Aldermen advanced a package Tuesday to grant Police Department oversight officials the power to investigate alleged cooperation between Chicago officers and federal immigration agents.

The effort to address concerns that police may have violated city rules by acting in ways that supported President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz immigration crackdown moved ahead in a joint committee vote.

If the ordinance passes the full City Council, it will empower the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to conduct investigations into complaints alleging illegal cooperation. If COPA found there was wrongdoing, it could recommend officers face punishment.

“This is not just about misconduct based on the rules and regulations that police officers have to follow,” sponsor Ald. Jessie Fuentes, 26th, said. “I cannot do much as a local elected to change federal policy. In this moment, I’m going to do what I can locally, and that is to fix this administrative gap.”

The vote was just one example of City Hall’s focus on Trump’s immigration efforts amid the chaos sparked by the president’s latest clampdown around Minneapolis.

Aldermen discussed tactics with Minnesota elected officials and human rights experts in a separate hearing. And Mayor Brandon Johnson Tuesday zeroed in on the weekend’s “unjust killing” of nurse Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer — and warned Chicago could still see a resurgence of federal immigration agents in the spring.

“I’m obviously very much still concerned about the private, masked, terrorizing police force that the Trump administration continues to sic on working people across this country,” the mayor told reporters.

He also signaled caution over Illinois leaders reportedly submitting another bid for Chicago to host the Democratic National Convention in the wake of the federal government’s actions in Minneapolis and beyond.

“I’ve expressed that there are concerns about the political climate that we’re in and … there’s no secret here that the Democratic National Convention would take place at a time in which the Trump administration would still be in charge,” Johnson said, referring to the 2028 presidential election. “To turn over the security of our city to the Trump administration — it’s not just me, but there are a number of us that have profound concerns about that.”

The police investigation ordinance won support from Johnson’s administration before it passed. Beatriz Ponce de León, the mayor’s immigration deputy, called the measure “a small but necessary step” ahead of the voice vote by aldermen on the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee and Police and Fire Committee.

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling also backed the ordinance. He said it would “further transparency” in a statement of support, but did not attend the meeting. Police responses to calls for service from federal immigration agents are “solely to de-escalate” and ensure public safety, he wrote.

“This is how the Chicago Police Department has responded and will continue to do so in the future,” Snelling wrote.

But Ald. Andre Vásquez, chair of the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee, challenged Snelling’s sweeping defense.

Vásquez pointed to accusations that police cooperated with federal agents in early June outside a South Loop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office targeted by protesters. His committee held hearings shortly after the June 4 protest where several aldermen were aggressively pushed by agents.

After the tense protest, confusion followed about what city agency should investigate the cooperation allegations, Vásquez told his colleagues before showing body camera footage depicting police and agents talking during the June incident.

“Whenever there are any incidents that occur between ICE and CPD, it needs to be transparent, it needs to be clear, it needs to be held accountable, it needs to be investigated,” Vásquez said. “And what we have seen is that, because the ordinance itself is untested … there’s a lack of clarity as to who should be doing what, what accountability looks like, what guidelines look like.”

Ald. Andre Vásquez, 40th, chair of the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee, speaks at City Hall, Jan. 27, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Ald. Maria Hadden argued the measure “does not have to be political.”

“It’s not just the right thing to do for moral reasons, but it’s also the right thing to do just structurally, administratively, procedurally,” she said. “This was a gap, and this is something that will fix the gap.”

Ahead of the morning meeting featuring Minnesota elected officials, progressive aldermen acknowledged the latest turn in Trump’s constantly shifting and increasingly controversial immigration efforts: the reported demotion of Customs and Border Protection Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.

Ald. Rossana Rodríguez-Sánchez, chair of the Health and Human Relations Committee, said she did not expect Trump’s immigration efforts to slow with Bovino seemingly out.

“I am not under any illusion that the person that is going to come back to replace him is going to be any better,” she said. “They have a goal that they want to deport as many people as possible, and they’re going to try to continue doing that.”

The Minnesota elected officials invited by Rodríguez-Sánchez to speak to aldermen urged Chicago to prepare for an eventual Border Patrol return that many at City Hall view as inevitable.

Elliott Payne, president of the Minneapolis City Council, told aldermen he had once been “witnessing from afar the atrocities in Chicago, fearful of that coming to our city.” But as Minnesota activists forcefully resist their own massive influx of immigration agents, federal authorities are reconsidering their strategy, he said.

“But just because they change their tactics, doesn’t change their mission. That means that we all need to stay united and fight back against the fascist invasion of our cities,” Payne said.

Federal agents in Minnesota have worn less tactical gear, opting at times for baseball caps, puffers and blue jeans in lieu of masks in an effort to fit in ahead of surprise arrests, Hwa Jeong Kim, vice president of the St. Paul City Council, told aldermen.

The agents have even dressed as construction workers and Uber drivers, she said. They have worked out of plumbing company vehicles and put stuffed animals on their dashboards to make cars look more normal, she added.

They have also “infiltrated” large group messages meant to coordinate protest efforts and even followed some people who record their work home, “as if to tell them, ‘We know exactly who you are, we know exactly where you live,’” she said.

Kim urged Chicago protesters to vet fellow activists in person before working closely with them. In St. Paul, she and her colleagues are holding weekly City Council meetings to get public input on the city’s response and are weighing zoning changes to block detention center construction.

“We need folks to just be prepared,” she said. “Preparation is the best defense right now.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/aldermen-power-investigate-chicago-police-cooperation-ice/ 

SPRINGFIELD — A California-based organization calling itself Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender hoped to file as a nonprofit in Illinois, but instead they filed suit Tuesday against Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias over the right to use the word “Democrat” in its name.

The newly filed federal lawsuit highlights a little-known provision of Illinois law barring organizations from incorporating under names containing the words “democrat,” “democratic” or “republican” without the consent of the corresponding party’s state central committee.

Passed and signed in 1988 by moderate GOP Gov. Jim Thompson, the law was used at the time as retribution against the United Republican Fund, a conservative fundraising group that opposed several Thompson initiatives. Even then, questions were raised about the law’s infringement on First Amendment rights, although the measure was never seriously challenged in court.

Gov. James Thompson talks to reporters at the Rosemont-O’Hare Exposition Center on election night on Nov. 8, 1988. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)

Now, it’s in the crosshairs as the California group — which describes itself as being made up of “Democrats, or now politically homeless former Democrats” who oppose their party’s stance on transgender policy — alleges the statute unlawfully restricts their rights by forcing them to obtain approval from Democratic Party of Illinois leadership before they can legally form as a nonprofit in the state.

Giannoulias, a Democrat, is named as the sole defendant because his office enforces the law. A spokesperson for Giannoulias said the office hadn’t yet seen the lawsuit and would not comment on it.

Illinois Democratic Party spokesperson Gwen Pepin had no comment on the lawsuit and did not address whether the party supported the law. Pepin added that she doesn’t remember the state party ever rejecting a nonprofit’s name.

The United Republican Fund of Illinois dinner is held at the Conrad-Hilton on May 10, 1969, in Chicago. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)

If Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, or DIAG, cannot become an incorporated nonprofit in Illinois, they won’t be able to legally solicit donations from Illinois residents in person or on their website.

The organization applied to incorporate three times in 2025, but the secretary of state’s office rejected their applications in July, August and December, according to the complaint. In all three applications, DIAG chose not to seek the Democratic State Central Committee’s permission because the requirement amounts to an unlawful prior restraint on speech, the suit states.

“Illinois is the only state to tell us we can’t fundraise there,” DIAG Secretary Jenny Poyer Ackerman said. “We don’t think we need anyone’s permission to call ourselves what we are, which is proud, lifelong Democrats.”

While First Amendment concerns have long been tied to the 1988 law, they haven’t played much of a practical role in Illinois’ political landscape. After the law was signed, the United Republican Fund threatened to sue, along with nearly a dozen other organizations.

“This measure amounts to a gag order on political dissent in Illinois, and it reaches far beyond the United Republican Fund,” Steven Baer, the executive director of the group, said at the time. But the lawsuit never got far in court. Baer later ran for governor in the GOP primary against Republican Jim Edgar and lost.

Outside of the URF, other organizations are technically subject to the law, but so far, they haven’t made waves about it. The Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, for instance, said it has never had an issue with the statute, with Chicago DSA Co-Chair Sean Duffy saying it was incorporated before the law went into effect.

“The word ‘democrat’ in our name is not supposed to imply an association with the Democratic Party but an association with democracy,” Duffy said.

Republican candidate for governor Steven Baer holds his daughter, Chandler, 2, as he announces his candidacy on Dec. 14, 1989, at the University Club of Chicago. Baer’s wife, Donna, left, holds their son, Crane, 1. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)

In its lawsuit, DIAG states it opposes gender-affirming care and wants the Democratic Party to withdraw its support for transgender issues.

The group states that, unlike the Democratic Party of Illinois, it supports “evidence-based care for those with distress about their sex and the protection of sex-based rights of women and girls. (And) to support its advocacy, DIAG wants to solicit charitable contributions in Illinois. … But Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is enforcing a law that prevents DIAG from exercising First Amendment rights without prior approval.”

DIAG filed the suit with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, an organization that provides legal support on First Amendment issues and is most commonly associated with free speech issues on college campuses and its opposition to political correctness in education.

But, in recent years, the nonpartisan organization has broadened its focus beyond higher education.

The group filed a lawsuit in August against the federal government, on behalf of Stanford University’s college newspaper, to defend the free press rights of the paper’s international students who feared retaliation if they wrote about Palestine. The suit challenged two immigration statutes that allow the U.S. secretary of state to revoke an international student’s visa “at any time” and begin the process of deportation if a student’s speech “compromised” the government’s foreign policy interests.

FIRE successfully sued Chicago State University in 2014 for attempting to shut down two university professors’ blogs that criticized university administrators. The group successfully defended a University of Washington professor after the school fired him for parodying the school’s Native American land acknowledgment. FIRE also successfully sued Clovis Community College in California after administrators removed anti-communism student posters from school bulletin boards.

FIRE attorney Daniel Zahn said even if DIAG had been willing to change its name, the result may not have been any different. DIAG might not be able to incorporate under a different name in Illinois because its “true corporate name” still includes the word Democrat, he added.

According to Zahn, Illinois is the only state requiring that organizations receive consent from state political party leaders to use the words “Democrat” or “Republican” in their name.

“Illinois can’t get around the First Amendment by outsourcing the censorship to political parties,” Zahn said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/illinois-political-party-names-lawsuit/ 

Bullion Price Forecasts “Laughably Low” As Holter Warns ‘Failure To Deliver Calamity Coming’

Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/27/2026 – 17:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/precious-metals/bullion-price-forecasts-laughably-low-holter-warns-failure-deliver-calamity-coming 

All Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations are closing, including the two located in Naperville, Amazon announced Tuesday.

The company has 57 Fresh and 15 Go stores across the country, with 13 in Illinois. In addition to the Naperville locations at 3116 Route 59 and 1351 E. Ogden Ave., there are stores in Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, North Riverside, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park, Morton Grove, Bloomingdale, Norridge and Chicago. Their last day could be as soon as Sunday, Feb. 1.

While some locations may be converted into Whole Foods stores, another chain owned by Amazon, the company released no information on where that might happen. Naperville has a Whole Foods at 2607 W. 75th St.

Naperville residents Sarah and Robert Maxwell use a Dash Cart as they shop at the Amazon Fresh grocery store in Naperville on Dec. 10, 2020, the first to open in Illinois. The high-tech Dash Carts automatically ring up items up as they’re selected so shoppers can skip the checkout line. (Chicago Tribune)

Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli acknowledged the closures in a statement Tuesday, saying he did not believe it would affect the city’s reputation as a “highly desirable place to do business.”

“Naperville’s vibrancy is driven by residents who care about quality, variety and supporting the businesses that serve our community well — and we’re also a grocery destination for shoppers well beyond our city limits,” Wehrli said. “That’s why we continue to attract great new businesses, even as Amazon announced today it will close its Fresh grocery stores.”

The city has “consistently led the Chicago suburbs in grocery sales, and we’ve welcomed at least one new grocer to our market within the last year — with another on the way,” Wehrli said. “We’re a community that supports great options and that’s why great options keep coming.”

The new grocery store coming this fall is MOM’s Organic Market, a Mid-Atlantic regional chain that is opening its first Illinois location in Naperville at 1163 E. Ogden Ave. Scott Nash, its founder and CEO, describes his company as a “cross between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods” and with just 27 locations, they’re selective as to where they choose to go, he said.

Heinen’s, another upscale grocery chain based in Ohio, spent millions revamping the Naperville shopping center at 1244 E. Chicago Ave. chosen for its fifth Illinois location. It opened in September 2025 with a host of special features, including a specialty cheese shop, an in-house butcher and a taqueria selling made-to-order tacos, burritos, quesadillas and bowls.

When Amazon opened its first Illinois Fresh store in Naperville in December 2020, it caused a stir — it was the first time the company had branched outside of California with its new grocery concept. The 35,000-square-foot store offered checkout-free Dash Carts and voice-enabled Alexa terminals.

Dash Cart cameras, sensors and scales could detect what customers had placed inside so purchases could be tallied and billed without the need to go through a checkout line. The idea was to focus on convenience and low prices and they offered national and local brands as well as the Whole Foods Market 365 organics line and Amazon-exclusive products.

At the time, it was Amazon’s biggest foray into physical retail since it bought Whole Foods in 2017.

The second Naperville location on Ogden Avenue opened in March 2022 and introduced its checkout-free Just Walk Out concept. By scanning a QR code on the Amazon smartphone app when entering and leaving the store, the customer could literally pick up items and leave without going through a checkout line.

Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/naperville-amazon-fresh-stores-grocery-closing/ 

Although most of us like to complain about how cold it is outside, few are putting more time and effort into this harsh weather than those who work with the homeless.

That includes Annie Fish, who you may remember I visited with about six weeks ago soon after the Aurora Winter Warming Center opened with her as the executive director.

Things in December were busy at the new and improved center at 712 S. River St. Fish had just put in a 14-hour shift helping to oversee about 45 men and a half dozen women the night before. And she was tired.

Not surprising, when I spoke with her again on Tuesday, Fish seemed more exhausted, and even asked for a short nap – by short I mean one hour – before giving me an update on how things have been as the Fox Valley windchill continues to dip below zero.

As we head into the second half of winter, the warming center has been open three times as many days as last year, which means “there are a lot more people,” Fish told me.

In addition, she and her staff have been helping other organizations “fill in the gap” as the need for family shelter continues to grow in our area.

Shelter leaders everywhere are quick to note they are full, there’s not enough housing and that resources can’t keep pace. The good news is that the community has stepped up, pointed out Fish, with dedicated volunteers and generous donations from individuals and businesses that have made a difficult job more manageable.

For example, in response to a request from those who rely on the warming center, the Oswegoland Senior and Community Center opened its doors so that they could occasionally take showers.

Part of our responsibility, noted Fish, is listening to the needs of the homeless.

That’s also the reason the warning center, after hearing that “encampment sweeps” took place in Aurora, hurriedly put together a “locker bin system” to provide places to store belongings.

“We want to be able to free up mental space, give them one less thing to worry about,” Fish said, noting how those who are unsheltered become even more stressed, more hopeless after losing all their possessions when these sweeps take place.

It’s another way, she said, of being able to “put ourselves in their shoes and listen to what their needs are.”

Speaking of shoes, when I asked Fish what the warming center could use from the community right now, she put men’s boots high on the list. And in fact, men’s winter clothing in general – think garments that can be layered – are in short supply and desperately needed.

Also on that wish list are more volunteers, of course – along with water, lunch supplies and cleaning products, she told me, then quickly added readers should reach out to all shelters in the Fox Valley to find out what they could use.

It’s been a rough January, after all. And, while Fish admits she would like to include sleep on her own personal wish list, “I really get energized” by the response from the community – from those tired but still faithful volunteers to the downtown businesses which offer support rides to the homeless.

What the warming center is doing is “crisis work,” which means at any given time in any given day, “I can feel overwhelmed,” Fish admitted. ”But I also have all those mini pockets of grace and hope that keep me going, including all those volunteers who came in mid-season. Their energy refueled my energy.”

There’s also those success stories that should warm each of our hearts.

For Fish, that includes a “40-something” man with a steady job, whom she described as “a great human we’ve been working with for the past two years,” and who recently was placed in a shared house, with volunteers buying his bed and helping him move into this permanent and safe home.

Fish credits “beautiful partnerships” to these happy endings.

“As we head into this second half of the season, I realize more and more this is a group project,” she concluded. “I want to make sure we put that invitation out to the community to be part of it.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/column-aurora-shelters-needs-rise-as-temperatures-remain-low/ 

Parents, students and community members filled West Chicago City Hall on Monday to express outrage over a local elementary school teacher’s alleged social media post that appeared to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as the west suburb and nation continue to be roiled by the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive deportation crackdown.

“The kids and their families have experienced and are experiencing real trauma they have to deal with daily,” one mother said, addressing the crowd and a panel of local politicians who attended the meeting.

Referencing the social media post, the mom said, “those words are a break of trust that is absolutely critical in a school — and that trust has been broken.”

“Kids do not feel safe, which means they aren’t safe,” she added.

The audience at the morning meeting included many children whose parents said they had pulled them out of school that day because of worry over a controversial social media post that appeared to have been made by a West Chicago Elementary District 33 employee.

A written statement from Superintendent Kristina Davis said that on Jan. 22 the school district “learned of concerns regarding a disruptive social media comment made by a district employee on his personal account.”

The teacher initially submitted his resignation but later that day he withdrew it before the school board had an opportunity to take action, according to the statement.

On Monday, the employee met with district administration and afterward was placed on administrative leave pending a district investigation. The employee won’t be permitted on district property during the investigation, the statement added.

The statement did not name the employee or the school at which he works.

“We understand that this situation has raised concerns and caused disruption for students, families, and staff,” according to the statement. “We want to ensure our schools are safe spaces, and we look forward to seeing all students back in school tomorrow.”

An online petition with more than 380 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon called for parents in the district to keep their children home from school on Monday in protest.

“This week, a D33 teacher commented, “Go ICE!” in response to a community article,” the petition said. “The casual way in which he publicly promoted the actions of ICE in our area is inappropriate and unsuitable for an educator.”

The petition noted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has “actively harmed the families in our area, including the students (the employee) is tasked to care for daily.”

“The best way to show our district that we need action to be taken is to show them that keeping this teacher will disrupt the emotional welfare and therefore, the education of our students,” the petition said.

West Chicago officials called Monday’s meeting a “community listening session” and said it was hosted by city officials to “provide a space for voices to be heard in a way that does not further impact students or disrupt school operations.”

The meeting came as clashes over immigration enforcement tactics have reached a flashpoint nationwide following the deadly shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday at the hands of immigration officials, the second U.S. citizen to be killed by federal forces in Minnesota this month.

During the West Chicago meeting, Mayor Daniel Bovey described the terror many local children have experienced during the recent onslaught of immigration enforcement in the Chicago area, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz.

“The reason we are here this morning is because our community is one that has been traumatized in the last three months, four months by the actions of ICE,” Bovey told the crowd at the start of the meeting. “And we have kids in the schools … in the school in question who have lost a mom or a dad in recent months. We have kids who are having panic attacks at school, who are afraid that they will get home and their mom or their dad will not be there.”

The issue is not about an individual’s right to an opinion that might go against the majority, he added.

“The issue is we have trusted adults who are the ones that care for those kids when they can’t be with their mom and their dad,” the mayor said. “So to have someone cavalierly rooting on — as if it’s a football game or something, yeah go — events which have traumatized these children … that is the issue.”

During an interview with the Tribune on Tuesday, Bovey said he had personally received “hundreds of hate messages” regarding the incident, adding that the vast majority are coming from all over the country and very few are from within the community.

“Our school district has received thousands of hate messages. And I would again ask that in considering how each one of us responds to the situation, that everyone keep the welfare of the children as their first priority,” he added. “We’re trying to do everything we can to keep the kids in our district from bearing the brunt of it.”

Democrat State Rep. Maura Hirschauer told the crowd at the meeting that, “your feelings matter.”

“Your safety matters,” she added. “The way you feel in school matters.”

Deborah Taylor, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Association of West Chicago, said during the meeting that the union understands “the anger and uncertainty that you are feeling right now.”

“As teachers who care deeply for the well-being of our students and community, we are worried and saddened by the devastating effects of violent, threatening, and discriminatory actions in West Chicago and our nation as a whole in recent times,” she added. “We want to reassure you that our schools are a safe place for your children. We strongly believe that schools should be a safe place for every one of our students, regardless of race, ethnicity or immigration status.”

One third grade boy spoke during the meeting and told the crowd he was glad the district was investigating the social media post.

He added that the presence at school of the employee accused of posting the message, “might not make some of my friends feel safe.”

“I want all my friends to feel and be safe,” the boy added.

During an interview with the Tribune, Democrat state Sen. Karina Villa, who lives in West Chicago, said the community is fortunate to have many “loving teachers.”

“We all have the freedom of speech in this country,” added Villa, who also attended the meeting. “But words have meanings and when those words are used in a way that draws fear from children then those words must have consequences.”

No members of the West Chicago District 33 school board were at the meeting.

School board President Rita Balgeman said in an email to the Tribune that the board “is aware of the concerns being raised and the disruptive impact this situation is having on our students, families, schools, and community.”

Balgeman referred to the superintendent’s statement but said the district couldn’t comment further on personnel matters.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 5, according to the district calendar.

Controversial social media posts made by educators have recently come under fire at other school districts, including several made by teachers in the wake of the September fatal shooting of conservative activist and Prospect Heights native Charlie Kirk.

In some cases, teachers resigned or were fired amid mounting public pressure and doxing campaigns, as well as threats by elected officials and education leaders.

A high school English teacher was placed under investigation by her south suburban school district in connection with a Facebook post in which she allegedly called Kirk’s assassination “the single best example of you reap what you sow.”

A Kentland, Indiana, high school history teacher ignited backlash after apparently writing on social media: “(Expletive) Charlie Kirk and his rhetoric. That being said, we need to work together to do better.”

Parents and community members were often divided over whether these educators should be subject to disciplinary action, with some members of the public supporting their right to free speech and others questioning their judgment.

“My 13-year-old, who is learning more each day about this evil in the world, is forced to ask the question of whether or not a teacher she’s passed in the hall desired the murder of another human being,” one parent said during a Kentlandschool board meeting in September. “That’s extremely sad and I’m heartbroken.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/west-chicago-teacher-ice-social-media/ 

North Shore School District 112 recently announced a new request for proposals for a food service management company, but the process looks a bit different from last year when the district was reprimanded by the state Board of Education for “questionable actions” related to its search for a contractor.

What would normally be an unassuming part of district management turned into a controversy last year after OrganicLife, which was the district’s food service management company during the 2024-25 school year, submitted a protest to the Illinois State Board of Education against D112’s RFP process for the 2025-26 school year.

According to May 20 and June 10 D112 board meeting documents from Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Jeremy Davis, the district had opened three food service management proposals: OrganicLife, Quest and K-12 by Elior.

Based on the results of a “proposal scoring matrix” and the outcome of taste tests, the district recommended contracting with Quest. While not the lowest-cost proposal, their submission received the highest overall score, Davis’ memo said. The district board approved Quest as its food service management company in June.

But in the protest sent to the ISBE, OrganicLife raised issues over the use of unofficial channels of communication, the scoring matrix and the taste test process that the ISBE had “not been informed” about when it approved the district’s contract.

Those included accusations of changing the deadlines for the taste test, contacting Quest and other vendors through unofficial channels to encourage them to participate in the taste test after the original deadline, and various issues with the scoring matrix.

Various changes had been made without amending the RFP, seeking the ISBE’s consent or informing all potential offerors of the change, OrganicLife legal representatives said.

Following the protest, the ISBE sent a letter on Aug. 11 to D112 Superintendent Michael Lubelfeld rescinding its prior approval and cutting off previously approved federal funds until the district ended its contract with Quest and entered a one-year emergency contract with OrganicLife.

ISBE’s letter pointed to “substantial ex parte communications” with Quest, offers of gratuities or benefits from a prohibited source during procurement, and “material departures” from the RFP’s stated terms.

It also named Davis, the assistant superintendent for business services, alleging “several other questionable actions” taken by him and the district.

“These irregularities in their totality significantly undermine the appearance of impartiality and fairness, indicating that the procurement and/or resulting contract is not compliant with federal procurement requirements, and is contrary to open and free competition,” the letter said.

Changed process

Following the letter, Lubelfeld said an independent legal firm would conduct a review of the district’s RFP process. That review is reportedly complete, the district said, conducted by the law firm Franczek, with the report shared with the district board.

“The board will determine what, if any, actions to take based on the findings. Our focus is the current RFP, and we have updated it based on last year’s experience,” a district representative said.

A Freedom of Information Act request for reports generated by any investigations or reviews of D112’s request-for-proposal process was denied on the grounds that it contained communications from the district’s attorney for the purpose of providing legal advice, and were exempt from disclosure because they contain internal opinions and preliminary recommendations shared for the purpose of formulating policies or actions.

Davis, who had been named in the ISBE’s letter, is not involved in this year’s RFP process, the district said. It declined to comment on whether he has or will face any internal reprimands because of last year’s controversy, noting it does not comment on employee personnel matters.

As the district looks for a potentially new food service management company, Lubelfeld said D112 officials are conducting a “competitive request-for-proposal process,” and are “glad to be expanding the National School Meal Program, so students at all nine schools will have access to breakfast and lunch.”

According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, the NSMP is a federally assisted meal program providing low-cost or free lunches to schoolchildren.

The district’s RFP process this year is using the ISBE’s food service management company request for proposal template, the district said, and it is working with legal counsel throughout the process. Vendor communications are routed through a single email address so the whole committee can review them, the district said, and phone calls and one-off emails “are not part of the process.”

Also changed is a ban on site visits and taste testing. The district said those are not mandated by the ISBE, and will not be included in this year’s RFP process. Additionally, the district will not negotiate after proposals are submitted, instead “evaluating proposals using the published criteria and what vendors submit in writing.”

That includes food safety and compliance documentation, USDA nutrition requirements, service capacity and references, the district said. The new approach will keep the process “consistent” for respondents and create a “clear audit trail for state and federal reviewers.”

When asked whether Quest will be allowed to submit a proposal after last year’s controversy, the representative said the district does not comment on potential respondents in advance and that any vendor that meets published requirements can submit a proposal.

The district also recently created a food service concern page on its website. The district said it was part of a “districtwide approach for family-facing third-party vendors,” and it has similar forms for transportation and after-school care.

“It gives families one place to submit concerns, and it creates a clear path for follow-up so issues are answered and addressed,” the district said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/north-shore-school-district-112/ 

Coinbase CEO Reveals AI “Oracle” Now Helping Him Run Company

Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/27/2026 – 17:20

https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/coinbase-ceo-reveals-ai-oracle-now-helping-him-run-company 

Hollywood Casino announced Tuesday that it will be bringing a Pennsylvania-based luxury wellness spa to the $360 million casino resort currently under construction in Aurora.

Drift Spa, by beauty and wellness entrepreneur Stacey Steffes, is set to offer classic spa experiences along with hair and beauty services, according to a news release from Hollywood Casino. This will be the spa’s second location, with the first located within the Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

“Building a new property from the ground up gave us an opportunity to introduce new amenities with our guests and community in mind,” Greg Moore, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino Aurora, said in the news release. “Hollywood Aurora is already known for providing a great place to play and our new location offers so much more — entertainment, celebrity-driven dining options and, with Stacey on board, a beautiful spa experience.”

The new location of the city’s Hollywood Casino — which is located along Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road, across the street from Chicago Premium Outlets mall and near the Interstate 88 interchange — is set to replace the casino currently in downtown Aurora. Construction officially broke ground in November 2023, and officials have said it is on schedule to open in the first half of this year.

A full-service spa has been a part of plans for the new casino location, although details until now have been limited.

The newly-announced Drift Spa at Hollywood Aurora will be similar to the spa’s flagship location in Pennsylvania, but it will also offer additional services, Steffes told The Beacon-News. For example, she said it will include the Drift Drybar — which according to the casino’s news release is a hybrid concept pairing high-end, non-chemical salon services with “elevated hospitality.”

Manicure and pedicure services will be offered, as will customized facial treatments designed to support skin health, the news release said.

The spa’s salon and barbering area will have 11 stations for hair, makeup and nails. Plus, there will be seven dedicated rooms for massage therapies, including deep tissue, Swedish and therapeutic treatments. Overall, the space will be designed to create a serene experience, the officials said in the news release.

“This strategic partnership creates a space where guests can step away from the pace of everyday life and truly relax,” Steffes said in the news release.

Through Drift Spa at Hollywood Aurora, Steffes said she is committed to collaborating with Chicago-area brands, creatives and makers with shared values. Her spa in Pennsylvania collaborates with local farmers, she told The Beacon-News, and at Aurora’s new casino location she’d similarly be looking to lean into things the Chicago area is known for.

Hollywood Casino’s news release calls Steffes a “visionary in the spa industry” who is known for her award-winning services and her full-service salon, Envy Studio, which is also located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and earned a Top 10 Salon statewide recognition within three months of opening.

When planning for the new Hollywood Casino Aurora location, company officials knew they wanted to “elevate the guest experience with amenities our current property doesn’t offer,” Moore told The Beacon-News. With the addition of the 200-room hotel, a spa felt like a natural extension so that guests could unwind after “thrilling fun and delicious food,” he said.

Beyond the spa and the hotel, the new casino and resort is expected to have 900 slot machines, 50 live table games, a retail sportsbook, an outdoor entertainment area, a roughly 12,000-square-foot event center with meeting areas and a number of bars and restaurants.

Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis will be opening an Italian steakhouse called Sorella at the new Aurora site. The restaurant is expected to have outdoor seating and an open kitchen with a menu including fresh pasta, steaks, Roman-style pizza and other Italian dishes.

Also coming to the Aurora site is the Boulevard Food & Drink Hall, which is set to include Lucky Goat, a burger restaurant by celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, plus Antique Taco, Pretty Cool Ice Cream and Five50 Pizza.

The food hall is being developed in partnership with McClain Camarota Hospitality, the restaurant group of James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Shawn McClain.

Joliet’s new Hollywood Casino location, which opened last year, also has the food hall and a restaurant by De Laurentiis called Sorellina.

Hollywood Casino Aurora is currently hiring in preparation for the new location. More information about job opportunities, and the new casino location in general, can be found at: www.hollywoodcasinoaurora.com/new-casino-information

rsmith@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/aurora-hollywood-casinos-new-location-to-include-luxury-wellness-spa/ 

President Donald Trump threatens to annex Greenland, launches new tariffs against the eight NATO allies who sent troops there in response, ominously threatens even more drastic moves, then calls off the show.

Rack up another major public relations success for the current head of the U.S. government, whose greatest priority is not territorial expansion or traditional international influence, but rather media attention.

The media are his violin, and he plays them as a virtuoso.

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson of the United States House of Representatives delivered a virtuoso speech to Britain’s Parliament on Jan. 22. Johnson addressed the British legislators the day after Trump backed off from his Great Greenland Grab in a speech at Davos, Switzerland, during a gathering of bigwigs and big egos from around the world.

The Parliament session included both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Johnson was the first U.S. House speaker to address his counterparts in our sister nation and delivered a brilliant address, remarkably insightful, historically rich and interesting.

The U.S. media characteristically focused on Trump. The British media have been notably critical, and also emotional. Family life can be tough.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson addresses MPs in the House of Commons alongside Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord McFall, second left, and Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, right, in Westminster, London, Tuesday Jan. 20, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/Pool Photo via AP)

Johnson was in London as part of recognizing and honoring the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States. While July 4 is not a holiday in the United Kingdom, the long history of friendship as well as alliance between our two nations has removed any lingering friction from the successful efforts of colonials across the Atlantic to break away from the mother country.

Johnson skillfully, articulately described the profound manner in which Britain’s rule of law and evolving emphasis on individual freedom inform America, then and now.

“The Special Relationship” is how our close, at times vital, partnership is titled. Speaker Johnson knowledgeably emphasized that, along with describing the elements and importance of our partnership.

Our modern partnership was initially formalized and announced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the darkest days of World War II. The two leaders met on navy vessels off the coast of Newfoundland in August 1941.

This first in a series of summits resulted in the Atlantic Charter, defining broad positive human goals of freedom and basic economic security. A follow-up session resulted in commitment to the concept of the United Nations, which, moving forward, signified the Allies’ goals in World War II.

During the mid-1960s, President Lyndon Johnson’s administration pressed extremely hard for at least token direct military participation in the Vietnam War. Australia and New Zealand, both members of the British Commonwealth, did provide forces. In the case of Australia, there was considerably more than a token commitment.

Britain remained out of that war.

Prime Minister Tony Blair paid a high political price for his faithful support of the administration of George W. Bush in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Yet Blair survived politically and led his Labour Party to another general election victory. More importantly, the Anglo-American military alliance and the durable wider NATO structure were never really seriously threatened.

Economic similarities strengthen cooperation. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s deregulation of the economy in the 1980s paid powerful dividends and reflected tandem efforts by President Ronald Reagan.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reenergized the NATO alliance, in which Britain plays a continuing role in joining North America to Europe.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, invited Speaker Johnson to address Parliament.

Well done all around. Bravo, speakers!

Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War.”

Contact acyr@carthage.edu

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/arthur-i-cyr-column-speaker-johnson/