WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: July 10, 2026

**SPEAKER_2** (0:02)
Gaps have emerged due to the regressive revenue options that members of the city council that were more aligned with corporate interests put forward.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:10)
The city council majority behind the budget said in response that the mayor is slow walking the implementation of their fiscal policies.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:16)
13th Ward alderman Marty Quinn announced he will not be running for reelection.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:22)
Chicago-born cardiologist wants to bring her experience to City Hall.

**David Greising** (0:25)
I'm tired of seeing the system fail the people.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (0:28)
Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons and this is In the Loop.
We're breaking down the biggest stories of the week in our Weekly News Recap. Arrests by US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are on the rise again. A federal appeals court in Chicago upholds the statewide ban on assault weapons. Plus, a disgraced legislator from Southwest Suburban Plainfield steps down from his position.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:57)
Days after Democratic State Rep Harry Benton resigned from office amid an ethics inquiry, questions still linger.

**SPEAKER_8** (1:04)
I had requested that resignation on July 1st, an hour after I received the report.

**SPEAKER_9** (1:10)
Look, this is not about punishing businesses or stifling the potential of this technology.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:15)
The governor just signed a new AI protection bill into law.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:19)
Community leaders coming together just yesterday to address ICE activity across multiple neighborhoods.

**SPEAKER_10** (1:25)
Despite claims that Operation Midway Blitz has ended, it is not over.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (1:29)
Let's get to the recap on the panel this week. David Greising, president of the Better Government Association, Mitchell Armentrout, Chicago Sun-Times political reporter, and Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune state government reporter.
We started our conversation with the dozens of people arrested by federal immigration enforcement. The Sun-Times reports at least 20 people were arrested in Chicago last week, and another 17 people have been arrested so far this week. And according to the New York Times, there were more than 10,000 arrests across the country in the last week of June. The Trump administration's tactics have been far less publicized than we saw with Operation Midway Blitz last fall. So I started by asking the panelists their thoughts on the administration's shift in strategy. Mitch went first.

**Mitch Armentrout** (2:12)
Yeah, I mean, this was a literal reality TV show when it started, like Dr. Phil coming in with a film crew, all kinds of right-wing YouTubers visiting Chicago and other cities that were being targeted by the Trump administration. And now the strategy is keep it quiet, move into neighborhoods of Chicago, suburbs, essentially like the same amount of manpower and just in terms of ICE agents being deployed.
Not that we have any clear idea of exactly what they're targeting or where they'll be next, but the strategy is the same. Round up as many people as possible, but being a little bit more strategic about it, it seems like under-

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:50)
A little bit quieter?

**Mitch Armentrout** (2:51)
A lot more quiet.
Before it was with Gregory Bovino in town, it was he really wanted to draw those TV crews out, the people's cell phones out, he wanted his face on the cover of the newspaper and all over television. It worked and it created a lot of tension in the city, a lot of fear. Now, there's still that fear. ICE never really went away. These arrests have been happening and they've certainly ticked up in the last few weeks. But yeah, just a quieter campaign. Yeah.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:21)
It's disappointing to see that this is still happening. There are a lot of people who thought it was over, but here we are with it being ramped up and just back in the spotlight. Any thoughts, Olivia?

**Olivia Olander** (3:32)
I think with the very out there actions that happened in the fall, these big takeovers of neighborhoods, it almost seemed like from federal enforcement that were really in the face of a lot of Chicagoans who, I mean, none of us normally see that sort of thing, but a lot of Chicagoans who don't maybe normally see immigration enforcement, don't normally see it happen in their own backyard. With that came a lot of organized resistance. And there's still, you know, ice out signs on a lot of people's windows, but that all came from seeing it in such a huge way in the fall. And it's interesting. And I wonder if it will sort of I don't think it will have the same resistance now because it's just not as big and not as in your face. Yeah, in your face is a great way.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (4:18)
You still have community groups who are out there who are, you know, just paying attention, capturing video. But yeah, to your point, it's not as I mean, it's gotten really heated at one point. People died, right?