* ICYMI: Illinois, 4 other states targeted for $10B child care funding freeze win restraining order. Capitol News Illinois…

- Illinois and the four other Democratic-led states that were subject to the Trump administration’s freeze on $10 billion in federal funding for child care and family services secured a restraining order on Friday in their lawsuit seeking to block the move.
- At a Friday news conference, all five attorneys general said the administration did not offer any evidence or specific allegations of fraud in the letters they received.
- The restraining order, issued by Judge Arun Subramanian in the Southern District of New York, means the freeze can’t take effect while the full case plays out, unless an appellate court overturns the stay.

* Related stories…

• Sun-Times | Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from freezing child care funding in Illinois, 4 other states
• STLPR: Trump administration freezes funding for child care providers in Missouri
• ABC: Trump administration can’t block child care, other program money for 5 states: Judge

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Oversight panel OKs rule on digitized prison mail in Illinois with new changes: The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, which oversees administrative rulemaking, issued an objection to the rule in September, telling the department it needed to implement feedback from incarcerated people, families, attorneys and other stakeholders if it wanted to adopt the rule permanently. After a period of public comment and engagement with stakeholders, the department introduced amended rules, including some exceptions for photographs and used books, as well as clarifications for legal mail. Photographs must be unopened and sent directly from a vendor. Those in custody can also receive a physical printout of their mail upon request, at no cost to the individual, under the amended rules.

* Sun-Times | As ACA tax credit debate continues in Congress, Illinois sees slight decrease in enrollment: The 4% decrease in enrollment is, so far, less severe than what many experts and advocates had anticipated, especially since enrollees in Illinois were expected to see an average increase of 78% in their monthly premiums. Anywhere from 2 to 4 million people across the country were expected to become uninsured if the tax credits weren’t extended.

*** Statewide ***

* Rockford Register Star | Gamblers lost $1.9B at Illinois casinos in 2025: Gamblers lost $1.9 billion at Illinois casinos in 2025, a 15% increase from the previous year. Newer casinos, including Wind Creek and Hard Rock Rockford, contributed to the state’s revenue growth. The casino industry generated over $408 million in state taxes and $121 million for local governments in 2025.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol City Now | Harmon preps for new Senate year: A 2025 lowlight for Harmon: an accusation that he raised too much campaign cash in too little time, for which he was recommended for a $10 million fine. “It is fairly nuanced and, really, the result, I think, of a lack of clarity in how a couple of different provisions are supposed to work together. I’m gratified that that has been resolved as I expected it would be. I’m gratified the final vote to take it off the agenda was bipartisan.”

* Crain’s | Illinois hospitals now on the clock to report policies on dealing with law enforcement: The Illinois Department of Public Health will begin notifying any general acute care hospitals who haven’t submitted their policies as part of the Illinois Health Care Sanctity & Privacy Law. A hospital that misses the deadline could face penalties of up to $500 a day if they don’t comply within seven days of hearing from IDPH. Other hospitals in the state have until March 1. Spokespeople for Endeavor Health and Rush University System for Health said both hospital systems have law enforcement policies in place and had complied with state reporting requirements as of the Jan. 1 deadline.

* CBS Chicago | Former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore to report to prison: Former ComEd chief executive officer Anne Pramaggiore is scheduled to report to federal prison Monday. Pramaggiore was one of the “ComEd Four” who were convicted in 2024 of charges of conspiracy, bribery and falsifying documents.

* Tribune | From AI to immigrant rights, here’s what to know about Illinois’ new education laws in 2026: The Illinois State Board of Education is now required to provide guidance to districts and educators on the use of artificial intelligence in K-12 settings. That includes explaining what AI is, how it works and how it could be used in classrooms. The state board must also include guidance on the impact AI systems and applications could have on student data privacy, including providing best practices for teaching students about responsible and ethical AI use.

*** Chicago ***

* Chicago Mag | Who Will Be Chicago’s Next Mayor?: Quigley hasn’t been shy to criticize the mayor’s fiscal management by calling for payroll cuts and union concessions to solve the city’s budget deficit. And his work in Congress has allowed him to position himself as a nemesis of Trump. Quigley holds the same congressional seat Rahm Emanuel did, but he’ll have to expand his appeal beyond the North Side in this race, the way Emanuel built relationships with Black voters as an Obama insider.

* Bloomberg | Chicago mayor is losing grip on city as rivals build war chest: Illinois Representative Mike Quigley, a Democrat, has said he will run, as has Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who had nearly $1.5 million in cash on hand at the end of the third quarter, has been cited as eyeing the mayoral spot. They are all Democrats. Tech executive Liam Stanton is also considering a run.

* WBEZ | Chicago Education Alliance seeks to bring clarity to CPS’ toughest issues: Rivera, a former top official at CPS, is stepping into that fray with the launch of the Chicago Education Alliance, a new organization that’s seeking to help shape CPS policy. The organization will eventually hire more staff to conduct research and issue policy briefs and recommendations. But first he’ll go around the city listening to what issues parents, teachers and community members think are most important to tackle. His goal is to help board members understand both the short-term and long-term potential impact of their decisions.

* Tribune | After Maduro’s capture, Venezuelans in the Chicago area face difficult choices: “People are afraid to stay and people are afraid to return,” said Ana Gil, founder of the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance. She said Maduro’s capture has further destabilized the country. Because of that instability, many Venezuelans in the Chicago area do not feel safe returning home, but also fear detention and deportation in the U.S.

* Crain’s | Diana Rauner stepping down from helm of education nonprofit Start Early: Rauner began her lengthy career at Start Early in 2003 as a board member before being named executive director of the organization in 2007 and then president in 2011. She was also Illinois’ first lady while her husband, Bruce Rauner, was governor from 2015 to 2019. […] In an interview with Crain’s, Rauner said she’s not fully sure yet what’s next for her. But she said it’s time for her to clear the way for “new blood and new leadership,” in the form of her successor, Start Early’s current executive director, Celena Sarillo.

* Block Club | Bears Beat Packers In Dramatic Playoff Comeback As Storybook Season Continues: It was the Bears’ largest postseason comeback and the largest comeback against the Packers in what is one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL. It was also the Bears’ first playoff win in 15 years. The game sent the city into a frenzy, with fans at The Staley, the South Loop sports bar owned by former Bear Israel Idonije, erupting in cheers of “GREEN BAY SUCKS!” as the game ended.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Horse Racing Nation | Hawthorne cancels harness racing for 2nd straight weekend: For the second straight weekend, Hawthorne has canceled harness racing. The track, located in the near southwest Chicago suburb of Stickney, hosts a fall and winter harness meet as well as a Thoroughbred meet that runs from early spring through early fall. In a text sent to harness horsemen on Saturday, Hawthorne said that “Hawthorne racetrack and the IHHA have mutually agreed that during this difficult situation, it would be best to vacate our races this weekend. These postponed days will be made up going forward.” A similar post was made by the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association to its website and its Facebook page Friday evening, adding that the organization is “hopeful this issue will be resolved soon.”

* Daily Herald | Transforming Touhy: Gridlocked and hazardous, major suburban thoroughfare is getting a redo: But a county transformation of the congested Touhy corridor in the Des Plaines/Elk Grove Village area is coming this spring. Highlights include a grade separation at the railway tracks, revamped intersections and access to I-490, currently under construction by the Illinois tollway. […] The $87.2 million, two-year overhaul is being done in coordination with the tollway, plus other stakeholders, including federal, state and local agencies, and utilities.

* Crain’s | Short-term rental owners suing over Glen Ellyn ban get a reprieve: It’s not clear from the short-term rental sites how many other offerings there are in Glen Ellyn, but last year Coleman wrote that short-term rentals represent about 1% of the overall rental pool in the village of about 28,800 people 25 miles west of the Loop in DuPage County. […] In granting the injunction, Coleman wrote that Blakelick “will suffer irreparable harm” financially if they can’t operate the property while awaiting resolution of a legal battle where they are “substantially likely to prevail” on at least some of the claims.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora considering loan program for sustainable upgrades to commercial buildings: The proposal, as heard by a committee of the Aurora City Council on Tuesday, would allow the city to participate in the Illinois Finance Authority’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing program, commonly called C-PACE. This type of lending has been available statewide since 2017, but individual local governments still need to approve its use within their boundaries. “This really supports both economic development and sustainability at the city of Aurora,” Alison Lindburg, the city’s director of sustainability, said of the proposed C-PACE program at the Rules, Administration and Procedure Committee meeting on Tuesday.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | New Champaign Township Supervisor talks future plans: “One of my goals is attempt to rebalance culture — make sure we are all aligned and working together,” Murray said. She said one thing the township office is missing is meeting on a regular basis. “It’s important to have those touch points,” Murray said. “It’s important to check in with staff and understand where they’re at.”

* WCIA | Mahomet library launches new village website: After more than five years without a newspaper, people in Mahomet didn’t have a source for local information. So, the executive director of the Mahomet library, John Howard, came up with a solution. “What if we all worked together to provide one website that’s goal was to have everything you might need or want to know for people living in Mahomet,” said Howard. “Bring as much, aggregate as much information as possible into one place so people can go and find their one thing.”

* WGLT | Downtown Bloomington reboots First Fridays with anchor events 3 times a year: The City of Bloomington will support three of the most popular themed First Friday events, beginning with Tour de Chocolat in February. In a press release, the city said waning participation in monthly extended evening hours for downtown businesses and galleries led them to rethink First Fridays around the three most popular ones. In addition to Tour de Chocolat, July and December First Fridays themed around Route 66 and the holidays will continue with city-support.

* WCIA | New developments coming to Willard Airport in Savoy: here’s already progress being made in a new area of the University of Illinois Willard Airport. With more than five years of planning and a year of construction, the airport is months away from debuting its new TSA checkpoint. “That’s something we’re excited to have the capability to do, because today our checkpoint and where it is doesn’t allow for any expansion,” said the airport’s Executive Director, Tim Bannon.

*** National ***
* NYT | Federal Prosecutors Open Investigation Into Fed Chair Powell: The inquiry, which includes an analysis of Mr. Powell’s public statements and an examination of spending records, was approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump who was appointed to run the office last year, the officials said. The investigation escalates Mr. Trump’s long-running feud with Mr. Powell, whom the president has continually attacked for resisting his demands to slash interest rates significantly. The president has threatened to fire the Fed chair — even though he nominated Mr. Powell for the position in 2017 — and raised the prospect of a lawsuit against him related to the $2.5 billion renovation, citing “incompetence.”

* Chalkbeat | Most teachers don’t have access to paid parental leave. These 2 states are leading the way: But more than seven years later, Delaware remains an outlier. Just 15 states and the District of Columbia guarantee any paid leave for teachers, according to a study released Monday by the National Council on Teacher Quality. Arkansas is the only other state that picks up the cost of substitutes. The United States is the only developed country without a national parental leave policy, and teachers aren’t alone in having to cobble together sick days, vacation time, and short-term disability when they have a baby. But just one-third of teachers reported access to any paid parental leave in a 2024 survey by the research group Rand Corp. — 14 percentage points lower than other workers. And even among those who had access to leave, fewer than half said the benefits were adequate.

* AP | Some flu measures decline, but it’s not clear this severe season has peaked: New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity. However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead. “This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.