* Here you go…

* Daily Herald | Illinois Supreme Court expected to rule on elimination of cash bail Tuesday: Illinois Supreme Court Clerk Cynthia Grant issued a notice Friday indicating that the court expects to file its ruling at 9 a.m. Tuesday deciding a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the state’s plan to eliminate cash bail, a key element of the criminal justice reform law known as the SAFE-T Act.

* Crain’s | The Week Ahead: State Supreme Court preps SAFE-T Act cash bail ruling:Just days before that was supposed to go into effect, a Kankakee County judge ruled that the cash bail provision violated the state’s separation of powers. Because that ruling applied to only about two-thirds of Illinois counties, the Illinois Supreme Court halted the cash bail elimination so it could review the challenge and apply a final decision across all counties in Illinois. Arguments were heard in March and we’ll know the final decision Tuesday. Pritzker will receive the news while overseas, on a “trade mission” to the UK.

* News-Gazette | Human services too often inhuman for developmentally disabled: Illinois operates seven centers that are home to about 1,600 residents and run from the bottom to the top of the state. They have been the subject of roughly 200 criminal investigations into employee misconduct since 2012.

* CST Editorial Board | Bring electric vehicle manufacturing to Illinois to help spark our economy: But Illinois ought to do more to boost the market for electric vehicles. In its latest budget, the state trimmed about $7.3 million from its electric vehicle rebate program, cutting it to about $12 million. In the previous year, $19.3 million was available for the rebates, which give $4,000 to customers who buy new or used EVs from licensed dealers. Demand was so high, the program ran out of money about halfway through the fiscal year.

* Tribune | In Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris praises Rev. Jesse Jackson as he is ‘pivoting’ from heading Rainbow/PUSH: Harris was among several Democratic politicians who gathered at the Apostolic Church of God in the Woodlawn neighborhood for Rainbow/PUSH’s annual conference to celebrate Jackson’s more than half-century of influence on civil rights and American politics. Harris called Jackson “one of America’s greatest patriots, someone who deeply believes in the promise of our country.”

* Chicago Defender | Meet Rev. Frederick Haynes III: Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Successor: Rev. Haynes III will serve as Rainbow PUSH’s new president, while Rev. Jackson transitions to an emeritus role over the organization he founded over 50 years ago. In Rev. Haynes III, Rainbow PUSH gets a pastor, social activist, educator, orator and author committed to social and economic justice.

* Sun-Times | PPP fraud suspected of 5 more Cook County workers, including woman who used money to pay for daughter’s wedding, report says: Over the past year, 20 other county workers also were suspected of defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program, accoring to interim Inspector General Steven Cyranoski. They include three high-ranking county officials, including one in the county’s human resources office, a payroll supervisor in the comptroller’s office and a director in the health department, according to Cyranoski.

* Tribune | As progressives gather in Chicago, Brandon Johnson’s election and state’s social policies celebrated: Brandon Johnson’s election as mayor and Illinois’ enactment of liberalized social policies under Gov. J.B. Pritzker served as rallying points for the three-day Netroots Nation conference, the largest national gathering of progressives and a precursor to next year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

* The Guardian | Progressives press Chicago mayor over pledge to end controversial policing tool: “He’s a rising star in progressive politics and we’re going to hold him accountable,” Granate Kim, campaign director at MPower Change, a Chicago-based Muslim digital advocacy organization, told a panel held at Netroots. Kim added that if Johnson did not break with ShotSpotter: “We would be very upset and take him to task nationally.”

* Tribune | As asylum-seekers struggle while waiting for work permits, Chicago businesses can’t fill jobs: For most migrants, finding work is volatile and sometimes dangerous because they lack work authorization permits. And while many migrants work under the table, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, Illinois business owners say they have open jobs they can’t fill. Business leaders, along with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other political leaders, have urged the federal government to expedite the process.

* Daily Southtown | Solar power company proposes building solar farm in Crete Township: Crete Cottage Grove Solar 1 is proposing a 3.42-megawatt solar farm at the northwest corner of Munz Road and Cottage Grove Avenue in Crete Township, said Stephanie Sienkowski, director of development for Soltage, LLC, which owns the company.

* Sun-Times | Chicago cops sidelined for allegedly seizing guns without making arrests, then lying about it: On March 3, two days after Brown announced he was stepping down, Andrea Kersten, COPA’s chief administrator, sent a letter to top police officials that laid bare the accusations and pushed for the officers to be benched. Her letter also raised questions over whether the officers snatched up guns, drugs and cash without turning in the evidence.

* Shaw Local | For insight on college athlete rights proposal, look west: While the sports department has comprehensive coverage of the ongoing problems with Northwestern University’s football and baseball programs, there’s a government angle as well. State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, a University of Illinois football alumnus, has made the rounds regarding plans to update his proposed College Athletes Bill of Rights.

* WBEZ | Severe weather and air pollution create more problems for Chicago’s unhoused: Koruba, who works with a nonprofit called the Night Ministry, said his team tries to take those patients to public indoor places with cleaner air, such as cooling centers or libraries. But not all their patients are able to find shelter. And when severe weather hits, Koruba said those experiencing homelessness don’t have much to protect themselves.

* Bloomberg | Canadian Wildfires Burn a Record 25 Million Acres With No End in Sight: About 900 active fires were reported as of Saturday, most of which remain out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. One firefighter was killed Thursday after a tree fell on her.

* Illinois Newsroom | Smoke from Canadian wildfires returns to Midwest: According to the Air Quality Index from the National Weather Service, the air over central Illinois was unhealthy for sensitive groups on Sunday, July 16. It is forecasted to upgrade to ‘moderate’ on Monday, July 17. That means the air quality is acceptable but there may be a risk to people who are sensitive to air pollution.

* Tribune | Costly Deep Tunnel flooding project can’t handle Chicago area’s severe storms fueled by climate change: “When you have a slow-moving storm that’s dumping a large amount of rainfall, it doesn’t take much to cause problems,” said Zachary Yack, a National Weather Service meteorologist who noted that up to 8 inches of rain fell in the western suburbs during the day. “That’s a lot of water to contend with in a very short period of time.”

* Sun-Times | Judge James Zagel, judge in Blagojevich case, dead at 82: Judge Zagel presided over thousands of cases during his nearly 30-year career on the bench and also kept busy outside the courtroom. He played a judge in the 1989 film “Music Box” and wrote a novel about a federal judge who robs the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

* Stacker | Counties with the lowest cost of living in Illinois: Nearly three-quarters of Americans surveyed by financial services provider Primerica at the end of 2022 said they are not able to save for their future due to rising costs. Home prices, rent, and food inflation as well as higher prices for gas in the last couple of years are making it so that each dollar earned has even less purchasing power than before. Stacker compiled a list of counties with the lowest cost of living in Illinois using 2022 rankings from Niche.

* Tribune | Pitchfork Music Festival 2023: The must-see musicians and all the entry details: In a summer and city filled with music festivals, Pitchfork Music Festival, taking place at Union Park on July 21-23, continues to set itself apart by curating an eclectic set of performers across a variety of music genres. This year is no exception, with acts as uber-popular as Bon Iver sharing space with emerging artists like Palm, and genres like reggae, hip hop, rock, electro-pop and R&B getting a chance to shine. We’re especially excited for this year’s abundance of local artists like Ric Wilson, Sen Morimoto, Deeper and Ariel Zetina, who prove Chicago artists are just as vital as any other city’s musicians to a festival focused on “what’s next.”