Illinois
Controversial Illinois ‘sanctuary’ law at center of Pritzker's testimony in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker prepares to testify before a Congressional committee on Thursday morning, he’ll face questions about the state’s TRUST Act.
The controversial law limits the degree to which local police can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The backstory:
In 2017, Illinois enacted the TRUST Act under Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The law bans local police from complying with federal requests to detain or arrest a person in the country illegally, unless ordered by a judge.
Local law enforcement also cannot stop, search, or arrest anyone based solely on their immigration or citizenship status.
In 2021, the state legislature passed laws expanding protections for immigrants in Illinois.
Mark Fleming of the National Immigrant Justice Center helped craft the bill and said the point is to keep immigration enforcement in the hands of federal agents.
“State and local governments are making a decision not to participate in civil immigration enforcement,” Fleming said.
Fleming said that doesn’t mean local law enforcement can’t help out in some cases.
“We’re not allowed to ask where you’re from. They made that part of the act,” he said.
The other side:
DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, who recently announced a run for governor as a Republican, said the Trust Act has forced police officers to choose between conflicting sets of state and federal laws.
“They’ve got the cops scared to death,” Mendrick said. “Cops are worried that if they take action, they’re gonna get sued.”
Mendrick believes Illinois communities would be safer if police shared immigration status of criminal suspects right away, so ICE could apprehend them while in custody – as opposed to raiding homes, schools and businesses. But Fleming says the idea is to allow residents to come out of the shadows without fear of being deported by local police.
“Every study that has looked at it has uniformly found that TRUST Act doesn’t diminish community safety, and that in areas like domestic violence laws like the TRUST Act enhance community safety,” Fleming said.
But Mendrick says he believes the TRUST Act violates federal law and is calling for the Department of Justice to investigate.
“You can’t shield them from detection,” Mendrick said. “Giving them housing and putting 44 million into housing, sounds like shielding to me, sounds like harboring, sounds like participating.”
Fleming says the courts have already spoken and ruled in favor of the state’s implementation of the law.
“Frankly, this issue has been litigated over and over first in the first Trump administration and now in the second Trump administration,” he said.
Once again, the NFL pre-draft circuit is in full effect, as teams spread out their staff all over the country to try and ensure they view as many pro days as physically possible. With some of the most substantial schools being next up on the schedule, it is going to draw national attention from the media, especially with results from the top prospects and potentially some passing drills from the quarterbacks.
Among the plentiful news coming out of these events is some intriguing meetings from the New Orleans Saints, with one of the most recent being Illinois guard Josh Gesky, who they met with at the school.
Gesky had an extremely impressive 2025 season when it comes to the metrics, allowing only 1 sack and 12 pressures, while only having 1 penalty tied to his name. While his run blocking left a bit to be desired, he has shown promise there in previous years, and it is something he has been solid at in various years.
At 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds, he has great size and has quite a few distinctions during his time at Illinois. He was listed as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2023, an Academic All-Big Ten from 2022 to 2025, and was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention from 2023 to 2025. These types of things certainly factor into potential draft selections, and with the Saints needing another guard, Gesky could be an option for them in 2026.
No. 3 Illinois knocked off No. 9 Iowa on Saturday night in Houston, now they’re advancing to the Final Four in the men’s NCAA Tournament.
The Fighting Illini pulled away late and ended their the Hawkeye’s Cinderella run in the Elite Eight with a 71-59 victory.
SHOP: Illinois Final Four tickets
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Illinois Final Four game location
Illinois will play its Final Four game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Get your Illinois Final Four NCAA Tournament tickets now.
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Illinois Final Four appearances
The last time the Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team made the Final Four was in 2005. They also made it in 1989, 1952, 1951 and 1949.
When is the Final Four?
The 2026 NCAA Tournament concludes with the Final Four on Saturday, April 4 and the National Championship game on Monday, April 6. Saturday’s games are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET respectively, while the National Championship game is set to tip at 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday, April 6.
March Madness 2026 full schedule for the men’s tournament
- March 19-20: First round
- March 21-22: Second round
- March 26-27: Sweet 16
- March 28-29: Elite 8
- April 4-5: Final Four
- April 6: National Championship
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Illinois
Champaign places temporary restrictions on alcohol sales as city gears up for Illini-Hawkeyes game
Saturday, March 28, 2026 1:30PM
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WLS) — As the Fighting Illini take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight, there will be new liquor laws in place in Champaign.
The mayor signed an executive order, citing concerns to public health.
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After 3 p.m. Saturday, bars and restaurants cannot serve alcohol in glass containers.
And retailers are banned from selling packaged alcohol or to-go cocktails after 6 p.m.
Alcohol deliveries are also being banned after 6 p.m.
The restrictions will remain in place until 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
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