Illinois
Belvidere, Illinois goes from loser to winner with idled Stellantis plant reopening
BELVIDERE, Ill. (CBS) — The year 2023 was a big one for labor – actors, pilots, delivery drivers, and maybe most of all, autoworkers.
By some accounts, no place in history has benefited from a new contract between the Big Three auto companies and the United Auto Workers than Belvidere, Illinois – about an hour and a half northwest of Chicago. Belvidere is a place that went from being the biggest labor loser to the biggest winner.
Belvidere, Illinois is the type of place where a human actually answers the phone at City Hall. It’s the type of place where Mayor Clint Morris has a Holy Bible on his desk, the Lord is his Shepherd, and professional wrestler Ric Flair is his spirit animal.
Mayor Morris is an independent, who emphasizes that didn’t take any outside money for his campaign. He agreed that this puts him on about an island of one in Illinois politics.
“And of course, with any money that anybody takes, there’s a certain amount of obligation,” said Morris, “and I don’t think anybody is a philanthropist that contacts elected officials, I don’t believe that.”
He won – and dealt with a disaster shortly into his first term.
“Well, I received a call first from Stellantis, their director of governmental affairs out of Washington, D.C., had called me and informed me that they were going to be, quote, ‘Idling the plant,’” said Morris, “and about the same time, actually, my other phone rang, and it was the governor’s office – Governor Pritzker’s office.”
Chrysler parent company Stellantis’ Belvidere Assembly Plant was indefinitely idled at the end of February of last year. More than 1,000 would be out of work.
The news in Belvidere, the City of Murals, was like bucket of paint tossed upon Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
It was a gut punch for plant veteran Deanna Viel.
“This is my survival for me and my three boys,” Viel said. “It’s a lot of emotion. First, you had your whole world crash down. Then, we had the big, ‘OK, we’re going to make it.”
In late October, the announcement came down that the Belvidere plant would reopen after the UAW and Stellantis came to an agreement.
“We are one of the only plants that ever came out of being shut down to be brought back,” Viel said. “So it’s a big thing.”
She took a picture when President Joe Biden came to Belvidere.
With the new UAW contract, there was more news besides the plant reopening.
“We’re going to have a $100 million investment in a Mopar distribution site here, and also a battery facility,” said Mayor Morris.
The mayor himself agreed that he had never heard of a turnaround quite like what Belvidere experienced.
“It is exceptional. It’s the one singular story,” said University of Illinois professor Dr. Robert Bruno, who is also an industry expert and author.” It is truly the lone case in American economic and labor history.”
Nobody knows exactly what went down in the meetings, but Belvidere is strategically located – rail, interstate, on the river, dependable power, good workforce.
So who made the reopening happen?
“The workers made that happen,” said Bruno. “Never before has the UAW, through its collective bargaining process, been able to reopen a facility, pour millions of dollars into the facility and create thousands of jobs.”
Back to Ric Flair, the professional wrestler whose image graces Mayor Morris’ office. It came from his brother, Cliff, and Morris is quick to note that Flair is a winner.
“That’s how I look at this at Belvedere and what we have in the future,” said Mayor Morris. “Not only did we get a reprieve – our future’s a lot brighter here.”
Viel, the worker CBS 2 spoke with, hopes to also have a degree by the time she returns to work – in HR.
Meanwhile, the new UAW contract could bring more than 3,000 jobs to Belvidere, and billions in investment. Whispers are they’ll be making an EV, and potentially a hybrid version of a mid-size Ram pickup.
Illinois
Johnson scores 14, UIC takes down Southern Illinois 70-57
Thursday, January 8, 2026 4:14AM
CHICAGO — – Andy Johnson’s 14 points helped UIC defeat Southern Illinois 70-57 on Wednesday night.
Johnson had five rebounds for the Flames (6-10, 1-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Ahmad Henderson II added 13 points and Elijah Crawford scored 11.
Damien Mayo Jr. led the way for the Salukis (8-9, 2-4) with 17 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Jalen Haynes added seven points for Southern Illinois. Rolyns Aligbe had six points and two blocks.
UIC took the lead with 14:56 left in the first half and did not trail again. Henderson scored nine points in the first half to help put the Flames up 31-21 at the break.
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.br/]
Copyright © 2026 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.
Illinois
Illinois Democrats express outrage, seek full investigation into ICE fatal shooting of Minnesota woman
Illinois Democrats are demanding a full investigation into the death of a woman at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, with some calling it a “murder” and an “execution.”
The woman was fatally shot Wednesday during a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood just south of downtown Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called it “an act of domestic terrorism” by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”
Noem said an officer “acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
Videos taken by witnesses show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots into the vehicle at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him, according to the Associated Press. It’s unclear whether the vehicle made contact with the officer.
The woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, is at least the fifth death linked to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. Silverio Villegas González died on Sept. 12 after being shot as he allegedly tried to flee from ICE agents in suburban Franklin Park. Body camera footage first obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows the federal agent telling local police he was “dragged a little bit.” Speaking over the radio, his partner relays the agent suffered “a left knee injury and some lacerations to his hands.”
Villegas González had no criminal history, but DHS has said he had “a history of reckless driving” and was in the country without legal status.
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said he is “heartbroken and outraged” by what he called a “murder.” U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson called it “an execution in our streets.”
“This tragedy occurred less than a mile from the hallowed ground where George Floyd was murdered during Donald Trump’s first term,” Jackson said in a statement. “It is a chilling and devastating reminder that the cycle of state-sanctioned violence against our communities has not only continued but has been weaponized under this administration’s ‘Operation Metro Surge.’”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling for an immediate investigation into the ICE officer who fired the shot. She wrote on X, “ICE is clearly not making us safer. This needs to stop.” And Sen. Dick Durbin called the death “tragic, heartbreaking and enraging” but urged protesters to “remain peaceful.”
“A full investigation must be completed so the truth can be revealed,” Durbin said in a statement. “Video of the incident starkly contradicts DHS’s narrative, and the fact that DHS has jumped to characterize this shooting in ‘self-defense’ is rushed, at best, and a lie, at worst.”
Three top Democrats vying to replace Durbin in the March 17 primary all said they would push for answers about the death.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he will be “demanding full answers and accountability from the Trump administration” over a “horrific loss of life.”
“This is Donald Trump’s America: a woman is dead because ICE is operating with impunity in our neighborhoods,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “…When federal agents are unleashed without restraint or oversight, the consequences are deadly — and the responsibility for this killing is on their hands.”
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly evoked Villegas’ death in commenting on the Minnesota shooting.
“The city of Chicago knows all too well that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem only lies. After the deadly shooting of Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop, Secretary Noem tried to hide the truth, but bodycam footage disproved injuries sustained by the ICE officer,” Kelly said. “The Minneapolis Mayor has already said that video disputes Secretary Noem’s claims. It’s clear that to achieve public safety, ICE must leave our cities immediately.”
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called the shooting “horrific.”
“Rejecting authoritarianism should not be a death sentence in the United States of America,” Stratton said. “We need answers and we need ICE out of our communities.”
Rep. Brad Schneider called the fatal shooting “a stain on our entire nation.”
“Sending strength to the Minneapolis community. Chicagoland knows all too well the trauma and terror Trump’s chaotic immigration operations bring to otherwise peaceful communities,” Schneider said. “Our President should be making America and Americans safer. He is failing.”
Illinois
Illinois Inexplicably Drops in ESPN’s Updated Bracketology From Joe Lunardi
Illinois’ win over Penn State at The Palestra was anything but flawless. A horrid shooting night and a stagnant offensive performance – specifically when freshman guard Keaton Wagler was off the floor – characterized the whole affair.
Defensively, the Illini were fairly stout, but they gave up far too many second-chance opportunities to the Nittany Lions – who parlayed 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
But to steal a win on the road – technically, the game was played in neutral-site Philadelphia – against a Big Ten opponent is an accomplishment in itself. (It was just lowly Penn State, you say? Tell that to Michigan, which squeaked by the Nittany Lions by two on Tuesday night.)
In a college basketball season of more than 30 games, it’s inevitable that a two-hour window will overlap here and there when the shots simply don’t fall – no matter how open the looks are. That happened on Saturday, yet the Illini still triumphed.
That’s glass half full. The glass-half-empty perspective goes something like this: putting up 73 points on 39.3 percent shooting against a Penn State team that entered the game outside of the top 200 in defensive efficiency (per KenPom) is embarrassing. And as a team that prides itself on controlling the glass, giving up 14 offensive rebounds to the Nittany Lions is entirely unacceptable.
Where Illinois landed in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology
Perhaps ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is a pessimist, as that latter line of rationale could be the only possible explanation for his decision in Tuesday’s edition of Bracketology. In it, he dropped the Illini a seed line, moving them down from a three seed to a four seed.
Since Lunardi’s previous update, Illinois has played exactly one game – against Penn State. Were the Illini really exposed that badly in Philly? In any case, they have two full months to bolster their resume, and the Big Ten schedule provides plenty of prime opportunities: In the next 32 days alone, the Illini have road meetings at No. 19 Iowa, No. 5 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska – a key chance at vengeance – and No. 12 Michigan State.
Split those contests and Illinois may find itself sitting firmly as a three seed. Win three out of four and the Illini are suddenly a borderline two seed. But until they prove themselves with a few more statement victories, it appears they will be stuck as a four – an excellent “consolation” prize for the time being.
Every Big Ten team in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology for ESPN
Ohio State (No. 11 seed)
Indiana (No. 10)
UCLA (No. 9)
USC (No. 8)
Iowa (No. 6)
Michigan State (No. 4)
Illinois (No. 4)
Nebraska (No. 3)
Purdue (No. 2)
Michigan (No. 1)
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