Elgin Community College will celebrate Black History Month throughout February with events that are open to the public and centered on the theme, “100 Years of Celebrations, Centuries of Legacy.”

“This is the 100th year of Black History Month, and our theme reflects that milestone,” Erik Enders, ECC student life coordinator for student equity, said in a post to the college’s website.

Here is the lineup of events being held on Elgin campus at 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin:

“Nurturing Our Legacy: Mind, Body, and Community” will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11. The presentation “brings together conversations and activities that honor the interconnectedness of mental, physical and communal health in the Black community, inviting participants to engage in healing as both a personal and collective practice,” according to the post.
“Reimagining Genius: A Black Inventor’s Pitch Experience” will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. Students are invited to honor Black inventors by reimagining their creations as modern solutions, building entrepreneurial skills and sharing bold ideas with the audience.
“The Anatomy of a Bar: Hip-Hop Lyric Writing 101” will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19. Participants will learn how to tell powerful stories through rap and spoken word as they explore the art of lyricism, rhythm and wordplay to bring narratives to life.
“MAGIC Event – A Day Without an Immigrant Part 2” will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in Building B, Rooms 180 and 181. Participants will gain insight into the impact of immigrants on American history.
“Laced in Legacy Sneaker Ball 2026” will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, in the Jobe Lounge. This ticketed event will feature stories, songs and dancing from performers followed by dancing to music played by a DJ.

For information on campus locations for various events and for tickets to the Sneaker Ball, call the Office of Student Life at 847-214-7079 or email studentlife@elgin.edu.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/elgin-college-black-history-programs-events/ 

Tesla Shares Jump 5% After Musk Reportedly Mulls Merging SpaceX, xAI, Tesla Merger

Tyler Durden
Fri, 01/30/2026 – 14:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/tesla-shares-jump-5-after-musk-reportedly-mulls-merging-spacex-xai-tesla-merger 

Facilities work continues at Indian Prairie School District 204, where the school board recently approved more construction-related measures, including nearly $26 million in renovation work at Neuqua Valley High School.

The district is currently undergoing a major facilities overhaul after the passage of a bond referendum question in 2024 meant to help pay for renovations across the district.

In 2024, voters approved a proposal from the district to sell up to $420 million in bonds to pay for facility improvements. The bonds are to be paid for using a continuation of an existing 37-cent property tax per $100 of equalized assessed value that would otherwise have expired at the end of 2026, meaning the tax rate for residents in terms of their contribution to capital projects will effectively remain flat as a result of the referendum question’s passage.

Since the referendum question was passed, the district has been preparing for and proceeding with work on projects across district buildings that is set to extend through 2032. The work includes school-specific renovations at Waubonsie Valley High School, Neuqua Valley High School, Metea Valley High School, the Birkett Freshman Center and Gregory and Hill middle schools, along with district-wide safety and security upgrades, LED lighting installations and other infrastructure projects.

The nearly $26 million in work at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville approved by the school board Jan. 26 is for major renovations and additions that will enable the district to bring freshman students — who for more than 20 years have attended class at the Birkett Freshman Center, a building a little less than a mile from the main campus — back into the main Neuqua high school building starting in 2027.

The changes at Neuqua also mean the Birkett building will be getting some renovations of its own, as it prepares to house several district programs — like its Supportive Training Experiences Post-Secondary, or STEPS, program and the Gail McKinzie High School credit recovery program — once it’s no longer needed for freshman students.

Included in the renovations at Neuqua are an addition to the front of the existing building for student and staff resources, and an addition in the back that will house primarily classrooms and science labs, officials have said.

In November, the school board approved the first wave of bids for the Neuqua project, to the tune of a little under $6 million.

In addition to the major renovations approved Jan. 26, bids were also approved for HVAC improvements at both Neuqua and Birkett.

In total, the planned renovations at Neuqua — which include the building additions, as well as a new chilling system, a renovated student foods lab and the installation of a new turf field — are projected to cost $96 million. Of that, $90 million is being funded by the district’s bond issuances.

Work at Neuqua is slated to start in the spring and continue through next school year, according to the district, with freshmen set to attend classes in the newly-renovated building in fall 2027.

Other construction work also received approval from the board Jan. 26.

Five elementary schools — Builta, Fry, Young, White Eagle and Peterson — will be getting new playgrounds this summer, for a total cost of a little over $700,000.

And the board also approved more bids related to the district’s plan to construct secure entryways at the district’s school buildings.

mmorrow@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/indian-prairie-neuqua-valley-renovations/ 

The following items were taken from Naperville police reports and press releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt:

A 53-year-old woman from Naperville was arrested on charges of criminal trespass to land/staying after notice to leave and obstructing an officer at 1:06 a.m. Jan. 26 in the 100 block of 4th Avenue.
A 23-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on two counts of filing a false 911 report at 11:07 a.m. Jan. 26 at the police station, 1350 Aurora Ave.
A 40-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on a warrant at 6:53 p.m. Jan. 26 in the 2900 block of Bartlett Court.
A 50-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on a charge of driving without a valid license/permit at 8:28 a.m. Jan. 27 at Aurora Avenue and South West Street.
A 31-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without insurance and trespassing at 8:16 p.m. Jan. 27 at the police station, 1350 Aurora Ave.
A 34-year-old woman from Montgomery was arrested on charges of burglary and retail theft/exceeding $300 at 9:11 p.m. Jan. 27 in the 2500 block of West 75th Street.
A 32-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on charges of reckless driving, speeding 35 mph or more over the limit, improper lane usage and failure to yield to emergency vehicles at 1:16 a.m. Jan. 28 at South Route 59 and 75th Street.
A 59-year-old man from North Aurora was arrested on a charge of battery at 12:23 p.m. Jan. 28 in the 400 block of Weston Ridge Drive.
A 33-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on two warrants at 8:01 p.m. Jan. 28 in the 2500 block of Carrolwood Road.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/naperville-police-arrests-blotter-january-10/ 

The Duneland School Corporation transformed in so many ways during Superintendent Chip Pettit’s seven-year reign.

Duneland School Board President Brandon Kroft helped hire Pettit in 2019 and watched him guide the district through the changes.

“Much sadness” were the initial words Kroft used to describe his feelings Thursday in a news release announcing that Pettit was leaving Duneland in June.

Pettit, 51, is taking the superintendent’s job for Hinsdale Township High School District 86 in Illinois, which serves a cluster of suburban communities about 20 miles west of Chicago. Residents within the suburbs served are highly educated and say they live there because of the two high schools’ reputation for quality, according to the district’s website.

The Hinsdale Township District 86 serves around 3,775 high school students, actually fewer than Duneland’s 5,831 students, K-12.  Pettit was paid $190,500 to head Duneland in 2024, public records show. The advertisement for the superintendent’s job shows they were offering between $270,000 to $325,000 to the successful applicant, the district’s website states.

The Hinsdale district’s school board hasn’t formally approved Pettit’s contract yet, but in a Facebook posting announcing his selection, stated that they were impressed with his “charismatic and student-centered leadership” and how the Duneland district’s academic performance “significantly improved” during his tenure.

“It has been my honor to serve the Duneland community. I am proud of our shared accomplishments and the unwavering commitment to student success that defines this community and school corporation,” Pettit said in his prepared statement. He wouldn’t comment beyond his brief statement.

Ronald “Red” Stone, who is now a Porter County Council member, was on the Duneland School Board when they chose Pettit to lead the district.

Pettit was then principal for Crown Point High School, his alma mater, but had never been a superintendent.

Stone said one of the reasons he wanted to give Pettit a chance was that he also had been a successful high school football coach at Crown Point. Pettit was also a standout high school athlete, as he was chosen as the Indiana Mr. Baseball in 1992 and went on to play at Valparaiso University.

“He’s a competitor. If you give him an opportunity, he’s not going to lose,” Stone said.

But what Pettit faced during his first year was what no superintendent could plan for: the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pettit had to figure out how school could still be conducted. Duneland students returned to in-person schooling earlier than their counterparts in Chicago-area suburbs.

Duneland School Board Assistant Superintendent Robert McDermott hands a microphone back to Superintendent Chip Pettit during a board meeting at Chesterton Middle School Monday, April 5, 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Andy Lavalley/Post-Tribune)

There were several contentious school board meetings in 2020 and 2021, with parents complaining about restrictions and requirements that students wear masks. Pettit was always careful in how he responded in his remarks, seeking to resolve situations outside the public eye.

At the same time, Pettit was tasked with launching a $171 million package of capital improvements for all of the district’s buildings, except the high school. Pettit, along with the board, decided to close the Chesterton Middle School building, which once served as the high school, and to renovate the Westchester and Liberty Intermediate Schools so they could accommodate the seventh and eighth graders.

The old Chesterton Middle School building is now being transformed into the YMCA’s Healthy Living Campus. Duneland is keeping its administrative offices and some programs on site.

The pandemic helped to drive up construction costs by an average of 30%. The first contract for the Westchester project came in at $39.8 million, about $10 million more than estimated.

Pettit had originally hoped that there would be enough capital improvement money available to address issues at the high school. Last year, the district borrowed an additional $14.3 million, which was used, in part, to replace the carpet at the high school and build a new soccer complex.

School board members say that one of Pettit’s greatest accomplishments was improving student performance.

The Duneland district finished first in Northwest Indiana and eighth in the state on the ILEARN examinations for third through eighth graders.

“I just think he elevated our school system. He wanted not just to be the best in Northwest Indiana, but the best in the state,” Stone said.

School Board member Jocelyn Hibshman, whose husband is a Duneland teacher, has said that she believed student performance improved because Pettit hired more aides to help children who were falling behind and assistant principals to handle disciplinary issues.

“He is very teacher-focused and curriculum-focused, making sure that every student has the opportunity to learn,” Hibshman previously said.

During his tenure, Pettit and the school board made increasing teacher pay a priority, so Duneland is now eighth in the state. Starting pay is now $56,500, up from $39,000 for the 2016-17 school year.

Kroft lauded how Pettit implemented increased college and career opportunities for students and expanded advanced placement and dual credit course offerings at the high school. Pettit also created an internship program for high school students.

Duneland also brought its special education programs in-house, changing its relationship with the Porter County Education Services, which had been supervising special education teachers.

What turned out to be Pettit’s last big decision was going to the voters early to ask for renewal of an operating referendum in November. The referendum renewal’s approval means the district will get a maximum of $16.1 million annually, up from $8.9 million. It will also allow the district to stay financially ahead of challenges posed by the state’s property tax reforms, enacted with Senate Enrolled Act 1.

Kroft said the school board will now start the process of finding Pettit’s replacement.

“While the school board is very disappointed to see Dr. Pettit leave, the foundations for success that have been built during his tenure as superintendent will continue to pay dividends to our students and staff for generations to come,” Kroft said.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/duneland-superintendent-leaving-for-hinsdale-but-a-legacy-remains/ 

Energy costs, tariffs and other financial issues are putting the squeeze on farmers, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan was told Wednesday.

Mrvan, D-Highland, convened his newly created Agriculture Advisory Council in Crown Point to get input from experts in their fields.

“I wanted to have real-life conversations on the fed government and how it’s impacting farming and the ability to produce,” Mrvan said.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China caused China to buy soybeans elsewhere, a major blow to U.S. farmers.

Mrvan said he’s eagerly awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the legality of Trump’s tariffs. “As a member of Congress, I want to create certainty, both on the tariffs and on the trade side,” he said.

The China tariffs “hurt really hard,” said Denise Scarborough, chair of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and ag and commercial lender.

Jody Herr, of Herr Farms, says the federal H2 visa program for foreign workers gives Indiana farmers a $2 per hour disadvantage compared to surrounding states during a meeting of the newly created Agriculture Advisory Council Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (Doug Ross/for Post-Tribune)

“The profitability, it’s just not there,” she said. “It’s kind of a punch in the gut for row crop farmers.”

“You usually see the light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, there’s hardly a glimmer for what’s going on right now,” Scarborough said.

“How long can you keep lending money year after year?” Porter Farm Bureau President Bob Wichlinski asked her. “What percentage of people can you say I can’t lend to you because the money’s not there?”

“If you watch, there are a significant amount of land sales,” Scarborough replied. Farmers in their 70s are retiring and don’t have a new generation willing to continue the farming tradition.

“Make sure you have a relationship with your lender. You’re going to have a lot of tough conversations going forward,” she said.

Farmers’ high cost of doing business was a common theme in Wednesday’s discussions.

“We just have no control over how we can buy our inputs and have little control over what we sell,” Scarborough said.

“You buy retail but you sell wholesale. That’s something I never put in my mind,” Mrvan said. “There’s a lot to digest about what impacts the cost of farming.”

Like everyone else, farmers are worried about high energy costs.

“Universally, the energy costs are through the roof,” Mrvan said.

Scarborough said her farm has NIPSCO service for natural gas and Kankakee Valley REMC for electricity. KVREMC has demand-sensitive pricing, so rates quadruple from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., the utility’s equivalent of rush hour for demand.

Her husband and the farmhands keep that in mind. “They’re running around every day trying to shut everything down before 3 o’clock,” she said.

Utility polices add to her farm’s costs. Irrigation equipment and grain dryers are used only a few months a year, but the bills continue throughout the year, she said.

“This is ridiculous,” Indiana Farm Bureau District 1 Director Matt Hayden said.

If you’re concerned about the cost of food, Scarborough said, think about the energy costs to produce that product.

Jerry Roedel of Living Earth Farms has an organic operation. He uses solar panels on his farm. “You can take care of a lot of energy with solar,” he said.

The Trump administration has prioritized fossil fuels over renewable energy. A 30% tax credit for installing solar panels expired, Roedel noted.

Mrvan is on the Appropriations Committee and its Energy and Water Subcommittee. Tax incentives for solar and wind power aren’t the only clean energy polices the administration reversed, he said. Mrvan helped Northwest Indiana land a hydrogen hub for BP’s Whiting Refinery, a project to turn waste carbon into hydrogen. “The administration chose to take those tax credits away,” he said.

“Big Oil, Big Energy, won the war and so now we have greater costs,” Mrvan said.

With demand for power growing, especially with data centers proliferating, Mrvan wants to ensure there’s more energy generated to lower costs.

“I think there is an uprising of individuals who cannot tolerate or accept or pay for energy costs,” he said. “The delivery fees are quadrupling what the costs of gas are.”

“It’s the No. 1 issue. Thousands of people are calling us,” Mrvan said.

During the Biden administration, diverse energy sources were prioritized. “These were in place, and they were working, and we have to get back to that,” Mrvan said.

“It is all of these input costs that people don’t consider that are going into these products at the grocery store,” he said.

“There are real-life people suffering from this,” Mrvan said. “The time is now. It is a crisis.”

Hakenah Hulitt, a first-generation farmer, said she wants to see more assistance available for small operations like hers.

Hakenah Hulitt, a first-generation farmer, discusses the dearth of federal assistance to small operations like Hulitt Homestead while Porter County Farm Bureau President Bob Wichlinski listens Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (Doug Ross/for Post-Tribune)

“The resources are so far out of reach for what you’re not even eligible for,” she said. Mrvan promised to write to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to see if there’s a solution to help smaller operations like hers.

“It is a lot, a lot of paperwork” for small loans for young farmers, especially, Scarborough said.

A line item in the past to help operations like Hulitt Homestead was cancelled about a year ago, Hayden said. The opportunity to get grants to upgrade equipment, donate extra bushels of apples, etc., went away. “I know there was money at one time to help people like that.”

“I feel like for farmers, it’s always a learning curve for what’s out there,” Scarborough said, because federal programs change so often.

Among the federal programs discussed was the H2 visa program for immigrants to work on U.S. farms.

Jody Herr, of Herr Farms, said the program puts Indiana at a $2 per hour competitive disadvantage compared to surrounding states.

Mrvan promised to write to the Department of Labor to see why Indiana’s rate is higher. “It may be very difficult to go back, but we can find out those answers,” he said.

“We want to make sure we don’t have the labor increases year after year,” Herr said.

“There’s another problem,” Haden said. “Where does the government come up with its numbers?”

Consider all the farmland lost to development, yet every year there’s more acreage reported as planted, LaPorte County Farm Bureau President Mark Parkman said.

“Where’s the science coming from that you guys are looking at?” asked Steve Howe, of Howe Farms.

With every change of administration, the USDA makes those decisions, Mrvan said. He promised his staff would look into it.

Herr raises specialty crops. “On our operation, the cost to raise a vegetable crop as compared to a grain crop is about eight times more,” he said.

Howe said cattle prices are up, too. “It’s really 400% higher to buy that animal, that calf, than it was in 2021.”

He doesn’t understand Trump making deals with Argentina to import beef when American farmers are suffering.

“Everything that can help the cattleman out there has happened,” Parkman said. “The cow numbers are the lowest in like 59 years,” with cattlemen having thinned herds because of poor prices. “Basically, it takes three years to get the numbers back, at a minimum,” he said, and that’s if you have the ability to replenish.

Mrvan asked what factors go into deciding whether to invest in more animals.

“You can’t do that,” Parkman said. “You have to wait for them to be born.”

“Cattle is an animal all of its own, figuratively speaking,” he added.

Porter County Farm Bureau President Bob Wichlinski speaks with U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan after the initial meeting of the Agriculture Advisory Council Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Crown Point. (Doug Ross/for Post-Tribune)

Mrvan said Wednesday’s initial session for the Agriculture Advisory Council was the start of a dialogue. He promised to share information about important legislation affecting the industry so the council can offer input to Congress in time to affect decisions.

Wichlinski called the meeting a good first start. “It’s an important part of our economy, and I don’t think people really realize that.”

“Agriculture: You can’t live without it,” he added.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/us-rep-frank-mrvan-plants-seeds-for-discussing-ag-issues-with-new-advisory-council/ 

Comedy actress Catherine O’Hara, who starred in film classics like “Beetlejuice” and “Home Alone” as well as the television hit, “Schitt’s Creek,” has died. She was 71 years old.

The Canadian actress and comedian died Friday, her manager confirmed to Variety. TMZ was the first to report the news.

The cause of death was not clear and few other details were provided.

O’Hara kicked off her career as a performer and writer on the Canadian sketch comedy show “Second City Television,” or “SCTV.” She went on to star in several Christopher Guest films, including “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind” and “For Your Consideration.” Some of her other popular roles include that of Macaulay Culkin’s mother Kate McCallister in the first two “Home Alone” movies, and Moira Rose, the uppity matriarch of the Rose family on “Schitt’s Creek.”

O’Hara earned an Emmy for her work on the show in 2020, decades after she scored her first Emmy for her writing contributions to the sketch comedy TV series “SCTV Network 90.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/catherine-ohara-dead-71/ 

Lowell senior Roan Vasko’s most productive football season was a precursor.

On the basketball court, Vasko has emerged as one of two players, along with junior guard Ezra Rumisek, to average at least 10 points and five rebounds for the Red Devils.

“He’s come into his own,” Lowell boys basketball coach Joe Delgado said. “He’s started to figure some things out.”

Vasko made 84 tackles and an interception and also caught 11 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown as the Red Devils finished second in the Northwest Crossroads Conference and reached a Class 4A sectional championship game in their most successful season since 2021.

Since then, Vasko has posted 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds for Lowell (4-12, 0-3). The strong 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard also is a team captain.

“He’s a leader on the court for us,” Delgado said. “He brings some of that toughness from football. They had a good year this year, so he brought some of that energy to here.

“He’s in a whole new role this year, one he’s probably never been in his whole life. He has to be the guy that has to score and rebound and defend the other team’s best player and handle the ball. He has to do a lot of stuff, and that’s different for him. But he’s embraced it. He’s handled it well. You just love to have kids like that out there, just go out and do their job and work hard and put their head down, just having that toughness mentality.”

Lowell’s Roan Vasko, left, drives to the basket against Kankakee Valley’s Brady Sampson during a Northwest Crossroads Conference game in Lowell on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

Vasko, who became a starter two years ago, said he has grown 3 inches and gained 15 pounds since last season.

“Definitely my physicality and my strength and my athleticism have gotten better this year,” he said. “That just comes with getting older. But I sprung up in height, and it’s also the amount of time we put in the weight room.”

Vasko said he’s looking for opportunities to shoot.

“I’m a shooter — I try to be,” he said. “I’ve been working really hard on my shot. Obviously, it doesn’t always fall, but you have to keep letting them fly, keep shooting.”

Lowell sophomore point guard Aiden Hernandez expects that from Vasko.

“Roan’s a great teammate,” Hernandez said. “We rely on him to score a lot. If we’re in a slump, we just draw up a play for Roan and I try to get him the ball as soon as possible.

“If someone falls to the floor, he’s sprinting over to help them up. He’s always in the locker room hyping us up at halftime. If we’re down, he’s always like, ‘Keep your head up.’ He’s just a great overall teammate. I love playing with him. He’s my shooting guard, and I love getting the ball to him to score.”

Lowell’s Roan Vasko, left, hugs teammate Max Arredondo after Arredondo made an interception during a Class 4A sectional first-round game against Hanover Central in Lowell on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (John Smierciak / Post-Tribune)

Vasko, who also golfs for Lowell, didn’t play football until he was a freshman. Then he sat out his sophomore season to concentrate on basketball.

“I realized, ‘Oh, crap, I miss it. I think I should balance both,’” he said. “And that’s what I chose to do.”

Vasko hopes he’ll have a chance to play basketball in college and could follow in the footsteps of his two brothers. Cayden Vasko starred in basketball for Lowell and is succeeding as a junior at Wofford after two productive seasons at Central Michigan. His oldest brother, Grant Weinmann, was a standout pitcher for Lowell and earned a walk-on spot at Louisville.

“There’s so many different things, there’s so many different opportunities and different outcomes that can happen when it comes to this last half of the season,” Roan Vasko said. “It would be nice to go play basketball. That would be awesome. Even if it’s somewhere small, that would be cool.

“Hopefully we can piece things together. Our teamwork is great. We’re so close as a team. We work really well together. There’s just a few little things we have to fix up. But we are all so close. We all want each other to succeed. We’re all working really hard as a team to better ourselves and better our record.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/basketball-lowell-roan-vasko/ 

DOJ Releases 3 Million Pages Of Epstein Files Including Hundreds Of Thousands Of Photos

Tyler Durden
Fri, 01/30/2026 – 13:05

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/doj-releases-3-million-pages-epstein-files-including-hundreds-thousands-photos 

The WNBA and the players union will meet Monday in New York for the first time in several weeks to try to move the stalled collective bargaining negotiations forward.

Kelsey Plum, who is vice president of the players union, mentioned the meeting to reporters while she was preparing for a game in Philadelphia with the Unrivaled three-on-three league.

“I think we’ll learn a lot from this meeting. I’m not trying to put it on the meeting, but this is a meeting that I think everyone understands what’s at stake,” Plum said. “The league has their timelines; we as players understand what’s at stake. I always come into anything that I do with a great attitude, and I’m going to see the best in this.”

Plum will be joined at the meeting by other members of the executive council, including Nneka Ogwumike and Napheesa Collier, as well as union leadership.

The league will have its regular negotiating team, including WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the labor relations committee and a few other owners, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.

The person said the league had been asking for the meeting for a few weeks and it was agreed upon by the union Thursday.

Players said Thursday at Unrivaled that union leadership had been coming to chat with them frequently, including this week.

Talks to reach a new CBA haven’t had much traction over the last few weeks as the union says it is waiting for a response to a proposal it sent around Christmas that included a 30% gross revenue share for the players. According to another person familiar with the negotiations, the league didn’t feel that proposal was much different then the previous one the union had sent.

That person spoke on condition of anonymity also because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.

The league’s most recent offer last month would guarantee a maximum base salary of $1 million in 2026 that could reach $1.3 million through revenue sharing. That’s up from the current $249,000 and could grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement, the person told the AP.

The sides have been in a “status quo” period after the latest extension of the current CBA ran out Jan. 9. They agreed to a moratorium a few days later that halted the initial stages of free agency in which teams would seek to deliver qualifying offers and franchise tag designations to players.

If a new CBA isn’t agreed upon soon, it could delay the start of the 2026 season. It already has delayed the expansion draft for Toronto and Portland. The league did release its schedule last week with the regular season set to begin May 8.

The last CBA was announced in the middle of January 2020, a month after it had been agreed to. It could easily take two months from when a new CBA is reached to get to the start of free agency, which was supposed to begin Sunday.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/wnba-players-union-negotiations/