* Sun-Times| Pritzker urges Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop migrant dropoffs amid winter storm: ‘I plead with you for mercy’: “We’re trying to prevent those companies from leasing their planes to the state of Texas. You can’t, in general, you can’t tell a group a people or an aircraft that it can’t come somewhere,” Pritzker said. “On the other hand, there are lots of things that I think would be a significant deterrent and they already are working.” Last year, the state tried coordinating with bus operators and organizations at the border to try to gauge the timing of dropoffs. Results of that effort were mixed.

* WGLT | Immigration advocate says dozens of bused migrants are already living in McLean County : Charlotte Alvarez, executive director of the Immigration Project based on Normal, said between 75 and 100 people transported north from the southern border since 2022 either got off a bus in McLean County, or came here after leaving a migrant processing center. She said that’s a sign the community can support more asylum seekers if they came here.

* BND | Ethics adviser recommends sanctions for Madison County Board chairman over business cards: Madison County’s ethics adviser is recommending that the County Board sanction Chairman Kurt Prenzler for handing out “campaign-style” business cards while on the job. Adviser Bruce Mattea, a Collinsville attorney, stated in an investigative report that Prenzler violated a county ethics ordinance when he gave the cards to a vendor working at the county administration building last fall and to an assistant state’s attorney.

* ABC Chicago| Supreme Court ruling could affect hundreds charged in Jan. 6 Capitol attack: An Illinois man is the first Jan. 6 rioter to be released from prison while awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could derail dozens of prosecutions, the ABC7 Chicago I-Team has learned. Tom Adams, 42, of Springfield has been released early from a federal penitentiary while the high court looks at what happened three years ago and answers the question: “Is this obstruction?”

* Cain’s | Real estate transfer tax referendum campaign heating up: But the official account could soon be dwarfed by an independent expenditure committee led by campaign veteran Greg Goldner, founder of Resolute Public Affairs. Goldner has run dark-money campaigns in Illinois politics for over a decade, including two efforts last year that spent almost $400,000 in support of U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s fourth-place finish in Chicago’s mayoral race before spending just under $900,000 in opposition to Johnson in his runoff race against Paul Vallas. According to sources familiar with his pitch, Goldner has asked developers for six-figure sums. Goldner confirmed to Crain’s he’ll be involved in the opposition campaign, saying the tax changes have “implications well beyond a few nice homes in the city.”

* Tribune | First lady Jill Biden, Halle Berry stop at UIC to promote women’s health research: First lady Jill Biden traveled to the University of Illinois at Chicago Thursday to tout a White House initiative to expand research on women’s health issues that include menopause. Biden was joined by actress Halle Berry in speaking about the historical lack of investment in women’s health research nationwide.

* Lake County News-Sun | Former North Chicago officer receives $475K settlement in suit against city: The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Thursday said it negotiated the settlement on behalf of Ramtin Sabet. Sabet, who joined the North Chicago police department in 2007, faced “relentless harassment” on the job based on his Iranian background and Muslim religion, according to CAIR. The hostile work environment led to Sabet’s termination in 2016, CAIR said.

* WCIA | USDA grants to increase ethanol-based fuel at IL gas stations: The funds come as a result of the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, a byproduct of the Inflation Reduction Act. U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the program will help install more dispensers and storage tanks at gas stations across the state.

* Sun-Times | Expensive program to get high-risk teens back in school is off to a slow start: According to a new University of Chicago analysis, Back to Our Future is struggling to connect with the kids targeted by the program. And even those who sign up are not participating at the intended level. In the first pilot year, 446 students joined the program, 32 students have completed high school, and another 71 students have reengaged in school, according to CPS.

* CBS | Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois kicks off 2024 Cookie Season: Consumers can now order from the iconic cookie lineup and support local girl entrepreneurs earning funds that fuel amazing experiences in the outdoors, STEM, and beyond. Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois kicked off the 2024 Girl Scout Cookie season, the annual event in which Girl Scouts unbox their futures as young female entrepreneurs through the world’s largest entrepreneurial program for girls.

* Block Club | Here Are 17 Ways To Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day This Year: Want to give the family a fun and productive Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Chicago has plenty of options. There are basketball tournaments, panel discussions, family days, skate parties, sing-alongs and more being held to honor the civil rights leader and Baptist minister, born January 15 nearly 100 years ago.

* Axios | States’ big 2024 health plans: Workforce support and cheaper drugs: As state legislatures get back to work across the country, state policymakers are eying measures to bolster their burned-out health care workforces, make prescription drugs more affordable and reform their Medicaid programs. Policymaking in Washington tends to slow down in a presidential election year, and the current Congress — so far the least productive in decades — has struggled to advance even bipartisan health measures.

* Crain’s | More than 1,000 flights canceled at O’Hare, Midway: At O’Hare, 391 departures, or 39%, and 374 arrivals, or 37%, had been scrapped. Midway had 140 departure cancellations, or 50% and 136, or 56%, for arriving flights, according to FlightAware.