* ICYMI: Illinois, other states win temporary block of Trump order ending birthright citizenship. Sun-Times…

- U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argued that Trump’s executive order violates the 14th Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- According to the Associated Press, Coughenour called the executive mandate, a “blatantly unconstitutional order.”
- The suit, brought by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with three other attorneys general, was seeking a temporary restraining order, which Coughenour granted on Thursday. It is also seeking to invalidate the executive order and to enjoin any actions taken to implement it.

* Related stories…

∙ AP: Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship
∙ Reuters: US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship

* Governor Pritzker will be at the Oak Lawn-Hometown Early Learning Center at 10 a.m. to announce new preschool seats through Smart Start Illinois. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois, other states slam DOJ memo threatening to prosecute state officials who ‘impede’ deportation efforts: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 10 other attorneys general pushed back Thursday on a memo from the Department of Justice calling for the investigation of state and local officials who “threaten to impede” enforcement of the Trump administration’s immigration initiatives. In a memo first obtained by The Associated Press, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed federal prosecutors to investigate any state or local officials who stand in the way of enforcement of immigration laws under President Donald Trump’s administration.

* Block Club | Proposed Southeast Side Dump Expansion Would Violate State Law, Regulators Say: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates a 43-acre “confined disposal facility” in neighboring Calumet Park, which stores material dredged from the Calumet River and five other federally maintained waterways in the city. The facility is on land owned by the Park District, which does not charge the Army Corps for its use. […] Now, state regulators say expansion plans would amount to “open dumping” — an issue that can’t be solved by seeking a state permit, given a ban on new or expanded landfills in Cook County.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Investigate Midwest | Campaign cash flows from ethanol and corn sectors as Illinois lawmakers weigh carbon capture regulations: Since 2021, Harmon has received $147,500 from Marquis Energy, according to the campaign finance database Illinois Sunshine. […] “I support additional safeguards to protect our drinking water and the Mahomet Aquifer specifically,” Harmon said in a written statement to Investigate Midwest. “Given the moratorium that’s already in place and uncertainty of the new federal administration, I think it makes sense to pause and see what shakes out in D.C., and then consider our options. Our only priority is protecting clean drinking water.”

* Capitol City Now | New state grant program for disadvantaged small businesses: Gov. JB Pritzker Thursday announced a grant program for small businesses in the state. He said the program gives businesses some “breathing room” for investment. […] There is also capital in the $10 million program for really, really small businesses, those with up to ten employees. Anybody interested can go online: dceo.illinois.gov.

* Rep. Steve Reick | Illinois cannot afford the pension reforms in Fair Retirement and Recruitment Act: There are two aspects of Illinois’ pension crisis that need to be kept separate if we’re to have a sensible discussion of how to fix either one. The first is the “normal” cost, which is the amount that must be set aside each year to pay for current-year accruals to the pension funds. That’s an ongoing obligation that, for lack of a better description, is forward-looking based upon salaries paid in the current year. The other aspect, and to my mind the more difficult one, is the debt that has been allowed to pile up over past years because of chronic underfunding, investment performance that hasn’t kept up with investment assumptions and overly generous benefits granted without thought of how they were going to be paid for.

*** Statewide ***

* Daily Herald | State education board issues guidance to schools on Trump immigration actions: Regardless of students’ immigration status or that of their parents or guardians, all children are entitled to equal access to basic public elementary and secondary education, State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders wrote in his weekly message to schools. That standard has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, even in instances when a student may be undocumented, he added.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Chicago teachers strike threat elevated as CTU leader cries foul: “It is deeply frustrating [to be at this point],” said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates. “To force our hand to take a strike vote is a very cruel and mean joke.” State law requires that an arbitrator be called in before the CTU can move to strike. The arbitrator, called a fact finder, is hearing from both sides this week and is expected to issue recommendations in early February.

* Sun-Times | Brandon Johnson’s campaign gives back most of a $50,000 contribution from fund run by a City Hall lobbyist: The Chicago Latino Public Affairs Committee, run by City Hall lobbyist Homero Tristan, contributed that amount to Friends of Brandon Johnson in June 2023. The City Hall inspector general found the contribution violated a $1,500 contribution cap, and the difference was refunded.

* Vintage Chicago Tribune | The mass deportation of Mexicans in 1954: Millions of Mexican farmworkers, known as braceros, began arriving legally in America during World War II to temporarily help harvest crops. The Bracero Program, an agreement between the U.S. government and the Mexican applicants, was supposed to provide a low wage, room and board, which was paid for by taxpayer subsidies. But many laborers were mistreated. In August 1945, the Tribune reported a group of about 20 braceros were “stranded without funds” despite signing a six-month contract. The Mexican Civic Center, 868 Blue Island Ave., provided food and lodging and found work for the men in South Bend, Indiana.

* NYT | Of course, the Bears wanted Ben Johnson. Surprisingly, he wanted them even more: Johnson wanted to be the Bears head coach. He wanted to continue to coach in the NFC North. And he wanted to make the Chicago area his home. For the last 10 years, he and his family have made visiting the city and attending Cubs games an annual trip. “The first words out of his mouth were, ‘I want this job,’” chairman George McCaskey said. “The last thing he said before we turned off the camera was, ‘Did I tell you that I want this job?’ I was especially struck, and he referenced it in his comments, that this is the toughest division in football, and he wants to be here. He wants to go up against (Dan) Campbell, (Matt) LaFleur and (Kevin) O’Connell and wants to succeed in the toughest environment possible. I was very impressed by that.”

* Sun-Times | Green Thumb Industries brings cannabis to The Salt Shed with onsite retail shop: On Friday, the partners will launch RISE at Salt Shed, an onsite shop selling hemp-derived THC Delta 9 products, including incredibles gummies and chocolates, Beboe gummies, and Señorita THC Margaritas, as well as some merchandise.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | ‘Troubled’ Housing Authority of Cook County spent more than $60,000 at Six Flags: The money came out of HACC’s roughly $22 million annual budget, dollars meant to be spent on providing public and subsidized housing to some of the lowest income residents in the county. “This wasn’t a frivolous use of taxpayer funds,” said Richard Monocchio, executive director of HACC for 12 years before he took his current job at HUD in May 2023, in an interview with the Tribune. “This was good governance.” Monocchio was in charge when the Six Flags trips occurred and went on three himself, describing the outings as a reward for his employees to show appreciation for their hard work. The trips were held in lieu of holiday parties that HACC threw in past years at a similar expense, Monocchio said.

* Lake County News-Sun | Fortune Brands plans Deerfield headquarters expansion, hundreds of new jobs; ‘A great endorsement of Lake County’: Considine said the Fortune 500 company has been headquartered in Deerfield for well over a decade with about 130 employees, a number that will increase dramatically in the next few years as it makes its move “literally” down the road from its current location. The move was supported by an Illinois’ Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit, a state incentive for companies that create new jobs. As part of the EDGE tax credit, Fortune has committed to creating at least 400 new jobs, while retaining the 128 existing full-time positions.

* Daily Herald | FEMA remap could lift flood insurance burden from Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights property owners: Levee 37 has provided property owners along the Des Plaines River with much-needed flood control. Now, an intergovernmental agreement between Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights could lead to flood insurance relief for hundreds of homes and businesses near the levee. The villages recently agreed to split the $57,000 cost of hiring Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd.

* Daily Herald | 2025 is bringing major changes to malls in Bloomingdale, Lombard and West Dundee: Suburban shoppers will see significant changes as demolition work continues on malls in Bloomingdale and Lombard and will soon start in West Dundee. Three malls — Yorktown Center in Lombard, Stratford Square in Bloomingdale and Spring Hill in West Dundee — are in the midst of a transformation as villages and ownership reimagine the retail centers.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Champaign Co. Board approves 12-month carbon sequestration ban: “The County Board is taking a prudent and necessary step to ensure we’re prioritizing public health and safety,” said Pam Richart, Co-Director of Eco-Justice Collaborative. “This moratorium gives us the time we need to put in place regulations that protect our water for future generations.”

* WCIA | Decatur high school suing health clinic over location: St. Teresa High School is off Water St., where Heritage Behavioral Health Center said their new location will be. In the lawsuit, St. Teresa’s said the clinic would be within 100 feet of their building, and the school is complaining the clients loiter around their current facility and that feces has been found on sidewalks.

* WSIL | Rend Lake College awarded nearly $800,000 in grants: The grants awarded come to a total of $790,000. This is for five separate grants. This will help students with learning valuable skills for the careers of their choice, along with expanding access critical mental health resources. […] “With the recent grants awarded to RLC, we will expand resources, enhance programs and provide greater opportunities for our students’ success,” said Kim Wilkerson, Vice President - CTE & Student Support. “These funds will open new doors and ensure our students have the tools necessary to be successful.”

* IPM | Former deputy governor Jesse Ruiz becomes new chair of University of Illinois Board of Trustees: “I’ve got a long complicated history with the University of Illinois,” Ruiz told the trustees. “I never thought this is where I’d be sitting in the spring of 1984.” After a stint at community college, Ruiz returned to U of I and graduated in 1988. He later became a lawyer and served on the Chicago Public Schools and Illinois boards of education. He also served on a federal education commission during the Obama administration and was a deputy governor for JB Pritzker in 2018.

* SJ-R | One of Springfield’s original pizza parlors reopens dining room after 5 years: Gabatoni’s – one of Springfield’s original pizza parlors – once again is inviting customers to have a seat. […] “It means a lot to me to open this staple up. My dad brought me in when I was a kid,” said William “Bill” Pope, who purchased Gabatoni’s last October. Prior to that, the green-roofed restaurant always had been owned by a member of the Lynn family since it opened in 1951.

*** National ***

* NYT | People With A.D.H.D. Are Likely to Die Significantly Earlier Than Their Peers, Study Finds: A study of more than 30,000 British adults diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., found that, on average, they were dying earlier than their counterparts in the general population — around seven years earlier for men, and around nine for women. The study, which was published Thursday in The British Journal of Psychiatry, is believed to be the first to use all-cause mortality data to estimate life expectancy in people with A.D.H.D. Previous studies have pointed to an array of risks associated with the condition, among them poverty, mental health disorders, smoking and substance abuse.