
Daywatch: County explores Planned Parenthood partnership in Englewood
Good morning, Chicago.
With Englewood's Planned Parenthood clinic set to shut its doors late next month, Cook County officials hope to figure out how to save the South Side center, which serves thousands of patients seeking reproductive care.
Citing a 'financial shortfall,' Planned Parenthood of Illinois announced in January that it would close four clinics across the state. Besides Englewood, clinics in Ottawa, Bloomington and Decatur are on the closure list.
Illinois, already a haven for reproductive care, saw an influx of out-of-state patients seeking abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The increase in patients, 'coupled with low reimbursement rates from insurers and rising costs of providing care,' helped contribute to the organization's shortfall, Planned Parenthood said in a previous statement.
Read the full story from the Tribune's A.D. Quig.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
President Donald Trump's moves to end foreign aid agency hit close to home in Illinois
A federal judge ordered the administration late Thursday to temporarily lift its freeze and allow funding from U.S. aid and development programs to flow for the time being. But uncertainty remains for organizations whose missions rely on government dollars to carry out projects that benefit populations in developing nations while also supporting jobs and the broader economy at home.
Mixed verdict in Madigan case reflects a new, harder reality for federal prosecutors
While former House Speaker Michael Madigan stands as a convicted felon, the verdict was far from the slam dunk often expected — however unfairly — when it comes to major federal political corruption cases in Chicago.
Frigid temperatures expected this week with subzero wind chills
The Chicago area will see bitterly cold weather this week with single-digit temperatures and subzero wind chills, according to the National Weather Service.
Monday and Tuesday may see high temperatures in the low teens, with a potential for a low between zero and minus 10 Monday night.
'Whole different level.' The Illinois-Indiana political divide widens amid Trump 2.0, from immigration to DEI to LGBTQ rights.
The Trump administration's surprise federal funding freeze met widespread condemnation in Illinois, as state leaders scrambled to fight the spending pause that spurred chaos and confusion prior to being temporarily blocked by a federal judge minutes before it was set to go into effect Jan. 28.
Yet just over the border in Indiana, the top state official praised the austerity measure, which was designed to root out progressive agendas, promote efficiency and end 'wokeness' through federal spending nationwide.
Indiana would like to redraw border with Illinois
Federal plan to reduce government office space could be a blow to Chicago, where selling properties wouldn't be easy
The future of the federal government's footprint in Chicago is uncertain as the Trump administration embarks on a plan to shed up to half of all government office space across the nation, while also shrinking the federal workforce.
The federal government owns 19 properties in Chicago, including the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building and the 28-story Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building. It also leases more than 2 million square feet of space throughout the entire metro area.
Cameo giving all Chicago employees $10,000 raises to return to the office
Celebrity video messaging website Cameo is offering its Chicago-area employees a $10,000 raise to return from their scattered spare bedrooms and coffee shops to the company's Fulton Market office full-time beginning today.
Those who opt out, however, may need to find a new job.
Activists anxiously await air monitors, hope Chicago isn't backsliding on pollution promises
Chicago is building what climate scientists say could be the country's best system for monitoring tailpipe pollution from diesel trucks.
The city expects the monitors to go online early next year. But by then, Chicago won't have enough money to keep paying members of a community advisory panel to help operate the monitors and publish the results.
Column: It won't be easy, but the Chicago White Sox hope to earn back their fans' trust day by day
Earning back the trust of Chicago White Sox fans won't be easy after last year's record-setting 121-loss season, writes Paul Sullivan.
The evidence is everywhere. SoxFest was downsized to a South Side theater, and the Sox still couldn't fill that small venue. Fans booed when director of player personnel Gene Watson told them the front office would one day be recognized as 'the best' in baseball, knowing it was way too soon to boast.
White Sox pitching prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith making most of 1st big-league camp
Bobby Jenks, former White Sox All-Star closer, undergoing treatment for stomach cancer
Chess Records, Muddy Waters and the birth of urban blues music
In 1964, the Rolling Stones took a break from their first American tour to record several songs at Chess Records at 2120 S. Michigan Ave.
It was where Chicago's Black blues performers made the records that were revered by the British group, which took its name from a Muddy Waters song, 'Rollin' Stone.'
'Saturday Night Live' celebrates 50 years with comedy, music and show's many, many famous friends
Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter duetted on Simon's 'Homeward Bound' to open the show, five-decade 'Saturday Night Live' luminary Steve Martin delivered the monologue, and Paul McCartney gave an epic closing to a 50th anniversary special celebrating the sketch institution that was overflowing with famous former cast members, superstar hosts and legendary guests.
Chicago Black Restaurant Week marks 10 years of celebrating Black-owned businesses
Chicago Black Restaurant Week, which runs Feb. 9 to 23, brings attention to Black-owned restaurants in the city. Founded by Lauran Smith in 2015, CBRW is celebrating its 10th season and comes shortly after the more well-known Chicago Restaurant Week. For diners, CBRW offers more flexibility and various price points; for restaurateurs, it's another opportunity to tell their story, to refine their customer bases and menus and to connect with other Black-owned businesses.
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Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
Democrat accuses Trump of unleashing ‘campaign of terror' on illegals as LA riots rage
As anti-ICE riots rage across Los Angeles, congressional Democrats marked the 13th anniversary of DACA with a press conference during which Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., accused President Donald Trump of unleashing a "campaign of terror" on illegal immigrants. DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a U.S. immigration policy that defers deportation for eligible immigrants who arrived in the country as children. Speaking just outside the Capitol building Wednesday, Ramirez accused Trump, border czar Tom Homan, Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and the entire administration of targeting anyone they consider "undesirable." She also pushed a conspiracy theory that the president will target U.S. citizens the same way he has deported criminal migrants. "Trump, Homan, Miller and this whole regime has waged a campaign of terror against our neighbors, against our families, our loved ones, as they advance their fascist agenda and try to cast immigrants as a public enemy," Ramirez said. "Let us say it, and I'm going to say it unapologetically," she added. "We don't need bans, We don't need walls. We don't need raids. We don't need kidnappings. We don't need masked agents terrorizing our communities. We don't need military attacking our neighbors. We have to demand an end to the terror tactics." Los Angeles has been rocked by fiery riots and clashes with police and federal authorities since Friday. The rioting began Friday in response to immigration enforcement operations by ICE throughout the city. In response, Trump deployed federalized National Guard troops and several hundred Marines to assist in restoring order. This move has been heavily criticized by Democrats, who have accused Trump of intentionally provoking rioters. "The unlawful actions used against immigrants today will be used tomorrow on anyone who this regime deems undesirable because fascism always demands a public enemy," Ramirez claimed. "It is why we must stand with DACA recipients, and we must also stand with their parents. "We must also stand with their uncles and their sisters and their tias and our small businesses and our teachers and our LGBTQ and every single person this regime is attacking." Despite Ramirez's characterization of the Trump administration targeting innocent "tias," federal immigration authorities have detailed criminal charges against the illegals arrested by ICE. This week, ICE published information on charges against illegals arrested in Los Angeles during the ongoing riots. On Wednesday, ICE said it had arrested Jesus Romero-Retana, a Mexican national who the agency said had been convicted of battery and threatening with intent to terrorize. ICE also said it arrested a Cambodian illegal named Mab Khleb in Los Angeles Tuesday. The agency said he had been sentenced for lewd acts with a child, battery and multiple drug offenses. ICE said it arrested the criminal illegal "despite the best efforts of anti-ICE protestors in the city." A source familiar with the operations shared with Fox News Digital a listing of some of the arrests made by ICE in the last week. These arrests included a Salvadoran national arrested in Los Angeles for sodomy of a child, a Mexican national arrested in Chicago for criminal sexual assault of a child, a Mexican national arrested in Houston for indecent sexual contact with a child, a Honduran national arrested in El Paso for possession of child pornography and a Laotian national arrested for murder and attempted murder.


Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
GOP lawmaker flips script on Newsom, Bass by defining anti-ICE riots with 1 word
EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep. Darrell Issa is blasting elected Democrat officials in his home state of California over their response to the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles after he called for a congressional investigation into the response time of local law enforcement. "These are the same people that tell us, you know, Biden was fine, he was on the top of his game," Issa said about Democrat narratives responding to the riots that have been unfolding in Los Angeles since Friday. "So their credibility goes with what you see versus what they say. I can't think of a better example of why you shouldn't believe or vote for people in that party as long as they're willing to literally lie to your face on what you're seeing with your own eyes." Democrats across the country, from California to Washington, D.C., have downplayed the rioting and focused on the claim that the majority of the anti-ICE displays have been "peaceful." Additionally, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other Democrats have blamed President Donald Trump's mobilizing the National Guard for making the situation worse. Issa, who represents California's 48th Congressional District, took issue with that narrative. "First of all, there was damage, both vandalism and actual destruction done before Trump got involved, and that's the reason he got involved, but there's another thing that some people miss," Issa told Fox News Digital. "When ICE agents called for police support when they were being assaulted, they hunkered down and waited two hours before police responded because police couldn't get authority to react. So that alone gave a reason for the president to bring in additional federalized troops to protect the ICE agents." On Tuesday, Fox News Digital exclusively reported Issa's call for an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security's claim that the LAPD took two hours to respond to assist ICE agents being assaulted on Friday night. The LAPD, in a Sunday press conference, denied that allegation and said it took 40 minutes to respond due to traffic. "Understand that we have over 10 million people who were let into this country, and tens of thousands of them are serious criminal aliens," Issa said. "There were warrants. There were orders to deport. There are reasons that we've got to go after many of these people in cities around the country. If ICE agents can't be protected or won't be protected by people like the mayor and my governor, then the president's going to have to continue to do this, eventually create escorts for ICE agents." Issa told Fox News Digital that Trump is doing a "great job" in his response to the unrest in Los Angeles. "One thing that I'm very happy about is, I know that by taking strong action here, he's keeping it from occurring in other cities around the country, because what you don't want is what ultimately happened in 2020 where we saw it happening not just in one city but in city after city where more than two dozen people died and billions of dollars of damage occurred because it wasn't handled quickly enough, and we've learned from that." Issa told Fox News Digital that he finds it curious why Democrats have used the word "insurrection" to describe the Jan. 6th riots that lasted hours but have not used the term to describe what has unfolded in Los Angeles over several days. "We heard the word 'insurrection' for a couple of years nonstop, and now in Los Angeles, when people are directly assaulting property and law enforcement, that's the very definition of insurrection; and particularly when they're doing it on behalf of people who are sitting in jails because they were arrested for crimes, not just for entering the country illegally but for actual felonies," Issa said. "And it's sort of amazing to believe that high-ranking elected officials like Gov. Newsom would actually try to defend any of that action. And yet they're doing it." Issa went on to say that Newsom's response to the riots "might have worked in the era of print or maybe even the era of radio" but that video evidence of rioting from the scene makes his position untenable. "Television and podcasts and everyone having a cellphone, those images are going to be what the American people [is going to] see when he tries to pretend that he was a good governor," Issa said. "They're going to see a failure to do his job and an absolute resistance against those who came in to do it for him." Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Newsom and Bass for comment. "Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals," Newsom said on Tuesday night. "His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses. That's just weakness. Weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump's government isn't protecting our communities. They're traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point." "When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived. He's taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our Founding Fathers' historic project."

Epoch Times
11 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
AUKUS Under Review as US Weighs Alignment With ‘America First' Doctrine
The future of Australia's AUKUS defence deal with the United States is in the balance after the Pentagon announced a review into whether it fits the Trump administration's 'America First' agenda. The AUKUS deal was formulated during the Australian Morrison government era and was sealed between Australia, the UK and the United States in 2021.