In the 2023 Tyler v. Hennepin County decision, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that local and state governments cannot seize and sell the homes of people with unpaid property tax debt without returning the value left after the debt is settled.
Every state but Illinois has corrected their state law in accordance with the ruling.
To comply with the ruling, the state must require that homeowners receive the leftover funds from a sale after their debt has been settled.
Before the Tyler decision, county treasurers could hold annual sales of unpaid property tax debt to private investors. If the homeowners fell behind on paying back their debt, the investors could then seize and sell the property, pocketing the difference with no refund to the homeowner.
As a result of the seizure, homeowners would lose the entire value of their home, which is often much more than the size of their debt. The tax sales help local governments continue to fund their everyday operations, but critics say it also leaves homeowners vulnerable to predatory tax buyers.
Some groups would take advantage of a loophole in the law called sale-in-error that allowed them to receive a refund on a sale if there was an error in the sale documents, like miscalculated square footage.
That loophole has since been closed after a report from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, but the state still needs to enact further reforms to the sale process to comply with the Tyler ruling.
“This isn’t a new issue, we’ve been working on it for years,” Villanueva said in a statement. “We cannot continue to let this issue fall by the wayside while families — especially seniors and working-class homeowners — remain at risk of losing not just their homes, but the equity they worked their entire lives to build.”
Legislators have introduced some reform bills, like House Bill 3146 and Villanueva’s Senate Bill 3940, but face resistance from the groups who buy tax debts.
AIPAC donors and affiliates have spent $13.7 million on the group’s preferred candidates in the four races, a WBEZ analysis of federal campaign disclosures found.
WBEZ surveyed the 46 candidates in those March 17 primaries about whether there should be strict U.S. conditions on military aid to Israel, whether that country has committed genocide in Gaza, and whether AIPAC funding should be off-limits in these races.
Most of the respondents said yes to those questions, but the four AIPAC-aligned candidates would not answer yes or no. […]
The AIPAC-linked candidates — all Democrats — include Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller in the 2nd District, Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin in the 7th, former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean in the 8th and state Sen. Laura Fine in the 9th.
* Elect Chicago Women, which has been widely reported as being backed by AIPAC, spent $1.5 million yesterday supporting Fine and Bean…
In IL-09: Democratic state Sen. Mike Simmons has been endorsed by Chicago Ald. Angela Clay and the Collective PAC, which advocates for Black political representation. […]
In IL-07: Democrat Anabel Mendoza has been endorsed by Gen-Z for Change in the 7th Congressional District race. […]
IL-02: Democratic state Sen. Robert Peters has been endorsed by the nonprofit Food & Water Action.
* More…
* Press release | Daniel Biss Calls on Laura Fine to Divest Stock Holdings in Big Pharma, Corporate Polluter, Price-Gouging Monopolies, and ICE Contractor: Following a Political Integrity Project review of the top candidates in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss is calling on Laura Fine to divest her substantial holdings in individual stocks. Daniel Biss has signed on to the Political Integrity Pledge, which requires candidates for Congress to hold no individual stocks and to support a congressional stock trading ban, among other good government initiatives. Recent polling shows overwhelming bipartisan majorities of Americans favor prohibiting stock trading in individual companies by members of Congress. Laura Fine has refused to sign the pledge, and PIP notes that Fine’s campaign platform has no statement supporting a stock trading ban for members of Congress, which raises the question: why won’t Laura Fine support a congressional stock trading ban, and how can voters trust she won’t personally enrich herself at their expense? According to her House Personal Financial Disclosure, Fine holds at least nine individual stocks totaling up to $121,000.
* Tribune | A changing Illinois 8th District sets stage for wide-open Democratic primary to replace Rep. Krishnamoorthi: With endorsements from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Ahmed has called for abolishing and replacing ICE as part of a broader immigration reform, supporting Medicare for all, and ending military aid to Israel due to its bombing and blockade of Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel. “Americans are realizing, we cannot be on the side of genocide,” he said. “I’ve yet to find someone who says, ‘I want my tax dollars to go to starve children.’” Khot, who was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, said he’s running to fight for women’s rights, protect seniors and implement insurance reform, noting that his mother was denied coverage.
*ABC Chicago | 13 Democrats vying for retiring Rep. Danny Davis’ Illinois 7th Congressional District seat: The retiring Congressman Davis has endorsed State Representative La Shawn Ford to carry his torch. “It’s my commitment that I will be a better Congressman than Congressman Davis It’s my commitment that I would actually have a better constituent service than Congressman Davis,” Ford said. It’s also Ford’s commitment to pull in Davis’ voter base. Every vote is crucial given how many candidates are vying for the democratic nomination. It is a crowded field of 13. Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is running for a second time.
* Daily Herald | GOP candidate shares Trump concerns of a deep state; rival rejects concept: Republican congressional candidate Jim Marter supports President Donald Trump’s oft-repeated claim that a “deep state” network of people and organizations is manipulating the U.S. government — and he claims Trump’s executive orders have helped lessen its influence. Marter’s rival for the GOP nomination in the 14th District, Somonauk resident Gary Vician, dismissed the conspiracy-laden concept. Marter, of Oswego, and Vician discussed their legislative priorities, Trump’s policies and other issues in questionnaires for the Daily Herald and follow-up emails. The 14th District includes parts of Kane, Will and five other counties southwest of Chicago.
* Alton Telegraph | Two Republicans challenge incumbent Mary Miller in the 15th District: Bowlby said Miller shows a “lack of focus and absence on key issues” that is creating problems in the district. “Constituents in the 15th District are struggling to pay for everyday necessities like housing, groceries and healthcare,” she said. “They are also facing job loss, stagnant wages, and instability in the healthcare, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors. The district represents 31% of Illinois’ total agricultural sales and farmers are facing another difficult season due to tariff policy, low crop prices, and high production costs.”
* The Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission…
The Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) today released “Taking Account: A History of Racial Harm & Injustice Against Black Illinoisans,” the State’s first comprehensive, evidence-based report examining how slavery and its vestiges produce historical harms and continue to generate inequities for Black Illinoisans.
Commissioned by ADCRC and in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago’s Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, the report traces racial injustice from colonial enslavement and early statehood through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, urban renewal, and mass incarceration. Drawing on scholarly research, historical archives, government data, and community perspectives, the report documents the impact of deliberate policies that structured opportunity along racial lines.
“Confronting the truth of our state’s history is a necessary first step toward building a more equitable future,” said ADCRC Chair Marvin Slaughter, Jr. “By grounding our work in historical evidence and the lived experiences of those who have experienced harm, we are laying the foundation for informed and meaningful reparative action. The Commission is proud to release this during the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, a commemoration of the contributions of Black Americans to American society. We are proud to continue the legacy of Carter G. Woodson in honoring the resilience and strength of Black Americans.”
The findings will guide the African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission’s recommendations to the Illinois General Assembly on pathways toward reparative action.
“The idea that racial inequity simply dissolved after the end of formal segregation is a myth,” said Dr. Terrion L. Williamson, project leader and associate professor of Black Studies and Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Redlining, chronic school underfunding, discriminatory lending, and over-policing were not isolated injustices. They were policy decisions that structured opportunity along racial lines and continue to shape the experiences of Black residents in Illinois today.”
The report identifies nine broad categories of harm and documents how each continues to share disparities across Illinois:
- Enslavement and Servitude: Although Illinois entered the Union as a free state in 1818, legal exceptions, indenture systems, and restrictive laws allowed slavery and slavery-like arrangements to persist for decades, embedding racial hierarchy into the state’s early economic and legal foundations.
- Racial Terror: From lynchings and race riots in Springfield (1908), East St. Louis (1917), and Chicago (1919) to the proliferation of Sundown Towns, racial violence and intimidation enforced segregation and exclusion well into the 20th century.
- Political Disenfranchisement: The Illinois Black Codes (1819–1865) barred Black residents from voting and civic participation. Later tactics — including violence, gerrymandering, and prison-based districting — diluted Black political power and representation.
- Stolen Economic Labor: From enslavement and exclusion from unions to discriminatory hiring practices and present-day income disparities, Black labor has been systematically exploited and undervalued, contributing to a persistent racial wealth gap.
- Policing and the Legal System: Early systems that monitored Black mobility evolved into modern forms of policing, punitive sentencing, and mass incarceration that disproportionately impact Black communities and destabilize families.
- Housing: Redlining, racially restrictive covenants, contract selling, exclusionary zoning, and public housing segregation created an architecture of segregation that limited Black homeownership and concentrated disinvestment and environmental harm in Black neighborhoods.
- Education: Segregation, inequitable school funding, and housing policy have produced enduring educational disparities.
- Family: Policies that sanctioned family separation, economic exclusion, and disproportionate surveillance have destabilized Black households across generations, even as Black families built resilient community-based systems of mutual aid and support.
- Health: Historical exclusion from quality healthcare, environmental degradation, housing instability, and systemic bias contribute to higher rates of chronic illness, maternal and infant mortality, and premature death among Black Illinoisans.
Click here to read the report’s executive summery.
Illinois’ history with slavery was neither accidental nor peripheral; it was intentional, structured, and state-sanctioned. Understanding this early system of racial control is critical to any discussion of reparations because it reveals how the state’s legal and economic foundations were built through the exploitation of Black labor and the denial of Black freedom. While publicly claiming the title of a “free state,” Illinois used law and policy to preserve slavery’s logic and perpetuate racial harm that continues to shape inequities today.
From its founding, although geographically part of the North, Illinois was deeply entangled in the institution of slavery and the racial hierarchies that sustained it. While the state entered the Union under the banner of free soil, lawmakers and local authorities worked relentlessly to maintain systems of racial control and coerced Black labor. Illinois leveraged legal loopholes, territorial exceptions, and political alliances to uphold such labor and protect White economic and social interests. Territorial leaders adopted pro-slavery statutes from the Indiana Territory, permitted long-term indenture agreements that functioned as slavery in all but name, and carved out explicit legal spaces. State officials resisted federal efforts to curb these practices, defended the rights of slaveholders, and facilitated the capture and forced return of enslaved people seeking refuge across state borders.
The origins of this system date back to 1720, when, under French colonial rule, enslaved Africans were brought into the Illinois Country from Saint Domingue (now Haiti) to work in agriculture, mining, and religious missions.35 This marked the beginning of a racially based labor system that bound Black people in slavery and allowed White settlers to profit. When control of the region shifted from France to Britain and later to the United States, the system did not disappear; it simply adapted under new authorities. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which governed the territory that would become Illinois, declared in Article Six: “there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory.” On paper, this positioned Illinois as part of the free North. In practice, however, the ordinance’s enforcement was weak and riddled with contradictions. It included a clause allowing for the capture and return of fugitive enslaved people, effectively recognizing the legitimacy of slave property claims from the South. Moreover, the ordinance provided no federal mechanism to enforce its ban on slavery, leaving interpretation and implementation to local officials who were often sympathetic to or directly involved in slaveholding practices. This absence of oversight allowed Illinois settlers and lawmakers to sustain slavery through a range of legal fictions and contractual disguises.
Enslaved people were often reclassified as “indentured servants,” bound by contracts that could last decades or even for life. Territorial leaders passed local laws that extended the reach of slavery under the guise of regulating labor. Early statutes borrowed from the French Code Noir, which had governed enslaved populations under French rule, and incorporated its racial logic into Illinois’s emerging legal order.38 These codes sharply restricted the freedoms of free Black residents, prohibited interracial marriage, and authorized severe punishment for resistance or escape.
Even as Illinois entered statehood in 1818 with a constitution that nominally barred slavery, state officials created exceptions to keep the practice alive. Enslaved labor persisted in the salt mines of Gallatin and in private homes under the state’s so-called voluntary indenture laws, which forced Black people into servitude through economic and legal coercion. White settlers from Southern states brought enslaved individuals into Illinois, trusting that local officials would turn a blind eye. In this way, Illinois was a “free state” in name only, with legal systems designed to maintain racial control and economic exploitation.
Illinois’s connection to slavery was not just incidental or peripheral; it was central to the development of the state itself. The laws and practices established during this time formed a lasting system of racial control that persisted even after slavery was formally abolished. The Illinois Black Codes, enacted in the following decades, continued this pattern of racial domination into the nineteenth century, further criminalizing Black mobility, limiting economic independence, and enforcing racial inequality through law and order.
State Senator Celina Villanueva is again calling for action after years of Senate work to protect homeowners from losing the equity in their homes through the property tax sale system. […]
In many cases, homeowners fall behind on relatively small tax debts — sometimes less than $1,000. Yet under the current system, if a home is sold at a tax sale, investors may keep the extra value of the property beyond what was owed. Families can lose the wealth they spent years building.
To give lawmakers time to fix the system, House Bill 598 would push the start date of the annual property tax sale process back from March 10 to Dec. 1, 2026. The delay would allow Illinois to address concerns with the Cook County property tax sale system and ensure homeowners’ rights are protected.
“This is about fairness, accountability and constitutional compliance,” Villanueva said. “We are standing up for our residents and ensuring our property tax code reflects both Supreme Court precedent and basic principles of justice.”
House Bill 598 passed the Senate on Thursday and heads to the governor’s desk.
Supporters of a long-awaited measure that would establish a board to review and regulate statewide prescription drug prices are hoping to gain momentum for the bill to pass this spring.
Contained in House Bill 1443 and Senate Bill 66, the measure would establish a Health Care Availability and Access Board with the power to review certain prescription drugs and set a maximum price if it finds that the given drug presents “affordability challenges”. […]
At a news conference held after the rally, bill sponsors Sen. Graciela Guzmán, D-Chicago, and Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine, pointed to a similar board established in Colorado as an example of how the board might function in Illinois. The Colorado board is the first in the country to set an upper payment limit, or UPL.
Having survived its first legal challenge, Colorado’s UPL is estimated to save consumers up to $32 million for that drug the first year after it takes effect.
Illinois’ board would similarly review certain types of prescription drugs, including expensive specialty drugs, drugs with sudden or extreme price increases, generic drugs that are similar in price to the name brand version and drugs suggested for review by the public.
Saying it will increase public safety and infrastructure costs and change the aesthetics of their communities, leaders of several Northwest suburbs gathered Thursday to oppose Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to reduce local officials’ ability to control residential construction.
The proposed changes, which Pritzker unveiled during his recent State of the State address, address minimum lot sizes, residential density rules, parking requirements, inspections and other aspects of residential construction. They could increase development of apartments, condominiums, two-flats and other types of multifamily housing. […]
In a news conference at her community’s village hall, South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie urged state legislators to reject the package of bills that comprise Pritzker’s plan, some of which already have been introduced. Zoning regulations exist to support property owners, McCombie said, and these proposed changes would “strip away that local control.”
The minimum residential lot in nearby Barrington Hills — an upscale community where many residents keep horses on their properties — is five acres, and the land is full of riding trails. Forcing the village board to allow smaller lots or multifamily housing “will destroy our town,” Village President Brian Cecola said.
A bipartisan group of Illinois lawmakers have introduced energy legislation to protect consumers from costs associated with the state’s planned phaseout of natural gas.
Saying Illinois will not meet its 2035 electrification goals if the state eliminates energy options before they are replaced, the Clean Energy Choice Coalition advocated for a package of energy legislation at the Illinois Capitol this week.
State Sen. Javier Cervantes, D-Chicago, said Senate Bill 3979 requires a thorough review of customer bill impacts before large-scale gas transition projects are approved and protects rate-payers from unfair cost increases and shifting. […]
State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, said Senate Bill 4028 would have the Illinois Commerce Commission address outdated interconnection rules that lead to lengthy timelines and inconsistent costs for developers and businesses. […]
State Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, introduced Senate Bill 3929 for an extension of Illinois’ clean energy timeline from 2050 to 2060.
Illinois lawmakers have reintroduced legislation aimed at protecting students by strengthening consequences for sexual assaults in schools.
Senate bill 2991 requires that any student who commits sexual assault or attempted sexual assault at a school, a school-sponsored activity or event, or any activity or event that bears a reasonable relationship to school, would be expelled for at least one year.
“Sexual assault has devastating emotional and psychological consequences for young people,” said State Senator Jil Tracy (R-Quincy). “This legislation makes clear that violent behavior in our schools will have serious consequences. Our responsibility is to protect victims and preserve safe learning environments.”
The legislation was proposed in response to an incident in State Senator Steve McClure’s (R-Springfield) district, where a young girl was sexually assaulted and the attacker was not expelled or suspended, despite admitting to the offense.
Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled legislation aimed at expanding housing and support services for people leaving prison.
The initiative, called “Home for Good,” would create a coordinated reentry housing system overseen by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA). […]
The ICJIA would be responsible for connecting returning residents to needed services such as healthcare, job training and transportation.
The measure would also establish the “Home for Good Institute” to provide training to community-based organizations developing reentry housing. […]
Research cited by the Home For Good coalition estimates the state could save a projected $477 million cost within the first three years of the program.
* Sen. Mary Edly-Allen…
State Senator Mary Edly-Allen is supporting a measure to help ensure the City of Zion can continue delivering critical property tax relief to residents while protecting millions of dollars in state funding.
House Bill 598 would make two key updates to the state’s property tax system, including a provision specifically designed to support Zion. […]
The bill would ensure that Zion can receive and use state funding from the Illinois Energy Community Reinvestment Act without lowering its future property tax capacity.
The Illinois Energy Community Reinvestment Act, signed in 2021, supports communities and workers affected by the transition away from fossil fuels. Without this fix, the city could lose access to nearly $20 million in funding meant to reduce the local tax burden.
Zion is uniquely eligible for this funding due to the decommissioning of its nuclear power plant and the continued storage of nuclear waste in the community. State law requires that most of these funds be used directly for property tax relief.
After the plant’s operation from 1973 to 1997, it was decommissioned in 2010, finishing in 2023. The closure caused significant economic hardship, including a 143% rise in property tax rates as the city lost a major taxpayer. […]
House Bill 598 passed the Senate on Thursday and now heads to the governor for further consideration.
* ICYMI: State lawmakers continue debates Thursday in Illinois and Indiana, as tug-of-war over Bears stadium rolls on. WGN…
- In Springfield, a committee of Illinois legislators passed an amended mega-project bill as they try to keep the Bears in the state.
-However, a source tells WGN-TV the bill will not be brought to the House floor Thursday for a full vote, because Chicago lawmakers still have issues with the language.
- Yesterday, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun announced that he signed Senate Bill 27 “to create the framework to build a new world-class stadium in Northwest Indiana.”
340B hospitals charge big medicine markups. Illinois pays the price.
340B medicine markups are big business for hospitals. Under the federal 340B program, nonprofit hospitals can buy medicines for pennies, then charge huge markups – even on life-saving medicines. Big hospital systems pocket the program profits – passing the bill to Illinois patients, employers and taxpayers who are hit with higher medicine costs. The program’s lack of oversight has led to 340B becoming a profit engine for hospitals, PBMs, private equity firms and big chain pharmacies. It’s time for Congress to hold hospitals accountable and fix 340B. Read more.
* AP | Crowds of Chicago mourners pay respects to Jesse Jackson at start of cross-country memorial services: Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!” […] Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.
*** Statehouse News ***
* Center Square | IL can gag charter school operators over teacher unionization, judge says: On Feb. 24, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey rejected a bid by the operators of Illinois charter schools for an injunction blocking the state of Illinois from enforcing a law which demands “neutrality” from charter school operators concerning union activity in their schools. In the ruling, Blakey agreed the law carried potential First Amendment applications, as it could “chill” or “suppress” the speech of charter school operators. But the judge said the state law is still constitutionally acceptable because the state has the constitutional authority to set the rules for how it will choose to fund or authorize charter schools.
*** Chicago ***
* Tribune | Video gambling machine legalization in Chicago clears hurdle, state says: The state of Illinois began accepting applications Thursday afternoon from businesses that hope to operate the machines. The green light came because City Clerk Anna Valencia notified the Illinois Gaming Board Tuesday that the city had legalized the controversial gambling machines. Johnson had not sent the notice for weeks in an apparent effort to pressure aldermen to change the legalization plan they approved as a part of the 2026 city budget they passed in December against his will. But his City Council opponents passed a resolution last week that ultimately compelled Valencia to send the official notice that the gaming board accepted.
* WGN | Funding issues forcing closure of two Chicago charter high schools: District families say they are angry over the disruption in their children’s education and that it’s especially hard for senior who are getting ready to graduate in May. Many were looking forward to the prom, and all other senior activities with their classmates. Instead, they are facing an uncertain end of their school year. Aspira students, educators and families spoke out during Thursday’s CPS board meeting. Families and members of the Chicago Teachers’ Union are demanding answers from Aspira leadership and CPS on what went wrong.
* Block Club | Chicago School Board Adopts Calendars For Next 2 School Years: The calendars for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years will include 176 days for student attendance, four Teacher Institute Days, four school improvement days, four professional development days, and two days for parent-teacher conferences.
* Sun-Times | Margaret Bonds, an influential Chicago composer, gets a gravestone, at last: Bonds died of a heart attack in 1972, shortly after turning 59. She was buried in south suburban Glenwood alongside her mother — also an influential music teacher on the South Side, where Bonds grew up and spent her early career. Despite her stature in American music history, however, Bonds’ own grave is unmarked. That will soon change. This weekend, Northwestern University — Bonds’ alma mater — hosts a ceremony and performance dedicating a new headstone. A rendering of the marker will be shown to the public, then installed later this year.
* Sun-Times | As Midway Blitz cases collapse, ‘Broadview Six’ prosecutors agree to scale back controversial indictment: Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan told the judge his team plans to remove language in the indictment alleging the six conspired to injure an agent who drove an SUV toward the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Sept. 26. Other language in the indictment refers to a conspiracy to prevent the agent from discharging his duties and to injure his property. Hogan said it’s unlikely the first of those two clauses would also be removed, but added, “we’re going to take a look at everything.”
* Aurora Beacon News | Aurora City Council OKs continued development of Del Webb community despite resident concerns: Currently at roughly 550 homes, the age-restricted Del Webb community called Lincoln Prairie is already facing issues with landscaping, security and overburdened amenities, residents of the neighborhood have said at recent city meetings. A committee of the Aurora City Council previously delayed its consideration of the proposal to give developer Pulte Homes and the residents time to meet and come up with solutions, and Pulte has made some concessions to residents over the course of the approval process. On Tuesday, the Aurora City Council formally approved four resolutions that gave Pulte the go-ahead to build the fourth phase of the neighborhood, which is planned to hold over 90 homes. Aurora Mayor John Laesch said at Tuesday’s meeting that the city can’t legally hold the next phase of development up to address issues in the first three phases, but that residents made their voices heard.
* Naperville Sun | Council hikes fees, decreases times for Naperville Municipal Center meeting rooms: In December, city staff requested an end to meeting room reservations for outside organizations due to concerns over security, a decrease in room bookings, and billing and reservation system challenges. Naperville City Council members rejected the request, arguing that the proposal made the center feel less welcoming to the Naperville community.
* Daily Herald | Going the distance: Mount Prospect employee running to raise money for village food pantry: His fundraising goal is around $1,500, but he may easily surpass that. “The community and the employees here have been very supportive,” he said. Human Services Director Julie Kane called Schroeder’s gesture “incredibly thoughtful,” adding the pantry starts to see specific items dwindling by summer, so monetary donations help the pantry restock.
*** Downstate ***
* WCIA | ‘It will be such a big lift for both the community and our department’; Urbana Police launch a new specialty unit: However, with the department close to being fully staffed, they’ve not only launched their community engagement team, they’ve appointed a sergeant to lead it. […] McKinney added that the team stemmed from their decision that just letting the community know resources were available wasn’t enough. “We need to be able to build those resources and have good relationships and connections to know which resources are available, who the person is that we can direct them to,” McKinney said.
* WSIL | Alexander County Clerk faces battery charges: According to online court records, Zachary Price faces a Class 3 Felony Aggravated Battery/Victim 60+ charge, along with a Class A Misdemeanor Battery/Cause Bodily Harm charge. […] Zachary Price is listed as the only candidate on the Democratic ballot in Alexander County for the upcoming Primary Election in Illinois for March 17. There is nobody listed as a candidate on the Republican ballot for the Primary election.
* WGLT | Lawsuit claims ‘pattern of unfair and deceptive practices’ at B-N mobile home park owner Oak Wood: The allegations against Oak Wood align with WGLT’s previous reporting about the company’s business practices. WGLT reported that Oak Wood, which owns five mobile home parks in Bloomington-Normal, has again and again found ways to squeeze more money from its residents, including many with low or fixed incomes. Residents told WGLT they felt trapped because of the prohibitively high cost of moving their mobile homes.
* BND | Belleville man rents billboard to ‘aggravate’ city and county officials: A new billboard message appeared on West Main Street in Belleville this week with “Courthouse Corruption Coming Soon” in giant white letters on a black background. […] Lannert has been arrested several times by Belleville police in the past 10 years. He frequently attends City Council meetings to complain about official actions and speak on other issues. In a 2023 case that’s still pending, the state’s attorneys office charged Lannert with making a terrorist threat, a Class X felony. The complaint alleges that he called police dispatch and threatened to blow up Belleville City Hall or the county courthouse with dynamite. He hasn’t yet entered a plea.
* WSIL | Four Airlines Compete to Fly In and Out of Veterans Airport: The U.S. Department of Transportation received proposals from Contour Airlines, American Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, and Denver Air. This contract is re-bid every few years providing a federal subsidy to support commercial air service in Southern Illinois. Airport Director Doug Kimmel said the bids were submitted last week and each airline proposal includes continued service to Chicago O’Hare. He says some airlines also propose additional hubs such as Dallas, Charlotte, Nashville, or Washington Dulles.
* When I was young, I was both a band kid and a theater kid and had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. To me, way back when, Sly & The Family Stone embodied all of that…
