* ICYMI: ‘Worker Freedom of Speech Act’ hit with lawsuit from libertarian group. Capitol News Illinois…

The Chicago-based Illinois Policy Institute on Thursday sued the Illinois Department of Labor in federal court, claiming the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act” violates employers’ First Amendment rights. The law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, makes it illegal for companies to punish their workers for opting out of a meeting in which they’d be subjected to the employer’s views on religious or political matters, or rewarded for attending. […]

During negotiations over the Worker Freedom of Speech Act this spring, advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois worried the law would prevent nonprofit organizations from being able to communicate about the nature of their work. As a result, advocacy organizations like the ACLU – a 501(c)4 – as well as labor organizations designated as 501(c)5s and trade associations with 501(c)6 status were exempted from the law.

But traditional charities and churches with 501(c)3 designations were not exempted. The Illinois Policy Institute sued in its capacity as a 501(c)3, claiming the law “bans the Institute from communicating with its employees during mandatory meetings” about policy proposals despite policy being “one of the principal purposes of the Institute.”

Absent from the lawsuit, however, is any acknowledgement of the IPI’s twin organization, Illinois Policy, which is organized as a 501(c)4 and shares leadership, staff, facilities, and a website with the IPI and has an identical board of directors. After its offshoot launch a decade ago, Illinois Policy became the entity under which IPI’s lobbyists were registered, while both groups expanded their overall footprint under the same branding.

* Related stories…

∙ Cook County Record: IL trial lawyers say state high court should remove rule limiting lawsuit ‘forum shopping’ in IL courts
∙ Center Square: Lawsuit against ‘Worker Freedom of Speech Ac

At 2:30 pm Governor Pritzker will be at Navy Pier to give remarks at Chicago Navy Week. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WICS | No hearings held for reported police misconduct, over 300 Illinois officers affected: In 2023, over 300 officers were placed on the Officer Professional Conduct Database by law enforcement agencies. ILETSB told me they haven’t held any hearings on any of reported officers. They told me staffing isn’t in place to hold hearings. […] ILETSB told me the hearings were part of several changes required by the Safe-T Act’s passage in 2022. They plan to start holding hearings officers reported to the database by the Fall of 2024 and are currently looking for a qualified staff and lawyers at this time, needing two more people, said ILETSB.

* Belt Mag | America’s Largest Inland Port is Running Out of Water: The booming city of Joliet is running out of water. For one hundred and fifty years, the city has been among the handful of other municipalities across the Chicagoland region that has extracted water from an underground aquifer system connected to Lake Michigan. Water is stored deep underground between layers of bedrock that can reach hundreds of feet deep. To retrieve the water, a drilling system is used to press down on the sandstone aquifer, releasing the pressure and forcing water up into a well — much like the act of squeezing a sponge. More than a century ago, the aquifer system was reportedly so full that water would shoot up above ground without even having to be drilled and pumped. But for the last hundred years, Chicagoland cities have been extracting way more water than has been naturally replenished.

* Capitol News Illinois | With new federal waiver, Illinois expanding Medicaid to nonmedical services: The new waiver adds three new categories of services that will be covered under the Illinois Medicaid program for individuals who qualify. But state officials estimate it will take at least a year to get the new services up and running. The first and most far-reaching of those covers “health-related social needs,” or HRSN services. That includes such things as housing and food assistance for Medicaid enrollees who either have or are at risk of developing costly chronic health conditions and who have a documented need for such services.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WTTW | Advocates Hope New Illinois Law Helps Lower Maternal Mortality Rate for Black Women: Last Monday, Gov. J.B. Prtizker signed the Birth Equity Act that will require Illinois-based health insurance to cover abortion care without co-pays and deductibles, including coverage of abortion medications. And it will cover services such as doulas, lactation consultants and midwives. “This bill was about equity. It was about saving lives and righting the wrongs of history of the high numbers of African American who were dying at the table, or their babies were dying, or families choosing who to live during a moment you should feel safe,” said state Sen. Lakesia Collins (D-Chicago).

* SJ-R | Pritzker signs 3 bills to enhance abortion protections in Illinois. What you need to know: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case against Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA in June, which permits doctors to provide abortion services during medical emergencies. Democratic lawmakers pushed the legislation that would codify the federal law in case the nation’s high court overturned EMTALA. With Pritzker’s signature, the state is now prepared if the challenge was heard by the Supreme Court at a later date.

* Center Square | Illinois expanding the Film Production Services Tax Credit: Illinois Production Alliance Executive Director Christine Dudley said an economic impact study shows that the film tax credit is paying off. “For every dollar spent on the tax credit, seven dollars is generated into the economy, so that is a return on investment and really speaks to the success of the program,” said Dudley. Dudley said approximately 94% of current film and television production in Illinois is a byproduct of the film tax credit.

*** State Fair ***

* WAND | Pritzker, state leaders cut ribbon for 2024 Illinois State Fair: “From the 800 seat big top circus in Happy Hollow to the Ninja Warrior obstacle course just outside the coliseum, or the brand new Fairytales on Ice performance in the air-conditioned Orr Building, the Illinois State Fair is your home to family friendly entertainment,” said State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark.

* Capitol City Now | Let the fair begin!: A question-and-answer between reporters and the governor, noting that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, which state – Illinois or Minnesota – has a better state fair. “First of all, we have the better state,” answered Pritzker. “I have to say that we have been working hard to make our state fair the best state fair in the country, and I want to make sure we have the attendance of any state fair in the country. I haven’t looked at the numbers for Minnesota, but don’t miss this state fair!”

* WJBC | Twilight Parade wraps up day one of Illinois State Fair: Illinois 4-Hers are the grand marshals of the 2024 Illinois State Fair. Avani Rai, who is about to be a sophomore at Harvard, says 4-H has kept her busy, and the organization is not exclusively about farming. “This past year, I got to serve as one of four national spokespeople for the organization,” said Rai. “As a youth advocacy member, I was able to really, really get involved with the fact that 4-H is a beautiful intersection of so many different things, from STEM to healthy living to agriculture to civic engagement. And that’s what 4-H is all about: giving youth as many opportunities as possible to find their passion in whatever they’re interested in.”

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | With Democratic National Convention imminent, groups exchange barbs over planned pro-Palestinian protests: The USPCN is among four groups that have been in protracted discussions with the city over a proposed protest route. Together they sued the city in federal court in an effort to secure protest routes within “sight and sound” of the convention. A protest is planned as early as hours before the gavel drops to open the convention. Discussions about the route have apparently hit an impasse; protesters have said that the city’s proposed route onto side streets would cause logjams, while the city said protesters’ request to march along Washington Boulevard is untenable — it would take them through an intersection that is set to be blocked by a security checkpoint.

* Tribune | On eve of DNC, a summit that centers racial equity will bring together elected officials and community leaders: For years, the Journey for Justice Alliance has been pushing its Equity or Else quality of life campaign, a platform centered on addressing basic needs for those living in poverty and in marginalized communities through policy initiatives. From listening sessions to town halls and news conferences on the steps of Congress, J4J’s national network of grassroots community organizations worked locally and nationally to secure anti-racist legislation and policies in dozens of cities. J4J’s two-day summit in Chicago will start with a luncheon for Black mayors and grassroots leaders, immediately followed by the National Racial Equity Summit convocation on Aug. 18. On Aug. 19, J4J will host the Education Justice Study Tour, a visit to sustainable community schools.

* Sun-Times | Views from the front lines of Chicago’s 1968 DNC protests; Grant Park ‘free-for-all’: The 1968 Democratic National Convention helped sway public opinion of the Vietnam War and the draft, highlighted the need for police reform, forced journalists to rethink their trust in government sources and ushered in a new era in social and political activism.

* WBEZ | A wealthy family backed out of its scholarship commitments. Now a mutual aid network is filling in the gap: Without that money, South Side native Marcus Jackson worried his parents would have to sacrifice even more than they do already to help him pay for his junior year at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. He was planning to take on a third job. Now Jackson said he doesn’t have to do that, thanks to a mutual aid network set up on Instagram by former Schuler staffers to connect students with members of the public who can provide financial assistance. Students can submit requests for help, which counselors verify and post to the Instagram page, along with where students are attending college, what they are studying, their unmet financial need — and how to send them money. Some of the posts include notes from students explaining why they need help.

* WBEZ | South Shore residents are fed up with garbage on their streets: An analysis by WBEZ found that over the past five years, South Shore racked up more reports of sanitation code violations than any other South Side community. Citywide, only Austin, West Town and Lincoln Park have had more complaints lodged. Despite the group’s best efforts, the litter won’t go away and it’s unclear who can help. The violations are recorded through calls to 311, the city’s nonemergency hotline. Last year there were 350 violations reported in South Shore alone. In 2021, there were as many as 651 violations reported. Compare that to the Loop, which this year has only recorded 26 complaints. Other South Side communities such as Avalon Park, Hegewisch, Hyde Park, Kenwood and Woodlawn have reported less than 100 sanitation complaints per year since at least 2019.

* Sun-Times | Last piping plover at Montrose Beach — all alone after its siblings died and parents left — flies south for winter: They grow up so fast, don’t they? Nagamo, the lone surviving piping plover chick at Montrose Beach, headed south for the winter Thursday, according to the Chicago Piping Plovers, a volunteer group dedicated to protecting the birds. Its parents Imani and Searocket flew south days ago, leaving Nagamo, whose sex is still unknown, to survive on its own while it learned to fly and spent nights alone lullabied by the lapping waters of Lake Michigan.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Lake County News-Sun | Lake County political leaders differ on permanent vote-by-mail ballots; ‘There’s tremendous concern for fraud’: County Clerk Anthony Vega said the number of people voting by mail has continued to increase with each election cycle, and he anticipates the trend to continue with the Nov. 5 election. “It’s super-convenient,” Vega said. “People can do their research at their leisure, and return the ballot several ways — in person, in a drop box and by mail.” Keith Brin, the Lake County Republican Central Committee chair, said allowing people to permanently request a mail ballot creates the potential for fraud. For example, he said, someone could move, another individual could make the residence their home and get a ballot not intended for them.

* Daily Herald | Police, Woodfield remain tight-lipped as bold jewelry heist remains unsolved: Schaumburg police said the overnight crime Aug. 1 involved at least six people and was perpetrated by cutting through drywall in another occupied unit, then through a vacant unit in between, which allowed entry into the jewelry store itself. A construction worker entering the vacant unit at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, saw and reported the damaged drywall.

* Daily Herald | Volunteers help children pick out clothes during back-to-school shopping event in Elgin: While many groups in the community do “great things” with back-to-school backpacks, Reigner said the Elgin Corps wanted to do something else. “This allows us to be a little more personal and work with 25 kids and really help impact their back-to-school experience,” he said.

* Daily Herald | ‘That’s my lucky puck!’: Trash or lost treasure? Sylvan Lake reveals curiosities and memories: With Sylvan Lake drawn down, curiosities of all kind have surfaced on the exposed shoreline and in some cases set out for all to see. “A lot of people have been walking around the lake,” said Dan Trahan, president of the Sylvan Lake Improvement Association and a lakefront resident. “We now walk the shoreline instead of on the street.”

*** Downstate ***

* Axios | Precision fermentation bubbles up in Illinois: Right now about 30% of all Illinois corn — about 274 million bushels a year — is sold by farmers for ethanol production, but that’s expected to drop as EV use increases. The Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Tech Hub (iFAB), run by U of I, could help those farmers by creating new markets for their crops.

* WCIA | Mosquitos test positive for West Nile virus in Ford County: The Ford County Public Health Department has found the area’s first mosquito to test positive for West Nile virus (WNV) in 2024. A batch of mosquitos from Piper City were tested on Thursday. Though no human cases have been reported in Ford County so far this year, the mosquitos were confirmed to have WNV.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Summer covid surge hits at least 84 countries and continues to climb: Disease trackers sounded alarms that diminished testing and low vaccination rates could provide fertile terrain for more dangerous viral variants to take hold. “Covid-19 is still very much with us,” Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist, said at a news briefing Tuesday.