* Capitol News Illinois’ Brenden Moore…

A caucus nugget: House Democrats are being surveyed on the Bears stadium issue, including how important it is to keep the team in Illinois, their level of support for the Bears-backed PILOT bill, and the state covering $855 million in infrastructure costs. https://t.co/vFm87Nq2LB pic.twitter.com/pHxKmIrKYr

— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) January 21, 2026

* CBS Chicago…

Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday. […]

Starting Feb. 1, people who do not have a dependent younger than 14 years of age will need to work or volunteer for 80 hours a month to get SNAP benefits, or apply for an exemption.

SNAP participants who do not qualify for an exemption will need to prove they have met the work requirements, or else they will lose their benefits.

SNAP recipients who can’t meet the work requirements will be limited to three months of benefits over three years before they lose benefits entirely. The Greater Chicago Food Depository estimated that at least 450,000 SNAP recipients could lose their benefits May 1.

* The man accused of sending threatening emails to Sen. Andrew Chesney has pleaded guilty. Press release…

State Senator Andrew Chesney today issued the following statement after the defendant in a recent case involving threats toward a public official entered a guilty plea and accepted the terms of a plea agreement:

“Threats against elected officials and their families are serious and must always be treated as such. I’m grateful law enforcement acted swiftly and professionally, and I want to specifically thank the Illinois State Police, Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall, and Stephenson County State’s Attorney Carl Larson for their diligence and commitment to keeping our community and my family safe.

“I believe in accountability, and I also believe in redemption when someone takes responsibility. The defendant has entered a guilty plea, served time in jail, paid a significant fine, and will be required to comply with strict court-ordered terms, including treatment. I appreciate the apology that has been offered and the recognition that this kind of conduct can never happen again.

“My priority has always been protecting my family and protecting the public. I hope this outcome sends a clear message that threats will never be tolerated, while also recognizing that taking responsibility and getting the help you need is the right path forward.

“Today as this most unfortunate chapter comes to an end, I am thankful for the steadfast support from my wife Kelly and son Nick. Despite what has occurred in the recent past, I wish a healthy and bright future for Mr. Haggerty and his family.”

Click here for Haggerty’s letter of apology and here for the State’s Attorney’s office press release.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | A photographer travels the Illinois high school basketball circuit: Vincent Johnson is 51 years old and still going to high school — or many high schools as he works as a successful freelance photographer, shooting for the Tribune and other publications the games that teenagers play. He takes photos of other things and events too, and lives in Bronzeville and has two sons: 16-year-old William, a student at Mount Carmel High School, and Alexander, at 12 still a couple of years away from his next academic stop. You can see their photos on the pages of their father’s spectacular book, “Illustrious: The Best High School Basketball Gyms in Illinois.”

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | United CEO Kirby warns American he won’t cede ground at O’Hare: United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby today said he’s prepared to add flights — and absorb the cost — to stop American Airlines from gaining ground at O’Hare International Airport, escalating a high-stakes battle for gates, market share and profits at Chicago’s largest airfield. On an earnings call today with analysts, Kirby said American lost roughly $500 million on its O’Hare operation last year while Chicago-based United made about $500 million, a gap he cited as evidence of United’s stronger position here.

* Sun-Times | City Council passes ban on hemp THC products, with exceptions for beverages, ointments: The City Council voted Wednesday to outlaw a broad array of hemp-derived products months before a federal ban is set to take effect, kneecapping a lucrative industry that has buoyed many Chicago businesses — but sometimes put unregulated intoxicants within reach of minors. An exception allowing for hemp beverages, hemp-infused pet products and other CBD offerings led to an 32-16 vote that left the question of whether Mayor Brandon Johnson would veto the ban championed by 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn of the Southwest Side.

* WTTW | City Paid $26.5M in Overtime to Ineligible Employees: Watchdog: Chicago paid $26.5 million to more than 1,000 employees for working extra hours between 2020 and 2024, even though they were not eligible for overtime pay, according to a report released Wednesday by the city’s watchdog. City officials have known for 12 years that ineligible employees were being paid overtime, but took no action to stop tens of millions of dollars from being misspent, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg told WTTW News.

* Sun-Times | More than 58,000 Chicagoans were homeless in 2024, new report says: The coalition’s analysis found that 58,625 Chicagoans experienced homelessness in 2024, more than three times greater than the 18,836 reported by city officials for that year. The 2025 point-in-time count was 7,452 — a decrease resulting from fewer migrants seeking shelter than in 2024. The coalition will not have the 2025 tally until the end of this year due to a delay in data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources, Nelsen said. “Both the estimate from the [coalition] report and the estimate from the 2024 [point-in-time] data are helpful. They represent different things, and we use these data points in different ways in our planning,” a spokesperson for the city’s family and support services said in a statement. The spokesperson added that the “point-in-time” count uses definitions of homelessness set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

* Tribune | ‘I’m really confused about this’: Jurors see agents’ interview of Chicago man accused of putting bounty on Bovino’s head: Over the course of the interview, the agents pressed Espinoza Martinez repeatedly on how he thought the messages looked. He said over and over he meant nothing by it, that they were nothing more than social media chatter, and that he had no intention of making any actual offer for Bovino’s killing. “I’m really confused about this,” Espinoza said at one point in the interview. “I have no gang affiliation…I’m not nowhere around there. I work for a living every day. I’m a union worker. I work concrete, so I don’t know.”

* WTTW | Cost to Settle, Defend Lawsuits Accusing CPD Officers of Misconduct During 2020 Unrest Hits $12.8M: Analysis: In the latest case to be settled, the Chicago City Council voted 28-16 Wednesday to pay $875,000 to 21 people who each say they were brutalized by Chicago police officers during the 2020 protests. The plaintiffs will get an average of $41,667, Assistant Corporation Counsel Caroline Fronczak told the City Council’s Finance Committee on Jan. 14. It cost taxpayers nearly $680,000 to defend the lawsuit that claimed officers repeatedly used excessive force at protests that erupted across the city throughout the summer of 2020 — in the shadow of Trump Tower on May 30; in River North on May 31; in Uptown on June 1; in Grant Park on July 17; and on the Wacker Avenue bridge over the Chicago River on Aug. 15, records show.

* WBEZ | The Obama Presidential Center will showcase a South Side food legacy, says chef-in-charge Cliff Rome: But Rome doesn’t feel the pressure to compete with the Smithsonian’s food program. He says the Obama Center isn’t in the business of selling food, but rather creating experiences for diners. “I think that we have a unique opportunity to tell a story and be the narrators of that story around not just the president and all his accomplishments, but how the community helped put him in the Oval Office, right? And not just Chicago communities but communities across the country,” Rome said.

* Crain’s | Takeda inks big expansion at former Motorola Mobility campus: Takeda Pharmaceuticals is beefing up its footprint in the revamped former Motorola Mobility campus in Libertyville, notching a win for the Chicago developer that bought the property just more than a year ago. The drug giant has added nearly 80,000 square feet at the Innovation Park Lake County property at 1910 Innovation Way in the northern suburb, according to Chicago-based R2, which owns the 1 million-square-foot complex. The new space adds to the traditional office space Takeda has leased at Innovation Park since late 2024 and brings its total at the property to 105,673 square feet.

* Evanston RoundTable | Starbucks on Dempster reopens Tuesday without unionized workers: The Starbucks at 1901 Dempster St. reopened early Tuesday morning over the objections of unionized staff who remain on strike. The store, which currently is operating shorter hours, is staffed by new workers, managers from other stores and a few employees who previously worked at the location and decided to cross the picket line, according to James Maeder, a striking worker who had worked at the location as a shift supervisor.

* Daily Herald | Schaumburg mayor delivers State of the Village address during 70th anniversary year: Sandwiched between two pivotal years, Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly delivered his annual State of the Village address before the local business community Wednesday at the start of the village’s 70th anniversary. Apart from seeing the completion of a new village hall and the March opening of the much anticipated Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, 2026 is bringing many other anniversaries as well.

* Press Release | Metra to operate reduced schedules on Friday, Jan. 23, due to severe cold: The severe weather schedules for each Metra line have been posted on Metra’s website, metra.com. Customers who plan to travel on Friday are advised to review them. In general, the level of service on most lines will be similar to the service offered on Saturdays or Sundays. The schedules are designed to provide adequate service for the predicted ridership. The schedules will also reduce the number of moves through railroad switch points, thereby minimizing opportunities for service disruptions.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Normal council hears details of proposed $233M budget, and another pitch from firefighter: During a work session held before the regular council meeting, finance director Andrew Huhn presented highlights of the proposed $233.5 million budget for next year that calls for a 10% increase over last year’s figure. The budget projects a 2% increase in state sales tax from the previous fiscal year, and anticipates the same change for local sales tax. State and local taxes are projected to make up 42% of revenue in the town’s general fund.

* WCIA | Decatur City Council postpones vote on revitalization program: Decatur City Council switched the neighborhood revitalization program from a voting item at Tuesday night’s meeting to a discussion item, according to one council member. Councilman David Horn said the plan would have used millions of federal grant dollars to make improvements to three specific areas of town, with the hopes of making them safer. But, he said members of the community and city council want to include other areas as well, putting the vote on hold.

* WGLT | McLean County leaders expect big crowds this year for Route 66 centennial:“What we expect is that hundreds and thousands, potentially millions, are expected to travel Route 66 this year, and it’s our hope that as many as possible will stop in McLean County,” said Melissa Chrisman, who leads VisitBN, the Bloomington-Normal Area Visitors and Convention Bureau. “It’s an opportunity 100 years in the making,” she said Tuesday at a Route 66 centennial news conference at the McLean County Museum of History, home to the Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center.

*** National ***

* NYT | Trump Administration Drops Appeal in School D.E.I. Lawsuit: The effort was a threat by the administration to withhold billions of dollars in education funding from states and schools that refused to sign a document attesting that they did not have diversity and equity programs. Education groups sued in federal court and won a favorable ruling in August, which the government then appealed. But on Wednesday, the administration withdrew its appeal. The federal judge in Maryland who heard the case, Stephanie Gallagher, ruled against the Trump administration on multiple grounds. She found that the administration had not followed proper procedure in attempting to withhold the funding, and that the underlying policy threatened educators’ free speech in the classroom.

* AP | Meteorologists blame a stretched polar vortex, moisture, lack of sea ice for dangerous winter blast:Meteorologists said the eastern two-thirds of the nation is threatened with a winter storm that could rival the damage of a major hurricane and has some origins in an Arctic that is warming from climate change. They warn that the frigid weather is likely to stick around through the rest of January and into early February, meaning the snow and ice that accumulates will take a long time to melt. Forecasts have the storm, expected to hit starting Friday, stretching from New Mexico to New England and across the Deep South. About 230 million people face temperatures of 20 degrees (-7 degrees Celsius) or colder and around 150 million are likely to be hit by snow and ice, with many Americans getting both, according to the National Weather Service.