* ICYMI: Illinois Gov. takes action to support workers impacted by federal job cuts. Fox 2 Now…

- The state is hosting two job fairs aimed at providing new employment opportunities for those affected by federal job cuts.
- The job fairs are for various fields, including engineering, health care, accounting and environmental services.
- “If things can be taken away at the federal level, people need to look at all other resources. If their job is impacted, have a plan B,” said Moses Holman from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
- A second job fair is scheduled for March 20 at Malcolm X College in Chicago

* Related stories…

∙ Press release: Gov. Pritzker and CMS Act to Support Federal Workers
∙ Fox2Now: SIUE hosts job fair to aid former federal workers in job search

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | ‘I hope people have some kind of compassion’: Illinois patients, hospitals fear potential Medicaid cuts: “It’s pretty much saving my life right now,” said Outlaw, 38, who lives on the city’s West Side. If something happened to Outlaw’s Medicaid coverage, “it’s the end for me,” he said. Outlaw is one of more than 3.4 million people in Illinois on Medicaid — more than one-quarter of the state’s population — who are anxiously watching discussions in Washington, D.C., over the future of the program. In late February, House Republicans passed a budget resolution instructing the committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion in costs over the next 10 years to help pay for new and existing tax cuts and enhanced border and national security, according to House Republicans.

* ABC Chicago | Victims of SNAP, EBT fraud will no longer be reimbursed for stolen food benefits : Thieves have found a way to steal from people’s SNAP accounts. Now the state of Illinois is telling the I-Team they are no longer able to replace the funds, leaving some families struggling to put food on the table. It is a sophisticated scheme that is affecting people nationwide. Hackers have been clearing out people’s food benefits over the last few years.

* STLPR | Illinois residents had the chance to pick a new flag — they chose the old one In total, Illinoisans cast nearly 384,000 votes in the contest. The current flag earned more than 165,000. Anyone could cast a ballot once per 24 hours during the five-week voting period. While the next closest option received less than 9% of the vote — nearly 57% of votes were cast for a different option. That may signal that the state does indeed want change, said flag enthusiast Ted Kaye, secretary of the North American Vexillological Association.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Hundreds rally at the Capitol to oppose homeschool bill While the number of homeschooled children is growing, determining the number of children who are educated at home is difficult, as registration is not required. The bill would also require data collection from each Regional Office of Education across Illinois for the first time on the number, grade and age of homeschooled children in their regions.

* State Rep. Barbara Hernandez | Improving teacher diversity is crucial to the success of all students: Now more than ever, Illinois must make a strong and united show of support for MTI and the continued funding of this important effort. In January, I was proud to vote for the passage of a bill that highlights the value and importance of MTI. It is my hope that my colleagues in the Illinois Senate will follow suit with their support of this important program. Despite progress in Illinois, there is still a wide disparity in representation between teachers and their students. While students of color make up 54% of Illinois’ K-12 student population, teachers of color make up only 18% of the teacher workforce in the state.

* Jim Dey | Supreme Court’s ruling on bribes further complicates Madigan, ComEd convictions: The ComEd Four were convicted before the Supreme Court ruled in the Snyder case that post-deal “gratuities” are legal. So U.S. Judge Manish Shah threw out four of the nine convictions, in spite of his comments that evidence showed the utility’s payments were bribes. What’s next? The government may cut its losses and proceed to sentencing on the remaining guilty verdicts. All four face likely prison sentences. Or it may retry the four on bribery charges under different statutory language.

* IPM | Gov. Pritzker: Champaign’s school district is a model for a potential statewide K-12 cell phone ban: “[Champaign Unit 4] has helped to lead the charge in this work implementing its own cell phone policy this year,” Pritzker said. “Teachers, administrators and students have told me that there’s a stark improvement in the overall learning environment.” The Champaign Unit 4 School District banned cell phones in the classroom last fall. Superintendent Shelia Boozer said in a recent survey, Unit 4 families and teachers reported the change is having a positive impact. She said students have been cooperative and are adjusting.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Trump’s latest tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China have Illinois businesses facing ’scary times’: On Monday afternoon, Sandya Dandamudi had five trucks racing to cross the Canadian border by midnight. The trucks, full of American granite that was fabricated in Canada, needed to be in the U.S. or they risked being slapped by President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian imports. Dandamudi, president of Chicago-based stone supplier GI Stone, said the last truck came in at 11:30 p.m. — a half-hour before the tariffs went into effect.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Walgreens to be bought by private-equity firm Sycamore for $10B: After several months of rumors that Walgreens Boots Alliance would take itself private, the Deerfield-based pharmacy giant confirmed today that it will sell itself for an equity value of around $10 billion to New York-based private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. Sycamore, which has traditionally specialized in retail and consumer investments, will acquire Walgreens for $11.45 per share in cash, a premium of 29% to the company’s closing share price of $8.85 on Dec. 9, the pharmacy chain said today.

* Crain’s | Small Business Administration closing Chicago office over sanctuary city law: SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced Chicago will join five other major U.S. markets in relocating regional offices to “less costly, more accessible locations that better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law,” according to a news release today. The department will also begin requiring SBA loan applicants to verify their U.S. citizenship and lenders to confirm that businesses are not owned in whole or in part by people without legal status.

* Block Club | Bomb Threats Made To Jones And Hancock College Prep Were Unfounded, Police Say: Jones was one of two schools to receive threats on Wednesday, according to police. John Hancock College Prep in Clearing on the Southwest Side was also targeted. Both incidents were deemed “non-bonafide” — or unsubstantiated — by police. “It’s a very serious matter. It frightens everybody, the students, the administrators, and the community,” Bird said. “That’s why the officers responded as swiftly as they did, and we had resources on the scene to clear the school and ensure everyone was safe.”

* Block Club | Dogs Keep Getting Shocked Outside Luxury Apartment Downtown — And Tenants Are Desperate For Answers: Emails shared with Block Club Chicago from Feb. 4 show Owczarski addressing concerns about a possible live current in front of the building. “Thank you for the information, Alison. I will inform the maintenance team so they can figure this out ASAP,” management said in an emailed response that same day. The couple thought the issue had been corrected until they heard other residents’ stories, including Johnson’s. Howard and Owczarski said they have since heard similar accounts from at least 20 other dog owners.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | ‘Notorious’ firearm store linked to illegal weapons closes: A south suburban firearms store once described as “Chicago’s most notorious gun shop” has closed its doors. At Chuck’s Gun Shop and Pistol Range in Riverdale, which for years was known as a leading local source of guns recovered at Chicago crime scenes, a sign taped to the window reads “going fishing forever.” A metal folding gate blocks the storefront that drew activists for “die-ins” as recently as 2022. […] The shop has been the subject of numerous media reports from local and national outlets highlighting the high volume of guns recovered at crime scenes that came from the store, and has drawn protests since at least 2007, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and the Rev. Michael Pfleger were arrested for trespassing while demonstrating outside.

* Fox Chicago | Cook County farm says $200K grant and two other pending grants were canceled: Kakadoodle, located in Matteson, revealed on Facebook that in addition to the $200,000 grant awarded for remodeling a pole barn into a new distribution center, two other pending grants have also been canceled. Furthermore, the company’s steady revenue from moving food to local food banks has halted.

* NBC Chicago | Pace express bus service could expand into west, northwest suburbs: Pace is in the early stages of studying whether to add shoulder-riding buses on I-290 and I-88, potentially expanding express service to the west and northwest suburbs. The suburban bus agency has run buses along the shoulders of I-55 and I-94 for years. Expanding this type of express service to the I-290/88 corridor could reduce travel times, congestion and add more transit options.

* Crain’s | Wirtz family’s proposed Ivanhoe Village has local officials feuding over fees: The Wirtz family’s plan to develop Lake County land it has owned since the mid-19th century into a community of about 3,600 homes will have a big impact on the schools, roads and other services in the area, and planning for that impact has set off a feud between the local school districts and Mundelein village officials. Leaders of the elementary and high school districts say they’ve been sidelined in negotiations over the impact fees the developers of the Ivanhoe Village community should pay. In late February, they published a letter to residents asking for citizens’ support to “demand the Wirtz Family do what’s right for our schools and communities.”

* Eye On Illinois | Guilty plea another step in moving forward after Highland Park tragedy: “We are not the first community to go through this, and we are not the last.” Ashbey Beasley spoke those words to reporters gathered outside the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan Monday, according to Capitol News Illinois, and it’s difficult to isolate a more searing quote in relation to the guilty plea of the gunman who terrorized the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day parade.

* Daily Herald | Obama archive in Hoffman Estates planned move to Maryland before appearance on DOGE list: But Bob Huber, vice president of investment sales for Imperial Realty Co., which handles the building’s leasing, said the lease was due to end in September 2025 anyway. He sees the change as an opportunity, rather than a hardship. “I am starting to market the thing right now,” Huber said. As soon as the property showed up on DOGE’s list of terminating federal leases, he said he’s been flooded with inquiries about its availability — including about 200 on Wednesday alone.

* NBC Chicago | Illinois’ ‘largest’ fireworks show cancelled for 2025, village board says: The decision was announced at the Itasca Village board meeting Tuesday, where village administrator Carrie Ann Ergo explained that construction happening around the park would make the celebration “logistically unfeasible” for summer 2025. “This was an extremely difficult decision to make,” Ergo said in a statement. “Itasca takes great pride in hosting the biggest and best fireworks show in northern Illinois. Our first priority is always the safety and security of Itasca residents, businesses and visitors. Given the unique challenges presented this year, we cannot confidently recommend hosting fireworks in 2025.”

*** Downstate ***

* Pantagraph | LGBTQ+ town hall focuses on state legislation, safety, rights: wo Central Illinois state lawmakers pledged support for pro-LGBTQ+ legislation at a town hall Thursday that also drew a range of organizations supporting that community in the face of the current U.S. political climate. “We know what’s happening across the country with this hostile administration because we know that they’re attacking LGBTQ people, specifically trans individuals,” said José Wilson, director of civic engagement at Equality Illinois.

* WCIA | Federal funding cuts impact Central Illinois food banks, farmers: “The access to nutritious food is extremely important,” said EIF President and CEO Kelly Daly. EIF distributes millions of pounds of groceries across 18 counties through their mobile distribution program. Daly said they’re not stopping anytime soon, but budget cuts are making it a bit more challenging.

* WAND | Danville gives green light on cannabis lounge: Just under one year after opening their location in Danville, Co-Founder and CEO Brad Zerman said he is appreciative how many people support Seven Point and appealed to City Council. “The community wants it. We had over 325 signed petitions from Danville residents.” Zerman says he hopes to open the lounge in April.

* WAND | ‘It’s a tough spot to be in,’ says brewmaster concerned about tariff on aluminum: Brent Schwoerer, the owner, founder, and brewmaster of Engrained Brewing Company said that he expects to see an increase in their 4-pack beers. “It may be up to a dollar in cost increases, we’re proposing for these 4 packs.” Even beyond the recent tariffs, Schwoerer said that other brewmasters have been seeing an increase in various costs over the past two years.

*** National ***

* FYI…

Guess he liked what he saw at new member orientation. Seventh time (+ a brand new state)'s the charm for a run at Congress?
(2002, 2004, 2008 special, 2008 regular, 2014, 2020…2026) https://t.co/C7gm3AqQ87 pic.twitter.com/1dkH0SuTZY

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) March 5, 2025

* AP | War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon’s DEI purge: References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press. The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.

* Tribune | President Trump signs executive order to establish government bitcoin reserve: Under Trump’s new order, the U.S. government will retain the estimated 200,000 bitcoin it’s already seized in criminal and civil proceedings, according to Trump’s “crypto czar” David Sacks. “The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold,’” Sacks said on social media.