>> Good evening.

And thanks for joining us on the weekend review.

I'm Nick Lumber put down that Delta.

A Chicago City council votes to ban the sale intoxicating hemp products with a few exceptions.

>> What makes eating illegal and drinking legal.

>> Older people pass a ban with carve-outs for beverages, topical creams and pet products.

But will Mayor Brandon Johnson veto it?

We make a clear distinction between, you know, individuals who are gathering for pleasure and those who are interested in causing are mayor helps negotiate a compromise curfew plan aimed at preventing large gatherings, teens, but no vote on the measure just yet.

>> In one breath, they talk about lowering cost in the next it passed expensive, damaging policies that hit Illinois families.

Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield with an eye on affordability, though, how to make that happen.

Depends on which side of the aisle you talk to.

Meantime, the state investigates whether the landlord tipped off immigration agents to raid a South Shore apartment building.

Federal prosecutors fumble after a jury swiftly acquits a man accused of putting a hit out on Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and school's out all over Chicago and as 30 below windchills and everyone scurrying inside.

>> And now to our week in review panel.

Joining us are Michael Lyft ride a block club.

Chicago Allison at the Chicago Tribune.

Robert, her of the Chicago Sun-Times.

And Patrick, thanks to the political blog, the Illinois's.

Thank you all for being here as always.

Lots to talk about.

So let's get right to You know, Patrick, this alleged murder for hire trial, you know, the man accused of trying to take a great movie.

Know it was here and gone in a flash.

Are you surprised to see it move so quickly?

Remember when it used to matter when the federal government indicted doing something to that?

It was almost a guarantee that you're going to get convicted and sent prison.

>> Not so much under the current Justice Department.

This was a a shoddy case put together and ashonti way presented terribly clearly led by the Justice Department and not so much by the local prosecutors.

It was a mess top to bottom.

I mean, how about that?

feds used to have very daunting when rate so far in all these kind of ancillary cases, non immigration-related cases.

>> Their striking out, I mean, perhaps in some ways to an indication public sentiment opposed to the Trump administration's enforcement blitz that that grand juries and juries themselves are not buying it?

Yeah, I think so.

I think people are seeing through.

>> What some of these are that it's perhaps politics and its feeder.

I can't can't really speak specifically to this case.

I was in the courtroom.

I did hear a federal court reporting to sometimes talk about this actually earlier today and talking about the club.

You know, that conviction rate is, you know, almost perfect before this whole wave of not just this case, a lot of others to know what you have to imagine is going to demoralizing to a lot of these line.

Prosecutors >> made this their career, you Michael, another high profile story that came out of Midway blitz that raid on a South Shore apartment building.

Now there's an investigation into whether the landlord might have tipped off the feds.

What are the details So the Illinois Department of Human Rights is looking into discrimination filed discrimination charges against and look doing investigation into this rate and essentially saying that the landlord, which has some a track record that was kind potentially tipped off the federal government in terms of that rain.

And when looking at the people in the units that were targeted because you had U.S.

citizens as well as immigrants staying at this complex and looking at the pattern, ice regions, ICE agents took.

>> And then also in conjunction with this case looking at the separate case trying to get the files in the video footage from this raid just like you were saying earlier the end of by end of it all everyone involved, Operation Midway Blitz, going to be in court for something.

And I think Governor Pritzker spoken out about this.

You have a lot lawmakers speaking out in terms of this rate was potentially use, has more or less.

Propaganda and theater and that way in the videos and other promotion that came out of it.

Yes, recall there was reporting that, you know, the agents went in and had sort of a map of the building right different apartment units.

So clearly some inside information.

>> From the start, I mean, I think our reporters were in there and I believe one of them actually found like a handwritten, you know, kind of drawing.

So somebody, you know, gave them direction.

And that was a suspicion from the start and >> the landlord talk with the landlord is the building owner.

Then there's also the building, manager right to different groups and both of them have been to, to my knowledge, pretty mom.

For since this happened about, well, did you help or not?

You know, I can't be understated.

>> Just how big impact this has had on the residents.

Not only, you know, following this raid just everything going on at the complex.

All of the residents having to leave the complex.

And earlier it was reported that one of the residents that left Samantha Stamps, a 56 year-old was reported missing.

Last seen a living central.

The Central Pink want stop.

so this has real impacts on people.

And if it comes out that this landlord, you know, had a hand and this rain leading to these people, not having a home.

And now you have people missing and not accounted for all stemming from this and operation Midway Blitz.

doesn't mean a lot.

There's lot to dive in to investigate it certainly on toward.

And it's pretty clear that these are not particularly great people that are.

>> There were running this this place, I don't know that there's a Department of Human Rights investigation has a lot of teeth to it or if any laws were broken here, I mean, then then the attorney general, the radically would be would be involved in this.

So I don't know that much is actually to come of this, especially when you've got the the Department of Human Rights breathing down your neck.

Yeah, it could be an instance of, you know, the state sort of taking a stand in this incident.

You know, as they tried to do against Midway Blitz.

>> But to your point, whether anything comes of it or not, it may just be an effort to shine more light, especially just thinking about in terms of this level immigration enforcement, some of we don't have even have a precedent for terms what are the consequences or the consequences for tipping off immigration enforcement to rate a building?

Yeah, it'll very interesting to see what comes It also just want to think just the as the way it was rated.

I mean, I believe people rappelling from helicopters.

right.

I mean, never ever seen that right?

>> Well, Alice, we mentioned this right at the top city council voting this week to ban most hemp products has been a long-running debate.

But there are some exceptions for things like beverages.

What do we know about Mayor Johnson's thinking Yeah.

So I've been Mayor Johnson first introduces 2026.

Budget.

Hemp was part of his plan to close deficit.

But then the federal government kind of preemptive him, although died there and doesn't really go into place until November 2026.

Of this year.

>> So there is some time in the middle a limbo, if you will, for the city to, you know, do its own thing to maybe tax and regulate hemp, which is what his administration called for.

But, you know, a majority of alderman again went over his wishes and pass to stand, not a veto proof majority, but only a couple below.

And the mayor has indicated he will it, but time will tell.

I think there have been some, you know, tax campaigns going out today say got one today.

Mayor Johnson of you know this.

So we'll see what he decides.

And it's it's I mean, you have to wonder with that federal ban going into place.

Is this the kind of thing that?

>> Will they be, you know, really doing a crackdown effort or will it be sort of like when medical marijuana and recreational marijuana expanded to the states?

And you know that.

>> Technically still a schedule one drug, but the feds haven't gone after it.

It's going to be into sort of messy legal area, Patrick, that the states look to hemp regulation multiple times, but they've kind of punted on this in the General Assembly this is I haven't heard anybody talk about this on the state House radar since it completely, though the governor's effort to to Ban Delta 8.

>> Fell apart last year.

There I guess we've been late 2024.

And you know, it was it was an ugly scene in Springfield where the some House Democrats shouted the governor's staff out of the caucus room staff are left in tears and there are a lot of hurt feelings.

And add people about it and and essentially in this is weird to say considering the political dynamic, the Republican Congress and and Donald Trump as sort of bail the governor out on this one because they're sort of doing when he was trying to do anyway without him having to expend political capital in the state.

Yeah.

Very strange bedfellows right?

All right, Alice, a another piece of council news haven't voted on it yet, but there is the latest in a long series of curfew proposals aimed at curbing these large gatherings of teens.

>> What is this one tale?

Yeah.

So are times not the charm >> Yeah.

We expected city Council to vote on a 3rd version proposed by the downtown Alderman Brian Hopkins.

We we came in, expecting the legislation to be the version where superintendent would have a 12 hour notice to implement a curfew.

But at the last minute, Hawkins introduce a substitute ordinance that would just give a power to detain juveniles, violating curfew until their parents could come.

that actually got pushback from other moderate conservative alderman including Matlacha who taught that this is not an effective way to go about stopping these teen gathering.

So the boat got cold and remains to be seen.

What?

What's next?

And there was some back and forth as well.

From what I saw the mayor's comments afterwards, where they were discussing.

>> Kind of taking these dispersal orders that are now CPD policy in trying to put those in there as well.

So that's kind of codified within the city code cracked.

So whether you what's the thinking there in terms going a step beyond policy doing now?

>> Yeah.

So she finally has curfew that is in place at 10:00PM Kids, 17 and younger.

And does have the authority issue a mask.

A dispersal for mass gatherings and curfew violations.

But what Hopkins proposed added some, I guess, more constitutional concerns from some aldermen over how long please were allowed to just kids for violating a curfew.

Yeah, that that is true of constitutionality.

That's when they've been debating throughout this entire process, right?

Price socially.

Think about the snap.

Curfews.

Know that idea.

Snap curfews and then the constitutionality.

Beyond that, you know, some people look at some of the means are done, especially with the idea being able to and force have a curfew in force within 30 minutes.

And then now with ride shares being able to have Joe fencing when it comes to Uber and Lyft to being able to shut down certain areas where people can go in and out.

>> It definitely would some questions for people like we infringing on those constitutional rights.

I think when you talk about the PR of rated and listen, I am I'm an elder millennial suburban data about somebody, not that there's anything wrong with that.

I got somebody that's that's that's, you know, hanging out of Michigan Avenue at 3 in the morning.

But >> but there there there is clearly a public perception here that that these large crowds of young people that that are are loud and have have sometimes cause trouble or an issue and are part of this public safety PR problem that the city has.

And it's just another in a long list issues where Brandon Johnson is just completely out of touch with the majority of people who are looking at this.

This this environment and these things that are happening and he says number no, we're all good with where we're at because and listen again.

Elder millennial suburban dad, not a young black man.

No idea how how how the situations relate.

But but I think if you look at the public perception of what's going on, he's completely out of out of touch certainly plenty of of alders have, you of across the city council have had very different opinions than the mayor on on this issue over the course of the debate.

Fair to say.

>> Yeah.

And I will say with PR aspect, you know, if you look at a lot of the details of the team trends that have made the news in downtown, some of them have happened during times where this curfew ordinance would not have actually made a difference.

So it is kind of an optic saying, like if you think about other cities like New York, I've never seen the an image like that in Times Square, right?

people probably be outrage there.

But also in Chicago, these team trends happened on the south and West sides, too.

I saw them all the time when I was an overnight reporter and also did lead to, you know, violence and obviously downtown gets a lot of attention.

Nobody's going to Times Square because it's not cool anymore.

That's why that's the real Something big we think about, as you said on the south and West sides, you have the same issues.

>> But I spent about up early to PR of because asked had a teen trend.

All couple block shot.

A couple 1000 teens shooting some case that that followed in court.

But it doesn't get national attention mowing you think about.

I believe it was last year year before there was a young couple downtown teen trend and to out of tech and that was everywhere.

And I think that that balance of figuring out how to govern or at least real these in with still and I says he would brand just trying to as far knowledge Ing in balancing intrinsic value and the rise of the teens, but still very much from a governor's perspective.

Something needed change.

Every mayor has got to pay more attention to downtown than perhaps it deserves.

Right, a struggle or unique place, especially when you have the president putting a magnifying glass on the city and that on the Miracle Mile because, I think he was thinking of the Billy Joel song.

I will stick with that.

>> All right.

But the city's inspector general was out this week with the report 26 and a half million dollars in overtime paid out over 4 years.

2 employees who are ineligible for overtime.

of course, you know, within the scope of the multi-billion dollar budget, that's maybe not a drop in the bucket, but it's not going to make or break the city.

But, you know, with the huge budget struggles that Chicago is facing, talking about optics again.

I mean, how bad of a look at that?

Yeah, I think I think it is a bad look, although I mean, again, that if any Brandon Johnson, but my understanding is this does stretch back to the previous regime.

Lori Lightfoot.

>> Before Johnson was in office, so it's it's a several year.

Look, it's a lot of money, but yes, what you're talking about, billions, it's it's it is a relative drop in the bucket.

I mean, I would say that.

I mean, obviously handsets of mismanagement poor, you know, bureaucracy.

But also I think that one of the things one of my colleagues have written a story about all the uncollected debt in the city, right?

And you know, you're talking about, yes, every dollar counts.

But if you're looking at big dollars and something when we're talking about tax increases were talking about cuts in public.

as we seem to always be a couple times a year when budget season is is contemplated, I mean, there are there's billions of dollars in uncollected data out there that could plug a lot of these holes, too.

So if you're talking money, I mean, this is just one piece of the puzzle.

Yeah, I think it's also it goes to a larger issue of trust.

>> You know, Brandon Johnson wants enact a sweeping progressive agenda.

He wants to tax the rich and he wants to build all these programs, constituents will be inclined to vote and approve those measures if they don't trust the government to handle the money correctly.

Yeah, absolutely.

And the cut and there are no consequences.

Seemingly, right?

There's there's in the stack of of the issues that have arisen over the years that >> the CTA employees who were essentially, you know, being ghost payroll does coin counters and, you know, working from home and doing nothing and and and the the state and city employees that the 2 advantage of the paycheck Protection program loans and almost nobody's being prosecuted.

So at what point is there any consequence that that the public can have some faith restored in in stopping the government from 4 government employees from doing well.

>> All right.

Well, speaking of something else that the public hated one of the city's most infamous maneuvers was back in the spotlight with the city reportedly considering buying back the parking meters that got sold off under former Mayor Richard Daley.

But we heard this week, the mayor ultimately decided it wasn't worth it.

Just too costly of an idea there.

He also that was a fun for again.

first broke likely Friday evening that the Johnson administration was in talks about possibly buying back.

>> Of the city's parking meters.

he ultimately, you know, revealed on Tuesday that the price is too high to pay.

And that the city would have to, you finance the entire deal for decades, the a which makes you know, which box terms of you know, raise rates and keep the meters online later.

So no false false alarm, I guess.

Yeah.

I mean, this is just one of the most hated deals.

But you have to imagine with a 3 billion dollar price tag.

>> No matter how much Chicagoans want those meters back home just for full to that.

All right.

It's strategically it's a very tough politically for this current administration just talking about the overtime commend Ron.

>> When it comes to parking meter deal in all was the right million.

The so many different things that could plug holes.

But we're doing we've kind of panel itself in a bunch of different corners when it comes to just the way to get out of it.

And I can only imagine a lot of strategists and financial implication just really trash trash and has right now.

I would just add also that this is a daily legacy issue.

I mean, that people forget is like, oh, we have to confront this.

It's like, well, how did happen to begin I mean, when Mayor Daley, the really was in office and left office, he left a system in many ways.

I mean, sure.

Downtown was beautiful Bullock, but a lot of problems that now we are having to contend with as a city in the state in the region and there's a riding citizens even to that class action claiming it violated on anti monopoly laws.

But the courts?

>> that was that was said it took a company mayors in form and mayor's nephews company that handled the deal.

And, know, that's the Chicago way, isn't it?

>> All right.

Patrick State lawmakers back in Springfield this week that the message of affordability just positively reverberating through the rotunda already going to be watching for in the spring session?

Well, wrote a column about this this morning that that it's it's obvious that the Democrats who run the legislature are laser focused on the cost of living and affordability and they're right to be.

That's the number one issue in polling.

Everyone top to bottom understands that and is with them.

But the problem is actually addressing those issues is really expensive.

Been really tough to do, right, trying to trying to reduce property taxes.

You got to shift billions into schools which would mean cutting other programs or raising other taxes.

They bungled the gasoline tax or the grocery tax mess.

They've already held back the the gasoline inflation adjustment this year.

So there are just few issues for them to actually be able to bring down the cost of living.

So if they're not able to during the spring legislative session, it opens them up politically in the fall.

And and if Republicans have any capabilities about them politically, which is in question they they can absolutely smacked Democrats around in this and they could be vulnerable coming toward the election, especially if the millionaires tax, which, you know, the House Speaker Chris has indicated he was to make another go at.

>> Which would require a voter referendum.

But, you know, JB Pritzker, he went for that in 2020.

He lost, you know, by a little graduate attack.

is the Pat Quinn.

Yeah.

Millionaire certain.

Yeah, anyway.

But would still require voter referenda again in November midterm year.

And if he has presidential ambitions, I don't want to be a two-time loser on well.

We're trying to move up the Illinois primary, which is perhaps an indication of a certain governors and additions for the White House.

But I mean that, you know, this idea of affordability is this Dems kind of learning the 2024 lesson a little bit too late?

Perhaps they're they've certainly gotten the message right nationally.

>> Cost of living is what killed Kamala Harris right in and it would have killed her here if there was in just such a built-in advantage for Democrats and and a built-in disadvantage for Donald Trump, right?

She underperform Joe Biden, Illinois by 400,000 votes from 2020 for 2020.

That's real numbers there.

That's that's reason.

Legislative races didn't change.

Congressional races didn't change.

So they they see the writing on the wall that they've got to fix some of these national message.

Some of the structural issues so that they don't have problems even with all of the issues Republicans have top to bottom from Donald Trump to the to the grass roots in the state.

I think Democrats see that they at least need a message.

Affordability better.

But they've also got to put their money where their mouth Well, Bob, you had a great piece this week on a huge surge in video gambling, burglaries.

Tell us about that.

>> So if you recall call a little history, I mean, video gambling was not legal in Illinois till.

>> You know, about 15 years ago and they and basically to Powell does get to decide if they wanted in their town or not.

city Chicago, it's not allowed video camera at this very moment.

But a lot of the suburbs have it.

And there has been an absolute soar and the number of break-ins and thefts and there have been some Simon Roberts to in some of the burglary The burglars were armed as well.

So it's at the numbers really literally off the charts and so what to be done in now with the prospect of Chicago City proper legalizing this you know, the questions are, what about public safety implications there?

You know, I I reached out to to merge onto people.

They actually did respond.

The car concerns.

Of course, he's been a little gun-shy about about that.

And also there's interplay with the casino that's being built because there are fears by the casino operator's Bally's at this wind.

If there are video game gambling terminals, stations in bars and stopping cannibalize their revenues and therefore maybe even taxpayer revenues and were expected to to so.

But but the bottom line is lot of crime surrounding these machines throughout the suburbs, south suburbs, West North, all over.

Yeah, it's gonna be a huge issue for the city to deal with.

>> All right.

Cardinal Blase Cupich and his counterparts from DC in Newark.

They should a joint statement widely seen as a rebuke of the Trump administration, even though they didn't say the president's name calling for a genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation.

Bob, you've covered religion for a long time.

you surprised by their move?

>> Colonel Cupich is first of you know, there's some few observations.

First of some might observe that doesn't even as his have his own house in order in Chicago.

In terms of the Catholic Church, which I've covered, he's been completely secret on the finance of the church abuse scandal, which I know he would like to put behind him.

He's never been fully you know, he's never been fully transparent about that in the full scope of that kind of issues.

So that's one thing.

The second thing is he has more he and so some of the more progressive liberal clerics in the Catholic Church have leaned quite a bit more to the left and toward the Democrats.

That being said this, this issue, how the Trump administration is handling immigration and now Warren aggression is sort of in some ways uniting the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, but below the surface, it is just a split and some ways as the rest of the country terms.

Other social issues pertaining to particular abortion.

Yeah.

And those kinds of things.

So.

interesting, but I'm not sure fully what it means at this point.

All right.

And we should know we will have the cardinal on the program on Tuesday.

So lots to ask him about.

>> There might be a split in the church, but there's a unity at this table.

We've got 4 great folks here.

But unfortunately, we are out of time.

So our thanks to Michael, it Alice Yen.

Robert, her death and Patrick things done.

And we're back to wrap things up right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexandra and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation, additional support is provided by.

>> And that's our show for this Friday night.

Be sure to check out our website for the latest from W T Tw News including what to know about exploding trees, cold, weather, danger or overblown hype.

Now for the week in review.

I'm Nick Blumberg.

Thank you for watching.

Stay healthy, stay safe and stay informed.

Have a great weekend.

>> That's why I went to journalism school to be able to say exploding trees, tent and do that.

One of all right this cold snow.

Joe school districts were out today around the area.

CBS canceled classes.

So many other districts they have to do remote learning.

And like I'm standing on a soapbox and shaking my fist in the air.

But does have the day off are 4 year-old preschool that add to that.

>> It closed captioning is made possible by Robert a cliff.

>> And Clifford law offices, a Chicago personal injury and wrongful death and sponsor of