* Capitol News Illinois…

Nearly 200 years after Native Americans were forced out of Illinois, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has become the first federally recognized tribal nation in the state after a decision from the U.S. Department of the Interior last week.

The move represents the first victory in the tribe’s larger effort to regain the approximately 1,280 acres of its ancestral land in Illinois via legislation in both the General Assembly and Congress.

But the tribe first had to spend $10 million over the last 20 years to repurchase the first 130 acres of the Shab-eh-nay Reservation, located in what is now DeKalb County, that the federal government illegally sold out from under Chief Shab-eh-nay around 1850.

Nearly two centuries later, Prairie Band Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick – a fourth-great grandson of Chief Shab-eh-nay – signed paperwork on Friday that allows the Department of the Interior to place those 130 acres into a trust, which gives the tribe sovereignty over the land.

* Shaw Local…

Andrew Sosnowski, an Elgin attorney who is running against incumbent Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser in the Nov. 5 general election, implied in a social media post that her campaign received donations from George Soros, a billionaire who supports the Democratic Party and progressive causes.

The March 30 Facebook post by Sosnowski, a Republican, does not name Mosser, but asks, “Where does your elected State’s Attorney get her campaign money? … Many elected State’s Attorneys around our great nation are funded by Open Society and George Soros.”

“His monies are funneled into other organizations with names touting justice, equity, and expression; follow the money. We see these monies funding prosecutor’s campaigns in bigger cities and our own suburban communities too,” according to Sosnowski’s post. “Who gives money to your State’s Attorneys’ political campaigns - follow the money!”

In a text message, Mosser, a Democrat from Campton Hills, said she saw Sosnowski’s post and chose to ignore it. […]

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Soros donated to the campaign of former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Fox in 2016. Neither he, nor his nonprofit, Open Society Foundations, is listed as donating to other candidates in Illinois, according to the website.

* HuffPost…

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday voted 3-2 in favor of adopting a historic and far-reaching ban on noncompete agreements, potentially giving more leverage in the job market to millions of U.S. workers. […]

When proposing the rule, the FTC noted that noncompetes could hurt low-wage workers in particular, citing use of the contracts at the sandwich chain Jimmy John’s, which HuffPost had revealed in 2014.

The Jimmy John’s noncompete barred workers from taking a job at a competing business within two years of leaving. It defined a competitor as any business that is located within 3 miles of a Jimmy John’s and derives at least 10% of its revenue from “submarine, hero-type, deli-style, pita and/or wrapped or rolled sandwiches.”

*** Statewide ***

* Shaw Local | Debate on IHSA transfer policies seems likely to intensify: It has been in the Rules Committee since March 2023. State Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, became the chief sponsor on April 15, 2024, the day the committee approved it for consideration and sent it to the Elementary & Secondary Education Committee. Lilly filed the floor amendment that has the IHSA on high alert: “An association or other entity that has as one of its purposes promoting, sponsoring, regulating, or in any manner providing for interscholastic athletics or any form of athletic competition among schools and students within this state may not adopt any policy restricting a student from participating in interscholastic athletics when the student transfers from one school to another school.”

* KWQC | Illinois ranks 2nd highest in number of tornadoes so far this year in the US: Iowa has had 15 tornadoes so far this season, all of which occurred during the severe weather outbreak on April 16. Illinois, on the other hand, has had 40 preliminary reports of tornadoes so far this year, trough April 22.

* NBC Chicago | Multiple Chicago, Illinois high schools land on new ranking of ‘Best High Schools’ for 2024: While suburban schools didn’t rank as high on the national list, many topped the report’s list of best high schools for 2024 in the state of Illinois, including Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills High School in Vernon Hills New Trier Township High School in Winnetka and Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale.

*** Chicago ***

* Chalkbeat | Chicago’s low-income families of students with disabilities eligible for new $500 grants: The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities is partnering with Ada S. McKinley Community Services to distribute $5 million through the new Diverse Learners Recovery Fund, supported by American Rescue Plan dollars, which the federal government distributed to help cities and states recover from the pandemic. Chicago received nearly $1.9 billion in those funds, which must be allocated for spending by December 2024, according to the city.

* Block Club | Only Half Of Black Seniors Approved For Home Repair Or Refinance Loans To Age In Place: Between 2018 and 2022, Black neighbors 62 and older were twice as likely to be denied home loans as their white counterparts in Chicago, an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data by the Investigative Project on Race and Equity shows. Over that time, 48 percent of older Black residents across the city were denied a mortgage loan compared to 23 percent of white applicants, the data shows.

* Crain’s | With precious few existing homes for sale, buyers shift to new construction: When they bought a Wicker Park site a year ago with a plan to build 10 condos there, one of the development principals expected that when the units were ready to go up for sale, they would take about six months to sell. Wrong. It took three months to get buyers under contract for all 10 units of the Crystal Street condos, at asking prices of $650,000 to $1.25 million.

* Sun-Times | Loop’s weekend foot traffic exceeds level before pandemic, but retail vacancies still at record high: The average weekend pedestrian activity on State Street was 107% of 2019 levels. During the work week from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., foot traffic was about 91% of pre-pandemic activity. Total pedestrian activity on State Street was up 7% compared to the first quarter of 2023, representing 1.5 million “impressions” per week, and 94% of 2019 levels. The impressions are counted by analytics firm Springboard MRI, which collects data daily from counters on top of buildings along State Street, from Ida B. Wells to Wacker Drive, that track silhouettes of people but not any identifying features.

* Crain’s | Paris Schutz to join Fox 32 Chicago after departing WTTW: He will help fill the void left by recently retired political editor Mike Flannery. “I’m really excited about the opportunity at FOX to do creative and unique things . . . like long-form interviews, roundtables and enterprise stories,” said Schutz. “I was really excited by the management at FOX, talking about how they wanted to be really entrepreneurial, and they really wanted to move into the future of local TV news.”

* WBEZ | Here’s how some Chicagoans are taking an eco-friendly approach to funerals: Green burial is a catchall term for many new far-out interment options, including human composting and aquamation, also called water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis. But for many, green burial simply means placing a body directly into the ground, according to Sam Perry, a mortuary science professor at Southern Illinois University. He is also president of the Green Burial Council, a nonprofit that sets burial standards.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Chicago Daily Law Bulletin | Suspend attorney over baseless lawsuits, ARDC board says: An attorney who filed frivolous lawsuits against the village of Tinley Park and one its attorneys after being denied employment should be suspended for six months, according to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission hearing board.Stephen E. Eberhardt was charged with filing frivolous claims and engaging in conduct that had no substantial purpose other than to embarrass and burden the village of Tinley Park and several of its officials, in violation of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct.

* Daily Herald | Controversial Downers Grove library trustee removed from board: Bill Nienburg’s controversial tenure as a Downers Grove Library Board trustee ended last week when the village council voted 4-3 to remove him from the board. The April 16 vote came roughly six weeks after library trustees censured Nienburg and recommended his removal from the board.

* Sun-Times | Finding early morel mushrooms is underway: Ryan Leonard found morels in the past week, noting, “I think they were the earliest I have found them. Found four tiny ones Thursday. This morning I found about 20 on my Sunday morning walk in Park Ridge. They were fresh and I think with more rain this week they should really come out. I’m hoping for a good season.”

* Daily Herald | ‘A transformative force’: Lurie Children’s Hospital breaks ground on outpatient center in Schaumburg: The project is an expansion for Lurie in the Northwest suburbs as well as a replacement for its smaller facilities in Arlington Heights, Hoffman Estates and Huntley, which will close upon its completion. In a letter outlining the project last year, Lurie officials cited a 150% increase over the past decade in patient visits to their satellite locations, which have limited access and extended wait lists.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | Generation X nostalgia exhibition earns top honors at Illinois State Museum: “Growing Up X” won an Award of Superior Achievement, the highest award given in the exhibits category, and the Innovation Award for the interactive rec room component of the exhibit. The exhibit explored the toys, technology, and cultural touchstones familiar to those born between 1965 and 1980 in their youth. It was the first museum exhibition in the country to focus on Generation X.

* SJ-R | Springfield-area man who is part-time police officer slams Jeep into school, leaves scene: McIntire insisted he was sober at the time of the crash. McIntire, who was driving westbound on Temple Street and crossed North Miller Street, said he swerved to avoid a collision with “a bunch of deer and dogs” in the road. McIntire stated he had a case of beer in the trunk of the jeep and started drinking on his way home. He told deputies that he had drunk around 10 beers and consumed “a large amount of vodka” before deputies arrived at his home.

* SJ-R | Springfield school district employees to have choice of insurance plans as costs rise: School District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill insisted it wasn’t the district that was responsible for increased health insurance rates for employees who take the plan. That came from the carrier, Cigna, because of high claimants in the district and the overall spiraling costs of health care in the country, she said.

* WICS | Jacksonville hospital hosts flag-raising to emphasize organ donation importance: According to Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network, which serves Illinois and northwest Indiana, nearly 5,000 Illinoisans are currently waiting for an organ transplant. “April is National Donate Life Month,” said Carrie Carls, chief nursing officer at JMH. “We hold the flag-raising ceremony each year as a way to honor organ and tissue donors for giving the gift of life to others.”

*** Sports and Entertainment ***

* Tribune | Navy Pier announces summer 2024 music, fireworks and sports events: Chicago: Home of House Exhibit (May 1 to Oct. 31): Commemorating the 40th anniversary of house music, an exhibit devoted to the artists from Chicago’s South and West Sides who helped create the style. Presented in partnership with the Design Museum of Chicago and Vintage House Show Collective.

* STL Today | Busch Stadium food: Which menu items score and which strike out?: Farmtruk chef and owner Samantha Mitchell knows how to feed a stadium. Her food truck has already established a presence at Enterprise Center for the Blues and Citypark for City SC. And beginning this season, you can find Farmtruk in the right-field upper deck at Busch (429). Yes, you’ll need to make a pilgrimage there if you’re sitting elsewhere, but Farmtruk will repay the effort with the best food in the ballpark — by far.

*** National ***

* AP | US government agrees to $138.7M settlement over FBI’s botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations: The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest. When combined with other settlements, $1 billion now has been set aside by various organizations to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of treatment for sports injuries.

* Capitol B | Flint’s Warning to America: The federal Environmental Protection Agency and officials with Flint’s mayor’s and city attorney’s offices did not respond to multiple requests from Capital B for comment. Residents argue that even though they’ve brought the country’s water woes to the forefront, they’re in a worse position today despite hundreds of millions of dollars of investment — and they want you to know that your city can be next.

* WaPo | Why this summer may be especially hot in the United States: The hot summer forecast is linked to the probable switch from the El Niño to La Niña climate pattern by the summer’s second half. While La Niña has a small cooling effect on the planet overall, it has boosted summer heat in the United States, especially in recent years when human-caused climate change has also fueled higher temperatures.

* Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi | Countering Chinese cyber threats of tomorrow demands we prepare today: Recent reports revealed that the Justice Department and FBI were authorized to disable hundreds of U.S.-based routers hijacked by Volt Typhoon. This operation protected everyday citizens from malicious PRC-sponsored cyber actors and is exactly the type of action necessary to counter cyber threats before they escalate. Second, we must deter our adversaries. As the “father of information theory” Claude Shannon once said: “assume the enemy knows the system.” Although malicious Chinese code has yet to disrupt our networks, any cyberattack leading to physical harm or loss of life would invoke our inherent right to self-defense.