Alonso Zaragoza

15/07/2025

As Cook County Democrats prepare to gather later this week to endorse candidates for the 2026 primary election, there is growing speculation Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza will skip running for reelection so she can mount a possible 2027 bid for Chicago mayor.

Several Democratic sources said Mendoza has told them she will not run for a fourth term as the state’s chief fiscal control officer, an office she won in a special mid-term election in 2016. The sources requested confidentiality to avoid jeopardizing their relationships within the state Democratic Party.

In addition, Mendoza did not meet last week’s deadline set by Cook County Democratic Party officials to confirm an appearance at this Friday’s county slating to formally seek the endorsements of Democratic city ward and suburban township committeepeople.

Officially, a Mendoza spokesman dismissed appearing before slatemakers as a mere formality and said Mendoza would make her decision “on her own timetable.”

“Comptroller Mendoza is weighing her options, including re-election,” Mendoza spokesman Abdon Pallasch said in a statement.

“She loves her job and is committed to public service. She will make her decision based on what is best for Illinois, Chicago and her family, but she will not run for two offices at the same time,” he said. “Whatever she decides to run for, she’ll be all in.”

By failing to appear before slatemakers, Mendoza avoids putting county Democrats in the uncomfortable position of asking them to endorse her for a reelection bid that she may not make.

County slating will occur just weeks before Aug. 5, the date when candidates can begin seeking voter signatures on candidacy petitions to appear on the March 17 primary ballot. The first day for filing those petitions is Oct. 27.

Should Mendoza not run for reelection, it would add another open seat — this one for a statewide office — to the mix in an already competitive 2026 election. The flurry of candidates lining up to appear on the March primary ballot began when U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced he was retiring at the end of his term. That caused U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly of Matteson and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg to announce their bids to replace Durbin, leaving the 2nd and 8th congressional districts open next year. In addition, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who has been in Congress since 1999, announced that she will retire at the end of her term, meaning her seat also will be up for grabs.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is also running for the Senate seat. Gov. JB Pritzker, who is endorsing Stratton in the Senate race, has selected former state lawmaker and deputy governor Christian Mitchell to take Stratton’s spot as his running mate.

Mendoza, a former state representative and Chicago city clerk, ran for mayor in 2019, finishing fifth with 9% of the vote and missing the runoff between Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle that Lightfoot ultimately won.

Mendoza won the comptroller’s office in a 2016 special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. Mendoza used the position to sharply criticize one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s fiscal policies, including a dispute Rauner had with then-House Speaker Michael Madigan that led to the state going two years without adopting a budget.

As comptroller and in working with Pritzker’s administration, Mendoza promptly cleared up a multi-billion dollar backlog of bills left by Rauner’s administration. She also has pushed to increase the state’s “rainy day” fund.

In recent months, she has used the comptroller’s office as a platform to criticize Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s actions, including using an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune to accuse the mayor of pursuing a “reckless fiscal course” for the Chicago Public Schools. In February text messages with Pritzker, Mendoza raised a rumor that United Airlines was looking to move its headquarters out of Chicago and warned of an “absence of any semblance of competency coming out of the 5th floor,” a reference to the location of Johnson’s office in City Hall.

Mendoza also has been a strong advocate for law enforcement, putting her at odds with some party progressives.

In May, at the annual Police Officers Memorial Ceremony in Springfield, she lashed out at the state’s Pretrial Fairness Act, claiming it “permits violent offenders accused of heinous crimes to be released on electronic monitoring.” The law’s advocates said Mendoza was referring to the killing of a police officer but noted the alleged shooter was on electronic monitoring for a cannabis offense, not a violent crime.

Mendoza may not be the only statewide elected official looking at a Chicago mayoral run. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is also believed to be considering a bid for mayor. Giannoulias is scheduled to appear on Friday before Cook County Democrats as he runs for a second term.

Several Democratic sources said Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza has told them she will not run for a fourth term, opening the door for a possible Chicago mayoral bid.

15/07/2025

The Chicago Parks District Natural Areas program is hosting a stewardship day on Sunday, July 27th at 10am for Riis Park.

Join neighbors in beautifying the lagoon area, cleaning up the park, and planting native flora. The Windy City Bird Lab will have coffee and tamales. Meet in the area between the lagoons.

RSVP recommended, not required. RSVP for email reminders and notices.

https://forms.gle/hwUft2mun2gCNoQa8

For questions, email: [email protected]

15/07/2025

Chicago taxpayers might be on the hook for billions more in new costs thanks to a bill that quietly passed in Springfield.

The bill would sweeten the pot for police and firefighter pensions, but it comes at a cost.

Gov. JB Pritzker has yet to sign the bill into law.

What's in the bill?

What we know:
If signed, the bill basically offers some pension sweeteners to police and fire employees categorized under Tier 2.

About 10 years ago, in response to the pension crisis, the Illinois state lawmakers passed a bill creating these Tier 2 pensions, meaning some of the younger employees would receive slightly reduced benefits than their older peers.

Now, a bill sponsored by State Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) aims to raise some of those pension levels for Chicago police and firefighters.

Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson said it will cost taxpayers as much as $7 billion over the next 30 years, $60 million this coming year alone, and then $750 million per year by 2055.

It’s a cost that could push the city over the fiscal cliff.

"This is adding to the city's burden at literally the worst possible time," Ferguson said. "It was introduced formally, with language, the last week of the session in Springfield. There was a quick hearing called on it in which the city CFO Jill Jaworski testified with some initial numbers that they were crunching at the time, and then that was it."

Ferguson said the bill amounts to a giveaway to powerful public employee unions that have the ears of certain politicians.

Those pension funds are around 20% funded right now, which is dangerously low. That means the funds have money to cover only 20% of all those that are eligible to retire right now.

Adding to Chicago's financial woes

Why you should care:
All this comes as the City of Chicago is projecting a budget deficit of more than $1 billion next year and some jaw-dropping cuts to programs like Medicaid and the SNAP program from President Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

Add in the fact that Mayor Brandon Johnson has renewed his call for $1 billion more from the state for Chicago Public Schools.

The long and short of all of this is that the fiscal tsunami is about to engulf taxpayers.

A spokesperson for Pritzker said the bill is "under review."

Neither Martwick nor representatives from the AFL-CIO, which heavily lobbied for the legislation, returned messages seeking comment.

Chicago taxpayers might be on the hook for billions more in new costs thanks to a bill that quietly passed in Springfield.

15/07/2025

15/07/2025

Join IL Drivers Association Saturday, July 26th for a day of food & fun for rideshare drivers & their families.

Free for all to attend! There will be a bounce house, games and entertainment for kids, food, a DJ and valuable giveaways for drivers.

Please register here:
https://sldr.it/7NCqU4jmXuJm

15/07/2025

This Business Incubator Program Has Been Working To Reverse Belmont Cragin’s Shop Closures

Since 2021, 15 small businesses have participated in the Crecer Business Incubator, which offers entrepreneurs one-on-one advising and helps them find retail space.

Growing up in Belmont Cragin, Isabel Cambray doodled on printer paper and decorated her walls with stray cans of house paint.

Yet when the lifelong artist started running craft workshops and working in studios, she struggled to find artistic spaces close to home. Earlier this year, Cambray joined the Crecer Business Incubator and opened her own studio in Belmont Cragin.

“When I started working in studios, I always had to go to Lincoln Park, Downtown, Pilsen — the neighborhoods that were already deemed art districts,” said Cambray, a recent Northern Illinois University graduate. “My goal is to try to bring more art to Belmont Cragin.”

Cambray’s Cam Studios is one of three businesses enrolled in the Crecer Business Incubator’s 2025 cohort. Since May, Cam Studios, Clear Conscience Candles and Galería 88 Artesanías have shared a retail space at 5420 W. Belmont Ave., the business incubator’s newest home.

The burgeoning small businesses receive one-on-one advising, have access to workshops on entrepreneurship and can operate out of the incubator storefront while paying subsidized rent for up to one year. Once cohort members finish the incubator program, Crecer team members help connect them with vacant storefronts in the neighborhood, reaching out to local landlords and even attending leasing meetings with them.

The Northwest Side Community Development Corporation launched the business incubator in 2021 to help Belmont Cragin’s business community recover after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, 15 businesses have participated in the program, said Jessica Vazquez, director of economic advancement for the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation.

“We want to really promote collaboration in Belmont Cragin and let business owners know they’re not alone,” Vazquez said. “We want to let people know that while entrepreneurship is difficult, it can be accessible.”

Makayla Betancourt, owner of Clear Conscience Candles, said that without the Crecer Business Incubator, her business probably wouldn’t have made it.

Betancourt started her business in 2020, largely selling her scented candles, sprays and diffusers online. She first inquired about the business incubator in 2023, but she was pregnant and still finishing her biological sciences degree at the time, so she applied this year.

Juggling a job as a science educator, caring for her child and running a small business has been difficult, but Betancourt said being part of the incubator program has helped a lot.

To make the program accessible for entrepreneurs with full-time jobs, Crecer participants rotate shifts at the shop.

The store is open noon-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. Staff from the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation work at the shop, and cohort members work there at least twice a week.

Betancourt said the shared space has helped draw more foot traffic to her business. She has seen customers come in looking for a candle and leave with extra art, she said.

Before joining Crecer, Betancourt would sell at pop-up markets in neighborhoods like Pilsen where there was already a “bustling artistic community,” she said.

“We don’t lack that in Belmont Cragin because we lack the artists or because we lack that desire to have community. We just haven’t been able to bring it all together,” she said. “I hope that we can see more creatives inspired by us.”

Kelly Pyzik, grants and communications manager for the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation, said one-fifth of the small businesses in Belmont Cragin closed between 2020 and 2021.

With so many vacant storefronts and neighbors left jobless after the pandemic, the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation launched the incubator program to help the area recover, Vazquez said.

Crecer has moved four times in four years, most recently in May. El Capitan Snacks, a 2024 cohort graduate, took over Crecer’s old space at 3150 N. Central Ave.

Crecer relocates regularly because the program’s aim is to “activate every space that we’re going to,” Vazquez said.

“Our goal is to show the community what that space could look like and then have someone lease it and keep that momentum, that activity going,” she said.

Yanelet Delgado, who owns Galería 88 Artesanías with her husband, Marco Morales, said she recently spoke with a longtime Belmont Cragin business owner who said he noticed more activity in the area since Crecer started.

Delgado, who has lived in Belmont Cragin for about 20 years, said she felt like she was always leaving the neighborhood for school, work and entertainment. She hopes to open a shop in the area to showcase the artisanal work she and her husband import from Mexico.

Most of the artwork they sell is made by family members or friends, and many pieces are rooted in their cultural traditions. Delgado said having a storefront would allow her and Morales to teach customers about the skill and the history that goes into each piece.

While Cambray often partners with other businesses to host art workshops, she said having a permanent storefront has helped her hold even more events. Eventually, she hopes to have a studio that features works by local artists.

Cambray is hosting a movie and craft night 6 p.m. Aug. 8 at Crecer.

Betancourt said she wants to have a shop in the neighborhood that promotes sustainability by allowing customers to refill their sprays and diffusers and recycle other containers. It’s been hard to rely on online sales as most customers want to smell her products before they buy, she said.

Betancourt dreams of seeing the neighborhood filled with places to take art classes and shops that carry artisanal products that “reminds our Latino grandparents of home.”

“Sometimes it just takes that one little spark, and maybe we’re that,” Betancourt said.

The Crecer Business Incubator is looking for a fourth cohort member. You can learn more about the program here.

Since 2021, 15 small businesses have participated in the Crecer Business Incubator, which offers entrepreneurs one-on-one advising and helps them find retail space.

15/07/2025

The following locations began issuing warnings on July 1, with enforcement to begin Aug. 15. The locations listed are the addresses of the cameras and the corresponding park or school.

6198 S. Pulaski Road — Hubbard High School (southbound traffic)
6201 S. Pulaski Road — Hubbard High School (northbound traffic)
The following locations will begin issuing warnings on July 15, with enforcement to begin Sept. 1.

4258 W. 59th St. — Pasteur Park
2729 S. Kedzie Ave. — LaVillita Park
3624 S. Western Ave. — McKinley Park
851 W. 103rd St. — Marcus Garvey School

The new locations are mostly on the Southwest Side, bringing the total number of cameras installed this year to 40.

15/07/2025

The Empty Bottle in Chicago will host an UNO Social Club outing on August 13.

First up will be an event at Club Tee Gee in Los Angeles on August 7, followed by New York City’s Cowgirl on August 12. The Empty Bottle in Chicago will host on August 13, Ormsby’s in Atlanta will host on August 19, and Murray’s Tavern in Austin will round out the series on August 21.

15/07/2025