Category: News
Northwestern rides 3 Preston Stone TD passes to 34-7 rout of Central Michigan to run bowl winning streak to 6
DETROIT — Preston Stone threw three touchdown passes, and Northwestern turned four turnovers into touchdowns and beat Central Michigan 34-7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Friday at Ford Field.
The Wildcats (7-6) extended their bowl-game winning streak to six. They haven’t lost in the postseason since a 45-6 loss to Pittsburgh in the 2015 Outback Bowl.
Central Michigan (7-6) is 0-3 against the Big Ten in bowl games, with all three losses coming at Ford Field. The Chippewas lost 51-48 to Purdue in the 2007 Motor City Bowl and 21-14 to Minnesota in the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl.
Central Michigan had the first scoring opportunity after stopping Northwestern on fourth-and-1 at the Wildcats 34, but Cade Graham missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt.
The game was still scoreless midway through the second quarter, but Braden Turner intercepted Angel Flores’ pass at the Central Michigan 29. Three plays later, Stone threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
Joe Labas, the other half of Central Michigan’s quarterbacking duo, fumbled on the first play after the kickoff to give Northwestern the ball on the Chippewas 18. Caleb Komolafe scored on a 2-yard run to put Northwestern ahead 14-0.
Flores fumbled on first down, giving Central Michigan turnovers on three straight plays. Stone hit Lawson Albright for a 23-yard touchdown on the next play — Northwestern’s third touchdown in a span of 3:02.
Flores fumbled for the second time on Central Michigan’s first drive of the second half, and Turner returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. Jack Olsen missed the extra-point attempt to leave the score at 27-0. Stone hit Wilde for another touchdown in the quarter to make it 34-0.
Central Michigan avoided the shutout when Labas hit Brock Townsend for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 6:11 to play.
Takeaways
Central Michigan: The Chippewas turned the ball over four times — three fumbles and an interception — in 12 plays spanning the second and third quarters. They picked up only one first down in that sequence.
Northwestern receiver Griffin Wilde (17) catches a pass for a touchdown against Central Michigan’s Elijah Gordon during the second quarter of the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Dece. 26, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Northwestern: The Wildcats scored four touchdowns with an average drive length of 17.5 yards, including Turner’s fumble-return touchdown. Their two longest drives in the first half — 48 and 44 yards — both ended in punts.
Up next
Central Michigan: Build an offense. Coach Matt Drinkell built an outstanding defense in his first season after six years as an assistant at Army, but the Chippewas finished 93rd in scoring offense (23.8 points per game) and 107th in yards per game (335.7). On Friday, they were overmatched against Big Ten opposition.
Northwestern: Find some playmakers in the transfer portal. It wasn’t a problem Friday, thanks to the turnovers, but the Wildcats didn’t put together a sustained scoring drive until late in the third quarter. Central Michigan has a great MAC defense, but Northwestern struggled to average 3 yards on the ground.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/26/northwestern-central-michigan-bowl-win/
Immigration-themed Nativity scene at Evanston church turns ICE agents into shepherds for a peaceful Christmas
A controversial immigration-themed Nativity scene at a north suburban church had a peaceful resolution on Christmas Eve when the Holy Family figures were reunited in safety — and federal agents included in the original display were turned into shepherds.
The politically charged outdoor creche at Lake Street Church of Evanston was assembled the day after Thanksgiving with the Virgin Mary and Joseph wearing gas masks and zip ties binding the hands of baby Jesus. His manger was surrounded by centurions dressed in sunglasses and vests labeled “ICE” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Church leaders have staunchly opposed the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, which has spurred fear across the Chicago area since September. They’ve joined a mounting chorus of many local clergy and spiritual leaders across the globe who have become vocal critics of escalating immigration enforcement tactics, which include often violent raids, detentions and turbulent protests.
The Evanston church’s nativity scene was intended to draw parallels between the plight of migrants today and the Christmas story of the Holy Family, who were immigrants or refugees when they fled Bethlehem and the wrath of King Herod, according to Biblical texts.
“Jesus was born into a world where there was political violence. He was threatened by an authoritarian ruler and his family was forced to be refugees,” said the Rev. Michael Woolf, senior minister at Lake Street Church. “We see the direct parallels to today. This was never a safe, cozy story.”
The Christmas decorations drew mixed reactions on social media throughout the Advent season. Supporters have praised the anti-immigration enforcement message as “powerful art” while opponents have criticized the installation as “blasphemy” and “spiritual deception.”
“Using the birth of Christ to push a totally different message,” one critic posted on the church’s Facebook page earlier this month. “Honor the King of Kings…if He truly is your king.”
Vandals have also targeted the nativity scene multiple times, including an incident in mid-December where most of the display was flattened and a statue of the Virgin Mary was smashed and decapitated, according to church officials.
The church updated the display to say that Mary had been beaten and dragged away from her son and was held in immigration detention.
In early December, someone removed Mary and Joseph’s gas masks, as well as the zip ties from the hands of baby Jesus. Snowfall also damaged the statue of Joseph, which the church replaced with a memorial to those afflicted by immigration enforcement along with a sign saying, “Joseph didn’t make it.”
For the past few weeks, only the figure of the baby Jesus — re-ziptied — and the centurions adorned as immigration enforcement agents remained in the display.
But on Christmas Eve, the church placed statues of Mary and Joseph back in the display, now unfettered by gas masks. The zip ties were also removed from Jesus.
The centurions have been redressed as shepherds worshipping Christ. Their old immigration enforcement uniforms were placed in a bin bearing a sign that reads, “Love your neighbor, love your God. Save your soul and quit your job.”
Woolf said he hopes the message of the new display “will be replicated in the world.”
The minister added that immigration enforcement officials “could quit their jobs.”
“We highly recommend it,” he said. “They could care for their souls. What they do, the dehumanization they oversee and they make happen certainly degrades and erodes their humanity, in some sense.”
The church plans to keep the Nativity scene up until the Christian feast day of Epiphany, which is celebrated on Jan. 6.
“It’s a peaceful scene. It’s a celebratory scene,” Woolf said. “It’s one big hallelujah of God’s grace coming into the world.”
From the Farm: Chardonnay a ‘secret’ cake ingredient for holiday or any day
During our dad’s funeral observance last weekend, friends and neighbors made sure there was plenty of comfort food for our family during our time of grief and loss.
At the Saturday funeral luncheon, we ordered large sheet cakes for the dessert course and kept to a family tradition of ordering cakes from our renowned hometown Fingerhut Bakery at 119 Lane St. in North Judson.
Opened in 1946, plans are already underway to celebrate next year what will be an 80-year sweet success family business. It is just one piece of the pie that is the delicious divided dynasty of Fingerhut family bakeries, a fixture in the near west suburbs of Chicago since the late 1800s after the Fingerhut family emigrated from Czechoslovakia.
Family patriarch Keith Allan Fingerhut, 88, died June 1, 2024, surrounded by his family. Today, his sons Greg and Doug continue the family’s legacy. Greg created some special scrumptious lemon and cheese kolacky to join the other varieties like prune, apricot, poppyseed, blueberry and raspberry on the trays that awaited in the coffee lounge of O’Donnell Mortuary for guests paying respect to Dad’s lifetime.
Among the longtime Fingerhut Bakery employees is our family friend Linda Kacafirek, who is the lead cake decorator and an icing artist. As Linda Miller, hailing from the very tiny neighboring farm town of Tefft, near Wheatfield and San Pierre, she began her bakery career just after high school.
Fingerhut Bakery cake decorator Linda Kacafirek designed a replica, tiered wedding cake served to guests for the 70th wedding anniversary ballroom dinner feting Chester and Peggy Potempa Sept. 3, 2023. She worked from a framed photo of the original cake as displayed in a bejeweled frame on the event’s cake table. (Photo by Philip Potempa)
On Dec. 31 next week, she celebrates her 50th anniversary decorating cakes at Fingerhut Bakery. She has decorated many of our family occasion cakes during the past half-century, including our dad’s funeral sheet cakes.
Two years earlier, for a happier gathering, Linda created a very near replication of Mom and Dad’s tiered wedding cake from their Sept. 5, 1953, reception at our family farm, which she helped serve at our parents’ 70th wedding anniversary party in the ballroom at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster.
My mom’s longtime friend from their women’s bowling league days of the 1970s, Barb Blaha, baked a moist and delectable Bundt cake, even pre-sliced, for our mom to share with the family. Something as simple as the gesture of a slice of cake paired with a cup of coffee helps whittle away at grief, such as during our time adjusting to the loss of Dad, who died at our family farm peacefully in his sleep at age 96 on Dec. 10, 2025.
I was certain Barb’s cake was soaked in rum, given the time of year and the incredible flavor and succulence.
Much to my surprise, it was not the boozy goodness of rum included in Barb’s recipe, but rather chardonnay white wine as the dual ingredient in both the cake batter and in the soaking glaze.
Chardonnay wine is the surprise ingredient for a heavenly, moist Bundt cake that is the signature favorite holiday pastry from the kitchen of Barb Blaha of San Pierre, Indiana. (Philip Potempa/for Post-Tribune)
“I make at least a dozen of these same cakes during the holidays to give them out to friends,” Barb said.
“It’s an old recipe, but also such an easy recipe.”
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is a weekly radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Barb Blaha’s Chardonnay Wine Cake
Makes 12 to 14 servings
Cake batter:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 box French vanilla instant pudding
4 jumbo eggs
1/2 cup chardonnay wine
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup pecan chips (optional)
Glaze ingredients:
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup chardonnay wine
1/4 cup water
Directions:
1. Mix all cake batter ingredients (except pecans) on medium speed for 2 minutes
2. Fold in pecans and pour into Bundt pan sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes on middle rack.
4. Remove from oven and leave in pan.
5. To make glaze, combine all ingredients and boil for 2 minutes and immediately pour over warm cake by poking holes in cake with salad fork and then pouring glaze over cake.
6. Allow cake to cool for 30 minutes and carefully remove from Bundt pan.
7. Once cake has cooked, dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Three women injured in shooting on Christmas in Aurora, police say
Three women were injured in a shooting on Christmas on the near West Side of Aurora, police said.
At approximately 8:08 p.m. on Thursday, Aurora police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Sunset Avenue, according to a press release from the Aurora Police Department.
Upon arrival, officers found three women suffering from gunshot wounds, police said.
Aurora Fire Department paramedics transported the women, ages 34, 36 and 55, to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to the release. No additional injuries were reported.
Detectives from the Aurora Police Department’s Investigations Bureau responded to the scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, police said. Evidence technicians also processed the scene and collected forensic evidence.
The investigation into the incident remains active, according to the release. Anyone with information is asked to call the Aurora Police Department’s Investigations Division at 630-256-5500.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000 or via its website at www.p3tips.com/135. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of felony crime offenders and the capture of felony fugitives, the release said.
No Fat Ladies Heard Singing… Yet!
No Fat Ladies Heard Singing… Yet!
Authored by James Howard Kunstler,
“We were so busy saving democracy that we forgot to tally. . . ”
– Joe Rogan on the 2020 election
While you were busy decking the halls with boughs of holly, chomping spiced nuts and cheese straws, and quaffing the eggnog this Christmas, 2025, the USA was still suffering indigestion from the Nov 3, 2020 election, repeatedly throwing up in its mouth as reports dribbled in about voting irregularities around the country that long-ago dreary night when “Joe Biden” was so thumpingly voted-in as the 46th president.
Newly-minted multi-millionaires Ruby Freeman and daughter Andrea “Shaye” Moss
So far, the state of Georgia only appears to be the worst case because activists on the losing side have persisted in demanding investigations and some of the results are now out. And what the Georgia State Election Board turned up the past two weeks was that 315,000 early in-person ballots were not processed according to legal procedure. More than 130 tabulator tapes — printed “receipts” from ballot-scanning machines — lacked required signatures from poll managers and witnesses. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger downplayed its significance, stating it was a “clerical error.” This is also called a broken chain of custody, meaning officials can’t account for the veracity of the vote, but apparently that’s a minor consideration. It does not amount to fraud per se, but it puts out an odor that tells you fraud might be found if you look a little closer.
Accordingly, on Christmas Eve, as the elves loaded Santa’s magical sleigh, and after a years’ long struggle, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney finally granted the board access to Fulton County’s 2020 presidential election ballots and related records hidden under lock and key. This includes physical paper ballots, ballot stubs, envelopes, and scanned digital ballot images. Now, perhaps you’ll see what that odor of fraud actually indicates.
For instance, it’s alleged that some of these ballots were counterfeits, that is, fakes, based on affidavits from poll managers and audit monitors who reported observing ballots that appeared pristine (lacking creases from mailing), printed on incorrect paper stock, marked identically in down-ballot races without signs of being filled by hand. Estimates from these affidavits suggested the number of such ballots could reach tens of thousands. Some analyses push estimates of duplicate-scanned ballots as high as 200,000 to 375,000. Chain of custody issues were also alleged for drop-box ballots, with improper or missing forms for over 100,000 ballots statewide (including significant numbers in Fulton County). Out of a total 4,935,487 votes cast in Georgia, “Joe Biden” won by 11,779 votes, a margin of 0.23 percent.
A Georgia State Election Board member, Dr. Janice Johnston, said she “apologized profusely” for the clerical errors discovered, explaining how, in a comparably important matter she was familiar with, surgeries, the doctors and nurses must count all the instruments and sponges three times to make sure that nothing is left inside the patient’s body after suturing-up — and that nobody is allowed to leave the operating room if the count is off.
Much so-called “de-bunking” has been going on around the country for years following the 2020 election. It begins to look now as if the “debunking” was actually just another round of bunkery, and you can easily see how that worked. It started with the massive censorship campaign when the FBI colluded with Facebook, Twitter (as it was called then), and other platforms to aggressively censor any discussion of these matters.
Meanwhile, Norm Eisen’s lawfare squad went after any lawyers connected to the Trump campaign who showed an inclination to pursue election fraud. Trump-allied attorney John Eastman got run through a wringer by the California Bar Association alleging he engaged in misconduct involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, and corruption by promoting false claims of widespread election fraud and advancing an unsupported legal strategy to disrupt the electoral vote certification. That was just for drafting memos for actions that Vice-president Mike Pence might theoretically take while presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 election — to be held Jan 6, 2021 (yes, that Jan 6). The board recommended disbarment and Eastman’s case remains pending before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Eastman is forbidden to practice law.
Rudy Giuliani was crucified for alleging that two temp workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, committed election fraud at the Fulton County State Farm Arena, a central absentee ballot tabulation center. This was the incident where a “broken toilet” was used as an excuse to shut down the facility for several hours, when poll-watchers were sent home. Then, after midnight rolly-bags of ballots were retrieved from under a table covered in draperies, and Freeman and Moss processed the votes in their scanners. Mainstream media claims this has all been debunked, too. Freeman and Moss won a $148-million defamation judgment against Giuliani, who reached a negotiated settlement with the pair in January, 2025. He was also disbarred.
A so-called “fake elector” case was brought against Trump-aligned lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn by Arizona AG Kris Mayes in April, 2024. This involved arrangements for an alternate slate of electoral college electors in the event that fraud was discovered prior to certification of the 2020 election. The case is ongoing. Trial is set for Jan, 2026. The defendants argue political motivation.
In a similar “fake elector” case in Michigan, charges lodged by Michigan AG Dana Nessel were dismissed in December by a Michigan judge.
December 9, 2025, during a public appearance, President Donald Trump has recently alleged that conclusive information proving widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election would soon become public.
“It was a rigged election. It’s gonna come out over the next couple months too, loud and clear. Because we have all the information.”
His statements are tied to ongoing efforts by his administration, including the U.S. Department of Justice’s December 2025 lawsuit against Fulton County, GA, to access sealed 2020 election records (ballots, envelopes, stubs, and digital files) that Judge McBurney ordered released just before Christmas.
This isn’t over. Those were fake fat ladies you heard singing.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/26/2025 – 16:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/no-fat-ladies-heard-singing-yet
‘Abolish ICE’ gets early nod from Mayor Brandon Johnson in annual Chicago snowplow contest
Chicago’s annual snowplow-naming contest launched this month, and Mayor Brandon Johnson is already teasing an early favorite: “Abolish ICE.”
After opening applications for the city’s fourth “You Name a Snowplow” competition, the progressive mayor’s X account gave a public endorsement to someone submitting a phrase commonly associated with the movement to dismantle U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The account @BebopOtt posted a screenshot with his entry and wrote, “Everyone else go home — this is the year we secure ABOLISH ICE on a Chicago Snowplow.”
The following day, the mayor’s X account reposted that submission with an emoji of intrigued eyes. It was a tacit nod to the local sentiment against President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz, which for months besieged the Chicago area’s immigrant communities with widespread deportation raids. But according to Johnson’s press team, there’s nothing political about that slogan.
“this IS a fun, light-hearted and nonpolitical,” the account who entered “ABOLISH ICE” as a submission wrote in one reply to a naysayer. “not sure why you’re trying to bring politics into it — i am merely stating an objective fact that snowplows ‘abolish ice.’”
The mayor’s press account affirmed, “True.” This week, Johnson’s team shared more links to news outlets drawing attention to that submission.
Entries for snowplow names close Jan. 10. At the end of the two-phase contest, residents will pick the top six names. Previous winners have included “Salter Payton,” “Jean Baptiste Point du Shovel” and “Lollaplowlooza.”
Though abolishing the federal agency handling immigration enforcement entirely started as a left-wing battle cry, the Trump administration’s deportation campaign has remained widely unpopular in Chicago. That operation began in September and wound down after over two months, but Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and more than 100 masked federal agents returned to Chicago briefly last week.
A trained-and-tested apparatus of rapid responders quickly met them with whistles and smartphone cameras.
Lake County fire displaces family on Christmas Eve
A Christmas Eve blaze has left a Lake County family without a home.
Hours before Christmas, fire crews in north suburban Zion responded to reports of a fire in a two-story house on the 3100 block of Ezekiel Ave. just after 8 p.m., the Zion Fire & Rescue Department said in a news release. When crews arrived, no one remained inside and all occupants were accounted for, but heavy fire and smoke billowed from the front of the structure, fire officials said.
Firefighters controlled and extinguished the blaze by 11 p.m. Investigators on scene determined the fire was accidental and started from the home’s front porch.
No injuries were reported, though the Chicago Red Cross was called and brought in to help the affected family with temporary housing and other immediate needs, fire officials said.
In the wake of the blaze, the family has launched a GoFundMe page seeking financial help and donations as they try to rebuild.
The family did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the fundraiser, the family was preparing dinner together when the fire broke out. All eight members of the family inside escaped but were left with “nothing but the clothes we were wearing,” their GoFundMe reads.
“We lost our home, furniture, clothing, personal documents, family keepsakes, and every Christmas gift for our children,” the page goes on. “Some of us didn’t even have time to grab shoes or coats before running for our lives.”
The family says they woke up on Christmas “displaced, overwhelmed, and starting over from absolute zero.”
As of Friday afternoon, the fundraiser had amassed just over $5,100.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/26/lake-county-fire-displaces-family-on-christmas-eve/
Lake Forest charitable organization awards its first round of grants in the community
A newly formed charitable organization in Lake Forest has awarded its first round of grants, marking the beginning of what its founders hope will become a lasting source of financial support for local nonprofits.
The Community Fund of Lake Forest recently distributed its inaugural grants, a milestone in the organization’s effort to create a reliable, long-term funding stream for charities serving Lake Forest residents.
Director and founding member Bruce Grieve said the idea grew out of his years of working with nonprofit organizations and witnessing how much time and energy is devoted to fundraising rather than direct service.
“My thought was that this would be a wonderful benefit for our community,” Grieve said. “If charities can spend less time raising money and more time focusing on their missions, everyone benefits. The goal is to create a predictable source of funding they can rely on year after year.”
Largely modeled after the Highland Park Community Foundation, the Community Fund was established in 2023. Board members have spent the past two years building the organization and developing its structure as an endowment — a fund designed to generate ongoing financial support through investment earnings.
Earlier this month, the organization awarded $2,500 grants to six nonprofits with ties to Lake Forest: Fill A Heart 4 Kids, Mother’s Trust Foundation, A Safe Place, Dickinson Hall Senior Center, CROYA, and the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be selected as one of the first recipients,” said Annie McAveeney, founder and executive director of Fill A Heart 4 Kids. “It’s wonderful and meaningful to see support directed toward helping at-risk youth in our community.”
Grieve said the endowment currently holds just under $200,000, with hopes that it will continue to grow over time, allowing the Community Fund to expand both the number of grants awarded and the dollar amounts.
“It’s our neighborhood gift to our neighbors,” he said.
The Community Fund will work in coordination with the Lake County Community Foundation, which will handle administrative functions as well as investments. Each year, the Community Fund board will review grant applications from local organizations, consulting with other nonprofits, school representatives, and city officials to find unmet needs in the community.
To qualify, organizations must either be based in Lake Forest or provide direct services to Lake Forest residents, Grieve said.
He further explained that the fund operates like a traditional endowment, similar to those found at colleges and universities. Donations are invested, and a portion of the earnings is distributed annually while the principal remains intact.
“The larger the endowment grows, the more we can give back,” he said.
Former Lake Forest Mayor George Pandaleon, who also serves on the board, said the Community Fund mirrors successful models in other communities and is designed to provide consistent, long-term support.
“There will be ongoing contributions through these grants in perpetuity,” Pandaleon said.
He added the Community Fund received some initial funding and plans are in place to grow the endowment by reaching out to the community and some small-scale fundraising events.
“It’s going to grow organically over time,” Pandaleon said. “It is going to be there forever.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/26/community-fund-lake-forest-awards-grants/
Blackstone’s LivCor Settles DOJ’s Alleged Rental Price-Fixing Claims
Blackstone’s LivCor Settles DOJ’s Alleged Rental Price-Fixing Claims
Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
LivCor, one of the largest landlords in the United States, has entered into a proposed consent decree with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve price manipulation claims made by the department, the DOJ said in a Dec. 23 statement.
On Jan. 7, the DOJ announced it was suing tech company RealPage and six landlords, including LivCor, which operates under asset management company Blackstone. The department accused the landlords of using RealPage’s software to participate in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.
In its latest statement, the DOJ said LivCor and other landlords “shared competitively sensitive data to generate pricing recommendations using RealPage’s algorithms, which also included anticompetitive rules that aligned their pricing.”
“In addition, LivCor and other landlords discussed competitively sensitive topics—including pricing strategies, rents, and selected parameters for RealPage’s software—directly with each other,” it said.
The tactics aimed to decrease competition among landlords with regard to apartment pricing, thereby harming millions of renters in the United States, the DOJ said in January.
RealPage’s actions ended up enriching itself and the landlords “at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices and honest businesses that would otherwise compete,” the department said in its lawsuit.
The proposed consent decree between the DOJ and LivCor prohibits algorithmic coordination and the exchange of sensitive data with competitors.
LivCor is required to refrain from taking part in or attending meetings involving competing landlords that are hosted by RealPage. The company must also cooperate with the United States’ claims against other defendants in the case.
In the case that LivCor uses a third-party pricing algorithm not certified in line with the terms of the consent decree, it must allow a court-appointed monitor, the department said.
The decree must now be approved by the court.
“The Trump-Vance Administration is committed to an economy that works for all Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater from the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.
“Landlords across America are on notice that the competition laws protect renters from the harms caused by competitors sharing competitively sensitive information or aligning prices, whether through an algorithm or otherwise.”
The Epoch Times reached out to LivCor for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
The agreement with LivCor follows the DOJ’s obtaining consent decrees from RealPage and two of the landlords from the January complaint—Cortland Management LLC and Greystar Management Services LLC.
RealPage Agreement
RealPage had settled the claims brought by the DOJ last month. According to the proposed content judgment filed on Nov. 24 in a federal court, the company is barred from using competitors’ real-time, nonpublic data to generate rent recommendations.
The decree requires RealPage to remove features from its software that discourage landlords from cutting prices.
Texas-based RealPage denied any wrongdoing and said the agreement provides clarity while avoiding costly litigation. According to the company, the deal includes no admission of liability and carries no financial penalties.
“This resolution marks an important milestone for RealPage, our customers, and the multifamily industry,” said Dirk Wakeham, RealPage president. The company is “part of the solution to addressing the cost of housing,” he said. Moreover, RealPage’s tools help operators make “informed, independent decisions in a complex housing market,” he added.
The company said the agreement formalizes changes that it had been implementing over the past year.
The DOJ said the settlement restores free-market competition for millions of American renters.
Slater criticized RealPage’s system for having replaced independent pricing decisions, and said the deal was a big step in ensuring that rental housing markets remained “fair and competitive.”
“It means more real competition in local housing markets. It means rents set by the market, not by a secret algorithm,” she said. “It is a win for renters, and it means more affordable options for Americans trying to make ends meet.”
Meanwhile, the DOJ recently filed a statement of interest in another case related to protecting the interests of homebuyers in the real estate market, according to a Dec. 19 DOJ statement.
The lawsuit, brought by multiple buyers, accused real estate brokerages and the National Association of Realtors, a trade association of brokerages, of entering into anticompetitive agreements. These deals ended up inflating broker commissions, raising home prices for Americans.
In its statement of interest, the DOJ argued that competition among brokerages is critical to protect American homebuyers.
“Purchasing a home is the single biggest purchase most Americans make in a lifetime,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, from the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.
“Today’s soaring housing prices make competition in real estate brokerage more important than ever. Antitrust laws are key to safeguarding competition, which reduces prices and improves services for homebuyers.”
Tyler Durden
Fri, 12/26/2025 – 15:45
Repair work progressing on Elgin’s First United Methodist nine months after microburst strike
In the early hours of March 15, a microburst ripped open a portion of the 100-year-old sanctuary roof at First United Methodist Church in downtown Elgin.
“The miracle is that despite significant storm damage and displacement from our sanctuary, ministry in our building never stopped. We were prepared to shelter people the very night of the storm,” said the Rev. Felicia LaBoy, the church’s pastor.
The east and west wings of the building and its basement were not damaged and are being used while repair and restoration work remains ongoing, LaBoy said. In fact, things have been progressing so well enough that the hope is the sanctuary might be ready for Easter services in April, she said.
The Rev. Felicia LaBoy, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Elgin, surveys the repair and restoration work being done inside the church’s sanctuary about nine months after it was damaged in a storm-spawned microburst. Her hope is the work will complete in time for Easter services. (Mike Danahey/The Courier-News)
Until then, the congregation has been using other sites for its Sunday services. From March through September, they were held in the now-closed Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Plato Center. From October on, church members have been gathering at Old Main, the home of the Elgin History Museum, just a few blocks from First United’s location at 216 E. Highland Ave.
On Christmas Eve, the church held a joint service with neighboring First Congregational Church of Elgin.
First United hasn’t missed a single service, including its weekly radio broadcast on Elgin’s WRMN (1410 AM), since the storm, LaBoy said.
Monday night soup kettle meals have continued without interruption, she said, as has the seasonal shelter that operates in the church basement. Most recently, in partnership with nonprofit One Collective, the church opened its winter warming shelter on Dec. 15 and provided emergency overnight shelter during extreme cold in late November.
“Within two weeks (of the March storm damaging the church), our ministry partners were back in the building,” LaBoy said. “We’ve added new partners, including Bridging Heart, which is a housing and support program for young adults aging out of foster care, and the YWCA’s ESL program for young adults and their toddlers. We’ve also continued to hold our own community nights, featuring board games.”
First United Methodist Church in downtown Elgin lost a portion of its roof in March 2025 when a violent storm moved through the area. (Gloria Casas/The Courier-News)
Beyond its building, First United has continued serving the wider community through partnerships with the Community Crisis Center, The Ruth Project and its therapy dog ministry, which regularly visits hospitals, schools and nursing homes.
Restoring the church, however, has not been cheap. The final cost is expected to be about $5.5 million, LaBoy said, much of which has been covered by insurance and grant money. The National Fund for Sacred Spaces gave them $50,000 to cover the cost of rewiring and reinstalling six lighting fixtures that weigh 140 pounds each, she said.
Other essential partners have been Jeremy Bates of Precision Roofing, who’s serving as historic preservation roofing contractor, and Patrick Jackowiec, of ServPro in Elgin, who is the interior restoration contractor.
As of late December, the hole caused by the storm had been closed and a significant portion of fabricated copper roofing on the east side of the church replaced, LaBoy said. Remaining work includes the repair and replacement of parts for the church organ, installation of new air conditioning units, stucco coating for the walls, replacement or restoration of some flooring, reinstallation of pews, and ongoing work to the church steeple.
The pews alone would stretch more than a third of a mile if set up end to end, LaBoy said, as the church’s capacity is 750 people.
The contrast between the scaffolding and the sanctuary as it once was tells a powerful visual story, she said. That’s because the church’s stained glass windows were not damaged nor was its ever-glowing red light above the altar, which the congregation calls its God’s light, she said.
Despite a microburst tearing a huge hole in the roof of the First United Methodist Church of Elgin in March 2025, the building’s stained glass windows were not damaged. (Mike Danahey/The Courier-News)
That’s not to say it’s all been smooth sailing. First United lost more than $60,000 in shared-space rental income, greatly impacting its operating budget, and the church will need to come up with about $150,000 total to complete the steeple repair and a sanctuary lighting and safety project, according to a Dec. 7 letter that LaBoy and her husband, Adrian, sent to family and friends.
The letter was an initial fundraising effort with more likely to follow in 2026, she said.
“Adrian and I are filled with gratitude for God’s faithfulness and for the resilience of a congregation that has weathered storms — both literal and spiritual — with unwavering hope,” their letter said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/26/first-methodist-church-storm-damage-repairs/
