PAC-ing a $26.9M punch: Pro-Israel, AI and cryptocurrency interest groups are spending big to influence Chicago-area primaries, including $6.1M for attack ads that are swamping voters. The flood of super PAC cash "distorts democracy," says one gov't watchdog. Link below👇

Topped by pro-#Israel, #crypto and #AI interests, national groups spend >$31.4 million to sway #Chicago-area voters ahead of #Democratic primaries Tuesday in four U.S. House races. @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com @mawaiq98.bsky.social @mariahwoelfel.bsky.social #twill www.wbez.org/government-p...

There’s a Bears-themed bake-off at WBEZ/Sun-Times today and my entry is Caleb Williams cookie hands. Bear down!

Was Chicago's head tax a job killer? Our analysis, reviewed by four economic and labor experts, found a lack of evidence that Chicago’s previous head tax, or its repeal, is to blame for job loss or growth in Chicago. w/ @mariahwoelfel.bsky.social www.wbez.org/city-hall/20...

Chicago's former head tax was long called a job killer, but is there reliable evidence to back that up? Our analysis shows a lack of public proof on the decades-old claim, and sheds light on what companies could be affected by the new head tax pitch. chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

I spoke to Mayor Brandon Johnson about his $16.6b budget, Chicago's lawsuit against the Trump Admin and...TikTok as the mayor pursues a tax on social media. Come for the policy questions and stay to find out Johnson's favorite corner of TikTok. www.wbez.org/wbez-news/20...

this is such a good story with more insight into how premeditated the South Shore raid was. h/t Sun-Times and BEZ chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

During the Sept. 30 military-style raid on a South Shore building, a man heard a knock at his door. It wasn’t an ICE agent, but a mom and girl pleading for help. He let them in and hide under his bed. 🧵

Great profile by @mariahwoelfel.bsky.social of a mayor trying to deal with having a notorious ICE facility — and protests — in her normally low-key suburb of Chicago www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Chicago doctor Thaer Ahmad will never forget one of the 1st times he declared a patient dead in Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, after a father carried in his three lifeless daughters. Those girls weigh heavy on Ahmad's mind as he demands action from Illinois politicians. www.wbez.org/politics/202...