* ProPublica…

Sixty percent of rural Americans live in child care deserts — regions with too few licensed slots for children. In rural Illinois, that number rises to nearly 70%. […]

But opening new facilities is hard, and the government itself makes things harder. Here are five reasons it’s difficult to open and operate new child care centers in Illinois: […]

Rebuild Illinois is a $45 billion, multiyear capital improvement plan that was passed in 2019, the state’s first such plan in nearly a decade. Through it, the state allocated $100 million for early childhood facilities. But in the first round of funding, only eight programs out of 238 applicants received a combined $55 million in January 2023, with most grants awarded in Chicago and suburban areas. No providers in the southern half of the state received funding. A second $45 million round is planned, but no timeline has been announced.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which oversees child care licensing, is grappling with a staffing crisis. The agency has a 20% vacancy rate for licensing staff and 45% for supervisors, who must review and approve all applications for child care providers.

* Sun-Times…

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and three other attorneys general are suing President Donald Trump over the constitutionality of his Inauguration Day executive order that would end birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants without legal status.

Attorneys general in 18 other states also filed a similar lawsuit Tuesday in federal district court in Massachusetts.

The Illinois suit was filed in the Western District of Washington, along with attorneys general from Arizona, Oregon and Washington.

The suit claims Trump’s executive order violates the 14th Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act, which specifies that the law does not empower the president to determine who should or should not be granted U.S. citizenship at birth.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Crain’s | Activist mounts legal challenge to another Illinois diversity law: Activist Edward Blum is targeting another diversity effort in Illinois, this time suing over a new state law that requires many nonprofit organizations to publicly disclose aggregate data about the race, gender and other demographics of their board members and officers. Blum’s Austin, Texas-based American Alliance for Equal Rights has recently sued Illinois over a minority scholarship program for aspiring teachers and Chicago-based McDonald’s over a nationwide college scholarship program for Hispanic or Latino high school students.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Trump’s pardons for Jan. 6 riot help more than 50 defendants from Illinois: A phone number associated with Kevin J. Lyons — who received one of the longest prison sentences among the Illinois defendants, at 51 months — replied to a request for comment from a reporter Monday evening with a profanity. Lyons, of Chicago, wrongly entered the Capitol and took a photo of a plaque outside then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, according to court records. He was found guilty of all the charges lodged against him, although a judge later tossed a count of obstruction of an official proceeding after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Fischer v. United States.

*** Chicago ***

* Daily Herald | Threat of immigration raids turns Chicago’s ‘Little Village’ into ghost town: Foot traffic at the 2-mile stretch of 26th Street in the Little Village neighborhood plunged — by some measures, the decline had hit the 50%-mark, according to Jennifer Aguilar, who heads the local chamber of commerce and spoke to a number of the 400 or so businesses in the area. “It’s going to be disastrous,” Aguilar said in an interview. “If raids happen and people are too afraid to go out, it’s going to be an impact that’s going to last for years.”

* Chicago Eater | Chicago Restaurants Brace For Trump Immigration Raids as Misinformation Flourishes: The restaurant industry will collapse without undocumented workers, says Sanchez, a past chairman of the Illinois Restaurant Association who made national headlines for admitting he voted for Trump, something few admit in Chicago, a stronghold for Democrats. Sanchez says a shift was needed as he predicted that the GOP would gain control of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Executive branches. He believes a bipartisan effort is necessary to solve the issue.

* Block Club | Judge Who Faced Backlash After Domestic Violence Rulings Moved To Traffic Court: By his own request, Judge Thomas E. Nowinski will now preside over misdemeanor and traffic-related cases, according to a statement from Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. […] Amanda Pyron, president of The Network, a coalition of domestic violence advocacy organizations, said in a statement Thursday night they “agree” with Nowinski’s transfer.

* Crain’s | Longtime investigative reporter Chuck Goudie exits ABC7 Chicago: Some of the notable stories he covered included being the first Chicago reporter on the air from New York’s ground zero after the 9/11 attacks and ongoing coverage of the Chicago mob. The reason for Goudie’s departure from the station is unclear. “Chuck was a valued member of our ABC7 team for many years and we thank him for his groundbreaking contributions. We wish him only the best in his next chapter,” company spokesperson Jayme Nicholas told Crain’s.

* Sun-Times | Rich Hein, a Sun-Times photo editor whose theatrical work was art, died Sunday: Rich Hein looked through the lens of his camera into the hearts of people. He shot the city for nearly half a century, taking thousands of images that captured the human condition, first for suburban newspapers, then for 40 years on staff at the Chicago Sun Times, rising to become its photo editor. “Rich was a tough but fair boss,” said Alex Wroblewski, pausing from shooting the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday for Agence France-Presse. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. He opened the door for me. A sweet and gracious man.”

* Block Club | Chicago Is Colder Than Antarctica Right Now — But Things Will Warm Up (A Little) Tomorrow: “It’s the coldest stretch of weather since January of last year,” said Jake Petr, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Limit the time you spend outside.” Temperatures that feel as low as -15 to -25 degrees will “hold steady” until the cold snap breaks after midnight, Petr said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect pedestrian bridge still faces funding gap: Mount Prospect trustees have approved substantial engineering work and landed on a design for the pedestrian bridge linking Meadows and Melas parks. But the village still needs to bridge an approximately $1.6 million funding gap before it’s built. […] Still, the village also reported more than $43.7 million in reserve in 2023.

* Aurora Beacon News | Some Kendall County offices moving temporarily to courthouse: Due to a $9.9 million building upgrade at the Kendall County Office Building in Yorkville, several of the county’s administrative offices at the Fox Street facility will move and temporarily operate in the Kendall County Courthouse in the city pending completion of the renovation project, county officials said.

*** Downstate ***

* NPR Illinois | County is short millions for supportive housing: An estimated $3 million is what it would take to put Sangamon County’s unhoused population in homes. That’s according to Josh Sabo, executive director of Heartland HOUSED, an agency that oversees county efforts on homelessness. He says state and federal funding falls short. […] There 341 people in the county on a waiting list for those types of housing.

* WSIL | Read S.I. celebrates successful partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library: So far, more than 7,300 children are enrolled in the Read S.I. program, which is double what organizers were expecting. More than 30,000 books have been put in the hands of children in our region, that might not have otherwise had the opportunity. While the program is very affordable and based on donation, it’s not entirely free. The breakdown comes to about $16 to sponsor a child for a year. Eligible children fall between the ages of birth to 5-years-old and reside in the southern 18 counties in Illinois.

* WCIA | Ford County Chronicle fights for tax credit meant to save local journalism: It turns out, the Ford County Chronicle does not qualify for the credit because of how Brumleve filed taxes for the business. In order to get the credit, the Ford County Chronicle needed employees, but Brumleve and Rosten were co-owners, so they weren’t paid as employees. Brumleve already worked with an accountant to file his taxes as an S corporation, which will allow him to qualify for the credit next year, but he intends to keep fighting this year.

* WSIL | Foreigner to headline 2025 Gibson City Summer Bash: Foreigner will play the bash, which is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 16. Gibson City Area Hospital and Health Services officials announced the lineup on WCIA 3’s The Morning Show Tuesday. […] English rock singer John Waite will open for the band. General admission tickets for the 5th annual bash cost $10. Party Pit tickets will allow attendees to see the band closer to the stage. Tickets go on sale Friday at 8 a.m.

*** National ***

* AP | Garth Hudson, master instrumentalist and last surviving member of The Band, dies at 87: A rustic figure with an expansive forehead and sprawling beard, Hudson was a classically trained performer and self-educated Greek chorus who spoke through piano, synthesizers, horns and his favored Lowrey organ. No matter the song, Hudson summoned just the right feeling or shading, whether the tipsy clavinet and wah-wah pedal on “Up on Cripple Creek,” the galloping piano on “Rag Mama Rag” or the melancholy saxophone on “It Makes No Difference.”

The Trump administration has revoked a Biden-era memo that prohibited ICE from arresting unauthorized immigrants at or near "sensitive locations," like schools, places of worship, healthcare sites, shelters and relief centers.

Admin. says it "trusts" ICE to "use common sense." pic.twitter.com/JTUAO70DOo

— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) January 21, 2025

* AP | President Donald Trump signed an order to end birthright citizenship. What is it and what does that mean?: The 14th Amendment was born in the aftermath of the Civil War and ratified in 1868. It says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Trump’s order excludes the following people from automatic citizenship: those whose mothers were not legally in the United States and whose fathers were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; people whose mothers were in the country legally but on a temporary basis and whose fathers were not citizens or legal permanent residents.

* Tribune | What’s next for EVs under President Trump?: Trump’s order said he would “eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate” and promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation, by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access; by ensuring a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles.” While there is no Biden “mandate” to force the purchase of EVs, the Democratic president’s policies were aimed at encouraging Americans to buy them and car companies to shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars.

* Utility Drive | Trump executive orders halt wind development, declare energy emergency: President Donald Trump began his second term Monday with a bevy of executive orders, including one that temporarily withdraws all federal waters from consideration for offshore wind leasing, and pauses permitting, approvals and loans for all onshore and offshore wind projects. The administration’s pick for Secretary of the Interior, former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, will lead a comprehensive assessment of federal wind leasing and permitting practices, the order said.

* AP | Musk’s straight-arm gesture embraced by right-wing extremists regardless of what he meant: Musk’s representative in Italy, Andrea Stroppa, published the photo on X with the words: “Roman Empire is back, starting with the Roman salute,” according to the news agency ANSA. He later deleted the post, writing that Musk “is autistic,” and was expressing his emotions but denying he was emulating fascism.