@ReporterHal

Property tax research chief for Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Chicago Tribune investigative team expat, proud husband and father.

 Chicago
Joined January 2010
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  • Followers7.3K
329Media
A plea for Israeli understanding (with the exception of Netanyahu) and for Hamas realism: oldgoats.substack.com/p/octo…
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A lot to unpack here; certainly not as broad of an effect as the PILOT bill would have had: Bears’ Illinois stadium talks shift toward public ownership model chicagobusiness.com/news/ccb…

Bears’ Illinois stadium talks shift toward public ownership model

A framework gaining traction in talks could sidestep some of the issues that have so far stymied a deal in Springfield.

chicagobusiness.com
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Seems to me, the background checks failed here: chicagotribune.com/2026/09/3…

Lawmaker calls for closing ‘loophole’ after teacher arrests: ‘We need to start to protect children’

Current Illinois laws allow adults who record minors for sexual purposes to avoid the sex offender registry in cases where the victims don’t testify and the case isn’t considered a sex crime.

chicagotribune.com
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This is a real loss at City Hall; Richardson-Lowry pioneered a way to reduce the city’s legal liabilities for police misconduct, among other achievements: chicagotribune.com/2026/09/2…

City Hall top lawyer out in latest Mayor Brandon Johnson administration exit

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s corporation counsel is retiring from City Hall, his office announced Tuesday in the latest shakeup of his administration.

chicagotribune.com
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Dave Barry, from a decidedly personal angle, on the state of newspapers: davebarry.substack.com/p/mic…
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From @poolcar4 - a detailed story about folks harmed by the appellate prosecutor's office: injusticewatch.org/project/s…

The whistleblowers vs. the shadow prosecutors

A new trove of documents independently confirmed by Injustice Watch allege previously unreported misconduct and conflicts of interest by Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit.

injusticewatch.org
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He what about Bavarian Lodge in Lisle? It has the best German food and beer in the 'burbs, by far: Oktoberfest 2026 guide: 28 Chicagoland celebrations chicagotribune.com/2026/09/1…

Oktoberfest 2026 guide: 28 Chicagoland celebrations

Bring an appetite and prepare to shout “Prost!” — the German word for cheers — a lot when you head to one of these Oktoberfest celebrations.

chicagotribune.com
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This is a much better deal than the one negotiated under Emanuel (I wrote a story then about how Rahm’s deal wouldn’t help, and it hasn’t): chicago.suntimes.com/city-ha…

City Council leaders broker compromise on parking meters, focus of the deal Chicagoans love to hate

The proposal calls for the City Council to approve a $2.53 billion sale to Stonepeak Partners in exchange for tangible benefits that could chip away at the city's $882.4 million budget gap.

chicago.suntimes.com
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I miss Blair Kamin, but Lee Bay is really starting to grow on me: wbez.org/design/2026/09/15/g…

Urbs in horto in toto? Design contest picks proposals that would significantly green up Chicago

The city would gain a network of arboreta and much leafier boulevards under the winners of World Business Chicago's Horizon Lines contest. The improvements would also help keep Chicago cooler and...

wbez.org
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Parking meter owners offer Chicago $75M in bid to revive stalled $2.53B sale chicagobusiness.com/politics…

Parking meter owners offer Chicago $75M in bid to revive stalled $2.53B sale

The city would also get 5% of annual profits and a cut of any future sale under the proposed deal.

chicagobusiness.com
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Back to the past; the planet’s and people’s health be damned: EPA eliminates rule that limits planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants apnews.com/article/epa-power…

EPA eliminates rule that limits planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants

The Environmental Protection Agency is repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, an action the agency said would save...

apnews.com
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What a mess. Thanks Trump! (And the Saudis can’t defend themselves with all the fancy military stuff we’ve sold to them?) . . . Houthis seize an island, opening a new front in the Iran war, as Saudi Arabia shuts down a pipeline apnews.com/article/yemen-hou…

Saudi Arabia shuts down a pipeline as Houthis seize an island, opening a new front in the Iran war

Saudi Arabia says it shut down a major pipeline a day after it was attacked by drones, and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic island at the southern entrance to the Red Sea,...

apnews.com
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chicagotribune.com/2026/09/1…

Roger Simon, a leading political writer including for the Tribune, dies at 78

Along with being a long-time columnist for the Sun-Times, he was White House correspondent for the Tribune and pioneered political writing at Politico.

chicagotribune.com
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I’m skeptical of this analysis, given that Trump’s repeated failures, whacky ideas and apparent sundowning behavior would likely be impossible for anyone to overcome: theatlantic.com/newsletters/…

The MAGA Movement Is Splintering Without Charlie Kirk

A year of feuds among MAGA figures shows how much the movement depended on Kirk personally.

theatlantic.com
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THE PROBLEM: 57% of Chicago's payroll spending goes to pension debt illinoispolicy.org/chicago-p…

Because of pensions, Chicago pays $157 for $100 of payroll

The city spends $57 on pensions for every $100 in salaries. Chicago's $36B in pension debt affects your property taxes.

illinoispolicy.org
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No first reference for “LEC” here; I think they mean Legislative Ethics Commission . . . Editorial: McCuskey shouldn’t become Springfield’s scapegoat. Or his replacement another ‘paper tiger’ chicagotribune.com/2026/09/1…

Editorial: Michael McCuskey’s Springfield replacement must be an independent legislative watchdog

McCuskey’s missteps should not become a convenient scapegoat to paper over the reason he needed to initiate investigations in the first place.

chicagotribune.com
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I’m with Red Burnett here: “Aldermen blast Bally’s for construction halt, while casino says City Council sparked pause” chicagotribune.com/2026/09/0…

Aldermen blast Bally’s for construction halt, while casino says City Council sparked pause

City Council members probed the company’s finances and grilled executives over the decision to pause building a hotel and nearly all other amenities at the site.

chicagotribune.com
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Hopefully, this takes this dangerous man down: “The Warning Benjamin Netanyahu Ignored” newyorker.com/news/the-lede/…

The Warning Benjamin Netanyahu Ignored

New reporting from Haaretz shows that, before October 7th, the Israeli Prime Minister was told to expect an “earthquake” from Gaza—and didn’t inform his security chiefs.

newyorker.com
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Column: Mr. T doesn't care for his documentary, 'Untold Mr. T,' but maybe you will chicagotribune.com/2026/09/0…

Column: Mr. T doesn’t care for his documentary, ‘Untold Mr. T,’ but maybe you will

Seeing Mr. T in “Untold Mr. T: I Pity the Fool,” is to be reminded what a massive star he was and learn of his life after the spotlights dimmed.

chicagotribune.com
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Did this guy targeted by feds compare himself to Epstein, while implying Epstein was innocent? Or am I completely misreading this? . . . Once-secret records show grand jurors sought Bovino testimony, more evidence in doomed Midway Blitz cases chicago.suntimes.com/bearing…

Once-secret records show grand jurors sought Bovino testimony, more evidence in doomed Midway Blitz...

The court records, unsealed at the request of the Chicago Sun-Times, offer a rare window into grand jury proceedings during the feds' pummeling deportation campaign last fall. Far from being a rubber...

chicago.suntimes.com
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