Illinois quick hits: Brief filed in Cook County assault weapons ban case
Brief filed in Cook County assault weapons ban case
BRIEF FILED IN SUPREME COURT COOK CO. ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office filed its brief in defense of the county’s assault weapons ban that is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case – scheduled for a hearing of oral arguments in front of the court on Dec. 2 – will determine the constitutionality of not only the county’s longtime ban on automatic assault-style weapons, but could have implications on the legality of a similar statewide ban in Illinois and at least 10 other states.
Public university enrollment hits decade high
The Illinois Board of Higher Education announced Friday as a part of its yearly first look fall semester enrollment report that enrollment in public universities in Illinois reached a decade high.
The total number of undergraduate students enrolled was up over 2,400 year-over-year, a 0.15% increase. The number of full-time first year freshman for the fall 2026 semester reached 27,500 students.
A 14.2% decline in the total number of international students enrolled in Illinois was attributed to changes made by the Trump administration to how international student visas are processed.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker still celebrated the overall results as a win in the face of the “disruption” of higher education by the federal government.
STATE POLICE BREAK GROUND ON METRO EAST REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS
State Police break ground on Metro East headquarters
The Illinois State Police broke ground Friday on what they said will be a new “state of the art” regional headquarters on the Illinois side of the St. Louis area.
The new facility is funded to the tune of $55 million by the state as part of the wider $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital development plan, and the 60,000 square foot building in East St. Louis will be home to regional patrol, investigations units and 911 dispatch operations.
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