Free Republic

The city of Chicago is billions of dollars in debt, including $36 billion in pension debt. The Chicago Public School district also has a budget deficit of more than $700 million. Despite these very dire fiscal parameters, Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to spend more taxpayer money to give reparations to areas where ICE conducted immigration enforcement raids. "I believe the most relevant ballot referendum question around receiving reparations for communities that experienced that hardship, and whether that was on the west side of Chicago or the black man being placed in an illegal chokehold or long guns being stuck into...

A man on pretrial release in a felony retail theft case that he picked up while already on pretrial release for another shoplifting charge disappeared from the Cook County chief judge’s electronic monitoring program for 11 days before authorities found him again — in the back yard of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Gold Coast mansion, court records show. Those records also indicate that, despite Chief Judge Charles Beach’s public pledge that “major violations” of the court’s electronic monitoring program would be brought before a judge within 24 hours, 10-time convicted felon Dwayne Milton began violating the terms of his release almost...

During the heated exchange, Behar insisted she was simply focused on “winning” in what she called an “emergency” situation under President Donald Trump. There is something hilarious about women who spent years demonizing white men suddenly treating them as saviors and their only path to victory. Behar began by floating a list of white male candidates she believes could actually win, naming Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. She framed the suggestion as cold political reality, telling her co-hosts they needed to face facts after watching the country...

Under provisions of HB 4948, which Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law on Friday, the state will introduce the “Intelligent Speed Assistance Program,” designed to replace license suspension with a different alternative for drivers. According to the text of the law, the program will require drivers who have committed two qualifying speeding or reckless driving offenses within a 12-month period to install a speed-limiting device on their vehicles, which will prevent them from exceeding the speed limit. Persons enrolled in the program will pay all costs associated with enrollment and participation, with exceptions for low-income Virginia and Washington have...

A 21-year-old leftist college student is in custody after admitting to burning a cross in Chicago’s Grant Park, saying it was a protest against the Trump administration — an act that sparked outrage from Democrats who initially called it the “seeds of racism and fascism.” The incident first flared up on June 9. A disturbing video showed a wooden cross burning at Grant Park in Chicago. Firefighters extinguished the flames and police released photos of a “person of interest” fleeing the scene, per ABC 7. With no suspect in custody, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential presidential contender, rushed...

Braun has previously given Indiana roughly “65-35” odds of landing the team and has repeatedly highlighted the advantages of Indiana’s business-friendly environment compared to Illinois’ high-tax, high-regulation climate. Losing the Bears would represent far more than a symbolic defeat for Illinois. It would mean losing thousands of potential construction jobs, long-term economic activity, tourism revenue, and one of the state’s most iconic institutions. It would also send a powerful message to businesses nationwide about the direction of Illinois under Democratic leadership. The potential departure would fit a troubling pattern. Since Pritzker took office, Illinois has seen more than 500,000 residents...

STATEMENT FROM CHICAGO BEARS CHAIRMAN GEORGE H. MCCASKEY AND PRESIDENT & CEO KEVIN WARREN Yesterday, the Chicago Bears Board of Directors met and voted to advance our stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site to be selected. We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city. It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.

The Bears took a significant step toward leaving Illinois on Friday. The Bears' board of directors voted Thursday to advance their stadium development in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site still to be determined. This is this first time that the Bears' board has voted on any stadium site. The Bears' plans to leave the state they've called home since their inception for Indiana come just days after the end of Illinois' spring legislative session. "We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana and the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and...

At least five officers were struck by a driver during a “teen takeover” event early Sunday in Chicago’s West Side, only the latest in the viral trend hitting American streets. Elsewhere, 19 people were shot and wounded on Memorial Day in the Windy City. Hundreds of teenagers gathered at around 3:20 a.m. along Chicago’s South Loomis Street, shutting the street down as officers responded to disperse the chaos. As officers tried to end the takeover, an 18-year-old driver hit five cops before driving over the curb and crashing into a CPD squad car, a pole, and a fence, local ABC...

Walgreens has announced that it is closing a store in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago. They claim that the store is losing upwards of a million dollars a year to theft, so the reason for the closure is no mystery. They say that this particular store loses more in theft than any other store. And yet… The political leaders in Chicago, who allow thieves to run wild, are angry at Walgreens. They caused this, with their soft on crime policies, yet they are mad at Walgreens for closing the location. FOX 32 in Chicago reported: Walgreens to close Chatham store...

New York City and Chicago voters made the most injudicious decisions possible electing Zohran Mamdani and Brandon Johnson to be their mayors. Both democratic socialists are inept yet destructive, unserious yet dangerous, demagogues who spew venom and traffic in incendiary divisive rhetoric. Their deranged policies will bankrupt their cities, financially, morally and culturally. Will Los Angeles voters do the same? Actually, they already have. The question is, will they repeat their mistake and reelect Karen Bass? The current mayor is a Fidelista and a member of the Venceremos Brigade, a Cuban “enterprise that had a goal of encouraging the health...

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker had a "minor complication" from a recent procedure and was taken to a Springfield hospital earlier this week, a spokesperson for the governor confirmed to NBC Chicago Friday. The complication stemmed from an earlier urology procedure, with Pritzker going to a Springfield hospital overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

As I recover from foot surgery in Chicago, my break from the Walk Across America has given me time to do more than reflect. I’ve seen so many things on my walk so far through small towns, big cities, ghettos, suburbs, open-air drug markets, posh farmers markets and even the occasional country market. Throughout it all, I’ve seen Americans of so many stripes, and they’re all moving forward, moving with a sense of purpose in their work and in their belief in God. And when I returned home to the South Side of Chicago, I was struck by the stillness...

A suspect is in custody after a shooting inside a Chicago hospital left one police officer dead and another critically injured on Saturday morning, law enforcement sources said. Around 10:45 a.m., two Chicago police officers were shot at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital, located at 5140 N. California Ave. in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood. Police took the suspect to the hospital to be checked out before going to jail for a separate offense before the shooting broke out, police sources told NBC Chicago. One of the officers was shot in the head, sources told NBC Chicago. Both were taken to a different...

Democratic strategists are reportedly pushing for the 2028 presidential candidate to be a "straight, White, Christian man" after recent losses, an Axios report alleged. "Some top Democrats are quietly debating a fraught question: whether the party's best bet for winning back the presidency in 2028 is to nominate a man — perhaps a straight, White, Christian man," Axios reported on Sunday. "Their fear, divulged with dismay in group chats, at cocktail parties and increasingly in public, is that parts of the electorate are too biased to support a woman or other diverse candidate for president," the report continued. The report...

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is attempting to blame former President Donald Trump for the murder of college student Sheridan Gorman by an illegal immigrant living in Chicago's "amnesty zone". Pritzker claims the Trump administration should stop "politicizing heinous tragedies" and instead focus on "real solutions" to prevent such violence. However, critics argue Pritzker's policies of shielding illegal immigrants from deportation have contributed to rising crime in the state.

The House committee investigating the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday night asked Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Goldman Sachs ’ top lawyer, Kathryn Ruemmler, billionaires Leon Black and Ted Waitt, and three other people to testify about their dealings with Epstein. Gates, Ruemmler and Black all quickly agreed to voluntary, transcribed interviews with the House Oversight Committee. The panel is also seeking testimony from Doug Band, a former assistant to former President Bill Clinton, Epstein’s former executive assistant Lesley Groff, and Sarah Kellen, another former assistant to Epstein. A spokesperson for Gates said, “Gates welcomes the opportunity to appear...

Just days after Illinois Democrats introduced legislation to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network and its possible ties to the state, party leaders are now scrambling to pull the bill. The sudden reversal comes after explosive revelations that former President Bill Clinton testified under oath that he once flew Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane. On March 2, Democratic State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid of Bridgeview introduced House Bill 5723, known as the Illinois Epstein Files Investigation Act. The legislation was backed by several lawmakers, including State Sen. Graciela Guzman.

The House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein voted to subpoena U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify on her handling of Justice Department files on the disgraced financier. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted 24 to 19 Wednesday to issue the subpoena. A Justice Department spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the vote. Republican Nancy Mace of South Carolina proposed the subpoena and it passed the over the objection of the panel’s chairman, James Comer of Kentucky. Mace said the subpoena would require a taped, closed-door deposition under oath and a time had not yet been set...

An ‘Epstein Walk of Shame’ appeared overnight in Washington, D.C., with stickers dedicated to public figures associated with Jeffrey Epstein. On March 1, residents noticed star-shaped stickers placed around Farragut Square, each featuring an image of the convicted s- offender. On the lines of Los Angeles’ Hollywood Walk of Fame, each star on the Walk of Shame mentions the name and designation of a public figure mentioned in the recently released Epstein Files. Every sticker has a QR code, which, when scanned, directs users to the Department of Justice’s website page about the Epstein Files. Some codes link to pdf...