Illinois
Many Illinois Chinese students unsure if they can finish studies after Rubio post on visas
CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s estimated that some 280,000 Chinese students are currently enrolled in American universities. Thousands of them are in Chicago and across Illinois.
But, with little detail to go on regarding what might happen to their visa status, many are now questioning whether they will even be able to complete their studies.
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On the University of Chicago’s campus Thursday there was fear and consternation. Much of the university’s international student body is Chinese.
“I’m an atmospheric scientist. I just graduated and started my postdoc here in the Geophysical Sciences Department,” Jin Yan said.
Despite being in Chicago for over five years and in the process of applying for a green card, Yan is now unsure she will be allowed to remain, or even if she wants to.
It’s the same story for Zi Tian, who is in the midst of getting his Ph.D. in geophysical sciences.
It’s unclear if theirs are among the “critical fields” Secretary of State Marco Rubio was referring to Wednesday when he said in a social media post on X, “The U.S. will begin revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”
“I’m just an individual, and I think my personal effort is not going to be able to fight against a government action like this,” Tian said.
During a press briefing Thursday, a State Department spokesperson called every visa adjudication a national security decision, saying, “I have no idea what the numbers will be. What I do know is that the people who are deemed to be a threat to the country or a problem now will be vetted again or looked at seriously, and Americans will be safer. That’s the story here.”
Grace Chan McKibben came to the United States 41 years ago as a student from Hong Kong.
Speaking in Chinatown Thursday, she expressed concern about singling out students solely for Communist Party membership.
“Folks that might want particular academic opportunities or employment opportunities might join the party. It may not specifically be related to their ideology,” said Chan McKibben, who is part of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community.
Most of the state’s major universities did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has one of the largest Chinese student bodies in the nation, with more than 6,000 currently enrolled, said they, like others, are really still trying to figure out what this all means and how to best support their students moving forward.
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Illinois
Pritzker blasts Johnson’s push to keep Bears in Chicago: ‘The mayor has no plan’
CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker had some harsh words for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday, exposing the deep divide between the two leaders over the future of the Chicago Bears.
It comes as the legislature heads into the final two weeks of the session with still no deal on a bill to enable the team to move to Arlington Heights.
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Pritzker favors helping the Bears move to Arlington Heights rather than losing them to Hammond, Indiana. But Johnson insists that the best thing for the Bears is to stay in Chicago. In his strongest words yet, the governor dismissed that notion.
“He has no plan. There’s no plan,” Pritzker said.
While speaking to reporters on Monday, Pritzker called Johnson out for continuing to push for the Bears to stay at Soldier Field despite the team repeatedly making it clear that if they are going to stay in Illinois, it will be in Arlington Heights at the former racetrack property the team owns. If it is not there, they will pursue the offer from Indiana to build a stadium in Hammond.
As lawmakers consider a so-called megaprojects bill that would give the Bears a property tax break on a new stadium in Arlington Heights, the governor was frustrated by Johnson’s Chicago push.
“I know that the mayor has no plan. He has come up with no plan at all about how the Bears would end up in the city of Chicago. So, that’s problematic. I’d love them to be in the city, but we’re three years in now, and he still has no plan,” Pritzker said.
The mayor’s office responded, saying, in part, “The City’s proposal remains the only plan centered on public ownership alongside a funding mechanism that does not burden property taxpayers while keeping the Bears in Chicago.”
And while Johnson says he will continue to work with stakeholders to keep the Bears where they are, the governor took another swipe related to budget requests, suggesting significant Chicago and Springfield communication problems.
“Again, we’ve seen almost nothing out of the mayoral administration here on that subject, or really any other. And so, to show up in May and have a bunch of demands seems like late in the game, and it’s unfortunate that’s happened most years,” Pritzker said.
Meanwhile, there are concerns about infrastructure needs around the Arlington Heights property. Particularly, roads and major interchanges would need upgrades. The concerns prompted mayors from neighboring Palatine, Rolling Meadows, and Schaumburg to send letters to the governor and leading lawmakers requesting a seat at the table over those plans.
“We’re very concerned about, how is all this traffic when you’re dealing with 60,000-70,000 people that are going to be either for a Bears game or a concert or some other event that’s there? How are they going to get around?” said Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly.
While the stadium politics continue to play out in Illinois, the Bears are planning to provide the NFL with an update on their future plans at the league’s meeting on Tuesday in Orlando.
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Illinois
Pritzker family tree: Illinois’ richest dynasty
Illinois
Fire sweeps through old Balmoral Park racetrack facilities in Crete, Illinois
A fire at the vacant old Balmoral Park racetrack in Crete, Illinois, sent smoke billowing over several south Chicago suburbs Sunday morning.
Around 6:30 a.m., flames raced through the structures on the old racetrack grounds. Fire departments from several suburbs, as well as Northwest Indiana, were called in to help.
Balmoral Park dates back to 1926, when it opened as Lincoln Fields. The racetrack hosted both thoroughbred and harness races over the years.
A fire also damaged the grandstand at the racetrack during renovations in 1952, forcing the races for the 1952-53 season to move to Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney. Balmoral in turn picked up some races in 1986 after a fire destroyed the grandstand at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights the summer before.
Balmoral Park was hosting only harness racing when it closed at the end of 2015. The property was purchased the following year by Horse Shows In The Sun as a hunter-jumper horse show venue, but this only lasted a few years and the property has stood vacant ever since, reports noted.
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