* Crain’s…

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, during an appearance today at a progressive think tank in Washington, continued his sharp criticism of President Donald Trump by comparing his first two months in office to the Great Chicago Fire.

“Chicago rose from the ashes to demonstrate what American ingenuity looks like,” the Democratic governor said of the 1871 disaster. “It seems wherever we look right now, there is fire. There are embers. Trump and his bootlickers designed it that way. It should scare us, but it should not deter us, so let it instead be a call to action to all of us together [that] we can build something bigger and better.”

Pritzker spoke for an hour at the Center for American Progress, where he was interviewed by Neera Tanden, the group’s president and CEO and a former senior White House aide to Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. She called Pritzker “a fighter.”

The governor struck themes critical of Trump that he voiced in his state of the state address in Springfield last month and in other recent public appearances. Speaking to a crowded meeting room at CAP’s offices in downtown Washington, the governor referred to Trump’s sidekick Elon Musk as “President Musk” and said the administration was engaged in “true villainous cruelty by a few idiots who are trying to figure out how to pull off the scam of their lives. They’re armed with the power of the presidency, and their sights are aimed on working people.”

You can watch the full livestream here.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WTTW | What Are Pharmacy Benefit Managers? Illinois Lawmakers Target Industry They Say Drives Up Prescription Costs: The industry can secure discounts, and the national association for PBMs describes their efforts as working to achieve savings and access to prescriptions. But critics, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who took specific aim at PBMs last month during his state of the state address, describe the industry as focused on self-enrichment and in need of regulation. He said “one of the great ironies of our modern age” is the concurrent breakthroughs that have developed life-saving medicines that end up being so expensive that they’re out of reach.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | No more discounted golf, free Centennial Beach access, other perks for former Naperville Park Board members: Eliminated benefits include a 20% discount on golf rounds with tee times at Springbrook and Naperbrook courses, free golf for walk-on rounds, free range balls, free admission to Centennial Beach, and discounts on both golf and beach merchandise. Benefits — other than the merchandise discounts — applied to both former commissioners and eligible family members, including spouses or civil union partners and dependent children up to age 21. The change was floated by board President Mary Gibson at the Feb. 27 meeting and voted on Thursday. Gibson, board Vice President Leslie Ruffing and commissioners Rich Janor and Alison Thompson supported the amendment. Commissioners John Risvold and Chris Jacks cast the dissenting votes. Commissioner Rhonda Ansier was absent.

* Daily Herald | Des Plaines clerk’s powers cut by city council: In a move that was all but inevitable following a preliminary vote two weeks ago, the Des Plaines City Council on Monday stripped City Clerk Jessica Mastalski of authority over her office’s workers. Mastalski and any future clerks still will work with employees but are forbidden from exercising “administrative direction and control” over them, according to the new rules. Workers will instead be exclusively supervised by the city manager or a designee.

* Tribune | Elmhurst alderman races focus on water rates, economic development: Second Ward Ald. Jacob Hill said in his work for a local university he has many opportunities to engage with students and, as a veteran himself, with veterans. But his work as an alderman allows him to be of service to the broader community, he said, and to model public service for young people. […] Regarding the police station, all the aldermanic candidates said they favor replacement. But Hill alone suggested the project could be delayed. “I understand the need…” he said. “But maybe not now. We could hold off for a few years.”

* Tribune | Divisions clear in heated Oak Park and River Forest School Board race: There are clear philosophical and ideological distinctions in the heated Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 School Board race. On one side there is the slate of Nate Mellman and Josh Gertz. They are challenging what some view as the OPRF establishment and are questioning some core beliefs that have been dominant at the school in recent years. Mellman and Gertz are being vehemently opposed by a four candidate coalition that is supportive of the status quo and the school’s current direction.

* Sun-Times | Suburban officer donned blackface but was promoted, claims former cop allegedly fired in retaliation: A former Orland Park police officer filed a lawsuit against the village and police department leaders alleging he was fired in retaliation for complaining about being denied a promotion because he’s Hispanic. William Sanchez, who served in the department for nearly 20 years before being fired in March of 2024, claims department leadership “displayed troubling attitudes toward race” that made him feel discriminated against. According to the suit, one white officer was promoted twice by the village, despite being photographed wearing blackface and “making racially charged remarks toward an African American arrestee.” Another white officer had been hired despite a background check that revealed he had made comments about lynching a Black suspect.

* Naperville Sun | Construction underway on Eagle Street Gateway improvements along the Naperville Riverwalk: Work on the gateway construction began earlier this month, according to Bill Novack, director of Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department. It’s being done by Naperville-based Baumgartner Construction Inc. Over the next six years, the city wants to tackle more than a dozen improvements in advance of ringing in the Riverwalk’s 50th birthday. Work is laid out in the 2031 Riverwalk Master Plan, which was endorsed in fall 2020 to guide future development.

* Sun-Times | Yes, that’s Miss Huang on campus: Sarah Bock juggles ‘Severance’ role, classes at Northwestern: Inside the sterile walls of Lumon Industries, Sarah Bock is “Miss Huang,” an ambitious, humorless child employee vying for power. Outside, she is a friendly college freshman at Northwestern University, performing in school theater productions, taking midterms and making dinner plans in the city with friends.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | SBA’s Illinois office staying in Chicago as regional office exits the ’sanctuary city’: The Small Business Administration’s plan to move the regional office, which shares a space with its district operations, won’t affect services but sends a harmful “anti-immigrant” message, said a former SBA regional head.

* Tribune | CTU president says CPS refusal to compromise on teachers contract will lead to ‘disruption and chaos’: Stacy Davis Gates, CTU president, sent a letter to two top Chicago Public Schools officials saying the district had refused the union’s final compromises, “precipitating more disruption and chaos for all district stakeholders.” The union president doesn’t threaten a strike, but the possibility of one hangs over the letter. Both sides say they are at an impasse. The teachers union is allowed to call for a strike following a 30-day “cooling-off” period after a third-party fact-finding report is released.

* Tribune | New first deputy superintendent has cited need for common ground on police misconduct reviews: More than a year into his tenure as head of the Chicago Police Department, Superintendent Larry Snelling on Monday announced the promotion of Yolanda Talley to the department’s second-in-command. Talley, a 30-year department veteran and most recently chief of the bureau of internal affairs, will be the first Black woman to serve as first deputy superintendent, overseeing much of the department’s day-to-day operations and reporting directly to Snelling.

* Block Club | Chicago Church Won’t Plant Trees This Spring As Climate Funds Remain Frozen: Rev. Brian Sauder had good news in January for 58 faith-based organizations across the Midwest: His Chicago environmental nonprofit, Faith in Place, would be giving each of them a grant to fund tree planting in low-income communities and create urban forestry jobs to maintain them. Those additional trees would help mitigate the effects of climate change and air pollution. But the good news didn’t last long. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed his “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, which abruptly froze the distribution of funds from the Biden administration’s sweeping climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act. The move has left critical initiatives in limbo, including urban and community forestry programs like Sauder’s Faith in Place.

* Crain’s | NASCAR loses another founding partner of its Chicago Street Race: ABB, an electrical engineering corporation, signed onto the race as a flagship sponsor in June 2024. The company’s logo appeared on marketing materials for the race as recently as Feb. 5 but has since been stripped from the race’s website and list of official partners. The company noted that it still has some pop-up events planned for the 2025 Chicago race despite no longer being a founding partner.

* Sun-Times | Lollapalooza 2025 lineup includes Sabrina Carpenter, Tyler, The Creator, Doechii, Olivia Rodrigo and more: Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, The Creator, Doechii and TWICE are among the artists set for Lollapalooza 2025, it was revealed Tuesday morning.. […] The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra will be performing at this year’s event, following its partnership with the festival via “teaser” videos on social media celebrating the music of some of the lineup artists. In addition, Kidzapalooza returns featuring free admission (with a ticketed adult) for children eight and under.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Madison County Jail denied man medicine to prevent a fatal blood clot, family alleges: Zareef M. Fawaz, 49, of St. Louis, died May 31, 2024 while in custody. Fawaz repeatedly told his sister LaToya Simmons, of St. Louis, that Madison County Jail officers wouldn’t give him his blood thinners, which were prescribed to take daily, in phone calls before he died, she said during the news conference in front of the courthouse.

* WCIA | Decatur approves changes to massage parlors, lift assists, home rehabs: WCIA previously reported that Decatur was looking to explore new requirements and regulations for massage parlors. But, the council’s vote on the ordinance was pushed back to March 17 to receive more input from local massage therapists. After receiving feedback, the city amended the ordinance slightly. City licenses will be good for two years, alternating with the renewal of state licenses. The license application is $50 and licenses will expire on April 30 of each odd year. Decatur also eliminated the requirement that locations needed a bath and a locker room, which helps establishments operated by solo massage therapists.

* WAND | Brad Paisley coming to perform at the Illinois State Fair: Brad Paisley is coming to perform at the Illinois State Fair Thursday, Aug. 14. This will be the first time Paisley has performed at the fair since 2017. Brad Paisley has three GRAMMYs, two American Music Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 14 Country Music Association Awards, including an Entertainer of the Year honor and recognition as the most successful CMA Award co-host in history.

* WCBU | WTVP’s insurance company sues to recover claim paid out for alleged fraud: In 2023, Lesley Matuszak, a community figure and former leader of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Peoria, resigned from her position at WTVP. She died a day after her resignation. Later, Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood ruled Matuszak died by suicide. A police report obtained by WCBU in 2024 shows the Peoria Police Department had evidence to support charging Matuszak with forgery and embezzlement prior to her death. All other names in the report were redacted.

*** National ***

* WIRED | FTC Removes Posts Critical of Amazon, Microsoft, and AI Companies: On the FTC’s website, the page hosting all of the agency’s business-related blogs and guidance no longer includes any information published during former president Joe Biden’s administration, current and former FTC employees, who spoke under anonymity for fear of retaliation, tell WIRED. These blogs contained advice from the FTC on how big tech companies could avoid violating consumer protection laws. One now deleted blog, titled “Hey, Alexa! What are you doing with my data?” explains how, according to two FTC complaints, Amazon and its Ring security camera products allegedly leveraged sensitive consumer data to train the ecommerce giant’s algorithms. (Amazon disagreed with the FTC’s claims.

* Bloomberg | RFK Jr.’s next targets are companies making baby formula: It’s unclear exactly which companies will be represented. Firms that sell infant formula include North Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories, which makes Similac, Enfamil maker Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, and relative newcomer Bubs Australia Ltd. HHS didn’t respond to a request for comment. Kennedy plans to discuss nutritional standards and shoring up the supply chain, one of the people said. Kennedy posted on social media in May 2024 that he was concerned about toxic metals in formula. He said during his presidential campaign that if he were to be elected, the Food and Drug Administration, a part of HHS that he now oversees, would scrutinize formula ingredients.

* NPR | ‘Segregated facilities’ are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts: After a recent change by the Trump administration, the federal government no longer explicitly prohibits contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains. The segregation clause is one of several identified in a public memo issued by the General Services Administration last month, affecting all civil federal agencies. The memo explains that it is making changes prompted by President Trump’s executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion, which repealed an executive order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 regarding federal contractors and nondiscrimination. The memo also addresses Trump’s executive order on gender identity.