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

I'm Brandis Friedman.

Here's what we're looking at.

>> Western runs Northwest.

>> Students and faculty are divided as Northwestern University strikes a deal with the Trump administration to get research funding back.

>> A jury formation for Chicago.

And these bears are on a roll as they prepare to face archenemy Green Bay Packers this weekend.

>> First off tonight, the expected dismissal of a lawsuit targeting federal immigration agents use of force in the Chicago area is delayed.

The attorneys who originally filed the lawsuit on behalf of protesters and journalists had moved to dismiss it, claiming they had already won their case with Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents left when they left last month.

But District Judge Sarah Ellis did not yet grant the motion to dismiss saying she wants to give any members of the class action a chance to object by December 19th.

Also at the hearing today, Department of Justice attorneys claimed once the case is dismissed, protesters and journalists should be restricted from filing similar lawsuits.

Even if immigration agents are accused of future constitutional violations.

>> Ellis appeared to agree with the plaintiffs that just that dismissal of this case, even with prejudice would not bar future lawsuits over potential future violations.

Survivors of abuse say Pope Leo hasn't done enough to protect victims of abuse at the hands of Catholic priests.

>> And what's more they're sharing new evidence they say of the pope's role in a case out of Peru.

It is a voluminous.

It is church documents.

It has recordings e-mails, including by the Pope.

>> That that is exactly what he did.

When he was bishop Clyo in Pero.

He was involved one of the worst cases of assault and abuse that we've ever come across.

>> The survivor's network of those abused by priests or SNAP says direct emails from when he served as bishop of the diocese of to Clyo show he approved the retirement of a priest accused of abusing children that retirement ended.

A Vatican investigation at the time.

Snap is calling for a new investigation into the pope's actions as well as further reforms.

If the else stop at state and lake in the loop.

Is your regular pick-up or drop-off point?

You'll need to pick a new stations starting early next year.

The CTA says starting January 5th, it's closing the 130 year-old station to make way for a new one.

A more modern, fully accessible station.

We'll have wider platforms and a continuous canopy to provide shade and coverage from the weather.

Plus, a flyover bridge to allow for easier transfers between platforms.

Luke trains will continue during construction.

The new station is set to open in 2029.

Up next, controversy over a deal between the Trump administration in Northwestern University.

We hear from different sides of this issue right after this.

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

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support of these donors.

>> Northwestern University is agreeing to pay 75 million dollars to the federal government in settlement.

The deal will the Trump administration would bring back hundreds of millions in federal research grants frozen earlier this year and end investigations on discrimination.

But students and faculty are divided on the deal with opponents blasting it is government overreach.

While supporters say it was a result of the university's failure to protect Jewish students, Northwestern leadership, meanwhile, insists the university will keep its autonomy.

>> It was the best and most certain method to restore our federal funding both now and in the future.

I'm deeply grateful for the board of Trustees which authorized the funding.

Frozen research grants over the past 7 months.

But at a cost of roughly 40 million month, this was simply not sustainable.

As I said before.

Suing would have cost time and money and we believe the university could not risk.

>> Joining us, our Laura Beth Nielsen, sociologist at Northwestern University, Jonah Rubin, an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace.

And on zoom, Lisa Fields, Lewis, National Chair of the Coalition against Anti-Semitism at Northwestern or can thanks to all 3 of you for joining us.

Laura both Laura Beth University leadership.

They have said that this is the best available option to restore this funding.

What's your reaction to that argument to the settlement?

>> Well, it's important to remember the context in which this is happening, which is that the Trump administration withheld lawfully appropriated funds and threatened in the future to withhold funds.

This is illegal to advance their own policy preferences.

There's a lot to talk about in this deal and the constitutionality and legality about each individual provision is worth exploring.

But the context in which this is happening is that the Trump administration is using its funding as a cudgel to force Northwestern to that enact their policy preferences, some of which are unconstitutional and many of which are illegal.

And we'll get into some of a little bit more in this conversation as But it to a lot of people have to have criticized the University for not holding out.

>> taking this to court as Harvard University But the President, President Biden has said that that would take years.

can't risk that.

Well, it take years for Harvard to begin having their funding restored and while all of us are concerned about anything on campus that and creates divisions are makes people feel excluded.

What we're looking at is the removal of science and the scientific compacted and review research proposals through peer review scientific process.

Ease.

So even the faculty who are relieved to have their funding restored and for whom this might look like a good deal are very concerned about the policy implications associated with political meddling in science, Lisa Fields, Louis, you and the coalition that you work with you all support this deal.

Tell us why.

>> We think it's a great first step in making sure that your students are protected on Northwestern's campus.

We have been working closely with students and faculties and aggrieved parties and kind of helping them an audience in front of the government with stories of frightening title 6 violations.

And all I can tell you is that this is happening to Northwestern and it's not happening to dozens of other schools around the country.

It's not having to Amherst.

It's not happening to Dartmouth.

Northwestern's administration seems to be by government findings extremely in violation of U.S.

law from 1964, of title 6 and we're just thrilled that now Northwestern has to really make sure that your students and all students feel safe.

campus and there are I 100 different provisions of this deal.

So obviously it was considered a serious violation.

There are on a 60 paragraph and the 75 million dollar fine is enormous.

I think it's the second biggest after Colombia's 200 Million.

And I just would say there's a reason why Northwestern's in the cross fires of the government here and they seem to have crossed a line and we're really happy that the government to this first step.

>> You mentioned government findings and yesterday at your organization's press conference, you all talked about some of the the details and information that people had been sharing with the government.

Is there a government report or what that helping the rest of us?

No.

What Northwestern is guilty of.

>> Well, after ex president, she'll spoke at Congress last year.

They published findings.

So if anybody wants to comb through that, you can see some of the it counts of what happened at school.

Most of the student OCR complaints are confidential and made support and confidence in order to protect their privacy.

and make sure that they were not retaliated against.

But I would encourage everybody to read the document of the entire testimony of show at the at Congress and then behind closed doors.

it's utterly.

It's really shocking.

And there was an example of the provost offering to take a certain brand of homeless off of the cat out of the cafeterias as a nod to the BDS movement, hoping that that would be considered again.

So we got a really interesting inside scoop into what was going on in that negotiation, if you will it.

never happened in the first place.

But all of that is public knowledge.

Now.

>> So, Jonah, this deal it and does the during Meadow agreement that the university struck to end the pro-Palestinian encampments that were on campus last year calling for further restrictions on when and how students can protest near campus buildings.

What concerns do you have there?

>> You know, this is agreement that does nothing to protect the safety of drugs on campus.

The Dairy Meadow agreement granted.

Scholarships to policy as students flee from Gaza free from the genocide.

In order to study at one of the prestige institutions in this country taking away their scholarships does not make safe.

Making a Palestinian professor with the university brought as part of its scholars at risk for program to Northwestern.

Taken him out.

Does not make sure safe and taking away a space for Muslim.

I students to pray and express our culture does not need to save.

have always thrived in places that value minority rights and minority of religious rights and to see Western sacrifice.

Those rights it order to kneel down before Trump in order to take the easy path out as a as a personal values, these types of minority rights offensively.

>> Laura Beth, what does what does all this mean?

You know, this this deal, it releases the 790 million dollars in research grants that had been on pause since April.

The university has had to make concessions such as providing more information to the government about hiring admission and academics.

We've talked about the 75 million dollar fine, second-highest a second, too.

Columbia University is what does all this mean for the university and students?

Yeah, well, first, I think it's important to say that the agreement explicitly states that Northwestern is not admitting that didn't matter if just a >> but what it means is that we are beholden to the Trump administration's policy preferences on things that have nothing to do with Title 6 and antisemitism on campus.

The remedies under title 6.

If there is a if their race violations or under title 9, if their gender violations, the remedy for that is not the removal of all federal research funds.

There's a process under the civil rights laws.

I study them myself.

This is not the process.

but what it means is that Northwestern has given up the rights of our students that they that they enjoy so First Amendment rights.

We've given up academic freedom to research really important areas.

Harmon research, research on disparity, right?

Because not all the grants are coming back.

So only some grants are coming back and grants about gender.

So there's the transgender issues really important to a lot of members of our community and gender non-binary and trans students who need medical care.

Folks who want to do research in that area, the kind of hormonal research there is also being used for everything from cancer.

2, her research is really important.

Those grants may not come back.

Cranes about racial disparities in medical and outcomes may not come back because they're considered dei.

So we've given up a lot of ground that has nothing to do with the question of Anti-Semitism on our campus.

We said what he about.

>> Well, we're here specifically to talk in our case about Anti-Semitism by the coalition.

against Anti-Semitism at Northwestern.

And that's issue that we care the most about.

The fact that we are in this position is largely because Anti-Semitism went unchecked.

It Northwestern for so long that these fines were assessed against Northwestern.

And the fact is that like when I listen to these allegations of genocide there are these broad allegations without any substantiation behind we wouldn't be here with actual students didn't come forward with claims a feeling unsafe and harassed by faculty and by other students in clubs.

And in classrooms by their peers and by their faculty.

So from our perspective, that's the key thing we wanted to solve against.

And with regard to the demonstration policy, keep in mind, it's it's it feels a little like scare tactics because students are still allowed to demonstrate.

But there is time place and manner.

And you cannot just struck other students from trying to get across remember, you can't disrupt other students from trying to take tests.

We have to place again, students who couldn't concentrate because it was screaming outside of their classroom.

As long as the protests stay in line with northwestern rules, norms and American law.

We're fine with all of process alive.

That's why we're here.

And that in the >> Yeah, let's fair.

public polling shows that the vast majority of American Jews do not support the Trump administration's authoritarian attacks on higher education.

We believe that those attacks make anti semitism worse, not better.

There's a very good reason for that right?

It's because Trump administration is trying to use Jews as the face of its attacks on trans students as the face of its attacks on international students who come to country to try to live and study at our beautiful institutions to try to make who's the face of attacks on students of color, voice for peace.

We stand up say you do not get to attack other vulnerable populations, our freedom, our liberation, it's bound up intimately and ability of other minorities, religious ethnic to thrive.

That's what we stand hand-in-hand with And with the majority of American Jews, it's that these attacks on higher education should not be done in our name and do not make us Lisa, what do you say to that?

Because we've heard that argument before that the Trump administration is using Anti-Semitism as an opportunity.

we've heard from our guests here tonight as an opportunity to to seek to gain control.

>> Over institutions of higher Ed.

>> What do you think?

back to what I said at the beginning.

First of all, again, I read these things.

I hear these things.

They feel like brought scare tactics without any substantiation behind it from the beginning of the Trump campaign, there been allegations of fascism and what's going to happen to our country.

But there's not a whole lot of meat there to back it up.

So I really think that, you know, we have to look at that and it's really I'm really concerned about Northwestern here.

And let's look at the fact that this is not against all universities around the country.

This is select few that really crossed the line into illegal antisemitic behavior.

And that's why Northwestern is in the crosshairs.

If this was flat out all universities around the country, we might have a different discussion.

But Northwestern clearly crossed the line here and the discrimination against harassment students.

And that has to be addressed or and that is that's where we'll have to leave My thanks to all of the 3 of you for for sharing your thoughts with Lauren Beth Jonah Rubin and Lisa Fields.

Lewis, thanks.

Tested Luck to you.

Thank you so much.

>> And we dive into the Chicago Bears success this season and preview this Sunday's matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

Coming up.

>> It might not be spring yet, but the Chicago Bears are coming out of an extended hibernation Bears.

Fans have long dreamed of days like these seeing their team at not only the top of their division after 12 games, but also the top team in the NFC.

But their heading into their biggest game yet against their arch enemy, Green Bay Packers, who they will face Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Joining us now with more on the big game is the big cat James Williams, former offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears.

Welcome back.

Thank you very OK?

So ahead of the season, you joined us and we asked you how far you thought the team would go.

You said 8 to 9 winds would be a good season fast forward to today.

And they are says right here says 9 when it was James, have they exceeded your expectations?

Most definitely.

>> Most of They all are.

They have been able to get over hurdles that I did not think they were going to be able to get over this early in the season.

For this early in coach.

Johnson's career.

There are ability to go and the bye week after 2 losses and be able to fine tune some things and turn something around was very impressive and it gives a lot of confidence to the players as far as what the coaching staff is doing on the Bayview daily basis.

>> What do you make of Caleb Williams progression this year?

it's been stories ways to go.

There are things that he's going to have that he has to work on.

But when you have the ability to win these games and still be able to make corrections, I that's a good thing because you're you're progressing.

You know, one of the reasons why I didn't think they would be overnight where users because of, you know, new coaching staff, his second staff and 2 years, actually for his 3rd or 4th coordinator in 2 years.

>> So to see the progress they have made is very impressive.

>> Do you think the offensive line?

Do you think they're doing a better job protecting Williams this year?

Yeah, I think I think it's everything tied.

>> being able to run the ball talent that they have with the wide receiver position.

Titan position.

All those things are coming together with 2 making this team as dominant as it is right now.

>> So they're going to be facing a big test this weekend with the Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons.

What are they have to do trying to stop him?

>> some of it's going to coach Johnson.

So that's going to be on the players, the majority of its going to be on the players because Parsons is a guy that can line up all over the field.

A lot on the right side of lineup on the left side or whatever.

The middle a lot of all football.

So you never really know where he's going to be, but they are going to try and do things as far as keeping tight ends there or tigers chipping on their way out back, stripping on their way out.

They are going to be able to do some things with are sure things like that to try and slow him down a little bit and give the offensive line a chance.

>> So they're rushing game.

Also improved.

The team is second in the league, averaging 153 rush yards, a game.

What's been the key to getting a drink and going.

>> You bring 3 guys, 3 new guys as free agents and you put them in the middle and they're doing exactly what you are.

You know, you look at the combination blocks that we like to it right.

And you know what Jackson's able to do in the middle, these guys are moving people off the ball.

know their assignments.

They know what they have to do and they're getting the job done.

And I think Coach Johnson is doing a good job of law.

Keeping things simple you know, might look different to the defense, but for the offensive line for the backs, that's the same So they're blocking a lot of the same plays in a row.

But that making look, Bears defense has also been leading the league in forcing turnovers.

Is that sustainable?

>> Early in the season, I would have said but I would not have thought it was going to be sustainable for as long as it has been.

So it is I think it's something they preach.

You know, you often heard people talk about Lovie Smith's defense and how they practice preach.

Turn the ball over forced fumbles interceptions Sachs, things like that.

And I think you're looking at the same thing here.

They're practicing They are going over every day practice and and it's contagious.

And you see a lot of guys do a lot of different things.

Think creative rivalry may not have been or may not be what it used to be with the Packers winning 17 out of the last 20 matchups.

>> Are the Bears finally back in a spot where they can compete?

This caravan rolls.

This game they know it's still a long road.

17 out of 20.

You still have a lot of ground to make up.

>> But I think they're headed in the right direction of the things that they're doing offensive.

We defensively special teams wise.

These are things that travels so being able to watch them open Lambeau Field this week will be a good.

You know, we thought the Philadelphia game was going to be a good kind of gauge to see where they are.

Green Bay Game is going to be even more of a gauge.

You play those rivalry games.

What's that like for players?

It's it's different.

It's it's the team that right up the street.

It's your neighbors.

The has burned as we're Chicago and the wife was with Green household divided household, right, right.

You know, you walk to the grocery store and now people want to talk to you about the Green Bay Bears game.

That's coming So is a lot different and it means a lot to the fans.

So, you know, as players you feed into that more and more the more you're here.

So with this game, having as much on the line as it does.

It's got to be a big week for those guys.

Coach Johnson seems to done a good job getting city getting the fans fired up.

The winner's circle said that they would give away free hot dogs if he took off his shirt, which he did in celebration of the Eagles game or the Eagles win last week.

He did that in the locker room.

>> Talk about the impact that the team is having on Bears fans.

Here's that show removal.

Yeah, could do save that for the Super Bowl or >> we will have to win the Super Bowl or something like that.

But it gets the guys in the locker You know, he is one of them.

>> And as far as the fans go, the fans are looking for anything to grasp on to that says this coach is different than what we've had in the past and the in the old last couple years and they love will.

And what the winner's circle does kind makes everyone feel like they're part of this team.

right.

So then what do you think?

The coach and the winner Circle will do if they win against the Eagles and origins of the shirt for next 3 years ago, parents?

>> but I'm sure they will come up with some kind you know, the Bears rush 300 yards or throw for certain amount of yards do something crazy.

No further something.

All right.

Before we let you go, predictions for the season for this weekend.

Predictions for this weekend.

This is going to be the first time out of the last 3 weeks.

But I'm going bears.

We're convinced that.

>> You know, they can keep a close.

They really stand a chance excited for them about that.

And playoff some >> I'd like to see it.

I'd like to see We have a long ways to go before we get to Super Bowl talk, though.

But if they keep performing like they are now and they are still cleaning things up as they move along, why not?

Why not?

All right.

Should be fun watching the game this weekend.

know you will.

We'll be watching James.

Big Williams chair for the Bears.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

They we're back with more right after this.

And that's our show for this Thursday night.

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

>> Now for all of us here at Chicago tonight, I'm Brandis Friedman, thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good thing.

>> Closed captioning is made possible by Robert a cliff and Cliff law offices Chicago, personal injury wrongful