Happy Monday. Ease into the week with the latest from WTTW News.
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(Lordn / iStock)
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The Trump administration announced last week its decision to withhold billions of federal dollars from five Democrat-led states, including Illinois, intended to provide child care and support for low-income families.
The administration cited allegations of widespread fraud as the reason for the reversal. Those claims have not been independently verified.
Programs affected by the funding pause include the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).
Gov. JB Pritzker condemned the decision, saying, “Rather than making life easier and more affordable for our families, Donald Trump is stripping away child care from Illinois families who are just trying to go to work. Thousands of parents and children depend on these child care programs to help them make ends meet, and now their livelihoods are being put at risk. This is wrong, it is cruel, and we will take every step possible to defend the kids and families depending on all of us right now.”
On Friday, Illinois and the other states were granted a restraining order as a result of their lawsuit aimed at blocking the cuts. The order will stay in place while the court case continues unless an appellate court judge decides to overturn it.
Illinois would lose approximately $1 billion in federal funding, Pritzker’s office said.
More context:
Around 100,00 families — including more than 152,000 children — use the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which is partially funded through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).
For Tahiti Hamer, Illinois being cut out of federal social safety net funding is both a professional and personal concern. The Chicago native is a mother of three and an early childhood education teacher at the North Lawndale YMCA where she works with infants and toddlers, many of whom have disabilities.
“I’m worried because not only are my families that we provide care and services for being affected by this, but me as a parent myself,” Hamer said. “My child attends a home day care, and without her (the day care provider), I wouldn’t be able to go to work.”
Tina Vanderwarker, executive director of the Early Childhood Alliance of Niles Township, said the Trump administration’s funding freeze will make it more difficult for families to care for their children.
“The families that we are helping in large part need child care for their children so that they can work to afford rent, to put food on the table,” Vanderwarker said.
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Marc Greenwood has been working in snow removal for 25 years. (Walter Mitchell / Department of Streets and Sanitation)
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If you’ve ever white-knuckled your steering wheel down Lake Shore Drive during a blizzard, you know driving in a Chicago winter isn’t for the faint of heart. But for Marc Greenwood, it’s just another day on the job.
Born and raised on the city’s West Side and now a Northwest Side resident, Greenwood, 53, has been in the snow removal business for 25 years, and has spent the last five years with the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation. His official title is motor truck driver, since the department has a fleet of other commercial vehicles (such as street sweepers) that employees like Greenwood drive.
Greenwood, along with other drivers, is often one of the first people out on Chicago’s roads in a heavy snowfall. WTTW asked him about his perspective.
What is a shift like, and how long can it last?
Well, when we activate our snow response, for me, I report to my yard and I check in. We have a lead man who hands out the trucks and our phone systems. I’ll do a pre-check on my truck to make sure that there’s no damage and the plows are operating correctly. After that, I do a radio check, and I’m ready to go. It really depends on how long we’re out. In (the Streets and Sanitation Department), we have manpower that’s needed elsewhere — we have people who work the forestry department, the rodent department. So our manpower is needed elsewhere, and that’s why we hire two-hour winter drivers every season. Because when it’s snowing, everything else in the city doesn’t stop.
What do you wish people knew about your job?
It can be a stressful job to be in a truck during heavy snow and icy conditions, especially when there’s a lot of traffic. Safety is always our top priority. Follow at a safe distance when possible. Maintain awareness of road conditions. Chicago winters are tough, but we do a great job getting through them safely when we all work together and look out for each other.
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(WTTW News)
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A Chicago police sergeant and officer violated the constitutional rights of a Black man who was improperly searched during a downtown traffic stop and should be suspended, department leaders and the agency tasked with investigating police misconduct agreed, records show.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that two members of the tactical team assigned to patrol the Near North (18th) Police District improperly searched a driver and his car at 7:10 p.m. March 18, 2024, according to records published Thursday.
The agency better known as COPA found that officers were not justified in stopping the car on Franklin Street near Chicago Avenue and should not have searched the driver or his car after handcuffing him in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.
The stop was part of what COPA identified as a troubling pattern of 50 undocumented and unprofessional stops of Black people in Lincoln Park, West Town, Old Town, River North, Streeterville, the Gold Coast and parts of Logan Square in 2024.
More than 90% of the complaints investigated by COPA were sparked by officers’ decisions to pull over Black people, according to a letter sent by COPA to the district’s commander.
This complaint is the second of those probes to be fully resolved by COPA, and the first to find that not only did Sgt. Erick Seng witness officers under his supervision violate department policy, he also violated the rights of a Chicagoan.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: Jan. 12, 2001 - Chicago-Set Movie ‘Save The Last Dance’ Hits Theaters
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On this day 25 years ago, the Chicago-set, Thomas Carter-directed movie “Save the Last Dance” hit theaters. Starring Julia Stiles, Kerry Washington, Sean Patrick Thomas and more, it was the highest-grossing film in January 2001, beating the record “Varsity Blues” achieved for “highest Martin Luther King weekend debut.” While not the best film, it was a movie on constant rotation at sleepovers and cable television throughout the aughts. Critic Roger Ebert liked it, giving it three out of four stars and writing, “The setup promises cliches, but the development is intelligent, the characters are more complicated than we expect, and the ending doesn’t tie everything up
in a predictable way.” Filming scenes across Chicago, it included the suburban Lemont High School, the Athenaeum Theatre, the Chicago Academy for the Arts and several shots of the city’s skyline and river.
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This Week’s Civic Events and Meetings
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with local government.
City Council's Committee on Finance
On Wednesday at 10 a.m., the Chicago City Council's Committee on Finance will hold a regular meeting in the City Council Chamber at City Hall. If you’d like to submit a public comment, you can do so by 10 a.m. Tuesday at Committeeonfinance@cityofchicago.org.
City Club of Chicago
On Wednesday at noon, City Club of Chicago is hosting a one-on-one conversation with University of Chicago economist Jens Ludwig on gun violence and the challenges facing Chicago. For tickets and further details, click here.
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How do you feel about the Bears' 2025-2026 season so far?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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