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

I'm Nick Lumber, Water Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and many of his agents reportedly on the way out of Chicago.

But not before they stopped for a tourist photo op.

Greg Bovino is a snowflake.

The people of Chicago deserve better than having CBP.

>> And break the vino this city Block Club.

Chicago captures immigration agents as they pose for a photo in front of the Bean and mock one of Chicago's Latino strongholds.

>> Meanwhile, a teacher pulled from her day care is released from custody and hundreds more detainees could be too.

>> It isn't just a question whether or not people need food they need long before the events of the ship year.

>> A snap benefits are set to flow after the longest government shutdown in U.S.

History comes to an end with Democrats, including Senator Durbin breaking ranks.

I've said this from the very beginning.

It's my values that I don't negotiate.

The details.

We can work through Chicago's Marathon City budget hearings, wrap up with no easy solutions in sight.

And the Chicago Public schools watchdog flags out of control, spending on travel.

>> And now to our week in review panel.

Joining us are Rob Heart with WBBM Newsradio Syed with Chicago Tribune.

Michael with WBEZ and Colin Boyle with Block Club.

Chicago, thank you all for being here.

Let's get into it.

Rob's.

We've got reports now that Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino is moving on what we know in the way of details.

He is on his way.

He's in West Virginia, I believe on his way to Charlotte, North Carolina.

>> Now, this does not mean that operation Midway Blitz is over by any stretch of the imagination.

The Department of Homeland Security says these enforcement operations will continue, but perhaps nowhere near as theatrically as a they have been taking place in Chicago since late September.

was very much a PR operation as much as it was and immigration enforcement operation as evidence by the up group class photo in front of cloud gate this weekend where the where the people said smiled and said Little Village which can in administration where the president was got his start as a social media troll.

Now everything is social media trolling.

We saw that this week and called my friend.

You are the one that captured that down at Millennium Park.

What was the what was the scene like down there?

Yeah.

So it was the morning after the big snowfall.

And we've got the exclusive on this and I was already going to be out that morning anyway, chasing down weather features like any news photographer does so got there early morning.

People are shoveling and snow falling around a new sky news reports.

Cloud gate.

The being as we know it.

So finally as and just before 07:00AM I noticed a bunch of unmarked and window tinted large vehicles turn to buzz around Millennium Park.

And so water is Monroe.

And I saw the entire street between Columbus and Michigan full and and with unmarked cars with Border Patrol agents in them.

So just before 07:00AM or actually just right after 7 and they all port out in their green fatigues, some had large guns.

Some had dogs with them and then told Wesa was Chief Craig Vino.

And so they all marched over to the bean avoiding to slip on the ice from the snow that had just fallen and they all were kind of cracking jokes about watching out for ICE, which was a little too on the nose there come immigration situation here in the city and they all stood outside of the bean, took their photos and one Asian yelled out every once a little village.

And you heard the most a little village, which came less than 48 hours after a large standoff with neighbors in the Little Village neighborhood that agents had go into time and time again to conduct immigration raids and basically caravan through there multiple times leading to stand out a few neighbors and Border Patrol agents and you had a little bit of an interaction with you know, himself.

What was that like?

Yeah.

So I know that he told the Tribune last week that he likes the press.

We like we love the press what he said and so when I asked him for an interview similar to the Tribune had navigated that last week.

He told me that he doesn't enjoy block of Chicago's coverage.

She calls Chicago's Liars club ends if you are and then town person, you know, that liars club is actually a punk dive bar heart of Lincoln Park and not a newspaper.

>> But that's a heck of a fact.

Check group by its Yeah.

So that was an interesting interaction.

He kind of grilled me on our coverage and asked why we don't cover anything about the good that they be do in the neighborhoods in Chicago here to get a whole lot of information out of him that would help build out of stronger story there.

So, yeah.

It was a very terse and back and forth.

Conversation leaders are in speaking of into this calling out Little village, heavy enforcement, heavy presence there.

You've been reporting on the effects, you know, in in neighborhoods like that, folks staying away from from community gathering spots, places like restaurants.

Tell us about absolute I think little village has been hit so hard and restaurant specifically in Little Village Pilsen neighborhood stat see a predominantly immigrant community.

>> They're dealing with a situation now where employees are fearful and nervous just to walk to work for fear that they might get targeted based on the color of their skin based on the appearance that they have a lonely job and customers are also waiting restaurants for those very reasons.

So it's becoming a situation for restaurant specifically where they're in financial distress right now.

And and and I think especially immigrant communities like that are just dealing with so much things like this just don't help at all.

>> Yeah, obviously restaurant operating on very thin margins to begin with.

Will Michael, that the teacher who was pulled from a Northside daycare has been released and a federal judge seems poised to release hundreds of others as well.

But, you know, there's been some reporting that it might be a race against time since a lot of detainees have have been deported or, you know, left the country on their own.

That's right.

And you got to wonder what was this all about?

I mean, they were targeting people without warrants without due process.

>> Much of it seems like it system in where they they just wanted to create fear.

Want to get people know that that you were talking about.

We hear stories about numbers that sort I sort of number that the immigration have to arrest people.

So they were really I they were kind of haphazard.

It's and there really affecting a lot of people's livelihoods and Yeah, of course, there was just some reporting from from the Tribune today that about 2 and a half percent or so of folks actually.

>> We're the serious criminals that we heard.

Officials say they were going after rub this week.

We also saw the the 6 folks charged in that protest outside the Broadview facility plead not guilty.

Were you surprised to see them hit with with conspiracy charges for what they're saying is just sort of a spontaneous demonstration?

Well, I'm no attorney.

So I can't really tell you if the if the if the charges warranted or not, but it speaks to a larger issue, which is just the fog of confusion that existed not only around some of the protests that existed outside the broadview facility, but also when you saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement going to the neighborhoods.

>> Wear it the tear gas is out and who started what and why and the and the real issue here for the 6, including a candidate for Congress was they were accused of boxing in a government vehicle and allegedly vandalizing that government vehicle and the people who are accused and charged.

They said that no, they try to run us over.

So there's once again speaks to the the fog of confusion that exists around just a lot of the events that have taken place over the past 2 months.

Yeah, it certainly some of the the aggressive tactics that agents have used, including with with their vehicles at their disposal.

We know Colin, the governor and the mayor then hitting back against President Trump whose claims that.

>> Midway blitz led to a drop in crime, which of course it was on its way down anyway.

He he name checked the failing Miracle Mile.

He means the Magnificent Mile.

But Black Lab reported, you know, Michigan Avenue downtown, actually on the upswing.

Yeah, that's something my colleague Melody Mercado has been reporting on for years.

I remember working on a story with her literally 2 years ago about how Mag mile as having this big comeback and I grew up in the city.

I remember Mag mile and of all its glamour glitz.

But that was before you do online sales and online shops and company 90 again and and of course, COVID-19.

But it has had this really interesting resurgence.

We're seeing new.

Concepts coming to Mag mile that you about before and it, you know, vacancies are on the downside.

And it's sure maybe having its own miracle in a way of coming back to life post COVID but no into thing too.

About going back to the claims about crime coming down.

That's something that the mayor, if I remember correctly, he was on a big media tour about that at the end of the summer saying we're having the most peaceful year since 1965. remember, if I remember correctly, so this has been in effect for.

Way longer than Midway Miracle mile.

I think the president was just remembering Billy Joel Eriksson, but that's by could be raw the subjective magnificent mile vacancies.

that's something that we have covered extensively on the new business hour.

>> And get when counters have a couple good point are back in the heyday of the mag mile in the 90's, Nike town, the Sony store, the Disney store.

That was an event to go shopping.

Yeah, I water Tower place.

The anchor store was Marshall Fields and that is an era that is gone.

And Colin points out its experiences now, it's the Harry Potter experiences.

The friends experience.

It's the world's largest Starbucks.

It's the Big Magic show coming to wear Lowry's.

mean, it's it's it's at the theme park.

Let's not so much as a shopping district.

it's sort follows on people like, you know, to do, though, to have the sort of experiences and go and take a picture.

And if it's bringing in, you tax revenue that's bringing in business.

that's not necessarily the worst thing, even if it is just.

>> Sort of an Instagram plants brought with well.

You know, Michael, the country just commemorated Veterans Day this week.

You covered a rally where some that's made clear they were not happy with this administration's direction.

Tell us about that.

Absolutely.

There was about anywhere from 2 to 300 veterans help putting are ready rally.

>> At the Vietnam War Memorial in downtown Chicago right after right after the Chicago River.

>> They speaking out about ICE and Border Patrol, but they were also talking about these deep cuts.

>> With the veteran administration and we know earlier this year, there are plans to scale back up to or let go 80,000 employees.

That was whittled down to 30,000.

Another VA say, well, that's not going to hamper services to veterans.

But some of the people who were speaking there, they said otherwise they're worrying about just care for veterans at the VA centers and so they let their voices known that they're very concerned about reduce health care benefits and everything for veterans.

And of course, the VA is an agency that's face staffing shortages and budget cuts for years and years.

So it's not necessarily a new concern.

>> You know, there was also the remarkable step this week seeing the U.S.

Conference of Catholic bishops coming out against mass deportations, including Chicago's own Cardinal Cupich.

you surprised to see them come out so strongly?

I'm not surprised a little surprised that it came out little bit like kind of 2 law in fight.

And you got to consider a number of Latinos who are being targeted by eyes are Catholic themselves.

Those having an impact.

I attended that church is if you can't get those people into the pews and donations go down and everything like that.

>> So this is their main constituency latino's for the county, church.

And so I'm not surprised that they came out this strong.

I am a little surprised that it took this long.

Yeah.

Well, sometimes to an institution with that many folks can take a while to get them moving in the same direction.

>> All right.

Well, after the longest shutdown in the nation's history, the federal government reopen this week.

Robbery surprised to see Senator Durbin is one of the Democrats who voted to to reopen without anything more than a handshake deal on these health care subsidies?

Not really because one Senator Durbin is retiring at the end of his term and also the off year elections in New Jersey and Virginia and California and elsewhere.

>> Probably change the math when it came to the political considerations behind prolonging the shutdown, the numerous polls that have suggested as the shutdown got longer that the Trump administration was you're bearing the brunt of the responsibility and congressional leadership was bearing the brunt of the responsibility.

So essentially Democrats made their point.

That is what has led the Durbin line of thinking is Democrats made their point.

The voters in Virginia and New Jersey voted on a number of issues.

One of which was the shutdown week ago on Tuesday and drag this out longer people get hurt.

People are going without their snap benefits.

You could see chaos at the airports on Thanksgiving because air traffic controllers, they already missed 2 paychecks and some are turning to Uber somewhere decided to retire.

And if that went on longer than both sides get.

bear, the brunt of the blame on as far as Durbin and the other 7 Democrats, they saw I'm tuna to declare victory and move on.

And I know predictions are a dangerous game.

But if you look into your crystal ball, do you think we are going to see a vote to preserve these health care subsidies?

Could you talk about folks wearing up on their SNAP benefits?

There's also the concern that people are going to be paying massive health care bills with evaporates.

When once again, look at the election early of last Tuesday.

New York, Virginia New Jersey, everyone voting on affordability.

The affordability issue swept Donald Trump in a year ago because people are upset about inflation.

Prices have not gone down.

And if the price of your health care continues to rise, that's another potent political issue.

Well, you know, rain that part of the fallout from this long shut down with, you know, the issue of food, insecurity, federal workers not getting paid people not getting their snap benefits.

Tell us about what some some local restaurants have been doing to try to fill in the gaps Yeah.

So there's a number of local restaurants, more than a dozen that have been offering free meals.

>> To SNAP beneficiaries that hadn't seen of Allen show up in their on their snap Bbt debit card.

A lot of restaurants had sort of a targeted approach where it was like through November.

16th, some through November 20th because that's when the Illinois Department of Human Services had said that all residents, all snap participants will have their full benefits restored some restaurants are saying let's just go all the way to the end of the month.

Just because because of the delays, because some people had only receive partial payments that that's a safety net that's definitely needed right now in these times.

Yeah, there was sort of range of things in there.

I mean, we in terms of how much they got paid When you talk with these restaurant owners as I mentioned earlier, very, very slim margins.

What was it that motivated these folks to try to take action I above all, it's just community and >> it is the hospitality industry.

And I think they're showing up as they have done time and time again.

We saw this during COVID.

>> COVID-19 and how they banded together and support of the community and helping them being fed.

And and what I've heard from a lot of restaurant owners is that a lot of the costs for the free meals were out of their own pockets.

They didn't necessarily have a budget built out for people that didn't have snap benefits for that month or that week.

And in a lot of customers also are just so generous and had been asking, can we donate money?

So they you could extend these free meals beyond just the that were previously planned.

So it's just a combination of just people feeling helpless, I think because of so much that's going on and trying to do what they can do, some their power.

I mean, Colin is is there any mention states says the SNAP recipients should get their full benefits by November.

20th.

It's funded through next September.

>> But you have to imagine a lot of folks are pretty anxious about those benefits lapsing again.

I mean, with this administration, I think the word anxious and anxiety kind of >> throughout.

I mean, you don't know.

You can't really rely on this all coming in the next to see Chicagoans really show up like stream is saying just like in COVID just like in the same way that people were biking, too vendors and vendors and buying out their food is something about the Chicago community coming through in a moment of anxiety a moment of uncertainty that is uniquely too.

You the fact of the city you're Chicago is great.

Yeah.

Take on this Your take the we some space.

Well, speaking of part of the fun of the city of Chicago, Rob, the two-week slog of budget here hangs has come to an end.

Does it sound like older people anywhere close to a deal on this budget?

The hearings will continue until this law doesn't approve that's the moto today.

>> it was a year ago on this program tonight, just like tonight, we were talking about the last budget impasse, the possibility it may very well go up to the December 31st.

Deadline.

>> If not longer, they still have to close that 1.1, 9 billion dollar budget deficit.

And right now a lot of the proposals appear dead on arrival.

The head tax which was originally proposed.

$21 per employee above 100 employees revised to 200 employees.

That seems to be landing with a thud at City Council.

lot of aldermen are wondering if we're going to start asking to raise revenue, raising taxes here there and everywhere.

Why are we doing more to address the recommendations in the are stunned young report and make more cuts before asking to raise more money.

So 2 weeks hearings have not really produced a result as of yet.

So it's back to the old drawing board.

You have to imagine the mayor and his team are eager to avoid the kind of fight that we were talking about last year where, you know, our friends who cover City Hall day in and day out, we're wondering, are we going to have to cancel, you know, our yes, you have.

I mean, you would imagine there's going to be some some scrambling in the in the coming days to get something done.

But I don't know if there's a clear path forward necessarily, not really, you know, get it's never over until it's over.

It's like the government shutdown would seem like something that could easily drag on for months.

>> And then all of a sudden an agreement comes together and people vote and then it's in the past.

Well, you know, I mean talking about that, that report from the consultants with these big cost savings.

You know, Michael, we heard some from the mayor's budget team saying, well, there aren't necessarily any quick fixes, but we can make all the structural changes and we're gonna get these cost savings, you know, years and years down the road.

But if you're an older person talking to an angry constituent or business owner, that kind of a tough message to sell.

Of you know.

But what do you got to pick your poison Going to cut services, which we know.

>> Residents, Chicago do not like or raise those taxes or maybe get, you know, creativity, which taxes you raise.

But either way, they're gonna have to figure how like Rob was saying 1.1 billion dollar shortfall, how they're going to get there.

It's tough.

But, you know, it's kind of refreshing to actually talk about news and these budget fights, then then raise.

you know, I got to say from my perspective to little profession, well, and it's interesting, too, because it's not exactly the budget days of say a Mayor, Daley or a mayor Emanuel, where you were told this is what you'll be voting on, whether you like it or not.

There's actual negotiations going in the fields better than where we were a year ago where we literally did not know if we're going to going into Christmas yet.

So I feel having spent so many days at City Hall, even this is a photographer.

I'm >> feel a little bit better being there today than where it was a year ago where meetings are cut off, abruptly due uproar confusion.

All right.

We're rooting for is don't get offended.

All right.

The reason we got a report this week from the CPS inspector general on some, shall we say, questionable travel expenses.

Tell us about that.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

I think it was such a striking report that came out this week.

>> So the Office of the inspector general of CPS investigated high amounts of spending by CPS employees and staff.

the investigation started after a complaint that and elementary school had spent $20,000 on a trip to Egypt using a travel agency.

and, yeah, exactly.

And so if that's where it started and CPS had not approved that that specific plan or that travel once they found out about that, they canceled that trip.

But the investigation led to a number of different finding.

So the it later found that 8 CPS schools had spent more than $142,000 and district funds on trips to Egypt.

Finland, Estonia, South Africa for professional development and school visits.

And the report does note that some trips did have.

A professional development value to them for sure.

They were.

But there are a lot of other outstanding, like unscheduled activities that were happening like hot air balloon rides in wildlife Safaris.

1, 1, finding that was also very striking So there's a there's a professional development.

Some the happens in Las Vegas between the years 2022 in 2024, it was an oblique 600 CPS employees had flock to this seminar.

And when that same conference was held in Chicago or virtually, it was a handful of employees that participated.

Sure.

That's just a coating weeds.

Findings like that.

And I think it's even more shocking is because CBS is currently going through bit of a budget crisis in just this summer.

They laid off hundreds of support staff, whether it's custodians and cafeteria workers crossing guards you know, essential support staff that is helping students in their day-to-day.

that was to close a 734 million dollar deficit in the budget.

So your taxpayer and the district, it is definitely a head scratcher to see this report come out.

Yeah, Michael, you were just mentioning some of the reporting you've done CPS, you know, staffers and you know, they saying there that they can't get by on what their that's right.

Deiah a lunchroom employees having a protest.

>> Outside of CPS headquarters downtown just like a week saying that they, you know, they they want a livable wage, a making like, what, 15, $16 an hour.

>> That's not enough over the we see this report.

But people going on these lavish trips with the no idea that it's going to benefit education isn't really yeah.

I mean, they should go back to wonder, is this going to benefit the students in my classroom?

And chances are probably going.

But the good trip?

Don't go to Finland.

Just wait for the northern lights to come to Going to be here anyway.

Shot this All right.

About 30 seconds left.

But those really heard the mayor saying that.

>> The CPS CEO search that we thought was coming to an end.

Maybe not so much re surprised by Johnson's comments.

I don't think there was a lot of surprise in the NEWSROOM.

I think he's >> sort of taken the approach of like not committed to any certain candidate and >> he basically said this Monday that the job application is wide open.

So people are still applying.

Candidates are still being fielded.

So I don't think we should expect there to be a name or a profile for the next EU ocps anytime soon.

Although certainly a lot of folks are eager to see somebody had full-time job.

They're all right.

Well, we didn't have to do a big search to find the 4 of you.

We know you're all great, but unfortunately, we are out of time.

So our thanks to >> Rob Heart there inside.

Michael and Colin Boyle and we're back to wrap things up right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexandra and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation, additional support is provided by.

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

Be sure to sign up for our free email newsletter.

The Daily Chicago in at W T Tw Dot Com Slash newsletter.

Now for the Week in review.

I'm Nick Blumberg.

Thank you for watching.

Stay healthy, stay safe and stay informed.

Have a great weekend.

All right.

But we were talking about some of the local business impacts like you just had a piece about some some local groups kind banding together to say, please buy local you to effort called Chicago Law School.

>> It's get people into the communities into the neighborhoods to, you know, shop in mom and pop stores that support them.

>> During this really tough time budgetary ties with the tariffs on to support these local businesses and especially going into the holiday season kind ecstasy, that message rather than.

>> have everything shipped to your house.

You can actually go walk around the stuff.

So the big box stores and whatever online stuff that hit down the block by Yeah, there's always something there before you.

Absolutely.

And this is going like all across the city That's right.

It's spearheaded by groups in Anderson.

Closed captioning is made possible.

>> By Robert, a cliff and Clifford law offices, Chicago, personal injury and wrongful death for gives back to its