Politics
The stories of five asylum-seekers who arrived in Chicago from Latin America are told in a new documentary series from WTTW. “Firsthand: Homeless – The Migrant Experience” profiles five people who left their home countries and traveled across continents to begin a new life.
Former Ald. Ed Burke is sentenced to 2 years in prison and a $2M fine, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall rules.
Property tax bills for Cook County residents are available online at cookcountytreasurer.com and should hit mailboxes this week.
Deer’s family announced his passing on social media Sunday. He was 51 years old.
The revised policy represents a “substantial improvement” over the original policy, according to a coalition of police reform groups that challenged the policy in federal court.
Mayor Brandon Johnson creates a task force to get the ball rolling on reparations. President Joe Biden moves to protect “dreamers” and long-time undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens. And Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy quits.
The CNN debate will be full of firsts, with the potential to reshape the presidential race. Never before in the modern era have two presumptive nominees met on the debate stage so early in the general election season. Never before have two White House contenders faced off at such advanced ages, with widespread questions about their readiness.
The announcement is a welcome development for President Joe Biden, whose executive action on June 4 that shut off access to asylum for migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally sought to address an ongoing crisis that has become a significant political challenge.
The plan calls for two perimeters that extend for blocks around the arena. Vehicles will have to pass through checkpoints to travel between the two boundaries. Pedestrians will be allowed to move freely without being screened in that area but only convention goers will be allowed within the inner perimeter.
For some local advocates who work on immigrations issues, the action is a welcome one.
Judge Kendall sided with prosecutors, who blasted the request for a postponement as a “last-ditch effort” by Burke to avoid being sentenced on Monday for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion.
“The public, as well as the victims in this case, have a strong interest in finality and bringing the case to a close,” prosecutors wrote. “Unfounded, eleventh-hour requests for delay like this one contribute to a general sense that the wheels of justice turn too slowly.”
Don Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in a two-page letter that cited intraparty “power struggles.” He also said he is concerned about the direction the party is taking under the current membership of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee.
A court order requiring the Chicago Police Department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers should not be expanded to include traffic stops, eight alderpeople told the federal judge overseeing the push to reform the department.
According to the study, Black households have a median net wealth of zero dollars compared to $210,000 for White families, and Black families have the lowest estimated rate of home ownership at 34% compared to 72% for White households.
The renewed effort is finally getting off the ground more than six months after Johnson agreed to earmark $500,000 in the city’s 2024 budget for the task force, the first time city officials have promised to use taxpayer dollars to do more than just promise to talk about what Chicago owes its Black residents as a result of the legacy of slavery and segregation.