* ICYMI: IG says state employees made up businesses, lied about income to defraud federal COVID aid program. Tribune…

-One DHS employee said on a PPP application that his car-washing business made $110,000 in a year but later acknowledged the venture had no customers or income.
- There are 275 instances in which the inspector general found PPP wrongdoing, the alleged thefts totaling more than $7 million in public funds.
-All employees in these cases were later fired, according to records posted by the ethics commission.

*** Isabel’s top picks ***

* Block Club | Friday Morning Swim Club Canceled As Organizers Blame City’s ‘Unreasonable’ Demands: In a social media video, Friday Morning Swim Club organizers Andrew Glatt and Nicole Novotny said they couldn’t strike a deal to approve the event after being met with “unreasonable demands” by the city. Glatt said he was quoted $108,000 to secure permits for the summer event, which sees thousands of swimmers — often decked out in colorful floaties — jump into Lake Michigan at a portion of Montrose Harbor where swimming is not allowed.

* WaPo | Where seas are rising at alarming speed: The Gulf of Mexico has experienced twice the global average rate of sea level rise since 2010, a Post analysis of satellite data shows. Few other places on the planet have seen similar rates of increase, such as the North Sea near the United Kingdom. “Since 2010, it’s very abnormal and unprecedented,” said Jianjun Yin, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona who has studied the changes. While it is possible the swift rate of sea level rise could eventually taper, the higher water that has already arrived in recent years is here to stay.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Legislators pass election bill that would favor Democrats in November: But the election bill given final approval by Senate Democrats Thursday on a 35-3 vote, with 18 Republicans voting “present” in protest, would further help Democrats maintain control in the next General Assembly. Under the measure, local political party organizations could no longer appoint candidates to fill out legislative ballots where the party did not field a primary candidate. Current law allows the appointment process within 75 days of the primary.

* Crain’s | Rivian will add over 500 jobs in Normal to make new SUV: The state also is funding a second manufacturing-job training academy in Normal. The total value of the incentive package is $827 million and requires Rivian to maintain at least 6,000 jobs in Illinois. “The support from the state will allow us to quickly bring our midsize SUV, R2, to market and provide even greater consumer choice for EVs,” Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said in a written statement. “Gov. Pritzker has always been a strong advocate for providing economic opportunities for Illinois residents and business owners alike. We look forward to continuing our close partnership and building upon the success we have enjoyed.”

* Tribune | Backed by state incentives, Rivian to invest $1.5 billion and add more than 550 jobs to build new R2 EV at Normal plant: The majority of the incentives will come from state tax credits paid out over 30 years, if Rivian meets its investment and hiring obligations. “They’re growing now and they had the opportunity to grow in Georgia or in Illinois,” Pritzker said during a news conference at the Rivian plant. “We wanted them to stay right here and create jobs here. That was why we put an incentive package together and made that offer to Rivian.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Law enforcement community honors fallen officers at Illinois Capitol: The Illinois Police Officers Memorial occurs annually on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to support their families. “No one looks forward to this day. We all wish we didn’t have to have a day like this,” Treasurer Micheal Frerichs said. “Every year we come back. And we’ll keep coming back for those people in law enforcement who gave their lives but also for their families.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago Police won’t discipline nine officers who signed up for extremist group: “The investigation is closed and the allegations were not sustained,” a spokeswoman for the CPD said in a statement, declining to provide any documents from the internal probe. The brief statement stood in stark contrast to Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling’s zero-tolerance vow to the City Council in October, after WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times revealed the misconduct records of the cops with ties to the Oath Keepers.

* Sun-Times | Asleep at the march? ACLU says Chicago may be unprepared for Democratic Convention protests: “Despite suggestions by some Chicago officials that the city is prepared for the Democratic National Convention, we are here today because they are not,” Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the ACLU of Illinois, told reporters. “Sadly, the city has not created a clear, transparent plan for welcoming those who want to come to demonstrate and express themselves on the issues of our day.” So far, the city has denied nearly every protest application from other groups that applied to march during the convention, which will be held from Aug. 19-22. The city offered them an alternative route through Grant Park, but the activists say that’s too far from their target audience of delegates and reporters who will be converging on the United Center and McCormick Place.

* NBC Chicago | Chicago’s mayor seen running away from NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was captured on video apparently running from reporters, including NBC 5’s Chief Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern, following an event Thursday.

* NBC Chicago | Suspect charged in killing of Chicago police officer faces additional charges: The suspect charged with the first-degree murder of Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca faces additional charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen firearm, Chicago police announced Thursday afternoon. The announcement by authorities comes ahead of a Friday morning news conference where State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Police Superintendent Larry Snelling are expected to reveal additional information.

* Sun-Times | At crooked Bridgeport bank, official blew the whistle, but no one did a thing: Glusak “abruptly quit, leaving her keys in the mailbox,” according to court records. But that didn’t stop her from continuing to sound the alarm. She also wrote to the U.S. attorney’s office, which had a long history of prosecuting Chicago’s crooked politicians and business people. Her letter was eventually forwarded to the FBI.

* Sun-Times | Red, white and blooey? Demolition begins on Thompson Center exterior: Crews used excavators to tear off lower exterior portions of the building at 100 W. Randolph St. on Thursday, marking an unofficial start to Google’s $280 million renovations of the 17-story building. Permits issued last October by the Department of Buildings called for removing the structure’s metal and glass skin. Renderings released by Google last year show a similar-looking building, with its trademark atrium still intact but absent of its longstanding blue, salmon and white color scheme.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | How a deal to restore peace at Northwestern is sparking more friction: “My principles were to prioritize the health and safety of our entire community,” the embattled university chief told Crain’s in an exclusive interview today. But the early praise has given way to a fierce backlash over the agreement and its terms, landing the Northwestern president once again under intense scrutiny for his decision-making and leadership, with some calling for his firing.

* Daily Herald | Aurora educator named Teacher of the Year: As a child, Rachael Mahmood struggled with finding a sense of belonging in school. However, the Plainfield resident didn’t let that stop her from pursuing her dream of becoming an educator and making sure her students see themselves in the lessons she teaches. Her journey was highlighted Thursday as state and Indian Prairie School District 204 officials surprised Mahmood with the news that she was named Illinois State Board of Education’s Teacher of the Year.

* Tribune | New Dolton subpoena targets financial information for Mayor Tiffany Henyard, spending on trips: The most recent subpoena asks for more detailed information about expense reimbursements and other payments made by the village to Henyard and Keith Freeman, village administrator, according to trustees, who have separately hired former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate Henyard and a village-financed trip made by her a year ago to Las Vegas. Although it appears federal investigators are digging deeper into the village, trustees said Thursday it’s important to continue with Lightfoot, who will be paid $400 an hour to investigate Henyard and her administration.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Texas man files legal action to probe ex-partner’s out-of-state abortion: The case also illustrates the role that men who disapprove of their partners’ decisions could play in surfacing future cases that may violate abortion bans — either by filing their own civil lawsuits or by reporting the abortions to law enforcement. Under Texas law, performing an abortion is a crime punishable by up to a lifetime in prison and up to $100,000 in civil penalties. Women seeking abortions cannot be charged under the state’s abortion restrictions, but the laws target anyone who performs or helps to facilitate an illegal abortion, including those who help distribute abortion pills.

* Mediaite | Elon Musk Promises to Lift X Ban on Neo-Nazi Leader : Controversial billionaire and X owner, Elon Musk, vowed to allow avowed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes back onto his platform on Thursday. Fuentes, the leader of the so-called Groyper Army, has been banned from the platform since 2021 and is infamous for his violent and bigoted rhetoric. Fuentes has long been active on the far-right in American politics and in the past has hosted a conference meant to be counter-programming to CPAC, which included speeches by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ).

* WaPo | Booming labor market poised to reach milestone for low unemployment: Economists predict that the April jobs report, to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday morning, will show the unemployment rate holding at 3.8 percent, marking the 27th consecutive month of unemployment below 4 percent. This would match a low-unemployment period between 1967 to 1970, and close in on the longest period on record, between 1951 to 1953.

* Crain’s | Q&A: Why the U.S. economy is outperforming much of the rest of the world: The size of the U.S. economy, adjusted for inflation, is 7% larger now than it was before COVID hit these shores. That’s twice the gain in Japan and far better than the 0.3% increase in Germany, according to British Parliament data. In the past four years American workers’ wages grew 2.8% after adjusting for inflation, while wages fell by 9% in Italy and 7% in Germany during the same time.