End July and the workweek with these Friday headlines from WTTW News.
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(WTTW News)
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Chicago police brass failed to publicly account for all of the times officers used force against members of the public in 2025, missing a deadline set by the federal court order requiring officers to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights.
That missed deadline comes as CPD officials acknowledged, again, that the number of times officers used force against members of the public “continues to trend upward,” according to the report.
2025 was the deadliest year for police violence since 2021, according to WTTW News' analysis of data released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. Officers shot 22 people last year, killing nine, according to the data.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office told the federal judge overseeing the consent decree effort — which is now more than seven years old but only 25% complete — that the increase merits a “full-scale review.”
Some backstory:
Even though CPD had six months to publish its report detailing every time officers used force against a member of the public between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, it could only produce complete data through Sept. 30 by the June 30 deadline, according to the required reports based on data from CPD’s Tactical Review and Evaluation Division, which CPD refers to as TRED.
“TRED was not able to finish reviewing all 2025 incidents in time for the remaining months to be included in this report,” according to the report. “As a result, the report reflects only the portion of the year for which reviews were fully completed, from January through September.”
CPD officials offered no explanation for the missed deadline in its annual use of force report for 2025. However, CPD has struggled for years to review the reports officers are required to file after they use force against a member of the public in a timely manner. Officials have repeatedly promised U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, who is overseeing the reform effort, that they are working diligently to clear that backlog.
CPD’s failure to analyze officers’ decisions to use force in the last quarter of 2025, makes “it very difficult to compare year over year,” Alexandra Block, of the American Civil Liberties Union, told Pallmeyer during a hearing held earlier this month.
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CPS headquarters are pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News)
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The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday passed an almost $10 billion budget after hours of contentious debate, a lengthy recess, sharp questions over revenue assumptions and a last-minute amendment aimed at holding state lawmakers’ feet to the fire to come through with $150 million more revenue for the cash-strapped district.
The move to assume additional revenue via an 11th-hour addendum unvetted by district officials marks an unprecedented approach to CPS budgeting that district officials say could lead to unknown ramifications down the line.
The vote came after nearly three hours of heated argument – and nearly eight and a half hours after the meeting first convened. It saw opponents of the budget as proposed by Superintendent Macquline King arguing that assuming Chicago Public Schools will receive $285 million in surplus TIF funding is no more guaranteed than additional revenue from Springfield, citing recent supportive comments from Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch about leading the charge on the district’s behalf in the fall veto session.
The added amendment assumes the state will come through with $150 million in additional funding, which would allow the district to stave off the layoffs in the proposed budget King and district officials pushed for.
Board member Michilla Blaise, who introduced the late amendment, said “we are giving a pass to the state” and “robbing our kids of opportunities.” The amendment passed by an 11-7 vote.
More context:
Blaise said additional state money is the only way to fix the district’s structural deficit, not surplus TIF money from the city with an amount that fluctuates yearly.
Budget officials, some board members, and the district’s top attorney also underscored the legal obligation under the school code and state law to pass a budget that makes reasonable assumptions about revenue, with board member Ellen Rosenfeld questioning whether the board could be in violation of its fiduciary duty by making an assumption about an additional $150 million in revenue from the state.
After the vote, a CPS spokesperson released a statement warning again that the amended budget threatens the ability of the district to secure short-term financing to cover payroll in early September.
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(Photography By Tonelson / iStock)
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Illinois residents who lost food assistance benefits following federal rule changes will receive $400 under a new program announced by Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday.
Starting Aug. 1, families who lost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits will receive a one-time $400 benefit per eligible household member.
The one-time benefits are being provided through the newly launched FRESH program, which stands for Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger. The $70 million program can support up to 175,000 Illinoisans who lost or received reduced SNAP benefits due to changes in eligibility.
No paperwork or application is required; the one-time benefits are issued automatically.
Approximately 100,000 Illinoisans who’ve been affected by cuts to SNAP will receive a one-time benefit at the start of next month, according to the Governor’s office.
“At a time when the cost of groceries, gas, and utilities are all rising, Donald Trump and Republicans decided to strip food assistance from nearly 100,000 people,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “In Illinois, we passed the FRESH program to help provide some relief for families kicked off food assistance, but no state can backfill the cruel and imminent cuts set in motion by Trump’s budget bill.”
The Illinois Department of Human Services will issue the one-time benefits each month to additional individuals who lose coverage until funding is exhausted, according to a news release. Newly eligible individuals will be issued one-time benefits after the 16th of the month that they lose access to SNAP, according to a news release.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: July 31, 1966 - Mob Attacks Civil Rights Activists at Marquette Park Rally
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On this day 60 years ago, a multi-racial coalition of 550 people gathered in the all-white neighborhood of Marquette Park to peacefully rally for civil rights. As they entered the park, they were met with an angry throng of around 1000 white counterprotesters, who hurled rocks, bottles and projectiles at those attending the demonstration. Fifty-four people were injured, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was struck by a rock. UPI reported that rioters chanted “white power” and
told those rallying to “go back to Africa,” and set fire to more than a dozen cars. Though the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was not in attendance, he’d plan another civil rights rally at Marquette Park within a week of the violence.
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What’s the most underrated neighborhood in Chicago?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to say:
“I'm not answering this because I don't want my rent to go up” — @bluescreenbuddy.bsky.social
“I am going to say at the moment Mayfair, Hermosa, or South Chicago. All for very different reasons, but also, very much food-related.” — @archijake.bsky.social
“Portage Park, Beverly, McKinley Park, Chatham, Bronzeville, Hegewisch, Austin, Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, Galewood, and Jefferson Park. Pretty much all the south and west side areas with a few far northwest side ones.” — Giovina R.
“East Side. Gets virtually no attention in the news anywhere at any time, for any reason. Between the Calumet River and Lake Michigan, people drive through it daily on the Skyway and have no clue.” — Em W.
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