* ICYMI: Illinois Attorney General settles its lawsuit against a company that published personal information of hundreds of thousands of Illinois voters. WBEZ…

- Local Government Information Services, Inc., a Lake Forest-based operator of dozens of right-leaning online news outlets, entered into the previously unreported settlement agreement with Raoul’s office in late January.

- The agreement requires the company to destroy any restricted voter data it had that included birth dates and home addresses and to refrain from publishing any such data if it originated from voter roll information that originated from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

- No fines were levied as a result of the agreement, which required the company to cover its own legal expenses, and LGIS did not admit any liability or unlawful conduct as a result of its actions.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Immigrant families scramble as state health insurance for some noncitizens faces the axe in Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget plan: Getting insurance coverage from the state “felt like a relief,” Francisca said. “We could go to the doctor knowing that if they found something wrong, we would be able to follow up. We no longer had to choose between going to the doctor, paying for the visit, the medication, or paying for rent and food,” Francisca said. If the program goes away, the responsibility of paying her medical bills will fall back to her children, on top of paying for her other expenses. She has no savings and doesn’t qualify for Social Security disability benefits or Medicaid due to her immigration status.

* ABC Chicago | IL AG Raoul says office not backing down from Trump lawsuits despite budget limits: “We not being frivolous, these are real harms that are coming to our respective states and the American peoples at large,” Raoul said. The state attorney has joined 20 other Democratic state attorneys general for several lawsuits, many surrounding the Elon Musk DOGE firings of federal workers.

* WTTW | Don’t Click on Those Road Toll Texts. Officials Issue Warnings About the Smishing Scam: The texts impersonating state road toll collection agencies attempt to get phone users to reveal financial information, such as credit or debit cards or bank accounts. They’re so-called smishing scams — a form of phishing that relies on SMS texts to trick people into sending money or share sensitive information.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | Illinois House Republican, Democrats spar over potential elimination of US Department of Education: Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) rarely speaks on the House floor, but the former teacher with 30 years of experience said she had to stand up for students and teachers in central Illinois. “Why is Donald Trump pushing ahead with a policy that will hurt the same people who trusted him,” Scherer asked. “I’ll tell you why — simply because his billionaire donors want another tax cut and they’ll mortgage our children’s future to pay for it.”

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Feds pull grant funding from Illinois fair housing orgs that investigate discrimination: John Petruszak opened his email Feb. 27 to find a message he called “shocking”: the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development had rescinded two grants it had awarded to his advocacy organization, the South Suburban Housing Center. The grants, which represent 37% of the center’s budget, hadn’t been rescinded through any misstep by the organization. Rather, at the order of the Trump administration’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the grant was being terminated because it “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities,” the letter read.

* WCIA | Illinois recognized as 4th in country for solar energy capacity: The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) said that Illinois is ranked fourth for its solar energy capacity in the country. In 2024, about 2.5 gigawatts of capacity were installed in the state, which is about half of all the previously installed solar energy equipment.

* Alexi Giannoulias | Is the Real ID deadline real?: Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005. It was one of the many security initiatives developed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But it wasn’t until five years ago that many states began issuing them just before the pandemic put the brakes on the 2020 deadline. Slow compliance led to another delay, which kicked the latest deadline to May 7. So why should we believe them this go-around? Well, the federal government published a “final rule” in January, rejecting the option for another extension and requiring the federal regulation to finally take effect.

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | ‘This is pretty bad’ Neoga community picking up the pieces after devastating damage: Saturday morning, hundreds woke up to fallen trees and debris scattered throughout neighborhoods. The biggest shock in town, however, was at the Neoga schools. “This, this is pretty bad…” Jordan Snively said, as he worked on repairing parts of the school. Snively is a Neoga graduate himself. Today, he spent hours rebuilding his own school. Snively was one of many construction groups and volunteers on campus, helping to pick up the pieces after severe storm damage.

* WCIA | Neoga church offers childcare, free meals for kids during school closure: Grace United Methodist Church said that they will offer Neoga STRONG for kids each day this week from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Kids in kindergarten to fifth grade are invited to come to Grace Church for breakfast, lunch, and a day of activities. The church said that this will allow families to ensure that their kids are entertained and fed, while parents go about their week as normal.

* Sun-Times | To the NCAA Tournament, they go — shafted Big Ten champ Michigan, Milwaukee-bound Illinois and all the rest: BUT THEN THERE’S ILLINOIS, which should ship each member of the committee a frozen Papa Del’s deep-dish pie for treating the Illini and their fans to the absolute best-case scenario. Best-case, the Illini would be on the 6 line after getting destroyed by Maryland in the Big Ten quarterfinals. But to be both a 6 and in Milwaukee? God bless America. “We’re excited to be in Big Ten country, in Milwaukee,” coach Brad Underwood told reporters, smiling while he said it. “A place to play very close to us should be an exciting opportunity.”

* Rolling Stone | ‘The Perfect Church’: Inside the Religious Sect That Took Over a Midwestern Town: One of Jesse Morris’ earliest memories is sitting on his father’s shoulders at the church on Webster Street, in Oregon, Illinois, waiting for his pastor to rise from the dead. On an early spring night in 1992, about 75 people were packed under the high vaulted ceiling of the church’s main hall, in abject shock and grief. At the front of the room, Rose Aluli lay in a half-open casket dressed in one of her signature gowns. To the congregation, Rose had been much more than a charismatic preacher. Over the past decade, she had grown their church from a small Bible study into a thriving yet controversial local institution. They call it “The Church of Jesus Christ Forever” or “the Perfect Church.”

*** Chicago ***

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago City Council members pressure school board to pay up — or risk losing other financial support: Ald. Jason Ervin, who represents the West Side and is chair of the powerful committee on budget and government operations, said that while CPS has no legal obligation to reimburse the city, City Council also has no obligation to provide the school district with funding for school construction projects or waive water and sewer fees, as it currently does. Those and other entanglements between the city government and the school system were laid out in a 2023 report required under the state legislation that paved the way for Chicago’s transition away from mayoral control to a fully elected school board in 2027.

* Tribune | CTA slow zones are growing, and that means longer commutes for ‘L’ riders: In February, slow zones covered some 30% of the rail system, up from 13% five years earlier. One of the most severely limited stretches of track is the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line once regularly taken by Hoskins, which the CTA has targeted for an overhaul. But speed restrictions can be found on every train line, also plaguing the Green Line, Brown Line and sections of the Red Line subway downtown.

* Crain’s | Chicago wants city contractors to share in budget pain: The city’s chief procurement officer, Sharla Roberts, is giving city contractors five business days to lay out a plan to reduce invoices submitted to the city by 3%, according to a letter reviewed by Crain’s. The city says the 2025 budget was approved with an expectation of receiving $8.6 million in savings from the initiative.

* Crain’s | Chan Zuckerberg, Portal, P33 add space at Fulton Labs: The research lab, led by Northwestern University researcher Shana Kelley, is focused on studying the effects of inflammation, the underlying cause of many diseases. The biohub, with a funding commitment of up to $250 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, put a spotlight on Chicago’s life-science industry.

* Sun-Times | White Sox release Joey Gallo, who shifts focus to pitching: “Talking to Joey this morning, [we] just came to a mutual agreement that [releasing him] was the best thing,” said Sox manager Will Venable, who had Gallo penciled in to play against the Rangers. “Wish him luck as he starts a new chapter as a pitcher and appreciate his dedication and his effort to the White Sox while he was here.”

* Sun-Times | Bo Jackson knows how to make White Sox’ clubhouse take notice: One of the greatest athletes of all time and the only one to be named an All-Star in two professional sports, Jackson, who played for the White Sox from 1991 to ’93, told players to keep it simple. “Just a motivational speech to go out there and have fun,” infielder Brooks Baldwin said. “Play like it’s old-school ball. Have fun and play hard.”

* WTTW | In a Chicago Alley, a Local Winery Gets Creative with Michigan Grapes: Things are constantly bubbling at Middle Brow. It’s not just the effervescence of their sparkling wine, carbonation of their beer, or air bubbles in their bread and pizza dough – it’s also creative ferment. Pete Ternes and Bryan Grohnke began harnessing fermentation more than a decade ago, trying to brew beers unlike any others on the market. They sunk their hands into pizza and bread when they took over a building at 2840 W. Armitage in Logan Square with Ternes’ wife Polly Nevins some six years ago. That building became Bungalow by Middle Brow, a restaurant, cafe, bakery, and brewery. They started experimenting with wine around the same time, and are now building out another location and production facility in southwestern Michigan to handle their ever-growing slate of low-intervention natural wines.

* Sun-Times | Cindy Pritzker, beloved family matriarch and philanthropist, dies at 101: Marian “Cindy” Friend Pritzker was the matriarch of one of Chicago’s most powerful families. She was the wife of the man behind the Hyatt Hotel dynasty, aunt of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and a philanthropist who championed the city’s public libraries and architecture. Mrs. Pritzker also liked to have a good time. She enjoyed the occasional glass of wine and cigarette. She held the family record for swearing. At age 80, she got her ears pierced for the first time. A decade later, she got her first tattoo.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Bears stadium plans draw excitement, caution from Arlington Heights trustee candidates: From excitement to calls for a referendum — with a measure of caution in between — views vary among the Arlington Heights village board candidates on the possibility of the Bears building a stadium in town. Eight candidates are running, with only four trustee positions on the ballot in the April 1 election. Early voting is set to begin Monday.

* WGN | West suburban native Matt Richtman becomes first American to win Los Angeles Marathon in over 30 years: Matt Richtman, who’s from Elburn and attended Kaneland High School in Maple Park, won the 2025 L.A. Marathon with a time of 2:07:56, which was an impressive three minutes faster than second-place Athanas Kioko of Kenya. Richtman’s victory means he is the first American to win the race since 1994. In that race 31 years ago, Paul Pilkington of Utah won with a time of 2:12:13.

*** National ***

* CNN Poll | Democratic Party’s favorability drops to a record low: With many in the party saying publicly that their leaders should do more to stand up to President Donald Trump, Democrats and Democratic-aligned independents say, 57% to 42%, that Democrats should mainly work to stop the Republican agenda, rather than working with the GOP majority to get some Democratic ideas into legislation.

* The Atlantic | The World’s Deadliest Infectious Disease Is About to Get Worse: Some people die of TB when their lungs collapse or fill with fluid. For others, scarring leaves so little healthy lung tissue that breathing becomes impossible. Or the infection spreads to the brain or the spinal column, or they suffer a sudden, uncontrollable hemorrhage. Lack of appetite and extreme abdominal pain can fuel weight loss so severe that it whittles away muscle and bone. This is why TB was widely known as “consumption” until the 20th century—it seemed to be a disease that consumed the very body, shrinking and shriveling it. On a trip to Sierra Leone in 2019, I met a boy named Henry Reider, whose mix of shyness and enthusiasm for connection reminded me of my own son. I thought he was perhaps 9 years old. His doctors later told me that he was in fact 17, his body stunted by a combination of malnutrition and tuberculosis.