* ICYMI: Illinois orders 21 communities to remove forever chemicals from drinking water by 2029. Tribune…

- Under updates to the Illinois Safe Public Drinking Water Act that took effect in January, state limits now align with 2024 federal standards, requiring municipal systems to reduce the levels of certain PFAS by April 2029.
- But many towns cannot afford the millions of dollars needed to upgrade their water systems with equipment to remove PFAS, and grants are limited. That means ratepayers could end up footing the bill.
- Settlements from chemical manufacturers won’t cover half of Collinsville’s startup costs for the new PFAS-free water treatment system, [Michael Crawford, chief operator of Collinsville’s water department.], never mind the operating costs.

* At 10:15 in Bradley, Gov. Pritzker will announce “one of the largest life sciences investments in Illinois History.” Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois 2026 GOP primary for governor features four candidates and one familiar face but big donors sit out: The result is a race between Bailey, Dabrowski, real estate developer and video gambling firm owner Rick Heidner and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick that is a largely low-key, low-budget affair as the candidates have been forced to seek out voters through GOP gatherings such as downstate Lincoln Day dinners and social media videos rather than television.

* NWI Times | Economists question both Indiana and Illinois Bears stadium subsidies: “Neither of these proposals offer net benefits to taxpayers. I’d expect the Bears are nervous about leaving Illinois, so Illinois can offer a bit less than Indiana in subsidies,” Ball State University Economist Michael Hicks said. “If this were a serious negotiation, it would’ve seen more legislative scrutiny.” The economic benefit of building a stadium that would host home games eight or nine times a year would be short-lived, Hicks said.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press release | Bernie Sanders endorses Karina Villa for Illinois Comptroller: State Senator Karina Villa is excited to announce that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed her campaign for IL State Comptroller. Karina is the only candidate in this race who has taken on the Trump Administration and campaigned on a working people’s agenda that rejects austerity and demands that MAGA billionaires and millionaires pay their fair share. She represents the values and principles that Senator Sanders has popularized throughout the nation and in Illinois: that is why he has endorsed her as the proven progressive who will use the authority of the IL Comptroller’s office not just to keep the books but to fight for the fully resourced public goods and services working families in IL deserve.

* The Daily Illini | Gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski discusses foreign enrollment, DEI, suing Champaign County: The DI: For the record, I’d like to note that I went ahead and I checked the numbers with Daniel Mann, who’s the University’s associate provost for enrollment management. He told me that the 37 students in the year 2000 only included undergraduates, while there are 6,231 students today including undergraduates, graduates and professional students. So in 2000, the total number of Chinese international students was actually 688, not 37. Does that change how you view this situation at all? […] Dabrowski: Right. Well no, it doesn’t. I mean obviously numbers matter and — if you know my work at Wirepoints, I’m pretty picky about getting those data points right. Right, so that only includes undergraduates. And graduate — we could have a different discussion about undergraduate and graduate. Not that that diminishes the whole discussion. But 600 to 6,000 it’s still — the point is, we could talk about the numbers, but the point is this.

* Jason Meisner…

Ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, 77, has been released to a halfway house in Chicago after serving about 5 months of his 18-month sentence in prison.
He's the first of the "ComEd Four" to be released.
background:
https://t.co/Ze4ozF3rLw pic.twitter.com/UpLHDsaPpy

— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) March 6, 2026

* Sun-Times | Illinois lawmakers look to Colorado program that, for $6 a day, gets help for people who are mentally ill: Jennifer Turner, the executive director of Bridges of Colorado, says the program allows for creative solutions in a judicial environment that’s typically viewed as black-and-white. With Bridges liaisons in court, judges in Colorado can look out from the bench and see a prosecutor on one side, a defense lawyer on the other and also someone whose job is to present options to address a defendant’s mental illness as part of a sentence.

* Tribune | South, southwest suburban legislators use campaign funds for legal fees: State Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort, and Reps. Robert “Bob” Rita, D-Blue Island, and Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, used campaign finance funds to cover attorneys fees in various legal matters last year, campaign finance reports show. The most recent campaign reports, detailing expenses between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, shows Hastings’ political committee, Citizens for Michael E Hastings, spent about $78,000 on attorneys fees.

*** Chicago ***

* NBC Chicago | DHS detains US citizen from Evanston at O’Hare, releases her in Wisconsin after nearly 2 days: Naqvi was born in Evanston and raised in the Chicago suburbs. A few weeks ago, she was set to travel overseas for a work trip with five other people. That group included three U.S. citizens and three green card holders, all in the U.S. legally. […] At some point, the family said, they lost Naqvi’s location that was being shared from her phone. Relatives said federal agents continued to tell them that Naqvi was not in custody, despite her location previously showing her at the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. “The cops were lying to our faces,” said Sarah Afzal, Naqvi’s sister. “We were asking them, ‘Hey, her location is here. We were in contact with her,’ and they kept being like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you.’”

* Sun-Times | Thousands gather to celebrate the life of Rev. Jesse Jackson at Chicago funeral: During an international tribute to Rev. Jackson in the Loop Thursday evening, former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez recalled the work the civil rights leader did to free him and two other soldiers from captivity during the Kosovo War. It was toward the end of President Clinton’s second term in office. He, Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone and Spc. Steven Gonzales were ambushed and captured March 31, 1999, by Serbian soldiers while they were on a routine NATO observation patrol near the Macedonian-Yugoslav border. “During that time, we still didn’t know what was going on but ultimately felt like they were going to just kill us,” Ramirez told several international dignitaries during the event.

* Crain’s | Small cities are a big part of the O’Hare expansion that alarmed the FAA: American accuses United of gaming the system, attempting to manipulate a relatively new provision of the lease agreement between the city and the carriers at O’Hare in which airlines are awarded gates used to load and unload passengers based on how much flying they did the previous year. United invoked the provision for the first time last year and won five new gates. American, which already had been increasing its schedule at O’Hare after a slow rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, lost four gates but is poised to win them back.

* Sun-Times | Obama Presidential Center’s opening date set for Juneteenth on South Side: Scheduled to open to the public on the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, the Obama Center includes a playground, green space, public art installations, a public forum and a Chicago Public Library branch. The campus connects to the Museum of Science and Industry as well as the Jackson Park lagoons. Most of it will be free, except for museum tickets. They’ll go on sale in May with pricing “in line with other Chicago cultural institutions,” foundation officials said.

* Block Club | ‘Women Who Built Chicago’ Bus Tour Highlights History Of City’s Trailblazers: “The Women Who Built Chicago” tour will be open to the public March 21, 22 and 28 and feature important women in the city’s history like singer Dinah Washington; co-founder of the DuSable Museum of African American History Margaret Burroughs; entrepreneur, philanthropist and activist Madame C.J. Walker and more.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Capital One to eliminate 1,139 jobs connected with former Discover facility in Riverwoods: The total includes 532 employees who work at the former Discover Financial facility, 2500 Lake-Cook Road. Sixty-nine employees are Illinois residents who work remotely and 538 are out-of-state residents who work remotely but ultimately report to Riverwoods-based teams, according to a Capital One spokesperson. Employees were notified Feb. 23. The first separations are expected to begin May 4 and the last on or about Oct. 1. The action covers 302 different job titles.

* Daily Herald | DuPage sheriff’s hopeful vows to continue campaign amid investigation, administrative leave: DuPage County Undersheriff Eddie Moore pledged Sunday to continue his campaign for sheriff, despite an investigation into reports he struck someone with his car last month and left the scene without contacting police. In a roughly 90-second video posted to his campaign’s Facebook page, Moore blamed “political attacks” for the allegations of wrongdoing, and accused rivals of dragging his wife, Brandi, into the fray.

* Crain’s | Amazon lines up 1 million-square-foot suburban warehouse deal with logistics firm: The McCook property is the largest Chicago-area lease signed by Crane, which also has a warehouse in northwest suburban Itasca. The firm last year announced multiple partnerships with Amazon, including switching Crane’s digital infrastructure to Amazon’s AWS platform and becoming the first major logistics provider to use Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite technology. Amazon last year completed a massive $11 billion data center project just west of South Bend, Ind., and in November announced plans to spend another $15 billion building data center campuses in northern Indiana, including near the Chicago area.

* Tribune | Supporters of Cook County’s guaranteed income program hold meeting to help shape distribution: In its 2026 budget, Cook County set aside $7.5 million to extend the guaranteed income program beyond the pilot, making it one of the first local governments in the country to commit to ongoing funding. Officials are crafting updated rules around applications, eligibility and program design, with a final plan expected this year. Cook County’s Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot, which launched using $42 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, gave 3,250 low- to moderate-income families $500 a month in no-strings-attached cash — meaning no work requirements or spending restrictions — for two years. More than 200,000 people put their names in when it launched. Payments began in December 2022 and continued through January 2025.

* Lake County News-Sun | Local Black Lives Matter founder resigning after viral fight video: ‘I take responsibility for my part’:
Nyesha Hill, an independent contractor hired to pursue grants, was already working for Black Lives Matter when the office opened on Sept. 24. On Oct. 24, the two of them got into a fight and exchanged blows. The altercation was recorded on internal surveillance cameras, according to a Jan. 26 Waukegan police report. […] “I sincerely apologize for the example that it set and for the disappointment it has caused,” McLemore said in his statement. “My conduct in that moment is not reflective of the mission or the values of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is rooted in respect for human dignity, accountability, and justice.”

* Tribune | $100 million Touhy Avenue improvement project breaks ground in Des Plaines: At nearly $100 million, it is the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways’ largest project to date, according to a release from the Cook County Board office, and aims to reduce congestion, improve safety and promote economic activity in the area. The project is slated for completion by the end of next year.

* Evanston Now | Reparations panel mulls hemp tax: There is already an impending federal ban on hemp-THC products that was included in the spending bill President Donald Trump signed last November to end the government shut down. That ban is set to go into effect this November. […] Additionally, Ruggie noted in her memo that delta-8 products are generally cheap, and any tax revenues collected would “likely be relatively small,” and there would be an “inevitable” legal challenge to the tax.

* Tribune | What has led to Northwestern’s success in women’s sports the last 20 years? ‘Winning can be contagious’: When it comes to women’s sports, the Wildcats have had a special run over the last 20 years, which also includes three NCAA quarterfinal finishes for the women’s tennis team under coach Claire Pollard. Individually, tennis players Cristelle Grier and Alexis Prousis won an NCAA doubles title in 2006, and platform diver Olivia Rosendahl won two NCAA championships in 2017-18. In the last five years, the team successes have been particularly notable as Northwestern has broken through for five national championships in three sports: field hockey, golf and lacrosse.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | McLean County Board to consider zoning changes related to potential AI data centers: With AI data center proposals already being debated in Central Illinois, including in Logan County and Pekin, some officials want to be ready if one finds its way to McLean County. The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday unanimously recommended an amendment that will now move to the county board next week. It includes language on where data centers can be located, and what is required if one is proposed in the county.

* WCIA | All officers, chief resign from Moweaqua Police Department: On Saturday, Shelby County Sheriff Brian McReynolds confirmed with WCIA that in addition to the Moweaqua Police Chief opting to leave the department, all of his officers have resigned. Village of Moweaqua Mayor Angela Locke previously told WCIA that Chief Christopher Hale resigned on Friday. This comes after multiple officers have left the department “over the last couple months,” Locke added. In the meantime, McReynolds added, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will respond to calls for service in Moweaqua as they always have when no police department officer is on duty. McReynolds said there was no further information he could provide.

* Capitol News Illinois | Carterville school employee placed on leave for sexual abuse over a year after FBI received tip: Sarah Barnstable, superintendent at Carterville Unit School District 5, said the Carterville Police Department had contacted the school at that time and notified school officials about an anonymous tip the FBI had received about a district employee. […] Barnstable said the district took action once it was notified last month by the sheriff’s office that investigators had opened a criminal investigation. The employee was immediately placed on administrative leave, she said.

* BND | E. coli found in drinking water of metro-east city that floods with sewage: The findings contradict test results from the city’s two water providers — private company Illinois American Water and the city of Cahokia Heights — whose own sampling outside homes has not detected E. coli in treated drinking water, according to public records from the past 15 years. The difference between what residents are finding at their faucets and what utilities are reporting has intensified longstanding worries about water quality, public health and whether state and federal regulators are doing enough to protect the community.

* WQAD | Several claiming leadership at the Rock Island County Republican Party found in contempt of court: The group voted in Patrick Peacock and filed paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections. They took control of the Facebook page, phone number, mail and bank account. Parchert filed for a temporary restraining order, but the judge told her to come back with an attorney. She raised money for legal counsel, then came back in February. The judge said she’d most likely win the case. “He issued an order of protection, a temporary order of protection, and they violated it,” Parchert said.