* Bost v. Bailey fundraising update…

* That’s a lot of money…

* Tribune reporters are on the picket line today, here’s some coverage from X…

The @CTGuild on the picket line today pic.twitter.com/rl7IaGP2IW

— Sam Charles (@samjcharles) February 1, 2024

* NBC Chicago…

A boil order has been issued in Dixmoor following two water main breaks, according to the Village President, bringing more issues to the suburb frequently plagued by interruptions to water service.

According to Village President Fitzgerald Roberts, the breaks occurred near the intersections of 141st Street/Wood Street and 141st Street/Page Street.

The two breaks on Wednesday add to what has been a consistent issue for Dixmoor in recent days, with nine separate water main breaks occurring in the past week.

Governor Pritzker was asked about that during today’s press conference…

I haven’t been briefed, although the county commissioner from the area just walked up to me and told me about those water main breaks. And I assured her that we will work on that immediately.

Obviously, much of the infrastructure in the south suburbs, water infrastructure particularly, is so old and hasn’t been replaced. As far as I understand more than 60 years. So we’ve been doing it rapidly as we could within the context of our infrastructure bill. But obviously when you’ve got emergencies like this, we need to make sure that we’re assisting in every way we can.

Meanwhile, the village of Thayer, south of Springfield, has had at least five water main breaks in the last two weeks.

* Here’s the rest…

* WTTW | While Many in Illinois Prisons Need Medication for Opioid Use Disorders, Advocates Say System Slow to Provide: The medications have been found to have a 50% reduction in mortality rate for patients in long-term treatment, meaning people are less likely to die than when untreated. “Medication for opiate use disorder is one of the closest things we have to a miracle drug,” said Justin Berk, director of the Jail and Prison Opioid Project, a project that catalogs which facilities nationwide provide such medications.

* BND | 3 issues that may threaten student safety, according to metro-east educators and law enforcement: The presentations that followed focused on mental health, substance abuse, online exploitation and grooming. Donna Nahlik, director of prevention and community education at Chestnut Health Systems, spoke about substance use and how it affects students and schools as well as the myriad programs Chestnut provides for youth, which includes prevention curriculum in partnership with local districts.

* Bloomberg | Chicago’s wealthiest raise $66 million for fight against crime: Donors including the Crown and Pritzker family foundations contributed just over 30% of the $200 million the business community will need for an initiative to reduce gun violence. The fundrasing effort is being led by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, which includes senior leaders from companies including McDonald’s, Ulta Beauty and Morningstar.

* WTTW | CPS Proposes Delaying First Day of 2024-25 School Year With Democratic National Convention Coming to Chicago: “This shift not only accommodates the city’s logistical needs as they relate to the influx of Conventiongoers, but it also allows time for students to attend, volunteer, and participate in the civic process of hosting the Convention,” the district said in a statement.

* ABC Chicago | Former administrator sues suburban school district over alleged racial discriminationi: Administrators and teachers took photos with the doll, which appears to be based on rapper Snoop Dogg, with fake money and drug paraphernalia attached. […] Gibson alleges he complained and the administrator who actually brought the doll into the office was put in charge of Gibson’s review which led to the district not renewing Gibson’s contract.

* WBEZ | A new FAFSA setback means many college financial aid offers won’t come until April: This new, four-to-six-week delay puts schools in a difficult bind as colleges can’t determine what financial aid students should get until they receive the government’s FAFSA data. There is some good news: One big reason for the delay is that the department is fixing a $1.8 billion mistake in the FAFSA that could have especially hurt lower-income students. Proceeding without a fix would have, at best, confused many lower-income borrowers. At worst, it would have taken money out of their pockets and likely discouraged some from enrolling in college.

* Shaw Local | GOP congressional candidates in 11th District differ on immigration, gun control : The U.S. should end chain migration for families and eliminate the green card lottery, which formally is called the diversity immigrant visa program. Mercado said he also opposes amnesty “as a mass cure for this.” As for gun control, Mercado said he supports universal background checks for would-be firearms buyers.

* Sun-Times | Ventra app crashes on first day of new Metra fares, closed ticket windows: In the meantime, riders can show their frozen app to Metra employees in order to get on the train. “Basically we’re telling customers to show their screen, show that it’s frozen and letting them ride,” Reile said. “Our conductors are aware.”

* Crain’s | Chicago museums remove Native American items following new rules from feds: On Jan. 10, the Field Museum announced it had covered up several display cases that featured Native American cultural items. The Art Institute of Chicago told Crain’s that it will be removing “several” Native American archaeological artifacts currently on display in its galleries. The Museum of Science & Industry said it will not be affected by the new regulations.

* Daily Dot | Mark Cuban says X is ‘impossible’ to use, shares barrage of daily antisemitism his account gets: Cuban in recent weeks has drawn the ire of conservatives and far-right activists due to his support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), a set of policies that aim to promote the representation and participation of different groups of individuals in business regardless of factors such as age, race, or ethnicity. Cuban told the Daily Dot that the reposts represented only a small fraction of the hateful content he’s received on X, “the only platform” where he says he has experienced anti-Semitism.