Bovino murder-for-hire case on thin ice after judge bars gang evidence from trial UPDATED @chicago.suntimes.com story on today's rulings from Judge Lefkow: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Federal judge who challenged Bovino will supervise state's new case against Trump's deportation blitz From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

NOW: In an emergency phone hearing, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan is asking U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow for clarity on this. "Nearly every piece of evidence in this case touches, in some fashion, on the Latin Kings."

JUST IN: U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis will preside over a lawsuit filed by Illinois and Chicago this week against the Trump administration challenging Operation Midway Blitz. Ellis takes over after granting a motion for reassignment.

NOW: U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just took the bench for a hearing over whether she should handle the lawsuit filed by Illinois and Chicago this week against the Trump administration.

Federal judge bars gang evidence from Bovino murder-for-hire trial DEVELOPING via @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

A prosecutor in this case told Judge Lefkow last week that "we absolutely have to have evidence of what his affinity and his relationship to the Latin Kings was."

"Without evidence showing that defendant is a member of the Latin Kings or that the Latin Kings instructed defendant to send the alleged murder-for-hire information, the prejudicial nature of such testimony outweighs any probative value."

JUST IN: U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow bars testimony tying Juan Espinoza Martinez to the Latin Kings street gang from next week's trial. Martinez, once accused by the DOJ of being a ranking member of the Latin Kings, is charged with offering a $10K bounty on U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino.

U.S. District Judge April Perry just took the bench for the first status hearing in Illinois v. Trump since the Supreme Court ruled against the president on deployment of the National Guard.

The U.S. Supreme Court this morning sided with U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Illinois, finding that he has standing to challenge Illinois' mail-in voting laws. Opinion here: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Defense attorneys today challenging attempts by the feds to link their client to the Latin Kings through his "affinity" for the gang: "Counsel has an 'affinity' for the Chicago Bears, lives in Chicago, and even wears Bears' colors, but alas, is not a member of the Chicago Bears."

The majority of the leadership team inside Minnesota’s U.S. Attorney’s Office resigned Tuesday in protest of directives from federal officials in the wake of the killing of Renee Good, according to sources familiar with the decision.

"Any reference during attorney arguments may cause the jury to decide the case on a ground other than the facts in evidence, namely, to decide the case based on their dislike for the actions of an agent in Minnesota."

NEW update on this upcoming trial over an alleged bounty on the head of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino. Prosecutors seek to bar references to the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, saying it has no relevance:

When ICE hearings were happening in Chicago, there were reporters giving updates from the courtroom or listening in onZoom. Are there any people live-posting from a media room in MPLS? @rparloff.bsky.social @jonseidel.bsky.social @annabower.bsky.social @startribune.com

'Occupation of Illinos' Today's @chicago.suntimes.com front-page story on the new federal lawsuit from Illinois and Chicago challenging the Trump administration's 'Operation Midway Blitz.' Reporting w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Good morning. With Monday's surrender date for ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, all four of Illinois' ComEd conspiracy defendants are now in federal prison. A jury found them all guilty back in May 2023: chicago.suntimes.com/2023/5/2/236...

“Illinois and Chicago seek to vindicate their sovereign authority … against an unchecked federal government." Trump administration hit with federal lawsuit over 'occupation of Illinois and Chicago' UPDATED @chicago.suntimes.com story w/ @tinasfon.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

This case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis, a 2024 Biden appointee.

Here's what Illinois and Chicago are seeking from a judge (they've already signaled that they want it to be Judge Sara Ellis):

The lawsuit also references the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis:

"The chaos and violence that Border Patrol's tactics have unleashed on [Illinois and Chicago] has resulted in two shootings by immigration officers, one of them fatal."

DEVELOPING: Illinois, Chicago sue Trump administration over 'organized bombardment' under Noem, Bovino From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

"Illinois and Chicago seek to vindicate their sovereign authority to govern, grow, and maintain public order and stability against an unchecked federal government seeking to coerce Illinois and Chicago to do its bidding through brute force."

This lawsuit alleges that Border Patrol and ICE "have acted as occupiers rather than officers of the law" in Illinois and Chicago.

UPDATE: Illinois has already moved to have this case assigned to U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, given that she is handling the still-live Chicago Headline Club v. Noem case. Judge Ellis issued the preliminary injunction about the feds' use of force in November: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

JUST IN from @ilattygeneral.bsky.social: State of Illinois sues Trump administration over its "organized bombardment on the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago." Full complaint here: illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/News-Room/Cu...

Good morning. Federal prosecutors in Chicago say they are investigating a potential threat to a key witness in an upcoming trial — of the man accused of offering a bounty on U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino. Prosecutors want the witness referred to in court by his first name only.

Feds agree to halt proposed national youth gender care ban while court weighs motion @vimiller.bsky.social reports via @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/...

Can state officials prosecute the feds? Calls grow after Minneapolis shooting w/ @cindylu7.bsky.social and @sophiesherry.bsky.social, via @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Judge cites Minneapolis ICE shooting as she pauses dismissal of Chicago-area use-of-force lawsuit From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just took the bench in Chicago Headline Club v. Noem, the lawsuit that challenged the feds' tactics during "Operation Midway Blitz" last fall.

Good afternoon. Standing by in U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis' courtroom for a hearing on a motion to voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit used last fall to challenge the feds' tactics in Chicago during "Operation Midway Blitz." Some background on how we got here: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

JUST IN: U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow bars evidence from the trial of Juan Espinoza Martinez that his home is in "Latin King territory," but reserves ruling on evidence of his membership. Espinoza Martinez is accused of offering a $10K bounty for the murder of Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino.

Chicagoans mourned Renee Good, as well as the city’s own federal fatality in Silverio Villegas Gonzales. A thread of @chicago.suntimes.com coverage from yesterday and a look back at our stories about DHS' history of having their narratives unwound when agents shoot people and claim "self defense."

PHOTOS: Hundreds rally and march through Little Village demanding justice for Renee Nicole Good who was shot and killed by Federal Law Enforcement agents early in the day in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. | Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time

New indictment cites shooting near Border Patrol agents in Chicago, still doesn't charge gunman From @chicago.suntimes.com, w/ @schuba.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Feds won't try to prove gang membership for man charged with putting a bounty on Greg Bovino From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

During this pretrial conference, U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow turns to the question of jury selection — which she predicts will be a "pretty dicey situation," given "Mr. Bovino and his people coming in not very long ago."

NEW: A defense attorney for Juan Espinoza Martinez, the man accused of putting a hit on U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino, says Martinez intends to testify at trial.

NOW: During a pretrial conference for Juan Espinoza Martinez, accused of putting a hit on U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino, AUSA Minje Shin says a key issue will not necessarily be Martinez's alleged membership in the Latin Kings, but his "affinity" for the gang.

"To be a single person, being up against the Trump administration and the federal government, is hugely stressful," Catherine "Cat" Sharp told the @chicago.suntimes.com.

'A decision I needed to make': Cook County Board candidate suspends campaign to fight Midway Blitz indictment From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

NEW: Cook County Board candidate Cat Sharp says "the most responsible decision for me is to suspend my campaign" to defend against the conspiracy indictment brought against her and five others by the DOJ last fall.

Trump deportation campaign will leave lasting mark on kids of detained parents, experts say From @cindylu7.bsky.social and Mary Norkol via @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

In case you missed it, I took a stab on Saturday via "One First" at writing up five of the questions raised by Friday's U.S. military/arrest operation in Venezuela, and the forthcoming criminal prosecution of Nicolás Maduro: www.stevevladeck.com/p/200-five-q...

Blagojevich seeks ex-ComEd CEO’s clemency from conspiracy conviction Kade Heather reports: chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-corr...

Trump says he's dropping push for National Guard in Chicago, LA and Portland, Oregon, for now: chicago.suntimes.com/nation-world...

25 Favorite Moments from this past year. The Calder Flamingo on this early January morning at Chicago's Federal Plaza. 12 of 25