Illinois partisan politics formally undermined a staff finding that state Senate President Don Harmon’s political fund violated campaign contribution limits last year, as state election authorities dropped a proposed fine of nearly $10 million against the Oak Park Democrat.

For its second straight meeting, the eight-member Illinois State Board of Elections, composed of four Democratic appointees and four Republicans, remained split along party lines over whether to accept the recommendation of an impartial hearing officer who upheld the determination that Harmon’s main fundraising arm violated campaign contribution limits that Harmon himself had championed as a state lawmaker.

Senate President Don Harmon speaks at an executive committee hearing before introducing legislation in response to aggressive federal immigration enforcement tactics during the legislative session on Oct. 30, 2025, at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Prompted by a Chicago Tribune inquiry into the Friends of Don Harmon for State Senate campaign committee, elections board staff in June determined Harmon’s fund had accepted more than $4 million in contributions above what was legally allowed ahead of last year’s election.

The matter was left in limbo last month, when the board was unable to reach the five-vote majority needed to either accept the hearing officer’s recommendation and levy staff’s proposed $9.8 million fine or reject it. When it came back before the board on Tuesday, the split remained. All four Democratic appointees voted to reject the staff’s findings and the proposed fine, and all four GOP members voted to approve the findings and levy the fine.

This time, though, both the attorneys for the elections board and for Harmon’s campaign committee agreed on one thing.

“As far as I’m concerned, this case is over,” Marni Malowitz, the board’s general counsel, said after two votes that made members’ positions clear.

“Agree,” said Harmon’s attorney, longtime Democratic Party lawyer Michael Kasper, who spent much of the board’s deliberation standing with his hands folded in front of him and his head bowed.

To underscore the finality of the outcome despite the repeated tie votes, the board, in a separate measure, voted to remove the case from its docket. The board also voted to determine that it lacked jurisdiction over constitutional issues raised in Harmon’s campaign fund’s appeal.

“We’re pleased to have this matter finally behind us and to focus all of our energy on solving the real problems facing Illinoisans every day,” Harmon’s political spokesman, Tom Bowen, said in a statement.

Noting that the hearing officer and board staff agreed a violation occurred and a steep penalty was warranted, Senate Republican leader John Curran of Downers Grove said the outcome “undermines accountability and further erodes the public’s trust.”

“When the facts support a major violation, the rules should be enforced — no exceptions,” Curran said in a statement.

While the case brought by elections board staff is over, the underlying issue may live on in a separate challenge filed last week with the board by the Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian-leaning legal organization with Republican ties. Because the new challenge is a citizen-initiated complaint, it could allow the matter to move to court. The previous case could only have gone to court if the board had levied a fine and Harmon’s committee had appealed.

At the heart of the issue is whether Harmon’s political fund violated campaign contribution limits under a law he co-sponsored in 2009 in the wake of the scandal that brought down disgraced former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Out-of-control fundraising from state contractors and others who had business before his administration was a major part of the case against Blagojevich, who was later sentenced to 14 years in prison before his sentence was commuted and his conviction pardoned by Republican President Donald Trump.

As Illinois began to set up a process to limit how much politicians can raise, one concern that was raised was how to ensure the playing field was level for candidates facing wealthy opponents who can fund their own campaigns. The answer lawmakers, including Harmon, came up with was to establish a so-called self-funding threshold that allowed candidates to collect unlimited contributions if anyone seeking the same office — themselves or an opponent — exceeded the threshold.

But that answer created a loophole that many politicians took advantage of to raise as much political cash as they wanted. In Harmon’s case, he contributed $100,001 to his own campaign in January 2023. It was precisely $1 over the contribution threshold that allowed him or anyone else running for his Senate seat to accept unlimited funds for that race. In campaign paperwork, Harmon indicated he thought the move allowed him to collect unlimited cash through the November 2024 election cycle.

Board officials informed him, however, that the loophole would only be open through the March 2024 primary, meaning campaign cash he received from some contributors between the March primary and the end of the year exceeded the limits.

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon’s attorney, Michael Kasper, right, speaks during an Illinois State Board of Elections hearing in Chicago on Nov. 18, 2025. Two board members were present in Chicago, Jack Vrett and Jennifer Ballard Croft, while other members joined from Springfield. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Even though Harmon wasn’t a candidate last year, his campaign fund continued collecting contributions in excess of the limits through the November general election.

Kasper later argued that the fundraising limits should have been off at least that long, if not through the March 2026 primary, the next time Harmon’s Senate seat will appear on the ballot. The longer period would create parity between state House candidates, who run every two years, and Senate candidates, whose seats are up for election on staggered two- and four-year terms, Kasper argued.

The hearing officer who heard the case in August, Northbrook attorney Barbara Goodman, rejected those arguments in a 15-page recommendation last month, finding that both the “plain language” of the law and the past practices of Harmon’s campaign fund indicated “the committee for the first time either changed its interpretation of the time period for the lifting of the contribution limits or simply chose to ignore them.”

The $9.8 million in penalties proposed by the board staff included a payment to the state’s general fund equal to the more than $4 million election officials said Harmon raised in excess of the contribution limits, plus a nearly $5.8 million fine calculated based on 150% of that same amount.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/elections-board-drops-harmon-fine/ 

NUEVA YORK (AP) — El lanzador zurdo de los Cachorros de Chicago, Shota Imanaga, el lanzador derecho de Milwaukee, Brandon Woodruff, el jardinero de los Yankees de Nueva York, Trent Grisham, y el segunda base venezolano de Detroit, Gleyber Torres, estuvieron entre los cuatro jugadores que aceptaron ofertas calificadas de 22.025.000 dólares, una cifra récord, de sus antiguos equipos antes de la fecha límite el martes, eliminándose del mercado de agentes libres.

Nueve jugadores rechazaron los contratos de un año y decidieron permanecer libres.

El jardinero de los Cachorros, Kyle Tucker, el campocorto de Toronto, Bo Bichette, y el bateador designado de Filadelfia, Kyle Schwarber, dijeron no. Además de los lanzadores derechos de San Diego, Dylan Cease y Michael King, el cerrador puertorriqueño de los Mets, Edwin Díaz, el lanzador derecho de Arizona, Zac Gallen, el lanzador venezolano de Filadelfia, Ranger Suárez, y el lanzador zurdo dominicano de Houston, Framber Valdez.

Si un equipo hace una oferta calificada a un jugador que firma un contrato de Grandes Ligas con otro club antes del draft amateur del próximo julio, su antiguo club recibe una compensación de selección de draft al final de la primera ronda o al final de la ronda B de equilibrio competitivo. La colocación depende del monto del nuevo contrato y del estado de reparto de ingresos e impuesto de lujo del equipo que pierde al jugador.

A los jugadores se les puede hacer una oferta calificada solo una vez, por lo que Imanaga, Woodruff, Grisham y Torres pueden convertirse en agentes libres después de la próxima temporada sin que se les adjunte una compensación de selección de draft.

Las ofertas calificadas comenzaron después de la temporada 2012, y solo 18 de 157 ofertas han sido aceptadas. El récord anterior de tres jugadores fue en 2015, cuando el receptor de Baltimore, Matt Wieters, el lanzador de Los Angeles Dodgers, Brett Anderson, y el jardinero de Houston, Colby Rasmus, aceptaron 15,8 millones para 2016.

Un agente libre puede recibir una oferta calificada solo si ha estado con el mismo equipo de manera continua desde el día de apertura y nunca ha recibido una oferta calificada antes.

___

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

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/imanaga-woodruff-grisham-y-torres-entre-cuatro-que-aceptan-ofertas-calificadas/ 

Chicago-based Oak Street Health is laying off 219 people early next year as its owner, CVS Health, restructures parts of the business and closes health centers across the country.

About 80 of those employees are in Illinois, and the rest report to people who work in the Chicago office, said spokesperson Amy Thibault, in a statement.

“We regularly look for ways to operate more efficiently to better serve our clients, consumers, and patients,” Thibault said in the statement. Restructuring parts of the business “will help drive high performance, reduce costs, and best position us for continued success going forward,” according to the statement.

Affected workers may apply for other CVS Health positions, Thibault said.

CVS said in October that it planned to close 16 Oak Street Health centers across the country by February, including one in Chicago. The layoffs are also supposed to occur by February, though Thibault did not answer a question Tuesday about whether they are related to the store closures.

CVS bought Oak Street for $10.6 billion in 2023. Oak Street was founded in 2012 and provides primary care for people on Medicare, focusing on low- to moderate-income seniors in underserved communities.

Both CVS and Walgreens worked in recent years to expand into primary care before pulling back. Deerfield-based Walgreens invested billions of dollars into primary care provider VillageMD, with plans to put Village Medical clinics in 1,000 of its stores by 2027. But Walgreens ended up reversing course on that plan, and said in a Securities and Exchange Commission that it was considering selling all or part of its VillageMD business. Walgreens was recently purchased by a private equity firm, which took the company private.

CVS said in a statement last month that it continues “to believe in Oak Street Health and its proven care model” and would still operate 230 centers across 27 states after the 16 closures. CVS said Oak Street was dealing with high medical costs as well as challenges related to payments from insurers and changes made at the federal level.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/oak-street-health-layoffs/ 

Por JOHN HANNA

Un tribunal federal determinó el martes que Texas no puede utilizar su nuevo mapa de la Cámara de Representantes que desató una batalla de redistribución de distritos a nivel nacional y es pieza clave en los esfuerzos del presidente Donald Trump por preservar la escasa mayoría republicana en la cámara baja de cara a las elecciones de 2026.

Al menos por ahora, el fallo representa un revés en los apuros de Trump por conformar un panorama político más favorable para los republicanos en las elecciones de mitad de período del próximo año. El gobernador de Texas, Greg Abbott, prometió apelar lo antes posible ante la Corte Suprema y defendió el mapa, el cual fue diseñado para dar a los republicanos cinco escaños adicionales en la Cámara de Representantes.

Pero en un fallo de 2-1, un panel de jueces federales en El Paso se inclinó a favor de los opositores, quienes argumentaron que el inusual rediseño de distritos legislativos en el estado perjudicaría a los residentes hispanos y de raza negra. La decisión fue redactada por el juez Jeffrey V. Brown, quien fue nominado al tribunal por Trump durante su primer mandato.

“La percepción pública de este caso es que se trata de política. Sin duda, la política jugó un papel en el diseño del mapa de 2025. Pero fue mucho más que sólo política. Evidencia sustancial demuestra que Texas manipuló racialmente el mapa de 2025”, afirma el fallo.

La decisión se produce en medio de una creciente batalla a nivel nacional sobre la redistribución de distritos. Missouri y Carolina del Norte siguieron los pasos de Texas y diseñaron nuevos mapas que añaden un escaño republicano en cada estado.

Para contrarrestar esos movimientos, los votantes de California aprobaron una iniciativa para otorgar cinco escaños adicionales a los demócratas en el estado. El gobierno federal ha interpuesto una demanda con la esperanza de bloquear la implementación de ese mapa, el cual ha sido calificado por la secretaria de Justicia Pam Bondi como “un descarado acaparamiento del poder” y un esfuerzo por “consolidar el gobierno de un solo partido”.

El gobernador de California, el demócrata Gavin Newsom, celebró el fallo en Texas con una publicación en la red social X: “Donald Trump y Greg Abbott jugaron con fuego, se quemaron, y la democracia ganó”.

Los republicanos insisten en motivos partidistas

Los republicanos en Texas insistieron en que rediseñaron el mapa únicamente por ventaja partidista. La Corte Suprema federal dictaminó en 2019 que la manipulación de distritos con fines partidistas es una cuestión política y no una que los tribunales federales deban decidir.

“El mapa de Texas se diseñó de la manera correcta por las razones correctas”, publicó Bondi en X. “Esperamos la victoria de Texas en la Corte Suprema”.

Una coalición de grupos defensores de los derechos civiles que representan a votantes de raza negra e hispanos argumentó que el mapa redujo la influencia de los votantes de minorías raciales, convirtiéndolo en una manipulación racial que viola la Ley de Derechos de Votación y la Constitución de Estados Unidos. Buscaron una orden que le impida a Texas usar el mapa mientras su caso se dirime en los tribunales, la cual fue concedida por los jueces.

De mantenerse el fallo, Texas se verá obligado a usar el mapa diseñado por la Legislatura en 2021 para las elecciones del próximo año.

“La decisión de hoy es una victoria crítica para los derechos de voto y una poderosa reprimenda al descarado intento de Texas por diluir el poder político de los votantes latinos y negros”, dijo Abha Khanna, socia en Elias Law Group, una firma que representa a votantes minoritarios en la lucha por el nuevo mapa de Texas.

Jueces: Gobierno federal indicó motivos basados en la raza

El panel de jueces señaló que creen que los detractores del mapa tienen una oportunidad significativa de ganar su caso en el juicio. Un designado del presidente demócrata Barack Obama se sumó a Brown en la mayoría, mientras que un designado por el presidente republicano Ronald Reagan disintió.

“Sin una orden judicial, las minorías raciales que representan a los grupos demandantes se verán obligadas a ser representadas en el Congreso basándose en clasificaciones raciales probablemente inconstitucionales durante al menos dos años”, dijo el fallo.

___

Los periodistas de Associated Press Jim Vertuno en Austin, Texas; Meg Kinnard en Columbia, Carolina del Sur; Adriana Gómez en Pembroke Park, Florida, y Mark Sherman en Washington, contribuyeron con este despacho.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/jueces-federales-determinan-que-texas-no-puede-usar-nuevo-mapa-legislativo-en-comicios-de-2026/ 

Will County prosecutors said Tuesday the owner of Kee Firearms in New Lenox initiated a false claim that Kee Construction earned $400,000 a month on forms used to buy two Ford Broncos in 2023, and that company’s owner later reinforced the lie by signing the paperwork.

The allegations were part of opening statements by Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Plattos in the trial of Jeffery Regnier, owner of Kee Firearms and Training, and Greta Keranen, of Kee Construction. Both are charged with forgery, and Keranen is also charged with loan fraud and wire fraud.

But defense attorney Lawrence Beaumont said the alleged false information on the business credit application was created by the auto dealership and not the defendants. The defendants also claimed the bank that approved the loan did so automatically within seconds and did not rely on the disputed estimate of Kee Construction’s gross monthly profit, estimated on the form at $400,000.

Retired U.S. Secret Service officer Jason Simpson testified that in April 2023, while working as an agent, he was asked by the Will County state’s attorney’s office to help locate two Ford Broncos connected to an ongoing investigation. He said he found the vehicles, registered to Regnier and his son Gavin, at Kee Firearms in an industrial park in New Lenox.

But in cross examination, he said the vehicles were not being hidden but were found in an open parking lot in daylight. Beaumont said this shows the business owners were not hiding fraudulent actions.

Ahmed “Andy” Hamda, a salesperson at Curry Motors since 2018, testified he sold two Ford Broncos to Regnier and Keranen on April 3, 2023. Hamda sai Regnier came in alone and negotiated the price, then requested the transaction be paid through a business credit application with Kee Construction.

Hamda said that he and his coworker pulled information from a prior deal with the business owners involving Kee Construction for the paperwork and said the dealership later required Keranen, as the company officer, to return and co-sign.

Defense attorneys said the business owners had significant assets and a history of successfully paying off multiple bank-financed vehicles.

They also said Keranen was called in only after the paperwork was submitted, was never walked through the documents and simply signed what was presented on a computer.

The state seized the Broncos, along with investment accounts the defendants said are valued at about $5.5 million, and raided the couples’ house and businesses in 2023 while investigating them for money laundering.

Regnier and Keranen won a case July 16 to recover the seized property and securities under the Eighth Amendment’s protection against excessive fines, but the case was temporarily removed from the court’s active hearing schedule Nov. 12.

The state tried to get the Illinois Supreme Court to hear the case at the end of October, but the high court refused. Regnier said Tuesday that the property has not been returned.

Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak, who has overseen the case for two years, will decide the case. She denied the prosecutors’ request to reschedule the trial in July, which led the state to drop the charges.

After refiling the charges in August, the state on Monday dismissed two charges, theft by deception and burglary, on the eve of the trial.

“It’s your fundamental American right to have your day in court,” Regnier said Tuesday. “We’ve been fighting to have this day.”

“It should not take this long to have your day in court,” Keranen said.

More testimony is expected in the case Wednesday.

awright@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/new-lenox-trial-kee-firearms/ 

Wilmette’s Village Board unanimously approved a measure on Wednesday, Nov. 12, that goes further than current law in restricting the village’s cooperation with civil immigration enforcement.

The rules, which prohibit federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement from setting up on village property, among other new restrictions, mirror earlier efforts by neighboring Evanston and Skokie to mitigate the effects of federal immigration authorities’ Operation Midway Blitz. An outcry by residents over several recent reports of ICE activities in the village spurred the creation of the ordinance.

Aside from the rule akin to the “ICE free zones” established in Evanston and elsewhere, the measure forbids village staff from asking people about their immigration status or withholding services based on any person’s legal status. And the village has urged residents to call Wilmette police if they witness civil immigration enforcement in action.

“Two weeks ago today, those seemingly impossible scenes that we have witnessed in other communities came to Wilmette,” Village President Senta Plunkett said at the meeting. “The juxtaposition of the image of a safe, peaceful street in Wilmette with masked and armed federal agents targeting landscape workers is striking.”

Since the initial reports of immigration enforcement on Oct. 29, village officials confirmed subsequent actions on Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. As of Monday, Wilmette has not seen any ICE activity since, Plunkett told Pioneer Press in a statement.

Landscape workers emerged as another focus of the ordinance, which lifted the requirement, through the end of 2026, that Wilmette landscapers get a business license.  Village Manager Michael Braiman cited the “fear permeating the landscaping community” in his presentation of the change.

Along similar lines, residents will not need to display construction permits through 2026.

Other aspects of the measure do not have an end date, and it does not prevent the village from working with federal officers on criminal matters.

The timing of the ordinance drew the attention of some trustees, who unanimously supported the policy during their discussion. The federal government’s Chicago-area surge appears to have started winding down, but Trustee Mark Steen said the ordinance would contribute important steps against future ICE activity. He also said that the village could have acted sooner.

“We have to recognize that even if the federal agents can’t handle a northern Illinois winter, they will be back when it becomes warmer again,” Steen said. “When that happens, we can, and I think we have to, do better.”

Facing residents in mid-October, before federal agents came to Wilmette, Plunkett said she didn’t want to “put a target on ourselves” for immigration enforcement. Her comments during the State of the Village event cast doubt on whether anti-ICE policies in neighboring suburbs would make the situation safer.

When asked by Pioneer Press on Monday about the shift in village policy and its timing, Plunkett wrote in a statement that it was a “rapidly evolving situation” and lauded residents, the board and Wilmette staff for “quickly” coming to a consensus. The new measure could even “serve as a model to other communities in the region,” she continued.

“I’m proud of how our community stepped up and came together to support neighbors as well as all those who work here,” Plunkett added. “While our local authority to regulate much of what we have seen in our community and elsewhere is limited, our power, effectiveness and values as a community far exceeds the reaches of our local government.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/wilmette-strengthens-rules-against-ice/ 

Japan Bond Yields Soar To Record, Slamming Door On Stimulus Just As Economy Implodes Amid Escalating China Clash

Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/18/2025 – 17:20

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/japan-bond-yields-soar-record-slamming-door-stimulus-just-economy-implodes-amid-escalating 

Chicago police said they shot a man while attempting to question a man they said had a firearm in the Washington Park neighborhood on Tuesday morning.

Officers responded to the 5600 block of South Michigan Avenue around 11:50 a.m. to stop and question a man, whose age was not immediately disclosed, who was believed to be carrying a firearm, according to police. As officers tried to stop the man, he fled, prompting a foot pursuit, police said.

After observing that the man was armed with a handgun, an officer gave multiple verbal commands that went ignored, police said. The officer then discharged their firearm, striking the man in the abdomen and arm, police said.

Officers rendered first aid to the man, who was subsequently transported to UChicago Medicine, where he was initially reported to be in good condition. The officer involved was taken to an area hospital for observation, police said. One firearm was recovered at the scene.

Any officers involved in the shooting will be placed on routine administrative duties for at least 30 days, police said.

COPA is responding to an officer-involved shooting in the 5600 block of South Michigan Avenue. If you or anyone you know has any information related to this incident, please call our office at 312-746-3609 or visit https://t.co/LqABRQUFLE

— COPA (@ChicagoCOPA) November 18, 2025

The Civilian Office for Police Accountability, which probes shootings and alleged instances of officer misconduct, announced on social media that it was responding to the shooting and asked people with information to call 312-746-3609.

tkenny@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/chicago-police-officer-shooting-washington-park/ 

Two Aurora University seniors, who hope to become doctors one day, want the community to start talking more about diabetes.

Hlawn Tlang and Blend Dalipi became interested in this disease that affects more than 30 million Americans after taking part in a research project in a health science class last year.

What they found from a local survey of 255 people is that 44% rarely talked about diabetes, 41% displayed poor and neutral attitudes about treatment and 75% were obese and overweight.

The numbers are revealing. But “now that we knew there was such a problem,” said Tlang, “we wanted to do more” than gather statistics.

And so, using their own money, she and Dalipi formed Healing Diabetes with the goal of educating the community about this disease many experts describe as an epidemic.

“We are not doctors, we don’t diagnose … we just are trying to raise awareness,” said Tlang of their efforts, which include an information-packed brochure and PowerPoint presentation that offers tips on how to prevent or manage diabetes as well as links to available resources.

In October, Tlang and Dalipi – along with translator Jatniel Morales Gomez – held their first awareness outreach at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Aurora, with plans to step up these efforts and their social media presence after the new year.

Although their club is still in its infancy, Tlang and Dalipi have gained the enthusiastic support of the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley, a grassroots nonprofit that share their passion: spreading the word about the dangers of uncontrolled blood sugar that can impact vision, heart, nerves, dental and kidneys.

And at its second annual gala held Friday at Lincoln Inn in Batavia, the club recognized the efforts of these two AU students, who were hailed by Diabetes Club of Fox Valley President Russ George for their enthusiasm and commitment to this cause.

The gala, attended by 110 guests, is one of two big fundraisers for the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley. Since its inception just three years ago the club has jumped from 15 to 70 members, and has donated over $27,712 to such groups as VNA Health Care, Fox Valley Special Recreation Association, ALS, Mutual Ground, Quilts of Valor and the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center, which has received $15,000 from the club, including a $7,000 check presented at the gala.

Much emphasis has been put on research by the club, which is well aware of the exciting advancements that have been made in recent years because of research being done at Kovler and other centers, including cell biology, genetics/genomics and physiology.

There are also far less high-tech ways those with diabetes are receiving local support. For one young gala guest with type 1 diabetes, it has four paws and a wet nose.

Rev is a diabetic alert dog, made possible for third-grader Olive Schwerha through the Ron and Vicki Santo Foundation, with generous contributions from the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley and the Aurora Cosmopolitan Club, which also focuses on this disease.

Immediately after joining their Downers Grove family this summer, Rev alerted Olive’s mother Dani in the middle of the night that her daughter’s glucose pump had stopped working and her numbers were dangerously low.

“I trust him more than the technology,” Dani Schwerha told me, referring to the yellow lab which was also a well-behaved guest at the gala. “He saved my daughter’s life.”

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death both nationally and in Illinois, yet a third of people who have it don’t know it, George pointed out. Which is why he and the club – Diabetes Club of Fox Valley does regular meet and greets to raise awareness – are so supportive of Tlang and Dalipi.

“It is a wonderful experience working with them,” said the Diabetes Club of Fox Valley president, noting that, although he was not surprised by their project’s survey numbers, “I was amazed at the amount of information they had as a result of the interviews.”

And it gives him “hope that perhaps young people will become aware of the dangers of diabetes, begin to eat healthier and get plenty of exercise even if it’s only taking daily walks.”

For Tlang, the passion she and Dalipi feel about these efforts extends beyond the present.

“As future doctors we wanted to start a conversation about a health issue that is often overlooked,” she said.

“We feel so supported by this group. It lit the fire under us even more to keep doing what we are doing.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/column-diabetes-club-of-fox-valley-welcomes-a-pair-of-passionate-future-doctors-to-its-cause/ 

After consecutive post-pandemic years of not raising the city’s portion of property taxes, Park Ridge leaders are looking at such a hike for 2026 – along with several other local sales tax increases.

During a budget workshop meeting Monday, City Council members reviewed the city budget proposed for the 2026 fiscal year, including a plan to raise property taxes 2.5% and increase utility, food, beverage and home-rule sales taxes, according to the proposed $95 million spending plan.

The city’s fiscal year runs Jan. 1 to Dec. 31

Park Ridge city leaders say the increases are needed largely to keep pace with inflation and increased staffing costs, and in the face of a larger economic slowdown.

Most of the alderpersons seemed agreeable to the budget as proposed, and no major changes or objections were made.

The city has not raised its portion of property tax rates since 2020, officials pointed out.

The Park Ridge Public Library is also looking at a 4% levy increase. The additional revenue is expected to bring the library’s emergency operations fund to about $2 million, or five months of operation expenses. By its own policy, the library must have about six months of reserves on hand.

Meanwhile, looking ahead, the city has a number of ambitious projects planned for the next fiscal year.

“In Fiscal Year 2026, the city will shift its focus toward future infrastructure planning. Key initiatives include design work for the Fire Station 36 renovation and expansion project, design of the Northwest Highway water main replacement and Mayfield Estates flood control projects, a feasibility analysis for the police station and the adoption of an updated Comprehensive Plan,” City Manager Joe Gilmore wrote in the budget proposal.

“These planning projects will occur alongside major resurfacing of Dee Road, the acquisition of a new Fire Department emergency squad vehicle, and ongoing building improvement projects,” he wrote

The police station analysis could result in a new police station in a new location or a substantial expansion of the existing one inside City Hall.

“It will help us look and see what we have and what we need,” said police Chief Bob Kampwirth.

He said the analysis would give the department and the city “homework for ourselves to move on forward with that.”

The chief is also requesting a second social worker. The police department has employed Geri Silic since 2016 as a social worker and she works with families in crisis, with homeless people and anyone else who may need help outside of strict law enforcement.

Kampwirth praised her work thus far, and said another worker would mean someone could be onsite at night.

“Since 2016, Geri has been doing a great job with what she does. She does a great job. She agrees we have a good program here but we want to strive for greatness,” Kampwirth said. “Her case volume is up, and it goes up every year.”

City Finance Director Chris Lipman estimated that a new police social worker position would cost around $100,000 annually.

Consideration of the budget is expected at the next two City Council meetings, with final consideration expected to come in late December.

Jesse Wright is a freelancer.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/park-ridge-property-tax-increase-fiscal-year-2026/