Author: Dani Tietz

State of Illinois

Attorney General Raoul Secures $219 Million in Federal Education Funds for Illinois Schools After Lawsuit Against Trump Administration

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a legal victory for Illinois schools on Wednesday, following his office’s July lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to freeze federal education funding. The lawsuit was part of a broader multistate action, with Illinois joining a coalition of states arguing that the administration’s move […]

Federal

Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Cashless Bail Policies Nationwide

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 25, 2025, directing federal agencies to withhold funding from jurisdictions that have eliminated or substantially reduced the use of cash bail for certain crimes. The executive order requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to compile within 30 days a list of states and local jurisdictions that have […]

Federal

Trump’s Week of Dictator Rhetoric: A Timeline of Authoritarian Comments

This week, President Donald Trump made a series of unprecedented statements about dictatorship: alternating between denying he is one while simultaneously suggesting Americans might prefer authoritarian rule. Trump’s most striking comments came Monday during an Oval Office event where he signed executive orders related to federal takeover of the D.C. […]

Federal

FEMA Employees Issue Unprecedented Warning to Congress Over Agency’s Capacity to Handle Disasters

Nearly 200 current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency employees have issued a warning to Congress: leadership decisions under the Trump administration are undermining the agency’s disaster response capabilities and could lead to catastrophic failures similar to Hurricane Katrina. The letter, titled the “Katrina Declaration and Petition to Congress,” was released Monday […]

Federal

CBO Projects Tariffs to Cut Federal Deficit by $4 Trillion, But American Consumers Bear the Financial Burden

The Congressional Budget Office projected that President Trump’s escalating tariff policies could reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade.  While this substantial deficit reduction may appear as a fiscal victory, American consumers and businesses, not other countries, are footing the bill for this government revenue through […]

State of Illinois

Governor Pritzker Warns of Rural Hospital Crisis as Federal Budget Cuts Threaten Illinois Communities

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker met with southern Illinois healthcare leaders on this week to address the impact of federal budget cuts on rural hospitals. He warned that nine facilities across the state face closure risks that could eliminate over 500 hospital beds and 2,500 jobs. The roundtable discussion, held at […]

State of Illinois

Illinois Expands Reproductive Health Protections With New Shield Law and Campus Access to Contraception, Medication Abortion

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed two groundbreaking bills aimed at fortifying reproductive health care across the state. Governor Pritzker signed an expanded state shield law (HB3637), which enhances legal protections for health care providers engaged in offering reproductive health services that are lawful in Illinois. This legislation extends the […]