Free Republic

An appeals court has temporarily paused a federal judge's order requiring U.S. Customs and Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino to appear in court daily and give updates on immigration enforcement activity in Chicago under the Trump administration's "Operation Midway Blitz." The Department of Justice on Wednesday appealed U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis' order, which mandated Bovino check in with her at 6 p.m. daily to ensure compliance with a temporary restraining order that restricted federal agents' use of force in crowd-control tactics.

Chicago's Skid Row shown in 1948. Travelogues never show this side of town. The filmmakers take you to West Madison Street, Whiskey Row, where men and even women walk in a stupor from wine, falling and sleeping in the street, flop houses, winos, men being picked up in paddy wagons by the police. Remarkable street scenes. A rare look inside the bars, the patrons, the life on skid row. Many rare night scenes, neon signs, and businesses long gone. The morgue, where the patrons of Skid Row ultimately end up. Possibly produced by the Salvation Army, or The Woman's Temperance...

President Donald Trump declared that he will escalate his military deployments in major cities to curb crime, a move that has met with controversy. The president addressed American service members in Japan on Monday, touting the strength of the U.S. military and his administration’s approach to foreign and domestic security. “We’ve just approved the biggest budget in the history—one over a trillion dollars,” he said. Trump further highlighted the excellence of the U.S. Navy and celebrated the longstanding alliance with Japan’s government. A core theme of the president’s speech was restoring law and order and protecting public safety it American...

Rioters then shot at agents with commercial artillery shell fireworks. A Border Patrol transport van carrying illegal aliens attempting to get to the safety of the perimeter was then attacked. Border Patrol agents were able to secure the van and get it into the perimeter. The mob of rioters grew more hostile and violent, advancing toward agents and began throwing rocks and other objects at agents, including one that struck Chief Greg Bovino in the head. Border Patrol agents repeated multiple warnings to back up and that chemical agents would be deployed if warnings were ignored. Riot control measures were...

[Catholic Caucus] Chicago priest removed from parish over alleged homosexual grooming of seminariansFather Xamie Reyes, a parish pastor, faces accusations of sexual misconduct against seminarians in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where Cardinal Blase Cupich has presided over a pro-LGBT culture.Father Xamie Reyes, a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago, has been removed from his parish after being accused of sexual misconduct and grooming seminarians, heterodox Cardinal Blase Cupich announced last week.In an October 18 statement, Cupich announced that Fr. Reyes, who had been the pastor of Little Flower Parish in Waukegan since 2019, was removed from that position pending an...

In those neighborhoods, where civil society breaks down, giving way to anarchy and Haitian-style barbarism, civilization is effectively suspended. Across the United States, the trajectory of inner cities has been one of “inexorable decline” — a descent from centers of economic growth, cultural splendor, and communal solidarity into fragmented, dystopian environments marked by neglect and anarchy. Like mirror images of downtown Port-au-Prince, these urban landscapes, far from civic greatness, have become wastelands defined by abandoned structures, pervasive insecurity, and social disintegration (aggravated by the “homelessness crisis”). The emblematic example of Detroit crystallizes the narrative of urban decline — a Democrat-run...

The property manager of a troubled South Shore apartment building raided last month by immigration agents helps run a political fund that made campaign contributions to more than a dozen members of the Chicago City Council this year. The recipients include now-former Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), Mayor Brandon Johnson’s choice to run the Chicago Housing Authority. One of Burnett’s campaign funds accepted a $500 contribution this year from the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance PAC. The political action committee’s leaders include Corey Oliver of Strength in Management LLC, which oversees the complex at 7500 S. South Shore Drive that was targeted...

“Follow the money trail” was a comment made on an October 12, 2025 article describing Chicago politics as a gangster movie rerun. Well, both Jesse Watters of Fox News and the Chicago Sun-Times decided to “follow the money trail” for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, now that he is standing in the way of arresting criminals and blocking President Trump’s heroic attempt to shut down crime in Chicago. Jesse Watters reported that Pritzker made over a million dollars playing blackjack in 2024 while staying in Sin City Las Vegas. Senior National Correspondent Kevin Corke stated Pritzker made “$1.425 million bucks in...

A federal judge in Chicago just made a decision that’s raising eyebrows — and not just among immigration officers.In a move that’s already stirring debate nationwide, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings ruled that ICE agents — yes, federal officers — can be arrested if they take migrants into custody at Cook County courthouses without a proper warrant. Let that sink in for a second. (snip) So, who’s actually in charge here — federal law enforcement… or local judges?And if ICE agents can be arrested for doing their jobs, what kind of message does that send to those who aren’t even...

Former President Barack Obama thinks nothing of trying to interfere in the internal politics of democratic U.S. allies in Europe, and in the process, thwarting his country’s own current foreign policy, as determined by his elected successor, President Donald Trump. All in the name of democracy, of course. And he can do all this because he has built a very well-endowed foundation into which billionaires pour funds and which he uses to train future leaders to transform the world along Obama’s vision—pretty much the way he promised to transform the United States, and some say, sadly, he did. The Daily...

In early September, Kellen McMiller took part in a roundtable discussion with Gov. JB Pritzker at an event for anti-violence workers on the South Side. McMiller, 35, even posed for a photo with the governor in his neon yellow peacekeeper vest. The photo would later appear in a press release touting how violence prevention programs are helping drive down violent crime in Chicago. Just six days later, McMiller was allegedly involved in a smash-and-grab downtown that killed a man on his way to work. McMiller was one of a dozen offenders who authorities say robbed a Louis Vuitton store of...

The weekend’s “No Kings” protest is turning into a royal pain for one Chicago elementary school. Nathan Hale Elementary has gone social media dark after one of its teachers was identified as the woman who made a mockery of the assassination of conservative organizer Charlie Kirk, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail. But social media critics have been swarming. According to the Daily Mail, a British-based news outlet with a significant U.S. presence, a teacher at Nathan Hale, Lucy Martinez, was participating in a “No Kings” demonstration — organized internationally by progressives railing against the Trump administration — when a...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- President Donald Trump's immigration operation "Midway Blitz" has been underway for several weeks, and the hospitality industry, especially restaurants in Latino wards, are feeling the impact. Gerardo Auza comes from a family of restaurant owners. The 42-year-old's dream was to open his own business. It came true eight months ago, when Auza opened El Mexico De Chicago in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. The Mexican immigrant says online reviews have been great, but none of it matters if no one shows up. "For over a month, it takes like 70% to 80%. The customers didn't show up to...

Things got heated in Chicago! Grassroots leader Jessica Jackson, an advisor for Chicago Flips Red, took the mic — and didn’t hold back! In a jaw-dropping moment at City Hall, she calls out aldermen accused of corruption, exposes racial slurs, and questions their citizenship status in an explosive public confrontation that left the room shaking. From fake protests to broken promises, Jackson tears into the hypocrisy plaguing Chicago’s leadership while fed-up residents cheer her on. "Chicago Flips Red" members explode on Democrat Alderman during open session at City Hall [video]

Chicago taxpayers could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars for the costly Obama Presidential Center after new tax filings show the Obama Foundation has only deposited $1 million into its promised $470 million reserve fund. That’s the conclusion of an in-depth report by Fox News as it looked at what it described as a “sweetheart deal” to create the reserve fund “to spare taxpayers should the project ever go belly up.” **SNIP** He said that “the city never should have signed over the large section” of the park. “They put a million dollars into a $400...

The shooting occurred around 3:48 a.m. near the intersection of State and Dearborn streets, an iconic nightlife district that has been drawing revelers for decades. More than 30 Chicago cops, mostly probationary officers, were already deployed nearby when gunmen opened fire from a moving vehicle. According to preliminary reports, officers first spotted a gray Acura CL and a black SUV, believed to be a Jeep Grand Cherokee, racing south on State Street from Division around 3:31 a.m. The same vehicles were seen circling the neighborhood multiple times before the shooting occurred about 15 minutes later. CPD said the gunfire came...

More protests are expected outside of a suburban immigration processing facility on Friday after a string of setbacks in court for the Justice Department and ICE. … Cameras were rolling when authorities appeared to detain at least 10 individuals outside the facility. It remains unclear what led up to their detentions. Friday’s protests come after a string of setbacks for the Trump administration and DOJ amid their ongoing immigration enforcement effort dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.” Not only did the Trump Administration lose its appeal to mobilize the National Guard in Illinois, but another federal judge also ordered that ICE agents...

Yes, you read the headline correctly. Here's DHS's news release: In Governor J.B. Pritzker's Illinois, Illegal Alien Is Working as a Sworn Police Office with Badge, Gun, and a Pension. Hanover Park Police Department records confirm, Radule Bojovic was approved by the Pension Fund Board of Trustees in January 2025 and was eligible to receive a starting salary of $78,955.70. Additional records indicate his 2025 earnings cost taxpayers $205,707 including $9,276 for FICA/Medicare taxes. Bojovic had a B2 TOURIST visa that was set to expire in March 2015. He decided he didn't want to go back home to Montenegro, so...

National Guard troops are typically under the control of state governors, but federal law empowers the president to call them into federal service if there is a danger of foreign invasion or “rebellion against the authority of the government.”Trump has pointed to immigration-related protests in Chicago and other cities to justify his attempts to use the guard. But the 7th Circuit judges rejected that rationale.A protest does not transform into a “rebellion” just because protesters are well-organized, advocate to overhaul the structure of government or use civil disobedience, Judges Ilana Rovner, David Hamilton and Amy St. Eve wrote. Nor do...

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a $16.6 billion budget plan for 2026 on Thursday, relying on a number of new or increased taxes on corporations to close a $1.2 billion shortfall while protecting the city from funding cuts by the Trump administration. "We are asking large corporations and big tech companies that have made trillions of dollars to pitch in a little bit more," Johnson said. f Johnson's budget plan is approved, social media companies could find themselves on the hook for a new tax next year. Chicago would be the first city to impose such a tax, and it's just...