Midwest
Illinois educators turn our kids into political pawns in war against Trump
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
For as long as I have been working on the South Side of Chicago, we have talked about education, what needs to be done, and how to fix it. Yet things have only worsened as we have watched our children, the future of America, be used as pawns in a political game. That is why it was not a surprise when I learned that the Illinois State Superintendent Tony Sanders, told school districts to follow state law and to defy President Trump’s federal orders to dismantle DEI and other related obstacles to education.
Sanders recently chose to ignore the “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education warning schools that they risk federal funding if they continue to pursue DEI and other diversity measures. Sanders stressed in his message to school leaders that Illinois prohibits discrimination against marginalized groups and stressed that key racial and ethnic group are required by law to be represented in classroom instruction.
“Black history is American history,” wrote Sanders. “The study of events related to the forceful removal and illegal deportation of Mexican-American U.S. citizens during the Great Depression is American history. The study of the role and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people is American history.”
OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS
He added: “In Illinois, we strive to affirm, uplift, and support all our students and their families. Nothing in any executive order or ‘Dear Colleague’ letter should change that.”
He received the support of Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who accused the Trump administration of using the DEI issue to “just indiscriminately slash school funding.”
These two top state officials sit on top of a failed Illinois education system. I’m on the other end of the spectrum on the ground and I have seen and lived with the consequences of this failure for so long that it makes me sick.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
What these so-called educators care about more is the racial, sexual, or gender identity of the student than actually educating the student. You can adorn a child with all the identity buttons you want from Black Lives Matter to Gay Pride but what about educating the child in a rigorous fashion? Why have we lost sight of this simple fact?
Why do we fear discrimination of any sort so much that we have forgotten how to educate our children? The kids in my neighborhood and many others can barely read and do math on grade level.
Why have so many of our parents been fooled by the idea that a heavy focus on our immutable characteristics is a good thing? Why have we prized diversity over education?
A child is a reflection of the parent. It is also a reflection of the school system. And right now, all that reflection shows is failure.
Our only hope is to rid these schools of this DEI culture that weakens our kids’ minds with ideological notions of diversity. You cannot use race on your path to excellence. You can only learn your way to excellence. That is why we parents not just in Illinois but across America must demand one thing only: a classical education that prepares our children for the harsh realities of the world.
The kids in my neighborhood do not have a DEI problem or a diversity problem. They’re so far behind in education because of all this foolishness.
What they need are involved parents, good teachers and skilled administrators that know how to raise a child up. That is the only way we are going to get kids from my neighborhood out into the larger world where they can help create true and everlasting diversity of culture and thought.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM PASTOR COREY BROOKS
Read the full article from Here
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee oversight body asks for more police pursuit policy changes
Milwaukee police chief says police pursuits a ‘balancing act’
Norman called deaths in police pursuits sad, but said the department needs to hold people accountable. He cited reckless driving specifically.
A Milwaukee oversight body is pushing for further restrictions on how the city’s police decide to chase vehicles, but isn’t ready to move those forward yet.
At its March 5 meeting, the city’s Fire and Police Commission mulled a recommendation the Milwaukee Police Department no longer chase drivers for reckless driving after an attempted traffic stop and stop other chases for reckless driving if it raises danger to the public. The department’s pursuit policy has been a point of contention for years and has come under intense scrutiny after nine people died from police chase crashes in 2025.
But that recommendation was tabled and sent to commission committee for further discussion, after concerns it needed to be further tweaked and receive more police department input.
“I’m trying to find incremental changes we can make to reduce chases,” said Commissioner Bree Spencer, who sponsored the recommendation.
Spencer said she was hesitant to push for policy changes that were too sweeping or too permissive. She said that had happened in years past, when pursuits were heavily restricted in 2010 and then later opened up in 2017 in response to reckless driving, following a then-Fire and Police Commission order.
As has become the norm at the commission’s meetings, a lengthy public comment period was held where some were critical of the proposed changes. Some called for dashcam footage of pursuit-related deaths to be released, as policy requires in officer shootings, and for the city’s costs of police chase-related lawsuits to be publicized.
“Police chases do not keep our community safe,” Angela Lang, the co-executive director of Black Leaders Organizing Change, said during public comment.
The Fire and Police Commission’s proposed recommendation comes after the department voluntarily removed speeding as a permissible reason to chase someone who is recklessly driving. However, that move was met coldly by members of the public and the commission, which is the oversight body for the department, who said it didn’t go far enough.
Generally, department policy considers pursuits “justified” under six circumstances, among those being when an occupant is involved in a violent felony.
Milwaukee Assistant Chief Craig Sarnow said the department was content with its previous change, when commissioners asked him for feedback on the proposed recommendation.
Both the Fire and Police Commission’s drafted recommendation and police department’s change focus on reckless driving chases. Those make up an overwhelming amount of all chases that officers in Milwaukee make – with officers citing reckless driving as the initiating reason in 742 of the 970 chases in 2025, according to police data.
The Fire and Police Commission’s recommendation is also the first time the body has exercised that power since state legislation, 2023 Wisconsin Act 12, was passed. Before that legislation was passed, the commission held the ability to outright change police department policy, but the law shifted that to the city’s Common Council.
Some have called for the Fire and Police Commission to more aggressively issue recommendations like these.
The recommendation will now move to the commission’s Oversight and Accountability Committee. The decision was made after commissioners said they sought more time to tweak the language and for police to provide input.
License plate reading camera use scrutinized
The department’s use of license plate reading cameras, a system known as Flock, came under scrutiny from many attendees at the meeting as well, who called for the city to ban it. Many noted the recent criminal charges brought against Josue Ayala, an officer who prosecutors say improperly used the system to track a former partner and another person.
Ayala resigned and is facing a misdemeanor charge of attempted misconduct in public office. Ayala had previously faced claims of lying and excessive force but was not placed on a Milwaukee County District Attorney’s list of officers with a history of dishonesty, bias or integrity concerns until recently.
That was despite, in 2022, a federal public defender issuing a complaint against Ayala, saying he exaggerated so much in his testimony and reports that it almost seemed “like a compulsion.”
Milwaukee police officials like Heather Hough, the department’s chief of staff, said they were never made aware of that previous concern against Ayala.
“Had we received the information from defense counsel about these concerns they would have been investigated,” she said in an email to the Journal Sentinel.
But that goes against the role of the defense bar, outside experts and defense attorneys locally told the Journal Sentinel. Prosecutors have the ethical duty to share potential Brady material and serve the public, whereas defense attorneys’ obligation is to their client.
Milwaukee police began using Flock cameras in 2022. MPD has a $182,900 contract with Flock for the use of the technology. That contract is active through January 2027 and passed without requiring approval from member of the city’s Common Council, a point criticized by attendees.
The scrutiny against Flock came despite it not being on the meeting’s agenda. Attendees held signs that said things like “GET THE FLOCK OUTTA HERE” and called for the city to be “de-Flocked.”
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis police investigating 3 shootings within 20 minutes
Minneapolis police say they are investigating three separate, unrelated shootings that happened within the span of about 20 minutes Thursday night.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis police say they are investigating three separate, unrelated shootings that happened within the span of about 20 minutes Thursday night.
Minneapolis shootings
What we know:
Authorities responded to a shooting at about 6:29 p.m. on the 400 block of Taylor Street NE.
Less than 10 minutes later, police responded to a shooting on the 2000 block of West River Road.
At about 6:46 p.m., police responded to a shooting on the 800 block of Franklin Ave. E.
Police say their preliminary information indicates each shooting had one victim. All injuries appear to be non-life threatening.
Shootings not connected
What we don’t know:
Police say in their investigation, it doesn’t appear that the three shootings are related. Authorities have not made any arrests.
The incidents remain under investigation.
Indianapolis, IN
How to Watch 2026 Indianapolis SX, Talladega GNCC, and MXGP of Argentina Live on TV – Racer X
The ninth round of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship will take place on Saturday, March 7, as Lucas Oil Stadium hosts the Indianapolis Supercross. This will be the third round of the 250SX East Division championship and will be our second Triple Crown event of the ’26 season.
Check out how to watch the Indianapolis SX below, plus check out the full race day schedule, the entry lists, injury report, track maps, AMA national numbers refresher, live timing link, and anything and everything else you need to know for Indianapolis for Saturday.
What you need to know the most for the Indianapolis SX: the Triple Crown races begin just after 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific.
On Saturday, qualifying can still be seen on Race Day Live beginning at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on Peacock. The Race Day Live broadcast will end with the two last chance qualifier races to determine the gate picks for the main program/night show Triple Crown races.
The SMX Video pass broadcast—which is available only outside of the United States—will start at the same time. Once again, there are Spanish and French broadcasts as a part of the 2026 SMX Video Pass this year, just as they were last year.
Viewers can also listen to audio from the full night show broadcast each and every weekend of SMX in its entirety on SiriusXM Radio (with Indianapolis also starting at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific).
The Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC Racing) Series is back in action this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The Talladega GNCC will have both Saturday’s pro ATVs (2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST) and Sunday’s pro bikes (1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST) broadcasted live by the RacerTV crew.
And the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP) kicks off this weekend with the MXGP of Argentina on Saturday (qualifying) and Sunday (points-paying motos). You can watch the action live on both days on MXGP-TV.com or catch the delayed broadcast of the second motos on CBS Sports (might want to DVR this with the late night time!).
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin4 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon7 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling