* ICYMI: Hawthorne Race Course officials again say they’re working on casino deal, despite debts that caused state to suspend its harness license. Tribune…

- Assistant General Manager John Walsh told the Illinois Racing Board that Hawthorne President and General Manager Tim Carey was in Chicago working on the deal, though the track has had six years of failed promises to open a combination racetrack and casino, or “racino.”
- His announcement came after the board suspended the harness racing license at Hawthorne due to its financial difficulties.
- The Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association has been contacted by 66 people regarding more than $582,000 in bounced checks, said Tony Somone, executive director of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association.

* Related stories…

• Paulick Report: ‘There’s No Money’: Hawthorne GM A No-Show As Horsemen Express Concern Over 2026 Meet
• DRF: Illinois Racing Board, Hawthorne discuss track’s financial woes but no meaningful action taken

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Save safety-net hospitals. Protect our care, our jobs, and our communities.

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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois vs. Trump: One lawsuit a week: Capitol News Illinois has compiled a list of the suits Illinois has filed or joined against the Trump administration. The vast majority are ongoing, though Raoul has notched some wins. In more than a dozen cases, permanent injunctions or summary judgement were issued in favor of the plaintiffs — or the Trump administration backed down by restoring funding or dropping policy demands. Only two cases have been dismissed outright. Eighteen preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders remain in place. In all, Raoul’s office has received some form of relief in more than half the suits filed or joined.

* WBEZ | Pritzker still deciding if Illinois will join federal program that funds private school scholarships: At least four Democratic governors have said they will not participate, and Pritzker’s continued indecision frustrates a group of advocates who are urging him to reject it. “We think this should be an easy decision for Governor Pritzker,” said Huu Nguyen, vice president for the advocacy group Illinois Families for Public Schools, at a press conference Tuesday. Nguyen warned that opting into the federal program would “hollow out” public schools and eventually reduce funding for them.

* BND | East St. Louis schools turn to international teachers to fill staff vacancies: The district brought on a dozen teachers at the start of the 2025-26 school year and plans to add 12 more for the next school year. The teachers represent a small portion of the approximately 570 teachers across the district. […] The teachers are required to secure a J-1 cultural exchange visa, which allows them to legally stay in the U.S. for three years. Then they are required to return to their home countries for two years.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Click here to read our updated post…

This post has been updated with statements from Rep. Mussman and House Speaker Chris Welch. https://t.co/2Dh5XYbyNY

— IsabelMillerMedia (@IsabelMMiller) January 29, 2026

* Press Release | New Poll Shows Darren Bailey/Aaron Del Mar ticket with commanding lead in GOP Primary: Bailey holds a commanding 49-point lead and enjoys a massive name identification advantage with a 59% favorable image. Bailey’s support spans the Republican electorate, reflecting broad alignment with voter priorities on affordability, public safety, education, and government accountability. Even at this early stage, he continues to garner significant enthusiasm and loyalty, positioning him well ahead of the rest of the field. […] Osage Research conducted a survey of 412 likely Republican primary voters in Illinois using live phone calls and text-to-web interviews. The margin of error for the Republican oversample is ±5.66%. Quotas were set for age, gender, and geography to reflect the anticipated 2026 Republican primary electorate.

* Crain’s | Fund seeks to shore up Illinois as nation’s abortion ’safety net’: The Michael Reese Health Trust is working to raise $5 million in 2026 to strengthen the infrastructure of reproductive health in Illinois as it increasingly serves as a national destination for women seeking abortions. The trust, in partnership with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s office, launched the Prairie State Access Fund yesterday to connect donor money with reproductive health clinics. The Prairie State fund is the result of a phone call the health care charity received from Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services Grace Hou “the day after the presidential election,” Ameya Pawar, president and CEO of Michael Reese Health Trust said in an interview with Crain’s.

* Daily Southtown | Two Republican candidates aim to unseat Democratic Rep. Mary Gill: Dewar is endorsed by Chicago Flips Red, a grassroots movement dedicated to electing more Republican officials in the Chicago area, and Trump Illinois MAGA Official, according to his website. Dewar reported in his campaign finance filings that he has not raised or spent any funds. He said he held a fundraiser Jan. 16, which would show up in the next quarterly filing due April 15. Lay has not filed any campaign finance reports.

* Capitol News Illinois | Interview with Illinois Comptroller Candidate Karina Villa: As a part of a series of interviews focusing on contested races for major-party nominations in the March 17 primary elections, Capitol News Illinois reporters Peter Hancock and Ben Szalinski talk with state Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) about her campaign for Illinois Comptroller.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | National Guard Deployment to Chicago Cost $21M, Congressional Budget Office Says: The decision by the Trump administration to send 375 members of the Texas and Illinois National Guard to Chicago cost taxpayers $21 million, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office. In all, President Donald Trump’s decision to send federalized National Guard troops to Chicago; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Memphis; Portland, Oregon; and New Orleans cost approximately $496 million through the end of December, according to the report prepared for U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee.

* Block Club | Fugitive Ex-Loretto Leader At Center Of $300 Million COVID Scandal Arrested In Serbia: Ahmed had been living abroad — with federal prosecutors calling him a “fugitive” — since shortly before prosecutors brought charges against him in the Loretto Hospital case. Prosecutors have said Ahmed and Sameer Suhail worked together to embezzle $15 million from Loretto, a taxpayer-funded hospital, and steered another $19 million worth of hospital contracts to Suhail through “corrupt” means, including bribery. Suhail was Ahmed’s friend, business partner and next-door neighbor in Chicago’s Trump Tower.

* WGN | Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza hints at possible mayoral run in 2027: Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza joined “The Point” with WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley on Wednesday. Medoza is not seeking re-election for her statewide office next year. Lately, she’s been making a name for herself by posting videos around Chicago, highlighting neighborhoods and offering critiques of how the city is run.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Elk Grove Village extends deadline to build data centers at WGN transmitter site: The deadline to begin construction of a data center campus on the WGN radio transmitter site in Elk Grove Village has been extended to September 2027, the radio station’s owner and village officials agreed this week. “The problem is the same problem they’ve had since day one: getting the power to that location,” Mayor Craig Johnson said of delays since the redevelopment at 720 Rohlwing Road was proposed in 2022.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey City Council meeting canceled on short notice; FOIA lawsuit settlement was on agenda: One item on the agenda was a settlement agreement for a lawsuit brought by local activist Ryan Sinwelski, who runs the Harvey Historical Society. Sinwelski sued the city last May over failures to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests he made in 2024, according to court records. “A lot of times, the only way we can get any answers is through FOIA,” Sinwelski said in a livestream Monday night. “And a lot of times, Harvey still doesn’t answer the FOIAs, so you have to try to sue or get the public access counselors through the attorney general to help. So this one had to come to a lawsuit.”

* Lake County News-Sun | Lake County license plate readers prompt mix of opinions: ‘When used responsibly, (they are) a significant asset to the community’: Flock’s website is adamant that its cloud platform has never experienced a data breach or been hacked. Yohnka pointed to news from last summer in Illinois for the potential misuse of the technology. In August, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said U.S. Customs and Border Protection was able to access Illinois license plate camera data, violating the Illinois TRUST Act.

* Daily Herald | Streets of Woodfield in Schaumburg finds eager buyer at a discounted price: More than four years after a first attempt to sell the Streets of Woodfield shopping center, New York-based private equity firm Blackstone has found an eager buyer in Hutensky Capital Partners of Hartford, Connecticut. However, Blackstone is getting only $69 million for the 692,000-square-foot property it paid $168.5 million for in 2015. The company explained why they were taking the financial hit. “This is a rare instance in our over $600 billion portfolio comprising nearly 13,000 assets,” a Blackstone spokesperson said in a statement. “We aim to invest in sectors with strong fundamentals propelled by macro demand trends, which is why nearly 75% of the real estate we own is in sectors like logistics, rental housing and data centers.”

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora City Council OKs loan program for sustainable building upgrades: The city is now participating in the Illinois Finance Authority’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing program, commonly called C-PACE. This type of lending has been available statewide since 2017, but individual local governments still need to approve its use within their boundaries. Alison Lindburg, the city’s director of sustainability, has said the program will support both economic development and sustainability within Aurora. Loans given through the program can fund certain upgrades to commercial, industrial, non-residential agricultural, nonprofit and multifamily properties, up to 100% of the project’s total cost, but with a maximum amount no more than 25% of the property’s total value.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Family of Sonya Massey prepare for Grayson sentencing: Sonya’s cousin, Sontae Massey, said anything less than the maximum of 20 years wouldn’t be justice for Sonya. But, there is a chance the sentencing could turn to a new trial if the judge rules in Grayson’s favor. […] On Thursday they will be in the courtroom with their mother’s killer. Both are expected to read statements to the judge, sharing the impact Sonya’s murder has had on them. Sontae said finding those words hasn’t been easy. “It hurts them and they want to put the best foot forward in regards to their mother. So they’re doing everything they can to be strong, but we’re all just shattered,” said Sontae.

* KFVS | Southern Illinois Healthcare reports four heart attack patients were shoveling snow: Dr. Rizwan Khan, an interventional cardiologist with the SIH Prairie Heart Institute, says patients with heart conditions need to know the risks. “Your heart is going to go up very quickly while shoveling. It’s a very exertional task. As soon as you start feeling like you’re exceeding your limits, you should take a break, and that’s the problem. Most people say, ‘let me just take a deeper breath and shovel a few more times.’ That’s where we get in trouble. Especially folks that are not very active,” says Khan. All four of the patients who were admitted to the hospital in Carbondale had pre-existing heart conditions that a few of them did not even know they had. Luckily, they are all expected to make a full recovery.

* WCIA | 10-year enrollment projection paints bleak picture for Decatur Public Schools: A new enrollment forecast for Decatur Public Schools indicates that the student body could shrink anywhere from 7 to 10 percent in the next decade. The forecast was presented to the DPS Board of Education during its meeting on Tuesday. Prepared by Preston Smith, President and CEO of Business Information Services, it examined DPS enrollment numbers alongside demographical facts and statistics in the community.

*** National ***

* NYT | What We Learned After Tracking Every Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Policies: The volume and stakes of the litigation have put an unusually bright spotlight on the often unheralded work of district court judges. Normally, the 677 active-status judges toil at the bottom rung of the federal judiciary. Today, they are on the front lines of a clash between two branches of government. They have faced harsh criticism from the White House and rising threats to their safety, and have complained about the Supreme Court’s penchant for overriding their rulings on its emergency docket.

* AP | Democrats threaten to trigger government shutdown over ICE reform: Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies Thursday, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement.