* Capitol News Illinois…

A first amendment advocacy group is suing Illinois’ secretary of state over a 40-year-old law that prohibits nonprofits from having the word “Democrat” or “Republican” in their name without the party’s approval.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, seeks to overturn an Illinois law that dates back to the 1980s, arguing that it violates the organization’s First Amendment rights.

The nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, or DIAG, is a national nonprofit organization formed by current and former Democrats who separate with the national party on the issue of transgender identity.

But the secretary of state’s office denied the group’s application to operate as a nonprofit in Illinois because it had not obtained permission from the Democratic Party of Illinois to use the word “Democrats” in its organization name.

“We haven’t gotten a request from this group,” a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Illinois said in a statement. “But frankly, whether we did or not, the fact that they’re proudly anti-transgender does not align with the Democratic Party of Illinois’s values. We believe in progress and inclusivity. It does not appear that this group does.”

…Adding… Krishnamoorthi campaign has a new poll…

With fewer than seven weeks until Election Day, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi continues to build support and maintain a significant advantage over the field in the Democratic primary contest for U.S. Senate in Illinois. These findings of Raja’s expanded lead come thirteen days after a super PAC supporting Lieutenant Governor Stratton launched a seven-figure ad buy.

A new survey of likely voters shows Raja rising to 43 percent of the primary vote, far ahead of Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton (17 percent) and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (13 percent). With early voting beginning next week, the gap between Raja and his opponents for the nomination continues to widen.

In addition to his overall strength, Raja’s coalition is extremely broad. He is winning inside and outside of the Chicago market and across most demographic groups. His strongest supporters include seniors (58 percent) and suburban Chicago (56 percent) voters.

Perhaps most notably, he is doing extremely well with people who have voted in all three of the most recent Democratic primary elections, also known as super-voters, winning 54 percent of them and holding a 35-point advantage over Stratton among them.

According to this poll of 800 likely voters taken January 25-28 with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 points, 27 percent remain undecided.

* GOP US Senate candidate Don Tracy…

U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy today issued the following statement after the Republicans of Wheeling Township headquarters was vandalized in an act of political intimidation:

“What happened to the Republicans of Wheeling Township is upsetting and completely unacceptable. […]

“Not one of my Democrat opponents has spoken out to disavow this attack. That silence is troubling, especially given that Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi represents much of the surrounding area, including Arlington Heights.

Tracy did not respond yesterday to multiple requests for comment regarding accusations of Holocaust denialism against Ed Lapinski, the 56th House District Republican candidate and executive secretary of the Cook County Republican Party. Krishnamoorthi did respond.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | New state initiative aims for e-bike regulation, safety education: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias made the announcement during a downtown news conference, flanked by transit stakeholders, state Sen. Ram Villivalem and Rep. Barbara Hernandez, both area Democrats. “The bottom line is that riders, drivers and pedestrians are all trying to navigate the system that was designed for a different era,” Giannoulias said. “Without action, these tragic crashes, injuries and fatalities will continue to rise, like it or not.”

* The Triibe | How are Illinois politicians responding to escalating aggression by immigration agents in Minnesota: The Chicago City Council’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Police and Fire committee members voted to advance a proposed amendment that would expand the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) powers to include investigating Chicago police for violations of the city’s Welcoming City Ordinance. Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward) is the lead sponsor of the amendment. “This is an ordinance to hold those accountable who collaborate with ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] and violate our Welcoming City Ordinance,” Fuentes said ahead of yesterday’s joint committee vote.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Rahm Ordered to Testify About CPD’s ‘Code of Silence’ During Trial Over Botched Raid: A federal judge has ordered former Mayor Rahm Emanuel to testify next week in an upcoming trial about allegations that a “code of silence” among Chicago Police Department officers led to a botched August 2018 raid of a Back of the Yards apartment that violated the civil rights of a family with four children. […] In a text message to WTTW News, Emanuel erroneously said the raid occurred after he left office. Emanuel, who said he was traveling, did not otherwise respond. Emanuel acknowledged in December 2015 during an emotional speech prompted by the outrage over the police murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald before the Chicago City Council that a “code of silence” among officers had prevented officials from holding CPD officers accountable for misconduct.

* Block Club | Meet The Immigrant Seamstress Who Has Made Banners For United Center Legends For 40 Years: Parra has helped create nearly every banner now hanging from the United Center’s rafters, from those honoring the retired numbers of legends like Jordan and Scottie Pippen to the championship banners earned by the Bulls and Blackhawks in dynastic stretches from the ’90s through the 2010s. […] Parra, who is nearing retirement age, has largely rebuffed her own family’s urgings to retire and settle down. She loves her work and intends to continue fulfilling the shop’s orders for the foreseeable future, she said.

* Crain’s | Allbirds closing its U.S. stores, including 2 in Chicago: The San Francisco-based company plans to pour its resources into its e-commerce platforms, wholesale partnerships and international distributorships to improve its reach, flexibility and operating leverage, it said in a news release today. Two outlet stores in the U.S. and two full-price stores in London will remain open.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WTTW | Cook County’s Chief Judge Announces New Revisions to Electronic Monitoring Program: Under the revised protocols, anyone on EM who is accused of a major violation — like an unauthorized absence or tampering with a monitoring device — will be returned to court within 24 hours, no matter when the violation is reported. Previously, that could only happen from Monday to Friday, but courts will begin handling those violations on weekends now, too, beginning Feb. 7. Under the new protocols, an unauthorized absence of more than three hours on weekdays will also now qualify as a major violation requiring the defendant to appear back in court. That limit had previously been set at 48 hours.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Rezoning for potential data center rejected by Yorkville commission, City Council vote planned for February: Yorkville has become a sort of hub for data center projects, in part due to the area’s proximity to a ComEd substation. But with these proposed developments has come significant resident opposition. “We’re aware of the differing views in the community surrounding the data center development in general on this site, and development in general on this site,” Gilbert said while presenting the rezoning request at the January meeting.

* Crain’s | UChicago expanding OB-GYN care at Ingalls, bucking national trend: Ingalls Memorial Hospital in south suburban Harvey has opened a new women’s health clinic, expanding services in an effort to meet growing demand in nearby communities and expand its capabilities in complex care. The move by UChicago Medicine to reorganize and expand women’s health bucks a trend of community hospitals closing labor units and pulling away from some women’s and pediatric health care.

* Daily Herald | DuPage County Board urges Congress to investigate immigration enforcement efforts; withhold DHS funding: DuPage County Board members are urging congressmen to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security until a thorough investigation is conducted into recent immigration enforcement incidents, such as the fatal shootings in Minnesota. […] The county board voted 11-5 to add the resolution to its legislative agenda. All the “no” votes were cast by Republicans.

* Daily Herald | Elgin police officer should be fired over social media comments about immigration enforcement, panel recommends: Officer Jason Lentz was placed on leave in October following comments he made on Facebook that suggested places where immigration agents could find undocumented immigrants, tagging the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the end of the post. His since-deleted profile picture was an “I stand with ICE” logo.

*** Downstate ***

* Illinois Times | Paula Crouch faces primary opponent: The woman appointed as the new Sangamon County sheriff in the wake of the July 2024 murder of Sonya Massey says her experience, education and determination make her worthy of being elected to a four-year term. “I just feel like we started moving in the right direction for improvements,” Paula Crouch told Illinois Times when explaining her decision to seek a four-year term for a job that pays $175,460 per year. “By choosing to run,” she said, “that just gives me the opportunity to give some of the changes that I put in place time to set. And then, obviously, there are some other things that I’m looking forward to for the future that really need more time than the two years I would have been allotted with just the appointment.”

* WCIA | OSF gives update on service changes in Central Illinois: A Central Illinois hospital said they’re evolving with the changing needs of the population they serve. And of the employees impacted by the move, about half won’t be coming with them. Last year, OSF announced they would be moving certain services from their Urbana location to Danville and change the use of the freed up space.

* WGLT | Bloomington Fire Department to increase social service offerings amid continued fire prevention education: Working smoke alarms, two exits out of a home and closing doors at night are some of the most impactful ways to prevent a fatal house fire, according to Friend. He said none of those were present at the conclusion of what caused a fatal house fire last November that claimed the lives of Tashika Stover, 40, and her 17-year-old son, Hayden. “Those are all real simple things, and they’re taught to us in kindergarten and along the way in elementary school,” Friend said. “We don’t necessarily pick up those messages again unless we read about them, or somebody like myself brings them to somebody’s attention.”

* BND | Increased security, no ICE expected at Belleville naturalization ceremony: “The District has not been contacted by ICE and has had no communications with ICE officials,” Warren told the Belleville News-Democrat in a statement. “The District has no reason to believe that ICE will enter onto District property. The guidance was issued to employees as a preemptive measure to ensure employees were aware of the procedures for interacting with ICE officials. The guidance requires employees to follow the law, nothing more and nothing less.” Belleville Assistant Chief of Police Lt. Col. Mark Heffernan said that while ICE does not need to notify local law enforcement of any activity, the department “(does) not anticipate or have any intelligence that would indicate any problems should be anticipated at the ceremony.”

*** National ***

* AP | Senate Democrats block DHS funding package ahead of shutdown deadline: Thursday’s 45-55 test vote came as Democrats have threatened a partial government shutdown when money runs out on Friday. But Trump said just ahead of the vote that “we don’t want a shutdown” and the two sides were discussing a possible agreement to separate homeland security funding from the rest of the legislation and fund it for a short time.

* Nieman Lab | What a safety expert thinks journalists should know about “less than lethal” rounds and chemical irritants used by ICE: “Back in the day, you’d have [riot police using] beanbag guns, or Nerf or sponge rounds that were moving at 150 to 200 feet per second. The newer “less than lethal” rounds move 450 to 500 feet per second. ANSI Z87.1-rated eyewear, which has for a very long time been the standard if you worked in a machine shop and is the eye protection we wore for non-ballistic threats in Iraq and Afghanistan, doesn’t protect against projectiles moving this quickly. If you catch one of those in the [glasses] frame, it’s not going to do a lot to protect you.”