* ICYMI: Sheriff asks for forgiveness, declines to resign following Sonya Massey shooting. SJ-R…

- Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said Monday his department “failed the community” and Sonya Massey.
- Responding to calls for his resignation, Campbell said he would “not abandon the sheriff’s office at this most critical moment.”
- Campbell next stands for election in 2026.

* Related stories…

∙ Capitol City Now: Campbell won’t resign
∙ AP: With DUI-Related Ejection From Army, Deputy Who Killed Sonya Massey Should Have Raised Flags, Experts Say
∙ The Intercept: Past employers questioned integrity and conduct of deputy who killed Sonya Massey

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Feds swat argument that Supreme Court saves Madigan: ‘This dog will not hunt’: Prosecutors wrote that “Madigan accepted a stream of more than $700,000 in benefits from ComEd over the course of eight years, knowing the payments were made to influence and reward Madigan’s official action with regard to legislation that impacted ComEd’s financial interests.” They wrote that the Supreme Court’s Snyder decision “did not discuss, and certainly does not disturb, the continued viability of bribery prosecutions that target ‘schemes that involve a stream of benefits over time, not just singly negotiated deals,’ where the government can establish an intent to engage in a quid pro quo.”

Click here to read the full 113 page filing.

* Crain’s | Illinois expects even more abortion seekers as six-week ban goes live in Iowa: Planned Parenthood of Illinois reported on the second anniversary of the federal Supreme Court ruling that its clinics have seen a threefold increase in patients traveling from Iowa for abortion care. Before the six-week ban, Iowa already had Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers, or TRAP, laws in place, such as a 24-hour waiting period for an abortion and parental notification for minors.

* ProPublica | Federal Law Thwarted Chicago’s Attempt to Sue Gun Makers. But Now It Has a New Strategy.: Chicago’s suit reflects not just concern over a stubborn public safety issue but also a shift in legal efforts against the gun industry. Cities, shooting survivors and the families of shooting victims are taking on the gun industry in new ways. The claims in these newer lawsuits show plaintiffs are not trying to take on the whole of the industry but instead are “trying to find the right pathway within the law,” said Andrew Willinger, executive director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law.

*** Statehouse News ***

* The Trace | Illinois State Legislators Introduced Three Violence Prevention Bills. Why Didn’t They Vote on Them?: Gun violence prevention advocates and bill sponsors are hopeful that the setback is just a delay, and that they’ll be heard and signed during the fall veto session, but they plan on keeping pressure on officials until then. It’s common for bills to be delayed, said Democratic State Representative Kam Buckner. Sometimes, he added, it takes time to finalize and pass legislation, regardless of the issue. “It’s just the way that Springfield works,” he said. “But we got to stay on it and do all we can to get it over the finish line.”

* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker says it would be ‘near impossible’ to get Bears stadium deal done this fall: “I made it clear to the Bears leadership that it would be near impossible to get anything done — if there was a proposal put on the table that could get done, you couldn’t actually get it done, probably, during the veto session and would have to wait until next spring,” Pritzker said, referring to the year’s final legislative session in November, during an unrelated news conference in Chicago. “But in reality, there isn’t a proposal on the table right now that would be acceptable to anyone that I know in the legislature,” he continued.

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker signs birth equity initiative into law, celebrates Medicaid expansion: The law requires insurers that provide state-regulated health care plans to cover pregnancy and postpartum services for covered individuals, including midwife services, doula visits, and lactation consultants for up to 12 months after the end of a pregnancy. Licensed or certified midwives will need to be covered by insurance providers starting 2025, while all other outlined services must be covered by January 2026.

*** Statewide ***

* WBEZ | Federal government gives Illinois $430 million to fight climate change: The money comes from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, which awarded $4.3 billion federal funds to a mix of 25 state, local and tribal entities. It’s funded through President Joe Biden’s climate legislation. Illinois was awarded the full amount requested, which it will receive over the next five years. Illinois has already made progress on some of the goals in part through the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). The sweeping statewide legislation effectively tied Illinois’ clean energy targets to the Paris Climate Agreement — which means Illinois will be fully powered by clean energy by 2050.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Donald Trump to attend national Black journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday: The event will be moderated by Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News; Harris Faulkner, anchor of “The Faulkner Focus” and co-host of “Outnumbered” on Fox News; and Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor. Trump decided to appear at the NABJ annual gathering in the wake of a 2024 presidential campaign that has been upended since President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he would not seek another term. Trump is making the stop at the convention as part of his bid for Black votes.

* Block Club | DNC In Chicago: United Center Neighbors Brace For Restricted Access, Traffic, Police — And Confusion: Officials hosted meetings and canvassed the Near West Side to prep neighbors, but confusion remains, with some mistakenly believing they won’t be able to enter or leave their homes during the convention.

* ABC Chicago | El Chapo’s son Joaquin Guzman Lopez to appear in Chicago court, El Mayo still held in Texas: Zambada’s attorney claimed over the weekend that his client was tricked into flying into the country, saying he was “forcibly kidnapped” by Guzman Lopez. El Mayo, as he is known, was already a wanted fugitive in Chicago with a $15 million bounty on his head. Allegedly, Guzman Lopez convinced the elder cartel boss to board a plane for an airstrip inspection in northern Mexico. Instead, they kept flying into the U.S, where they were arrested by drug agents.

* Sun-Times | ‘Ring of fire’ conditions expected as heat, humidity create weather like ‘air you can wear’: Chicago will once again face a “ring of fire” pattern of storms this week, though it’s less likely to be as severe as the one that spawned more than two dozen tornadoes earlier in the month, the National Weather Service said. Heat indices of more than 100 degrees are also expected later in the week.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Oak Park moving to be a ‘certified’ welcoming town for immigrants, residents: At a recent Village Board meeting, trustees heard a presentation from Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Danielle Walker, who outlined steps she and her team have taken since March when they were notified that the village was selected by Welcoming America to participate in the nonprofit certification group’s tailored program. According to the organization’s website, Welcoming America, which started in 2009, helps provide communities with “the roadmap they need to create welcoming policies and share new approaches to inclusion to create an environment where everyone can thrive.”

* Tribune | Lion Electric’s Joliet plant operating significantly below capacity as US and Canadian subsidies lag: Lion Electric executives won’t say how many workers the Saint-Jerome, Quebec-based company employs in Joliet or how many buses it is building. But after three companywide layoffs, they say the plant is operating significantly below the 200-bus-per-month capacity they advertise on their website. In an interview, they attribute the slowdown to the complex and still-incomplete rollout of government subsidy programs in the United States and Canada.

* Daily Herald | Lawmaker suggests “bad faith diversion” by township leaders on mental health funding: State Rep. Daniel Didech said he is willing to explore additional legislation to validate a referendum Wheeling Township voters passed in 2022 to fund mental health services. […] “Five townships and one county (that) approved referenda at the same time in the same way are all successfully levying the tax,” the Buffalo Grove Democrat said. “So, this is likely more bad faith diversion from them.”

*** Downstate ***

* Herald-Review | 17th District challenger Joe McGraw named ‘Young Gun’ by national GOP: The party’s congressional campaign arm on Monday announced that their candidate in the northwestern Illinois-based district, retired judge Joe McGraw, was one of more than two-dozen selected for their “Young Gun” program. The program mentors and supports candidates across the country and provides them with “the necessary tools to run successful, winning campaigns against their Democratic opponents.”

* WAND | IL FOP says other organization responsible for deputy’s grievance in Sonya Massey case: ILFOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood has issued the following statement regarding the labor contract grievance that was filed by a separate organization, not the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police: “We are the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, strictly a fraternal organization. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge is not the labor organization that filed the grievance on behalf of the former deputy who is jailed on murder charges. That dubious distinction rests with the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, which is a completely separate organization with different leadership, a different organizational structure and a different mission. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge had zero involvement in this grievance and yet we are bearing the brunt of the public outcry and hate communication for that action just because we share a common first name with the FOP Labor Council.”

* TSPR | ‘He was a ball of light:’ Mother seeks justice in Macomb police shooting of four-year-old child: Anthony George, 57, and Terrell Miller, 4, were killed by single shot as police responded to a violent domestic dispute in the 900 block of North Charles Street on March 16. But a lawyer for the child’s mother is asking for the Appellate decision to be reviewed and plans to take civil action against the Macomb Police Department. “We intend to hold the Macomb Police Department accountable for or Terrell’s tragic death,” said Marleena Menendez Suarez of Fairmont City at a press conference Monday outside the Macomb Police Department.

* PJ Star | Video shows moments before man, boy killed by officer responding to stabbing in Illinois: George, a knife visible in his left hand, refuses to comply with requests to drop his weapons, according to police. The video then shows him lunge out of sight and return holding a knife in each hand, including one to the throat of a 4-year-old boy, later identified as Terrell Miller, son of the stabbing victim. An officer discharged his firearm once, killing both George and Miller.

* KHQA | Protesters gather at Macomb Police Department following fatal officer-involved incident: After the protest, around 2:00 p.m., KHQA went to the front office of the Macomb Police Department for a comment but was asked to contact Chief Jef Hamer. Over an hour later, at 4:00 p.m., the Macomb Police Department shared in part quote: “While the decision to release this footage is supported by our commitment to transparency, our hearts and thoughts remain with the families affected by this tragedy. We will provide further updates at regular intervals until the internal investigation is complete.”

* WCIA | Correctional officer accused of ‘inflammatory’ Facebook comments arrested on weapons charge: Records from the Sangamon County Jail and Circuit Clerk show that Thomas Angeli was booked into the jail Sunday on a misdemeanor charge. That charge was formally filed against Angeli by the State’s Attorney’s Office the following day. He is accused of possessing a gun with an expired FOID card, a Class A misdemeanor. Records also show Angeli residing in Sherman, Ill.

* Herald-Review | Judge will decide if lawsuit against Decatur police continues: It’s up to a judge to decide whether a jury will ever see a lawsuit claiming Decatur Police Department officers acted unreasonably and unconstitutionally when they pulled over Quartus Stitt and ordered him out of his car and detained him at gunpoint. Lawyers for the police and city of Decatur have filed to have the federal civil rights case dismissed. A jury trial in the U.S. District Court in Urbana had been penciled in to start this week but that’s now on hold while Judge Colin S. Bruce considers whether to grant summary judgment against Stitt.

* Illinois Times | Downtown’s festival dilemma: Downtown Springfield has been facing some difficult hurdles lately. In addition to the devastating fire which damaged several businesses on Adams Street in June, the Jaycees’ annual Fourth of July Capital City Celebration, with its popular downtown fireworks display, didn’t happen for the second year in a row (the derecho nixed it in 2023). AbeFest, a downtown festival held in July to highlight both local and national music acts, has also canceled for a second time. The Legacy of Giving Music Festival reported low turnout last month and may or may not be returning in the future. More recently, it was announced that the popular Old Capitol Blues & BBQ festival won’t be providing Springfieldians with its usual combination of sweet grooves and tasty ribs next month.

* Tribune | Several hundred U of I students trade in dorm contracts for incentives amid campus housing shortage: According to UIUC University Housing spokesperson Chris Axtman-Barker, “several hundred” students have opted to trade-in their campus housing contracts for an incentive package of $2,000 and 100 free meals that the university is continuing to offer eligible students for each cancellation. “While we normally have a small number of contracted students without housing assignments in July, this year we have more students than normal without an assigned space,” Axtman-Barker, said in an emailed statement Monday.

*** Sports ***

This is the worst team in the history of baseball.

— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) July 30, 2024

* Tribune | ‘Why can’t that be me?’ Chicago-area native Paul Juda shines in Olympic debut for Team USA gymnastics: Paul Juda’s story begins with his father, Jozef, who grew up one of six kids on a small farm in southern Poland. With steady, decent-paying jobs hard to find, he decided to move to Chicago, a city with a vibrant Polish population and a reputation for welcoming Eastern European immigrants. […] “Paul did not make it by himself and he knows this,” his mother said. “He’s not at the Olympics because we moved to the United States. He’s at the Olympics because we moved to the United States and met wonderful, wonderful people who helped us.”

* BND | Here’s how Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham can boost the St. Louis Cardinals: The St. Louis Cardinals made a major move to reshape their starting rotation for this and next season as well as shore up their right-handed outfield depth on Monday, acquiring right-hander Erick Fedde and outfielder and returning Cardinal Tommy Pham from the Chicago White Sox in a three-team trade which saw injured utility ace and former Gold Glove winner Tommy Edman sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the teams announced.

* Block Club | Track & Field Center In Pullman Helped 2 Chicagoans On Path To Paris Olympics: The $54 million athletic center in Pullman opened in 2021 and has already helped level the playing field for the city’s budding track athletes, and it has turned the Far South Side into a national track and field hub. Two Chicagoans at the 2024 Paris Olympics — triple jumper Tori Franklin and hurdler Shamier Little — have trained at Gately, Collins said. The Olympics’ track and field events start Aug 1.

*** National ***

* Press Release | U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hires Former Congressman Rodney Davis to Lead Government Affairs: “As a five-term member of Congress, Rodney Davis earned a reputation as a champion of free enterprise and pro-growth policies and effective legislator who was deeply respected on both sides of the aisle,” said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark. “His deep relationships, policy expertise, and proven track record as a consensus builder around the toughest issues will be invaluable as the Chamber continues to advocate for businesses and for a growth and opportunity agenda that benefits all Americans.”

* Rolling Stone | These Swing State Election Officials Are Pro-Trump Election Deniers: In the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, Rolling Stone and American Doom identified at least 70 pro-Trump election conspiracists currently working as county election officials who have questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to certify results. At least 22 of these county election officials have refused or delayed certification in recent years.

* NPR | Washington Post CEO accused in court of deceiving police about U.K. hacking scandal: In court, the lawyers submitted a statement arguing that Lewis “fabricated a fake security threat” in January 2011 to justify the deletion of millions of emails dating from the start of 2008 through the end of 2010 — an act that those suing the company suggest is part of a wider coverup. The Murdoch newspaper company, now called News UK, denies those claims. Lewis has broadly denied any wrongdoing but declined to comment to NPR today.