GREEN MAG

Election 2026 House Illinois

The son of the civil rights icon tries to bring it up first: A 2013 campaign fraudconvictionthat ended his 17-year political career.

"It's now part of my story," Jackson told the pastors, elected officials and retirees gathered on a recent Saturday to hear his lofty plan to revive Chicago's sagging south suburbs. "I've cried enough. I'm divorced now. I've lost my home in foreclosure. I've been through everything that comes with that process."

At 60, Jackson has launched a spirited primary bid in the largely Black district where he started his career, saying his new perspective makes him an ideal candidate at a time when voters have accepteda presidentand others with serious criminal histories. The theme of redemption is woven through his return in the firmly Democratic territory with stories about incarceration, sparse job prospects and caring for his ailing dad, theRev. Jesse Jackson.

But the efforts to reclaim the name belonging to one of the nation's most famous political families haven't been without eyerolls and jabs from candidates in the crowded March primary who say Jackson had his chance in a district plagued by politicalcorruption.

"What I think matters is that trust has to be earned," Jackson told The Associated Press while campaigning recently. "I'm cognizant of that."

The reverend's son energizes crowds

The eldest son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson now sports thick circular glasses and graying hair. He remains a skilled orator in the style of his father, a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate. Another son,Jonathan, is also a Chicago-area congressman.

Sounding at times like a preacher and others a professor, Jackson Jr. paces among poster boards outlining his vision for a third Chicago airport. The proposedpublic-private partnershipto boost economically depressed areas outside Chicago hasn't seen traction for years.

But that's not evident from how Jackson describes it.

Nearly 50 people filed into a suburban school gym to hear how a hypothetical airport might someday compete with O'Hare and Midway.

"The one thing that is missing from this congressional district is access to the global economy," Jackson said, describing daily flights to Hong Kong.

The extemporaneous talk included Biblical references and warm shoutouts to locals in the audience. Attendees were handed thick packets documenting nearly $1 billion in federal funds Jackson secured over the years. Around the room was church-style signage with Jackson's portraits under the slogan "A New Hope."

David Jones, 52, praised Jackson's "tenacity" and "fortitude." The Flossmoor resident voted for Jackson before and will again. He felt the former congressman had been humbled by the prison sentence.

"Would it sway certain people? Probably," he said. "But at the same time, to his point, we have a president that had 34 convictions and he's still president of the United States. So if it didn't sway people from voting in that regard why should it sway you from voting for him?"

Soon, the crowd was chanting for a 10,000-foot airport runway, with Jackson directing the recitation like a conductor.

Attendees lined up for blue-and-white yard signs. The most popular has one word: "Jr."

A promising start, a rocky end

Jackson was first elected in a 1995 special election. He easily won each reelection, despite a 2009ethics inquiryrelated to formerIllinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Jackson wasn't charged.

However, in 2012Jacksondisappeared from the public eye, even missing his reelection night. He later disclosedtreatment for bipolar disorderat the Mayo Clinic. He resigned in November amid a federal investigation.

The next year Jackson pleaded guilty to charges he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on luxury items including Bruce Lee memorabilia. His then-wife, former Chicago Alderwoman Sandi Jackson, also pleaded guilty.

Heserved30 months.

Jackson's time behind bars was isolating. He said he used the time to learn from inmates and write his third book. While incarcerated, relatives waited to disclose his father's diagnosis with a neurological disorder.

"He didn't think emotionally that I could handle it," Jackson said of his father.

After his release, Jacksonstruggledpersonally and financially.

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His marriage of 37 years ended. Attorneys in his2018 divorcedisclosed he received Social Security Disability Insurance payments due to extended medical leave from Congress.

Finding work was hard. One university rescinded a job offer over his conviction.

"I could not survive the evil of the Google search," he joked.

Fundraising struggles and messaging

Early voting starts Thursday for the March 17 primary.

The 2nd District seat is open because Rep. Robin Kelly is running for Senate followingDick Durbin's retirement. The territory encompasses city neighborhoods, working-class suburbs and some rural areas.

Ten Democrats are in, including Donna Miller, a county commissioner who leads fundraising. She brought in about $1 million in the last quarter and has that much on hand. Meanwhile, Jackson raised about $100,000 and has roughly equal to spend.

Jackson said fundraising in the district has always been tough. He sees a path to victory in part by registering new voters; he said his campaign has signed up roughly 2,000. He's also reaching disenfranchised voters, including Black men who "abandoned" the party.

Jackson says he relates more to voters now.

He often starts events by asking who has been imprisoned or knows someone in jail. The show of hands is usually strong. He's opened up about managing mental health, crediting his physician, tight social circle and martial arts.

When his father took a turn with a November hospitalization, Jackson wrote about elderly parent care for USA Today. The reverend has progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative disorder. He communicates through hand gestures as he's lost the ability to speak.

Jackson listened to his dad's speeches before making his run official on his father's 84th birthday in October.

"I get very emotional knowing that those speeches belong to the ages now," he said.

Critics say district needs fresh start

Political opponents seize on Jackson's high-profile and comfortable upbringing.

State Sen. Willie Preston likes to highlight Jackson's fashion choices with Ferragamo shoes as evidence of someone who hasn't reformed spending habits.

"When you have had such a lifestyle of luxury and celebrity because you threw that away, then I'd imagine you'd want to get that back," Preston said.

Jackson shrugged at the criticism. When it comes to footwear: "I wear shoes that fit my feet."

Others say the district needs change.

Before Jackson, two congressmen left office under allegations of misconduct, includingMel Reynolds, who was convicted of fraud and criminal sexual assault charges.

"We're ready for new chapter," said candidate Yumeka Brown, Matteson's village clerk. "Voters have a right to expect honesty, accountability."

Voters see familiarity and change

Listening to the former congressman, 71-year-old Warren Cottrell heard the reverend's voice.

"He sounds just as eloquent as his father," said the retiree from Homewood. "I believe in second chances."

Jackson says it's a second chance for him with his children too. He consulted both about running: daughter Jessica, who lives in France and son Jesse III, who's in college.

"It's important for them to see their father stand up and fight for the dignity of their name," he said.

The effort to get a snapshot of kindergarten readiness is part ofthe National Survey of Children's Health, and that metric has been reported each year since 2022. Thousands of parents and guardians submitted answers about their child in five categories — early learning, motor skills, social-emotional development, self-regulation and health — with the goal of answering the big question: Is your child ready for school?

While there'sgrowing interest in assessing school readiness, education experts differ on what to measure and how. And some dispute whether children should be ready for school or if schools should be ready for their students.

Despite the complexities, it's indisputable that what a young child learns before they enter classrooms can set the course for the rest of their academic career.

What is kindergarten readiness?

Kindergarten readiness encompassesthe foundational skillsnecessary to engage in a more formal learning environment, said Ohio State University educational psychology professor Laura Justice. In some ways, it's very similar to the expectations for a college graduate to be successful in their first job, she said.

There isn't a universal definition of kindergarten readiness, but many experts and educators rely on guidance from the bipartisan National Education Goals Panel'sfive developmental domainscritical to a child's success upon entering grade school. The criteria emphasize a child's health and motor skills, social-emotional development, cognition, language development and general attitude toward learning — a very similar framework as the federal survey.

But school readiness is a relatively new concept, as the panel's guidelines came in the 1990s. Historically, there weren't many expectations for children entering kindergarten, although some students — typically from wealthier families — would come in with more advanced skills than others, said Robert Crosnoe, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin. That meant providingenriching learning opportunitiesbefore children set foot in a kindergarten classroom – so they could learn not only their ABCs, but also skills such as carrying on a conversation and problem-solving during playtime.

"If we just focus on those strictly academic things, it's only going to get us so far," Crosnoe said.

Is your child ready for kindergarten? The answer is complex

There are a few ways tomeasure readiness, but each method has its drawbacks, said Jill Cannon, a senior policy researcher at global policy think tank RAND.

Parents can answer questions about their child — such as in the NSCH survey — but can be biased or misinterpret questions, especially if English isn't their first language. Teachers can assess children instead, but interpretations of a child's behavior can depend on which teacher is doing the assessment.

Alternatively, a young child can be directly assessed on certain skills. But that approach can be "hit or miss," according to Cannon, because a child that young may perform differently on any given day.

When to measure readiness can also be a factor.

A child's age when they enter kindergarten — typically at age 5 — can also factor into readiness, as children who are several months older are often in the same class as students who just turned 5, Cannon said.

"Six months now to me means nothing, but back then … I had a lot of learning to do. I grew a lot," Cannon said. "These kids, they grow a lot over the kindergarten year."

If your child is scheduled for a kindergarten readiness assessment, don't worry. Most experts agree that readiness tests are, overall, a crucial tool for educators – but only to identify what supports kids will need.

"We have an arsenal of interventions that can improve these skills in kids," Justice said. "So the screening instrument can help us identify where the need is so that we can respond."

How to boost kindergarten readiness

Research suggests that attending ahigh-quality preschool programis one of the best ways to boost kindergarten readiness.

However, preschool curricula vary vastly across the U.S., with some prioritizing certain development areas, such as literacy, over others. And the quality of preschool can vary drastically depending on where someone lives, making that goal a lot easier said than done.

But some measures of quality are universal. Many early childhood education experts rely on the National Institute for Early Education Research's10 quality benchmarksto make broad assessments in all states that offer public preschool programs.

Parents can use the standards as a guide for choosing a preschool that's most likely to help prepare their child for the next step. The standards include requiring pre-K teachers to hold bachelor's degrees, keeping class sizes at 20 children or fewer, implementing professional development for staff and offering health screenings and referrals. In 2024, 13 states met five or fewer of NIEER's standards, while just five states met all 10 benchmarks.

At home, parents can take many steps to prepare their child for kindergarten, too.

You can read to your child every day to boost their early literacy skills. Giving your child small responsibilities around the housedevelops their independenceand gets them acclimated to tasks that may be expected of them in kindergarten. And coaching your child to name their emotions can strengthen those social-emotional and self-regulation skills that are integral to building positive relationships with classmates and teachers.

Data journalist Todd Feathers contributed reporting.

The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, alistof supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Election 2026 Redistricting California

No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without explanation, which is common on the court's emergency docket.

The justices had previouslyallowed Texas' Republican-friendly mapto be used in 2026, despite a lower-court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new maps for political advantage, which the high court has previously ruled cannot be a basis for a federal lawsuit.

Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, claimed the California map improperly relied on race as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote. The Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The justices' unsigned order keeps in place districts that are designed to flip up to five seats now held by Republicans, part of a tit-for-tat nationwide redistricting battle spurred by President Donald Trump, with control of Congress on the line in midterm elections.

Last year, at Trump's behest, Texas Republicansredid the state's congressional districtswith an eye on gaining five seats.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who iseyeing a 2028 presidential run, pledged to respond in kind, though he had to win over voters, not just lawmakers, to do so.

Newsom celebrated the court's decision, saying on social media that Trump had "started this redistricting war" and would end up losing out in the November midterms, when control of Congress is at stake.

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California's attorney general, Democrat Rob Bonta, said the decision was "good news not only for Californians, but for our democracy."

Thestate Republican Party, which brought the case, vowed to keep fighting against the map's use in future elections.

"We will continue to vigorously argue for Equal Protection under the law for all of California's voters," Michael Columbo, counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

One longtime party strategist, Jon Fleishman, a former executive director of the California Republican Party, said in a post on X that the decision means "this year's elections will take place on the new lines shrinking the already very small Republican delegation from California."

Filing for congressional primaries in California begins on Monday.

Associated Press writers Michael Blood in Los Angeles and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.

Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court athttps://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

The deal is as follows:

Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to the Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks and three second-rounders.

The quality of the picks aren't great (a 2026 first from Oklahoma City Thunder, and a 2030 protected selection via Golden State), but the fact the Mavericks didn't end up relinquishing picks in order to get out of Davis' contract is a win on its own.

Let's get into some the grades immediately.

Dallas Mavericks: A

There's no other way around this: The Mavs lost the Luka Dončić trade by the size of Mt. Everest, but at least they won this one.

The aging Davis, who can't seem to stay healthy and who remains one of the most expensive deals in the NBA, simply shouldn't have had any positive trade value, and yet, here we are.

The Mavericks also found a new home for D'Angelo Russell, a player who never fit and who has declined mightily in recent years.

They now gain a ton of salary flexibility to build around Cooper Flagg, which is what the plan should have been since he was drafted first overall last summer.

Washington Wizards: D

Oooooof, guys.

While the Wizards didn't give up juicy firsts, they did relinquish draft equity, which seems odd given that they took on a lot of money for a soon-to-be 33-year-old who is declining rapidly and constantly in and out of the lineup.

Look, I get the vision. Trae Young and Anthony Davis as the main pillars, with a bunch of young players as the supporting cast. That's fine if both of them are healthy, but since that's not something you can bank on, the risk is considerable here.

Furthermore, Davis and Alexandre Sarr have each voiced displeasure about playing center, preferring to play power forward. So, uh, you know, good luck with that.

TheNew York Rangers traded Panarinon Wednesday. Feb. 4 to theLos Angeles Kings, who signed the high-scoring winger to a two-year contract extension averaging $11 million a year. The Rangers received prospect forward Liam Greentree and conditional third- (2026) and fourth-round (2028) picks.

Panarin, 34, was the latest player to come off a list of what had been an impressive unrestricted free agent class.Kirill Kaprizov signed a record extensionand has been joined byConnor McDavid,Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor,Martin NecasandAdrian Kempe.

Here are some of the top remaining pending unrestricted free agents:

Dec. 12: The Minnesota Wild acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Dec. 12: The Edmonton Oilers acquired Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick.

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NHL trade tracker: Who changed teams in 2025-26

Dec. 12: The Minnesota Wild acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick.

Top remaining free agents

10. Anders Lee, New York Islanders

He has been the Islanders' captain since 2018 and is good for 20-plus goals. He had 29 last season.Current cap hit:$7 million.

9. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

TheNHL's all-time leading goal scoreris 40. He'll either re-sign with Washington or retire. He hasn't indicated his plans.Current cap hit:$9 million.

8. Kiefer Sherwood,San Jose Sharks

He was the runaway leader in hits last season and is in second place this season. He also has 17 goals and was traded by the Canucks this season.Current cap hit:$1.5 million

7. John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Carlson is the Capitals' all-time leader in scoring among defensemen and is a key to their power play. He's the one who sets up Ovechkin's one-timers.Current cap hit:$8 million.

6. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers

The goalie has won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles and two Vezina Trophies. He'll be 38 next season.Current cap hit:$10 million.

5. Evgeni Malkin,Pittsburgh Penguins

The 39-year-old has expressed an interest in playing more and he's making a case with 43 points in his first 40 games. He missed some time with an injury but has won three Stanley Cup titles in his storied career.Current cap hit:$6.1 million.

4. Darren Raddysh, Tampa Bay Lightning

The defenseman is having a breakout season with 17 goals and 51 points while filling in during Victor Hedman's two injuries.Current cap hit:$975,000.

3. Rasmus Andersson, Vegas Golden Knights

The defenseman was traded to the Golden Knights this season by the Flames. He can provide offense with a 50- and a 49-point season.Current cap hit:$4.55 million.

2. Nick Schmaltz, Utah Mammoth

The forward keeps improving every year. The winger usually gets 20-plus goals and 60-plus points, and he's already at 22 goals and 51 points this season.Current cap hit:$5.85 million.

1. Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres

The forward can score (two 36-goal seasons) and also kills penalties. He wants to stay in Buffalo and new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen wants to keep him.Current cap hit:$4.75 million.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Artemi Panarin signs: Who are top remaining free agents?