Former Vice President Kamala Harris tapped into local resentment against the White House Friday during a brief speech in Chicago, her latest post-election stop as she seeks to stay in the national spotlight while mulling whether will make another run for the Oval Office in two years.

Speaking at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Breakfast downtown, the Democratic nominee for president in 2024 called upon the room of politicos and religious leaders to “continue the fight” against President Donald Trump but stayed away from her own political future. It was Harris’ first return to Chicago since an October visit to promote her book, “107 Days,” a memoir she wrote recapping her truncated campaign against Trump.

During her 10-minute speech, Harris touched upon the slaying of Renee Good, the Minneapolis woman shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

“When families are separated, and a mother of three is shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, people are sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Harris said. She returned to that refrain as she condemned a litany of actions from the Trump administration.

Good’s death on Jan. 7 catalyzed ongoing tense demonstrations in Minneapolis and came after months of aggressive deportation operations in Chicago and other Democratic strongholds.

Harris did not betray her plans for the 2028 race during the made-for-TV event, though her recent announcement that she will not be running for California governor this year on top of last year’s book promotion signal she is keeping that option open. She kept her speech focused on the late Dr. King’s call for peaceful resistance, saying that on Thursday evening she had visited the historic Memphis motel where he was assassinated in1968.

“I will tell you standing on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel yesterday, I thought about what Dr. King would see if he looked at America then, and what would he think, and what would he say,” Harris said. “And I do believe he would see that people today are sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

She said she planned to meet with The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., another civil rights icon, later on Friday. Then she closed with, “I know the people of Chicago, well, you uniquely understand that the fight … requires us to show up even when we are sick and tired, because we are sick and tired.”

Should Harris run again, she would likely face a crowded primary as other potential hopefuls — including Illinoisans Gov. JB Pritzker and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel — are wasting no time in the national media circuits as well. Pritzker was not scheduled to attend Harris’ event, per his Friday public schedule.

Harris’ keynote address was followed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who sought to shore up his bona fides as defender of Chicago against Trump’s repeated attacks on the deep-blue city.

“Let me make something absolutely clear: As long as I am in this seat, we will not accept the occupation of our city by the military, and we will use any means necessary to defend the rights of the people of this great city,” Johnson said, to applause.

Johnson — one of the first Illinois politicians to endorse Harris after then-President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race — began his remarks by reminding the crowd of her campaign warnings that Trump would “undermine the rule of law.” The mayor then invoked Trump’s recent, but failed, attempt to deploy the National Guard in Chicago.

“Listen, because she’s such a classy woman, and incredibly humble, and probably too good to actually say it herself — that she told us. Let me just tell you, she tried to tell us,” Johnson said. “Whatever she decides to do, whatever she says, in the words of a great organizer: You better listen.”

The organizer Johnson was alluding to was Wallace “Gator” Bradley, a former gang enforcer who became involved in Chicago politics after his release from prison.

And in line with his recent public remarks, Johnson brushed off early chatter over next year’s mayoral election. “While some people in this city are looking at an election in 2027, I’m looking today to make sure that people can put food on their table,” he said.

The theme of this year’s MLK Interfaith Breakfast — a 40-year tradition in Chicago, started under Mayor Harold Washington — is “Defending Our Democracy, Protecting Our Rights.”

Chicago was also host city to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where Harris made history as the party’s first Black woman to be nominated for president. The freshman mayor delivered the opening speech at the United Center, where he sought to connect Chicago’s rich Black history with Harris’ historic, but ultimately doomed, presidential run.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/kamala-harris-chicago-sick-and-tired/ 

NUEVA YORK (AP) — Los Rays de Tampa Bay transfierieron el viernes al jardinero Josh Lowe a los Angelinos como parte de un intercambio de tres equipos en el que el relevista zurdo Brock Burke pasó de Los Ángeles a Cincinnati.

El infielder Gavin Lux pasó de los Rojos a Tampa Bay y Chris Clark, lanzador derecho de ligas menores de los Angelinos a los Rays.

Lowe, quien cumplirá 28 años el 2 de febrero, bateó para .220, el peor promedio de su carrera, con 11 jonrones y 40 carreras impulsadas el año pasado. Se lesionó el oblicuo derecho por tercera vez en 13 meses y no jugó entre el partido inaugural del 28 de marzo y el 15 de mayo.

Lowe tiene un contrato de un año por 2,6 millones de dólares y podrá ser agente libredespués de la Serie Mundial de 2028. Registra un promedio de .250 con 43 jonrones y 170 carreras impulsadas en cinco temporadas en las Grandes Ligas, todas con los Rays.

Lux, de 28 años, bateó para .269 con cinco jonrones y 53 carreras impulsadas en su única temporada con los Rojos. La semana pasada acordó un contrato de un año por 5.525.000 dólares y puede convertirse en agente libre después de la Serie Mundial de este año.

Acumuló un promedio de .256 con 33 jonrones y 208 carreras impulsadas en seis temporadas con los Dodgers de Los Ángeles (2019-24) y los Rojos, quienes lo adquirieron el enero del año pasado a cambio del jardinero Mike Sirota y una selección de draft. Lux se perdió la temporada 2023 tras romperse el ligamento cruzado anterior derecho en un juego de entrenamiento de primavera.

Burke, de 29 años, tuvo un récord de 7-1 con una efectividad de 3.36 en 68 apariciones como relevista y una apertura para los Angelinos. Tiene un salario de 2.325.000 dólares y también puede convertirse en agente libre después de la Serie Mundial de este año.

Clark, de 24 años, fue seleccionado en la quinta ronda del draft de 2023 de Harvard y tuvo un récord de 4-10 con una efectividad de 4.73 en 20 aperturas el año pasado en tres niveles de las menores.

___

Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/josh-lowe-pasa-a-los-angelinos-gavin-lux-a-los-rays-y-brock-burke-a-los-rojos-en-canje-de-3-equipos/ 

WASHINGTON, Ill.— In Rick Heidner’s very first campaign commercial, the Barrington Hills businessman dubs himself a “Trump Republican For Governor.”

But in his very first public forum as a politician, the onetime-embattled video gambling operator did something President Donald Trump would never do: He apologized.

Participating with the three other major Republican candidates for governor running in the March 17 GOP primary, Heidner found himself on the defensive Thursday night when opponent Ted Dabrowski criticized Heidner’s business operation contributing $2,500 to the campaign of former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and $25,000 to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — two progressive Democrats frequently targeted by Republicans.

Heidner, who has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats and Republicans over the years and does a lot of business in Chicago, told the audience in a central Illinois auditorium that he contributed to Johnson’s campaign as a favor to a friend who, in turn, could get Heidner access to the mayor. But as for the money to Foxx, who Republicans have criticized for spearheading efforts to vacate wrongful convictions and end cash bail, he said that was “a huge mistake.”

“So, that I apologize to everyone for and, yeah, that one there I really can’t even forgive myself for, so, I apologize for that,” he said.

Heidner and Dabrowski, a conservative policy analyst, were joined onstage by former state Sen. Darren Bailey and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick. The four spoke for roughly 90 minutes at the event organized by the Tazewell County Republican Party.

Aside from Dabrowski’s criticism of Heidner, the four candidates expressed their united dislike of Gov. JB Pritzker‘s leadership. But Heidner, who drew headlines years ago after Pritzker scuttled Heidner’s plans to build a horse racing track and casino on state-owned land in Tinley Park after a Tribune investigation revealed his long-standing business ties to people connected to organized crime, said he thinks he’s best suited to prevent the Democratic governor from winning a third term.

“You know, this machine that is there, it’s so incredibly bad, it’s bad for all of us,” Heidner told the crowd. “This is not the smartest thing I ever did. This is a dangerous thing that I’m doing at the business that I’m in. But it’s definitely the bravest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

After Heidner quietly entered the race in October with $1 million of his own cash, he went radio silent. There was no sign of him giving interviews to the media or courting prospective voters. His campaign has only put out its website in the last few weeks.

“My heart and my soul drew me to this,” Heidner said in an interview with the Tribune after the forum. “I waited to the end there because I looked at who was running for the Republican Party, and I saw no path for anyone to win. I saw no path. And when I think that this man’s (Pritzker) going to be our governor again, it literally makes me ill.”

Some Republican observers appreciate Heidner’s personal story as described on his new campaign website — a kid from a working-class background in Chicago’s western suburbs who performed odd jobs to help out his hard-working mother before growing up to become a wealthy entrepreneur.

Over the years, he created businesses such as Gold Rush Gaming, Ricky Rockets Fuel Centers, Prairie State Energy, and Heidner Properties, a commercial real estate business with over 280 properties across 12 states, according to the campaign site. The website for Heidner’s real estate business lists his wife and four of their five children as business associates.

But the 2019 Tribune investigation revealed that for nearly two decades, Heidner owned numerous commercial properties via shell companies in several states with Rocco Suspenzi, the longtime chairman of a suburban bank who the federal government alleged had ties to reputed organized crime figures.

The Illinois Gaming Board and the FBI in 2003 exposed Suspenzi and his son for concealing their own ownership stake, as well as that of a reputed mob figure, in the infamous, never-built Emerald Casino project in Rosemont. Suspenzi and his son invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination in 2005 when the Gaming Board sought to question them about their role in concealing the ownership stakes of two reputed Outfit-linked investors.

Heidner, at the same time, had a similar real estate partnership with convicted bookmaker Dominic Buttitta. They both owned a building in Elgin that was leased to a bar licensed for video gambling that used Heidner’s Gold Rush machines. Buttitta pleaded guilty in 2012 to federal charges of running an illegal sportsbook from the South Elgin strip club he controlled.

Former state Sen. Darren Bailey, right, answers a question as candidates Rick Heidner, left, James Mendrick, center left, and Ted Dabrowski sit behind him during a candidate forum hosted by the Tazewell County Republican Party at Five Points in Washington on Jan. 15, 2026. (Troy Stolt/for the Chicago Tribune)

The revelations led in part to Pritzker’s decision to cancel the sale of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center property, which Heidner had sought to purchase for a horse racing and casino facility. Heidner and state gaming regulators reached a settlement in 2021 after the state withdrew allegations that he had offered an illegal $5 million inducement to purchase a rival video gambling chain.

In the latest interview, Heidner downplayed suggestions his past dealings with individuals connected to illicit activity would hurt his campaign. During the forum, he also lamented losing the right to build the southwest suburban horse racing and casino facility.

“I was building the safest, biggest track pretty much in the country, and a racino, a hotel,” he said. “And everything was taken away from us because of optics.”

WGN-TV Ch. 9 released a poll earlier this month showing Bailey with a commanding lead among prospective GOP primary voters with over 34%. Dabrowski placed second in the poll with 8.2%, followed by Mendrick with 5.4% and Heidner with 1.1%.

Ted Dabrowski answers a question during a candidate forum hosted by the Tazewell County Republican Party at Five Points in Washington on Jan. 15, 2026. (Troy Stolt/for the Chicago Tribune)

But perhaps the most telling metric to some GOP political observers was that more than 46% of likely voters remained undecided. Does this mean Heidner could still have a chance, despite the abysmal polling numbers and his lengthy delay in public campaigning?

“It’s an unusual approach,” former Illinois GOP Chair Pat Brady said before Thursday’s forum about Heidner’s quiet campaign up to this point. “But it appears from the last poll that almost half the voters are undecided, so maybe there’s a lane for (someone) with a new message and new idea, and different than what we’ve seen over the last several months.”

Still, Brady said, “nobody’s going to vote for somebody (if) they don’t know their name.”

State Sen. Terri Bryant, a Republican from Murphysboro, said Heidner could still have a chance given the number of undecided voters and Bailey supporters who could be convinced to vote for someone else.

But it would take Heidner spending millions of dollars on negative ads about Bailey and positive ones about himself.

“I happen to think he’s a relatively attractive guy. He’s got an awesome personal story and he’s got good hair,” Bryant said.

At the forum, the four candidates appeared to agree on most issues. They each said they want to address what they think are soft-on-crime policies and wasteful spending and want solutions for costly pensions, high taxes, and what they view as harmful policies concerning immigrants in the country without legal permission.

Heidner said he wants to incentivize more businesses to come to Illinois.

“If they need help to come here and they’re going to create a tremendous amount of tax for us then there’s no problem with giving some of (it) back to them so they make these investments,” he said.

Bailey is the most battle-tested of the four. He won the 2022 GOP primary but then lost to Pritzker by about 13 percentage points in the general election. In 2024, he lost the GOP primary for Congress after challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro.

In the current primary race, Bailey’s time on the campaign trail was delayed by the deaths in October of his son, daughter-in-law and two of his grandchildren in a Montana helicopter crash.

At the forum, Bailey said affordability with property taxes and energy costs were key issues and said he doesn’t want to see a repeat of 2022, when too few Republicans voted. He encouraged voters to cast ballots by mail, even though Republicans have often claimed mail-in voting is rife with corruption.

“We encourage people to vote early if they need to, if we know you’re going to be out of town to get their mail-in balloting in,” he said. “We’ll fix all that later, but right now we must use that if we’re going to beat JB Pritzker.”

To ease costly pensions, Dabrowski, who once headed the conservative policy research group Wirepoints, called for state government employees to move to a 401(k) system, which he claims can be achieved even though the Illinois Constitution guarantees pension rights to state employees. He also discussed his upbringing and family history as the son of Polish and Ecuadorian immigrants and the importance of assimilating in the U.S.

“I don’t like this, you know, teaching kids in Spanish in our schools. That doesn’t make sense. We’re in America. So you have to get rid of that. That’s got to go,” Dabrowski said.

Former DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick answers a question during a candidate forum hosted by the Tazewell County Republican Party at Five Points in Washington on Jan. 15, 2026. (Troy Stolt/for the Chicago Tribune)

Mendrick, who has served as DuPage County’s sheriff since 2018, decried Illinois’ status as a sanctuary state, which generally prohibits local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. As governor, he said he’d want to work with the Trump administration to give the federal government better access to the county jail system to pick up criminal suspects who are non-U.S. citizens.

For Heidner, he said he’d want to work with members of both parties if elected governor. But for now, like Bailey, he implored more Republicans to get to the polls.

“I do realize that we are the underdog. And that’s why if I become governor, which I’m planning to be in November, again, I’m going to have an open-door system. And I’m going to be working with the Democrats and working with the Republicans and common sense, that’s what’s going to prevail,” Heidner said. “When it comes to Republicans, we need to get out and vote.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/gop-governor-candidate-forum-washington-ill/ 

Associated Press

MOSCÚ (AP) — Una corte en Moscú comenzó a considerar el viernes una demanda presentada por el Banco Central de Rusia contra Euroclear, la cámara de compensación financiera con sede en Bruselas que posee la mayor parte de los activos rusos congelados por la Unión Europea.

La demanda busca recuperar 18,2 billones de rublos (232.000 millones de dólares) en daños incurridos cuando a Rusia se le prohibió gestionar y disponer de sus fondos y valores en Euroclear, informó el banco. El caso se lleva a cabo a puerta cerrada.

La UE ha congelado activos rusos por valor de 210.000 millones de euros (244.000 millones de dólares) como parte de las sanciones impuestas a Moscú después que enviara tropas a Ucrania en febrero de 2022. Euroclear posee alrededor de 193.000 millones de euros (225.000 millones de dólares) de los fondos incautados.

El Tribunal de Arbitraje de Moscú retomó el caso a pesar de que la UE el mes pasado dejó de lado su plan inicial de utilizar los activos rusos congelados para ayudar a Ucrania, tras no lograr convencer a Bélgica de que estará protegida de las represalias de Rusia. En su lugar, el bloque optó por pedir prestados 90.000 millones de euros en los mercados de capital para proporcionar un préstamo sin intereses a Ucrania a fin de satisfacer sus necesidades militares y económicas durante los próximos dos años.

El Banco Central de Rusia ha condenado el uso de activos congelados para ayudar a Ucrania como “ilegal, contrario al derecho internacional”, argumentando que violan “los principios de inmunidad soberana de los activos”.

___

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/tribunal-ruso-evala-demanda-del-banco-central-contra-euroclear-por-activos-congelados/ 

Associated Press

CARACAS (AP) — Un vuelo con 231 migrantes venezolanos deportados desde la ciudad estadounidense de Phoenix arribó el viernes a Caracas, casi dos semanas después de que Estados Unidos capturara al depuesto presidente Nicolás Maduro y lo llevara a Nueva York para enfrentar cargos por narcotráfico.

El avión de la empresa Eastern Airlines llegó al aeropuerto internacional Simón Bolívar, a unos 20 kilómetros al norte de Caracas, en lo que representó la reanudación de los vuelos luego que Washington —según las autoridades venezolanas— suspendió de manera “unilateral” a mediados de diciembre los traslados aéreos directos de deportados.

El anterior vuelo directo desde Estados Unidos fue el 10 de diciembre.

Los vuelos de retorno de migrantes deportados se habían regularizado desde fines de marzo como parte de los traslados acordados por ambos gobiernos. En ocasiones había incluso varios por día y semanalmente dos llegaban directamente a Caracas operados por un contratista del gobierno de Estados Unidos.

Los traslados fueron afectados sucesivamente en medio de las tensiones acrecentadas desde el despliegue desde septiembre de fuerzas militares estadounidenses que han ejecutado una serie de ataques mortales contra botes sospechosos de contrabandear drogas en aguas internacionales del Caribe y del océano Pacífico, incluidas varias embarcaciones que, afirman, partieron de Venezuela.

Maduro en todo momento sostuvo que Trump podría ordenar una acción militar para intentar derrocarlo.

La llegada del vuelo se produjo 13 días después que Maduro fue capturado junto a su esposa, Cilia Flores durante una intervención militar en Caracas. Posteriormente, fue trasladado a territorio estadounidense, donde ambos comparecieron el 5 de enero ante un tribunal de Nueva York para enfrentar cargos de narcoterrorismo. Se declararon inocentes.

Días después del derrocamiento del dirigente socialista, la presidenta encargada y estrecha aliada de Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez, invitó a Trump a “colaborar” en distintas áreas y le dijo que desea tener “relaciones respetuosas”, en un tono sorprendentemente más conciliador que en sus posiciones previas.

Los gobiernos de Venezuela y Estados Unidos, en tanto, anunciaron la semana pasada que evaluarán la posibilidad de reabrir sus embajadas en ambos países y restablecer las relaciones diplomáticas rotas desde 2019.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/llega-a-venezuela-primer-vuelo-con-migrantes-deportados-tras-captura-de-maduro/ 

NCC, others to share in $8.1 million Endeavor Health grants

Endeavor Health has awarded $8.1 million in grants to area organizations, including $101,626 for North Central College in Naperville to help expand students’ skills in telehealth.

The Community Investment Fund awards are meant to address critical community needs, including behavioral health, food and housing insecurity, access to care and careers in health care, a news release from Endeavor Health said.

North Central was awarded a one-year grant to expand technology and networking infrastructure to help students deliver telehealth. According to the Endeavor Health website, occupational therapy and nutrition sciences students will provide charity care telehealth services to clients at the West Suburban Community Pantry in Woodridge.

“With this help, the college can increase access to care while preparing the next generation of health care professionals through the expansion of technology and infrastructure to deliver community telehealth services,” an NCC Facebook post said.

In addition to North Central College, other grants were given to Faith Feeds Food Pantry and Omni Youth Services of Palatine, The Outreach House of York Township and VNA Health Care in Aurora. The one- and two-year grants are worth between $100,000 to $500,000 per year, the release said.

The Community Investment Fund awards launched in 2022 and has awarded $38.5 million to 59 local partnerships, the release said.

Cathy Bouchard of Le Chocolat du Bouchard is one of three Naperville chefs participating in this year’s Chefs’ Culinary Celebration to raise money for the West Suburban Community Pantry in Woodridge. (Naperville Sun)

Naperville chefs participating in food pantry fundraiser

Three Naperville chefs will be among eight participating in the 2026 Chefs’ Culinary Celebration, a fundraiser to benefit the West Suburban Community Pantry in Woodridge.

The 14th annual event will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, at Abbington Banquets in Glen Ellyn.

The Naperville chefs are Raul Armenta of Belgio’s Catering, George Barg of Elements at Water Street and Cathy Bouchard of Le Chocolat du Bouchard, a news release said.

Dionne Miller with ABC 7 Eyewitness News Sports will emcee the gathering, which will include a cocktail hour and hors d’oeuvres, wine, auctions and speakers. Funds raised will help provide food for about 1,000 families per week through both the in-person pantry and online market, the release said.

For tickets, go to www.wscpantry.org/chefs-culinary-celebration.

College of DuPage will offer free income tax assistance from Feb. 14 through April 11 at its Glen Ellyn cmapus. (Getty Images)

College of DuPage to offer free tax preparation service

The College of DuPage is providing free income tax assistance starting Feb. 14.

Sessions are available by appointment only from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and 6 to 9 p.m. on some Wednesdays through April 11 at the college’s Student Resource Center on its main campus in Glen Ellyn. Walk-ins will not be accepted.

IRS-certified college accounting students under the supervision of IRS-certified accountancy faculty will help taxpayers prepare and electronically file their federal and state income tax returns, a College of DuPage news release said.

Participants must bring copies of their 2025 tax documents and their 2024 income tax returns to their appointment as well as bank routing and account numbers to receive a refund. The service is available to all community members regardless of income level, the college’s website said.

To make an appointment, go to cod.edu/academics/programs/accountancy/tax-prep.html.

For more information, call 630-942-3450 or email taxprep@cod.edu.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/naperville-north-central-grant-tax-pantry/ 

EU Mulls Ditching Accession System Used Since Cold War To Fast-Track Ukraine

Tyler Durden
Fri, 01/16/2026 – 12:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/eu-mulls-ditching-accession-system-used-cold-war-fast-track-ukraine 

Southland Development Authority representatives outlined a planned market study on the Calumet Country Club property, which has been at the center of a years-long development fight, at a community meeting in Thursday in Hazel Crest.

The goal is to determine the “highest and best use” for the property, said Felicia Hardy, president of Southland Development Authority.

“We want to know that it’s legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible and maximally productive,” Hardy said.

Hardy said the hope is the study will be conducted in the next five months.

Some community members were disappointed the meeting did not focus on or answer questions regarding the property directly, instead focusing solely on the market study process.

The aging golf course is owned by Arizona developer Walt Brown, Jr., who has made multiple attempts since buying the property to redevelop it for industrial use. Those attempts have been met with sustained community opposition, first in Homewood and then in Hazel Crest.

The property was originally part of Homewood, but was detached following a settlement between Brown and the village. It was later annexed into neighboring Hazel Crest.

When the audience was given the opportunity to submit anonymous questions, some had to do with the specifics of the market study, but many instead conveyed concerns about any potential industrial redevelopment.

“Please don’t put industrial near residential,” the first question read.

“We residents don’t care about whether a corporation makes money,” another read. “We care about our home values, our children’s future, the environment, etc. All of which will be negatively impacted by an industrial development.”

Hazel Crest Village Manager Dante Sawyer collects written questions Thursday night at the community meeting. (Evy Lewis/Daily Southtown)

Brown announced in November that all golf on the course would cease, and told the Daily Southtown he was in the process of applying for permits to begin tearing down the existing infrastructure and landscaping.

Golf groups have proposed a plan to revitalize the property as a golf course, in large part because it was designed by famous golf course architect Donald Ross.

When talking about aspects of the planned study, Hardy mentioned the transportation corridors running through the south suburbs as a boon to potential industrial development.

“The biggest assets of all of the Southland, which I’m so excited about, is our assets that we have, railways, highways, waterways,” Hardy said.

Residents listen Thursday night as Felicia Hardy presents information on a planned market study for the Calumet Country Club property. (Evy Lewis/Daily Southtown)

In response to a question about whether the community would be consulted, Hardy said it would be.

“When any proposal for projects are brought to the village, there’s community engagement,” Hardy said. “Generally there’s community sessions and more informational sessions, and so absolutely, we would be getting information from the community if we do anything as far as projects.”

Village Manager Dante Sawyer said it’s not yet certain who will conduct the market study, but said the village issued a request for proposals for the project and that a selection would be announced shortly.

Dean Barnett, president of the Hazel Crest School District 152 1/2 board, said he was in favor of economic development, but said he also understood concerns from nearby residents living about proposed industrial uses.

“Hazel Crest is land-locked, so with the addition of this parcel, there’s just a world of opportunity. I would hate to see it blown just as a result of trucking,” Barnett said. “They have to determine how it’s going to benefit the people.”

Barnett said he thought the market study was a good move, but that it should’ve been conducted earlier, rather than multiple years into the process.

“This is what they should’ve done before ever engaging with the developer,” Barnett said.

elewis@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/hazel-crest-market-study-calumet-country-club/ 

Unanswered questions remain about proposed data center

The data center proposed for Naperville raises serious unanswered questions that go to fiscal responsibility, transparency and risk to taxpayers.

Residents have repeatedly asked whether the project has a committed operator, secured financing, a concrete power delivery plan with enforceable timelines, and clear responsibility for costly off site grid upgrades. Tax revenue projections based on near constant peak load also depart from industry norms and remain unexplained.

This project would directly impact four, soon to be five, neighborhoods representing more than an estimated 1,000 residents, and a petition opposing the proposal has gathered nearly 5,000 signatures. Despite extensive testimony and detailed submissions from both resident and nonresident experts, many core issues remain unresolved, including discrepancies in noise studies, emissions, home value pricing impact analyses and projected tax analyses. Residents are increasingly concerned not only about the lack of answers, but whether all submitted information is even being fully reviewed.

How does a proposal that generated standing room-only opposition and failed to meet all four required conditions still pass the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission with only one dissenting vote? What changed after early indications the project would be denied? And how can a data center be sited next to homes and forest preserves at all, let alone without full transparency?

If these fundamentals remain uncertain, approving the project would shift legal, financial and planning risk onto the city rather than the developer. Even if these questions were fully answered and the project shown to be viable, it should be located on a site consistent with the city’s land use master plan, not on a parcel currently designated for future medium density residential use.

Public confidence depends on decisions grounded in complete information, careful review and sound policy, not personal or partisan considerations. A project of this scale warrants caution, not haste.

Sarah Baugh, Naperville

Reject data center in name of being a sustainable city

Sustainable is the ability to maintain a certain standard of living while avoiding the depletion of natural resources so that an ecological balance in maintained.

If Naperville approves the Karis Critical data center being proposed for 1960 Lucent Lane, it proves that the city cares more for profit than for people.

Our electric grid does not need the burden of a data center. Naperville needs to focus now on building a green/clean energy infrastructure to be sustainable so the city is ready when its abominable coal contract with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency is finished.

Jumping on the AI bandwagon and building a data center is a slap in the face to Naperville residents. All it will do is destroy and pollute the natural environment for the profit of the few. The few jobs will be temporary but the damage will be forever.

When the AI bubble pops, Naperville is going to be left with a hulking abandoned building. The city will have wasted taxpayer money without providing anything long term for generations of residents.

If this is approved, the guise of sustainable actions by Naperville is an illusion that I’m done believing. It will mean that private companies have more of a say in what happens in our city than residents.

Our actions now will have consequences for centuries. Naperville needs to reject the data center.

Whitney Glowacki, Naperville

Share your views

Submit letters to the editor via email to suburbanletters@tribpub.com. Please include your name, address and town of residence for publication. We also need your phone number and email address for confirmation. Letters should be no more than 400 words.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/letters-naperville-data-center-council/