Free Republic

In a reckless and malicious move that’s drawing fire from conservatives, Illinois State Representative Margaret Croke sent out an email on Friday listing detailed descriptions of vehicles suspected to belong to ICE agents operating in Chicago neighborhoods. The flyer, titled “Updated List of ICE Vehicles Seen Today,” includes make, model, color, and partial license plate info for cars believed to belong to agents working in the area. Croke urged recipients to report suspicious activity to hotlines, claiming that ICE actions are “unlawful and undemocratic” and offering resources to connect illegal aliens with attorneys or social services. Conservatives, including the popular...

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...

As Republicans across the country pursue new congressional maps to boost their party ahead of next year's midterm elections, Democrats are ramping up pressure on states where they can respond. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has held discussions with members of the Maryland delegation and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore in recent weeks about possible mid-decade redistricting efforts, according to a source with knowledge of the conversations. The source also said Jeffries spoke with members of the Illinois delegation about drawing new district lines, as Politico first reported. Maryland has just one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, in its eight-member House...

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...

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...

A Chicago elementary teacher has been accused of mocking Charlie Kirk's death as the school she allegedly worked at shut down its website. Lucy Martinez made gestures seemingly alluding to Kirk's assassination at a 'No Kings' protest at the weekend.A video went viral online of a woman, who social media users soon identified as Martinez, pointing her finger at her neck with her thumb in the air, in a gesture that mimics a gun. She raised and lowered the her finger to her neck while appearing to mouth the word 'bang.'Her movements appeared to mock the death of 31-year-old Kirk,...

A 54-year-old man was killed Wednesday in a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 20 near Douglas Drive in Portage, Indiana, after a semi-truck crossed into oncoming traffic and hit his Subaru Crosstrek. Investigators say the semi driver, Broko Stankovic of Lyons, Illinois, swerved to avoid a stopped van but lost control, causing the semi to jackknife and strike multiple vehicles. Police found Stankovic was driving without a valid commercial license and using a suspended CDL belonging to a family member; he faces felony charges of criminal recklessness resulting in death and reckless homicide. PORTAGE, Ind. - An Indiana man is dead...

President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court, for the first time, to clear the way for him to use National Guard troops to support the president’s immigration enforcement and mass deportation drive.Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed an emergency appeal with the high court Friday, seeking to lift lower-court rulings that are currently preventing Trump from deploying National Guard troops he pressed into federal service to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in Illinois.Sauer argued that a temporary restraining order issued by a federal district judge in Illinois “improperly impinges on the President’s authority and needlessly endangers federal personnel...

The Chicago mayor accused President Donald Trump of wanting a 'Civil War' rematch during a No Kings protest. Mayor Brandon Johnson ignited the crowd on Saturday by telling liberals to be 'ready to defend this democracy' and to be 'ready to fight fascism.' 'Are you prepared to destroy authoritarianism once and for all? We’ll let the world hear you, no kings!' he said in an impassioned speech. He warned Chicago residents to be prepared for a 'rematch of the Civil War.' 'The attempt to divide and conquer this nation will not prevail because when the people are united, justice always...

The Democrat-led state of Illinois spent more to give free health care to illegal migrants than the total it spent on its citizens in programs for foster kids, the elderly, its roadways, and the arts — combined. The 2025 budget, passed in June of 2024, totaled $53.1 billion in spending, inducing more than one billion dollars in new taxes. But despite the huge rise in taxes, Gov. JB Pritzker also signed onto a total of $629 million toward taxpayer-funded health care for illegal migrants called the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA). The mounting number of programs for illegal aliens...

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...

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...

Cook County will now prohibit the use of county owned property, resources, and personnel for civil immigration enforcement. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the executive order is yet another move to safeguard against federal immigration enforcement she said has “instilled fear rather than promote fairness and justice.” Agents have been prohibited from using county facilities and personnel time for ICE investigations without a criminal warrant since an ordinance was put in place in 2011. “It is critical that the government’s interactions with the public adhere to our nation’s laws and values,” Preckwinkle said in a statement Thursday. “Yet,...

Rest assured that Gov. JB Pritzker’s $1.4 million gambling win last year didn’t snatch away state tax revenue from any Illinois casino. The billionaire Democrat’s surprise windfall came from Las Vegas blackjack tables, Pritzker said Thursday, a day after his hot streak was revealed in 2024 income tax returns released by his political campaign. “I was incredibly lucky,” a smiling Pritzker said while being quizzed by reporters on his jackpot during an otherwise somber Loop press conference about the potential deployment of troops in Chicago. “You have to be to end up ahead, frankly, going to a casino anywhere.” Fortune...

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...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration wants to revive the corporate head tax on big companies and increasing other taxes to plug the city’s projected budget gap of more than a billion dollars next year. The mayor unveiled his 2026 budget plan to the Chicago City Council Thursday morning. The so-called Protecting Chicago Budget, which is subject to council approval, includes the following: -a corporate head tax for the top 3 percent of businesses in Chicago. -increased taxes on big tech companies. -a new tax on large social media companies like Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram), YouTube and TikTok. -a...

ICE has arrested an illegal immigrant in the Chicago area who was serving as a local police officer. Radule Bojovic was taken into custody as part of the ongoing Operation Midway Blitz. Per Real America’s Voice’s Ben Bergquam, Bojovic, an illegal immigrant from Montenegro, was arrested on October 15 in the Chicago suburb of Hanover Park. Bojovic reportedly overstayed his B-2 visitor visa and had been required to leave the country by March 31, 2015, but did not. Bojovic provided his employment identification card to authorities upon his arrest, which confirmed that he was a member of the Hanover Park...

Yes, we trash can. President Barack Obama’s austere new presidential library is getting roasted with comparisons to the Death Star, garbage bins and other domineering monoliths in a hilarious social media thread sparked by Sen. Ted Cruz. “Locating the Death Star in Chicago was a bold move,” Cruz (R-Texas) wrote on X Tuesday while reposting a video of the latest work on Obama’s Chicago presidential center. The facility, a slab of concrete and granite rising 225 feet above Chicago’s Jackson Park, has faced ridicule from critics since its design was first unveiled nearly 10 years ago — and the peanut...