* 404 Media…

The Department of Homeland Security now says that two weeks of critical surveillance footage from within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Broadview detention center wasn’t actually lost in a “system crash,” but rather, was never recorded in the first place. It is also arguing that, had the footage been recorded, it would be irrelevant because prisoner living conditions have improved since the time it was supposed to be recorded.

The filings, made by U.S. attorneys on behalf of Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem, and other DHS officials, are the latest in an ongoing class action lawsuit against the U.S. government filed by detainees at the Chicago-area ICE detention center. The people suing the government in this case argue that they were held in subhuman, illegal conditions at Broadview: “They are denied sufficient food and water […] the temperatures are extreme and uncomfortable […] the physical conditions are filthy, with poor sanitation, clogged toilets, and blood, human fluids, and insects in the sinks and the floor […] federal officers who patrol Broadview under Defendants’ authority are abusive and cruel,” their complaint reads in part.

As we have reported, the plaintiffs’ lawyers have been trying to get the government to produce nearly two weeks worth of surveillance footage from inside the detention center from between October 20 and October 31, 2025, which was a critical period where ICE was detaining people en masse in Chicago. The government first said that the footage had been “irretrievably destroyed,” but that it was working with its vendor, a one-person company called Five by Five, to try to recover it. In a later filing, it said that the footage was lost due to a nonspecific “system crash.”

In its most recent filing, however, the government claims that the footage was never recorded in the first place and, furthermore, it would appreciate if the plaintiffs would stop asking for it because it would be of “marginal relevance” anyway.

* Crain’s…

Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged concerns raised by Mayor Brandon Johnson about the coordination with federal law enforcement that would be required if Chicago were to host another national political convention.

The Chicago Host Committee has submitted bids for the 2028 and 2032 Democratic National Conventions.

Johnson said yesterday: “There’s no secret here that the Democratic National Convention would take place at a time in which the Trump administration is going to be in charge. . . .It’s not just me, but there are a number of us that have profound concerns about that.”

The city and the state repeatedly have been at odds with the Trump administration over crime, as well as the federal government’s immigration crackdown in the city and threat to deploy National Guard troops that was stopped by the courts.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Announces Launch of the Prairie State Access Fund in Illinois: Accessible reproductive healthcare can be a matter of life and death. If care is delayed, disrupted, or out of reach, women can experience poorer outcomes, higher rates of preventable complications, and widening inequities, particularly for Black women, low-income families, and rural communities. The Prairie State Access Fund will connect donor support with organizations already protecting and expanding reproductive health access across Illinois and will help provide flexible funding so they can act fast, close urgent gaps, and deliver care with dignity.

* Tax Notes | State Responses to Conformity Issues Under OBBBA: On December 12, 2025, Illinois enacted legislation that was a mixed bag. Consistent with the policy of several other states, S.B. 1911 decouples Illinois from IRC section 168(n), while repealing the January 1, 2026, sunset date for that state’s elective passthrough entity tax.7 Because Illinois is a rolling conformity state and the act did not decouple from other OBBBA changes, Illinois automatically adopted the net controlled foreign corporation tested income regime but also allows immediate expensing of domestic R&E expenditures and loosens the IRC section 163(j) business interest limitations.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | ‘Nobody is above the law’: Johnson preps new policies to hold ICE accountable: Mayor Brandon Johnson today said Chicago will soon roll out new policies aimed at holding federal immigration agents criminally accountable for misconduct, casting the city as a potential national test case for prosecuting abuses by ICE and Border Patrol officers.“We are working on additional measures that we believe will make Chicago the first city in the country to be able to effectively hold ICE and Border Patrol officers accountable for criminal misconduct,” Johnson said in remarks before the National Press Club in Washington. “This is not about politics. This is about a more fundamental idea that in our country, nobody is above the law. There is no such thing as absolute immunity in America.”

* WGN | CPD officer charged with bribery, official misconduct for letting others use police encrypted radio for personal use: It is alleged that Dillon accepted $500 on multiple occasions from another person in exchange for that other person using Dillon’s CPD-issued encrypted radio for their personal use. Dillon has pleaded not guilty and his next court appearance is scheduled for Monday, March 9.

* Crain’s | CTA selling 1890s Lakeview apartment building moved to make way for new tracks: The CTA now has a request for proposals out, with a Feb. 25 submission deadline for offers to buy and revive the building and a small parcel of land adjacent to it. Also up for sale are two other small pieces of empty land on Clark Street. “It’s a wonderful outcome for the Vautravers building and the neighborhood,” said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. Miller’s group led efforts to save the building from being demolished along with about a dozen others to make way for straightening a curve in the elevated tracks that dated to the early 1900s.

* Sun-Times | Tracking every known federal prosecution in Chicago tied to Trump’s immigration blitz: Federal prosecutors in Chicago have accused 32 known defendants of nonimmigration crimes tied to Operation Midway Blitz. Many were accused of assaulting or resisting federal agents or officers. But at least three defendants were cleared after a grand jury refused to indict, and a fourth was cleared when a jury found him not guilty at trial. Eleven others saw their charges dropped for various other reasons.

* Block Club | ‘Abolish ICE’ Submitted 9,200 Times For Chicago Snowplow Naming Contest, Records Show: Among over 13,300 submissions to Chicagoshovels.org, “Abolish ICE” made up over 9,200 — or about 70 percent — of the entries, according to a list of submissions obtained through a public records request. The name also got an early nod of approval from Mayor Brandon Johnson last month. Alongside “Abolish ICE,” other anti-ICE sentiments made up about 79 percent of submissions, including “ICE Breaker,” “ICE Be Gone” and “No More Mr. ICE Guy.”

* Crain’s | CME bets on struggling White Sox with new jersey sponsorship deal: CME Group is placing its logo on Chicago White Sox jerseys in a sponsorship deal that marks the exchange operator’s first Major League Baseball partnership. Both CME and the White Sox described the sponsorship as a multiyear deal, a Major League Baseball requirement, but declined to provide a specific timeline. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

* Sun-Times | Dates announced for City of Chicago’s 2026 festival season: “Chicago’s festival season is a celebration of who we are as a city. We are creative, diverse, welcoming and full of life,” Johnson said in a statement. “From free music and dance to legendary food and cultural festivals, this season reflects our commitment to joy, access and opportunity for all.” Festival season culminates with several holiday events, including the New Year’s Eve Celebration to close out the year.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Lurie Children’s plans to build hospital in suburbs: The hospital would have about 50 inpatient beds and an emergency department, plus outpatient treatment areas, according to Shanley. The hospital has not picked a site yet, nor applied to the state’s Health Facilities and Services Review Board for a Certificate of Need. Shanley said Lurie plans to submit the application in the spring.

* Tribune | Illinois Racing Board suspends harness racing license at Hawthorne Race Course due to financial troubles: Domenic DiCera, the board’s executive director, called the decision “very difficult.” “On January 15th, IRB requested bank statements that reflect the operating fund, and any fund related to racing operations at Suburban Downs,” DiCera said in a written statement. “Unfortunately, their financial difficulties, including failure to provide financial documents showing their ability to operate assigned 2026 race dates, have led us to suspend their license.”

* Shaw Local | Crystal Lake park board lawyer – ex-member hired by new majority for $425 an hour – won’t be replaced: That hasty decision – to replace the park district’s longtime attorney with Anderson, at a higher hourly rate – happened during the first board meeting after the Spring 2025 election. Tiesenga and two other new board members won their seats on the board in that election in a race that was uncontested, in part as a result of Anderson choosing not to run. The vote to hire Anderson – at an hourly rate more than 50% higher than the previous lawyer – was 4-3, with board members Cagle, Michael Jacobson and Karen Johnson in the minority.

* Evanston Now | Ryan Field mystery?: Northwestern University released the 2026 football schedule on Tuesday, with the home opener scheduled for Sept. 5. The assumption was always that the new, $850 million facility would be completed in time for kickoff in game #1, and construction is continuing. But the way Northwestern phrased its news release seems to provide some wiggle room if Ryan Field is not football-ready for the first game.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Researchers, congressman address U of I Soybean Lab funding cuts: On Tuesday, workers said the lab went from having 30 workers to nine. They also said many of them worked without pay for months. The workers said the Gates Foundation is funding their research on preventing crop disease in Africa through 2027. […] “We need a sustainable coalition of groups who are willing to get behind our collective and mutually beneficial goals,” Krishnamoorthi said. “One of them has to be research and development. I think research and development — R & D — is sort of the seed corn of our future prosperity as we were talking about. If we don’t invest in that we don’t invest in our future.” Krishnamoorthi said restoring USAID funding to programs is not in the next federal budget, which will be voted on Friday.

* WGLT | Sewage infrastructure need prompts Normal council discussion on how to pay: Town of Normal staff are signaling a potential need for rate increases in several programs. Sometime in the next five years, the town will need to spend tens of millions of dollars on sewage lift stations, according to City Manager Pam Reece. Reece said existing annual rate increases of about 2% won’t cover the price of new infrastructure. “We have some sanitary sewer needs that are associated with what are called ‘force mains’ which means it is pumped to the Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District,” said Reece.

*** National ***

* NYT | Interest Rates Hold Steady Despite Pressure From Trump: “Economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace,” a policy statement released by the Fed board said. “Job gains have remained low, and the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization. Inflation remains somewhat elevated.” Powell closed the presser by explaining that the Fed’s inflation forecasts weren’t far off, even though they have grown tamer. “What changed was, what was implemented was smaller than what was announced.” He’s referring to the many times Trump has threatened very high tariffs, only to withdraw them, although tariffs are the highest they have been since the 1930s.