* ICYMI: In State of the State address, Gov. JB Pritzker pitches affordability and Illinois resilience to Trump. Tribune…

- With an eye toward this election year and potentially the next, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker used his State of the State and budget address Wednesday to cast Illinois as a bulwark against Republican President Donald Trump and to argue for an affordability-focused response to the White House’s often retributive economic moves.
- Pritzker told a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly that the Trump administration’s actions and federal funding cuts have cost the people of Illinois $8.4 billion.
- He then issued a stark warning aimed at Republicans, causing some of the most conservative lawmakers to walk out of the House chamber: “If you want to talk about our fiscal year 2027 budget, you must first demand the return of the money and resources this president has taken from the people of Illinois.”

* Related stories…

• WGLT: Central Illinois lawmakers react to governor’s budget address
• CNI: Pritzker focuses on history, ‘affordability,’ in 8th State of the State address

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* At 10:50, Gov. JB Pritzker will give remarks at the opening of Teklab’s new environmental testing lab in Collinsville. Click here to watch.

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois joins suit to halt federal energy and infrastructure cuts: In Illinois, six grant awards to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois-Chicago that are collectively worth over $20 million — which Raoul said are to “make the electricity grid more reliable and resilient, reduce carbon emissions, and utilize domestic sources of rare earth elements and critical minerals” — were on the chopping block.

* WBEZ | Big money expected to flow in November’s historic Chicago school board race: This fall, billionaire Michael Sacks contributed the legal limit of $7,300 to seven incumbent board members’ campaign funds. It was part of a donation spree in which Sacks also gave $400 to many City Council members who went against Mayor Brandon Johnson to pass an alternative city budget. The business executive known for giving big to former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s campaigns is gearing up for more. Through a spokesperson, Sacks says “he will continue to proudly support independent CPS Board candidates who make decisions in the best interest of CPS school children and their families.” Sacks is also a major donor to a new super PAC called the Common Ground Collective, which plans to back certain school board candidates.

*** Statehouse News ***

* NBC Chicago | Illinois House committee cancels meeting to hear Chicago Bears stadium bill: It appears an Illinois House committee that could have brought the Bears a step closer to a new stadium in Illinois has been canceled, but Indiana could take steps. The House Revenue and Finance Committee canceled a meeting Wednesday to hear the “Mega Project” bill.

* Crain’s | Bears zero in on Hammond site as Indiana panel preps vote on stadium bill: If that language is added to Senate Bill 27, the Bears are expected to make a statement that confirms the team’s interest in the [Indiana] site but will remain short of a full commitment to move, said the source, who requested anonymity to speak about the negotiations. Wolf Lake straddles the Indiana-Illinois border along Interstate 90. It is close to the BP Whiting Refinery and Horseshoe Hammond Casino.

* Daily Herald | ‘Progress has been made’: Northwest suburban officials in Springfield for Bears bill talks: Northwest suburban officials were in Springfield on Wednesday for continuing closed-door discussions on Bears stadium property tax break legislation, and some of them may get time in front of the cameras and microphones Thursday when the bill is heard for the first time in committee. those already at the state Capitol are Arlington Heights Village Manager Randy Recklaus, Rolling Meadows City Manager Rob Sabo and Meet Chicago Northwest tourism bureau President/CEO Heather Larson. They’re downstate as part of a local lobbying push for so-called megaproject legislation that would pave the way to a Bears stadium at the former Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights.

* CBS Chicago | Gov. JB Pritzker proposes new social media fee to help fund Illinois public schools: The tiered rate structure would charge social media platforms with 100,000 to 500,000 users in Illinois 10 cents per month per user over 100,000. Platforms with 500,000 to 1 million users would be charged $40,000 per month plus 25 cents per month for each user over 500,000. Social media companies with 1 million or more users in Illinois would be charged $165,000 per month, plus 50 cents per month for each user over 1 million.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Zoning Committee stalemate continues under Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with other vacancies: Divided by competing personal ambitions and ethnic caucuses once again, the Chicago City Council failed Wednesday to find its next Zoning Committee chair. The latest instance of a key leadership vacancy dragging on under Mayor Brandon Johnson came as Ald. Bennett Lawson, the powerful committee’s vice chair and longtime interim leader, waited in the wings. Lawson appeared hopeful early Wednesday that he would win the position, which has been vacant since Johnson ally Walter Burnett retired from the council in July. But as the North Side alderman tried to coax votes in the room behind the City Council’s chambers and met with Johnson’s top advisers, it became clear aldermen would remain stuck in an unproductive stalemate.

* Block Club | City Council Fails To Override Mayor’s Hemp Ban Veto, Rejects Lane-Blocking Ticketing Program: City Council overwhelmingly rejected an ordinance that would create a pilot program to allow residents to report and submit photos of bus and bike lane infractions, such as parked cars blocking either type of lane. A separate program called the Smart Streets pilot launched in 2024 throughout different areas of the city and has since been expanded. The program uses mounted cameras on CTA buses and city vehicles to take photos of vehicles parked in bus lanes, stop areas and bike lanes. The drivers found in violation receive tickets in the mail ranging from $90-250.

* Sun-Times | Chicago police officer ‘inadvertently’ fired Taser a year before fatally shooting his partner: The Chicago cop who city officials say unintentionally shot and killed his partner during a foot pursuit last summer had previously told his bosses that he “inadvertently” fired his Taser after a high-speed car chase he failed to initially report a year earlier. The car chase ended when the driver of a fleeing Jeep hit the train crossing at 89th Street so fast that it flew into the air and then crashed into six cars, according to records obtained by Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times. No one was seriously injured. The crash and Officer Carlos Baker’s accidental firing of the Taser and failure to report the chase raise new questions about why he subsequently, in early 2025, was allowed to join a tactical team, a competitive position, in the Gresham District on the South Side.

* Sun-Times | Ex-Chicago Det. Richard Zuley denies torturing out confession to 7-year-old Dantrell Davis’s murder: Once police found Garrett, Zuley testified, a security guard told the officers they had the wrong man. But Zuley said he and his partner drove Garrett to a detective station at Western and Belmont avenues. Garrett ended up in an interrogation room with an eyebolt drilled into the wall for shackling people.

* Tribune | Mother Cabrini statue to replace Columbus at Arrigo Park, city officials say: A statue of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini will be installed at Arrigo Park in Little Italy to replace a removed one honoring Christopher Columbus, Chicago Park District and city officials announced Wednesday. […] Cabrini, canonized in 1946, founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Italian American nun opened 67 orphanages, schools, hospitals and missionary orders before her 1917 death in Chicago. The city will begin its search for artist proposals for the statue in the next two weeks, the statement said.

* Tribune | Chicago funeral arrangements set for civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson: Jackson’s son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said at a Wednesday morning news conference that everyone of all political leanings is welcome to attend the services because his life “is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.” But he asked that attendees be respectful. “Dad would have wanted us to have a great meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways of moving forward and moving together,” he said. “If his life becomes a turning point in our national political discourse — Amen.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Cook County Board president candidates tussle over budgets, taxes and Trump: She attacked Reilly for having a “long-standing relationship with” Trump, and ripped the alderman for what she said was his failure to call out the president’s targeting of Democratic strongholds and his federal funding reductions for health care, child care and food stamps. By the end of the debate, Preckwinkle’s criticism prompted Reilly to pull a photo from a folder showing him standing onstage in October behind Gov. JB Pritzker while the governor excoriated Trump’s ICE operation as evidence of his opposition to the federal incursion. “I’ll stand up to Donald Trump at least as effectively as Toni,” Reilly said.

* Tribune | Lewis University moves in-person classes online at Oak Brook campus due to nearby ICE office: Lewis University operates at 1111 W. 22nd Street in Oak Brook and recently learned the U.S. General Services Administration is leasing office space within the building for ICE administrative offices, the school said in a statement. The school moved all in-person classes and activities online for the week through Saturday, the school said. “In light of social media attention referencing the potential for protests at the site, and the community’s concerns regarding ICE, we are taking precautionary steps to support a safe, productive, and welcoming learning environment for all,” Lewis said in a statement.

* Sun-Times | Faith leaders enter Broadview ICE facility on Ash Wednesday after judge’s order: Clergy members said the facility appeared clean, despite reports of squalid conditions inside the building last fall, and immigration agents were accommodating. They said they intend to schedule more visits to the facility.

* ABC Chicago | Clergy allowed inside Broadview ICE facility for Ash Wednesday after federal judge’s order: “They expressed their gratitude. They seemed a bit shell shocked, and there were there were some teary eyes and some placed stares, but they were very appreciative of the opportunity,” said Fr. Paul Keller, CSPL Clergy Council.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora to put new chemical in drinking water to reduce lead levels in certain homes: The chemical, called dipotassium orthophosphate, reacts with lead pipes to seal in the lead and prevent it from leaching into the water, according to Aurora Superintendent of Water Production Bob Leible. Plus, he said the orthophosphate is tasteless, odorless and safe for consumption. “You would have to drink 40 liters of water in one sitting to get the amount of phosphorus that’s in a banana,” he said.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Multimillion-dollar grant given to Parkland College program: A professional program at Parkland College is growing after getting a more than $3 million grant from the state. It’s for the dental hygiene program, and they already have plans for how this money can help them and the community. “There’s so many children, probably right now in school, that are sitting with a toothache in class. So, not only is there a need for dentistry, but there’s a need for preventative dentistry,” Peyton Elliott, a second-year dental hygiene student, said.

* Illinois Times | Med District could expand: Lawmakers could consider expanding the overall region, and special district powers, of the Mid-Illinois Medical District due to a new bill filed by state Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, last month. Senate Bill 2829 proposes adjustments to the existing Mid-Illinois Medical District Act by essentially doubling the size of the district’s region, extending the southern boundary from Madison Street down to South Grand Avenue. The other boundaries would remain the same, North Grand Avenue to the north, Walnut Street to the west and 11th Street to the east.

* STLPR | Tiny Desk Crashers introduces music lovers to the sonic identity of southern Illinois: In Carbondale, lifelong friends Maxwell Senteney and Nathan Colombo combined their love of music and video production to demystify the entry process. They call their effort Tiny Desk Crashers. “The ‘crashers’ concept is that we are here to show up in force with a critical mass of talent across a wide spectrum of genres and make a statement that southern Illinois has a level of talent that cannot, and should not, be ignored,” Colombo told St. Louis on the Air. “I know that we’re making an impact in terms of the quantity of submissions. You pair that in tandem with the quality, both of the performance and the production, and I think it’s something worth taking note of.”

* WCIA | IHSA wrestling state championships return to Champaign, bringing nearly $6M to community: “So, this wrestling tournament has been here for many decades, and because it is such a huge driver of economic impact, we want to keep seeing it back,” said Director of Event Services and Film for Experience CU, Mark Brown. “We want to keep welcoming the wrestlers and their spectators from all over the state. Not only because it does bring a lot of money to the area, but we also want to bring our warm Central Illinois hospitality to people from around the state.”

*** National ***

* AP | Hilary Knight gets her dream matchup as US faces Canada for Olympic gold in women’s hockey: The Americans stand one win from cementing a legacy as one of the most dominant women’s hockey teams. “If we get the job done (Thursday) night, I think that statement holds true,” Kendall Coyne Schofield said. The defending champion Canadians haves shown signs of age and struggled through parts of the tournament. Canada is 5-1, having dropped a 5-0 decision to the U.S. in the preliminary round — its most lopsided loss and its first time being shut out in Olympic play.