* Fox News…

Illinois could lose millions in federal funding if it does not clean up its driver’s licensing system after the U.S. Department of Transportation warned Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and the state’s top licensing official that one in five commercial licenses issued to noncitizens were issued illegally.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a written ultimatum to both the Hyatt Hotels heir and Kevin Duesterhaus, the state director of driver services under Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, and listed several cases of drivers from El Salvador to Ukraine who were in violation of the law.

“I need our state partners to understand that they work for the American people, not illegal immigrants who broke the law illegally entering our country and continue to break it by operating massive big rigs without the proper qualifications,” Duffy said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. […]

Duffy warned Duesterhaus and Pritzker that $128 million in federal highway funding, including Illinois’ share of the National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Block Grants for FY-2027, would be held up if fixes are not made within 30 days and noncompliance continues.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias…

The Secretary of State’s office believes its CDL issuance policies and practices are substantially compliant with applicable FMCSA requirements and will not justify cutting federal highway funding. The office intends to conduct a review of the FMCSA findings. […]

“A strong economy depends on strong logistics,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. “If trucks don’t move, supply chains fail, prices rise, and families feel it in their pocketbooks. We can see the actions by the Trump administration taking their toll on our truckers and our farmers, both of whom are essential to Illinois’ economy.”

In January, the Illinois Agricultural Association, representing multiple agricultural-based organizations in the state, wrote to Giannoulias expressing “serious concern” regarding the pause in issuing CDLs and stating the federal agency’s “decision is having immediate and growing negative impacts on agricultural operations across the state and threatens to disrupt critical spring and early-season activities.”

“Illinois agriculture depends on timely, practical, and legally sound regulatory decisions. Continued uncertainty places employers, workers, and food production systems at unnecessary risk,” added the letter, signed by eight associations, including the Illinois Farm Bureau. “We believe a prompt resolution is both achievable and essential.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Comptroller Susana Mendoza | Put Illinois students above politics, and opt in to the federal scholarship program : Some Democrats may hesitate because this policy emerged from a Republican-controlled Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump. That fear is understandable and justified. Many Illinoisans have been strong critics of the Trump administration, me included. But especially Illinoisans who strongly oppose the Trump administration must recognize that Illinois benefits from recapturing federal tax incentives. Opting out means our Illinois children lose. Rather than funding Trump’s agenda in D.C. or sending more of our dollars to Republican-controlled states already taking advantage of Illinois taxpayers, I would much prefer that an Illinoisan be able to redirect $1,700 to support their own school community.

* Chicago Mag | How Are a Village, Town, and City Different?: In Illinois, the distinction has little to do with size and everything to do with when and how the governments were set up. Consider Schaumburg, which was incorporated as a village in 1956, when its population was 130. It is now the largest village in Illinois, with nearly 80,000 people. Villages elect six at-large trustees (four if their population is less than 5,000) and a president, who both presides over and sits on the board. Towns operate similarly but with four trustees. There are technically only 16 towns in Illinois. That’s because the establishment of new ones was eliminated by a state law passed in 1872 in favor of a more standardized system of cities and villages. Existing towns were allowed to keep the designation. Cicero, at 85,000 people, is the largest of these.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson wins veto fight over intoxicating hemp ban: There were only 26 votes to override the veto, well short of the two-thirds majority, or 34 votes, required. Johnson vetoed the ordinance on Feb. 13, saying he wanted to protect small businesses that have profited from the hemp industry, which remains under threat of a federal ban. He waited nearly a month to issue his veto, counting votes to ensure the veto would hold.

* Block Club | Fight Over Bike Lanes In Brighton Park Propels Claudia Zuno To Run For 12th Ward Alderperson: Claudia Zuno is running against incumbent Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th), saying during Monday’s announcement that she’ll represent neighbors who “are not being seen or heard.” Zuno said she’ll bring safe streets, great schools and a thriving business community to the ward, which includes most of McKinley Park and Brighton Park. “Julia Ramirez has become a guaranteed vote for Mayor Brandon Johnson’s agenda. That is not what the 12th Ward needs,” she said Monday at her campaign launch party at Tio Luis Tacos & Cafe, 3856 S. Archer Ave.

* WTTW | Cost to Defend, Resolve Lawsuits Tied to Disgraced Ex-CPD Detective Tops $159M: The Chicago City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to pay $29.2 million to four men man who spent a combined 71 years in prison after they were convicted of separate murders between 1991 and 1997, bringing the total cost of defending and settling 13 lawsuits naming disgraced former Chicago police Detective Reynaldo Guevara to $159 million, records show. The largest settlement would pay $16.6 million to Demetrius Johnson, who was 15 years old when he was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with a 1991 murder. Johnson was released from prison in 2004 and awarded a certificate of innocence in 2020.

* Sun-Times | At City Council, Mayor Johnson pays tribute to Jesse Jackson, urges Chicago to honor him ‘with action’: Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday the “power exists in all of us” to honor Rev. Jesse Jackson “with action,” and urged the City Council and all Chicagoans to do just that to honor “one of the most consequential civil rights leaders of our time.” “We can best honor Reverend Jackson by `keeping hope alive,’“ the mayor said before leading the Council in a moment of silence for Jackson and his grieving family. “We do that by organizing with our neighbors, advocating on their behalf and investing in the people of Chicago. In the loving memory of Reverend Jackson, let us go forth in building a just, equitable and thriving city and nation.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Barrington plan commission rejects condominium proposal citing density concerns: After overwhelmingly negative public comment, the Barrington Plan Commission rejected it with a 4-1 vote Tuesday. Commissioners praised the building at 20930 N. 20th St., at Taylor and 20th streets, but said it didn’t fit the neighborhood, while neighbors said the project was too dense and out of character, while raising concerns about traffic. Since the commission’s decision is advisory, the plan still has a chance with the village board. The board recently went against the commission’s wishes by approving the Claremont, a gated community with 88 custom homes.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora launches program offering expanded financial assistance to homebuyers: Specifically, a household would need to make no more than 120% of the area’s median income, which city officials previously said was about $144,000 per year for a family of four, to qualify for the program. But, the program will set aside some of its allocated funds specifically for those making at most 80% of the area’s median income, or roughly $96,000 per year for a family of four, to make sure money is always available for likely first-time homebuyers, officials have said.

* Aurora Beacon-News | League of Women Voters of Central Kane County urges early mail-in voting amid USPS changes: With the March 17 primary election a month away, leaders from the League of Women Voters of Kane County on Tuesday cautioned voters planning to use mail-in ballots to send in their ballots by March 10 — or drop them off in person at official ballot drop-off sites in the week before the election — to ensure their vote is counted. Standing outside the Batavia Post Office at 500 N. Randall Road on Tuesday, Patti Lackman, the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County co-president, described how changes within the United States Postal Service have led the group to issue updated guidance on voting by mail.

* Crain’s | Northwestern Medicine finishes $389M Lake Forest expansion, nearly doubling capacity: The nearly $389 million project was finished ahead of its anticipated April 2026 completion date. It adds 119,000 square feet of clinical space and 171,400 square feet of non-clinical space, including two new patient pavilions with 96 medical-surgical beds, 18 observation beds and all private rooms. Also included in the expansion is an updated emergency department that will increase patient volume and enhance the delivery of acute care, the health system said in a press release.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Builders put up some houses last year in Normal. There’s a longer list of empty lots: Single-family housing starts grew in Normal last year by nearly 49% — though the total number only reached 55. Construction of duplexes, or single-family attached housing, rose more — by 63%. The total number of duplexes was lower than for single-family houses, however, at 31, according to town records. The numbers compare favorably to single-family construction in Bloomington last year, but are similarly tepid in absolute terms. The slow pace of new construction also showed up in home sales. Multifamily building permits declined in Normal last year.

* WSIL | Shawnee Mass Transit District Awarded $100,000 Grant to Expand Rural Transportation Access in Southern Illinois: The grant will support the launch of Shawnee Express, a significant service expansion designed to reduce transportation barriers throughout the region. The new initiative introduces an on-demand ride option, allowing residents to request same-day transportation. In addition, service hours in Anna and Metropolis will be extended to operate until 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

*** National ***

* Tech Crunch | Microsoft says Office bug exposed customers’ confidential emails to Copilot AI: The bug, first reported by Bleeping Computer, allowed Copilot Chat to read and outline the contents of emails since January, even if customers had data loss prevention policies to prevent ingesting their sensitive information into Microsoft’s large language model. […] Microsoft said the bug, trackable by admins as CW1226324, means that draft and sent email messages “with a confidential label applied are being incorrectly processed by Microsoft 365 Copilot chat.”