* Crain’s…

A federal appeals court ruling could sharply reduce the damages companies face in Illinois biometric privacy lawsuits, handing businesses a major win in one of the state’s costliest areas of litigation.

The April 1 decision centers on changes Illinois lawmakers made in 2024 to rein in the state’s biometric privacy law, known as BIPA, clarifying that violations occur when companies fail to obtain consent — not each time a fingerprint, face scan or other biometric data is collected. The appeals court said those changes apply retroactively, potentially reducing damages in a wave of pending lawsuits. […]

“It’s going to have a huge impact,” says Michael McCutcheon, a partner at Baker McKenzie who does class-action legal defense work for corporate clients. “If you have a BIPA case pending right now, and there is a settlement demand to get rid of the case, (the plaintiffs’) leverage is going to be cut back significantly.”

Although the federal appellate court’s ruling technically is not binding on state courts, where most of the BIPA suits have been filed, David Saunders, a partner at McDermott Will & Schulte, expects state courts will follow the ruling unless the Illinois Supreme Court takes up the issue.

* New York Times…

International students used to crowd [suburban] Lewis University’s hallways, surrounding David Livingston, the school’s president, when he would stride through.

Few places have been as shaken as Lewis, a Catholic university of about 7,000. […]

In the fall of 2024, when Trump was elected, Lewis had 1,397 international students who accounted for nearly one-fifth of the university’s total enrollment. A year later, that number was down to 870. By this fall, it may drop below 500. […]

Lewis spent much of the last decade building an apparatus for international students. It has spent much of the last year cutting it down. With fewer students in need of instruction and support services, and a sudden budget hole of about $9 million, Lewis trimmed about 10% of its workforce.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Illinoisans paying 26% more for health insurance bought on Affordable Care Act exchange: Illinois consumers who bought health insurance on the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange are paying 26% more for coverage, on average, than they did last year, and the number of people who enrolled in the plans dropped nearly 4%, according to the state. Though that 26% average increase in monthly premiums is surely tough for many, it’s a far cry from the 78% average jump that state regulators previously said could occur if the federal government didn’t renew enhanced premium tax credits and people stayed on their plans from last year.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WCIA | Danville native introduces her running for Illinois District 104 seat: People in Danville got a first look on Tuesday at what Democrat candidate for Illinois House, Mary Catherine Roberson, would bring to the 104th district if elected. “I’ve always had heart for Danville of like, how can we bring those resources in those programs here?” Roberson said. She has worked as a youth advocate in many towns across Central Illinois, but she always kept her roots in Danville. And, she is the first Black woman ever nominated for house district 104. [The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Brandun Schweizer.]

* WBEZ | Illinois remains abortion ‘safe haven’ for out-of-state patients in 2025, report shows: The data from the Guttmacher Institute shows no other state came close to Illinois in terms of volume last year, with providers here performing the procedure at a rate nearly double the state with the next highest level of abortions on out-of-state patients, North Carolina. Despite seeing fewer abortions overall, Illinois being the go-to state for out-of-state people seeking abortions has been a relatively stable occurrence since 2023, a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its longstanding Roe v. Wade decision that affirmed abortion rights.

* Block Club | Italian Beef Vs. The Horseshoe: A State Sandwich Showdown Is Heating Up: Though the horseshoe has unofficially held the title in Springfield for years, if House Bill 4669 passes, the Italian beef would become the state sandwich. State Rep. Rick Ryan, a Democrat from southwest suburban Evergreen Park, introduced the bill Jan. 28, and it has since gained seven co-sponsors with bipartisan support. The idea came about last year at a Christmas party in Springfield attended by dozens of state staffers from across Illinois, Ryan told Block Club. It’s tradition each year for attendees to come up with a bill to introduce in the legislature, he said.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson angles for CHA control amid city agency turmoil. Is it too late?: In an internal memo on Thursday, Brewer toned down an earlier attack accusing Johnson of favoring political “cronies” over the residents of CHA and told his staff to ignore the “external noise.” Brewer added in an interview on Friday that Keith Pettigrew’s appointment to CHA CEO is a done deal, “and I don’t see anything getting in the way of that.”“This is not about attacks or rivalries. It’s truly an attempt to fill a void that we’ve had for the last 18 months with a very qualified leader,” Brewer told the Tribune. “There’s a ripple effect when there’s not a good CEO in place. And when you take that from one agency, and it’s true for other agencies as well, then the problem compounds.”

* Tribune | Former CPS principal enters race for Chicago school board president: Jessica Biggs, an elected school board member representing parts of downtown and the South Side, officially announced Monday she is running for president of the Chicago Board of Education. Biggs — a director of the Southwest Organizing Project and a former Chicago Public Schools principal — is the fourth candidate to enter the race to lead the district’s first fully elected board. All 21 seats of the board will be on the ballot in November. The current hybrid board consists of 11 mayor-appointed members and 10 elected members, including Biggs, who won her seat as an independent in 2024.

* WTTW | Chicago Shootings, Homicides Increased in March as Gun Violence Creeps Ahead of Last Year’s Historically Low Rates: Forty-one people were killed in March, according to data from the Chicago Police Department, an uptick of 17% from the 35 homicides recorded during the same month in 2025. The number of shootings (124) and shooting victims (137) last month were also both up compared to March 2025. Through the first three months of 2026, Chicago has recorded 97 homicides, which matches the total from the same time period in 2025 — a year that ended with the fewest homicides Chicago had seen in 60 years.

* WTTW | CPD Officer Suspended for Third Time for Violating the Rights of Black Chicagoans Downtown: Officer Richard Rodriguez Jr., who was a member of the Near North (18th) Police District tactical team until he was stripped of his police powers in February, was suspended for 15 days for his conduct while stopping and searching a Black man near Chicago Avenue and Rush Street at 8 p.m. July 25, 2022, according to documents published March 26 by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. In all, Rodriguez has been suspended for at least 83 days in connection with eight incidents of misconduct, records show.

* WBEZ | HIV, AIDS infections up in Chicago after years of decline as cases rise among Latinos: HIV infections are on the rise in Chicago after about two decades of decline, growing 29% between 2022 and 2024. AIDS cases are also up slightly. In 2024, there were 818 new HIV cases — and nearly half were among Latinos, the population Jiménez focuses on. That increase is particularly significant, marking the first time the racial and ethnic group accounted for most of the new diagnoses, said John Peller, CEO of the AIDS Foundation Chicago.

* Block Club | Augustana Lutheran Church Is Now Solar-Powered — But It Was ‘A Long Road’ To Get There: The church awaits its March bill to determine how much power the array provided over its first full month, but it’s expected to cover “pretty much all of our electrical needs” — and could even generate excess energy, Goede said. “It’s not clear if we’ll be able to sell excess electricity back, but our goal is to sell back into the grid,” Goede said. “We’re glad to do that, with a lot of electrical need on the horizon. But mostly, we did this project to demonstrate a commitment that I think we share with a lot of people in our area and in the U.S.: We want to see alternative energy develop.”

* Crain’s | Downtown office vacancy sets another record while top space tightens: The downtown office vacancy rate ticked up during the first quarter to an all-time high of 28.6% from 28.2% at the end of 2025, according to data from real estate services firm CBRE. The share of available workspace in Chicago’s urban core is up from 26.5% a year ago and 13.8% when the COVID-19 pandemic began, having now hit new record highs for 15 consecutive quarters. […] Yet the staggering vacancy figure also masks a market that feels more competitive for tenants than the numbers suggest. CBRE research shows that almost half of the 40 million square feet of vacant office space downtown has been available for at least three years.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | West Suburban closure exposes cracks in hospital oversight: Resilience Healthcare’s CEO says a billing glitch that no one else could diagnose starved West Suburban Medical Center of revenue for a year, forcing the temporary closure of the Oak Park hospital. But state officials paint a different picture: a company that refused millions in aid while its revenues disappeared, owed more than $50 million in back taxes and was “unable and unwilling” to do what was necessary to keep the hospital open.

* Tribune | Cook County assessor: Tax break hopes for hundreds dashed because of bad applications: About 1,700 certificates of error — one-page requests to correct property assessment mistakes — were turned in to Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office late last month. Successful applications can result in refunds for taxpayers, but the “vast majority” of the batch are missing any evidence or valid grounds for relief, a Kaegi spokesman said, meaning the homeowners likely struggling to pay their bills would be out of luck.

* Shaw Local | Will County Courthouse initiative streamlines process for traffic court hearings: In early March, judges began hearing cases without the use of a paper file, instead relying “exclusively on the electronic record as the official record of the court, according to a statement on Thursday from Roger Holland, the county’s trial court administrator. This new initiative “streamlines the process” of how cases are heard and allow for most people to come to court, have their case disposed of and pay any applicable fines and fees in one day. “Additionally, this new initiative reduces operational costs in the circuit clerk’s office, increases staff productivity, and promotes judicial efficiency,” according to Holland’s statement.

* Yikes…

ALERT: #GasPrices appear to be rising to $4.69/gal in #Chicago's Cook county and to $4.59/gal in Chicago's suburbs. #NWIndiana rising to $4.29/gal. This is a price hike from the last increase due to the situation with Iran.

— Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) fw”>April 6, 2026

* Aurora Beacon-News | Oswego Village Board OKs ordinances seen as ‘precursors’ to redevelopment of old Traughber School site: Trustees in December 2025 approved a revised concept plan with fewer units for the proposed development at the 12.34-acre property – owned by Oswego-based School District 308 – at the northeast corner of Route 71 and Washington Street close to the village’s downtown. The plan features two types of housing. Along the south side of the property adjacent to Route 71 and centrally located on the site are five three-story apartment buildings with a total of 125 units. There would also be six two-story owner-occupied townhome buildings along the north and west side of the development with a total of 36 units.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Public will soon be able to visit the bison at Kane County’s Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve: Members of the public eager to catch a glimpse of some of the Kane County Forest Preserve District’s newest bovine residents will have an opportunity to stop by and see them soon. Starting May 1, the public will be able to visit the small herd of bison that was recently introduced to Burlington after the Kane County Forest Preserve District reopens the Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve’s gates following some planned renovations meant to better accommodate additional visitors to the site.

*** Downstate ***

* IPM News | United Airlines pushes back start date for new Willard Airport flights, citing FAA restrictions: United Airlines has delayed its original plans to bring new flights to Willard Airport from April 30 to June 1. The airline cancelled customers’ previously scheduled flights for earlier dates and said it was pushing back the start date for four new daily flights to and from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. […] United also delayed the start of new service at Bloomington-Normal’s Central Illinois Regional Airport and at other airports in the Midwest.

* WGLT | B-N Water Reclamation District gets $5 million grant to spark west side industrial development: The funding for the Northwest Interceptor Project through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is part of a second $30 million package of awards in the Regional Site Readiness Program, designed to create project-ready sites prime for industrial development. “Winning large-scale, generational projects requires an economic development strategy that balances short-term adaptability and long-term growth, and that’s what Illinois is doing with the Regional Site Readiness Program,” said Christy George, president and CEO of the Illinois Economic Development Corporation.

* NPR Illinois | CWLP wins water taste test: City Water, Light and Power was recently awarded first place at the recent Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association District 3 taste test. Winning the Central Illinois Regional Competition qualifies the utility to compete at the statewide event in April. The water samples were rated by a panel of judges based on the clarity, taste, and odor of each. “We’re pleased to be recognized for our high-quality water,” said CWLP Water Division Manager Todd LaFountain. “Our plant operators, chemist, and entire treatment and distribution staff work extremely hard to consistently and continually ensure a safe and reliable drinking water supply to Springfield—that it also tastes great is a bonus.”

* WGLT | Sister mission, same state: Illinois company that supplied Apollo powers Artemis II: OTTO Engineering is based in Carpentersville. Chairman Tom Roeser said that growing up, every kid knew the names of the Mercury astronauts, and now, on America’s 250th anniversary, he sees a new era of space exploration dawning as a source of national pride for a new generation of Americans and Illinoisians. NASA states that “more than 3,800 suppliers across 49 states” help build hardware and systems for Artemis missions. At OTTO, the launch represents the latest chapter in a decades-long relationship with the U.S. space program, even though it’s just another day at work.

* WGLT | At Normal Theater, Bob Odenkirk explains why his new movie borrowed the name ‘Normal’: “Of course, the name is the best. And of course, for movie audiences, a town called Normal just … they’re like, ‘Something’s not normal. I know something’s wrong!’ That’s a great thing walking into the theater suspecting,” Odenkirk said. “So we’re here because we borrowed your town name.” The movie was filmed in Canada. And the movie’s Normal (population of just over 1,000) is much smaller than Normal, Illinois.

*** National ***

* Reuters | The Associated Press to cut under 5% of global news staff: The changes will be concentrated largely in the U.S. news team, with a small number of positions in other U.S.-based reporting units also being affected, the memo from AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said. […] AP had laid off about 8% of its workforce in late 2024 in a similar push to modernize its operations and products. While AP’s revenue has ⁠remained stable, Pace said the organization must continue to adapt as legacy print newspapers account for a shrinking share of its customer base.

* DNYUZ | The DOJ Misled a Judge About How It’s Using Voter Roll Data: But Neff was not telling the truth: The DOJ, he later admitted, was pooling the data and already analyzing it to identify voting irregularities. In a court document filed on March 27, Neff walked back his claims. “The United States represented that each data set was stored separately,” Neff wrote. “The United States also stated that no analysis had yet been conducted on the data. To correct and clarify the record, preliminary internal data analysis of the nonpublic voter registration data has begun. In particular, the Civil Rights Division has begun the process of identifying and quantifying the number and type of duplicate and deceased registered voters in each state.”

* Chalkbeat | Why the Classic Learning Test’s influence is growing in Indiana: The Classic Learning Test’s expansion is part of a multi-pronged push in Indiana and nationwide by conservatives to counter what they see as an education system that leans too progressive by providing alternatives they believe are more rigorous and in line with Western tradition. The elevation of the CLT follows state leaders’ decision in 2024 to mandate “intellectual diversity” in Indiana higher education, a move seen by many as a boon to conservatives on campuses, as well as previous years’ efforts to change history instruction that could make students feel guilt or blame for the past. This year, lawmakers also required higher education leaders to explore alternative university accrediting options — in line with other conservative states.