* Daily Herald…

As state lawmakers once again consider proposals to regulate or ban hemp-based beverages, craft brewery owners and operators from across Illinois gathered Tuesday in Wheeling to discuss options they hope will allow them to keep making — and pouring — the intoxicating drinks.

The conclave — dubbed the inaugural Hemp Beverage Brew Day — was held at District Brew Yards, 700 N. Milwaukee Ave. It drew about 60 people from the brewing and hospitality industries. In addition to discussions about the business and legislation, they were treated to a brewing demonstration. […]

A different bill is more popular with Stout and his cohorts. It would establish a tax and assorted regulations for hemp beverage manufacturers, distributors and retailers, including rules for labeling, testing and advertising.

“We like this bill,” [Ray Stout, the executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild] said. Even so, he added, “there are plenty of opportunities for improvement.”

* WGN…

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced Tuesday that Phase 3 of the rehabilitation of Interstate 94 from the Edens Expressway junction to Ohio Street will resume on Monday — weather permitting.

IDOT encourages the use of alternative routes and public transportation during this time.

This week, motorists should expect various overnight ramp and lane closures on the outbound Kennedy and the reversible lanes, between Ohio Street and Montrose Avenue, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Starting next Tuesday, the reversible express lanes will remain open in the outbound direction, with two mainline outbound lanes closed at a time.

*** Statewide ***

* Center Square | Transportation Security Agency workers in Illinois, elsewhere lose union: Travelers see Transportation Security Agency checkpoints at airports all around Illinois, from Chicago to the Quad Cities to the Metro East, but now a change at the federal level is affecting those workers. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the union representing nearly 50,000 workers, in effect declaring the TSA screener union contract null and void. Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the agency will immediately cease using its payroll system for collecting union dues.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson’s labor liaison to leave City Hall: Bridget Early, Chicago’s deputy mayor for labor relations, has resigned her position effective March 15, according to an email to colleagues obtained by Crain’s. The position was created by Johnson, a former organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, when he first took office with a promise of increased outreach to the city’s labor partners.

* Tribune | Anthony Quezada front-runner for 35th Ward seat as Mayor Brandon Johnson outlines selection process: As Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration details his process for picking a new alderman to represent Logan Square and other Northwest Side neighborhoods, all signs point to one politician: Cook County Commissioner Anthony Quezada. The progressive 29-year-old walked into the United Neighbors of the 35th Ward endorsement meeting Sunday alongside outgoing Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, his former boss. An hour later, the front-runner walked out with the group’s unanimous blessing after some in the crowd had chanted his name.

* Tribune | Real ID ‘supercenter’ opens in Loop this week to handle rush ahead of May 7 deadline: The eleventh-hour rush has overwhelmed DMVs across the state, slowing the process for others services such as drivers license and vehicle plate renewals, and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said he’s treating the situation like a “mini emergency.” “We’re seeing appointments that are opening up and they’re gone in like milliseconds, and at our walk-in facilities, we’re seeing unprecedented lines,” Giannoulias said. “We’re trying to attack this problem, which actually has nothing to do with us. This is a federally mandated program that we’re being tasked with overseeing.”

* Block Club Chicago | Bally’s Chicago Doubles Down On Chinatown Shuttle Service As Casino Struggles Financially: The temporary casino has operated shuttle services to Chinatown since it opened in October 2023. But today, buses make 30 daily trips from two stops on South Wentworth Avenue to the casino’s front door. That’s up from the 13 daily runs it initially operated, according to a copy of the shuttle schedule provided by Grace McKibben, executive director of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community.

* Block Club Chicago | Jerry Garcia-Inspired Venue Opens This Month After Years Of Delays: First announced in 2019, Garcia’s will honor the late Grateful Dead guitarist and vocalist. Block Club Chicago confirmed plans for the venue after Amplify magazine reported that promoter Pete Shapiro was working with Garcia’s estate to open “a seated jazz and jam venue in the heart of the West Loop.” Located at 1001 W. Washington Blvd., formerly home to Wishbone restaurant, the 300-seat concert venue and restaurant will officially open March 21 with a show by Grahame Lesh & Friends, featuring special guests Daniel Donato and Nicki Bluhm, according to a press release.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Block Club Chicago | County Commissioner Paid Over $30,000 As Consultant At Harvey Library Where Husband Serves As Board President: A newly minted county commissioner has brought in tens of thousands of dollars working at the library where her husband now serves as board president. In October 2023, the Harvey Public Library District board voted to give Kisha McCaskill, wife of then-treasurer Anthony McCaskill, a six-and-a-half-month consulting contract, compensated at $2,000 per month, working 20 hours a week. The contract for her company, KHM Consulting Group Incorporated, expired in May 2024.

* Shaw Local | 2 former clerks, 1 newcomer seek election to DeKalb’s long-suffering City Clerk’s Office: DeKalb voters in November backed keeping the Clerk elected, the third such failed referendum since 2006. And this spring, they’ll get a chance to do just that. The catch? None of the three candidates’ names will appear on the ballot. No one’s name will be on the clerk’s ballot, in fact. Not a single person filed for the seat before the window closed in November.

* Daily Herald | ‘The place to be’: Barrington state of the village reports highlight current, future successes: Barrington Village President Karen Darch and Village Manager Scott Anderson delivered the annual state of the village address at Monday’s village board meeting. This was Darch’s final state of the village address after 20 years as village president. She is not seeking reelection April 1. Darch highlighted major transportation initiatives, including the Route 14 underpass, safety improvements at railroad crossings and the Hillside Avenue Reconstruction.

* Daily Herald | DuPage County to pay $11 million to settle lawsuit over detainee’s death in jail: DuPage County is going to pay $11 million to the family of an Addison woman who died in the county jail to settle a lawsuit that claims jail medical personnel and corrections officers did not provide adequate medical and mental health care. […] “This was a horrific tragedy and an example of a perfect storm of failures,” DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy said on Tuesday. “Too often, people like Mrs. Hurtado wind up being incarcerated. Too often, there are long waits for the few beds in publicly funded hospitals to accept people who need mental health treatment. And too often, mental health crises lead to physical crises that become life-threatening.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Illinois State Police hope to hire more women with all-female recruitment event: Illinois State Police hope to increase the number of female police officers, and to do that, they’re hosting their first ever all-women recruitment event. The State Police Academy in Springfield will be open to the public on March 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the event, Illinois State Police will share employment information and offer opportunities to meet with professionals specializing in forensic science, investigations, telecommunications, crime scene services and patrol.

* WIFR | Rockford’s deteriorating Singer Mental Health Center could be torn down under Illinois budget proposal: The abandoned Singer Mental Health Center at 4402 N. Main St. could soon be torn down to make way for new business under a state proposal. As part of the “Surplus to Success” plan within his proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, Gov. JB Pritzker wants the state to invest $300 million to remediate and repurpose state-owned sites. The sites would then be used to attract more large-scale business operations and “increase local revenues by adding the properties to the local property tax rolls,” according to the Pritzker administration.

* WGLT | Bloomington council approves new water filtration unit, previews 2026 budget: Water director Ed Andrews said unseasonably high algae growth in lake sources was proving too much for the current filtration system, noting 15 of the system’s possible 16 filtration beds are now active. “We have one more bed that we can open up, but we’re not going to get there trying to knock taste and odor back at these levels with just 16 filter beds,” Andrews said.

* WCIA | Acting Provost named for Eastern Illinois University: EIU officials announced Monday that Dr. Holly Farley will assume duties as the acting Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs starting June 1. […] Farley’s appointment comes after the previous provost, Ryan Hendrickson, announced he will become the president at University of St. Francis in Joliet. The national search for a permanent provost will start in the summer, officials said.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | Trump DEI Purge Hits Affordable Housing Groups: The canceled awards include ongoing projects in more than 1,000 communities to address homelessness, disaster recovery, persistent poverty and other housing issues, according to a list seen by Bloomberg CityLab. The terminations came in February, after staff from the Elon Musk-led DOGE directed HUD to draw up letters informing the nonprofits that their “operations and performance in connection with the subject awards is not in compliance with the Executive Order titled ‘Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.’”