An Illinois high school track athlete suffered an unimaginable injury while warming up for the triple jump at a meet last month.
Dylan Westcott, of Rock Falls High School, broke his neck in a freak accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. The 18-year-old has been rehabbing at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and has been able to sit in a wheelchair since about a week after the March 15 catastrophe.
Rock Falls High School head track coach Eric Bontz shared the horrific details in an interview with KWQC-TV.
"He was warming up in the triple jump, just doing run throughs, and as he was going through the sand, he tripped either over his own feet or over the sand, and kind of stumbled, and was kind of running as he was stumbling, and just fell head first into the wall," Bontz said.
Wescott went through 12 hours of surgery immediately after the accident, according to the Daily Gazette. He had two cages inserted to stabilize his neck with a vertebra was replaced with a titanium plate.
"You go from being a normal, happy family with, everybody talking about future plans and graduation, prom -- he just got accepted to study to be a vet tech after high school -- and then seeing him in a wheelchair, not able to do a lot of the things that he used to do," Westcott’s aunt, Kim Wescott Kilday, told the station. "It really hurts."
Wescott’s family and coach have praised his resiliency.
A GoFundMe has raised more than $22,000 to help with medical expenses.
Some Midwestern states like Missouri have seen population growth in recent years.
Charlie Riedel/AP
The Sunbelt isn't quite as hot — for movers, that is — as it once was.
The pandemic and remote work initially drove people to the South, but that trend has slowed.
Some Midwestern states, particularly Wisconsin and Missouri, are attracting more residents.
Midwestern small towns and suburbs are in luck.
Over the last few decades, domestic migration to the Sunbelt has slowed — and the Midwest is becoming the new place to be.
In the mid-20th century, large numbers of Americans traded chillier, pricier locales in the North — also known as the Snowbelt — for balmy winters and cheaper homes across the South and Southwest, also called the Sunbelt. When the pandemic hit, the widespread adoption of remote work spurred a new surge of Americans to move to Florida, Texas, Arizona, the Carolinas, and other states across the Sunbelt.
But the COVID-related spike in southern transplants obscures a longer-term reverse trend. Over the last few decades, moves to the Sunbelt have significantly slowed. And more recently, some Midwestern and Northeastern states have been losing fewer people than they did pre-pandemic, and a few have even gained population. Rural areas in particular have seen an uptick in movers, creating a reverse Sunbelt to Snowbelt migration trend.
Just before the pandemic, Missouri and Wisconsin were experiencing net population losses, but now they're growing, a new paper from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies found. Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan have seen their outflows slow post-pandemic. In the Northeast, Connecticut has also seen outward migration slow.
Two economists at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Sylvain Leduc, and Daniel Wilson, similarly reported last year that the warmest places in the country have seen their population growth slow while the coldest places are growing. They argue that as temperatures rise with climate change, that trend looks like it's here to stay.
"The 'pivoting' in the U.S. climate-migration correlation over the past 50 years is likely to continue, leading to a reversal of the 20th century Snow Belt to Sun Belt migration pattern," they wrote.
It's not totally clear why we're seeing this new Sunbelt-to-Snowbelt trend, but cost-of-living issues and climate change could be factors, the researchers wrote.
Housing costs have spiked in much of the Sunbelt and South, particularly over the last few years, helping slow southern migration, Riordan Frost, a research analyst at Harvard and the author of the paper, told Business Insider.
"Not only in the typically super high-cost states has affordability been an issue, but it's becoming more of an issue in the Sunbelt," Frost said.
At the same time, much of the Snowbelt, particularly more rural areas, has stayed relatively affordable. The North is also experiencing less frigid winters, while the Sunbelt grows ever steamier, making the Snowbelt increasingly attractive.
"These new migration trends should help mitigate the effects of climate change, as fewer people would be directly exposed to the negative impacts of hotter and more frequent extreme heat days," Leduc and Wilson wrote.
Zooming out, it's important to note that many Americans are staying put. Household mobility in the US has plummeted since its peak in the 1980s, falling from a rate of 18% in 1986 to 9.7% in 2019. The pandemic briefly disrupted that trend, but over the last couple of years rates of moving have continued their pre-2020 decline trajectory.
And a big part of the problem is elevated housing costs. Many can't afford to move because of elevated mortgage rates, home prices, and rents. Others fear losing the low-interest home loans they secured when interest rates fell in the early months of the pandemic.
"In general, the homeowner mobility rate has really plunged, and that's dragging down the overall mobility rate quite a bit," Frost said.
Have you moved to the Midwest — or left? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
FIRST ON FOX: The Illinois school district that faced national scrutiny for allegations of forcing middle school girls to change in the same locker room as a transgender student has been referred to the Department of Justice.
The law firm America First Legal (AFL) made the criminal referral of the district Deerfield Public Schools 109 to the DOJ on Tuesday, urging the department to investigate the district and middle school where the allegations occurred for potential violations of federal and state law.
AFL alleged the district violated Code § 241, also known as the "Conspiracy against rights" statute, which makes it a federal crime for two or more people to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws.
"We ask that your office promptly open a directed criminal investigation into the allegations in the complaint for violations of § 241, take all actions necessary," the complaint reads.
AFL senior counselor Ian Prior advocated for a criminal investigation in a statement.
"The situation at Deerfield Public Schools has gone beyond a Title IX violation and has escalated to a situation that requires the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to launch a criminal investigation. Students should not have their First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment Rights sacrificed at the altar of radical transgender madness and the woke government bureaucrats that view the Constitution as nothing more than toilet paper should face the long arm of our Justice Department," Prior said.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights announced in late March that it was launching an investigation into the Illinois Department of Education, the Chicago Public School District 299 and Deerfield Public Schools District 109 over reported Title IX violations.
Illinois mother Nicole Georgas brought the situation to light when she filed a civil rights complaint with the Justice Department after alleging that school administrators had attempted to force her 13-year-old daughter to change in front of a transgender student in the girls' locker room last month.
Georgas told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that she is "praying" for her daughter and justice amid the request for an investigation.
"I am praying for justice for Cate and all the girls whose rights have been so callously disregarded," Georgas said.
Georgas revealed the complaint during a Board of Education meeting for Deerfield Public School District 109 last week, claiming the incident took place last month after her daughter had refused to change into her uniform during physical education because a biological male student had been present at the time.
"The girls want their locker rooms and bathrooms back. They want their privacy back. This is why I’m here tonight. My 13-year-old daughter’s well-being, mental health and privacy are at stake," Georgas said during her speech at the board meeting on Thursday.
Georgas then raised the issue to the school’s administration, noting to them that she believed it was a direct violation of President Donald Trump’s Keeping Men out of Women's Sports executive order. She said in her speech that the school administration had informed her that, under the direction of its legal counsel, the transgender student was free to use both the girls' bathroom and the girls' locker room
Fox News Digital has reached out to DPS 109 for comment.
The district previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to the DOE investigation.
"Deerfield Public Schools District 109 complies with state law. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits all public school districts from discriminating on the basis of sex, including gender identity, and mandates that students must be permitted access to the locker room and bathroom that aligns with their gender identity," the statement read.
"We are sensitive to the privacy needs of all of our middle school students and ensure that no student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others. When both our middle schools were renovated in 2017, we added five private changing stations within each locker room that are available to all students. All students also have multiple options to change in a private location separate from the locker room if they wish."
The district also said it will work with local families to determine next steps.
"The District and the Board are united with our leaders and educators on this issue and have a shared commitment to upholding the law," the statement continued.
"The District and the Board call upon all of those expressing concerns or perspectives on this issue with our staff and educators to do so in a respectful and civil manner. We are glad to work with families to address any individual concerns and determine appropriate next steps to support your child's well-being and participation."
An anonymous woman filed a rare medical negligence lawsuit last week against an Illinois abortionist after a late-term abortion took a "horrific" turn when an emergency hospital visit revealed "half of a deceased pre-born human being" was found left inside her.
Chicago injury attorney Richard Craig filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jane Doe from Indiana, naming both the Champaign-based Equity Clinic and its founder, Dr. Keith Reisinger-Kindle, as defendants.
Craig told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday he's "never been presented" with a case like this.
The suit alleges that during a 22-week abortion performed in April 2023, Reisinger-Kindle left parts of the fetus inside the woman's body, leading to severe complications. After the procedure, when the woman reported persistent cramping, Reisinger-Kindle allegedly advised her to take over-the-counter pain relievers and laxatives. She later underwent emergency surgery to remove the body parts. Doe is seeking damages for medical negligence and emotional distress.
"This is someone who performed an abortion that at 22 weeks of gestation – which at that point renders a two-day process – and then on the second day, when most of the work is done, at the culmination of his work, he entered a note, saying, these are his words, ‘products of conception were visibly inspected and confirmed to be complete,’" Craig said. "That's his note. Well, clearly that didn't happen."
"When she presented to the emergency room two days later, they found what they described to be as a half of a pre-deceased fetus," Craig said. "And the films that are in the records actually suggests more like two-thirds. So, how could he say that he visibly inspected her?"
Doe, a mother of four, also alleged that Reisinger-Kindle refused to provide pertinent information to the attending surgeons without her consent.
In a medical report included in the lawsuit filings, an obstetrician/gynecologist asserts that Reisinger-Kindle "deviated from a reasonable standard of care" during the abortion by perforating the plaintiff's uterus and failing to recognize the injury.
The report also states that Reisinger-Kindle "failed to adequately examine the fetal parts" after the procedure. According to the lawsuit, there was a hole in the woman's uterus roughly the size of a large coin. The report notes that if Reisinger-Kindle "performed an adequate exam of the remains, it should have been obvious that fetal parts were left behind."
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving it up to states to decide on abortion, Illinois has solidified its position as a haven for the procedure, enacting a series of legislative measures to shield both providers and out-of-state women seeking abortion services from lawsuits.
Reisinger-Kindle, who was featured in a Chicago Tribune article, was one of many providers who opened abortion clinics in the Midwest following the high court's ruling.
Craig – who said taking the case won't make him "any friends in Illinois" – also alleged Reisinger-Kindle didn't administer any pain-relief medication to the fetus, which would have stopped its heartbeat, prior to its dismemberment.
"The current laws would prevent me, for instance, from pursuing a claim against this doctor on behalf of the child for what had to be excruciating pain that the child underwent while he was being dismembered piece by piece, without any pain relief," Craig said. "And so those laws do, in fact, prevent me, or anybody from taking that position and seeking redress for that on the behalf of the child."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Reisinger-Kindle for comment but did not hear back by time of publication.
Deerfield Public Schools District 109 has responded to a federal Title IX investigation that was launched over allegations of administrators forcing middle school girls to change in the same locker room as a transgender student.
The district provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that its actions were rooted in Illinois state law.
"Deerfield Public Schools District 109 complies with state law. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits all public school districts from discriminating on the basis of sex, including gender identity, and mandates that students must be permitted access to the locker room and bathroom that aligns with their gender identity," the statement read.
"We are sensitive to the privacy needs of all of our middle school students and ensure that no student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others. When both our middle schools were renovated in 2017, we added five private changing stations within each locker room that are available to all students. All students also have multiple options to change in a private location separate from the locker room if they wish."
The district also says it will work with local families to determine next steps.
"The District and the Board are united with our leaders and educators on this issue and have a shared commitment to upholding the law," the statement continued.
"The District and the Board call upon all of those expressing concerns or perspectives on this issue with our staff and educators to do so in a respectful and civil manner. We are glad to work with families to address any individual concerns and determine appropriate next steps to support your child's well-being and participation."
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights announced on Thursday that it is launching an investigation into the Illinois Department of Education, the Chicago Public School District 299 and Deerfield Public Schools District 109 over reported Title IX violations.
Illinois mother Nicole Georgas brought the situation to light when she filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice after alleging that school administrators had attempted to force her 13-year-old daughter to change in front of a transgender student in the girls' locker room last month.
She revealed the complaint during a Board of Education meeting for Deerfield Public School District 109 last week, claiming the incident had taken place last month after her daughter had refused to change into her uniform during physical education because a biological male student had been present at the time.
"The girls want their locker rooms and bathrooms back. They want their privacy back. This is why I’m here tonight. My 13-year-old daughter’s well-being, mental health and privacy are at stake," Georgas said during her speech at the board meeting on Thursday.
Georgas then raised the issue to the school’s administration, noting to them that she believed it was a direct violation of President Donald Trump’s Keeping Men out of Women's Sports executive order. She said in her speech that the school administration had informed her that, under the direction of its legal counsel, the transgender student was free to use both the girls' bathroom and the girls' locker room.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights announced on Thursday that it is launching an investigation into the Illinois Department of Education, the Chicago Public School District 299 and Deerfield Public Schools District 109 over reported Title IX violations.
The reported violations stem from an alleged incident involving middle school girls being forced to change in the same locker room as a transgender student.
"Congress enacted Title IX to end sex-based discrimination against females in educational programs, and its implementing regulations have long reflected the common sense practice of schools providing separate intimate facilities for males and females," said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in the announcement.
"The architects of Title IX understood that males and females, especially minors, have a right to be free from compelled exposure of their bodies or from engaging in intimate activities—like changing their clothes in a locker room—in front of the opposite sex," Trainor continued.
"This preserves the privacy and safety of all involved, especially young girls. The Department is deeply troubled by these allegations and will investigate this matter fully."
Illinois mother Nicole Georgas brought the situation to light when she filed a civil rights complaint with the Justice Department after alleging that school administrators attempted to force her 13-year-old daughter to change in front of a transgender student in the girls' locker room last month.
She revealed the complaint during a Board of Education meeting for Deerfield Public School District 109 last week, claiming the incident took place last month after her daughter refused to change into her uniform during physical education because a biological male student was present at the time.
"The girls want their locker rooms and bathrooms back. They want their privacy back. This is why I’m here tonight. My 13-year-old daughter’s well-being, mental health and privacy are at stake," Georgas said during her speech at the board meeting on Thursday.
According to Georgas, her daughter was "frightened" and "extremely upset" on Feb. 5 when she was using the girls' bathroom and noticed a transgender student was using the facilities at the same time.
"She was told by the administration that a student can use the bathroom as well as a female locker room because they now identify as female," Georgas said of the explanation administrators allegedly provided to her daughter.
Georgas then raised the issue to the school’s administration, noting to them that she believed it was a direct violation of President Donald Trump’s Keeping Men out of Women's Sports executive order. She said in her speech that the administration informed her that, under the direction of their legal counsel, the student was free to use both the girls' bathroom and the girls' locker room.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Deerfield Public Schools District 109 said no student is required to change in front of others in the locker room and added that the school's policies align with state law.
"District 109 is committed to providing a learning environment where all students and staff are respected and supported. Our policies and procedures, including student use of locker rooms, align with state laws, the Illinois School Code, and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidance. No student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others in locker rooms. All students in the middle schools have multiple options to change in a private location if they wish."
Fox News Digital's Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
From one blue-state parent to another, activists in California are warning Illinois families about a bill advancing through their state legislature that would create more regulations, and penalties, for homeschooling parents. It's the latest high-profile battle dealing with school choice, a campaign issue President Donald Trump ran on.
"Illinois, California, Colorado, they all compete with each other. They're coming after homeschooling, just like they've been coming after public schools," California parents rights activist Sonja Shaw said in a video posted to X on Wednesday. "They're attacking families, stripping parental rights, and pushing their radical agendas while our kids are failing at reading, writing and math."
At issue is HB2827, the Homeschool Act, which would charge parents with a misdemeanor if they fail to register their kids in a "homeschool declaration form" to the nearest public school they would otherwise be attending. Failure to do so would be considered truancy, and parents could face up to 30 days in jail with fines.
The bill passed a major hurdle passing out of the Democrat-dominated House education committee in a party-line vote on Wednesday, despite having upward of 50,000 witness slips in opposition and only 1,000 in support, including the Illinois State Board of Education.
California parents opposed a similar bill that failed to make it out of committee in the state legislature in 2018, AB 2756, only after hearing three hours of testimony from parents and homeschoolers. Opponents say the Democrat-led bill would have mandated all homeschooling families in the state to adhere to involuntary home inspections, after the Turpin-family child abuse case.
"This is calculated. This is how they do it. They do it in increments, slowly taking control away while people sit back thinking that their kids are safe and it doesn't affect them," said Shaw, who is a school board member in Chino and running for state superintendent of public instruction. "Every parent needs to be in this fight. If we don't stand up now together, there will be nothing left to fight for our kids in their future. Please get involved. Please speak up. Please show up, because our children are worth this fight."
Will Estrada, senior counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, told Fox News on Wednesday that the bill's language was left "open-ended for unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to be able to write different sections of regulations."
"If this bill is passed into law, it’s going to be expanded in future years to put even more restrictions on homeschool and private school families," Estrada said after testifying at Wednesday's hearing. "The record of homeschoolers shows that we do well academically, socially, emotionally and so why are we messing with them? That’s the question. This bill is a solution in search of a problem."
Democrats say the bill – which contains a portion that requires parents to hand over teaching materials if its suspected the child isn't being educated properly – will strengthen oversight of homeschooling.
Democratic state Rep. Terra Costa Howard introduced the bill following an investigative story by Pro Publica, which has a left-leaning bias according to the nonpartisan news rating company AllSides, entitled, "How Illinois’ Hands-Off Approach to Homeschooling Leaves Children at Risk." The report included cases of abuse that went unnoticed because children were not in school.
But opponents of the bill pushed back, saying in the hearing that there's no correlation between homeschooled students being more at risk of abuse than those in the public school system.
"I believe this bill will help protect abused and neglected children and leave in place the freedom of parents to decide how to best meet the educational needs of their children," Tanner Lovett, an opponent of the bill, said Wednesday.
The Illinois homeschool bill will now head to the state House of Representatives for a floor vote. If passed by the House and Senate, it would land on the desk of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat considered a potential 2028 presidential hopeful.
The bill passed out of the committee as President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Thursday dismantling the federal Department of Education.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the ongoing national battle over transgender inclusion in girls sports and locker rooms Wednesday.
Leavitt was asked about a situation in Deerfield, Illinois, involving a mother who alleged last week that her daughter was forced to change in front of a transgender student in a locker room. The mother, Nicole Georgas, says she filed a complaint with the Department of Justice over the situation involving Deerfield Public Schools.
Leavitt did not address Georgas' situation specifically, but vowed that President Donald Trump will tackle the issue at large.
"The president has made it incredibly clear that it is the policy of this administration that there are only two genders, male and female," Leavitt said. "And we are not going to tolerate such behavior by men pretending to be women. The president will continue to strongly stand for the rights of women and girls, not just in sports and on athletic fields, but also private spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms."
Georgas revealed the complaint during a Board of Education meeting for Deerfield Public School District 109 last week, claiming that the incident took place last month after her daughter refused to change into her uniform during physical education because a biological male student had been present at the time.
"The girls want their locker rooms and bathrooms back. They want their privacy back. This is why I’m here tonight. My 13-year-old daughter’s well-being, mental health and privacy are at stake," Georgas said during her speech at the board meeting on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a Democrat politician has minimized the issue.
During an Illinois General Assembly session Tuesday, Illinois Democrat state representative Bob Morgan suggested the girls who alleged they had been forced to change with a transgender student in a locker room had lied about the situation.
Morgan, who represents Deerfield, addressed the issue in response to it being brought up by Republican state representative Adam Neimerg, who brought up the allegations by Georgas.
"I'm really proud of my community who stood up for those who need to be defended and protected, making sure we have great schools, which we do by the way. We have incredible, incredible schools, incredible families, an incredible community that has come together to deal with this situation. Because it's a lie!" Morgan said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Deerfield Public Schools District 109 said that no student is required to change in front of others in the locker room and added that the school's policies align with state law.
"District 109 is committed to providing a learning environment where all students and staff are respected and supported. Our policies and procedures, including student use of locker rooms, align with state laws, the Illinois School Code, and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidance. No student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others in locker rooms. All students in the middle schools have multiple options to change in a private location if they wish."
Fox News Digital's Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
A state bill protested by hundreds of homeschooling families at the Illinois state Capitol advanced out of committee on Wednesday and will head to the state House floor for a vote, likely sometime next week, Fox News has learned.
House Bill 2827, known as the Homeschool Act, passed out of the Education Policy Committee by a vote of 8-4. If it passes a House floor vote, the bill will then go to the full House for a vote, followed by the Senate and then onto the desk of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Pritzker, a Democrat, has not publicly taken any position on the bill. Fox News reached out to his office multiple times asking if he supports the bill and if he plans to sign it if it reaches his desk but has not received a response so far.
The bill would establish requirements for parents to meet to homeschool their children and if they do not comply, they could face up to a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail. Hundreds of homeschooling families gathered inside the state Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, earlier Wednesday, condemning the bill as an overreach by lawmakers.
Will Estrada, senior counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, told Fox News that the bill's language was left "open-ended for unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to be able to write different sections of regulations."
"If this bill is passed into law, it’s going to be expanded in future years to put even more restrictions on homeschool and private school families," Estrada said after testifying at Wednesday's hearing. "The record of homeschoolers shows that we do well academically, socially, emotionally and so why are we messing with them? That’s the question. This bill is a solution in search of a problem."
"We became homeschoolers in 2020 upon seeing all the government overreach, so the fact that they are now coming for us again with government overreach, I feel like it’s an attack on parental rights," one homeschooling mother who showed up to the state Capitol protest, Michelle Langworthy, told Fox News. "There’s a part of the bill that says the school will be the one that will get to determine where the child’s records go that the parent no longer has that right."
"That is a such a gross overreach of what the state should be allowed to do. And they also say that the student should be educated to serve the state. That’s absurd," Langworthy said. "I don’t align with the state. I don’t want what the state prioritizes to be the priority of my family. We have a different value system. We are not ownership of the state."
"We’re fine. We’re scoring high. We’re doing great. We’re involved in the community," she said, condemning sexual abuse and harassment allegations within the Chicago Public Schools system. "They have no right coming to our side of the lane."
Another homeschooling parent, Luke Schurter, told Fox News at the state Capitol Wednesday that the bill is "taking a step back for homeschool freedom, not a step forward."
"We want to choose what we teach our kids, how we raise our kids, how we instruct them, so we’re concerned that this is cracking that door open and then the next thing is going to be more requirements on ‘hey, we need to look and see, we need to dictate what the subjects you are teaching are, we need to dictate how much time you’re spending,'" the father of three said. "This would circumvent those efforts and bring them back under the authority and the watchful eye of the public school system."
The bill would require the State Board of Education to create a "Homeschool Declaration Form," which a homeschooling parent must submit to essentially register their child in the nearest public school. The children of parents who do not submit the form would be "considered truant, with penalties applying," according to a synopsis of the bill.
A regional office of education or a school district could also request that homeschooling parents hand over an "education portfolio," or a set of their child's records, including writing samples, workbooks, worksheets or other logs of curricular materials.
The portfolio would serve "as evidence that the homeschool administrator's homeschool program provides a course of instruction that is sufficient to satisfy the education requirements set forth in Sections 26-1 and Section 27-1 of the School Code that is at least commensurate with the standards prescribed for public schools," according to the bill text. Section 26-1 sets the compulsory school age at between 7 and 17 unless the child has already graduated from high school, while Section 27-1 is intended to ensure the areas of education taught in public schools do not discriminate on account of the sex of the student.
The bill would also require homeschooling parents of children who participate in public school activities on or off school grounds to "submit proof that the child has received all required immunizations and health examinations or a signed Certificate of Religious Exemption."
Fox News' Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
Chicago authorities have made arrests of suspects in only 6% of the Windy City’s 19,000 non-fatal shootings in the past seven years, according to a deep dive conducted by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Only 1,200 people have been arrested in connection with shootings since 2018, the paper reported.
Neighborhoods on the South Side appeared to have the highest proportion of arrest-less cases, with Pullman and Burnside recording zero arrests for 64 and 38 shootings, respectively.
Ashburn, on the West Side, was barely better with five arrests made out of 93 reported incidents. A similar trend was recorded for Roseland, where only 35 of the 584 recorded shootings there saw an arrest made.
Only O’Hare – which is generally comprised of the namesake airport – and Edison Park far on the North Side recorded zero total shootings.
The locales with the highest proportion of arrests were Norwood Park on the North Side at 29% and Beverly on the South Side with 33%. For context, the "Loop" – Chicago’s downtown – saw 16% of its 85 cases solved.
One man who was working as a rideshare driver when he was carjacked and shot in 2021 still has not seen police make any arrests, according to published reports.
"I get that they’re understaffed, but at the same time, where’s my justice?" said Tom Wagner, who has a scar on his abdomen where he was shot in the gallbladder, liver and colon.
Wagner reportedly called police over a 10-month period and got no response, before he was told in February that they were dropping his investigation, according to the Sun-Times.
Crime experts told the paper that the lack of arrests may be worsening chronic violence, as criminals face little deterrent against lawless behavior.
The paper’s study found that CPD has a smaller proportion of officers working as detectives than in other major cities, with one exception being Philadelphia.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Brandon Johnson for comment but did not receive a response.
Last year, Johnson publicly blamed his recent predecessors – Democrats Lori Lightfoot, Rahm Emanuel and Richard M. Daley, the son of famous Mayor Richard J. Daley.
The last Republican to hold the mayor’s office was William Thompson from 1927-1931.
"The city was run into the ground and everybody knows that," Johnson said at the time.
"They jacked up the finances, got bad deals, and so now we're left with the chaos and the mess that was created by other people. But today is a testament that if we continue to work together at every single level of government, it's going to take all of us and the community to continue to hold these individuals accountable but to make sure we're making critical investments in the people of Chicago, the homicides and shootings will continue to fall."
Johnson was recently lambasted by Congress over Chicago's crime wave and allegations his administration doesn't properly cooperate with ICE. Johnson appeared to deny some allegations from Republicans on the panel in regard to Chicago's "sanctuary city status."
Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., cited a reported 6% positive-approval rate for Johnson, saying it "speaks volumes" of how the city is deteriorating crime-wise.
Johnson responded that LaHood could help his state's largest city by supporting "continue[d] invest[ment] in these programs that continue to drive violence down in the city of Chicago."
Pritzker previously rejected some of the labels given to the Windy City over its crime epidemic, claiming at a 2024 rally that Republican-led states are statistically worse:
"Although there is a perception by some that violence in Chicago is the worst in any city anywhere, actually if you look at all the data, you’ll see that it’s red states that have the worst violent crimes and murder rates. Not blue states," he said.
Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., has called on President Donald Trump to "pull all federal funding" from one district in the state after one mother alleged that her daughter and other students were forced to change in front of a transgender student in the girls’ locker room.
Miller posted a message on social media Tuesday, calling the allegation an "egregious violation" of the young girls’ privacy and Trump’s "Keeping Men out of Women's Sports" executive order, which effectively banned trans participation in women’s and girls’ sports.
"Forcing young girls to undress in front of a biological male is not just perverted—it's an egregious violation of their privacy and President Trump's executive order to protect girls in female-only spaces," Miller’s post read.
"I urge President Trump to immediately pull all federal funding from the Deerfield School District! I stand firmly with Nicole Georgas, a bold and courageous Illinois mother, in defending the rights of our daughters."
Miller's post came nearly a week after Georgas spoke during a Board of Education meeting for Deerfield Public School District 109. During her speech, she accused her daughter’s school administrators of attempting to force her 13-year-old daughter and others to change in front of a transgender student in a girls' locker room after the girls had previously protested changing into their uniforms for a physical education class.
"The girls want their locker rooms and bathrooms back. They want their privacy back. This is why I’m here tonight. My 13-year-old daughter’s well-being, mental health, and privacy are at stake," Georgas said.
Georgas explained that her daughter first complained in early February that she was using the girls’ bathroom when a trans student was also using the facility. She said the administration later explained that "a student can use the bathroom as well as a female locker room because they now identify as female."
The issue escalated days later when Georgas’ daughter refused to change in front of a trans student in the girls’ locker room. Other students followed her protest, but that was when Georgas claimed that school administrators stepped in.
"That day, [Assistant Superintendent for Student Services] Joanna Ford, [Assistant Principal] Cathy Van Treese, and multiple teachers all came into the girls' locker room, making them change into uniform. This went on all week," she said, adding that her daughter still "refused to take part."
Georgas said she filed a civil rights complaint with the Justice Department last month.
However, in a statement to Fox News Digital, Deerfield Public Schools District 109 said that no student is or was required to change in front of others in the locker room, adding that the school's policies do align with state law.
"District 109 is committed to providing a learning environment where all students and staff are respected and supported. Our policies and procedures, including student use of locker rooms, align with state laws, the Illinois School Code, and Illinois State Board of Education guidance.
"No student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others in locker rooms. All students in the middle schools have multiple options to change in a private location if they wish."
The Trump administration has keyed in on several states accused of violating the executive order. Most notably, Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills sparred publicly over federal funding.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture paused funding to the University of Maine System, a network of eight public colleges in the state, but days later, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' office said the funding freeze had been reversed.
Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., during "A Better Way Forward" conversation at the Center for American Progress, urged Democrats to fight and defend America's constitutional republic from the "incompetence" and "treachery" of President Donald Trump.
Pritzker, widely considered a 2028 presidential contender, has emerged as a leader in the Democrats' opposition to Trump during his second term. The Democratic governor, who compared our current political climate to the Holocaust during his State of the State address in February, once again warned of Trump's "authoritarian rule" on Tuesday.
"Americans are experiencing the cruelty that comes with authoritarian rule. Donald Trump has handed over the reins of power to Elon Musk and his fellow DOGE-bags, so that they can find trillions of dollars that they need to give themselves a massive tax break. Think about that. What Musk and Trump are doing isn't about efficiencies or about cost savings. It is about cruelty. They're intentionally breaking the system and giving themselves the authority to rebuild it in their own interest."
While the event was called "A Better Way Forward," Pritzker focused much of his remarks on the threat of Trump and Elon Musk, telling the crowd the "only way out is through." He began by thanking the Center for American Progress for their leadership during "these first two months of President Musk's administration."
"The meme lords and the minions in the White House conceive of themselves as kings and nobles who have the divine right to order the world in a way that best suits them and their fellow kleptocrats. People's lives are a game to them. I really think that's how they think," Pritzker said.
Pritzker, however, acknowledged that Democrats need "to be honest with ourselves" and accept that a majority of Americans elected Trump to deliver his agenda. As Democrats have struggled to find their footing and agree on a messaging strategy in the aftermath of the 2024 election, Pritzker delivered a clear message to his Democratic colleagues on Tuesday.
"If we want to regain the trust of the voters that we stand for, Democrats have to deliver. For sure, we have to call out the B.S. that Republicans have been selling. But meanwhile, Democrats have to make people's lives better," Pritzker said.
Pritzker touted his accomplishments as governor of Illinois, including expanded access to child care, a universal preschool program, expanding financial aid, corporate expansion, enshrining abortion rights and ending book bans. As the world's 18th largest economy, Pritzker even joked that maybe Illinois should become its own independent country.
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) investigations have reported billions in federal savings while cutting government programs and laying off thousands of workers. While Republicans across the United States have embraced DOGE's efforts and worked to incorporate its strategies into their own departments and governments, Democrats have protested DOGE since Trump's first week in office. Prtizker called it the "scam of their lives."
"There's no grand master strategy to improve the lives of everyday Americans. This is true villainous cruelty by a few idiots who are trying to figure out how to pull off the scam of their lives. They're armed with the power of the presidency and their sights are aimed on working people, many of whom voted for them, never imagining what this would turn out to be. Here we are. Things are bad, and they're getting worse."
The blue state governor lamented over the dysfunction of Congressional Democrats and Republicans who are worried about getting primaried. Pritzker said he supported Senate Democrats' rejecting the Republicans' bill to fund the government last week, adding that he's "disappointed" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sided with the Republicans and voted to avert a government shutdown.
Acknowledging his inability to change or enact federal laws, Pritzker said he's relied on legal authority to reject Trump's agenda, with the support of Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Pritzker signed a letter last month that called for the White House to release $1.88 billion in approved federal funding that he said the Trump administration is withholding from his state. Pritzker also vowed to reject Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship in the initial days of his second term.
Pritzker’s comments on Tuesday are the latest in a long-standing feud between the two. Trump often evoked Pritzker's name on the campaign trail as an example of the downfall of Democrat-run states.
"Sloppy J.B. Pritzker… has presided over the destruction and disintegration of Illinois at levels never seen before in any State," Trump wrote on Truth Social last year. "Crime is rampant and people are, sadly, fleeing Illinois. Unless a change is made at the Governor’s level, Illinois can never be Great Again!"
Pritzker will headline the New Hampshire Democratic Party's annual fundraising gala, sparking 2028 speculation. Trips to New Hampshire, which, for over a century, has held the first primary in the race for the White House, are seen as an early indicator of a politician's interest in running for the presidency in the next election.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment about Pritzker's remarks on Tuesday.
Illinois Democrat state representative Bob Morgan suggested the middle school girls who allege they had been forced to change with a transgender student in a locker room had lied about the situation.
During an Illinois General Assembly session Tuesday, Morgan addressed the alleged incident after it was brought to attention by Deerfield resident Nicole Georgas, who filed a federal civil rights complaint after exposing the alleged incident at a school board meeting last week.
Morgan, who represents Deerfield, addressed the issue in response to it being brought up by Republican state representative Adam Neimerg, who brought up the allegations by Georgas.
In Morgan's response, he called the issue "a lie," while praising his community's and schools' handling of the situation and condemning Neimberg for even bringing the issue up at all.
"I'm really proud of my community who stood up for those who need to be defended and protected, making sure we have great schools, which we do by the way, we have incredible, incredible schools, incredible families, an incredible community that has come together to deal with this situation. Because it's a lie!" Morgan said.
"So the next time a representative wants to talk about other districts, I understand he might be ashamed and, frankly, probably should be, but instead of standing on this floor taking our time today talking about children, try and talk about your own district."
Georgas responded to Morgan's accusations in a response on X.
"Really [Rep. Morgan?] Was your daughter in the locker room? Because mine was! How Dare you accuse them of lying. You are disgusting [and] despicable and I hope one day I get to play the audio for you!" Georgas wrote.
Georgas filed her civil rights complaint with the Justice Department after claiming that school administrators had attempted to force her 13-year-old daughter to change in front of a transgender student in the girls' locker room last month.
Nicole Georgas revealed the complaint during a Board of Education meeting for Deerfield Public School District 109 last week, claiming that the incident had been place last month after her daughter refused to change into her uniform during physical education because a biological male student had been present at the time.
"The girls want their locker rooms and bathrooms back. They want their privacy back. This is why I’m here tonight. My thirteen-year-old daughter’s well-being, mental health and privacy are at stake," Georgas said during her speech at the board meeting on Thursday.
According to Georgas, her daughter had been "frightened" and "extremely upset" when on Feb. 5 she had been using the girls' bathroom and noticed that a transgender student was also using the facilities at the same time.
"She was told by the administration that a student can use the bathroom as well as a female locker room because they now identify as female," Georgas said of the explanation administrators allegedly provided to her daughter.
Georgas said the situation worsened when, days later, her daughter and other classmates refused to change into her uniform during physical education because the transgender student was present.
She claimed that the following day, school administrators pulled the girls aside and later made them change into uniform.
"That day, [Assistant Superintendent for Student Services] Joanna Ford, [Assistant Principal] Cathy Van Treese, and multiple teachers all came into the girls' locker room, making them change into uniform. This went on all week," she said, adding that her daughter had still "refused to take part."
Georgas then raised the issue to the school’s administration, noting to them that she believed it was a direct violation of President Donald Trump’s "Keeping Men out of Women's Sports" executive order. She said in her speech that the administration informed her that, under the direction of their legal counsel, the student was free to use both the girls' bathroom and the girls' locker room.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Deerfield Public Schools District 109 said that no student is required to change in front of others in the locker room and added that the school's policies align with state law.
"District 109 is committed to providing a learning environment where all students and staff are respected and supported. Our policies and procedures, including student use of locker rooms, align with state laws, the Illinois School Code, and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidance. No student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others in locker rooms. All students in the middle schools have multiple options to change in a private location if they wish."
Fox News Digital's Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
An Illinois mother has filed a civil rights complaint with the Justice Department after claiming that school administrators attempted to force her 13-year-old daughter to change in front of a transgender student in the girls locker room last month.
Nicole Georgas revealed the complaint during a Board of Education meeting for Deerfield Public School District 109 last week, claiming that the incident took place last month after her daughter refused to change into her uniform during physical education because a biological male student was present at the time.
"The girls want their locker rooms and bathrooms back. They want their privacy back. This is why I’m here tonight. My 13-year-old daughter’s well-being, mental health, and privacy are at stake," Georgas said during her speech at the board meeting on Thursday.
According to Georgas, her daughter was "frightened" and "extremely upset" when on Feb. 5 she was using the girls bathroom and noticed that a transgender student was also using the facilities at the same time.
"She was told by the administration that a student can use the bathroom as well as a female locker room because they now identify as female," Georgas said of the explanation administrators allegedly provided to her daughter.
Georgas then raised the issue to the school’s administration, noting to them that she believed it was a direct violation of President Donald Trump’s "Keeping Men out of Women's Sports" executive order. She said in her speech that the administration informed her that, under the direction of their legal counsel, the student was free to use both the girls bathroom and the girls locker room.
"That day, I filed a civil rights complaint, on behalf of my daughter, with the Department of Justice. It has now been referred to the Department of Education. A federal complaint has been filed with the district to protect the students."
Georgas said the situation worsened when, days later, her daughter and other classmates refused to change into her uniform during physical education because the transgender student was present.
She claimed that the following day, school administrators pulled the girls aside and later made them change into uniform.
"That day, [Assistant Superintendent for Student Services] Joanna Ford, [Assistant Principal] Cathy Van Treese, and multiple teachers all came into the girls locker room, making them change into uniform. This went on all week," she said, adding that her daughter still "refused to take part."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Deerfield Public Schools District 109 said that no student is required to change in front of others in the locker room and added that the school's policies align with state law.
"District 109 is committed to providing a learning environment where all students and staff are respected and supported. Our policies and procedures, including student use of locker rooms, align with state laws, the Illinois School Code, and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) guidance. No student is required to change into a gym uniform for physical education class in front of others in locker rooms. All students in the middle schools have multiple options to change in a private location if they wish."
As part of Georgas’ speech, she "demanded" the district move forward with designating facilities for biological males and biological females.
Georgas appeared on "America Reports" last week when she expressed her biggest concern regarding the situation.
"This sets such a dangerous precedent for girls everywhere by allowing men into safe places. My biggest concern is that an adult, biological male — that hasn’t transitioned — can freely access women’s bathrooms [and] locker rooms, putting their safety and privacy at risk. This is common sense."
Fox News Digital contacted the Justice Department and the Education Department for comment on the complaint.
An Illinois lawmaker has introduced a bill that critics say will make it legal for anyone experiencing a mental health episode to attack police officers.
Democratic state Rep. Lisa Davis, an attorney in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender's office, introduced House Bill 3458 in February.
Under the terms of the legislation, the bill would "[provide] that it is a defense to aggravated battery when the individual battered is a peace officer and the officer responded to an incident in which the officer interacted with a person whom a reasonable officer could believe was having a mental health episode and the person with whom the officer interacted has a documented mental illness and acted abruptly."
The bill has picked up two co-sponsors, Reps. Marcus Evans and Kelly Cassidy.
Currently, a person in Illinois can be charged with aggravated battery if they attack "an individual whom the person knows to be a peace officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, private security officer, correctional institution employee, or Department of Human Services employee supervising or controlling sexually dangerous persons or sexually violent persons."
Second Cop City, a blog that reports on Chicago policing matters, first reported on the bill.
"If this passes, mental illness will be an excuse to attack and beat police officers," the blog states. "In fact, who wants to bet there will be thousands of people who suddenly have doctor notes that permit them to attack cops?"
Davis' proposal would legalize attacks on peace officers. Other first responders would be spared, such as firefighters, like her husband, CWB Chicago reported.
The bill has been referred to the Illinois General Assembly Rules Committee, where unpopular legislation goes to die, the news report states.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Davis and the Chicago chapter of the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Gov. JB Pritzker and 16 Illinois Democrats sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Tuesday demanding the Trump administration release $1.88 billion in federal funding to Illinois. Chair of the Illinois Republican Party Kathy Salvi dismissed it as Pritzker playing politics.
Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and congressional Democrats said in the letter that Illinois is "in danger of needing to pause operations, cancel projects, or lay off staff" if their funding is not restored, leaving a "detrimental impact on vulnerable people, local economies, and the state as a whole."
The Illinois Republican Party is pushing back on the Democrats' claims, saying the letter "has no basis."
"Governor Pritzker is grandstanding for his 2028 run for president instead of focusing on the mess that he's left with us in Illinois. Since he's been the governor, now in his seventh budget address, he has raised our budget by $16 billion from a $39 billion budget initially to $55 billion," Salvi told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
Fox News Digital reached out to OMB about the letter, but they did not provide a comment by the deadline of this article.
"On behalf of our constituents, we are seeking full transparency and accountability on any and all funding that has been paused or interrupted. If the Trump Administration is unable to follow the law and uphold their end of the deal, the people of our state deserve to know," the Democrats said.
"He has defied law since day one," Salvi countered. "This is a sanctuary state. He has caused the higher crime rates we have. He has caused the educational mess that we have here in the City of Chicago. He is not helping with solutions here. He's distracting and using his weight in Washington to posture against this president and his administration's agenda in order to catapult his own campaign for president in 2028. And this must be exposed."
Pritzker also met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Washington, D.C., this week to push for the release of Illinois’ federal funds.
"His travel to Washington is a distraction of the mess that he's led here in Illinois," Salvi said.
Salvi said Pritzker is asking for a "blank check" without "any examination of where the money goes."
"Pritzker's budget plan faces a $3 billion budget deficit. He has been given a blank check for the last four years. Now, he is being held to account. So, instead of dealing with the problems that he and his administration have caused here in Illinois, which are causing people to flee our state to neighboring states, he decides instead to distract and sue the federal government. Well, I think we need to have an accounting here in Illinois. We, Illinois taxpayers and citizens and families, we require results," Salvi said.
A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday extending the block on the White House Office of Management and Budget’s federal funding freeze. Federal judges had previously issued a temporary restraining order to block the funding freeze.
Illinois was one of the initial 22 states and Washington, D.C., that sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Jan. 28 to unfreeze federal funds. OMB directed agencies to halt federal funding on Jan. 27 in compliance with Trump's executive orders.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., in a separate lawsuit, sued the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds on Feb. 13. Shapiro said that $2.1 billion in federal funds had been released and restored to Pennsylvania on Monday. While Shapiro said legal action was necessary to unfreeze his state’s federal funds, he added that his "direct engagement" with the Trump administration had led to the restoration of those funds.
Pritzker's letter urged the Trump administration to "follow the law and make good on the government’s promise to deliver hard-earned taxpayer dollars back into Illinois’ economy, workforce and communities."
The letter claims that many Illinois agencies have been forced to "pause operations, cancel projects, or cut staff" and have reported "their inability to access funds" since the OMB’s funding freeze memo. The letter says there have been "widespread reports of system outages and lockouts that prevented grantees from accessing entitled funding" since Jan 27.
"Attempted communications with government liaisons were often ignored and public statements from the White House were inconsistent with the experiences of our grantees," the letter says.
Illinois Democrats allege that "14 state agencies, boards, and commissions have a total of $1.88 billion in impacted federal funds" that provide "technical assistance for small businesses, provide affordable solar energy for low-income residents, improve roads and bridges, and more."
"These funds have been contractually agreed to, allocated, and planned around by their recipients–which include childcare providers, educational institutions, small businesses, community and economic development organizations, and more. Needless to say, the restriction of these funds will have a detrimental impact on vulnerable people, local economies, and the state as a whole," the letter added.
The letter concludes by asking the Trump administration to answer five questions by March 4, 2025, about the disbursement of federal funds.
Illinois taxpayers paid out $1.6 billion for healthcare programs for illegal immigrants since 2020, well above the spending projections estimated by Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration, per a new state audit released this week at the request of GOP legislators.
The audit also found that, in many cases, state money was spent on people who were actually U.S. citizens or otherwise eligible for federal programs.
"This audit shows that the governor, that the program was rampant in overspending. It spent well in excess of 200% more than what was estimated in budgets and in appropriations," state Senate Republican leader John Curran told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"And it also showed that the governor was unable to manage this program," he said. "Thousands of people were allowed to sign up for free healthcare for years on the state taxpayer dime that should not have been eligible under the parameters laid out for this program, and the governor failed to even seek federal reimbursement when eligible on certain services for years, leaving federal dollars on the table."
Illinois Auditor General Frank J. Mautino flagged more than 6,000 people listed as "undocumented" in the programs but who had Social Security numbers, and some of those individuals may actually be legal permanent residents who are eligible for Medicaid, meaning the state could get federal funding for them. The state reviewed 94 cases and found that 19 should have been classified as legal residents instead of noncitizens.
There were also nearly 700 people in the senior health program who were under 65. A review confirmed that many of the errors were due to incorrect birth dates, which were corrected later.
Nearly 400 enrollees appeared to have been in the country for more than five years and should have qualified for Medicaid, the audit also found. The state acknowledged that some of those people were enrolled incorrectly, which cost the state federal matching funds. The report recommended that the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services seek federal reimbursement for the lost funds.
The auditor's report, which Curran dubbed "gross mismanagement" in a press conference, was released just one week after Pritzker suggested cutting funding for a program that offers Medicaid-like coverage to illegal immigrants under 65 or legal immigrants without a green card. The proposed reduction, expected to save $330 million, was a key part of Pritzker's strategy to address a more than $3 billion budget shortfall.
"The governor was papering over this large spending with tax increases over the last several years, as well as COVID relief funds being spent on this rather than actually trying to rein in spending in the state of Illinois," Curran said. "Now that federal dollars have tapered off, we have a large budget deficit in Illinois this year and the governor is now being forced to try to end the program for all working adults."
"We cannot afford this," Curran continued. "The state of Illinois, state taxpayers, should not be burdened with providing free healthcare, especially for [the] working-age population. People that should be out and working in paying taxes and getting healthcare in the marketplace, just like every other Illinois state taxpayer is doing, so we want to bring the program to an end."
As of December, 41,505 individuals were enrolled in the two programs, part of the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program, which Pritzker has proposed cutting starting July 1.
Despite Pritzker's plan to cut funding for healthcare programs, he said during a Wednesday press conference that he supports some kind of universal health coverage: "The broader context is people need to get health care."
He added, "It’s some evidence, anyway, that there are an awful lot of people out there that need coverage who aren’t getting it or who will do anything to get it, and I think that’s a sad state of affairs in our society."
Curran said "Pritzker, from day 1, is taking an adversarial approach to President Donald Trump and his administration, and that has really put Illinois and really the city of Chicago in focus."
"What we would like to see is a more cooperative tone," he said.
Hundreds of illegal immigrants in Chicago, which is deemed a sanctuary city, have been detained by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement since Trump took office.
Both Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson bucked Trump's mass deportation move, vowing in January to protect residents regardless of their immigration status.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a letter on Tuesday that calls for the White House to release $1.88 billion in approved federal funding that he says the Trump administration is withholding.
Pritzker, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, said in the letter addressed to Russel Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), that the nearly $2 billion in federal funds "were passed by Congress, signed into law, and promised to Illinois."
"We have an obligation to Illinois taxpayers and residents to demand answers about the future of this funding," the letter said, "including when the Trump Administration will follow the law and make good on the federal government’s promise to deliver hard-earned taxpayer dollars back into Illinois’ economy, workforce, and communities."
The letter stated that nine Illinois agencies, boards and commissions are unable to access $692 million obligated but not yet received from the federal government. Ten state entities were expecting another $1.19 billion in federal funds yet to be obligated, and grants or programs have been "essentially paused."
While the letter did not specify which state agencies and other entities were supposed to have received the funds, it shared some details on what kind of programs were affected.
"These frozen funds impact programs that provide technical assistance for small businesses, provide affordable solar energy for low-income residents, improve roads and bridges, and more," according to the letter.
The White House Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to halt federal funding on Jan. 27 in compliance with Trump's executive orders. Federal judges had issued a temporary restraining order to block the funding freeze, but only states with litigation against the Trump administration were able to access the unfrozen funds.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavy contributed to this report.
Dolton, Illinois, mayor Tiffany Henyard, a Democrat, is projected to lose in a landslide in the village's mayoral primary held on Tuesday amid various scandals and allegations of corruption.
The embattled mayor predicted earlier on Tuesday that she would win in a landslide, according to Fox 32, but challenger Jason House overwhelmingly defeated Henyard in convincing fashion, securing 3,896 votes to Henyard's 536.
House, a village trustee and former ally of Henyard, campaigned on transparency and reform, promising a "clean house" and to bring accountability back to Dolton government.
"Not only is Ms. Henyard depriving the public of what they deserve, it’s costing the village money," he said on Election Day. "Day one, every record will be turned over."
Henyard, who assumed office in 2021, made headlines during her time as mayor over controversy surrounding her alleged financial mismanagement and other scandals. A federal subpoena issued in May of last year asked for Dolton’s financial records in an attempt to review the mayor's expensive out-of-state trips.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also a Democrat, was hired last year to investigate Henyard’s handling of Dolton's funds.
Lightfoot’s probe revealed that the village's general fund had diminished from a $5.6 million surplus in 2022 to a $3.6 million deficit in 2024, raising concerns about questionable credit card purchases and a lack of financial accountability.
Henyard was heavily criticized by residents ahead of the election over her various scandals. She has also been accused of civil rights violations, is facing numerous lawsuits over her alleged corruption and was involved in a brawl at a board meeting last month.
The City of Chicago recently shared a video of its "gift room" after a watchdog group accused Mayor Brandon Johnson of improperly accepting valuable gifts.
On Wednesday, the city also announced new protocols for receiving gifts, along with a log and video of items currently inside its "gift room."
The transparency attempt comes after the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) accused Johnson of accepting valuable gifts and failing to report them.
Alleged unreported gifts included jewelry, alcohol, AirPods, designer handbags and size 14 men’s shoes, prompting ethical concerns.
The new protocols, which went into effect on Tuesday, note that officials must report and properly log gifts within 10 days; store gifts in a designated area that can be viewed publicly via video recording quarterly; and donate excess gifts.
The first video log was sent out on Wednesday and featured artwork, clothing, hats and shoes.
The footage attempts to combat OIG claims that Johnson denied internal investigators access to the room where the items were stored during an unannounced inspection in November.
A written log contains 18 pages of items, along with their location and the organization that donated the gifts.
"These procedures reaffirm the Mayor’s commitment to ethical governance and transparency and ensure prompt disclosure of all gifts received on behalf of the City," according to a statement from the mayor's office.
Johnson previously accused the inspector general of a "mischaracterization," while insisting he never personally benefited from any gifts.
The OIG report listed Hugo Boss cuff links, a personalized Montblanc pen, a 2023 U.S. National Soccer Team jersey, a Gucci tote bag, a Kate Spade red purse and Carrucci size 14 shoes from Feb. 2, 2022, through March 20, 2024.
While spotted in the video log, dated Feb. 11, the online log does not account for the tote bag, purse or shoes, as of Wednesday.
Other items like the cuff links and pen, while accounted for in the log, do not list the organization or person who donated the gift.
Inspector General for the City of Chicago Deborah Witzburg told Fox News Digital Wednesday night that only some items are visible in the 22-second video, presenting "practical challenges."
"There are some things visible in the video which are maybe recognizable, but I don't know that anybody is in a position to look at that video and find the pair of Hugo Boss cuff links or the personalized Montblanc pen," Witzburg said. "I don't know that it lends itself to that. I'm not sure whether it's intended to."
According to Witzburg, the video does not serve as a substitute for public access, which citizens are entitled to.
She added she is "deeply concerned" about the fact that even gifts logged in the last couple of days have no information about their givers.
"That continues to be really problematic," Witzburg said. "It doesn't suggest to me that, at least in that regard, we've made a lot of progress… We talk a lot about the fact that the City of Chicago operates at this deficit of legitimacy, and that for decades and generations, the city has given no one any reason to afford the government the benefit of the doubt. And that really matters in a situation like this. Perhaps that video shows a room which appropriately contains everything on that list, but I'm not sure that we have given people any reason to think so."
The concern is that gifts might be given or received with the intention of affecting city government decisions or actions, she explained.
"We can't have a ‘for sale’ sign on the door to City Hall," Witzburg said. "The city's ethics rules contain these requirements on gifts, and there are very clear rules on how to handle gifts accepted on behalf of the city."
Fox News' Patrick McGovern, Greg Wehner and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
