* Here you go…

* NBC Chicago | Bomb threats target Chicago-area public libraries: The Harold Washington Library in Chicago was the subject of one threat, according to Total Traffic. Police activity has been reported at Van Buren and State Street, and an investigation remains underway. Police in suburban Aurora have also shut down downtown streets after a reported bomb threat against the city’s public libraries Tuesday afternoon.

* Sun-Times | Giannoulias, Durbin push back against book bans at Capitol Hill hearing as GOP senators urge parents to ‘speak up’: The debate is over what books should be in taxpayer-funded libraries, and who gets to decide what to put on the shelf — librarians or parents, or some combination of both. […] According to a March report from the Chicago-based American Library Association, the vast majority of the most threatened books “were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.”

* Sun-Times | PPP fraud found among Illinois state workers leaves investigator ‘disappointed but not surprised’: The 177 workers suspected of defrauding PPP — one of the federal government’s COVID-19 relief efforts — have been referred to the Illinois attorney general’s office for possible prosecution. None has been charged with any crime “as of yet,” according to Haling, who said her investigation is “far from being finished.”

* WREX | Governor Pritzker announces retirement of outstanding debt from 2010: On Tuesday, Governor Pritzker announced $49 million in tobacco bonds have been retired through a contract that voided the bonds. The bonds were what remained of a $1.5 billion debt associated with the Great Recession dating back to 2010.

* WBEZ | Illinois’ election board is fielding questions about knocking Donald Trump off the ballot: An aide to second-term Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker declined comment on that question. But his spokeswoman, Jordan Abudayyeh, acknowledged “a lot of people are waiting to see how this plays out.”

* Tribune | Merits of ‘poverty simulation’ debated at Highland Park meeting; ‘I am saddened by the viral meanness that exploded over (it)’: “We have arrived at the intersection of poverty, racism and violence with devastating results, and instead of supporting our leaders who have decided it’s time to address these issues, some of my neighbors just want to argue over optics,” Ashbey Beasley said.

* Capitol News Illinois | Copay requirements paused for noncitizens on state health plan: The state has paused a new policy requiring certain noncitizens enrolled in a Medicaid-like health insurance plan to pay copayments for certain services, instructing health care providers to refund any such payments they have already collected.

* Sun-Times | Chicago facing 2024 budget shortfall of $538 million — more than a third of it tied to migrant crisis: Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t take his predecessor’s word for it when Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she’d left the city in great financial shape, with an $85 million shortfall. And it’s a good thing the new mayor was skeptical, his top aides told some City Council members in a budget briefing.

* Shaw Local | Grundy County chairman Chris Balkema announces candidacy for 53rd District senate seat: Balkema, a Republican, has served as Grundy County chairman for the past six years. He said he has brought financial stability to the county during challenging financial times.

* The Southern | Illinois State Treasurer makes stop in Carbondale: Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs covered a wide range of topics during a 45-minute discussion at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Tuesday. The third-term Democrat talked about his role as state treasurer, ideas about his office merging with the state comptroller’s and the process of returning unclaimed funds and property to Illinois residents.

* Sun-Times | As abortions keep rising in Illinois, support for women seeking care is more important than ever: Illinois experienced a 70% increase in abortions this year, the Guttmacher Institute found. Money, volunteers and other support for abortion providers is critical.

* Tribune | US Senate confirms Illinois judge to the federal trial bench: Cummings, a 1987 graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, will become the fifth judge President Joe Biden has appointed to the Northern District of Illinois. He was named after Judge Robert Dow of the Northern District of Illinois was appointed to be counselor to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

* Sun-Times | Proposed rewrite of Chicago’s hate crime ordinance would create additional category of ‘hate incidents’: The ordinance Ald. Debra Silverstein plans to introduce would create the category of a noncriminal “hate incident,” which Chicagoans could report either by calling the city’s 311 nonemergency number or by using the 311 app.

* AP | CDC OKs updated COVID-19 vaccine, clearing way for shots to begin this week: Chicago public health officials have said the CDC approval was all they needed to “begin the rollout” of the vaccine, which will be free for all city residents. “We already have the vaccine in Chicago,” Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director for the Chicago Department of Public Health, said Monday.

* Crusader | Lt. Governor Stratton continues leading Illinois delegation to Japan with state and business leaders: Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton continues to lead the Illinois Delegation at the 53rd Annual Joint Meeting of the Midwest U.S. – Japan Association Conference (MWJA) in Tokyo, Japan. Lt. Governor Stratton has held meetings with Japanese Governors, dignitaries and corporate business leaders to discuss opportunities to strengthen connections and economic partnerships between Illinois and Japan.

* Sun-Times | Blackhawks project, Fulton Market towers get OK from City Council zoning panel: In the largest of the approved plans, the committee endorsed a zoning change to allow Vista Group to proceed with a three-tower residential or commercial complex at Kinzie and Morgan streets. The long-term plan, with a reported budget of $448 million, allows for up to 1,450 residences.