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President Donald Trump’s administration this week provided deportation officials with personal data — including the immigration status — on millions of Medicaid enrollees, a move that could make it easier to locate people as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.
An internal memo and emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, citing legal and ethical concerns.
Nevertheless, two top advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the dataset handed over to the Department of Homeland Security, the emails show. Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were given just 54 minutes on Tuesday to comply with the directive.
The dataset includes the information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C., all of which allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. CMS transferred the information just as the Trump administration was ramping up its enforcement efforts in Southern California.
* Sun-Times | Chicago police say they don’t ‘assist in immigration enforcement’ but have turned over key records to feds: Between November 2022 and late this past March, those three federal agencies obtained the arrest reports for at least a dozen men under Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act. Some of them haven’t been convicted of a crime in Cook County. Others have lengthy arrest records that include serious charges.
* ProPublica | 100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools: More than 4,000 students once crowded DuSable High School, then an all-Black academic powerhouse on Chicago’s South Side. Its three-story Art Deco building drew students with a full lineup of honors classes, a nationally known music program and standout sports teams. Nat King Cole played the piano in his classroom as a DuSable student. Harold Washington, Chicago’s first Black mayor, studied there. On Friday nights, teenagers zipped through its hallways on roller skates and danced in the gymnasium.
* Sun-Times | A Black girl endured racist bullying in a mostly white Chicago school. Did CPS do enough?: One afternoon in class last October, a student at Wildwood IB World Magnet School on the Northwest Side told his classmates he would say the N-word in exchange for gum. He said the word “over and over,” elementary school administrators later learned. Others repeated the word. The group of kids laughed. Sitting among them was Jada, one of only two Black students in the seventh grade at the predominantly white public school. She reported that one of the kids said to her: “You’re a [N-word].” Some of the students later admitted this happened and served in-school suspensions.
* Sun-Times | What we know about Chicago’s ‘No Kings’ protest: The Chicago protest will be one of the many to launch in more than 1,000 cities across the country, following days of demonstrations led by immigrant rights activists and as the Trump administration ramps up the number of arrests immigration officers must make each day. Jason Rieger, founder of Indivisible Chicago, said the group is expecting even larger crowds than the ones that turned out for Chicago’s version of the “Hands Off” demonstrations held in all 50 states in April.
* Block Club | Jesse Jackson And Pastors Rally To Remind Chicagoans To Boycott Target After DEI Rollback: Dozens of faith leaders gathered on State Street Thursday to demand corporations like Target reinstate their equity and inclusion initiatives despite federal crackdowns and funding cuts from President Donald Trump and his administration. Members of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, local faith leaders and the Rev. Jesse Jackson held a peaceful protest outside the Target at 1 S. State St. to “put a target” on the discount department chain and stand in solidarity with the protest of Trump immigration policies.
* Sun-Times | Lurie Children’s Hospital’s closing of suburban pediatric therapy practice has families rattled: Elizabeth Berenz’s 7-year-old son Arthur has a rare, genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that leaves him unable to stand or walk independently. But when he’s in the warm-water therapy pool at Arlington Pediatric Therapy in Arlington Heights, he becomes buoyant. His face lights up as he’s able to stride around, Berenz says. “It’s like a different world when he’s in the pool,” she says. “It’s magical for him.”
* WTTW | Nearly 4.5 Years After 28-Year City Contract With ComEd Expired, No New Deal in Sight: ComEd’s now nearly 33-year-old contract with the city to operate and manage the electric distribution system that serves residents and businesses in Chicago, known as a franchise agreement, remains in place due to automatic extensions baked into the deal, ensuring the lights stay on across Chicago. Since the city inked its first deal with ComEd in 1947, Chicagoans have paid a monthly “franchise fee” of approximately 4% of what they pay ComEd to deliver electricity to their homes. Most Chicagoans pay about $3.30 per month to the city, records show.
* Block Club | City Adding 7 More Speed Cameras This Summer. Here’s Where They Are: The seven cameras will begin issuing tickets in mid-July and early August, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation. So far, 34 new cameras have been installed in 2025. Drivers who exceed the speed limit by 6-10 mph in a speed camera zone will receive a $35 fine. Those going 11 mph or more over the limit will be fined $100.
* Tribune | Water flea population soared in South Side stretch of Chicago River after 2023 sewage release: One type of water flea, Chydoridae, basically disappeared from the South Side stretch known as Bubbly Creek, while another, Moinidae, experienced a dramatic population surge. “You could see them with your eyes — clouds of them were so thick,” Shedd Aquarium research biologist Austin Happel said of the Moinidae, each about the size of the tip of a gel pen. “I’ve never seen that before in the wild.” The “drastic” population shifts happened after the sewer system, overwhelmed by torrential rains, released 3 billion gallons of raw sewage and stormwater into the Chicago River, according to a recent study in the journal Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems.
* Tribune | How these Chicago nuns use sports to spread their message of service: ‘When we band together, we’re powerful’: “We need to be people that are seen at ballparks. We need to be seen as people who stand by the bedside of a resident who is dying,” Sister Jeanne Haley of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm told the Tribune. “There are so many ways we can be present to people. We might get pushback from adults who had nuns who slapped their hands, but I always say to those people, ‘Honey, I’m a nurse. And I had my hand slapped too.’”
* Block Club | Old Town Art Fair Turns 75 With Its Biggest Garden Walk Yet: This stretch of Old Town also includes what Diane Gonzalez, the owner and principal researcher of Chicago House Histories, calls the neighborhood’s “most famous row of houses,” a series of Queen Anne homes built between 1884 and 1885, designed by famed Chicago architecture firm Adler & Sullivan. “If you use your imagination when you’re in Old Town, you could feel like you could go back 100 years,” Gonzalez said, crisscrossing the cobblestoned sidewalks. “There’s a spirit here.”
* Block Club | The Legend Of Chicago’s Great Lake Jumper: A Hangover Cure, Frostbite And 5 Years Of Daily Leaps: “I’m 57 years old and proud I can still do somewhat of a flip,” O’Conor said. “You breathe and jump.” O’Conor has now taken the leap of faith into Lake Michigan every morning for five years. The ironman streak has attracted national media attention, brought out legendary musicians to serenade him on the ledge of Montrose Harbor’s concrete beach and turned the beer-bellied, concert-junkie father of three into the local man known as the “Great Lake Jumper.”
* Daily Herald | Retiring Superintendent Lisa Small lauded after 33-year career in District 211: Having always encouraged students to plan for their futures, retiring Superintendent Lisa Small is about to realize her own after a 33-year career with Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211. Her plans beyond July 1 include working more on the farm she and her husband share with hogs, chickens, turkeys, horses, alpacas, llamas and bees. Thoughts of a veterinarian career were once the only thing that ever rivaled her dream of working in education. District 211 Board of Education President Steve Rosenblum called it an integral part of the character of the person who was chosen to lead the district five years ago.
* Daily Southtwon | Millions in loans on tap for Southland towns to replace lead water lines: Several south suburbs will get millions of dollars in state loans to replace lead water service lines through Illinois’ new budget that starts July 1. Despite the loans, taken together, communities are indicating that the amount will barely scratch the surface, as replacing a single lead line can cost about $10,000. Communities across the country are trying to meet a federal mandate to eliminate lead service lines, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Administration offers no-interest loans to municipalities.
* Daily Herald | Rep. Schneider traveling to Middle East despite Israel’s attack on Iran: A congressional delegation to the Middle East that will include U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park will not be deterred by Israel’s fresh military attack against Iran. “I think this is an especially important time to be in the region,” Schneider, a Democrat representing the suburban 10th District, said in a telephone interview Friday. Schneider is one of four lawmakers headed to the region. The others are fellow Democrat Jimmy Panetta of California and Republicans Zach Nunn of Iowa and Don Bacon of Nebraska.
* WAND | Shelby Co. Board rejects forensic audit findings on Dive Team’s practices: During Thursday night’s board meeting, the Shelby County Board rejected a forensic audit that detailed serious accusations against the county’s dive team. Benford Brown & Associates, a public accounting firm, was hired by the board in 2024 to investigate the dive team’s practices and financial situation. The audit revealed inadequate record-keeping and accused the team of not being registered as a non-profit organization, as well as improperly mixing county funds with donations.
* WAND | Urbana kicks off Juneteenth celebrations with ‘Reflections and Reflections’: As Juneteenth — a day commemorating the end of slavery after the Civil War — comes closer, local communities are gearing up for the holiday. Urbana hosted their first event, “Juneteenth 2025: Reflections and Reverence Ceremony,” on Thursday. Newly-elected Mayor of Urbana DeShawn Williams says as conversations surrounding Juneteenth become more consistent, its important to continue educating others. “People are finally getting to a space and understanding the importance of the history. For me, it’s very important that we ramp it up even more.”
* WCIA | REO Speedwagon wives tell all: Chief Meteorologist Kevin Lighty sits down with Darya Gemmel, the wife of Neal Doughty, and Kimmie Sue Hall, the wife of Bruce Hall, from REO Speedwagon before their show at the State Farm Center that will take place this Saturday. This will be the final show with these members and is titled “Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon.”
* RWJF | Reconciliation Bill Effects on States’ Healthcare Spending and Uncompensated Care: National healthcare spending would decline by $797 billion over the next decade. Thirty-six percent of this decline would occur in California, Florida, Texas, and New York. Declines in healthcare spending would exceed $20 billion in nine additional states (Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington).
* WBEZ | RFK Jr. sent Congress ‘medical disinformation’ to defend COVID vaccine schedule change: A document the Department of Health and Human Services sent to lawmakers to support Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to change U.S. policy on COVID vaccines cites scientific studies that are unpublished or under dispute and mischaracterizes others. One health expert called the document “willful medical disinformation” about the safety of COVID vaccines for children and pregnant women. “It is so far out of left field that I find it insulting to our members of Congress that they would actually give them something like this. Congress members are relying on these agencies to provide them with valid information, and it’s just not there,” said Dr. Mark Turrentine, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine.
posted by Isabel Miller
Friday, Jun 13, 25 @ 2:27 pm
Previous Post: Madigan sentenced to 90 months in prison, 3 years’ probation, $2.5 million fine - Will report to prison Oct. 13
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= Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools:=
They guy who actually tried to do something about this was called the murder mayor. CTU has no shame and, along with CPS leadership acts like this isn’t a real problem. They have no issue demanding more money, but no desire to address an addressable problem that would save tens of millions. They know no shame.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Jun 13, 25 @ 3:50 pm
Chicago has been ignoring the issue of low-enrollment schools for years. It needs to find the courage to deal with the problem. How can anyone support spending more and more money to keep such inefficiencies going? Taxpayers don’t have an unlimited piggy bank.
Comment by Just a Citizen Friday, Jun 13, 25 @ 3:52 pm
I would hope that privacy laws would prevent any entity, even the government, from using your personal data for other purposes. If that’s not the case it should be, Congress should make it so. It’s outrageous that the federal government ignores all law and propriety in their zeal to hunt down every Hispanic person they can.
Comment by Perrid Friday, Jun 13, 25 @ 3:54 pm
I do not understand why CPS does not shut down such grossly underused schools. I think it would be best for all involved
Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, Jun 13, 25 @ 4:00 pm