Hannah Meisel

I'm maybe the worst ~political reporter~ ever because I HATE covering elections. There's also a near-constant din of worry in my head re: the toxic state of American politics/the (small) role I play in that. How can we do better? Some thoughts I wrote for @inbatweets' newsletter:

Ofelia Torres, the teenage Chicago Public Schools student whose fight against cancer while her father was detained by ICE came to represent the federal government's overreach during Operation Midway Blitz, has died. Brave young woman. I will never forget her. RIP.

Had a great chat Friday with @SashaAnnSimons, @HeatherCherone and @hannahmeisel. We talked about the feds' Operation Midway Blitz cases — including the latest on Marimar Martinez — and other news of the week. You can listen here: wbez.org/in-the-loop-wi…

#Chicago’s being treated to a #winter thaw. Find out what else has been happening this week from ⁦@HeatherCherone⁩ ⁦@SeidelContent⁩ & ⁦@hannahmeisel⁩ ⁦@WBEZIntheLoop⁩ 📻 ⁦@WBEZ⁩ wbez.org/in-the-loop-wi…

Kim is one of the best reporters in the game. Crazy cut for WaPo. Hire her immediately.

Two weeks after Chicagoan Juan Espinoza Martinez was acquitted on murder-for-hire charges allegedly targeting Greg Bovino, a federal judge in Indiana has barred him from being deported pending a bond hearing in his immigration proceedings.

“Liars use numbers.” The paradox of the GOP race for Illinois governor. Candidates campaigning against a crime wave that numbers show are down — and even Donald Trump now saying nation is safe. By @rap30 and @JeremyGorner: chicagotribune.com/2026/01/31/ill…

Who wants to manage Illinois’ checkbook as the state faces growing financial uncertainty? Three state legislators and the treasurer of one of the state’s largest counties have raised their hand. We spoke with each comptroller candidate about their plans⬇️ capitolnewsillinois.com/news/election-…

Illinois Accountability Commission releases initial report and moves to examine key Trump officials. Story by @maggie_dough. loom.ly/5G2s7Rs

Now that Justice Mary Jane Theis has retired, I can say I've watched the entire Illinois Supreme Court turn over in the near 13 years since first getting to Springfield. Kinda wild.

Pritzker's investigation list, which goes up to the unofficially most powerful man in the White House who has been the architect of how the feds do immigration enforcement

Here’s an updated story, which will be updated again later today: Ex-Sangamon County deputy sentenced to 20 years in prison for Sonya Massey’s killing chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/sea…

Ex-Sangamon County deputy to be sentenced in Sonya Massey second-degree murder conviction chicagotribune.com/2026/01/29/sea…

DHS now says it's "standard procedure" that the Border Patrol agents who shot Alex Pretti were placed on leave. Yet when Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago on Oct. 4, he drove his SUV back to Maine 2 days later and resumed work there chicagotribune.com/2026/01/28/ale…

JUST IN: A lawyer for Marimar Martinez, shot by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago last fall, is asking a judge to allow body-cam footage and other evidence from the incident to be made public, citing the recent "execution of two U.S. citizens" in Minnesota, among other things.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s office announced plans to reserve $482 million this year as federal funding challenges grow. Meanwhile, rideshare drivers are asking state lawmakers to pass a bill that would let them unionize. CNI's Ben Szalinski has more in this week’s Capitol News Recap.

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

1st Operation Midway Blitz-related trial ends in acquittal after other cases fell apart Via @CapitolNewsIL capitolnewsillinois.com/news/1st-opera…

The state says a Chicago landlord "sought to intimidate and coerce the building’s Black and Hispanic tenants into leaving their apartment units based on stereotypes about Venezuelan immigrants," leading to a raid by immigration agents capitolnewsillinois.com/news/state-inv…

Illinois Medicaid program faces looming funding crisis. Story by @PeterQHancock. loom.ly/klvFpSY