Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled a $17.6 billion budget to close an $882 million deficit, reviving a $25-per-employee monthly head tax on large businesses that the City Council rejected less than a year ago. The plan also raises the personal property lease tax and increases borrowing for police misconduct settlements.
Two SEIU locals representing roughly 50,000 Chicago workers endorsed Alexi Giannoulias for mayor on Tuesday, withdrawing their support from Mayor Brandon Johnson and dealing a significant blow to the labor coalition that helped elect him. The announcement came the same week Johnson unveiled a $17.6 billion budget facing council resistance.
A Chicago City Council committee voted unanimously Tuesday to require the Johnson administration to award a gunshot detection system contract within 30 days, clearing the way for testing in six South and West Side police districts. Aldermen criticized the administration for failing to explain why the contract process had stalled.
Republican Don Tracy and Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton faced off Monday night in Wilmette in their only scheduled debate for Illinois’s open U.S. Senate seat, sparring over cost-of-living, energy policy and the role of federal leadership in driving inflation. Radio host Dan Proft predicted Stratton would win the race comfortably, saying Tracy failed to press his advantages.
Russia freed American Stephen Hubbard, a retired teacher who had been sentenced to seven years on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced Tuesday from St. Petersburg during ongoing ceasefire talks. Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall said the release bore the hallmarks of Russia’s long-running hostage diplomacy.
The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Israel had been ready to strike Iran earlier this month but stood down at President Trump’s urging, as Trump sought to avoid Middle East escalation before the November elections. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s back-to-back visits to Israel and Midwest defense manufacturers underscored the administration’s effort to link foreign policy with domestic industry.