* Ted Dabrowski skips GOP Unity Breakfast…

Can confirm. The primary candidate with the conduit to the single biggest ILGOP donor of the last decade (a Bailey defector) ditched the event that promised to unite the historically divided state party. https://t.co/SfXU32yhOg

— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) March 18, 2026

* Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Illinois…

This morning, the Illinois Republican Party is gathering for a so-called “Unity Breakfast” to rally behind their slate of candidates – the same people who spent months publicly tearing each other apart on the campaign trail and all over social media.

Even the top of the ticket has a history. In 2022, Aaron Del Mar ran for lieutenant governor alongside Gary Rabine, and the two ran hard against Darren Bailey – and it’s been messy ever since. Now Del Mar is Bailey’s running mate even though he spent months preparing to run for governor himself and has spent the time since the announcement making fun of his running mate’s accent and discussing his failures campaigning in Cook County.

In response, the Democratic Party of Illinois sent a mobile billboard to greet attendees as they arrive at the breakfast. The billboard features the candidates’ own words:

Darren Bailey: “Every time [Aaron Del Mar] runs for something, I say, ‘Don’t vote for this guy.’”

Aaron Del Mar: “I just don’t think [Darren Bailey’s] a viable candidate.”

Rick Heidner: “If I thought Bailey could win, honestly, I wouldn’t have ran.”

James Mendrick: “Darren Bailey will not win the general election against Pritzker.”

Ted Dabrowski: “Darren Bailey can’t beat Pritzker.”

The ILGOP can pose for photos and call it unity all they want, but Illinois voters watched for months as Republican candidates attacked each other’s character, competence, and chances of winning.

Here’s a look back at some of the best moments:

- Ted Dabrowski: “Darren Bailey can’t beat Pritzker”
- Darren Bailey: “Every time [Aaron Del Mar] runs for something, I say, ‘Don’t vote for this guy.’”
- Rick Heidner: “If I thought Bailey could win, honestly, I wouldn’t have ran.”
- James Mendrick: “Darren Bailey will not win the general election against Pritzker. With Aaron Del Mar as his running mate, he will likely win fewer votes than he did the first time.”
- Rick Heidner: Said he would “absolutely not” give money to another candidate if they won the primary.
- Rick Heidner: Told Dabrowski he was done with his “crap.”
- Darren Bailey: Called Dabrowski “a nice guy polling in single digits.”
- Jeanne Ives: “Why is Bailey hiding in his basement?”
- Bailey War Room: “Rick is such a biter. Instead of poaching our clips and captions he could save himself the time and drop out.”

* Bailey’s response…

Pritzker sent a truck to circle the parking lot at our Republican unity breakfast. I spoke with the driver and he’s fed up with things. Pretty sure I got his vote.

Keep sending them, JB! ? pic.twitter.com/JlDCZZBOuy

— Darren Bailey (@DarrenBaileyIL) March 18, 2026

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Maria Peterson wins state House District 52 primary: ‘I’ve built a strong grassroots foundation’: Peterson, a North Barrington resident, claimed victory in the 2026 Democratic primary Tuesday with 64.7% of 11,423 votes cast over Erin Chan Ding of South Barrington, with 35.3%, according to unofficial results. Late Tuesday night, Ding said in a text she called Peterson, conceded defeat, and “wished her well as she goes on to try and flip this seat.” Rather than knock on more doors Saturday, Peterson said it was more important to pay her respects to former Wauconda police Officer Christian Pascente, who took his life on March 9. She said police from many departments were coming to Wauconda, and she wanted to help.

* Capitol News Illinois | Political will grows for data center regulations as POWER Act remains in committee: The POWER Act thus far remains in committee. But Illinois has a history of passing large-scale energy packages, such as the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and the Clean and Reliable Grid Act, as extensive amendments late in their regular or fall legislative session. The session is slated to adjourn on May 31. […] The POWER Act has similar requirements, and negotiations on the bill are ongoing. Those conversations include municipalities and workforce, labor, manufacturing and environmental groups. “What we’re asking for in this legislation are principles that I think, widely, people understand,” said state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Chicago City Council Boosts Downtown Hotel Taxes to 19%: With the backing of hotel owners and the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, the city’s tax on hotel rooms downtown, near McCormick Place, the Illinois Medical District and Hyde Park will rise from 17.5% to 19%, the highest in the nation. The creation of Chicago’s first Tourism Improvement District would last for five years, and would have to be renewed by an oversight board of hotel operators and the City Council.

* Bloomberg | Ishbia’s Chicago Land Deal Hints at New Stadium for White Sox: Billionaire Justin Ishbia’s deal to buy a large parcel of land near downtown Chicago is fueling speculation that he’s planning a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox. Ishbia’s private equity firm, Shore Capital Partners, is under contract to buy a 47-acre (19-hectare) property from Amtrak, the rail operator. A spokesperson for Ishbia offered few details on his plans, saying only that Shore is in the early stages of planning a mixed-use development that could include a health-care facility in partnership with Northwestern Medicine.

* Block Club | Jerry Garcia’s Famed ‘Tiger’ Guitar Bought By Chicago Collector For $11.56 Million: Now “Tiger” could be coming back to Chicago after local guitar collector Bobby Tseitlin bought it at auction for $11.56 million, which was briefly a record for a guitar sale. (A black Fender Stratocaster used by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour sold at the same Christie’s auction last week for $14.5 million.) Tseitlin, 44, is co-founder of Family Guitars, a Chicago company that collects historic instruments and is “home to some of the most legendary instruments ever played,” per its website. For the past 20 years, Tseitlin’s passion project has been collecting guitars, he told Rolling Stone.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Injustice Watch | Judicial election results: Three appointed judges rejected by voters in Cook County judicial primaries: Illinois Democratic Party leader Michael Cabonargi will lose his recent appointment as a Cook County judge despite raising more than $150,000 in campaign funds and winning endorsements from Illinois political heavyweights including Sen. Dick Durbin. Cabonargi was defeated in Tuesday’s democratic primary by family law attorney Ashonta C. Rice, whose low-key campaign was almost entirely self-funded. An Injustice Watch profile of Cabonargi, published last month as part of the newsroom’s judicial election guide, revealed ethical questions and campaign finance violations during his 11 years as a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review. The questions involved his ties to a powerful developer, his repeated campaign fundraising violations, and his hiring of political aides as county property tax analysts.

* Tribune | What happened in Chicago suburban primary elections on Tuesday: Also, appointed Cook County Commissioner Kisha McCaskill declared victory Tuesday night in her bid for a full term, apparently fending off a challenge from Dolton Trustee Kiana Belcher in the Democratic primary for the 5th District Cook County Board seat. In the 6th District, a field of five Democratic contenders seeking to replace Commissioner Donna Miller appeared to narrow to Worth Township Supervisor Patricia Joan “Trish” Murphy and Palestinian-American attorney Wesam Shahed, according to preliminary results Tuesday night.

* Daily Southtown | Reilly and Jones claim victory in Will County sheriff primaries; incumbents lead County Board races: Republican Will County Sheriff Deputy James “Jim” Reilly and Democrat Sgt. Patrick Jones both claimed victory Wednesday in their primary elections to replace retiring Sheriff Mike Kelley. Jones had 59% of the votes to Undersheriff Dan Jungles who received about 41% of the votes cast, according to unofficial results. Reilly had 75.3% of the vote while Deputy Justin Fialko had about 24.7%.

*** Downstate ***

* IPM News | Michelle Jett in lead for Champaign County executive, with thousands of votes yet to be counted: Michelle Jett still holds the lead in the race for Champaign County Executive, holding nearly 60% of the vote. Her opponent, Sanford Hess has a little over 40%. The Champaign County Clerk’s Office told IPM News Tuesday night that about 7,700 mail-in ballots still need to be counted.

* Forbes | U. Of Illinois President Proposes 5 Ways To Restore Trust In Higher Ed: Affordability is “the foundation of confidence,” Killeen told me. “At Illinois, we froze resident undergraduate tuition rates for 7 of the previous 11 years, and for the upcoming academic year, tution will increase only 2% for those students.” In addition, all of the system’s universities guarantee free tuition for families meeting financial eligibility standards. As an example, the Urbana-Champaign campus offers a financial aid package that covers four years of tuition and campus fees for students who are Illinois residents and have a family income of $75,000 or less.

* WCIA | PBL teacher resigns, then charged with attempted sexual assault: Court records show that Paul Meuser, 72 of Buckey, was charged with a total of three counts: two of attempted criminal sexual assault and one of grooming. Those are Class 2 and 4 felonies, respectively. A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 15. WCIA’s partners at the Ford County Chronicle reported that he was taken into custody in Oklahoma County, Okla. Records from that county’s jail show he was booked the day after the warrant was issued.

* WCIA | City of Decatur taking inventory on blight in neighborhoods: Council member David Horn said that 19 neighborhoods were involved in this survey, and most of them were located in downtown Decatur. He also said they examined 14,000 parcels, including homes and land. […] “When blight is reduced, crime goes down,” Horn said. “And we saw that when we made a significant investment in the Johns Hill neighborhood, criminal activity decreased 30% over a three-year period.”

* Alton Telegraph | Illini freshman sensation Keaton Wagler named AP All-American : Wagler was named a second-team All-America selection Tuesday by the Associated Press. He is the first University of Illinois freshman to earn AP All-America honors, the fifth of the Illini coach Brad Underwood era and the 22nd All-America pick in Illinois history. Wagler was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten selection.

* WMBD | Peoria event to showcase artifacts telling Illinois history: The program will explore Illinois history through 10 carefully selected artifacts from the Illinois State Museum. It will be presented by curator Erika Holst. Holst will show how objects from Illinois history show personal experience, covering themes that include the first Indigenous peoples of Illinois, the Civil War, the Great Depression and more.

*** National ***

* Wired | Why Walmart and OpenAI Are Shaking Up Their Agentic Shopping Deal: Since November, Walmart has let some ChatGPT users order a limited selection of products without ever leaving OpenAI’s chatbot interface. Sales have been disappointing, a Walmart executive vice president exclusively tells WIRED. The results suggest that a future where chatbots and AI agents take over ecommerce is still a way off, if it ever materializes. Last year, OpenAI made a bet that it could boost revenue by charging a commission on purchases made through ChatGPT. It partnered with Walmart, Etsy, and other shops on an “agentic commerce” feature called Instant Checkout.

* NYT | Why Tech Giants Are Ditching the Power Grid: Going off grid was no one’s first choice. Off-grid power generally costs a lot more, partly because developers need to install more equipment than will be used at any one time in case machines break or need servicing. A lot of this gear is also less efficient than the airplane-size machines used at big power plants, meaning it needs to burn more gas to generate the same amount of electricity. But in some states, it might take years to get permission to plug new power plants into the grid. By the end of 2025, an estimated 39 percent of the gas power capacity being developed in the United States was designed to serve data centers on-site, according to the Global Energy Monitor, a nonprofit organization that tracks energy projects. That is up from 5 percent at the end of 2024.