* Press release…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker, Nexamp, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) joined local leaders and partners to announce that Chicago will serve as Nexamp’s second national headquarters. As the nation’s largest community solar provider, Nexamp’s expansion in Illinois will create 50 new jobs as part of more than $2 billion in planned investments in the state through its existing projects and development pipeline.

“Illinois’s commitment to sustainable energy wouldn’t be possible without innovative companies like Nexamp—and their decision to open a Chicago headquarters underscores the role Illinois is playing in the national solar conversation,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “As solar energy companies like Nexamp expand throughout the Midwest, we see a ripple effect of job creation and skills-building that, just like clean energy itself, will benefit communities and generations for years to come.”

The Pritzker Administration’s landmark Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) served as a catalyst for Nexamp to choose Illinois for its second headquarters location. With more than 30 Fortune 500 company headquarters in Illinois, the State of Illinois is no stranger to welcoming companies from near and far that are ready to call Illinois their home.

“Thanks to Governor Pritzker’s leadership in securing the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in 2021, Illinois is our fastest growing market,” said Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai. “But the state is far more than just an attractive market for solar generation—for Nexamp, it’s a state which shares our vision of a cleaner, more equitable energy future powered by a diverse, equitable, and skilled workforce. As we sought a location for a second headquarters, Illinois was the natural choice because of our mutual interest in seeing clean energy work for - and do right by - everyone.”

* Campaign news…

Bailey was endorsed by the IFB in 2018 and in 2020.

* Here’s the rest…

* WBEZ | After caring for little ones, Illinois’ home-based child care providers often make minimum wage — or less: Despite her love for the job, Vance said she has struggled with keeping the business afloat over the years. She has had to take side jobs and use credit cards to make ends meet. After paying utilities, staff, taxes and other expenses, she said she only takes home a couple of thousand dollars monthly.

* Sun-Times | Clean energy firm Nexamp to build second headquarters in Chicago: The Boston company’s addition to Chicago marks the latest clean energy company to come to Illinois. Gotion, a Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer in September announced plans for a $2 billion lithium battery plant in Manteno on the site of a former Kmart distribution center, a factory that should create 2,600 jobs.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago migrants: Brandon Johnson to discuss crisis in special meeting with 25 suburban mayors: The meeting is set for Monday afternoon, and the mayors will discuss the current state of the area’s new arrival mission and coordination effort. Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso will be in that special meeting at 4 p.m., and he spoke with ABC7 on Monday morning. “I think all mayors want to be sure that their residents are safe and the migrants are safe, and that we have an understanding of how the process is going to work when migrants come,” Grasso said.

* WTTW | Repeated Police Misconduct by 141 Officers Cost Chicago Taxpayers $142.8M Over 4 Years: In 2022 alone, the city spent $51.5 million to resolve lawsuits that named 286 officers whose alleged misconduct more than once cost Chicago taxpayers money. The total for all officers in was 2022 nearly as much as the city spent to resolve lawsuits naming officers more than once between 2019 and 2020, according to the data.

* Sun-Times | Gaza cease-fire resolution vote to be postponed in City Council: In what she called the “interest of collaboration,” mayoral ally Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd) has agreed to the demand by more than two dozen colleagues to postpone Wednesday’s City Council vote on a resolution demanding a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

* Crain’s | Mayor appoints insurance exec to key post on World Business Chicago board: Mayor Brandon Johnson is elevating insurance executive Charles Smith to replace Mellody Hobson as vice-chair of World Business Chicago. Smith is the founder and CEO of CS Insurance Strategies. His appointment was announced Monday and is expected to be approved by the WBC board at its first-quarter meeting.

* Journal-Courier | Governor’s Mansion opening for tours of Illinois artwork: The mansion in Springfield will host art tours of Illinois-based artworks starting Sunday. The artwork on display has been curated by first lady M.K. Pritzker, the Illinois State Museum and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

* LA Times | Malls have rebounded thanks to an unlikely source: Gen Z: Retail experts say these young shoppers have helped malls bounce back after the downturn brought on by the pandemic, in part because the digital space has turned Gen Z into a generation that expects instant gratification. The immediacy of touching, trying out and buying products may be the thing driving them to physical stores.

* Sun-Times | Common hopes his wellness book can fuel a movement toward healthier living: Over the course of 209 pages broken out into four sections (food, body, mind and soul), there are words of wisdom he’s gleaned from many sources, like his integrative physician, Dr. Tracey Rico. He also offers practical ways forward — including plant-based recipes, workouts for all levels and even playlists of the tracks he listens to in the gym to get motivated — for anyone who wants to join what he hopes will become a movement.

* SJ-R | SJ-R’s Leisa Richardson named executive editor of two South Carolina newspapers: “My time in Springfield has been among the most rewarding of my career professionally and personally – thank you. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Richardson said. “The State Journal-Register and journalism play vital roles in this community. Please continue to support the work and the journalists who produce it.”

* NBC | Billions of cicadas will emerge in the U.S. this year in a rare double-brood event: This year’s dual emergence is a once-in-a-lifetime event. While any given 13-year brood and 17-year brood can occasionally emerge at the same time, each specific pair will see their cycles aligned only once every 221 years. What’s more, this year’s cicada groups, known as Brood XIII and Brood XIX, happened to make their homes adjacent to one another, with a narrow overlap in central Illinois.

* Texas Monthly | Houston Is Now Less Affordable Than New York City: For decades, Houston has been a city with one of the nation’s most pragmatic sales pitches: Move here for big-city opportunities at a small-city price. Not a fan of swarming mosquitoes, punishing hurricanes, and soul-melting moisture? What if I told you that you could barricade yourself away from all three inside a sprawling single-family home on one acre near good schools and golf courses for under $200k? Still not sold? Two words: “backyard grotto.”

* Tribune | Chicago-area man who sued women for badmouthing him on dating site convicted days later of tax fraud involving mob-connected sweepstakes kiosks: According to trial testimony, D’Ambrosio’s boss was Anthony DeMarco, of River Grove, who owns a company called Mac-T LLC specializing in sweepstakes machines, the quasi-legal gaming kiosks that critics say are designed skirt city laws banning video poker.