* Daily Herald…

Hoping to resolve a legal challenge, a group of suburban Republican leaders on Friday announced it is reopening applications for the vacant 26th Senate District seat.

The maneuver halts Barrington Hills Trustee Darby Hills’ appointment to the post, which was held by Republican Dan McConchie until his Feb. 2 resignation.

Hills and the other three original applicants will be considered for the seat and won’t have to reapply, said Lake County Republican Party Chair Keith Brin, who leads the legislative committee overseeing the appointment process. Any additional applicants will be interviewed before a public vote is taken at 1 p.m. Feb. 28 at Palatine Township Republican Organization headquarters, 765 N. Quentin Road, Palatine.

* Background is here if you need it…

On February 21, 2025, Hon. Victoria Breslan ordered the Will County Clerk’s Office and the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office to keep Democratic Nominee for Joliet Township Supervisor Cesar Guerrero on the ballot in the 2025 Consolidated Municipal Election.

“Voters have the right to a free and fair election. Today, that right was upheld,” said Guerrero, “We’re grateful for Judge Breslan’s decision today which ensures that the people of Joliet Township get to exercise their right to choose at the ballot box. I’m ready to get back to work and focus on the issues that matter to Joliet Township voters: effective government solutions to our community’s needs.”

* Crain’s…

Rivian Automotive reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $744 million on mostly flat sales but delivered on its forecast for a modest gross profit, the company said today. In the year-earlier period, Rivian reported a net loss of $1.5 billion.

The automaker also said it expected to sell fewer vehicles this year compared with last year.

Despite the red ink, the electric vehicle maker reported a positive gross profit of $170 million, partly through regulatory credits that it sells to other automakers to help them meet emissions standards.

In the year-earlier quarter, Rivian reported a gross loss of $606 million.

*** Statehouse News ***

* The Triibe | Black and brown veterans call on Gov. Pritzker for pardons to avoid deportations: The group is calling on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to act urgently to issue pardons to six veterans who were convicted of crimes that were committed in Illinois. It’s unclear if the six have already served out their prison sentences; the group of veterans did not name the six due to fear of targeting. The six are “in exile,” according to the group, and are currently based in Illinois, Texas, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Guyana. Grassroots organizations in attendance at Healthy Hood were Black Deported Veterans of America (BDVA), Common Defense, Centro Sin Fronteras and Illinois LULAC.

* Courthouse News Service | Can the KIND Act help fix Illinois’ foster care system?: tarting in July, the Illinois Department of Family and Child Services will make certified relative caregivers eligible for compensation at the same rates as licensed foster homes. Those who aren’t certified are still eligible to receive “no less” than 90% of that funding. The bill also eases standards for kinship caregivers, so that they’re no more restrictive than what federal law requires.

* Sun-Times | Chicago students share mixed feelings on Pritzker proposal to restrict classroom use of cellphones: Seniors Diego Servin and Esmeralda Orozco say they don’t even bother bringing their phones to school anymore. Orozco, 17, says she doesn’t think the ban is the solution to keeping students engaged. “If someone doesn’t want to do their work, they’re going to find a way not to do it,” she said. “So I don’t think having your cellphone will make a difference.”

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois tourism office spotlights Black History Month and Black-owned businesses: The Illinois Office of Tourism this month launched a new Black History Month webpage to promote travel to places across the state that celebrate Black culture, as well as to spotlight Black-owned businesses from bakeries to barbecue restaurants. “The goal is to elevate the voices and stories of Black Illinoisans, highlighting how their entrepreneurial efforts and creativity shape the state’s success,” Kristin Richards, director of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said in a statement. The department oversees the Illinois Office of Tourism.

* Farm Week | IPT Bull Sale breaks record sale average: The 2025 Illinois Performance Tested (IPT) Bull Sale reached a new record average of $7,096 on 33 lots for a sale total of $234,200. That far surpassed the previous record average of $4,966 on 43 lots in 2024. “This sale continues to be one of the best sources for total performance genetics in the Midwest,” Sale Manager Travis Meteer said of the event held on Feb. 20 during the Illinois Beef Expo in Springfield. “During the past 57 years, the sale has sold 5,030 bulls valued at over $10 million.”

* 25News Now | Illinois students will now be required to take the ACT test instead of the SAT: “It’s going to be good”, Peoria Sylvan Learning Center Director Shawna Stewart said. “I think it’s going to be better just with all the changes that ACT is laying out with giving students more time with less questions. I think it’s good that they’re going to make science a separate score from the reading the English and the math.” A big difference between the two tests is that the ACT includes a science and optional essay section.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Mayor Johnson to Form Task Force to Rid CPD of Extremist Groups, After 8 Month Delay: Johnson’s decision to launch the effort comes nearly eight months after Inspector General Deborah Witzburg urged him to take that step as part of an effort to “implement a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to preventing, identifying and eliminating extremist and anti-government activities and associations within CPD.” Witzburg told WTTW News Thursday evening that it was “very good news” that Johnson had finally accepted the recommendation her office made in July, after the third investigation of CPD members with ties to right-wing extremist groups since 2022 ended without any of the officers being disciplined.

* Tribune | Chicago Police Board meets for first time without exiting COPA leader: According to data made publicly available by COPA since May 2021, the month Kersten was named interim chief administrator by former mayor Lori Lightfoot, the agency has opened more than 2,400 investigations based on complaints of police misconduct in the years since. Since the start of 2021, COPA has called for CPD to suspend 1,074 officers, though the lengths of those proposed suspensions were not known. Meanwhile, the agency has recommended CPD fire 188 officers in the last four years, according to agency data.

* WBEZ | Anjanette Young, victim of an infamous 2019 wrongful Chicago police raid, marks another year without reform: “Six years since I stood before officers — crying, pleading, afraid — only to be ignored,” Young said at a news conference outside City Hall Friday. “And yet I stand here again, afraid and demanding for justice, accountability, still demanding that those in power would keep their promise.” Young criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson for delays, though she said she doesn’t blame him that “we haven’t gotten it right.”

* Block Club Chicago | ‘Devastating’ Trump Funding Cuts To Disrupt Diabetes, Cancer And HIV Research, UIC Faculty Say: “These are life and death matters,” said Aaron Krall, president of the union representing tenured and nontenured professors at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “We have researchers on this campus right now and across the city who are working to save people’s lives.”

* Crain’s | 179 Chicago jobs cut as Blackstone consolidates home rental business: The 179 job cuts were disclosed in a WARN notice filed with the state Feb. 7 as the company is absorbed into Tricon Residential, another Blackstone subsidiary, in a process that started seven months ago. Blackstone did not comment on whether employees would be able to transfer to other Tricon offices. […] “Rent-to-own has this really sordid history. It’s an area of the housing market that remains under-regulated. That’s part of the attraction for many operators,” David Reiss, research director for the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship at Brooklyn Law School, told Business Insider.

* Tribune | Hundreds of vacant lots in Chicago to be sold after landlords’ bankruptcy, opening up opportunities for redevelopment: Community advocates say it’s a chance to get the properties into the hands of fresh owners who can fill the empty spaces with new homes, businesses or affordable apartments. “It’s all up for grabs, and I think everyone in Englewood is following it,” said Felicia Slaton-Young, executive director of the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce. “Some of the properties are along commercial corridors, and it’s negatively impacted Englewood because these owners sat on them with no true plan of development. So, there is definitely the opportunity for revitalization.”

* Crain’s | Law firm moving across the street from Google’s future Loop home: It’s one of many moves by downtown office tenants to reduce their footprints as post-pandemic work patterns change the way they use workspace. That space-shedding trend is the main reason downtown office vacancy has hit record highs in each of the last 10 quarters. While that’s frustrating for other landlords to hear, Wilson Elser’s move also shows the positive effect that Google’s redevelopment could have on restoring foot traffic in the heart of the Loop. Other companies that have recently signed leases in buildings near the Thompson Center have cited their high expectation of what the tech giant will bring to the area.

* Block Club | Remembering Tuyet Le, A Champion Of Civil Rights, Community Empowerment — And Laughter: “Folks probably don’t know that she is the reason there is a progressive Asian American political movement in Illinois,” said Nebula Li, one of her many proteges at Advancing Justice, who’s now a program officer for the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, a nonprofit foundation.

* WGN | Celebrating 120 years of the Chicago Defender: Ethan Michaeli, author of “The Defender: How Chicago’s Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America,” discusses the history of The Chicago Defender newspaper and the legacy of the paper’s founder, Robert S. Abbott.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Jerry Butler dead at 85; singer known as ‘Iceman’ also had a long career in Cook County politics: The Bronzeville resident went on to a 32-year political career as a member of the Cook County Board, helped by backing from Mayor Harold Washington. Mr. Butler, whose voice was stilled by Parkinson’s disease, died Thursday night at home, according to a family friend. “He’s one of the great voices of our time,” said Motown legend Smokey Robinson, who said he’d admired Mr. Butler since Robinson was a young singer and heard The Impressions’ “For Your Precious Love” for the first time. “It sweeped through ‘the hood.’ I have known Jerry Butler way back, since the Miracles and I first got started, around 1958. He’s a great person, and I love him.”

* Sun-Times | Embattled Dolton Tiffany Henyard faces election challenge from one of her ‘Dream Team’ members: Trustee Jason House was part of Henyard’s “Dream Team” ticket in 2021, when she succeeded in her bid for mayor. At the time, she touted his experience as a bank manager and his service on the south suburb’s finance committee. Now he’s trying to oust from her post.

* Daily Herald | How the Batman-esque ‘Grappler’ is ending police chases in Kane County: The Grappler takes aim at what’s been described as a post-pandemic epidemic of drivers fleeing from police. The sheriff’s office is the first police agency in Illinois to put it into action. “It’s exciting,” David Wolf, chief of operations for the sheriff’s office, told us this week. “We can stop a pursuit before it really starts.” The Grappler operates like its name implies — by grabbing hold of a fleeing vehicle and stopping it in its tracks.

* Trains.com | Metra donates F40C locomotive to Illinois Railway Museum: Metra has donated F40C No. 614, one of just two such surviving locomotives, to the Illinois Railway Museum. IRM says in a press release that it hopes to restore the locomotive to operating condition. It had seen some cannibalization for parts during its final years in storage at Metra, and is missing components including its turbocharger, aftercoolers, radiators and ducts.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Furnace malfunctions at Belleville school, leaving students to rely on portable heaters: The school used portable heaters in the affected areas on Tuesday. Thursday, students, teachers and staff relocated to warmer parts of the school, Belleville District 118 Superintendent Ryan Boike said. He said temperatures in the affected classrooms were around 60 degrees on Thursday. Illinois Department of Public Health’s website says classrooms should between 68 and 75 degrees during the winter.

* PJ Star | ‘Piece of garbage’: Campaign mailers heat up Peoria mayoral race as primary nears: In particular, a campaign mailer sent out by Kelly struck the wrong tone with his opponents, who both claim the mailer features inaccuracies about their positions, calling things Kelly wrote about them in the mailer “erroneous” and “desperate.”Each candidate sent out multiple campaign mailers, but only Kelly’s mailer — which is the largest and most information-dense of the three — mentioned the other candidates by name.

* WCIA | USPS announces reversal of plans to Champaign facility, operations and jobs staying put: The plans were opposed by community members, local politicians, postal workers and their union, and two congresswomen who represent Central Illinois. In an act of bipartisanship, Democrat Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and Republican Mary Miller (IL-15) jointly penned a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to explain the downsides of this plan. On Friday, the USPS announced that it was backing down on these plans. Officials said the decision to reverse course was made possible by a proposed operational strategy that could save the USPS $3 billion a year nationwide. This would allow the USPS to absorb the cost of continuing to provide local cancellation service in Champaign.

* Smile Politely | Nick Offerman returns to the University of Illinois for Japan House fundraiser: From woodshop sage to Parks & Rec icon, Nick Offerman is bringing his signature blend of wit and wisdom home his alma mater this March. Catch him first at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, March 7, for a book signing of his latest book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play (leave your Ron Swanson fanart at home, folks – it’s strictly the new book at this shindig).

*** National ***

* Press Release | NCSL Joins Others in Expressing Concerns Over Federal Medicaid Proposals: Medicaid accounts for over half of all federal funds to states and is the largest source of federal funding for state budgets, making it essential to states’ ability to design and administer healthcare programs that meet the unique needs of their populations. Preserving state flexibility and preventing significant funding cuts are both critical to ensuring Medicaid can be tailored to local priorities, as such cuts would severely limit this ability, forcing states to reduce services, restrict eligibility, or shift costs to local governments. These reductions would jeopardize access to affordable healthcare and long-term services and place an unsustainable financial burden on states and counties, which often serve as payers of last resort.

* CNN | US consumer sentiment plunges over tariff and inflation fears: The University of Michigan’s latest survey, released Friday, showed that US consumer sentiment declined in February for the second consecutive month, according to a final reading, down by a steep 10% from January. That was double the decline initially reported earlier this month. It’s a stunning about-face after American consumers and businesses grew hopeful (briefly) about the economy’s future following Trump’s election in November. The latest decline in consumer sentiment was driven by worries over Trump’s tariffs potentially jacking up prices.

* MediaIte | New WaPo Poll Reveals 83% of American Disapprove of Trump’s Jan. 6th Pardons for Violent Rioters: The poll found that this decision by Trump was his most unpopular move since retaking the White House. More than 8 in 10, 0r 83%, oppose the pardons for violent criminal offenders, while 55% of Americans oppose the pardons for those rioters convicted of nonviolent crimes. Only 14% of those surveyed in the poll agreed with Trump’s decision to pardon violent criminals and three percent had no opinion or refused to answer the poll’s question.

* WTTW | ‘Bird Flu’ Has Been Confirmed in Rats for the First Time: USDA: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of the “bird flu” virus in four rats submitted for testing. All of the rats were found in Riverside, California. In the last month alone, APHIS has confirmed bird flu in a number of wild and domesticated animals. In addition to the rats, numerous house cats, a harbor seal and a pair of bottlenose dolphins tested positive for HPAI.