Practice
Record the number before you repeat it
A billion-dollar cost figure needs the study, the place, and the date on the same card.
The Hill reported that an ICE operation called Midway Blitz cost Chicago-area businesses more than $1.2 billion. The article attributes the figure to a study from the University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute.
This practice card is about the number, not about the operation. If you are going to say $1.2 billion again, you need the three fields below filled from the page you actually opened.
Three fields, then the sentence
Field one: the amount, more than $1.2 billion. Field two: who produced it, University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute, according to The Hill. Field three: where you read it, The Hill, September 9, 2026.
Only then write the sentence you would say out loud. If one field is empty, you do not have a sentence yet.
Mark the limit of the figure
The article says Chicago-area businesses and more than $1.2 billion. It does not, in the summary we have, give the start date, the end date, or the list of cost types. Write those as Not in the summary.
A practice rep is repeating a sourced number, not enlarging it. Over $1.2 billion does not become $1.2 billion exactly, and it does not become the cost to the city.
Recheck before the next rep
Open the article again before you use the figure in a note, a slide, or a conversation. If the page changed the number or the attribution, your card changes. The old card stays in the notebook with its date.
That is the whole drill. One number, one source, one reread.
Sources: The Hill, September 9, 2026