Latest news with #Wirepoints
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pritzker increasingly in national spotlight
Apr. 28—National attention Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is still a nobody on the national political stage, but national media outlets are starting to pay increased attention to his unannounced 2028 presidential campaign. On the same day last week, both The Wall Street Journal and Politico published lengthy profiles of the governor. "America's Second-Richest Elected Official Is Acting Like He Wants to Be President," headlined the Journal. It described him as "one of the top Democrats being watched as his party searches for a way out of the political wilderness." "J.B. Pritzker burnishes his national brand as one of Trump's fiercest critics," Politico reported. Pritzker's Trump-bashing is nothing new. But Politico noted that "the fiery progressive Democratic ... (is) making high-profile appearances across the country, using his vast personal wealth to bankroll Democratic causes and pillorying the divisive policies of President Donald Trump." This kind of publicity is always helping in establishing candidate name recognition with voters as well as establishing credibility when the governor introduces himself in states outside Illinois. During his appearances, Pritzker feeds his audiences a heapin' helpin' of anti-Trump invective. "Take it from an actual billionaire. Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity," Pritzker said. Both stories profiled Pritzker's tenure in Illinois as well as his prospective decision on whether to run for a third term or focus solely on the White House. One problem for the governor is that Illinois' financial state is not one other states would want to duplicate. As noted by Pritzker's fellow Democrat and former Chicago schools Superintendent Paul Vallas, "people are voting with their feet." "The state is an absolute disaster," Vallas told the Journal. That may be. But those gloomy words are not part of Pritzker's sales pitch. He's selling unflinching progressive politics to welcoming Democrats across the country Hallelujah, sing to Jesus There's good news on Illinois' job front. Or is there? It depends on how one views the numbers. "Illinois payroll jobs climb to a Record High," screamed the headline of a press release put out by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The bureaucracy announced April 17 that "non-farm payrolls increased +14,800 (+0.2%) over-the-month to a record high of 6,172,300 in March." It said the "previous record was set in December 2024, with 6,161,000 jobs." State officials, naturally, went out of their way to pat themselves on the back. "The new high in job growth underscores the resolve of our state labor force and shows that working and doing business in Illinois pays off," said Deputy Governor Andy Manar. Not so fast, responded Wirepoints analysts. They insisted the new numbers "means almost nothing" because job growth in Illinois is increasing at a snail's pace. Wirepoints contended the job numbers were "6,137,700 in 2019 and 6,056,500 all the way back in 2000. So, Illinois has had essentially no growth in six years and not much in 25 years." "Perhaps more distressing for Illinois, recent job growth has been entirely government jobs. Illinois private sector totals shrank by 1,900 jobs over the past five years ...," Wirepoints reported. Pay up If Illinoisans think their property taxes are high, it's because they are. If the residents of Rockford, the Chicago area, Peoria and Champaign-Urbana think their property taxes are among the highest in the nation, they also are correct. The four metro areas finished one through four in the 2024 top 10 list of metro areas with the "highest property tax in (the) nation," according to a study conducted by Irvine, Calif.-based ATTOM Data Solutions. The organization, which describes itself as a "leading provider of nationwide property data," recently conducted the property-tax study that found Illinois counties and metro areas "dominate the list of the nation's highest property tax rates." Rockford residents reportedly pay 2.1 percent of their homes' value in property taxes every year. The numbers were 1.91 percent for Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, 1.89 percent for Peoria and 1.88 percent for Champaign-Urbana. The average property-tax bill in Champaign-Urbana was reported to be $4,640. Springfield took the No. 7 slot. Other metro areas on the top 10 list were from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. When it came to counties, the study said 27 of the top 50 nationwide are from Illinois. Knox County had the highest property taxes as a percentage of home value. Champaign County came in No. 34 with an average property-tax bill of $4,919. Among other local counties in the top 50 were Macon, No. 17, with an average of $2,874; McLean, No. 27, with an average of $5,294; and Vermilion, No. 44, with an average of $2,008. Residents of affluent Lake County in northern Illinois had the highest average property-tax bill in dollars: $10,370. What's next? Editorial writers at the conservative Wall Street Journal gave a salute to retiring Illinois U.S. Senator Richard Durbin. "Give the man credit for calling it a career, considering how many others in power seem to want to spend their last lucid hours on Earth taking roll call votes," the Journal said. But the paper wondered who will succeed Durbin. Will it be "a chastened legislator who learned something from the Democrats' drubbing in November," or an advocate of "more combative leftism, in the style of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez." It noted that just prior to his retirement announcement, Durbin had been lambasted by his fellow Democrats for opposing a federal government shutdown in opposition to President Trump. Among those accusing Durbin of displaying "an immense amount of cowardice" were Democratic activists, as well as labor and climate groups. "Is that what the median Democratic primary voter in Illinois wants to hear? ... others, including former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, seem to think the party's best move after losing power is to listen to the electorate and triangulate carefully. But with President Trump back in the Oval Office, progressives are raring to fight fire with fire." Haze is clearing It's been nearly two years since the Northwestern University football program was blown sky high by a team hazing scandal. Now lawyers for 20-plus players who claimed to have been victimized by upperclassmen abusers have reported reaching a "provisional settlement" with the university. So far, no details have leaked about the financial terms of the settlement. But lawyers Patrick Salvi and Parker Stinar say they will "fully resolve the student plaintiffs' claims against the school and former football coach Pat Fitzgerald." There's no question the hazing occurred, but Fitzgerald has adamantly denied any knowledge of the mistreatment of younger players by older players. The 17-year head coach was dismissed by Northwestern after a wave of negative publicity hit university higher-ups who had initially ordered Fitzgerald to serve a brief suspension. The former head coach has filed a multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract lawsuit that alleges he was wrongfully terminated. That case is pending in the face of a tentative Nov. 3 trial date. The closer the trial date gets, the better the chances are for an out-of-court settlement between Fitzgerald and Northwestern. Story withdrawn Ambitious politicians are always trying to pull fast ones on the public to burnish their public standing, particularly when it comes to opinion polls. A couple weeks ago, Chicago Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood released carefully drawn polling results that purported to show her leading when compared to specific potential Democratic opponents. The results presented were too clever by half. That's why readers were advised in this space to be skeptical. "Underwood got some good publicity last week when a poll showed her 'leading in two different scenarios' against different groups of opponents. Don't put much stock in it though. It's way too early, and the poll results look carefully engineered to boost Underwood," stated an April 14 column. Springfield political analyst Rich Miller, after reporting the Underwood polling results, went even further after he was unsuccessful in trying to learn details of how and by whom the poll was conducted. In a note appended to his excellent CapitolFax website, Miller recently wrote the following. "The April 8 Capitol Fax post about 314 Action Fund's U.S. Senate poll is retracted until we receive a response from the organization. Despite repeated attempts to contact them (email, phone, tweets), they have so far refused to respond to my very simple question about what pollster conducted the survey. That alleged poll claimed the group's favored U.S. Senate candidate Lauren Underwood was leading the race and that '77 percent of primary voters identify her by name.' I should've been more diligent at the time. Sorry."
Fox News
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Chicago, my hometown, keeps winning in one shameful way
Chicago remains the homicide capital of America — 13 years straight. According to an analysis by Wirepoints, 573 homicides were committed in Chicago during 2024 at the rate of 21.5 homicides per 100,000 residents. These depressing numbers far exceed those of other major cities like New York City, Houston and Los Angeles. Yet most of Chicago's city leaders may as well be living on another plant. They refuse to look at reality in all of its ugliness. After an unruly mob of over 300 kids took over Streeterville and the Loop recently, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the solution was more "safe spaces." Safe spaces for whom? Anybody who knows Streeterville, home to the Navy Pier, knows that it is one of the safest neighborhoods in all of Chicago. In fact, there were two shootings in March — both were due to large gatherings of teen mobs. That's two shootings that could have been prevented had the city taken this problem seriously long before. When Mayor Johnson first took office there were three consecutive nights of street takeovers in the Loop and nearby areas. Fellow Chicagoans and out of towners were assaulted. Stores had their windows smashed and were robbed. When we raised our collective outrage back then, Mayor Johnson chastised us for "demonizing children." He went on to say, "They're young. Sometimes they make silly decisions. They do. And so, we have to make sure that we are investing to make sure that young people know they are supported." I didn't see anything "silly" about those videos showing these kids bashing innocent people over the head. I also rejected the mayor's false argument that we're demonizing these kids. What everyone was outraged about was the behavior of these kids and that it had been allowed to continue for many hours without any law and order. Clearly, this delusional approach by the mayor hasn't worked. Even he knows it. After the recent run of teenage mobs, the mayor said he would "not tolerate" this behavior any longer. But where is his solution? His plan? I never put any of my faith in him. I didn't vote for him and was immensely disappointed when he won. I knew that Chicago would just continue with business as usual. Now, I'm seeing more and more Chicagoans wake up to the reality of this mayor. Many of them betrayed their common sense and voted for him because of identity politics. But the reality of the horror show that this mayor is has become too much for them to bear, especially when children are at stake. We know the only way to reach our youth is to become involved in their lives. I've been doing this work on the South Side for decades and I can tell you that it works. It is not perfect — I have preached at far too many funerals for teens — but it does save many lives from the fate of the bullet. What we do is very simple. We talk to these kids, find out where they're at, what their demons are, and we let them know we understand. We know they're being targeted every day for membership into gangs and we strive to counter that with the belief they can become somebodies with their shot at the American Dream. What we don't do is provide these kids with "safe spaces." What is the point of a safe space if violence still reigns outside the door. What we do instead is strive to make their communities safer. That is what gives these kids that sense of security and freedom to focus on developing their skills and ambitions. My community center, Project H.O.O.D., reduced the homicide rate in our neighborhood of Woodlawn by 50% from 2021 to 2022. Most of those kids running inside those mobs don't have any of that. They're lost. They're sheep running wherever the mob takes them. They commit violence because it is all they have to offer society at that moment. They come of age during Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police and they know there's nobody around who cares enough to stop them. In other words, they're pushing the limits of our society as far as they can because they know they can. Our mayor and most of our city leaders are guilty of indulging these teen mobs. They believe they can baby these kids to safety. But I can tell you that's not what these kids want. Many of them want to be a man or woman of importance. They want to matter. But they don't know how because their parents have failed them, their schools have failed them, their leaders have failed them and now they are failing themselves. The only solution is to shock them back into reality by showing them that there are consequences for their actions. Alderman Brian Hopkins has called for imposing an 8 pm curfew on these youths to help the Chicago Police Department get a grip on the problem. I personally would go further and arrest those suspected of directly committing vandalism and battery. Lock them up. I would also hold the parents of underaged children legally accountable. No more excuses. We have to bring back reality, law and order, and force these youths onto the citizenship track. Otherwise, this social contagion will only spread to other communities and we'll soon all be paying the price for our wayward youth.
Fox News
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Chicago alderman slams the murder capital's ‘disregard for human life'
Print Close By Stephanie Samsel Published March 31, 2025 Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez blamed the city's crime on the political elite's "love with criminality," while its mayor touts reported decreases in its total crime rates. "We have a political elite that is in love with criminality, that encourages criminal behavior, pushes down our police officers, demonize[s] their work on a daily basis, and elevates the perpetrators of crime as the victims of society themselves," Lopez argued on "Fox Report," Sunday. "And that kind of coddling has brought us to where we are today." CHICAGO DUBBED AMERICA'S MURDER CAPITAL AS DEMOCRAT LEADERS 'DEMONIZE' POLICE, SPLURGE ON MIGRANTS: ALDERMAN During a March congressional hearing, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson asserted that the city's 2024 number of murders reached its "lowest amount in five years under [his] leadership." This comes as Chicago is named the nation's homicide capital for the 13th year in a row, according to an analysis by Wirepoints. Lopez blamed Johnson and other politicians for what he called Chicago's "disregard for human life." "For the 13th year in a row right now, the disregard for human life is so high in the city of Chicago that you can literally have a group of 100 teens enjoying a warm day and almost expect at least two or three to be shot," Lopez said. "And we, in fact, saw that just two days ago, where a 15-year-old was shot in a crowd walking down the Magnificent Mile," Lopez continued. "And many of our politicians, like Brandon Johnson and others, continue to make excuses, continue to rationalize this behavior, as opposed to hold them and their parents accountable for what's going on." CHICAGO COPS REPORTEDLY SCOLDED OVER UNPROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE IN INTERNAL MEMO Meanwhile, the Chicago Police Department reported a 10% decrease in the city's murders and a 17% decrease in total crimes in 2025, compared to 2024. Lopez accused the mayor of lying about true crime statistics, blaming the reported decreases in crime on fewer people calling the police. "People aren't calling 911 anymore," Lopez stated. "People are afraid. Police are unable to do their job because of cancellation of gunshot detection technology and other things." The alderman went on to argue that politicians "negate" crime numbers in expressways or county roads considered outside of the city. The "South and West sides [of Chicago] and predominantly African-American communities" are especially impacted by crime, he added. CHICAGO MAYOR FIRES BACK AT BORDER CZAR'S 'REPREHENSIBLE' THREATS TO PROSECUTE HIM OVER ICE RAIDS "You have entrepreneurs trying to pursue the American dream and are being vandalized, shoplifted and destroyed simply because of the location, because the mayor refuses to call out communities for the behavior that's going on in them," Lopez contended. "When you look at the robberies, the battery, the assaults, people are simply not calling 911 anymore," Lopez insisted. "And if that is what you're putting your victory lap on, that people refused to call 911, then you are doing a very poor job as mayor and truly don't understand the fact that crime has not changed, just people's accustomed accommodating it has." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In February, only 6.6% of Chicago voters rated their mayor favorably, according to a poll from M3 Strategies. Print Close URL
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chicago dubbed America's murder capital as Democrat leaders 'demonize' police, splurge on migrants: alderman
A Chicago alderman told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that city officials still want to divert funding away from the police department, even though the city was once again the nation's homicide capital in 2024. "I said this for the last two mayors too," said 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano. "It's not even so much so that these last two administrations are turning a blind eye. They're ignoring the crime rate because their objective … is to demonize the police department, make it seem like there's not there's not as much of a crime issue as there is, because their goal is to steal the police budget." In 2024, Chicago had 573 homicides, leading the nation in that category for the 13th year in a row. The homicide rate per 100,000 residents in the city was five times higher than New York City's 377, and three times higher than Los Angeles' 280, according to an analysis by Wirepoints. Chicago O'hare Airport Shooting Leaves 1 Injured After Fight Erupts Inside Terminal "They want to take that police budget because it's an extremely high budget and allocated to other resources or projects that they want to accomplish in their tenure in office," said Napolitano. "It's destroying our city. It's evident what's going on." One of those projects, INVEST South/West, was an "epic fail," according to Napolitano. Read On The Fox News App According to the city, $250 million in taxpayer funds were allocated for that project, which began in 2019, in an attempt to revitalize southwest Chicago in the hopes of luring businesses to the area. "INVEST South/West is one of the biggest epic fails that they've had," Napolitano said. "Instead of investing in just one neighborhood, in one area, why don't we make the entire city safe by investing in our police force and the safety of our city, so that investors on a larger scale want to come to all of Chicago, not just specific neighborhoods? They refuse to do that." Napolitano also noted that the city's leadership has used immense resources to support illegal migrants for political purposes, thinking they would get more aid from the federal government if former Vice President Kamala Harris had won the November election. Chicago City Council Approves $70M For Migrant Care Despite Voter Backlash "The federal government didn't give us anything when [Democrats] were in office," he said. "Now when the administration changed, we're getting absolutely nothing at all because we're remaining a sanctuary city, which I was adamantly against in my 10 years in office. So this is just one failure after the next." He also said that his constituents are furious because in his ward, there is not a lot of violent criminal activity, meaning that police resources are directed away from the district to deal with violent crime elsewhere. That means when a burglary or other minor crime takes place in the 41st Ward, residents have a more difficult time getting the help they need. "So it's an evolution of just pure bull---- by these people," he said. "The last two administrations are the worst this city has ever seen." Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Brandon Johnson's article source: Chicago dubbed America's murder capital as Democrat leaders 'demonize' police, splurge on migrants: alderman
Fox News
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Chicago dubbed America's murder capital as Democrat leaders 'demonize' police, splurge on migrants: alderman
A Chicago alderman told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that city officials still want to divert funding away from the police department, even though the city was once again the nation's homicide capital in 2024. "I said this for the last two mayors too," said 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano. "It's not even so much so that these last two administrations are turning a blind eye. They're ignoring the crime rate because their objective … is to demonize the police department, make it seem like there's not there's not as much of a crime issue as there is, because their goal is to steal the police budget." In 2024, Chicago had 573 homicides, leading the nation in that category for the 13th year in a row. The homicide rate per 100,000 residents in the city was five times higher than New York City's 377, and three times higher than Los Angeles' 280, according to an analysis by Wirepoints. "They want to take that police budget because it's an extremely high budget and allocated to other resources or projects that they want to accomplish in their tenure in office," said Napolitano. "It's destroying our city. It's evident what's going on." One of those projects, INVEST South/West, was an "epic fail," according to Napolitano. According to the city, $250 million in taxpayer funds were allocated for that project, which began in 2019, in an attempt to revitalize southwest Chicago in the hopes of luring businesses to the area. "INVEST South/West is one of the biggest epic fails that they've had," Napolitano said. "Instead of investing in just one neighborhood, in one area, why don't we make the entire city safe by investing in our police force and the safety of our city, so that investors on a larger scale want to come to all of Chicago, not just specific neighborhoods? They refuse to do that." Napolitano also noted that the city's leadership has used immense resources to support illegal migrants for political purposes, thinking they would get more aid from the federal government if former Vice President Kamala Harris had won the November election. "The federal government didn't give us anything when [Democrats] were in office," he said. "Now when the administration changed, we're getting absolutely nothing at all because we're remaining a sanctuary city, which I was adamantly against in my 10 years in office. So this is just one failure after the next." He also said that his constituents are furious because in his ward, there is not a lot of violent criminal activity, meaning that police resources are directed away from the district to deal with violent crime elsewhere. That means when a burglary or other minor crime takes place in the 41st Ward, residents have a more difficult time getting the help they need. "So it's an evolution of just pure bull---- by these people," he said. "The last two administrations are the worst this city has ever seen." Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Brandon Johnson's office.
