* WBEZ…

Illinois home insurance premiums are going up, and climate change-powered severe weather is in part to blame.

Average U.S. home insurance rates climbed 12% last year and are projected to surge another 4% in 2026, according to new nationwide data from the insurance price tracker Insurify. Illinois is expected to top the national average with a 5% increase, leaving policyholders statewide paying an average $3,559 premium per year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s higher than that at the end of this year,” said Abe Scarr of the consumer-protection nonprofit Illinois Public Interest Research Group, relying on trends he says his group has seen in recent years.

Between 2021 and 2024, home insurance costs increased by about 50% in Illinois, costing homeowners close to an additional $1,000 per year, according to a Consumer Federation of America report. In the same time period, only Utah experienced a higher rate jump.

* MediaIte…

The Republican-led House of Representatives has rejected the Senate-approved Homeland Security funding bill, extending the partial government shutdown even further, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The news came after the Senate unanimously approved a funding package just after 2 a.m. on Friday to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after the 40-day shutdown that has spawned long lines and chaos at airports across the country.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Illinois farmers brace for another bruising season as Iran war spikes fertilizer prices: Roughly 20% of Illinois’ nitrogen fertilizer is imported from countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia and passes through the strait, said Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson. “The more we can do domestically I think is in the best interest of everybody, from the consumer to the farmer,” he said. “So when you come into a conflict like this, you’re not as dramatically impacted.”

* ABC Chicago | $59B wagered on sports in Illinois since legalization, raising concerns for youth: What used to be a trip to the casino can now happen from your couch, on your phone. The I-Team and ABC News found that in Illinois alone, almost $60 billion have been wagered since legalized sports betting began six years ago. The numbers are raising concerns about young people getting hooked.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | Convicted cocaine cash launderer is a key figure in legal Illinois cannabis empire: David Berger, who was convicted of laundering more than $300,000 for a reputed Mexican cocaine-trafficker, is closely associated with Ivy Hall, a chain of social equity marijuana dispensaries. Berger, who grew up in Northbrook, “can still benefit from the industry. I think that’s wrong,” state Rep. La Shawn Ford says.

* CBS Chicago | Property tax bill to help Chicago Bears build Arlington Heights stadium won’t get vote for at least 2 weeks: The Chicago Bears will have to wait until at least April for action on a property tax bill that would boost their efforts to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, as the Illinois House is set to adjourn Friday. Top House Democratic negotiator State Rep. Kam Buckner confirmed to CBS News Chicago that the bill won’t move before the House adjourns Friday for two weeks. They are set to return to session on April 7.

* McHenry County Blog | Looking Like Max Solomon Will Get 5,000 Write-In Votes, Putting Him on the Republican Ballot for State Treasurer: Again, assuming 50% of the write-ins for State Treasurer went of Solomon in Will County, he may well have gotten the 5,000 required write-ins there, because there were 10,062 write-ins cast in the State Treasurer’s race.

* K-12 Drive | 21 states sue USDA over funding conditions they say would threaten school meal programs: The Democrat-led plaintiff states said they stand to collectively lose at least $11.6 billion in Child Nutrition Program funds under these requirements — and “the consequences would be grave.” Millions of children could lose access to nutritious meals, hindering their ability to learn and harming their health, the lawsuit said.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson’s veto over freezing tipped minimum wage divides restaurant industry: Some restaurant owners and servers say Chicago’s hotly debated law to increase the tipped minimum wage harms workers and the industry, following Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of the City Council’s vote to freeze tipped workers’ hourly pay. Supporters of the ordinance want better pay and conditions for workers. Chicago’s law went into effect in 2024 to increase the tipped minimum wage to parity with the city’s standard minimum wage over five years.

* Crain’s | Ariel names new president as Hobson, Rogers relinquish parts of their portfolios: Ariel Investments promoted chief administrative officer Emma Rodriguez-Ayala to president as part of a management shakeup that saw longtime firm leaders Mellody Hobson and John Rogers hand over some of their responsibilities. The move reflects the Chicago-based firm’s patient investment strategy, a slow-and-steady, low-turnover approach to stock picking despite increasing market volatility that has resulted in some choppy returns for the firm in recent years.

* WBEZ | ‘Korean National Treasures’ exhibit at the Art Institute spans 2,000 years of art: The collection consisted of more than 23,000 works of Korean antiquities, ceramics, furniture, sculpture, paintings, books and myriad other objects — from 6th-century Buddhist figurines to contemporary art. The historic gift came a year after the death of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee. The family, facing an inheritance tax of $11 billion, effectively reduced the value of the estate with the record-setting donation.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | West Suburban blames billing system failure as officials air frustration over closure: West Suburban’s owner, CEO Manoj Prasad of Resilience Health, announced yesterday morning the hospital’s emergency department would shut down that afternoon, and patients would be transferred out of inpatient rooms to other hospitals by the end of the week. The Illinois Department of Public Health said in a statement: “We are disappointed by the lack of advance notice and clear communication from hospital leadership. Transparency and advance notice are essential in order to safely transition and protect patients, staff and the communities it serves.”

* Daily Southtown | Former Tinley Park political operative Timothy Pawula found not guilty of sending obscene text messages: A former Tinley Park political operative was found not guilty Friday of electronic harassment and transmitting obscene text messages after a trial that included testimony from state Rep. Robert “Bob” Rita, D-Blue Island, and Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort. Timothy Pawula, a former political ally of Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz, was charged in October 2024 with the misdemeanor charges that carry a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail and an up to $1,500 fine. But Cook County Associate Judge Mohammad Abedelal Ahmad said Friday she had doubts about the state’s investigation into Pawula’s conduct, remaining unsure whether a phone seized and searched by Illinois State Police was Pawula’s personal phone or belonged to the political consulting firm he worked for at the time, Big Tent Coalition.

* Quality Magazine | QT9 Software Announces New Global Headquarters in Historic Downtown Batavia: QT9 Software announced plans to relocate its global headquarters from Aurora to a newly redeveloped campus in downtown Batavia, Illinois. The former Pamarco factory, a 100-year-old industrial building along the Fox River, will be transformed into a modern, approximately 40,000-square-foot office environment that preserves the site’s historic character while creating a new hub for technology, innovation, and collaboration. The headquarters project is part of a $12 million adaptive reuse initiative led by Manhattan Real Estate Ventures, LLC, under a Redevelopment Agreement authorized by the Batavia City Council. The investment will rehabilitate a long-neglected riverfront property into a state-of-the-art workspace designed to support QT9 Software’s continued global growth, while aligning with the City of Batavia’s Downtown Plan for sustainable revitalization and historic preservation.

* Crain’s | North Shore’s luxury condo market grows as Lake Bluff racks up $2M sales: In Lake Bluff, the top end of the condo market has long been in the $200,000s, but it has quickly jumped into the $2 million range with a recent flurry of sales in a new-construction building, making it the latest North Shore suburb with a high-end condo market. Since March 18, four units at a building under construction on Scranton Avenue have sold for prices from just below $1.7 million to $2.1 million — and those prices are for unfinished space.

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | MidAmerican Energy proposes rate hike for 85K customers in northwest Illinois: MidAmerican Energy Company is seeking to raise electricity and gas rates for roughly 85,000 customers in northwest Illinois by almost $300 a year by 2028. The Iowa-based gas and electric utility company serves the Quad Cities and Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, and Whiteside counties. The March 20 rate request filing is under review by the Illinois Commerce Commission and, if approved, the price increase wouldn’t start to take effect until 2027.

* WGLT | 11th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Casey Costigan plans to retire: Costigan heard major felony cases in McLean County for nearly a decade, including high-profile cases such as a 2018 triple homicide and a 2021 murder trial held without the defendant. Costigan has served on numerous statewide committees, including acting as a judicial liaison implementing the Pretrial Fairness Act and the Illinois FAIR Act, two big-swing pieces of legislation transforming bail and public defense in Illinois.

* Muddy River News | Water rate increase expected on Quincy City Council Agenda Monday, March 30: Alderman Greg Fletcher (R-Ward 1) offered the following impact in terms of numbers to Muddy River News Thursday. “It’s supposed to just approximate at $2.00 a month and another $2.00 next year and so forth for 9 years,” Fletcher said. “Keep in mind, we have a federal mandate to replace all of the lead water lines. As of now, we have only 9% done.

* Rockford Register Star | Ticks in Winnebago County test positive for rare Powassan virus: Ticks in Winnebago County have tested positive for the Powassan virus for the first time, according to a community announcement. The virus can lead to serious health complications affecting the heart, skeletal, and nervous systems. There is no vaccine for Powassan virus, making prevention of tick bites crucial.

* WGEM | Macomb city officials break down proposed sports complex, residents voice concerns: Macomb residents voiced numerous concerns about a potential sports complex on the far east side of town. The conference room at the Spoon River College Outreach Center was filled with about 100 residents Thursday night as the City hosted its first Q&A styled community meeting. The meeting also featured a presentation by Mayor Michael Inman and municipal financial consultant John Hansen. “If we don’t have a developer, it’s not going to work,” Inman said.

*** National ***

* Reuters | Constellation exec says grid operator told company Three Mile Island can’t connect until 2031: U.S. grid operator PJM has told Constellation Energy (CEG.O) that the former Three Mile ‌Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania likely will not be able to connect to the grid until 2031, four years later than planned, the company said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston on Thursday. Constellation is working to resume operations at the nuclear power plant, ⁠which is being renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center, to supply electricity to Microsoft (MSFT.O) data centers.

* Chalkbeat | Trump pressured states to limit undocumented high school students’ access to career education programs: In Virginia, nearly every school district quietly agreed to exclude undocumented students from participating in certain federally funded career-and-technical education programs, according to records obtained by Chalkbeat. It is not clear how many undocumented students actually lost access to programming. But at least one school district in Virginia was denied $150,000 in federal funding because it didn’t agree to exclude those students.

* Tribune | In the wake of US social media verdicts, a look at what limits other countries have imposed for kids: In 2024, Australia became the first country to kick kids under 16 off social media. The law makes platforms — including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram — liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($34 million) if they fail to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts. While many parents have cheered the move, some experts have questioned the efficacy of their age estimation methods (the platforms are not required to ask users for government-issued IDs) and their effects on young people’s free speech, social connections and privacy. Critics also fear that the ban will impact the privacy of all users who must prove they are older than 16.

* The Atlantic | The Very Powerful Men Who Think Introspection Is Dumb: That thesis received further confirmation earlier this month when the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said that he engages in “zero” introspection—or at least “as little as possible.” Andreessen, a billionaire AI evangelist, was speaking to the podcaster David Senra, who enthusiastically approved. Senra explained that he had learned introspection was useless by reading 410 biographies of entrepreneurs. “Sam Walton didn’t wake up thinking about his internal self,” Senra said, referring to the Walmart magnate. “He just woke up like, I like building Walmart; I’m gonna keep building more Walmarts, and just kept doing it over and over again.”

* The Intercept | How Does TrackAIPAC Actually Track AIPAC?: Tali deGroot, J Street’s vice president of political and digital strategy, was frustrated by her group’s conflation with AIPAC, calling TrackAIPAC “intellectually dishonest” for the distance between its name and its methodology. TrackAIPAC does label the specific sources of pro-Israel funding that make up its sums on its website, along with a list of organizations it tracks in addition to AIPAC, but they seldom appear on the red cards that circulate on social media. Some critics have labeled this blurring of lines sloppy or confusing, while others on the left and right have accused the group of antisemitism over its generalized “pro-Israel” language. “I think the candidates and members should be held to account for taking AIPAC support,” deGroot said, “but the way that [TrackAIPAC] is going about it is doing so much harm.”