* SJ-R…

The federal trial of former state senator and gubernatorial candidate William “Sam” McCann on wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion was on hold Monday after McCann was said to be in the hospital.

Court documents indicate that McCann’s standby counsel, Jason Vincent, informed Central District Judge Colleen Lawless that McCann’s wife told him that he had been admitted to the hospital and would be undergoing a procedure Monday.

Lawless then asked the Central District’s probation office to look into the matter, asking all those involved from McCann to his wife and the hospital to provide proof of his hospitalization. If needed, they could ask for a subpoena if they ran into resistance.

* Illinois Fraternal Order of Police press release…

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) State Lodge has issued a statement regarding Illinois House Bill 4603, proposed legislation that would prohibit law enforcement officers from stopping vehicles for infractions such as speeding, improper lane usage, obstructed windshields, defective headlights, expired registration stickers, or failure to wear safety belts. Evidence obtained in any of these instances would also be deemed inadmissible in court. The bill was pulled from immediate consideration by its sponsor, Rep. Justin Slaughter, after a public outcry against it, but the legislation is still alive in the House Rules Committee:

“Of all the anti-police laws we have seen in recent years, this truly takes the pro-criminal cake,” said Illinois FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood. “How many lives will be lost if we can’t stop dangerous drivers? Such a law will only benefit lawbreakers, and common sense must have taken a vacation when this bill was drafted. Thankfully, the howls of indignation over this preposterous piece of legislation forced the sponsor to remove it from immediate consideration, but the bill is still far from dead. We urge the members of the Illinois General Assembly to never let such a potential legal lunacy rear its unhinged head.”

* It’s not often you see a poll that has 70 percent of Americans agreeing on anything…

* News from DC…

* Here’s the rest…

* SJ-R | Democrat, Republican lawmakers give support to bipartisan estate tax reform: State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, and Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington are leading identical legislation — Senate Bill 2921 and House Bill 4600 — in both chambers. As Chung explained, the legislation also would allow for the surviving spouses to receive any unused exemption amount and provide a pathway for the next generation to hold on to the family farm.

* Play Illinois | Illinois iGaming Bill Shows Signs Of Life, Assigned To Gaming Committee: A stalled bill from 2023 that would legalize Illinois online casinos has regained a pulse. House Bill 2239, which was first introduced by Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, Jr. in February 2023, was recently assigned to the House Gaming Committee. Before that, there had been no activity on the bill since March 2023.

* The Pantagraph | Illinois’ partially-open primaries help political parties, discourage some from participating: Under the letter of Illinois election law, any registered voter showing up to vote in a primary must state their “name, residence and party affiliation” to the precinct’s election judges. Next, one of those officials “shall thereupon announce the same in a distinct tone of voice, sufficiently loud to be heard by all persons in the polling place.” This language has been present in Illinois’ election code since before women gained the franchise in 1920. Like many other antiquated laws, this dramatic reading no longer takes place in practice at modern-day polling places.

* Capitol News Illinois | Copays take effect for immigrant health programs as cost estimates continue to decline: Advocates for the programs contend they are not only lifesaving but also cost-saving in the long-run as they give individuals access to preventative care rather than making them reliant upon expensive emergency room visits to treat conditions that worsen due to lack of care. Opponents of the programs, namely Republican lawmakers, have criticized them as an expensive enticement for people illegally residing in the U.S. to relocate to Illinois.

* Tribune | Inmate’s release 25 years ago paved way for Illinois ban on executions, but death penalty debate continues nationwide: Twenty-five years after the dramatic freeing of Porter, executions in the United States have been on an uptick for the past several years, although nowhere near as prevalent as they had been historically. Last year, 24 people were executed nationwide, compared to 18 in 2022 and 11 in 2021, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, a criminal justice nonprofit based in Washington D.C. In 1999, the year Porter was released from custody, 98 executions had occurred across the country, the most of any year since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report. Two of the executions in 1999 were carried out in Illinois.

* The Telegraph | County looking at public camping ordinance: Madison County officials are considering emulating Alton, which recently passed an ordinance dealing with camping on public property. […] Under the ordinance, approved in November and set to take effect six months from then, it would be unlawful for people to camp on any public street, bridge, par, public property or public area where that activity would obstruct or interfere with the intended use of the property.

* Tribune | Chicago police sergeant involved in two controversial fatal shootings now running for Cook County judge: Sgt. John Poulos, who is also a licensed attorney, is running for a vacant North Side judicial seat against three opponents: local attorneys Michael Zink and Nickolas Pappas, and Nadine Jean Wichern, chief of the civil appeals division in the Illinois attorney general’s office. At the end of last year, thanks primarily to loans from his wife, Poulos had about $500,000 in his campaign coffers, far more than his three challengers combined.

* WGN | Lake County Sheriff Martinez Jr. pleads guilty to reckless driving: The sheriff was indicted on Jan. 6, 2022 after being accused of fleeing from Crown Point police on Sept. 18, 2021. A felony charge of resisting law enforcement was dropped in exchange for pleading guilty to reckless driving, a misdemeanor.

* Chalkbeat | As Chicago gets its first elected school board, Local School Councils may become a proving ground for candidates: Chicago’s LSCs are unique and powerful. There’s nothing quite like them in other school districts across the U.S. The Chicago School Reform Act of 1988 established that every CPS-run school would have a Local School Council. Today LSCs are made up of six parents, two teachers, two community members, a student representative, and the school’s principal.

* Robert Vargas | Chicago shouldn’t renew its ShotSpotter contract: As Chicago decides whether to renew its contract for SoundThinking’s gunshot detection technology called ShotSpotter, it is essential to weigh the evidence, as city leaders do with public safety interventions like CRED. The city granted an extension to the ShotSpotter contract last summer and must decide whether to renew the contract no later than February.

* Crain’s | Alden Global Capital-linked firm emerges as a top delinquent tax buyer: A venture that shares an address with a nonprofit led by Alden’s co-founder was a top buyer of unpaid taxes in the annual auction held by the Cook County treasurer’s office in January, buying about $1.75 million worth of delinquent taxes on more than 600 properties, according to data provided by the Cook County treasurer’s office under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Including paying the taxes, interest and administrative fees, the firm spent almost $2.4 million to be the fifth-largest buyer in this year’s auction by number of properties purchased, records show.

* ABC Chicago | Metra train riders continue to report problems with Ventra app Monday: “When I first got on the train, the app was working fine,” Metra rider Ed Svaldi said. “And then about halfway through they said the app was down they’re having issues and I when I went to go do it again to take the tickets it wasn’t working.” Monday morning’s commute was the true test of the system after last week’s ticketing nightmare when the Ventra app crashed as Metra rolled out a new fare structure on February 1.

* Streetsblog | Study: Subsidizing Transit Actually Makes It More Efficient: In a fascinating recent analysis, researchers found that metro areas that received more government subsidies per capita were more likely to run buses and trains with lots of passengers on board, rather than running inefficient, wasteful routes with just a few heavily subsidized riders per vehicle.

* WBEZ | Household income and education levels are on the rise in most parts of Chicago: Between the five-year periods ending in 2012 and 2022, the median household income in Chicago grew from $59,000 to more than $71,000 in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars. For Cook County, median household income improved from about $68,000 to more than $78,000.

* CBS Chicago | “Skilling It” and “CTRL-SALT-DELETE” top winners of Chicago’s second snowplow naming contest: Signs bearing the winning snowplow names will now be attached to one snowplow in each of the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation’s six snow districts. The people who first submitted each of the winning names also will get a photo opportunity with the snowplow they named.

* Chicago Mag | Someone Has to Wear the Jacket: “Wear the jacket” is a uniquely Chicago phrase. It means to take the blame, or to take the fall, and it generally applies to an underling whose career is sacrificed to save his boss’s skin. In an episode of the Sun-Times’s “Chicagopedia,” columnist Neil Steinberg explained the term’s origin

* Block Club | Chicago’s South Side Wins Big At The Grammy Awards: Englewood native Lil Durk received the Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his single “All My Life,” featuring hip-hop superstar J. Cole. This was Durk’s first Grammy win out of four nominations and Cole’s second; his first was from his feature on “a lot” with 21 Savage back in 2020.

* Daily Mail | SNL jokes Gaza has called for a ceasefire in CHICAGO, after crime-ridden metropolis’ progressive mayor passed controversial resolution: Even Saturday Night Live is poking fun at the Windy City after the crime-ridden metropolis’ progressive mayor passed a controversial resolution this week. SNL’s Weekend Update host Michael Che quipped, ‘Chicago became the U.S.’ largest city to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.’ He then continued with the punchline, ‘And in return, Gaza called for a ceasefire in Chicago.’