* ICYMI: Illinois Democrats express outrage, seek full investigation into ICE fatal shooting of Minnesota woman. Sun-Times…

- Three top Democrats vying to replace Durbin in the March 17 primary all said they would push for answers about the death, with Rep. Robin Kelly saying the death was enough for her to plan to file three articles of impeachment against Noem
- U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he will be “demanding full answers and accountability from the Trump administration” over a “horrific loss of life.”
- Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called the shooting “horrific.” “Rejecting authoritarianism should not be a death sentence in the United States of America,” Stratton said. “We need answers and we need ICE out of our communities.”

* Related stories…

• NYT: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
• Press release: Rep. Kelly announces plans to impeach Secretary Kristi Noem

* Gov. JB Pritzker is scheduled to sign the Clean and Reliable Grid Act at 10:30 am at the Joliet Junior College Events Center. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Federal freeze of $1B for Illinois sows fear among child care providers, parents, draws backlash from state leaders: More than half of the day care’s children benefit from subsidies from the Child Care Assistance Program, said center administrator Lisa Griffin. That program is partly funded by federal dollars that President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday night it plans to withhold from Illinois and four other states with Democratic governors over concerns about fraud and misuse of the money.

* Sun-Times | Feds won’t try to prove gang membership for man charged with putting a bounty on Greg Bovino: Federal prosecutors say they will not set out to prove that a Chicago man accused of offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino is also a ranking member of the Latin Kings if his case goes to trial later this month. Rather, they told a judge Wednesday they intend to show Juan Espinoza Martinez’s “affinity” for the gang, giving context to the social media messages he allegedly used to further a plot against the controversial immigration official. Defense attorney Jonathan Bedi called it a “big pullback” by the feds during the same hearing. He also accused prosecutors of tying Espinoza Martinez to the gang with “shockingly thin” evidence, amounting to little more than the location of his home in Little Village.

* Daily Herald | Transit advocates outline what’s happening with reforms to Metra, Pace, CTA: Villivalam told the audience “we’re going to be working on a trailer bill.” He later noted, “as with every piece of legislation and law, we will meet with constituents and stakeholders to discuss any enhancements as well as technical edits that should be considered.” RTA Chair Kirk Dillard told the Daily Herald that minor changes to the bill are to be expected.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press Release | Darren Bailey/Aaron Del Mar to launch ‘Blueprint for Illinois’: Illinois gubernatorial candidate and former State Senator Darren Bailey along with his running mate Aaron Del Mar will have a press availability in Springfield on Thursday where they will unveil their ‘Blueprint for Illinois’ policy agenda. The press conference starts at 10 am and will be live-streamed on BlueRoom.

* Daily Southtown | Rep. Bob Rita to run unopposed in primary after opponents removed or withdraw: A Chicago Election Board removed one opponent in the 28th District race, Paris Walker Thomas, after finding 56 pages of her petition signatures were photocopies. Illinois law requires candidate nominations to be original petition sheets. The other two opponents, Dyvonna Moss and Nadeja Henry, withdrew from the race in late December after Walker Thomas was removed and did not respond to requests to comment.

* Press Release | Civic leader Ahmed Karrar announces run for state Senate to unite communities and restore trust in representation: Today, Ahmed Karrar, a Sudanese-American attorney and community development advocate, launched his campaign for the 14th Senate Legislative District of Illinois: “I am in this race because the 14th District deserves ethical leadership that addresses our crisis of trust in government by putting working families first and promoting a politics of joy and community.” Karrar said. In his launch video, Karrar acknowledged that rebuilding that trust starts with tackling our affordability crisis, stopping the Trump/MAGA agenda, and restoring integrity and trust in our elected officials through consistent and thoughtful community engagement.

Karrar is challenging Sen. Emil Jones III in the 14th Senate District Democratic primary.

* Daily Herald | Two Republicans fall off the ballot in gubernatorial, Senate contests: Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Moore’s name also was removed from the ballot. Malowitz agreed with objectors that Broadview resident Moore had insufficient signatures and failed to identify a lieutenant governor in his nomination papers. The board will hear one more objection case in the gubernatorial stakes Thursday involving Republican candidate Joe Severino of Lake Forest.

* WAND | Illinois House Speaker, GOP Leader highlight ideas for 2026 session: House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) told an audience at City Club Chicago that lawmakers need to address rising homeowner and auto insurance rates. State senators passed a bill in October to protect homeowners from excessive rate increases and ensure transparency for customers, but the plan failed to pass out of the House before the end of veto session. The plan would require insurance companies to give homeowners at least 60 days’ notice before nonrenewal, changes in coverage, or premium increases of 10% or more.

* WNIJ | Illinois State Senator Karina Villa on the new ‘Safe Schools for All’ immigration law: “A lot of times there is legislation that is passed that doesn’t offer much in terms of remedies if something is not followed. This isn’t just “the school district didn’t follow something,” it’s that there was complete negligence and it was almost a sinister act of handing over information intentionally,” Villa said.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley says he’ll launch mayoral run, fix a ‘city in crisis’: “When I ran for County Board, I ran in a crowded field. I didn’t have the most money, and I won. When I ran in a special election for Congress [in] a very crowded field, I was outspent 10-to-1, and I won. … I’m the best campaigner of people who are thinking about running for mayor. The No. 1 vote-getter among members of Congress in general elections. I’m ready to roll.”

* Block Club | ‘Time And Place’ Curfew Proposal Advances To City Council Vote: It is a shift from Hopkins’ last proposal, known as a snap curfew, which would have allowed police to impose a curfew anywhere at any time with just 30 minutes’ notice. That measure was passed by the City Council but vetoed by Mayor Brandon Johnson in June. The council’s Committee on Public Safety on Wednesday voted 11-4 to advance Hopkins’ revised proposal to the next City Council meeting later this month, though it’s likely to face another veto from Johnson.

* Tribune | New indictment ties gun to shots fired at immigration agents in Little Village: Hector Gómez, 45, was charged in the indictment with possession of a weapon by a felon as well as gun possession by a previously deported alien. An arraignment date was not immediately set. While the indictment does not allege Gómez actually fired the shots at agents, the charges for the first time connect the 9mm weapon allegedly found on Gomez to shell casings at the scene.

* Sun-Times | Hundreds of apartments proposed at West Loop industrial site: The firm also wants to build a 27-story building next door with even more apartments — plus space for car and bike parking. The upcoming Plan Commission meeting could be a big step forward for the project, after the zoning application was filed just over a year ago. The firm purchased the building in 2023 for $12 million, property records show.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Orland Park Plan Commission endorses Amazon retail center, despite residents’ concerns: Amazon representatives and village staff said the site would not be used as a warehouse, a concern of some residents and members of the Plan Commission. “I think I’m satisfied that this is a retail center,” Commissioner John Paul said, checking with village staff to make sure Amazon couldn’t turn the building into a warehouse if its retail concept fails.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora City Council considers financially supporting city-connected fiber network: Last year, Mayor John Laesch said that OnLight was nearly $1 million in debt after failed attempts to bring internet service to residents’ homes and “unregulated debit card expenses for marketing purposes” that took place before he took office. The city-owned fiber network managed by OnLight stretches for over 60 miles and provides internet access to city government facilities as well as other institutions, nonprofits and businesses in Aurora. The Aurora City Council next week will consider a proposal to give OnLight either a loan or a grant of $80,000. That money is expected to help the organization catch up on outstanding bills and give it a small amount of operating cash for the near-term, Aurora’s Director of Fiscal Integrity and Operations Management, Brian Caputo, told Aurora aldermen at a meeting of the City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday evening.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County panel recommends 3% raises for non-union department employees: All non-union employees working in county departments, including but not limited to department heads and Animal Control employees, would be getting the 3% pay hike, per the measure discussed and recommended for approval Wednesday. Employees whose pay is set by a collective bargaining agreement, statute, ordinance or employment contract would not be included, nor would employees who have been working in the county for less than 90 days. The Kane County Board is also set to vote Tuesday on a separate measure granting a 3% pay hike for non-union employees working in the County Board office.

* Daily Herald | How a planned bike path will close a key gap in central Lake County: This segment will close one of two gaps in a 9.5-mile stretch from the Des Plaines River Trail to downtown Round Lake. “Having this east-west connection is huge for this area,” said Jennifer Clark, committee chair. Ongoing improvements along Washington Street at Hunt Club Road in Gurnee, entering its second year of construction, will fill the second gap.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Firefighters’ union and Town of Normal continue differences over emergency response times: The union representing firefighters in the Town of Normal is continuing its campaign to keep the soon-to-close College Avenue fire station open — after a new station opens on the east side of town. The town insists there is no issue that needs to be addressed. The union has scheduled a series of town hall–style community presentations to discuss the findings of its community needs study, and how firefighters say the current station placement, staffing levels, and rising call volume are impacting emergency response times and community safety.

* ABC Chicago | Kankakee elementary school abruptly closes after structural assessment: ‘We couldn’t take a chance’: “The wall itself has separated the foundation by about an inch and a half. So much more movement and we have a roof collapse. We couldn’t take a chance on that happening,” said Lyle Neal, assistant superintendent of business and operations for Kankakee School District 111. Cracks have been showing up in the nearly 70-year-old building for some time now. But, until recently, it was thought those did not pose an imminent danger. The school, which is also underused, had been slated to close at the end of the year. Now, its 185 students are on remote learning this week until everyone can be relocated.

*** National ***

* 404 Media | Here is the Agreement Giving ICE Medicaid Patients’ Data: In June the Associated Press reported Medicaid officials unsuccessfully fought to block the transfer of data related to millions of Medicaid enrollees from California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington D.C. Emails showed two top advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the data transfer and CMS officials had 54 minutes to comply, the Associated Press added. At the time, the exact purpose of the data sharing was not known. Then the Associated Press reported on the agreement itself that said the sharing was for ICE to locate aliens in the country.