* WGN…

WGN is suing the Village of Dolton in Cook County Circuit Court for refusing to release spending records and other documents related to Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s perks and pay. […]

Last November, WGN Investigates sent Dolton a public records request, seeking copies of the agency’s credit card statements, as well as records relating to Henyard’s compensation and the cost of her taxpayer-funded vehicle.

But Dolton declined to release the records, in an apparent violation of state open records laws. […]

In a rare binding opinion, dated Feb. 9, the attorney general ordered Dolton to release the credit card statements, along with the other requested documents.

The village had until March 15 to comply. But it still has not released the records.

* Lynn Sweet…

In #Peoria on Saturday @RepLaHood will host @SpeakerJohnson for the Peoria-Tazewell Lincoln Day dinner, which is one of the largest events in ILGOP politics. @DarinLaHoodIL pic.twitter.com/kTHc0yFSVM

— Lynn Sweet (@lynnsweet) May 31, 2024

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | School cops, migrant students, funding shortfall: How CPS fared in Springfield: A late-developing bill that came in response to a sexual abuse lawsuit against CPS passed unanimously in the Illinois House and is expected to be taken up by the Senate in the fall veto session. The bill would prevent courts from considering “contributory fault” in child sex abuse cases. That practice limits the damages a plaintiff can seek in a personal injury case if they were considered partially at fault. The bill would also establish that all sexual abuse of children is traumatic, and victims would no longer need to provide evidence that they were harmed. Instead they could provide evidence showing the extent of their harm. State Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, introduced the bill after he criticized CPS for its handling of a former student’s lawsuit claiming she was sexually assaulted by a former teacher. He has called on the district to fire its top attorney.

* WBEZ | Illinois legislative staff union sues Speaker Welch demanding recognition: General Assembly employees are among a small number of groups carved out of state labor laws – agricultural workers and independent contractors are also in this category. That means they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the ILRB, which oversees the election unions must hold to be certified and recognized. ILSA tried to work around this. In 2023, organizers said 70% of its 35 potential unit members signed petition cards saying they supported the efforts, a percentage they believed signaled an election was unnecessary. But the Speaker’s office replied that it would be undemocratic to forgo an election.

* WTTW | Lawmakers Greenlight State-Level Child Tax Credit in Illinois Budget, Pending Pritzker’s Approval: Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday morning finalized a $53.1 billion state budget for the upcoming fiscal year that designates $50 million in funding for a new child tax credit. […] Upon final budget approval from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, working parents who are at or below the state median income of $75,000 for joint tax filers and $50,000 for single parents, will be eligible to receive an average tax credit between $300 and $600 per household for children under the age of 12.

* Chicago Reader | Recapping the Illinois General Assembly’s spring legislative session: Efforts to generate additional revenue will be used to fund a $50 million child tax credit program for low-income families with children younger than 12 years old. The state budget also scraps a 1 percent tax on grocery sales, a move Pritzker and state lawmakers made permanent after suspending the tax at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Local governments can still vote to impose their own 1 percent tax in its stead.) And it includes an additional $182 million to care for people seeking asylum in Illinois, as well as $440 million for health care for undocumented residents.

* Center Square | Measure to allow more electric scooters in Illinois headed to governor: Senate Bill 1960 also states that low-speed electric scooters can only be used in municipalities or park districts if authorized, and that they cannot be operated on highways with a speed limit over 35 mph. “It is an opt-in, you don’t have to do this, but if you want to regulate electric scooters in your community or your park district then this is the way to do it,” said the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Prosecutors in ‘Walking Man’ murder case allege defendant was involved in prior attack: On May 10, records show, a CTA operator reported that a young man had tossed liquid on him after asking a question about a train stop. The attack at the Oak Park Green Line station was captured on video, and court records show the operator later picked Guardia out of a photo lineup. Prosecutors did not charge Guardia in the CTA incident. But the state’s attorney’s office is seeking to use evidence of his alleged involvement to help prove intent or state of mind in the later attack against Kromelis, according to a recent court filing.

* WTTW | Mayor Brandon Johnson Unveils Plan to Test Whether City Crews Should Clear Sidewalks of Snow and Ice: Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled a plan Friday to test whether city crews should be responsible for clearing not just Chicago’s roads but also its sidewalks of snow and ice during winter storms. But the plan — which will cost between $1.1 million and $3.5 million per year — isn’t slated to clear its first shovel-full of snow until the winter of 2025-26, and must be approved and funded by the Chicago City Council.

* Chicago Park District | A Great Lakes Piping Plover Nest & Egg Have Been Spotted at Montrose Beach Dunes!: The egg is the product of the recent pair bond between native-born Piping Plover Imani, who hatched at Montrose in 2021, and Searocket, one of the 5-week-old captive-reared Piping Plover chicks that were released back into the wild at Montrose in July 2023. This release marked the first-time piping plovers were released outside Michigan in an effort to achieve the recovery goal of 50 pairs of plovers outside Michigan.

* Sun-Times | Soldier Field ready to combat homophobic slurs at Mexico national team soccer match: In a statement to the Sun-Times, the Chicago Park District said ticket holders have been advised of Soldier Field’s code of conduct, which will be broadcast at the stadium on the day of the event. The code includes policies on prohibited acts, such as discriminatory chants, and consequences for violations, which could end up with civil and/or criminal action.

* Sun-Times | Elaine Pierce, who opened her Oak Park home to migrants, has died at 69: Elaine Pierce, an Oak Park resident who opened her home to South American migrants last summer while coping with terminal cancer, died May 26. She was 69. Ms. Pierce initially took in two families — six people — who’d been staying temporarily at a West Side police station. “I only wish I could do more,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times last October.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Mayor: Sheriff interfered in Aurora investigation of man shot to death by deputies: Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin has criticized Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain, accusing the sheriff of interfering in an Aurora police investigation that ultimately led to deputies shooting a man to death a day later. The mayor made his remarks at Tuesday’s city council meeting in reaction to what Hain said in a Chicago Sun-Times article about the death of James J. Moriarty, 38, of Aurora, on May 24, 2023, on the Geneva-Batavia border. The death may have been prevented, according to Irvin, if deputies had not interfered with Aurora police’s plan to arrest Moriarty the day before.

* Daily Herald | How a suburban well-being check cracked an international ‘suicide drug’ operation: In March 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents working in Kentucky intercepted a package shipped from Mexico and addressed to a long-term stay hotel in Libertyville, authorities say. Tests conducted on the contents determined it to be a drug commonly used to euthanize animals, court records show. The investigation was turned over to U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents based in Chicago. Those agents accompanied local law enforcement officers making a well-being check on the intended recipient, a Lake Villa man staying at the Libertyville hotel, officials said.

* Tribune | Northwestern University unveils what temporary lakefront football stadium will look like: Northwestern University has released a new concept plan of its temporary lakeside football complex along with seating and sideline details as it works to rebuild Ryan Field for the 2026 football season. Seating will be along all four sides of the field with a majority placed beyond the end zones on the north and south ends. The south side structure will include semi-private suites and club seating, which will feature all-inclusive food and beverage options, along with field lodge seating with tables and swivel chairs for up to four people. Typical stadium seating will also be available on the south structure.

* Daily Herald | ‘Push positivity’: Elgin’s second Pride Parade and Festival kicks off Pride Month in suburbs: After a successful inaugural event, bigger is the operative word for the second year of the Elgin Pride Parade and Festival on Saturday. Presented by ELGbtq+, the event that drew between 4,000 and 5,000 people last year will feature twice as many parade entries and twice as many vendors. It also will use all of Festival Park for the post-parade fest as opposed to half last year.

*** Downstate ***

* PJ Star | Peoria police will get new drones, surveillance camera software. Here’s how it works: Grant money totaling $220,000 was approved by the Peoria City Council on Tuesday night to be spent by the Peoria Police Department for the purchase of three new drones to add to its fleet and the purchase of a Fusus software intelligence program that will help the police department tackle retail and property crimes. The camera software system would allow the police department — with permission — to monitor in real time security cameras at businesses, license plate readers, police body cameras, ShotSpotter software and in-squad cameras as incidents of crime occur.