* WTTW…

The Chicago Board of Ethics canceled its meeting set for Monday, leaving the ethics probe into City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in limbo a week before she is set to face voters in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. […]

A majority of the Ethics Board was unable to attend the meeting set for 3 p.m. Monday in person, forcing the cancellation, Board Chair William Conlon told WTTW News. One seat on the seven-member board has been vacant since July 2022, while another has been vacant since March 2023, Conlon said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson should “quickly” nominate Chicagoans to fill those vacancies, which occurred under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and ask the Chicago City Council to swiftly confirm his picks, Conlon said.[…]

The cancellation of the Ethics Board meeting leaves the pending probe against Conyears-Ervin up in the air, four months after the Ethics Board ratified Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s determination that Conyears-Ervin fired two city employees after they warned her she was violating the city’s government ethics ordinance by using city resources to host a prayer service.

Each violation of the law could trigger a fine of $20,000.

* Here’s the rest…

* SJ-R | Statewide election referendums beginning to take shape: State statute protects access to abortion in Illinois, however, a future with a Republican-led legislature could reverse those protections. Passage of an amendment would prevent that by codifying abortion into the constitution. The House Reproductive Health and Dobbs Decision Working Group is engaging in those conversations currently. Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, leads that working group and previously told The State Journal-Register it is unlikely a ballot question will come before voters this year.

* Journal Courier | Prison reform advocates deliver letters to Springfield: House Bill 2045, known as the Elder Parole Bill, is sponsored by Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, and would make incarcerated people over the age of 55 who have served at least 25 years in prison eligible for parole. Letters in support of HB 2045 were delivered to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and the state legislature.

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect sets limits on stays at hotels, motels Mount Prospect sets limits on stays at hotels, motels: The village board last week passed the new restrictions as amendments to the zoning code. The board also adopted new regulations for extended stay hotels, defined as places where people stay longer than 30 days but not longer than 90.

* Daily Herald | Moderate vs. conservative: Kane County’s GOP faces a defining county board primary: GOP incumbents Bill Roth (District 12), Mark Davoust (District 14) and Mike Kenyon (District 16) all face opponents from the more conservative ranks of the Kane County GOP. Their opponents, Michelle Geen (District 12), Jonathan Gripe (District 14) and Eric Stare (District 16), all either echo the concerns of the conservative public commenters from the past four years or say they’ve been recruited to run for office by some of those commenters. In addition to local election reform, including the use of hand-counted paper ballots, the three opponents stand against a new facility for the county health department, relocating or selling the existing county government center, and they want the county to actively oppose migrant busing into the area.

* Daily Herald | ‘We must restore the community’s trust’: Medical center regains trauma center designation: The Illinois Department of Public Health on Monday reached an agreement with Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan to restore the hospital’s Level II Trauma Center status. The move allows emergency medical service providers to resume taking some trauma patients to the medical center rather than other facilities farther away. The designation had been revoked Feb. 2 due to a lack of essential services, including a blood bank, anesthesia, neurology, urology, and a full-time trauma coordinator.

* WTTW | Chicago Spent $524M on Overtime in 2023, Including $293M for Police, Setting New Records: The Chicago Police Department spent $293 million on overtime last year, 40% more than in 2022 and nearly three times the $100 million earmarked for police overtime set by the Chicago City Council as part of the city’s 2023 budget, according to data obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

* Tribune | Cook County expected to pay $17 million in Burge-connected Jackie Wilson case: Cook County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the deal this week, which would bring a quiet end to a civil rights lawsuit filed against former Cook County state’s attorneys accused of railroading Jackie Wilson for murders committed by his older brother.

* Injustice Watch | In A Hyper-local Judicial Race, Questions About What Counts As Community Representation: Vega Samuel and Demitro are running for a judicial seat in Cook County’s 14th Subcircuit, a majority Latinx district that was recently redrawn into a shape vaguely resembling the number seven, uniting portions of Hermosa, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park on the Northwest Side with Pilsen, McKinley Park, and Back of the Yards on the Southwest Side. The two candidates’ backgrounds are a Venn diagram with a significant overlap, and they share the life experiences of many 14th Subcircuit residents. Both grew up in working-class immigrant households with parents who spoke little to no English. They were the first college graduates and the first lawyers in their families. Both reported raising just $2,000 this election cycle as of the beginning of March, and both were found qualified for judge by bar associations.

* Block Club | Ward Committeepeople Are On The Ballot This March. What Exactly Do They Do?: Endorsing candidates through the Cook County Democratic Party is one of the most high-profile duties committeepeople are tasked with. Ahead of every election, the party holds its slating process, where committeepeople meet and hear out candidates running for countywide office. They then issue official party-backed endorsements.

* Crain’s | Bears sued over alleged racial bias in diversity fellow hiring: The Bears, the lawsuit alleges, “engaged in intentional race and sex discrimination when creating and circulating a job posting which by its very nature excludes Caucasian men as viable applicants . . . depriving plaintiff of his rights to contract on the basis of his race.” The complaint says the Bears learned of the plaintiff’s race and sex after viewing his LinkedIn profile, which “contains a photograph of himself . . . (displaying) his race, Caucasian, and his sex, male.”

* WBEZ | An AI cyborg and an orchestra are about to collide onstage in Chicago: The work is unlike most things you would imagine unfolding onstage with a full orchestra. Assad describes it as part orchestral suite, part performance art piece. Onstage, Assad portrays a humanoid AI, armed with an electronic drum, a wearable MIDI ring that creates sound when she moves her hand, like a theremin, and a futuristic-looking jumpsuit. She fastidiously observes the orchestra as they play, roving around the stage to absorb their sounds and motions.

* SJ-R | Is steak still on the menu? Fine dining industry changing amid rising costs: According to President of Mercedes Restaurants Ron Helms, which owned Alexander’s Steakhouse, poor customer retention and inflation of service costs caused the restaurant to gouge money for three years. “We were losing money in Springfield year after year and we were making money in Peoria year after year,” Helms said. “The Peoria store has been covering the expenses of the Springfield store for the past three years … you can’t really downsize when this is our smallest location already.”

* WCIA | ‘This is for everybody back home’: Springfield native reflects on Oscar win: The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film went to “War is Over! Inspired By The Music of John and Yoko!” The 11-minute short’s producer, Brad Booker, is from Springfield. […] “It really was the most surreal thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” he told WCIA Monday. “You know, it’s in the same ballpark as when I had my two kids, but it’s even weirder.”

* Tribune | Statue honoring WWII glider pilot who landed on D-Day approved for Niles: “High Flight” is designed as a stainless steel, 10-foot tall abstract sculpture of a WACO CG-4A glider, the most widely used U.S. troop/cargo glider of World War II, according to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The village’s Public Arts and Culture Advisory Council wanted a sculpture in remembrance of Wojtaszek, who served in the U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne Division and flew a glider during the war, according to Johnson.

* SJ-R | Ready for the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Springfield? Here’s what to know: Adults 21 and older may buy a wristband allowing them to enjoy adult beverages outside of a licensed beverage establishment between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday. Wristbands cost $1 with proceeds benefiting the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee.