Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Chicago fends off federal funding cuts to public transit with a beefed-up new security plan.
🗞️ Plus: Mayor Brandon Johnson seeks physical protection at Chicago voting locations in echo of anti-immigration enforcement ordinances, an exhibit of Oscar-winning costumes at the Griffin MSI and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: Northwestern Wildcats beat Penn State, 76-66, in the Big Ten Tournament opener.
🕛: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌧️
Rain and some snow with a high near 39.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
CTA’s new security plan includes sheriff’s deputies on trains, high-barrier gates
By David Struett
Safety first: The Chicago Transit Authority is deploying sheriff’s deputies on its trains, installing high-barrier entry gates to deter fare evasion and conducting “farecard inspection missions,” all in response to the CTA’s federal funding being threatened.
Federal oversight: The CTA presented those changes in a new security plan Tuesday to the Federal Transit Administration, which had been threatening to a cut a $50 million grant if the CTA did not revise its previous plan. The FTA has been pressuring Chicago to improve system safety since a woman was set on fire in November on a Blue Line train.
In the works: The CTA said its increased enforcement since December is having a positive impact, with assaults on transit workers down 25% in January, and 29% in February. The agency also pointed to violent crime decreasing 19% this year through the end of February, compared to the same period in 2025. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that violent attacks on the CTA reached historic highs last year.
ELECTIONS 🗳️
Mayor says push for ‘democracy zones’ at polling places is lasting legacy of Jesse Jackson
By Fran Spielman
Protecting voters: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed ordinance would establish “democracy zones” 100 feet beyond the perimeter that already prohibits electioneering around polling places. Federal immigration agents would be barred from entering those zones, and it also would be illegal to “intentionally publish personally identifiable information when done to cause harm or facilitate violence or stalking.”
Federal ‘provocations’: In an email to City Council members last week, the mayor’s office argued elections officials across the country are “facing harassment, stalking and threats” and that the feds have “threatened to nationalize elections and deploy armed forces near polling places.”
Honoring an icon: The mayor is calling the measure the “Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Fair Access to Democracy Ordinance,” which Johnson seems to hope will make it difficult for alderpersons to oppose the proposal.
THE WATCHDOGS 🏛️
VA drops appeal in Supreme Court case, gives 1.2 million more vets extra education benefits
By Stephanie Zimmermann
Appeal ends: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has withdrawn from a court battle related to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of Army veteran James Rudisill, creating a path for 1.2 million veterans to access up to 12 additional months of college through their GI Bill benefits.
About the plaintiff: Rudisill began his court fight in 2015, after he was denied the ability to fully use both his GI Bill plans. He argued the VA shortchanged him out of 12 months of payments — money he was counting on to attend Yale University’s divinity school. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in April 2024 that Rudisill should have been allowed to tap both plans for a maximum of 48 months, as Congress intended.
Dodging the question: VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in an email that “after the court decision, VA worked for months with both political and career VA staff to develop the training, policies and procedures needed to appropriately implement the ruling.” One question left unanswered is whether the department will reimburse veterans who took out loans to pay for school while the court case dragged on.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Two dead after storms: Several other people were injured after severe storms produced at least four possible tornadoes and potentially record-setting hail in Illinois and Indiana, officials said.
- Third Coast Foundry: Northwestern and UChicago join six other Midwestern universities in opening a startup hub in San Francisco.
- Beermakers join up: Half Acre and Maplewood breweries are merging amid an ongoing industry slump.
- Rapper testifies: Chance the Rapper testified Tuesday at a trial over a yearslong legal battle with his former manager.
- PAC battle: Candidates for the open U.S. Senate seat in the March 17 Illinois primary fight it out over big-money backers.
- New theater: The social justice-oriented Collaboraction Theatre, the newest tenant at the Kimball Arts Center near the 606 trail in Humboldt Park, will premiere “Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till” on March 15.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈⚾️
- NFL Draft: The Bears get eight picks this year, with three in the top 60 and four in the top 89.
- Opening Day: The Cubs’ roster is still evolving two weeks out.
- Team-building: With Jerry Reinsdorf about to begin his 46th season as team owner, the big question for loyal White Sox fans is, “Where is this all going long term?”
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue:
Before, quaintly
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
From ‘Wicked’ to ‘Hamilton,’ Paul Tazewell’s award-winning costumes dazzle
By Ambar Colón
In Paul Tazewell’s Oscar-winning costumes for “Wicked,” art meets science in the dark, mossy coils on Elphaba’s Emerald City dress. In dressing the characters of “Hamilton,” Tazewell took inspiration from 18th-century coats and corsets and blended them with contemporary streetwear trends, to make the characters feel more accessible and relatable.
Chicagoans can see this work up close in the new exhibit, “Crafting Character: The Costumes of Paul Tazewell,” running at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry through Sept. 7. It consists of artifacts from his early life and costumes from movies and musicals he’s worked on, including “West Side Story,” “The Wiz Live!” and “Harriet.”
The art show came together when museum team members became curious about Tazewell’s designs. Last year, he walked away from the 2025 Oscars with the award for best costume for “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba — and dresses the actors wore are on display.
“Crafting” also features the revolutionary costumes from “The Sleeping Beauty,” tailored to withstand movement as dancers run and leap across the stage.
“[Tazewell] has this message, which is, what moves you emotionally is the key to unlocking your own creative potential,” said Voula Saridakis, head curator at the museum.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
If you could commission public art in Chicago, what and where would it be?
Reply to this email (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
Yesterday, we asked you: What’s something you do that you believe keeps you young?
Here’s some of what you said…
“Laugh out loud frequently.”
“Enjoy cartoons. Listen to ‘Sesame Street’ songs and other kid music.”
“I have done Nia, a body-mind-spirit movement practice for over 20 years, and now that I’m in my late 60s, I feel it has kept me young-ish! … Anything that helps you keep moving, find joy and keep energy for improving the world is important.”
“I had my last two kids when I was [ages] 41 and 42! Kept me young!”
“I’m 75 and being in contact with people of all ages keeps me in touch with the world.”
“Don’t stress about nothing!”
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Written and curated by: Esther Bergdahl
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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