Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Friday, June 19, 2026
Sunday, June 07, 2026
Pope Leo XIV and I agree: Our country and world need healing
Challenges and responsibility were on my mind as I sat with the pope, a fellow son of Chicago whose moral leadership comes at a critical moment.
Jun 6, 2026, 7:00am EDT
Pope Leo XIV shakes the hand of Mayor Brandon Johnson during their meeting late last month.
Provided
The same week I met Pope Leo XIV, I watched my eldest son graduate.
Like any parent, I felt immense pride seeing him step into adulthood. But I also found myself thinking about the wounded country and world he and his peers are inheriting.
Here in America, families are struggling with rising costs. Our immigrant neighbors, co-workers, classmates and friends are living with fear and uncertainty. Essential federal programs have been cut, while healthcare and food assistance are being stripped from the most vulnerable.
Overseas, wars continue to claim the lives of the innocent and devastate the remaining survivors.
As a father, those realities weigh on me. As a mayor, they remind me why I do this work.
Commentary
What I want for my family is what I want for every family in Chicago: a country and world that are safer, more just and full of opportunity.
These challenges and our collective responsibility were at the front of my mind as I sat down with Pope Leo XIV, a fellow son of Chicago, whose moral leadership comes at a critical moment.
The pope and I spoke about the suffering caused by war, the need for peace in Gaza and Iran and the responsibility we share to elevate the voices of those living through hardship, both in Chicago and across the globe.
When touching on the harsh realities of our country as it approaches its 250th birthday, we discussed the enduring consequences of slavery and the unfinished work confronting that history. He understands the harms of slavery didn’t end with emancipation and that these wounds continue to shape disparities in wealth, health, housing and economic mobility.
Friday, May 29, 2026
Mayor Brandon Johnson meets with Pope Leo, invites him to visit Chicago
Johnson said he thanked the first-ever Chicago born pope for his courage and moral stance against endless wars.
By Craig Wall and Lissette Nuñez
Friday, May 29, 2026 6:19AM
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Brandon Johnson met with Pope Leo XIV Thursday and invited him to visit Chicago in 2027.
Johnson and Pope Leo met privately Thursday for nearly an hour.
The mayor said he and the pope share ideals, including their stance against the U.S. war in Iran, and pushing back against actions carried out by the Trump administration during "Operation Midway Blitz."
"Of course we shared the legacy of leadership and organizing in civil rights in Chicago," Mayor Johnson said. "I believe he took that to heart. Ultimately, that is going to be his decision on whether or not his schedule is going to allow for it. Who would have thought that a middle school teacher, the son of a pastor, would be in the Vatican talking to the pope who has his roots in the city of Chicago? I believe that he was definitely appreciative of the warm exchange and invite and we will look forward to hosting Mass in Chicago."
Mayor Johnson and aldermen reflected on meeting the Chicago-born pope.
During the historic visit, they discussed politics, immigration, baseball and Chicago faith connections.
Johnson said the meeting brought him a sense of peace and comfort.
"I think the pastoral moment was the first question that he asked was, 'How's Chicago? How's Chicago?' And you know I was able to say that you know Chicago is strong," Johnson said.
The trip is funded in part by World Business Chicago, an economic development agency.
Friday, May 29, 2026 6:19AM
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Brandon Johnson met with Pope Leo XIV Thursday and invited him to visit Chicago in 2027.
Johnson and Pope Leo met privately Thursday for nearly an hour.
The mayor said he and the pope share ideals, including their stance against the U.S. war in Iran, and pushing back against actions carried out by the Trump administration during "Operation Midway Blitz."
"Of course we shared the legacy of leadership and organizing in civil rights in Chicago," Mayor Johnson said. "I believe he took that to heart. Ultimately, that is going to be his decision on whether or not his schedule is going to allow for it. Who would have thought that a middle school teacher, the son of a pastor, would be in the Vatican talking to the pope who has his roots in the city of Chicago? I believe that he was definitely appreciative of the warm exchange and invite and we will look forward to hosting Mass in Chicago."
Mayor Johnson and aldermen reflected on meeting the Chicago-born pope.
During the historic visit, they discussed politics, immigration, baseball and Chicago faith connections.
Johnson said the meeting brought him a sense of peace and comfort.
"I think the pastoral moment was the first question that he asked was, 'How's Chicago? How's Chicago?' And you know I was able to say that you know Chicago is strong," Johnson said.
The trip is funded in part by World Business Chicago, an economic development agency.
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Mayor Johnson addresses media ahead of meeting with Pope Leo | Full Availability
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Friday, March 06, 2026
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Chicago Cardinal: the Church stands with migrants
Oct 27th, 2025 (Updated Nov 3rd, 2025)
Screenshot
Source: Archdiocese of Chicago
Chicago is being particularly hard hit by Donald Trump's crackdown on migrants. More than 3,000 people have been arrested in ICE raids over the past month.
In response, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago issued the following statement last Tuesday:
My dear brothers and sisters, today I speak to you as your shepherd, but also as a fellow pilgrim who shares the pain of many of our immigrant communities.
Families are being torn apart. Children are left in fear, and communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The church stands with migrants.
We stand with the mother who crosses borders to feed her children. We stand with the father who labours in silence to build a better future. We stand with the young person who dreams of safety and a better future. Our parishes and schools will not turn away those who seek comfort, and we will not be silent when dignity is denied in the enforcement of the law. It is essential that we respect the dignity of every human being.
Now I want to say something directly to those immigrants without documents. Most of you have been here for years. You have worked hard. You have raised families. You have contributed to this nation. You have earned our respect. As the Archbishop of Chicago, I will insist that you be treated with dignity. Americans should not forget that we all come from immigrant families.
You are our brothers and sisters. We stand with you.
God bless you all.
Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV has made compassionate and humane treatment of migrants a centrepiece of his papacy and urged American Catholics to speak out forcefully on behalf of those being targeted.
In his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi ti, Pope Leo writes: "The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking," wrote Leo in his first major document. "Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community."
Screenshot
Source: Archdiocese of Chicago
Chicago is being particularly hard hit by Donald Trump's crackdown on migrants. More than 3,000 people have been arrested in ICE raids over the past month.
In response, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago issued the following statement last Tuesday:
My dear brothers and sisters, today I speak to you as your shepherd, but also as a fellow pilgrim who shares the pain of many of our immigrant communities.
Families are being torn apart. Children are left in fear, and communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The church stands with migrants.
We stand with the mother who crosses borders to feed her children. We stand with the father who labours in silence to build a better future. We stand with the young person who dreams of safety and a better future. Our parishes and schools will not turn away those who seek comfort, and we will not be silent when dignity is denied in the enforcement of the law. It is essential that we respect the dignity of every human being.
Now I want to say something directly to those immigrants without documents. Most of you have been here for years. You have worked hard. You have raised families. You have contributed to this nation. You have earned our respect. As the Archbishop of Chicago, I will insist that you be treated with dignity. Americans should not forget that we all come from immigrant families.
You are our brothers and sisters. We stand with you.
God bless you all.
Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV has made compassionate and humane treatment of migrants a centrepiece of his papacy and urged American Catholics to speak out forcefully on behalf of those being targeted.
In his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi ti, Pope Leo writes: "The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking," wrote Leo in his first major document. "Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community."
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Meet Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol Chief in Charge of Trump’s Chicago Crackdown: ‘No Sanctuary Here’
CNN | October 8, 2025, 1:11 pm
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino is interviewed at CNN’s bureau in Chicago on Oct. 7, 2025. (Mustafah Hussain for CNN via CNN Newsource)
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Chicago (CNN) — The heavily armed agents carrying out President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement push in Chicago are often masked. The man leading them is not.
Nearly three decades into his career with the US Border Patrol, Gregory Bovino has become the on-the-ground face of Trump’s effort to surge federal law enforcement into blue states and cities regardless of whether local officials want them there — first in Los Angeles, now in Chicago, with other possible cities on deck.
But if he and his officers are an unwelcome presence or face interference from protesters, Bovino said he is not dissuaded.
“We’re going to carry out that mission,” Bovino said in an interview with CNN in Chicago on Tuesday. “And that’s paramount, or else we shouldn’t be here. We’re going to carry that mission out.”
He added that if “someone steps in the way, then … that may not work out well for them, and if we need to effect an arrest of a U.S. citizen or anyone else, then we’ll do that.”
Local officials have described Bovino as leading a branch of law enforcement which deploys tactics that are frighteningly authoritarian and which has been styled into Trump’s own personal police force, used by the president as a cudgel against Democrat-led localities and the people — citizens and noncitizens alike — who live in them.
“I refuse to let Trump, Noem and Bovino continue on this march toward autocracy,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday. “Their plan all along has been to cause chaos, and then they can use that chaos to consolidate Trump’s power.”
Nearly three decades into his career with the US Border Patrol, Gregory Bovino has become the on-the-ground face of Trump’s effort to surge federal law enforcement into blue states and cities regardless of whether local officials want them there — first in Los Angeles, now in Chicago, with other possible cities on deck.
But if he and his officers are an unwelcome presence or face interference from protesters, Bovino said he is not dissuaded.
“We’re going to carry out that mission,” Bovino said in an interview with CNN in Chicago on Tuesday. “And that’s paramount, or else we shouldn’t be here. We’re going to carry that mission out.”
He added that if “someone steps in the way, then … that may not work out well for them, and if we need to effect an arrest of a U.S. citizen or anyone else, then we’ll do that.”
Local officials have described Bovino as leading a branch of law enforcement which deploys tactics that are frighteningly authoritarian and which has been styled into Trump’s own personal police force, used by the president as a cudgel against Democrat-led localities and the people — citizens and noncitizens alike — who live in them.
“I refuse to let Trump, Noem and Bovino continue on this march toward autocracy,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday. “Their plan all along has been to cause chaos, and then they can use that chaos to consolidate Trump’s power.”
Who is Sara L. Ellis, U. S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois?
Sara L Ellis
Education
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Personal details
Born 1969 (age 55–56)
London, Ontario, Canada
Education
Loyola University Chicago (JD)
Sara Lee Ellis (born 1969) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Early life
Ellis was born in 1969, in London, Ontario, Canada,[1] to Jamaican-born parents. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States when she was 15 years old.[2][3]
Education and career
She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 from Indiana University. She received a Juris Doctor in 1994 from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She worked as a staff attorney at the Federal Defender Program in Chicago from 1994 to 1999. From 2000 to 2004, she worked at Stetler, Duffy & Rotert, Ltd., a white-collar criminal defense law firm. From 2004 to 2008, she served as assistant corporation counsel for the Chicago Department of Law, handling claims for injunctive relief and civil rights lawsuits. From 2008 to 2013, she served as counsel at the law firm of Schiff Hardin LLP in Chicago, where she was a member of the litigation and white-collar crime practice groups.[4][3]
Federal judicial service
On May 6, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Ellis to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, to the seat vacated by Judge Joan B. Gottschall, who assumed senior status on April 23, 2012.[4] She received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 19, 2013, and her nomination was reported to the floor of the Senate on July 18, 2013, by voice vote. The Senate confirmed her nomination on October 7, 2013, by voice vote. She received her commission on October 8, 2013.[3]
Sara Lee Ellis (born 1969) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Early life
Ellis was born in 1969, in London, Ontario, Canada,[1] to Jamaican-born parents. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States when she was 15 years old.[2][3]
Education and career
She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 from Indiana University. She received a Juris Doctor in 1994 from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She worked as a staff attorney at the Federal Defender Program in Chicago from 1994 to 1999. From 2000 to 2004, she worked at Stetler, Duffy & Rotert, Ltd., a white-collar criminal defense law firm. From 2004 to 2008, she served as assistant corporation counsel for the Chicago Department of Law, handling claims for injunctive relief and civil rights lawsuits. From 2008 to 2013, she served as counsel at the law firm of Schiff Hardin LLP in Chicago, where she was a member of the litigation and white-collar crime practice groups.[4][3]
Federal judicial service
On May 6, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Ellis to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, to the seat vacated by Judge Joan B. Gottschall, who assumed senior status on April 23, 2012.[4] She received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 19, 2013, and her nomination was reported to the floor of the Senate on July 18, 2013, by voice vote. The Senate confirmed her nomination on October 7, 2013, by voice vote. She received her commission on October 8, 2013.[3]
Friday, October 24, 2025
Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Friday, September 19, 2025
Friday, August 22, 2025
Trump mobilizing up to 1,700 National Guardsman in 19 states to widen crime and immigration crackdown
Trump mobilizing up to 1,700 National Guardsman in 19 states to widen crime and immigration crackdown
Deployments reportedly set to take place largely in Republican-controlled states
Deployments reportedly set to take place largely in Republican-controlled states
Josh Marcus in San Francisco
Saturday 23 August 2025 02:02 BST
Trump hands out pizzas to National Guard troops as he claims DC now 'a different city'
The Trump administration reportedly plans to mobilize up to 1,700 National Guard troops across 19 states in the coming weeks to support its immigration and anti-crime crackdowns, in a dramatic expansion of the controversial operation that’s seen federal agents and Guard troops carrying out activities across Washington, D.C.
The troops, who will largely be activated across Republican-controlled states, will serve in support of the administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, as well as other law enforcement priorities, according to comment from unnamed Pentagon officials and documents obtained by Fox News.
The Guardsmen assisting ICE will be carrying out tasks that may include “personal data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing of personnel in ICE custody," an official told outlet.
The deployments will take place across the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, per Fox.
Texas is reportedly slated to have the largest deployment.
The Trump administration reportedly plans to mobilize up to 1,700 National Guard troops across 19 states in the coming weeks to support its immigration and anti-crime crackdowns, in a dramatic expansion of the controversial operation that’s seen federal agents and Guard troops carrying out activities across Washington, D.C.
The troops, who will largely be activated across Republican-controlled states, will serve in support of the administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, as well as other law enforcement priorities, according to comment from unnamed Pentagon officials and documents obtained by Fox News.
The Guardsmen assisting ICE will be carrying out tasks that may include “personal data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing of personnel in ICE custody," an official told outlet.
The deployments will take place across the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, per Fox.
Texas is reportedly slated to have the largest deployment.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Saturday, June 07, 2025
Pope Leo Sells Out US Event Clashing With Parade on Trump's Birthday
Published Jun 07, 2025 at 11:44 AM EDT
By Martha McHardy
US News Reporter
Pope Leo XIV has helped sell out a stadium show in Chicago with a promised virtual appearance—scheduled for the same day as a major military parade in Washington, D.C.
Within the first 15 minutes of ticket availability, more than 9,000 people requested seats for the Chicago gathering. By the end of the first day, that number had climbed to 20,000. As of Friday, the $5 tickets were completely sold out. The event will be streamed live online, although CatholicTV has not confirmed whether it will air the broadcast.
Why It Matters
Pope Leo's expected involvement in the Chicago event, which will be streamed online, will draw huge interest and will divide some attention away from the Trump-backed military parade the same day, the president's birthday.
The pope, in his first address to world diplomats, said the dignity of migrants had to be respected, potentially putting himself on a collision course with the Trump administration, which has stepped up enforcement of immigration law, arguing voters' concerns on the topic have long been ignored.
From left: Donald Trump attends a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., June 5, 2025; and Pope Leo XIV leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, May... More AP
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