Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has officially signed into a law a bill that would seek to limit immigration enforcement at colleges, daycares, courthouses and more.

Under provisions of HB 1312, which was signed into law Tuesday, enhanced protections are expected to be put into place on those institutions, as well as at hospitals and other entities.

Pritzker signed the bill after “Operation: Midway Blitz” resulted in more than 3,000 arrests around the Chicago area this year, with more immigration enforcement expected as the Trump administration continues to step up its efforts.

“Dropping your kid off at day care, going to the doctor, or attending your classes should not be a life-altering task,” Pritzker said at the bill signing ceremony. “Illinois, in the face of cruelty and intimidation, has chosen solidarity and support.”

One piece of the bill prohibits schools from threatening to disclose the citizenship or immigration status of any employee, student or contractor without consent.

Schools will also be required to provide information on their websites about who employees and students should speak to if an immigration enforcement agent attempts to enter a school campus or engages in “nonconsensual interactions with members of the school community,” according to the text of the bill.

“Education allows our communities to progress and build a better life – an essential part of the American dream. Pursing an education is a right that should not be threatened by armed, masked federal agents on our college campuses,” said State Sen. Karina Villa in a statement. “Many immigrant parents dream of the day their child graduates from college. That goal is what makes all of their sacrifices and labor worth it. In Illinois, we will defend that dream.”

Campus communities will also be notified when immigration enforcement activity occurs on campus, according to Sen. Villa’s office.

The bill also creates a “Court Access, Safety and Participation Act,” which aims to protect residents from civil arrest if they are attending a state court proceeding, or if they are going to or returning from such a proceeding. That includes if a party is a plaintiff or defendant in a case, or if they are a witness or accompanying a participant in the proceeding.

The bill permits individuals to seek civil damages against anyone violating that provision of the law.

Hospitals under the act will be required to adopt and implement policies regarding interactions between law enforcement agents and patients, and will be required to post those policies on their websites.

Immigration enforcement agents will also be required to present valid identification and signed judicial warrants to access licensed daycare centers under provisions of the act, according to officials.

Finally, the bill allows residents to file lawsuits against immigration enforcement agents who violate the state or U.S. Constitutions, according to the text of the legislation.

The bill takes immediate effect in the state of Illinois.

CHICAGO (WLS) — A new report shows Illinois is making progress shrinking the gender pay gap, but disparities in pay still persist, particularly for some minority workers.

Professor Robert Bruno, director of labor education and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, joined ABC7 Chicago Monday to talk more about it.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

He discussed the study and how it was conducted, its key findings about the gender pay gap, what was learned about minority workers and why some industries were more impacted than others.

SEE ALSO: Bronzeville celebration focuses on pay gap between Black women, white men

He also touched on his recommendations from the report.

“Ensuring pay equity does more than protect justice in the workplace,” Bruno said. “Paying workers fairly regardless of race or gender contributes to a lifetime of higher earnings.”

Visit https://lep.illinois.edu/project-for-middle-class-renewal for more information.

EVANSTON, Ill. – An Illinois church is facing criticism for displaying a Nativity scene that depicts baby Jesus with his hands zip-tied and guarded by figures styled as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Lake Street Church of Evanston is displaying the scene outside on its grounds. Baby Jesus is wrapped in a thin blanket resembling aluminum foil, which the church said is a reference to the emergency blankets used in detention facilities. Masked centurions, officers in the ancient Roman army, are depicted in sunglasses and green vests labeled “ICE.”

It also shows Mother Mary wearing a respirator mask “to protect herself from tear gas,” according to the church. Joseph is also masked. 

In a Facebook post last week, the church said the installation reimagines the Nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing parallels between the Holy Family’s refugee flight and modern immigration detention practices.

“This installation reimagines the nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing direct parallels between the Holy Family’s refugee experience and contemporary immigration detention practices,” the post reads.

“‘The Holy Family were refugees. This is not political interpretation, this is the reality described in the stories our tradition has told and retold for millenia,’” it continues. “‘By witnessing this familiar story through the reality faced by migrants today, we hope to restore its radical edge, and to ask what it means to celebrate the birth of a refugee child while turning away those who follow in that child’s footsteps.’”

The church, which also hangs Black Lives Matter banners and social justice banners, said the zip ties on the baby’s wrists directly reference children who were zip-tied by agents during a raid on a Chicago apartment building earlier this year. The church claims most residents were U.S. citizens in that incident. It called the display a stark reminder that “enforcement terror does not discriminate by documentation status.”

In recent days, it appears Mary’s gas mask has been removed, while the zip ties have been cut from the baby Jesus’ hands.

The Facebook post and display drew both criticism and praise from commenters.

“Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem because they had to return to Joseph’s ancestral home to be counted in the census,” one person wrote. “So Trump is just following that example and sending people HOME per a legal requirement. If they want to immigrate LEGALLY, they can fill out the paperwork before they leave and self-deport.”

“Blasphemy!!! Father forgive them, they know not what they do,” another wrote. 

A different commenter argued the church had misinterpreted the Bible: “The Holy Family were refugees… do you guys read the Bible? Mary and Joseph travelled as required by Caesar’s census requirement, NOT refugees.”

Others supported the display, with one user calling it “very powerful art.”

“Out of all the tragedy affecting my community, I’m glad powerful art is being used to address the issues that trolls make fun of,” one person wrote. “Hoping more displays like this come out to trigger the masses in a positive way.”

Lake Street Church has staged politically themed Nativity scenes before. In 2023, it set up a display showing Baby Jesus alone amid rubble as an homage to civilians trapped in the war in Gaza, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Rev. Michael Woolf, a senior minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston, was among 21 people arrested on Nov. 14 outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois.

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