* Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation executive director Kaethe Morris Hoffer writing in the Tribune…

With the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the end of money bail, a more victim-centered system will start in September. Survivor advocacy groups such as the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation were vital leaders in drafting the Pretrial Fairness Act to support survivors of gender-based violence.

Our attorneys provide free legal assistance to survivors of sexual assault and trafficking. Under the money bail system, we saw the courts disregard victims’ safety by allowing people who caused harm to buy their way out of jail, regardless of risk.

We fought to change this by putting survivor needs front and center while helping draft the Pretrial Fairness Act. Now, when a person is charged with a serious crime, such as rape or domestic battery, they’ll go before a judge for a thorough, risk-based assessment before a decision about their release is made. If a judge decides a person is a “real and present threat” to someone or the community, the person will be held.

Proponents of the money bail system claim that it is a critical source of funding for victim services, but in reality, victims receive minimal funding this way. According to a 2021 state report, of the $1.27 billion collected by Illinois courts, excluding funds refunded to defendants who paid bond, only $11.5 million went to victim restitution across Illinois, and it exclusively went to a small minority of crime victims — those whose perpetrators were arrested, prosecuted and found guilty. […]

Rather than opponents undermining a critical reform like the SAFE-T Act based on spurious concerns about victim services, we encourage lawmakers and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to improve direct funding to victim services and move away from reliance on court fees and fines. This would enable all survivors, not just those who report to police, to get the legal aid, advocacy and mental health care they need to heal.

This year, due to federal cuts, 78% of rape crisis centers statewide will cut staff, 72% will put survivors on waitlists for services and 40% will shut down, the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault predicts.

We urge lawmakers to fully fund rape services programs and ensure all survivors can get support.

* IDPH…

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced that the CDC is reporting that all 102 Illinois counties remained at a low level for COVID-19 hospital admissions as of the end of July. IDPH is continuing to closely watch COVID-19 data and also monitoring other respiratory viruses, particularly flu and RSV ahead of the fall and winter seasons.

* Governor’s office…

Governor JB Pritzker today signed legislation which will allow individuals with certain felony convictions the opportunity to apply for non-gaming positions at Illinois casinos, largely in the hospitality industry. The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) worked cooperatively with UNITE HERE Local 1 and Senate Bill 1462’s sponsors Senator Robert Peters and Representative Kam Buckner to draft the bill. […]

Currently under state law, people who have a felony conviction are ineligible to work at a casino in both gaming and non-gaming positions. SB 1462 removes automatic disqualification for non-gaming positions and allows the IGB to consider individual facts and circumstances about past criminal convictions when making a licensing decision for casino occupational license applicants.

The jobs affected by SB 1462 are for non-gaming positions such as restaurant staff, maintenance, and housekeeping.

The IGB will consider the following factors when determining an applicant’s eligibility for licensure including:

• Length of time since the conviction occurred
• Number of convictions that appear on the conviction record
• Nature and severity of the conviction and its relationship to the safety and security of others and/or the integrity of gaming
• The facts or circumstances surrounding the conviction
• The age of the employee at the time of the conviction
• Any evidence of rehabilitation efforts.

* Daily Herald…

The UpRising Bakery and Cafe in Lake in the Hills made national news last year when its plan to hold an all-ages drag brunch sparked not just outcry and protests but threats of violence against its owner and employees, and multiple instances of vandalism to the business.

Among those paying attention was state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz. A year later, legislation the Glenview Democrat wrote in part because of what happened to UpRising — which went out of business in May — is on its way to becoming state law.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker last Friday signed Gong-Gershowitz’s Civil Liability for Doxing Act, which will allow some victims of online harassment to sue their tormentors for monetary damages.

“One thing we’ve been seeing is the ability of perpetrators to use the internet to crowdsource hate,” Gong-Gershowitz told us Thursday. “This (law) creates a way to hold accountable those who perpetuate hate online.”

* Governor’s office…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 1378, which will create the Illinois Graduate and Retain Our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Act to establish a new program that allows students majoring in technology fields to receive tuition grants. The iGROW program will be administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and will be open to students enrolled in associate or bachelor’s degree programs at public or private colleges and universities. Students in IT fields can receive a grant amount up to the total cost of attendance.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Sun-Times | Illinois Supreme Court upholds state’s semiautomatic weapons ban Friday: The suit from state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, was part of a flurry of challenges to the constitutionality of the ban after it was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Jan. 10. Some of those challenges are still being fought in federal court.[…] Caulkins tried to get O’Brien and Rochford disqualified from taking part in the weapons ban decision, citing donations from the governor and other Democratic officials. The court denied the request.

* Tribune | Here’s where challenges to Illinois’ gun ban cases stand in state and federal court: Since the law took effect, there have been at least 11 lawsuits from gun rights groups, gun shop owners, individual gun owners and Republican politicians challenging the gun ban in both state and federal courts. Here’s a look at where those legal challenges stand.

* WAND | Illinois Supreme Court finds assault weapons ban constitutional: The Illinois Supreme Court announced its decision in Caulkins v. Pritzker (assault weapons ban case) at 9 a.m. Friday. In a 4-3 ruling, the State Supreme Court ruled the assault weapons bans to be constitutional.

* AP | Illinois Supreme Court upholds state’s ban on semiautomatic weapons: The court also decreed that state Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, a Decatur pawn broker and like-minded Macon County gun-owners who brought the lawsuit had earlier waived their claims that the law infringes on the Second Amendment to own firearms and could not raise it before the Supreme Court. It’s a claim Caulkins’ attorney vehemently denies.

* Center Square | Illinois Supreme Court upholds state’s gun and magazine ban: “First, we hold that the exemptions neither deny equal protection nor constitute special legislation because plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged that they are similarly situated to and treated differently from the exempt classes,” the majority opinion said. “Second, plaintiffs expressly waived in the circuit court any independent claim that the restrictions impermissibly infringe the second amendment. Third, plaintiffs’ failure to cross-appeal is a jurisdictional bar to renewing their three-readings claim. Accordingly, we reverse the circuit court and enter judgment for defendants on the equal protection and special legislation claims. We express no opinion on the potential viability of plaintiffs’ waived claim concerning the second amendment.”

* ABC Chicago | Illinois Supreme Court finds state assault weapons ban constitutional: “This bill was written with constitutionality in mind. It was based on bills in other states where the same ban has been upheld and so I am just grateful for the Illinois Supreme Court following along with precedent and doing the right thing,”Ashbey Beasley, Highland Park shooting survivor and gun control advocate, said. “When you have a supreme court where the last two justices that were elected benefitted greatly from political contributions from the governor, it is really hard to be realistic,”Caulkins said.

* ABC Chicago | VP Kamala Harris returns to Chicago Friday for gun violence event: The vice president will join a conversation with Moms Demand Action executive director Angela Ferrell-Zabala and actor and Everytown creative council member Jason George.

* Center Square | Secretary of State urges Illinoisans to sign up for organ donation registry: August is National Minority Donor Awareness Month. During this month, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said he is working to create a positive culture around organ donation in multicultural communities through outreach and education.

* AP | COVID-19 took a toll on heart health and doctors are still grappling with how to help: It’s not only an issue for long COVID patients like Camilleri. For up to a year after a case of COVID-19, people may be at increased risk of developing a new heart-related problem, anything from blood clots and irregular heartbeats to a heart attack –- even if they initially seem to recover just fine.

* Crain’s | Maurice Cox, City Hall’s point person on planning and development, is out: The resignation marks the third high-profile appointee of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot to leave Johnson’s administration, following former Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara and the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, Gia Biagi. All three have left within the last month.

* Sun-Times | I’m fighting a company that wants to put a dangerous CO2 pipeline in my community: In December 2021, I was shocked to receive a letter from a company requesting an easement across my land to build a carbon dioxide pipeline. If I refused, the company, Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC, could seek to condemn the land and take it through eminent domain.

* WBEZ | Chicagoans are being left out of manufacturing jobs, a new report claims: But in a recent report, a workers rights group says Chicagoans like De La Rosa who live near these districts aren’t getting the benefits. Instead, the group identifies a “disturbing trend of residents being unable to find work within neighboring manufacturing districts.”

* Tribune | With a Sunday deadline for selecting a new Chicago police superintendent, mayor closes in on crucial final choice: Johnson is expected to announce Sunday his selection from the three finalists submitted to him last month: CPD Chief of Counterterrorism Larry Snelling, CPD Chief of Constitutional Policing and Reform Angel Novalez, and Shon Barnes, the chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin. An introductory news conference could come the following day.

* Sun-Times | Chicago police policies on searching pedestrians, vehicles need a new review, activists say: A 2015 suit mandated court oversight of the Chicago Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices, but civil rights groups say there are holes in a proposed deal to merge the case into a consent decree governing the department.

* Crain’s | A bigger Lolla paid off for Chicago hotels, restaurants: Chicago hotels booked a total of 131,190 rooms for last Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, 18% higher than last year’s run and a record for a Lollapalooza weekend, according to Choose Chicago. Revenue was $39.9 million, up 27% from a year ago. Occupancy ranged from 93% to 97% over three nights, the highest for Lolla since 2018.

* Daily Herald | What a relief: 4 DuPage County forest preserves to upgrade to flush washrooms: Before he was elected, forest preserve President Daniel Hebreard called for flush toilets, saying the district has far too many amenities that are not ADA-accessible. In 2018, he noted almost all of the district’s bathrooms were outdated pit latrines.

* NBC Chicago | Chicago-area volunteers to assist with Maui wildfire recovery efforts: As many people are fleeing Maui and trying to get a flight out, some volunteers with the American Red Cross are heading there to assist those whose lives have been uprooted. Paul, a volunteer from south suburban Frankfort, explained that he’ll be working with a fulfillment group, which will load essential supplies and deliver them to those in need.

* SJ-R | ‘He gave everything he had for this town’: Former Sherman Mayor Frank Meredith passes away: “He put all of his heart and soul into making Sherman a better place and exploring all of the different avenues in terms of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and other different mechanisms within Illinois statute that set the village on a path to prosperity that others and I enjoy today,” Clatfelter said Thursday.

* Illinois Times | What’s new at the Illinois State Fair?: Clark also highlighted two initiatives to ensure accessibility to those fairgoers who suffer from sensory-processing disorders and sensitivities, such as autism or anxiety. These include the creation of The Sensory Station in the Emmerson Building, which will serve as a designated quiet space with trained staff available to help overwhelmed individuals regroup, as well as new Sunflower Hours on Aug. 12 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

* WBEZ | Illinois State Fair 2023: What to see, eat and skip: Reset checks in with a couple of Springfield reporters who know their way around the festival grounds for their tips for making the most of a day at the fair.

* SJ-R | Ribbon cut to open State Fair promising excitement for all: The Governor was joined by Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton, Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II, Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher, State Sens. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, and Steve McClure, R-Springfield, Illinois County Fair Queen Paige Van Dyke and a host of mascots and cheerleaders from the state’s colleges and universities to help welcome people to the 170th annual celebration of all things Illinois, with a large emphasis on the theme of the fair, “Harvest the Fun.”