* Block Club Chicago has more on the Pilsen shelter measles case…

Migrants at a city-run shelter in Pilsen were startled awake about 1 a.m. Friday and told there was a measles outbreak, the doors were locked, there was a 10-day quarantine — and anyone who left would lose their place there, new arrivals told Block Club. […]

Those who can prove they have been vaccinated were allowed to leave starting late in the morning Friday, while others must stay inside the shelter and quarantine.

* Tribune…

A large majority of Illinois students who participated in specialized, intensive tutoring during the 2022-23 school year met academic goals in reading and math, highlighting the success of an education recovery program that targets students most impacted by the loss and disruption of learning during the pandemic.

From fall to spring, nearly 90% of tutored students met or exceeded expected growth in math, and 80% did so in reading, according to a report published in January.

The report analyzed more than 1,300 students in grades 3 to 8 who received individual or small group tutoring as part of the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, a collaboration between school districts and a handful of higher education institutions.

Known as “high-impact tutoring,” the tutors met with the students for one hour, three times a week for eight to 14 weeks in sessions linked with what they are learning in the classroom, according to the Illinois Tutoring Initiative which operates the program.

Click here for the full report.

* Sun-Times…

Lance Michael Ligocki, 34, of Oakwood was arrested Thursday and is charged with civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers — both felonies — along with other misdemeanor charges. The feds say he was given the moniker #FullFlagSuit online.

A photo allegedly from Ligocki’s Facebook account depicts him wearing an American-flag “Trump” hat while holding a bust of former President Donald Trump. And in one online message written Jan. 9, 2021, Ligocki allegedly said, “Trump is a lone Wolf, Pence is a snake and we the people are being silenced.”

Prosecutors say Ligocki can be seen on video footage from the riot approaching the Capitol’s lower west terrace. That’s where investigators say he swung a pole with the “Trump” flag at police three times while carrying a “Stop the Steal” sign.

The attack on the U.S. Capitol prompted a massive criminal investigation that led to criminal charges against more than 1,300 people across the country. Ligocki is now one of nearly 50 Illinois residents who are among them.

* Also, Jason Meisner…

* Here’s the rest…

* NPR Illinois | When it comes to sports betting, Pritzker wants a bigger cut of the action: It’s safe to say Illinois’ bet on sports wagering has paid off. The state’s revenue is higher than anticipated when lawmakers made betting on sports legal. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, as part of his budget proposal, called for more than doubling the tax from 15% to 35%. An analyst who follows the industry said it’s a bold move, but thinks the governor can make it happen.

* SJ-R | Biden calls Belvidere, Illinois, “the great comeback story’ during State of the Union: All told, the $19 billion contract sets aside nearly $5 billion for the Belvidere plant and looks to add 2,500 jobs — hiring 1,200 employees to build pickup trucks and another 1,300 more workers for an electric vehicle battery factory.

* Crain’s | Biden highlights Stellantis’ plans to reopen Belvidere plant in State of the Union address: He called out UAW President Shawn Fain and autoworker Dawn Sims, who were in the audience. Matt Frantzen, head of the UAW local in Belvidere, also was scheduled to attend the State of the Union as a guest of Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, whose district includes the plant. “To folks in Belvidere, Instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward,” Biden said. “Before I came to office, the plant was on its way to shutting down. Thousands of workers feared for their jobs. The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get those jobs back.”

* WGLT | From the projects to the bench: Carla Barnes-Wheeler’s important journey: When Barnes-Wheeler was 12, the matriarch of the family, her grandmother, died. The children were scattered. Barnes-Wheeler came to Bloomington-Normal to live with her sister, a student at Illinois State University. For the first couple months that was living, very quietly, in a Wright Hall dorm room. Uprooted. Absent father. Ill mother. Many people would be crushed by those hits. Barnes-Wheeler said it made her more determined.

* Daily Herald | Democratic congressional candidates differ on NATO, military spending: Casten, a former energy industry entrepreneur who’s seeking a fourth term, said NATO’s existence is crucial to the “post-World War II order in Europe.” The organization’s collapse, he said, “is (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s dream.” […] Ahmad, a health care advocate making her first bid for elected office, was critical of the amount of money the U.S. spends on its military, calling it “absolutely unsustainable.” She insisted the U.S. needs to be “for peace” and to pursue diplomacy and statesmanship instead of using military might.

* Crain’s | NanoGraf inks deal for big Near West Side expansion: After securing two big contracts with the U.S. Army to develop and ramp up production of batteries for soldiers’ equipment, NanoGraf has inked a deal to occupy the entire 67,850-square-foot building at 455 N. Ashland Ave., the company said in a statement. The industrial building is just more than a block west of NanoGraf’s existing home at 400 N. Noble St., where it debuted a new 17,000-square-foot production facility in December.

* Shaw Local | McHenry County jail expects to bring in more than $500K for first 2 months of housing Lake County inmates: The average daily population of Lake County inmates in McHenry County jail was about 102 in January, the first month of the arrangement, but that climbed in February to 150, the maximum allowed, according to county documents. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office began transferring inmates to McHenry County Jail shortly after the new year, following an agreement the McHenry County Board approved in November to help Lake County cope with staffing shortages. Lake County pays McHenry County $100 per inmate daily as part of the contract, but McHenry County remains on the hook for expenses such as health care, food and transportation, which county officials estimate are about $31 per day per inmate. “It’s very fluid,” McHenry County Chief Financial Officer Kerri Wisz said of the expenses.

* Tribune | Mistrial declared in juice loan extortion case after agent mentions ‘organized crime’: A federal judge on Friday took the rare step of declaring a mistrial for two west suburban men accused in a juice loan extortion scheme after an FBI agent testified he investigated “organized crime matters,” a term that the judge had explicitly barred to avoid prejudicing the jury. Gene “Gino” Cassano, 55, and Gioacchino “Jack” Galione, 47, both of Addison, are charged with conspiring to collect a debt by extortionate means, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Galione is also charged with using violence to collect a debt.

* Daily Southtown | Business owner sues Calumet City for reversal of gas station approval, alleges racism: Mohammed Abdallah received a unanimous recommendation in September from the Zoning Board of Appeals to develop a gas station on property he purchased at 473 Burnham Ave. The City Council approved the plans Sept. 11 by a 3-2 vote and two alderman voting present, according to the meeting minutes cited in the lawsuit. City officials indicated the development would move forward and Mayor Thaddeus Jones offered congratulations, according to the lawsuit and interviews with Abdallah.

* Sun-Times | Chicago cop shown kneeling on 14-year-old’s back in viral video faces dismissal: However, formal disciplinary charges seeking his dismissal still haven’t been filed or made public. Vitellaro was off duty when he learned his son’s bike had been stolen and drove to a Starbucks at 100 S. Northwest Highway in Park Ridge, where someone had brought it, police oversight officials said in a report obtained through a public records request.

* Block Club | Logan Square Women Donate Homes Worth More Than $1.5 Million To Preserve Affordable Housing: Sally Hamann and Anne Scheetz gave their homes to a community land trust to help lower-income neighbors buy homes in the gentrifying area. Families will move into the renovated homes this year.

* Sun-Times | Alligator gar, Illinois’ biggest native fish, spread farthest north in latest restoration: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began a multi-state effort to reintroduce alligator gar in the 1990s. Illinois became involved in 2010. Before reintroduction began, the last known alligator gar, about 7 feet in length and weighing about 130 pounds, in Illinois was caught in 1966 from the Cache-Mississippi Diversion Channel in Alexander County.

* Block Club Chicago: This Week In Photos: Primary Races Ramp Up, Scientology Church Opens Next To Dorm And More. The temperatures have dropped since the warm weekend and news has been nonstop. See what Block Club reporters captured while covering the neighborhoods this week.

* WBEZ | ‘Oppenheimer,’ nukes and secrets: Take a walking tour of Chicago’s atomic history: UChicago played an absolutely critical role in the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government’s top-secret initiative to develop nuclear weapons. The university’s Hyde Park campus is where scientists led by Enrico Fermi built the world’s first nuclear reactor in 1942, generating just a tiny amount of energy — half a watt — but proving that it could be done.

* ABC Chicago | Artificial intelligence runs fully-operational kitchen at Mall of India food court in Naperville: The Nala Chef is a robot that uses machine learning to replicate recipes and customize food to each individual’s preference. It can also operate 24/7. Nala Robotics, the company behind the technology, states that it’s the, “world’s first fully-automatic multi-cuisine robotic chef.”

* WCIA | EIU preps for Unofficial St. Paddy’s festivities: “Ideally, it’s going to be an experience where students will have challenges, but we would like them to simply be smart, be wise and be adults,” said Lieutenant Michael Lusk of the EIU Police Department. “But, we want them to have fun at the same time.”