* Daily Herald…

House Bill 2969 would tie any professional sports team’s request for state or local government financing for stadium construction, renovation or maintenance to the team’s on-field performance, requiring at least a .500 record in three out of the last five regular seasons. […]

For the Bears, who haven’t hit that mark since the 2020-21 season, it’s a no. Same for the Sox, who set the Major League Baseball record for most losses in a single season last year. […]

The Cubs and the Sky — who won the WNBA Championship in 2021 — do meet the bill’s eligibility requirements, but seem to have settled in at their homes. The Cubs’ owners were rejected by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel for help with their $550 million face-lift of Wrigley Field, but now want Mayor Brandon Johnson’s help to tighten security in and around the historic ballpark to host the 2027 All-Star Game. And after departing Rosemont’s Allstate Arena in 2017, the Sky now rent out Wintrust Arena in the South Loop.

The Chicago Stars — of the National Women’s Soccer League — would also be eligible under Morgan’s bill. The team has a lease at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview through this year, but owners — which include Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts — have asked state lawmakers for a seat at the table in discussions about new publicly funded stadiums.

* Farm Week…

The “Good Food Purchasing Bill” is one of [Rep. Sonya Harper’s] priorities as chair of the House Agriculture Committee. The bill, introduced Feb. 18, requires state agencies and state-owned facilities that purchase food, such as colleges and universities, to purchase healthy food sourced from Illinois farmers.

“I’m also interested in collaborating more across the state and coming up with some innovative solutions and some actual SMART goals to eliminate food deserts,” Harper said. “I have legislation around a commission that takes invoices of all the counties and officials at every level because that’s not something that just the state can fix.”

She explained that having meaningful conversations about food access with other levels of government and important decision-makers is necessary to improve quality access to food throughout the entire state.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Lawmakers are considering legalizing a controversial medical practice that proponents say could ease suffering for the terminally ill. […]

The measure, contained in Senate Bill 9, is being backed by Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, who told her Senate colleagues at a hearing Friday that she supports the proposal because of her parents’ deaths. Both her mother and father died after extended battles with cancer.

“You think the toughest thing you go through is watching somebody die, and you know what? It’s not,” Holmes said. “It’s not as tough as watching somebody you love suffer and there’s nothing you can do to ease that suffering. That is the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.”[…]

Friday’s meeting of the powerful Senate Executive Committee was a “subject matter” hearing, meaning no vote was taken. The bill will need more committee hearings, a vote in both legislative chambers and approval by the governor before becoming law.

* Sen. Lakesia Collins…

To assist community members and homeowners, State Senator Lakesia Collins advanced a measure Wednesday to provide guidance to law enforcement that simplifies the process for removing criminal trespassers from a person’s home.

“For homeowners who have had to deal with squatters and those living on property without permission, this helps clarify the law,” said Collins (D-Chicago). “Oftentimes, law enforcement is unclear about what to do about squatters and so the issue is often left to the eviction process. This legislation clarifies that squatters–who are trespassers–can be removed under the appropriate criminal trespass laws.”

This legislation responds to local squatters who snuck into a home while the owner was away. Law enforcement told the owner that they could not remove the squatters and that the homeowner would need to file an eviction.

Senate Bill 1563 would add a provision to the state’s eviction law that nothing about the eviction process keeps the police from enforcing our criminal laws. As a result, it clarifies that squatters–who are trespassers–can be removed without going through the eviction process.

“Squatters have been a problem my constituents have raised across the district and clarity for law enforcement is essential to avoid an unneeded and lengthy process to return someone’s home to them safely,” Collins said. “Tenants have rights and trespassers do not. This is simple but powerful clarification.”

Senate Bill 1563 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

* Center Square…

Illinois lawmakers are considering legislation that supporters say aims at enhancing protections for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but some legislators have expressed concern that the current proposal goes too far.

The Illinois House Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 1077, which is intended to reign in SLAPP, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.

State Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, the bill’s sponsor, said current law, the Citizen Participation Act, has been rendered almost toothless by judicial decisions. […]

The bill, which would create the Uniform Public Expression Act, passed out of committee by a 12 to 7 vote on Wednesday. State Reps. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, and Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, joined as co-sponsors of the legislation.