* Subscribers know more. ICYMI: Meta begins $65 million election pick to advance AI agenda. New York Times…

- Meta is preparing to spend $65 million this year to boost state politicians who are friendly to the artificial intelligence industry, beginning this week in Texas and Illinois, according to company representatives.
- In Illinois, Making Our Tomorrow is set to begin spending in at least four State House races, according to a representative for the group. The money will go toward positive digital ads and direct mail sent to voters.
- Meta last year struck a deal in Illinois to buy power from a nuclear power plant. The state’s Democratic-run legislature has proposed several A.I. regulations, some of which have been passed and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker.

* Related stories…

• NYT: How A.I. Money Is Flooding Into the Midterm Elections
• Stuart Loren: Chicago’s economy is resilient to AI disruption risk compared with other metros
• The Guardian: Illinois governor proposes cancelling tax breaks for datacenters

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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Illinois Answers Project | Edwardsville Officials Assured Residents on Facebook The City Had ‘No Formal Proposal’ For a Data Center — But City Emails Tell a Fuller Story: In a post on the city’s official Facebook page on Feb. 10, it noted that while data centers were a hot topic in the Metro East and that the city had gotten “an inquiry” on the process to build such a center in town, it had received “no formal proposal.” But that post does not tell the full story, according to dozens of emails reviewed by Illinois Answers Project between top Edwardsville city officials and a firm looking to develop massive data centers in the region. For almost a year, the developer, Cloverleaf Infrastructure, has discussed in detail a proposal and site selection in Edwardsville with city and county officials, according to the nearly two dozen emails reviewed by Illinois Answers.

* WBEZ | Pritzker budget proposal leaves funding flat for the arts in Illinois in 2026-2027: In 2025, the state made a big increase in funding for the arts, growing the budget from $15.5 million to $25.5 million annually. Still, the Arts Alliance says the state has not supported the arts the way it did two decades ago. “We’re grateful to not see any cuts in a tough budget year, but we’re not where we need to be in terms of per capita funding for arts and culture,” said Claire Rice, executive director of Arts Alliance Illinois. “We really want to see that number higher, particularly since arts funding is such a small fraction of the total budget. Even modest increases in the grand scheme of the budget means a lot to our creative community.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | State Sen. Emil Jones III survived federal charges, but now faces challengers in March primary: “Senator Jones has a strong political apparatus and has demonstrated time and again he’s more than capable of running a good campaign that delivers his track record and message to the voters of his district. We’re keeping a close eye on that race,” said a spokesman for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, who hasn’t formally endorsed Jones.

* Press release | Dabrowski releases new ads promising to end SAFE-T, sanctuary laws: oday, Ted Dabrowski, conservative candidate for governor, released new ads that will air on television, digital & social media platforms and radio. The spots hold the tandem of J.B. Pritzker & Brandon Johnson — and they are a tandem — accountable for both their anti-law-enforcement rhetoric and their shared, dismal public safety record. In addition to standing with the victims and their families in the tragic and shocking cases referenced, Dabrowski is aligned with police and state’s attorneys statewide and even the former Democrat Clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court who warned of, and since documented, the devastation wrought by JB’s purge law and BJ’s support of defunding police.

* The Hill | Pritzker tells Trump to ‘cut the check’ after tariffs ruling: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Thursday called on President Trump to “cut the check” and issue refunds to American taxpayers after the Supreme Court struck down a cornerstone of his economic agenda, tariffs. “The Supreme Court just confirmed what we already know. Trump’s tariffs are illegal. He did it without the support of Congress or the voters, and you paid the price,” Pritzker said in a short video posted on the social platform X. He claimed Trump “illegally took $1,700 from every American family,” a figure that falls within the range cited in Yale Budget Lab research from March of last year, which projected an average household loss of between $1,600 and $2,000 due to the tariffs.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Business license fees increased this year, some by as high as 400%: For example, fees for two-year regulated business licenses jumped from $250 to $1,000 on Jan. 1. The new fees also apply to license renewals. On Feb. 1, the annual license fee for a charter/sightseeing vehicle increased to $1,000 from $500. Some advocates contend higher business license fees are yet another burden for small businesses facing economic headwinds, including inflation, tariffs, and higher costs for health care and labor. Weaker consumer demand and raids by federal immigration agents last fall have also hurt many small businesses in Chicago.

* WTTW | Chicago Police Department’s Compliance With Consent Decree ‘Too Slow’: Federal Judge: CPD has fully complied with 22% of the consent decree’s requirements, according to the most recent report from the independent monitoring team charged with keeping track of the progress of reform. The binding court order will mark its seventh anniversary on March 1. Pallmeyer’s statements represent the first time since December 2024 that she has expressed concerns about the pace of reforms.

* Fox Chicago | Chicago Park District pitches $630 million plan for a post-Bears Soldier Field: Sources say the money breaks down to $130 million in direct stadium renovations, including a new sound system and new dressing rooms, and half a billion in surrounding infrastructure to tackle traffic management and parking. Park District officials say a chunk of the cost could be covered by the Bears — who will owe nearly $90 million if they break their lease with the Park District before 2033. Park District officials are pitching state lawmakers on a funding package that would include money from the state’s road fund — paid for by motor fuel taxes — to help with the infrastructure upgrades.

* Sun-Times | Chicago clergy kick off funeral services with tribute to Rev. Jesse Jackson: Jackson’s wife, Jacqueline Jackson, and children sat in the front row during the forum while members of the community filled almost every seat in Rainbow PUSH’s South Side auditorium. Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain said the best way to honor Jackson was to continue to “keep hope alive,” the signature rallying cry of the late reverend. “Dr. King gave us a dream and he spoke of a dream,” said Bates-Chamberlain, executive director of Live Free Illinois. “The Rev. Jackson spoke of hope.”

* John Owen’s | The Election of Harold Washington, Forty-Three Years Later: Long before the result was inevitable, the campaign was predicting victory and was considering what comes next. What struck me was how he frames the transition not just in managerial terms but in almost philosophical ones. The document breaks objectives into “political, administrative and spiritual” categories. Political and administrative make sense. But spiritual? That’s not campaign jargon. That’s movement language.

* WTTW | Birders Capture Image of ‘Odd’ Duck and Accidentally Make a Key Scientific Discovery: The curious cluster of non-native swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) at River Park, where the North Branch and North Shore Channel converge, happens to be a focus area of study for Loyola professor Reuben Keller, who specializes in aquatic invasive species. One of Keller’s graduate students, Tava Oosterbaan, had recently wrapped up a study looking at the presence of microplastics in the crayfish. While it had already been established that fish in the river were eating the crustaceans, it was pure speculation birds were doing so as well.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Indoor pools, a new police station and roads: What funding questions are on the ballot for suburban voters?: Prospect Heights is asking voters to borrow $21.5 million to provide funding for road and bridge maintenance at the same level of the past 15 years. As the debt from the 2010 referendum for this purpose is paid off in December, the new funding would kick in to continue the maintenance for another 20 years, City Administrator Peter Falcone said.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville D203 to offer teacher retirement incentives as $12.4M deficit looms: A memorandum of agreement between the district and its teachers union, Naperville Unit Education Association, approved by the board with a 5-1 vote Tuesday, is a means through which the district can begin to close a projected $12.4 million budget deficit. As part of the agreement, eligible employees can agree to an irrevocable intent to retire this year by March 6 and receive full retirement benefits with the Teachers’ Retirement System. Employees who previously informed the district of their intention to retire at the end of the 2026-27 school year or later are also allowed to update their terms so they may retire this year.

* Daily Southtown | Chicago Heights-based employment training program gets state funding boost: Mandela and dozens of her colleagues enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship program at Bethel Family Resource Center in Chicago Heights. They had 25 different trades to choose from in the program, including instruction in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electric, plumbing, carpentry, labor and sheet metal work. After their completed training, they receive help applying to unions that specialize in their chosen fields. The 13-week Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program, which has been going on at Bethel since 2022, offers candidates a program that is tuition-free while paying a stipend and offering other support services. Instructors also teach about employability, practicing for interviews and ways to “make yourself more sellable to people,” Mandela explained. They also become certified in CPR and learn about sexual harassment prevention.

* Daily Southtown | Respond Now pantry reopens in Chicago Heights, now faces SNAP changes: The building has a larger food pantry space, a new conference room, nicer bathrooms and is overall more warm and comfortable, Wolf said. Wolf said he expects several other projects to be completed in the next few months, such as landscaping, self-service food pantry stations, extended food pantry hours and a renovated clothing room, where people can donate clothes for families in need.

* Daily Herald | ‘Everyone deserves a cake for their birthday’: Grayslake teen baker donates creations to food pantry: The self-taught baker pledged to donate 26 cake kits each month to the food pantry this year. Next year, she hopes to increase that number to 27. The idea came to her last fall after the federal government shutdown resulted in the suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides food assistance to low-income families.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | Sangamon County board members to issue moratorium on data center vote: County board members Marc Ayers and David Mendenhall are filing a moratorium–or a 180 day pause– on the data center. Marc Ayers said a moratorium doesn’t halt the project completely–but gives county leaders time to evaluate infrastructure, environmental impacts, and community input before moving forward.

* WGLT | ISU trustees approve 5% tuition increase for new students this fall: “If we actually were covering the entire cost next year of our expenses, the tuition increase would be even greater than 5%,” said Nelson. He said the general inflation rate on many expenses, plus an increased cost from a 3% pay raise for workers, means an $8.6 million jump in the cost to run the institution. The tuition hike, he said, will generate revenue to cover less than a third of that increase because it applies only to new incoming students and graduate students.

* WCIA | Sonya Massey’s father backs ballot measure to hold officials accountable: After the 2024 fatal shooting of his daughter, Sonya Massey, James Wilburn is stepping into local politics to support a candidate he said is championing voters’ voices in Sangamon County. Wilburn has endorsed Sam Cahnman, a candidate running for re-election for his District 18 seat in the Sangamon County Board. Cahnman is pushing to place a binding referendum on the November ballot. If approved, the measure would allow voters to remove local leaders from office. The county board member will need to secure 5,000 signatures to have the referendum on the ballot.

* WICS | County voters given say in Budget deficit solution: Champaign County leaders are facing a nearly $2 million deficit in the general fund and are turning to voters for direction on how to close the gap. “Do they want us to reduce staff? Do they want us to reduce the amount of county services that are available to the public? Or would they like us to look at other options?” said Emily Rodriguez, co-chair of the Champaign County Board.

* 25News Now | Peoria Fire Chief: Drought conditions brought on more brush fires than usual for winter: Peoria County is experiencing a drought, which is leading to an increase in brush fires for the time of year. Since December, Peoria County has been experiencing a severe drought, as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger said it has caused more brush fires than they are used to tackling at this time of the year. “We’ve had 21 incidents,” he said. “That is significantly higher than what we’ve experienced in years past.”

* The Southern | FBI tip leads to Carterville school sex abuse probe: “This matter remains an active and ongoing investigation,” the sheriff’s office said in a release. “All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” No charges have been filed at this time, and authorities have not released the employee’s name.

* WCIA | Bands rally to save Sangamon Co. venue that gave them a stage after fire: A fire at the Curve Inn bar in Southern View, outside of Springfield, started around 9 a.m. Part of the roof collapsed, and the beer garden was covered in flames. No one was hurt but firefighters don’t know what started it yet.

* WAND | Over 25 women-owned businesses to be featured in Springfield vendor fair: The fair will also feature five non-profit organizations empowering women, girls and their families in the area. The nonprofits include the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery, Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault, Springfield Urban League, and Wooden It Be Lovely.

*** National ***

* The Guardian | DoJ cases against protesters keep collapsing as officers’ lies are exposed in court: ICE director Todd Lyons said ICE and the DoJ had opened an investigation into the case after videos revealed “sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements”, marking a rare acknowledgement of possible wrongdoing by DHS officials. “It is very unusual for the government to move to dismiss its own case with prejudice,” Frederick Goetz, a lawyer for one of the men, said in an interview. He praised the government for launching investigations: “If you make false statements to a federal agent, that is a crime.”

* AP | TSA says PreCheck still operational after previous announcement of suspension during funding fight: “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly,” the agency said. It was not immediately clear whether Global Entry, another airport service, would be affected. PreCheck and Global Entry are designed to help speed registered travelers through security lines, and suspensions would likely cause headaches and delays.

* Sun-Times | Congress passed Trump’s sweeping tax bill. Here’s how it’ll affect your returns: The child tax credit was increased for 2025 by $200, making the credit $2,200 per qualifying child for parents or guardians with an annual income of less than $200,000, or $400,000 if filing jointly. And the value of the credit adjusts for inflation in subsequent years. But now the child and taxpayer — or couple, if filing jointly — must have a Social Security number to claim the credit. The requirement would make more than 4.5 million children in the U.S. ineligible, the vast majority of whom are citizens, because one or both of their parents lack a Social Security number, according to the National Immigration Forum.

* TIME | Pope Leo Will Spend July 4 Visiting Island Known For Migrant Crossings:The Vatican announced this week that the first American leader of the Catholic Church will visit Lampedusa, a small Italian island that has for years served as a gateway for migrants and refugees traveling to Europe from Africa and the Middle East. The island is a stop on one of the deadliest migration routes in the world, and migrants who arrive there have often made a perilous journey across the sea.

* AP | The U.S beats Canada 2-1 in overtime to win its first men’s hockey championship at the Olympics since 1980:
Jack Hughes scored in overtime and the U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in the gold medal final at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday, earning the nation’s third men’s title at the Games and its first since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 — 46 years to the day of the upset over the mighty Soviet Union, too. Unlike that ragtag group of college kids that pulled off one of the biggest shockers in sports history, the Americans in Milan were a machine that rode goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and a roster full of NHL players through the tournament unbeaten. Still, they were underdogs again against the stacked Canadians and came out on top — again.