* ICYMI: Chicago sued by white men barred from Bally’s casino investment. Tribune…

- Bally’s Corp. and the City of Chicago were accused of discriminating against white men in a lawsuit by a conservative legal group challenging a $1.7 billion casino project that offered a 25% ownership stake only to women and people of color.

- Richard Fisher and Phillip Aronoff allege they were unable to invest in the project because they’re White men, according to the suit filed Wednesday in federal court by the American Alliance for Equal Rights.

- The suit challenges a provision in the Illinois Gambling Act requiring gaming companies to establish diversity programs that award 25% of contracts and other agreements to women and minority-owned businesses.

- American Alliance for Equal Rights focuses on lawsuits targeting DEI initiatives and “distinctions made on the basis of race and ethnicity,” according to its website. The organization was founded by conservative legal activist Edward Blum.

* Related stories…

∙ Higher Ed Dive: Lawsuit targets Illinois college scholarships aimed at increasing teacher diversity
∙ Education Week: Top Affirmative Action Foe Has New Target: Scholarships for Aspiring Minority Teachers
∙ WaPo: McDonald’s sued over scholarships for Hispanic and Latino students

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* QC online | Illinois GOP lawmaker says she’s received ’some phone calls’ on undocumented IDOC inmates: Since then, Bryant claims she has received phone calls from employees about undocumented inmates. She instructed her staff to not ask for names of those calling her office in order to ensure they are not reprimanded. “I asked for the offender’s name, the offender’s institutional number, and what facility the offender is in which they’re located,” Bryant said at a press conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday. “So I don’t know if it’s their family who are calling, I don’t know if it’s staff at the facilities that are calling, specifically because I don’t want to know who those folks are, and then I can protect them from those who would go after them for reporting someone who has violated federal law.”

* Tribune | Madigan jury, flush with office supplies, finishes first full day of deliberations without reaching verdict: So far the only communication from the jurors has been about scheduling — and office supplies. Shortly before noon Thursday, they sent a note to the judge asking for more highlighters, sticky notes and white-out. That followed requests on Wednesday for “more pens and highlighters and tape” as well as “at least five more copies of the indictment.” “Apparently there is some kind of arts and crafts going on back there,” U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey quipped after reading the Thursday note. When another message from the jurors arrived later in the day, the judge joked that it would be a red flag only “if they start asking for pipe cleaners and macaroni.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* 21st Show | ‘It makes you wonder what is next’: Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza reacts to freeze on federal aid: Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza reacted to the freeze and how the state is reacting, including Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other states suing to stop Trump’s Executive Order. Besides that, she said the chaos caused by the changes has made many anxious. “We should always be looking to find efficiencies in government, to find wasteful spending… this is certainly not the way to go about it. It was a master class in incompetency,” said Mendoza. “It’s easy for people to say we should cut something until it’s their child’s cancer treatment that gets cut.”

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Illinois state flag has fans, and could keep flying after design contest: Ted Kaye, a vexillologist, or person who studies flags, calls it a “seal on a bedsheet” — an unflattering term for a flag design in vexillology circles — and said Illinois needs a rebrand. He noted that the flag’s details can’t be distinguished at a distance and that the white background can’t be used on graphic designs because the white bleeds into the background. […] [Rep. Terri] Bryant said she was not clear on what the costs of changing the flag might be and plans to request an estimate during the spring legislative session. But [Sen. Doris] Turner said she is confident the costs won’t be high. She noted that the commission is made up of volunteers and said the state would follow Utah in replacing flags gradually as they wear out.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | New CPS Board boosts its legal tab as it faces its outgoing CEO in court: Initially, the board approved a $40,000 contract for firm Cozen O’Connor in mid-November, just two and a half months ago. While the amount is not much in the scope of a $9.8 billion budget, it shows that costs are adding up in a leadership drama that has gripped Chicago Public Schools since the summer. At its root is a bitter disagreement between the CEO and the mayor’s office over how to deal with a budget deficit and how to settle the Chicago Teachers Union contract.

* WGN | Irish immigrant living in Illinois faces growing fear amid nationwide federal immigration raids: She said she initially tried to fix things with an attorney but was told that she had no options to make things right. So she stayed, fell in love, and later became pregnant. But things eventually took a turn for the worse. “The relationship became extremely, like, abusive,” the woman said. “And any time I tried to leave with my children he would tell me, you know, ‘You’re not a citizen, they’re not going to let you take her.’”

* Tribune | Chicago sued by white men barred from Bally’s casino investment: Bally’s Corp. and the City of Chicago were accused of discriminating against white men in a lawsuit by a conservative legal group challenging a $1.7 billion casino project that offered a 25% ownership stake only to women and people of color. The city violated the civil rights of Richard Fisher and Phillip Aronoff, who said they were unable to invest in the project because they’re White men, according to the suit filed Wednesday in federal court by the American Alliance for Equal Rights.

* Tribune | For first time in 92 years, Walgreens suspends quarterly dividend amid financial struggles: The change comes amid struggles for the Deerfield-based retail pharmacy giant. Walgreens announced plans in October to shutter 1,200 stores over the next three years, including in Chicago. Walgreens has been cutting costs for years, including through layoffs in Illinois and other locations. Walgreens said in a news release Thursday that it was suspending quarterly dividends “as management continues to evaluate and refine its capital allocation policy consistent with the company’s broader long-term turnaround efforts.”

* Crain’s | WBBM gains ground as Chicago radio listeners demand real-time news: Driven largely by interest in the 2024 presidential election, WBBM Newsradio 780 AM saw its audience grow from a 4.8 to 5.7 in Nielsen’s annual audio ratings. The station held its No. 3 spot in the 2024 rankings and outperformed rival WGN Radio 720 AM, which saw listenership decline from 3.2 to 2.9, landing it tied for eighth.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | A serial killer prowling the suburbs? Here’s the truth behind viral posts: It wasn’t long before police there received numerous online messages and phone calls about the ominous reports, Deputy Chief Victor DiVito told us this week. It’s not clear exactly who’s behind the hoax or why, but versions of the post have appeared in groups from Pennsylvania to Washington state and Wisconsin to Louisiana. “It’s instilling fear, obviously, nationwide,” DiVito said.

* Daily Herald | Northwest Community Healthcare cuts more than 100 jobs, discontinues inpatient psychiatric services: Endeavor Health, which now runs the Arlington Heights hospital following a series of mergers and acquisitions, announced the job cuts to employees Wednesday and in a legal public notice published Thursday in the Daily Herald. The layoffs are tied to the upcoming discontinuation of inpatient psychiatric services effective April 11 and are expected to include nurses and others with specialized skills who work at the NCH Behavioral Health Center, 901 W. Kirchoff Road.

* Daily Herald | ‘Losing this funding will cause deaths’: Suburban leaders blast Trump’s federal funding freeze: “I am not being melodramatic when I say this — losing this funding will cause deaths,” said Laura Fry, Executive Director of Live4Lali, an Arlington Heights-based nonprofit group fighting substance abuse. Fry joined representatives from other suburban social service agencies at an online news conference Thursday to discuss the potential impacts of Trump’s $3 trillion funding freeze, the fate of which is unclear. Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart and Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart also participated in the discussion, which was hosted by U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park.

*** Downstate ***

* Rockford Register Star | Letter carrier’s campaign for Rockford City Council raises federal Hatch Act concerns: A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier’s campaign for Rockford City Council is raising questions about a 1939 law that prohibits federal employees from participating in a partisan elections. Lawrence Steward, 41, of Rockford, grew to prominence when his friend and colleague Jay Larson was killed during a bloody March 27 spree of violence last year that left four dead and seven wounded in a Rockford neighborhood. Grief-stricken letter carriers across the region turned to Steward for guidance and leadership as president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Local 245. Steward said he has no plans to drop out of the election.

* WCIA | I-155 back open after standoff with driver, State Police say: State Police said they responded to Milepost 9 near Emden around 10 p.m. on Wednesday to help a driver on the highway. But, a portion of the interstate was closed in Logan County after the individual refused to leave their car. By 2 p.m. on Thursday, the individual still refused to leave their vehicle. As of 7 p.m. on Thursday, State Police confirmed that the individual was taken into custody and transported to an area hospital for treatment. All lanes of I-155 are open.

* Illinois Times | How the 1908 Race Riot led to the NAACP: On Aug. 14-15, 1908, mobs and demonstrators destroyed at least 21 Black businesses in Springfield and burned the homes of more than 40 families. Among those killed during the riot was William Donnegan, a prominent elderly Black cobbler and real estate investor who was lynched across from his house at Spring and Edwards streets. The day after Donnegan was dragged from his home, an out-of-town journalist named William English Walling came to Springfield and interviewed many local people. He published an article, “Race War in the North,” two weeks later in the New York periodical The Independent. Racial violence and lynchings were sadly common in many cities at that time. In 1905, W.E.B. DuBois and a few others had founded the Niagara Movement, a national civil rights organization.

* Illinois Times | Rail project gets closer to completion: During a presentation Friday, Jan. 24, at the Citizens Club of Springfield, city and county officials outlined plans to finish work on the sixth and final “usable segment” of construction to accommodate the new two-lane railroad along the 10th Street corridor. Construction of overpasses and underpasses is aimed at improving traffic flow and eliminating excess train noise between Stanford Avenue and Sangamon Avenue. The final usable segment, which will begin construction in spring 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2027, will include the North Grand overpass located from 11th to 19th Street, and the North Grand Avenue underpass from Ninth to 11th Street.

* Illinois Times | SIU’s economic impact: Illinois taxpayers support the Springfield-based medical school to the tune of $41.1 million in state general revenue funds each year, according to SIU spokesperson Catie Sheehan. That total is part of the $219.4 million in GRF money for the entire system, which also includes SIU’s campuses in Carbondale and Edwardsville. The report said the state’s investment in the medical school generated almost $36 million in tax revenues during the most recent fiscal year.

*** National ***

* WTTW | Pritzker Says Trump ‘Unfit to Lead’ After President’s Response to Fatal DC Plane Crash: An American Airlines flight from Kansas that was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training flight collided. Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, and authorities report no one survived. “While times of tragedy should be focused on mourning the victims and getting answers to their loved ones, we face the unfortunate reality that we must be honest with the nation about: Donald Trump is unfit to lead during moments of crisis like these,” Pritzker said in a Thursday evening statement, saying that “before victims have even been identified, Trump is blaming people.”

* CNN | Trump Administration’s Halt of CDC’s Weekly Scientific Report Stalls Bird Flu Studies: Its scientific reports have been swept up in an “immediate pause” on communications by federal health agencies ordered by Dorothy Fink, the acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Fink’s memo covers “any document intended for publication,” she wrote, “until it has been reviewed and approved by a presidential appointee.” It was sent on President Donald Trump’s first full day in office.

* ProPublica | Boxed Up: A Portrait of an Immigrant Community Living Under Threat of Deportation: Box by box, the Nicaraguans who milk the cows and clean the pens on Wisconsin’s dairy farms, who wash dishes at its restaurants and fill lines on its factory floors, are sending home their most prized possessions, bracing for the impact of President Donald Trump’s mass deportations.