* Sun-Times…

Democratic and independent voters still see immigration enforcement as a top issue in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs — and are more likely to support a candidate who protested President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz, a new poll commissioned by a progressive coalition found. […]

When voters were asked about ICE, 63% had an unfavorable view, while 31% had a favorable view. That broke down sharply by political parties, with 90% of Democrats viewing ICE unfavorably compared to 9% of Republicans. Among independents, the number was 62%.

In Chicago, 75% of those polled overall had an unfavorable view of ICE. In the rest of Cook County, 62% of those polled viewed ICE unfavorably, and in surrounding counties, 56% had an unfavorable view of ICE.

About 70% of likely Democratic primary voters who participated in the poll said a candidate’s position on ICE was the most important issue or very important to how they’d cast their vote. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they’d be more likely to support a candidate who has been active in anti-ICE protests.

Click here for the polling memo.

* H/T to the Tribune’s Alice Yin for finding “the last time bars closed on St. Patrick’s Day” from Chicago Mag back in 2020…

In 1970, the third Tuesday in March was the 17th — St. Patrick’s Day, the biggest drinking day of the year. But there was another Illinois law, dating back to the Prohibition Era, which declared that “[n]o spirituous malt, vinous or intoxicating liquor shall be sold or given away at retail, nor shall any saloon or bar room or place where such liquor is sold or given away be open on any general or special election within one mile of the place of holding an election.” […]

The law was intended to fight election fraud by preventing politicians from trading drinks for votes. Of course, politicians found a way to do that anyway. The drinking ban inspired the famous Chicago tradition of precinct captains luring boozehounds to the polls with bottles of muscatel, since that was the only way they could get a drink on Election Day.

Once legislators realized their new primary date had ruined St. Patrick’s Day, they made a change — not to the primary, but to the law, repealing it in 1972. As the Tribune reported on April 27 of that year:

“The legislature has passed and Gov. Ogilvie is expected to sign a measure permitting saloons and liquor stores to stay open on election day. The measure repeals a dusty old law aimed at preventing unscrupulous politicians from buying votes with free drinks. As apparently occurred to the lawmakers, the old law was pretty unworkable. A bottle of booze is worth more votes when the taverns are closed than when they are open.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* WBEZ | Pritzker wants funds flowing for Great Lakes carp plan after Trump heaps praise on project he paused: That social media commitment was surprising to Pritzker’s office because the Trump administration in December issued an administrative review and paused the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, with no federal funds being delivered. This prompted Pritzker on Friday to again demand the Trump administration release money for the project. “The Great Lakes are a treasured international resource and the largest fresh water source in the world, and if the Trump administration does not deliver needed federal funds, then they are betraying every American that relies on this water,” Pritzker said in a written statement. “It is imperative that President Trump uphold his stated commitments to stop the invasive species threatening our Great Lakes and release the funds needed to resume construction on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project. Illinois has always done our part, and it is past time President Trump do his.”

* Daily Southtown | State Sen. Michael Hastings must amend smear campaign lawsuit for second time: A Cook County judge said Thursday attorneys for state Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort, must for the second time amend a lawsuit alleging he was the target of a smear campaign allegedly perpetrated by Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz and others. Judge Carrie Hamilton found Hastings’ original lawsuit was filed beyond the statute of limitations for claims including defamation and civil conspiracy. She dismissed that complaint but in October allowed Hastings to amend certain claims including intentional infliction of emotional distress.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson brands freezing subminimum wage for tipped workers ‘not only tone-deaf, but irresponsible’: At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Far Northwest Side Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) plans to use a parliamentary maneuver to resurrect a stalled proposal that would freeze the subminimum wage at 24% of the $16.60 minimum wage paid to hourly Chicago workers who do not receive tips. Without the freeze, tipped workers now paid $12.62 an hour would receive a raise to 16% of Chicago’s minimum wage. That amount is re-set every July 1. With the freeze, they would still receive a raise, but it would be capped at 24% of whatever the minimum hourly wage turns out to be.

* WGN | Taft High School staff member removed following allegation: According to a note shared by the principal, the staff member has been removed and an investigation was initiated by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). […] “ The safety of your children is always our top priority, which is why I must inform you of a situation that has recently come to light. There has been an allegation that one of our staff members engaged inappropriately with students. This employee has been removed from the school, and an investigation has been initiated by the Office of Inspector General (OIG). Based on the information learned during the OIG’s investigation, a final determination will be made regarding whether it is appropriate for this individual to return to our school.”

* WBEZ | Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions about elections, democracy: Andrea from Rogers Park asked if there can be a referendum question during a future election about unmarked police cars, an issue she said has concerned her neighbors and friends. “Having clear delineation or distinction of law enforcement has to be a happy balance,” Johnson said. “I’m happy to explore how many unmarked [police] presence we have in the city of Chicago.” As for whether such a question could make it on a ballot at some point: “There aren’t too many questions that you can’t ask the voters,” Johnson said. “You can do it by precincts, you can do it by wards, you can do it citywide. I think that’s a good exercise of our democracy and our involvement in democracy.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | After Naperville council nixes controversial data center, Pulte Homes development pitched for site: The council in January voted 6-1 against the data center project at the eastern entrance to the city’s I-88 corridor after months of pushback from families in surrounding neighborhoods. […] Opponents said a data center conflicted with Naperville’s own land-use master plan, which designates the future use of the property as “medium-density residential.” During the city council’s deliberations on that proposal, “the same point was emphasized several times by several members,” attorney Peter Friedman wrote in a letter to Mayor Scott Wehrli and council members.

* Naperville Sun | Photos: Downtown Naperville streets lined Saturday for annual St. Patty’s Day Parade: The 33rd annual edition of the West Suburban Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade brought out the Kelly green, shamrocks and bagpipes Saturday when it was held in downtown Naperville.

*** Downstate ***

* WJBD | Marion County Clerk Candidates Talk About Their Race at Marion County Republican Dinner: “I think what a lot of it is, is I’m running because of my kids,” Rose said. “I’m concerned about the future. I look at the news, I see what goes on, and the world is just in a crazy place right now. I think that it’s time that people start standing up and running for these positions, because I think the future depends on it. People with good Christian values and a good moral compass need these positions.” […] “One of those, first and foremost, is a website,” Wright said. “We filled hundreds of calls a day, people wanting to know what they have to bring to our office to get the information they need to collect, so that’s one thing that I’d like to do. There are other things that become cost prohibitive, but we do not want to create a tax burden on individuals. Having said all that, I want you to know I am excited about the job, I look forward to doing the job, I fell in love with the job.”

* WGLT | Bloomington defers adopting Eid al-Fitr Day proclamation: On this week’s Bloomington City Council agenda was a symbolic proclamation recognizing March 20 as Eid al-Fitr Day. Mayor Dan Brady removed that from the agenda and the council did not act. The proclamation urged residents to “recognize and respect the goodness of the Islamic faith and its people, to move beyond tolerance of others who may not share religions, and learn to accept and appreciate all people in a spirit of true brotherhood, to further build Bloomington’s intercultural strengths.” […] Brady said he had received several calls about the item from residents. “Concerned and not understanding of what the purpose of the proclamation was, not understanding the Islamic holiday Ramadan and the end of that,” said Brady. […] “Talking to leadership within our own mosque here, Islamic temple in McLean County, felt that the actual date was March 20, and maybe in the next council meeting, that would be a more appropriate time to bring forth a resolution, a congratulatory resolution, that had nothing to do with any of the ongoing situations. There were concerns on all sides,” said Brady.

* BND | National Weather Service confirms EF-1 tornado in St. Clair County: An EF-1 tornado touched down in St. Clair County, just west of New Athens, on Sunday, the National Weather Service confirmed. Storm surveyors were in the area early Monday to assess damage, which was mostly limited to tree branches, roofs and other structural damage, according to a release on the weather service’s St. Louis office website. The release said the tornado touched down at about 5:47 p.m. and remained on the ground for about a minute, with wind speeds around 90 mph.

*** National ***

* Reuters | Meta planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount: Meta is planning sweeping layoffs ​that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as ‌Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized, the people said.

* Bloomberg | Airline CEOs urge Congress to end shutdown standoff as TSA lines grow: Signers include the chief executive officers of United Airlines Holdings Inc., American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., Alaska Air Group Inc., Southwest Airlines Co., JetBlue Airways Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. Transportation Security Administration officers just missed their first paycheck on Friday since the Department of Homeland Security shutdown began over a dispute between Democrats and Republicans over immigration raids. “TSA officers just received $0 paychecks,” the letter said. “That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid.”