The Spin newsletter
Aldermen pass 2026 spending plan including debt sale over opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson • Trump administration threatens to withhold $50M from CTA, calling its plan to add police ‘materially deficient’
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The Spin

Friday, December 19, 2025

Justice Department begins releasing long-awaited files tied to Epstein sex trafficking investigation

The Justice Department released thousands of files Friday about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein but the incomplete document dump did not break significant ground about the long-running criminal investigations of the financier or his ties to wealthy and powerful individuals.

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Aldermen pass 2026 spending plan including debt sale over opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson

The budget counterproposal crafted by opponents of Mayor Brandon Johnson won a critical first full City Council vote Friday, setting up the mayor to soon concede their remarkable weekslong fight — or issue Chicago’s first mayoral veto of a budget in decades.

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Trump administration threatens to withhold $50M from CTA, calling its plan to add police ‘materially deficient’

The CTA announced Thursday it would boost security on the transit system by increasing the number of police officers as well as K-9 security staffing.

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Some Carl Sandburg students speak out against a Turning Point USA club

A pilot Club America program at Carl Sandburg High School, part of Turning Point USA, has stirred up an outcry online and brought a few students and one resident to the Orland High School District 230 board meeting Thursday.

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Orland Park halts broadband installation, citing negative experiences by residents

The Orland Park Village Board halted fiber optic installation following power outage, will strengthen ordinance.

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While Chicago Bears officials eye Indiana as possibility for stadium site, Halas Hall is staying in Lake Forest

As the Chicago Bears openly consider constructing a new stadium in Northwest Indiana, team officials say the franchise’s presence in Lake Forest will continue.

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What to know about immigration enforcement raids in Chicago

As the Trump administration’s mass deportation raids continue, their impact has stretched across the Chicago region. Here’s what to know.

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4 months in, activists say President Donald Trump’s operation in DC increasingly targets immigrants

One-third of all arrests made during a law enforcement operation in Washington, D.C., were immigration-related, according to official figures reviewed by the AP.

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