How Right-Wing Media Keeps Baiting Chicago

MAKE THEM PAY, said the Reddit thread with over 2K upvotes.

“I’ll remember this,” said one commenter. The rage was palpable, the betrayal implicit.

A level of outrage normally reserved for deep personal betrayal.

In a moment where techno-feudalist fascists are decimating the federal government, trans people are getting their passports ripped up, and at least 100 people were deported without ICE following the rule of law—what horrible breach of Chicago corruption inspired such fervor?

A municipal bond deal.

Huh, that’s kind of… surprising, right?

The Right-Wing Media Machine’s Chicago Playbook

To be clear, I see nothing wrong with strong, maybe inappropriately large emotional reactions to niche municipal politics, It would be deeply hypocritical for me to express otherwise as a person who consistently has to leave the room to do emotional regulation exercises when talking about zoning.

But this particular Reddit thread reminded me of the many other local issues this year that elicited large emotional reactions from the internet, inviting randos to look up my deadname, say really weird things on X, send death threats to people in leadership at CTU, and write creepy conspiracies about teachers in the CTU. Weird behavior! 

Why does it happen?

It’s more than just “disinformation” or Elon’s algorithmic trash heap. It’s about how right-wing media manipulates public perception, turning routine governance into clickbait scandals while shielding the actual corporate interests running the city.

The best at this game? People like Illinois Policy’s Austin Berg, whose “data-driven” anti-union takes are well-funded by the Kochs, DeVos, and Rauner.

After a year of watching them push this exact playbook over and over—turning every Chicago news story into Fox News fodder, Daily Mail clickbait, and content for the worst Twitch streamers alive—I think it’s time to break it down.

So, using this municipal bond deal as an example, let’s walk through **how this machine works, step by step. 

Step One: Pick Something Really Boring To Freak Out About

Last week, the Chicago City Council narrowly approved an $830 million bond package meant to fund infrastructure projects across the city. The vote—26 in favor, 23 against—was the culmination of weeks of debate, with political factions forming predictable but notable alliances.

Opponents, including Ald. Anthony Beale and downtown business-aligned alders like Conway, and Mayoral hopeful Susana Mendoza, seized on the bond structure—particularly the delayed principal repayment—as an example of fiscal irresponsibility, making dramatic claims that “our kids and grandkids” would be forced to pay the bill.

Ald. Anthony Beale, downtown business-aligned conservatives, and Mayoral hopeful Susana Mendoza ran with this narrative—because, well, it’s useful to them.

Never mind that Beale has backed TIF giveaways to wealthy developers, has no problem with CPD’s bloated budget, and has never supported revenue policies that make the rich pay their fair share. Nope. The real crime here? Delaying principal repayment.

This isn’t to say that this bond fund was great — Alder Vasquez and La Spata, among other Alders, voted against the delay but ultimately supported the bond, citing its necessity, while expressing frustration at the administration’s political strategy.

But that’s nuanced, and lacks the emotional drive that fuels this playbook. For it to work:
🔴 Every progressive policy is framed as corrupt or incompetent, no matter what.
🔴 Every single decision is proof that Chicago is doomed.
🔴 Even when conservative Democrats or corporate interests are involved, the outrage is directed solely at the left.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Every news cycle, every political decision—sometimes multiple times a day.

Step Two: Be Really Loud and Online, Everywhere, All The Time

Austin Berg and Illinois Policy are masters of repetition. Studies show it takes 7 repetitions for an idea to stick. These guys hit 14 most days.

For our bond deal example, Berg launched his newsletter last weekend, and his “cutting through the noise” email took every opportunistic quote from Beale, Mendoza, and Conway, spinning it into a corruption scandal.

🚨 Brandon Johnson is bankrupting Chicago!
🚨 This is worse than the Daley parking meter deal!
🚨 Your grandkids will be forced into DEBTORS PRISON!!!!

Great. Content is everything, etc. And once it’s out there? The right-wing media flywheel kicks in.

Step 3: Go Local, Then National

With local media constantly looking for reasonable and available subject matter experts, Illinois Policy can appear everywhere, with lots and lots of data to back up their claims of every failure of local government.

✔️ They get cited as ‘good government’ experts, even when pushing Koch-backed propaganda.
✔️ They flood local op-ed pages with “common sense” fiscal fearmongering.
✔️ Their talking points seep into mainstream news, setting the frame for every policy debate.

And — finally — the right-wing media flywheel kicks in:
🔄 Berg’s take gets amplified by Fox News, The Daily Mail, and conservative outlets.
🔄 Right-wing AM radio picks it up.
🔄 It floods Facebook groups where suburbanites and ex-Chicagoans rage-share every anti-Chicago story they can find.
🔄 It gets framed as ANOTHER example of progressive corruption—regardless of facts.

By the time it lands on Reddit, it doesn’t matter what actually happened. It’s a scandal.

After a certain point, you don’t need any of the Illinois Policy content at all — the emotional impact is significant enough that people are out for blood all on their own.

Why Is It So Easy to Take the Bait?

If you’re on the left, and you hate CTU and think every decision made by City Hall is a disaster, that’s fine.

Disagreement is normal. Disappointment is too. And the left needs internal debate—ESPECIALLY right now.

But what’s happening here is a manufactured outrage loop, designed to make us feel like everything is corrupt and doomed while keeping Chicago — even the progressive — too angry to notice who’s actually pulling the strings.

The way this is being shaped, amplified, and redirected is intentional. 

This setup is how you get:
✔️ People who don’t follow local politics convinced Brandon Johnson is the anti-Christ, responsible for policies from decades of racist disinvestment.
✔️ Rage spirals that don’t match the actual stakes of the policy being discussed.
✔️ Left-leaning people—even those who hate the right—absorb right-wing talking points just because they’ve been repeated enough.

What Comes Next?

If you’re on X, maybe you know that I recently announced I left my role at CTU. (Also, if you’re still on X, get off X!!! I don’t have the self-control on my own — but maybe we can get off there together. I believe in us.) Among other things, my time at CTU this last year gave me an inside look at how narrative shapes power in Chicago — and a new appreciation for the sheer efficiency and power of the right-wing media flywheel.

We can’t afford to let people like Berg be the only ones shaping the conversation.

What’s the last Chicago headline that made you pause and say, ‘wait, is this real?’" 🧐

-H

PS - Tomorrow, Mayor Johnson will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, part of how Trump plans to use Democratic mayors like Johnson as “punching bags” around deportations. And the same right-wing media machine fueling outrage about the bond deal will work overtime to spin this into a crisis. It’s worth watching out for the ways this playbook shows up…