Illinois and Northwestern are storied athletic rivals, the most recent chapter going the way of the Fighting Illini, a 20-13 victory in the annual battle for the Land of Lincoln trophy conducted during an historic Champaign snowfall.

The game kicked off just hours after Northwestern reached a controversial agreement to restore almost $800 million in federal research funding while paying $75 million to the U.S. treasury over the next three years. Then on Monday, University of Illinois officials announced their school will get $1 million from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to join a program monitoring retail meat products for bacteria that may be growing resistant to conventional treatment methods.

Those developments aren’t related and the football game is just a handy news peg, but it’s impossible to ignore the dichotomy of one school celebrating the infusion of federal cash while another demonstrates the possible peril if such funding streams are throttled.

“I don’t think the university should be capitulating to the extortion that’s being brought upon them by the federal government,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “Period, end of sentence. Any university.”

Keeping grocery buyers safe is essential public science. But federal funding comes with strings attached.

BIRTHDAY BASH: It’s hard to envision summer during the ongoing winter weather, but July will be here soon enough, and with it a nationwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Illinois leaders gathered at Navy Pier Wednesday to discuss local efforts (tinyurl.com/Illinois250Plans) and a new website, il250.org, is the best resource for keeping tabs on upcoming celebrations or getting directly involved in the broader effort.

In addition to a youth art contest and statewide volunteering effort, leading opportunities for individuals to participate include contributing to a Library of Congress archival project recording Illinois’ reflections on the anniversary and completing a planned commemorative “passport” spotlighting culturally and historically significant sites, a joint effort of state tourism, natural resources and museum officials.

HAVE YOUR SAY: The State Board of Education is redesigning its school accountability system. According to the department, the current approach “has been mislabeling schools the way our assessments were mislabeling students,” such as by giving 70% of schools a “commendable,” uses a curved grade approach that moves goalposts each year and tells schools they have problems without indicating what strategies might yield solutions.

In a memo this week, Superintendent Tony Sanders announced the public comment period, originally set to close Sunday, has been extended a month to Jan. 7. Information on the project and revised timeline is available at isbe.net/feedback. There will be comment periods after the Jan. 12 release of a first draft and following the March 2 final draft, along with four upcoming feedback webinars.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.