* ICYMI: Pritzker, Johnson, Preckwinkle meet to discuss Chicago asylum-seekers. NBC Chicago…

- Mayor Brandon Johnson is expected to give an update today.
- Governor Pritzker said the meeting was productive and that the three officials got along well during the conversation.
- There are 13,442 asylum-seekers currently living in 28 active shelters. There are a total of 41 currently awaiting placement in those shelters, including 34 at the landing zone and four more in Chicago police buildings.

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Capitol News Illinois | Former GOP lawmaker’s trial again delayed amid last-minute hospitalization: McCann had been granted an extension of his trial in late November after ditching his court-appointed attorney the morning opening arguments were set to begin and announcing he’d instead be representing himself. At the time, he told reporters he was confident in his ability to defend his case because “God’s got this.” But 10 weeks later, McCann was missing in action in U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless’ courtroom. His standby attorney Jason Vincent – the only one of his most recent team of court-appointed attorneys he’d allowed to continue being associated with his case – said his client was in the hospital having been ill over the weekend, including passing out on Saturday night.

* Daily Southtown | Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard announces $1 million for housing help during Facebook event: Thornton Township is earmarking $1 million to help residents behind on rent and mortgages, but where the money is coming from isn’t clear. Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard said the program is meant to provide a maximum of $3,000 assistance to individual homeowners or renters, but can’t be used to help homeowners who are already in the eviction process.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Daily Herald | Casten heading into primary with huge cash lead over opponents: With early voting for the March 19 showdown set to begin Thursday, Casten’s campaign committee reported having a little more than $1 million saved for advertising, consultants and other expenses that might come up in what’s left of the primary race, according to a year-end campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission. In stark contrast, Democratic challenger and Oakbrook Terrace resident Mahnoor Ahmad’s campaign had less than $4,200 saved at year’s end, records show.

* ABC Chicago | Age, ethics and money to be key issues in Illinois 7th District congressional race: [US Rep. Danny Davis] is running for a 15th term, announcing a new round of endorsements from a group of state lawmakers on Monday. […] Collins, who challenged Davis the last two elections and came within six points in 2022, hopes the third time is the charm.

* WTAX | Bailey’s border broadcast: Bailey, the former state lawmaker and 2022 Republican candidate for governor, is now running in the 12th Congressional District in southern Illinois, saying U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro), the incumbent, has not done enough to keep the border secure. Joining Bailey was the vice chair of the Illinois Freedom Caucus. State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (pictured, left) (R-Beecher City) is facing a primary fight to keep his seat in the Illinois House.

* Daily Southtown | Park Forest use of drone in arrest is part of debate on use of unmanned crafts: Autonomous drones and the role they should play in Illinois policing continues to be debated in the nine years since the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act was passed. Lawmakers in 2023 passed the latest amendment, allowing police to fly drones over large public gatherings without a warrant to hopefully stop mass crime events, such as the 2022 Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park. “When we pass legislation that allows law enforcement to potentially overstep privacy, I get a little wary about the slippery slope of what that could look like,” Democratic state Sen. Rachel Ventura of Joliet said after the bill passed her chamber in May. “At the same point, we have to find that balance on the spectrum between freedom and safety.”

* Lake County News-Sun | Vista Medical Center East stripped of Level II trauma center designation; ‘Without proper intervention, lives will be lost’: Mike Claffey, a spokesperson for the IDPH, said in an email Sunday the designation was revoked “due to its absence of essential services needed to maintain this designation, including lack of a blood bank, anesthesia, neurology, urology, or a full-time trauma coordinator.”

* Daily Herald | ‘We hope they get things back in order very quickly’: Concerns raised with revocation of Vista East’s Level II Trauma Center designation: Besides Waukegan, Vista serves North Chicago, Zion, Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park, Antioch, Lake Villa and Wadsworth. Vista is pursuing a corrective action plan, said Mark Pfister, Lake County Health Department executive director.

* WTTW | Chicago Principals Association Leader Calls for Accountability After CTU President’s ‘Concerning’ Comments, Union’s ‘Divisive Campaigns’: In a letter written Feb. 2 to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, Chicago Principals and Administrators Association President Troy LaRaviere wrote, in part: “On Thursday, January 25, 2024, (Hozian’s) safety and well-being were threatened by CTU President Stacy Davis-Gates, who encouraged two Stevenson teachers to “punch your principal in the face,” and then publicly celebrated this comment by repeating it to a room filled with approximately 200 people participating in the Sustainable Community Schools Initiative.”

* Center Square | Illinois legislators return to capitol Tuesday: Top of mind is the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Illinois taxpayers will hear more about how Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to spend their tax dollars during his budget and State of the State address Wednesday, Feb. 21. He’s indicated there will be a lot of priorities legislators will have to balance.

* The Crusader | Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton launches Illinois Healing-Centered Task Force: Created by Senate Bill 646, the IHCTF will coordinate existing projects, identify the impact of intergenerational trauma to develop preventative solutions and facilitate broader community engagement. This work will be used to inform legislators on applying trauma-informed principles to the policymaking process.

* Block Club | Pilsen Lot Being Cleaned Up Ahead Of Huge Affordable Housing Development: The site is contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons and lead, the city said. total petroleum hydrocarbon is present from a leaking underground storage tank that was removed from a nearby former Go Time gas station, while the lead contamination is from a manufacturing plant that was on the site when it was owned by National Lead.

* WFMJ | Imprisoned mom wins early release but same relief blocked for some other domestic violence survivors: A survivor of human trafficking who is imprisoned in Illinois for shooting a man sought and was granted a resentencing that will lead to her early release.

* Semafor | Leading US lawmaker on China committee says he doesn’t want a TikTok ban: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the ranking Democrat member on the House Select Committee on China, said he had concerns about TikTok’s U.S. operations but did not support a total U.S. ban on the app. “I don’t want to see a ban,” Krishnamoorthi told Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant at Semafor’s Principals Live event on Monday. “The concern is this: If it’s owned by a company thats beholden to the CCP, then you have a new level of concern beyond the social media companies.”

* Rock River Current | Hard Rock Casino Announces Donations Of More Than $1M Across Rockford Region In 2023: Hard Rock took in more than $69 million in revenue from gambling at its Rockford casino in 2023, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board. It was a 26% increase from 2022. That revenue generated more than $4 million in local taxes.

* Farm Week | IL farmers featured in Super Bowl commercial: Little did Matt Boucher know a social media post spotlighting three generations on his farm would springboard his family to a role in a Super Bowl commercial. The fourth-generation Livingston County farmer and his daughter will be featured in a commercial highlighting the fact that 96% of Illinois farms are family-owned.

* Fox Chicago | How the Waltham Curling Club grew into an Illinois icon that inspires Olympic dreams: If you blink, you might miss it. Triumph, Illinois, is a town of about 100 people. It spans three blocks with a church, a post office, a closed up bar and its century-old curling club. The Waltham Curling Club stands tall in Triumph as the oldest curling club in the state of Illinois.

* Crain’s | Rivian teases first look at smaller, less expensive electric SUV: The model, which Rivian executives have said will be a midsize SUV, is expected to be priced from roughly $40,000 to $60,000, and is slated to be available in 2026. The older R1 line has an average selling price starting at $73,000. The R2 will be marketed at a price point where there are currently not a lot of options, Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe has told investors.