* ICYMI: Suburban counties lose bid to blame Illinois for unconstitutional property tax sales. Crain’s…

- In the three-year fight over how to bring tax sales into compliance with a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Judge Sara Ellis’s decision Friday is the latest indication that the courts may ultimately put the burden on counties to compensate people who lost their home equity in the sales.
- If that happens, counties may be on the hook for millions of dollars in excess equity homeowners lost when county treasurers sold the deeds to their homes in the process of collecting unpaid property taxes.
- An analysis by California-based researchers of the amount investors received in excess equity on Illinois properties between 2014 and 2021 pegged the amount at an estimated $148 million.

* At 9 am, Governor JB Pritzker will give remarks at Illinois Agriculture Legislative Day and announce the 2026 Illinois State Fair headliner. ​Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Press release | ICC 2025 Supplier Diversity Report shows robust investment from Illinois’ largest utilities: The Illinois Commerce Commission’s (ICC) Office of Diversity and Community Affairs’ (ODCA) 2025 Annual Report shows the state’s largest investor-owned utilities’ diverse spending remains robust at over $1.7 billion. The 2025 report, which covers data from the 2024 calendar year, found that Illinois’ six largest utilities averaged nearly 35 percent of their total spending with diverse suppliers, including minority, women, veteran, and small business enterprises, with some utilities reaching as high as 43 percent total diverse spend.

* Press release | CTU: Gov. Pritzker Needs to Lead Decisively, Not Leave Room for Mendoza’s MAGA Privatization Plan in School Voucher Fight: A statement from the Chicago Teachers Union Executive Vice President Jackson Potter on Governor JB Pritzker’s inaction and Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s support for a MAGA private school voucher scheme “At a time when working families in our city are demanding affordability, stability and investments in their neighborhoods, it is deeply disappointing to see Governor Pritzker hesitate while other governors–including Democrats like Andy Beshear in Kentucky—have drawn a clear line against Trump’s schemes that would siphon public dollars into the hands of privatizers.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Journal & Topics | Chicago Voters Prove Tough Task For Walker In State Central Committeeman’s Race: Outgoing Wheeling Township Democratic committeeman and State Sen. Mark Walker (D-27th) lost in his bid for the 5th District state central committeeman’s seat on Tuesday. Voters were asked to vote for two in a three-way race among Democrats, which saw John Cullerton and Margaret Croke elected to the party post. The role of a party state central committeeman is like that of a party township committeeman: to work to see candidates successfully elected to office from their party.

* TSPR | WIU advocates to rally for equitable higher ed funding in Springfield:
“It doesn’t matter whether the governor is Democratic or Republican. What we’ve seen in the state of Illinois for the last 23 years is a steady decline in state funding for higher education, and that needs to turn around now,” said Merrill Cole, president of the Western Illinois University chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois, which represents faculty at WIU. The Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding hopes to convince lawmakers to turn around funding for the state’s public colleges and universities. The organization will hold a Higher Education Advocacy Day in Springfield on April 16. It expects to draw hundreds of advocates from across the state.

*** Chicago ***

* Fox Chicago | Fired top aide to Chicago mayor alleges Brandon Johnson has ‘hostility’ toward law enforcement: Whitfield was fired alongside then Deputy Mayor Garien Gatewood, with senior Johnson staff members claiming they wanted to go in a different direction. Whitfield said some of the discord stems from the fact that he and Gatewood placed an employee on probation for poor performance and failure to show up for work. Whitfield said that the employee is close with the mayor and senior leadership and was placed on a performance improvement plan with the Department of Human Resources. But instead of disciplining the employee, Whitfield said he and Gatewood were fired instead.

* Sun-Times | Top business leader demands end to stalemate over City Council’s pick for Zoning chair: Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jack Lavin said more than 40 development projects have been stalled by City Council’s failure to agree on new permanent chair for the powerful Zoning Committee. He wants Mayor Brandon Johnson to forge a compromise to break the stalemate.

* Sun-Times | United Center owners’ massive 1901 Project could get nearly $55 million property tax break: Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed a nearly $55 million property tax break for the United Center’s 1901 Project — a benefit the arena’s owners say is an essential piece to get their self-funded $7 billion project underway. Johnson introduced the estimated $54.7 million in property tax incentives to the City Council on March 18. Under Cook County’s Class 7b special assessment, the project’s property tax rate for the first phase would be 10% for the first 10 years, 15% for Year 11, then 20% for Year 12. The 1901 Project’s first phase is valued at $500 million. Projects must be valued at $2 million or more to be eligible for Class 7b incentives, according to the city.

* WTTW | Chicago Taxpayers Have Spent $1.76M to Defend Officer Who Shot 13-Year-Old Boy Without Justification, Leaving Him Paralyzed: The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that Officer Noah Ball’s decision to shoot the boy was unjustified, a conclusion endorsed by Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling, records show. Cierra Corbitt, the boy’s mother, has sued the city, alleging Ball “recklessly, callously, and wantonly” shot her son — identified in court records by his initials, A.G. — in violation of his civil rights as he obeyed officers’ orders to surrender after a brief foot pursuit near Chicago and Cicero avenues in Austin on May 18, 2022.

* Sun-Times | Bears QB Caleb Williams moves to trademark ‘Iceman’ moniker: A search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shows Caleb Williams Inc.’s “Iceman” applications for sporting goods, footballs, sweatshirts, T-shirts, hats, jerseys, jackets, vest, water bottles, mugs, bags, backpacks, luggage, sunglasses, posters and downloadable trading cards. Williams has already filed trademark applications for his name, initials, bear claw logos and other quarterback images.

* Sun-Times | Chicago women embrace ‘Hot Girl Walk’ trend to build confidence, community: Lind said she hopes women continue the Hot Girl Walk movement beyond the meetups. “If we’re only bringing this positivity to the world at our events, then we’re not doing our jobs,” she said. “We want to carry that momentum of women supporting women, whether that means giving a girl a compliment on her shoes as she’s walking by, or giving your barista an extra tip.”

* WBEZ | Axolotls! Where to see the TikTok famous amphibians in Chicago: And at the Brookfield Zoo, which began displaying one axolotl in a habitat last year, it’s an even bigger hit than the penguins right across from it, said Mike Masellis, lead animal care specialist for aquatics. “It’s fun to see someone look at a penguin and then scream about an axolotl,” he said. Last year, the Brookfield Zoo took in 20 rescued axolotls after they were confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as they were illegally brought through O’Hare from Indonesia.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Shaw Local | Yorkville could approve 2 more data center projects, including 540-acre Project Steel: The city of Yorkville has two more large data center projects on the agenda for its Tuesday meeting, this coming on the heels, of a near six-hour meeting over the of the 1,034-acre Project Cardinal data center. Both the 540-acre Project Steel data center and the recently downsized, 80-acre Meyer data center campus could take significant steps forward with City Council approval. The planning and zoning commission on Jan. 14 unanimously voted to not recommend the Meyer data center for approval.

* Daily Southtown | Will County judge orders former Homer Township collector to pay $45,901 in damages: A Will County judge awarded $45,901 in damages to a Homer Glen woman who said Homer Township collector Michael Gondek harassed her by falsely suggesting she was celebrating Donald Trump’s 2024 assassination attempt. The case is likely the first of its kind to reach a verdict under the Civil Liability for Doxing Act, which took effect Jan. 1, 2024. Ellen Moriarty said Gondek spread a doctored image attributed to her that claims she was celebrating the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, when Trump was a former president campaigning again for the office.

* Daily Herald | Former Hersey High School coach resigns from teaching job amid wrestling program probe: Former John Hersey High School wrestling coach Joe Rupslauk — who had already been stripped of his coaching responsibilities amid a probe into residency and recruiting violations — has resigned from his teaching position at the Arlington Heights school. Rupslauk’s resignation from his special education teaching job took effect last Friday, following approval of personnel actions by the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 school board Thursday.

* Daily Herald | College of DuPage board approves another tuition increase: The COD board of trustees has authorized a $4-per-credit-hour increase for students who live within the community college district. Those students will end up paying $160 per credit hour, including fees, starting with the fall 2026 term. The Glen Ellyn-based school will charge Illinois students from outside the district $368 per credit hour, up from $359.

* Shaw Local | Driver sues over Cary police pursuit that led to crash, serious injuries: The lawsuit, filed Friday in McHenry County court, claims willful and wanton conduct against the village of Cary for the police pursuit on July 8, 2025, that started in the village and led to a crash at the intersection of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road in Crystal Lake. The driver who filed the lawsuit, Munividyasgar Mokkala, cited “personal injuries” in the crash, which have resulted in both past and future damages, including but not limited to medical expenses, lost wages and earning potential, loss of normal life, disability, disfigurement and pain and suffering,” according to the complaint. Mokkala is seeking over $50,000 in damages.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | Emotional plea helps lead to data center vote being tabled: The vote to table it came after an emotional plea from Sangamon County board member Craig Hall, whose district the proposed data center would fall in. “We’re not for sale; I would like to ask this board to listen tonight and I would like to ask if we could take another vote to table this… please.” A rally of cheers and equally dismayed faces washed over environmental advocates who went home cheering at the decision to table the vote. It is unclear if the board will vote on the data center during its next meeting April 7.

* WGLT | Residents bring objections to the idea of a data center to Bloomington City Council: Ten of the 11 people who spoke during the public comments portion of Monday’s Bloomington City Council meeting voiced opposition to a perceived possibility of a data center development on 375 acres south of the intersection of Ireland Grove Road and Abraham Road. “Basically, data centers have never been profitable. They don’t create significant numbers of long-term jobs,” said Katherine Scheck. “That’s not a long-term investment, and it’s going to ruin our community in the process.” At the outset of the meeting, Mayor Dan Brady said the item authorizing a three-party agreement between the city, Central Illinois Regional Airport and CES Farm, LLC, was removed from the night’s consent agenda.

* WMBD | The effort to stop O’Brien Steel’s purchase of Detweiller Marina: It’s a battle between industry development and green space priorities, as O’Brien Steel Service Company is moving to purchase most of the park area around Detweiller Marina. Opponents to the move said there has been little transparency around the potential purchase, only learning about it in a Peoria Park District meeting in March. An issue that even has state Sen. Dave Koehler concerned. “This is exactly the way you don’t want to do any kind of development in the community,” said the Peoria Democrat.

* WGLT | Bloomington OKs revised development plan for former State Farm building downtown: The Bloomington City Council on Monday approved revisions to an existing agreement with UEP Bloomington on a $68 million project to convert the former State Farm office building along East Street into a mixed-use residential and commercial center called “G.J. Lofts.” “As is the case with projects of this size and scope, they sometimes change over time. Financial markets change, constructions costs change, etc, etc.,” Senior Deputy Assistant City Manager Billy Tyus told the council during the 95-minute meeting.

* IPM News | Vanderbilt eliminates Illinois women’s basketball from the March Madness Tournament: Once the second quarter began, Illinois began to crumble as it missed consecutive shots and repeatedly turned the ball over. This led Vanderbilt to go on a 10-point run and grab an 11-point lead heading to halftime. Vanderbilt maintained the momentum in the second half. Illinois sophomore guard Berry Wallace tried to get the team back in the game as they were able to cut the lead back into single digits.

*** National ***

* Politico | It’s 3 times harder for blue states to get disaster funding under Trump: He approved just 23 percent of disaster funding requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators since returning to office 14 months ago. For states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators, it’s the opposite — Trump has approved 89 percent of their requests.

* NPR | Despite state bans and restrictions, the number of abortions in the U.S. holds steady: Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, anti-abortion rights advocates have continuously pursued laws and court cases to make access to abortion more difficult. A report published Tuesday finds those efforts haven’t worked in one basic way: The number of abortions in the country hasn’t budged. “There were an estimated 1,126,000 abortions provided by clinicians in the U.S. in 2025 — that’s pretty much unchanged from 2024,” says Isaac Maddow-Zimet, data scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization that supports abortion access.

* NYT | Trump, Who Calls Mail-in Voting ‘Cheating,’ Just Voted by Mail: According to voter records on the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections website, Mr. Trump voted by mail in Palm Beach County, home to his Mar-a-Lago Club. Records show he has been registered to vote there since 2019 — and that he mailed his ballot at least one other time, in 2020.