* Governor Pritzker signed SB1289 today. Click here for some more background. The governor’s press release…

Today Governor JB Pritzker, joined by legislators, environmental advocates, and organized labor leaders, signed SB1289, the Safety and Aid for the Environment in Carbon Capture and Sequestration (SAFE CCS Act), into law. The bill creates nation-leading standards for safety and environmental protection for carbon capture, transport, and sequestration projects in Illinois. Thanks to carbon capture tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, this act will also drive investment in Illinois and create hundreds of jobs as companies are incentivized to move carbon capture to Illinois.

“Every reduction in planetary warming, no matter how marginal, represents billions in potential savings for our economy and likely thousands of lives– and here in Illinois, that is a responsibility we take seriously,” said Governor JB Pritzker. ​ “It is a testament to the ingenuity of this group that we conceived and passed this legislation while prioritizing the health and safety of our people, catalyzing job growth and investment in our economy, and protecting our air, water, and soil.”

The SAFE CCS Act sets regulations around carbon capture, including requiring new carbon sequestration facilities to obtain a state permit with requirements for monitoring during and after carbon sequestration, as well as rules around financial assurances, insurance, emergency management, and closure plans. The law places a two-year moratorium on new pipelines, a timeline which could be shortened if the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration finalizes crucial safety regulations. This makes Illinois just the second state to place a hold on CO2 pipeline development.

The act also requires CO2 projects to achieve a net reduction in greenhouse gases and conduct water, air, and soil monitoring to ensure no leaks occur, and take immediate corrective action if they do. New projects must go through a rigorous and transparent assessment process by the Illinois Commerce Commission and require plans to monitor carbon capture and transport sites and respond immediately if any issues arise. The law also sets high safety standards for any new pipelines in the state and mandates training and support for first responders in pipeline areas.

* AP…

An Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder in the death of a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense moment over a pot of water in her home and then discouraged his partner from trying to save her, authorities said Thursday.

The details were in a court document filed in support of keeping fired Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson in custody without bond.

Sonya Massey, 36, was killed at her home in Springfield, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago, after deputies responded to her 911 call about a possible prowler early on July 6.

Prosecutors said Grayson “aggressively yelled” at Massey to put a pot down and then she put her hands in the air, declared “I’m sorry” and ducked for cover before being shot in the face. Grayson also discouraged the other deputy from getting his medical kit, prosecutors said.

“The other deputy still rendered aid and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical help arrived,” First Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Rodgers wrote. Grayson “at no time attempted to render aid to Ms. Massey.”

* WICS reporter Julia Rosier obtained Grayson’s charging documents…

Deputies entered Ms. Massey’s home to gather further information, and ensure the residence was safe. At no time was Ms. Massey under arrest.

Defendant noticed a pot on the stove, and approved of Ms. Massey removing the pot to prevent any accidental fires. The pot was located in another room of the home, separated by a large counter.

During this time, the other deputy was clearing the house, and nothing dangerous was noted. Defendant then made a comment about the pot, which apparently contained heated water. Ms. Massey responded verbally and set the pot of water down on a counter in the kitchen. During this time, Defendant was still in the living room area of the home.

Despite his distance and relative cover, Defendant drew his 9mm firearm, not the less than lethal TASER located on his duty vest, and threatened to shoot Ms. Massey in the face. Seeing the drawn weapon, Ms. Massey put her hands in the air and stated, “I’m sorry,” while ducking for cover behind the counter that separated her and Defendant.

Defendant, with his firearm still drawn, proceeded to close the significant gap between him and Ms. Massey. Defendant then aggressively yelled at Ms. Massey to put the pot down.

Defendant then fired his duty weapon three times in the direction of Ms. Massey, striking her in the face one time. Only at this time did Defendant activate his body worn camera. (please note, the body worn camera of the other deputy was activated when he first arrived on scene, and remained on during the entirety of the events).

After this, the other deputy announced he was going to retrieve a medical kit from his vehicle, to which Defendant instructed him not to, because of the severity of the injury. The other deputy still rendered aid, and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical help arrived. Defendant at no time attempted to render aid to Ms. Massey.

An independent investigation of Defendant’s actions was performed by the Illinois State Police. An expert in the field of “use of force” reviewed the recording made by body worn camera of both deputies. (Please see People’s Exhibit B subject to a protective order) The expert concluded that Defendant was NOT justified in his use of deadly force. He likened the scenario to an officer intentionally and unnecessarily putting himself in front of a moving vehicle and then justifying use of force because of fear of being struck.

Defendant’s disregard of his training as a law enforcement officer, and his disregard for human life, shows by clear and convincing evidence that he is a danger to persons in the community. He has ample access to firearms, and has shown a willingness to use lethal force, despite the availability of non-deadly alternatives, when there is little to no threat to his bodily safety.

* The Howlett Cafeteria got dinged by the Sangamon County Department of Public Health in June. SJ-R…

The Howlett Building

Location: 501 S. 2nd St., Springfield

Date/inspection type: June 20, routine inspection.

What: Result found 13 violations with 5 risk factors.

Notes from inspection: Cookies packaged in advance of retail sale in the food establishment do not have proper labels or information available at point of sale. The inspectors noted that employees are lacking the habit of using a clean barrier to turn off the faucet to constitute proper hand washing. This was observed at least 3 times between two different employees. The fan at the end of the cook line and air conditioning vent in the same location are both soiled with dust and grease.

*** RNC ***

* Outgoing Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy, U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood and Mike Bost and state Rep. John Cabello held a press availability this morning…

* WTTW | Illinois GOP Leaders Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results, Say They Remain Concerned About Fraud: Tracy said voters should be required to show a government-issued identification card to cast a ballot and the rules governing signature verification on mail-in ballots tightened. Illinois current rules amount to a “recipe for fraud,” Tracy said.

* WTTW | Illinois Republicans Strike Optimistic Tone About Congressional, Senate Candidates at Final Day of RNC: Jim Carris, a first-time candidate running against U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois) in the 10th Congressional District, said GOP challengers are “energized.” He said the state of the economy motivated him to run. “We’ve got a bunch of new candidates who have never run for office before, like myself and a number of others from all over the state, who are giving of themselves, and they’re putting their own wealth and reputations on the line to serve the greater good,” Carris said. “I can’t think of anything more rewarding than trying to help others.”

* Capitol News Illinois | LaHood calls for resignation of Secret Service director: In the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, of Peoria, called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. […] “It’s an embarrassment for the United States,” he told reporters after the ILGOP’s breakfast meeting Thursday. “It’s a weakness that the United States is viewed around the world when the leading presidential candidate is shot at and almost murdered.”

* WBEZ | Illinois Republicans are taking advice and reflecting on how they can win more elections: The Illinois Republican Party has not held a statewide office since Bruce Rauner was governor. Just 3 of the state’s 17 U.S Representatives are Republican. Both U.S. Senators are Democrats. And Democrats hold supermajorities in Springfield. As the Republican National Convention enters the home stretch – Illinois Republicans are taking advice and reflecting on how they can win more elections and gain more influence statewide.

* Daily Herald | ‘I expressed myself’: Suburban GOP official confronts Matt Gaetz at RNC and goes viral: “He was really being over the top, just pushing people aside, the way he was speaking,” Porter said. “So I expressed myself. I thought it was time for him to move along. “I was happy to have the chance to look him in the eye and tell him what I thought,” he added. “I just wish I hadn’t sworn.”

* Mother Jones | RNC Platform Official: Nothing In Our Platform Says We Won’t Ban Abortion Nationwide: A day after the adoption of the platform, Ed Martin—president of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, a conservative group, and one of three people the RNC and the Trump campaign appointed to run the committee that wrote the platform—appeared to suggest on his radio show, Pro America Report, that the platform signals support for a federal abortion ban: “It’s got protections for pro-life. Don’t let anybody tell you there’s not protections for pro-life,” Martin said. “There’s not as many words describing it, but there’s protection under the Constitution, that life is protected.”

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | Illinois scores high on mental health, low on cancer care in women’s health report: Overall, Illinois placed slightly better than average, No. 22 among 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Commonwealth Fund’s 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s & Reproductive Health. lllinois had the second-lowest rate of women ages 18 to 64 who report poor mental health. The state also had a low rate of women ages 18 to 44 reporting depression before or during pregnancy and a high percentage of women in that age group who received postpartum checkups after birth.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Attorney General Joins Fight Against Lakefront Dump Expansion: Environmental activists suing to stop the expansion of a lakefront dump site for polluted sediment now have a big name in their corner: the state’s attorney general. Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a 16-page brief last week opposing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to expand its Southeast Side confined disposal facility. The 43-acre facility, which neighbors Calumet Park at the mouth of the Calumet River, stores sediment dredged from the river and five other federally maintained waterways in the city. It’s on land owned by the Park District, which does not charge the Army Corps for its use.

* Tribune | As convention nears, CPD faces renewed questions on use of body-worn cameras: With the Democratic National Convention about a month away, the chief judge of Chicago’s federal court has called for greater clarity in the Chicago Police Department’s policy dictating when officers may deactivate their body-worn cameras. But the order issued this month by Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer gives the city and CPD until Aug. 30 — more than a week after the conclusion of the DNC — to provide a new draft of the policy to the Illinois attorney general’s office and the independent monitoring team that assesses consent-decree compliance.

* Chalkbeat | Union members assail Chicago Public Schools budget plan ahead of board vote: The mayor-appointed school board is slated to vote on the budget a month later than usual. Notably, the proposal does not factor in raises for educators. The district is negotiating new contracts with its teachers and principals unions, and officials noted that the budget would need to be revised to account for the cost of these contracts once they are settled.

* WBEZ | Chicago’s Millennium Park has become a gravity-defying art gallery: Dodging tourists and pigeons, and with my app at the ready, I came across the first augmented reality art by Chicago-based artist Carlos Rolón. Rolón is an internationally recognized artist who works in multiple mediums, with his work often focusing on personal identity. On a sign in front of Wrigley Square sat a brief description of Rolón’s background as well as of his featured work, “Ni Aquí, Ni Allá (Neither Here, Nor There).”

* Sun-Times | Wildlife experts are investigating why piping plover chicks are dying: “Juvenile birds have a hard time making it to adulthood in the wild,” said Matthew Allender, a wildlife veterinarian with Brookfield Chicago Zoo and University of Illinois. “But the fact that we have only one nest of piping plover chicks on Montrose Beach makes it of great interest.” The chicks, hardly 2 weeks old, were the offspring of Imani and Sea Rocket and days away from being named. Their only surviving chick appears to be healthy.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Elgin Courier-News | Elgin had second-highest number of DUI arrests in Illinois in 2023, anti-drunk driving group says: Aurora police took the top honor this year, chalking up 366 arrests for driving under the influence. Elgin’s second-place arrest number was 282, the survey said. Rounding out the top 10 were Bloomington, Decatur, Rockford, Lombard, Waukegan, Elmhurst, West Chicago and Addison.

* Naperville Sun | DuPage County Board member Lucy Chang Evans, former Secret Service agent from Naperville, speaks on Trump assassination attempt: Evans says she thinks what happened Saturday will be a “teaching moment.” She conceded that she did not “want to second guess what they did” at Trump’s rally, but “20/20 being hindsight, most people would say that setup was not safe.” […] “I don’t know what went into the decision,” said Evans, speaking to the site security plan for Trump’s rally. “I don’t know if something changed. … I don’t know if somebody decided to change things at the last minute.”

*** Downstate ***

* 25 News Now | McLean County in the running for $200 million Rivian expansion and hundreds of new jobs: Rivian is looking at Normal and other unspecified sites for a $200 million expansion that could add hundreds more to the electric vehicle maker’s workforce. It’s a “whole new project” separate from Rivian’s planned $1.5 billion addition to make the company’s less expensive R2 sport utility vehicle, said Patrick Hoban, head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council.

* The Southern | Pro-life organization files SCOTUS case against Carbondale: Coalition Life v. City of Carbondale, the petition filed by Thomas More Society attorneys and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul, comes as part of a larger effort to wipe out “bubble zone laws,” which the organization perceives are restrictive upon sidewalk counselors throughout the entire country. With this effort, the petition asks SCOTUS to overturn its 2000 Hill v. Colorado decision, which ruled the First Amendment right to free speech was not violated by a Colorado law limiting protest, education, counseling and distribution of literature within eight feet of a person entering a healthcare facility.

* WAND | “Sonya Massey should be alive today.” Lawmakers, officials share statements on death of woman killed by deputy: Illinois lawmakers and officials are sharing their thoughts on a Springfield woman killed in her own home by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy. Sonya Massey, 36, was shot at her home on Hoover Ave. by now-former deputy Sean P. Grayson on July 6.

* WCIA | Ameren Illinois wrapping up Monday storm repairs, cleanup : After Monday evening’s storms, related power outages in the Champaign region are now restored, Ameren confirmed Thursday. […] Ameren said a some outages remain in Peoria, though they may not be storm-related.

* WCIA | Future of Danville’s former Quaker Oats site remains uncertain: In Danville, the Quaker Oats factory has been sitting vacant for more than a month. Officials are growing concerned about the site’s uncertain future. It was shut down a month ago and officials are hoping there’s some redeeming factor for the empty site. Vermilion Advantage CEO Mike Marron said the building may not be viable for future companies to use. “I think that’s the important thing. We just need a pretty honest evaluation of the state of the building and figure out where we’re going to go from there.”

* WCIA | Girls flag football coming to Urbana High School this fall: Head Coach Ordell Walker said the program was supposed to begin next year, but high interest jumped the timeline. “Our athletic director, Mr. Waller, sent out a survey to just kind of see interest level and we had about 70 girls respond. About 50 said they think they would play if we started it,” Walker said. “So that gave us the motivation to try to move things up and get started this year.”

* BND | Another bear sighting reported in southern Illinois, sheriff says: “This is a confirmed sighting with multiple witnesses,” Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said in a Facebook posting that featured photos of the bear. Diederich said the bear was seen early Thursday in the area of Galatia Post and Angelville roads about 12 miles east of Marion.

*** National ***

* Crain’s | Discover sells student loan business for up to $10.8 billion: The sale to Santiago Holdings, an affiliate of investment firms Carlyle and KKR, comes as Riverwoods-based Discover is in the process of being acquired by Capital One Financial Services. Discover’s student loan portfolio contained a balance of about $10.1 billion as of June 30, the company said in a statement, and the deal is expected to be closed by the end of 2024. The final sale price will be determined by the balance at the sale’s close.

* Religion News Service | Voter protection training begins as clergy, secular groups look toward election: On Monday (July 15), Catholic nuns, rabbis and community and labor leaders gathered online to hear a Bible-based introduction in the first of seven “poll chaplain/peacekeeper” virtual training sessions aimed at equipping volunteers to keep the environment calm at polling places, especially in battleground states. […] More than 80 people attended the 90-minute online training, which included breakout groups with practice scenarios, ranging from someone holding a gun to a bystander shouting obscenities outside a polling place. Trainees were given tools to help build trust with people in line to vote, as well as a special phone number to call if they witness intimidating behavior.