* Subscribers know more. ICYMI: ‘How is this going to work?’: Transit reform advocates far apart on major issues. Daily Herald…

- House Transportation: Regulation, Roads and Bridges Committee Chair Marty Moylan said he wants answers on outstanding issues about a $3.9 billion CTA pension debt, crime prevention and overtime before forwarding any legislation.
- One proposal would abolish the boards of Metra, Pace, the CTA and the Regional Transportation Authority to create a superagency called the Metropolitan Mobility Authority. A second would empower the RTA to manage fares, capital projects and planning.
- Rep. Moylan encouraged bill sponsors to find common ground, “We’re not very far apart.”

* Related…

∙ NBC Chicago: Dozens of Metra, CTA train, bus lines could be cut due to $770M budget hole: Transit officials

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois AG pushes for more funding amid legal battles with Trump administration: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is pushing for additional funding for his office as it takes on a host of lawsuits and legal filings against actions by the Trump administration. “What we want to make clear to the legislature is that we’re a good investment, right? And it’s not a time to disinvest in our office,” Raoul said in an interview.

* Subscribers knew about the lawsuit Monday. Tribune | Sen. Michael Hastings alleges smear campaign in 2022 tight race to hold office: State Sen. Michael Hastings alleges in a lawsuit that Republican operators conspired to organize a “smear campaign” leading up to the November 2022 election, which included sending out what the Frankfort Democrat’s lawsuit describes as obscene text messages to voters. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 28, alleges a conspiracy to “execute a malicious text-message campaign designed to defame, humiliate and harass” Hastings leading up to the Nov. 8, 2022, election.

* WICS | HIRE360 offers life-changing career paths for central Illinois through trades: With nearly $5 million in funding from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s CEJA Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program, HIRE360 has expanded its reach to central Illinois. Now, its first class is set to graduate on Saturday, marking a major milestone in workforce development.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Raoul joins motion to block dismantling of U.S. Education Department: In a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, the coalition of Democratic attorneys general are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the mass firing of half the agency’s employees, which Trump ordered March 11, as well as the transfer of student loan management and special education services to other federal agencies.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Harvey World Herald | As state cracks down on delinquent audits, Mayor Chris Clark addresses financial reporting concerns: Mayor Chris Clark responded to critcism over the administration’s ongoing financial reporting challenges at the council’s regular meeting on March 10, focusing on the finance department’s compliance with municipal code and absent treasurer reports. But what Harvey’s top official neglected to mention was a state crackdown on delinquent audits. Criticism flies that city officials aren’t financially transparent, with City Treasurer Aisha Pickett barely giving regular reports.

* Sun-Times | Race, wealth disparities underlie turnout for ballot questions hitting voters’ wallets: An analysis from the Cook County treasurer’s office — ahead of the April 1 suburban consolidated elections — reveals turnout on tax-related referendums is highest in areas that are predominately white, wealthy and mostly homeowners.

* Shaw Local | 2 Joliet Junior College trustees create ‘hostile atmosphere’ for president, staff: report: Joliet Junior College’s president claimed two members of the Board of Trustees harassed him, with one causing him to fear for his safety, according to an independent report following an investigation by a law firm.

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect trustee candidate owes $32,000 in back property taxes: Mount Prospect village board candidate Jack Brogan owes more than $32,000 in overdue property taxes for four residential parcels he plans to develop along Golf Road. Brogan, who is running as a write-in candidate, acknowledged he is late with the tax payments, but said he has been approved for a construction loan and will pay the taxes. He said he plans to construct three homes on the property and his banker advised him to pay the taxes when he is ready to build.

* CBS Chicago | Show of support for Lynwood, Illinois mayor after questions about her salary: On Monday night, CBS News Chicago’s Lauren Victory pressed the mayor about her salary, and why she is taking home nearly triple the amount in the budget for her position. Before Curry was elected four years ago, an ordinance drastically reduced the mayoral salary from $85,000 to $20,000 a year. […] Curry is currently paid for three different positions — village president at $20,000, cannabis commissioner at $5,000, liquor commissioner at $10,000. That amounts to a grand total of $35,000 in the village budget.

* Daily Southtown | Will County Board member Jacqueline Traynere cited after accident with child bicyclist: Jacqueline Traynere, the past Democratic Leader from Bolingbrook, was involved in the accident about 8:15 a.m. March 11 at the intersection of Lily Cache and Lindsey lanes in Bolingbrook, a police report said. […] The child fell off the bike and was uninjured, the report said. […] The witness told police she observed the driver of the car check on the child but then drive east on Lily Cache Lane, according to the police report.

* Daily Herald | Police: Skeletal remains found in missing Elgin woman’s car: Schepers was 23 when she disappeared after attending a party with coworkers at a Carpentersville bar in 1983. Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley said Tuesday morning that a search of the river on Monday by the department and Chaos Divers, a group that uses sonar to search for people suspected missing in bodies of water, yielded a vehicle with the license plate XP8919, which matched the 1980 Toyota Celica owned by Schepers.

* CBS Chicago | 1 subdivision in Lisle, Illinois gets its water through private company, and has much higher bills: In all, about 350 customers in Lisle get their water from Illinois American Water rather than the village. “We can’t even have village water, even though we’re taxpayers and village residents,” said Srail. So how much more do families like Srail’s pay? Every two months, a typical homeowner would pay more than $100 if they get water from Illinois American — and those are the charges even before one drop of water flows.

* Shaw Local | Federal funding cuts delay Sterling-Rock Falls fire training facility construction: Rock Falls Deputy Fire Chief Kyle Sommers said the departments are losing $825,000 in federal Community Project Funding appropriations they had planned to use to build a burn tower where firefighters from both communities could train in live-fire conditions. […] However, Sommers said that despite their CPF allocation request having made it out of the Appropriations Committee last fall, it was part of ongoing temporary spending bills. The final spending bill eliminated CPF requests.

* Shaw Local | Niles West removed former coach Nick Torresso after numerous violations. He denies all allegations.: Niles Township High Schools District 219 originally placed Torresso on indefinite suspension with pay from his coaching and teaching duties at the school on Oct. 1 after complaints of “improper treatment of students and staff.” The district’s Board of Education unanimously approved Torresso’s dismissal as football coach on Dec. 10 after a district investigation found that Torresso violated three board policies.

*** Downstate ***

* 25News Now | Rivian on ‘accelerated’ construction schedule for massive plant expansion in Normal: The automaker on Tuesday released a construction update including visual proof of progress that’s being made on building a 1.1 million square foot addition on the east side of the existing plant, plus new space for paint, battery, and material flow. […] When the expansion is finished, the plant in Normal will have the capacity to make 215,000 EV’s a year, according to the company’s release.

* WAND | Construction projects start work across central Illinois: In Champaign, the largest projects are taking place where Interstate 57 and Interstate 74 intersect. “There’s going to be three ramp closures, to facilitate traffic movements to the outside lanes of I-74,” said Paul Wappel, Spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Transportation. “This will allow for the removal and replacement of the remaining inner portions of the I-74 over the I-57 bridge. This will also allow for completion of all I-74 pavement. Late summer or early fall, I-57 paving will begin there. By the end of the year, we hope to have all the ramps open.”

* PJ Star | ‘Target on our backs’: Why Peoria donating a fire engine to Ukraine sparked concerns: The city will donate the engine, which was scheduled to be retired from the fleet, to Ukraine via the Mossville-based organization US Ambulances for Ukraine at no cost to the city. The motion to donate the fire engine passed 8-2 with councilmembers Mike Vespa and Kiran Velpula both vocalizing concerns with the timing of the donation, with Vespa going further saying he worried the donation could put a “target” on Peoria from a “vindictive” President Donald Trump.

* WICS | Springfield’s District 186 considers cuts amid funding concerns: Springfield’s District 186 is evaluating potential budget cuts over the next three years, with a focus on minimizing the impact on classrooms. The district has proposed a deficit reduction plan due to concerns about state and federal funding. Superintendent Jennifer Gill emphasized the district’s commitment to maintaining essential services. “We want to keep these cuts as far away from the classroom as possible,” she said.

* WAND | Full cleanup, demolition set for former Pillsbury Plant in Springfield: Moving Pillsbury Forward (MPF) has officially signed contracts to fully clean up and demolish all remaining structures at the site within the next 12 months. “The neighborhood, the 12,000 people that in within one mile of this site have needed this to happen for a number of years,” said Chris Richmond, President of Moving Pillsbury Forward.

* WTVO | Whiskey made in northern Illinois advances to Top 8 in 2025 Maker’s Madness contest: Whiskey Acres Blue Popcorn Bourbon, made in northern Illinois, has advanced to the final 8 “coolest products made in Illinois” in the state’s 2025 “Maker’s Madness” contest. The bourbon is made by Whiskey Acres Distilling Co., in DeKalb.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Johnson warned to seek Council OK before taking action to cover $175M CPS pension payment: Fifteen independent City Council members put Mayor Brandon Johnson on notice Tuesday: Any move he makes to use city funds to cover a $175 million pension for nonteaching school employees must be made with legislative consent. Johnson does not have the votes on the partially elected Chicago Board of Education to approve a borrowing or refinancing measure after seven board members declared their opposition to the mayor’s favored option. As a result, the mayor is now on the clock to come up with a plan B before city auditors close the books Monday on 2024.

* Crain’s | Choose Chicago targets Long Island tourism exec as new CEO: Board members at the city’s tourism agency are in advanced talks to hire Discover Long Island President & CEO Kristen Reynolds as Choose Chicago’s new chief executive, according to sources familiar with the matter. No deal has been completed, but the board’s search committee targeted Reynolds as its top choice after a roughly yearlong hunt to find a new permanent leader for the organization.

* South Side Weekly | Police District Councilor Threatened: A social media post that a 10th Police District Council member made about a police-involved killing has sparked complaints and recriminations between her and two alderpersons. The district councilor, Kiisha Smith, said that a letter Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd Ward) and Ald. Monique Scott (24th) disseminated about the post led to her receiving an anonymous threat. Scott, who also told a pastor he shouldn’t host the district council’s meeting at a Lawndale church, denied the threat was connected to the letter.

* Crain’s | Chicago home price growth more than doubled the national rate in February: For most of the 2010s, Chicago’s home prices lagged the nation, and even when the pandemic and super-low interest rates sparked a housing boom, prices here rallied but didn’t reach the fizzy heights of places like Phoenix and Miami. That’s all changed. As they have for months now, home prices in Chicago rose again robustly in February, not only growing at more than twice the pace of the nation’s prices, but also widening the gap more with each passing month.

* CBS Chicago | Loyola Ramblers didn’t make NCAA Tournament, but are geared up for NIT quarterfinals: Head Coach Drew Valentine and the Loyola Ramblers missed out on making the NCAA Tournament despite a solid season in the Atlantic Ten. But the Ramblers are making the most of a second chance to keep playing in March. They are staying locked in as they prepare for the NIT quarterfinals in what has been a competitive tournament for them so far — having won the first two games by a combined four points.

*** National ***

* The 21st Show | Should Section 230 be repealed?: The shield is to prevent liability for immunity, provide immunity for what’s posted by third parties on these interactive computer services. And then the sword aspect of it is that it allows these… interactive computer services to go in and say, ‘I’m going to remove this material.’ And if they do that with good faith intentions, then their decisions to remove material will not subject them to liability by third parties who say, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t have taken that down. We’re going to sue you because you took that down. You’ve removed material of mine that should have been kept up.’ So that’s kind of a basic overview of Section 230. It’s a shield. It’s a sword.

* WaPo | Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism: The Department of Health and Human Services has hired David Geier to conduct the analysis, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Geier and his father, Mark Geier, have published papers claiming vaccines increase the risk of autism, a theory that has been studied for decades and scientifically debunked.

* US News | Moody’s Says US Fiscal Strength on Course for Continued Decline: It projects debt to gross domestic product, a key ratio in assessing a country’s finances, will rise to around 130% by 2035 from nearly 100% in 2025. Debt affordability will worsen at a faster rate, with interest payments accounting for 30% of revenue by 2035 from 9% in 2021, it said.

* WaPo | Trump administration cuts national database tracking domestic terrorism: Jensen said this cancellation comes at a time when their data revealed the first two months of 2025 saw a 25 percent increase in terrorism and targeted violence incidents compared to the first two months of last year.