* Crain’s…

Sterling Bay is trying to strike a deal with the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund to bail out Lincoln Yards, a move that could help jump-start the stalled North Side megadevelopment, inflict hefty losses on the original backers of the ambitious $6 billion project and offer the developer a lifeline amid a financial storm that threatens its control over major pieces of its high-profile local portfolio.

With the real estate firm under growing pressure to raise money to recapitalize the 53-acre mixed-use campus planned along the Chicago River between Lincoln Park and Bucktown, the pension fund’s investment committee voted during a May 23 meeting to investigate an opportunity to become Sterling Bay’s primary financial partner on the development, according to a video of the public meeting and investor documents obtained by Crain’s. […]

CTPF Chief Investment Officer Fernando Vinzons said in a statement to Crain’s that the discussions around Lincoln Yards are only “conceptual at this point” and that the investment committee would still need to recommend the Lincoln Yards deal to its Board of Trustees, which would ultimately have to sign off on any funding commitment, a process that could take months. […]

Questions and answers in the document — which came in response to a presentation during the virtual meeting with investors in April — paint a picture of a fund grappling with financial strain while Sterling Bay seeks ways to generate liquidity to avoid defaulting on loans, maintain confidence of its existing investors and convince them to double down on properties moving forward.

General Iron previously occupied the Sterling Bay site, but it’s still facing an uphill battle to reopen…

There’s been no response from executives of a metal shredder operation to the latest protest from people living on Chicago’s Southeast Side, who are fighting a judge’s ruling that would clear the way for the company to operate in their backyard.

What a mess.

* This is not happening with any of my browsers, but a buddy said he’s getting this message on all three of his. Anyone else having this issue?…

* Sarah Moskowitz, the deputy director of the Citizens Utility Board, writing in the Sun-Times…

A recent attempt by power plant owners to engineer a bailout of PJM Interconnection — a behind-the-scenes organization that runs our power grid — didn’t gain big headlines. But it exposes a dirty little secret about fossil fuels that has a major impact on our electric bills.

Too often, dirty power generators can’t perform when customers need them most, and their recent actions at PJM (which ultimately failed) proves they know it.

PJM, which serves ComEd customers and about 60 million others in a dozen states, is the nation’s largest power grid operator. On May 11, members of PJM, among them operators of coal and natural gas power plants, narrowly voted to recommend reducing, by as much as 90%, the fines they must pay if they can’t operate in future emergencies — despite being paid to be on standby.

At the time, fossil fuel plants were raising a stink about being fined $1.8 billion by PJM for underperformance during the multi-state winter storm Elliott last December. PJM narrowly avoided having to implement rolling blackouts as nearly 46 gigawatts of plants — about enough to power California — went down in that terrible holiday storm. The grid operator was forced to ask everyday consumers to conserve electricity on Christmas Eve.

Fossil fuel operators like to brag about their reliability, but about 90% of those outages were at gas or coal plants. Similarly, failing gas plants were the biggest problem in the deadly Texas outages of 2021.

* From a Proft paper…

[Sen. Patricia Van Pelt, D-Chicago] refuses to resign so Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) can appoint a replacement.

“Last year, she told (Harmon) she was going to do nothing this year, tell people she was having a medical procedure done, then resign. She didn’t want to come to Springfield anymore,” the source said. “But she drew a four-year term, not a two-year as she expected. So she now wants to cash in on the gig and keep her state paycheck for a while longer.”

Sources say they didn’t see Van Pelt cast a single floor vote during the past legislative session. She didn’t participate in committee hearings, or vote on a single bill in any of them, either.

“She was no-show all session,” one source said. “Dr. Pat never appeared in Springfield once. I never saw her.”

Harmon doesn’t appoint new members.

Van Pelt was indeed supposed to retire earlier this year. I did a subscriber story on it months ago. But then something happened. Here’s Liz Mitchell from the Senate Democrats..

Senator Van Pelt had a series of medical procedures that turned out to be more extensive than originally expected. We are wishing her well in her recovery.

* Canadian wildfires…

Current conditions at Yankee Stadium. Not ideal for playing baseball in. pic.twitter.com/vVCFEz4PmW

— Chris Withers (@ChrisWithersTV) June 7, 2023

BREAKING: Footage of the George Washington Bridge that connects New Jersey and New York City amid smoke from Canada wildfires.pic.twitter.com/d3FhjdRy6W

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) June 7, 2023

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Chalkbeat | Chicago Public Schools violating state law on use of restraint, timeout in school, state says: Documents obtained by Chalkbeat Chicago show that untrained staff restrained or secluded students for long periods of time, used outlawed methods of restraint, and restrained students who were not a threat to themselves or others. The state has repeatedly warned CPS since the fall that it is not complying with state law on restraint and timeout. In multiple letters sent to the district this school year, the state cites the district for not properly training staff and not notifying parents within a legally required 24-hour time frame when a child has been restrained at school. The state defines physical restraint as holding a student or other methods to restrict a student’s movement.

* SJ-R | Pritzker signs $50.4 billion budget, championing investments in education: Among the budget’s other highlights include a $350 million investment into homelessness prevention and a $100 million increase towards the Monetary Award Program. Paired together with a Pell grant, nearly all community college students in the state can have their tuition covered with MAP, where the state will invest $701 million into the program in FY 2024.

* Sun-Times | Pritzker touts early education funding, signs $50.4 billion budget called ‘fiscally responsible and compassionate’: “Here we are four years later, and just look at what at we’ve accomplished. We eliminated overdue bills, paid down $10.5 billion in debt, including pension debt. Our once-empty Rainy Day Fund is now rising to $2 billion. Our GDP has surpassed $1 trillion, and we have more jobs available than ever before. And independently, and if you don’t love all of that,” Pritzker said to applause, “independently, each of the major credit rating agencies has given us multiple credit upgrades.”

* NBC Chicago | Illinois’s grocery tax suspension will soon end. Here’s what that means for your grocery bill: According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, for a grocery bill of $145.29, a 1% tax would add $1.45.

* Daily Herald | ‘Due diligence’: Naperville mayor defends meeting with Bears about stadium possibilities: Responding to criticism from segments of the community and at least one city council member about his pursuit of a meeting through a letter to Warren, Wehrli stressed “these conversations are just that. They’re conversations.”

* Tribune | State Rep. Bob Rita to take second turn as government witness in a public corruption trial: Rita, who has not been charged with wrongdoing, is expected to tell the jury that his colleague, then-state Rep. Luis Arroyo, talked to him about legislation expanding the legality of sweepstakes gaming machines.

* Capitol News Illinois | As trial begins, politically connected businessman claims feds set him up to bribe legislator: Weiss, who is married to former state Rep. Toni Berrios, D-Chicago – the daughter of longtime former Cook County Democratic Party boss Joseph Berrios – stands accused of bribing two Democratic lawmakers in an effort to shield his fledgling business from threatened bans at the state and local levels.

* Daily Herald | Group wants to build $21 million affordable housing development in Elgin. Neighbors oppose it: The pending project, known as Gifford’s Crossing, would bring 36 townhouses to the north side of Big Timber, just east of Randall Road. The property has an existing, vacant single-family home on a doughnut hole of unincorporated land. It will be demolished.

* Valeria Castelli | Chicago must confront its conflicted stance toward immigrants and offer its helping hands:The city administration must strive to promote solidarity between migrant communities and local host communities. Alliances should be forged, and cooperation should be supported among civic and community leaders working on the ground with both migrant and marginalized communities.

* Tribune | Some migrant students celebrate first — and last — days of school only weeks apart as CPS scrambles to enroll them: Officials say that despite their temporary living situations in respite centers, shelters and police stations, enrolling the children in school provides immediate access to education, as well as summer programs in academics and sports. Higher enrollment in the neighborhood school could also ensure more funding and resources for neighborhood schools, said Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd.

* Daily Journal | Kankakee organizations plan pop-up events with Safe Summer Initiative: “Our goal for each event is to bring the community together and celebrate the summer and upcoming school year. Family, friends, neighbors, students, young and old are all welcome to this event,” the city of Kankakee said in a news release.

* AP | New York City goes after Hyundai, Kia after security flaw leads to wave of social media fueled theft: Viral how-to videos on TikTok and other sites show how to start the cars using only USB cables and a screwdriver. The reason is that some models sold by Hyundai and Kia in the U.S. came without engine immobilizers, a standard feature on most cars since the 1990s that prevent the engine from starting unless the key is present.

* Illinois Newsroom | Pride performance kicks off Allerton Park Concert Series: The first concert of the series has traditionally been called LOVE FOR ALLerton, but senior event coordinator Olivia Bunting said this is the first year that the concert really lived up to the theme. “It was always the intent behind that ‘Love for All’ name, but this year, it is a full-fledged Pride event,” Bunting said.

* Chicago Mag | NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race: If your mouth was already watering for the Taste of Chicago, you’ll have to wait even longer: The race bumped Taste from its regular July slot back to September. Navy Pier’s fireworks display is still on track for July 1, but the combination of race attendees and Independence Day crowds suggests getting close to the rockets’ red glare will be a bigger battle than Fort McHenry. Maggie Daley Park will remain open, if your idea of a peaceful day at the park includes the din of stock car motors. If you choose to head downtown, do what Chicago’s own stock car racers have always done: Opt for Lower Wacker Drive.

* WBEZ | For parents who bike in congested Chicago, it’s a summer of riding defensively: As summer biking season kicks into gear, so does vigilance and activism among cycling parents. Increasingly, they’re banding together online and on the streets to find the safest routes and best gear setups. They’re also lobbying alderpeople and Chicago’s new mayor for concrete changes to make biking safer. (The mayor’s office declined a request for an interview about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s bike infrastructure plans).