* ICYMI: Staffing agencies not exempted from antitrust law, state Supreme Court rules. Capitol News Illinois…

-The decision comes 3 ½ years after Attorney General Kwame Raoul sued a trio of staffing agencies, alleging they used their mutual client to coordinate no-poach agreements, which created a secondary agreement to pay temp staffers less than the market rate.

-In a unanimous 20-page opinion published Friday, the justices quoted a 1979 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that said some agreements “are so plainly anticompetitive that they are conclusively presumed illegal without further examination under the rule of reason generally applied in (antitrust law) cases.”

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Sun-Times | Pritzker joins Democratic governors asking Biden, Congress for migrant aid and to fix ‘outdated’ immigration system: Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday joined the Democratic governors of eight other states in asking President Joe Biden and Congress to “quickly negotiate” a border security agreement that includes funding for states and cities that are receiving thousands of migrants. “As Governors representing over 100 million Americans, we write to call on Washington to work together to solve what has become a humanitarian crisis,” the letter, led by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, reads.

* Chronicle | Petition challenge withdrawn, Greenwood vs. Schmidt rematch back on track: There was no such fanfare in January, however, when objector Wavey T. Lester, a former state senate candidate from Milstadt, backed down and withdrew the objection. In order for the objection to have been sustained, an Illinois State Board of Elections hearing officer would have had to have found that fully two-thirds of the more than 1,600 signatures Greenwood had submitted were fraudulent or otherwise legally defective.

Governor Pritzker will be in Blue Island at 10 am for a ribbon cutting for the new Unlimited Potential DCFS Women’s Transitional House. Click here to watch.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* WICS | Illinois private institutions receive $400 million in capital grants from the IBHE: The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) has awarded $400 million in grants through the Independent Colleges Capital Investment Grant Program to 45 institutions of higher education in Illinois in partnership with the Illinois Capital Development Board.

* Vermillion County First | Schweizer Touched by Friendliness of Fellow Legislators During First Week in Springfield: I just kind of assumed it was, like in high school you had your own cliques that you were hanging out with. But, it was not that. Everybody there was really nice. I spoke with a lot of folks on the other side of the aisle, great individuals. And I really look forward to getting back down there, and introducing my own legislation that fits into by own core values.

* IPM | One in 10 students skips or reduces meals to save money. Some Illinois lawmakers want to help: Champaign-Urbana State Representative Carol Ammons says she’s trying to free up state funding for students who can’t afford their meal plans. “They would have a gift card for that store down the street from the campus. We’re trying to shape this to make it flexible enough so students have a way to access these dollars,” Ammons said.

* Crain’s | Johnson in no hurry to replace Ramirez-Rosa as zoning chair: The committee’s vice-chair, freshman Ald. Bennett Lawson, 44th, has chaired two meetings of the body in his place and will run a third on Jan. 23. The City Council must vote on a new chair, so the position is going to remain vacant until at least the February meeting of the body.

* Crain’s | Feds order city to promote, pay Midway whistleblower: The U.S. Department of Labor found that Michael Conway, an airfield-operations employee, was protected by whistleblower rules six years ago when he complained that a supervisor wrongly pressured him to report that a runway was dry, rather than wet, at the request of Southwest Airlines.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ‘better deal’ with NASCAR is a handshake agreement to pay city an extra $2 million: The additional $2 million is still short of the more than $3.5 million in overtime and construction costs various city departments spent on the inaugural race last summer. Those costs included $2.16 million from the city’s Transportation Department on road improvements and extra pay, $1.4 million in police OT and $50,000 in OT for city emergency management workers.

* Daily-Journal | Schroeder, former Iroquois Co. board chair, dies: Schroeder died Jan. 10 at Loyola University Medical Center following an extended illness. He was 80. The former 24-year Iroquois County Board member, who represented the Papineau Township region, which bumped up against the Kankakee County line, also served the final nearly 11 years as board chairman.

* WREX | Rockford kicks off Barbershop Project offering free haircuts and mental health talks: Organized by Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara’s Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention, the Barbershop Project kicked off its support for community mental health. The project utilizes local barbers and beauticians trained by the city for mental health conversations by the city. Helpers like Jermane Robinson packed the Comprehensive Community Solutions building for the free haircut event.

* Pantagraph | Seasoned meats, seafood and Southern hospitality at Wesley’s Grill: Owned by head chef Wesley Knight, the restaurant began offering carryout and delivery in February 2021 before expanding to dine-in service in November. “I think customers enjoy the experience and the hospitality; they know I’m trying to take care of them,” Knight said. “I want to make them happy and give them an experience they haven’t had before.”

* Tribune | Suspect wanted in fatal shooting of 8 in Joliet found dead after confrontation with US Marshals in Texas, police say: Medina County Sheriff officials received a call that Romeo Nance was heading into their county, according to a post on their social media page around 10 p.m. After a standoff at Chubby’s gas station in Natalia, Nance sustained “self inflicted gunshot wounds,” officials wrote in the post. He died around 8:30 p.m., Joliet police said.

* Daily Herald | Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg says he has metastatic prostate cancer: The 64-year-old Sandberg said Monday in a release put out by the Baseball Hall of Fame that he has started treatment. “I am surrounded by my loving wife Margaret, our incredibly supportive family, the best medical care team, and our dear friends,” Sandberg said. “We will continue to be positive, strong, and fight to beat this. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time for me and my family.”

* Crain’s | ‘Great Lakes Fish Pledge’ pushes companies to grow revenue, reduce waste: Kendall College culinary students spent an afternoon turning Great Lakes walleye into the kind of fare you might find at a fancy restaurant rather than at a church basement fish fry. They served up walleye fish cakes, walleye croquettes and walleye served with rice pilaf and coconut curry. These dishes were on the menu during a Jan. 22 cook-off challenge designed to come up with creative uses for the whole fish — head to tail. Student chefs couldn’t use filets and were encouraged to use the 60% of the fish that’s usually discarded or used for cheap animal feed. The event promoted reducing waste and wringing more revenue from each fish caught in the Great Lakes.

* Daily-Journal | Quakes alive: Frost quakes grab attention from Limestone to St. Anne: The recent extreme cold led to what was likely a series of frost quakes in the Kankakee County region. Unique weather and ground conditions cause some to hear extreme loud booming sounds one week ago.