Category: News
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events in Evanston, Skokie
Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 97 on Jan. 15, 2026, if the course of history had not unfolded as it did.
This year, communities across the United States, including Evanston and Skokie, have scheduled events to commemorate King and pay tribute to his goal of bringing peace and racial and economic justice to the nation. The federal holiday honoring him is Monday, Jan. 19 this year.
Saturday, Jan. 17
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Celebration, 12 to 3 p.m., Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center,1655 Foster Street, Evanston. The program will include keynote speaker Northwestern University Student Brooks Lansana, Evanston’s Children’s Choir, The Musical Offering, MC4 singing group, Ayodele Drum & Dance, and singers Treasure and Jayla.
Sunday, Jan. 18
MLK candlelight vigil, 2 p.m. Alice Millar Chapel,1870 Sheridan Road, Evanston, and livestreamed. The vigil keynote will be delivered by Charlie Dates, a Chicago pastor and advocate for social justice. He is founder of the local initiatives Progressive Center for Counseling & Justice, a hub for trauma-informed care and systemic transformation; the Black Boy Literacy Campaign, a citywide movement to help 1,000 Black boys reach grade-level reading by age 10; and the Spend in the Black Commerce Corridor, which channels strategic investment into Black-owned businesses on Chicago’s South Side. The program also features a performance by Northwestern Community Ensemble.
Monday, Jan. 19
“Community Volunteering for Teens” event, 2 p.m., Skokie Public Library, 5215 W. Oakton St., Skokie. Learn about local agencies making a difference and engage in meaningful projects during an afternoon of volunteering.
Tuesday, Jan. 20
MLK keynote event, 5 p.m.,Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall at Northwestern University, 70 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston. The MLK Commemoration 2026 keynote event will feature a panel of experts comprised of Northwestern faculty and community leaders who will break down the concept, practice and possibilities of Dr. King’s call for a “Beloved Community.” The panel will be moderated by Sylvester Johnson, professor and chair of Black Studies. Panelists include Leslie Harris, professor of history; Kate Masur, John D. MacArthur Professor of History; Morris “Dino” Robinson, founder of Shorefront Legacy Center and production manager at Northwestern University Press; and Laurice Bell, executive director, Shorefront Legacy Center. The event also features a performance by Northwestern’s Soul4Real a cappella group. Register at northwestern.edu/mlk/
Friday, Jan. 23
Oratorical Contest at Northwestern University’s Chicago campus, noon to 1 p.m. View online at northwestern.edu/mlk/. Northwestern students enrolled in many full-time program are invited to participate in the 2026 Oratorical Contest. This year’s topic is “MLK and The Poor People’s Campaign: Have We Progressed or Fallen Behind in the Fight for Economic Equality?” The top three contestants will be awarded a scholarship ranging from $200 to $500.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/martin-luther-king-jr-day-events-in-evanston-skokie/
Schools Increasingly Consider Rewarding Teachers For Results, Not Seniority
Schools Increasingly Consider Rewarding Teachers For Results, Not Seniority
Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
In several states and hundreds of local school districts, traditional teacher salary structures based on years of service are being replaced by merit and pay-for-performance models.
The success of the Dallas Independent School District’s ACE (Accelerating Campus Excellence) program, implemented in 2016 and credited with improvements in math and reading scores, prompted many districts and state education departments to revise teacher pay due to stagnant or declining academic achievement and high teacher turnover, according to state officials.
The Houston Independent School District, which the state took over due to poor student performance, will begin rating and paying teachers based on their effectiveness, not years of service, in the 2026-2027 academic year, district officials told The Epoch Times. It will be the largest school district in the nation to do this.
Houston teacher salaries will range from $64,000 to $101,000, and those with unsatisfactory ratings can be fired. The annual evaluation process also authorizes the district to reduce pay if a teacher’s performance diminishes from year to year, according to guidelines released last year.
The purpose of this change is aimed not only at improving student outcomes but also at recruiting and retaining good teachers, leveraging state grants, and driving equity across campuses, according to the guidelines.
“It’s a very strong strategy,” Heather Peske, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, told The Epoch Times, adding that her research determined that bonuses above $5,000 are usually effective.
Texas-Sized Idea Catches On
The Dallas school district’s teacher and principal evaluation and compensation system is based on student achievement metrics, such as test scores, as well as student survey responses.
A 2025 analysis of the program by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University noted that, in addition to improved academic performance compared to other large urban school districts in Texas, teacher turnover decreased and was concentrated mainly among those who received low ratings.
“While such sweeping changes may appear blunt from a distance, a close look at the Dallas reforms shows they were carefully planned to guard against evaluation inflation, the arbitrary treatment of teachers, and strategic responses such as teaching to the test,” the report said.
The Lone Star State followed Dallas’s lead and created the Teacher Incentive Allotment program in 2019. So far, 809 school districts have participated in the program to pay high-performing teachers bonuses, and an additional 190 have submitted letters of intent to sign on in 2026, the Texas Education Agency said in an emailed response to The Epoch Times. Higher amounts are provided to those working in low-income and rural schools, and additional education reform measures passed by the legislature last year provide billions of dollars more for teacher salaries, with bonuses of up to $36,000 annually.
Arkansas launched its Merit Teacher Incentive program ahead of the 2024-2025 academic year. Teachers are eligible for up to $10,000 in annual bonuses, according to the state’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education website.
Utah’s five-year pilot program, Excellence in Education and Leadership Supplement, launched last year. Participating districts provide $2,000 performance bonuses to teachers rated in the top 11 percent to 25 percent, $5,000 to those in the top 6 percent to 10 percent, and $10,000 to the top 5 percent, according to the legislation.
Tennessee lawmakers passed bipartisan legislation last year that allows school districts to differentiate annual teacher salaries by merit and value for certain specialties, such as chemistry or special education. Adam Lowe, the Republican state senator who sponsored the bill, said the goal is to reward and retain excellent teachers who would otherwise move to neighboring states.
“We crafted the plan intentionally to be flexible at the local level,” Lowe told The Epoch Times. “But it’ll require some bravery from school boards.”
Washington, D.C., public schools initiated a teacher evaluation process in 2009 and more recently introduced a bonus structure. Under that IMPACT program, evaluations are based on student achievement, observations of instruction, student survey responses, and teacher contributions to schools beyond their core duties.
Highly rated teachers in the nation’s capital can earn up to $25,000 in annual bonuses and $3.7 million over the course of their careers, according to the D.C. district website, which notes that through this initiative, the district has retained 93 percent of highly effective teachers and incentivizes the best to teach in high-poverty schools.
State legislators considered but declined to pass similar teacher pay-for-performance measures in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, South Dakota, and Oregon, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.
Collective Bargaining Complications
In a typical school district that has a contract with a teachers’ union, a new teacher must perform well enough to pass a probationary period, but beyond that—if they adhere to their district’s minimum work expectations and behavior requirements—their job doesn’t hinge on student achievement, said Maxford Nelsen, research and government affairs director of the Freedom Foundation, a conservative policy center that also helps teachers and other workers opt out of union membership.
“A merit-based system where you can measure performance is the way most of the world operates,” Nelsen told The Epoch Times. “But it’s so unusual in public education that everyone views it as a crazy phenomenon.”
Texas and other states that don’t require collective bargaining agreements with public school teachers have an easier time implementing merit-based pay, Nelsen said. South Carolina prohibits collective bargaining in taxpayer-funded entities. Public sector collective bargaining requirements are more common in blue states, including California and New York, but Ohio is an exception.
Colorado, by contrast, doesn’t have a state law but allows school districts to decide on collective bargaining mandates, Nelsen said, adding that teachers’ unions still exist in states without the mandate, acting as advocacy groups instead of labor organizers.
He said union contract salary schedules are typically centered on preserving equity and rewarding seniority.
“The union interest is in the maximum number of employees and pay, and minimizing accountability on the job,” he said. “They consistently oppose any kind of pay-for-performance or merit systems. Ordinarily, a union is going to object to any unilateral change, even a positive one.”
Union Stance on Merit Pay
The American Federation of Teachers did not reply to a request for comment, but its website lists dozens of resolutions opposing merit-based pay dating back decades.
“Most public employees have insufficient control over their work and output to hold them responsible for less than superior performance when, in reality, they are working with systemic factors that are beyond their control,” a 2000 resolution reads.
The National Education Association’s (NEA) 2025 handbook states that “any system of compensation based on an evaluation of an education employee’s performance” is inappropriate.
The NEA’s most current nationwide salary listing notes that average teacher pay ranges from $55,086 a year in Mississippi to $103,379 in California.
Prioritizing Performance Over Credentials
The National Council on Teacher Quality found that 90 percent of large U.S. K–12 districts pay teachers more for having a master’s degree, and nearly one-third of the states mandate that credential for a permanent position even though there’s no proof of its effectiveness in classrooms.
American education would be better served by dropping master’s requirements or incentives and spending that money to retain good teachers, Peske said.
“Too many states and districts rely on a salary structure that rewards seniority and degrees instead of effectiveness and outcomes for kids,” she said.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/13/2026 – 18:05
Illinois 9th Congressional District candidate Bruce Leon drops out, backs ex-FBI agent Phil Andrew
Long-shot congressional candidate Bruce Leon, who has said the influential pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC pressured him into dropping out of the race for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, officially filed paperwork Tuesday to remove his name from the ballot and endorsed Phil Andrew, a former FBI agent.
“As we sit beside each other, we are — we’re looking at a nation that is divided in a world that is full of danger and conflict, and we’re both doing this because we recognize that what we’ve been doing up until this point has not worked,” Andrew said in a joint Tribune interview with Leon at Andrew’s Skokie campaign office Tuesday. “As cliche as it sounds, we are stronger together.”
While Leon was primarily self-funded and had a slim-at-best path to victory, his move to endorse Andrew followed him saying the American Israel Public Affairs Committee pressured him to drop out to help clear the field for state Sen. Laura Fine in the crowded race.
Fine and Leon are both Jewish and AIPAC has seemed to tacitly endorse Fine, even though she has said she has not sought the group’s endorsement.
Andrew worked for more than two decades at the FBI, including as an undercover agent and hostage negotiator, according to his campaign. In 1988, he survived being shot while trying to take away a gun from Laurie Dann following a school shooting in which Dann held Andrew and his parents hostage. Since leaving the FBI, he has run PAX Group, a security consulting practice.
As of last quarter, Andrew was among the top fundraisers in the primary race. Though he bolstered his war chest by making a $200,000 loan to his campaign, he lacks high name recognition or the status of an elected official.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and political commentator Kat Abughazaleh led in cash on hand as of the last fully reported fundraising quarter, which ended in September.
Fine was also among the stronger fundraisers last quarter, raising six figures, as did Skokie school board member Bushra Amiwala, state Rep. Hoan Huynh, state Sen. Mike Simmons, former federal prosecutor and Microsoft strategist Nick Pyati and economist Jeff Cohen, all Democrats. Veteran Sam Polan also had a six-figure war chest after loaning money to his campaign.
Updated fundraising reports for all candidates are due later this week.
The winner of the Democratic primary on March 17 will be the front-runner in the race to represent the North Side and north suburban deep blue district, which has been represented since 1999 by retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.
Earlier this month, Schakowsky endorsed Biss.
Leon said Tuesday that he will keep his staff to campaign for Andrew and described the endorsement as a “merger.”
“We really see this as, like, a force multiplier,” Andrew said. “I’m new to politics, but I understand that it is a process of addition.”
Leon, a staunch supporter of Israel, has said AIPAC pressured him for months to drop out of the race to consolidate support for Fine, who has more widespread backing and has been endorsed by dozens of Democratic leaders in the district. On at least one occasion, representatives of the lobbying group spoke to leaders of Leon’s Orthodox Jewish community, adding to the pressure Leon felt to leave the race, he said.
Former 9th Congressional District candidate Bruce Leon, left, with candidate Phil Andrew, right, as they speak about Leon’s endorsement at Andrew’s campaign office in Skokie Jan. 13, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Leon told the Tribune he planned to drop out more than two weeks ago and filed the paperwork Tuesday, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
On the issues, Leon said he aligned with Andrew on supporting community security and on options for low-income students to access private schools.
There was a personal connection, too: Andrew’s wife, Michelle, grew up a few doors down from Leon’s family in Deerfield, Leon said.
Asked in late December whether her campaign had been in contact with AIPAC and how she felt about the organization, Fine didn’t answer directly.
“I’m a proud Jewish woman who supports Israel, and I’m the co-chair of the Jewish Caucus in the Illinois Senate. So it’s no surprise to me that people are putting us together, because I’m a pro-Israel, Jewish woman,” she said.
AIPAC’s fundraising arm is the largest pro-Israel political action committee in the country and one of the most powerful for any issue in the country. AIPAC pushes its allies in Congress to support Israel’s interests, including through continued military assistance that has come under scrutiny during Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas.
While it supports bipartisan candidates, the organization has been criticized by progressive Democrats who point out that Republican donors have helped fund its efforts to elect allies of Israel.
Martin Ritter, a Chicago-based leader at AIPAC, declined to immediately comment Tuesday.
Andrew, for his part, criticized the “outsized” influence of AIPAC in the race but said his campaign would “welcome support from all the different places that resources could come from, as long as they recognize we are moving forward on a shared vision for the future.”
Leon had dreamed of representing the Orthodox Jewish community in Congress, he said, but felt some relief at giving up the campaign this week.
“I feel better for the city of Chicago, the 9th District and the country if we can pull this off,” he said.
Justice Department sees no basis for civil rights probe in Minnesota ICE shooting, official says
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department does not believe there is currently any basis to open a criminal civil rights investigation into the killing of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, a top department official said Tuesday.
The decision to keep the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division out of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good marks a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to probe shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses.
While an FBI probe is ongoing, lawyers in the Civil Rights Division were informed last week that they would not play a role in the investigation at this time, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal department deliberations.
And on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that “there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” The statement, first reported by CNN, did not elaborate on how the department had reached a conclusion that no investigation was warranted.
Federal officials have said that the officer acted in self-defense and that the driver of the Honda was engaging in “an act of domestic terrorism” when she pulled forward toward him.
Also this week, roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned and several supervisors in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division in Washington gave notice of their departures amid turmoil over the federal probe, according to people familiar with the matter.
Among the departures in Minnesota is First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes in the state, two other people said. At least four other prosecutors in the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office joined Thompson in resigning amid a period of tension in the office, the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
They are the latest in an exodus of career Justice Department attorneys who have resigned or been forced out over concerns over political pressure or shifting priorities under the Trump administration. Hundreds of Justice Department lawyers have been fired or have left voluntarily over the last year.
Minnesota Democratic lawmakers criticized the departures, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling the resignations “a loss for our state and for public safety” and warning that prosecutions should not be driven by politics. Gov. Tim Walz said the departures raised concerns about political pressure on career Justice Department officials.
The resignations of the lawyers in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, including its chief, were announced to staff on Monday, days after lawyers were told the section would not be involved in the probe. The Justice Department on Tuesday said those prosecutors had requested to participate in an early retirement program “well before the events in Minnesota,” and added that “any suggestion to the contrary is false.”
Founded nearly 70 years ago, the Civil Rights Division has a long history of investigating shootings by law enforcement even though prosecutors typically need to clear a high bar to mount a criminal prosecution.
In prior administrations, the division has moved quickly to open and publicly announce such investigations, not only to reflect federal jurisdiction over potential civil rights violations but also in hopes of soothing community angst that sometimes accompanies shootings involving law enforcement.
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“The level of grief, tension and anxiety on the ground in Minnesota is not surprising,” said Kristen Clarke, who led the Civil Rights Division under the Biden administration. “And historically the federal government has played an important role by being a neutral and impartial agency committing its resources to conducting a full and fair investigation, and the public loses out when that doesn’t happen,” she said.
In Minneapolis, for instance, the Justice Department during the first Trump administration opened a civil rights investigation into the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of city police officers that resulted in criminal charges. The Minneapolis Police Department was separately scrutinized by the Biden administration for potential systemic civil rights violations through what’s known as a “pattern or practice” investigation, a type of police reform inquiry that is out of favor in the current Trump administration Justice Department.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/justice-department-minnesota-ice-shooting/
President Trump cancels meetings with Iranian officials and tells protesters ‘help is on its way’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he’s cutting off the prospect of talks with Iranian officials amid a protest crackdown, telling Iranian citizens “help is on its way.”
Trump did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but it comes after the Republican president just days ago said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic, where the death toll from nationwide protests has spiked to more than 2,000, according to human rights monitors.
But Trump, with his latest message on social media, appeared to make an abrupt shift about his willingness to engage with the Iranian government.
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote in a morning post on Truth Social, which he later amplified during a speech at an auto factory in Michigan. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
Trump, in an exchange with reporters during the factory visit, demurred when asked what kind of help he would provide.
“You’re going to have to figure that one out,” he said.
He also said he didn’t have accurate numbers on the death toll in Iran but added: “I think it’s a lot. It’s too many, whatever it is.”
The U.S. president has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against antigovernment protesters. Trump on Sunday told reporters he believed Iran is “starting to cross” that line and has left him and his national security team weighing “very strong options” even as he said the Iranians had made outreach efforts to the U.S.
And on Monday, the president’s team offered guarded hope that a diplomatic solution could be found.
“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”
Also on Monday, Trump said he would slap 25% tariffs on countries doing business with Tehran “effective immediately,” but the White House has not provided details on that move. China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Brazil and Russia are among economies that do business with Tehran.
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and key White House National Security Council officials began meeting Friday to develop options for Trump, ranging from a diplomatic approach to military strikes.
Iran, through the country’s parliamentary speaker, has warned that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 600 protests have taken place across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported Tuesday. The activist group said 1,850 of the dead were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated. It said more than 16,700 people had been detained.
Understanding the scale of the protests has been difficult. Iranian state media has provided little information about the demonstrations. Online videos offer only brief, shaky glimpses of people in the streets or the sound of gunfire.
Trump’s push on the Iranian government to end the crackdown comes as he is dealing with a series of other foreign policy emergencies around the globe.
It’s been just over a week since the U.S. military launched a successful raid to arrest Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and remove him from power. The U.S. continues to mass an unusually large number of troops in the Caribbean Sea.
Trump is also focused on trying to get Israel and Hamas onto the second phase of a peace deal in Gaza and broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to end the nearly four-year war in Eastern Europe.
But advocates urging Trump to take strong action against Iran say this moment offers an opportunity to further diminish the theocratic government that’s ruled the country since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
The demonstrations are the biggest Iran has seen in years — protests spurred by the collapse of Iranian currency that have morphed into a larger test of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s repressive rule.
Associated Press reporter Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/trump-iranian-officials-protesters/
Semenyo anota de nuevo y el Man City vence 2-0 al Newcastle en semifinal de la Copa de la Liga
Por JAMES ROBSON
El nuevo fichaje del Manchester City, Antoine Semenyo, anotó su segundo gol en igual número de partidos y el equipo de Pep Guardiola se acercó a la final de la Copa de la Liga Inglesa con una victoria el martes 2-0 sobre el Newcastle.
El delantero, que se unió al City desde el Bournemouth por 87 millones de dólares la semana pasada, abrió el marcador en el partido de ida de la semifinal en St James’ Park, antes de que el suplente Rayan Cherki anotara el segundo en el tiempo añadido.
Semenyo también anotó en su debut en la goleada 10-1 sobre el Exeter en la Copa FA el fin de semana. Y podría haber sido una mejor noche para el internacional ghanés, quien vio cómo un gol brillantemente ejecutado de tacón fue anulado por un fuera de juego marginal.
Semenyo, de 26 años, ya ha rendido frutas para el City después de establecerse como uno de los talentos principales de la Liga Premier con el Bournemouth. Anotó diez goles para los Cherries esta temporada.
Ha añadido otra dimensión al ataque del City mientras Guardiola apunta a cuatro trofeos esta temporada.
La Copa de la Liga podría ser el primero de esos, con el City manteniendo una ventaja de dos goles contra el actual campeón Newcastle de cara al partido de vuelta el próximo mes en su estadio Etihad.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Arresto de empleado del ayuntamiento de NY desata protestas y disputa sobre su estatus migratorio
Por MICHAEL R. SISAK
NUEVA YORK (AP) — Un empleado del ayuntamiento de la ciudad de Nueva York fue arrestado como parte de la ofensiva de inmigración del gobierno del presidente Donald Trump, lo que desató la molestia de funcionarios de la ciudad y atrajo a manifestantes el martes al centro de detención en Manhattan donde se encuentra detenido.
Rafael Andrés Rubio Bohorquez había permanecido en el país por mucho más tiempo de lo establecido en su visa de turista, fue arrestado una vez por agresión y “no tenía derecho legal para estar en Estados Unidos”, aseguró el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE por sus iniciales en inglés).
La presidenta del ayuntamiento, la demócrata Julie Menin, rechazó esos señalamientos, asegurando a los reporteros que Rubio Bohorquez –un analista de datos para la unidad legislativa de la ciudad– tenía autorización legal para trabajar en Estados Unidos hasta octubre.
Menin afirmó que el empleado del concejo municipal firmó un documento como parte de su proceso de contratación en el que confirmó que nunca había sido arrestado y pasó la verificación de antecedentes estándar que se le realiza a todos los solicitantes.
La New York Immigration Coalition y el New York Legal Assistance Group presentaron el lunes una solicitud después del arresto de Rubio Bohorquez para que un tribunal ordene su liberación, informaron Menin y el representante federal Dan Goldman en un comunicado.
El ICE confirmó el nombre de Rubio Bohorquez. Menin y Goldman se refirieron a él únicamente como un empleado del ayuntamiento. Menin afirmó que lo hacía para proteger su identidad.
“Estamos haciendo todo lo posible para lograr su liberación inmediata”, declaró Menin el lunes en una conferencia de prensa. Calificó el arresto como “un flagrante abuso de poder gubernamental”.
El alcalde de la ciudad de Nueva York, el demócrata Zohran Mamdani, señaló que estaba “indignado” por lo que llamó “un ataque a nuestra democracia, a nuestra ciudad y a nuestros valores”.
La gobernadora de Nueva York, la también demócrata Kathy Hochul, dijo: “Esto es exactamente lo que sucede cuando la aplicación de las leyes de inmigración se utiliza como arma”. Detener a personas durante apariciones de rutina “no hace que estemos más seguros. Socava la confianza, propaga el miedo y viola los principios básicos de justicia”, dijo.
Menin añadió que funcionarios trataban de ponerse en contacto con la familia de Rubio Bohorquez y obtener información de contacto para su abogado de inmigración.
Rubio Bohorquez, originario de Venezuela, fue detenido cuando se presentó a una cita de inmigración en Bethpage, Long Island, informaron las autoridades. Menin lo llamó una revisión de rutina que “rápidamente salió mal”.
“Este empleado, que eligió trabajar para la ciudad y contribuir con su experiencia a la comunidad, hizo todo bien al presentarse a una entrevista programada, y aún así el ICE lo detuvo ilegalmente”, dijo Lisa Rivera, presidenta y directora ejecutiva del New York Legal Assistance Group, en un comunicado.
Destacó que la organización representa a decenas de personas que han sido detenidas injustamente por el ICE y a cientos que están siguiendo los procedimientos de inmigración con la esperanza de quedarse en Estados Unidos.
De acuerdo con el ICE, Rubio Bohorquez ingresó a Estados Unidos en 2017 con una visa de turista B2 y debía salir del país a más tardar el 22 de octubre de 2017. Ha estado empleado por el ayuntamiento durante aproximadamente un año, dijo Menin. Su puesto tiene un 129.315 dólares al año, según datos de nómina de la ciudad.
“No tenía permiso de trabajo”, dijo el ICE en un comunicado en el que confirmó el arresto. La agencia, parte del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS por sus iniciales en inglés), dijo que bajo la gestión de la secretaria Kristi Noem “los extranjeros ilegales criminales no son bienvenidos en Estados Unidos. Si vienes a nuestro país ilegalmente y violas nuestra ley, te encontraremos y te arrestaremos”.
Varias docenas de personas llevaron a cabo una protesta el martes fuera del Edificio Federal del Gran Nueva York, donde Rubio Bohorquez permanece detenido. Algunos llevaban pancartas que decían “Abolir al ICE” y “Ningún ser humano es ilegal”.
No es la primera vez que salen a relucir disputas sobre el permiso de trabajo de un inmigrante, en parte porque muchos empleadores dependen de un amplio, pero defectuoso, sistema gubernamental llamado E-Verify. La herramienta compara la información de un empleado ingresada por un empleador con los registros disponibles para el DHS y la Administración del Seguro Social.
Según los expertos, el sistema suele ser preciso en términos de coincidencia de documentos, pero no notifica automáticamente a un empleador si el derecho de un empleado a trabajar fue revocado después de haber sido verificado.
Una revisión llevada a cabo por la Oficina del Inspector General en 2021 concluyó que, hasta que el gobierno aborde las deficiencias de E-Verify, “no puede garantizar que el sistema brinde resultados precisos de elegibilidad de empleo”.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Fentanyl Deaths Fall As Evidence Points To China Crackdown Trump Long Advocated
Fentanyl Deaths Fall As Evidence Points To China Crackdown Trump Long Advocated
A sharp decline in U.S. overdose deaths appears increasingly tied to a disruption in the global fentanyl supply chain – an outcome that new research suggests may stem in part from intensified pressure on Chinese chemical suppliers.
The findings, published Thursday in Science, enter a long-running debate over what finally reversed a drug crisis that pushed annual overdose deaths above 100,000 during the Biden administration. Fatalities began falling in mid-2023 and dropped more sharply thereafter, a trend that has continued under Donald Trump, who has long-framed fentanyl trafficking as a national-security threat and used tariffs, border enforcement and overseas interdictions as leverage.
While public-health officials have pointed to billions spent on addiction treatment, naloxone distribution and domestic law enforcement, the research places renewed emphasis on a crackdown by Beijing – specifically, efforts to prevent fentanyl from being manufactured at all.
The paper concludes that the illicit fentanyl market experienced a significant supply contraction, “possibly tied to Chinese government actions,” citing falling purity in seized drugs, reduced seizure volumes and online reports of shortages. The findings align with arguments long advanced by Trump and his advisers: that pressuring China’s chemical sector was central to choking off supply.
“This demonstrates how influential China can be and how much they can help us – or hurt us,” said Keith Humphreys, a co-author of the study and a former White House drug policy adviser under President Barack Obama.
U.S. law-enforcement agencies have for years scrutinized China’s role as a key supplier of precursor chemicals used by Mexican criminal organizations to synthesize fentanyl. During Trump’s first term, Beijing agreed to classify fentanyl-related substances, though traffickers adapted by shifting to precursor chemicals instead.
Since 2023, however, Chinese authorities have shut down some chemical suppliers and tightened oversight. The Drug Enforcement Administration, in its latest annual drug intelligence report, said China-based suppliers are increasingly wary of selling internationally – evidence, the agency said, that enforcement pressure is having an effect.
According to the CDC, estimated U.S. drug deaths fell in 2024 to about 81,700, with roughly 49,200 involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. While 2025 data are not yet available, researchers believe the downward trend is continuing.
The timing remains contested. Formal U.S. – China cooperation was announced ahead of a November 2023 summit between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, months after overdose deaths had already begun to fall. Researchers acknowledge the mismatch but suggest Chinese enforcement may have begun quietly before the agreement was made public.
Some analysts remain skeptical. Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution noted that U.S.–China relations were strained at the time, making unpublicized cooperation less likely.
Still, multiple indicators point in the same direction. The study found fentanyl purity in DEA seizures declined alongside falling deaths, while online forums such as Reddit showed a surge in reports of fentanyl shortages beginning in mid-2023. Canada, which relies on similar precursor supply chains but employs very different domestic drug policies, saw a parallel decline in deaths.
“What’s really striking is that parallel across the two countries, even though the two countries have very different domestic policies,” said Jonathan P. Caulkins of Carnegie Mellon University.
China’s government says its enforcement campaign has produced “remarkable results,” citing hundreds of company closures and the removal of large volumes of chemical advertisements. The White House has credited Trump’s border enforcement, trade pressure and overseas interdictions with reducing the flow of fentanyl precursors.
Taken together, the evidence suggests that pressure on upstream chemical suppliers – an approach Trump emphasized long before it gained broader acceptance – played a larger role in the fentanyl decline than many policymakers once assumed.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/13/2026 – 17:40
College of DuPage receives $4M in federal money for its aviation, drone programs
College of DuPage has been awarded $4 million in federal funding to expand and support its aviation and drone programs.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Special Projects “provides grants to institutions of higher education to support innovative projects concerning one or more areas of national need identified by the Secretary of Education,” according to a joint news release from U.S. Rep. Sean Casten and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
“College of DuPage is lucky to secure this federal grant,” COD President Muddassir Siddiqi said. “The purpose of this grant is to address the national shortage of workforce in aviation, operation, dispatch, airport management and (unmanned aerial systems) technical personnel.”
The school’s aviation program was launched in fall 2023 and now has more than 140 students, according to school spokeswoman Jennifer Duda.
“Aviation is a very successful program,” Siddiqi said. “We are running a full load and in partnership with different organizations, including DuPage Airport. This is one of the most successful programs at the college.”
Currently COD offers an associate degree in Aviation Management and is developing an associate degree in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to address “growing regional and national workforce needs,” Duda said.
Unmanned aerial vehicles or systems, more commonly known as drones, are increasingly being deployed in a number of fields.
“Drones are gaining momentum in our economy,” Siddiqi said. “I see the purpose of preparing people for drone technology and aviation … to prepare them for entry-level jobs in aviation industry, in logistic industry, retail, airports, airlines and also companies that are engaged in defense contracts. It’s a wide market for our graduates.”
Over the next four years, the grant money will help the college develop its program offerings, including short-term, portable credentials, which will allow students enrolled in programs like aviation management to find work more easily or to transfer their credits to a four-year university program.
“We are very deliberate in terms of the design of our curriculum such that students in these occupations — occupation meaning aviation and drone technology — they have multiple entry and exit points,” Siddiqi said.
Grant money also will be used to enhance lab technology. In particular, the school wants to add simulated learning devices to create scenarios students might find themselves in when pursuing work in both fields, he said.
Funding also will be earmarked to hire more technical personnel from the airline and drone industries to help develop more offerings.
“We want to further enhance membership,” Siddiqi said. “We will probably invite American Airlines, other companies involved in aircraft manufacturing to join our advisory (program) and help us develop the curriculum, which is aligned with local and regional labor market needs in aviation and drone (technology).”
Federal funding also will allow the college to expand its programs to more people.
“The initiative has the potential to triple the College of DuPage’s aviation workforce output annually by the end of the grant term,” Duda said.
One group the college wants to reach are high school students who may be interested in enrolling in dual credit courses for the school’s aviation program, which is currently unavailable to high school students, Siddiqi said. They’d also like to reach groups that are underrepresented in the aviation industry, such as women, he said.
“Our agenda is, ‘How can we provide equitable opportunity … for all students, irrespective of their socioeconomic status or background to participate in this vibrant, good-paying jobs industry?’” he said.
The grant’s effect will have a wide-reaching impact, lawmakers said.
“College of DuPage serves more than 26,000 students and offers over 170 programs of study. This grant will strengthen academic programming and help students meet the evolving needs of the workforce,” Casten said in the news release. “I’m happy to see this grant awarded to such a deserving institution.”
cstein@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/college-dupage-aviation-drones-funding/
Red Oak Nature Center to get new bike and pedestrian bridge over Fox River
The Fox Valley Park District’s Red Oak Nature Center is set to get a new bike and pedestrian bridge over the Fox River.
The steel bridge is expected to connect the two branches of the regional Fox River Trail, which runs along the river on both sides. The Red Oak Nature Center will hold the east side of the bridge, which will be located near the Wilds at Red Oak, and the west side will be within the Les Arends Forest Preserve.
The Fox Valley Park District Board of Commissioners, at a meeting Monday night, approved a contract with Wight and Company for final engineering of the project. If this phase of the project goes well, construction could begin in late fall and would likely be competed sometime next year, Fox Valley Park District Director of Planning Jeff Palmquist told The Beacon-News on Tuesday.
The planned bridge is well-placed, he said, since it is about the same distance from the bridge crossing the Fox River in North Aurora as it is from the one in Batavia. He called the bridge an “important link” between the east and west branches of the Fox River Trail.
But the bridge isn’t just being designed for the utility of connecting one side of the river to the other. It will likely also become one of the park’s attractions, with bump-out observation areas to view the Fox River, which is beautiful in this area, according to Palmquist.
The Kane County Forest Preserve District, which owns the Les Arends Forest Preserve, has been cooperating with the Fox Valley Park District for the project. Both the Forest Preserve District board and staff have been great to work with, Palmquist said.
A significant portion of the funding for this project is coming from a $4 million federal grant that was secured by the office of U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, in 2023.
While the final cost won’t be known until engineering is complete and construction bids come in, the project is expected to have a minimal impact on local taxpayers, Palmquist said. The district is also looking at more local grants to help cover the cost, he said.
The proposed bike and pedestrian bridge is the last part of a four-phase plan that the Fox Valley Park District had for the area along the river in the Batavia and North Aurora area, which was announced in 2022.
One of the phases was the $850,000 purchase of five acres at Butterfield Road and Route 25, just north of North Aurora Village Hall. Another was a $500,000 rehab of the Red Oak Nature Center to upgrade and modernize the facility. And the third was a $2.04 million, three-season shelter that was built in Lippold Park.
The bridge is also part of a larger plan by the Fox Valley Park District to improve and expand its trail network and connectivity, according to Palmquist. He said the district has a long history of trail development, and that continues into the current day.
“A lot of those initial visions have been realized,” he said. “Now we’re kind of onto the next level of making these connections.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
