A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must keep federal funds flowing to child care subsidies and other social service programs in Illinois and four other Democratic-controlled states. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is calling for ICE to end its operations everywhere. The Chicago shelter Harmony House for Cats is hosting its first tuxedo cat soirée Friday night at Burning Bush Brewery in the city’s North Center neighborhood.

Plus, a federal jury called Juan Espinoza Martinez “not guilty” on Thursday. Espinoza Martinez was accused of offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino in one of the most contentious cases tied to “Operation Midway Blitz.”

The Illinois Department of Human Rights has filed a housing discrimination charge and is investigating the landlord of the South Shore apartment building raided last year by immigration agents. An extreme cold warning will go into effect Thursday night for the Chicago area, with windchills expected to reach 35 degrees below zero in the early morning hours on Friday. The Chicago Public Library announced the grand opening of Legler Regional Library’s food pantry.

Plus, how Operation Midway Blitz has interrupted the plans for one Chicago couple who got arrested and detained last October — just 8 days after getting married.

Federal prosecutors have rested their case against Juan Espinoza Martinez, the Chicago man accused of offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino. Cook County officials worry more people will get sick as they’re pushed out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with eligibility requirements changing on February 1st. Chicago is preparing to host UNESCO’s International Jazz Day in April.

Plus, more than 170,000 Illinois residents are behind on their student loan payments. People are at risk of having their wages garnished now that the Trump administration plans to restart collections on federal loans in default.

A new report explores what’s behind ongoing enrollment decreases in Chicago Public Schools. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is denouncing President Trump’s threats to annex Greenland and throwing support to Danish sovereignty. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul says his office has filed more than 50 lawsuits and more than 100 amicus briefs during the first year of President Trump’s second term.

Plus, in January of 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. moved into an apartment in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood with his family. Sixty years later, local playwright Willie Round has written about this pivotal time in King’s fight for fair housing, education and employment in his new play “Lawndale King.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has changed his tune on who needs to pay off the remaining debt from the Soldier Field renovation 23 years ago. Former Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the 40th Annual Interfaith Breakfast in Chicago. Divisions emerged over Gaza in the race for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District.

Plus, the Chicago Bears are entering the second round of the playoffs, and fans aren’t leaving anything to chance. During last weekend’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers, fans shared their superstitions and game-day rituals they rely on.

Child care workers rallied outside the Trump Tower in Chicago’s River North neighborhood to condemn the federal funding freeze for child care programs. The final day to enroll in a federal Affordable Care Act health insurance plan is January 15, but the Illinois state-run marketplace has extended its deadline to the end of the month. Chicago is unveiling a first-of-its-kind support center on the South Side for women returning from incarceration.

Plus, the Trump administration is using a legal shortcut to make it easier to cut down trees in national forests. Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest, the state’s only national forest, is an early battleground against the increasingly popular tactic to fast track timber sales across the country.

The Supreme Court is allowing a downstate Republican Congressman to sue Illinois for the way it counts mail-in ballots. The U.S. House has passed a spending package to cut $125 million from lead pipe replacement funding. The city of Chicago is set to pay nearly $1 million to settle another police misconduct lawsuit stemming from 2020 protests against the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Plus, a new exhibit at the Chicago History Museum documents a long tradition of resistance in Chicago's Latino communities. The exhibit is called Aqui en Chicago, and it’s the result of a protest organized by local high school students six years ago.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says he’s been in meetings with Bears leadership recently about the possibility of keeping the Bears in Illinois as the team mulls a move to Northwest Indiana. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says a teen curfew ordinance set for a vote next week is more “thoughtful” than the one he vetoed last year. The National Weather Service says an extended system of wintry weather could result in several back-to-back opportunities for snowfall.

Plus, 2026 will bring several big names to Chicago stages. And while Chicago always has a constant hum of performances, there are some big tickets on the horizon.

The state of Illinois has extended the open enrollment deadline for people who buy health insurance through the state-run marketplace to January 31st. Independent bookstore owners in Chicago are sounding the alarm as chain bookseller Barnes & Noble brings its nationwide expansion to the city. Some owners say it’s taking business away from smaller bookstores. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore nearly $12 million in funding to the Itasca-based American Academy of Pediatrics.

Plus, Soldier Field was in a frenzy Saturday night after the Chicago Bears’ comeback NFC Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers. Before the game, we caught up with a Bears superfan who’s known as Bear Man.

Illinois could lose $1 billion in federal funding for childcare and other social services, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul is in court with four other Democratic-led states trying to fight the latest funding freeze. Last November, the Trump administration released pending guidance for the Clean Water Act, and the EPA’s impact analysis found that more than 80% of the country’s wetlands would no longer be protected. The Chicago Bears will kick off their NFL post season on Saturday against the Green Bay Packers.

Plus, Wednesday's shooting of an unarmed Minneapolis woman by an immigration enforcement agent is reverberating across the country. The shooting resembles two shootings during the Chicago area’s deportation campaign this past fall.