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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Feb 13, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump cuts to HIV, lead poisoning prevention funds. Sun-Times…
- U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah, who issued the order, said the attorneys general were “likely to succeed” in their argument because President Donald Trump administration’s cuts were based on “arbitrary, capricious or unconstitutional” reasons. - In total, at least $29 million in Illinois grants are on the “hit list” being held up by the judge’s order, which include city, state and other health centers’ family planning and HIV prevention programs, according to a list of grants obtained by the Sun-Times. * Related stories… * Crain’s | Springfield reignites fight over who pays for Illinois’ data center boom: Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, has introduced sweeping legislation that would cause data center operators to pay millions to support energy assistance programs, submit to extensive regulations around their water and energy use and fund renewable energy and storage. The proposal resurrects a fight that lawmakers shelved last year: whether to charge large electricity users — especially data centers — significantly higher rates. It was left out of the final energy package. Now it’s back. * The Hill | Judge rules ICE must let religious leaders into Illinois facility for Ash Wednesday : “Broadview allowed plaintiffs’ religious visitation to Broadview for years before reversing course relatively recently,” Gettleman wrote. “With reasonable notice and communication, addressing legitimate security and safety concerns, allowing plaintiffs to provide pastoral care to migrants and detainees does not pose any undue hardship on the government,” he continued. * Tribune | Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas held stock in company that has county technology deal: Pappas has been one of the most vociferous critics of Tyler Technologies, the company that has been in charge of the rocky upgrade of the county’s property tax system, for more than a decade. Tyler has been embedded in the treasurer’s office, which calculates and mails out property tax bills, for years. The problematic rollout of Tyler’s tax system revamp within county offices led to late property tax bills last year and problems distributing property tax revenues in recent months to local agencies like schools and libraries. * Capitol News Illinois | Rick Heidner casts himself as ‘Trump Republican’ in bid to unseat Pritzker: Heidner also denied any association with organized crime. He blamed the news media for wanting “to play their own narratives.” “Nobody ever wants to be wrong,” Heidner said. “Even when you’re 100% vindicated of something, they still want to keep regurgitating and regurgitating the same stuff that’s just ridiculous. I have no ties to the mob, I could tell you that for sure.” * WCIA | Illinois Secretary of State announces switch to electronic vehicle titles: According to Giannoulias’ Office, Illinois motorists, lenders and dealers will soon experience faster title processing, fewer delays and stronger fraud protections as a result of the office transitioning to mandatory participation in its statewide Electronic Lien and Titling (ELT) program. * Tribune | CPS board members accuse Mayor Brandon Johnson of ‘sabotage’ in CEO search: “We are extremely disappointed that the mayor and his appointees on the Board have chosen to sabotage the process to find a permanent leader for CPS,” the statement read. “This blatant political interference is harmful to the entire District — to schools, staff, families, and most importantly, the students. Every problem becomes more difficult to solve when there is leadership instability.” In the statement, the six board members urged their colleagues to “retain Interim Superintendent/CEO Dr. Macquline King until a fully-elected board can restart the search in 2027.” * CBS Chicago | CTA planning to expand AI gun detection technology: Ryan would only say the expansion of the gun detection system is happening “real soon,” and comes when CTA is already seeing a decline in crime. From Jan. 1 through Feb. 8, police said there have been 134 reported crimes on the CTA compared to 144 reported crimes in same time of 2025, a drop of 6.9%. In the same time frame, robberies have dropped 18%, and larceny thefts have dropped 11%, but criminal sexual assaults and aggravated battery are up in 2026. * Block Club | Black, Hispanic Drivers Get Majority Of Chicago’s Traffic Tickets — Including In Mostly White Areas: Black drivers received 45 percent of traffic tickets and Hispanic drivers received 36 percent of tickets given out January 2023-October 2025, according to an analysis of Police Department data by policy groups Free2Move Coalition and Impact for Equity. That’s despite Black and Hispanic residents each representing less than 30 percent of the city’s population. In all, Black drivers received 30,751 tickets during the study’s time period — over 21,000 more tickets than white drivers, who received only 14 percent of tickets across Chicago while making up 36 percent of its population. * Crain’s | It’s crunch time for Cook County tax sales — and so far, Springfield isn’t helping: Cook County is quickly running out of time to hit the brakes on the annual tax sale for past-due properties, a process that has been found by the U.S. Supreme Court to violate homeowners’ constitutional rights. The 2025 tax sale was moved from August to March of this year. But without fast action by Springfield legislators in the next week to delay it again, the sale will resume and County Treasurer Maria Pappas may have no choice but to pile on thousands more violations. * Tribune | Toni Preckwinkle calls for charges against federal immigration agents in local shootings: “We support thorough law enforcement investigations wherever federal agents have violated the law,” the group statement from Preckwinkle and board members said. All 11 signatories are Democrats. “We urge the Cook County State’s Attorney to act swiftly, proactively and transparently to ensure accountability and deliver justice for the families and communities who have been harmed.” Debates about filing charges in the shootings and other instances of alleged criminal behavior by federal agents have been front and center in recent weeks, as Mayor Brandon Johnson and Burke have publicly disagreed about his executive order directing Chicago police to investigate federal immigration agents for possible felony charges. * The Record | ‘His Heart is as Big as His Whole Body’: Homeless-shelter client turned employee celebrated as key to program’s success: Gaiter is now a peer liaison at the shelter, where he helps people facing many of the same hardships he experienced feel comfortable and understood and get connected to the resources they need to get back on their feet. Charlie Biggins, the respite center’s manager, described Gaiter as one of the center’s most valuable employees and so dedicated to supporting others that he travels at least four hours by bus and train every day from south Chicago to serve their clients. * Daily Herald | Kane state’s attorney to conduct review of Aurora police actions during student walkout: The Kane County state’s attorney’s office said that it will conduct an independent review of actions by the Aurora Police Department following claims of excessive force used against students during a coordinated walkout on Monday, Feb. 9. The review comes following accusations of “police brutality” by state Sen. Karina Villa during an altercation between officers and teens that ended with the arrest of three East Aurora High School students during a walkout protesting federal immigration tactics. * Daily Herald | Kane County Democratic hopefuls field questions about treasurer’s office: The three Democratic hopefuls in the March 17 primary election for Kane County treasurer fielded questions at a recent League of Women Voters forum at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin. Penny Wegman, Scott Johansen and Candida “Connie” Cain are vying for the party’s nomination. The primary winner would run against incumbent Treasurer Chris Lauzen, a Republican, who is seeking a second term. Wegman is the Kane County auditor. Cain is a CPA who had worked for current the treasurer for about 18 months. Scott Johansen is a businessman who had an unsuccessful run for a county board seat in 2022. * WGN | Aurora residents express concerns over more data centers possibly being built: At a Town Hall held Thursday evening, residents who live in the Stonebridge subdivision near Eola and Diehl Road near the four existing data centers said their utility bills are about 30% to 40% higher over the last year, but they’re more upset about the noise. “We have constant noise, vibrations. My wife can’t sleep at night. We feel our property values are going to be tanking,” Richard Kersch, who lives near the data center, said. * WCIA | ‘It takes a long time for those problems to be fixed’: Drought persists in Central Illinois, Sullivan declares ‘water emergency’: “The number one priority right now is to supply drinking water to our customers,” said Public Health and Safety Commissioner Chuck Woodworth. “Anything other than that is going to be restricted.” One month ago, Woodworth told WCIA that since the start of the drought, the level of the aquifer they pump from had already fallen 15 feet. It was so low their pumps started taking in air. “We’ve continued to monitor the aquifer, and it has dropped another six inches,” Woodworth said. * WGLT | Mayor Brady hopes Bloomington can avoid mandatory water conservation measures: * WCIA | Central Illinois county pushing for Narcan kit sites: Ford County has a population of just over 13,000 people. Last year, the department added a Narcan kit near downtown Gibson City. “I’ve had to put in four dozen boxes of Narcan in a month and a half in that small little town,” Benningfield said. Currently, people in Ford County can find the spray at Gibson City Laundry, which is open all day. She proposed other locations for the kits, but was shut down by the city. That’s when community members stepped up to help. One local business owner is even offering up her property as an option. * Illinois Times | Union president asked for leniency for Grayson: Sangamon County Deputy Travis Koester was ultimately unsuccessful but told Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin in a letter that Grayson, 31, deserved mercy because of a history of subpar professional training in the sheriff’s office and Grayson’s ongoing treatment for cancer. “Over the years, I have witnessed firsthand how inadequate or inconsistent training, insufficient remedial instruction and a lack of meaningful mentorship can leave deputies ill-equipped to manage high-pressure situations appropriately,” wrote Koester, a deputy with more than 20 years of service. * Daily Egyptian | 2 SIU alumni met in physics class. 47 years later, they had chemistry: In May of 2011, McCann’s wife of 40 years died of cancer. Four months later, Allen’s husband of 43 years who had also battled cancer died unexpectedly. Allen and McCann rekindled their friendship through their grief. They both attended the funerals for the other’s spouse and said they offered support to each other as they learned their new normal. Eventually, they said, they talked on the phone at least twice a week. * The Hill | Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years: The company said starting this year it would stop publishing approval and favorability ratings of individual political figures, saying in a statement it “reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership.” […] When asked by The Hill if Gallup had received any feedback from the White House or anyone in the current administration before making the decision, the spokesperson said, “this is a strategic shift solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities.” * CNBC | Realtors report a ‘new housing crisis’ as January home sales tank more than 8%: Sales of previously owned homes in January dropped a much wider-than-expected 8.4% from December to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 3.91 million, according to the NAR. Sales were 4.4% lower than January 2025. That is the slowest pace since December 2023 and the biggest monthly drop since February 2022. * NYT | Prosecutor Says Federal Officials Gave Wrong Information About ICE Shooting: The prosecutor, Daniel N. Rosen, asked a judge to dismiss charges against a man who was wounded in that shooting, as well as another man who had been accused of attacking the agent. Mr. Rosen wrote that “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations” that federal officials made in a charging document and in courtroom testimony. * Ken Klippenstein | ICE Masks Up in More Ways Than One: The new program, called “masked engagement,” allows homeland security officers to assume false identities and interact with users—friending them, joining closed groups, and gaining access to otherwise private postings, photographs, friend lists and more. A senior Department of Homeland Security official tells me that over 6,500 field agents and intelligence operatives can use the new tool, a significant increase explicitly linked to more intense monitoring of American citizens.
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- Excitable Boy - Friday, Feb 13, 26 @ 9:10 am:
- I have no ties to the mob, I could tell you that for sure. -
That’s a winning message if I’ve ever seen one.