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* ICYMI: Illinois, other states win temporary block of Trump order ending birthright citizenship. Sun-Times…
* Related stories…
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
posted by Isabel Miller
Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 7:42 am
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== win temporary block of Trump order ending birthright citizenship. ==
That ruling / stay was a given with the current understanding of the 14th.
I expect the whole purpose of that specific Executive Order was to start a court case that will end up at SCOTUS to reexamine the language of the 14th Amendment by a court that views things through the original debates leading up to an amendments approval. The pleadings may make for an interesting sideshow.
Or it was just tossed out there as a distraction.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 8:01 am
Very Trump like for CTU to disparage the arbitrator before he even issues an opinion.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 8:01 am
== memo from the Department of Justice … ==
This will come down to a test of the US Supremacy Clause versus State’s Rights & Powers. Also how well the Federal government follows the proper legal procedures in terms of warrants.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 8:08 am
== Illinois can not afford pension reforms … ==
As Rich pointed out yesterday, and as Rep. Reick noted, there are multiple parts to the pension puzzle, each with different costs. The Safe Harbor part has to be fixed, no real choice there. How much of the rest of the proposed package will be what gets argued about.
The logical approach would be to split the bill in two. But if you do that, it’s likely the rest of the package goes down in defeat due to the funding question and the expected tight State budgets the next few years.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 8:16 am
What brand of coffee is rnug drinking and how is he brewing it? Good stuff yesterday and today rnug; thank you.
Comment by Peter Kowalski in Champaign Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 8:29 am
Seems like the leaders of Illinois want to follow the law when they agree with it. They don’t want to work with ICE but ICE is following Federal law. Immigration issues are a federal matter and if they don’t like the law then they should work with the state representatives to Congress to change those laws. But they should respect it.
Comment by Center Drift Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 8:53 am
- They don’t want to work with ICE but ICE is following Federal law. -
There is no law that says states or municipalities have to use their taxpayer funded resources to enforce federal law. CPD has enough trouble solving local crimes, why should we add immigration enforcement to their plate?
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:17 am
RNUG is on the right track with a more skeptical analysis of these things.
Question— who is the plaintiff in the birthright citizenship case?
It seems that it will get tossed if it’s just the states as I don’t see them having standing in it.
They need a “new arrival” with a new baby to be their plaintiff.
But that gets complicated on the jump.
Comment by Here today with my popcorn Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:21 am
I’m not aware of any law that says local police must inquire about the immigration status of any individual charged with any crime.
Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:22 am
Excitable, there is a federal criminal code, Title 8 section 1324, that makes it a crime to transport, harbor, encourage, induce, conspire, aid, abet, conceal any one that’s not in this country legally.
If the feds decide to enforce this, some people will have to lawyer up and defend themselves.
Comment by Here today with my popcorn Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:25 am
“U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon…” So Raoul and his fellow AG immigration bros go venue shopping to Washington state for a federal judge. But here in Illinois, if we want to oppose a constitutional issue like the PICA/ assault weapons act in state court, you have to file in Springfield or Cook, thanks to Don Harmon.
When the lawyers like Harmon and Raoul are the state actors, you can see their anti-American agenda.
Comment by Payback Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:26 am
- makes it a crime to transport, harbor, encourage, induce, conspire, aid, abet, conceal any one that’s not in this country legally. -
Not assisting ICE with their investigations doesn’t violate any of that.
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:27 am
In Chicago, for the past 2 years or so, you will find mothers with small children selling candy on the street or in the subway for $1. In the summer they often have sunburn from being outside too long. I usually give them a couple bucks and tell them to keep the candy.
What a threat to national security 🙄. I feel so threatened /s
Comment by low level Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:30 am
Payback, you make a very strong case for “typical shenanigans” by applying their Illinois venue rule to their current behavior.
It’s things like this that make me wonder…
I was raised to use the Ruler, the Mirror, and the Curb. Ykiyk.
Comment by Here today with my popcorn Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:32 am
== What brand of coffee is rnug drinking … ==
That was before coffee. Right now I’m on my second cup at Lulu’s.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:32 am
Payback, Judge Coughenour was appointed to the bench by President Reagan. He’s been on the bench since 1981. Raoul just joined the Washington AG who filed in his home jurisdiction. This isn’t judge shopping; it’s avoiding duplicate lawsuits.
The judge said “I have been on this bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear.”
Comment by Wisco Expat Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:33 am
===I expect the whole purpose of that specific Executive Order was to start a court case that will end up at SCOTUS to reexamine the language of the 14th Amendment by a court that views things through the original debates leading up to an amendments approval. The pleadings may make for an interesting sideshow.===
It is totally meritless. Even if you take an originalist approach, the original intention was exactly what the plain text says, and how courts have interpreted it for over 100 years. The “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” clause refers to people with diplomatic immunity.
Ridiculous. Do these people think when they travel to a foreign country that they aren’t “subject to the jurisdiction” of the foreign country because they’re American?
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:36 am
==Title 8 section 1324, that makes it a crime to transport, harbor, encourage, induce, conspire, aid, abet, conceal any one that’s not in this country legally.==
I guess Governor Abbott and those charter bus companies better lawyer up.
Comment by Anon324 Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:39 am
== There is no law that says states or municipalities have to use their taxpayer funded resources to enforce federal law. ==
Maybe, maybe not. If the Feds show up with an actual judicial bench issued warrant, then yes, local authorities do have to cooperate at a certain level. But if it is just an administrative warrant, no so much. That’s why I said it’s going to depend if the Feds follow the proper legal procedures.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:40 am
==RNUG is on the right track with a more skeptical analysis of these things.==
Based upon what, exactly? Wong Kim Ark was decided in 1898 based on of what “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” would be understood to mean based on the “history and tradition” standard going back to English common law. The same arguments against birthright were made then, only against Chinese people.
Comment by Anon324 Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:44 am
“… Title 8 section 1324, that makes it a crime to … conceal any one that’s not in this country legally.”
So, sub-federal governments requiring ICE use judicially signed warrants instead of administrative warrants is a crime? The 1998 IRS hearings amply demonstrated the “problems” with administrative warrants.
Comment by Anyone Remember Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:45 am
Anyone, in a perfect world, Pritzker and Johnson would keep encouraging “new arrivals” to hide from the feds and give them aid.
Maybe they should provide free healthcare, housing, and coaching on how to avoid the feds.
oh wait
/s
Comment by Here today with my popcorn Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 9:57 am
== The same arguments against birthright were made then ==
I didn’t say they were going to win, just that they were taking another shot at it.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 10:11 am
People are focusing too much on the Executive Orders themselves. What is going to be far more important is how the Courts react to the Executive Orders. If the Courts begin legitimizing these over the top Executive Orders, then watch out. The Courts are going to be the final check on the President’s power and if that check is no longer there, who knows what Trump will try to do.
Comment by Remember the Alamo II Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 10:34 am
Remember,
We know one thing for sure— he has destroyed the Overton Window factory, and caused a colossal Toffler-style Future Shock.
Comment by Here today with my popcorn Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 11:10 am
In my experience, most white Americans who know their family history well enough to talk about their immigrant ancestors speak of them as though each one was a bona fide hero.
It’s pathetic to see so many of the same people disparage modern immigrants despite the bravery and fortitude required to come to the US.
Democrats have ceded an embarrassing amount of rhetorical ground on immigration and it is long past time to change course.
Comment by Stephanie Kollmann Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 11:17 am
Stephanie, I somewhat agree.
However, do you think the entire world should be allowed to immigrate to the US with no constraints? The whole situation doesn’t scale well; which is the ultimate test when searching for a good policy.
And that’s the difference between the immigration philosophies of the lefts, mods, and rights.
Anyone pushing for the omission of any rational filters— especially criminal history, terrorism history — and the lack of respect for the affected local infrastructures/children/taxpayers, not to mention the abuse these new arrivals are subject to in the jobs they’re being given (meat plants and domestic labor), creates an untenable argument for the group you’re encouraging.
Too many elephants in that room.
Comment by Here today with my popcorn Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 11:57 am
@Here Today with My Popcorn
What constraints would you like to impose? Because the constraint in question here is simply blatantly ignoring or subverting a long standing constitutional right, afforded to all. Its language is as plain as can be and has been challenged and defended before.
Any other constitutional rights you’d like to rein in to impose constraints? Perhaps we reexamine the 2nd amendment in a similar light since it seems like the rights it affords don’t “scale well”.
Comment by Charles Edward Cheese Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 12:09 pm
===However, do you think the entire world should be allowed to immigrate to the US with no constraints?===
That’s quite the straw man you’ve conjured up. I don’t see anyone arguing for that.
Comment by Da big bad wolf Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 12:19 pm
===That’s quite the straw man you’ve conjured up===
No kidding. Don’t argue like a child here. Save that for Twitter lol
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 12:24 pm
Re: Decatur High School - Saint T’s
How very charitable of a private, Catholic school to sue to prevent those in need of mental health services from coming within sight of their students.
Comment by H-W Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 12:36 pm
“This will come down to a test of the US Supremacy Clause versus State’s Rights & Powers.”
A cynic might suggest that this will ultimately come down to a test of whether a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices are willing to further debase the federal judiciary and themselves.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 2:10 pm
- whether a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices are willing to further debase the federal judiciary and themselves. -
My money is on yes.
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jan 24, 25 @ 2:27 pm