>> Hello and thanks for joining us on Chicago tonight.

I'm Brandis Friedman.

Here's what we're looking at.

Thousands of Chicago teachers are picking their union leaders weeks after ratifying a new labor agreement.

A new report explores how healthcare programs for undocumented people impact hospital debts.

I love the show even before I was on it.

And generations of kids grew up with We sit down with actress Sonia Manzano to hear about her time playing Maria on Sesame Street and more.

>> Now to some of today's top stories.

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard arguments over birthright citizenship.

At issue is whether lower court judges went too far by blocking the Trump administration's order nationally rather than just issuing injunctions for only Vera jurisdictions, the U.S.

Solicitor General John Sauer represent the Trump administration's argument that the president's restrictions on birthright citizenship should take effect in at least 27 states.

But New Jersey attorney Attorney General Matthew Platkin argued on behalf of the states, including Illinois that they'd lose millions of dollars in health and other benefits for us children.

>> The original meaning of the citizenship clause extended citizenship to the children of former slaves, not to people who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the United States.

The merits arguments we are presenting to the lower courts are compelling reasons.

We asked the court to grant the applications.

>> case is about birthright citizenship, but it's about whether the rule of law and the constraints on the executive and as Justice Jackson said, weather, the president can act like a king.

The answer I think the court is going to say is no, you cannot.

>> Lawmakers in Springfield have passed a bill in both houses in response to the 2024 police killing of Sonya Massey.

I know.

That.

This legislation in Illinois.

Is the kind of common sense legislation.

That will bring.

The kind of thing.

But this will never happen.

To another family.

Her father, James Wilborn joined lawmakers and attorneys today in support of the bill that would require law enforcement to have stricter hiring practices, including robust background checks and previous employment records.

Former Juan County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson is facing charges in connection with Massey's death after he shot and killed her last July in her home after she called 9-1-1 for help.

Records show he had worked for 6 law enforcement departments in 4 years in February, Massey's family received a 10 million dollars settlement from the county on what would have been her 37th birthday.

Chicago taxpayers could be on the hook for 15 million dollars to the private firm that leases the city's parking meters.

Attorneys are recommending the city pay that amount to compensate the firm for taking parking spaces out of service and not ticketing during the COVID pandemic.

Under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the much despised parking meter deal requires the city to make payments to compensate the firm for lost revenue when meters are moved, temporarily taken out or used by motorists with disabled parking permits.

A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson is calling the settlement a victory.

They say the firm initially demanded 322 million dollars from the city.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss is the latest candidate to enter the race to replace outgoing Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.

This made the announcement on social media today.

He was just reelected to a second term as Evanston mayor in April with 63% of the vote, you might also remember this from his campaign for governor in 2018 when he came in a distant second to JB Pritzker.

The 47 year-old former you Chicago math professor joins state Senator Laura find Glenview and progressive media Star Kat, a book is a LA in the race.

Later in the program.

How undocumented health care services are impacting hospitals in Illinois.

But first, a cargo teachers.

Union members are voting for their next leaders.

Details on who's running next.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexandra and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support of these donors.

>> Thousands of rank and file members of the Chicago Teachers Union are voting once again weeks after ratifying a new labor agreement.

Educators will now be voting on their leadership for the next 3 years.

The 2 candidates running are the current president, Stacy Davis.

Gates and her opponent, Erica Maze at here to tell us more about both of them is our own Matt Masterson map.

Let's start with the incumbent.

Of course, we all know where Stacy Davis Gates remind us about her first term as president and what she's been emphasizing to her members to get re-elected.

Yeah, member, of course, of the caucus of real of rank and file educators.

A course came to power in >> She took over in 2002 is President Davis Gates in her biggest victories during the first term, of course, where have the backing of its organizer, Brandon Johnson and his successful mayoral campaign.

And more recently, the securing the new four-year labor contract, the Chicago public schools when she spoke with me this week, she focused on the efforts that corps has had in expanding the unions reach beyond just education, making it a power player into issues equity and social justice as well work that she hopes to continue.

He is re-elected to a second time.

That's right.

this case took over in 2022.

>> After Jesse Sharkey tell us about her opposing candidate Erica Maison and why she says she's running.

Yeah.

I mean, he's been a CT member for more than 20 years.

She's a teacher, Washington High School in South side.

>> She's a member of the respect, educate advocate, lead or real caucus, which is a highly critical of core.

Her and her caucus claim that corps should have done more to improve pay and teacher prep time in the current contract.

The also say that they aren't being responsive to current members, that they are out of touch with rank and file members and that members are being heard when they bring their complaints to the union.

>> rent running.

They want to improve classroom, working conditions, expanding its existing grievance area.

So that members who do have complaints, they can bring these and be heard as well to the union.

>> It means she's also portrayed the current CTU has a fractured union.

What does she mean by that?

She said some members don't feel heard.

They don't feel supported by the current leadership.

expressed issues of transparency with core leadership.

She's also been critical of Coors relationship with other labor allies, including SEIU, local, 73, the rain and issues during the most recent labor negotiations.

There's a proposal regarding teachers assistance drew the ire of SEIU.

>> They say that they don't have faith in court being able to Fix that relationship.

Davis Gates told me she SEIU is family.

She says this is more of just a small rift.

Then she sees them as allies that are going to be a big part of see to use power going forward.

>> And what is Stacy Davis?

Gates said that she would focus on if elected to a second term.

She wants to continue expanding the seat whose reach she's talked about, dreaming big.

She wants to implement many, many facets of this new labor contract that was just ratified few weeks ago.

She also wants to fight back against attacks from Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., going forward.

She said that the union has to demonstrate how to how to handle these attacks for fun the nation essentially going to make sure that they can withstand anything that comes out of Washington, D.C., so now what are the next steps?

What happens next?

It's a voting takes place on Friday.

Its three-year terms of the results of probably be on either Friday night or sometime over the weekend.

It's not just the president being elected as their vice president, the recording secretary in the financial secretary all these officials for the Union for the next 3 years.

Interesting insight into the process for CTU.

Very large union.

Matt Masterson, thank you.

Experience.

>> And you can read Matt's full story on our website is all at W T Tw Dot com Slash news.

Advocates are trying to save a program that provides health insurance to immigrants without legal status before the budget season wraps up in Springfield.

More than 32,000 undocumented people ages 40 to 64 currently get coverage from the program.

Health benefits for immigrant adults.

But with the state facing a budget deficit and federal funding uncertainties Governor JB Pritzker cut the program from his proposed spending plan.

Now a new report from the University of Chicago links the program to reduced financial burdens on hospitals.

Joining us on zoom is one of the reports.

Researchers are Ashley Martinez court do so.

A public health professor at the University of Chicago.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

So your research attract programs like health benefits for immigrant adults and their impact on hospital finances in Illinois.

Tell us what you found.

Please.

Yeah, definitely.

>> So we were interested in understanding the economic impacts of the HBA H B, I S programs for the state beyond just the individuals who are enrolled in the program.

So what we did is we look at hospital finances before and after the policies for past and compare hospitals in Illinois to those Wisconsin in Indiana didn't have the policy and we just tracked and you statistical models to look how did hospital finances change?

And was there a significant change that was associated with the timing of the hpa hpi, policies?

We specifically looked at this outcome called uncompensated care, which is essentially when hospitals cover care for patients that isn't compensated to them or paid that to them from patients or insurers.

And so we looked changes in uncompensated care from 2017 to 2020 before the policy was passed and we looked at trends from 2021 to 2023 when the policy was implemented, we see the hospitals in Illinois experience about 15% reduction in one of the outcomes debt.

And we don't see that reduction in our comparison.

States of Wisconsin and Indiana.

think these results are telling us is that there is an association between the passage of these policies, the providing health insurance for individuals who were previously uninsured.

And compensation for hospitals to provide care to parents as well as love doing >> And as mentioned, you know, part of the program are on the chopping block because of the budget uncertainties, the current budget proposal advocates, of course, are pushing to keep it.

So how should you know, hospital hospital administrators, policymakers advocates be looking at your research on what you found.

>> Yeah, that's a great question.

You know, this is a landmark program for the first state in the nation provide this kind of health care coverage that was state funded for immigrants were excluded from federal programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

And this was coming off of the COVID pandemic we understood that taken care of everybody's was benefit for the entire state and that there was a large group Illinois and to have part of our state working essential workers with contributed to our economy, our community, and important to take care of their health.

And there are certainly a lot of there's certainly a lot of costs associated with providing health care.

But what we think is that many of these individuals were uninsured for a really long time.

So they have a lot of Health needs that program had to cover that were quite expensive and there that we believe that 2 of those costs and estimates will serve regular ice over time.

But we know in public how is that providing health insurance can be expensive but long term, it's an important investment in the health the individuals are covered.

A health care system overall, the benefit of the public health benefit to everybody else that benefit to having healthier workforce to help your pocket.

This and our research specifically points to the benefits for hospitals who now get dollars for care that they were already providing to a lot of individuals that they now are being reinforced for integrate more robust health care environment that benefits everybody.

>> So all of that said, though, the office of the Auditor general released an audit of the program in February saying, quote, the initial cost estimates for HB I a for those ages.

42 to 54 for fiscal years 2021.

22 23 totaled 68 million dollars.

While the actual total cost was 262.2 million dollars or 286% higher.

That is a significant amount.

What do you say to lawmakers then who think the program should be cut?

Just because the state can't afford it?

>> I think there's a lot of ways too.

Think about tinkering with the program to make costs more cost efficient.

For example, the state has moved and release to what's called managed care to help.

managed cost.

There's ways we can be more efficient about how we deliver the health care.

What gets covered.

But overall, I think there's a lot of evidence in the health and health care becomes literature that these you kind of say have to spend a little money at the beginning to ensure in the long run.

>> And I think it's important to point out that >> people are going need this health care's regardless of whether the state covers it or somebody else covers it.

>> People are going go to the hospital for.

Diabetes care, for cancer, for strokes, for primary care to have their babies.

>> And so the hospitals before the program incurring the cost of that program.

>> And that got shifted.

Spread out to everybody else.

And with the state covering the program, not only does not relieve the burden on hospitals, but it's some ways a more efficient way to deliver health care because now people are going to go see their primary care physician for their diabetes medication or to get help heart screenings rather than waiting to go to the emergency room in their diabetes blood sugars are out of whack or that had a stroke.

So it is a lot of money I got, you know, I'm a taxpayer.

I live in Illinois.

I think about the cost all of our public investments.

As a researcher, we understand that investing now is going to save us in the long run.

And the last thing I'll add is for this particular age group, this 42 to 64.

That is being that that is part of the program is being caught.

It's important to remember that this is our prime working age population.

And so it's important to keep these folks healthy so they can continue working so they can continue raising their families.

And there's a lot of evidence that shows that when people are uninsured during period of time, that when they become insured, 65, if they are much more expensive for the health care system.

And so if we can to keep people healthy insured, it's going to state our state in the long run.

again, I think this to well, it's OK, we've got just a couple of seconds left addition.

I wanted to before we let you go, this research is still ongoing.

What's next?

>> Yeah, we are living our models in our analysis of the ways that we can to make sure that our findings are robust.

There's a lot of things that could be going on.

One of the other things we find is that it's counties that have the highest level of program enrollment that see the largest effects.

We think it really is the program that is doing something.

But we're checking all sorts of And then we're also going to look at emergency room and hospitalization utilization among the period of time in these programs are passed again to think about is are the programs helping provide more efficient forms of health care, such as primary care rather than expensive hospitalizations and emergency rooms.

And important California now they're considering their own programs.

So we've led the nation.

And I think it's important for us to think about.

I'm not only more research to come.

It sounds like Apple.

>> We'll absolutely be on the lookout for that.

We'll have you back to tell us more about it.

And that research is done.

I think some it do so.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

Up next, we sit down with Maria from Sesame Street.

Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away.

That's how Sonia Manzano spent her career for more than 4 decades.

The actress hung out with Big Bird Oscar, the Grouch and the whole game when she played Maria on the beloved program, Sesame Street Manzano was recently in Chicago where she spoke with Chicago comments and supporters about the importance of early Chicago, early childhood education.

We sat down with her while she was in town and took a trip down memory lane >> how did you get to Sesame Street?

It was such a wild time.

It was the late 60's.

The America was a different place.

It was an idealistic, place that was the civil rights movement and and Joan Ganz, Cooney had this brilliant idea of using television too, to reach underserved children.

Remember on a talk show, she said.

The people who run the world can read, therefore, these children have to know how to read.

it was an exciting time and I simply got cast.

I think the most important things happen.

See when you're not paying that much attention.

I was in a Broadway show.

I didn't realize it was going to go on and for so many years.

What was the importance of your role on Sesame Street at the time?

Because there was not a lot of Latino representation on television I love the show even before I was on and I saw it.

>> At the student union of Carnegie Mellon University, I walked in and there was a very bold, very young James Earl Jones reciting the Alphabet.

I said, why is goes show that live breathing?

Because, you know, very deliberate.

as he the letters last rovers had.

I said, what the heck is this?

But I saw Susan Gordon.

This beautiful African-American couple.

I was stunned because at that time we did not see people of color on television.

If you did, they were in the beautiful, says board and they certainly weren't any let Latinos.

And I was born and raised in the Bronx watching a lot of television and wondering how could I contribute to a society that didn't see me?

You know, I was imminent.

I didn't see people like me.

People say it won't be a teacher.

When you grow up.

I don't know why medicine order.

Reagan teacher, you know, you do.

If you can't see it, you can't be it.

And that moment of of seeing Susan important.

Gave me a little inspiration.

Did you know that the show would be as groundbreaking as it went on to be?

No, no one could have possibly known.

It was a perfect storm.

I always think of the Beatles, you know, the Beatles separately, a great musicians, but they're not.

They became as loop and we had Jim Henson.

Puppets them up and tear Joe Ripp Pozo a brilliant composer who was able to write real music for 4 children.

Johnstone who was a visionary as far as television goes.

And this is a great crash of creativity and and civil involvement compared to your time on Sesame Street and that what that show provides.

How does your new show Alma's way?

How does it address the learning needs of children today of the good people at PBS?

Kids asked me create a show.

>> Latin family show side.

course I made it mild neighborhood in the South Bronx is where Alma and her family.

>> Lives and I took cues from Sesame Street's Sesame Street, looked around society and said kids leave this and that's what we provided.

So I looked around today, like I said, what it means.

and ice overcrowded classrooms.

Kids who didn't speak English.

A lot of testing and a lot of kids who if they couldn't pass tests or could memorize information.

thought they were in smart.

So the idea of Alma's way is to make sure kids everybody has a brain.

Everybody can put 2, 2 together.

That's just a given so that these children who are might be underserved or in stressful situations, don't think just because they can't pass a memorize information at the same moment that the next kid does.

That's where we're having.

We want everybody to learn everything.

At the same time that has nothing to do with intellectual powers.

Have you noticed a shift children's educational programming and how kids are taught today?

People ask me this all the time.

Kids haven't changed, but what we expect of them has changed.

We expect them on the Internet because of COVID to get classes were held on television.

So we expect that of them.

We expect them to learn at the same moment as their peers as I am mentioned before, not their own pace.

They are still as curious as they have a word.

Seems like in some ways you could have did become a teacher.

>> I guess I just observe what's going on around me.

And I'm very curious this place.

me a family center was waiting in the Durham.

A kid comes in and says blueberry muffins.

I mean, she was ready to identify the objects around us.

You must been around 3.

You've written a number of children's books throughout your career.

What inspired you to write your memoir Becoming Maria?

>> Becoming Mary 11 chaos in the South Bronx.

What I guess you get to a certain where you want really >> a sense of your journey and the only way to make sense of it I thought was too taken outside of myself and and righted and write it down.

had to see family hadn't seen in many years in order to.

Come to understand how we all impacted each other's lives in your book, you also talk about feeling invisible even in your own house and the struggles that happened while you were growing up.

>> But the moment you learn to read, that's when it change.

How you saw yourself.

Yes, yes, I was raised in a household that was ruled by domestic That took precedent over everything was always.

That was the ruling.

The House we're eating chicken, Jane books at school and I was.

Always ahead and the teacher would not let me turn the page.

I didn't know why we read these books.

And one day I was on this.

3rd avenue el.

That's why love the trains here in Chicago.

And I was looking at the has amassed my sister.

What did they say?

And she want to try reading it.

I thought reading at the reading was something only did in school and taken Jane Books.

Well, saw the ads and all of a sudden the words just fell into place.

And I sound of the words out and it was like the world open to me.

And I say that's not anywhere.

You read signs.

And that was exciting moment And it showed me.

>> You don't have to take a kid the whole way.

Just point them in a certain direction.

Just say try reading it.

And, you know, I took to the rest of What is your reaction to what's happening with this administration and its attempts to cut funding for PBS?

It's awful as as as one might imagine.

It's distracting >> I hate to even talk about it because it's like giving it power almost maybe the administration will change its mind.

It goes back and forth I'm not sure what it stands for because it goes back and So I don't know.

We'll see what happens.

It certainly is distressing.

But but people will prevail.

What's next for Sonia Manzano?

I want to work on another book.

It certainly is disconcerting that there's a new re sure of history, a desire to do that in this country.

So I feel I want write more Puerto Rican stories so we are not forgotten.

>> Thank you for joining us.

I appreciate Thank you.

>> Pleasure to meet her.

And you can find more details about Sonia Manzano and her projects on our website.

And that's our show for this Thursday night.

You can stream Chicago tonight on our W T Tw YouTube Channel every evening and catch up on any programs you may have missed in.

Join us tomorrow night at 5.37, for the weekend review.

Now for all of us here at Chicago Brandis Friedman, thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good night.

>> Closed caption was made possible by Robert a cliff and Clifford law offices, a Chicago personal injury and wrongful death.

That supports