Good morning, Chicago.
A controversial private school tax credit that’s set to expire at the end of the year is one of the biggest unresolved issues Illinois lawmakers figure to take up when they return to Springfield on Tuesday to begin their final session of 2023.
The debate over whether state income-tax incentives should continue to be used to fund the “Invest In Kids” voucher program has divided Democrats who control the General Assembly, while firing up Republican lawmakers who see the program as a promotion of their school choice platforms in their proxy war against teachers unions.
Other matters legislators could address before they’re scheduled to adjourn for the year on Nov. 9 include a measure to lift a nearly 40-year-old moratorium on new nuclear power plants, which was passed in the spring but then vetoed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Two high-profile items that have been scratched from the fall agenda are legislation to help the Chicago Bears build a stadium in Arlington Heights, and the allocation of additional money for the ongoing migrant crisis.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner and Dan Petrella.
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Volunteers help migrants in search for permanent housing as Chicago struggles to keep up
When volunteers found there was no way of keeping the makeshift shelter in Pilsen open despite the need for spaces to house thousands of migrants living in police stations across Chicago, their priorities shifted.
They needed to find a way to help the asylum-seekers find permanent housing without the city’s assistance to ensure they wouldn’t go back to a station or the streets.
Noor Ali has been leaning on her Islamic faith as the Chicago area faces a surge in crimes targeting Muslims and Palestinian Americans in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
“We are not safe anywhere,” said the Willow Springs woman, who is Palestinian American.
For many local Arab Americans and Muslims, the recent backlash has been reminiscent of violence and discrimination following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which included hate crimes, unprecedented surveillance and widespread Islamophobia in Chicago and across the nation.
As former Hamas hostages prepare to return home, family of kidnapped man share joy, concern
During an interview with the Tribune last week, new CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling reflected on his own disciplinary history as he promised his department will balance reform-mindedness with aggressive policing by being transparent. He made his own mistakes, Snelling said, learned from them, and pressed forward.
Commercial real estate developer Keith Lord thinks Chicago’s south suburbs, which have seen an exodus of jobs, manufacturing and retail stores in recent decades, are on the verge of a turnaround.
A lot of factors are at play in bringing towns in the south suburbs back, Lord said, but one stands out: the 2021 opening by Amazon of a pair of mammoth distribution facilities in Matteson and nearby Markham, by far the largest in the Chicago region.
Transportation authorities are looking to test a new program next year that will offer half-priced Metra fares to low-income residents, as a pilot program that lowered fares on South Side Metra routes is set to end.
10 thoughts from Brad Biggs after the Chicago Bears beat up the Las Vegas Raiders at the line of scrimmage and got a precise outing from undrafted rookie free agent Tyson Bagent on their way to a commanding 30-12 victory Sunday.
The win at Soldier Field snapped a 10-game home losing streak.
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson gets two picks to break 28-game streak without one: ‘I deserve to be paid’
Review: Deeply daring and funky, Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant is ready for the spotlight
Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant, the fascinating project in North Center from Joseph Fontelera, provides a great example of the importance of giving restaurants time. It was never bad, but when it opened early this year, Boonie’s didn’t quite live up to Tribune critic Nick Kindelsperger‘s sky-high expectations.
