Category: News
Steel City wins state tutoring grant support
Gary’s Steel City Academy charter school has received state Indiana Learns funding for ILEARN tutoring services for up to 91 students.
“We got this grant last year and saw exponential growth of an 81% IREAD pass rate,” said Steel City executive director Katie Kirley on Tuesday. “We know this program yields a huge impact.”
Indiana third graders who don’t pass the IREAD must repeat third grade unless they qualify for an exemption.
Last year’s tutoring program, funded by the Indiana Department of Education and Indianapolis-based nonprofit Mind Trust, focused on IREAD improvement, said Kirley.
This year’s tutoring sessions target ILEARN skills for students in grades 4-8.
Kirley said the school will offer 23 one-hour after-school sessions a week based on performance data in areas where students struggle.
Teachers and Kirley herself are doing the tutoring, which began Nov. 24. Each student will receive about 15 sessions.
Students can sign up through Dec. 19.
The program runs into April as students prepare to take the ILEARN exam.
“Winning a competitive grant like this from Indiana Learns is a game-changer for Steel City Academy students, and we’re excited at what our students will accomplish with the help,” Kirley said.
While enrollment is capped at 91 students, Kirley said she expects to attract about 70 students, up from 58 last year.
She said the school began seeing stronger growth on the English/language arts portion of ILEARN last year, with an 8% increase.
Launched in 2022 with federal pandemic assistance to counter learning loss, the tutoring program was disrupted last spring when funding ran out because of its popularity.
The Department of Education announced the resumption of the tutoring program last month.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/02/steel-city-wins-state-tutoring-grant-support/
Community news: La Grange’s St. Cletus volunteers distribute 300 turkeys on Thanksgiving
La Grange’s St. Cletus volunteers distribute 300 turkeys on Thanksgiving
Thanks to the generosity of St. Cletus Parish in La Grange, 300 families had a Thanksgiving meal and nonperishable food to enjoy.
Meals included chicken or turkey and traditional Thanksgiving fixings such as premade stuffing, green bean casserole, potatoes and homemade cookies or recipients could pick their own sides to cook. Households included senior citizens, working families and individuals and immigrants. The St. Cletus Food Pantry has been helping more people than ever, with 185 households served in November.
The Social Concerns Ministry at the parish has greatly expanded its fundraising in the last three years, tripling the direct financial help offered to parishioners and neighbors in need. In 2025, it distributed more than $100,000, which helps people pay utility bills or cover rent.
Triton College competing for Aspen Prize
Among those competing for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellent is Triton College in River Grove.
It’s among 200 colleges chosen based on student outcome data, and the winner will be named in spring 2027. In the next 20 months, colleges will be assessed on “student outcomes data, ranging from student transfer and completion rates to employment and wages after graduation” and “whether they have engaged in scaled practices that led to high and improving student outcomes,” according to a news release.
“Triton College is pleased to be recognized for our commitment to valuing the individual, educating and serving our community,” President Mary-Rita Moore shared via the release. “This recognition affirms that strong student outcomes are achievable when access and academic excellence come together.”
Darien Lions collecting toys for kids
The Darien Lions Club hosts a holiday toy drive through Dec. 12, and items can be dropped off between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at Darien City Hall, 1702 Plainfield Road.
New, unwrapped toys will be accepted (except plush toys) for infants up to 1 year old and children 6 to 12 years old. All items will go to needy children in the community. Information is at www.darienlions.org.
Bolingbrook hospital breaks ground on cath lab addition
A recent groundbreaking ceremony for a 15,000-square-foot addition to the UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook campus drew a host of hospital and community leaders and local officials.
The new catheterization labs are designed to “improve response times for cardiac emergencies” and to improve the ability to care more efficiently for patients, according to a news release. It also will include expanded access to advanced interventional radiology procedures, which will help patients facing cancer diagnoses.
Dignitaries at the ceremony included UCHicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook CEO Kenneth Rose, Will County Center for Economic Development CEO Doug Pryor, Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta, medical staff incoming president Dr. Arnon Rubin, as well as several others.
Church hosts Hinsdale Hallelujah on Dec. 6
A Hinsdale Hallelujah comes to the stage at 6 p.m. Dec. 6 at Hinsdale Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 201 N. Oak St. in Hinsdale.
This performance of Handel’s “Messiah” and Mozart’s “Coronation Concerto” features a combined choir of professional and volunteer singers from across the Chicago area as well as a professional orchestra.
No tickets are necessary, although an offering will be taken. Details are at 630-323-0182.
Lessons and Carols set at Elmhurst U.
The public is invited to celebrate the joy of the season with the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols at Elmhurst University, set for 4 and 7 p.m. Dec. 5 in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel, 190 Prospect Ave. in Elmhurst.
The free program, which began in 1961 at the campus, includes nine readings from scripture that tell the story of the birth of Christ. Elmhurst University choirs will sing songs to accompany each reading.
Doors open 30 minutes before each start time. The 7 p.m. service will be livestreamed at elmhurst.edu/bluejaytv.
Western Springs theater group performs ‘Rudolph’
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” a musical based on the classic holiday television special, will be performed from Dec. 5 to 14 at Theatre of Western Springs, 4384 Hampton Ave. in Western Springs.
Shows are at 7 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets cost $17 for general admission for adults and $13 for children 18 and younger. Some fees apply for print and email tickets and credit card purchases. ve no additional fee. Buy tickets at app.arts-people.com or 708-246-4043.
Meet live reindeer at Elmhurst park
A holiday tree-lighting ceremony takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Wilder Park, 175 S. Prospect Ave. in Elmhurst.
The free event, offered by the Elmhurst Park District, includes holiday activities such as carnival games, a meet-and-greet with real reindeer and with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, on-stage performances, and cookies, ornament craft and story time inside the mansion.
The Chicago Donut Company, Travelin’ Toms Mobile Coffee Truck and Sugar Mama’s Mini Donuts will have food trucks at the park. Information is at 630-993-8900.
Send news to pioneerwest@tribpub.com.
Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch In December
Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch In December
Authored by Sam Dorman and Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times,
The month of December is set to be a big one for the Supreme Court, which has scheduled oral arguments in hot-button issues such as President Donald Trump’s ability to fire people, campaign spending, and the death penalty.
Its eventual decisions are expected to better define Congress’s power, while creating potentially long-lasting impacts for Americans’ civil liberties.
Here is a breakdown of the cases.
1. Trump’s Ability to Fire Bureaucrats
For months, Trump has been asking the Supreme Court to block lower court orders halting his ability to remove high-level bureaucrats. While the justices have granted him tentative relief on their emergency docket, they’ve yet to fully weigh in on the president’s removal authority.
That’s expected to change after Dec. 8, when the Supreme Court is hearing oral argument over Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rebecca Slaughter.
In March, Slaughter received a letter in which Trump said her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent” with his administration’s priorities. Slaughter sued, alleging that Trump violated not only federal law but Supreme Court precedent as well.
With the FTC Act, Congress specified that presidents could fire people only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance”—none of which Trump identified in his letter to Slaughter.
Instead, he cited Article II of the Constitution, which vests the executive power within the president. Slaughter and a district court both disputed this argument on the basis of a nearly 90-year-old precedent called Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.
In that case, a unanimous Supreme Court rejected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s argument that the FTC Act intruded on his authority. In his majority opinion, Justice George Sutherland said that commissioners exercise “quasi-judicial” and “quasi-legislative” functions, and therefore can receive extra protection from Congress.
Trump is asking the Supreme Court to either overrule Humphrey’s Executor or hold that it doesn’t apply to Slaughter’s firing. He also wants the Supreme Court to say that lower courts lack authority to reinstate fired officers.
Slaughter, meanwhile, argues that Trump is misinterpreting his power under the Constitution and that Humphrey’s was settled law. According to the legal doctrine of stare decisis, judges should avoid overturning precedent unless it’s found to have several major flaws.
2. Pro-Life Donors
After the Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked, pro-life pregnancy centers faced a wave of pressure from politicians and activist groups.
Along with other attorneys general, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin accused pregnancy centers of misleading consumers. In attempting to investigate potential legal violations, Platkin subpoenaed a group of faith-based pregnancy centers collectively known as First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc.
First Choice has alleged that Platkin’s subpoena unconstitutionally chills its right to free speech and association by seeking information about its donors. The organization brought a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, which allows private entities to sue governmental entities in federal court over violations of their civil rights.
What followed was a complicated trail of litigation that questioned state authority and ultimately, whether First Choice would ever be able to bring a challenge in federal court. The Supreme Court is expected to address those issues and others during oral argument on Dec. 2.
First Choice asked the Supreme Court to intervene after multiple federal courts said its case wasn’t “ripe” or ready for adjudication. At first, a district court said it wasn’t ripe because Platkin hadn’t attempted to enforce the subpoena. After Platkin did so in state court, the district court again said the case wasn’t ripe. Its reasoning was based on the idea that the state court had to first threaten contempt for not complying with the subpoena.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit eventually said that it wouldn’t force the district court to hear First Choice’s constitutional claims brought under Section 1983. Again, the case was described as unripe—this time because the appeals court said the state court was able to deal with First Choice’s constitutional claims.
First Choice told the Supreme Court this created a “Catch 22” due to a legal doctrine known as res judicata, which prevents the relitigation of an issue that was already decided by another court. “Once a state court adjudicates First Choice’s federal constitutional claims, res judicata will almost certainly bar First Choice from ever having those claims decided by a federal court,” the group said in briefing to the Supreme Court.
Platkin’s briefing to the Supreme Court has focused instead on whether First Choice had established that it faced a reasonably objective chill of its First Amendment rights.
“Any risk that donors’ identities will be produced is speculative and remains wholly contingent on a future state-court order requiring production,” he said.
3. Campaign Spending Limits
The high court will soon hear a case that may impact the 2026 midterm elections by judging whether the First Amendment allows Congress to limit coordinated spending between political committees and candidates.
The case, known as National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) originated with Republicans, including then-Senate candidate J.D. Vance.
They focused on the Federal Election Campaign Act, which imposes a series of limits on political spending—including on individual contributions, expenditures by political parties, and coordination between both parties and candidates. That last category was the one Vance and the NRSC said violated their First Amendment rights, specifically because the FEC sought to enforce it in a way that would restrict their advertising activities.
Since the law’s passage in 1971, it has been updated with various provisions and the Supreme Court has wrestled with whether its limits violate the First Amendment. In doing so, it has attempted to balance interests in free speech with the federal government’s interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption.
In multiple cases, the court has clarified that the First Amendment allows Congress to limit individual contributions to candidates but not independent expenditures on things like ads that support the candidate. Political parties similarly can spend independently of the candidate but Congress can limit how those two coordinate expenditures.
In 2001, the Supreme Court said that that type of coordination opened a back door for individuals to use parties as middle men and circumvent limits on contributions.
That ruling was made in a case known as FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee and was cited by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit when it rejected Republicans’ lawsuit last year. During oral argument on Dec. 9, the Supreme Court is expected to address whether, as Republicans have suggested, it should overrule the 2001 decision.
It’s unclear how the court will rule and the only current justice who was on the court during the 2001 decision is Clarence Thomas, who dissented.
Rather than overturning the 2001 decision, the court could also say the Constitution protects the particular type of activity that Republicans are seeking to perform. Whereas the previous decision focused on a party’s ability to pay a candidate’s bills, Republican committees in the current case are seeking to run ads while getting input from candidates.
The case is a bit unusual because the FEC has joined Republicans in criticizing the 2001 decision, arguing that it didn’t apply to the current case. In the FEC’s place, Democratic committees intervened and argued that coordinated expenditures were “constitutionally equivalent” to contributions while posing a risk of quid pro quo corruption.
4. The Sidewalk Preacher’s Suit
Another case, Olivier v. City of Brandon, involves the First Amendment but in a less direct way. Under Section 1983, Americans can sue governments for violating their First Amendment right and other constitutionally protected rights.
During oral argument on Dec. 3, the high court is expected to hear arguments over how and when convicts can use that law.
The issue arose after Christian street preacher Gabriel Olivier was arrested in 2021 for protesting—including calling passersby names such as “Jezebel”—outside a concert venue. The content of his speech wasn’t so much an issue as where he spoke. The City of Brandon, Mississippi, said he violated its ordinance requiring protesters to carry out their demonstrations in a designated area.
Olivier pleaded no contest to the charges, was fined, and received a suspended sentence of 10 days. It wasn’t until after his sentencing, however, that he filed a civil suit under Section 1983, asking courts to declare that the city ordinance violated the First and 14th Amendments.
The suit was dismissed by lower courts because of a previous Supreme Court precedent, Heck v. Humphrey, which said plaintiffs cannot bring claims under Section 1983 if they “would necessarily imply the invalidity of a prior conviction.”
Olivier appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing he was not looking to overturn his previous conviction but just wanted protection from future prosecutions.
He also said his situation was different from the Heck case.
In that case, the defendant was imprisoned, and was able to bring a habeas petition challenging his detention. Olivier told the court that since he was not imprisoned, he was never able to bring a habeas challenge, which he said would have been the appropriate legal mechanism for challenging the ordinance’s constitutionality.
The city disagreed, stating that “the question in Heck cases is whether a civil judgment would undermine a prior criminal judgment, not whether someone is locked up or out of jail.”
5. IQ and the Death Penalty
Joseph Clifton Smith was sentenced to death for brutally murdering a man in 1997. But after a Supreme Court decision in 2002, Smith alleged that his death sentence was unconstitutional because he was mentally disabled.
That decision, in a case known as Atkins v. Virginia, held that executing a mentally disabled criminal was “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Smith’s case has led the Supreme Court to review how lower courts are supposed to weigh multiple IQ scores in order to determine if someone has an intellectual disability.
“Like most States, Alabama requires that offenders prove an IQ of 70 or less to satisfy the intellectual functioning prong of Atkins v. Virginia,” Alabama said in a petition to the court. “This case was not close: Smith scored 75, 74, 72, 78, and 74 on five full-scale IQ tests.”
Although all five of Smith’s IQ scores were higher than 70, four were low enough that the margin of error made it possible that his actual score was lower than 70. A panel of appellate judges said that in order to use IQ to maintain the death penalty, the state had to have evidence strong enough to foreclose the possibility of his actual IQ being lower than 70.
Alabama and the Trump administration sought Supreme Court review, arguing that the appeals court was requiring too much and that courts should consider the cumulative effect of multiple IQ scores.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/02/2025 – 15:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/top-5-supreme-court-cases-watch-december
Huge outpouring of help for Carpentersville apartment fire victims
Area residents have been coming together to help the Carpentersville families left without homes or possessions following a massive Saturday morning fire at a Meadowdale Court apartment complex building.
So many items have been donated that the village announced it was no longer accepting physical goods, like clothing, Village President John Skillman said. But the American Red Cross, District 300 Food Pantry and FISH Food Pantry are still accepting items, and gift cards to restaurants, grocery stores and retail stores are welcome, he said.
While the source of the fire remains under investigation, it does not appear to be suspicious, Skillman said.
It started about 1 a.m. on the first floor of the 104 Meadowdale Court building and spread up to the roof. Twenty-three of the building’s 24 units were occupied, and damage estimated at $2 million.
As of Monday night, five people displaced by the blaze remained in temporary housing being provided by the village.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘Carpentersville strong.’ It’s really great,” Skillman said. While the situation is heartbreaking, those affected by it are “seeing the outpouring (from people wanting to help them) firsthand,” he said.
Within hours of the fire, local residents were dropping off clothing, blankets, hygiene items, shoes and household items, he said. People from all around the area have contacted the village about how they can help the families impacted.
A village newsletter updating the situation echoed Skillman’s comments on the generosity that has been seen.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you,” the newsletter said. “This is what community looks like, people showing up, lifting each other up and moving forward together.”
Also stepping up was the Loyal Order of Moose, which opened its lodge at 309 Lake Marian Road to provide a place for residents to go immediately after being evacuated by the blaze and while waiting for the American Red Cross to respond.
Residents who didn’t have a place to go for the night were offered temporary shelter at the village’s Public Works Building, where the Red Cross provided staffing, Skillman said. Since that building is used as a cooling and warming center during the winter and summer, it was easy to use it as an emergency shelter, he said.
“It just all came together,” he said.
The Red Cross is also providing case management, which involves providing financial assistance guidance, long-term housing support and resources needed to rebuild a life after a catastrophic incident, village officials said. A meeting at which families could register for assistance was to be held Tuesday night.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/02/carpentersville-apartment-fire-residents-help/
Village approves chipping in for new Gurnee Mills store: IKEA?
Gurnee Mills will soon have one less vacancy after the Gurnee Village Board voted Monday to approve an agreement to renovate vacant tenant space.
“We’ve got an opportunity to fill the rest of the space of the former Sears Grand store,” Village Administrator Patrick Muetz said.
Muetz said that the improvements are estimated to cost $12 million, with Simon Property Group, the company that owns and operates Gurnee Mills, contributing $6 million, and the business that will occupy the space contributing $6 million.
Simon Property Group has requested that the village contribute up to $2 million.
The former Sears site is currently occupied by Round 1 and Hobby Lobby, but still has approximately 66,000 square feet of vacant space, which has sat empty since Sears closed in 2018.
Before the meeting, the Village Board held a public hearing, where they heard from Jocelyn Gubler, the vice president of development at Simon Property Group, about plans for the vacant space.
“As department stores fall by the wayside, and as boxes sit empty, we at Gurnee Mills have been fortunate to be able to fill those, and this is one of our last remaining boxes,” she said.
Gubler said she couldn’t yet announce what store will be occupying the space, but said that it is a “popular, budget-friendly, home goods retailer.”
“This retailer has been launching smaller format stores, as a complement to its larger standard-size, warehouse-type of environment that’s in 27 states and territories in the U.S.,” she said. “[One] of these stores just opened in San Marcos, Texas, earlier this year.”
While Gubler didn’t specify what store would be moving into the space, a smaller-scale IKEA opened in San Marcos, Texas, in July. During the public hearing, she also said that the company began in 1943 as a mail-order company, which IKEA did.
In an email with the News Sun, Gurnee Economic Development Director Ellen Dean said that she could not confirm if the vacancy will be filled by IKEA.
“Sears Grand was something very different back in the day,” Gubler said. “It was over 100,000 square feet of retail that was very successful for many, many years. That’s a hard size to fill. We have Hobby Lobby and Round 1 that have taken parts of it, and we have this last piece left.”
According to Muetz, the business will have a 17,000-square-foot showroom, a 20,000-square-foot market hall, selling “pick-up goods, and food items,” and a 4,000-square-foot fast casual dining operation.
“They’re looking to get going on this shortly after the new year, as far as construction,” he said.
The village is entering a six-year agreement, in which it would be responsible for contributing a maximum of $2 million to the project.
During the first four years of the agreement, the village would contribute $250,000 per year to the project. During years three and four, the village would also start rebating the sales tax that it receives from the mall, up to a maximum of $1 million.
“During that six-year period, the village will net about $900,000, so it’s a big sales-tax generator,” Muetz said.
Dean said that if the project does not cost $6 million, the village’s contribution would get reduced “proportionally.” She added that the village’s contribution would not exceed “a third overall, $2 million on $6 million.”
“This is over a half of a million dollar sales tax generator to the village of Gurnee,” Dean said. “We’re anticipating half a million dollars, or more, per year. A lot of upside for the village.”
The agreement was unanimously approved by the board, whose members spoke about how happy they were to have the retailer take over the vacant space in the mall.
“This is something that is meant for Gurnee,” Village Trustee Karen Thorstenson said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/02/gurnee-mills-new-store/
Photos: Chicago Bears fans line up — again — for free hot dogs at Wieners Circle
The Wieners Circle put up another challenge for the Chicago Bears on social media — and coach Ben Johnson delivered by taking off his shirt postgame after a Week 13 win. The move gave Chicagoans free hot dogs again, after quarterback Caleb Williams fulfilled his request from the popular hot dog stand on North Clark Street earlier in the season.
Bears fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans pick up free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The marquee promoted Bears coach Ben Johnson as fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Preston Kennicker picks up a free hot dog as Bears fans line up, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
A Chicago Dogs mascot exits as Bears fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans pick up free hot Chicago dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Earl Johnson dresses as Bears coach Ben Johnson as fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans line up around the block for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans line up for free hot dogs Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bob Keen lines up with Bears fans for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police Officer Richard Juarez Jr. lines up with Bears fans for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans cheer while lining up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Bears fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Shannon Lahey-Petzold dresses for the occassion as Bears fans line up for free hot dogs, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/02/photos-chicago-bears-free-hot-dogs-wieners-circle/
“One Battle After Another” y Jafar Panahi triunfan en los premios Gotham
Por JAKE COYLE
NUEVA YORK (AP) — “One Battle After Another” (“Una batalla tras otra”) de Paul Thomas Anderson fue coronada como la mejor película y el director disidente iraní Jafar Panahi ganó tres premios el lunes en la 35ª edición anual de los Premios Gotham, un brillante inicio de la temporada de premios de la industria cinematográfica.
Los Gotham, presentados por el Instituto de Cine y Medios de Gotham, no se consideran un indicador de los Oscar. Pero la gala de etiqueta, celebrada en Cipriani Wall Street en el centro de Manhattan, es conocida por celebrar películas más pequeñas, al tiempo que otorga generosos premios a los aspirantes al Oscar.
Eso hizo que “One Battle After Another”, un lanzamiento de estudio que costó al menos 130 millones de dólares, fuera diferente a cualquier ganador anterior en los Gotham. Los ganadores anteriores incluyen películas independientes como “Past Lives” (“Vidas pasadas”), “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (“Todo en todas partes al mismo tiempo”) y el sorprendente ganador de 2024, “A Different Man” (“Un hombre diferente”).
“Recuerdo cuando los Premios Gotham eran para películas de bajo presupuesto”, bromeó Adam Sandler, presentando un homenaje a Noah Baumbach. “Para ‘The Squid and the Whale’ (‘Historias de familia’), le pagaron a Jeff Daniels con cáscaras de papa”.
Pero en 2023, los Premios Gotham eliminaron su límite de presupuesto de 35 millones de dólares para las películas. Y este año, “One Battle After Another”, una historia de padre e hija sobre protestas multigeneracionales, es ampliamente vista como la favorita a mejor película y la película a vencer en los Premios de la Academia de marzo.
“No esperaba esto, en realidad”, dijo Anderson al aceptar el premio. “Empecé a pensar que no sabía lo que estaba pasando”.
“Muchas gracias a todos”, añadió Anderson. “Vamos a casa o vamos a un bar en algún lugar o algo”.
Los Gotham ayudan a la industria a entrar en el ritmo de la temporada de premios, pero son más peculiares que ceremonias de mayor renombre. Pequeños jurados seleccionan a los nominados y ganadores, lo que a menudo lleva a resultados inesperados. Ninguno de los ganadores de actuación del lunes estuvo presente.
La mejor actuación principal fue para Sopé Dìrísù por el drama británico-nigeriano “My Father’s Shadow” (“La sombra de mi padre”). Su premio fue aceptado por el director de la película, Akinola Davies Jr., quien también ganó como director revelación. Otros nominados en la categoría incluyeron a Jessie Buckley de “Hamnet”, Jennifer Lawrence de “Die My Love” (“Mátate, Amor”) y Ethan Hawke de “Blue Moon”.
La mejor actuación de reparto fue para Wunmi Mosaku de “Sinners” (“Pecadores”), una victoria que superó a nominados como Teyana Taylor de “One Battle After Another”, Stellan Skarsgård de “Sentimental Value” (“Valor sentimental”) y Jacob Elordi de “Frankenstein”. El director de “Sinners”, Ryan Coogler, aceptó su premio.
Panahi ganó tres premios por su drama de venganza “Yek tasadef sadeh” (“Un simple accidente”): mejor dirección, mejor guion original y mejor película internacional. Más temprano el lunes, el abogado de Panahi, Mostafa Nili, dijo que el director había sido sentenciado a un año de prisión y a una prohibición de viajar de dos años.
Panahi fue encarcelado durante meses poco antes de hacer “Yek tasadef sadeh” y solo fue liberado después de iniciar una huelga de hambre. En 2010, se le prohibió hacer películas o viajar fuera de Irán. Sin embargo, continuó haciendo películas sin el permiso del gobierno. Desde 2023, y hasta el fallo del lunes, a Panahi se le había permitido salir de Irán. En mayo, su película ganó la Palma de Oro en el Festival de Cine de Cannes.
“Me gustaría dedicar el honor de este premio a los cineastas independientes en Irán y en todo el mundo”, dijo Panahi al aceptar el premio al guion. “Cineastas que mantienen la cámara rodando en silencio, sin apoyo y, a veces, arriesgando todo lo que tienen, solo con su fe en la verdad y la humanidad”.
Otros ganadores el lunes incluyeron a Harry Lighton de “Pillion” por guion adaptado; Abou Sangaré de “Souleymane’s Story” como intérprete revelación; y “My Undesirable Friends: Part uno — Last Air in Moscow” de Julia Loktev como mejor documental.
Entre los homenajeados estuvieron: “Frankenstein” de Guillermo del Toro, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” de Scott Cooper; la estrella de “Hedda” Tessa Thompson; el director de “Jay Kelly” Noah Baumbach; el elenco de “Sinners”; Luca Guadagnino y Julia Roberts de “After the Hunt”; y las estrellas de “Song Sung Blue” Hugh Jackman y Kate Hudson.
“Este es un momento para que todos recordemos lo que nos une y lo que nos reúne”, dijo Jackman. “Y eso es la temporada de premios”.
Mayor Brandon Johnson says attacks against his proposed head tax ‘would make Donald Trump blush’
Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered a stinging rebuke to opponents of his 2026 budget plan on Tuesday, signaling he will continue digging his heels in on his controversial head tax proposal rather than seek to reconcile with a rebellious City Council.
At a City Hall news conference, Johnson called out political organizations that have launched campaigns against his monthly $21-per-employee surcharge on businesses — which a council committee summarily rejected last month. The mayor said the dark money Common Ground Collective and One Future Illinois PAC, both formed by business leaders, were spreading misinformation about the tax that would go toward a Community Safety Fund in his spending proposal for next year.
“It has been brought to my attention that there is a number of entities that are relaying information that would make Donald Trump blush,” Johnson said. “Frankly, I think it’s beneath these so-called business leaders to lie to the public. … There’s no need to treat the people of Chicago like they’re stupid just because they may not have as much money as you do.”
Johnson proposed a $16.6 billion budget plan in mid-October that he framed as Chicago’s greatest chance to stand up to an antagonistic White House, though the city’s fiscal woes long predated the second Trump administration. Reinstating the head tax was part of $438 million in new levies and fees that would close a projected $1.19 billion deficit without hiking property taxes. An aldermanic panel voted down his revenue package, a serious setback for the mayor as the end-of-year budget deadline approaches.
Since then, Johnson has shown no willingness to scrap the head tax component and vowed to veto any budget that raised property taxes or garbage pickup fees. His Tuesday salvo showed that his standoff with the council goes on.
Common Ground Collective, the first group invoked by Johnson, is running an attack campaign saying Johnson’s “so-called Community Safety Fund, paid for with $100 million in new taxes, doesn’t make any new investments in public safety or youth programs.” In response, the mayor argued “no resident will be impacted by this tax,” only a tiny share of large corporations, and that the revenue would indeed go toward those programs.
Johnson’s head tax proposal applies to companies with over 100 employees, but some aldermen and business owners say that size is hardly the threshold for a large corporation. And while the new $100 million fund would go toward safety priorities, it would only serve to maintain existing programs currently supported by the Corporate Fund or expiring federal COVID-19 relief dollars. Some line-items are seeing marginal increases, and others decreases, but spending levels from this year’s budget would largely stay the same.
“The mayor seems to be having a hard time accepting that an overwhelming majority of Chicagoans not only reject his leadership of the city, but his budget,” Mike Ruemmler, head of One Future Illinois, said in a statement after Johnson’s news conference. “It’s a hard reality to face and I’d be upset too.”
Johnson also shrugged off complaints that his closest ally, the Chicago Teachers Union, was the entity being misleading in its ads decrying aldermen who opposed his budget plan. The influential labor group, Johnson’s biggest backer in his 2023 election, posted a video after his head tax defeat that claimed aldermen against the levy want to raise property taxes.
Johnson and his budget team countered that those are indeed the only two options, barring major layoffs in the police and fire departments.
“They’re not coming out saying it out loud because, for whatever reason, they don’t have the fortitude or the gall to actually state their position out loud,” Johnson said about unspecified aldermen who he said privately indicated they want to raise property taxes. “So no, it’s not misleading.”
Johnson pledged not to raise property taxes in his 2023 mayoral campaign, but tried to break that promise a year ago when he proposed a whopping $300 million hike in his 2025 budget plan. Aldermen resoundingly shot the idea down.
Now, with the next municipal election looming in early 2027 and the latest property assessments hitting South and West siders the hardest, most council members agree it’s politically impossible to go that route this time.
But an exasperated Johnson hasn’t found a way to win them over on the head tax, either.
Duffy Purges 3,000 Trucking Schools In Sweeping Crackdown On Migrant CDL Crisis
Duffy Purges 3,000 Trucking Schools In Sweeping Crackdown On Migrant CDL Crisis
The U.S. Transportation Department is now moving aggressively to correct the non-domiciled commercial driver’s license (CDL) crisis created under the Biden-Harris regime years, a period when these CDLs were effectively handed out like candy to unqualified migrant drivers, fueling a wave of carnage on America’s highways.
The latest enforcement action comes from Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, who announced the removal of nearly 3,000 CDL training providers from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Training Provider Registry (TPR) for failing to meet the Trump Administration’s standards of readiness, with another 4,500 providers put on notice for potential noncompliance.
“This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain. Under Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways. Their negligence endangered every family on America’s roadways, and it ends today,” Duffy stated, adding, “Under President Trump, we are reigning in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses.”
On X, Duffy quoted an AP News story that said as many as 44% of the 16,000 truck driving schools nationwide face immediate closure. He said, “The days of a ‘Wild Wild West’ trucking industry are over under the Trump administration.”
🚨HUGE ALERT🚨 @USDOT is giving THOUSANDS of trucking schools 30 days to comply with federal rules for drivers or they may be forced to close down.
The days of a “Wild Wild West” trucking industry are over under the Trump administration 🚛 https://t.co/ZRWebpTXij
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) December 1, 2025
The continued crackdown follows a series of 80,000-pound big rig crashes with migrants behind the wheel. These crashes have killed Americans.
The latest:
Florida Highway Horror: Migrant Truck Driver Leaves 3 Americans Dead Amid CDL Crisis
Duffy has been leading the charge to correct this crisis on America’s highways:
English Trucking Rule Takes Effect, Federal Probe Begins Of Sanctuary State Migrant CDL Pipeline
Separately, the State Department has been investigating the matter, and the Department of Homeland Security is auditing trucking firms in California owned by migrants. The desperate calls for urgent action all began with the trucking advocacy group American Truckers United earlier this year.
🚨Non-Citizen Truck Drivers Involved in Highway Crisis
This is an urgent wake-up call for every American. Our highways are no longer safe. Reckless immigration policies and weakened licensing standards have unleashed a deadly crisis on our roads. pic.twitter.com/NXrQTivkos
— American Truckers 🚛🦅 (@atutruckers) July 10, 2025
ATU’s research has found that the Biden-Harris regime and rogue sanctuary states enabled the trucking industry to be flooded by migrants, some of whom should’ve never been behind the wheel of a big rig.
Duffy continued.
🚨🚨It just keeps getting worse for @GovTimWalz.
Just one day after 400 BRAVE employees from @MinnesotaDHS exposed “massive fraud,” @USDOT has discovered that ONE THIRD of non-domiciled CDLs were issued ILLEGALLY in the state.
MINNESOTA: You’re on notice. You have 30 days to… https://t.co/EDsPx9lQKg
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) December 2, 2025
Thank ATU for their hard work this year in exposing and advising the federal government on how to correct yet another nation-killing policy by Biden-Harris.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/02/2025 – 15:20
No injuries reported after officer discharges firearm during incident on East Side of Aurora, police say
No injuries were reported after an Aurora police officer responding to a driving-related altercation Tuesday morning on the East Side of the city discharged their firearm, striking a vehicle, according to the Aurora Police Department.
At around 9:33 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a call reporting a driving-related altercation around Jackson Street and East Benton Street in Aurora, a news release from the police department said. The caller stated a driver was following him, had displayed a firearm and claimed to be law enforcement in an attempt to get the caller to stop, according to the release.
Officers ultimately located the vehicles at Fourth Avenue and South State Street, the release said, and encountered the driver referenced in the call outside his vehicle. During the resulting encounter, an officer discharged their firearm once, striking the individual’s vehicle, police said.
No one was hit, per the news release, and no injuries have been reported. Aurora Fire Department paramedics who responded to the scene evaluated the individual, a 48-year-old man from Aurora, and confirmed that he was not injured. He was found to have no affiliation with a law enforcement agency and was taken into custody.
Officers canvassed the area looking for witnesses and surveillance footage of the incident, the release said, and detectives from the department’s Investigations Divisions, along with evidence technicians, responded to the scene to begin an investigation.
The investigation is ongoing, the news release said. The department is asking anyone with information to contact the Aurora Police Department Investigations Division at 630-256-5500.
The involved officer was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, the release also noted, and an independent investigation into the officer’s actions is being conducted by the department’s Deadly Force Investigative Team, police said.
