* Politico…

A federal judge on Friday once again struck down an effort by the Trump administration to dramatically restructure $4 billion in federal funding for people experiencing homelessness.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s efforts to modify the so-called Continuum of Care Program aims to shift much of the funding, which is distributed to local organizations, from permanent housing assistance to temporary housing and services. The new funding model being championed by HUD Secretary Scott Turner is a shift from a decadeslong “housing first” policy.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy would block HUD from making changes to the program’s fiscal 2026 funding. McElroy, an appointee of President Donald Trump, had previously ruled against similar changes to the program’s fiscal 2025 funding. HUD unsuccessfully appealed the previous ruling. […]

The ruling responds to two cases — one lawsuit filed by the National Alliance to End Homelessness and a coalition of three other nonprofits and a series of localities, and another lawsuit filed by a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors. Both suits sought an injunction to halt the funding changes.

* AG Kwame Raoul…

“This order ensures states continue to have access to funding that is necessary to address homelessness,” Raoul said. “These resources were appropriated by Congress, and the attempt by the Trump administration to take away these funds is illegal and outside of HUD’s authority. I will continue to take action to protect federal funding for Illinois and stand with my colleagues in defense of the rule of law.”

For more than two decades, HUD has embraced a commitment to permanent housing programs and the Housing First model, which prioritizes getting unhoused individuals and families into permanent housing without pre-conditions, such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold. Housing First is proven to be effective at addressing homelessness and has been the cornerstone of state efforts since HUD and the Continuum of Care program first embraced the model over two decades ago. But the current federal administration has rejected HUD’s longstanding commitment to the Housing First model and undermined the Continuum of Care program.

HUD first published notices of funding opportunities last year that cut funding for permanent supportive housing by 70%. That funding opportunity was subsequently found to be unlawful in a separate lawsuit against HUD that Raoul and the coalition won on June 30 regarding the agency’s decision to impose illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the Continuum of Care program. The program supports housing and other services for people experiencing housing instability or homelessness. On June 1, HUD issued a notice of funding opportunity that creates a $1.3 billion set-aside for new projects prioritizing such things as transitional housing, which has the effect of limiting available Continuum of Care funding for permanent housing. That new funding opportunity, which is the subject of the current lawsuit, threatened housing for at least 97,000 residents of Continuum of Care-funded permanent housing across the country and more than 5,000 residents in Illinois alone, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

* More AG Raoul news…

* Press release | AG Raoul leads coalition opposing Trump administration’s rollback of common sense firearms regulations: Attorney General Kwame Raoul has led a coalition of 23 attorneys general warning that the Trump administration’s rollback of commonsense firearms regulations will endanger their communities, many of which – like Chicago – have seen levels of gun violence drop dramatically in recent years. […] In a series of comment letters submitted between July 6 and August 6, Raoul and the multistate coalition outline the damage to public safety that will ensue if these massive deregulatory changes take effect, and the coalition urges the ATF to abandon or revise many of these proposals.

* AG Raoul secures victory with Nexstar/Tegna motion: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found that Nexstar is violating the preliminary injunction by putting current or former Nexstar executives on Tegna’s board of directors. The court also ordered monthly reporting and directed the parties to propose procedures for ongoing third-party compliance monitoring, potentially through a special master. If Nexstar is allowed to fully integrate Tegna, the companies would form the largest broadcast station group in the United States, reaching 80% of U.S. television households. That consolidation is expected to put more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, cut local jobs, increase cable bills and significantly impact the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide.

* Press release | AG Raoul files lawsuit over fires at Harbor View waste facility: Attorney General Kwame Raoul today filed a lawsuit against Stony Island Reclamation Co., Land and Lakes Co., and J.L.W. Trucking LLC, which operated the facility under the name of Whole Earth Compost, alleging that the companies endangered the environment and public safety by allowing fires to break out at the Harbor View waste facility, a closed landfill site.