>> Good evening and thanks for joining us on the weekend review.

I Brandis Friedman Nick Lambert has the evening off.

The leaves are falling and you know what that means?

It's budget season in Chicago.

>> There is no reason to coddle or feel sorry corporations.

They are doing just So too.

>> Tax the behavior that we're trying to create just doesn't make any sense.

Mayor Brandon Johnson revives his plan for a corporate head despite strong city council as Lieutenant Governor, I've represented the entire state of Illinois at seems to be her platform.

after Trump were impeached.

Trump candidates for U.S.

Senate make their pitch to voters in a W t Tw forum as early voting expands across Cook County.

Meanwhile, a campus reckoning on assault comes Chicago and Loyola 6 police districts are set to test a shot spotter replacement and mayoral hopefuls line up to get their name on February's ballot.

And now to our week in review panel.

Joining us, our Heather Sharon of Wt Tw News.

>> So if you Sherry of the Chicago Sun-Times, Sasha and Simons of WBEZ Chicago and Alex Nick in of Illinois.

Answers Project.

Welcome back, Everybody.

Let's get right to it because Heather candidates for mayor, they lined up bright and early on Monday morning to submit their petitions to get on the February ballot.

Brandon Johnson waited until How is the ballot shaping up so far?

So right now we have 6 officially declared candidates.

There will be more who file on Monday.

>> Now if they file right at 05:00PM, that means they will be entered into a lottery to win that coveted last a spot on the ballot.

Some people think that that gives candidates without perhaps more name recognition, a better shot of sort of advancing range.

Johnson said today he was not worried about that.

He did not need a lottery because I don't know if you know this, but he's the mayor of Chicago area we did.

We check that to Yes, I I from around So he says he turned and 33,000 Alexi Giannoulias, the current secretary of state running also for that office right now says he turned 60,000 signatures doesn't matter.

Know they need 12,500 good signature to so once Monday past, all of the campaigns are going to start scrutinizing every single one of signatures to make sure that it's a registered Chicago voter who actually lives at the address where they said they did.

Some people will not make it through that process who that will be.

We will have to ballot challenges are always fun.

Part of the So and you talked about this a little bit, Heather, about the strategy behind when they file and don't voters kind of go into into the voting booth knowing what name they're looking for in the list.

Yes, I have searched high and low for any scientific evidence that actually anybody really says all that guy or that lady is first on the ballot.

I will vote for them.

Could it be, you know, sort of, you know, minute difference?

Sure.

Is that really going to matter in a race where you have probably close to maybe a dozen candidates on the ballot.

I tend to think not.

But it's also part superstition, right?

Like if you win once you do it exactly the same way you did the last time because these are hard race.

Is there going to be expensive races and nobody quite knows what anybody once when they go to the voting I would imagine the down ballot with the ballot order matters more for the down ballot races where people are not really knowing redknapp ways people.

>> This is the marquee Yes, we're going know who they're voting for.

At the top of the ballot, Monday is the last candidates to file petitions.

As we said, Heather, what you gonna be watching Well, we'll have to see who else files were still waiting for.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Cook County Board for EU member.

>> George you know, there are other people have said, hey, I'm running for mayor to with yet to turn in their petitions.

There are always people who say, look, I'm going to go out.

I'm gonna get 12,500 signatures and realize it's really, really hard and then don't out, don't file.

Now.

We're also going to be watching for the city council races now and those races.

You only have turn into 478 signatures.

So the bar to entry is a little bit lower.

There.

>> I will also be someone interested to see whether a city clerk, Anna Valencia is unopposed again for re-election and whether Melissa Conyers Irvin who has run a couple of times for other offices, has a challenger in her bid for re-election Cook County Ariz City Treasurer Maria Pappas.

So we're waiting to see if she files to.

So he is also on the ballot on Tuesday, November.

3rd, 2 run for another term county treasurer.

She says she will run.

We will have to see where you can see.

find out Monday.

It's going to be fun Tuesday.

Actually ran into someone canvassing for her trying to get my signature innocent.

>> Can do it.

No can damage.

Analysts not know who I so, Sasha, you did talk to the mayor on Tuesday on and now that he's officially, you know, governing at the same time as he is campaigning.

What sort of messaging did you sense?

So makes it kind of tricky for us, too, because we're we're determining as we've been doing this this year and a half long series so far called ask the mayor where he's coming on every month talking as the mayor.

Now he's mayoral candidates.

kind relax little bit nicer to have been on every other month.

And so this month had him on this week talking about his priorities just as mayor.

It was the day before he was going to unveil the budget.

So kind of got a preview there.

It was clear pretty early on that he was very focused on big corporations than paying their fair share rights called the Fair Share budget.

I believe just sort of making sure that he's investing in people.

He talked a lot about CB, I's Community Violence, Interrupters.

>> And just making sure that people understand that he is for then he's investing in infrastructure.

He's investing in parks, Carrying out or wanting to carry out what he started 4 years ago in and wants to let people know that it takes more than 4 years to be able to do the job and do it.

Well.

>> Sophia, you, the mayor also announced a pilot program for new gunshot detection system to replace ShotSpotter.

Remind us how we got here.

It's arraigned sometime.

They're going to be testing out detection program in 6 police districts in the south and West side on this news was shared via a letter by the chief procurement officer to a committee after she failed to appear per the request.

And this has been a demand of it.

You of the Johnson administration's basically shot spotter was removed by him 2 years ago.

I believe at the time he famously called it.

>> Walkie-talkies on the polar all of And now there's just more frustration at scenes from Alders that what the holdup is, why we're now testing.

I mean, the city received a handful of bids, I believe about 18 months ago.

Now.

And funny enough back in spring of 2025.

We're writing about that.

One of those bids came from none other than Tom Father's parent company.

So what what is how is this one different from shot spotter?

What we know about We know very little yet.

I mean, going through bids that came in a while back.

There were, you know, some very standard for mill your concepts, but also some on we're on one's all say there is some involving at use of AI.

If I remember correctly, one involved a app that's everyone would download on their phone.

So they're definitely some interesting options out there that would love that.

nothing can go wrong.

So Alex, there is the 17.6 billion dollar proposed budget that mayor talked about a lot this week, including on Sasha show.

>> New spending new and increased taxes.

What stands out for you?

You know, it was I think had to be the reinstatement of the re, the proposal of the head tax.

I think this time is calling it the.

>> But it will employ or tax that you're sure last year was very similar, but he called it the community safety surcharge.

It is really striking that he would come out with this to raise.

I think around 100 million dollars to that within the budget, especially after more than a month ago, majority of the city council came out and said we will not support any budget that per employee a tax on large businesses.

And I'm reminded, I think of a couple years ago when the mayor first proposed property tax increase and then backed off and he said, well, I just did that to like get people's attention.

It sounds it's a little bit.

I'm reminded of that because it's like kind of an opening salvo and is helps them stay on message ahead of the election.

And also we just put the onus on the city council say here's what I believe in.

If you want to propose something else, if you want to make cuts, if you proposed taxes, you have to do that yourself and wear the jacket for yourself.

I think regardless of whether the City Council approves ahead tax, which I think is a long, long This is clearly a fight that the mayor wants to He wants to be seen as somebody who is standing up for the people of Chicago and saying, look, I'm will open a mental health clinic.

I will expand community violence interruption.

I will make it easier for you to get your trees trend.

And, you know, all sorts of services that people.

>> We know demand and that the city he has said is falling short because it is so cash strapped.

So he wants the election to be, as he has said, Brandon versus the billionaires.

And this is good way of sort making that argument very clear to people.

And also he has gotten a lot of mileage out of what he says is the failure of the quote, unquote corporate caucus on the city council to sort of find enough money to sort replace that money that they took away when they refuse to to prove that tactic had he can that dare those older people to say, OK, do you not want to have more tree trimming a new neighborhoods do not want to have more community violence, intervention and sort of say which one of these specific programs do not want to fund.

And he thinks that he's sort stronger political footing that went Rick, how much more room is there to do the belt tightening that some of these alders who oppose the head tax?

>> Propose right.

not gonna find the money in the couch cushions and how much more can you actually cut?

Well, it depends on what you want to cut.

So the city's certain main bank account is about 6 and a half billion dollars.

Give or take about half of that goes to police to fire to 9-1-1, dispatch.

So if you want to make significant cuts, you have almost no choice but to impact public safety and are there.

>> 0 older people in the city council who want to do that.

Maybe it's probably closer to 0 than 50. so that makes it really hard to caught anything significantly to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars.

So, you there is no property tax hike in this.

Nobody wants to hike property taxes months before an election.

When you're talking about that's crazy talk.

But there are 230 million dollars in new personal property least taxes that the mayor says will mostly be paid by big tech corporations.

Now that tax cuts added when you rent anything in Chicago, a car, furniture, a piece of equipment.

Now, the mayor says that she's not going to raise those taxes on car rentals or film equipment that used produced film productions in Chicago.

But that's a lot of in.

Some people are worried that that's really going to hurt.

The business is in Chicago.

The problem is it's a 0 sum game.

The city has very little ability to raise taxes other than property taxes and East, Texas.

So if you don't want to raise taxes, you got to raise property taxes.

I asked all doing the Coley who's very against the lease tax increase, OK?

don't raise property She did.

Nancy.

Really super excited about that.

Shocker.

Yeah.

Really.

I'm Sasha.

You also got reaction from former Inspector General Joe Ferguson.

Now the head of the Civic Federation about the mayor's budget proposal.

>> What did he have to say?

>> Nothing nice in all things I'm had.

Nothing good to say.

He said this budget proposal does not hit the mark whatsoever.

He talked a lot about how, you just talking about the corporate head tax fort, for instance, how it it's sort of filled with a lot of failed proposals that are being brought up yet again.

Bottom line is he says that this mayor's formula is to spend more and and sort of try to find new sources of money, whereas he should be focused on as Heather was just talking about cutting finding ways to cut brought up.

Toni Preckwinkle said she cut the budget right?

Why can't he do something like that?

And so they had the Civic Federation, 5 criteria that they were looking for a head of this budget proposal and he says he feels on 4 of the 5.

Yeah.

>> He was also Joe Ferguson was also very critical of the mayor's proposal to borrow 481 million dollars to cover the cost of police misconduct And that is astronomical sum.

When you think about it is almost half a billion dollars and it is more than half a million dollars.

When you include the 135 million dollars.

That is in the city's regular budget to cover these lawsuits.

Now, the mayor says that the city will either pay a little bit less snow or more later and that it had, you know, the city has an obligation to sort of make these misconduct cases in these sort of you mouthy you know, write as much as possible.

Will the city council will go for that?

I'm not sure.

It's also not clear how much it will cost the city to borrow that much money because the city has gotten its credit rating downgraded.

Just a couple times a little couple of years.

And that's gonna make it more difficult for the city to sort of generate enough revenue and pay reasonable Elex.

The budget proposal includes a 522 million dollar surplus.

That's from the tax increment financing districts, which is just enough money that cut is just it's almost the same amount that CPS budgeted for which is 270, 80 Million.

>> Coincidence or did CPS just a really good job in estimating what their take of the tip surplus would be?

It's a really good question because this is not usually the way that it works because but CPS has to pass its budget in summer.

And so is why it's become such an issue that they have to.

>> Kind of future cast.

How much has this some that ends up in districts bigger and bigger and bigger?

The expectation of how much surplus the city is going to declare gets bigger and bigger.

And so usually they have to sort of be conservative.

And then like last year, huge deluge.

Your money came down this year.

They got it right on the money and that is good for them in the sense that they were able to meet that aspect of the budget, some of them, I think we're hoping that they would get a greater deluge of money so that they would be able to smooth out that 150 million dollar don't appropriation that.

They said that they were going to get from the state.

So they will still very much be on the line for that.

Yes.

>> Also, Alex, you took a look at what the candidates for school board president.

Think about the future of the tips system.

What you learned there.

You know, it's not something that is on the top of candidates minds.

It's not something that interestingly enough candidates are eager to really talk about of reforming this.

>> Really big, complicated, messy system.

But it's really important because this is ultimately property tax money that is going to want to go into CPS if it were not for these districts.

So they had some different ideas.

Jessica big said, you know, maybe we should model tips more like the transit tips which sort of hold CPS, harmless in that that money just goes.

gets taken from other agencies but not CPS.

Hilario Dominguez served in lockstep with the CTU said see declaring some surplus is just sort of a stopgap for now when the real solution at the end of the day is to get the evidence base funding from state.

And Victor Henderson, basically just said, I'm going get together with everyone in try to come up with a solution because ultimately it's going to be a matter of this is something that binds Chicago public schools to the city.

And as CBS becomes this independent political entity, it could become a forum for more infighting and sort of grappling over this money in tips are also going to go away in some years.

Many of them are expiring.

And what over the course of the next 10 years, most of them are going to expire.

And that's if the city council and the mayor did not extend that, which they have done in the past and >> that sort of winding down in slow motion.

The fact that the question is should be or could it be done faster?

So if you've been following multiple cases of alleged assault at the University of Chicago, whats been happening there.

Yes, to this week we heard another woman stepped forward and say she was sexually assaulted.

A University of Chicago fraternity house.

She's now suing the fraternity.

>> This incident actually happened back in February of this year.

The woman said she showed up at a party at Alpha Delta Phi House near campus was given a shot of alcohol and immediately began to feel easy, according to the lawsuits.

And a police report indicates that she fears that Trump may have also leased.

And now this moment is not a student at the University of Chicago.

The her alleged assailant is, but she's been routinely checking in with the University on disciplinary proceedings and has yet to hear anything.

She also went straight to Chicago police hours after this alleged assault occurred.

File the report completed a rape kit as well as toxicology testing.

But now months later, that investigation is still pending.

So she's hopeful this lawsuit will prompt some action on behalf of the university as well as some accountability from this fraternity.

Loyola also saw some protests over their handling of assault reports as well.

What's going on?

That's right.

I think speaks to the larger sort of national reckoning we're in right now around the issue of campus, assaults these Loyola protests actually stemmed from a lawsuit filed about 4 years ago that alleged the university and mishandled several cases of assault on campus.

And so students coming for now to speak out.

Those lawsuits are still pending so well is yet to speak on that.

But it kind of speaks what we're seeing around the country on you, Chicago.

We're starting to see a bit more sun is going a bit more vocal.

I would say.

But I will add the universities in a bit of an odd position.

There.

And in terms of their ability to discipline just due to the fact that both of these recent cases involved accusers were not students.

There.

Get complicated quickly.

Sasha.

You talk to some experts on assault prevention on your show this week as well.

What they have to say about this nationwide focus on campus, Greg, because as you know, it comes on the heels of the chatter going back from court now 7.

And so as Sophie alluded to there, and in the case of you, Chicago.

>> There's a jurisdiction issue.

They're right.

Is it who's responsible?

is accountability?

Look like we talked with imaging attorney from the Chicago Alliance Against Exploitation and she kind of talked about how that not only muddies the waters, but also the changes to title 9 by President Trump.

Right.

So, you doing things like changing the definition of harassment.

Now it makes it much harder for someone to come forward and file a case such also, you know, assault happening off campus now don't have to report that.

don't have to schools don't have to address that.

They can choose to, but they're no longer required as they were before.

So it's it's just making things a lot more difficult.

And we are seeing, as you saw in the case with Loyola folks or bring it back up again because it doesn't seem like there's much progress being made in that in that case, right when it comes to coming forward and reporting something, a series of assault.

We seem to be going backwards.

Heather as someone who got to watch the Senate t Tw is between on trees, you you're not a road and makes you very much in the mail fall.

What were your takeaways?

Well, I thought it was interesting that John Tracy really came prepared to attack Juliana Stratton as a socialist and Juliana Stratton.

>> Did not engage with it at all.

She didn't bother to deny it.

She didn't say, yep.

I sure am.

She just said I you know, let's move on.

Let's actually what I want to talk about is President Donald Trump.

And, you know, it was, you know, sort of very clear that both candidates unserved come prepared for what they wanted to say.

I was I was really struck by how Don Tracy tried to sort of navigate that whole situation because he said, you know, he hasn't been endorsed by the president.

In fact, the president today endorsed Aaron Bailey for Illinois governor and Mary Miller for reelection to Congress does not endorse Don Tracy.

He said, you know, if the president wanted to and or some of the fine he'd accepted, but he wasn't seeking it.

And, you know, a sort of said, well, you know, maybe the president's going, you know, doing okay, like maybe Iran did have a nuclear weapon maybe that meant averted World War 3.

I don't know.

I I don't have classified information maybe it's actually a good thing that, you know, food assistance is being cut because, you know, maybe that will encourage people to get jobs, you know, who knows him make the tariffs will actually, you know, pay off.

And in the long run, I think it was just a clear example of how difficult it is right now for Republicans.

>> To sort navigate between the president and sort of what they're hearing from people who, you know, are very concerned about the price of gasoline prices, diesel in the price of food.

>> And not really having anything to sort of offer voters when the president continues to insist that the economy is great.

Everything's great.

And, you know, I guess rainbows and puppy started just around the corner for us.

All it I'm excited.

I'm Sasha.

Early voting in the November election opened in all 50 Ward's.

us that all 50 states offer foot races.

Are you I'm watching Well, I'm I'm keeping an eye on that.

I'm sorry.

The versus Tracy.

It got its.

I can't take my eyes but I'm also really focus on the school board like the seats, the district seats.

Yes, lot of energy in those races.

A lot of people who are really passionate about wanting to do something different for kids and >> really set them up for success.

And so looking district 06:00PM in the Brownsville area shot.

Now the couple of people in I just kinda want to see how this ends is the first fully elected I was It's a moment Chicago never been able to elect their school or members before Tuesday.

And I think that.

>> How that all sort of plays out going to be really under kind of say is very, very cool.

I think obviously the big races, the school board president rainstorm, it's turned into a proxy fight between the Chicago teachers Union and the service employee International Union.

Jessica, things being endorsed by SEIU and Alario Demandas endorsed by CTU.

I think a lot of people will be looking at that contest to see which sort of progressive union has juice and the ability to get their voters to the polls and how that might play off in the mayoral race course.

Each use behind their former organizer, Brandon Johnson.

While SEIU was broken from Marin endorsed looks So people quick, what races are you keeping an eye on?

I'm very excited about the school board as well just reminiscing with someone that has a CPS along.

I think as far back as my memory can go.

Now I remember the demands for the school board.

So now that this is happening >> at 30 is coming concept to me and I will quickly plug be incredible voter guide that was put out by sometime busy as well as talking Chicago and Block Club Chicago that has all the information that we're looking for, school board that you could need even as someone who's seeing this for many years.

There's still a lot to understand even with the various Abcd 5, 6, 7 But yeah, we'll be watching that as well as it'll be interesting to see while the state winds here may not be getting a ton of attention in some of our neighboring states is going to be some really highly watched races.

You know that socialism argument extending far beyond Illinois.

So we'll be seeing what's happening over in Michigan.

Ohio seconds left that reported that Cook County is looking at extending their contract with Tyler Technologies.

That is the company that is behind the Cook County's property tax system, which we know has had some problems.

county of other options here.

Not really.

And that was the problem.

They were all very upset.

They said we absolutely hate this company.

They've been a nightmare to deal with and essentially they have nowhere else to turn.

And only ones who can do it.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, this deep into the process and it's actually been no reported by any quick.

The Tribune and David Jackson at that and just watch this great.

>> Investigation into the fact that that's essentially there business formula is to get so embedded within governments that they have no way out make themselves invaluable.

Irreplaceable.

Alright, that is all the time that we have for all of the news this much so much news.

Our thanks to Heather Sharon, Sophie, Sherry.

>> Sasha and Simons and Alex Nic in and we're back to wrap things up right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexander and John Nichols fate.

The Joyce Foundation.

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support these donuts.

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

If you missed our U.S.

Senate for him earlier this week with Juliana Stratton and on Tracy, you can watch it on our W T Tw YouTube channel.

You can also watch it right here on W T Tw tomorrow at 05:00PM.

Now for the weekend review.

I'm Brandis Friedman, thank you for watching.

Stay healthy, stay safe and informed and have a great weekend >> okay.

So real quick foundry part.

The construction crews finally broke ground supposed to Lincoln Yards no longer Lincoln Year and Snow Foundry Park.

And that's about half the size of what Lincoln Yards was supposed to be.

But he's still getting pull a cool 200 million dollars in city subsidies to build the roads over what was once all that protest steel around even been able to look, not going to more and more like a still yet up to that.

but it's again just for it.

>> They love to make a decision just for the public is around, you know, right and the infrastructure, the mark screen, space United history of road.

You know, everybody was and there were mustaches after captioning made possible by Robert.

A clip from and Clifford law offices, Chicago personal injury and wrongful death.

>> supports inclusionary