It’s Tuesday. Here’s the latest about your city and beyond from WTTW News.
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The U.S. Capitol, Jan. 30, 2026, in Washington. (Rahmat Gul/ AP Photo)
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President Donald Trump implored the House on Monday to end the partial government shutdown, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to quickly approve the federal funding package he brokered with the Senate without first debating their own demands over immigration enforcement operations.
Democrats are refusing to provide the votes House Speaker Mike Johnson needs to push the package forward as they try to rein in the Trump administration’s deportation operations after the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis. That’s forcing Johnson to rely on his slim GOP majority, which has its own complaints about the package, to fall in line behind Trump’s deal with Senate Democrats. Voting could begin as soon as Tuesday, which would be day four of the partial shutdown.
In an interview on WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” on Monday, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Jonathon Jackson, both Democrats from Illinois, said they remain laser-focused on ICE. Both are planning to withhold funding until considerable changes are made.
WTTW News invited Republicans in the Illinois delegation to appear on “Chicago Tonight” but received no response.
What they had to say:
“It’s clear that the Republican administration in the House is about as inept as it can be,” Davis said. “… We’re not going to tolerate the atrocities that are being committed by ICE.”
After Noem announced plans to issue body-worn cameras, Davis said he remains skeptical of Noem’s intentions and whether her words hold any merit.
Davis said Noem should resign “and let somebody with a different approach, different attitude, a different level of understanding, be in charge of an agency with that much intensity and power.”
Jackson said ICE has enough funding to be considered the 10th largest military in the world, adding, “This is a domestic military force just for U.S. citizens.”
He said he remains concerned over ICE arrests made without judicial warrants, alluding to an internal memo that leaked earlier this year revealing ICE agents were being told to break into homes without warrants.
“This is not the gestapo of Europe,” Jackson said. “This is reminiscent — in this African American History Month — this is the slave patrol. You’re patrolling people’s bodies, their language, their movement. This is very American, and at the same time it’s very un-American to deny us our constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.”
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Visitors explore the monuments of Graceland Cemetery. (Meredith Francis / WTTW)
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On a sunny October morning, Chicagoan Aaron Eiger is out for a stroll with his Portuguese water dog, Ruthie. They’re not walking on the lakefront, nor are they in a nearby park. Instead, they’re strolling past the old gravestones and impressive mausoleums at Graceland Cemetery and Arboretum in the city’s Uptown neighborhood. Eiger and Ruthie walk through Graceland every day.
Like Eiger, more and more people in the surrounding neighborhoods have begun to treat Graceland as more than just a cemetery; they are utilizing the space as it was originally designed to be – a public greenspace in addition to a final resting place. Graceland’s small but friendly staff finds itself busier than ever overseeing the 119 acres.
“When I started 11 years ago, there were only three of us,” says Jensen Allen, the cemetery’s onsite director. “We have grown gradually since then. A steady increase of staff from three to seven [full-time employees] doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s a pretty big improvement, especially because we’ve become a lot more open to the community.”
More context:
Situated between Montrose Avenue, Clark Street, Irving Park Road, and the Red Line tracks, Graceland Cemetery was first established in 1860 as a private cemetery.
By the mid 20th century, the nearby Uptown neighborhood was hit particularly hard by disinvestment and poverty. “People didn’t necessarily see cemeteries in the same way,” Allen says. “So some people would come into the cemetery at night, and they would potentially try and take bronze doors, or hang out in a mausoleum when they weren’t supposed to. So there was this idea that it could really be open.”
Those attitudes shifted, especially in the past decade. Allen says starting around 2017, residents in the nearby neighborhoods began to express interest in using Graceland as it was originally intended – a place to walk, jog, or bike through, to admire the trees, and to walk the dog (at least on days when the resident coyote and its pups aren’t present), even if they don’t have a loved one’s grave to visit.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson displays the executive order he signed on Saturday, Jan. 31. (Provided)
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Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Saturday that he said would lay “the groundwork to prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents for criminal misconduct.”
The order directs members of the Chicago Police Department to document actions by agents with ICE and Border Protection and attempt to identify those responsible for suspected misconduct or criminal violations.
“This evidence will then be preserved, and, at the direction of my office, will be referred to the state’s attorney’s office for potential prosecution,” Johnson said, while surrounded by supporters in his ceremonial office at City Hall.
Since federal agents shot and killed Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis, Johnson has been under intense pressure to step up efforts to rein in the aggressive immigration raids launched by President Donald Trump as part of the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
“Did anybody in this room imagine that we would have a federal government that would not be accountable to its own rules and the Constitution itself?” Johnson said. “We’re constantly evolving as we continue to respond to this unprecedented moment.”
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More From WTTW News:
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These Chicago-area teenagers are siblings named Sam and Ben, but to the federal immigration agents they interact with daily, the two boys, wielding cell phones and taking down plate numbers, are a duo known as “the brothers.”
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Back in the Day: February 3, 1936 - Iconic Music Photographer Jim Marshall Born in Chicago
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Johnny Cash makes an obscene gesture while performing at San Quentin Prison. Janis Joplin relaxes backstage with a bottle of Southern Comfort. The Grateful Dead perform a free concert on Haight Street in front of throngs of people. Jimi Hendrix lights his guitar on fire during a set at Monterey Pop. These are some of rock ‘n’ roll’s most iconic images, and they all came from one man, Jim Marshall, who was born in Chicago on this day 90 years ago. Born to Assyrian immigrants from Iran, Marshall and
his family moved to San Francisco when he was two where he eventually developed a love for photography in high school. He was the head photographer at Woodstock and shot the final Beatles performance at California’s Candlestick Park. “He was one of the pioneers of music photography,” said Amelia Davis, Marshall’s longtime assistant. “People have called him pretty much the godfather of rock ‘n’ roll photography.” He died in 2010, but his work lives on through his posthumous book “Jim Marshall: Show Me the Picture” and through pop culture.
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations
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Every Tuesday, WTTW News staffers highlight their favorite things in Chicago. This week, it’s social media editor Katelyn Haas on local bookstores.
Katelyn Haas: I’m a big reader (add me on Fable!!) and though I loved growing up in various Barnes and Nobles around the United States, as an adult I’ve always loved the charm of local bookstores, whether it’s for their literary offerings or even just browsing for random stationary that I definitely need more of. In Chicago, we are blessed with many local bookstores, and they always need more business. So here are a few of my favorites:
The Understudy Coffee and Books: This coffee meets book shop is cozy on a Saturday afternoon, with many deep chairs to sink into and read a book or find a play you’ve never heard of before. Their coffee is delicious, but it’s usually pretty crowded on the weekends, so I’d recommend checking it out in an off-time if you want to get a seat! 5531 N Clark St.
The Last Chapter Book Shop: If you’ve also been scouring bookstores across Chicago for all the Heated Rivalry books, this is the spot for you. Pop in to this Roscoe Village shop, and not only can you find a myriad of romance novels, but a celebration of romance! My favorite part? The paper hearts that cover parts of the wall inside. 2013 W Roscoe St.
Myopic Books: Every time I stop in here, I end up wandering up and down the stairs of this gigantic bookstore. 1564 N Milwaukee Ave.
Three Avenues Bookshop: I’ve always found this spot encourages community in reading. Three Avenues has a monthly book club, where patrons can all join together and discuss the chosen book. They also just finished up a book drive at the end of January. 3009 N Southport Ave.
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What's the one thing out-of-towners get wrong about
Chicago?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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