* ICYMI: Illinois appeal for summer storm disaster relief denied by Trump administration. Sun-Times…

- The Trump administration has officially denied an appeal from the state of Illinois for disaster relief funds for summer storms last year that affected 438,000 residents in five Illinois counties.
- Pritzker on Monday called the denial “a politically motivated decision that punishes thousands of Illinois families in a critical moment of need.”
- The White House has defended its decision, saying the president responds to federal aid requests “with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”

* Related stories…

• ABC Chicago: FEMA rejects Illinois’ appeal for major disaster relief after August storms hit Chicago area
• Capitol City Now: Pritzker: Trump playing politics with FEMA disaster aid denial
• Shaw Local: FEMA denies appeal for aid for summer storm damage in McHenry, Kane, Will, Cook counties

* At 9 am Gov. JB Pritzker will give remarks at the Choose Chicago annual meeting. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Gov. JB Pritzker talked Bears with NFL commissioner, says progress is being made to keep team in Illinois:
The governor’s comments come as Pritzker’s January calendar shows he had two scheduled conversations with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell while Goodell was in Chicago for the Bears-Packers playoff game on Jan. 10. […] The first conversation between the governor and Goodell was a scheduled half-hour phone call on Jan. 9, while the second was a half-hour discussion between the two on Jan. 12, according to the governor’s calendar entries. The governor’s office on Monday declined to comment on how the conversations went or what was said.

* Sun-Times | Cook County prosecutors drop charges against 19 arrested during clergy-led protest at Broadview ICE facility: As the demonstrators moved closer to the facility, in the hopes that those inside would hear their prayers, scuffles broke out with local law enforcement, and 21 people were arrested. The Cook County sheriff’s office said the group left the “designated protest area,” and was “unlawfully assembling in the roadway.” The Cook County state’s attorney’s office has now dropped charges in 19 of those cases. […] Of the two people arrested that day whose cases were not dropped, one is charged with mob action and the other is charged with resisting a police officer.

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | Moody’s sees Illinois slipping: Fewer jobs, fewer people: Jobs will fall statewide this year and next, registering an annual decline for the first time since the pandemic hit the economy in 2020, according to a forecast prepared by Moody’s for the Commission on Government Forecasting & Accountability, which provides budget information to legislators.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Daily Herald | Illinois House hopefuls Peterson, Chan Ding spar over ethics: Maria Peterson criticized opponent Erin Chan Ding over campaign activities that brought her a reprimand from Barrington Area Unit District 220 school board, on which Chan Ding has served since 2021. […] “I’ve been absolutely transparent about that from the very beginning,” she said in response to Peterson’s remarks. “I’ve owned it. I’ve apologized for it.” Chan Ding, of South Barrington, later criticized Peterson for attacking her rather than “standing up to MAGA.”

* WAND | Illinois expands STAR bond eligibility for municipalities across the state: Pritzker told reporters Monday that current STAR bonds are expected to generate $1 billion in sales and more than 5,000 new jobs. The number of projects available for each area is based on the population within economic development regions. North central Illinois is eligible for three different projects, while sections of the state with fewer than 600,000 people could apply for one STAR bond project.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayoral aides explain Chicago’s cash flow crunch that triggered partial pension payment: Craig Slack, chief investment officer for the city treasurer’s office, said the city has been promised the rest of that money by April 1, though he expressed wariness — since several previous deadlines have come and gone. “The fact that the money is coming in large chunk amounts tells me the system is still broken. There’s not a fix in sight,” Slack told the City Council’s Finance Committee.

* Sun-Times | Despite business community concerns, Council committee backs parking enforcement by citizens: In the first phase of implementation, the Department of Finance would create a “Street Operations Task Force” made up of parking enforcement aides “primarily focused on issuing violations for parking in crosswalks, bike and bus lanes “ outside of the current Smart Streets footprint, he said. In the second phase, City Hall would work to develop a “dispatch system that will allow for 311 complaints about parking violations to be immediately dispatched to active parking enforcement aides, who will be able to arrive immediately and issue a violation,” he said.

* ABC Chicago | Leadership exodus continues at Chicago’s US Attorney’s Office: After at least eight top prosecutors left their positions in the Northern District of Illinois, the I-Team has learned at least two more are leaving. […] The I-Team has learned, since new U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros took over, seven section chiefs have left with one reassigned, including a prosecutor who resigned after serving as the chief of the criminal division, along with a top national security prosecutor.

* Sun-Times | Tracking every known federal prosecution in Chicago tied to Trump’s immigration blitz: Federal prosecutors in Chicago have accused 32 known defendants of nonimmigration crimes tied to Operation Midway Blitz. Many were accused of assaulting or resisting federal agents or officers. Fifteen of those defendants have already been cleared. Grand jurors refused to indict at least three of the 15. And another member of that group was found not guilty at trial.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora to host open house on data centers amid moratorium: The Data Center Open House is planned to take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the city’s Public Works building, 2185 Liberty St. Not only will Aurora residents and businesses have the chance to ask questions and provide feedback, but they will also get to learn about some of the considerations going into the development of potential requirements on future data center development in the city.

* Lake County News-Sun | Lake County homeless count revised due to funding questions: ‘A period of federal uncertainty’: While Lake County’s PIT counts have included the unsheltered portion every year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which mandates the annual PIT count, only requires it every other year. Lake County successfully conducted an unsheltered count in 2025. This year, the release said the Lake County Continuum of Care team and homeless management information system administrator collected the required data for people experiencing homelessness staying in emergency shelters, transitional housing and permanent housing programs. That data will be released in the spring.

* Pioneer Press | Lake Forest City Council members mull water and sewer rate increases to cover rising costs: The council unanimously approved the first reading of an across-the-board 6.75 % increase in water and sewer rates at its Feb. 2 meeting. “Average residential homeowners should expect to see an annual increase ranging from $34 to $110 per year, or $8.50 to $27.50 per quarterly bill, depending on the volume of water consumption,” Finance Director Katie Skibbe explained in an e-mail. City officials estimate the increase will generate just over $620,000 in additional revenue in fiscal year 2027.

* Daily Herald | Early voting to begin Tuesday in DuPage County after delay: The county clerk’s office will also send out its first batch of mail-in ballots by the end of the week to residents who requested to vote by mail. The county is expected to send ballots to about 70,000 residents in its first mailing, said Adam Johnson, chief deputy clerk for the DuPage County Clerk’s office.

* Daily Herald | Hanover Park reports another record-low year for major crimes: The 175 “Part 1” crimes — an FBI benchmark that includes murders, sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated assaults, thefts and arson — represent a 10% decline from 2024’s previous historic low of 194. It’s the fewest since at least 1974, when the department began keeping a record of those offenses, and reflect a continuous decline of major crimes over the past decade.

*** Downstate ***

* WMBD | Pekin residents oppose city council’s data center proposal: Despite no item on the agenda mentioning the data center, Monday’s meeting continued the protest, with locals taking turns speaking out against a data center they said will negatively impact their health, increase noise pollution, use their water and raise utility bills. Most of them were aligned with one single message. “We don’t want this.”

* WGLT | Bloomington OKs swapping police department guns after amendment fails:
The council ultimately voted 8-1 to authorize the purchase from Acme Sports, Inc., after waiving the formal bidding process. The expense became necessary after safety concerns prompted police academies and training facilities across the nation to ban the SIG Sauer P320 currently used by the BPD.

* WCIA | Champaign Co. school getting back on track after half of school out sick: Viruses kept more than half of one Central Illinois school at home last week. However, after hours scrubbing the building down, they’re getting back on track. Only 22% of students were absent on Monday at Heritage Elementary and Junior High School — and that’s an improvement.

* WCIA | Champaign School District selects new superintendent: In a news release, the school district said Monday it had selected Dr. Geovanny Ponce as its new superintendent, succeeding Dr. Shelia Boozer. Ponce was selected after the district received input from the community before starting a nationwide search. 31 people applied for the position, followed by a review of all of them and interviews with the top applicants.

*** National ***

* AP | Trump’s immigration chiefs are set to testify in Congress following protester deaths: Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Rodney Scott, who heads U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Joseph Edlow, who is the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, will speak in front of the House Committee on Homeland Security. […] Lyons is likely to face questioning over a memo he signed last year telling ICE officers that they didn’t need a judge’s warrant to forcibly enter a house to arrest a deportee, a memo that went against years of ICE practice and Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches.

* NYT | When Trump Officials’ Claims About Shootings Unravel in Court: In four of the shootings where prosecutors brought assault or other charges, including against Mr. Brown, the cases fizzled after evidence emerged that contradicted the administration’s initial description of events. The charges were either dismissed or prosecutors dropped the case. Charges against six other people who were shot at by immigration agents are pending. Five of the defendants have denied aspects of the D.H.S. accusations or presented differing accounts in court. Two cases are going to trial in April.