* ICYMI: How Illinois plans to leap into the future of semiconductors. Crain’s…

When President Joe Biden signed the $53 billion CHIPS & Science Act nearly two years ago, it included $5 billion for something called the National Semiconductor Technology Center, a place to develop, test and scale up semiconductor technologies and the industry’s workforce. […]

Semiconductors are at the heart of computer technology, from smartphones to supercomputers. The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call that the U.S. has let too much manufacturing capability move offshore and it’s at risk of losing its technology leadership. The CHIPS & Science Act was a response to those challenges.

Illinois is making a novel pitch for the NSTC, suggesting the feds put the headquarters here, rather than in Silicon Valley, Arizona, upstate New York, Texas, Arizona or one of the other places that are home to chip-fabrication facilities. […]

“It would be an uphill battle, given that Illinois hasn’t had anything in the semiconductor arena in terms of companies,” says Dennis Roberson, former chief technology officer at Motorola and former chairman of the FCC’s Technical Advisory Council. “The argument around quantum is a good argument. But you can’t completely ignore the (chip manufacturing). It’s too tightly integrated.”

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Madison Record | When is a suspect too dangerous to release? Answers may come from two appeals: Supreme Court Justices picked two cases to guide local and appellate judges in deciding when to declare a suspect too dangerous to release. On June 11 they allowed an appeal from a Fourth District appellate court opinion affirming detention of Kendall Morgan on home invasion and battery charges in McLean County. On June 12 they allowed an appeal from a Third District opinion affirming detention of Christian Mikolaitis on charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery in Will County.

* WTTW | New Study Examining Chicago’s Economic and Racial Disparities Finds 72% of White Families Own Homes Compared to 34% of Black Families: “Wealth is probably the paramount indicator of economic security,” said Darrick Hamilton, the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy and founding director at The New School’s Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy. “We think about it as an outcome, but its essence is functional. What it can do for you if you want to send your kids to college, if you’re faced with the legal challenge of medical condition. A lot of those big ticket items aren’t financed out of your income … you rely on your savings and your wealth.”

* WGEM | “She’s been called Rosa Parks of the 19th century”: Juneteenth dedication ceremony honors Quincy woman: Over at the Woodland Cemetery, people gathered to unveil a memorial stone of the late Emma Coger. Local historians said she’s been called the Rosa Parks of the 19th century. […] “She was visiting friends in Keokuk,” Crickard said. “And the easiest way to [return] to Quincy at the time was by steamboat on the Mississippi River. She tried to purchase a first-class ticket and they denied her.” […] Following the incident, Coger hired a lawyer and fought her case both in Keokuk at the Iowa Supreme Court. She won the trial.

* WAND | Crews called to fire on top of downtown Springfield building: According to a Facebook post made by Robert Mazrim, the curator of the PILLSBURIED art installation, the entire exhibit was destroyed in the fire. Three tons of art and artifacts were brought together to show the rich history of the former Pillsbury Mills plant. […] On Facebook, Cafe Moxo announced that the restaurant would be closed until a damage assessment could be undertaken and repairs made.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WJPF | Vandalized MLK statue to return to Capitol grounds next month: The statue of the slain civil rights leader is expected to return to Springfield’s “Freedom Corner” at the intersection of 2nd Street and Capitol Avenue next month. Crews recently poured the concrete that will secure the base of the sculpture. After the concrete cures and settles, the sculpture will be replaced. State officials are continuing discussions regarding a new MLK statue on the Capitol grounds. Last January, Illinois lawmakers approved legislation calling for a new MLK sculpture at a new location that has yet to be determined.

*** Statewide ***

* Center Square | Illinois joining other states in establishing long-term energy plan: In a letter to PJM Interconnection, Pritzker and the governors from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland said collaboration is essential to accomplish a “collective vision.” The states are asking the company to comply with a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directive and coordinate with states and stakeholders.

* WBEZ | IDPH urges vigilance as COVID cases rise in emergency rooms: Illinois is one of nearly a dozen states that reported at least a moderate uptick that week. The trend has generally been on the rise since the beginning of May, when COVID patients accounted for roughly 0.3% of all people who visited an emergency room nationwide. As of June 8 that rose to 0.6%. But despite the nearly 30% increase, data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) shows just 0.5% of people who visited an ER did so because of COVID. Those numbers are still well below the levels seen during spikes last fall and winter.

* WCBU | Aaron Rossi accused of defrauding state of Illinois, private insurers in new federal indictment: A federal grand jury has indicted former Reditus Labs CEO Aaron Rossi on new charges linked to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of alleged COVID-19 testing fraud. […] The indictment alleges the 40-year-old Morton man was double billing both private insurers and the state of Illinois for the same tests. The state paid out more than $150,000 for tests that were actually already paid for by private insurers.

* Covers | Illinois April Handle Pushes Past New Jersey for Second-Biggest in US: The Illinois Gaming Board’s latest monthly data shows that the Land of Lincoln generated $92 million of adjusted revenue on a handle of $1.1 billion, edging New Jersey ($1.04 billion) for second place behind New York for the month. April’s handle was the sixth-highest amount wagered all-time in Illinois and marked the eighth consecutive $1 billion month.

* Tribune | How Illinois — ‘a racing family’ — stands apart from other states for Black trainers, drivers and owners: The governing body of North American harness racing, the United States Trotting Association, doesn’t ask for race on license applications so it’s impossible to know the exact number of Black drivers and trainers, but a review of the standings at the tracks lends credence to Hoffman’s opinion that they are a small minority. In contrast, in Illinois, they are a significant presence and are making an impact.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | City orders audit after pay mix-up for hundreds of laborers: Union leaders went public with the “fiasco” on June 10. In a fiery update to members posted online, Bob Chianelli, the business manager for LiUNA Local 1001, said city officials failed to fix the situation after the union had spent weeks requesting the city turn over pay registers and correct errors worth tens of thousands for some members. Approximately 125 members were underpaid, Chianelli told the Tribune, while around 800 were overpaid. The overpayments, he estimated, cost somewhere between $2.7 million and $2.9 million.

* Sun-Times | Blaring buzzer across from Pilsen shelter believed installed to annoy migrants — ‘It’s pretty awful’: Ryan Hurley, a former volunteer who helped migrants when they were housed at the Near West District Police Station, said he believes the device is new because he didn’t hear the noise when he was outside the shelter about two months ago. […] The device resembles and sounds like a Mosquito alarm, which is sold as a tool “to reduce anti-social behavior such as loitering, vandalism, graffiti and violence,” according to its website. The devices can get as loud as 108 decibels, or similar to the noise at a rock concert.

* NBC Chicago | ‘So many people in tents’: New documentary follows migrant families’ struggles, triumphs in Chicago: For nearly six months, NBC Chicago reporter Sandra Torres, Telemundo Chicago reporter Ivon Espitia and Senior Digital Producer DS Shin followed the lives of two families and several individuals who left Venezuela to seek asylum in the United States to provide a better life for their families. […] Lightfoot opened up for the first time in the documentary about how she handled the crisis, a year later.

* South Side Weekly | Mayor Johnson on His Organizing Roots and Vision for Chicago: When the interview turned to education, the mayor did not directly answer a yes-or-no question about the possibility of closing public schools during his tenure. Instead, Johnson noted that he participated in the 2015 hunger strike that forced then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel to reopen Dyett High School on the South Side, and offered a quote from W.E.B. DuBois. “The moratorium already exists,” he said. “I fought to make sure that it happened.”

* WTTW | From Utility Shutoff Moratoriums to Air Conditioning Rules, Chicago and Illinois Lawmakers Preparing for Increasingly Hot Temperatures: Whenever the National Weather Service forecasts temperatures hitting 90 degrees, gas and utility residential shutoffs due to nonpayment are prohibited in Illinois. It’s an example of a legal protection that environmental and consumer advocates predict more of in the near future, as climate change continues to wreak havoc. Illinois and Chicago are already taking steps in that direction, but advocates say more needs to be done to protext residents from future exteme weather events.

* Streetsblog | At Transport Chicago, experts discussed creative ideas to save the region’s transit system from looming fiscal cliff: During the panel, transit experts discussed the funding issues Chicago area transit agencies faced before the pandemic, the challenges of regaining ridership, the impact of the funding cuts and potential solutions. Panelist Thomas Bamonte, senior Advisor at the Metropolitan Planning Council, pitched a particularly bold proposal: congestion pricing. […] Bamonte suggested new taxes, mentioning creating a region-wide version of the Chicago tax on ride-hail trips, and a last-mile retail delivery tax on things like Amazon packages. But perhaps most radically, he proposed using the I-294/Tri-State Tollway as a “cordon,” by collecting tolls from drivers using expressways within this boundary, which could be used to fund Chicago transit.

* WBEZ | Chicago’s all-ages rock scene is catching fire, led by bands like Twin Coast: The notion that “rock is dead” isn’t true in Chicago, where an underground surge of bands barely out of high school is suddenly active throughout the city and suburbs. The sibling duo Twin Coast is adding to the growing do-it-yourself, teen-driven scene and creating a mini festival around it. New Static! Revival Now, a five-band bill at Schubas on Thursday, capitalizes on the excitement of the underground scene that is “full of really young, innovative people,” drummer Kira Isbell, 22, said. (Schubas is also the site of a daylong fair on independent musicmaking on June 23, hosted by CHIRP Radio.)

* ABC Chicago | Chicago NASCAR race course route map, street closures, parking restrictions: The starting and finish line of the 2024 NASCAR street course is facing south on South Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain. From there, drivers turn left on East Balbo Drive, right onto DuSable Lake Shore Drive, hook back around to go north on Columbus, turn left to go west on East Balbo drive, then South Michigan Avenue and around Congress Circle before turning right on to East Jackson Drive and another right back onto Columbus.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | First look at the next Cook County budget shows a $218 million gap: Cook County must close an anticipated $218 million budget shortfall in fiscal 2025, up from the $162 million gap it bridged last year, but lower than the $409 million hole the county faced in 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And although Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle declined to detail how she plans to close the gap in the 2025 spending plan, she said there will be no new taxes, fines or fees.

* Tribune | Arguments made after rare midtrial appeal halted case against two ex-Cook County assistant state’s attorneys: Months after a rare midtrial appeal halted a case against two former Cook County assistant state’s attorneys charged with misconduct, lawyers Tuesday sparred before a panel of appellate court judges over the legal issues that brought the case to a halt in October. […] The trial was underway before Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes, who was assigned the case after the entire Cook County judiciary was recused, when the special prosecutors handling the case asked for an appeal after Shanes barred large portions of testimony from a key witness.

* Daily Southtown | Will County executive vetoes hiring Robert Schillerstrom as landfill consultant: The County Board voted June 4 to issue a three-month contract for $15,000 to Robert J. Schillerstrom by a 12-6 vote. The six no votes came from board Democrats, who said that staff was already handling information related to landfill expansion. Four members were absent.

*** Downstate ***

* WCBU | Former Spring Valley hospital is headed to the auction block: OSF HealthCare acquired the former St. Margaret’s campus in Peru, reopening it as part of Saint Elizabeth Medical Center. The Peoria-based health care provider ultimately plans to move the main campus to the Peru facility and build a new hospital in Ottawa. But the Spring Valley hospital wasn’t picked up by OSF. The real estate broker said the building could be used for health care again, or alternatively for education, senior housing, or transitional or community living, among other possibilities.

* WREX | Ogle County Sheriff’s Office releases bodycam footage following officer-involved shooting in Lost Nation: Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock has filed Attempted First Degree Murder charges against Jonathon Gounaris (DOB 5/13/1992) following an incident that left three Ogle County law enforcement officers injured. The charges stem from a 12-count information filed in connection with the shooting on June 12, 2024, when officers responded to a residence in Lost Nation after reports of a suicidal threat.

* WCBU | Planned Parenthood clinic marks reopening with leaders vowing to protect reproductive health care: U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen says the reopening of Peoria’s Planned Parenthood facility has strengthened his resolve to protect access to reproductive health care. “You have my word that I will fight to protect the rights to IVF (in-vitro fertilization), the rights to contraception, the rights to gender-affirming care, and when it’s needed, the right to an abortion,” Sorensen said Tuesday during a ceremony at the clinic that was firebombed in January 2023.

* WSIL | Centerstone will open a 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call Center in Illinois: “I think this is gonna be a great benefit for the local community because it’s an extra resource and there’s already a strong safety net that we have here in Southern Illinois,” [Centerstone’s Vice President of External Affairs, Robert Lambert] said. Lambert says the new center will start taking calls from people across the state on July 1st.

* WREX | Vendors come out to the largest Juneteenth event in Illinois to celebrate the holiday: With the holiday being celebrated across the country, the Boone County Museum of History said an addition this like comes with a great amount of significance. “It’s very, very significant and as it should be federally recognized. It’s a very important day for African Americans and it’s a very important day for the country as a whole just celebrating real freedom,” Natali Monaghan, the Executive Director of the museum said.

* Daily Journal | Rally spills over into Manteno village board meeting: A rally outside the Leo Hassett Community Center that began at 5 p.m., an hour before the 6 p.m. meeting, in support of Mike “Dirty” Barry spilled over into the board proceedings. Barry, who has been outspoken against the Gotion lithium battery factory in Manteno, was recently dismissed as athletic director of the Manteno Wildcats football program. Through social media, Barry asked people who supported him to show up at the rally, which was also attended by Phil Nagel, who is running against State Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, for Illinois State Senate in District 40 as a Republican.

*** National ***

* NPR | Why isn’t extreme heat considered a disaster in the U.S.?: The massive heat dome that struck the Pacific Northwest in 2021 paralyzed the region. Emergency departments were overwhelmed. Roads buckled in the heat. Hundreds of people died. That same year, Hurricane Ida barreled into the Southeast. Buildings were flattened in Louisiana. Hundreds of thousands lost power. At least 87 people in the U.S. died. Both were deadly and traumatizing. But FEMA distributed billions of dollars and months of post-disaster support to states and families battered by Ida. Victims of the heat dome, on the other hand, received no federal support.

* Missouri Independent | Kansas lawmakers approve tax incentive bill to lure Chiefs, Royals away from Missouri: The House voted 84-38 and the Senate voted 27-8 to approve legislation that would expand a state incentive program in an attempt to lure one or both teams from Kansas City. The bill now heads to Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, who said in a statement following the Senate vote that the effort to bring the teams to Kansas “shows we’re all-in on keeping our beloved teams in the Kansas City metro.”

* Bloomberg | Mortgage rates drop below 7% for first time since March: The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage decreased 8 basis points to 6.94% in the week ended June 14, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. The five-year adjustable-rate mortgage slid 18 basis points to 6.27%, matching the lowest level since February.