* ICYMI: New legislation would create statewide transit agency, provide additional $1.5 billion for transit. Sun-Times…

State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) and State Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado (D-Chicago) have introduced the Metropolitan Mobility Authority Act, which would create the Metropolitan Mobility Authority to oversee all public transit operations and replace the Regional Transportation Authority. They say the measure aims to avoid overlap and competition for funds between the RTA, CTA, Pace and Metra — which they said has led to a delay in integrated fares — and instead provide “coordinated” services. The metro area once had just the RTA and CTA, and Metra and Pace were created later. […]

The new office would consist of 18 voting directors — the governor would choose three, the mayor of Chicago president of the Cook County Board would select five each and the chief executives of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties will each get one. A chair would then be chosen by the 18 directors, but not be someone from that body. […]

A companion bill would also set aside $1.5 billion every year from state funds for operational costs for the transit agencies, though Delgado said it wouldn’t come without “restructuring transit governance to put safety, frequency and reliability for riders first.”

* Related stories…

∙ Tribune: Illinois lawmakers to propose merging Chicago area’s transit agencies, amid CTA complaints and looming budget woes
∙ Block Club: Does Chicago Need A New Transit Agency? Watchdog Pitches CTA Merger Into State-Run System
∙ Crain’s: Lawmakers propose unifying CTA, Metra and Pace

* Jason Meisner…

Well this is interesting:
Lawyers for Illinois state Sen. Emil Jones III say prosecutors redacted huge parts of FBI mole Omar Maani’s grand jury testimony.
They want to see it to pursue a potential entrapment defense.
Background: https://t.co/q4J22Tb86k pic.twitter.com/ObHbwKRd60

— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) April 27, 2024

Gov. Pritzker will announce IDOT Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) grant awards at noon. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s top picks ***

* Tribune | 86% of Great Lakes litter is plastic, a 20-year study shows. And the plastic is ‘just getting smaller and smaller.’: Using data from more than 14,000 beach cleanups over 20 years, a new report from the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes found that 86% of litter entering the Great Lakes in a given year is either partially or fully composed of plastic. Previous estimates and computer simulations indicated that 22 million pounds of plastic debris entered the lakes annually, at that time making up 80% of shoreline litter.

* WCBU | Pritzker administration official defends grocery tax cut as report projects modest relief for families: In an interview with WCBU, Deputy Gov. Andy Manar said the grocery tax is “clearly a regressive tax,” and noted that Illinois is one of only 13 states that tax groceries on the state level. Manar said Pritzker wants to open a “public discussion with the General Assembly” regarding government funding approaches. “The governor has said the state should not be in the business of taxing groceries, especially when the state doesn’t spend the money that is generated from the tax,” said Manar. “So if it’s a local decision to spend the money and [decide] how it’s spent, then it should be a local decision as to whether or not it should be taxed.”

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans: The report argues that noncitizens are employed at a slightly higher rate than the adult population as a whole in Illinois, so providing that group with health coverage promotes a healthier and more productive labor force. It also argues that medical coverage reduces financial strain and medical debt for a group that would otherwise be uninsured and that covering noncitizen adults results in improved developmental outcomes for their children.

* WMBD | Pritzker announces $30 million for Illinois downtowns: Eligible Illinois cities and towns can now apply for the Rebuild Illinois Downtowns and Main Streets Capital (RDMS, $20 million) and Research in Illinois To Spur Economic Recovery (RISE $10, million). RDMS grant money will go towards “construction, repair and modernization of public infrastructure and amenities to boost jobs, improve quality of life and stimulate economic activity for communities that have experienced disinvestment.” To be eligible, the projects must be in a commercial center or downtown area.

* Tim Drea-Pat.Devaney | Workers Memorial Day is a reminder: On March 27, Jay was senselessly murdered, the victim of a horrendous attack while on his mail route in which he was stabbed and run over by a vehicle – one of four victims of a 22-year-old man now behind bars and facing charges. But his colleagues refuse to let that day define his career and life. Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers #245 came together in early April to honor Jay Larson, driving his postal route in his honor and watching as blue balloons rose from mailboxes and candles burned at a memorial for his legacy. They noted he served Rockford residents and businesses for 25 years, never took a sick day, and always pitched in to help others – on his route, and with others’ routes.

* Tribune | 6 months after Illinois ended cash bail, jail populations are down as courts settle into new patterns: Overall, though, new routines have taken hold, with the law mostly “working as intended” in Cook County, according to a recent report from the Civic Federation and League of Women Voters in Cook County. Since implementation of the reforms in September, the Cook County prosecutor’s office sought detention in about 18% of cases, with judges granting such petitions about 60% of the time, according to data from the chief judge’s office.

* Sun-Times | Solitary confinement in Illinois prisons violates human rights, Chicago lawyers group says: “Prisons exist to punish and rehabilitate people — not to torture and destroy them,” says the report from the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, which found that hundreds of people are kept in solitary confinement at any one time across the state.

* AP | Ex-Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis fined $43,475 for campaign finance violations: The violations occurred during the 2021-22 election cycle. Federal campaign finance law prohibits contributions of more than $2,900 per cycle from an individual or single-candidate political committee and $5,000 per election from a multicandidate committee. Excess contributions must be refunded or redesignated within 60 days. In a negotiated settlement with Davis’ committee and Datwyler, the FEC found that one contribution of $3,625 and general election contributions of $479,784 were not properly redistributed within 60 days, resulting in the fine. Davis was not eligible for the larger amount because he was not on the 2022 general election ballot.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Slow work authorizations frustrate new migrants and industry leaders alike: Chicago businesses cheered in September when President Joe Biden extended temporary protected status to Venezuelan migrants who arrived in the United States on or before July 31, buoying hopes that it would provide a legal pathway for new arrivals to work and fill vacant jobs. But months later, migrants who arrived before the end of July are struggling to get work permits, while those who came after that cutoff date will not be eligible. That means even as more buses pull up to Chicago, the people looking for work will likely have fewer legal options without federal intervention.

* Sun-Times | Hundreds gather for visitation of Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca: Law enforcement officers from Romeoville police, Illinois State Police, Indiana State Police and other agencies were among those who lined up outside Blake-Lamb Funeral Home for the visitation service. The line stretched outside and around the building for hours. A massive American flag hung from the ladder of a Chicago Fire Department truck in front of the funeral home. Motorists passing underneath the billowing flag honked their horns in support of the solemn ceremony.

* Sun-Times | After long journey, 15 migrant couples marry in group ceremony in Chicago: The nuptials marked a new stage in the lives of the 30 newly arrived asylum-seekers after a long and tiring journey from South America. Some couples said they had postponed their wedding because getting married in Venezuela is expensive and the paperwork is cumbersome. Formalizing their commitment through marriage has important legal, health and immigration benefits, but the couples who got married Friday said they wanted to solidify their relationship through the church. They prepared for several months, taking classes and getting counseling. More than 150 people witnessed the life-changing moment.

*** The Bears ***

* Tribune | True public cost of Bears stadium would be billions more over time: In addition to the $900 million in borrowing, the Bears want the state’s stadium agency, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, to refinance about $430 million in existing debt for previous projects and take out about $160 million more to set up as a so-called liquidity fund to cushion the city of Chicago from future shortfalls in revenue from a 2% city hotel tax that’s supposed to cover the cost of the borrowing. Counting interest and other long-term costs, the proposed new borrowing would tally up to at least $4.8 billion over four decades, said Frank Bilecki, ISFA’s CEO.

* Tribune | The next item on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s progressive agenda: A new Bears stadium. Will his coalition embrace it?: State Rep. Kelly Cassidy said she’s a “no” as long as there is a single penny of public money obligated to the project. “This is so far from a progressive priority as to be laughable,” Cassidy said. “There is not a case to be made to me that would ever compel me to give a billionaire more money. … This thing is dead in the water.”

* Sun-Times | Bears stadium costs? Add another $1.2 billion: Add to that the $1 billion already paid to revamp Soldier Field and Guaranteed Rate Field, and the overall cost to taxpayers is $6.9 billion, says Frank Bilecki, executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. The higher costs were gleaned from figures provided by the Bears during their initial meeting with the stadium authority and in follow-up conversations with the team, Bilecki said.

* Chicago Defender | Bears QB Caleb Williams: Criticism of Nails, Fashion Reflect Fan Homophobia: If you’re of a certain age, you were probably conceived by the soundtrack by male musicians who made “out of the box” fashion choices that are considered effeminate. Even when Williams said that he paints his nails in tribute to his mother, who owned a nail salon, it wasn’t enough for the folks who’ve made up their minds about him.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Thornton Township residents gather to organize against Tiffany Henyard: Mary Avent, chairperson of Advisory Committee to the People’s Trustees of Dolton, a group she formed earlier this year to unify residents of the 17 township communities, urged residents to come together to oppose Henyard. She said she hopes enough public pressure will force state and local elected leaders to investigate the township’s finances and get to the bottom of why, Avent says, taxes go up but basic public services get slashed.

* Fox Chicago | Mayor Tiffany Henyard under further FBI scrutiny as subpoenas served at Thornton Township Hall: FOX 32 has learned that FBI agents served subpoenas on Friday at the Thornton Township Hall in South Holland, where Henyard also works as township supervisor. We do not know yet what the FBI is asking for in those subpoenas.

* Fox Chicago | Law firm drops representation of Dolton, Mayor Henyard amid financial strain and FBI probe: The Del Galdo Law Group said it is not being paid, so it will stop appearing in federal and state court and defending Dolton and Henyard in the 22 different lawsuits. In a letter to Henyard and trustees, the law firm said the village is facing millions of dollars in judgments from earlier cases and could potentially be on the hook for millions more in the current lawsuits. The firm also added that the village is quickly approaching the point of becoming uninsurable.

* Sun-Times | Cook County Democratic leaders pick Monica Gordon to run for county clerk: ‘I have some big shoes to fill’: The Cook County Democratic Party on Friday tapped Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon as the party’s candidate to run in the November general election this fall for Cook County clerk. Gordon hopes to finish the rest of the term of the late Karen Yarbrough. Yarbrough had more than two years left in office when she died this month.

* Daily Herald | Illinois public schools see another year of enrollment declines: Enrollment at Illinois public schools this year dropped by nearly 10,000 students from the previous year. That includes 1,787 fewer students at 104 suburban public school districts in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, according to fall enrollment figures released by the Illinois State Board of Education last week.

* Daily Southtown | Landmarks: Palos Preserves get overdue attention in ‘biggest project ever’ in Cook County: The assemblage of politicians and Forest Preserves staff wore light jackets on a sunny April 25 for the official launch of a $10 million restoration project in the Palos Preserves. The effort to remove invasive shrubs and improve and repair trails will impact almost 1,100 acres, mostly west of Wolf Road. Work began last winter in Red Gate Woods, and the Forest Preserves people wanted to show off early results. At one point on a short hike, Troy Showerman, a resource project manager, pointed out how the older trees uniformly leaned to the east, where undappled sunlight once beamed down on a formerly deforested hilltop.

* Daily Herald | Man on release in domestic charge kills wife, self in Villa Park, authorities say: State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said, in a news release, that information in a DuPage County Domestic Violence Report his office received before Elguezabal’s First Appearance Court hearing indicated he did not have access to a gun. Elguezabal surrendered the FOID, as required, April 17. Prosecutors did not seek to detain Elguezabal pretrial. He was accused of pulling Julie Elguezabal’s hair, and punching her several times in the face, neck and back, according to court records.