Illinois Quick Hits: Foreign national faces harboring, forced labor charges

Illinois Quick Hits: Foreign national faces harboring, forced labor charges

February 12, 2026/
Spread the love

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A Honduran citizen residing in Waukegan has been indicted for allegedly bringing illegal aliens into the United States for private financial gain.

Federal prosecutors say Fredy Hernandez, 46, brought four foreign nationals from Honduras into the United States in 2022 and 2023, forced them to work, and made them believe they would suffer serious harm if they failed to comply.

SECRETARY OF STATE MANDATES ELECTRONIC LIEN AND TITLE PROCESSING

Financial institutions that process five or more liens annually will be required to transition to electronic lien and titling by July 1.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said that under ELT, lien and title records are transmitted directly to his office and maintained electronically until the lien is satisfied.

The secretary said banks, credit unions and dealers can instantly release the title when a loan is paid off, reducing costs and saving time.

ZIMMERMAN, MATCHBOX TIX ON SALE FRIDAY

Tickets go on sale Friday for two acts scheduled to perform at the Illinois State Fair.

Country performer and Illinois native Bailey Zimmerman is slated to play at the fair on Ag Day, Aug. 14. Matchbox Twenty is scheduled to perform Aug. 16.

Tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster, starting at 10 a.m.

Leave a Comment





Latest News Stories

Law firm: California's gender policies violate Constitution

Law firm: California’s gender policies violate Constitution

By Chris WoodwardThe Center Square A law firm is putting California Attorney General Rob Bonta on notice about keeping parents in the dark about their children's gender transitions. Liberty Justice...
Group challenges gender policies in New Mexico schools

Group challenges gender policies in New Mexico schools

By Esther WickhamThe Center Square As New Mexico students continue to rank among the lowest in the nation in academic proficiency, some parents are questioning why gender ideology has become...
Supreme Court rules for Texas in Rio Grande River lawsuit

Supreme Court rules for Texas in Rio Grande River lawsuit

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square The U.S. Supreme Court has handed Texas a win in a lawsuit first brought by Gov. Greg Abbott when he was attorney general. Abbott was...
Trump appoints housing regulator as acting spy chief

Trump appoints housing regulator as acting spy chief

By Brett RowlandThe Center Square President Donald Trump on Tuesday named Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, placing a housing-finance regulator with no...
Mullin defends $118B Homeland Security budget request

Mullin defends $118B Homeland Security budget request

By Andrew RiceThe Center Square Markwayne Mullin, secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, defended the agency’s $118.3 billion budget request Tuesday. Mullin, a former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma,...
Bill loosens in-state tuition requirements

Bill loosens in-state tuition requirements

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Some students from outside the Land of Lincoln may soon pay in-state tuition at Illinois public universities...
Illinois Quick Hits: Nine arrested during Naperville teen gathering

Illinois Quick Hits: Nine arrested during Naperville teen gathering

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Naperville Police say they arrested nine people and issued almost three dozen citations after large groups of...
Rubio provides few answers to Congress on Iran conflict timeline

Rubio provides few answers to Congress on Iran conflict timeline

By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square With the U.S.-Iran conflict approaching the 100-day mark, Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s military strategy before a committee of U.S. lawmakers...
Pritzker housing proposal partly stalls amid overreach concerns from localities

Pritzker housing proposal partly stalls amid overreach concerns from localities

By Sean Reed | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Though the entire affordable housing initiative from Gov. J.B. Pritzker didn’t make it through the General Assembly...
HUD shifts $4B homelessness program from 'Housing First' to treatment

HUD shifts $4B homelessness program from ‘Housing First’ to treatment

By Tim ClouserThe Center Square The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a $4 billion funding opportunity for homelessness services on Monday, shifting away from the Housing First...
Poll: Democrats hold slight edge over Rogers in Michigan U.S. Senate race

Poll: Democrats hold slight edge over Rogers in Michigan U.S. Senate race

By Elyse ApelThe Center Square New polling in Michigan's open U.S. Senate race shows each of the leading Democrat candidates narrowly ahead of Republican Mike Rogers in potential general election...
Swipe fee battle continues after delay, court ruling

Swipe fee battle continues after delay, court ruling

By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois is still waiting to benefit from a law promised to generate hundreds of millions of dollars...
Walz appoints members to Operation Metro Surge 'Truth Council'

Walz appoints members to Operation Metro Surge ‘Truth Council’

By Elyse ApelThe Center Square Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has appointed members to a new council tasked with documenting the impacts of Operation Metro Surge and Operation PARRIS, two federal...
$45M included in budget for previously unfunded property tax relief

$45M included in budget for previously unfunded property tax relief

By Sean Reed | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Included in the recently passed state budget, the Illinois State Board of Education will get money for...
Over one ton of cocaine seized at U.S.-Mexico tunnel bust

Over one ton of cocaine seized at U.S.-Mexico tunnel bust

By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square Border Patrol agents in Southern California have found another underground cross border tunnel, leading to the arrest of four men and the seizure of enough...