Author: Voxtrend News
MIAMI — A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Thursday halting further expansion and ordering the winding down of an immigration detention center built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” that advocates said violated environmental laws. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ injunction formalized a temporary halt she had ordered two weeks ago as witnesses continued to testify in a multiday hearing to determine whether construction should end until the ultimate resolution of the case. The state of Florida filed a notice of appeal Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued. “The deportations will continue…
Well. Goodbye for now. The Tribune has eliminated the position of film critic, as part of a newsroom reorganization. This leaves me with two options: stick around for reassignment or take a buyout. I’m voting buyout. I’m opting in for opting out. After six newspapers in Minneapolis; Dallas; San Diego; St. Paul, Minneapolis; Los Angeles and Chicago, and 41 fulltime years in this beautiful, vanishing subset of journalism, it feels right. Forty-one years, plus six years of freelancing my way through college. Call it 47. Forty-seven years of writing, editing, gobbling research like the grad student I never was; 47…
A 27-year-old woman who was fatally wounded Thursday night in a double shooting in the Garfield Park neighborhood has been identified, officials said. Shortly after 10:45 p.m., officers responded to a call of two people shot in the 3900 block of West Gladys Avenue and discovered two victims, a 27-year-old woman and a man age 26. Both victims were outside when someone approached on foot and opened fire in their direction, police said. The woman suffered multiple wounds to the body, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where she was pronounced dead. She was identified as Tia Bell of…
When I enrolled at Chicago State University, I was an adult student with three children; I worked while finishing my degree. I needed flexibility and a community that believed in my potential. CSU gave me that and changed my life forever. That is why I believe President Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott’s ambitious University Village 95 plan needs to become a reality. As one of the commuter students described in the editorial “Can Chicago State University build a vibrant community a la University of Chicago in Hyde Park?” (Aug. 11), I can tell you that traveling 20 miles round trip to class…
The Tinley Park Oktoberfest is canceled this year due to rising costs, according to Jame Holt, president of the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce, the event’s organizer. The Chamber said the cancellation was a difficult decision but ultimately the best course of action. The September celebration has featured authentic beer, brats, music, German dancing and carnival rides, turning the parking lot along 80th Avenue and the Metra Train into a resemblance of Munich, Germany for three days. Holt said costs to run and properly secure the event this year became unsustainable for the Chamber’s volunteer organization, despite the event’s popularity.…
The Chicago White Sox kept chipping away. They entered the eighth inning trailing the Minnesota Twins by four runs. A bases-loaded walk to Miguel Vargas and RBI singles from Kyle Teel and Lenyn Sosa brought the team within one run. Colson Montgomery came up with the bases still loaded and one out. He worked a full count against reliever Justin Topa and then hit a popup in foul territory down the left-field line. Twins third baseman Royce Lewis made a catch, turned and fired home to throw out Vargas at the plate for an inning-ending double play. “It was on…
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate gave final approval to a new, Republican-leaning congressional voting map early Saturday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature. President Donald Trump has pushed for the map to help the GOP maintain its slim majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. It has five new districts that would favor Republicans. Abbott, a Republican, is expected to quickly sign it into law, though Democrats have vowed to challenge it in court. The effort by Trump and Texas’ Republican-majority Legislature prompted state Democrats to hold a two-week walkout and kicked off a wave…
Illinois election officials are weighing whether to comply with a demand from Republican President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice to turn over by Sept. 1 the state’s full voter registration list, including voters’ birth dates, driver’s license numbers, signatures and partial Social Security numbers. The Labor Day deadline, sent to Illinois State Board of Elections officials via email Thursday, marks an escalation of a conflict that’s been brewing between state and federal officials since the Civil Rights Division of Trump’s Justice Department in late July requested the voter data and a laundry list of other information on Illinois elections and…
During Wafaa Bilal’s childhood in Kufa, Iraq, his parents held one rule above all others: Do not, under any circumstances, talk about the regime. The young artist and his friends wondered if the walls had ears. So, they devised a workaround. They would gather at the middle of the intersection in their neighborhood, tell each other the latest joke about Saddam Hussein’s government, then dash away. Bilal, 59, now thinks of those meetups as an “underground comedy club.” “We understood how to deal with oppression through laughter,” he said. “That was a form of empowerment.” The traveling standup show “Amreeka”…
Dear Eric: My father’s side has always hosted holiday meals. We are all in our 60s and 70s. My parents are gone, and kids are in their 20s and 30s. My cousin has taken over and puts on a great celebration. With Covid and the death of her mother she did not host/invite us, which hurt our feelings because we enjoyed the time to see everyone. I reached out in 2023 to see if we offended someone, she said no and invited us all over. She did not in 2024. Again, hurt feelings. While I am not going to reach…