FULL STORY: Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who led a series of increasingly aggressive raids across Chicago and its suburbs, lied about firing tear gas at protesters in Little Village and tackling a man outside the Broadview ICE facility, a federal judge said Thursday. @wttw.bsky.social

O’Hare and Midway are among 40 of some of the busiest airports in the U.S. where flights will be cut starting Friday due to the government shutdown https://to.wttw.com/4hPOLqs

FULL STORY: Finding that federal agents repeatedly used force that “shocks the conscience” and lied about their actions, a federal judge issued a sweeping injunction designed to permanently rein in agents’ use of tear gas and pepper balls. @wttw.bsky.social news.wttw.com/2025/11/06/f...

O’Hare and Midway are among 40 of some of the busiest airports in the U.S. where flights will be cut starting Friday due to the government shutdown, according to a list distributed to the airlines and obtained by The Associated Press.

Author and historian Jill Lepore’s new book “We The People: A History of the U.S. Constitution” breathes new life into the idea that the Constitution is a living, evolving document. https://to.wttw.com/4olb2ig

We are adjourned. Thanks, again, for following along. Since some people have asked how to support @wttw.bsky.social:

Author and historian Jill Lepore’s new book “We The People: A History of the U.S. Constitution” breathes new life into the idea that the Constitution is a living, evolving document. news.wttw.com/2025/11/05/n...

Ellis is done. The preliminary injunction has been entered. Ellis grants plaintiff's request to certify the lawsuit as a class action, which means it applies to more than just the named plaintiffs and includes all nonviolent protestors as well as those engaged in news gathering & religious practice

UPDATE: U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis said she will issue a sweeping injunction limiting the use of force by federal immigration agents in the Chicago area after she found a litany of violations were committed in recent weeks.

Ellis is concluding, with John Adams words to his wife in 1775 about the need to fight for the nascent American democracy. "Liberty once lost is lost forever."

Ellis says she will not order the plaintiffs to post a bond. Ellis anticipates the Trump administration's request to stay her injunction pending appeal. She says she will not do so.

Ellis rules that the Trump administration impermissibly prevented the free exercise of religion, in violation of the First Amendment. Those engaged in prayer have been shot, without warning, with pepper balls and tear gas, Ellis says.

As the leaves change and Chicago enters the holiday season, it’s a good time to slow down, get cozy and get ready for a winter hibernation. Check out five events that are just a small sliver of what’s happening in Chicago this week.

Full quote from Ellis: "The government would have people believe, instead, that the Chicagoland area is in a vice hold of violence, ransacked by rioters and attacked by agitators. That simply is untrue. And the government's own evidence in this case belies that assertion." @wttw.bsky.social

As for the testimony of Border Patrol Chief Patrol Greg Bovino: Ellis: "Defendant Bovino admitted that he lied about whether a rock hit him before he deployed tear gas in Little Village." When Bovino threw a second tear gas canister at the crowd, the crowd was running away.

Greetings from the Dirksen federal courthouse, where U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis has just taken the bench to rule on federal agents actions' during a series of increasingly aggressive raids across Chicago and the suburbs. Background, for @wttw.bsky.social from @bymattmasterson.bsky.social

US District Judge Sara Ellis did not rule on the request Wednesday, but is set to decide on the preliminary injunction early Thursday before the TRO expires at 11:30 a.m.

Records presented at the hearing showed that in a group Signal chat with other agents, which Exum described as a support group, he wrote in part: "I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.” www.reuters.com/world/us/bor...

The Chicago Police Department spent 22% more in 2024 than it did in 2019, records show. If Mayor Johnson's proposed 2026 spending plan is approved, and CPD stays on budget for the first time since 2020, police spending will grow 32% during 7 years, despite massive budget deficits. @wttw.bsky.social

Illinois Lawmakers Weigh in on $1.5B Funding Package Set to Reshape Chicago-Area Transit

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order requiring ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to provide clean bedding mats, toiletries and at least three full meals per day to detainees at the Broadview detention center.

Since 2019, the Chicago Police Department has operated under a consent decree. WTTW News has spent the last few months diving deep into why reform is so slow and how policing in Chicago continues to evolve, and you can find it all here. 🧵🔽

Pressed by Ald. Anthony Quezada, CPD Supt. Larry Snelling says officers will not warn Chicagoans that federal immigration agents are present, saying that would amount to one law enforcement agency “interfering” with another law enforcement agency. Quezada disagrees.

Illinois lawmakers passed two dozen bills during their annual fall veto session, including a measure that will empower the state’s Department of Public Health to issue vaccine guidelines amid federal uncertainty.

The video shows two agents detaining the teacher inside the preschool and day care and then removing her from the facility. The arrest occurred around 7 a.m. One of the agents is seen reentering the facility. The teacher can be heard telling the other agent that she has papers.

Allowing CPD to spend unlimited sums of taxpayer money is a “crazy way to run a city,” said Justin Marlowe, a professor in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and the director of the Center for Municipal Finance.

Pressed by Ald. Daniel La Spata, Chicago Police Department Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti says CPD *will not* investigate allegations that federal agents committed a crime during the normal the course of their official actions. La Spata was asking about what happened in Lakeview on Oct. 24:

Work on this fix continues, Noe Flores, the deputy director of CPD’s Office of Analysis and Evaluation, which is part of the department’s Strategic Initiatives Division, says Background, for @wttw.bsky.social:

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis is overseeing a daylong hearing Wednesday amid claims that federal immigration agents have repeatedly flouted her temporary order banning the use of “riot control” weapons against people who aren’t posing any threat to law enforcement officers.

WTTW News producer @joshterry.bsky.social presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more. This week’s recommendations include Tortoise, Kurt Vile/Terry Allen, Thundercat and more.

Some members of Congress are pushing for Illinois to redraw its districts to get another Democratic seat. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries traveled to Illinois last month to make the case to local lawmakers, who have the final say.

NEW: The Chicago Police Department spent more than its City Council-approved budget in five of the last six years, costing Chicago taxpayers more than $501.2 million in unanticipated expenses, records show. @wttw.bsky.social

Great find as always by @heathercherone.bsky.social | The Chicago Police Department spent more than its City Council-approved budget in five of the last six years, costing Chicago taxpayers more than $501.2 million in unanticipated expenses, records show.

The Art Institute of Chicago will have a new space within the museum specifically for its art conservation work, officials announced. news.wttw.com/2025/11/04/a...

From light shows to plays, sing-alongs and festive pop-ups, there’s something for everyone to enjoy this holiday season. We’ve rounded up some of the season’s highlights in Chicago and the suburbs. https://to.wttw.com/4oNEGwl

This week’s supermoon will be the year’s biggest and brightest, or at least appear that way. Here’s how to take full advantage. 🌕 (via @pjdubs.bsky.social)

From his use of chemical agents to a helicopter raid on an apartment building, Gregory Bovino defended the approach of U.S. Customs and Border Protection as appropriate and necessary for what he says are threats his agents have faced in the nation’s third-largest city.

Elizabeth Babcock now serves as CEO and president of Adler Planetarium, succeeding longtime President Michelle Larson. The Chicago-area native spoke to "Chicago Tonight" on how to bring new life to the nearly 100-year-old institution. https://to.wttw.com/4qN7jMc

Mayor Brandon Johnson blocked the city’s watchdog from searching for gifts he accepted on behalf of the city without reporting them as required, as required by the city’s ethics ordinance, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. (via @heathercherone.bsky.social)

Left-hander Shota Imanaga became eligible for free agency when the Chicago Cubs declined an option to keep his contract by guaranteeing $57 million for the 2026-28 seasons and he turned down a $15.25 million option for 2026, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

A federal judge could rule Tuesday on a request for a temporary restraining order to address what advocates claim are “inhumane and unlawful conditions” at a suburban immigration facility in Broadview. https://to.wttw.com/4hHIqx2

Even as Tuesday’s elections hang in the balance, President Donald Trump has bluntly suggested that he is already looking ahead to the 2026 midterm races with a sense of dread.

Chicago’s Christmas tree will be a 6-ton Norway spruce donated by the Mason family from suburban Glenview. 🎄 news.wttw.com/2025/11/03/c...

BREAKING: Mayor Brandon Johnson twice blocked the city’s watchdog from searching for gifts he accepted on behalf of the city without reporting them as required, as required by the city’s ethics ordinance, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said Tuesday. @wttw.bsky.social

Illinois congressional Democrats are putting the uncertainty surrounding SNAP benefits at the feet of Trump and Republicans. @wttw.bsky.social News invited the state’s Republican U.S. representatives to join “Chicago Tonight”; they either declined to appear on the show or did not reply.

“We are in the middle of rethinking everything from how we can be more present around space discovery and exploration. How can we revitalize and renew our visitor experience efforts? And how can we continue to focus on science discovery?” news.wttw.com/2025/11/03/a...

BREAKING: Dick Cheney, one of the most powerful and polarizing vice presidents of US history, dies at 84.

President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP after two judges issued rulings requiring it to keep the nation’s largest food aid program running. https://to.wttw.com/3JtzrmK

A measure designed to reduce the burden air, water and soil pollution imposes on South and West side neighborhoods remains stalled, six months after Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced the proposed ordinance and more than two years after the mayor promised to act. news.wttw.com/2025/11/03/m...