HoosLeft This Week 8/10/25

Indiana Stories Around the Corn (Quick Headlines) * Vance Pushes Redistricting (tease One Big Thing) * Vance met privately with Braun and others at the Indiana Capitol on Thursday. * O’Rourke Visits Indiana * O'Rourke held a town hall in Indianapolis Sunday as part of a nationwide tour. * Indiana agencies outline spending cuts in pursuit of 5% reserve * Indiana’s state agencies are slowly earning approval for their plans to save money after being hit with effective 10% spending cuts amid a tough budget cycle. * A grim May revenue forecast prompted lawmakers to cut most agency appropriations by 5% in the latest biennial budget — and authorize the State Budget Agency to withhold another 5%. * Agencies were forced to describe how they’ll meet that target in “strategic spending reduction plans” due at the end of June. The first batch of plans got the green light last week. * FSSA plans aggressive new budget method to control growing Medicaid Costs * In 2023, the state contributed nearly $3 billion, or just over 16% of FSSA’s $18 billion budget. The $4 billion in 2025 was nearly 21% of the $20 billion budget. * But, going forward, the agency will work backwards by assuming the state would only contribute 2%, shrinking the overall budget. * The Indianapolis City-County Council is one step closer to shortening curfew hours for young people in downtown Indianapolis * At a meeting Wednesday night, the city’s Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee passed an amended version of the curfew proposal, which now heads to the full City-County Council with a recommendation to pass. * State law allows moving curfew hours by up to two hours when conditions necessitate it for public safety, but it’s only a temporary measure. The proposed public safety curfew hours are designed to expire after 120 days unless the council takes further action. * The state already has a statewide curfew. The proposal would begin the curfew two hours earlier in Marion County. The curfew for youth 15- to 17-year-olds would be between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and between 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday. * Former Porter Co jail officer charged with trafficking contraband to inmate * Johnny Maynor III has been charged with trafficking with an inmate involving a controlled substance, a Level 5 felony; official misconduct, a Level 6 felony; and misdemeanor trafficking with an inmate, according to the Porter County Sheriff’s Office. * Blackout License Plate * Drivers in Indiana with a darker fashion sense can now get a license plate to match. The Hoosier State has joined Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota and others in offering blacked-out plates as an alternative to more traditional designs. “Speedway Slammer” * Ice to hold 1,000 detainees in Indiana after deal with state’s prison system * ICE will be housing detainees at the Miami correctional center, a prison run by the Indiana department of corrections. The move is part of the US government’s rapid expansion of immigration jails after Donald Trump’s sweeping spending bill allotted roughly $170bn to Ice, an extraordinary sum making the agency the most heavily funded law enforcement department within the federal government. * IMS owner asks Homeland Security to stop using IndyCar in 'Speedway Slammer' plans * “We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of (the Aug. 5) announcement,” Penske Entertainment said in a statement provided to IndyStar. “Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.” * The company, which announced the sale of a 33% stake to Fox Corp. last week, fell short of publicly demanding any sort of retraction or issuing a formal cease-and-desist order to prevent future use of either the car imagery or the use of “speedway.” * Of note, in October 2019, just over a week before he formally announced the purchase of the assets that would become Penske Entertainment, Roger Penske received the medal of freedom from President Donald Trump during the latter’s first term. * Trump administration stands by 'Speedway Slammer' branding for ICE detention * a DHS spokesperson told IndyStar that the Trump administration has no plans to change its marketing. * “An AI generated image of a car with 'ICE' on the side does not violate anyone’s intellectual property rights. Any suggestion to the contrary is absurd," reads the statement, issued Aug. 6. "DHS will continue promoting the ‘Speedway Slammer’ as a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combatting illegal immigration.” Beckwith Scandal Factory Keeps Pushing Out Hits * Beckwith faces backlash over immigration remarks * "(Undocumented immigrants) don't have a right to see a judge. They're here illegally," Beckwith said in Vigo County on Monday. * "The 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 protection of refugees, they both require us to provide people with an opportunity to present their case," [director of legal services for Indy's Exodus Refugee Immigration organization, Rachel] Van Tyle said. * While undocumented immigrants don't have a guaranteed right to stay in the U.S., the Constitution does guarantee them due process under the law. * "No person shall... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," reads in part the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. * "So, when the Japanese were bombing Pearl Harbor, did we give them due process to actually see a judge?" Beckwith asked the crowd. "They invaded our country." * "Illegal migrants who have broken our laws and crossed into our country illegally do not receive Constitutional Due Process rights merely for being on our soil. If that were true that means if Russia invaded Alaska Russian soldiers would be required to receive Constitutional rights also. This is absurd. Constitutional rights are not bestowed upon individuals simply because their feet are on our soil. * Indiana GOP roiled as top officials accused of watching lewd AI video of lawmaker's wife * Beckwith’s Senior Advisor Erin Sheridan Abruptly Terminated * On [Aug 1], Sheridan was abruptly terminated after refusing a request to resign. “I was never written up, reprimanded, or told there were any performance issues,” Sheridan told Indy Politics. “I was simply asked to resign. I said no. And then I was fired.” * Sheridan, a longtime Republican operative with deep ties in legislative circles, had been one of Beckwith’s most visible and engaged staffers. But behind the scenes, sources say, tensions were growing between professional governance and performative politics. When asked why she hadn’t come forward with allegations of internal dysfunction, Sheridan offered this: * “I did report all the wrongdoings and advised them to abide by policies. But they wanted someone who was willing to shake the boat—and he’ll have a church pay his ethics fines.” * Top staff for Indiana’s lieutenant governor played a video showing [State Rep. Craig Haggard (R-HD57)]’s wife seemingly topless, apparently using an AI program to alter the woman’s real performance at a state talent show hosted on April 9. * Gregg Puls, the deputy chief of staff and chief ethics officer to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, and Devin Norrick, a lawyer on contract with the office, watched the deepfake video of the lawmaker’s wife in the lieutenant governor’s statehouse office on April 10 and laughed, according to the people familiar with the incident. * A second person familiar with the video described concerns raised among women on Beckwith’s staff about repeated comments made in the lieutenant governor’s office by Puls about the breasts of other staffers and the lawmaker’s wife and urged one of Beckwith’s staffers to file a formal complaint. The second person familiar with the events inside the lieutenant governor’s office characterized it as sexual harassment. * Marion County Prosecutor Investigating * Gov. Mike Braun addressed the issue with reporters Tuesday afternoon, saying “each state office is … going to have to do its own accountability. If it were in my office, there would be quick gett… This is a public episode. 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