Group challenges Illinois’ restrictions on using ‘Democrat,’ ‘Republican’ in org names

The law requires nonprofits to get party’s permission to use names

Article Summary

• The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to overturn a 40-year-old Illinois law that bans organizations from using a political party’s name without permission.

• The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, calls the law unconstitutional based on “content-based speech restriction.”

• The organization has applied three times to operate as a nonprofit in Illinois but was denied each time.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

By JENNA SCHWEIKERT 
Capitol News Illinois 
jschweikert@capitolnewsillinois.com

A first amendment advocacy group is suing Illinois’ secretary of state over a 40-year-old law that prohibits nonprofits from having the word “Democrat” or “Republican” in their name without the party’s approval. 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, seeks to overturn an Illinois law that dates back to the 1980s, arguing that it violates the organization’s First Amendment rights.

The nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, or DIAG, is a national nonprofit organization formed by current and former Democrats who separate with the national party on the issue of transgender identity. 

But the secretary of state’s office denied the group’s application to operate as a nonprofit in Illinois because it had not obtained permission from the Democratic Party of Illinois to use the word “Democrats” in its organization name.

“We haven't gotten a request from this group,” a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Illinois said in a statement. “But frankly, whether we did or not, the fact that they're proudly anti-transgender does not align with the Democratic Party of Illinois's values. We believe in progress and inclusivity. It does not appear that this group does.”

Calling the national party stance on gender identity contrary to “core liberal values,” DIAG says its mission is to end “ideology-driven medicine” and guide “our fellow liberals back to reality and reason.”

“The Illinois Democratic Party doesn’t get to decide whether we can call ourselves ‘Democrats,’” Jenny Poyer Ackerman, DIAG’s board secretary, said in a statement. “DIAG was founded on our belief in open inquiry, challenging ideological conformity, and above all, the freedom to speak out. Backing down would go against everything we believe in.”

The 1986 nonprofit naming provision

Giannoulias’ office denied the request based on a provision from the state’s 1986 law governing the incorporation of nonprofits that bans them from using the names of established political parties without consent from the state committee.

The law also gives that committee power to revoke consent at any time.

“We just don't think we should have to ask permission of the Illinois Democratic, you know, central party, to make a judgment on what we can call ourselves,” Ackerman said in an interview. “We are lifelong Democrats and also, no other state is responding in any way like this. So for me, the conversation kind of stops there.”

Of the 37 states in which DIAG operates, Illinois is the only one which has blocked the organization’s registration, according to the lawsuit. The organization said it has applied to Giannoulias’ office three times and been denied each time.

The suit calls the provision “constitutionally problematic” based on its “speaker-based” and “content-based speech restriction.”

“The Democratic and Republican parties don’t have a monopoly on the concepts of what is democratic or republican,” Daniel Zahn, an attorney for FIRE, said in a statement. “When the government tries to give them that monopoly, it’s absurd and unconstitutional.”

FIRE also filed a preliminary motion asking the court to allow DIAG to engage in activities like fundraising and supporter meetings while the case proceeds. 

“The blue states in particular are states where we feel we really need to be heard, because there are just so many people who feel the same frustrations we do with the elected Democrats who just won't listen to us,” Ackerman said. “We want to be a resource for elected Democrats and Democrats who are running for office because we really want them to succeed.”

Giannoulias did not immediately respond to request for comment. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. 

Alexi Giannoulias, now the Illinois secretary of state, speaks at a Democratic Party event in 2021. He’s being sued over a 40-year-old law governing which companies can use the word “Democrat” or “Republican” in their name. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

Student loan borrowers in Illinois could face federal, state ‘tax bomb’ in 2026

Tax policy changes mean some student loan forgiveness dollars are now taxable 

BY SAM FREEMAN
Medill Illinois News Bureau
news@capitolnewsillinois.com 

Article Summary 

• Certain types of student loan forgiveness face federal and state taxes after a law that protected borrowers expired Dec. 31. Now, these loan breaks are considered taxable income at the federal and state levels. 

• A new settlement agreement could terminate the Saving on Valuable Education plan, requiring borrowers to switch to other plans to qualify for loan forgiveness. 

• Student loan forgiveness that was halted by the lawsuit is expected to resume in February, but programs including income-contingent repayment and pay-as-you-go plans will be phased out entirely by July 2028. 

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. 

SPRINGFIELD — For the first time in five years, certain forms of student loan forgiveness will be taxable following a change in federal tax policy this year.

This comes after a provision of the American Rescue Plan Act expired Dec. 31. That measure, signed into law in 2021 by former President Joe Biden, temporarily excluded student loan debt from federal income taxes.

And those tax implications could extend to Illinois state taxes as well unless lawmakers act. 

President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted last summer, did not make the student loan tax forgiveness provision permanent. As a result, student loans that are canceled or partially forgiven in 2026 and beyond will see taxes owed on those forgiven amounts, advocates said. These taxes could amount to as much as $10,000, depending on the borrower’s income. 

This includes income-driven repayment plan-related forgiveness; some closed school discharges — where 100% of a student loan obligation is wiped out if a school closes — and private settlements. Meanwhile, some forms of loan forgiveness remain tax-free, such as public service loan forgiveness, teacher loan forgiveness, and death and disability discharge programs. 

According to a report from Protect Borrowers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the burden of student debt, two-thirds of people who receive loan cancellation under income-driven repayment plans earn less than $50,000 a year and have less than $1,000 in savings. 

“A tax bomb on people with that amount of assets and that amount of income, it could be really financially devastating,” said Jennifer Zhang, a researcher for Protect Borrowers.

A group of congressional Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent on Nov. 9  calling the tax reinstatement a “financial disaster for working-class Americans.”

Illinois will also tax loan forgiveness

In addition to federal taxes, some borrowers will also face a similar tax hike at the state level. Illinois is one of 20 states whose tax codes automatically conform to the federal change. This means that unless Illinois legislators decouple the conforming provision before taxes are due next year, student loan forgiveness amounts will also be taxed by the state. 

“I would certainly be supportive of (decoupling),” Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, said, although it’s currently not an issue that has reached the Illinois state legislature.

Borrowers identified for forgiveness embed 

Lawmakers passed a bill in their fall veto session to decouple the state and federal tax code as it pertained to certain corporate taxes to head off a budget shortfall for the upcoming year. But it did not address student borrowing. 

Other challenges facing student loan forgiveness are also expected to take effect this year: 

Student loan forgiveness under Biden’s Saving on Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan has been blocked for more than a year after some Republican-led states mounted legal challenges, claiming the program is illegal. As a result, 7 million borrowers have been stuck in forbearance, which does not count toward loan forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans or the public service loan forgiveness provision. 

The SAVE plan is an income-driven repayment plan for federal student loans created to lower monthly payments, limit interest from ballooning payments, and accelerate loan forgiveness. 

If a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Education and the state of Missouri is approved, the SAVE plan will end entirely. That would require borrowers to switch to another plan, like an income-based repayment plan, to qualify for loan forgiveness. This change shouldn’t result in any loss of loan forgiveness credit. 

Income-based repayment  currently is the only student loan repayment plan that remains preserved by the One Big Beautiful Bill. Trump’s bill removed the partial financial hardship requirement from the income-based repayment, which makes it easier for borrowers with higher incomes to enroll. 

Income-based repayment is a federal student loan plan that caps monthly payments at a percentage of the borrower’s discretionary income. It is intended to benefit borrowers who have a high debt relative to their income. 

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The SAVE lawsuit also suspended student loan forgiveness under the Income-Contingent Repayment, or ICR, plan and Pay As You Earn, or PAYE, plan. The Department of Education agreed to resume processing student loans that had reached their 25-year or 20-year eligibility thresholds, after a lawsuit challenge.

Although loan forgiveness under ICR and PAYE is expected to resume in February, these plans will be phased out under Trump’s bill by July 2028. As with SAVE, borrowers enrolled in ICR and PAYE will need to switch to an income-based repayment plan or a new Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP, that is supposed to launch later this year. 

RAP includes lower payments for some borrowers, an interest subsidy that will prevent loans from ballooning over time, and a 30-year repayment term before a borrower can qualify for student loan forgiveness. This repayment term is longer than current IDR options. 

“When people have that much of a continual financial strain, they don't build up their savings. They might not ever buy a home. They might not ever have kids,” Zhang said. “They might not ever achieve these different kinds of financial milestones.” 

RAP also will require higher monthly payments for the lowest-income borrowers.

Finally, borrowers with federal Parent PLUS loans, who are typically limited to the ICR plan, also could face changes to their repayment options.

“Individuals with questions about their loans should call our Student Loan Helpline, 1-800-455-2456, which can direct struggling student borrowers to free resources about repayment options and information on avoiding default,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement.

Borrowers can also use the Federal Student Aid website’s loan simulator to calculate monthly payments, evaluate repayment plan eligibility and choose the repayment plan that best suits their needs.

Sam Freeman is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

‘A crisis for the nation’: ICE accountability commission continues to seek solutions

Commissioners set to review actions of key Trump officials, at Pritzker’s request

By MAGGIE DOUGHERTY
Capitol News Illinois
mdougherty@capitolnewsillinois.com 

Article Summary 

• The Illinois Accountability Commission held its second public meeting, hearing testimony from legal experts, law enforcement professionals and historians. 

• Commissioners released their initial report, based on testimony, lawsuits, social media posts and news reporting reviewed since October.

• They also took up a new mandate to review key Trump officials, at the governor’s request.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. 

CHICAGO — A state commission dedicated to documenting misconduct by federal immigration agents and making policy recommendations issued its initial report  Friday, while also adopting a new direction to look at high-ranking White House officials.

The Illinois Accountability Commission, created through executive order by Gov. JB Pritzker in October, has spent recent months reviewing actions of federal agents stationed in the Chicagoland area during President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” immigration enforcement campaign, including public testimony provided at its first open hearing in mid-December.

Ahead of the commission’s second public hearing Friday, Pritzker asked the commission to expand its review to include major Trump officials, including the now-ousted Customs and Border Patrol “commander at large” Gregory Bovino, White House “border czar” Tom Homan, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy.

“For too long, Gregory Bovino and his rogue federal agents have terrorized communities in Illinois and across the country, violated our people’s constitutional rights, and unleashed violence at every turn,” Pritzker said. “Bovino packing his bags cannot detract from our mission (of) accountability.”

In addition to eight named officials, Pritzker’s request applied to additional “deputies, subordinates and officials across the Trump hierarchy who may have played a role in the federal deployments.”

The commission agreed to take up that mandate, with Commission Chair and former U.S. District Court Judge Rubén Castillo signaling that the commission may recommend disciplinary action or prosecution related to the shootings of Silverio Villegas González, a father of two killed by ICE agents in Franklin Park in September and of teaching assistant Marimar Martinez, shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October. 

“Just imagine if agents who shot Mr. Villegas González back on Sept. 12 had been publicly disciplined. Imagine a world where that had happened, maybe, just maybe, the Minnesota shootings would not have occurred and two people would be alive who are now dead,” Castillo said, referencing the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

The commission’s report also states that it “is seeking to make referrals for criminal or civil prosecution for misconduct by federal immigration agents.”

Erosion of legitimacy

The three-hour hearing in downtown Chicago featured testimony from professors, legal scholars, historians, journalists and law enforcement professionals.

University of Chicago Professor of Political Science Robert Pape focused on the public’s perception of Operation Midway Blitz and the ongoing immigration enforcement campaign in Minnesota. 

The Trump administration’s denial of visible facts, like the claim that Alex Pretti was holding a gun in his hand and approached agents with the intent to “massacre them,” undermines the government’s legitimacy, Pape said.

“Democracies don’t fail when laws are enforced,” Pape said. “They fail when enforcement loses legitimacy and people stop believing restraint will protect them. That is why Minneapolis is a crisis for the nation.” 

But that crisis, he said, did not start in Minnesota. Pape pointed to DHS’s characterization of Martinez, the Chicago woman shot in October, as a “domestic terrorist.” The administration ultimately dropped its charges against Martinez after it was revealed that the agent who shot her had bragged over text about the shooting. 

Martinez’ lawyer has recently sought to have video footage from her case released, as he said it contradicts the administration’s claim that she had prevented the agents from passing by. The evidence from her case remains under a protective order that prevents its release, which her legal team says has allowed DHS to control the narrative without evidence.

If people do not trust the government to tell them the truth and to use its force to protect them, they will resist, Pape argued. Immigration enforcement officers’ reliance on face masks and coverings also deteriorates that legitimacy, he said. 

“The mask, of course, is building a perception that the state doesn’t want to be truthful about its use of force,” Pape said. 

That contributed to a perception by over half of Chicago residents that Operation Midway Blitz was about exerting political control, rather than a legitimate immigration enforcement campaign, according to a study conducted by the University of Chicago.

Historical, new abuses

Garrett Graff, an author, journalist and historian who has documented the evolution of ICE and CBP for over two decades, outlined a long history of abuses and misconduct inside the organizations.

Nearly 5,000 Border Patrol agents have been arrested since 2005, some of them multiple times a year, said Graff, a former editor at Politico.

“The population of CBP agents and officers who have been arrested would make it roughly the nation’s fourth largest police department, equal in size to the entire Philadelphia police,” Graff told the commission. “It appears that the crime rate of CBP agents and officers was higher per capita (for much of the 2010s) than the crime rate of undocumented immigrants in the United States.”

That has gotten worse and will continue, Graff said, with the ballooning of funding for ICE under the so-called One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year. The bill gave ICE $75 billion to spend over four years, in addition to its annual budget of $10 billion. 

For years, the ICE budget was expected to support around 400,000 deportations annually, or 3,000 a day. But in April 2025, the administration set a new goal: to deport one million people per year. That new quota has required the administration to hire a lot of people quickly.

The once required five-month training for agents has been shortened to six-weeks, according to Graff. ICE recruits have been hired without background checks or meeting the department’s own standards, according to NBC News. 

“In any other foreign country, if a U.S. reporter was writing about these raids and the occupation of Chicago or Minneapolis, we wouldn't hesitate to call ICE or CBP a paramilitary force loyal to the regime or a masked right-wing militia,” Graff said. “As an even larger cohort of even less-qualified and less-trained ICE and CBP officers begins to hit the streets, this is almost all certainly going to get worse.”

Recommendations

The commission is tasked with issuing recommendations to the governor and the public.

Those who spoke Friday offered a number of recommendations for accountability, including that immigration agents are not masked and have clearly displayed identification, and that the geographic jurisdiction for CBP be limited to areas closer to the border, and that disciplinary action be referred local law enforcement, which would be exempt from presidential pardon.  

The commission will consider these and other recommendations as it works toward issuing a final report on April 30.

Earlier this month, the commission opened a contact form for people who witnessed or experienced misconduct by federal immigration enforcement agents to submit information for review. Commissioners encouraged the public to reach out with recommendations or other information for its consideration.

For his part, Graff called on Congressional leaders to act to reverse the major influx of spending that is set to begin for ICE over the next four years.

“This doesn’t change unless we demand change,” Graff said. “The way that the funding for ICE has been allocated, it can spend that money straight through to 2029. Congress is going to have to act to turn that funding and hiring spigot off. Otherwise, this continues on autopilot for the next four years. The damage that we are doing to our country will be long lasting.”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Illinois Accountability Commission Chair Judge Rubén Castillo holds up a copy of the commission’s initial report at its second public hearing in Chicago on Jan. 30, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Maggie Dougherty)

Jobless Rates Bump Up In December

New employment numbers show a rise in unemployment across southeastern Illinois in December.

According to the latest data, the Olney–Mt. Carmel region saw total nonfarm payrolls decline by about 400 jobs in December 2025, compared to December 2024.

The only sector posting job gains was Private Education and Health Services, which added 50 positions. Year-over-year, payroll totals remained unchanged in Information and Professional and Business Services.

Several industries experienced job losses, including Trade, Transportation and Utilities, down 100 jobs; Financial Activities, down 75; and Leisure and Hospitality, Manufacturing, and Natural Resources and Mining, each down 50 jobs. Additional losses were reported in Other Services, Construction, and Government.

County unemployment rates also increased over the year. Wabash County’s unemployment rate rose from 3.1 percent in December 2024 to 4.5 percent in December 2025. Edwards County saw a similar increase, climbing from 3.4 percent to 4.8 percent during the same period.

State labor officials note that seasonal factors and broader economic trends can influence year-end employment figures.

Mt. Carmel City Council Agenda

Meeting is Monday at 4pm.

Lions Club Reveal Upgrades To Froman Park

The Mt. Carmel Lions Club has received approval from the Wabash County Board to move forward with a multi-phase improvement project at Froman Park.

Lions Club representatives appeared before the board requesting permission to begin a re-beautification effort, starting with addressing long-standing drainage and roadway issues near the ballpark. The group said funding is already in place to complete the initial drainage work, which has made portions of the park road difficult to travel.

The Lions Club said the drainage improvements are the first step in a larger vision for the park that could eventually include a disc golf course. The goal, they said, is to bring more positive activity to the park, increase community use, and reduce ongoing maintenance problems.

Plans also discussed include landscaping and beautification efforts, potential use of mulch around trees and the lake to reduce mowing, and future conservation projects such as native plantings and wildflowers. Club members said these improvements could create new spaces for community gatherings, photos, and events.

The County Board thanked the Lions Club for taking the initiative and unanimously approved a motion allowing the group to proceed with the first phase of the project. The Lions Club will provide the county with project details before work begins, with additional phases to be reviewed as plans develop.

Photo Credit: Wabash County Chamber of Commerce

Sean Grayson receives maximum sentence for murder of Sonya Massey

Former Sangamon County deputy was convicted of second-degree murder

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Illinois Times and republished with permission.

By DEAN OLSEN
Illinois Times 

A Sangamon County judge on Thursday gave former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson the maximum sentence — 20 years in prison — for the July 2024 murder of Sonya Massey, culminating a nationally publicized case that led to ongoing discussions and action locally to bridge racial divides.

A cheer went up in the courtroom and Donna Massey, Sonya’s mother, said, “Thank you God, thank you God,” as the hearing concluded.

But after the decision by Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin, Sean Grayson could end up serving less than half of that time in prison. That’s because a Peoria County jury on Oct. 29 found the 31-year-old Riverton resident, originally charged with first-degree murder after the shooting death of Massey, 36, in her Woodside Township home, guilty of the lesser offense of second-degree murder.

Grayson, who is white, killed Massey, a Black, unarmed single mother of two teenagers, in a rapidly progressing confrontation over Grayson’s fear that Massey would harm him with a pot of hot water from the stove of her kitchen.

Grayson’s profanity-laced comments toward Massey, her soft-spoken yet firm comment, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” and Grayson’s fatal shot to Massey’s head were all captured on police-worn body camera video footage of the exchange. The footage went viral on the internet and was played to the jury at trial.

Grayson would have been ensured a prison sentence of 45 years to life if convicted of first-degree murder because of enhancements related to the use of a gun and state law requiring that defendants serve 100% of a sentence for certain crimes.

The jury decided that Grayson’s actions met the legal standard for first-degree murder but that his belief he was acting in self-defense — even though that belief was unreasonable — was a mitigating factor justifying a finding of second-degree murder.

With time already served behind bars and because the second-degree charge allows the sentence to be reduced by half for good behavior, Grayson could be released in about 8½ years.

The jury decided that Grayson, who was dispatched to Massey’s home after she called 911 when she suspected a prowler in the neighborhood, shot Massey, who had been dealing with chronic mental illnesses, under the misguided belief that he needed to act in self-defense.

Cadagin denied Grayson’s request for a new trial after Grayson’s lawyers, Dan Fultz and Mark Wykoff, argued, among other things, that the judge erred in allowing the jury of nine women and three men to hear Grayson’s disparaging remarks about Massey after the shooting.

Massey’s death, and the ensuing protests in Springfield and in other cities, led to the formation locally of the Massey Commission.

The citizen group recently finalized a range of recommendations for improving relations with the public and the police, boosting services for people with mental illnesses, and reducing economic disparities between Blacks and whites.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Supporters of the Massey family gather outside the Sangamon County courthouse the morning of Jan. 29 as the sentencing hearing for Sean Grayson begins. Credit: photo by Zach Adams, Illinois Times)

Providers say feds’ new rural health care grants to Illinois won’t cover Medicaid cuts

State received second-smallest grant among neighboring states.

Article Summary

• Providers say the $193 million Illinois will receive in federal rural health care grants will cover important updates for rural hospitals, but it won’t make up for cuts to Medicaid.

• Though every state got roughly $200 million, states with smaller rural populations are getting more per person than those with more people in rural areas.

• Illinois health systems will use the funds to improve technology and increase the number of rural health care workers with more incentives

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

By NIKOEL HYTREK 
Capitol News Illinois 
nhytrek@capitolnewsillinois.com 

Illinois will receive $193 million for each of the next five years to expand health care access for the approximately 1.9 million people in rural areas — or about $101 annually for every rural Illinoisan. 

The money comes from the $50 billion federal Rural Healthcare Transformation Program fund, which Congress created to offset federal Medicaid spending cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or H.R. 1, that passed last summer. 

But health care organizations said the money will not be enough to compensate for Medicaid cuts.

“These funds are good, and we're going to put them to good use, but it's not a solution,” said Jordan Powell, senior vice president of health policy and finance for the Illinois Health and Hospital Association. “It's not going to mitigate the impact of the significant Medicaid cuts that are coming our way.” 

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services said between 190,000 to 360,000 Medicaid recipients are at risk of losing coverage in Illinois because of new work requirements.

H.R. 1 also imposes a tighter cap on how much money states can raise for their Medicaid programs through provider taxes. The new limits will be phased in, starting in fiscal year 2028, and could reduce total Medicaid funding in Illinois by $4.5 billion a year by fiscal year 2031.

“Long term, we know a number of HR 1 provisions will have a devastating impact on healthcare in our state and present significant challenges with respect to maintaining equitable access to high-quality healthcare coverage for all Illinois residents,” the department said in a statement.

Illinois has 85 small and rural hospitals that serve as hubs for access to care for people who can’t travel long distances. Nearly 30% operate at a deficit, though, and most of the patients they serve are on Medicare or Medicaid, according to the Health and Hospital Association.

Powell described the new federal money as a bandage, not a permanent solution for the cuts Illinois hospitals will face. As Medicaid reimbursement decreases, he said, hospitals could be forced to reduce services like obstetrics, cut staff, or close entirely.

Rural population is only a small part of grant consideration

The amount each state received ranged from $147 million for New Jersey to $281 million for Texas, and rural population appeared to be only a small factor in the equation. 

That means states like Texas, with the largest rural population in the country, got far less per rural resident than states like Rhode Island, which has the smallest. Texas received $66 per rural resident and Rhode Island, with a total award of $156 million, received $6,305 per rural resident.

Half of the total $50 billion was awarded to states equally, but the other half was awarded based on specific factors such as a state’s current or planned policies for rural health care and proposed ideas that align with federal Make America Healthy Again priorities. 

Among its neighbors, Illinois has the second-lowest award amount. Michigan, with its $173 million award, is the only state with less. 

In the Midwest, Michigan’s rural population is slightly larger than Illinois’, but it received only $83 per person compared to Illinois’ $101. Iowa, with fewer rural residents than Illinois, got $139 per rural person.

Illinois’ Priorities

When filling out the application to the federal government, Illinois’ HFS consulted provider associations, rural hospitals, community health centers, community mental health centers, universities and community colleges, legislators and vendors. 

According to the department, the state’s application focused on:

• Increasing the number of health care workers in rural areas with education, scholarships, training and incentive programs.

• Removing the barriers that rural residents face to getting health care by investing in mobile and telehealth services.

• Changing the way rural health care systems run by creating regional partnerships.

The federal government indicated a preference for “transforming systems,” not just supporting ongoing operating expenses.

HFS said the hospital transformation grants will be a good tool for expanding its existing Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives to rural areas. The state launched the collaborative effort in 2021 to improve health care outcomes and reduce disparities across the state. It involves providers sharing resources to meet the health needs of multiple communities and expand access to services like preventative and specialty care.

“Team-based care, in partnership with hospitals and primary care practices, looks to improve access to care for rural residents by building out infrastructure and technology in order to increase access to specialty services, transform healthcare delivery, and overcome known geographic barriers for these communities,” the agency said in an emailed statement.

Powell said increasing the workforce and cybersecurity at hospitals are some of the top priorities. After that, he said, expanding rural broadband internet and upgrading electronic health records are important. 

“Workforce and technology were two of the main things that we heard from our members,” he said. “I think the state wants to emphasize better partnerships and collaboration between providers.”

‘Not a long-term fix’

Despite allowing rural hospitals and health systems to make needed improvements, Powell said he still doesn’t think the money will be enough to make up for losing Medicaid payments.

“It’s kind of like supplemental funding that’s going to help them survive just a little bit longer,” he said. “I would actually say a significant portion of them are facing slim to negative margins, as is. And so this is funding that, again, will maintain some stability and viability for these organizations. But it's not a long-term fix.”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. 

Illinois’ Democratic U.S. Senate primary heats up over ICE

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton goes on offense as immigration dominates debate

By BRENDEN MOORE
Capitol News Illinois 
bmoore@capitolnewsillinois.com  

Article Summary  

• Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton all to varying degrees called for U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement to be dismantled but differed on the extent in their first live debate.

• Trailing in the polls, Stratton went on the attack against Krishnamoorthi over donations from an executive at a business with a $30 million ICE contract.

• Stratton also criticized Krishnamoorthi and Kelly for accepting donations from corporate political action committees. They pushed back, accusing Stratton — who has pledged not to accept corporate PAC money — of hypocrisy, noting that a super PAC supporting her candidacy has yet to disclose its donors despite running ads

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.  

Editor’s note: This story was corrected to reflect that the 2025 terrorist attack in Colorado killed one, injuring at least a dozen. 

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois' once-sleepy Democratic primary for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat heated up Monday night as the three leading contenders used their first live debate to cast themselves as the strongest bulwark against President Donald Trump and his administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.

The hourlong debate, hosted by the Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ and the University of Chicago, came in wake of two deadly shootings involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month that have sparked national outcry – and echoed the enforcement campaign that targeted and disrupted the Chicago region last fall. 

Abolish ICE?

The three candidates — Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton — all to varying degrees called for U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement to be dismantled but differed on the extent.

“I want to abolish ICE because this agency cannot be reformed,” Stratton said, adding that “it doesn't matter whose ICE it is.”

Stratton sought to create a wedge against her opponents, going even further than Gov. JB Pritzker, who came out in favor of abolishing “Trump’s ICE.” The agency has ratcheted up in aggressiveness since it received a massive funding boost under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Trump signed last year. Pritzker has endorsed his No. 2’s campaign. 

Some Democrats view the phrasing as an attempt to qualify a slogan that, in its absolute form, could politically backfire, much as “defund the police” did for the party in 2020. 

Krishnamoorthi said he supports abolishing “Trump’s ICE” while backing reforms such as banning agents from wearing face coverings, requiring visible identification and installing an inspector general within the agency to ensure compliances with laws and regulations.

Kelly said they needed to “dismantle ICE” and “build an agency that people can trust” as part of a larger overhaul of the nation’s immigration system.

“The Department of Homeland Security is too big, too unwieldy and not accountable, and we need to do all this in the guise of immigration reform,” Kelly said. “It can't be one thing or another.”

Race heats up

Pressure on ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has intensified in recent weeks as the agencies carry out an aggressive enforcement campaign in the Minnesota, which has led to violent confrontations between agents and protestors.

Earlier this month, it turned deadly after an ICE agent shot 37-year-old American citizen Renee Good at close range while she apparently attempted to flee a traffic stop. Over the weekend, a Border Patrol agent fatally shot 37-year-old American citizen Alex Pretti.

Senior Trump administration officials later labeled both as “domestic terrorists,” despite them having no criminal records. Video footage and witness accounts contradicted the government’s initial versions of events, prompting questions about the use of deadly force.

The uproar has spilled over into Illinois’ Democratic primary for Senate.

Days after Good’s killing, Kelly introduced articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The measure has 140 cosponsors, including Krishnamoorthi and most of Illinois’ Democratic congressional delegation.

Immigration dominated the debate even before it began, with Krishnamoorthi’s campaign and allies of Stratton releasing ads hours before highlighting their candidates’ positions on ICE.

“Donald Trump has weaponized ICE against our cities and our people,” Krishnamoorthi said in a 30-second television ad. “Torn apart families, terrorized neighborhoods. We should abolish Trump’s ICE. We can’t have a government or ICE running out of control. It’s morally wrong, and it’s unlawful.”

Illinois Future PAC, a group supporting Stratton, launched a targeted digital ad focusing on the immigration issue.

“Juliana Stratton has made clear ICE must be abolished – not reformed, not retrained, abolished,” a narration reads. “Every candidate on the debate stage knows what ICE is doing to our state and our country. Juliana Stratton will do what it takes to stop it. And that’s the difference.”

Stratton attacks

Trailing in fundraising and polling, Stratton further attempted to use immigration as a wedge against her opponents, particularly Krishnamoorthi, accusing the Schaumburg Democrat voting to “thank ICE” and for accepting “funding from ICE contractors.”

She pointed to nearly $30,000 in campaign contributions Krishnamoorthi received from Shyam Sankar, the chief technology officer of Palantir, which holds a $30 million contract with ICE to provide tools to track self-deportation, the Sun-Times reported last month.

The contributions, made over several years, represent a miniscule fraction of the millions Krishnamoorthi’s raised over the past decade. And after the news report came out, his campaign said it donated the sum of Sankar’s contributions to unnamed immigrant rights groups.

Stratton also criticized Krishnamoorthi for joining Republicans and 74 Democrats last year in voting for a resolution that, in part, expressed “gratitude” to ICE officers, arguing that it is “not the example of somebody who is going to stand up to Donald Trump.”

The language was attached to a larger resolution condemning anti-Semitism following a 2025 terrorist attack that injured at least a dozen people at a rally for Israeli hostages in Colorado, killing one. Krishnamoorthi defended the vote, saying that he’s “going to condemn anti-Semitism eight days out of the week” and that it was important to signal support to the Jewish community.

Recognizing himself as “the only immigrant on this stage,” Krishnamoorthi — born in India — defended his oversight record, arguing that he was “the only candidate on the stage that actually inspected an ICE facility itself.”

“We can either roll over or we can fight,” Krishnamoorthi said. “And I say we have to fight.”

“We have to fight in the courts. We have to fight in the press. We have to fight in the court of public opinion, in the halls of Congress and, yes, the United States Senate,” he said. “But we should never, ever, ever surrender our values.”

Stratton also criticized Krishnamoorthi and Kelly for accepting donations from corporate political action committees. They pushed back, accusing Stratton — who has pledged not to accept corporate PAC money — of hypocrisy, noting that Illinois Future PAC has yet to disclose its donors despite running ads in support of her candidacy.

Kelly acknowledged accepting contributions from corporate PACs, but said she votes “like the people who put me in office want me to vote.”

“And the corporate PAC money I take? You see who I take corporate PAC money from, unlike the commercial that the lieutenant governor has that is paid for by dark money, and we don't know who's behind those commercials,” Kelly said.

Party leadership 

Stratton said she would not support keeping Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in charge of the upper chamber’s Democrats. Kelly and Krishnamoorthi said they would hear him — and any other possible candidates — out. 

Kelly, Krishnamoorthi and Stratton will debate again on Thursday on ABC 7 Chicago. 

Early voting begins Feb. 5. And the primary election is March 17. 

The seven other Democratic candidates running for Senate include Steve Botsford, Sean Brown, Awisi Bustos, Jonathan Dean, Bryan Maxwell, Kevin Ryan and Christopher Swann.

There are six Republicans running for the office: Cary Capparelli, Casey Chlebek, Jeannie Evans, Pamela Denise Long, Jimmy Lee Tillman II and Don Tracy. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi were the fundraising leaders in the Democratic Senate primary, according to quarterly finance reports. (Capitol News Illinois photos by Jerry Nowicki)

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New SNAP work requirements go into effect Feb. 1, threatening recipient eligibility

The requirements change which recipients must work or volunteer and how often

Article Summary

• H.R. 1, or the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last July, changes the work requirements for the federal food assistance program known as SNAP.

• Starting Feb. 1, adults aged 18 to 64 without dependents under age 14 must work, participate in employment and training programs or volunteer at least 80 hours each month to receive benefits.

• Officials from the Illinois Department of Human Services say over 300,000 Illinoisians who receive SNAP benefits could be affected.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

By JENNA SCHWEIKERT 
Capitol News Illinois 
jschweikert@capitolnewsillinois.com 

New work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program go into effect Feb. 1, threatening benefits for hundreds of thousands of Illinoisians. 

Adults aged 18 to 64 without dependents under age 14 will be required to work, participate in SNAP Employment and Training programs or volunteer for at least 80 hours per month to receive benefits. Previously, only adults aged 18 to 54 without dependents under age 18 had to meet those requirements.

H.R. 1, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” set these new SNAP requirements and made changes to many other federal programs when it was signed into law in July 2025. 

Up to 340,000 Illinoisians are at risk of losing their benefits with the new requirements, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services. Adults who do not meet the requirements can only receive SNAP benefits for up to three months in a three-year period.

As of September 2025, nearly two million Illinois residents were using SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Two major changes to SNAP

Most SNAP recipients must meet general work requirements by applying for and accepting available work, participating in SNAP Employment and Training and not voluntarily quitting or reducing work hours below 30 a week without good reason.

Some recipients are automatically exempt from this requirement based on factors like age, while others must submit exemption forms if they meet other criteria like homelessness or certain health conditions.

A smaller group of SNAP recipients known as ABAWDs, or able-bodied adults without dependents, must meet further requirements if they are not exempt.

H.R. 1 made two major changes by modifying the definition of ABAWDS and implementing more work requirements for the newly defined population, ending Illinois’ long-term work requirement waiver for existing ABAWDs, according to IDHS.   

“Trump’s budget bill is designed to deliberately prevent Americans and Illinoisans from receiving assistance through the SNAP program by implementing new requirements that burden states and individuals who rely on this 100 percent federally funded benefits resource,” Summer Griffith, a spokesperson for IDHS said in a statement. 

SNAP recipients must also continue to update their income and household information to ensure they are receiving the correct benefits and meeting the applicable requirements.

“The Illinois Department of Human Services is communicating with SNAP participants regarding upcoming changes to SNAP and continues to provide support as people navigate new processes and changes imposed by the Trump Administration,” Griffiths said.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.