Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s $56 billion dollar state budget proposal mostly holds the line on new taxes. The Reverend Jesse Jackson spent decades fighting for the rights of minorities, including immigrants. The Newberry Library in Chicago has received $4 million from the Mellon Foundation to expand access to its vast Indigenous collections, with a focus on language. Plus, Pritzker used his annual State of the State speech to rail against President Trump and his brutal deportation campaign and to lead a moment of silence for Jackson, who died on Tuesday.