@ReporterHal

‘Whenever there’s a cop murder, there’s shenanigans’: how a PlayStation helped free a man convicted of murdering an off-duty police officer | US justice system | The Guardian theguardian.com/us-news/2026/m…

The Captain Ahab of DuPage County? . . . dailyherald.com/20260319/news/…

Gov. JB Pritzker criticizes AIPAC after pro-Israel group spent heavily in Illinois primary apnews.com/article/illino…

Forcing kids to do your controversial political work? . . . Mayor Johnson signals support for letting CPS students take a day off to push for school funding chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2026…

For Trekkies, the proper question is, "Who are Borg?"

What is a BORG? Chicago police confiscate gallon jugs at St. Patrick’s Day river dyeing. chicagotribune.com/2026/03/16/chi…

And here's the context: Cook County Commissioner Kisha McCaskill claims tax exemptions on abandoned Dixmoor property harveyworld.org/articles/elect…

PHOTOS: In Dixmoor, a Cook County commissioner's home languishes as she claims it as her primary residence to get a tax deduction: harveyworld.org/articles/elect…

Trump hands out Florsheims, company sues him to get its tariff payments back (I own a pair; they are good shoes.) chicagobusiness.com/consumer-produ…

WaPo editorial slams Chicago finances: Opinion | Chicago bond problems and debt downgrades point to a dark future - The Washington Post washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/…

Geez, does anyone understand the percentages in this article? I do not: Ald. Nugent pushes to freeze the phase-out of Chicago's subminimum wage for tipped workers - Chicago Sun-Times chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2026…

Seems like someone, or some agency, is not being honest here. Hard to tell: "A Skokie woman said ICE detained her for nearly 48 hours after landing at O’Hare. But is it true?" chicagotribune.com/2026/03/11/oha…

Food for thought . . . for the distinct minority of voters glued to X and other social media: "Behind the Curtain: The big lie warping America" axios.com/2026/03/11/ame…

The NYT explores heavy AIPAC funding in Illinois' congressional races, with a focus on the 9th District: nytimes.com/2026/03/05/us/…

I remember Franzen the most for I-355, ending the rancor of the Botti years and splitting the County Board from the Forest Preserve: Gayle Franzen, longtime Illinois and DuPage County public servant who helped build I-355, dies at 81 chicagotribune.com/2026/03/07/gay…

"But transparency is not simply about posting data. It is about intelligibility." . . . Editorial: Bally’s valuation shows why Cook County’s tax system still needs sunlight chicagobusiness.com/opinion/editor…

Contrary to what this story says, delaying the sale will avoid additional potential liability - not add to it: Lawmakers Postpone Cook County Property Tax Debt Sale to Continue Working on Reforms | Chicago News | WTTW news.wttw.com/2026/02/27/law…

@treckly @CitizenVMachine @IsIllinois The pension fund has been earning that discount level for years now, and the county fund is in far better shape than those for the state or city of Chicago. It's on a trajectory to be full funded.

@CitizenVMachine @IsIllinois @ReporterHal Discounting pension liabilities at 7.3% (the "accounting trick") is pretty aggressive and at or above the high end for municipal pensions. Democrats are never going to reign in spending other people's money. This does not have a happy ending.

Daily Herald says Preckwinkle has not had a major tax increase in 15 years, but that's not accurate; the sales tax was increased by a percentage point in 2016: dailyherald.com/20260225/endor…

@Frak66721077 The budget has skyrocketed because Obamacare allowed the county health system to help more people. It’s mostly federal money and evens the score a bit, given that Illinois gets far less from the feds than is contributed by its taxpayers.

@ReporterHal Wild take. She had destroyed cook county with inefficient bloated government and higher property taxes. Look at budget for cook county since she took office, it's skyrocketed without any benefit for cook county citizens.

@jeepgunnar Read the detail. It shows who is taxing what.

@ReporterHal Funny my bill say COOK COUNTY PROPERTY TAX …