* Sierra Club…

Sen. Villivalam, Sen. Villanueva, and Rep. Williams today joined the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) to introduce the ICJC Platform—a slate of legislation outlining critical solutions in the power, buildings, and transportation sectors that accelerate Illinois’ climate, equity, and energy goals. Historic investments in clean energy through Illinois’ 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) and the 2022 federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have uniquely positioned Illinois to leverage our climate progress and competitively attract unprecedented jobs and federal investment. With the passage of the ICJC Platform, Illinois can lean into our strengths, double down on bold climate policy, and secure an equitable, affordable, and healthy future for all Illinoisans.

In the ICJC Platform, the Clean and Reliable Grid Act (SB3636), Clean and Healthy Buildings Act, and Clean and Equitable Transportation Act work together to tackle issues that impact Illinoisans in every facet of daily life. The Clean and Reliable Grid Act expedites our path to 100% clean renewable energy and strengthens the capacity and reliability of our electric grid.

“Illinois is already a leader on climate justice and workforce transition, but we still have work to do to secure a resilient, affordable power grid operating on 100 percent clean energy. We know that power grids in Illinois and across the country are outdated, inefficient, and increasingly vulnerable in extreme weather events, which are all the more common due to the effects of climate change,” said Representative Ann Williams, Chairwoman of the Energy and Environment Committee. “With the implementation of the Clean and Reliable Grid Act, we will reduce barriers to building necessary transmission lines, maximize energy efficiency policies, and offer customers options to save money on electricity. These sensible policies will support Illinois’ carbon reduction goals in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and enable us to rapidly modernize and electrify the buildings and transportation sectors. The Clean and Reliable Grid Act will ensure our electric grid is strong, reliable, and affordable so that we can tackle these new horizons in our clean energy economy.”

By improving Illinois’ electric grid and speeding up the approval and connection of clean energy projects, Illinois will be ready to capitalize on the benefits of transitioning the heating systems and appliances that power homes and buildings to clean energy. The Clean and Healthy Buildings Act will require gas utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, require the Illinois Commerce Commission to embed affordability into ratemaking and decision-making, and help people lower their gas bills through gas energy efficiency standards.

* AP…

The document in which Abraham Lincoln set in motion the Union’s military response to the launch of the U.S. Civil War is now among Illinois’ prized papers of the 16th president, thanks to a donation by the state’s governor and first lady.

The order to blockade Southern ports to prevent the Confederacy from shipping economically vital cotton or importing critical needs was signed April 19, 1861 — one week after secessionist forces fired on Fort Sumter at the entrance to Charleston harbor in South Carolina.

An anonymous collector who owned the document put it up for auction, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K. Pritzker, bought it. The Pritzkers were scheduled to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, which will house the artifact, later Tuesday. […]

The blockade proclamation will go on display in the museum’s light- and climate-controlled Treasures Gallery beginning Wednesday. It will be on display until February 2025.

Pics from the event…

* Tribune…

The Chicago Tribune and seven other newspapers sued Microsoft and OpenAI on Tuesday, claiming the technology giants illegally harvested millions of copyrighted articles to create their cutting-edge “generative” artificial intelligence products including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot.

While the newspapers’ publishers have spent billions of dollars to send “real people to real places to report on real events in the real world,” the two tech firms are “purloining” the papers’ reporting without compensation “to create products that provide news and information plagiarized and stolen,” according to the lawsuit in federal court. […]

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday morning in the Southern District of New York on behalf of the MediaNews Group-owned Mercury News, Denver Post, Orange County Register and St. Paul Pioneer-Press; Tribune Publishing’s Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel; and the New York Daily News.

* Members of the Mayor’s Advisory Council on LGBTQ+ Affairs….

Members of the Mayor’s Advisory Council on LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Chicago Pride Parade Organizers, and supporting organizations call Mayor Brandon Johnson to promptly restore the 2024 Chicago Pride Parade to its original capacity.

The Chicago Pride parade is an important historical, cultural, and community event. On June 27, 1970, Chicago became one of the first four American cities where a Pride parade was held after the Stonewall riots. The Chicago Pride parade is one of the largest and most prominent Pride Parades in the world. It is an important symbol of LGBTQ+ empowerment and visibility where LGBTQ+ people and our allies come together to celebrate our community as we demonstrate our collective power. The Pride Parade is also an important venue for our community. It is often the first place where young people can show up as themselves, celebrating their identities in a supportive, loving, and celebratory environment. The fact that so many allies want to be a part of the Pride celebration is a testament to the power the LGBTQ community has garnered over the years.

The City of Chicago and the State of Illinois have made great strides to advance the rights and protections of LGBTQ+ people. We urge the City of Chicago to work towards having the largest, most visible, and most powerful Pride Parade in the country especially at a time when LGBTQ+ communities, and in particular trans youth, are facing unprecedented and life threatening attacks.

We understand that the City is asking for some adjustments to the schedule to accommodate shift changes at the Chicago Police Department (CPD). We also understand that without much notice, CPD is now looking to enforce an ordinance that has never been enforced in this context. We urge community conversations around equitable enforcement of this previously unenforced rule and any other adjustments the City wants to make to the Parade..

The Pride Parade Organizers, Members of Mayor’s Advisory on LGBTQ+ Affairs, and supporting organizations, call on the Mayor to do the following:

1 Restore participation in the parade commensurate with prior years

2 Start the parade one hour earlier, as requested, to accommodate for CPD’s shift change

3 Along with the undersigned parties and organization, schedule community conversations to equitably discuss any concerns or proposed changes to all parades held in the City of Chicago including the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Bud Billiken Parade, etc. engaging and collecting input from all relevant parties, the relevant Advisory Councils, and directly impacted communities.

We ask the Mayor and the City of Chicago to lean into their values of equity and transparency and work with Parade Organizers, the Advisory Council, and the supporting organizations to restore the Pride Parade and support the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago and beyond.

Respectfully,

Members of the Mayor’s Advisory Council on LGBTQ+ Affairs

*** Statewide ***

* Press Release | Andrade-Backed Measure Secures Prosthetics Coverage for Cancer Survivors: The Andrade-backed Senate Bill 2573 would require insurance companies to cover the cost of one wig or scalp prosthesis every 12 months for cancer survivors, those with alopecia or other conditions that would cause hair loss. The initiative is supported by the Illinois State Medical Society and passed unanimously out of the Senate on Friday, April 12.

* The Guardian | Tyson Foods dumps millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into US rivers and lakes: Tyson Foods dumped millions of pounds of toxic pollutants directly into American rivers and lakes over the last five years, threatening critical ecosystems, endangering wildlife and human health, a new investigation reveals. Nitrogen, phosphorus, chloride, oil and cyanide were among the 371m lb of pollutants released into waterways by just 41 Tyson slaughterhouses and mega processing plants between 2018 and 2022. […] The water pollution from Tyson, a Fortune 100 company and the world’s second largest meat producer, was spread across 17 states but about half the contaminants were dumped into streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands in Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri.

* Press release | As Respiratory Virus Season Winds Down, Virus Levels Continue Downward Trend Across Illinois: With the respiratory virus season continuing to wind down, Illinois’ overall respiratory virus level is now Minimal and all counties in the state are at Low level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to CDC data for the week ending April 20. The total number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois declined 22% during the same week, according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Support letters for convicted ex-Ald. Edward Burke to be made public in advance of sentencing : The agreement came after several letters sent on Burke’s behalf were posted on the federal court docket under seal. Last week, attorney Steven Mandell filed a motion on behalf of the Sun-Times and WBEZ arguing there is a longstanding presumption under the First Amendment that such letters should be open to public scrutiny, particularly if the judge is going to consider them in fashioning a sentence for a high-profile defendant like Burke.

* WaPo | As Chicago Trader Joe’s votes on unionizing, grocer fights other efforts: The outcome of a vote on unionizing a Trader Joe’s on Chicago’s North Side is unclear after ballots were tallied late Monday in a closely watched union election at the national grocery chain, which has been gaining a reputation for opposing labor efforts. Workers voted 70 to 70, with one contested vote, which will determine whether the union succeeds, according to the National Labor Relations Board. If the NLRB decides to count the vote and it’s a yes, the union wins; if the vote is determined invalid or a no, the union loses

* ABC Chicago | Organizers push back against plan to downsize the Chicago Pride Parade 2024 in Lakeview on June 30: Organizers announced in early April that this year’s event would be smaller than previous years. They announced entries would be capped at 125 groups, down 35% from last year, and would start an hour earlier at 11 a.m. “We understand there will be some disappointed groups that will not march with us this year; we extend a heartfelt thank you for your support and understanding,” a statement from parade organizers read. “We remain committed to prioritizing LGBTQ+ organizations, LGBTQ+-owned businesses, and businesses with LGBTQ Employee Resource Groups.”

* ABC Chicago | Relative of suspect in murder of CPD Officer Huesca in court on gun charge: Chicago police are still searching for the man charged with Officer Luis Huesca’s murder. But a relative of Xavier Tate Jr. has been charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. A Cook County state’s attorney spokesperson said Caschaus Tate is still in custody after prosecutors moved to revoke his pre-trial release for a burglary earlier this month after allegedly violating it with this new gun charge.

* Crain’s | Loop office tower owner hit with $276 million foreclosure lawsuit: A joint venture of local real estate firm Hearn, Chicago-based GEM Realty Capital and San Francisco-based Farallon Capital Management defaulted on a $305 million mortgage loan tied to the office tower at 70 W. Madison St., according to a complaint filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court. Lender Bank of America, which leads a group of financial firms that provided the mortgage in 2018, alleged in the lawsuit that the ownership venture failed to make its loan payment last month.

* Greg Hinz | Bigger hurdles await as Johnson tries to put the start-up blues behind him: Despite some nasty fights and the unexpected influx of tens of thousands of refugees from the Southern border, Johnson has pretty much had his progressive way with the City Council. Allies such as Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter say they are pleased with his performance. Notably, so does anti-violence crusader Arne Duncan, who almost ran for mayor against Johnson. Beyond that, Johnson has shown signs of at least soothing some wounds with an irate business community, beginning to recognize that focusing on jobs and economic development is a win-win proposition, as Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce chief Jack Lavin puts it.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Daily Herald names longtime staffer as next executive editor: The Daily Herald is heralding a change in leadership as longtime editor Jim Baumann is set to leave the suburban news publication. Managing Editor Lisa Miner will succeed Baumann as executive editor starting May 13. Transitioning to the role of executive editor looks to be effortless for Miner, who in her current role takes on day-to-day activities, including supervising editors of various departments, the copy and design desk and photo staff. As executive director, Miner will continue to oversee news operations while also being in charge of budgeting, strategic planning and collaboration between all departments.

* Daily Herald | Developer pays $9 million for long-sought Guitar Center property in Arlington Heights: Work has begun to transform the southern gateway of Arlington Heights, but developer Bradford Allen is already eyeing its next phase of redevelopment. The Chicago-based real estate firm recently paid $9 million for the long-sought Guitar Center property at 2375 S. Arlington Heights Road, according to Cook County property records.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | Poshard Foundation grants go to help abused and neglected children in southern Illinois: More than $104,000 will go to help abused and neglected children in southern Illinois through various organizations. It’s part of the Poshard Foundation’s annual grants. That funding will go to 28 agencies across 30 area counties.

* WCIA | Harvest Moon Drive-In closes in on #1 in USA Today competition: Gibson City’s beloved Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In Theatre is currently in second place for USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards for the Top 10 Best Drive-Ins. They are encouraging more votes to become number one. Currently, another Illinois drive-in — the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville — is in the top spot. Staff from Harvest Moon Drive-In believe their theater can take the throne with enough votes, and are encouraging their fans to spread the word.

*** National ***

* AP | US drug control agency will move to reclassify marijuana in a historic shift, AP sources say: The DEA’s proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

* Axios | COVID-era hospital reporting set to end: Hospitals starting this week will no longer have to report data on admissions, occupancy and other indicators of possible system stress from respiratory diseases to federal officials as another COVID-era mandate expires. The sunset of the reporting requirement on May 1 marks a turning point in the government’s real-time tracking of airborne pathogens that helped drive coronavirus surveillance and reports like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s FluView.

* NYT | Inside an Abortion Clinic Days Before Florida’s Six-Week Ban Takes Effect: Starting on Wednesday, Florida will ban abortions after six weeks, a dramatic change in a state that less than two years ago allowed the procedure up to about 24 weeks. Prohibiting it at six weeks, when many women do not yet know that they are pregnant, will further restrict access to abortion in the Deep South where a number of other states have near-total bans, and force many patients to travel much farther for care.