State & Local News Headlines

Ted Dabrowski is running for governor of Illinois in the March 17, 2026 Republican primary. While making a West-Central Illinois swing, he stopped by the Muddy River News studio for a chat with publisher/general manager J. Robert Gough.

CHICAGO — Members of the Texas National Guard are among hundreds of National Guardsmen being activated by the federal government to support an immigration enforcement operation in Chicagoland that the feds say has already resulted in more than 1,000 arrests. Block Club Chicago and the Chicago Tribune have more details about this week’s troop movements.   Illinois quickly challenged the…

A Chicago Tribune analysis highlights the inconsistency of superintendent salaries across Illinois and shows why school districts need consolidation. According to 2024 salary data, the top 10 highest-paid superintendents received total compensation topping $4.2 million. Rich Township High School District 227’s superintendent received $423,000 – the fourth highest compensated superintendent in 2024. Overseeing one school in Olympia Fields,…

The president wrote on his social media platform that Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Btrandon Johnson “should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers.” Pritzker responded hours later, calling Trump “unhinged” and a “wannabe dictator” in an interview outside the federal courthouse. Then, in a theatrical turn, Pritzker stared directly into the camera and addressed […]

"Before Johnson attempts to arrest federal officials, he might want to take another look at the Constitution and review some history on the subject. Wallace also tried to ride the wave of rage to power after “standing at the schoolhouse door in person, if necessary.” It did not work. The federal government prevailed, and Wallace […]

At the Chicago protest, Ald. Jessie Fuentes called the National Guard troops in Illinois a “Gestapo” force before the crowd.

"Let’s be clear: Ordering our troops to intimidate the very Americans they sacrifice every day to protect does nothing to make our nation safer. Policing Americans in their own communities is not the National Guard’s job. They can’t make arrests, and they’re not adequately trained to carry out police duties in urban environments."

While Preckwinkle’s proposal does not require any employee layoffs, it proposes no new significant programs or hiring. It does not add funding to the county’s Equity Fund, established in 2020 to “address historic disparities and disinvestments in marginalized communities.”

The president and Illinois governor have had a tense relationship their entire political careers.

Interim CPS CEO Macquline King said the district command center will provide “round-the-clock support” to school communities experiencing “heightened stress due to activity outside their building.”  She has previously resisted calls for remote learning, though some speakers on Wednesday again called on the district to allow students to attend classes virtually to assuage those fears.

Illinois Senate Minority Leader John Curran pointed to a joint statement he released with Senate President Don Harmon last month. “We are here to tell you the Illinois Senate is united in wholeheartedly condemning violence from any person in any circumstance. We are committed to working together to ensure that people throughout our state know that […]

"We can’t be the only Americans fed up with seeing video after video of antifa-types interfering with federal law enforcement, of mobs forming around ICE officers making arrests, of 'protesters' confronting men and women who are just doing their jobs. The Democrats could rein them in, but they won’t, and that makes them co-conspirators in […]

A plan in Springfield would allow more people to get into the Homestead program. This program allows seniors in Illinois to freeze their property tax rate. However, that exemption only applies to people who earned $65,000 or less a year. This bill would increase that exemption to $80,000.