* Gov. JB Pritzker…

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today launched IHDAccess Home (Access Home), a new program offering up to $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance for eligible first-time homebuyers statewide. The initiative expands IHDA’s popular Access mortgage suite and is designed to help more working families achieve homeownership amid rising housing costs. […]

Access Home combines an affordable 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with up to $15,000 for down payment and/or closing cost assistance for both current and new-construction homes. In addition to helping with upfront costs, Access Home allows buyers to enter the market sooner and begin building equity earlier. ​ Assistance is provided as a zero-percent interest second mortgage, with repayment deferred for up to 30 years unless the home is sold or refinanced earlier.

Eligibility is based on the borrower’s credit profile, household income, and the purchase price of the home. In addition, potential homebuyers are required to complete pre-purchase homeownership counseling to ensure they are making the best decision for themselves.

In Cook County, the program is available to first-time homebuyers earning up to $137,885, pending household size. Income limits are $126,615 in Winnebago County, $131,905 in Sangamon County, and $128,110 in Madison County. Access Home is offered through a statewide network of more than 160 approved lenders and can be combined with many local assistance programs to maximize affordability.

* Illinois Times…

A retired Sangamon County deputy challenging incumbent Paula Crouch to become the Republican candidate in this year’s race for sheriff says Crouch and her allies are using lies and distortions to sway voters as the March 17 primary approaches.

David Timm is pushing back against an onslaught of radio, print and video advertisements paid for by Crouch’s campaign and the Sangamon County Republican Central Committee, which has endorsed her. […]

Various ads also attack Timm, 51, for a misdemeanor conviction 33 years ago, call him “dangerous,” say he has a “record of shame,” question his trustworthiness and contain a list of alleged acts of misconduct while he was a deputy.

Timm, who retired from the sheriff’s office in January 2025 after a 25½-year career there, said he knew his campaign to challenge a candidate backed by the local Republican establishment would be “intense.”

“But to come out and tell blatant lies about me – I didn’t expect them to go down that road since I am a Republican and it’s my own party,” he told Illinois Times. “What are they so afraid of? What it boils down to is they know that if I win, I’ll be the voice – not theirs – and they won’t be able to control the outcome anymore.”

* A quick overview of independent expenditures…

* Juliana Stratton updates her redboxing page…

* Press release | RE: Press Conference to Endorse 7th Congressional District Candidate LaShawn Ford: This Thursday, March 12, at 11:00AM in front of a home at 3447 W. 12th Place in Chicago, Pat Quinn, who served as Illinois Governor from 2009 to 2015, will endorse Rep. LaShawn Ford who is running for Congress in the 7th Congressional District primary on March 17. Rep. Ford is the sponsor of the Millionaire Amendment for Illinois Property Tax Relief (HJR 26) which would give Illinois voters at the November election a binding referendum opportunity to enact a 3% income tax surcharge only on millionaires in order to fund $4.5 billion dollars in property tax relief for Illinois’ beleaguered families and businesses. It would be the largest property tax relief measure in state history.

* A new 9th CD poll…

* 9th CD candidate Kat Abughazaleh drops a new ad…

* WAND | Gov. Pritzker launches down payment assistance program for first-time home buyers: “Home ownership is a cornerstone of the American dream and a vital engine for building generational wealth - but high entry costs have locked too many working families out of the market,” said Governor Pritzker. “That is why I have proposed $50 million in BUILD Illinois funds in my FY27 budget specifically for down payment assistance. By pairing those resources with the launch of Access Home, we are tearing down the financial barriers to home ownership and enduring our residents can put down roots in the communities they love.”

* Tribune | Illinois Republicans press Democrats for answers on Rep. Harry Benton’s removal from caucus: Welch’s office has repeatedly declined to comment on the situation, and calls to Benton have gone to a voicemail that does not allow for messages to be left. While Benton is running unopposed for his House seat in next week’s Democratic primary, both Gabby Shanahan, Benton’s presumptive GOP opponent in November, and the House Republican Organization, which represents Shanahan’s election efforts, called for answers on Tuesday as to why Benton was under scrutiny. The GOP organization also criticized House Democratic leadership for not being transparent with voters about why it took the actions against Benton, who is in his second term.

* Press release | Gov. Pritzker, Governors Across Country Urge Congress to End Trump’s Illegal Tariffs on Working Families: In a joint letter to Congressional leadership, the Governors warned that sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration over the past year have caused significant economic harm to working families and businesses — raising costs and creating uncertainty for farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses. The Governors urged Congress to reject any effort to codify the tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court and instead enact meaningful guardrails that restore Congressional oversight.

* Tribune | A Skokie woman said ICE detained her for nearly 48 hours after landing at O’Hare. But is it true?: A spokesperson for SAP– a multinational German software company – said that Naqvi had never been employed there, nor had any of its employees been detained at O’Hare. Neither Naqvi, her sister nor Morrison have provided the identities of the coworkers to Tribune reporters seeking to verify the story. Meanwhile, statements from the sheriff’s offices in Cook County and Dodge County, Wisconsin said there was no indication of her being detained at local facilities.

* CBS Chicago | Mayor Brandon Johnson postpones bid for polling place protection ordinance named after Rev. Jesse Jackson: Johnson had scheduled a special City Council meeting for Wednesday afternoon to vote on a resolution honoring the life of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime champion of voting rights who died last month at the age of 84, and to pass the so-called “Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Fair Access to Democracy Ordinance.” But on Tuesday night, the mayor’s office sent City Council members a memo postponing the special meeting indefinitely and without explanation.

* Crain’s | Jenner & Block hires ex-prosecutor from Burke and Madigan corruption cases: Sarah Streicker, a former assistant U.S. attorney who stepped down as chief of public corruption and organized crime in December, is the latest in a string of ex-government prosecutors who have joined the Chicago-based firm, where she will focus on the firm’s investigations, compliance, and defense practice. Jenner has landed three high-profile assistant U.S. attorneys in the past year amidst a shake-up in the Justice Department since the start of President Trump’s second term. Streicker was one of five section chiefs who left the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago during 2025.

* Crain’s | United-American fight for O’Hare dominance lands in FAA’s lap: As the Federal Aviation Administration looks put the brakes on a big increase in summer flights at O’Hare International Airport, it’s also being put in the awkward position to referee the city’s new use-it-or-lose it policy for gates used to park aircraft. The airport’s two big carriers, American and United, in December and January each said they would add more than 100 daily flights to their schedules, helping push the total flights at O’Hare this summer to more than 3,000, or 15% higher than a year ago.

* Sun-Times | City on the hook for $27M settlement from another police chase gone bad: On Friday, the City Council’s Finance Committee will be asked to authorize the settlement with the family of Stacy Vaughn-Harrell. The 47-year-old woman and her then 21-year-old daughter were driving home in June 2017 when they were hit by a car that was fleeing police through a residential area in Englewood. Vaughn-Harrell died in the crash.

* Tribune | ‘I was there… trying to unbury myself’: Tornadoes strike Illinois and Indiana, killing 2: Wehrle, 60, said he and his wife moved into their Kankakee home about 30 years ago. The same tri-level home that Tuesday’s tornadoes demolished while he was inside. “Where do you start cleaning up? Where do you start making calls? What’s the process?” Wehrle told the Tribune. “You got insurance. What do you do now? And how do I get my trailer out of a tree?”

* Block Club | Chicago’s ‘Tomato Man’ Selling Thousands Of Plants This Year — Including 30 New Varieties: Each year, Zeni scours the earth for the world’s tastiest and most interesting tomatoes — grown ethically and cleanly — to showcase on his website and at events around the Chicago area, making donations of money, time and plants along the way. In 2025, Zeni sold about 13,000 plants and donated 1,600 to 32 nonprofits, churches and community gardens, he said. This year, he aims to sell 16,000 with a goal of donating 1,800-2,000 plants.

* Nadig Newspaper | Five storefronts at Six Corners to be demolished: Five longtime vacant storefronts at 4047-55 N. Milwaukee Ave. are set to be demolished in the Six Corners commercial district on Chicago’s Northwest Side. The site, which consists of two separate buildings, was once home to Bernard’s Men’s Wear. In more recent years the buildings’ facades were painted over for murals, including one encouraging the use of masks during the pandemic and another promoting the Windy City Hot Dog Fest.

* Sun-Times | Five breweries in six weeks: Chicago’s craft beer closures have brewers on guard: Alarmist Brewing & Taproom in Sauganash permanently closed on Feb. 1, and not long after, Berwyn’s Flapjack Brewery and Forest Park’s Casa Humilde turned off their taps. Two more are shutting down: Whiner Beer Company in Back of the Yards will close March 29 and Illuminated Brew Works in Norwood Park will close June 28.

* WLS | Developer drops application for proposed data center in Lisle, officials say: The metal fabrication firm is infamous in the area for closing down after facing massive lawsuits in the early 2000s for contaminating local drinking water. On Wednesday, village officials said the developer withdrew their application at 711 Ogden Avenue. “Village officials and staff continue to explore additional opportunities for future redevelopment of the site,” a village spokesperson said.

* Daily Southtown | Frankfort forum urges residents to study data center plans, raises environmental concerns: Several advocates also said they worry data center projects could be proposed in the south suburbs, particularly in lower-income, less populated areas, where plans may move forward with little public awareness. “I feel like areas that are less populated are going to be heavily targeted because they’re going to be seen to be easy land grabs, and there’s not going to be a lot of people to protest them because they’re a little town, a little suburb,” Laura Nurczyk, of Joliet, treasurer of the Sierra Club Tall Plains Group.

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights board split on video gambling: Arlington Heights village board members are at a stalemate over whether to legalize video gambling in town. A 4-4-1 informal vote — with Trustee Greg Zyck serving as a swing vote — came late Monday at the end of a lengthy committee meeting with public testimony both pro and con. Restaurateurs for months have lobbied village officials for the right to install the video machines, which they say would provide an extra revenue stream to stay afloat in a tough business climate. But residents and some other business owners in the downtown contend it would be a bad image for the village.

* Daily Herald | DuPage sheriff’s hopeful cleared of wrongdoing by department: DuPage County Undersheriff Eddie Moore has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an investigation into whether he struck someone with his car last month and left the scene without contacting police. […] “After a full review by the Oak Brook Police Department and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, and discussion with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, no additional action was deemed necessary,” Moore wrote. “The investigation has concluded, and I have returned to my duties as Undersheriff of DuPage County,” he added.

* (Click here for a little more background) WICA | Moweaqua looking to replace police chief, officers after mass resignation: But right now, it’s something Moweaqua is lacking. All four of the village’s police officers, including the chief, left the force in the last month. “I understand the situation can make many of you feel uneasy and concerned about safety in our community,” Locke said at Tuesday’s meeting. “In the meantime, we are working closely with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to help provide coverage and ensure that our community continues to receive law enforcement support.”

* WGLT | Bloomington Public Library will adopt strategic plan after increasing attendance: Jeanne Hamilton, director of BPL, said the library is ready to start its next chapter. “The board and the staff are really looking forward to what things we want to focus on — what priorities we want to have over the next few years,” she said. The first step was conducting a community survey that garnered 1,865 responses. The responses will inform somewhere between a 3-to-5-year plan for the library. Hamilton said the plan will be finished this summer.

* BND | Lawsuit alleging excessive force by ESL police detective dismissed – for now: A man who filed a federal lawsuit in 2023 alleging excessive force by an East St. Louis police detective asked a judge to dismiss the case to give the parties — including the city and its police chief — time to reach a settlement, and the judge granted his request. The plaintiff, Dorian Hendricks, could refile the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois if settlement talks fail, according to his attorney, Steven Fluhr.

* BND | Cahokia Heights School Board Meeting Canceled After Threat: The Cahokia Federation of Teachers Local 1272 took to social media to condemn violence after its leadership was told Monday evening’s school board meeting was canceled due to an unspecified threat. According to the statement Cahokia Federation of Teachers Local 1272 posted on Facebook, the superintendent’s secretary notified union President Wendy Lochmann roughly an hour before the meeting’s start time that it was canceled “due to a reported threat of violence.”

* Food and Wine | The University of Illinois Just Released a Popcorn So Good It Doesn’t Need Butter: After eight years of development, Riggs Beer Company in Urbana, Illinois, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have released Illini SuperPop, a naturally savory popcorn with subtle nutty notes and a crisp crunch. The project started in 2018 as an experiment. Dr. Anthony Studer, a crop scientist and professor at the College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences (ACES), launched a popcorn breeding program with a simple goal: to develop blue and orange popcorn in the university’s colors.

* AP | Young kids missed the pandemic’s school disruptions. Their reading scores are still behind: First and second graders continue to perform worse than their pre-pandemic counterparts on math and reading tests, according to a report published Tuesday by the education assessment and research group NWEA. But while math scores have inched up every year, reading scores remain stagnant, the report shows. The data suggests the slump in academic performance is not rooted only in instructional disruption. Broader societal shifts might be at play.

* WGLT | Rivian-owned robotics company secures more startup funding: A startup robotics company owned by electric vehicle maker Rivian and founded by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has secured $500 million in startup capital. Mind Robotics announced an investment Wednesday by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, often referred to as a16z. Mind Robotics plans to build AI powered industrial robots. “Existing industrial robotics can perform repeatable, dimensionally stable tasks, but a large share of factory value-add work requires human-like dexterity, adaptation and physical reasoning that classical robotics cannot address. Mind Robotics is building the AI foundation—models, hardware and deployment infrastructure—to close that gap,” said the company in a news release announcing the financing.