Illinois
Illinois General Assembly expands EIC tax relief program

Illustration by Olivia Abeyta
Illinois Common Meeting handed a invoice increasing the Earned Revenue Credit score tax aid program in April. Now, childless staff ages 18 to 24 and 65 and older together with immigrants who file taxes utilizing ITIN are eligible for aid.
Eleven years after immigrating to the USA, Hayde Flores opened her small enterprise, Complete Vitamin Belmont, in 2019.
Flores makes use of an Particular person Taxpayer Identification Quantity, a tax processing quantity accessible for U.S. nonresidents, as a substitute of a social safety quantity. Due to that, she didn’t qualify for the tax reliefs that many different low-income individuals do till this April.
“I feel to myself, ‘I’m right here, working onerous like different individuals, however I can’t do nothing,’” Flores stated. “My husband final 12 months labored two jobs, I labored my enterprise and nonetheless (we) need to pay extra.”
In April, the Illinois Common Meeting amended the Illinois Revenue Tax Act, increasing the state’s Earned Revenue Credit score tax aid to individuals like Flores. EIC is a state-sanctioned profit for working individuals with low to average earnings that reduces the quantity of taxes owed much like the federal Earned Revenue Tax Credit score program.
Illinois’ EIC’s enlargement will embody childless staff ages 18 to 24 and over 65, in addition to immigrants utilizing ITINs beginning within the 2023 tax 12 months. Along with growing entry to tax aid for low-income individuals, particularly undocummented working immigrants, the enlargement may also enhance the state’s EIC tax aid quantity from an 18% to twenty% match of the quantity the federal program offers for every taxable 12 months.
“The message that we obtain (from the state) is that they hear us,” Flores stated, referring to immigrants, like herself, utilizing ITIN numbers. “That feels so good as a result of we can’t vote.”
Teams together with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and its member group Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors have fought for this legislation for about three years, together with many different immigrant, employee and household advocate organizations. The organizations held rallies, labored with the Coalition to Make EIC Work and campaigned.
Flores turned a group navigator for NIJFON a 12 months in the past. Since then, she has educated her immigrant group members on “understanding your rights” and points just like the EIC invoice. She stated she joined as a result of she needed to make a distinction.
Fred Tsao, a senior coverage counsel for ICIRR, stated the group needed to battle towards the shared struggles amongst many immigrant communities in Illinois.
“This (was a) shared marketing campaign to broaden the eligibility for the EIC, and we (acknowledged) the advantages significantly the anti-poverty results of the federal EITC and state EIC,” Tsao stated.
Some organizations advocating for the invoice requested Illinois state Sen. Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) to assist lead the hassle to develop the EIC about three years in the past. He stated now was the time to develop the credit score, particularly because the COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence residents’ monetary solvency.
So as to get the invoice by the Common Meeting, Aquino stated he and the coalition of organizations spent additional time specializing in EIC’s attain and influence.
“By educating a few of my colleagues and having them understand how a lot of a profit this was for their very own neighbors, their very own constituencies, definitely helped to get extra of us on board,” Aquino stated.
Throughout the state, the legislation will assist many low-income individuals who haven’t beforehand been included in aid packages, Tsao stated. He stated this help was significantly essential in the course of the pandemic, which uncovered the financial disparities working immigrant households face.
However, in line with Tsao, an important side of the enlargement is its permanence.
Flores stated the aid can have an amazing influence on her and her group. The aid will likely be an enormous assist not just for her household and small enterprise, but additionally for a lot of of her clients who may also qualify for EIC for the primary time.
“The necessity isn’t going away, even when the pandemic does. So, the EIC is actually essential in that it’s a everlasting measure,” Tsao stated. “It’ll present a extra everlasting mechanism for offering some financial cushion for these working immigrant households.”
E mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @shannonmtyler
Associated Tales:
— Northwestern, ETHS college students march for DACA, in solidarity with undocumented immigrants
— New Illinois invoice will increase variety of low-income households eligible for housing help
— Scholar teams host open mic occasion in assist of undocumented immigrants

Illinois
2 injured in shooting at Walmart in Evergreen Park, police say

EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (WLS) — Two people were injured in a shooting at a Walmart store Wednesday afternoon in the south suburbs, investigators said.
ABC7 heard accounts from people inside the store of some terrifying moments and real fear that there was an active shooter inside the business.
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The shooting happened around 3 p.m. at a Walmart at 95th and Western Evergreen Park, Illinois.
Police say there was some type of argument outside the store between two male individuals. Shots were fired outside, and then the offender pursued the other person inside, firing multiple shots in the Walmart.
That victim, who is 23, was shot multiple times in the leg and has been taken to a hospital.
A 70-year-old woman also sustained a wound to her foot, possibly from a bullet fragment.
ABC7 spoke with Makia Barnes, a woman who is a family member of a Walmart worker, who told her about the chaos.
It was just seemed like a regular day, and then all of sudden, you just hear shooting,” Barnes said. “That is ridiculous.”
Police say the offender was arrested after fleeing the store. The suspect was arrested in the neighborhood behind the Walmart Video from Chopper 7 showed K-9 units in the area, searching the location.
Detectives at the store, which is now closed, began what will likely be an extensive investigation.
Walmart did not provide a comment on the situation as local police continue to investigate.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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Illinois
Stellantis to reopen Belvidere plant to produce Jeep Cherokee, Compass

BELVIDERE, Ill. (WLS) — Stellantis will be reopening its Belvidere plant as it plans to Invest $13 billion to grow in the United States.
The company announced earlier this year that it would reopen the plant which had been closed since 2023.
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Now, the company said it intends to invest $600 million into the plant to expand production of the Jeep Cherokee and Compass in 2027.
“Today’s announcement from Stellantis is a major win for Illinois workers, our economy, and the future of American manufacturing,” Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement. “Bringing back the Belvidere plant and creating 3,300 good-paying jobs demonstrates the skill, dedication, and productivity of Illinois’ workforce. This $613 million investment by Stellantis will support two new vehicle lines, including the Jeep Compass and the Jeep Cherokee, and reflects our commitment to making Illinois a hub for the next generation of automotive innovation.”
“This investment will anchor long-term economic growth, support local communities, and provide opportunities for workers and families who have historically been left behind. We’ve worked closely with Stellantis and local partners, like the United Auto Workers (UAW), to ensure this investment delivers real benefits to Illinois, including strong jobs, thriving communities, and a strengthened economy. Illinois is proving that when we partner with industry and invest in our people, we can lead the nation in innovation, economic growth, and high-quality manufacturing jobs.”
It’s expected to employ about 3,300 people.
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Illinois
Feds say more than 1,500 arrested in

The Department of Homeland Security has said federal agents have made more than 1,500 arrests as part of the immigration crackdown in the Chicago area dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” which began more than a month ago.
CBS News Chicago has been digging into federal data to find out exactly who is being arrested and if those numbers really line up.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed months ago, asking for the names and numbers of people who’d been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago, ICE referred CBS News Chicago to a data dashboard that tells a pretty interesting story.
The website shows the arrests cover not just people arrested in the Chicago area, but all of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky, and Kansas – the six states covered by ICE’s Chicago field office.
ICE said, between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 – the last day they were able to update the portal before the federal government shutdown – they’ve arrested 2,011 people, detained 1,469 of those individuals, and have removed (deported) 1,044 of those arrested.
The removal numbers lag behind previous years, with 3,266 removed during the same time period last year, 2,392 removed during that time in 2023, 1,645 removed in the same time period in 2022, and 1,799 removed in that time in 2021.
The website indicates the data is updated quarterly, and is sorted by year. ICE noted the data could fluctuate until “locked” at the end of December.
Confusing, given a tweet by Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino saying DHS has made more than 1,500 arrests with “more to come!”
Erendira Rendon is the chief program officer at The Resurrection Project, which has been helping families find legal assistance amid the ICE crackdown, and has been keeping their own numbers on arrests.
“What we saw in September was our highest month, with 337 individuals requesting legal assistance, and in the month of October we will have already reached – even though we’re only midway through – 190 requests for assistance,” she said.
Rendon also said the feds are now subjecting nearly everyone arrested during the immigration crackdown to mandatory detention, meaning they will be held for the remainder of their immigration case, rather than allowing some of them to be released on bond.
“Previously, we would be able to go over to court, demonstrate that the individual is of good moral character, demonstrate that the individual would continue their deportation case outside of detention, and we would be able to receive bond,” Rendon said.
Meantime, the clock is ticking at the ICE facility in Broadview, where a federal judge has ordered the feds to take down a fence before midnight Tuesday night.
The fence was erected Sept. 23 outside the ICE facility on Beach Street in Broadview. For weeks, it has been a symbol of tension between federal authorities, protesters, and the Village of Broadview itself.
Hours after it went up, the Broadview Fire Department demanded the Department of Homeland Security have it removed, saying it was built without a permit, and was blocking emergency responders’ access to that road.
The village later filed a federal lawsuit, and last week a judge ordered the fence removed by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
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