Illinois Quick Hits: State taxpayers to help restore historic Chicago hotel

February 25, 2026/

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By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says $21 million in state capital funds will unlock more than $83 million in private investment to restore a historic hotel area in the Pullman State Historic Site on Chicago’s South Side.

According the governor’s office, the public-private partnership will redevelop the 1881 Hotel Florence, Pullman Car Works building and surrounding grounds into a boutique hotel, dining destination, and cultural and performing arts hub.

STOP THE SEXUALIZATION OF CHILDREN ACT INTRODUCED

Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Miller has introduced legislation she says will protect children from being exposed to explicit material in the classroom.

Miller says the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act prohibits the use of funds at schools that promote any activity that includes sexually-oriented material, while preserving instruction in science, classic literature, art and world religions.

CARLYLE DRUG HOUSE

A Carlyle man has been sentenced to 46 months in prison after he admitted to operating a drug house across the street from a park.

Prosecutors say John E. Kock, 52, allowed others staying at his home to use and distribute meth between March 2020 and October 2023.

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