Category: News
“Massive Abuse”: HUD Audit Flags $5B In Improper Housing Assistance During Biden’s Term
“Massive Abuse”: HUD Audit Flags $5B In Improper Housing Assistance During Biden’s Term
A new report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has found that more than $5 billion in federal rental assistance during fiscal year 2024 went to potentially ineligible recipients, including nearly 30,000 deceased individuals and thousands of non-citizens, according to MSN and the NY Post.
The audit, conducted by HUD’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer, reviewed nearly $50 billion in housing aid and identified $5.8 billion — about 11% — as “questionable.” More than 200,000 tenants were flagged, including 29,715 listed as deceased, 9,472 non-citizens, and 165,393 households receiving payments above local eligibility limits, particularly in large metro areas such as New Orleans. Officials said suspicious payments appeared nationwide, with heavy concentrations in New York, California and Washington, DC.
“A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch, but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions worth of potential improper payments,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said. “HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable.”
The Post writes that the report faults federal directives that pushed funds out quickly “with minimal oversight,” while relying heavily on local housing authorities and contractors to verify eligibility. HUD said it is now reviewing funding for agencies involved and may suspend or revoke payments.
“HUD is implementing processes and procedures to revoke or pause funding as part of its efforts to hold bad actors accountable,” one official said. “Additionally, the Department could make criminal referrals and exercise other enforcement actions once it has confirmed fraud occurred.”
The findings follow earlier warnings. A 2022 HUD Inspector General audit said the agency “needed significant improvement” in its antifraud systems and lacked clear procedures for reporting suspected fraud.
In February 2024, prosecutors charged 70 current and former New York City Housing Authority employees in what US Attorney Damian Williams called “the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the Justice Department,” involving millions in kickbacks and corrupt contracts. NYCHA, which receives billions in HUD funding annually, said: “NYCHA partners with law enforcement to root out the corruption that directly led to the 2024 arrests… Each of the 70 cases brought by DOI has led to a conviction.”
Former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and former Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman did not respond to requests for comment.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/30/2025 – 13:25
Carpentersville to hike rental house inspections after fire that killed three children
Carpentersville is increasing the number of inspections it does of single-family rental homes in response to a March fire in which three young brothers died.
Inspections by village code compliance officers will be done every two years rather than every four, as had been the practice, Village Manager Brad Stewart said. The annual single-family home rental licensing fee will go up from $125 to $300 effective Thursday, Jan. 1.
Fees to inspect other rental units, including apartment buildings, condos, townhomes and duplexes, range from $18.75 to $62.50 and won’t be changing.
Stewart said the code amendment will affect about 800 homes in the village, he said. The inspection fee has not gone up since 2010.
The change was triggered by the March 30 fire in the 1700 block of Kingston Circle that resulted in the deaths of three toddlers, twins Jayden and Kayden Corsello, 2, and their brother, Xander Corsello, 1.
The children were sleeping on the lower floor of a split-level home, which reportedly had no fire sprinklers or fire alarms, officials said. Three adults on a higher floor were able to escape with help from firefighters but two dogs also died.
An investigation was unable to determine the cause of the blaze, officials said.
The Kingston Circle fire “was certainly significant to the village. I think it really impacted our community in a lot of ways,” Stewart said. “What we are looking at in reference to increasing inspections is reflective of our way to meaningfully impact public safety.”
Increasing the fees comes down to a public safety issue, he said.
“We focused on the single-family residential units because they were our area of biggest concern” following the fire, Stewart said. “While the property in question was up to date on rental inspection … we thought there was significant public concern that we increase the frequency of inspections.”
Carpentersville identified that single-family rentals “pose a higher risk of potential catastrophe,” he said. The issue is that those properties may not be maintained like apartments or have proper fire detection and suppression, he said.
Adding more inspections will be something current staff code compliance officers can handle, Stewart said. Carpentersville filled a vacant position of a building/plumbing inspector this year to help, he said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/30/carpentersville-rental-house-inspections-fire-children/
What Do The Top Search Trends Of 2025 Say About The Current State Of Our Society?
What Do The Top Search Trends Of 2025 Say About The Current State Of Our Society?
Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,
What do our Google searches tell us about ourselves? I think that many of you will be quite surprised by what I have to share in this article.
“Google’s Year in Search” for 2025 has been released, and it is a doozy. The past 12 months have been so crazy, and the top search trends of 2025 certainly reflect that.
Let’s start with the top search trend.
“Charlie Kirk” is number one on the list, and his assassination completely shocked the nation.
But it certainly was not an isolated incident.
Political violence is on the rise in our society. In fact, if President Trump had not moved his head slightly at just the right moment at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last year, he would not be in the White House today.
Charlie Kirk was a prominent figure before his death, but after he died suddenly everyone knew who he was.
Unfortunately, I believe that we will see even more political violence in 2026. There is just so much anger and frustration out there right now on all sides.
“KPop Demon Hunters” is number two on Google’s list, and that stunned me. According to Wikipedia, it is “a 2025 animated musical film from Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix about a K-pop girl group, HUNTR/X, who secretly fight demons while performing, facing off against a rival demon boy band called the Saja Boys”.
Needless to say, it is particularly popular among young people.
This year our society continued to be fascinated by entertainment that explores very dark themes, and that is quite alarming.
And we see this with the third item on the list as well.
According to Wikipedia, Labubu is “a popular line of collectible, mischievous-looking elf-like monster figures created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, known for their large ears, sharp teeth, and scruffy appearance, sold primarily through blind boxes by the company Pop Mart, which has led to a global craze and high resale demand.”
The sharp teeth and bizarre eyes certainly make them look like monsters.
In the old days, kids would play with teddy bears and other stuffed animals.
But now kids want to play with creatures that look like they have been pulled straight out of a nightmare.
I don’t think that is a good thing.
The iPhone 17 came in at number four on the list, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Most of us are so addicted to our phones, and I don’t think that is going to change any time soon.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” came in at number five in the list, the government shutdown came in at number eight in the list, and “tariffs” came in at number ten in the list.
I think that is quite appropriate, because this is a year when the news was so focused on political drama.
Donald Trump’s first year in office was an extremely busy one, and people all over the country were endlessly talking about it.
There are tens of millions of Americans that absolutely love Trump, and there are tens of millions of Americans that absolutely hate Trump.
Of course Donald Trump will continue to play a central role in our society for as long as he remains in the White House.
A new political star on the left made the list at number six.
New York elected a “democratic socialist” named Zohran Mamdani as their new mayor, and suddenly he has become a major national celebrity.
That is pretty remarkable considering the fact that he wasn’t even a U.S. citizen a decade ago.
“DeepSeek” came in at number seven on the list, and I was glad to see that a term associated with AI was represented.
For better or worse, AI is in the process of transforming virtually every area of our society.
Interestingly, the FIFA Club World Cup ranked number nine on the list.
I still don’t think that Chelsea deserved to win the final, but PSG just didn’t show up that day for some reason.
Personally, I was shocked that the Epstein files did not make the top ten, but it did rank number eight in “news searches”.
To me, the drama surrounding the Epstein files was perhaps the most important political story of the year. It has dramatically shifted political opinion, and I think that much of the damage that has been done is permanent.
When they were finally released, they were so heavily redacted that they didn’t tell us much that we didn’t already know.
And now we are being told that they have discovered a million more documents that hopefully we will get to see eventually.
2025 has been so wild, and now 2026 is nearly upon us.
27 years ago, USA Today and Gallup asked Americans what they thought 2025 would be like…
In the year 1998, Bill Clinton was facing impeachment proceedings, “Titanic” was cleaning up at the Oscars and most households still had landline phones. Gallup and USA Today called up 1,055 Americans on those landlines and asked them for their best predictions about a year in the distant future: 2025.
It turns out that those that responded to the survey were quite accurate about certain things, but on other matters they were way off…
Some were surprisingly prescient. Most Americans predicted that, over the next 27 years, the country would have elected a Black president, gay marriages would be legal and commonplace and a “deadly new disease” would have emerged.
Most people in 1998 correctly doubted that space travel would be common for ordinary Americans or that alien life forms would have made contact.
Other predictions didn’t hold up as well. About two-thirds of Americans thought the country would have elected a female president by now. More than half expected a cure for cancer and 61% expected that “people will routinely live to be 100 years old.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if most people lived to be 100 years old?
Sadly, life expectancy in the U.S. has fallen to the lowest level since 1996.
The first half of this decade brought us the pandemic, several major wars, the AI revolution and an endless series of natural disasters.
But if you thought that was wild, just wait until you see what happens during the second half of this decade.
The pace of change is about to go into overdrive.
So buckle up and hold on tight, because things are about to start getting really, really crazy.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/30/2025 – 13:05
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/what-do-top-search-trends-2025-say-about-current-state-our-society
Opponents to Amazon’s proposed Hobart data center get a reprieve
Residents opposed to Amazon’s proposed plans to invest $15 billion in a data center in Hobart received a reprieve earlier this month.
The Hobart City Council on Dec. 17 postponed a public hearing on a resolution declaring a 725-acre parcel within Colorado Street and 61 Avenue as an Economic Revitalization Area.
Mayor Josh Huddlestun said the resolution is the first step toward going forward with a development agreement with Amazon Web Services, which provides cloud computing services to businesses.
Amazon’s proposed plans to invest $15 billion in data centers, including one to be built at 61st Avenue and Colorado Street, were confirmed by Huddlestun shortly before Thanksgiving.
The public hearing will be rescheduled for a later date, tentatively the Jan. 7 city council meeting, Huddlestun said.
He confirmed that Amazon is the sole petitioner and will need to provide a statement of benefits, which would include a project description, number of jobs it will provide and community benefits.
Despite the postponement of the public hearing, residents in opposition to the Amazon development packed the meeting room and also protested outside in front of city hall.
Angelita Soriano, one of about a dozen residents who spoke at the meeting, questioned why the resolution had been postponed, the process of establishing Economic Revitalization Areas and whether any steps had been skipped in this proposal.
Rosalie Pfister protests outside of Hobart City Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Deborah Laverty/for Post-Tribune)
She referenced her questions to City Councilman Matt Claussen, D-At-large, citing his years of experience serving as a city official.
“Why the postponement?” Soriano asked.
Claussen told her, “Some legal issues were not resolved yet.”
Soriano also questioned him in regard to what, if any, steps had been skipped.
“None were skipped,” Claussen responded.
Another resident, Cody Graf, who had marched outside with a “no data center” sign before the meeting, said he just closed on a home in October on Colorado Street close to the proposed Amazon development.
He said he bought his home on more than three acres because “he wanted to start a life here in Hobart and because he enjoys being outside.”
“Do you want me to move?” Graf said.
Graf, an electrician by trade, said he knows of fellow electricians who won’t sign up to take a job working at 2 1/2 times the pay on the data center in New Carlisle “because it’s a (expletive) show.”
“People take pay cuts not to go there,” Graf said.
“I know in your hearts you think this will save Hobart but why sell out your constituents, your people?” Graf said.
Patricia Corey said she lives in the area being proposed for the data center and it’s in the Ross Township portion of Hobart annexed in the mid-90s.
Corey said recently she began to feel like she was fitting into Hobart versus Merrillville, the town she had identified with more than Hobart.
But now, with the proposed data center, that feeling is no more.
“I’m turned off with Hobart,” she said.
She asked Hobart officials to just say no.
Juan and Laura Brita protest outside of Hobart City Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Deborah Laverty/for Post-Tribune)
Suzanna Enslen told city officials she has sent 17 questions to Carlos Yanes, a man who lives next door to a data center in Virginia, and has made a video with his thoughts.
She said she will share his answers with city officials, including the mayor, once she gets them and hopes to stream the comments of Yanes if possible.
“It’s coming. I want to come in with trust and transparency,” Enslen said.
Charles Carter Jr. said he had roots in Chicago and grew up in Gary but when he moved to Hobart, in the middle of nowhere, he felt at peace.
Carter spoke of going to the city where “everything is vibrating.”
He said people feel at peace when closer to nature.
“It feels different. The energy is different,” Carter said.
He said he’s not opposed to development but doesn’t believe a data center at that location is the answer.
The data center, once built, could bring in tens of millions of dollars each year to the city, Huddlestun said.
The financial impact for Hobart can’t be determined until the final numbers are crunched, but it’s going to be big money, he said.
Hobart has been buffeted by a series of financial hits, from the Southlake Mall property tax appeal to Senate Enrolled Act 1, which will offer property tax relief to taxpayers by reducing the revenue local governments use to provide services to residents, he said.
“Hobart, residents are struggling,” Huddlestun said. “I want to actually give them relief.”
“We’re going to provide relief to our community,” he said, with money to solve flooding issues through the city as well as improving parks, police and fire protection, and other services.
Debora Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Aurora police to respond to all ShotSpotter activations on New Year’s Eve to curb celebratory gunfire
The Aurora Police Department will be cracking down on New Year’s Eve celebratory gunfire this year, the department said on Tuesday, by focusing on identified hotspot areas and responding to all ShotSpotter activations in the city.
The city has had its ShotSpotter service, which detects gunfire within a certain area, since 2022. It works by using AI to detect gunfire and then triangulating its location using sensors throughout the area. The sound is sent to an incident review center, and, after being reviewed, the information is sent to dispatchers and to police officers’ phones and squad car laptops.
Roughly two square miles of Aurora is covered by ShotSpotter. The areas covered include certain neighborhoods or other areas that historically have had more gunfire, while leaving out the areas that have not.
The department does not publicly release where its coverage areas are, but police leadership has said that around 40% of all confirmed shootings since 2022 have taken place within those two square miles, which represents just 4% of the city’s total land.
“ShotSpotter helps officers get to the right location faster, improves situational awareness, and helps us hold offenders accountable while keeping our community safe – especially during high-risk times like New Year’s Eve,” Aurora Police Chief Matt Thomas said in a news release Tuesday.
The department’s New Year’s Eve effort is meant to address what the department called a “recurring problem in many cities,” noting that stray bullets from celebratory gunfire have the potential to strike innocent people.
During the upcoming holiday, the department plans to deploy patrol resources to the areas that experienced the highest levels of celebratory gunfire during the last New Year’s Eve and July 4th holidays, Tuesday’s news release said.
On New Year’s Eve, officers will also be responding to all ShotSpotter activations across Aurora, with a particular focus on identified hotspot areas, police said. Anyone found illegally discharging a firearm will be arrested, according to the department.
Police officers will still be conducting regular citywide patrols to prevent crime, handle disturbances and enforce impaired-driving laws on New Year’s Eve, the department said.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/30/aurora-police-celebratory-gunfire-new-years-shotspotter/
DOJ Grants Antitrust Immunity To Nuclear Fuel Companies
DOJ Grants Antitrust Immunity To Nuclear Fuel Companies
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division recently authorized antitrust immunity to companies involved in the domestic nuclear fuel chain.
Today the DOJ Antitrust Division helped deliver on the critical need to expand energy infrastructure to help America win the AI race.
The Division has approved a framework to encourage industry and government collaboration to strengthen our nuclear fuel supply chain pursuant to…
— Antitrust Division (@JusticeATR) December 16, 2025
Stemming from the set of nuclear industry Executive Orders (EOs) issued earlier this year on May 23rd, the Department of Energy (DoE) established the Nuclear Fuel Chain Defense Production Act (DPA) Consortium back in August to meet some of the goals directed by the EOs. The consortium has since been working “to develop plans of action to ensure that the nuclear fuel supply chain capacity for mining and milling, conversion, enrichment, deconversion, fabrication, recycling and reprocessing is available to enable the continued reliable operation of the nation’s reactors.”
After some initial hype following the consortium’s establishment, rumors kicked back up about the potential for the government building a Strategic Uranium Reserve (SUR). However, most of the interest in the consortium’s activities/goals fell off after the government shutdown delayed the first meetings of the new group.
Fast forward to last week when the DOJ completed the required justification for the US government to enter into agreements with companies involved in the nuclear fuel chain that would have otherwise been illegal under antitrust laws. The DOJ presented their findings on December 19th, stating “the purposes … of the DPA may not reasonably be achieved through a voluntary agreement having less anticompetitive effects or without any voluntary agreement. Given this finding, the proposed Voluntary Agreement may become effective”.
So, what next? Most likely, press releases will start coming out from fuel chain companies over the next few weeks as they sign agreements with the DoE for capacity expansions or offtake deals at the various stages. Here’s some companies to keep an eye on:
Uranium mining – UEC, EU, URG, and UUUU
Uranium milling – UUUU, AEC, and UEC
Uranium conversion – SOLS, SILXY, and UEC
Uranium enrichment – LEU, NNE, SILXY, ASPI, and BWXT
Fuel fabrication – CCJ, GEV, BWXT, OKLO, and ATI
Recycling and reprocessing – OKLO, FLR, AMTM, and BWXT
There’s also a long list of Canadian- and Australian-owned uranium mining companies, large private enrichment corporations, and dozens of others that will likely be involved at the various stages, but the above tickers are the most likely publicly-traded participants.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/30/2025 – 12:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/doj-grants-antitrust-immunity-nuclear-fuel-companies
SNAP bans on soda, candy and other foods take effect in five states Jan. 1
Starting Thursday, Americans in five states who get government help paying for groceries will see new restrictions on soda, candy and other foods they can buy with those benefits.
Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia are the first of at least 18 states to enact waivers prohibiting the purchase of certain foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
It’s part of a push by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to urge states to strip foods regarded as unhealthy from the $100 billion federal program — long known as food stamps — that serves 42 million Americans.
“We cannot continue a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick and then pay a second time to treat the illnesses those very programs help create,” Kennedy said in a statement in December.
The efforts are aimed at reducing chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes associated with sweetened drinks and other treats, a key goal of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again effort.
But retail industry and health policy experts said state SNAP programs, already under pressure from steep budget cuts, are unprepared for the complex changes, with no complete lists of the foods affected and technical point-of-sale challenges that vary by state and store. And research remains mixed about whether restricting SNAP purchases improves diet quality and health.
The National Retail Federation, a trade association, predicted longer checkout lines and more customer complaints as SNAP recipients learn which foods are affected by the new waivers.
“It’s a disaster waiting to happen of people trying to buy food and being rejected,” said Kate Bauer, a nutrition science expert at the University of Michigan.
A report by the National Grocers Association and other industry trade groups estimated that implementing SNAP restrictions would cost U.S. retailers $1.6 billion initially and $759 million each year going forward.
“Punishing SNAP recipients means we all get to pay more at the grocery store,” said Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP director for the anti-hunger advocacy group Food Research & Action Center.
The waivers are a departure from decades of federal policy first enacted in 1964 and later authorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which said SNAP benefits can be used for “any food or food product intended for human consumption,” except alcohol and ready-to-eat hot foods. The law also says SNAP can’t pay for tobacco.
In the past, lawmakers have proposed stopping SNAP from paying for expensive meats like steak or so-called junk foods, such as chips and ice cream.
But previous waiver requests were denied based on USDA research concluding that restrictions would be costly and complicated to implement, and that they might not change recipients’ buying habits or reduce health problems such as obesity.
Under the second Trump administration, however, states have been encouraged and even incentivized to seek waivers – and they responded.
“This isn’t the usual top-down, one-size-fits-all public health agenda,” Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said when he announced his state’s request last spring. “We’re focused on root causes, transparent information and real results.”
The five state waivers that take effect Jan. 1 affect about 1.4 million people. Utah and West Virginia will ban the use of SNAP to buy soda and soft drinks, while Nebraska will prohibit soda and energy drinks. Indiana will target soft drinks and candy. In Iowa, which has the most restrictive rules to date, the SNAP limits affect taxable foods, including soda and candy, but also certain prepared foods.
“The items list does not provide enough specific information to prepare a SNAP participant to go to the grocery store,” Plata-Nino wrote in a blog post. “Many additional items — including certain prepared foods — will also be disallowed, even though they are not clearly identified in the notice to households.”
Marc Craig, 47, of Des Moines, said he has been living in his car since October. He said the new waivers will make it more difficult to determine how to use the $298 in SNAP benefits he receives each month, while also increasing the stigma he feels at the cash register.
“They treat people that get food stamps like we’re not people,” Craig said.
SNAP waivers enacted now and in the coming months will run for two years, with the option to extend them for an additional three, according to the Agriculture Department. Each state is required to assess the impact of the changes.
Health experts worry that the waivers ignore larger factors affecting the health of SNAP recipients, said Anand Parekh, chief policy officer at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
“This doesn’t solve the two fundamental problems, which is healthy food in this country is not affordable and unhealthy food is cheap and ubiquitous,” he said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/30/snap-bans-five-states-jan-1/
US Coast Guard Awards Contracts To Build 6 Arctic Icebreakers
US Coast Guard Awards Contracts To Build 6 Arctic Icebreakers
Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) awarded two contracts to construct up to six Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) icebreakers to increase regional mobility and assert dominance, the agency said in a Dec. 29 statement.
“The Arctic Security Cutters will defend U.S. sovereignty, secure critical shipping lanes, protect energy and mineral resources, and counter our adversaries’ presence in the Arctic region,” the USCG said, adding that this was a “major step forward for America’s national security.”
“They will enable the Coast Guard to control, secure, and defend U.S. Alaskan borders, facilitate maritime commerce vital to economic prosperity and strategic mobility, and respond to crises and contingencies in the region,” the USCG said.
The contracts were awarded to Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC and to Rauma Marine Constructions Oy, based in Finland. The awards are the result of “historic investments” authorized by President Donald Trump under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), USCG said.
Under the contract, Bollinger Shipyards will construct up to four ASCs in the United States, with delivery of the first domestically built vessel scheduled for 2029.
The contract awarded to Rauma involves constructing up to two ASCs in Finland, with the first vessel scheduled for delivery earlier in 2028.
According to the USCG, the plan is to leverage the Finnish company’s icebreaker expertise while onshoring it into the United States over the long run.
“America has been an Arctic nation for over 150 years, and we’re finally acting like it under President Trump. Our adversaries continue to look to grow their presence in the Arctic, equipping the Coast Guard with Arctic Security Cutters will help reassert American maritime dominance there,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
“Revitalizing the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking capabilities is crucial for our security and prosperity, and today’s announcement is an important step in that direction.”
The acquisition of the ASCs is part of the Force Design 2028 initiative introduced by Noem, which seeks to transform the USCG into a “more agile, capable and responsive fighting force,” the agency said.
On Nov. 13, the United States joined Canada and Finland in signing the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort pact, which allows the three nations to share information, expertise, and resources to expand shipbuilding and counter the growing presence of China and Russia in the Arctic.
Late last year, the Chinese coast guard entered the Arctic for the first time to join Russian ships on patrol. In July this year, Chinese and Russian bomber aircraft carried out joint exercises off the coast of Alaska.
Under the Trump administration, the focus on building a fleet for the Arctic has intensified. In April, Trump signed an executive order to restore America’s maritime dominance, calling for the construction of commercial ships in the country and the rebuilding of America’s maritime manufacturing.
In July, Trump signed into law the OBBB, which has provided $8.6 billion for deploying the USCG’s icebreaker fleet in the Arctic. Out of the $8.6 billion, $4.3 billion was allocated to buy heavy icebreakers and $3.5 billion to purchase medium-sized ASCs.
On Oct. 8, Trump signed a memorandum—Construction of Arctic Security Cutters—noting that USCG’s fleet of Arctic-capable vessels and icebreakers remained “insufficient to meet current operational demands and presents a national security risk.”
“The United States faces an urgent and growing threat in the Arctic region posed by strategic competition, aggressive military posturing, and economic encroachment by foreign adversaries. These actions undermine United States sovereignty; jeopardize critical shipping lanes; and threaten energy, mineral, and national defense interests,” the order said.
According to a July 15 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the United States currently has three polar icebreakers, compared to Russia’s fleet of 40. China, which is not an Arctic nation, has four icebreakers.
China is “likely to continue outpacing the United States’ sluggish icebreaker construction effort. This constitutes a giant spotlight on the U.S. national security risk in the Arctic,” the report said.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/30/2025 – 12:25
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-coast-guard-awards-contracts-build-6-arctic-icebreakers
2026 forest preserve picnic, camping permits on sale Friday
Permits to use Forest Preserve District of Will County picnic and camping sites in 2026 can be purchased starting Friday.
Sold on a first-come, first-served basis, permits can be obtained online at reconnectwithnature.org/get-a-permit or at one of five visitor centers: Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon, Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook, Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville, Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township and Sugar Creek Administration Center in Joliet.
Sugar Creek is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and hours for the other visitor centers are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Picnic permits
Picnic permits are available for more than 30 shelters located in forest preserves throughout Will County. They are required for groups of 25 or more and encouraged for smaller groups who want to ensure the use of a specific location.
They can be purchased online at reconnectwithnature.org/activities/picnicking or at one of the visitor centers. Permit costs range from $45 to $200 depending on the type of site desired, group size and if the permit holder is a county resident or a nonresident.
Camping permits
Tent camping is allowed at Forked Creek Preserve-Ballou Road Access in Wesley Township, Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve in Crete Township, Hammel Woods-DuPage River Access in Shorewood, McKinley Woods-Frederick’s Grove in Channahon and Messenger Woods Nature Preserve in Homer Township.
Visit reconnectwithnature.org/activities/camping to view campsites and learn more about each location. A permit must be obtained at least two business days prior to the reservation. Permits are $20 a night for county residents and $40 for nonresidents.
Additional permits
Dog park permits have been on sale since Nov. 1 for the forest preserve district’s six dog parks, including Whalon Lake in Naperville. They can be purchased online at reconnectwithnature.org/activities/dog-exercising or at any of the visitor centers. The annual cost is $40 for county residents (with an additional $20 for each dog after the first) and $80 for nonresidents (with an additional $30 for each dog after the first). There are $10 discounts for seniors 65 and older and for veterans and active-duty military members.
Photo and video permits are required for photos and video taken in the preserves by for-profit photographers.
Large group permits are required for groups of 25 or more who gather in a preserve or at a visitor center. Groups who use a picnic shelter can obtain a picnic permit. If a picnic shelter isn’t needed for a gathering, a special use permit will be required to ensure there is space and parking available and that forest preserve district staff and police are aware of the event. To obtain a special use permit, email permits@fpdwc.org or call 815-727-8700.
For more information, go to www.reconnectwithnature.org.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/30/will-forest-preserve-permits-picnic-camping/
Chesterton Town Hall makeover gets rave reviews at Monday meeting
Walking into the newly renovated Chesterton Town Hall chambers Monday evening, town council members were a bit stunned by the bright makeover.
“It’s so beautiful,” said Councilwoman Erin Collins, D-2nd.
To appreciate the Town Hall’s transformation, one must remember how it looked seven months ago before the work started.
The former Town Hall’s ambiance was once compared to a 1960s-era bus station by Councilman James Ton, R-1st.
“One that was underground,” Ton said, when reminded of his description of the former surroundings.
The dim lighting was matched by a drab color scheme and a worn-out tile floor. The entrance into the hall was cramped and closet-like. Councilman Dane Lafata, D-3rd, said the old Town Hall didn’t project an inviting image of the community.
Another distinguishing characteristic of the old Town Hall was the noise from passing trains, since the tracks are located about 30 yards north of the building. At times, it was so loud, it sounded like a train was about to break through the walls.
Chesterton’s Redevelopment Commission, which includes the Town Council and Duneland School Board representative Alayna Lightfoot Pol, met for the first time in the renovated Chesterton Town Hall chambers Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Jim Woods/for Post-Tribune)
While council members were waiting to interview candidates for town boards and commissions before what was to be their first council meeting in the renewed chambers Monday, a train happened to pass. It sounded like a distant train and people could carry on normal conversations.
“It’s almost white noise,” said Council President Sharon Darnell, D-4th.
The Town of Chesterton spent $3,515,887.51, split evenly between the renovation of the Town Hall and the adjoining Fire Station. The firefighters on Dec. 15 moved back into their updated quarters, which included a two-story, 1,700-square-foot addition.
Town Hall’s size remains the same, but it was completely gutted. The exterior brick was even changed to a gray color to distinguish it from the neighboring fire station.
“The shell is the same, but we made the layout more efficient,” said Assistant Town Engineer Matt Gavelek.
The council chamber is now more like a small theater with the council dais moved to the north end of the building. The audience sits in comfortable theater seats, compared to the former setup of stackable steel chairs.
The back wall is blue, with large silver lettering that spells “Chesterton.”
The wooden ceiling is embedded with 38 LED lights, with additional spotlights along the edges.
Gavelek said special care was devoted to sound mitigation to combat train noise. That meant the installation of acoustical tiles and sound insulation, even spraying additional insulation on the roof.
The sound system, when it’s eventually finished, will have 26 speakers to ensure everyone in the audience can hear the proceedings. There will also be two large screens.
Windows were removed from the Town Hall, but more were installed in the lobby area to the west, which is well-lit and open with new restrooms.
Clear maple wood was used to build the dais and speaker’s podium. The carpeting is beige and blue.
The new lobby for the Chesterton Town Hall. (Jim Woods/for Post-Tribune)
Ton said that Darnell and Collins did “a great job” of overseeing the interior decoration of the renewed chambers.
“We painstakingly chose every little piece,” Collins said, noting that Town Engineer Mark O’Dell and Gavelek helped them through the process.
Larson-Danielson Construction crews are still doing finishing touches on the Town Hall. The council has planned a formal dedication ceremony for 5 p.m. Jan. 26.
Darnell, who has served 22 years on the council, provided the valedictory remarks at the end of Monday’s council meeting.
“I want to thank everybody in this room who has worked so hard,” Darnell said. “This is such a great place and such great people in this room, and all the great people who used to be in this room. I love this town; they’re such good people. God, I love this room.”
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
