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Illinois shut out of Medicaid after Trump administration halts federal grants and loans

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Illinois shut out of Medicaid after Trump administration halts federal grants and loans


Illinois has been shut out of Medicaid, just hours after President Donald Trump’s administration announced a pause in federal grants, loans and other financial assistance as they begin a review of spending.

The funding freeze could affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Grants that have been awarded but not spent are also halted, according to the Associated Press.

Though the funding freeze was supposed to take effect at 4 p.m. Central Time Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office staid that the state of Illinois was shut out of Medicaid as of Tuesday morning. The government-funded health insurance program covered about 3.9 million people in Illinois in 2023, including low-income adults, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in the memo. “This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.”

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Vaeth wrote that each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all federal financial assistance programs.

“In the interim, to the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders…”

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was in contact with Illinois senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to figure out exactly what a funding freeze would mean for the city.

“These are unprecedented attempts to attempt to defund childcare or to defund infrastructure projects. This is something that is well outside the purview of the executive office,” Johnson said at a City Hall news conference. “These appropriations have been mandated by the legislative branch. These are laws. And you know, we as a country of law, as a democracy, we prefer when we have leaders who actually are committed to upholding that law.”

Durbin called the freeze “unconstitutional” and “above all else, it’s inhumane.”

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“Every American relies on federal funding—from public safety, disaster relief, medical research funding, and small business loans to Head Start and child care programs, veterans care, nutrition assistance, food inspections, and so much more,” Durbin said in a statement. “Denying critical funding for our families will not make America great.”

While Pritzker, Johnson and other Chicago area officials grappled with what the federal funding freeze might mean, researchers at the University of Chicago were already being directed to rein in any work that relies on dollars from Washington.

In a faculty memo, UChicago Provost Katherine Baicker told faculty to not to “purchase new supplies or equipment, start new experiments, embark on funded travel, etc.”

“This is not a request that I make lightly. The research enterprise is at the core of our University’s mission and is of profound importance to the daily work of our faculty, researchers, staff, and students. I also know that this is insufficient guidance and that you must have many questions (as do I),” Baicker wrote.

“I wish that I had more information to share now, but will continue to be in touch as we learn more. But we must for now proceed under the assumption that grant expenditures incurred after today while this memorandum is in effect may not be covered by federal funding.”

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On the Senate floor, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, called on Trump to “rescind this order at once.”

“People are worried. People are scrambling. People are in panic mode, trying to figure out how this order is going to affect them. Hospitals with people on life support, food pantries that feed the hungry, police departments that patrol our streets. Every one of them is worried,” Schumer said.





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1 killed, multiple displaced after Glenwood, Illinois, condo fire, officials say

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1 killed, multiple displaced after Glenwood, Illinois, condo fire, officials say



One person is dead after a fire inside a condo complex in south suburban Glenwood on Saturday evening.

It happened around 5 p.m. in the 900 block of 194th Street.

Glenwood fire officials said that crews responded to a second-floor unit inside the three-story building that was engulfed with flames.

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It was confirmed that one person died in the fire. Their identity was not released.

Neighbors in adjoining condos were displaced. The Red Cross was working to provide further assistance to those affected.

Glenwood fire said they are working with the state fire marshal to investigate what led up to the blaze



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2025 FCS football championship: Bracket, schedule, scores

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2025 FCS football championship: Bracket, schedule, scores


The 2025-26 FCS playoffs consist of a 24-team bracket with play starting on Saturday, Nov. 29 and concluding on Monday, Jan. 5. The top 16 teams seeded and the top eight seeds receive automatic byes to the second round, while the rest of the 24-team field (the remaining 16 teams) play in the first round.

Here’s everything you need to know for the Division I Football Championship postseason.

FCS championship bracket

Click or tap here to view the bracket

FCS bracket

 

FCS championship schedule

All times Eastern

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Quarterfinals

  • Friday, December 12
  • Saturday, December 13

Semifinals

  • Saturday, December 20
    • Semifinal 1 | 4 p.m. ET | ABC
    • Semifinal 2 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2

National Championship 

FCS championship rounds, dates

  • Selection show: 12 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 23 on ESPNU
  • First round: Saturday, Nov. 29
  • Second round: Saturday, Dec. 6
  • Quarterfinals: Friday, Dec. 12 through Saturday, Dec. 13
  • Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 20 
  • National championship: Monday, Jan. 5 on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET

FCS selections

The bracket selections for the 2025-26 FCS Championship was on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. The bracket was be revealed via a selection show on ESPNU at 12 p.m. ET and a selections release

Eleven conferences (or conference partnerships/alliances) earn automatic bids to the playoffs. The FCS Championship Committee selects the remaining 13 at-large bids.

AUTOMATIC BIDS: Click or tap here to see all 11 of the clinched auto-bids

FCS championship history 

North Dakota Dakota State is the reigning national champion, winning its 10 title in 2024 with a 35-32 win over Montana State. Here’s every FCS champion and runner-up from the past decade:

Year Champion Coach Score Runner-Up Site
2024 North Dakota State Tim Polasek 35-32 Montana State Frisco, Texas
2023 South Dakota State Jimmy Rogers 23-3 Montana  Frisco, Texas
2022 South Dakota State John Stiegelmeier 45-21 North Dakota State Frisco, Texas
2021 North Dakota State Matt Entz 38-10 Montana State Frisco, Texas
2020 Sam Houston K.C. Keeler 23-21 South Dakota State Frisco, Texas
2019 North Dakota State Matt Entz 28-20 James Madison Frisco, Texas
2018 North Dakota State Chris Klieman 38-24 Eastern Washington Frisco, Texas
2017 North Dakota State Chris Klieman 17-13 James Madison Frisco, Texas
2016 James Madison Mike Houston 28-14 Youngstown State Frisco, Texas
2015 North Dakota State Chris Klieman 37-10 Jacksonville State Frisco, Texas

Click here for a full list of every champion since 1978.  

Ferris State’s Tim Anderson wins the 2025 Gene Upshaw Award

The award honors the best senior or graduate offensive or defensive lineman in DII.

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Ranking the performances of first-year college football coaches

The FBS regular season is in the books and 29 first-year coaches have finished there debut seasons. Here’s a recap of how they did, ranking their performances from top to bottom.

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Here are the most popular lower seeds, upset picks in the College Football Playoff

Here are the non-bye teams that are most popular in NCAA.com’s College Football Bracket Challenge Game.

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Another Winter Storm Targets Central Illinois

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Another Winter Storm Targets Central Illinois


After a brief lull in the weather on Friday, now another winter storm is setting its sights on central Illinois. Come Saturday, our next round of Winter is set to arrive. A new weather maker sweeps across the Upper Midwest, causing more snow to develop by mid-morning on Saturday. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued from 7AM Saturday through 8 PM Saturday evening. The snow will pick up intensity by late-morning and last through the afternoon into the early evening hours before ending. This new weather system will follow a path very similar to the previous storm system and spread a swath of moderate to locally heavy snow. Before the snow wraps up Saturday evening, expect another 2″-4″ for much of central Illinois, with afternoon high temperatures bitterly cold in the mid-teens.

But the worst blast of cold air comes in Saturday evening into Sunday. Frigid Arctic air surges down from Canada causing temperatures to really tumble, driving in the coldest weather we’ve had in a long time and certainly the coldest so far this season. A Cold Weather Advisory is issued from 8 PM Saturday through Noon on Sunday. Sunday morning will be dangerously cold with wind chills around 20 to 25 BELOW ZERO. With wind chills this extreme, it doesn’t take long to suffer from frostbite or hypothermia. Please stay inside to keep warm, but if you do need to venture out, limit the time you spend outdoors, and make sure to cover up all exposed skin by wearing a hat, scarf, and gloves. Sunday afternoon features lots of sunshine, but despite the sunshine, temperatures will be brutally cold and frigid with high temperatures stuck in the low single numbers while wind chills remain well below zero.

Expect more extremely chilly weather on Monday with wind chills still ranging from 5 to 15 BELOW ZERO in the morning and afternoon highs only reaching into the 20s. Then temperatures will finally start to warm up, and we should climb out of the deep freeze with highs in the mid to upper 30s on Tuesday.



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