* SJ-R…

Taking in a deep breath of fresh spring air may have long-term drawbacks according to the American Lung Association, whose 25th annual report found Sangamon County has had continuously worsening air quality since 2020.

The American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of particle pollution over a three-year period in different forms. Particulate matter air pollution, also known as PM2.5, comes from wildfires, wood-burning stoves, coal-fired power plants, diesel engines and other sources.

The Springfield metro area ranked 124th worst in the nation for short-term pollution, following short spikes of pollution which were recorded through a three-year span. The ranking was based on the counties worst average number of unhealthy days.

In the current report, 0.3 days per year were recorded in Sangamon County. In the 24th annual report, Sangamon County scored higher with 0 days per year recorded as unhealthy. This shifted Springfield metropolitan from 106 worst in the country to the 99 worst.

* Crain’s…

In his quest for new revenue streams to shore up the city’s budget, Mayor Brandon Johnson is taking the first step toward legalizing video gaming in the city, a move previous mayors worried would cannibalize tax revenue from a Chicago casino.

The city issued a request for qualifications, or RFQ, recently to find a potential gaming consultant to study the ramifications of legalizing video poker and virtual slot machines in Chicago, a form of gambling legal in Illinois but currently banned in the city.

The deadline for RFQ submissions is May 9. A contract would not be awarded at the end of the process, but rather the city would subsequently release a request for proposals, or RFP, based on the feedback it receives from potential bidders. If the city moves forward, the initial consulting contract award would be for two years, with a potential one-year extension.

The city wants the consultant to “evaluate the city’s existing gaming landscape including an analysis of market size, market trends, competitive landscape and threats to the market,” according to the RFQ.

* Sun-Times…

Illinois’ march toward all-green energy hit a bump last year.

Electricity from renewable sources dropped even as Illinois and surrounding Midwest states pushed to replace fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, with wind and solar power. […]

The amount of wind power — the state’s biggest source of renewable energy — took a surprising 6% dip from the previous year, while natural gas-generated electricity had a 43% jump in 2023, government data show.

A pressure system in Canada — the same weather pattern that helped spur wildfires up north, filling Chicago skies with smoke last summer — was a big reason wind power was down in 2023. The shifting wind direction affected how much wind powered all those nearly 300-foot turbines dotting the Illinois countryside.

* I wonder how much this is costing the township?…

*** Statewide ***

* NBC Chicago | Illinois flags at half-staff ahead of funeral for fallen CPD officer Luis Huesca: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ordered all Illinois flags to fly at half-staff in honor and remembrance of Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca, who was shot and killed in the line of duty last week. According to an announcement, flags were ordered to be lowered beginning Wednesday. They will remain at half-staff until Monday, when Huesca will be laid to rest at a funeral.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | After fighting to have gender-affirming care, a former prisoner adjusts to life in Chicago as a woman: Last year, she became just the second person ever to have gender-affirmation surgery while in federal custody — at Rush University Medical Center. The Federal Bureau of Prisons picked up the entire tab after a three-year legal fight that began when she was housed in downstate Marion. Her attorneys argued, among other things, that she was being denied her constitutional right to necessary medical care. “It’s just feeling like I belong,” said Iglesias, who was released from prison last October and lives on the West Side.

* WBEZ | Facing budget criticism, CPS officials say changes are ‘milestone’ to be celebrated: Parents at some selective enrollment and magnet schools have complained of apparent cuts to their budgets as the school district focuses on providing resources to schools where students have high needs. And in a surprise, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top ally — the Chicago Teachers Union — was also critical of the district’s lack of transparency and failure to prioritize classroom aides in the budget, even though the union has long supported a shift toward needs-based funding.

* Crain’s | Downtown commercial property fallout not as bad as people think, Kaegi says: Downtown office vacancy recently topped 25% for the first time ever, and Loop retail vacancy hit a record-high 30%. Kaegi acknowledged that malaise, calling declining activity and property values downtown “a problem for all of us” and one that needs to be addressed to restore downtown’s vitality. But he also stressed that not all office landlords are struggling equally.

* Illinois Answers Project | City of Chicago Amps Up Its Legal Battle Against ‘City’s Worst Landowner’: The City of Chicago has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $10 million from a north suburban woman and her real estate company in connection with a vacant-lot-turned-dumping-ground on the South Side, claiming that she is a “scourge on the city and its residents” and “the city’s worst landowner.” The lawsuit, filed last week, targets Northbrook resident Suzie B. Wilson and her company, Regal LLC, which owes the city more than a quarter million dollars in fines and owns a West Englewood lot that for years has been a dumpsite for hundreds of decomposing rubber tires that “piled multiple feet in the air.”

* Crain’s | Laid-off Foxtrot and Dom’s workers tell former employer to pay up: “If we can get 60 days’ worth of pay, that’s going to help us at least pay some rent,” said Oscar Correa, a former supervisor at the Foxtrot commissary in Pilsen. Correa, who worked at Foxtrot for five years, was one of about 20 laid-off workers who gathered outside the now-closed site this morning to protest the sudden closures. Their argument: By shutting down without prior notice, Outfox Hospitality, the parent company of Foxtrot and Dom’s, violated federal and state Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification acts.

* Bloomberg | Some Parents Battle Long Waitlists – And Line Up Overnight – To Get Kids In Park District Summer Camp: After a chaotic online process that parents likened to the “Hunger Games” early last week, parents flocked to Park District field houses the night before and in the early morning hours to line up for in-person registration over the weekend. Sign-up at other parks opened Monday and Tuesday. Laura, a mom from Beverly who asked not to use her last name, was one of thousands of parents struck out trying to sign their kids up for camp online. She logged in at 8:55 a.m. April 16 for online registration, and by 9:03 a.m., the Ridge Park day camp was full, she said.

* WBEZ | For the last year, an army of volunteers has been standing behind migrants arriving in Chicago: City officials sent families to police stations as they ran out of shelter space. People slept on floors or camped outside and didn’t have access to showers. This chaos – with parents and children in need of food, clothing and water – marked a turning point in the humanitarian crisis and activated volunteers. Last April kicked off a more unified grassroots volunteer movement that evolved into a fundamental safety net for newcomers. The frenzied scenes at police stations motivated volunteers – mostly women like Jennie Kim. She lives near the South Loop district police station and got involved out of a desire not only to help migrants, but also to help coordinate donations.

* WGN | Chicago appeals court rejects R. Kelly ‘s challenge of 20-year sentence: The singer R. Kelly was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison on child sex convictions in Chicago, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. Jurors in 2022 convicted the Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, on three charges of producing child porn and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Extend Central Road? Schaumburg annexes land near Medieval Times that could help fund project: Schaumburg trustees have annexed 5.9 acres owned by Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament to add to the area’s existing tax increment financing (TIF) district that could help fund an eastward extension of Central Road to connect the Sunstar Americas headquarters with the Veridian development near Topgolf. Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly said while he’s open to the possibility of such a road extension being studied, he’s skeptical that soil conditions and other environmental factors in the undeveloped area between Sunstar and Topgolf would make it viable.

* Daily Herald | Wheels in motion for dissolving the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District: In March, a referendum to dissolve the district failed to receive support, with 48 voting against and only 5 in favor. Following that failure, efforts to close it moved to the state legislature. The district is still collecting property taxes. However, it ceased providing fire and emergency medical services in October, and the area is now covered by Mount Prospect. With a shrinking tax base due to annexations by surrounding municipalities, the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District had been running out of money.

*** Downstate ***

* Rockford Register Star | WSJ/Realtor.com names Rockford metro area no. 1 housing market in country: “The median listing price of a home in the Rockford metro area soared to $235,000 in March, up a stunning 51.7% compared with a year ago, which is the largest gain of any metro area in the ranking’s top 20,” the report states. According to the Wall Street Journal, buyers are drawn to the area’s affordable housing stock and its growing healthcare, aerospace and logistics industries. The publication also noted the Rockford area’s quality of life such as access to parks, a variety of retail and low climate risk.

* BND | Residents who lost property due to unpaid taxes say St. Clair County owes them money: St. Clair County residents and a business owner who lost their residential and commercial properties due to unpaid taxes filed a federal lawsuit this month arguing the county owes each of them thousands of dollars. Their properties were worth more than the back taxes they owed. They argue that after foreclosure, they should have received compensation for their lost property: the difference between what they owed the government and the fair market value of their property. And they cite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to support their argument.

* WGIL | Former police chief, interim city manager now a part of Knox County economic development efforts: Partnership president Ken Springer tells Galesburg’s Morning News on WGIL there’s been a lot of interest in Galesburg as of late, so he decided he needed to add to the staff to get it all taken care of. “In the last couple months, we were very fortunate to be able to bring John Schlaf on to KCAP’s team,” said Springer. “John had got done with his interim stint as City Manager; and we, of course, were able to work with him a lot during that timeframe. He’s helping to advise entrepreneurs, which is a huge area of growth for the organization in the last few years.”

* Rockford Register Star | 4,000 solar panels will help fuel innovation at Rockford aerospace facility: Collins Aerospace broke ground on a new 6.5-acre solar farm Friday at its Electric Power Systems facility in Rockford. The farm will be owned and operated by ENGIE North America as part of a 15-year power purchase agreement. ENGIE is a clean energy company that helps customers run their facilities more efficiently and optimize energy and other resources.

* WSIL | Local fire departments receive grants from Illinois Fire Marshal: The total was divided among 165 departments and EMS providers in Illinois. In our region, 24 departments received a portion of the money. Recipients were given up to $26,000 to purchase new equipment. The idea is that offices can use this money to buy smaller equipment not covered by fundraising efforts.

* 21st Show | How the Illinois Central Railroad helped develop the Midwest: Recently, the Macon County History museum held a special presentation that showcased the history of the Illinois Central Railroad. This railway was pivitol to the development of the Midwest, as it fostered cities and towns along its path. We’ll look back to the past, around the 1830’s, when Illinois was less than 20 years old. We’ll discuss what the state of the state was like, and when the Illinois Central railroad first emerged. Then, how the railroad was financed, built, and what its current status is.

* PJ Star | Why Caterpillar is warning its heavy machinery sales may drop: Shares of the global economy bellwether slumped 7% in morning trade as it said end-user sales of its machines was weaker than planned. The stock had gained about 23% for the year so far as of Wednesday’s close and hit a record high earlier in April. Caterpillar reported weak construction equipment sales in all regions except North America, where construction demand is expected to stay healthy for the rest of the year thanks to the U.S. government’s $1 trillion infrastructure law.

*** Sports and Entertainment ***

* Crain’s | Compared to Chicago’s largest film fest, the city paid a premium for Sundance event: For a weekend of programming featuring the distinguished Sundance Institute, the city paid more than what it’s given the Chicago International Film Festival in the past five years combined. In an email to Crain’s, Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, or DCASE, revealed it paid $175,000 to bring the Sundance event to the city.

* Crain’s | Caleb Williams comes to the Bears and one of the NFL’s cheapest mansion markets: When the Chicago Bears tapped him yesterday as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, quarterback Caleb Williams praised the team’s culture, coaches, fans and hunger to win. What Williams didn’t mention is that he’s coming to one of the NFL markets where his mansion-buying money will go furthest. With a four-year salary package reported at about $38.5 million, Williams isn’t likely to have to stretch his housing dollars. Nor is the Bears’ No. 9 pick, wide receiver Rome Odunze, who will reportedly earn $22.7 million in four years with the team.

*** National ***

* Food Safety News | USDA declares that Salmonella is an adulterant in some chicken products: As of today, the USDA considers Salmonella an adulterant in raw, breaded, stuffed chicken products, making it illegal to sell them if they are contaminated with the pathogen. The decision has been almost two years in the making. In August 2022 the deputy undersecretary for food safety for the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said the move would be a first step in cleaning up America’s chicken.

* Sun-Times | How Realtors deal will affect homebuying: Villegas, president-elect of the Chicago Association of Realtors, describes her clients’ awareness about the settlement as a “mixed bag.” It’s become a point of conversation with some clients, but even before the settlement, Villegas regularly discussed how fee structures and compensation worked with her clients. “We’re adding now that there is a proposed settlement and how it could affect them,” she said. “But these conversations we’ve had … haven’t really changed from the day I started doing business.”