Free Republic

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is negotiating a new contract with the public schools system and is understood to be calling for an extra $50 billion to pay for wage hikes as well as other demands such as fully paid abortions for its members, new migrant services and facilities and a host of LGBT-related requirements and training in schools. To put the figure into context, the total base tax receipts for the state of Illinois last year were $50.7 billion.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was caught on camera bolting from local reporters who wanted to ask him about the recent arrest of an alleged cop killer. Johnson was at a National Day of Prayer service Thursday in the Windy City, with his chauffeured car waiting in an alley, according to reports. Local reporters darted after the mayor, hollering for him to wait and to comment about the arrest of Xavier Tate Jr., who allegedly killed Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca in a carjacking last month, according to video.

The Democratic Party is bracing for massive protests during the Democratic National Committee convention in Chicago in August, reminiscent of the chaos of the 1968 convention. Fears of a repeat of the infamous convention, which saw hundreds arrested, have been thrown around as the Israel-Hamas war continues and as massive campus protests that have paralyzed several universities have further illustrated what may be in store for the Chicago DNC convention in August. “This last week has taken the demonstrations to a different level,” former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff William Daley told the Washington Post. “It portends that you...

(CHICAGO) – Workers at Sunnyside, a subsidiary of Cresco Labs, in River North have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 777. “We are thrilled to welcome another Cresco location to Teamsters Local 777,” said Jim Glimco, President of Local 777. “Dispensary workers are seeing their counterparts at other locations organize with the Teamsters and they want to secure the benefits of a union contract for themselves. We look forward to helping these workers get their first contract and continuing to organize workers in the cannabis industry across Illinois.” The River North dispensary is the sixth location to organize with Local...

During the first three months of this year alone, over 1,000 illegal aliens from Venezuela were arrested for committing crimes in Chicago.

An organizer involved in the anti-Israel, pro-Hamas encampment at the University of Chicago released a list of needed supplies, which includes Plan B, HIV tests, vaseline, and much, much more.UChicago United for Palestine, which describes itself as a “coalition currently committed to Palestinian liberation and racial justice at The University of Chicago,” posted a list of items needed for the encampment at the university, listing more than two dozen items.The organization listed the items “needed most” at the top, which include a table, wound-packing gauze, heat gloves, portable chargers, CAT tourniquets, goggles, emergency bandages, trauma shears, and more.But the list...

The Chicago Teachers Union's contract is set to expire in June which will soon prompt negotiations between educators and the school board. Union President Stacy Davis Gates said in early March that her proposed contract for 2024 to 2028 'will cost $50 billion and 3 cents.' 'And so what?' Davis Gates added. 'That’s audacity. That’s Chicago.' The teachers union is demanding nine percent cost of living adjustments every year. According to Indeed, the average salary of a teacher in Chicago Public Schools is $67,718. With raises every year for four years, teachers would be getting paid about $95,000 a year...

The last thing the communist stronghold city of Chicago needs is yet another crime wave, but thanks to Democrats, globalists, and most importantly, the voters, the Windy City has a brand new problem. ... As of this writing, 755 people have been shot in Chicago this year, and 161 have been murdered. In just the first quarter of 2024, Chicago cops have arrested over 1,000 Venezuelans for a wide array of crimes.. One would think the newcomers replacements flowing into Chicago from Venezuela would be grateful for the free housing, free food, free healthcare, and pocket cash they receive, all...

DOWNTOWN — Mayor Brandon Johnson is putting $30 million more in federal pandemic relief dollars toward a revived guaranteed income program that will give more Chicagoans $500 monthly cash payments. Johnson is also committing more money for violence prevention, rapid rehousing and other initiatives as he revamps the city’s approach to spending what remains of the $1.9 billion in pandemic financial aid the city received in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Ayers was hunted by the FBI for his alleged involvement in the 1970 bombing of the New York City Police Department headquarters, 1971 bombing of the United States Capitol building and the 1972 bombing of the Pentagon.”.. Bill Ayers, famous for being a leading member of the ‘Weather Underground,’ a domestic terror group in the 1960s, showed up at the anti-Israel encampment at the University of Chicago, where he ended up teaching for years. People who remember the 2008 election will recall that Ayers became a political lightning rod because he was an old friend of Barack Obama, who famously...

A petition for class action status by a former Chicago Public School student, Kaya Hudgins, who alleged that her school coerced her to participate in Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Hindu practices has been granted by a federal judge in a lawsuit against the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the David Lynch Foundation. Attorneys at Mauck & Baker, representing Kaya Hudgins, received an order from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois awarding class certification to Hudgins and her peers. The class action lawsuit alleges that while minor students were attending certain Chicago...

Former President Donald Trump was greeted by enthusiastic supporters at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Georgia, while on the campaign trail and ordered 30 milkshakes and chicken for everybody. Video shows the former president speaking to workers at the location, asking, “Can I have 30 milkshakes and also some chicken? We’re going to take care of the customers.” He then asks if business is good, to which the workers reply, “Yes.” Milkshakes for everyone at Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Georgia pic.twitter.com/9kWnLpgGTv — Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) April 10, 2024 Donald Trump just walked into a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta and ordered 30 milkshakes for...

Chicago Bears have released some stunning AI-generated images of a new stadium that could be built on the city waterfront - but not all residents in The Windy City are impressed. The NFL team shared the pictures on Wednesday afternoon, before Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson led a press conference about the proposals. According to FOX32 Chicago, the stadium will cost around $3.2billion to build with the Bears paying for $2billion themselves. It would hold 65,000 people with a target opening of 2028. The stadium will not only host sporting events - music concerts will be held there as well and...

Here’s another “New Neighbors Update,” a chance to share some recent troubles Chicago’s newest residents have encountered with the legal system. Yuehigor Fajardo Gonzalez, a 30-year-old Venezuelan migrant living at the Standard Club shelter in the Loop, was arrested on April 9 after shelter staff members allegedly found him in possession of a single 9-millimeter bullet at the security checkpoint. Gonzalez told police that he got the bullet in Oklahoma and “he keeps the bullet in his pocket for good luck that he doesn’t get shot,” according to his arrest report. He’s charged with unlawful possession of ammunition without a...

CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer has died after being shot multiple times in the Gage Park neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side while returning home from duty overnight. Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling confirmed in a briefing Sunday morning outside the University of Chicago Medical Center that the officer was pronounced dead.

A group of black residents tore into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday over his plans to spend an additional $70 million to feed and house illegal aliens, and to drive their point home, they wore former President Donald Trump’s signature MAGA hats during a meeting at city hall. Johnson has been continually ramping up spending on migrants, but his attention to Biden’s border crisis has sent many of Chicago’s black residents to despair as their communities lose resources so Johnson can redirect city finances and services to migrants. The self-professed “progressive” mayor has already thrown $300 million at migrants,...

As we saw this week, the mob closed O'Hare Airport and travelers had to get out of their cars or miss their flights. Was this a "test run" for the convention? Probably so. Add Midway Airport plus local freeways and moving around the city will be a nightmare. Add to this the shooting, and who in the world wants to go to the convention? The convention hall is going to look like a fortress, and who knows what will break out on the floor? The Squad will be there and that's a formula for madness. My point is that this...

Like communities around the country, Chicago is hemorrhaging cash to deal with the devastating consequences of Joe Biden’s border disaster. On Monday, the Budget and Government Operations Committee of the Chicago City Council voted 20-8 to send Mayor Brandon Johnson’s request for $70 million in additional City funding to care for illegals to the full Council. CBS News reports that the request is part of a spending plan announced by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in February. The State of Illinois and Cook County pledged a combined $250 million to help fund the crisis,...

Community Justice Exchange, part of the Soros-funded Tides Center, solicits legal defense donations for arrested protesters.. Scores of "Free Palestine" protesters across the United States took to the streets Monday to block major airports, highways, and bridges. Those who are arrested will receive bail money and legal support from a left-wing dark money behemoth funded by George Soros, an online fundraising page shows. The protests, which took place in dozens of U.S. cities including San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia, were organized by A15 Action, a newly formed group that worked to "coordinate a multi-city economic blockade on...

In 1985, Harold Washington issued an executive order that relaxed federal immigration laws under then-President Ronald Reagan, whose administration “aggressively used [the] detention of Central Americans as a device to deter migration from that region, where violent civil wars had caused tens of thousands to flee,” according to University of California Davis law professor Kevin Davis. Since Aug. 31, 2022, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bussed or flown to Chicago nearly 40,000 individuals seeking asylum in an effort to use the welcoming aspects of Washington’s executive order as a political cudgel. On April 14, Mayor Johnson called out the...