* ICYMI: House seats, Senate endorsement dispute dominate focus as Illinois primary nears. NBC Chicago…

- In the Democratic race for Senate, a new endorsement has sparked controversy.
- With days to go, Stratton said she received the endorsement of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died several weeks ago, raising questions from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and others.
- “I’ve talked to a couple of kids, they don’t know anything about it, so I don’t know. It is what it is, [US Rep. Robin Kelly] said.

* Related stories…

• Politico: But Rep. Jonathan Jackson, another son of the late Civil Rights leader, disputed Stratton’s assertion, saying neither he nor his mother knew of his father having made an endorsement in that race. “My father never got in on Black-on-Black fights,” the congressman told Playbook, referring to the Senate race. “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.”
• ABC Chicago: “I don’t know if I’m going to be getting an endorsement from the grave. So, someone was saying they’re looking through the history books to decide who should endorse me. But look, I think at this point again, I think ultimately, the endorsement that I seek is from the voters,” Krishnamoorthi said.

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Sponsored by the Illinois Nurses Association:

Bedside Nurses urge a “No” vote on HB4369. The Nurse Licensure Compact Act is being marketed as harmless “flexibility,” but Illinois nurses see the fine print. Championed by the right-wing Illinois Policy Institute, this proposal could subject Illinois nurses who provide reproductive and gender-affirming care to cross-state investigations or discipline for following Illinois law. It would also hand hospital corporations a powerful tool to import strikebreakers, undermining bedside caregivers fighting for safe staffing and fair contracts. Labor nurses across Illinois are united in opposition, and voters should ask why anyone who once stood with healthcare workers is now advancing a bill backed by corporate interests and right-wing think tanks.

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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* NYT | How Tragedy, Wealth and Trump Shaped JB Pritzker: “ Well, I abandoned AIPAC more than a dozen years ago. It was an organization that had at one time been bipartisan in nature and really all about preserving a strong relationship between the United States and Israel. But about a dozen years ago, the organization began to lean much more to the right and much more pro-Trump, who had then become a candidate for president, and that disturbed me greatly. AIPAC back then was not a PAC, I might add. It was a public affairs council; it didn’t have a political action committee that was giving money to candidates. But the organization became political. They created a super PAC. They began to get involved in elections directly and choosing to support candidates who were MAGA and right-wing and Trumpy. I just didn’t want anything to do with that.”

* Sun-Times | Chicago and suburban Democratic voters more likely to vote for candidates who fought ICE, poll finds: When voters were asked about ICE, 63% had an unfavorable view, while 31% had a favorable view. That broke down sharply by political parties, with 90% of Democrats viewing ICE unfavorably compared to 9% of Republicans. Among independents, the number was 62%. In Chicago, 75% of those polled overall had an unfavorable view of ICE. In the rest of Cook County, 62% of those polled viewed ICE unfavorably, and in surrounding counties, 56% had an unfavorable view of ICE.

*** Statewide ***

* Press release | Illinois State Museum invites Illinoisans to share stories for America 250: As the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence approaches, the museum is asking Illinoisans to contribute stories passed down through their families. Selected submissions may be featured in exhibitions, programs and social media as part of the museum’s America 250 initiative. The museum is seeking stories that have been told and retold within families over time. Participants can submit their stories by visiting the museum’s website and completing a short survey.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press release | Attorneys General Raoul and Bonta to announce legal action against Trump Administration over unlawful attempt to roll back fair housing protections: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and California Attorney General Rob Bonta will hold a virtual press conference at noon today, during which they will announce legal action against the Trump administration concerning its unlawful attempts to roll back fair housing protections. Live Stream: www.oag.ca.gov

* Patch | Frankfort Man Accused Of Sending Threatening Voicemails To Gov. JB Pritzker: Charges were filed by Illinois State Police on Thursday against Timothy Shemitis, 71, of Frankfort. According to the criminal complaint, Shemitis left “repeated voicemails over a short period of time containing threats to watch harm committed upon J.B. Pritzker” on Feb. 28. Shemitis called the “Voice an Opinion” line operated by the Governor’s Office of Constituent Affairs. The complaint states that Shemitis “used telephone communication for the purpose of making any comment…which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent, being statements containing racial epithets and/or calls for violence, with an intent to offend.”

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Chicago Housing Authority moves to revoke board member’s housing subsidy: The Chicago Housing Authority is trying to take away the housing subsidy it gives to one of its own board members, alleging longtime Commissioner Debra Parker was caught violating the rules of the agency’s voucher program, the Sun-Times and WBEZ have learned. […] A WBEZ investigation revealed in October that the housing authority had paid a total of more than $22 million to companies owned by Parker’s longtime boyfriend, her sister and her daughter.

* Sun-Times | Deadbeat Chicago developer owes another $1 million in back rent to the CTA, records show: A Goodman spokesman said he — through his firm Randolph Racine LLC — and the CTA are “now in advanced discussions, and we are confident we will reach an amicable solution to resolve all outstanding issues.” The company has contended the CTA owed it money, but Goodman wouldn’t answer questions on that claim. The current financial issues follow other money problems the Chicago Sun-Times detailed in 2024, at which time Goodman’s Sterling-Racine LLC, his company initially on the lease, was said to owe $25 million in fines for late fees — and another $1 million in property taxes.

* Sun-Times | 50+ mph winds, ’strong spring storm’ hitting Chicago, snow coming Monday: The National Weather Service warned that a “strong spring storm” was moving into the region Sunday and would stick around into Monday. The weather service issued a wind advisory for strong, southern winds as high as 50 mph to 65 mph from Sunday afternoon through the evening. Showers and thunderstorms, potentially severe, rolled through the Chicago area Sunday evening. After 6 p.m. the National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Cook County until 9:30 p.m. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for parts of north central Illinois, while a tornado warning was issued for parts of Gibson City and Elliot.

* Block Club | ‘BORGS’ Invade Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, Leaving Streets Lined With Empty Jugs: A BORG is a brightly-colored beverage typically made up of vodka, water, drink mix and some type of electrolyte formula meant to stave off hangovers. It is made in a gallon-sized jug that historically were more associated with milk consumption. […] The drink would see a meteoric rise among high schoolers and young college students through the 2010s, exploding in popularity on TikTok in the 2020s, particularly at fraternity “darties,” or day parties.

* Sun-Times | Chicago’s ‘rite of passage’: Crowds flock to watch river turn emerald green: The parade started with bagpipes and the booming of drums from the Shannon Rovers Bagpipe Band as spectators cheered and clapped. Mayor Brandon Johnson was on the parade’s front line and waved to dozens lined up along the parade’s starting point. Gov. JB Pritzker also marched in the parade.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | In Will County, a deluge of data centers, warehouses and solar farms: ‘All around us, all at once’: Disputes over data centers are playing out across the region in Aurora; Naperville; Yorkville; Hobart, Indiana; and Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. But in Will County, other developments are turbocharging the debates. […] The data center and the industrial-scale solar farms are new, as plans only surfaced in the last few months. But on Monday, the Joliet City Council could give final approval to the data center. Meanwhile, the community is struggling to regain its bearings.

* Daily Herald | Cook County Board president and assessor primaries among races to watch Tuesday: Reilly has called implementation of the new property tax billing system by vendor Tyler Technologies “an absolute disaster” that “wreaked havoc” on suburban governments. That includes schools and libraries, some of which had to take out loans with interest while waiting to receive their share of taxes from the county. But Preckwinkle said before she came into office in 2010, property taxes hadn’t gone out on time for more than 30 years, and no one else tried to fix the complicated system that used outdated technology. Though property tax bills went out late last year, she said the system is now in place and first installment 2025 tax bills have been mailed.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County Board OKs plans for fiscal year 2026 capital projects:
The Kane County Board has given the green light to a list of planned capital projects for fiscal year 2026, totaling a little under $7.2 million in work. This overall allocation to capital spending for the year was included as part of the county’s fiscal year 2026 budget, which was approved in November. Included in the approved capital spending are things like fire panel upgrades, kitchen and laundry improvements at the county’s jail, repairs to the new health building and HVAC equipment.

* Tribune | Transparency lacking in lucrative special prosecutor arrangements, attorneys say: “I’m going to tell you, this whole thing is messy,” Colon-Sayre said. “I’m just being honest, it is so messy.” The judge was speaking about a conflict that arose between defense attorneys representing alleged victims of police torture seeking to overturn their murder cases and the special prosecutors defending the convictions in place of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office: The special prosecutors were appointed by a judge to handle the cases because former State’s Attorney Kim Foxx recused her office to avoid an appearance of impropriety. But in a recent development, those special prosecutors have been contracted to perform work for the same prosecutor’s office that stepped aside, appointed by State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke to handle other post-conviction matters.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | Sangamon County voters to decide to fund a mental health board: Sangamon County voters will be asked if they want to see small increase to their sales tax on their primary ballots. The money would go towards the creation of a mental health board and to fund new programs for residents. According to state law, the tax and referendum must be established by voters before a board can be established. By voting in favor of the tax, one would be supporting the formation of a board. Adam White, who served on the staff of the Massey Commission, says, “There are a lot of municipalities, counties around the state that already have a mental health board. we are actually just trying to catch up.”

* IPM Newsroom | Her car was stolen and used in a homicide. Now she cannot get it back: In Illinois, victims who meet the criteria for a violent crime can apply for the Crime Victim Compensation Program to help offset financial losses and expenses caused by the crime. The program was created under the Crime Victims Compensation Act to provide support for Illinois residents whose lives have been disrupted by violent crime. It offers up to $45,000 in reimbursement for eligible applicants. Danielle Chynoweth, Cunningham Township supervisor, said she encourages victims who lack insurance coverage to seek help from state and local programs as soon as possible and connect with professionals who can help them negotiate with loan entities. “It is difficult to navigate that system while also dealing with the trauma of being a victim of a crime,” Chynoweth said.

* Sun-Times | Illinois a No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament, will face No. 14 Penn on Thursday in South Carolina: The Illini, 24-8, have been a Top 25 team all season. They cracked the top 10 in November, got there again in late January and stayed there throughout February, topping out at No. 5. But they’ve struggled over their last nine games, losing five of them — four in overtime, including a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal loss to Wisconsin at the United Center. Penn (18-11) — led by former longtime Iowa coach Fran McCaffery — was the surprise winner of the Ivy League tournament. The Illini-Quakers winner will meet North Carolina or VCU on Saturday.

* WAND | Railyard in Springfield hosts grand re-opening for 2026 season: The Railyard is an outdoor food court with open air seating, live music and locally-made food. Brad Martin, owner of Oakview Barbeque, said the Railyard provides an opportunity that can be rare for small business owners. “The costs add up for brick and mortar, that a lot of people don’t even realize are there,” said Martin. “This just gives you the opportunity to start out slow, and if you did want to go to brick and mortar down the road, you could, but [this can be] just to get your feet wet to start a small business and get into that.”

*** National ***

* CBS | Trump says he will ask Great Lakes officials to help with Asian carp prevention efforts: “I’m working with Governor Gretchen Whitmer on trying to save The Great Lakes from the rather violent and destructive Asian Carp, which is rapidly taking over Lake Michigan, and all of the beautiful surrounds,” a social media post that Mr. Trump issued on Truth Social said. “I’ll be asking other Governors to join into this fight, including those of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, New York and, of course, the future Governor of Canada, Mark Carney, who I know will be happy to contribute to this worthy cause.” […] The governor “reiterated Michigan’s commitment to the Brandon Road project to prevent invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes and damaging the region’s economy. We need funding released so the Army Corps can begin construction as soon as possible,” her staff said.

* WaPo | Trump’s cancellation of licenses for immigrant truckers takes effect: Those with valid commercial driver’s licenses will lose their driving privileges as their licenses expire, not immediately.[…] About 200,000 immigrants in the United States hold about 5 percent of all commercial driver’s licenses, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

* AP | New MLB union head says 2027 work stoppage could disrupt plans for big leaguers at 2028 Olympics: Meyer said a lost 2027 season would eliminate big leaguers from the 2028 Olympics. “If we don’t have a season, we’re not going to play in the Olympics,” he said. MLB has not lost regular-season games due to a labor dispute since 1995.