* ICYMI: Mayor Johnson outlines what he’ll need to sign off on Bears’ lakefront stadium plan. Crain’s…

- Johnson said his parameters for signing off include that the project provides a “public benefit and public use” of the stadium with a “365-day operation.”
-The team has been meeting with members of Johnson’s administration — including a Jan. 30 meeting between Johnson and Bears CEO Kevin Warren.
- The mayor would not say how much public funding of the development he anticipates is necessary.

* Related stories…

∙ Daily Herald: ‘We are hoping that things are not as they appear’: Arlington Heights not giving up on Bears stadium amid new reports
∙ Sun-Times: Bears urged to consider Michael Reese hospital site for domed stadium to avoid lakefront legal battle
∙ Tribune | Chicago Bears’ domed stadium proposal sparks excitement, questions — and early opposition

* Isabel’s top picks…

* WBEZ | Candidate for Illinois Supreme Court decries high court’s inaction against ex-Ald. Ed Burke: Democratic state Appellate Justice Jesse Reyes, who is running for the seat once held by Burke’s wife, Anne, cited reporting by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times to attack his political rival in the high-stakes judicial contest in the March 19th primary. On Monday, the two news outlets disclosed the state Supreme Court last month did not act on a push by the state Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission to suspend Burke’s law license based on his December corruption conviction.

* Crain’s | Illinois counties defend their property tax sales despite U.S. Supreme Court ruling: In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that threatens to shut down the long-standing practice of governments seizing homes over unpaid property taxes, officials from eight Illinois counties have asked a federal judge to rule that the high court’s decision doesn’t apply here.

* Sun-Times | Taxation without participation? Low turnout lets slim minority decide ballot questions hitting voters’ wallets: A study found less than 30% of registered Cook County voters determined the fate of 75 property tax-related referendums between 2020 and 2023. “Voters are given the power to make these key decisions, but most don’t bother to vote,” Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said. “And when their taxes go up, they are the first to complain.”

Governor Pritzker will join a sustainability panel at Aspen Ideas Climate Summit 4:15 pm CT. Click here to watch (join Evening Plenary: 5:00-6:30 pm ET.”)

* Here’s the rest…

* N’DIGO | Q&A – Mary Flowers – Illinois State Representative: What is your brand of politics?: I don’t deal with titles. I advocate on behalf of people, as they can be lifted. That could be babies, senior citizens, education, etc.; I don’t like being tainted as a brand. I go where I am needed and support people on a need basis.

* Sun-Times | Illinois ‘junk’ fee legislation calling for price transparency, from airline or concert tickets to rent: The legislation, by state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, and state Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, would mandate upfront disclosures of the total price of goods or services for a wide range of industries from entertainment to housing. It would also give the attorney general’s office more power to go after companies that add surprise fees. A hearing is expected to be held Tuesday before the Illinois House Consumer Protection Committee.

* WMBD | 2022 rematch, see who’s competing in the 105th statehouse seat in the 2024 GOP primary: State Rep. Dennis Tipsword seeks re-election to the 105th statehouse seat and for the second election cycle is being challenged by Donald Ray Rients in the Republican primary. Tipsword and Rients were part of a four-way primary race in 2022 that also included Mike Kirkton of Gridley – who is running for the state senate this time around – and Kyle Ham of Bloomington.

* WMBD | Lt. Gov. Stratton comments on proposed grocery tax removal: “Viewing that as a regressive tax, the governor’s proposal makes it clear that was not something he wanted to continue,” she said. Stratton added that local municipalities can enforce their own taxes if they would like to.

* Tribune | O’Neill Burke rips Foxx in speech days before state’s attorney primary: Without naming her, O’Neill Burke had some of her harshest assessments yet for the current top prosecutor, Kim Foxx, who O’Neill Burke said “doesn’t believe in accountability.” She repeated criticism that Foxx is to blame for a staffing shortage and poor office morale and said the office’s working relationship with the Chicago Police Department “doesn’t exist right now.”

* Tribune | Candidates make final push in Illinois Supreme Court race that raised diversity issues: Supporters of both Cunningham and Appellate Judge Jesse Reyes say choosing an experienced voice for the seat is especially important at a time when state courts could be faced with questions on issues like abortion, criminal justice and immigration. Given Cunningham’s party backing in the Cook County district race, Reyes’ supporters are also framing him as a candidate free of the party’s control.

* Injustice Watch | A perennial candidate pins her hopes on her sixth run for judge: Baumann, 55, says she has door-knocked at least 100 times over her more than a decade long effort to become a Cook County judge. She carefully guides me around the block, introducing me to residents who are conveniently home and, coincidentally, her supporters. To many in the area, Baumann is familiar. In recent years, the West Side has become the focus of her judicial campaigns and her pro bono legal work. One resident, Shirley Fields, tells me she’s supporting Baumann because of her work in the community.

* NBC Chicago | Several Dolton trustees call on mayor, unnamed trustee to resign: NBC Chicago obtained copies of complaints accusing Mayor Tiffany Henyard and an unnamed Dolton trustee of sexual harassment, retaliation and discrimination. The Illinois Department of Human Rights told NBC Chicago’s Regina Waldroup that it’s investigating. At the center is a trip they took last year to Las Vegas and a sexual encounter one woman says was not consensual.

* Block Club | Fifth Measles Case Found In Chicago As Officials Ramp Up Vaccination Efforts: Health officials confirmed the two newest cases in adults at the city-run shelter for migrants in Pilsen. Two children at the shelter were previously found to have the highly contagious disease. […] In addition to the vaccination clinics at the Pilsen shelter, the Office of Emergency Management and Communications is now coordinating with the city’s health department to start assessing and vaccinating new arrivals at the landing zone as part of the intake process, according to the news release.

* Sun-Times | City shuts down work on wooden ‘tiny house’ structure at Dan Ryan homeless encampment: “It is the most heartbreaking thing ever, a veteran, a senior veteran dying in a tent,” McLuckie said. “That’s what I want to avoid in the future. Nobody should have to die in a tent, especially somebody who served our country.” The group planned to finish construction of the shelter over the weekend, but the Department of Buildings placed an off limits/do not enter sticker and a stop work order on a structure, “because it was built without plans or permits,” according to a department spokesman.

* WBEZ | CTA announces spring cleaning for rail and bus stations: These renovations are part of the CTA’s Refresh & Renew program. The program will spend about $6.5 million repairing and improving 13 rail stations and three bus turnarounds through the end of May. These changes include painting and power-washing at all locations, as well as lighting upgrades, improved platform amenities and removal of outdated fixtures and equipment.

* Will County Forest Preserve District | Migration watch: Monarch butterflies have landed in the U.S.: Spring is creeping in ever so slowly all around us, and here’s another exciting indication that warmer temperatures are right around the corner: Monarch butterflies are winging their way toward us. In the eastern portion of the United States, they’ve been spotted as far north as Marietta, Georgia.

* Tribune | Strike averted after nurses and UChicago Medicine reach agreement: “Our decision to call a strike forced management to address a number of our outstanding demands at the bargaining table,” said Stephanie Gamboa, a nurse in the dermatology clinic and a bargaining team member, in a news release. “We’re looking forward to ratifying our new contract, which will improve working conditions for nurses and health care for our patients.”

* NYT | Trump Aides, Taking Over R.N.C., Order Mass Layoffs: Days after allies took over the Republican National Committee, Donald J. Trump’s advisers are imposing mass layoffs on the party, with more than 60 officials, including senior staff members, laid off or asked to resign and then reapply for their jobs, according to two people familiar with the matter.

* CBS | 3 children, 2 adults killed in school bus crash in Illinois: The crash happened around 11:30 a.m. local time in Schuyler County near Rushville, about 230 miles southwest of Chicago and 57 miles northwest of the state capital of Springfield. The school bus crossed over into oncoming traffic “for unknown reasons” in front of the truck, which was hauling sand, police said. Both vehicles were “engulfed in flames,” police said.