? Below: Gov. JB Pritzker didn't start the yearslong grudge match with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but he notched a major win against him by financially backing the Democratic candidates who turned the Lone Star State blue.
?️ Plus: Illinois makes history in the Senate, an ode to Bob Newhart and more news you need to know below.
? Keeping score: The Bulls lost to the Knicks, 135-105; the Blackhawks fell to the Panthers, 5-3.
?️ Today's weather: Cloudy, with evening rain likely and a high near 55.
⏱️: An 8-minute read
Gov's grudge: Amid his reelection campaign, Gov. JB Pritzker also had Texas on his mind, having contributed $1.2 million to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and $100,000 to U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. Both would go on to win their races. He also contributed to several other Texas races. All of the Texas candidates Pritzker supported won Tuesday. To Pritzker, the fight to defeat Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was personal.
Key context: In 2021, Abbott signed into law an abortion ban at six weeks of pregnancy. Pritzker then sent letters to corporate executives with ties to Texas, advising them to reconsider doing business in a state that "strips its residents of their dignity." The following year, Abbott sent thousands of migrants to Chicago. The tension boiled over in January 2024, when Pritzker pleaded with Abbott to halt migrant dropoffs in the dead of winter.
Boiling point: Last year, Abbott took center stage in the President Donald Trump-approved battle to net Texas five additional GOP seats. Pritzker responded by taking in 40 Texas House Democrats in August 2025 to deny Republicans a quorum needed to approve the new maps. Abbott then sent Texas National Guard troops to Illinois as part of Trump's Operation Midway Blitz, although the troops were never deployed after a protracted court battle.
Policy playbook: Declaring Democrats' electoral victories "a clear mandate" to reverse Trump's agenda, Pritzker on Wednesday laid out 200 policy proposals for his party’s new majorities to pass in Congress. The agenda outlines numerous proposals to repeal broad spending cuts authorized by Trump that decimated Medicaid coverage, SNAP payments and a litany of other social services.
Herstory made: When U.S. Sen.-elect Juliana Stratton is officially sworn in next January, Illinois will become the first state with two women of color serving in the Senate simultaneously. Stratton will also become the sixth Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate and the second from Illinois.
Key context: During her victory speech Tuesday night, Stratton said outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin had reminded her that the seat she was vying for is the same one Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas had once run against each other for, notably splitting on slavery. She noted her great-great-grandfather, William Stephens, was freed when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
Sun-Times reporter Emmanuel Camarillo on the Chicago School Board president-elect’s win.
Today's clue: ___ Harvest Film Festival (annual Siskel Center event)
Throughout the years, in the deepening lines, hollowing cheeks and weary eyes of Bob Newhart's face, audiences were reminded of what had always made his comedy so irresistible, so universal: a look that said, "I can’t believe I’m having to deal with this crap."
That silent comedy is a big part of why the Oak Park-born, Cubs-loving, failed accountant endured as one of America’s most-loved comedians for more than six decades.
Newhart’s life in comedy is now meticulously chronicled in "Bob Newhart: The Life and Laughter of an American Treasure," released last month.
"That was the genius of Bob Newhart, who managed to stay 'in vogue' throughout his long career … because he appealed to so many different segments of society without ever altering the ingredients that were mixed into his recipe for success — that magical mélange of humility, gentle humor, and grace that endeared him to his admirers," writes the book’s author, Michael Seth Starr.
After Tuesday's nationwide wins, what is your message to Democrats as they prepare to take control of the House and Senate?
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Michael Lansu
Copy edited by: Satchel Price
Hat tip: The Sun-Times' Eric White for today's subject line, which you can find a version of on the front page of today’s print edition.
