* ICYMI: Ex-Speaker Michael Madigan’s state pension suspended following conviction. Tribune…

- Former Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan’s $158,000 annual state of Illinois pension is being halted following his high-profile corruption conviction.
- Illinois law bars elected officials in the legislative pension plan from collecting payments once they are convicted or enter a guilty plea in a felony tied to their government job.
- Timothy Blair, executive secretary of the Illinois General Assembly Retirement System, said Madigan will receive his nearly $13,170 pension check for February because that has already been processed.

* Related stories…

∙ Illinois PIRG: On same day Mike Madigan convicted, ComEd announced $1 billion + in profits
∙ NBC Chicago: Mike’s millions: Campaign funds cover Madigan’s criminal defense bills
∙ WBEZ: What former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s conviction means for his legacy

* FYI it’s the last day to vote in the state flag redesign contest.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Bloomberg | Top U.S. grid wins speedy review of power plants to feed AI boom: PJM Interconnection LLC, which manages a network from the East Coast to Chicago, won federal approval to fast-track the review of up to 50 new projects. The studies will focus on boosting grid reliability starting in April to help avoid potential shortages toward the end of this decade, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in an order issued late Tuesday.

* JB Pritzker Press Secretary Alex Gough: We’re encouraged that PJM and FERC both recognize that interconnection queue delays are contributing to the power grid’s lack of capacity. As this initiative is implemented, we believe resources should not be diverted from addressing underlying problems with the power grid interconnection queues, and we hope the initiative leverages clean resources like nuclear and battery storage.

* AP | Illinois data shows inmates with violent records from shuttered prison sent to medium-security sites: Among the approximately 400 inmates transferred when Illinois’ decrepit Stateville prison closed over the summer, 278 were convicted of murder and 100 more are serving time for other violent offenses. Yet, nearly four in five of the offenders formerly housed at the suburban Chicago lockup were not shipped to top-level maximum-security prisons, where the toughest criminals, troublemakers and escape risks are housed. Instead, they went to mid-level medium-security facilities, according to an Associated Press analysis of Illinois Department of Corrections data.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | Trump, pensions, health care among pressure points as Gov. JB Pritzker crafts state budget:
Pritzker will outline his budgetary priorities in an address on Feb. 19 at the Illinois State Capitol. So far, he has hinted that raising taxes to balance the budget is a last-resort proposition. But things could change. “It’s very important that we live within our means in this state, and that we not resort to tax increases as a way to, you know, to balance the budget,” Pritzker said last month.

* Center Square | Illinois lawmakers zoom in on budget ahead of governor’s address : State Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, proposed several fee increases. One involved quadrupling the cost of judicial transcripts. “Right now it’s at 70 cents per page and it hasn’t been changed since 1980, so we’re just adjusting that because of inflation to maybe $3 a page,” Hernandez told The Center Square.

*** Statewide ***

* 25News Now | Illinois is short 100 court reporters, but a free training program could be the fix: Spradlin said half of the staff are age 55 or older. Longtime court reporter and training program instructor Melissa Clagg is one of them. “We have such a shortage right now. We are kind of in dire straits,” Clagg said. “We’re retiring right and left. It’s putting more of an impact, more of a strain because we’re covering more courts, more hours in court, and trying to get through the volume of cases.” To boost interest in the career, the state started offering a tuition-free training program in 2024. It features guaranteed job placement and requires a two-year employment contract.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Aviation, COPA chiefs out after Johnson vows to purge disloyal staff: The Sun-Times reported Mayor Johnson’s warning that he was ready to send people packing. On Thursday, Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee and Civilian Office of Police Accountability chief Andrea Kersten retired. Jose Tirado, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management & Communications, is leaving to take a job with the Cook County state’s attorney.

* BGA | Alleging Obstruction, Chicago’s Inspector General Turns to City Council for Stronger Laws: In a memo sent Friday to the Chicago City Council’s ethics committee, city Inspector General Deborah Witzburg laid out a series of what her office characterizes as obstructions by the city’s law department and sought new legislation to buttress the OIG’s independence. In unusually strong language for a council memo, the document alleges that the city’s Department of Law “selectively acts in opposition to OIG’s investigative work when OIG’s work may result in embarrassment or political consequences to City leaders.”

* Tribune | City watchdog: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Law Department hindering probes over fear of political embarrassment: In a scathing 14-page letter sent late last week to the head of the City Council’s Ethics Committee, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said the law departments for Johnson and other mayors selectively impeded investigations by withholding records, slow-walking compliance with inspector general’s office subpoenas and demanding top mayoral lawyers be allowed to attend confidential investigative interviews. “It is not, and cannot be, within Corporation Counsel’s authority to unilaterally choose which City actors may be meaningfully investigated by (the inspector general’s office),” Witzburg wrote.

* Block Club | Snow Returns Friday Night, Followed By ‘Really, Really Cold’ Week Ahead: The silver lining is a warmup arriving Friday, with temperatures in the upper 20s and potentially reaching the mid-30s by Saturday, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Gino Izzi.

* Sun-Times | ‘I ain’t got nothing to lose,’ says ex-White Sox star Tim Anderson, who’s trying to save his career in Angels camp: It’s a different-looking Anderson this spring. He’s sporting a thick, black beard and wearing No. 77 in red. When a player’s number goes up by 70, it’s usually not the best sign, a visitor from the Sun-Times pointed out. “That’s true,” Anderson said, laughing easily, “but I’m just thankful to be here, grateful all the way down. I got another shot at it. It’s just a little challenge, and I ain’t got nothing to lose.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | In absence of state regulation, some suburbs are banning hemp products that get users high: In a family-friendly suburb northwest of Chicago, local officials were worried about a proliferation of shops selling hemp products that can get users high. One smoke shop in Rolling Meadows moved in next to a Dunkin’ Donuts. Two more are down the street from a middle school. […] Citing safety concerns, particularly for kids, Mayor Lara Sanoica and the City Council approved a ban on the retail sale of products containing hemp-derived THC, a psychoactive compound that gets users high. The ban took effect this month.

* Daily Herald | ‘This is a safe environment’: Amid fears of deportation sweeps, schools work to protect students: While many suburban school districts say they have not had any interaction with immigration authorities in recent weeks, President Donald Trump’s stepped up enforcement efforts have led to widespread concern. Many districts have sent home letters to parents reassuring them that they will provide a safe environment for students to learn.

* Evanston Now | A step toward zero waste?: In 2018, the City of Evanston passed a Climate Action and Resilience Plan, calling for the city to achieve zero waste by 2050. While the goal may seem lofty, a community-led grassroots effort to make it a reality took a step forward Thursday night with a presentation of a roadmap to the city’s Environment Board.

* Tribune | Actor Steve Carell tapped as Northwestern University’s Commencement speaker: “I’m thrilled to be speaking at Northwestern’s Commencement this year,” Carell told Northwestern. “My speech’s theme will be ‘The Importance of Lowering Expectations,’ which for these graduates, should start with my speech.” Carell’s comedy career got started in Chicago, according to the university, when he joined The Second City beginning in 1987. While there, he worked with Stephen Colbert, a Northwestern alum, and both did Dana Carvey’s short-lived sketch comedy show before Carell joined “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Urbana Mayor candidates making final pushes before primary: There’s less than two weeks until the Urbana Democratic primary on Feb. 25. That’s when Deshawn Williams will face off against Annie Feldmeier-Adams for the right to replace current Mayor Diane Marlin. “We’re feeling strong as we finish out,” Feldmeier-Adams said.

* BND | Belleville mayor’s former advisers endorse her challenger as campaign ramps up: Two of Belleville Mayor Patty Gregory’s closest former advisers are throwing their support behind her challenger in the mayoral race. Gigi Dowling Urban, who worked as administrative liaison to the mayor from the beginning of Gregory’s term in 2021 until she resigned last month, endorsed City Clerk Jenny Gain Meyer in a Facebook post this week. “When I consider honestly which candidates will represent our citizens with hard work, honesty, and integrity, there really is no other choice,” wrote Urban, who also is running for Ward 2 alderperson in the April 1 consolidated election.

*** National ***

* NBC Chicago | This obscure law is one reason Trump’s agenda keeps losing in court: Lawyers challenging President Donald Trump’s aggressive use of executive power in the courts are turning to a familiar weapon in their armory: an obscure but routinely invoked federal law called the Administrative Procedure Act. While lawsuits challenging such provocative plans as ending birthright citizenship and dismantling federal agencies raise weighty constitutional issues, they also claim Trump failed to follow the correct procedures as required under the wonky 1946 statute.

* Nieman Lab | Trump wants news outlets to get on board with “Gulf of America” — or else. Will they?: You know what else is political? The language that news organizations choose to use. “Illegal immigrants” vs. “undocumented people,” “estate tax” vs. “death tax,” “rebels” vs. “freedom fighters,” “racist” vs. “racially charged” — each choice tells readers something about the underlying assumptions of the writer or publication. Language choices can either lend legitimacy or withhold it. So it’s not surprising that the tension between these two forces — a government changing a familiar place name and journalists deciding whether to go along — has become a political flashpoint.