* Darren Bailey going up…

…Adding… This is a $60K buy over ten days in Paducah.

…Adding… Here it is…

* Sun-Times…

Former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke asked Wednesday for a new trial or acquittal in spite of a federal jury’s resounding verdict late last year finding him guilty of racketeering and other crimes.

That jury found Burke, 80, guilty in December of 13 charges that included racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion. The panel also found that Burke committed racketeering acts in all four schemes outlined in his sweeping May 2019 indictment. […]

Burke’s lawyers pointed Wednesday to commentary by Kendall, who described the Field Museum scheme at trial as “an extremely odd attempt extortion count.” They argued her skepticism was well-founded, insisting that the law requires an attempt to extort “property.”

“There was no property here, only a potential job interview with the museum, and one which was never requested by Mr. Burke,” the defense attorneys wrote.

* A new challenger to Bring Chicago Home…

* Tribune…

A charity organized by Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard has been told by the Illinois attorney general’s office to stop soliciting or accepting contributions, and that it must register with the state.

Separately, a law enforcement source confirmed federal authorities, including the FBI, are conducting an investigation targeting Henyard. The course said the probe has included recent interviews by investigators both inside and outside of Dolton, but is in the early stages and no charges have been brought.

The attorney general’s letter, dated Wednesday and sent by certified mail, notes the Tiffany Henyard CARES Foundation is not in good standing and states the attorney general has sent multiple letters advising, among other things, that it is not registered with the state.

However, the foundation hasn’t responded “and we have not been advised why there has been a delay,” according to the recent letter, sent by Pasquale Esposito, deputy bureau chief of the attorney general’s Charitable Trust Bureau.

* Jon Seidel…

* Here’s the rest…

* WBEZ | U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García faces a Democratic primary challenge from the right: Even as he identifies as a “deep-blue Democrat,” Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez appears frequently with some of the country’s most popular right-wing cable TV news hosts — who count on him to share their views and loudly criticize his fellow Democrats. On Fox News in December with host Jesse Watters, Lopez said, “Most of the Democratic voters feel as though this party no longer represents them, that it’s been lurching too far to the left.”

* SJ-R | Board members allege racism in Springfield school district after principal is reassigned: Current and former Springfield District 186 board of education members hurled accusations of racism after a Black principal was moved from Matheny-Withrow Elementary School and given a different job.

* WBEZ | Eileen O’Neill Burke says she’s running for state’s attorney because ‘our justice system is not working’: O’Neill Burke is aiming for voters unhappy with Foxx’s leadership and convinced the county needs to pursue a more traditional approach to prosecutions in order to combat crime. It’s a message that is resonating with more conservative voters and donors. But O’Neill Burke’s Democratic primary opponent, Clayton Harris III, and other critics have said she is seeking to move the prosecutor’s office backward to a time of soaring incarceration rates and wrongful convictions. Harris won the Cook County Democratic Party’s endorsement in the race to replace Foxx.

* Tribune | FOP seeks extension of moratorium on moving CPD disciplinary cases through police board: The FOP argues that a handful of officers currently facing serious disciplinary charges will be “irreparably injured” if the Feb. 25 deadline is not extended, according to the motion presented to the judge Wednesday. “Because the City Council voted once again to reject the Arbitration Award, Police Officers represented by the (the FOP) are continuing to be denied their statutory right to grievance arbitration to resolve disciplinary disputes,” the union wrote in its Tuesday motion. “If the Court does not continue the current stay of Police Board proceedings and instead allows it to expire on February 25th, these Officers will be irreparably injured by being forced to proceed before the Police Board.”

* Tribune | ‘All hell was breaking loose’: Mystery deepens in case of Highland Park man accused of $400 million crypto hack on FTX: Powell was also believed to be involved with a violent Indiana-based gang known as the “ChoppaBoyz,” whose founding members were under indictment in a drug-related home invasion in South Bend and also were accused of robbing two of Powell’s associates in Utah as they carried a quarter of a million dollars in fraud proceeds back to Indiana, the affidavit stated. But the only charge that ever surfaced against Powell was a misdemeanor gun count filed in Lake County.

* Block Club | Devastated By Floods And Confused By FEMA, West Siders Form Their Own Recovery Group: The volunteer-run group advocates for neighbors, organizes crews to help with cleanup, helps people connect with repair companies and much more. Their work is particularly urgent due to the negative impacts mold can have on people’s health, especially since many flood victims have now been exposed to it for months as it spread through their homes.

* South Side Weekly | Sidewalk-Plowing Pilot Planned for Next Winter: Despite the North Side having the most complaints, a preliminary analysis of city data shows a higher concentration of snow clearance fines imposed on the South Side. The Weekly obtained documents from the Department of Administrative hearings that shows eight of the ten community areas with the most hearings for fines per capita are on the South Side. Englewood, which ranks forty-ninth in 3-1-1 complaints, had the most administrative hearings per capita since 2019, and the highest amount of fines levied. Lincoln Square, which ranks first in 3-1-1 complaints, was twenty-second in administrative hearing dockets per capita.

* Block Club | Unsanctioned Building Next To Puerto Rican Museum To Be Demolished Next Week: The demolition is a “giant step in the right direction” said neighbor Kurt Gippert, who has been vocal in his opposition to the unsanctioned construction. Gippert and his wife started a petition two years ago calling for the demolition of the structure on public land and for more community transparency. The petition received over 2,000 signatures.

* Sun-Times | Metra to buy first battery-powered trains as part of effort to provide more frequent all-day service: The commuter rail agency’s board voted Wednesday to pay $154 million for eight two-car, zero-emission trains from Stadler U.S., of Salt Lake City, Utah. Metra can pay an additional $181 million for eight more two-car sets and up to 32 unpowered trailer cars. They could be combined to make three- or four-car trains.

* Tribune | R. Kelly’s appeal argument calls reasons for long sentence too vague, but court warns he could wind up worse off: Much of the brief hearing was dedicated to discussing whether Kelly should be resentenced. But in the end, Kelly’s lead attorney Jennifer Bonjean noted, his fate really hinges on what happens on appeal in his New York federal case, a racketeering conviction that got him a whopping 30 years behind bars. “That’s his life sentence,” Bonjean said during the 30-minute hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. “If that sentence sticks, he will probably die in prison.”

* Crain’s | From Daytona Beach, NASCAR offers post-mortem on ‘incomplete’ Chicago Street Race: “Our work is incomplete,” said Julie Giese, president of the Chicago Street Race. After more than a decade working at the Daytona International Speedway, Giese now lives in Chicago and is focused entirely on organizing the summer event. “There’s a lot that we wanted to do in Chicago, and the weather prevented us from doing a lot of it.”

* SJ-R | New look, but familiar feel: Springfield bar reopens following renovations: Brewhaus Bar is breaking open the shelves once again, opening for the first time since renovations shut down the business last year. Owner John O’Riordan held a soft open Monday, Feb. 12 for the establishment, opening the doors and inviting patrons back into the bar they know and love, with a new atmosphere to it.

* WBBM | Chicago accused of failing to protect migratory birds: ‘We’re frustrated’: The Bird-Friendly Chicago Coalition is expressing its frustration with the city of Chicago over its failure to act on bird-friendly design requirements for new construction. […] They’re frustrated, in particular, with the Department of Planning and Development. New York City is among those who have already done this.

* Sun-Times | New White Sox TV voice John Schriffen is ready for inevitable scrutiny: “Nothing comes easy,” Schriffen said. “Chicago is a hard-working town where people have to earn everything they get. And that’s how I grew up. Both my parents were teachers, working-class family. Everything I’ve gotten in my life I’ve had to earn the hard way. I don’t want it to be any different here.”

* Block Club Chicago | How Chicago’s Black Steelworkers Struggled, Thrived And Survived The Industry’s Rise And Fall: While many Black workers spent years in the toughest positions, Hardy and his coworker William “Bill” Alexander were exceptions. Known as “Ramjet” for his speed and efficiency, Hardy moved from laborer to oiler to bridge operator at Interlake/Acme with relative ease before being drafted for the Vietnam War in 1967, he said. He returned to Chicago in 1969 and was back at the mill within a few weeks. He was soon promoted to a bridge, or overhead crane, operator. His coworkers — many of whom also served in Vietnam at various points — “really gave me respect” as a combat veteran, he said.

* AL | Woodfin says if anti-DEI bill passes, he would urge athletes to leave Alabama: Senate Bill 129, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road and filed on Tuesday, resembles 2022 and 2023 proposals sponsored by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville. The bill would forbid public schools from affirming “a divisive concept,” with such examples as teaching that “slavery and racism are aligned with the founding principles of the United States” and that “fault, blame, or bias should be assigned to members of a race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin.”

* WBEZ | The new frontier for Chicago brewers? ‘Mellow’ weed drinks that don’t resemble beer: With enthusiasm for craft beer leveling off, Chicago’s Hopewell is on the vanguard of local breweries cutting red tape and venturing into THC-infused drinks that are more like sports drinks than ale.

* Bloomberg | AT&T says most of mobile network restored: The federal government is investigating whether the outage was caused by a cyberattack, according to two US officials familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive information.