* Here you go…

* Sun-Times | New research finds small, mid-size Illinois cities have higher per-capita gun homicide rates than Chicago: Cities such as Champaign, Rockford and Peoria have seen homicide rates per 100,000 residents surge in recent years, close to or surpassing Chicago’s levels.

* Tribune | Cannabis operators big and small argue over who should oversee the industry in Illinois: At issue is the desire for a single regulatory body to oversee the complex fledgling industry. Currently, at least seven agencies regulate various aspects, giving rise to sometimes contradictory guidelines. The state’s licensing system has come under heavy criticism and litigation for delays, inconsistent scoring of applications, and non-responsiveness to applicants with questions about the process.

* Axios | Illinois may harbor second worst lead problem in U.S.: Last month an Environmental Protection Agency report suggested that Florida’s inventory of lead lines (an estimated 1.16 million) exceeds our 1.04 million lines. Illinois Environmental Council’s Iyana Simba and others find that ranking dubious. Simba tells Axios there are hundreds of thousands of lines categorized as “unknown,” many of which are probably made of lead

* AP | Illinois moves toward gender inclusivity as other states move away: Just a few hours away, Indiana’s governor signed a bill that will require schools to notify a parent if a student requests a name or pronoun change at school, one of several bills this legislative session targeting LGBTQ people in the state. Illinois’ neighbors to the west, Missouri and Iowa, have gone in a similar direction by restricting gender-affirming care and the bathrooms transgender students can use.

* Daily Herald | Suburban Mosaic: Leaders say Muslim Americans are gaining political clout: Dozens of newly elected Muslim American candidates gathered Saturday at Reza’s Restaurant in Oak Brook to mark their historic wins to a variety of local-, county- and state-level offices. Community leaders say it’s a sign of Muslim Americans’ growing political clout, how far the community has come and decades of hard work by first- and second-generation immigrants.

* Center Square | Legislator says Illinoisans must be prioritized in budget as revenue shortfall reported: The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability said April receipts fell $1.8 billion compared to the same month the year prior. The COGFA report said while a substantial decline in revenues was anticipated, the extent of the decline is much steeper than the commission had projected. The news comes as lawmakers are putting together an annual spending plan as the spring legislative session winds down.

* Scott Holland | Ride-share companies set to lose liability carve-out: This legislation is clearly aimed at protecting the average patron by giving them more recourse in civil court, and that inarguably puts a larger burden on the company. Increased liability means increased costs for insurance, screening and training, not to mention the exponential expense if those safeguards prove insufficient.

* Sun-Times | Illinois has a law to release seriously ill and disabled prisoners. It’s time to use it.: Releasing the terminally ill and seriously disabled, under a 2022 law, would help ease the burden on the state’s disastrous prison health care system. The state needs to provide funding so attorneys can transition prisoners back home, writes Jennifer Soble of the Illinois Prison Project.

* ISP Press Release: LOCATION: Interstate 64 eastbound milepost 72, near Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County DATE and TIME: May 9, 2023 at approximately 3:00 a.m. BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Preliminary information indicates the following occurred: ISP Troop 10 units responded to a motorists assist at the above location and time. During the incident, an altercation occurred and the male suspect displayed a firearm. Gunfire was exchanged between the suspect and Troopers. A Trooper was injured during the incident and is being treated at a regional hospital. The suspect is deceased. ISP Division of Internal Investigation is leading an active and on-going investigation and no further information is available.

* Sun-Times | Why did it take Chicago cops more than 30 minutes to find a fatally wounded officer?: ShotSpotter, the city’s gunshot detection system, quickly picked up a barrage of gunfire that left Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston fatally wounded during a shootout with robbers on her way home from work early Saturday. However, an officer wasn’t dispatched to her block in Avalon Park until her Apple Watch reported a car crash around 2:02 a.m., roughly 20 minutes after the initial ShotSpotter alert. A traffic cop ultimately responded at 2:15 a.m. and reported Preston had been shot.

* Tribune | Arrests made in slaying of off-duty Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston: Five “persons of interest,” including two females, were taken into custody after an hourslong standoff with police in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, one source familiar with the situation said.

* Tribune | In farewell address, Lori Lightfoot rejects ‘mean’ mayor narrative and focuses on an optimistic future for Chicago: Despite overseeing the city during a time in which “the sheer number of challenges mounted on top of each other brought me to my knees,” Lightfoot said she hoped to be remembered as a leader who made long-overdue strides toward equity in a deeply segregated city.

* Sun-Times | Lightfoot bids tearful farewell to fifth floor of City Hall, but not people of Chicago: ‘My work is not done’: She urged her hand-picked audience of roughly 300 city department heads, agency chiefs, City Council allies and invited guests to continue the marathon she started, “break through the noise” and “ignore the people who count us out every day.”

* Tribune | Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson pushes his own plan to reshape City Council: Johnson’s move to switch up council committee leadership that 33 aldermen pushed through in late March is an early key test of the new mayor’s strength and savvy. Mayor Lori Lightfoot picked a fight with aldermen by proclaiming on her Inauguration Day in 2019 that she was going to clean up the council, then spent the next four years feuding with many members, which critics said needlessly hamstrung her broader agenda.

* Sun-Times | Will Ramirez-Rosa’s new Council leadership roles be ‘big step forward’ for progressives — or kick in the pants to developers?: If the new zoning chair and Council floor leader is more pragmatic than some of his critics expect, it could be a positive step for progressive politics in Chicago and developers.

* Tribune | My worst moment: Gary Cole remembers Chicago theater and the worst review of his career: Cole’s career began on stage in Chicago, where he was a theater actor for many years. When asked about a worst moment, it was a theater review he received early on that came to mind. “I could not recite to you any of my good reviews, or even mildly tolerable reviews. But I committed this to memory almost immediately. It remains — and there’s a little pun for you, which will become clear — the worst review of my career.”

* Sun-Times | Superdawg at 75 — the iconic Chicago eatery remains a labor of love and a hot dog fan favorite: Today, Scott Berman co-owns the drive-in with his sister, Lisa Drucker, and her husband, Don Drucker, a trio you’re bound to see on site, taking orders from the always buzzing, circa 1954 switchboard or assembling Superdawgs. (Maurie Berman died in 2015. Florence Berman died in 2018.)

* Tribune | Chicago Blackhawks winning the NHL draft lottery — and the right to pick Connor Bedard at No. 1 — ‘can change a franchise’: This year the clear-cut prize is 17-year-old forward Connor Bedard, who had a whopping 143 points (71 goals and 72 assists) in 57 games last season for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.

* Pioneer Press | Cow involved in senior prank in Niles gets ‘perfect’ name from 90 submissions while students face charges: It was a prescient description, it turned out: The Hooved Animal Humane Society accepted suggestions for a name on its Facebook page and drew the name Blossom — “perfect for her,” in Glensgard’s words — on Monday from a pool of about 90 submissions. […] Several of the high schoolers involved in the prank were charged with a slew of violations to village code. Six of the students who were under 18 were charged with breaking curfew, according to police bulletins.