* The Yvette Shields Memorial Fund is within distance of reaching its fundraising goal. If you haven’t yet contributed, please click here if you can. Many thanks. Also, Fran Spielman wrote a great obit that you should read. And here’s one of Yvette’s last stories…

Harvey, Illinois, is targeting an August settlement date in its long-planned tender exchange offer on its defaulted general obligation bonds.

The exchange that launched this week would allow investors to shed the bonds’ default status, resolve investor litigation, and give the fiscally troubled Chicago suburb more time to repay its debt.

The city posted the exchange offer Tuesday after resolving a series of complicated issues, from a Cook County revenue intercept and use-of-funds-on-hand to efforts to reach all bondholders, which include institutional and retail investors. The deadline to offer bonds for exchange is Aug. 1 and the city aims for a settlement date of Aug. 22.

The proposed exchange — which extends the final maturity date by two decades but offers features like a tax levy with a direct intercept and trust estate — is the cornerstone of the consent agreement the city struck with a group of 2007 bondholders. […]

The tax base has long failed to support the city’s debts resulting in litigation from bondholders, pension funds and Chicago over delinquent payments for treated Lake Michigan water. Harvey also has been slapped in the past with Securities and Exchange Commission sanctions.

Nobody else covered that development. There’s a hole in The Force.

* Coming on the heels of the Black vs. Brown city council battle over asylum seekers, this fight could be epic. Greg Hinz…

A test of power of sorts between Black and Latino Democrats appears to be shaping up in Cook County over who the party will slate for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Some top Latino leaders are backing Appellate Court Justice Jesse Reyes for the post, arguing it’s time that a member of their community serves on the high court.

But that appears to be a tough ask because slating Ruiz would mean dumping Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham, a Black woman who was appointed to the court last year to replace the retiring Anne Burke. And Cunningham is now seeking a full term.

The push for Reyes is led by U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. At a press conference last week, he and other leaders, including state Sen. Omar Aquino and Chicago Ald. Feliz Cardona, 31st, argued that Latinos have waited long enough for a member of their community to serve on the Supreme Court

* More fun with numbers…

Overall, Illinois ranked 45th, with its current 4.0% unemployment rate higher than all but four other states and Washington, D.C. Most other states are in the 2.8% to 3.8% range.

I just cannot get too excited about being two-tenths of one percent off the pace, especially since the error rate appears to be about a half a point each way at the state level.

* Press release…

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director John J. Kim today announced a total of $14 million in funding to the Village of Dixmoor. A $10 million grant, made available through Gov. Pritzker’s historic Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan, will provide for construction improvements to rehabilitate the water distribution system, and restore reliable potable water within the Village. An additional $4 million in funding is being provided to the Village for lead service line replacement through Illinois EPA’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan program.

“Every resident has a right to safe and reliable drinking water and functional infrastructure, and our Rebuild Illinois capital plan is investing across the State to correct those inequities,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today, I am proud to announce a total of $14 million in funding that will bring updated and reliable infrastructure to the Village of Dixmoor and remove lead service lines from their distribution system.”

“The Village of Dixmoor has been faced with the costly challenge of repairing their aging and deteriorating drinking water infrastructure,” said Director Kim. “With no repayment required from the Village, these funds will allow for the rehabilitation of the existing water distribution system to provide a reliable drinking water source to residents and proactively remove the public health threat caused by lead service lines within the community.”

The $10 million in grant funding announced today will be used by the Village to install Phase 2 pump station improvements, improve the existing ground storage reservoir, constructing a 750,000-gallon elevated storage tank, complete a Village-wide water meter replacement program, replace approximately 40 water valves and 12 fire hydrants throughout the Village, and replace approximately 10,500 feet of 6” and 8” arterial water main with new 12” water main. These improvements will reduce the frequency and impact of watermain breaks experienced within the water distribution system.

* NRCC…

Keyboard Warrior @ERICSORENSEN can't seem to ever log off or avoid unethical social media usage.

So the @NRCC was happy to present him with a custom keyboard as well as a copy of his recent ethics complaint.

Looking forward to your next tweet, Eric! pic.twitter.com/g7vWn1IhjJ

— Chris Gustafson (@chris_gustafson) July 24, 2023

* Illinois governors can’t just lower or raise sales taxes on their own, WCIA…

With the start of the school year just around the corner, parents in Illinois may be wondering if the sales tax holiday on school supplies will offer some financial relief this fall.

Last year, Gov. JB Pritzker lowered the state sales tax on supplies, clothing, and shoes by 5% for 10 days in August 2022.

However, the sales tax holiday was only approved for 2022 and will not be returning in 2023, according to an Illinois Department of Revenue spokesperson.

Also, this isn’t an election year (no snark tag necessary).

* Kissiar is a former youth pastor…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that a Vandalia, Illinois man prosecuted by his office was sentenced to 30 years in prison for possessing, reproducing and disseminating child pornography and indecent solicitation of an adult. The guilty plea and sentence are the result of an investigation Raoul’s office conducted into an alleged child pornography ring operating in Fayette County.

Ferrell Mason Kissiar, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of dissemination of child pornography, a Class X felony; one count of reproduction of child pornography, a Class X felony; two counts of possession of child pornography, a Class 2 felony; and one count of indecent solicitation of an adult, a Class 1 felony. Kissiar was sentenced to 30 years in prison by 4th District Circuit Judge Martin Siemer.

Two other defendants in the case pleaded guilty in May to charges stemming from their involvement in the alleged child pornography ring. Andrew Wehrle, 39, of Vandalia, and Amber Wehrle, 38, of Vandalia, will be sentenced on Aug. 8.

* Palate cleanser…

"The two-and-a-half-hour extravaganza was pure escape into an otherworldly existence, perhaps the closest we mere mortals will get to going to the moon," writes Selena Fragassi on Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour. https://t.co/TF2Ty60e5M

— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) July 23, 2023

Go read Selena Fragassi’s story. It’ll transport you.

* Isabel’s afternoon roundup…

* WTTW | Chicago Spent $126.5M on Police Overtime in 6 Months, an Almost 50% Jump Over Last Year: Records: It took less than five months for CPD to exhaust the $100 million earmarked for police overtime set by the Chicago City Council as part of the city’s 2023 budget, according to data obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

* Journal Courier | Goal of $10 million Illinois program is to provide air purifiers for daycares: The program is intended to help reduce the spread of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. Qualifying daycares will receive purifiers and a three-year supply of filters. Selection will be made from among those that apply online by July 31.

* WGEM | Pritzker’s Disaster Proclamation for derecho expands to more counties: Counties included in the proclamation are Coles, Cook, Edgar, Hancock, McDonough, Morgan, Sangamon, and Washington Counties and now includes Calhoun, Christian, Clark, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Logan, Macon, Monroe, Moultrie, Pike, Scott, and Vermillion.

* Sun-Times Editorial Board | Face it. Our private biometric information needs more protection, not less.: Privacy advocates and business interests spent much of the spring hammering out a revision of the law, and arrived at a deal privacy advocates weren’t thrilled with but felt protected the most important parts of the law. But then the business side walked away. Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, was so irked he said on public radio some business representatives had “punched us in the nose.”

* Center Square | Task force created to tell the tales of the Underground Railroad in Illinois: Not enough people know the history of the role Illinois played in the Underground Railroad to assist in relocating slaves to where they could be free, Tazewell County Clerk and genealogist John Ackerman said. […] Thanks to Ackerman’s advocacy and the lead sponsorship of state Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, the legislature passed Senate Bill 1623 to convene a 10 member statewide Underground Railroad Task Force to develop ideas about how to make this Illinois history better known. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure last month.

* NBC Chicago | Vice President Kamala Harris to visit Chicago Monday: According to White House officials, Vice President Harris will arrive at Chicago Midway International Airport and is scheduled to be a keynote speaker for the final day of the UnidosUS 2023 Annual Conference at McCormick Place.

* Tribune | Illinois saw cooler spring housing market as inventory remained tight and mortgage rates high: Illinois Realtors found that as of June, the median sales price of a home in the city limits was $355,000, up from $335,000 and $340,000 in May and April, respectively. It was $349,940 for the Chicago metro area and $291,946 statewide in June. That’s up from $330,000 and $275,000, respectively, in May, and $320,000 and $272,250, respectively, in April.

* AP | A UPS strike could be just around the corner. Here’s what you need to know: That leaves less than a week to come to an agreement before the current contract expires at the end of the day on July 31. The union has authorized a strike and Sean M. O’Brien, a fiery leader elected last year to lead the union, has vowed to do so if their demands aren’t met.

* Tribune | Former Northwestern football player files 4th lawsuit amid hazing allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse in school athletics: The hazing scandal that has rocked the school this month includes allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The plaintiff in Monday’s lawsuit, 26-year-old former Northwestern quarterback Lloyd Yates, recently told the Tribune in an exclusive interview he has been haunted by nightmares and anxiety since he joined the Wildcats in 2015 and graduated in 2018.

* WBEZ | President Biden will establish a national monument honoring Emmett Till: Biden will sign a proclamation on Tuesday to create the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument across three sites in Illinois and Mississippi, according to the official. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the White House had not formally announced the president’s plans.

* NPR Illinois | UIS will offer some from Missouri, Iowa same tuition rate as Illinois residents: The pilot was approved Thursday by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. The aim of the move is to attract more out-of-state students, especially in higher-population areas that border Illinois. According to UIS officials, Spring enrollment was 4,107 – an increase of 363 students from Spring 2022. UIS total enrollment increased by 6.4 percent last fall to 4,198 students.

* NBC | Unions working at the 2024 Democratic convention promise no picket signs: It encompasses unions that do work around McCormick Place and the United Center, the sites of next year’s activities. Ten labor groups are signing the agreement, including the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, local unions for electrical workers, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union.

* Tribune | ‘A judge’s judge:’ Longtime Cook County judge Michael Toomin dies: Toomin, 85, succumbed to cancer a little more than six months after he retired in December after a decadeslong career that began on 26th Street as a lawyer and then judge after he was first elected in 1980. As a judge, he cultivated a reputation as a conscientious decision-maker and earned the affectionate nickname of the “Toominator.” By his own estimation, he oversaw some 600 murder cases and 400 or more jury trials.

* Sun-Times | Beyoncé delivers a powerhouse, out-of-this-world experience at Soldier Field concert: Beyoncé is the wave of the future. Her Renaissance World Tour proved as much as it descended on Soldier Field Saturday night for the first of two sold-out weekend shows. The 21⁄2-hour extravaganza was pure escape into an otherworldly existence, perhaps the closest we mere mortals will get to going to the moon.