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Author: knutson4

Bipartisan antisemitism bill draws controversy over free speech

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The Daily Cardinal

Tensions rose in discussion over a bipartisan bill that would require state agencies, including the University of Wisconsin System, to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism for any “law, ordinance or policy” when evaluating possible discriminatory intent at a Jan. 28 public hearing.

Daniel Hummel, a research fellow with the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on U.S. relations with Israel, said there has been increased “antisemitic rhetoric around campus” since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Madison measles case leads to hundreds of exposures

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Spectrum News

Dane County health officials continue to contact hundreds of people who may have been exposed to measles after a University of Wisconsin–Madison student tested positive for the highly contagious virus.

Public Health Madison & Dane County posted a growing list of exposure locations on its website, including several UW-Madison buildings such as Union South, the Genetics and Psychology buildings, multiple Madison Metro bus routes, Qdoba on Park Street and the Waisman Center.

UW-Madison Global Health Webinar highlights urgent challenges in childhood vaccination decline, antimicrobial resistance

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The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute convened experts from around the world with UW-Madison faculty for a Jan. 27 webinar examining the growing complexities of infectious disease control.

The discussion, moderated by Daniel Shirley, an infectious diseases professor at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, brought together researchers working across human, animal and global health systems to address two converging crises: antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and declining childhood vaccination rates.

43rd annual Wonders of Physics show returns to UW-Madison

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The Daily Cardinal

Clint Sprott, a UW-Madison physics professor who retired in 2008, started the show in 1984 as a free, public lecture. He still attends the show every year.

“[My] most favorite is seeing the smiles and enthusiasm of the audience,” Sprott said. “The show was a major part of my life for 40 years, and it is certainly fun to be something of a celebrity.”

UW-Madison sophomore launches productivity startup aimed at simplifying student life

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The Daily Cardinal

Growing up in a first-generation Indian household, Armaan Jain was thrown into activities from a young age — baseball, basketball, soccer and everything but football. The packed schedule forced him to learn time management early, a skill reinforced by parents who deeply valued education and structure.

“From elementary school onward, I had to have systems in place to succeed,” he said. “I learned early that motivation isn’t always there, so you need something that keeps you going anyway.”

UW Arboretum sharpshooters protect prized plants from hungry deer

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Wisconsin State Journal

Left unmanaged, deer can do a lot of damage in the UW Arboretum, which is why it hires sharpshooters who work after dark in winter to control the population.

“We do it to protect our plants, both in our gardens and in our natural areas,” said Michael Hansen, the Arboretum’s land care manager. “We also do it to maintain the health of the deer herd here.”

Judicial philosophies clash as both Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates point to same case to highlight their fitness for the high court

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Wisconsin Watch

While there are still two months to go, it’s possible the race will stay muted because the stakes are different with no Supreme Court majority on the line, said Howard Schweber, a professor emeritus of political science and legal studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Neither outcome will change liberal control of the court, though because the winner will replace retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, it could extend guaranteed liberal control until at least 2030.

Becoming an organ donor: Difficult decision leads to tremendous gift

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Even after 20 years of performing kidney transplants, Dr. Nikole Neidlinger is still awestruck and humbled by the role she plays between the donors and recipients of these organs.

“The operation takes two to three hours,” said Neidlinger, director of Organ and Tissue Donation at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. “When we attach a kidney and open it up to blood flow, it just starts functioning. I’ve seen it thousands of times now, but every time I’m like, ‘This is a miracle. This is amazing.’”

Regent Street plans call for more pedestrian space near Camp Randall

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The Cap Times

City staff and consultants are set to recommend the street become a three-lane road with expanded 8-foot sidewalks between Randall and Park Streets following a presentation at a Jan. 26 public meeting. The new traffic configuration would see one lane going in each direction with a central left turn lane.

As some states try to show ICE the door, others put out the welcome mat

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NPR

“There is no structural or blanket barrier to states bringing a criminal prosecution against federal officials,” says Harrison Stark, an attorney who works with the University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative.

“If a state believes that a federal official has violated state criminal law,” Stark says, “the state has broad Investigatory Powers to collect evidence, to explore that criminal action, basically in the same way they would against anybody else.”

Measles confirmed in UW-Madison student

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Jake Baggott, associate vice chancellor & executive director of University Health Services, said UW-Madison has directly notified around 4,000 people who may have been exposed. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Baggott said immunization data voluntarily reported by students shows many are already protected against the virus.

“We estimate, based on our own data, that about 95 percent of our campus is vaccinated against measles, which is a good place to be,” Baggott told reporters.

UW rises to No. 2 U.S. public university in latest TIME Magazine rankings

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The Daily Cardinal
TIME Magazine named the University of Wisconsin-Madison the 19th best university in the world and the 2nd best public university in the United States in their ‘World’s Top Universities of 2026’ rankings.

UW-Madison rose seven positions from 2025, leapfrogging the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles. The University of Michigan took the top U.S. public university spot

Ask The Weather Guys: Temperature often continues to fall despite the rising sun

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Wisconsin State Journal

On a clear, calm winter night, Earth’s surface radiates infrared energy upward toward space. With the sun already down, there is no shortwave solar radiation (and only a very little infrared energy from the overlying atmosphere) directed downward toward the surface. Consequently, with each passing second, the surface emits more energy than it receives and the surface temperature drops.

Smith: Snapshot Wisconsin expands to add snow, temperature, sound data

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“We’re working to gather a better-than-ever understanding of seasonal changes and how flora and fauna respond, not just in winter but year-round,” said Kyra Shaw, DNR research scientist and Snapshot Wisconsin phenology project coordinator.

Shaw, who holds a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, helped roll out this latest initiative of the project over the last year or so.

Interns help make the newsroom go. You can help us expand our program

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Our newest hire, as of mid-January, is Francesca Pica, a super-sharp graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a native of Rice Lake. You may recognize her byline. Last summer, she put her data skills to use on our investigative team, including work on an excellent story about the millions spent by state lawmakers on private attorneys.

UW-Madison alumni group kicks off Black History Month with community celebration

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Channel 3000

The Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Black Affinity Group launched Black History Month with Legacy and Libations, an event celebrating the Black community in Madison.

This year’s theme, “Taking Flight,” highlighted UW-Madison student projects and alumni-owned businesses. The event featured the SoulFolk Collective, a recently established research department at UW-Madison focused on documenting Madison’s Black community stories through research.

How to improve your vocabulary as an adult

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The New York Times

As it turns out, expanding our vocabulary as adults doesn’t work as it did when we were children in school, said Kelly Wright, an assistant professor of language sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Young people can learn new words by doing reading exercises, acing vocabulary quizzes or listening to the grown-ups around them. But as we get older, we have to approach it differently.

“Our vocabulary grows to a certain point, but then there is something that turns off, in a similar way in which we grow from a child height to an adult height. Something kicks on in our femur, but we don’t end up 11 feet tall, and the same thing happens with our language system,” Prof. Wright said. “It doesn’t mean we can’t learn new things, but after you get past that point, you have to do it actively. Say ‘Hey mind! Wake up a little!’”

DataWatch: Wisconsin hasn’t raised its minimum wage for 17 years. What does that mean for workers and the economy?

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Wisconsin Watch

Minimum-wage hikes — depending on the size — can bring a mix of positive and negative economic consequences, according to Callie Freitag, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Social Work.

“The good thing is that earnings would go up for workers. Employers would raise wages and be able to pay workers more,” Freitag said. “But the money to pay workers more has to come from somewhere.”

Plans move forward to bring new nuclear energy to Kewaunee County

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Wisconsin Public Radio

“Because it’s not dependent on the wind or the sun, nuclear energy operates whenever we want it, pretty much,” said Paul Wilson, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But even if we have to shut it down for refueling, that is very, very infrequent. Nuclear power plants today around the country typically operate for 18 months without shutting off.”

PBS Wisconsin honored with national Public Media Award for innovation

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PBS Wisconsin

The award honors PBS Wisconsin’s station-wide culture of innovation – from immersive storytelling and collaborative experimentation to cross-departmental strategies that reimagine how public media can serve, engage and evolve. The award recognized a range of projects that have expanded the organization’s reach, deepened its engagement and sparked new collaborations across platforms, including:

  • Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Computer Sciences department. Over the past two years, PBS Wisconsin has partnered with student teams to prototype tools that enhance how it serves and engages audiences. These include a personalized recommendation engine, augmented reality experiences and an AI-assisted caption-to-transcript tool currently in development for public launch.

Which Wisconsin colleges produce the highest-earning graduates?

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

At the top of the list for Wisconsin institutions was the Milwaukee School of Engineering, where median earnings four years out of school topped $93,000.

Coming in at No. 2 was Marquette University, where undergraduates earned nearly $80,000. Bellin College, a private nursing school in Green Bay came in third, with students earning about $79,000.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison ($75,084) and Viterbo University ($70,471) rounded out the top five.

Ag leaders: Trade could make or break Wisconsin farms in 2026

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Leaders in Wisconsin agriculture are warning the state’s farmers to brace for another tough year for trade and market conditions.

The discussion at the annual Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum at the University of Wisconsin-Madison focused both on the economic hardships weighing on farmers and what some producers are doing to try to get ahead.

Director of UW-Madison’s new entrepreneurship hub will play ‘support role’ for local businesses

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The Daily Cardinal

The current executive director of Saint Louis University’s Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship will join the University of Wisconsin-Madison to lead the university’s first entrepreneurship center.

Lewis Sheats will become the Associate Vice Chancellor for Entrepreneurship and the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub on Feb. 2, a Jan. 20 release announced.

The film students who can no longer sit through films

Posted on
The Atlantic

Everyone knows it’s hard to get college students to do the reading—remember books? But the attention-span crisis is not limited to the written word.

Professors are now finding that they can’t even get film students—film students—to sit through movies. “I used to think, If homework is watching a movie, that is the best homework ever,” said Craig Erpelding, a film professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But students will not do it.”

Scientists just watched these entities rapidly evolve in Space. They could save our lives

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Popular Science

To fill in this knowledge gap, the research team (led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) analyzed two bacterial samples of Escherichia coli (E. coli)—one located on Earth, the other on the ISS, and both infected with what is known as a T7 bacteriophage. Eventually, they found that while the outcome of the arms race remained the same in each location—the bacteriophage eventually infected its bacterial prey—there were distinct differences in how this battle played out between the two samples.

“Space fundamentally changes how phages and bacteria interact: infection is slowed, and both organisms evolve along a different trajectory than they do on Earth,” the authors wrote. “By studying those space-driven adaptations, we identified new biological insights that allowed us to engineer phages with far superior activity against drug-resistant pathogens back on Earth.”

US universities turn to lawyers as leaders in turbulent year

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Reuters
Three top U.S. universities selected former law school deans as their incoming presidents in recent months — a sign that campuses are seeking out leaders with legal expertise amid a challenging time for higher education.
Columbia University on Sunday named Jennifer Mnookin — a former University of California at Los Angeles School of Law dean and current University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor — as its next president. The University of Michigan earlier this month chose former Washington University in St. Louis law dean and current Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud as its incoming president. In October, Georgetown University selected former Cornell law dean and current Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver as its next top leader.

Jefferson High School addresses AI misuse after inappropriate images shared among students

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WMTV - Channel 15

Josiah Hanna, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, said AI tools can be valuable educational resources but are often misunderstood or misused.

“AI is a dual-use technology,” Hanna said. “You can do some really cool things with it, but yet unfortunately has this really unpleasant use case that people have found and exploited in a really harmful way.”

Hanna said AI-generated images can be particularly damaging because people tend to trust what they see, even when content is fabricated.

How Trump’s Tom Tiffany endorsement scrambles Wisconsin governor race

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Trump endorsement cuts both ways, said Barry Burden, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center. On the plus side, Tiffany doesn’t have to worry about draining his resources on a primary fight, and can immediately direct his focus on the general election.

The downside? Tiffany is now tied to Trump, whose popularity is suffering, and the president’s party traditionally struggles in midterm elections, Burden noted.

“He’s going to have to negotiate expressing his own identity as a candidate versus trying to take advantage of the enthusiasm that Trump voters have (for Trump) in particular, and to get them out,” Burden said.

UW-Madison, Immuto partner to target new colorectal cancer treatments

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WKOW - Channel 27

The University of Wisconsin–Madison and Immuto Scientific have teamed up to explore new therapeutic targets in colorectal cancer. According to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, this collaboration aims to use Immuto’s AI-enabled platform to discover novel treatments for solid colorectal cancer tumors.

Dr. Dustin Deming, a professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, leads the project. “Our collection of patient-derived colorectal cancer organoids enables exploration of tumor biology and therapeutic vulnerabilities in ways that traditional models cannot,” said Deming.

Wisconsin researchers lead natural food coloring breakthrough as industry phases out artificial dyes

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WMTV - Channel 15

Within UW-Madison’s Department of Food Science, Professor Bradley Bolling has pioneered research of anthocyanins, natural pigments responsible for the vibrant hues in fruits like cranberries.

“We want to understand how the pigments in cranberry are stabilized,” Bolling said.

Bolling developed a patented process using lecithin, an emulsifier, to extract natural pigments from cranberries without using alcohol or acetone. This makes the process safer and more environmentally sustainable.

How NIH ending funding for human fetal tissue research could affect studies

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ABC News

Dr. Anita Bhattacharyya, an associate professor of cell and regenerative biology in the school of medicine and public health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said she was hoping to apply for a future NIH grant to study human fetal tissue research and will now not be able to do so.

Bhattacharyya explained she currently uses human-induced pluripotent stem cells, which are reprogrammed cells that are similar to embryonic stem cells, in her work. However, the loss of NIH funding for human fetal tissue research could affect future work.

“My reaction was, ‘How are we going to do some of our research if we can no longer use human fetal tissue?'” she recalled to ABC News. “In particular, my lab studies Down syndrome and so we know that in Down syndrome, the brain develops differently to lead to the intellectual disability that people with Down syndrome have.”

The rise of the slopagandist: Nick Shirley and others like him are reminiscent of yellow journalism of the 19th century, updated and turbocharged by social media algorithms.

Posted on
The Verge

Partisan media and shoddy reporting have a long history in the U.S., but one parallel stands out: the era of the so-called yellow press, which got its name from a cartoon strip published in papers featuring a child in a yellow shirt.

“It was a moment before professional news values had really set in, before there were professional codes of ethics,” says Lucas Graves, distinguished researcher at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The biggest newspapers, like the New York World and New York Journal, would run serious, reported news stories. But they “would also run stories to try to generate outrage and almost invent scandals in order to sell more newspapers,” Graves says.

Why Bad Bunny won’t get paid for the Super Bowl Halftime Show

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Forbes

“I think that there was absolutely a market decision behind selecting Bad Bunny,” says Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, a professor of Latin American studies at the University of Wisconsin who has collaborated with Bad Bunny to incorporate Puerto Rican history into his shows and music videos. “The NFL wants to expand internationally, so they are looking to target a broader market beyond the United States. He has a huge following in the United States, but this stage will also be amplified internationally by having someone like him.”

The schoolchildren of Minneapolis

Posted on
The New Yorker

She recalled the first time she did a drop-off. “I see a literal ice agent walking around, and he just walks right past me. I’m just not on his radar,” she said. She is white, and had on a red University of Wisconsin T-shirt. “But, yeah, I go up to this apartment, and this mom was on the verge of tears, who’s been at home with her kids in a stuffy apartment for, like, a month, you know?”

Lost ancient Greek star catalog decoded by particle accelerator

Posted on
Scientific American

Some analysis will have to wait until the new images can be processed, but the researchers are already able to decode text from many of the raw data. “It’s one of the rare examples in research where you know very quickly that you have gotten good results,” says Uwe Bergmann, a physics professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who is overseeing the experiment’s x-ray scanning.

UW-Madison Chancellor says her role prepared her for Columbia University job

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Wisconsin Public Radio

“I well understand the significant uncertainties and heightened scrutiny many universities are now facing,” Mnookin wrote to members of the Columbia University community. “Moments like this demand, in my view, an urgent assertion of the role universities must play in civic life, a clear articulation of both our value and our values, and, simultaneously, a genuine openness to taking seriously the views of those who see the world differently, both inside our campus and in the broader world.”

Meanwhile, UW System President Jay Rothman plans to name an interim chancellor for UW-Madison before Mnookin departs in May.

With Netflix Miracle on Ice doc coming, Mark Johnson had star role

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Miracle on Ice” remains a lingering light over any American triumph in the winter games. A Netflix documentary called “Miracle: The Boys of ’80” debuts Jan. 30 to again stir up the emotions of that incredible victory for the USA men’s hockey team over the Soviet Union in the medal round of the 1980 games.

It’s a triumph that almost certainly doesn’t happen without major contributions from Wisconsin.

Hard times have come for the PhD degree

Posted on
Forbes

In October, Harvard indicated it would significantly reduce the number of new PhD students it admitted. Yale, Columbia, Brown, the University of Southern California, Boston University, and the University of Pennsylvania are examples of schools that also scaled back, rescinded, paused or stopped new admissions. Large public universities — such as the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University and the University of Washington— took similar steps.

Hundreds rally at Library Mall in solidarity with Minneapolis, demand sanctuary status from ICE at UW

Posted on
The Badger Herald

Hundreds gathered in negative windchill in solidarity with the city of Minneapolis and rallied for no Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence on UW’s campus at Library Mall, Jan. 27.

Madison Students for a Democratic Society held the rally in response to the presence of ICE operations across the U.S. and ICE agents killing two Minneapolis residents, according to their Instagram.

Photo of the day: Quilt exhibit

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Wisconsin State Journal

Tarah Connolly, a PhD student at UW-Madison, looks at a quilt from the 1870’s that is on display at the “Find Your Quilt” exhibit in the Ruth Davis Design Gallery in Nancy Nicholas Hall at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.

UW-Madison to demolish building to add faculty parking, future development

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison is going ahead with plans to demolish a small building on the west side of campus to create more faculty parking and green space, opening up space for future development.

The UW Board of Regents on Wednesday approved the university’s request to raze the vacant building at 1800 University Ave. to make way for the additional parking spots, about a block west of Breese Terrace.

Bill threatens UW research, study abroad programs in 6 countries

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The Daily Cardinal

Wisconsin Republican lawmakers want to limit the University of Wisconsin System’s academic and research collaboration with six countries amid concerns over national security and foreign influence in education.

The bill, which passed the Assembly on Jan. 22, prohibits study abroad, dual degree programs and research collaborations with China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Qatar. While there are currently no UW-Madison programs in four of the targeted countries, the university has three study abroad programs in China and one flagship program in Russia.

Two companies made dried milk powder linked to botulism in ByHeart baby formula

Posted on
Associated Press

Botulism spores are common in the environment and can be found in most foods at very low levels, said Kristin Schill, a botulism expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Healthy adults consume Clostridium botulinum spores every day without becoming sick. But babies have immature guts that may not be able to prevent the spores from germinating and growing. Once they do, the spores produce a toxin that can cause paralysis and death.

Spores can be found everywhere, including in milk, though typically at low levels, Schill said. Pasteurization doesn’t kill the germs. They can be present in the processing environment, too.

Exploding tree videos go viral, but UW experts debunk AI-generated myths

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WKOW - Channel 27

“Cracks can happen at anything below the freezing temperature, so 32 degrees Fahrenheit or zero degrees Celsius,” said Scott Bowe, a professor and wood products specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Bowe clarified that the noises, known as frost cracks, are not caused by expanding sap.

“Some people have explained it as the sap is expanding like ice and causing the crack that actually is not what’s happening. It’s actually the drying of the wood that causes the crack to happen,” said Bowe.

City and Town of Beloit to consider fire, EMS consolidation study as staffing shortages grow statewide

Posted on
WMTV - Channel 15

Professor Laura Albert, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has studied EMS deployment and logistics for decades. She said many departments are being asked to stretch limited resources further than ever before.

“So often these public service agencies like EMS departments are asked to do more and more with less,” Albert said. “You can do that up to a point, but this is kind of hitting a crisis point.”

Lawmakers aim to curb hedge fund homeownership, a Dane County rarity

Posted on
The Cap Times

“In certain neighborhoods, perhaps in Atlanta or Philadelphia or Chicago, maybe you’re reaching a much higher market saturation point,” said Kurt Paulsen, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who studies urban planning. “I’ve not seen any evidence of any even modest market penetration of that product in Dane County and Madison.”

UW faculty, local activists criticize campus Flock Safety cameras, cite privacy concerns

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

Local activist groups and faculty members are calling out the University of Wisconsin Police Department and technology company Flock Safety over eight security cameras they say bring privacy and security concerns to campus.

UWPD — who has access to the data through a contract with Flock Safety — said the cameras aid law enforcement in solving crimes and are not used for “surveillance” of the community like some suspect.

Cardinal View: Mnookin couldn’t meet UW’s moment. She’ll need to overcome more to meet Columbia’s

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

When Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin took over at the University of Wisconsin-Madison four years ago, she entered an unwinnable situation.

Republican legislators immediately criticized her as an out-of-touch coastal elite, and she was forced to handle many of the issues that would plague her term as chancellor — debates over anti-semitism and how campuses could support free speech while upholding an environment inclusive of all students.

Not all mindfulness is the same – here’s why it matters for health and happiness

Posted on
The Conversation

John Dunne, a Buddhist philosophy scholar at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, offers a helpful explanation if you’ve ever wondered why everyone seems to talk about mindfulness in a different way. Dunne says mindfulness isn’t one single thing, but a “family” of related practices shaped by different traditions, purposes and cultural backgrounds.

Will Babcock keep scooping ‘Mnookie Dough’ ice cream when its namesake chancellor leaves?

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Babcock Dairy’s “Mnookie Dough” ice cream is stocked and ready to be served. At least for now.

The flavor that UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin helped develop, which consists of a vanilla base, with chocolate chip cookie dough pieces, and fudge and caramel swirls, will be available for at least through Mnookin’s tenure, Babcock’s spokesperson Bethany Jones said Tuesday.

Photos: UW-Madison students protest ICE activity across the country

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Wisconsin State Journal

Students from UW-Madison filled Library Mall to protest ICE activity across the country and show solidarity with Minneapolis residents on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 in Madison, Wis. The protest, organized by Students for a Democratic Society Madison, intended to “show the campus, the city, the state, and the Trump administration the students will not allow this to continue unobstructed,” according to the organization’s social media.

Guns and protests: What are Wisconsin’s laws on open and concealed carry?

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

A growing number of states, including Illinois, prohibit openly carrying “long guns” — meaning rifles and shotguns — at protests. Those rules aim to prevent armed confrontations between protesters, counterprotesters and law enforcement, said University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor John Gross. “What (law enforcement) don’t want,” he said, “is a situation where you have two armed groups facing off against one another with the police in between them.”