Midwest
Chicago spent $80K to renovate office for first lady Johnson as city faces billion dollar budget shortfall
Invoices and receipts from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration have raised new questions about extravagant spending as the city faces a nearly billion dollar budget shortfall.
Documents uncovered by local news station NBC 5 revealed that in the grip of fiscal crisis, the city spent more than $80,000 to redecorate and renovate an office in the Chicago Cultural Center for first lady Stacie Johnson.
“The invoices and receipts, obtained by NBC 5 Investigates through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests, show that work order requests began in February and continued through August of this year to renovate and redecorate Room 306 in the Chicago Cultural Center,” the report said.
Electricians, carpenters and painters on the city’s payroll were contracted for the work, according to an invoice from the city’s Fleet and Facility Management department, also called 2FM, NBC 5 reported. The workers accrued more than 350 hours of labor at a cost of over $25,000.
CHICAGO PROSECUTOR DECLINES TO CHARGE ‘DANGEROUS’ COLUMBIAN MIGRANT IN SHOOTING DEATH OF 17-YEAR-OLD
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office is facing scrutiny after the city spent $80,000 on renovations to first lady Johnson’s office. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Another invoice reportedly shows the city paid more than $43,000 for furniture, including a $2,200 office chair and a $4,400 desk labeled the “First Lady’s Desk” on the document. The city spent another $4,600 on a desk for a staffer and more than $8,300 on two club chairs, according to the outlet.
The invoice was dated Aug. 13, with a Sept. 12 due date, NBC 5 reported.
Mayor Johnson’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
CHICAGO MAYOR COMPARES VIEWPOINT OF THOSE WHO DISAGREE WITH HIM ABOUT SCHOOL SPENDING TO SLAVERY
Under Johnson’s administration, Chicago faces a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall in 2025. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images)
Confronted with the invoices and asked to defend the city’s spending, Johnson told NBC 5, “So, the Cultural Center has always been a location for dignitaries; every first lady has had office space there. Renovations for my office or any other office is standard procedure. Our commitment to invest in people is still to invest in people.”
The mayor pushed back against follow-up questions about the optics of excessive spending at a time when his administration is considering layoffs of city workers to cut costs.
ENTIRE CHICAGO SCHOOL BOARD TO RESIGN OVER TEACHERS UNION DISPUTE WITH DEM MAYOR: ‘DEEPLY ALARMING’
Johnson was elected in 2023 as a favorite candidate of the left, on a platform of increasing spending on city services. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“The purchase of a desk is not going to change the financial structural damage that has been in place for a very long time. So this is why we ask – and I mean this respectfully – we ask far more profound questions than that. We ask, how do we make sure that the structural damage that’s been created over the course of decades – we reroute the rivers, if you will, to make sure that we get to the places where there is dry land. And that’s what we are doing,” he said.
When NBC 5 pressed the issue, Johnson criticized the outlet’s questions. “So I’ve been mayor for 17 months, and you have a question of how I feel about optics? Just go back on review the tape. If I were to allow my leadership to be based on someone’s opinion of me, it would be a derelict of duty. I never question my position to invest in people. I don’t do this for optics; I do this to transform lives.”
The mayor said he is more focused on the optics of hiring young people for summer jobs, building affordable housing and ensuring that schools have counselors and social workers, as well as investing in Chicago’s South and West sides.
But Johnson still has not put forward a plan to close the city’s projected $982 million budget gap.
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Wisconsin
Wisconsin Unveils Culver’s Uniform Patch in New Video Ahead of 2026 CFB Season
Wisconsin’s sports teams will have a fitting jersey patch on their uniforms this year.
The Badgers unveiled a Culver’s uniform patch in a new video on Tuesday.
The fast food restaurant, known for its ButterBurgers and Frozen Custard, was founded in Wisconsin and is beloved by those in the state. Now, Culver’s has partnered up with the state’s flagship university.
Detroit, MI
5 realistic cornerback trade targets for the Detroit Lions after Terrion Arnold’s release
Detroit Lions may not need to overpay to replace Terrion Arnold. One former first-round pick, a familiar face, a young ascending starter, and two experienced veterans could all make sense as trade targets.
Mike Hughes
Hughes might be a name Lions fans remember. He spent time with Detroit in 2022 and had a pretty decent season before the Atlanta Falcons signed him. He started for Atlanta across three seasons. Hughes isn’t flashy, but he’s reliable. He averages about two penalties a year, which is a welcome change given what Arnold was doing in that department. Last season, he allowed a reception percentage of just 56.1 and posted a passer rating against of 84.5, the best of his career.
He’s going to turn 30 by the end of the season, so the price tag shouldn’t be steep. The Lions could probably call Atlanta, offer a sixth-round pick, and get him. Hughes could come in and compete with Rock Ya-Sin for the starting job, or he might just take it outright. He’s someone who has been in the Lions’ system before and knows what Detroit expects. That matters.
Renardo Green
Green is a younger option who plays for the San Francisco 49ers. They took him in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the same class as Arnold. The problem for Green is that San Francisco’s cornerback room is stacked right now with Jack Jones, Deommodore Lenoir, their rookie Ephesians Prysock, Jakob Robinson, and veteran Eli Apple. Green was the starter all of last season, but there’s a growing thought that with so many options, the 49ers might consider moving him before the season starts. Plus, San Francisco is eventually going to have to pay him, and trading him now frees up future flexibility.
This one would probably cost a fourth- or fifth-round pick, and it might be the most unrealistic of the bunch. But the talent is real, and it’s worth monitoring.
Deonte Banks
Banks was the 25th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and it hasn’t worked out with the New York Giants. He’s been a starter, but the results haven’t matched the draft capital. Now he has to compete with Greg Newsome, Colton Hood, and Paulson Adebo for playing time, and there’s a real chance he gets beat out. The Giants might feel comfortable going with someone like Kori Black or Rico Payton and flipping Banks for whatever they can get.
Because he hasn’t lived up to his draft slot, the Lions wouldn’t have to pay a first-round price. A fifth- or sixth-round pick could get it done. This is a riskier play because the production hasn’t been there consistently, but Banks has been a starter for multiple years and has shown flashes. You’re betting on potential, which is exactly why you’re not giving up much to acquire him.
Paulson Adebo
Adebo signed with the Giants as a free agent last year, and it seemed like the Lions would be in on him at the time. He played under Dennis Allen in New Orleans, and Allen, Aaron Glenn, and Kelvin Sheppard all run a similar defensive scheme to what Detroit operates. It just made sense. The Lions ultimately went after D.J. Reed instead, which was the better move. But after a rough first year in New York, the Giants may feel Adebo isn’t what they paid for. If they decide to give Banks a longer look under Jon Harbaugh, Adebo could become available. The Lions would be smart to get on top of that because Adebo fits Detroit’s defense better than whatever New York has been running through its recent coaching changes.
Kristian Fulton
Fulton spent most of his career with the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers before moving to Kansas City in 2025, where injuries derailed his season. He’s still just 27 years old. In 2024, his last full season, he allowed a 65.2 reception percentage. In the few games he played last year, he posted a 50% reception percentage and had four pass breakups before the injury shut him down. In the two games he started for the Chiefs down the stretch, he played pretty well, but Kansas City had already moved on from him as a long-term starter.
The Lions could probably get Fulton for a sixth-round pick. He could come in, compete for the starting job, and likely win it. At 27, he has multiple years of productive football ahead of him. That’s the kind of low-cost, high-floor move Detroit should be making right now.
Those are five names worth watching as the Lions look to fill the hole Arnold left behind. None of them will shake up the league, but the Lions don’t need that. They need someone who can step in, compete, and play solid football. Any of these guys could do that.
Detroit Lions News
Milwaukee, WI
Steve Czaban returns with new home in Milwaukee sports-talk radio
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Steve Czaban, a popular radio fixture on Milwaukee sports-talk airwaves, is back in the market with the announcement from the Wisconsin Sports Radio Network that he’ll host an hour-long morning show with Josh Albrecht soon.
The show will run from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 105.7 FM and 1250-AM “The Fan” in Milwaukee. The network, established last October, also features stations in Green Bay/Appleton (99.7 FM, 101.9 FM), Wausau (93.9 FM), Madison (94.9 FM) and Duluth/Superior (710 AM).
Czaban, whose role as host of a morning show on 97.3 The Game was eliminated with iHeartRadio’s decision to end that station’s sports-talk format, hasn’t been on the air in Milwaukee since October.
His show somewhat takes the place of Trevor Thomas’s “Inside Wisconsin Sports,” a licensed property that will continue to broadcast within its usual 6 to 9 a.m. slot from its Green Bay home despite ending its partnership with the Wisconsin Sports Network, seemingly amicably. Thomas has been hosting with Albrecht, and their final show together was scheduled for June 30.
Thomas wrote on social media that he notified Audacy Milwaukee in March that he’d like to end the partnership, delaying his announcement until WSSP had a replacement lined up. Thomas said his show will still be heard on WNFL 99.7 FM in Green Bay and on YouTube.
“Changes are made in radio with little to no explanation because employees sign paperwork that, if they get let go, muzzles them in order to receive their severance pay. Probably not uncommon in other businesses as well,” Thomas wrote on X, responding to one commenter who noted it’s rare for changes in radio to receive full transparency.
“In this case, we created a brand, we own the trademark, our brand was hired to host a morning show, and I’m choosing to end the relationship with Milwaukee because it just wasn’t a fit. And it’s all good. I love those guys. Our show goes on our YouTube page, 99.7 WNFL, and other ‘spots’ to be announced sometime soon.”
Czaban has maintained a strong radio presence in Milwaukee despite unique circumstances; he has remained based in Washington, D.C. He had been a regular contributor to another wildly popular Milwaukee morning show, the “Bob and Brian” show on 102.9 FM, making appearances for two decades. At the time, Czaban also hosted an afternoon drive show at an ESPN affiliate in Washington, and he’s done nationally syndicated work for multiple high-profile outlets.
He joined The Game in 2019 and hosted a show with former University of Wisconsin basketball star Brian Butch.
Since “The Fan” itself ended local sports programming in 2022, it has resuscitated its presence in Milwaukee with shows featuring former Packers John Kuhn and Mason Crosby among its regular offerings, plus a drive-time show “Wisconsin Sports Daily” with longtime station voice Steve “Sparky” Fifer.
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