to some of today's top stories, Michael Madigan's.

Defense team rests in the landmark corruption trial of the former Illinois House speaker.

>> It comes nearly 3 months after opening statements begin in the case, Madigan and his longtime right-hand man, Michael McCain, are facing racketeering, bribery and wire fraud charges.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

Closing statements are expected to begin next Wednesday with jury deliberations the following week.

For more on the trial, check out our Web site.

Black business owners who sell products with hemp say they're under attack from Governor JB Pritzker.

The hemp industry has few regulations.

The governor is promoting a measure that would heavily crackdown what could be sold in Illinois.

Pritzker says it's about consumer safety and health and health citing deaths linked to youth who views untested intoxicating camp.

But business owners say his plan goes too far.

The day the Illinois Black Hemp Association says it supports a ban on selling hemp products to anyone under age.

21 third-party product testing and responsible packaging standards.

Sad news for Lincoln Park Zoo after 2 other animals died from the flu.

Zoo officials say a Chile and flamingo name teal in a harbor seal named Slater contracted the variant flu this month.

The source of exposure is unknown, but officials say contact with infected waterfall was possibly the cars home.

Que also sad officials are sharing visitors.

They are not at risk of contracting the bridge from from from zoo animals which is spread by free-ranging birds.

Up next, details behind some planned protests happening in Chicago on Inauguration Day.

That right after this.

>> Chicago tonight, Latino voices it's made possible in part by the support of these donors.

>> As President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office on Monday, local activists say they plan to protest outside Trump Tower in downtown Chicago.

The group called the People's March for Justice is part of a national coalition fighting against the goals of the incoming administration.

And they say forming this alliance is just the start to accomplishing that.

Joining us is Eric of them was a member of the party for Socialism, Socialism and Liberation in Chicago.

One of the groups joining the protest.

Thank you very for joining us.

I want to start off.

was it important for you to gather people together to rally on Inauguration Day?

>> You know, it's we really wanted to make a strong showing.

And number this is a national mobilization that's having happening in over 75 cities across this country.

And just locally, we have over 60 organizations coming together and it's really important for us to make a strong showing not of the importance of Chicago and then saying it's going to be out there ground 0 for their deportation campaign, to really make a strong showing to say and show that the billionaire class and anti working class agenda and that these deportations rip apart families, families a call the central U.S. a few years ago to continue these.

Funding and arming of genocide in Palestine anywhere in the world got to make sure that they actually know that they don't have a Democratic mandate.

You're talking about thousands of people potentially showing up.

Yeah.

We imagine it's going to be thousands of people there.

Absolutely.

And not just here but across the country.

You know, you talked a little bit about it, but why bring all these different types of groups together?

>> You know, it's it's it's so important solidarity is our greatest power.

Really?

You know, we don't have the money as our working class.

And Tom, we're up against huge moneyed interests.

So the only way that we we can compete with that and stand up to such an agenda like theirs.

We have to come and bring all these different struggles together.

Help us see the struggles within each other so that we can kind of manifest the kind of power that's needed in order to stop.

You know, they're just 2025 and that billionaire John, talk about struggles and challenges.

You talked about Palestine, you talking about Chicago being one of the main places that Trump says that he is going to come here first for his ICE raids.

>> You know what other issues you plan to address at the rally?

Yeah.

You not just immigration and the antiwar situation.

It's going to be a lot of campaigns focusing on poverty and housing and education is gonna be a lot of teachers joining us as well.

You know, this administration is placing attacks out on nearly all of our communities.

You know, I'm Puerto Rican and I know that they have nothing in store for us, but, you know, further displacement and exploitation.

So and we got to come together using young man.

Why are you still passion?

And why is this important for you to speak out and gather people?

For me?

You know, it's very important for me for a long time in my life.

I think I learned early on that what happened our communities to happen to my island with something that was being done to us and that the only way that we can make a difference in only way that we've ever made a difference establish an to continue to defend our most basic democratic rice is to actually stand up and fight and work together.

When you say sometimes that's the hardest part to speak out.

I mean, you're very active on social media as well about your, you know your views.

Yeah, no, no.

I think that part comes easy.

To be honest, it's like a yearning that I have to absolutely full Fillion.

And I think that I organize with a lot of folks who feel exactly the same way and we keep each other going.

We keep each other strong, keep each other disciplines and keep each other pushing.

Now President Biden gave a warning of an oligarchy taking shape in the country in his in his farewell address last night.

Do you share the same concern?

What are your thoughts?

You know, it's I found it really interesting that he said that because, you know, this, this country was set up for an oligarchy and it was set up by rich merchants and bankers.

And so, yeah, you know, there's an oligarchy.

There's been an oligarchy.

It's a little interesting for him to say that.

But, you know, I do agree there car key that is kind of controlling in power of the government.

And that's exactly what we're here to oppose.

And to demonstrate that there's an independent working class politic out there.

That was really the one that we need to little don't to learn.

All of our key is how do you explain it to people?

Yeah.

And all of our key is essentially when a particular class money class is in control of a government, which I think that if you ask most Americans on the street, they will it make quite plainly, you so many of the groups involved are feeling.

>> You know, dissatisfied with both Democrats and Republicans.

Why, you know, why would you say that?

So?

Yeah, well, you know, >> every single administration and we can go by the different struggles continue to advance these issues that completely opposed to the to the working class.

we have rising costs of living rising rents and every single issue that there but it is war.

They're going to expanding more.

And, you know, next president has actually expanded deportations and he's carried out campaigns in our homelands in Latin America that cause people to come here in the first place.

whether it's Democrats or Republicans, they actually are quite bipartisan.

Many issues, despite with the kind of try to make us see.

So it's very important once again that we established an independent working class politic that is ours.

Representative our interests with the people want in housing, education and health care and not there's, you know, message say you want to convey to people me personally, I I think that.

That it's good to get out there that we need.

You, everyone and this fight.

If we're going achieve the world that we want.

And again, it's not one particular person or one group is gonna be able to do it.

It's going to take all of us.

So.

Everything that we have in this country, everything we've ever gains, everything that we enjoy has been achieved by the organizing of working class people just like us.

And so we need to get out there.

>> And talking about it work, what work is being done outside are protesting to engage people with the movement.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

I mean, again, there's 60 plus organizations and they all kind of have their own way of they're reaching their bases.

But ice in particular.

>> We are always doing liberation forums were educating people.

We've been in particular talking about issues like immigration.

We have MLK and Martin Luther King Junior tomorrow actually, just to continue to educate people what their agenda is and where we need to be.

But also we've been having organizing meetings and inviting people, whether they're to coming realize themselves as actors in history and separate reaching out to their own communities.

And we do a lot of outreach that way.

We do our bills.

Film screenings here.

A lot of passion here.

Can you tell me like the details for Monday?

Yes, so it's going to be a white Hart, lower water Tower park.

The crew of Michigan Chicago Avenue.

11:00AM.

And Tom, we're gonna start there with the rally.

We're going to have hand warmers that could be called.

People need to dress as warm as they can.

We'll do what we can with hand warmers and then we're going to march on to Trump Tower.

Well, thank you.

thank you for joining us any.

>> Up next, 2 local colleges are offering free tuition for some students.

We explain right after this.

Some Illinois residents who are feeling the weight of college tuition might be getting some relief.

Roosevelt University, the University of Illinois, Chicago are announcing their easing cost for low-income students by providing free tuition.

Here to tell us more about it archive level unit a senior associate of community engagement Chicago Scholars, which helps first generation students navigate college admissions Ridge Hayes and executive director of student Financial aid and scholarships at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

And they will and I'm going sky a senior admission counselor for diversity recruitment at Roosevelt University didn't pronounce your name.

Escuela as coca is all the time.

hear a way.

Where is talk about tuition?

It is.

It can be dog as a first generation student I can say was really hard.

That was the first want to go to college.

know.

it's all of us 0, I want to start with you.

Why was it important for Roosevelt to start providing free tuition?

>> Yes.

So when we really think about like I think our school and sort of our mission is that we really are about social justice.

And I think for me personally is making sure that we make education sort of accessible from students regardless of what they are and they have the academic criteria.

We should be doing everything in our power as an addition to help them move for really going to claim to be about that.

So a few years ago, we had a whole restructuring with our tuition reset.

Now we're offering brand new program.

And really, I think it's going to make obviously our school much more affordable accessible at being able to really get students out there to follow dreams when it comes to their sort of a career that they want to go into that sells like a big deal.

Can you tell us who's eligible and what are the requirements?

Yeah.

So for any students whose family income is going to $50,000 last, they have to be residents of Illinois.

They have graduated from an Illinois high school and they have to be citizens under the age of 24.

And so we're really hoping with this up to that any sort of academic scholarships, anything that we offer, we're going to cover the rest of them.

I think that is not going to be covered as anything when it comes to like room and board.

But other ways.

Yeah, we don't want to make sure that we want to help students who want to alleviate give them a little of it.

Some of that because robots for students getting into their universities are college of choice is I think cost, you know, is one of those students who just kind got all the debt just signed up for all the loans.

And also my dad without knowing actually doing.

Yeah, you know, rich, what about you?

I seek you.

Tell us how many students have applied so far for this program and also what are the requirements there?

>> And requirements we got to ASPIRE program, which is a rebrand of a U.S. the opportunity Grant.

But same think we want to provide access to our students because we wanted to very few research institutions in the city of Chicago.

We've got 40,000 plus students and we've already seeing increases in our new student population, transfer population in.

So we anticipate that this is going to be hot topic photos to his company for fall.

25 so a little bit similar to Roosevelt.

Ours is you have to be $75,000 or less on the income level.

First time student or a transfer student coming in.

There's no age requirement.

Bars must be Illinois's resident and must be a full-time student.

So those other cool thing about it is ours is not a last dollar scholarship.

Like most are where you have to wait for everything to come through ours.

it dollar which means we get a gust to up to wish tuition and fees.

We got your tuition fees against Matt Grant, a Pell Grant only and SE OG.

After that, you can still get your other scholarship ship.

He chances fellows, you can use that to cover some of your housing costs in some of those other points of cost of attendance got a lot.

Many of the students who work with are Latinos applying for college right now in navigating this tough process for the first time with no support?

>> Can you talk about what they could?

What that could look like for student who was his dream University in and doesn't know if if they can go there.

Absolutely.

Like students, you know, especially our young that the male students.

And, you know, we're talking about being president as well.

The reality is that they think about these things very intentionally because they think about their families, their communities.

What can they really do is the first time they see a big number in their life.

And so programs like these essentially are really supporting them to really go for their dreams.

But most importantly, as well.

>> realizing that there's communities and spaces, especially universities in their home towns that support them and see them and are willing to work with them to get them to where they want to be.

And you talked about that.

That was you as well.

You know what's what said advice like for a student?

>> Who's going to the college process, something that you learned along the way that you maybe you didn't have growing up, country.

Yeah.

So you know, really what I what I'm asking is what's the advice?

Do you give the it like, you know, we I think intentionally about what is, you know, what you're going to get from the school's.

What are you looking for?

And something of a Chicago scholars every like as we have a match and fit.

>> You the last guy and that means that we made them under center what is your academic fit, your financial, that you're social fit?

And so you can really understand, you know, what is it really, you know, something that's really manageable for you.

And so you could get what you want.

But also, you know, being a career and a space where, you know, you're thinking about that that as well, which is something that is very hard to navigate.

And so really giving them that advice.

And then also still to dream big and really see, you know, what is force the granite and Ridge.

According to ICE's website, some non citizens can also be eligible for free tuition.

Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Yeah.

So with far spy program week, we like to call it eligible non citizens.

>> So if they can complete a of turnover after Elmo should assist the commission with state of Illinois.

>> And we look at the same income level.

Then they can still qualify for the aspiring.

So that's that's going to really help out our undocumented student population to help them just get access because we didn't want to just give it to a fast to follow.

We know that we have a very large population of undocumented students and we want to make sure they have access as well.

>> It's awesome.

Enable you work directly with students to provide admissions and financial aid programming in Spanish Roosevelt.

Can you tell us more about this work?

>> Yes, so one thing that we notice is that we were having events at school and we just had such an overwhelmingly large amount of parents who which is not getting the information just because it was that language barrier.

So we started doing a couple light last semester.

We really started doing sort of events where not only did we just have little microphone.

we were translating things for them as the another provision was going on.

But actually having a presentation was somebody who was a Spanish speaker who can answer their questions in real time and be able to sort of have that conversation a lot of times for having first generation, you know, the first measures my parents, not knowing anything, just having a point of contact that a lot of these players where they could just talk with someone who understands them and get some.

It's so pivotal to helping them be able to sometimes step at our university to see that still going on.

Because you just talked about your experience.

Yeah, about your parents.

I mean, my parents didn't go to college so they didn't really know right there.

Just kind of.

>> I want to college that I want you to Absolutely.

You know what?

I talk with a lot families who are not a traditional nuclear families with the mom and the dad.

And sometimes it is the, you know, the student who is doing out there and getting all the research and then just saying back your mom, our dad or grandma, Grandpa Uncle Brother, sister.

I just need a signature here.

I need your tax document so that I can fill out the FAFSA and they're trying to figure it on themselves.

And so I think at least one of the what am I part that I kind of want to be the point of contact for those students wear.

Alright, you need help and you want to ask all the questions.

I want to be the person where you can ask all the questions.

And even if I can get you in this very second, I can get that to you very quickly.

I'm sure has to feel Ridgewood.

What are your thoughts about that?

I think that is critical.

Having a Spanish speaker that can be able to translate that fast.

information because we know 100 pacification now and act to be parents can fill out a FAFSA form.

They can get FSA ID.

>> It's a little bit different for them.

It takes a little bit longer.

the Department has taken precautions and steps so they can get that fast but completed it doing about paper like they used to do in militant in waiting 6 weeks to get a response back because at the end of the day, I think the number one question every parent go next how much it's going to cost to remember.

We have to say mail in our college nowadays it's so easy.

Ray, how they have our students fill it out cell phones.

Honestly, you can go to our website.

You can apply right from your cell phone right now.

take you 10 minutes.

know what?

>> To your point fast?

We should be 118 questions.

Now it's 46 more than the mortgages because and I would help my parents.

So, you know, your first generation hope your parents trying to understand all that.

you to both of you, can students still apply?

Is this win if they want to play for this free tuition?

Can they still play Yeah.

On that you go.

Yeah.

So for our school, really, it's just a matter of when this didn't like the fact that time comes around, making sure that the fill that out.

And then after that, really we take care of most things.

One thing that our school that I think we like to do really well as that we just ask for your FAFSA and then let us handle everything else with scholarships.

And we're going to see all different things that we can sort of like put you or give you.

>> So it's a very easy process for us at our school.

we only have time for I'm sorry.

We only have a couple seconds.

But as someone who works directly with students.

>> You know, do you think the more university and college need to adapt this kind format?

Absolutely, because at the end of the day, like I said, you're empowering them.

You're showing them that you're intentionally thinking about their journeys and you're seeing them for, you know, all the work and the grind they have done for so many years.

So they definitely everyone please get on board Now up next, efforts to help protect the monarch butterfly.

But first, a look at the weather.

>> The U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service is pushing for Monarch butterflies to gain a federally protected status.

It comes as local residents have been making moves to conserve the species, which is the Illinois state in cent for years.

Assessments show monarch populations have declined by nearly 60% from 2023 to 2024. and these unique pollinators are important.

Part of the local ecosystem with deep culture connections in the Mexican community.

>> Very hard insect pollinator and most people think about pollination in conjunction with honeybees and bumblebees because they're so very important to our food crops.

However, butterflies can be very important to our wildflower populations.

Brookfield Zoo works with the Illinois Monarch Project.

>> To help protect the insects population through educational services.

>> Conservation efforts and meeting goals to plant native milkweed for the butterflies to eat and lay eggs on manager of interpretive programs and recall planned.

>> Emphasize is that ecological and cultural importance of monarchs.

When you take a look worldwide butterflies have a significant many cultures.

>> They are related to her dreams going from one room to another.

Sometimes they can be signals from our loved ones.

Veteran the here after coming back to give a certain messages here in Illinois.

They have a special significance because in 1975 group of schoolchildren in Decatur lobbied successfully to have the monarch butterfly considered state insect and in 2017, milkweed was adopted as the Illinois State wildflower.

So these animals can have an intrinsic value, but they can also have a value that's really rooted here in our literature and our spirituality.

>> Monarch butterflies migrate each fall from the northern border of Canada all the way down to Mexico and then move back north to states like Illinois in the spring and summer Polson resident and Sanchez who put a spa, that this has dedicated her time and home to the preservation of butterflies.

>> I happened see mice He saving my vote.

would that she's been they threw me as a human.

It's a step for me.

Team came that when they I be be with him any more.

So I I I learned that keep 19 as many threes as many plants I can, because I want come back.

I battle for I would be with them, put >> Sanchez has transformed her home into a butterfly sanctuary, complete with the large collection of the pollinators displayed in her living room for her, the our sign of liberation.

>> ice can cross the border that any time they need to because they need to might get a south and then they need to migrate north.

They require a passport.

They don't quite think there's the cross-border It's something that makes me feel is so painful because humans week we had pretty to do that.

We don't have means to go and be safe out >> mean, mix tickles the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service to look into at the monarch butterfly to its endangered species list.

Advocates hope the designation will turn around the insects, declining population due to habitat loss.

Insecticides and climate change we've seen before with some of our conservation successes.

>> When you have.

Concerned citizens as well as organizations government agencies all working together.

>> You can have a dramatic turnaround and we have to animals here at Brookfield Zoo, Chicago that symbolize conservation success.

See our American bison as well as the bald eagle.

These are to add moves with populations were really, really low.

But everybody worked together in this nation, we saw conservation success.

Those populations rebound to the point where they're stable.

And this is why hopeful and confident that we can do it again with the monarch butterfly.

>> Monarch butterflies are beautiful.

And that's our show for this Thursday night.

Now from all of us here at Chicago tonight, I'm John at Non this.

Thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe.

>> One, not Closed.

Captioning is made possible by Robert a and deferred Chicago personal injury and wrongful death that supports educational