* ICYMI: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signs ban on junk fees, other consumer protections into law. CBS Chicago…

- The Junk Fee Ban Act requires businesses to tell consumers the final price of a ticket or hotel room upfront. Companies may not advertise prices that fail to disclose service, processing, or convenience fees, surcharges, and mandatory gratuities upfront.
- Another bill bans automated ticket scalping, when bots buy up tickets so they can drive up demand and resell them at a higher price.
- Bills that forbid ticket resellers from offering tickets they don’t really have, and regulating buy-now-pay-later lenders, were also signed into law.

* Related stories…

• Press release: Aquino law bans ‘junk’ fees in Illinois
• WICS: Pritzker signs laws targeting junk fees, ticket resale practices and buy-now-pay-later lenders
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* Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Supreme Court ruling in Roundup case is a major blow for agricultural states like Illinois, advocates say:
The ruling carries significance for agricultural states like Illinois, one of the nation’s largest producers of corn and soybeans and among the heaviest users of glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup. Some rural Illinoisans have faced long-term exposure to the weedkiller. In a previous interview with the Tribune, organic farmer Harold Wilken talked about how he believes years of Roundup use contributed to his tonsil and lymph node cancer. For farm advocacy groups that filed briefs in the case, the decision raises concerns that federal regulatory approval may now make it harder to bring state consumer protection claims.

* MJBizDaily | Major labor strike threatens Illinois cannabis supply chain, union says: Hundreds of unionized employees at a marijuana multistate operator-owned Illinois cultivation facility walked off the job Thursday in what could be one of the biggest labor stoppages the legal cannabis industry has seen to date, according to union officials. In an action that could disrupt the supply chain in Illinois, more than 300 workers organized with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 916 are on strike at Ascend Wellness Holdings’ licensed cultivation operation in Barry, Illinois, Teamsters officials said in a press release.

* WGLT | New report indicates Illinois’ creative economy has ‘major’ impact statewide: The creative economy — which ranges from arts education to festivals, fairs and conventions to music recording and publishing — supports 734,269 jobs in the state of Illinois, the report indicated. That figure represents 12.2% of all employment across Illinois and generates $148.1 billion in total output and $20.6 billion in tax revenue. The report evaluates economic impact for the state, as well as within the city of Chicago.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WIFR | Illinois Lt. Gov. candidates focus on affordability in pitch to Rockford voters: The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor picked new running mates for their rematch. With Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton running for U.S. Senate, Pritzker picked Christian Mitchell to join his ticket. On the Republican side, Aaron Del Mar joins Bailey, who previously ran with Stephanie Trussell in 2022. Mitchell and Del Mar spoke Thursday with WIFR on what inspires them to run, their campaign priorities and ideas to improve the Rockford region.

* Capitol News Illinois | Cocktails-to-go, new state agency among laws taking effect July 1: A pandemic-era allowance is now law six-and-a-half years later. Senate Bill 618 makes cocktails-to-go permanent. Illinois lawmakers passed legislation during the pandemic that allowed restaurants and bars to sell cocktails and mixed drinks for pickup or delivery as businesses were closed to in-person customers. That will be allowed to continue permanently under the new law.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago school board adopts legislative agenda calling for more funding — after state lawmakers adjourn: “This would have been fantastic for us to have in January or even February,” said Anusha Thotakura, an appointed board member who has previously pressed CPS for a legislative plan. “There is absolutely no opportunity for this legislative agenda to result in increased state funds for the upcoming school year — zero.” Several board members called for the agenda to be a “living document” that CPS could add ideas to. And others wanted more demands of local officials. Elected board member Che “Rhymefest” Smith said he was disappointed the agenda didn’t include anything about pressing the city to send more special taxing district dollars to the district – an amount that can vary year to year.

* Gov Tech | Illinois’ First Chief AI Officer Is From the Private Sector: Illinois has chosen Kader Sakkaria as its first-ever chief AI officer, a newly created leadership post filled as the state formalizes its approach to AI governance, strategy and adoption across the enterprise. […] Sakkaria’s background aligns closely with those priorities, spanning AI, data strategy, cloud modernization and digital transformation. This is likely his inaugural public-sector position. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was most recently global head of data technology and center of excellence at Gallagher, where he helped oversee large-scale data and analytics operations, including AI governance initiatives.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Mayor’s $3 Billion Parking Meter Offer Was $800 Million More Than The Next Highest Bid, Investor Says: Wyper and his colleagues said Stonepeak bid about $2.5 billion — which proved to be the winner after the city walked away. Stonepeak is now seeking City Council approval for its proposed takeover of the meter system. And the mayor is trying to avoid talking about it. City officials have previously said the city’s bid was about $3 billion, but refused to offer specifics or share their calculations for arriving at that figure. The $800 million difference with Stonepeak’s bid left alderpeople asking more questions. Some railed against the mayor and the city’s law department for failing to disclose the information sooner.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago Public School teachers warn of cuts as CPS faces $700 million budget deficit Chicago Public School teachers warn of cuts as CPS faces $700 million budget deficit : The Chicago Teachers Union says the district is at risk of cutting thousands of teacher and staff positions. The union also points to aging school buildings and a growing population of students with special needs as additional pressures on the system. “Our students deserve more not less. Our school communities have had enough of cuts year after year,” said Pavlyn Jankov, Director of Research at the Chicago Teachers Union. The Chicago Public School Board met Wednesday to discuss the budget. District leaders said they are considering all options to preserve as many student resources as possible. CTU is urging state lawmakers to call a special session to address school funding.

* Sun-Times | Mayor’s financial task force proposes Downtown congestion fee, service tax, restructuring electricity taxes: To chip away at Chicago’s $36 billion pension crisis and erase the city’s structural deficit, the 23-member group of civic leaders is also suggesting offering retirees lump-sum payouts in lieu of monthly pension checks, consolidating actuaries and administrators of the four city employee pension funds, and restoring the automatic escalator locking in annual property tax increases at the rate of inflation.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Delays in ramping up work on Chicago’s Black Student Success Plan frustrate some advocates: Over the past year, district officials have worked to reassure parents and advocates that they are forging ahead with the initiative — while appearing to move slowly and cautiously to ward off further federal scrutiny and fallout. On Thursday, Jitu Brown, the board member slated to lead the Black Student Achievement Committee, announced yet another delay in naming its members. And when the district this past spring challenged in court the U.S. Department of Education’s move to withhold grant dollars over the plan, one of CPS’ arguments was that it hadn’t even started implementing the program.

* Tribune | Chicago resident in risk of deportation after Supreme Court allows Trump to strip Syrians of legal protection : Now, Hatem is faced with deportation to Syria, a country in which he has never even set foot, after the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision Thursday allowing President Donald Trump to end temporary protection status for immigrants from Syria and Haiti. Without TPS, they lose protection from deportation and work authorization.

* Block Club | Is Chicago Ever Getting Video Gambling Machines? Bars Wait For Answers As City Council Spars: On Wednesday, Christopher Jewett, Bally’s vice president for Corporate Development, said legalized video gambling terminals “will hurt the city’s finances for years to come.” “Had we known that within just a few years, this body would reverse course and allow an alternative form of gaming that breaches the agreement, we would never have agreed to the numerous commitments, all of which we’ve held up,” Jewett said. “I can assure you that other corporations around the country and world are watching the treatment of our relationship and will take note when determining to bring businesses and jobs here.”

* Crain’s | Chicago tourism grew in 2025, but city still chasing pre-pandemic high: Nearly 57 million people visited Chicago last year, marking both a step forward for the local tourism sector and a sign that it is still trying to find its post-pandemic footing. Tourism agency Choose Chicago today announced visitation to the city grew by 2.6% last year to 56.8 million people. The total still trails the record-high 61.6 million tourists the city welcomed in 2019.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘The sirens go off because you’re under threat’: Elgin officials clarify emergency warning system: The city has 25 sirens across its 38 square miles. They had been automatically activated whenever the National Weather Service issued a warning for the area, including tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings with damaging winds or large hail. Residents had complained about confusion, expecting the sirens to specifically indicate tornadoes. Cagann said city officials “agonized” over how best to keep the community safe, but ultimately decided to return to full automation because, he added, the ‘why’ of the sirens sounding isn’t important.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County’s draft fiscal year 2027 budget may be on display as early as July: Like last year, the county board’s recent budget-making efforts have largely centered around addressing a looming budget shortfall in the county’s general fund, which the board has been solving since 2023 by dipping into the county’s cash reserves. But using reserves to balance the county’s annual budget won’t be an option forever, county staff members have cautioned, warning that the county must make significant cuts or find new revenue before 2027 to avoid going into its required 90-day reserves.

* Daily Southtown | Flossmoor considers transforming commuter lot into public park, gathering space: “This would be a great spot to do events,” Homewood-Flossmoor Park District executive director Doug Boehm said at a Wednesday open house. “We can host concerts, whatever, you name it. Things that we do in the park— celebrations and movies in the park, all sorts of things.” The property belongs to the village, but would potentially be transferred to the Park District if the project goes forward, Boehm said. Homewood has more than 20 parks, while Flossmoor has just seven, he said.

* WTTW | Cook County Has Been Called the Wrongful Conviction Capital of the US. New Book Explores Why: In her new book, “Crime Fictions: How Racist Lies Built a System of Mass Wrongful Conviction,” author Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve tries to answer that. She identifies cases of Black youth, some as young as 7, who are wrongfully accused and coerced into confessions. “We often talk about wrongful conviction as though it’s an accident or a series of accidents, and what I’m trying to do in this book … is to think about wrongful conviction as a set of patterns, a systemic way of doing business by police,” Gonzalez Van Cleve said. She set out by trying to answer how a person becomes guilty in the eyes of the police. After years of interviews, archival research and the excavation of hidden documents, she said she found that police have techniques for creating wrongful convictions.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | B-N residents voice concerns about Flock cameras in policing to the man who leads Bloomington’s program: A group called Shut the Flock Off requested all emails within the Bloomington Police Department with the word “Flock” in them. It was 79,000 emails. A narrowing resulted in the group still receiving thousands of documents, one of which was posted on social media last week. McQueen added that email to one of his slides. “Highlighted in there is my statement that they posted online,” he said. “It says ‘these issues are putting our system and data at risk,’ which was alarming to a lot of people. We got a lot of phone calls, and they said ‘Uh oh, that’s that data from the LPRs.”

* WCIA | ‘No evidence’ of bomb found after threat made at Champaign elementary school: The Champaign Police Department said a bomb threat that was called in to an elementary school earlier this week is now being investigated as a false report. Officers with the Champaign Police Department and a specialized K9 from the University of Illinois Police Department responded to South Side Elementary School — which is located in the 700 block of S. New Street — at 11:22 a.m. on June 22.

* WAND | Auburn’s iconic Route 66 brick road offers a drive through history: Long before Interstate 55 carried travelers through central Illinois, Route 66 connected communities, businesses and families along what would become America’s most famous highway. On Thursday, one of the best-preserved reminders of that history sits just north of Auburn, where a nearly four-minute stretch of brick pavement continues to draw visitors from around the world. The brick road, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, offers a rare glimpse into what travelers experienced nearly a century ago when Route 66 first stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles.

*** National ***

* Talking Points Memo | What’s This Database DHS Is Trying to Use to Purge Voter Rolls?: The changes to SAVE came in response to Trump’s March 25, 2025 executive order that directed DHS and SSA to ignore privacy laws and create a database for state and local election officials to verify citizenship status for people registering to vote. There are several issues with the way the Trump administration is trying to use the SAVE database, specifically on the privacy front. But one glaring election-related issue: there is evidence that the tool is incorrectly flagging eligible voters as ineligible. Also, as we know by now, non-citizen voting is extremely rare and it is not happening en masse as Trump and his allies claim.

* WaPo | Meet the megadonors pouring more than $1.3 billion into the 2026 election: The donors lean Republican and cash could prove critical for the GOP to maintain control of Congress in November. In the first half of 2026, Republican-leaning donors gave $880 million, compared to $290 million from Democratic-leaning givers and $200 million from bipartisan and special interest groups. But most of the money, regardless of affiliation, was given to super PACs that can legally accept unlimited sums.