Free Republic

Several major blue cities in the U.S. have been marred by a slate of massive budgetary problems in recent years. City officials in Chicago and Los Angeles are currently grappling with how to address substantial budget shortfalls. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is struggling with various financial issues across several sectors, with both its school district and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the city’s public transit system, facing massive budget deficits. Chicago is facing a projected budget gap of nearly $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2026. The city’s budget deficit has largely been exacerbated by soaring pension costs, declining state revenue and...

A task force formed by Mayor Brandon Johnson nearly a year ago to determine whether and how the city should pay reparations to Chicagoans who are the descendants of enslaved African Americans will start meeting this summer to craft a plan to tackle the thorny issue. The 40-member task force will be charged with developing “Chicago’s first comprehensive reparations study, a critical step forward in acknowledging, addressing and repairing generations of harm experienced by Black communities,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office. Task force members will be paid to serve for a year, with the study of recommendations...

Illegals OVERRUN Chicago Home Depot Parking Lot BEGGING FOR WORK 🤣 (Where was ICE?)

Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin will not seek a sixth term next year, confirming to WBEZ in an Illinois exclusive that he will leave office in 2027 in a long-awaited move certain to set off a massive, intraparty succession fight. “I’ve decided not to run for re-election. So a year and a half from now, I’ll be wrapping up. I plan on working full-time until that moment, but I’m not going to be waging a campaign for re-election,” Durbin said during an interview in downtown Chicago. A major reason for his decision boiled down to one thing: his age. By...

Illinois bureaucrats are here to protect your kids... from you. People can’t get out of Illinois fast enough. Only two other states lost more residents between 2023–24, and the state has actually lost population for 10 years in a row. The tax burden, weather, heavy regulation, and crime levels all contribute to its residents seeking an exit. So, taking this mass exodus into account, you’d think the state would try to appeal to the families that remain. Well, think again. The Cubs (and maybe even the White Sox) are more likely to win another World Series before Illinois considers the...

Illinois Republican state Rep. Dan Ugaste is speaking out against a “nationwide literacy crisis” that counts Illinois among the more than 40 states where just one out of every three fourth grade students are now meeting reading proficiency standards. Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress report card shows that in Illinois, just 30% of fourth graders are hitting such standards. In a 2024 national exam, the state's students finished 29th in the country for the percentage of fourth graders at or above proficiency. “This is a huge problem across the country, but it's a real problem here in...

Attorneys general representing 23 states have joined forces in opposition to Chicago and Illinois “sanctuary” laws that prohibit local law enforcement officers from helping with the enforcement of federal immigration statutes. In an amicus brief filed in support of the federal government’s lawsuit against the city and state, the group argues that Illinois and Chicago are causing harm to their states by obstructing the enforcement of immigration law. “The national immigration crisis has rendered ‘every state … a border state,’” Ohio Solicitor General T. Elliot Gaiser wrote in a letter signed by 22 colleagues, including attorneys general from Indiana, Missouri,...

Former President Joe Biden made his first public remarks since leaving the White House, referring to Black children as “colored kids”—a comment that quickly sparked backlash online, including criticism from voices on the left. On Tuesday, Biden told an anecdote about his childhood migration from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Wilmington, Delaware, in which he remarked that until his family moved to “The First State,” he had “never seen hardly any Black people.” “I was only going in fourth grade,” Biden stated, as he recalled his mother driving him to Catholic school in Wilmington. “And I remember seeing kids going by, at...

Biden will make his first remarks since leaving the White House during the Chicago speech

The sanctuary cities of Chicago and Philadelphia have canceled their annual Cinco de Mayo parades, citing fears of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting criminal illegal aliens. The decision, announced by local organizers, is being slammed as a blatant attempt to harbor lawbreakers and undermine federal immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump’s renewed crackdown on illegal immigration. In Chicago, the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce and Casa Puebla pulled the plug on the Little Village parade, a long-standing celebration of Mexican-American culture, claiming the community is “frightened” by ICE’s efforts to apprehend illegal aliens. Hector Escobar, president of the...

Chicago Teachers Union members have overwhelmingly voted to ratify their new contract agreement with Chicago Public Schools, making official a deal that notches improvements for educators and students but leaves political turmoil in its wake. After almost a year of negotiations, 97% of members who voted late last week approved the contract, according to the union. About 85% of the CTU’s 27,000 eligible voting members participated. Voting took place by paper ballot in schools and voting locations across the city on Thursday and Friday, and counting wrapped up over the weekend. The Board of Education will likely vote to approve...

The two females reportedly ate most of their food prior to insisting on their money back. Video captured two females physically attacking a waitress in a Chicago restaurant last weekend. The females are seen kicking, stomping, and punching the waitress — and the attack reportedly came after the waitress rejected the culprits' refund demand. Martha Garcia — owner of El Taco Azteca — told WBBM-TV two females wanted a full refund after they picked up a to-go order, departed, and then returned about 15 minutes later after having consumed nearly all their food and saying they didn't like it. 'I...

I have been provided with several rations’ worth of bitter amusement over the last few years , when reading various news stories, especially those concerning incidents of murder, rape, mayhem and property crime – most of which can be laid at the door of a certain violently dysfunctional urban demographic – and then comparing the sympathetic manner in which that specific demographic is presented in pop entertainment. Yes, just as the sun rises in the east, one can absolutely count on black urban youth being cast as hapless, misunderstood yet endearing rascals, automatically the prime suspect in a murder actually...

... The scene was similar to dozens of other gun buyback events held at the Catholic parish, where more than 5,100 guns have been exchanged for gift cards over the past 19 years, more than any other location in the city. That day was marked by excitement, confusion and ultimately chaos after one cop inventorying the weapons at a police station noticed something unusual. A Glock handgun that cops had been admiring was missing. A tag identifying the gun had been slipped onto another one, and an envelope for that gun was soon found in the trash. In an office...

Extremely Liberal Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson lashed out in a fiery response to threats from America’s newly appointed and tough-as-nails Border Czar, Tom Homan. Homan warned he’d prosecute Johnson if he interfered with planned ICE deportation raids in Chicago. In a CNN podcast interview, Mayor Johnson fiercely defended Chicago’s sanctuary policies, calling Homan’s threat reprehensible. Mayor Johnson has doubled down on refusing to deport illegal immigrants from the city, drawing direct fire from Tom Homan and the Trump administration due to their shielding of illegal immigrants. Johnson’s resistance comes as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement nationwide, making Chicago a...

A man allegedly trying to break into a car at about 1:00 a.m. on March 25 was shot and wounded by a concealed carrier. The concealed carrier shot the 21-year-old alleged burglar “once in each leg,” WBBM noted. CWBChicago reported the alleged burglar called 911 after the incident and tried feign that he had been shot in a drive-by. However, his pretend narrative was busted when the concealed carrier called 911 to describe what happened. The suspect was transported to a hospital for treatment and placed in custody. Breitbart News pointed out that an armed garbage truck driver killed one...

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker, in a text exchange with Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, expressed concerns about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ability to keep United Airlines’ headquarters in Chicago, another stark shot from the governor amid his ongoing friction with the mayor. The back-and-forth between the two statewide public officials occurred last month as rumors were reignited that the prominent airline company might move to Denver because of a recent property purchase near that city’s airport. Pritzker stressed the importance of ensuring Johnson did not do anything to “push them out” in the text conversation, which the Tribune obtained through a...

A veteran real estate developer and friend of former President Barack Obama is vying to build a 26-story hotel blocks away from the incoming Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. The developer, Allison Davis, submitted a rezoning application to City Council last week for a parcel of vacant land he owns at 6402-20 S. Stony Island Avenue. The plot, currently zoned for a community shopping district, needs council approval to get rezoned as a planned business development, clearing the way for the hotel’s construction. Davis is an attorney who co-founded the law firm Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, where Obama...

A Chicago alderman told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that city officials still want to divert funding away from the police department, even though the city was once again the nation’s homicide capital in 2024. “I said this for the last two mayors, too,” said 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano. “It’s not even so much so that these last two administrations are turning a blind eye. They’re ignoring the crime rate because their objective … is to demonize the police department, make it seem like there’s not there’s not as much of a crime issue as there is, because their...

A Chicago police officer has yet to face any disciplinary action from his police force after pleading guilty to vandalizing an elderly man’s car, according to the victim’s family, who believe the car was targeted because it belongs to a Jew. Mohammed Khan, 35, [http://publicsearch1.chicagopolice.org/Arrests/Details/18284442] was arrested last March after he broke the side mirrors off of the vehicle of 77-year-old Rabbi Abraham Wineberg who was visiting his granddaughter and great grandchildren in Chicago’s West Rogers Park Neighborhood. Khan was seen in surveillance footage from around 2:30 a.m. on March 3, 2024, where he first issued a parking ticket to...