Stories by Matt Masterson

The MacArthur Justice Center and the ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit alleging ICE officials are denying detainees access to their attorneys and subjecting them to mistreatment and overcrowding. Federal officials have denied those accusations.

The suit, brought on behalf of Broadview detainees by the MacArthur Justice Center and the ACLU of Illinois, claims ICE officials have “cut off detainees from the outside world” by preventing them from making confidential phone calls to their lawyer or a prospective lawyer.

Ruben Torres Maldonado, who was detained by immigration agents earlier this month and whose teenage daughter is fighting cancer, is set to be released from custody after a judge on Thursday granted him a bond.

Chicago Public Schools leaders say new data shows elementary school students showed improvements in reading and math proficiency, while high schoolers increased their graduation rates while earning a record-high of more than $3 billion in scholarships this past year.

The DOJ filed the motion with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday afternoon, hours before Bovino was set to appear at the Dirksen Federal Building to meet with U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is lauding a reported move by Glock Inc. to discontinue its existing line of pistols that can be converted into illegal machine guns after the city filed suit against the firearms manufacturer.

A federal complaint unsealed Monday shows Nathan Griffin has been charged with a single count of assaulting a federal agent during the performance of their official duties.

Darren Bailey, the former state senator who is running to become Illinois’ next governor, announced early Thursday that his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were killed in a helicopter crash in Montana.

In a phone hearing Wednesday, attorneys agreed to extend a temporary restraining order halting that deployment sought by President Donald Trump until a final judgment is issued.

The conservative-dominated Supreme Court has handed Trump repeated victories in emergency appeals since he took office in January, after lower courts have ruled against him and often over the objection of the three liberal justices.

Chicago Ald. Jessie Fuentes is filing a federal claim and seeking damages, weeks after an immigration agent briefly handcuffed and detained her during a confrontation inside a Humboldt Park hospital.

Attorneys for the state of Illinois on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a request by the Trump administration to allow the immediate deployment of 700 National Guard troops into Chicago.

Chicago is suing the Trump administration over “unlawful conditions” placed on federal grants that would force the city to abandon diversity, equity and inclusion efforts or risk losing that funding.

Chicago’s top federal judge announced plans to halt pay and some operations as the court system continues “feeling the pain” of the ongoing government shutdown.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official Russell Hott is exiting his post in Chicago and returning to Washington, a day after a federal judge in Illinois demanded he appear in court to answer questions about his agency’s continued use of tear gas in and around the city.

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans signed an order banning federal immigration agents from arresting people around local courthouses without a warrant.

Federal immigration agents deployed tear gas on Chicago’s Southeast Side on Tuesday morning after a crowd gathered at the scene of a car crash involving those agents.

Attorneys for Debbie Brockman said she has not been charged with any crimes after federal authorities including Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino accused her of throwing items at agents last Friday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Illinois Drivers Alliance plan to launch “Know Your Rights” trainings for rideshare drivers across the Chicago area, while also working to add signage around the O’Hare rideshare lot prohibiting entry for civil immigration enforcement.

U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt last week ordered that ICE “dismantle and remove” the fence around the Broadview processing center by midnight Tuesday after local officials argued it had been constructed illegally.

Michael Madigan — long the most powerful politician in Illinois during his decades as the state’s House speaker — has reported to federal prison, eight months after a jury in Chicago convicted him on numerous corruption charges.

Federal immigration agents targeted Uber and Lyft drivers in a raid at a parking lot near Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Friday, according to a coalition of rideshare drivers.

A federal judge has ordered U.S. immigration officials to remove an 8-foot fence around a suburban processing center after local officials said it endangered residents by preventing the fire department from reaching area businesses.

National Guard troops who were sent to Illinois this week were expected to be assigned to protect Chicago’s federal courthouse Friday, even as the chief judge said she never requested or approved their presence.

A federal judge ruled Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Broadview facility cannot use “riot control weapons” like tear gas, pepper spray or rubber bullets against reporters, protesters and members of the clergy who aren’t posing an immediate threat to the safety of law enforcement.

Interim CPS CEO Macquline King on Wednesday said the district command center in order to provide “round-the-clock support” to school communities experiencing “heightened stress due to activity outside their building.”