* Tribune…

Chicago’s immigration court has lost nearly half the judges who worked there roughly a year ago. Of the 21 judges who worked at the city’s immigration court in January 2025, nine judges have resigned, taken buyouts or been terminated, a Tribune review found. Currently, the court has 14 permanent and two temporary judges to handle more backlogged cases than the court has seen at nearly any time in its history. […]

Some who left of their own accord said they wanted to depart on their own terms after watching their national supervisor be fired only hours into the new administration and receiving a series of ominous, “belittling” messages about their work as federal employees. Others said they wanted to avoid participating in a remake of the system that they saw being reshaped in line with Trump’s hardline immigration priorities. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which supervises the court, didn’t return a request for comment by press time.

Besides the logistical and workload issues that result from so many departures, the former judges say they are concerned about what the administration’s new policies mean for their remaining colleagues’ ability to ensure that immigration laws are administered fairly. […]

The judges and everyone else who works at the court have their jobs cut out for them. According to the immigration data clearinghouse TRAC, Chicago’s immigration court has a backlog of roughly 220,000 cases. That’s down from a peak of more than 260,000 in 2024, but still 10 times higher than it was a decade before. As judges leave the court, their dockets get distributed among their remaining colleagues.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press release | Gov. Pritzker Announces Illinois Ranked #2 for Corporate Expansion for Fourth Consecutive Year, Chicago Named #1 Metro for 13th Straight Year: Today, Governor JB Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and the Illinois Economic Development Corporation (Illinois EDC) announced that Site Selection Magazine has named Illinois #2 for corporate expansion and relocations for the fourth year in a row, and Chicago was named the #1 metro for the 13th consecutive year. Additionally, the state maintained its #2 placement for projects per capita for the third straight year. Corporate real estate analysts regard Site Selection’s yearly analyses as “the industry scoreboard.” Qualifying projects must meet one or more of the following criteria: investment of $1 million or more, creation of 20 or more new jobs, or 20,000 square feet or more of new space.

* Press release | State Rep. Margaret Croke Earns Endorsement of the UFCW Local 881 in Campaign for Comptroller: Today, State Representative Margaret Croke announced the endorsement of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 (UFCW Local 881) in her campaign for Illinois State Comptroller. The endorsement reflects Croke’s strong record of supporting working families, protecting collective bargaining rights and advocating for policies that ensure economic stability for essential workers across Illinois. “Margaret Croke understands the challenges facing working families and the importance of protecting good union jobs,” said Steve Powell, UFCW Local 881 President. “Margaret has consistently stood with workers in the General Assembly and supports policies that strengthen labor protections, ensure fair wages and promote financial accountability. We are proud to endorse her for Comptroller.”

* Crain’s | Illinois cannabis shops warn of existential threat from vague rule change: A small but growing number of licensed marijuana shop owners in Illinois are calling on the state to change course on an unclear rule change published in December, warning that allowing more dispensaries to open shop closer together could be their death knell. At issue is an anti-saturation clause in the 2019 state law that legalized adult-use marijuana in Illinois, which established a mandatory 1,500-foot distance between all legal cannabis stores, in part to prevent market saturation and give small business owners a chance to establish themselves. In December, the state Department of Financial & Professional Regulation published an update in the state register, and stated it was “engaging in interpretive rulemaking” regarding the 1,500-foot provision.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Pritzker Traubert Foundation awards $5 million for City Colleges of Chicago, Cook County Health partnership: The Pritzker Traubert Foundation is awarding $5 million to City Colleges of Chicago and Cook County Health to form a partnership aimed at accelerating job placement to meet a high demand of health care jobs. The investment is a result of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s inaugural Chicago Talent Challenge, which launched last year as an open call to organizations across Chicago for ideas to advance economic opportunities through workforce development. More than 50 applicant teams from more than 200 organizations submitted proposals for the challenge.

* Sun-Times | DePaul faculty, students call on university to reverse decision to close campus art museum: Six faculty members organized the letter published online on Saturday. As of press time, more than 1,500 students, faculty, staff and alumni have added their names to the letter. The museum is considered an important local venue for underrepresented artists. Its collection of more than 4,000 objects includes photography by artists including Andy Warhol and Chicagoans Dawoud Bey and Paul D’Amato. The museum also has a considerable holding of West African objects and Latino art.

* Tribune | ‘Anne Frank The Exhibition’ at the MSI will let visitors step inside the space she hid: The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry is hosting “Anne Frank The Exhibition,” opening May 1, giving visitors the chance to step into a full-scale, fully furnished recreation of the Secret Annex in Amsterdam, where Frank, her family, and four other Jewish refugees hid from the Nazis during World War II. “We’re very excited about bringing the Anne Frank exhibition to Chicago,” said Chevy Humphrey, president and CEO of the Griffin MSI. “When we look for traveling exhibits, we look for things that can inspire our community but can also connect us.”

* Tribune | North Side synagogue asks Edgewater neighbors to support new Sheridan Road apartment complex: A North Side synagogue is asking Edgewater residents to support a plan that would transform its lakefront site into a 12-story apartment complex with hundreds of units and a new, smaller synagogue. Emanuel Congregation co-President Andrew Degenholtz told several hundred neighborhood residents Thursday night that the synagogue has about 250 member families, not enough to afford its 34,000 square-foot structure at 5959 N. Sheridan Road, completed in 1955 when Emanuel had 1,000 families. “The challenge that we have is our building is too expensive to maintain and operate,” he said. “We’ve turned over every stone that we could, but the opportunity we have here is the one we can use to protect our future for the next 75 years.”

* Sun-Times | A network is racing to save the Midwest’s native seeds: In 2024, the Chicago Botanic Garden, a 385-acre public garden and home to one of the nation’s leading plant conservation programs, launched the Midwest Native Seed Network, a first step in improving the region’s fragile seed supply. The coalition now includes roughly 300 restoration ecologists, land managers, and seed growers across 150 institutions in 11 states. Together, they are researching which species are most in demand, where they are likely to thrive, and what it will take to produce them at scale and get them in the ground. The collaborative is compiling information on seed collection, processing, germination, and propagation while identifying regional research gaps and planning collaborative projects to close them. For example, the network is currently collecting research on submerged aquatic plants such as pondweeds, and other species that are challenging to germinate, like the bastard toadflax, a partially parasitic perennial herb.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Troubled Harvey makes way for most new houses in decades: In financially troubled Harvey, officials say a plan to develop 16 new homes on city-owned lots is a step toward rejuvenation not only of the housing stock but of the city’s money woes. “We’re excited to get some nice homes built on that block” of at 151st and Turlington Avenue, about 23 miles south of the Loop, said Corean Davis, Harvey’s city administrator, “and get neighbors back on that block.” Global Real Estate Development’s plan to build 16 new houses on Turlington Avenue would deliver the most new for-sale housing “in decades,” Davis said, though she was not able to provide figures indicating precisely how long it’s been. Rental housing that has been built includes the 51-unit Harvey Lofts development of affordable housing that opened in early 2025.

* Pat Hynes| As Property Tax Bills Hit Mailboxes, Taxpayers and Small Business Owners Speak Out on Tens of Thousands of Dollars They’re Owed by Fritz Kaegi’s Broken Assessor’s Office : One tool used by the Cook County Assessor’s office to correct mistakes in a property’s assessed value or missing exemptions is called a Certificate of Error (COE). COEs can be applied up to three years after a tax bill has been finalized allowing homeowners to receive refunds for overpaid taxes caused by errors like incorrect square footage, improper classification, or missed exemptions. Every individual standing up today has applied for this, but either has yet to receive it or it was lost altogether by Kaegi’s office. “Mistakes made by Fritz Kaegi and his office have taken nearly $5,000 out of my family’s savings after falsely taxing my home for being twice the size than it actually is,” said Omero Morales, a homeowner in Bridgeview whose home was assessed at 2,141 SF when it’s actually 1,273 SF. “I followed the rules. Fritz Kaegi didn’t. I’m standing here today not only because I want the money that’s owed to me and my family, but because I’m ready for change. I trust Pat Hynes to make sure that no one else goes through what I did and continue to experience today.”

* Daily Herald | Feud with county board a key issue in DuPage County clerk primary race: Incumbent Jean Kaczmarek is seeking her third term and is being challenged by Paula Deacon Garcia, a DuPage County Board member. Deacon Garcia, who also heads the county board’s finance committee, says her front row seat to the ongoing legal battle between Kaczmarek and the county board prompted her to enter the race for county clerk. “The stakes in the county clerk election are too high to sit back,” the 65-year-old Lisle Democrat said. “She (Kaczmarek) lost a lawsuit against the county and rather than move her office into compliance with the judge’s ruling, she doubled down.”

* Elgin Courier-News | Elgin council considering city ID, defense fund to help immigrant residents: One goal behind the ordinance is “to clarify what specific conduct by city employees is prohibited because such conduct significantly harms the city’s relationship with immigration communities,” according to city documents. “There is nothing in this ordinance that’s going to stop ICE. Nothing,” Dixon said. But the idea is not “about stopping ICE,” he said. “It’s about supporting our community members, our neighbors, and doing everything we can in our power to give that support to let the community know we hear you, we don’t like what’s happening.”

* Crain’s | Logistics firm RJW adds to spree of suburban warehouse leasing deals: The deal shows companies still have a strong appetite for new industrial space to store and distribute goods bought online, a trend that has kept the local warehouse vacancy rate hovering near an all-time low. After tariff and economic concerns last year caused a big pullback in demand, RJW is leading a recent uptick in local industrial property leasing. The fourth quarter was the busiest for new deals since the first quarter of 2023, according to data from real estate brokerage Colliers.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Couple acquitted of theft charges sues the City of Bloomington: The federal lawsuit, filed Feb. 25 in Peoria, alleges a Bloomington Police sergeant, Timmothy “Ty” Carlton, initiated the investigation while in a romantic relationship with Blueze’s CEO. According to legal filings, Blueze’s leadership team “contacted Carlton directly on his personal cell phone in an effort to convince him to initiate criminal proceedings against [the Laceys] over the parties’ business dispute.”

* WTVO | Monarch Energy finalizing $12 billion investment into Rockford data center: Monarch Energy is finalizing a deal to invest $12 billion in a new data center across 1,100 acres of land in Rockford near Chicago-Rockford International Airport. The project, which has been in development for several years, is expected to create 200 high-tech jobs and generate record-level tax revenue for Winnebago County. The San Diego-based energy company is closing in on the agreement following collaboration between local, state and federal officials. Supporters of the plan believe the multi-billion dollar investment will provide long-term benefits for schools, public safety and infrastructure throughout the region.

* Tribune | Volunteer firefighter accused of arson in wildfire that burned 700 acres in northwest Illinois nature preserve: A young volunteer firefighter was arrested Friday in connection with a wildfire that destroyed around 700 acres of a 2,600-acre nature preserve in northwest Illinois. He has been charged with one count of arson. On Friday morning, the Lee County sheriff’s office was notified of a large fire in the Green River State Wildlife Area after witnesses saw a person coming out of a vehicle and setting some patches of grass ablaze. The bystanders stopped the man and detained him until county deputies arrived, according to officials.

* NPR Illinois | New lab brings Wall Street to UIS: For example, it shows in-depth data, charts, statistics and current news reports. Users can see details including supply chain, customers and global markets. The technology will be available for use during and outside of class. The lab will also support the university’s Student Managed Investment Fund, which manages more than $50,000, by strengthening students’ ability to analyze markets, evaluate securities and make informed investment decisions.

*** National ***

* Chicago Mag | How Portillo’s Choked on Its Expansion: A flash point came last November when Portillo’s reported its third-quarter financials. Revenues were up a mere 1.8 percent from the same period the previous year, much less than expected, and net income had dropped from $8.8 million to less than $1 million, primarily because of expansion overruns and snafus. “Too many locations, too quickly and too close together over the past 24 months, particularly in Texas,” Michael Miles Jr., Portillo’s chair and interim CEO, explained to stock analysts.

* Tribune | South Carolina honors native son Rev. Jesse Jackson: Though he spent the vast majority of his adult life in Chicago, Jackson was born in Greenville, S.C., during the height of segregation. Walking around his native hometown on “church Sunday,” one can see how his love of community coalesced among the hills and valleys that surrounded his childhood home at 20 Haynie Street. While the home looks untouched through the years, the street now bears his name. […] Rev. Jackson was forged in Greenville. Born Jesse Louis Burns on Oct. 8, 1941, to Helen Burns, a beautician, and Noah Robinson, a worker whose job entailed grading the quality of cotton. Jackson’s mother would marry civil worker Charles Henry Jackson, the man whose surname Rev. Jackson took upon adoption in his teens.

* NYT | Scientists Decry ‘Political Attack’ on Reference Manual for Judges: More than two dozen contributors to a widely used reference manual for judges are raising alarm bells about political interference after the deletion of a chapter on climate science. The uproar is over the latest edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which has been published since 1994 by the Federal Judicial Center, an agency that provides resources to judges. A group of Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to the center on Jan. 29, claiming that the climate chapter was biased and demanding its retraction. About a week later, the center deleted the chapter from its online edition of the nearly 1,700-page manual.