A federal judge just delivered a crushing blow to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the state’s radical open-borders agenda.
U.S. District Judge David W. Dugan ruled Friday that multiple Illinois laws granting illegal aliens preferential access to in-state tuition, financial aid, and scholarship programs violate federal law and the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.
The ruling marks a major victory for President Trump’s Justice Department, Illinois taxpayers, and American students forced to compete for limited educational resources while Springfield Democrats rolled out the red carpet for people living in the country illegally.
In his 27-page memorandum and order, Judge Dugan denied Illinois’ motion to dismiss the case and granted the federal government’s cross-motion for summary judgment in part.
The court declared the following provisions unconstitutional and invalid as applied to aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States:
- Current in-state tuition provisions covering Illinois public universities
- The Acevedo Act provision governing public community colleges
- The Retention of Illinois Students and Equity Act, or RISE Act, including its 2025 amendments
- The Illinois DREAM Act and its scholarship program
The judge permanently barred Illinois, Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, state education agencies, and the named university and community-college boards from enforcing the challenged provisions for illegal aliens.
“Put simply, U.S. citizens or nationals must be treated no worse than illegal aliens,” Judge Dugan wrote.
Hellbound and Down 