Thursday, July 16, 2026

Chicago’s air quality today is among the worst in the world. The candidates for Illinois governor show a stark contrast in campaign spending as they face off for the second time. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has less than $1 million in the bank roughly two weeks before candidates for mayor start collecting signatures to get on the ballot. Plus, layoff notices went out to more than 1500 Chicago Public School staffers yesterday. This includes nearly 800 teachers. The cash-strapped district plans to furlough staff for five days when students aren’t in class to save money. This is part of the budget plan for the school year that starts next month, and the deficit is $732 million.