* ICYMI:Ambitious plan aims to raise $400 million to halve Chicago shootings, homicides in 5 years. Sun-Times…

- Leaders of the city’s business community and largest charitable foundations said the fundraising goal is roughly double the current spending on violence-prevention programs that serve the city’s most-violent neighborhoods.
- The target of 50% fewer murders from last year would put the city at less than 400

* Related stories…

∙ WBEZ: Shootings of Chicago students prompts push for anti-violence workers in high schools
∙ Crain’s: Pritzker dismisses significance of city’s cease-fire resolution

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Sun-Times | In Illinois politics, remaps keep the powerful in power: The Chicago Sun-Times, WBEZ and the University of Chicago are examining the challenges to American democracy as part of the Democracy Solutions Project. The state’s redistricting ritual — largely carried out behind closed doors — most recently led two downstate districts to elect more extreme candidates while protecting and enhancing Democratic powers in other areas of the state. And while the dust settles on the last remap, there are already advocates plotting the 2030 map and pushing for reform.

* WAND | Illinois lawmakers could cap monthly inhaler costs this spring: “We estimate that about 1.4 million people in Illinois have chronic lung disease, so asthma and COPD,” said Kristina Hamilton, Illinois advocacy director for the American Lung Association. The bill could cap the monthly cost of prescription inhalers at $25. People needing multiple inhalers per month would only pay $50. This change will not prevent health plans that already allow people to pay much lower co-pays.

* CNI | Democratic leaders poised to revisit Biometric Information Privacy Act after court rulings: State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, a high-ranking member of the Senate, said the proposal he filed this week strikes a balance between business groups’ concerns over the law and its original intent. “We think that the security restrictions embedded in (the law) are very important and we want to keep them in place, but we do want to address the way liability accrues so that businesses are not unfairly punished for technical violations of the act,” he said.

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* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Sun-Times | Eileen O’Neill Burke would lose $211,000 yearly pension if elected Cook County state’s attorney. Here’s why: The law doesn’t let officeholders collect pensions based even in part on past work for the same government agency. So O’Neill Burke would have to give up her pension for as long as she’d be in that office.

* Sun-Times | Illinois incumbents in Congress have fundraising advantage over rivals heading into March primary: Once again — and this has been the case for years — the champion fundraiser among House members from Illinois is U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who collected $5,529,137 in 2023 and who has a balance of $15,360,692. He’s one of the top fundraisers in the entire Congress. As I’ve reported previously, Krishnamoorthi is stockpiling cash for a potential Senate run. Krishnamoorthi faces no primary Democratic opponent in his northwest suburban 8th Congressional District.

* Block Club | The Strokes Playing Chicago Show To Benefit Kina Collins Campaign: The Grammy Award-winning rock band is performing March 8 at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Credit Union 1 Arena with local indie band Beach Bunny and musician NNAMDI, according to a news release. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday.

* Illinois Times | Doing more for the homeless: The police department “wants to be part of the solution,” said Newman, the department’s homeless outreach team coordinator. “We don’t want to criminalize homelessness.”Newman and Allen said much more needs to be done. For example, Newman said there needs to be two or three more homeless outreach officers and more social workers such as Allen so all shifts can be staffed.

* Lake and McHenry County Scanner | 150 Lake County Jail inmates now housed in McHenry County Jail under new agreement amid staffing shortage: With current employee vacancies, staff on leave for medical and family reasons and other absences, the Lake County Sheriff’s Corrections Division is down nearly 40% of its normal staffing levels.

* Sun-Times | Johnson’s clout on the line with Bring Chicago Home referendum: The stakes are high for Johnson. He campaigned on a promise to create a dedicated funding source to help 68,000 unhoused Chicagoans. It’s something his predecessor promised, but failed to deliver. That broken promise by Lori Lightfoot alienated her progressive political base, contributing to her defeat last year.

* Sun-Times | Ald. Greg Mitchell accused of threatening building owner who housed migrants: A finger-pointing Mitchell then “threw papers off his desk and stood up and looked down on me and screamed at the top of his lungs. [He said], `You better watch your f—-ing ass walking around my ward because you are no longer safe.’ Then, he said, `You have a f—ing CHA contract, don’t you? Consider that terminated. After I make one phone call, you can kiss that s–t goodbye.”

* Crain’s | 180 laid off from University of Chicago Medical Center: In a statement to Crain’s, University of Chicago Medicine, the operator of the hospital, confirmed the cuts, which represent about 1% of the organization’s total workforce. The health system declined to disclose specific roles affected but said the majority are not direct patient facing.

* Crain’s | Judge denies abortion-rights group’s protest permit ahead of DNC: Last month, the grassroots organizations filed for a parade permit to march downtown on Michigan Avenue on Aug. 18, the day before the DNC convention kicks off. The city denied that permit request, arguing the proposed route would interfere with traffic, and suggested an alternative route on Columbus Drive between Roosevelt Road and Jackson Drive. Coalition members balked at the city’s proposal, which they believed gave protesters little visibility to the convention’s delegates, and appealed the decision.

* AP | Indiana legislation could hold back thousands of third graders who can’t read: Republicans have balked at those who have labeled the measure a “retention bill,” saying students need the intervention now. “Retention is the absolute last resort if we’ve exhausted all other methods to help struggling readers,” the bill’s author, state Sen. Linda Rogers, told lawmakers.

* SJ-R | ‘Doc’ Temple at 100: Still writing, Lincoln historian is ‘a phenomenon’: Temple, one of the preeminent Lincoln historians, turns 100 on Monday. He will celebrate with a party his fellow Masons and some historians are throwing for him. A sought-after lecturer, Temple has written more than 20 books, mostly on Lincoln covering everything from his military service to his religious beliefs. Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln biographer, the late David Herbert Donald, called Temple’s “Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic to Prophet” the “best book ever written about Lincoln’s religious views.”

* WGN | WGN names Demetrius Ivory as chief meteorologist: “I’m so excited for Demetrius,” commented Tom Skilling, current Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV. “Through weather stormy, sunny, and everything in between, Demetrius has delivered accurate, compelling forecasts. He has a huge rapport with the audience. I’ve been honored to have him by my side during severe breaking weather coverage over this past decade. I wish him my sincerest congratulations. He will be fantastic!”

* KFVS | World Shooting Complex in Sparta to host Grand American through 2036: “I’m thrilled we were able to extend this contract for another decade,” IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie said in a release. “The ATA Grand is a premier event and an important economic driver for Randolph County and southern Illinois. It’s a privilege to host the Grand at the World Shooting Complex, and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the ATA.” The Grand American is the largest and oldest shooting event of its kind. According to a release from the IDNR, it features more than 20 events and brings in more than 5,000 competitors and spectators from around the world.

* AP | Puppy Bowl turns 20: Puppy Bowl, the original and longest running call-to-adoption television event, is turning 20 and this year it will feature 131 puppies, 73 shelters and rescues across 36 states and territories.