* Lots going on right now…
Illinois is a bit below the national birth rate average (51.8 births per 1,000 women here vs. 54.5 nationally). So, not good for us, unless and until someone successfully sues.
But here’s something to think about: Nationally, live birth rates for ages 15-19 fell by 67 percent between 2005 and 2023, from 39.7 births per 1,000 women, to 13.2 That has been one of the top drivers of lowering the overall birthrate.
Illinois does pretty well on that measurement. In 2023, for example, just 3.5 percent of all live births were delivered by those under 20 years old. Here are the same results for the surrounding states which would qualify for those additional USDOT funds…
Minnesota, man. I really wish we could be more like that state.
* OK, let’s move along. Chalkbeat…
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday seeking to withhold federal funding from K-12 schools that teach “discriminatory equity ideology” or “gender ideology.”
The order defines discriminatory equity ideology as anything “that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups” rather than as individuals. That includes the idea that people can be inherently privileged or oppressed because of their race or gender, which likely targets concepts such as white privilege. […]
Federal funding accounts for about 8% to 10% of funding for K-12 schools but can represent a much larger portion in high-poverty schools and districts. […]
It’s also unclear whether the federal government has the authority to do this. Federal law prohibits federal officials from telling schools what they can and cannot teach. The American education system is set up such that decisions about what kids should learn are made at the local level.
So, maybe expect another lawsuit.
* More from the article…
On Tuesday, the Department of Education opened a civil rights investigation into a Denver high school that converted a girls’ restroom to an all-gender restroom based solely off a local news report, rather than a formal complaint. That probe could be a preview of how the federal government might deal with schools that the Trump White House believes are ignoring or somehow flouting the executive order, without a time-consuming complaint or investigative process.
Coming to a school near you.
* Also, I’m still waiting to hear back from the Illinois State Board of Education on the potential loss of funds if this executive order stands…
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to steer large amounts of federal money away from public schools and toward private-school vouchers and other “educational alternatives.” […]
The executive order sidesteps Congress and directs the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to find ways to take existing money that goes to public schools, child care providers, and nonprofits and give it to families to use at private schools or for homeschooling expenses. […]
The order also directs the Department of Education to prioritize school choice programs in its discretionary grants.
The state board didn’t even give me the courtesy of acknowledging receipt of my question.
…Adding… The state board of education finally got back to me…
Hi Rich,
We do not have a definition of discretionary to make this determination and have not been provided any guidance on this issue from the U.S. Department of Education.
* Let’s move on to a locally filed lawsuit. Click here to see the amended complaint. From the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights…
– On Wednesday, Chicago organizers withdrew pending motions requesting an emergency court order against the Trump administration’s raids in Chicago. Given that the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and a host of deputized federal law enforcement agencies have already begun their operations in Chicago, organizers will focus on responding to the immediate needs of communities while gathering additional evidence about the wide scope of rights violations federal law enforcement is creating in Chicagoan communities. These violations are far beyond the First Amendment violations alleged in this lawsuit.
The lawsuit will remain active while organizers engage in widespread outreach and fact finding on the ground. Local groups are committed to sharing vital know-your-rights information with local immigrant communities, monitoring immigration enforcement operations in Chicago, and growing the sanctuary movement even in the face of repression and the chilling effect from the Trump administration. […]
Filed on January 25, the lawsuit was brought forth by Just Futures Law, Community Justice Civil Rights Clinic of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and MK Law on behalf of four organizational plaintiffs: Organized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD), Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC), and Raise the Floor Alliance (RTF). In the filing, groups claim President Trump’s animosity toward sanctuary cities motivates his administration’s plan to unconstitutionally target and conduct raids in Chicago, a violation of groups’ First Amendment rights, an attempt to quash the sanctuary movement.
* And here’s another one, this time from AFSCME…
Today, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), represented by Democracy Forward and Bredhoff and Kaiser PLLC, filed suit against the Trump administration challenging efforts to politicize the civil service through illegal executive orders.
The lawsuit asserts that President Trump illegally exceeded his authority in attempting to unilaterally roll back a regulation that protects the rights of civil servants. The suit also names the Office of Personnel Management for its role in failing to adhere to the Administrative Procedure Act in its attempts to roll back this same regulation.
“AFGE is filing suit with our partner union today to protect the integrity of the American people’s government,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “Together, we can stop the efforts to fire hundreds of thousands of experienced, hard-working Americans who have dedicated their careers to serving their country and prevent these career civil servants from being replaced with unqualified political flunkies loyal to the president, but not the law or Constitution.”
“Schedule F is a shameless attempt to politicize the federal workforce by replacing thousands of dedicated, qualified civil servants with political cronies,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “Our union was born in the fight for a professional, non-partisan civil service, and our communities will pay the price if these anti-union extremists are allowed to undo decades of progress by stripping these workers of their freedoms. Together, we are fighting back.”
The lawsuit is here.
- low level - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 9:19 am:
And here I thought conservatives favored a constrained executive branch. Silly me.
- H-W - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 9:21 am:
=== not good for us, unless and until someone successfully sues ===
Explicit, ideological sex discrimination unrelated to the purpose. Should be an easy case, regardless of outcome.
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 9:38 am:
Looking forward to the upcoming blasphemy laws.
Not joking.
- very old soil - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 9:56 am:
I am waiting for the executive order targeting the National Homebuilders Association for installing millions of gender-neutral bathrooms in homes across America.
- ChrisB - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 9:59 am:
On bathrooms: Gender neutral bathrooms make a ton of sense.
In the new-ish terminal at the Kansas City airport, they have gender neutral bathrooms. The stalls are huge, and you just…do your business, wash your hands, and be off on your way. Sure, there’s initial confusion when you’re trying to figure out whether to go right or left, but after that, Bob’s your uncle. It really shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
- Nick Name - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 10:00 am:
=== And here I thought conservatives favored a constrained executive branch. Silly me.===
Only when a Democrat is president.
- New Day - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 10:06 am:
I read the DOT memo and was wondering if it was from the Onion. Highway grants based on birth rates????? What the actual F. We are living in insane times.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 10:34 am:
Birthrates can drop dramatically when a government runs a country into the ground. People do not have children if they do not see a better future for children. I hope that does not happen to us.
- Loyal Virus - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 10:37 am:
“discriminatory equity ideology” - let’s all make sure we say ‘diversity, equity & inclusion’ instead of DEI so they don’t steal the acronym to fit their evil agenda. Cheat, steal, lie- today’s GOP.
- OneMan - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 10:37 am:
I read something that speculated that one of the reasons the teen birth rate has gone down is that young people are more risk-averse than they were in the past.
It also seems there are fewer movies about ‘gettin lucky’ as a teenager than when I was a lad…
- Friendly Bob Adams - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 10:58 am:
Federal education grants go to state education authorities (in our case, ISBE). Not sure how the feds would force ISBE to give $$ to private schools.
Also- Isn’t the birth rates guy the one who told us that it’s “not standard” for aircraft to collide? Next level thinker
- Incandenza - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 11:14 am:
The national birth rate average stuff has Elon Musk written all over it - he’s obsessed with birth rates and is a believer in the racist and antisemitic “replacement theory” conspiracy theory.
- Been There - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 11:16 am:
=== “give preference to
communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average”====
I thought they were against preferences. I guess that only applies to DEI language.
- Annon3 - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 11:40 am:
Birth rates, marriage rates, vaccine mandates, mask mandates, and compliance with immigration objectives … just re-write our DOT DEI compliance employees job descriptions no need to let anyone go, they can manage the new certification process.
- G'Kar - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 11:42 am:
Equally disturbing in the DOT memo are the next two points after the birth rate. One prohibits the use of vaccine mandates; the other requires cooperation with ICE.
- ArchPundit - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 11:43 am:
====Minnesota, man. I really wish we could be more like that state.
I love Minnesota, but let’s be clear the biggest reason Minnesota has such a low rate is it’s very white with higher ed achievement. The diversity is the primary difference.
- One Term Mayor - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 12:02 pm:
ISBE Response: “We don’t know jack.”
- H-W - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 12:55 pm:
=== Hi Rich, We do not have a definition of discretionary to make this determination ===
This is a case where analysis at the state level may have very little to do with analysis at the district level.
The fed provides little to the cost of education, regardless of the various funding streams. The State itself ponies up much more (40%?), and I believe the local communities provide half if not more (JS Mill, is that true)?
Again, I am deeply concerned with the local funding impact, should communities be required to fund private schools. Compelling municipalities and community unit school districts to share their property tax revenues with private schools can only cause local communities to either increase property taxes, or diminish the quality of education they provide in their public schools. In rural communities like mine, that could be devastating to ask Macomb to fund St. Paul’s. In Decatur, asking Decatur schools to fund St. Theresa and Lady of Lourdes and the Lutheran school, and any parent that wants to home school, could be devastating to the public schools.
But I could be wrong.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 1:16 pm:
“Together, we can stop the efforts to fire hundreds of thousands of experienced, hard-working Americans”
Can we? How many of those workers voted for Trump? Over and over, elections have consequences. Over and over, foreseeable damage could have been stopped. Tariff fun will begin tomorrow.
- Mason County - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 1:43 pm:
As far as I am concerned I would like to see less people being born and a reduced population for the nation and the world. The problem lies in it being done a gradual way that ensures stability.
Japan is going through his declining birth rate and population decline in a very dramatic way. Long run they will be better off. Certainly it may cause some problems for a generation or two. But I have every confidence they will be able to handle it.
- Pot calling kettle - Friday, Jan 31, 25 @ 2:26 pm:
This all seems like a back door employment plan for attorneys (at least for the next 4 years). I guess I should have gone to law school.
With respect to all of the anti-DEI efforts, I am going to start referring to them as Uniformity, Inequity, and Exclusion (UIE), because that is what it is.
Everyone should think, act, and be: white, cis-gender, male, straight, conservative-evangelical Christian, and own property (and guns). If you aren’t all of those, you don’t count and should be mostly excluded from society and decision-making. These policies are working well for Afghanistan, so we should try them here.