* ICYMI: Lawsuit alleges decades of child sex abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers statewide. AP…

- A lawsuit filed Monday by 95 men and women housed at the youth centers as children claims child sexual abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers was pervasive and systemic for decades.
-The 186-page complaint was filed in the Illinois Court of Claims.
-The lawsuit names the state of Illinois, the state’s Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice as defendants. It seeks damages of roughly $2 million per plaintiff.

* Related stories…

∙ Tribune: Sexual abuse was rampant at Illinois youth facilities, lawsuit claims
∙ NYT: Lawsuit Claims Widespread Sex Abuse at Illinois Youth Detention Centers
∙ People: He’s the Mayor of a Tiny Illinois Town — But Lawsuit Claims He’s Sex Abuser Who Preyed on Incarcerated Boys

Governor Pritzker will be in Bloomington at 10 joining Ferraro to celebrate a new factory opening. At 1 pm, the governor will give remarks at IMA Electric Vehicle Showcase Day at the Governor’s Mansion. Click here to watch.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WGN | Johnson headed to Springfield to lobby ‘on behalf of the people of Chicago’: “There are a host of things that I will be requesting on behalf of the people of Chicago,” Johnson said about his impending trip to Springfield. The mayor will try to help the Bears, who are seeking public funding for a new lakefront stadium, but that’s not his focus. Team President Kevin Warren is leading the charge. […] Johnson is also keeping a close eye on school funding.

* Capitol News Illinois | House GOP advances 2 human trafficking victim protection bills as others remain in limbo: House Bill 5465 would allow a human trafficking victim to have their juvenile record from crimes committed while being trafficked as a minor sealed or expunged. The proposal is an extension of House Bill 2418, which granted similar provisions to people who were trafficked as adults. The law was signed by Gov. JB Pritzker last year following unanimous approval by lawmakers and took effect on Jan. 1, 2024. It also allows the victim to petition remotely, and to have the petition sealed.

* Center Square | Advocates, legislators push for $140 million to fund violence prevention: The Reimagine Public Safety Act calls for a comprehensive approach to reducing violent crime through targeted community investments. Advocates and violence prevention groups gathered in Springfield recently to push for $140 million. Target Area Development Director of Research and Re-entry Edward McBride said the reduction of crime in Chicago can be attributed to the Reimagine Public Safety Act and peacekeepers, who receive about $200 a day in taxpayer dollars.

* Tribune | Secretary of state’s office urges residents to get a Real ID as federal deadline is a year away: Only about 23.5% of Illinois residents have obtained the Real ID card, which is marked by a gold star in the upper right corner, according to the secretary of state’s office. The low number is a cause for concern for the office since getting the document is more involved than applying for a regular state driver’s license renewal. Real ID applicants must go in person to a secretary of state driver services facility and provide proof of identity, proof of full Social Security number, two current residency documents and proof of signature. The full list of acceptable documents is available on the secretary of state’s website.

* WCIA | State representatives talk on UIUC campus about uptick of antisemitism : State Representatives Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield), Dan Didech (D-Buffalo Grove), and Tracy Katz Muhl (D-Northbrook) spoke at University of Illinois’ quad on Monday (Holocaust Remembrance Day) about the rise of antisemitism. They were joined by local Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel from Illini Chabad and Erez Cohen from Illini Hillel.

* Bond. Buyer | Illinois to issue $1.8 billion of general obligation bonds: Illinois will issue $1.8 billion of general obligation bonds — $250 million taxable Series 2024A and $1.55 billion tax-exempt Series 2024B — to fund accelerated pension benefit payments and capital expenditures through the Rebuild Illinois program.

*** Statewide ***

* SJ-R | Teacher salaries in Illinois among best in the nation, new report finds: According to the new report, the average teacher salary for 2022-2023 was $69,544, which is a 4.1% increase from the 2021-2022 school year. An increase in teacher salaries was also seen in Illinois, according to the new report. The average teacher salary in Illinois was $73,916 for 2022-2023, a 2.2% increase from 2021-2022 when salaries were $72,315. Overall, Illinois ranked as the 12th best state across the country for teacher salaries.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Google it! Thompson Center’s $280M redevelopment kicks off, to become Google’s Chicago HQ: The renovation of the center comes at a time of wider transformation for the Loop. Mayor Brandon Johnson announced in April that he’s seeking $150 million in tax increment financing for four La Salle Street adaptive reuse projects. The conversions would create more than 1,000 new apartments in the city’s Central Business District, bringing new use to largely vacant office buildings.

* Crain’s | Two of Chicago’s pension plans could deplete assets by 2030, report warns: As Mayor Brandon Johnson searches for a fix for the city’s pension challenges, a liberal-leaning nonprofit is warning the situation could become dire as early as 2030. That’s according to a new report from the Center for Tax & Budget Accountability, or CTBA, which examined Chicago’s four public employee pensions. The CTBA has previously published reports on the state’s pension systems; its latest publication focuses on the city’s pensions.

* Block Club | Thompson Center’s Transformation Into Google’s Chicago Headquarters Begins: Google announced in July 2022 it would take over the Thompson Center, saying it’d buy the building for $105 million after it is renovated by The Prime Group and Capri Investment Group. Demolition of the building’s exterior began Friday as Google plans to turn the Helmut Jahn-designed building into its new Chicago headquarters, employing as many as 1,000 workers in the famed complex.

* Block Club | Trilogy’s Chatham Wellness Center Brings Therapy And More To South Side ‘Mental Health Desert’:
While work to overhaul the building is still underway, there was a “crucial need” to open its mental health services to clients “sooner rather than later,” said Susan Doig, Trilogy’s CEO. “We’ve known that this area is a mental health desert, and people who don’t have access to commercial insurance have more barriers to getting mental health care,” Doig said. “Being able to offer these services in Chatham is key for the health of the community. It should’ve happened years ago but there’s no better time than the present.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard vetoes hiring of former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot: Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard vetoed action by trustees to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to conduct a probe into the mayor and village finances during a raucous Village Board meeting Monday. “How dare you think you can come into someone’s town and do work,” Henyard said, saying trustees who voted to hire Lightfoot an an April 8 meeting overstepped their authority. “There is a right way to do things and this is just not that,” Henyard said in delivering her veto. […] The meeting at one point dissolved into a shouting and finger-pointing match between Henyard and Trustee Kiana Belcher, with some residents getting up from their chairs to shout their own comments.

* WGN | Woman accusing community activist Andrew Holmes of assault releases video statement: Fenia Dukes released the video Monday, following several weeks of communications between her and WGN Investigates about a potential interview. Dukes said she wanted to share her story because she feels victimized twice: first by community activist Andrew Holmes, a colleague she respected, and then again when she reported the alleged incident to her boss, Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard.

* NBC Chicago | First Dolton board meeting takes place since subpoenas served at village hall: Residents demanded to be heard as they gathered outside village hall. In the group was Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s ex-assistant, Fenia Dukes. “At first, it was just me. But a year later, to see ya’ll standing with me – thank you…thank you so much,” Dukes told the group. Dukes has filed a civil lawsuit against Henyard and Trustee Andrew Holmes, the latter whom she accuses of assaulting her.

* Daily Herald | A good deal for the suburbs? Transit merger proposal raises questions about finances, fairness: “I have a horrible amount of concern that we will be putting our suburban transit in jeopardy because folding Metra into the CTA will subject it to the same struggles CTA found itself unable to get out of,” Republican state Rep. Jeff Keicher of Sycamore said. The plan also would provide $1.5 billion in extra transit money annually, as a $730 million shortfall looms in 2026. Officials haven’t given any specifics on raising those revenues, saying the restructure comes first.

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights police bring on full-time crisis counselor despite cut in federal funding: Though federal grant funding runs out this summer, Arlington Heights trustees agreed Monday to commit village funds to keep a police department crisis counselor employed at least through the end of the year. The counselor has gone on some 300 police calls over the last two years involving people suffering from a mental health crisis, and made another 600 follow-up contacts with individuals seeking assistance, officials said.

*** National ***

* AP | Lured by historic Rolling Stones performance, half-a-million fans attend New Orleans Jazz Fest: An extra day and the lure of an appearance by the Rolling Stones pushed attendance at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to a half a million people, organizers said Monday. That was the second highest attendance in the festival’s history — just behind the 600,000 attendees in 2001. In 2023, more than 460,000 people passed through the festival’s gates.

* NBC | Boeing forced to scrub first crewed Starliner launch to the space station: Mission controllers declared a launch “scrub” after an anomaly was detected on an oxygen valve on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, which the Starliner capsule was to ride into orbit. The crewed Starliner flight, when it occurs, will be a crucial final test before NASA can authorize Boeing to conduct routine flights to and from the space station.

* Ms. | The Rise of Deepfakes Demands Legislative Action: But legislation marks just the beginning of the solution. Genuine technological accountability, responsible AI development, and safeguarding the right to online privacy require more than a single federal law. However, enacting such legislation is a critical first step, and there is precedent that legislation can catalyze more widespread change.