* Crain’s…

The Electronic Payments Coalition is launching a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign urging the Illinois Legislature to repeal the controversial law exempting state and local taxes and tips from so-called swipe fees charged by credit card processors.

The ad campaign represents a public appeal by the banking industry following a key loss on the legal front last month. It comes a few months before the law, which was passed in a late-night session in 2024, is set to take effect.

“We did not think we could waste any more time, and it was our duty and a responsibility to educate the folks in Illinois exactly what Springfield did just a few years ago,” said Richard Hunt, executive chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition. “They are about to become an outlier in a very complex global payment system.”

A 30-second commercial, which will begin airing across the state during the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tonight, claims the law may block consumers from using their credit or debit cards for taxes and tips. It highlights an untipped waitress, pizza delivery worker and barista saying they will be the ones paying the price from the law. The ad also says the law was “secretly tucked into the budget” by Springfield politicians.

The spot is here.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | Three state lawmakers, a county treasurer seek to replace Illinois comptroller in Democratic primary: State Reps. Margaret Croke and Stephanie Kifowit, state Sen. Karina Villa, and Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim are vying to replace Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who announced last year she would not seek re-election. Mendoza has served as the state’s chief financial officer since 2016. She endorsed Kim, 45, of Mundelein, as her replacement. Croke, however, has the largest campaign war chest, according to recent state filings. She raised $1.8 million, just slightly more than Villa, who raised $1.4 million. Billionaire business executive Michael Sacks has been Croke’s largest funder, providing nearly $160,000 to her campaign.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | CHA Board Picks Head of Washington, D.C. Public Housing Agency as CEO Over Mayor’s Objections: Seven members of the board voted to appoint Pettigrew, with Commissioners Jawanza Malone and Angela Parker voting no. Commissioner Mildred Harris abstained from the vote. After Parker vehemently objected to Pettigrew’s appointment, CHA Board Chairman Matthew Brewer threatened to have her removed from the meeting. […] The board’s decision to appoint Pettigrew comes after Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed for nearly a year to name former Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) to lead the CHA, only to run into a brick wall of opposition from board members and federal officials.

* Crain’s | Chicago’s average homeowner age is climbing — and it’s not just young people who can’t afford to buy: The median age of Chicago-area homeowners in 2024 was 56.5 years old, according to a National Association of Realtors report published earlier this month. That’s up four years from 2010. It’s a bigger increase than the nation’s homeowners saw in the same period, from an average age of 54 in 2010 to 57.5 in 2024. “While the country is aging,” NAR’s report says, “homeowners are aging even faster.” Young people get into homeownership later than they used to, the report says, “while existing homeowners are staying longer.”

* Crain’s | Chicago crypto broker BlockFills files for bankruptcy after selloff: BlockFills, which counts Susquehanna Private Equity Investments and CME Ventures among its backers, is one of the first crypto firms to seek court protection since the market crash that started in early October. Cryptocurrencies have lost almost $2 trillion of combined market value since then, forcing some companies to retrench. Gemini Space Station Inc., the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, in February announced plans to cut as much as 25% of its workforce and wind down operations in the UK, European Union and Australia. It later said three top executives had left the company.

* Block Club | Firefighter Mike Altman Dies From Injuries Suffered While Battling Rogers Park Apartment Fire: Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt identified the firefighter as Mike Altman, 32, and said he had been with the department for nearly two years. Altman was the fourth generation in his family to serve the city’s fire department, Nance-Holt said during a press conference Tuesday. His grandfather was a former commissioner of the fire department, ABC7 reported. “We are heartbroken by yet another loss of our own,” she said. “We will never forget his courage and sacrifice.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Appellate court upholds trial court keeping Lake County Board candidate off ballot: Though [Juan Beto Ruiz’] name still appears on ballots for Tuesday’s primary, votes cast for him will not count, according to Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega. […] “The responsibility for this outcome exclusively lies with my opponent, as he was solely responsible for correctly completing and submitting the required paperwork,” [incumbent Esiah Campos] said. “The courts have affirmed that he should never have appeared on the ballot.”

* Daily Southtown | Blue Island mobile home residents moving out after fighting to save park: Kuecher said the compensation is not enough, and she advocates the residents having more time to move. “For some of them, it’s just not possible to get them enough compensation,” she said. “These people have higher value and higher investment in their homes and also for those families that have children in schools that might need to relocate before the school year is over, putting considerable strain on the family.”

* Daily Southtown | Orland Park may increase fines, update noise and feral cat regulations: The proposed ordinance prohibits noise that “unreasonably disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, health or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensitivity” between 10 p.m and 7 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays and from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

*** Downstate ***

* The Daily Illini | Champaign County closes 15 polling locations, cites judge shortage: Fifteen polling locations across Champaign County will be closed on Election Day, Tuesday, due to election judge shortages. […] The list of open polling sites can be found here, and a guide to the primary ballot can be found here. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

* WGLT | McLean County could seek reimbursement from clerk’s office for budget overruns: The McLean County Board could decide to claw back more than $400,000 in budget overruns from County Clerk Kathy Michael’s office. Last week, McLean County Board Executive Committee members took County Clerk Michael to task for going over her budget last fiscal year. Board chair Elizabeth Johnston said in a WGLT interview that depending on what invoices and other documentation Michael submits in the next month, the county general fund may need to be reimbursed by Michael’s office.

* WGLT | Normal approves 2026-27 budget, pause in sales tax sharing and new street work: The town council on Monday approved an operating and capital investment budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The $233.5 million budget represents a 10% increase over last year. Kathleen Lorenz was the only “no” vote. Rory Roberge was not present. […] The budget includes a $100,000 allocation to the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council, despite criticism from Mayor Chris Koos following the departure of CEO Patrick Hoban. “I continue to believe that a strong EDC is very valuable for the community, and so I’m hopeful that will contribute that full $100,000 to the EDC,” said council member Andy Byers.

* BND | How a collection case landed a Madison County judge’s name in the Epstein files: A man wearing a sandwich board protesting outside of the Edwardsville courthouse last month revived sleeping worries and anxieties Madison County Judge Andrew Carruthers had hoped to leave in the past. […] His name is in the Epstein files because he once represented Epstein on a collection matter more than a dozen years ago. […] “I was assigned to serve as local counsel for attorneys in another jurisdiction seeking to enforce a civil money judgment for their client who, at the time, was completely unknown to us, just as he was unknown to most of the country 13 years ago,” Carruthers said in a statement he provided after speaking with reporters.

* WGLT | Recent closures leaves families on a ‘Hunger Games’-style search for child care: In addition to the Cadence Academy in north Normal closing, two centers in east Bloomington, Kidsville and Bright Horizons, have also closed in recent months. Two new centers, the Farmhouse and Joshua Tree Ministries, both in Bloomington, are enrolling kids on a waitlist. […] Pacha said the only place that met her needs and had an opening far exceeded her budget. In the end, she rearranged her schedule to be able to pick up the kids at school and be with them in the afternoons.

*** National ***

* Tribune | Consumer price data: Gas prices surge, natural gas costs near all-time highs and ground beef sets new record: Notably, the February consumer price index data doesn’t factor in the latest shocks to global markets after the United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and kicking off a war that has lasted more than two weeks. The biggest economic impact thus far has been on the already volatile energy sector, with oil prices skyrocketing to $100 a barrel, gasoline prices steadily climbing and natural gas expected to follow. Rising fuel costs mean shipping and transportation will be more expensive, and companies may look to pass those hikes off to customers. That could translate into higher prices on all kinds of goods and services.

* Reuters | Kalshi charged criminally in Arizona for operating illegal gambling business: The charges filed by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes marked the first time a state has pursued a criminal case against Kalshi, which has been at the center of an escalating battle over the ability of state gaming regulators to police prediction markets operators. “Kalshi may brand itself as a ‘prediction ⁠market,’ but what it’s actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law,” Mayes said in a statement. New York-based Kalshi in a statement lamented that “a state can file criminal charges on paper-thin arguments.” It said its business was different from sportsbooks and casinos and “should not be overseen by a patchwork of inconsistent state laws.”

* AP | Republicans are launching a voting bill debate that could last days or even weeks: Republicans are launching an unprecedented effort on Tuesday to hold the Senate floor and talk for days about a bill that they know won’t pass — an attempt to capture public attention on legislation requiring stricter voter registration rules as President Donald Trump pressures Congress to act before November’s midterm elections. The talkathon could last a week or longer, potentially through the weekend, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune tries to navigate Trump’s insistence on the issue and Democrats’ united opposition. Trump has urged Thune to scrap the legislative filibuster, which triggers a 60-vote threshold in the 100-member Senate, or find another workaround to pass the bill, but Thune has repeatedly said he doesn’t have the votes to do that.