But here’s the kicker. They don’t see Ms. Harris as any different. In a statement headlined, “We’re still marching for Palestine at the DNC.”

Insurance policies in Illinois are also required to cover abortions and pregnancy-ending medications.

A combined 319 salaried workers at John Deere World Headquarters in Moline and John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline were among the mass, permanent layoffs of nonproduction workers last week by the Moline-based global equipment maker.

“The fact that J. B. Pritzker is being discussed as a potential vice president of the United States is a sign of just how dangerously close the American republic is to an all-out coup.”

There’s a growing push to expand nuclear energy at the federal and international level, but as aging nuclear plants around the country look toward the future, spent fuel is just one of the potential roadblocks.

Taking away guns from people served with domestic violence orders of protection would be a lot of work. “There aren’t enough sworn officers to carry out what’s being asked here,” Pritzker said.

In the survey, conducted by Emerson College, which looked at voters in the five largest swing states, Pritzker emerged as the least-preferred candidate in all except one, Wisconsin, where he was second-last.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential running mate for Kamala Harris, told ABC’s “This Week” that Donald Trump and JD Vance are “just weird,” citing an obviously made-up story about J.D. Vance having an unnatural interest in couches that has been circulating on Twitter this week.

“No one who has witnessed the last few days can doubt the power of the Democratic culture-media machine, a formidable force honed by holding power for 12 of the last 16 years and made up of headline writers, news analysts, Hollywood rainmakers, opinion columnists, TikTokers, influencers, social media meisters and late-night talk-show hosts that ramped up so fast and with such overwhelming and unified force that it propelled Donald Trump’s ill-prepared hair halfway down the Mar-a-Lago fairway.”

In the meantime, Democrats rule Illinois without challenge, thanks to their own political sophistication and considerable help from the GOP.

In the latest economic development deal from Pritzker’s development-friendly administration, PsiQuantum is set to receive $200 million in tax breaks and other incentives through several state programs, including $92 million from the state’s Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity Act, or MICRO.

Illinois is trying to position itself as a center for new technologies from electric vehicles and batteries to quantum computing. The Democratic National Convention taking place in Chicago from Aug. 19-22 will allow Pritzker to showcase his political achievements, including bringing the convention to the third-largest US city.

PsiQuantum on Wednesday announced a far-reaching partnership with the State of Illinois, Cook County, and the City of Chicago to build the first US-based utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer at the former US Steel South Works property in the City of Chicago.

Illinois and DARPA just announced an ambitious $500 million quantum computing campus in Chicago–with PsiQuantum at the center.

The latest in the twists and turns.

The experiment included 3,000 lower-income Americans aged 21 to 40, drawn from 19 counties in the Dallas and Chicago areas. The upshot of this experiment is a reduction in work effort that, as the authors put it, “does not appear offset by other productive activities.”

Chicago “journalists” would no doubt be champing at the bit for the opportunity to work their magic on a national stage: If they can do it to Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois, why can’t they do it across the nation?

Video of the Tuesday CNN interview is here with Pritzker comments on other matters, including blaming Republicans for border crisis.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security announced that unemployment increased to 5 percent. The May revised unemployment rate was 4.9 percent. The national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in June, up slightly from the previous month. The number of unemployed workers in the state was 327,900, up over 3 percent from the prior month, and up nearly 19 percent over the same month one year ago.

“It’s one thing to express your support for a friend. It’s another thing to use your platform as a government official to prejudge a case before it’s played out. Before all the facts are known,” said Roy, who was featured in the Fox Nation documentary “Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax.”

The Chicago Teachers Union has spread $1.3 million around Springfield, with nearly 3 of every 4 Democrats receiving campaign cash and nearly half of them from outside Chicago. About half of all sitting state lawmakers received CTU money between 2010 and July 23, 2024.

Some say the southern Illinois boundary line should be changed so that eight downstate counties can become part of Missouri. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul disagrees.

The alleged threat against state Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, came just days after the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on July 13.

Rep. Terra Costa Howard, the chair of the Adoption and Child Welfare Committee in the Illinois House, called for action following a Capitol News Illinois and ProPublica investigation, which revealed little accountability for parents who pull their kids from school and then fail to ensure they receive an education.

Efforts to recruit police officers from Illinois to other states continue, but a Chicago police representative says there are things Illinois should do to keep them.

Note: That’s despite multiple other reports, such as here, saying Pritzker is being vetted by Harris for the VP slot.

The shooting prompted first-degree murder charges against former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson.

Conservative-leaning independents might find Pritzker palatable because of his business ties. It is no secret that Republicans love a rich white dude. The economy is a big factor in everyone’s decision this election, and Pritzker may have the economic chops to collect votes in November. His supporters in the state brag about how he “stabilized Illinois’ finances,” balanced the budget, and “helped get the state back on its feet.” These accomplishments will sit very well with those worried about the financial state of the nation.

Illinois’ two U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, also endorsed Harris on Monday. As of Monday morning, all of Illinois’ congressional Democrats had pledged to support Harris.

Sonya Massey’s last words were: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” followed by “I’m sorry,” as Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson put his hand on his 9 mm pistol and threatened to shoot her in the face. Seconds later, he did.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law last week. House Bill 5457 provides that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may not revoke, suspend, or take any other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action against a license or permit issued under the law based solely upon an immigration violation.

“It isn’t Donald Trump who is an existential threat to our democracy. It’s Barack Obama…. It’s classic ward-boss tactics…. I’ve known Mr. Obama since 1995. We both grew up in Chicago politics. We understand how it works—with the bosses over the people. Mr. Obama learned the lessons well. And what he just did to Mr. Biden is what political bosses have been doing in Chicago since the 1871 fire—selections masquerading as elections.”

As Illinois seeks to end federal court oversight of its disability services, an independent court monitor says the state continues to fall short of promises made 13 years ago to allow people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live outside of institutions.

At the convention, Biden will be saluted for his presidential, vice presidential and Senate legacy. When Biden delivers his keynote address, one convention veteran said, he will get a lengthy standing ovation and be treated as a hero.“We have so many reasons to love Joe Biden,” Harris said when she visited the Delaware campaign headquarters on Monday afternoon. If elected, Harris, who is Black and Asian American, would be the country’s

Out of 90 Midwestern metropolitan areas, Illinois has four in the bottom 10 for new housing per capita in 2023. Housing affordability is directly linked to getting units built.

Here are data snapshots of Illinois communities and schools. See how well your tax dollars are performing in your city, county or school compared to others.

Members of the Illinois delegation to the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago are being urged by the state party to “hold back from reacting publicly” as top Democrats scramble to either rally around the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris or hold a competitive primary.

One state Democratic source, said they were told Pritzker would issue a statement about his political future on Monday and that they expected the second-term Illinois governor “would be running for something.”

“If the party eschewed Biden’s endorsement of Harris or anointed Pritzker as the vice presidential nominee, Pritzker could offer certain advantages. Democrats would have a potential nominee with a proven track record in Illinois that closely aligns with the national party’s priorities.”

Democrats in the two contested state legislative races in East Central Illinois enjoy large fundraising advantages over their GOP opponents less than four months before Election Day.

CPS made a mistake when it put temporary federal pandemic aid into its permanent spending base. Now, the money’s running out. A bailout seems unlikely.

Illinois Republican Reps. Mike Bost, Darin LaHood and Mary E. Miller are among those cited as climate deniers in a new analysis. Many of the 123 lawmakers in the group have pocketed big sums in “anti-climate money.”

In each of the six R’s critical to economic development — roads, rails, rivers, runways, routers (technology) and research — Illinois is among the top states in the nation. And it’s smack dab in the middle of the world’s largest economy. Illinois should be an economic powerhouse.

“Listen, I love this party because sometimes we air our dirty laundry with one another and it gets into the press of these fine people,” the new Illinois Republican chair added, referring to reporters in the room. “But we need to say, ‘You know, let’s give that person the benefit of a new fresh day.’ And that’s how we will win elections here in Illinois.”

“Donald Trump is a convicted felon, liable for sexual assault, and a congenital liar. He is a man who remains wholly unfit for the office of the presidency, both in temperament and character. His attacks on the most vulnerable and on the middle class demand that we come together to defeat him in November.”

Democrats had planned daily press conferences to highlight “the grave danger that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans pose to our democracy, our rights and our livelihoods.” But with images of the shooting still fresh in the voters’ minds, they’re opting to let President Biden lead their response.

“Democrats, let’s not be scared of what’s next,” the Illinois governor said. “I promise you, we’re going to be OK.”

The $61 billion-a-year company has been slammed for sponsoring a Pride event for kids as young as three, and encouraging staff to use ‘preferred pronouns’ as it tries to become more ‘inclusive.’

In the heart of Illinois, a revolution is underway. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has established itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), driving transformative advancements across industries and paving the way for a future where AI redefines what is possible.

The Treasury Department issued a new proposal Monday to expand the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.’ (CFIUS) ability to prevent certain foreign-linked companies from buying up land near U.S. military installations inside the country. The proposed rule would stonewall both Cnano USA and Gotion Inc., two separate subsidiaries of Chinese-based companies that planned to buy land and build plants close to

Democratic Party divisions are all over the airwaves these days, but will they spill into the streets? That’s the hope of left-wing groups planning a “summer of resistance” to culminate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from Aug. 19-22.

The United States plans to broaden oversight of foreigners’ property transactions on sites close to military installations, the Treasury Department said on Monday, as concerns involving Chinese land purchases grow. Among the proposed sites to be added are Camp Grayling in Michigan – some 160km (100 miles) from where Chinese electric vehicle battery-maker Gotion plans to build a facility. Note: Gotion’s facility in Michigan is planned to supply parts to Gotion’s highly controversial planned factory in Manteno, Illinois.

“…but he added he would withhold judgment until hearing from colleagues.”

“The June 16 article by [Wirepoints’] Mark Glennon revealed his appalling ignorance of the most serious problem the planet faces, climate change.” Note: the referenced article is here: Greenflation is Making Everything More Expensive.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker urged President Joe Biden to re-pitch himself to Americans following his disastrous performance at a presidential debate. Pritzker’s name has been floated as a possible candidate to replace Biden,

Clear Choice, a super PAC that has also challenged Kennedy’s petitions in New York and North Carolina, filed objections with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday, the deadline to object.

As the aftermath of the first 2024 presidential debate settles, The Chicago Tribune, based in the host city for the Democratic National Convention, is pleading for President Biden to drop out of the race.

Some residents are livid that police made no arrests when people protesting the Israel-Hamas war showed up at the residence of U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider around 2:45 a.m.

It’s the “Landlord Retaliation Act” — a measure designed to protect renters who complain about unsafe or unsanitary conditions from being evicted or non-renewed. As HB4768, it overwhelmingly passed both houses of the legislature last month, and is now on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker could soon enact a bill pro-life advocates say will infringe on Illinois employers’ and pregnancy resource centers’ rights. The bill aims to prohibit employers or others from discriminating against women who have abortions or intend to have an abortion.

But researchers say despite new 75-county data trove, it’s still too early to judge bail reform law.

Many people still view a college degree as a requirement into the workforce and toward future prosperity. The data beg to differ.

“Among the Democrats’ bench of potential candidates who didn’t participate in the 2020 primaries, a group of governors stand out — California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro and Maryland’s Wes Moore.”

JB Pritzker included here, as in many similar articles.

Includes full statement from Pritzker.

“We’re not prosecuting and we’re actually handcuffing the police when it comes to doing their job, whether it’s we’re not doing foot chases, we’re not doing car chases, we’ve got the [end of cash bail statewide], which is allowing more criminals to be out on the streets,” Dabrowski told The Center Square.

Newly released Chicago Police records indicate Chicago Public Schools’ top security official denied detectives access to school video surveillance footage at a high school where a former student shot four others and that the school’s principal discouraged a witness from cooperating with homicide investigators the afternoon of the shooting.

Speaker Welch asserts lawmakers have sweeping and nearly unchallengeable powers to change ballot access rules whenever and however they like.

Despite an increase in funding for wind farm operators, wind production was down in 2023. According to the Energy Information Administration, last year saw record highs in installed wind capacity and subsidies, but production is falling in Illinois and around the country

Amid a Moody’s report describing Illinois as a below average performer in job and income growth, the governor is set to sign legislation opponents say will open business owners up to frivolous lawsuits. House Bill 2161 is now on the governor’s desk. The bill seeks to prevent discrimination by an employer based on an employee’s family responsibilities.

A group of health and environmental organizations are asking a state quasi-judicial body to ban the sale of all new gas-powered cars and a large percentage of diesel trucks by 2035 after failing to sell Gov. J.B. Pritzker on the idea.

Delia Ramirez of Illinois, another member of the Squad who won her race in 2022, said Bowman’s loss should be a rallying cry for those on the left wing.

The Supreme Court found that a crucial federal bribery law aimed at state and local officials does not also criminalize after-the-fact rewards known as “gratuities.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who authored the majority opinion, accused prosecutors of trying to turn the law into “a vague and unfair trap for 19 million state and local officials.”

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing.

Much of the debate over the bill in the legislature focused on the cost of launching a new state agency. Lawmakers appropriated $14 million in the upcoming fiscal year for initial startup costs, which include such things as hiring executive staff and opening new office space. But administration officials were reluctant to provide estimates of how much the new agency would cost annually once it’s fully operational, and whether those administrative costs would outweigh what the state is spending currently.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a measure expanding a slew of tax credits for things like electric vehicle manufacturers, quantum computing, filmmakers and more.

Family members said 51-year-old Michael Broadway, who recently earned a college degree while incarcerated, died from asthma, which was made worse by the conditions in the facility.

Summertime before an election is when the politicians in Illinois start cutting ribbons and issuing press statements about all the taxpayer money they are handing out for special projects. This year is no exception with Gov. Pritzker announcing millions in grants to various public and private entities.

In Illinois, the disparities between students across income levels provide a clear picture of whether the state is empowering the poor through public education. Things do not look good.

Only 2% of Americans who follow the success sequence are in poverty, compared to 11.5% of Americans. Family formation, the third and fourth steps on the success sequence, are extremely important because family stability and structure have profound impacts on economic and social mobility.

“In Illinois, we’re implementing our comprehensive data-driven plan to improve our response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis and amplify the effectiveness of State, County, and City investments,” said Governor JB Pritzker in a statement. “The additional temporary shelters will ensure that shelter capacity and wraparound services remain accessible to asylum seeker families as they transition out of our system of care and on to independence.”

As Second Amendment rights advocates and Illinois state officials alike await word from the U.S. Supreme Court on the possible fate of Illinois’ ban on so-called “assault weapons,” Cook County’s government is headed to a showdown before a federal appeals panel over whether its “assault weapons” ban ordinance can survive under the Second Amendment and prior Supreme Court rulings.

While he supported the measure, state Rep. Steven Reick, R-Woodstock, worried it will add to the size of state government. “As H.L. Mencken said, ‘the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and clamoring for safety by creating a series of hobgoblins most of them imaginary,” Reick said.

On the governor’s desk and ready to be signed is Senate Bill 1400, which seeks to improve discipline procedures by creating statewide guidelines for school districts.

The EV maker reported a loss of $1.45 billion during the first quarter of this year, as it retooled its plant in Normal, Illinois, to launch updated versions of its R1T pickup and R1S SUV EVs ahead of its next-generation vehicles in 2026.

Chicago’s poverty rate stands at 17.2%, higher than before America launched a war on poverty in the 1960’s. Why? One key factor is the perverse incentives created by “benefits cliffs.”

Critical Race Theory and systemic racism in education are going to a whole new level in Illinois. In fact, under a proposed new scheme supposedly aimed at fighting alleged “disparities” in higher learning, people with darker complexions (or lower grades) will literally be worth more than those with lighter skin.

“The Chicago Police Department has been and continues to prepare for the upcoming Democratic National Convention since Chicago was announced as the host city a year ago. Our training has been heavily focused on responding to large-scale First Amendment activity,” the department told NBC Chicago in a statement Monday. “As always, we will protect those exercising their constitutional rights, as well as those who are working, living, and visiting in the areas of the demonstrations. When orders to disperse are given for public safety reasons, we will seek voluntary compliance first consistent with the Department’s First Amendment Rights policy. Those

Illinois’ average in-state tuition to public universities is among the highest in the nation. Getting an education is crucial to escaping poverty, putting Illinoisans at a great disadvantage.

A federal jury convicted Burke on 13 corruption counts after hearing allegations that the longest-serving City Council member in Chicago history with a 54-year tenure had used his power to win private law business from developers. The corruption schemes occurred in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Democrats are, of course, delighted to now control what has become a one-party state, and they could not resist the opportunity to gloat over the GOP’s latest self-inflicted wound.

Republicans are pouncing on the failures of so-called progressive policies, and let’s hope the GOP can force Democrats to move to the center for the sake of rescuing some of America’s great cities. Republicans are trying to win elections, but win or lose they will have performed a public service if they can force their opponents to prioritize public safety and prosperity in our country’s urban centers. There is also a breakdown of civilized behavior.

Pandemic fraud is shaping up to be the biggest financial scam in U.S. history. Of the $5 trillion in relief that former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden authorized, hundreds of billions are believed to have been ripped off. The pandemic’s first year was especially bad, with an estimated 20% of every dollar paid out going to criminals.

Pritzker’s predilection is so striking that he drew national attention from The New York Times.

In 2022, chronic absenteeism in Chicago Public Schools jumped to 44.6%, almost doubling from the 2018 rate of 23%, state data show. Statewide, it was 16.8% in 2018, jumping to 29.8% in 2022. More than 125,000 CPS students last year met the definition of chronically absent.

In 2022-23, about 36% of public school teachers in Illinois were absent at least 10 times. That’s up from just 26% in 2018-19. For Chicago Public Schools, the numbers are even more alarming. Forty-three percent of teachers missed at least 10 days.

“It is unbearable to me that the rights my mother, and so many women like her, fought to obtain and protect are now being ripped away from a new generation of women. I am terrified that this new and dangerous landscape will open the door to taking other rights away from women and girls.”

Driving that trend is the collapse of America’s birthrate since the 2008-09 financial crisis…. But how likely is it that superintendents and school boards in the cities and inner-ring suburbs, where most of the underenrolled schools are, will follow this advice? We can get an idea by looking at communities such as Houston, Chicago, Denver and Columbus, Ohio, which face the greatest declines in student enrollment and the largest budget crises as a result.

The idea that minorities can’t succeed in the United States today not only encourages defeatism but is also untrue. Data on legal immigrants from Latin America and Africa reveal that many outperform native-born Americans from their demographic group, and other figures reveal non-white groups’ increasing economic success. Politicians need to muster the courage to say that family breakdown is a major cause of minority communities’ economic and crime troubles.

Despite Chicago’s many challenges, Mayor Johnson is optimistic about its ability to stage a convention that will showcase what he sees as best about both the city and the Democratic Party. “Chicago was chosen to have the starring role because of our commitment to Democratic values,” Johnson said.

A project aimed at keeping invasive carp out of the Great Lakes could be in jeopardy if Illinois doesn’t meet a fast-approaching deadline to release federal funds.

Although merchants have long advocated for this change, banking and payment industry representatives argue that it imposes an undue hardship by forcing them to process certain components of transactions without compensation.

Harris has partnered with two men who run an insurance brokerage, even though Harris is chair of the Illinois Senate’s Insurance Committee. The committee oversees legislation affecting the multibillion-dollar insurance industry in the state.

Many residents who live next to the park oppose the plan, fearing construction of a casino or even a hotel would draw more tourists and lead to a larger, more congested community.

“It’s a loophole in one respect for getting out of penalties for engaging in coordination. But it also makes it difficult for candidates and independent expenditure committees to know what they’re supposed to do and what they’re not supposed to do,” said veteran election law attorney Ed Mullen.

“Pediatric clinicians, in particular, have a unique opportunity to incorporate crucial conversations about race and racism into clinical visits…. Consensus was reached on the necessity for pediatric clinicians to have a thorough understanding of the systemic nature of racism and the importance of both learning from patients and addressing intersectionality during these conversations.”

Mike Barry, who has been outspoken against the Gotion lithium battery factory in Manteno, was recently dismissed as athletic director of the Manteno Wildcats football program. Many residents suspect retaliation for his opposition to the Gotion plant.

Legislation is advancing to block the Department of Homeland Security from buying batteries from Chinese suppliers, including Gotion, which is building a battery plant in Manteno, IL subsidized by $536 million from the state.

Rates of violence and aggression against educators are high — and in many cases have risen from pre-COVID-19 levels — leading teachers to suffer mental health consequences and to consider quitting the profession. A new study led by DePaul University psychologist Susan Dvorak McMahon reveals the extent of the problem across our nation’s schools as well as recommendations for the field.

A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor.

Presumably in response to Gov. JB Pritzker’s insults (linked here), Donald Trump posted to TruthSocial and reposted to X: “Sloppy JB Pritzker, the Rotund Governor from the once great State of Illinois, who makes Chris Christie look like a male model, and whose family wanted him out of the business because he was so pathetic at helping them run it, has presided over the destruction and disintegration of Illinois at levels never seen before in any State. Crime is rampant and people are, sadly, fleeing Illinois.”

Can state police track drivers everywhere they go via hundreds of license plate cameras? A new lawsuit says that Illinois’ widespread use of such cameras—called automatic license plate readers (ALPRs)—violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches because it breaches citizens’ reasonable expectations of privacy.

A greater share of Chicago area Republicans cast their ballots by mail in March compared to the 2022 primary, but they were still vastly outpaced by Democrats in using a voting system that has become increasingly popular.