Tuesday, March 24, 2026

The clock is ticking for state lawmakers to pass a deal to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois, and Democrats in Springfield are pushing a bill that would allow the Bears to negotiate payments in lieu of paying property taxes to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights. A bill proposed in Springfield would designate the Dan Ryan Expressway between 47th Street and 95th Street the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Memorial Highway. It’s officially spring and the region’s pollinators are busy bringing our plants to bloom. Plus, a Chicago charter school network found itself in such bad financial straits that it’s being forced to close the doors of its two high schools, for good. That sent some 570 students searching for a new school with less than three months in the year.