How Illinoisans are cutting back on spending

Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶

The Associated Press on Tuesday conducted a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide, concluding that worries about everyday expenses helped former President Donald Trump return to the White House. 

In today’s newsletter, we take a look at how Illinoisans have cut back their spending in response to higher expenses.

Plus, we’ve got reporting on a local Trump bump, why a Chicago hip-hop artist decided to create a “Rapbrary” and more community news you need to know below. 👇

⏱️: A 7-minute read

— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter

TODAY’S TOP STORY

Illinoisans cut back on spending to cope with higher expenses

Reporting by Amy Yee

Money is tight: Adults in Illinois across age groups are grappling with higher expenses, such as rent and food, with Black people and Latinos particularly burdened by debt, according to an analysis by AARP, the nonprofit group that advocates for retirees and older people. Results are based on AARP’s survey of 1,249 Illinoisans ages 18 and older conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

Tightening belts: Among Latinos surveyed in Illinois, 62% say they are eating out less; 46% are buying less clothes; 29% are spending less on groceries; and 28% are postponing or canceling vacations. More than half of Black adults surveyed in Illinois say they are dining out less often; 42% are cutting back on buying clothes; 29% are spending less on groceries; and 22% are postponing or canceling vacations, according to AARP findings released in October.

Statewide problem: Overall, people of all races across Illinois are belt-tightening, with 63% of adults eating out less and 45% buying fewer clothes. Nearly 30% canceled vacations; 36% spent less on groceries; and 10% postponed doctor appointments or cut back on medication. About one-third say their debt is unmanageable.

Saul’s story: Hermosa resident Saul Garcia was not part of AARP’s survey, but its results mirror his experience. His rent has jumped to $1,600 from $1,145 in 2020. Garcia, 57, used to eat out three to four times a week, but he has cut back to once a month. Food in particular is more expensive.

Job-stacking: Garcia has held various jobs, including housing counselor for a Chicago nonprofit. Until 2023, he drove for Uber and Lyft, but he’s doing less work on the ride-hailing app platforms since they cut back on sharing fares with drivers, he said. To make ends meet, Garcia started part-time work as a security guard for a store. “I’m trying to piece together enough money to pay bills,” he said.

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WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

Secret tapes at Madigan trial: On Thursday, federal jurors heard Michael J. Madigan’s longtime ally complaining about a Peoples Gas representative who took offense “when people ask for favors” on a secretly recorded call with Madigan’s son.
 Man ordered detained in police shooting: In a courtroom packed with police, a 23-year-old man was ordered detained Thursday in the killing of Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez during a traffic stop in Chatham that also claimed the life of the car’s driver.
 Local Trump bump: In Chicago, former President Donald Trump jumped to 22.01% of the city vote in 2024, up from 12.41% of the city vote in 2016, according to unofficial returns. The Far Northwest Side 41st Ward is the only one where Trump won more than half the votes Tuesday.
 Johnson administration airs concerns: The CTA’s Red Line extension, the O’Hare Airport modernization and a mass immigrant deportation are all threatened under Trump, said Jason Lee, a senior adviser to Mayor Brandon Johnson.
 Air Jordan’s first NASCAR title?: Driver Tyler Reddick says he is ready to deliver the first NASCAR title to Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing company at Sunday’s showdown in Phoenix.
 4 stars for ‘Small Things Like These’: Cillian Murphy fully inhabits his role in this quietly powerful masterpiece about an Irish coal driver torn about rescuing a “fallen woman,” writes Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper.

NOW PLAYING 🎭

An imaginative children’s play doesn’t sidestep complex topics

Reporting by Mike Davis | WBEZ

“Milo Imagines the World” is a world-premiere adaptation of the children’s book by Caldecott Medal-winning pair Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson.

The story follows Milo on his weekly Sunday train ride to visit his mother, who is incarcerated.

This play, which opened Oct. 12 at the Chicago Children’s Theatre and wraps on Sunday, tackles topics that resonate beyond childhood. 

Thirteen-year-old actor Ian Thigpen, who plays Milo, says the music — composed by the Atlanta duo Christian Magby and Christian Albright — is one of his favorite parts of the show.

“I would say my favorite song is ‘Another Sunday,'” said the young actor after a rehearsal last month. “It’s the start of the show, when we don’t know anything yet, but we’re getting ready.” In the song, Milo and his sister Adrienne are getting ready for their weekly Sunday subway ride. At this point, this audience does not yet know their final destination will be a prison.

For Chicago-based playwright Terry Guest, the approach here was to make a play for kids that respects their ability to handle complex topics.

 “I think that kids are audience members that deserve the same level of respect as adults do,” Guest said.

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BRIGHT ONE ✨

A Chicago rapper started a ‘Rapbrary’ to honor hip-hop as a literary art form

Reporting by Morgan Ciocca | WBEZ

Reading and rap have been the loves of Roy Kinsey’s life for as long as he can remember.

The West Side native knew he wanted to become a rapper in middle school. He released music while working as a librarian at Chicago Public Library’s Richard M. Daley branch. He’s become the city’s only librarian with 11 rap albums.

Over time, he began calling himself a “rapbrarian,” one that heralded rappers as authors and albums as books.

This led him to create the Rapbrary: a special library dedicated to celebrating hip-hop as a literary art form and preserving banned books. Initially housed in Kinsey’s home, its growing collection of books includes Black literature, texts on Black history, queer literature, musician memoirs and banned books, accumulated both from community donations and Kinsey’s personal library.

“If we change our perspective,” Kinsey said, “I think that we can empower a generation of artists and writers to truly understand the power of the craft and storytelling and the impact of the things that they create.”

Kinsey plans to host the Rapbrary’s first open house on Dec. 1. After that, it will be open to the public during occasional events.

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YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️

Have you cut back on spending this year? Tell us one way you did.

Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!

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Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Esther Bergdahl
Copy editor: Angie Myers