* Crain’s…

Exelon has set aside more than $46 million in connection with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s four-year-old probe of lobbying by the company’s Commonwealth Edison utility.

The SEC probe, one of the final outstanding legal and regulatory matters stemming from ComEd’s nearly decade-long bribery scheme to curry favor with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, appears to be nearing resolution.

Exelon accrued $46.2 million in the second quarter for a potential payout in the SEC investigation, which remains ongoing, according to an SEC filing Wednesday. Chief Financial Officer Jeanne Jones confirmed to analysts in the company’s Wednesday earnings call that the money was set aside in connection with the SEC probe. […]

“You can see it’s treated similarly to how we had treated the initial [Deferred Prosecution Agreement] amount,” Jones told analysts, referring to how Exelon booked the charge. That suggests that — like the $200 million fine — Exelon won’t try to pass the cost along to ratepayers of ComEd and other utilities Exelon owns.

* ABC 7…

State and local leaders were making a new push Thursday to get federal funding to help improve the rail infrastructure in the Chicago area.

The billion-dollar project would revamp Union Station and the surrounding tracks.

The lawmakers said this plan would continue to keep Chicago on the map as the third busiest transit hub in the country.

Gov. JB Pritzker, along with Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Congressman Mike Quigley, Mayor Brandon Johnson and other state and city leaders are proposing the $1.1 billion infrastructure plan, called the Chicago Hub Improvement Project, to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

* Leader Lightford…

– Building upon her steadfast commitment to ensure Illinois schools are taking a trauma-responsive approach, Senator Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford championed a new law to bring more training and resources to the education system.

“School officials should be equipped to identify the warning signs of mental illness, trauma and suicidal behavior in youth,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “Training is crucial to encouraging appropriate trauma-responsive intervention and techniques in schools.”

The Whole Child Task Force establishes an equitable, safe, inclusive and supportive environment in all schools for students dealing with trauma and mental health issues. The task force collects data on adverse childhood experiences and trauma, as well as the total number of school counselors, social workers, nurses and psychologists in Illinois schools.

As a part of the Black Caucus’ Four Pillar Agenda that Lightford spearheaded, House Bill 342 implements recommendations to the Whole Child Task Force Report to improve schools in Illinois by ensuring that all schools are equipped with training and resources to meet the diverse trauma and mental health needs of their students.

Under the law, the Illinois State Board of Education would create a Children’s Adversity Index, which would measure community childhood trauma exposure across the population of children 3-18 years old by May 31, 2025.

“For all students to succeed in schools and beyond, we need to ensure every school is equipped to meet the diverse needs,” said Lightford. “We need to continue laying the foundation for Illinois to become a national leader in addressing student needs and well-being.”

House Bill 342 was signed into law Thursday.

* Bloomberg…

Workers in the Midwest are coming into offices more often than the rest of the country, new research shows.

The region’s offices posted a 60% weekly average peak occupancy rate in the first half of the year, the highest in the nation by far, according to data from Basking.io, a workplace-occupancy analytics company.

The Northeast averaged just 24% peak occupancy over the same period. Midwestern offices also enjoyed more frequent visits compared with the rest of the US, with a greater share of people coming in four or five days a week. Basking.io calculates occupancy rates as a share of building capacity, as opposed to other workplace data providers who track attendance compared with a pre-pandemic baseline.

* Cook County LGBTQ Caucus…

Dear Committeepeople:

We write today as LGBTQ+ electeds to urge you to support MWRD Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis for slating by the Cook County Democratic Party when you convene in August.

Not only is Commissioner Brady-Davis a history making candidate as the first Black trans woman appointed by the Governor to countywide office, she is prepared to hit the ground running in support of our diverse slate of candidates. She’s also uniquely qualified for the role of Commissioner at an unprecedented time of challenge for our wastewater system and by extension, our homes.

Commissioner Brady-Davis has genuine environmental justice credentials through her work with the Sierra Club for the last 6 years. More significantly, her communications skills from that job will be more important than ever as residents struggle to prepare for and deal with urban flooding.

While we have worked to diversify our county slate over the years, the inclusion of LGBTQ candidates has been spotty, at best. And the reality for all of us is that while we appreciate the role LGBTQ judges play in our court system, once they’re elected, they are largely invisible to the community at large, making it difficult for the community to grow our political power and visibility. We urge you to join us in supporting Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis for the 2 year MWRD term in August.

Signatories are at the link.

* WJBD…

Congressional candidate and former Republican candidate for Governor Darren Bailey visited with those at the Marion County Fairgrounds Wednesday night. […]

Bailey says there is no way that Joe Biden will be the Democratic candidate for President. He expects the candidate will either be Illinois Governor JB Pritzker or California Governor Gavin Newsom because of the personal wealth they can bring to the campaign.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* CBS Chicago | 2 new lawsuits filed Thursday against Northwestern University: One of the complaints Thursday has been filed on behalf of John Doe No. 3. Managing Partner at Levin & Perconti Law, Margaret Battersby Black said John Doe No. 3 was a player at Northwestern for four years who “witnessed all of the heinous acts that have been described in the many lawsuits that have been filed.”

* Crain’s | Hydrogen hubs form backbone of ‘once in a generation’ clean energy effort: The department will select six to 10 sites to split $7 billion to build networks that link producers, infrastructure providers and customers across multiple industries, including transportation. The government will spend an additional $1 billion to jump-start hydrogen demand in the early years of production. Illinois is part of the competition to secure one of the hubs.

* Daily Herald | Why several taxing bodies didn’t get $3.12 million in property taxes they were owed: The tardy funds totaled about $3.12 million, according to Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega, who announced the distributions last week. Vega defeated incumbent Robin M. O’Connor for the post last November. After being sworn in, Vega said he directed managers to identify ways to streamline operations, provide better service and update policy.

* Sun-Times | Bridgeport bank failure fallout: Dead CEO’s sister pleads guilty in collapse of Washington Federal Bank for Savings: There was no indication she knew that her late brother had been running the embezzlement scheme, which federal authorities continue to investigate. Sources said she was in a position, though, to know what was going on at Washington Federal for more than a decade.

* WICS | 5-year-old injured at Effingham County Fair passed away: At 1:05 p.m. on Sunday at the Effingham County Fair, a horse-racing pace car driven by Jerry W. Young, of Jackson, Miss. struck Finn with an extended starting gate while passing the grandstand.

* KHQA | Unraveling Randy Frese’s political journey and his efforts towards bipartisan collaboration in Illinois: Rep. Randy Frese sat down with Mackenzie LaPorte to discuss the state budget, finding common ground and support across the aisle, and his mindset going into the next legislative session.

* Shaw Local | Red crown rot an emerging issue in Illinois: “This is not a new disease to soybeans, it’s just new to this area,” Bradley said at a University of Illinois agronomy field day at the Orr Agricultural Center near Baylis. “It was reported in Pike County for the first time (of anywhere in the state) in 2018. It has continued to spread.”

* NBC Chicago | Hammerhead worms: what to know about the toxic worm that could be in Illinois gardens: If spotted, it’s not safe to touch. This is because the worm contains a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, also known as “TTX”. This neurotoxin prevents neurons and certain muscle cells from working and is the same toxin found in pufferfish. Although served as a delicacy in Japan, the pufferfish can be deadly if prepared incorrectly. The hammerhead worm contains some of this same toxin, though in a seemingly lower amount.

* Block Club Chicago | Lincoln Square’s Leavitt Street Getting Low-Stress Bike Route: The Leavitt Street Greenway will create a continuous, low-stress bicycle connection between Leavitt and Bowmanville Avenue, near Rosehill Cemetery, and Leavitt and Diversey Parkway, near the North Branch of the Chicago River.

* SJ-R | Vincent Speranza, popular WWII veteran and hero, passes away at 98: Vincent J. Speranza, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II who became a hero in Belgium, died at Springfield Memorial Hospital Wednesday after a short illness.

* AP | Adidas brings in $437 million from the first Yeezy sale. Part of that will go to anti-hate groups: “This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory and allows us to make substantial donations to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism,” Gulden said.

* Sun-Times | Lollapalooza 2023 headliners: Who’s performing, set list predictions: Lollapalooza kicks off Thursday, and with so many acts to see, concert-goers have a lot of homework. If you want to come in prepared, you might be searching for a setlist.

* NBC Chicago | 21 Illinois restaurants made Yelp’s Top 100 in the Midwest. Here’s the full list: Coming in at No. 1 on the list was Blues City Deli in St. Louis, Missouri, about 300 miles outside of Chicago. Nabbing the second spot on the list though, was Pa Lian, in suburban Wheaton.

* Fox Chicago | Air and Water Show takes over Chicago skies this month: This is the largest free show in the United States and can be viewed along the lakefront from Fullerton Avenue to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point.

* Fox Chicago | Illinois State Fair preparations begin in Springfield: “This year, the multipurpose arena will be open. It’s an $8.6 million renovation. There’s new HVAC going into the coliseum . That’s to make it a year round use facility, which will absolutely be amazing,” said Illinois director of Agriculture Jerry Costello.

* SJ-R | Drink up! Illinois ranks as third best state in US for beer lovers, report says: The survey utilized three combined data points to develop the ranking of the 50 states. The data points include quality, quantity and affordability. Illinois ranked seventh in quality, 32nd in quantity and first in affordability, for an average score of 13.3.