* ICYMI: Bears might need new playbook for initial lakefront stadium huddle with Pritzker aides. Sun-Times…

-The Chicago Bears on Wednesday will for the first time discuss their proposal for a lakefront stadium with two top aides for Gov. JB Pritzker.
- Team officials are likely to hear that there isn’t a magic number to get them close to wiping away the governor’s ideological opposition, according to a source with knowledge of Pritzker’s thinking.
- Pritzker has said a new Bears stadium is not a priority for him — and that taxpayers would need to reap more of the benefits.

* Related stories…

∙ WGN: Bears to meet with Gov. Pritzker aides Wednesday to discuss new stadium proposal
∙ ABC Chicago: Architect proposes transforming Soldier Field for fraction of cost of new Chicago Bears stadium

Governor Pritzker will give remarks at the annual IMA/IRMA Business Day luncheon at 12:30 pm. Click here to watch.

* Press release…

Community leaders from across Illinois convened in the state capital today to call on the State of Illinois to permanently fund a 2021 law that has provided much-needed dollars to community violence intervention (CVI) organizations combatting gun violence. At a rally in front of the Lincoln Statue in Springfield, elected officials and community leaders gathered in support of the Reimagine Public Safety Act (RPSA).

State Representative Justin Slaughter, a sponsor of the law, told the crowd that permanent funding for RPSA will make our communities safer and establish Illinois as a leader in the field of gun violence reduction.

“RPSA is the foundation for a public health approach to addressing gun violence. Our goal is to save lives by preventing shootings from happening instead of simply arresting and incarcerating after the fact,” Slaughter said.

Illinois State Senator Robert Peters, who also sponsored RPSA, said, “We have built the infrastructure needed to take violence prevention to scale. It’s time to broaden our investment and commit for the long term.”

In Chicago, the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, an alliance of more than 50 foundations and other funders, the business community through the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and local governments are collaborating to support and expand a network of CVI organizations serving communities with the highest levels of gun violence.

The goal, announced in February at an event with the Governor, the Mayor and legislative leaders, is to reduce gun violence by 50 percent in the next five years and 75 percent over the next decade, in part, through a dramatic increase in the number of highest risk individuals served by CVI and allied organizations.

Since 2016, the private sector has contributed more than $300 million in support of CVI. More recently, local and state governments have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support CVI.

A growing body of research from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago affirms the positive impact of CVI. Advocates for permanent funding for RPSA are seeking more than $140 million in state funds in the proposed 2025 budget.

* Here’s video of the governor meeting with the community violence intervention groups…

*** Isabel’s top picks ***

* Pantragraph | Harmon, Welch would get national Democratic Party spots under proposal from state party chair: Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside, would become members of the Democratic National Committee by virtue of their positions under a proposal from state party chair Lisa Hernandez. Hernandez, a state representative from Cicero who serves on Welch’s House leadership team, told the 34-member Illinois Democratic State Central Committee on Monday she will seek to amend the state party’s bylaws to include language that would make the president of the Illinois Senate and the speaker of the Illinois House “base” DNC members if they are Democrats.

* Daily Herald | ‘A resource that we count on’: Legislation inspired by 2023 water crisis in Lake County clears House: Nearly a year after a system failure left hundreds of homes and businesses in southern Lake County without drinkable water for days, legislation that would require utility companies to notify fire departments and public safety dispatch centers when water supplies are disrupted has passed the state House with bipartisan support.

* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker and wife donate key Civil War document to Lincoln presidential library: On Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K., donated that historic document to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. The couple acquired it at auction for $471,000. It’s now one of about 13 million documents and artifacts amassed at the Springfield library and museum. “This was an act of leadership that required careful consideration but also courage and immediate action to take every action possible to keep the nation intact,” the governor said to a small audience during a ceremony at the library, flanked by his wife, moments before the framed document was unveiled. “To me, this document and the museum as a whole serves as a reminder of how far we’ve come as a nation. Despite our current divisions and challenges, more than 150 years after a terrible Civil War, our nation perseveres.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* BND | Lawsuit filed against metro-east state rep for allegedly blocking Facebook comments: The suit was filed in Madison County court by attorney Tom DeVore on behalf of Jared Poettker of New Baden, Donald Moore of Troy, Sharon Williams of Belleville and Roger Respondek of Clinton. Meier, a Republican from Okawville, could not be reached for comment Monday night. The lawsuit doesn’t include specific comments that were critical of Meier, but DeVore said in an interview that one of the issues involves campaign donations by the Illinois Education Association, which is a union for teachers. DeVore said Meier has received $240,000 from the union since he took office in 2013.

* Cook County Chronicle | Buckner draws on sports, political background as state representative: After spending six years working for Senator Durbin, Buckner headed to New Orleans for a little over two years, seeking a new challenge. “I felt like we were doing God’s work down there,” he said. “We were literally rebuilding the city that had been devasted by Hurricane Katrina … We were really fighting against this narrative that they were stupid for even existing in that space. So, we were building everything from roads and infrastructure and bridges to the school system, public works system, New Orleans Police Department.” After about a year, however, even though loving the work he was doing, Buckner began to feel like he was “cheating” on Chicago.

* Crain’s | As White Castle pays up, the Legislature considers tweaking Illinois’ biometric privacy law: White Castle has reached a $9.4 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit involving Illinois’ controversial biometric information privacy law. The deal, which received preliminary approval by a federal judge in Chicago last week, looks like a bargain, considering the $17 billion in potential damages the company could have faced if it had gone to trial and lost. The settlement comes as state lawmakers are considering a change to the law that could reduce damages in the future.

* Capitol News Illinois | After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination: The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make credit available in all parts of the communities they served, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, the government could redirect the flow of private capital back into areas that had suffered from decades of systemic disinvestment. Nearly half a century later, many people in Illinois argue the federal CRA has failed to live up to its promise. Whether that’s because the law was too narrow in scope, or because the lending business itself has changed dramatically over the decades, urban metropolitan areas like Chicago are still plagued with crumbling neighborhoods where few lenders are willing to invest.

* Crain’s | Springfield taking cautious approach with Tier 2 pension changes, avoiding sweeteners: Gov. J.B. Pritzker mounted a sign on the wall outside of his Capitol office after Illinois received its first credit upgrade under his tenure. Though he didn’t detail what that sign said during a recent press conference in Springfield, the subtext reads: “Caution.” “The reason we’ve gotten so many credit upgrades is we’ve been very careful about how we’re managing the fiscal condition of this state and our pensions, which are a deep concern to investors in our bonds,” Pritzker said April 18.

*** Chicago ***

* WBBM | Merger? Transit agencies sending mixed signals: The CTA, however, released a statement saying that the agency remains dedicated to addressing the root of the region’s transit challenges: A decades-long lack of sufficient funding. The Chicago Transit Authority pushes back hard against the proposal to overhaul and unify the northern Illinois transportation system.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Brandon Johnson chooses 7 members to serve on Chicago’s permanent police oversight commission: Anthony Driver Jr. and interim vice president Remel Terry are among seven mayoral nominees to the permanent commission. They will be joined by attorney Sandra Wortham, the sister of slain Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV, who is now serving as executive board president of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.

* Block Club | Spring Is Prime Pothole Season For Chicago. Here’s How To Get Them Fixed On Your Street: he city gets reports of thousands of potholes every month — and it can fill more than 100,000 in a year. But spring tends to be the busiest time; in 2023, the spring months of March-May saw 19,756 potholes reported, more than any other season. There were 9,376 reported to 311 just that March.

* Tribune | Long-awaited Chicago policy doesn’t do enough to protect migrating birds, advocates say: But Chicago bird safety advocates say they are disappointed that the city’s policy update, now in draft form, does not make bird safety measures mandatory. Instead, anti-collision measures, which can include installing glass with tiny markings, are included in a menu of sustainable design options from which developers working on affected projects can pick and choose. “We feel it’s not adequate,” said Prince, chair of Bird Friendly Chicago, a coalition of local birding and conservation groups that’s been working for bird-safe building measures since 2016.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Naperville Sun | DuPage overdose deaths down 24% in 2023, but ‘we still have a long way to go,’ coroner says: The drop, Coroner Richard Jorgensen says, is as much an affirmation that countermeasures the county has developed are working as it is a reminder that active oversight must continue to keep the issue at bay. There were 114 overdose deaths in DuPage County last year. That’s 36 fewer than 2022, which saw 150 drug-related fatalities, data shows.

* Daily Herald | How to protect young and vulnerable trees from the imminent cicada emergence: Morton Arboretum plant health care leader Stephanie Adams explained the females “burrow into young tree branches to lay their eggs.” This can cause the immature tree undue stress and permanent damage.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Rantoul hosting public meeting to discuss PFAs in water from Chanute Air Force Base: Representatives from the Department of the Air Force will be answering questions on the contamination from the base from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The Department of the Air Force is planning a Remedial Investigation to help identify the extent of contamination and its health and environmental effects.

*** National ***

* Crain’s | The bottom-line impact of rescheduling marijuana: Cannabis stocks rose quickly yesterday after reports that the Justice Department has agreed to recommend the change. But the real payoff comes from tax law. If marijuana is rescheduled from a Class 1 to Class 3 controlled substance, cannabis companies such as Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, Verano Holdings and Cresco Labs will be able to write-off typical corporate expenses like other businesses. The long-awaited move will mean $70 million to $100 million to the bottom line, potentially starting this year, which will further boost the value of the companies.

* NBC | Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s pro-abortion-rights group sinks money into Florida ballot question: Think Big America, Pritzker’s not-for-profit group that has funded abortion-rights efforts across the country, told NBC News on Tuesday it is donating $500,000 to the Floridians Protecting Freedom ballot initiative campaign. The funding follows Think Big’s donation of $1 million to the ballot campaign in Nevada and $250,000 so far to Arizona’s ballot campaign.