Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Monday, Sep 21, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

The financial crises threatening Chicago and the small businesses that make our city great are dire and require an all-hands-on-deck approach. This much was clear more than nine months ago, when the City Council approved video gaming terminals, or VGTs. […]

Simply put, the city cannot come to Springfield demanding legislators magically find $150 million for Chicago Public Schools while simultaneously refusing to implement a law that has already passed and would ultimately generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for the city and state. […]

That’s why, in the veto session of the General Assembly, I am proposing an emergency package of legislation to allow a cashless option for VGT operators, establishments and customers — to eliminate the legitimate fears of burglary and related crimes. […]

Under my proposal, municipalities such as Chicago that have legalized VGTs would be required to establish a licensing process within 60 days of an ordinance’s effective date and review applications within 30 days of receipt. If the municipality fails to meet those deadlines, authority to license VGT operations would transfer to the state of Illinois for establishments that meet the existing legal requirements.

* The Center Square…

An Illinois father says his daughter is at the center of legislation to shift transfer eligibility decisions from the Illinois High School Association to principals. […]

[Dan Matzen] said he reached out to state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, who filed House Bill 5808 on August 25.

The measure would allow high school student athletes to transfer with full eligibility if both the sending and receiving schools provide written consent. […]

“This bill really puts pressure on principals. Now they’re the ones who are establishing the guidance of transfer students and making those ultimate decisions,” [IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson] told The Center Square earlier this month. […]

The General Assembly may take up the legislation during fall veto session from Nov. 17-19 and Dec. 1-3.

* Marijuana Moment…

Illinois would substantially expand its efforts to repair the harms of marijuana criminalization enforcement under a new bill that seeks to give cash payments directly to people impacted by prohibition laws.

The legislation, filed on Thursday by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (D), would create a new Illinois Freedom Program “for the purpose of issuing direct cash payments to eligible individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by historical cannabis enforcement.”

The effort would supplement the state’s existing Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program, which uses marijuana tax revenue to support community reinvestment in areas harmed by the war on drugs.

The cash payments would be administered through a new Illinois Freedom Fund, which the bill says would “consist of the incremental growth in cannabis tax revenue.”

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Democratic Party splits over money

Monday, Sep 21, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

My associate Isabel Miller and I told subscribers earlier this month that Democrats for the Illinois House had been suddenly cut off from the Democratic Party of Illinois’ lucrative postage discount program, which can save as much as one-third to half of campaign postage costs.

Afterward, an extraordinary interaction occurred between the executive director of the House Democrats’ caucus campaign committee and the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

Let’s first break down a few differences in the two stories offered in separate explanatory emails sent to House Democrats.

Democrats for the Illinois House’s TaQuoya McConnico explained the decision to walk away from the state party this way: “The financial structure proposed for participation in the coordinated campaign called for a $750,000 investment followed by an adjusted $500,000 investment that demanded a payment from each individual House member – YOU. Speaker declined to commit to payment from each House member.”

This unprecedented action to split from the Democratic Party of Illinois was taken less than two months before Election Day without Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch ever consulting members of his House Democratic Caucus.

Welch has been under fire for months for how he has run the chamber, to the point where it’s no longer a slam dunk that he will be reelected in January. Cutting out your members before taking such a late-in-the-game step probably isn’t helping his cause.

State Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez told House Democrats hours later that the party had reduced its ask twice — ultimately requesting just $400,000 — “the same contribution as the Senate,” which has about half the number of members as the House and far fewer targeted races on the ballot. That’s a pretty good deal.

But the offer was still rejected, and for questionable reasons. “The proposed DPI-coordinated campaign structure called for Welch to demand $10,000 in contributions from every single House member — even in cases where members don’t have a race and don’t have that amount of cash on hand,” McConnico wrote, giving the above-mentioned total of $500,000.

Hernandez told a much different story.

“We did not demand that individual members personally write $10,000 checks to DPI. I asked members to help raise those funds, and I offered to make those fundraising calls myself.

“The $10,000 reflects federal limits on Levin funds, which help fund voter registration, voter contact, and get-out-the-vote work through the Coordinated Campaign. Because those funds are limited to $10,000 from any one source, funding an operation of this size requires support from multiple contributors. I wanted to do whatever I could to help us reach an agreement.”

There’s a school of thought that Welch didn’t want to ask some of his members to pony up $10,000 each (even with state party help) to buy them into the party’s coordinated campaign when, as mentioned above, several of his members are refusing to give him another term with the gavel.

And the Welch allies may somehow see the hand of Gov. JB Pritzker in all this because Pritzker has not explicitly defended Welch during successive scandals this summer.

A House Democratic official told another publication last week that Welch is also more concerned that a coordinated campaign would benefit the top of the ticket far more than legislative candidates.

But the object of some past coordinated campaign mailers has been to use the popularity of the top of the ticket to boost legislative and down-ballot candidates.

Welch also demanded a $2.1 million refund from the state party, which the party, in a spirit of cooperation, complied with immediately. The money hadn’t yet been spent on direct mail.

Welch also demanded that the party comb through its files to determine whether he was owed a refund on another $2 million already given to DPI and mostly spent on mail. The state party spent last week working with its campaign vendors to look for any possible Welch money when it should’ve been working on its fall campaign operation.

McConnico said in her letter to members that it was possible that Welch would push for a special meeting of the state party to discuss the rift. But sources said Welch didn’t have enough weighted votes to get the meeting called, especially with the clock ticking toward November.

This is no way to run a rodeo.

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When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds

Monday, Sep 21, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Good American Barber Company offers quality haircuts and traditional shaves while making every customer feel like family. The shop specializes in short hair cuts for men and women alike, giving customers a classic barbershop experience. Rooted in owner Maira Soto’s Mexican American heritage and her lifelong connection to Grayslake, Good American Barber Company is built on care, personal service, and community.

Findings of a recent economic study are clear: the retail sector is a cornerstone of the state’s economy and crucial to our everyday lives. Retail in Illinois directly contributes more than $112 billion in economic investment annually – more than 10 percent of the state’s total Gross Domestic Product.

Policies that support small businesses help communities thrive as retailers like Maira from Grayslake are better equipped to meet local needs. We Are Retail and IRMA are showcasing the retailers who make Illinois work. Please visit https://WeAreRetail.IRMA.org/.

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Sep 21, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: JB Pritzker says Dems should add corruption to list of midterm issues. Politico…

• Tribune: Gov. JB Pritzker doesn’t condemn remarks by streamer Hasan Piker while ex-Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasts them
• ABC: ‘This Week’ Transcript 9-20-26: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker & House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise
• ABC: Gov. Pritzker: AI is dangerous ‘on the level of nuclear weapons’

* Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* CNI | Illinois EPA releases ‘Comprehensive Climate Action Plan’ to reach ‘net zero’ emissions: The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan is intended to provide a roadmap for Illinois to reduce its carbon footprint to as little as 72% below its 2005 baseline. It also outlines two scenarios under which Illinois could virtually eliminate all carbon emissions. Those would involve a combination of incentive packages and regulatory changes that would affect nearly every sector of the economy. But doing so, the report suggests, would produce $21 billion a year in net economic benefits.

* Tribune | Illinois Supreme Court to hear case that will determine future of Chicago police misconduct process: After three years of negotiations, lawsuits and appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court this week will hear arguments from attorneys for the city of Chicago and the Fraternal Order of Police in a case that will determine the future of serious misconduct cases involving Chicago Police Department officers and the public’s right of access. The crux of the dispute is whether officers accused of severe wrongdoing may have their disciplinary cases heard and decided by a third-party arbitrator — as is the case for other municipal employees represented by labor unions — instead of the Chicago Police Board, which has been the city’s practice since 1961.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol City Now | Lesko: DUI mentioned in ad was 22 years ago, and it changed my life: ccording to Sangamon County Court records, Lesko pleaded guilty in November of 2004, was sentenced to one year of court supervision, underwent alcohol treatment, and paid roughly $800 in fines. The records also state in May 2005, a judge signed an order discharging Lesko from the court supervision. The arrest itself happened in March, 2004. “I’ve spent the last 20 years speaking with groups and encouraging them not to make the same mistake that I did,” said Lesko, on social media, also claiming he has given up drinking since then.

* WCIA | Keith Smith will challenge Carol Ammons as write-in candidate for 103rd District: According to his LinkedIn profile, Smith previously ran a catering company in Champaign and worked as a realtor. In an announcement on social media, Smith said he would prioritize education issues, affordable healthcare and cost of living.

* The Daily Egyptian | Shantel Franklin returns to SIU, ‘the place that changed my life’: Franklin arrived at SIU in 2012 after experiencing homelessness as a child and attending eight different schools. She told attendees that arriving in Carbondale gave her an opportunity to redefine herself. […] While studying political science, Franklin became involved across campus. She worked at what was then called the Black Resource Center, joined the Zeta Chi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, served as chief of staff for Undergraduate Student Government and was crowned SIU’s 2014 homecoming queen. […] After graduating from SIU, Franklin spent seven years working for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. When the 8th District seat became open, she said she had developed the courage, experience and passion to run. She is the first woman and youngest Democratic nominee for state representative in the district. She is running unopposed and is expected to take office in January 2027.

* Muddy River News | How Republican Darren Bailey sees the numbers adding up to victory in the Illinois Governor’s race November 3: [Note from Isabel: The Bailey campaign hasn’t made this polling public. And, yes, I’ve asked for it more than once.] Bailey said his campaign’s internal polling shows him neck and neck with the incumbent. This was also the case the last time he ran and lost against Pritzker. But here’s what Bailey said is different this time around, if they can get the voter turnout numbers up. […] “We believe people are staying home on his side of the aisle. It’s called an under vote,” Bailey said. “Possibly 20% to 25% of solid voters for JB Pritzker might not vote for him.”

* Muddy River News | Republican U.S. Senate candidate’s mantra: Don’t vote for crazy, vote for Don Tracy: Lawyer turned U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy thinks he’s got a slogan that will stick with voters as he goes against the Democratic Party’s anointed successor to the retiring Dick Durbin: “Don’t vote for crazy, vote for Don Tracy.” He repeated the mantra during his formal speech and in an interview with Muddy River News Saturday night at the Brown County GOP dinner, which also featured Republican Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and a fellow lawyer running for Illinois Comptroller, Bryan Drew.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | City strikes sweeping Guevara police misconduct deal as proposed settlement fund soars: But recently filed federal court records seem to have provided the answer, and it comes in one of the biggest police corruption scandals in Chicago history. In a filing quietly put on the public federal court docket Friday, a judge revealed that, pending City Council approval, a “global settlement” has been reached in dozens of pending lawsuits against former homicide Detective Reynaldo Guevara, who has been accused of manipulating lineups, threatening witnesses and beating suspects into confessions.

* Sun-Times | Bears QB Caleb Williams hurts hamstring on non-contact play in 9-3 loss to Vikings: Williams hurt his left hamstring in the Pac-12 championship game while at USC. Before Sunday, he had gone two seasons and two games never having missed an NFL snap because of injury. That’s likely to change, starting with the Bears’ ‘‘Monday Night Football’’ game Sept. 28 against the Eagles.

* Block Club | Chicago’s Oldest House Faces Uncertain Future As Historical Society Funds Dry Up: “Yes, we saved the house, however, saving it is a constant thing,” Arthur Krumrey, the acting president of the Norwood Park Historical Society, said as he walked past walls of black-and-white photographs on a Wednesday in August. Keeping the house up and running costs about $250 per day, Krumrey said. With a small stream of monthly visitors, the $5 suggested donation doesn’t even begin to cover the house’s costs, he said. Instead, the historical society relies on donations. Krumrey said fundraising fell short last year, but they hope to raise at least $12,000 this year.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Cook County awards $191 million in loans to bridge property tax payout gap: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office awarded stopgap loans to 32 villages, library and school districts worth $191 million, an effort to dull the impact of this fall’s property tax delay that nonetheless left many suburban agencies already in dire financial straits with less money than they asked for to help make ends meet. Several officials praised Preckwinkle’s efforts, and the payouts also left $109 million in the loan pot, according to data received through a Tribune open records request.

* Evanston Now | Federal agents detained U.S. citizen Sunday morning: A video posted to Facebook on Sunday shows the end of the incident as agents drove off near El Pueblito Mexican Grill on Howard Street, including a man lying near the curb with at least two agents near him. Responding to the call, Stewart said an Evanston police officer encountered “two SUVs near Dodge Avenue and Brummel Street,” which included an individual in “plain clothes and a vest marked ‘POLICE’ with federal law enforcement markings.” The person “identified himself as a federal agent conducting a fugitive investigation,” EPD said in a statement released Sunday night, and “told the officer that agents had attempted to identify an individual who resembled a person they were seeking.”

* Pioneer Press | Evanston District 65 proposes cutting $20 million, closing two schools to end budget crisis: The district will also look at cutting “purchased services” to increase cash on hand and examine non-mandated programs, transportation systems and teaching positions to improve current staff-to-student ratios, Witherspoon, D65 CFO Eric Miller and Assistant Superintendent Stacy Beardsley told the Board Monday.

* Sun-Times | Push for independent review of Cook County Jail comes amid concerns over deaths, supervision: A resolution calling for a review is scheduled for a vote Tuesday in the Health and Hospitals Committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Advocates, elected officials and faith leaders say a historic 2023 death toll underscores the need for third-party oversight.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Data center cooling failure hits Central Illinois credit union customers: A data center cooling failure has disrupted online and mobile banking for customers at several Central Illinois credit unions for the past three days, part of a nationwide problem. The incident began Tuesday, impacting the Illinois State Credit Union, the Credit Union For All in Bloomington, the Streator Community Credit Union, and many others across the U.S. that use the same vendor Sharetec for core-processing services. Several credit unions said Saturday that their systems were finally coming back online, although not all services are yet available.

* WAND | University of Illinois Students to hold rally opposing data centers: The protest is scheduled for Sept. 25 at noon. SECS said participants will gather on the Main Quad in front of Foellinger Auditorium, march the length of the Main Quad and rally at the Alma Mater statue. SECS invited experts, professors and community and student organizers to speak in front of Foellinger Auditorium and the Alma Mater during the protest.

* WGLT | Normal proposes 6-month extension to data center moratorium: In a memo to the council, town staff said there is renewed interest for data center regulation at the state level. “Any state action on data centers will necessarily affect how the town handles data centers,” states the memo from assistant city manager Brian Day. “All data center regulation was expected to remain at the local level.”

* WGLT | Proposed McLean County budget includes body cams for jail guards: The proposed $150 million spending plan would be up 4.1% from the current fiscal year — an increase of $5.9 million. County plans indicate rising property values will allow the property tax rate to go down and homeowners whose assessments do not change would see a modest decrease in the county share of their property tax bills.

* WCIA | Mahomet organizations prepare resources for families amid strike uncertainty: As a teacher strike looms for the Mahomet-Seymour School District, non-profits and various organizations are looking for ways to be a helping hand for families in the village. The Mahomet Seymour Education Association said they have no plans to strike. However, they have not yet come to an agreement with the Board of Education.

*** National ***

* NYT | Republicans are now the ‘elitist’ party, voters say: When our pollsters asked likely voters which party they think the word “elitist” describes, 43% of them said Republicans, and 33% said Democrats. The Times’ polling editor, Ruth Igielnik, said that we asked the same question in 2022. Back then, Republicans and Democrats were about tied — 35% for Democrats, 36% for Republicans — so the new figures, Ruth said, represent a notable shift.

* NYT | How DraftKings uses AI to target gamblers likely to lose: The Times interviewed more than 40 former DraftKings employees and obtained internal research memos, presentations and Slack messages as well as betting records from experiments conducted on customers. The documents show how the model Butts worked on analyzed dozens of data points for gamblers, including how frequently they played, their daily account balances and how much they typically lost compared with how much they bet. It also incorporated another model that calculated how likely a user was to stop gambling.

* ProPublica | Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans.: In this new analysis, ProPublica found that 310 more patients in Texas experienced substantial blood loss after an ectopic pregnancy in 2023 and 2024 compared with 2018 and 2019, an increase of about 29%. Similar to ectopic deaths, the rise appeared to begin during the COVID pandemic, but the rate of complications remained elevated after hospital systems stabilized and the state passed its restrictive law. ProPublica is working to acquire similar data from states without abortion bans.

* AP | Voting groups sound alarm on funding shortfalls that they say could affect midterm turnout: A July memo circulated among major Democratic fundraisers warned that “the organizations that registered and persuaded millions of voters to participate in the 2018 and 2022 midterms are drastically underfunded. They have raised nearly 40% less than they had at this point in those cycles.” It further warned that funding voter mobilization groups was especially critical “given that the Democratic brand is underperforming on generic ballot tests relative to historical comparisons and the president’s approval ratings.”

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Good morning!

Monday, Sep 21, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Earth, Wind & Fire…

* What are you getting up to on the 21st night of September?

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Selected press releases (live updates)

Monday, Sep 21, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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