Illinois

President Trump's daughter-in-law speaks at McHenry County fundraising event

Published

10 months ago

February 22, 2025

President Trump's daughter-in-law speaks at McHenry County fundraising event

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) — Republican voters gathered Friday in the northwest suburbs for a fundraiser with President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law.

Attendees spoke about how they think the first month of the administration has gone.

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With Republicans in full control of Congress and the White House, the party that’s long been in the minority in Illinois was there to celebrate, reveling in their moment as the majority in Washington.

It is a majority, that they say, comes with a mandate for more sweeping change.

In a ballroom packed with Republican donors and voters, MAGA ballcaps and Trump t-shirts projected their message of the moment. That message: they love it here.

“I think it’s shining a light for everyone in Illinois to understand we can do this,” former Republican Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey said. ‘We can get things fixed again.”

SEE ALSO | Gov. JB Pritzker getting national attention for speaking out against Trump during budget address

“I think the man is wonderful,” Dee Dee Lavin said. “I just think God gave us a good person to lead this country.”

The McHenry County GOPAC is boosting the base, and President Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, flew into town on something of a victory lap.

The first-quarter pep rally of sorts comes at the close of the fifth full week of President Trump’s second term. It’s been a warp-speed turn to the right, marked with immigration roundups and deportations. Also, dozens upon dozens of executive orders, ending birthright citizenship and the immediate freezing of federal funding.

Many of the actions are now tied up or halted in federal courts, with judges flagging serious constitutional questions.

READ MORE | Judge blocks Trump’s executive order ending federal support for DEI programs

“He is the head of the executive, and he is, as an executive, taking control of that branch. And I think that’s admirable,” McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio said.

Thousands of federal workers have been fired, slashed off the payroll, and some frantically re-hired by Elon Musk and his young team at the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.”

“I think the people are going to appreciate what’s being uncovered and how it’s being handled when this is all over,” Bailey said. “Those people who live on the government payroll are career civil servants, tens of thousands of them have been let go… I think a lot of them were new hires.”

Independent voter Isis Carswell didn’t vote for Trump, but she said she sees opportunity.

“I’m okay with slashing jobs, but if they’re saying they’re going to mail everyone $5,000 stimulus checks, that is not a way to boost the economy,” Carswell said. “Higher wages for everyone would be the best way to do it.”

In a deeply blue state, a spokesperson for the Illinois Democratic Party, Gwen Pepin, said in a statement Friday night, in part, “We think it’s past time for Lara, her father-in-law, and the Illinois GOP to focus less on targeting DEI, immigrants and the trans community, and more on lowering pries for working families like President Trump promised to do on day one.”

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Illinois

2025 FCS football championship: Bracket, schedule, scores

Published

10 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

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 championship schedule

All times Eastern

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.

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Illinois

Another Winter Storm Targets Central Illinois

Published

22 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Another Winter Storm Targets Central Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS) — 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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Illinois is newest state to allow medical assistance in dying after Pritzker signs bill

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Illinois is newest state to allow medical assistance in dying after Pritzker signs bill

Updated on: December 12, 2025 / 11:49 AM CST
/ CBS Chicago

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new law Friday making Illinois the newest state allowing medically assisted dying in terminally ill residents.

Known as “Deb’s Law,” it allows eligible terminally ill adults with a prognosis to live six months or less to request a prescription from their doctor that would allow them to die on their own terms.

The legislation was narrowly approved by the Illinois Senate in October after the Illinois House passed it in May.

People on both sides of the debate over the controversial legislation lobbied the governor up until the last minute. Medical aid in dying, also called assisted suicide or dying with dignity, is already legal in 12 states. Eight more are considering similar legislation.

“I have been deeply impacted by the stories of Illinoisans or their loved ones that have suffered from a devastating terminal illness, and I have been moved by their dedication to standing up for freedom and choice at the end of life in the midst of personal heartbreak,” Pritzker said in a news release after signing the bill.

Pritzker’s signature makes Illinois the first state in the Midwest to allow medically assisted death.

Advocates for the law say it allows adults to die on their own terms when survival is already not an option. Opponents say the bill legalizes “state-sanctioned suicide.”

The law requires two doctors to determine a patient has a terminal disease and will die within six months. The medication provided would need to be requested both orally and in written documentation, and will have to be self-administered. The law also requires all patients opting into medical assistance in dying to have been full informed about all end-of-life care options, including comfort care, hospice, palliative care and pain control.

The law is named for Deb Robertson, a former social worker from Lombard who had an aggressive case of neuroendocrine carcinoma. She began advocating for medical aid in dying in 2022 and has been a central figure in the movement.

Please note: The above video is from a previous report

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