* Capitol News Illinois…

As the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget Director Alexis Sturm warned a House committee that uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s economic and administrative policies could affect Illinois revenue, the president announced new tariffs will take effect Tuesday on imports from some of Illinois’ top trading partners.

After initially pausing implementing 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico, Trump announced in a social media post Thursday morning that tariffs will begin on March 4. In addition, he said the U.S. will add another 10% tariff on Chinese goods. […]

Meanwhile in the Illinois Statehouse, Sturm told the House Revenue and Finance Committee that revenue projections in Gov. JB Pritzker’s introduced budget account for the possibility of tariffs affecting the economy.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in our outlook based on what’s going on at the national level regarding tariffs, tax policy, what the Federal Reserve is going to do,” Sturm said. […]

Asked whether there are any spending cut plans for downturns in revenue projections, Sturm the governor’s office doesn’t have a backup plan.

“At this point, no,” Sturm said. “I think the important thing to watch is what happens in April.”

Sturm hinted there could be some good news for state finances when income tax revenue is reported at the end of April. She said state officials are expecting a “pretty significant April tax payment,” which could cause state officials to reevaluate their revenue projections for the current fiscal year.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WCIA | ‘Drugs don’t work if you cannot afford them’: Rally held in Illinois Capitol to regulate prescription costs: Many people across Illinois are struggling to pay for their prescriptions, and around 250 people came together in the Capitol with an idea to curb the prices. Advocates are fighting for the Illinois lawmakers to pass a bill to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. That five-person board will cap the prices of certain drugs across the state to ensure residents can afford them.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Chicago sees dealmaking slump as early Trump moves drive uncertainty: Dealmaking has remained stuck in neutral in 2025 as uncertainty about the impact of President Donald Trump’s early actions has kept mergers and acquisitions activity light, belying forecasts for a long-awaited market surge this year. “It certainly has not materialized,” said Brad Haller, senior partner for mergers and acquisitions at business and technology consulting firm West Monroe. “In terms of new inbound activity, the first two months of this year, it has not met our expectations.”

* Fox 32 | Why is Brandon Johnson testifying before Congress?: In January, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent a formal letter to City Hall, requesting Johnson’s participation in a public hearing on Capitol Hill. The letter cited concerns about the impact of sanctuary policies in Chicago and three other cities—New York, Boston, and Denver. It claimed such policies fail to comply with federal law and suggested, “Citizens of all four cities have suffered due to sanctuary policies.” House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) confirmed all four mayors will testify at the full committee hearing on March 5.

* Bloomberg | Walgreens rises on report that Sycamore would split company: Sycamore, which has been reportedly exploring a purchase of Walgreens for months, is planning on splitting up the company’s US and UK pharmacy businesses, as well as its specialty pharmacy unit, the Financial Times reported Thursday. Walgreens shares rose as much as 7.3% when US markets opened. They had gained 18% this year through Wednesday’s close. Representatives for Walgreens and Sycamore declined to comment. The stock was up 4% at about $11.50 as of 11:50 a.m. on Thursday.

* Sun-Times | Bears have 4th-most salary-cap space as NFL announces record-high $279.2 million cap: Regardless of where the final number fell, the Bears were set to have the fourth-most salary-cap space when the new league year begins March 12. After recent cuts of tight end Gerald Everett and defensive end DeMarcus Walker, they’re on track to have $79.5 million in space when they start negotiating with free agents March 10. That trails only the Patriots at $127.8 million, the Raiders at $96.5 million and the Commanders at $81.9 million. NFC North rivals the Vikings ($63 million) and Lions ($51.5 million) also are in the top 10, and the Packers have $48.8 million to spend.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Monica Gordon | Lives are lost in south suburban Cook County because it’s a trauma center desert: In the heart of the Southland, a critical health care gap has been widening, one that endangers lives every day. The absence of a trauma center in this region is more than an inconvenience; it is a public health crisis that demands immediate attention and collective action. As someone who has lived and worked in the south suburbs throughout my career and served as an elected official, I have seen firsthand the devastating impact of this health care void. Trauma centers are not just hospitals; they are lifelines. These centers significantly improve survival rates and patient outcomes for traumatic brain injuries, gunshot wounds, injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes and so much more.

* Naperville | Naperville craft brewers worried about potential impact of Trump’s aluminum tariffs: For Naperville’s Go Brewing, aluminum cans play a substantial role in manufacturing. Ask president and founder Joe Chura, and he’d say about 99.99% of the nonalcoholic craft brewery’s offerings are doled out in aluminum cans. So with President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all imported aluminum set to go into effect on March 12, the potential local impact “is really on our mind,” Chura says.

* Sun-Times | Graduate saddled with $138K debt for ‘worthless’ degree sues loan servicer Navient for fraud: An Aurora woman who attended a “predatory for-profit” college in the Loop filed a proposed class action lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of student loan borrowers who were shut out of getting their loans discharged, following a 2022 settlement against loan servicer Navient Corp. Amanda Luciano, 38, racked up more than $138,000 in debt and has paid off about $52,000. The lawsuit says Navient should have erased her loans because she attended a “predatory for-profit” school. Instead, the company refused and wouldn’t explain why. Luciano filed the lawsuit against Navient and its subsidiary, Navient Solutions, in Cook County Circuit Court, saying the servicer fraudulently and unfairly denied her request to have her loans discharged. Her complaint seeks class action status for other Illinois borrowers who also received “boilerplate” denials from Navient.

* Tribune | Ex-sailor pleads guilty to terrorist plot to attack Naval Station Great Lakes in 2022: A former sailor at the Naval Station Great Lakes has pleaded guilty to a 2022 terrorist plot to attack the base in Chicago’s northern suburbs on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, purportedly to avenge the death of an Iranian general killed by U.S. forces. Xuanyu Harry Pang, 38, of North Chicago, pleaded guilty to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense premises with the intent to obstruct the national defense of the U.S., court records show.

*** Downstate ***

* WJBD | Demolition work underway for new operating and emergency room at Salem Township Hospital: Demolition work is now underway in the future area that will house the Salem Township Hospital emergency and operating room areas. Hospital CEO James Timpe says no surprises have been found. “Demolition has been underway for about three weeks, and we’re seeing the area downstairs that used to be the rural health center is being cleared out,” Timpe said. “It’s looking good, and we should have a plan from our architect in a couple of weeks. They’ll send that out for bids, and we’ll see if we can come in under budget.”

* Shaw Local | Keast ousts Schore in Bourbonnais mayoral primary: The village of Bourbonnais will have a new mayor after the April 1 consolidated general election. Trustee Jeff Keast soundly defeated four-term incumbent Mayor Paul Schore in Tuesday’s Bourbonnais Citizens Party primary race. Keast has been a trustee for 10 years. According to unofficial results, Keast finished with 1,061 votes (60.7%) to Schore’s 686 votes (39.3%).

* WJBD | Marion County Board hires new county highway engineer: The Marion County Board has hired Alex Kreke as its new county highway engineer, pending IDOT approval. Kreke is currently an engineer with the city of Wentzville, Missouri. Road and Bridge Committee Co-Chair Adam Smith says Kreke is originally from Dietrich and wanted to return to the Southern Illinois area. “He seems to be really motivated to be back in the area, and he seems like he’s very much interested in learning about the county highway business,” Smith said. “He’s got a lot of experience with city streets, sewers and infrastructure, so he ought to be a great fit for our county.”

* Illinois Times | The Taste of Black Springfield: Celebrate Black History Month and experience the best of local Black-owned food, music and fun at the same time. This event’s menu ranges from barbecue to soul food to sweet treats. Entry is free but event attendees are urged to donate to vendors at the event. Fifteen Black-owned businesses are set to provide their specialties for this event.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | From egg prices to housing, US inflation is heating up again: “Our outlook is very much for inflation to be coming back. We’ve been saying second half of this year, but it seems like the pressures are already starting to build,” said Lauren Saidel-Baker, economist at ITR Economics. And between the administration’s policies on tariffs and immigration, there’s more to come, she said. “I want to be absolutely clear: there are upside risks to our inflation outlook.”

* NYT | Organ Transplant System ‘in Chaos’ as Waiting Lists Are Ignored: For decades, fairness has been the guiding principle of the American organ transplant system. Its bedrock, a national registry, operates under strict federal rules meant to ensure that donated organs are offered to the patients who need them most, in careful order of priority. But today, officials regularly ignore the rankings, leapfrogging over hundreds or even thousands of people when they give out kidneys, livers, lungs and hearts. These organs often go to recipients who are not as sick, have not been waiting nearly as long and, in some cases, are not on the list at all, a New York Times investigation found.

* The Atlantic | Inside the Collapse at the NIH: The lights at the NIH are on; staff are at their desks. But since late January, the agency has issued only a fraction of its usual awards—many in haphazard spurts, as officials rushed grants through the pipeline in whatever limited windows they could manage. As of this week, some of the agency’s 27 institutes and centers are still issuing no new grants at all, one NIH official told me. Grant-management officers, who sign their name to awards, are too afraid, the official said, that violating the president’s wishes will mean losing their livelihood. (Most of the officials I spoke with requested anonymity, out of fear for their job at the agency, or—for those who have left—further professional consequences.)