* Crain’s…

Trade groups representing banks and credit unions are suing the state of Illinois over a new law that would exempt state taxes and tips from the interchange fees charged by credit-card processors.

Bankers were surprised by the law, which emerged at the 11th hour of this year’s budget session in Springfield. Lawmakers decided to reduce the interchange fees, largely paid by merchants, on credit- and debit-card transactions as a way to soften the blow of a new law that would reduce the amount of money that merchants are paid for collecting state sales taxes.

Bankers, credit-card companies and airlines such as United (who rely heavily on the profits they make from credit-card partnerships) opposed the law from the outset.

Now, they’ve gone to federal court to stop the law, which is the first of its kind in the nation. Among the plaintiffs are the American Bankers Association, the Illinois Bankers Association, America’s Credit Unions and the Illinois Credit Union League. They are bringing the case on behalf of some of the largest credit-card processors and issuers, such as JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Mastercard and Visa.

…Adding… The Illinois Retail Merchants Association…

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) released the following statement regarding a lawsuit filed today challenging the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, which was enacted as part of the FY2025 state budget:

“This lawsuit was expected, and it’s no surprise credit card companies would do all they can to undermine this law and maintain their ability to unilaterally impose exorbitant processing fees on workers’ tips and taxes on consumer purchases,” said Rob Karr, president and CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “We once again applaud Gov. JB Pritzker and legislators for their support of the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, which would provide tangible relief to Illinois workers, families, and retailers of all sizes and types by limiting the fees financial institutions can charge on the sales and excise tax and tips portion of transactions.”

* Scenes from Republican Day…

Good morning from the annual @ILGOP State Central Committee breakfast ahead of Republican Day at the @ILStateFair, where less than four weeks into the job, new chair Kathy Salvi is presiding over her first big meeting. “We're on mission to elect Trump fans,” she says. pic.twitter.com/bDAxrtl0wt

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) August 15, 2024

Treasurer Mike Frerichs, speaking yesterday at Governor’s Day, noted that the forecast was “sunny and warm” for Democrats while the forecast for Republican Day was “cloudy and rainy.” He called it “a great metaphor.” Welp, it’s raining and the @ILStateFair GOP rally is delayed. pic.twitter.com/YhY5si0Zft

— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) August 15, 2024

A rainy Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair. It’s @ILGOP Chair Kathy Salvi’s first time leading the party’s largest annual event. Salvi says in her opening remarks she’s hoping to build off the excitement generated at the RNC last month #twill pic.twitter.com/0ejn5hhufT

— Ben Szalinski (@BenSzalinski) August 15, 2024

Even after Bruce Rauner, who had to get increasingly creative to avoid even acknowledging Trump, IL Republicans had clung to this habit. But the party has evolved and other than a dwindling group of GOP elected officials, the embrace of Trump is palpable. https://t.co/YatjFocbCV

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) August 15, 2024

IL House GOP Leader Tony McCombie says it’s an extremely exciting time to be an IL Republican. Says party is unified at every level. pic.twitter.com/jqoQNkBvqI

— Max Cotton (@maxcottontv) August 15, 2024

None of Illinois’ three Republican members of Congress are expected at the fairgrounds today. I was told they all had scheduling conflicts. https://t.co/3HNBLrsRK1

— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) August 15, 2024

Sitting at “my” state fair table (Pork Patio) pic.twitter.com/fjdDUBPGvI

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) August 15, 2024

*** DNC ***

* Sun-Times | Watch party for Kamala Harris’ Democratic convention acceptance speech planned at Soldier Field: GoChiLife, a nonprofit that aims to build partnerships to “showcase the best of Chicago,” is planning a watch party at Soldier Field for community members, a spokesperson said. The event will be Aug. 22 starting at 7 p.m., and include a live viewing of Harris’ acceptance speech. Hip-hop artist Tobe Nwigwe will take the stage at 10 p.m. as the night’s headlining entertainment act.

* Tribune | The DNC starts next week in Chicago. Here’s what to know.: Harris, Biden’s vice president, has already been nominated in an online roll-call of delegates to be the Democratic nominee, so there won’t be a formal, official vote to nominate her at the convention. Instead there will be a ceremonial roll call, speeches from party leaders and up-and-comers, and an introduction of Harris’ recently announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. It’ll be a televised rally of support to build on Harris’ fundraising and polling momentum from the past month.

Random info: Steven Colbert taping segment at Weiner’s Circle August 17, also @ Second City, Old Town Ale House, and 318 W Belden same day; August 15 CNN shooting background drone footage.

— Filming in Chicago (@filming_chicago) August 15, 2024

* Sun-Times | ‘Midwest nice’ cartoonist for The New Yorker is ready for Chicago and the DNC: Four a.m. is a productive hour for cartoonist Paul Noth. Whether he’s awake and wired or asleep and lost in dreams, some ineffable magic unfolds for him in the blurry hours that straddle late night and early morning. Noth, 51, found himself wrestling with an idea after watching Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention in July. After tuning in for the better part of an hour, Noth “stopped because that speech was just endless,” says Noth, who lives in South Milwaukee. “Then, I found myself waking up at 4 in the morning, and I was, like, ‘I gotta draw that.’ ”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Ex-assistant state’s attorney charged with $100k bogus overtime scheme now works as prosecutor in Idaho: Ex-assistant state’s attorney Ashley Moore appeared on Zoom as the three faced their first court hearing on charges stemming from the alleged two-year scheme. Officer Jason Arroyo, 40, and Detective Edis Skrgic, 35, each face two counts of theft from a government entity and two counts of official misconduct for overtime collected between May 2019 and August 2021.

* Block Club | Rogers Park Tenants Forced Out By Big Rent Hike As Area Faces ‘Heartbreaking’ Housing Crisis: After a classic Rogers Park courtyard building was sold this year, tenants were given rent hikes that even the new landlord admitted were “steep.” It’s a textbook example of how Chicago has landed in a housing affordability crisis, experts say.

* Block Club | South Shore Line Exploring Safety Improvements In Hegewisch After Young Journalist Killed By Train: The station’s pedestrian crossings do not feature signals, sounds, automatic gates or other forms of “active warnings.” That kind of protection would have better protected Grace Bentkowski as she attempted to leave the station, her father said. “I don’t understand why, at these at-grade crossings, there’s no type of warning system,” he said. “People could say it’s government red tape, it’s this and that — whatever. We’re looking for safety at these types of crossings, so no one else has to go through this.”

* Sun-Times | Barnes & Noble delays Wicker Park store opening to October: Barnes & Noble has pushed back the launch of its new Wicker Park bookstore inside the historic Noel State Bank building to Oct. 30. It’s at least the second time the opening has been pushed back. The store was expected to open Sept. 4. “The delays have been caused by unforeseen site conditions and some permitting issues,” Janine Flanagan, Barnes & Noble’s vice president of store planning and design, said in an emailed statement. “We believe we are on track now for a 10/30 opening.”

* Block Club | Riot Fest Announces New Chicago Schedule For Douglass Park: In the updated schedule, the days of the performers were not expected to change, just some of the show times, Riot Fest said on social media yesterday. While headliners haven’t changed, post-hardcore band Drug Church did move from Friday to Saturday. Riot Fest said it had “literally just found out” about the move on X. Fall Out Boy takes the stage 8:15 p.m. Friday, Pavement and Beck are on at 7:40 and 8:45 p.m. respectively on Saturday, and Slayer performs 8:15 p.m. Sunday. Fall Out Boy, Beck and Slayer will all be on the Cabaret Metro stage, and Pavement will be on the AAA stage.

* NBC Chicago | Bug bites in Chicago area might actually be from mites thanks to 2024 cicada invasion: An uptick in reports of itchy bites and rashes in the Chicago area could be related to a surge in mite populations in cicada egg nests laid during the historic 2024 emergence that saw billions of cicadas emerge at one time, experts said.

* Sun-Times | White Sox’ Luis Robert says he was so frustrated he thought, ‘I’m quitting’: Luis Robert Jr. says the trade-deadline chatter didn’t bother him. And grinding back from his strained hip flexor didn’t affect his hitting. For him, the 2024 season is the year of the fall and the flop. With Robert felled by the injury seven games into the season when a weak lineup desperately needed him, the White Sox got off to a 3-22 start. And flopped when he returned. The 2023 All-Star center fielder and Home Run Derby participant wasn’t hitting his weight entering the Sox’ game against the Yankees on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | Fentanyl test strip bill proposed by Naperville college student signed into law: A year ago, Lizzie Patterson was developing a bill that would help tackle the opioid crisis. Last week, the product of the Naperville North High School graduate’s work was officially made a law. Gov. J.B. Pritzker Friday signed Senate Bill 3350 into law, which aims to expand access to fentanyl test strips. It goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025. Patterson, speaking by phone Monday as she prepared to start her second year at the University of South Carolina, said seeing the legislation receive a signature from the governor is “surreal.”

* Daily Herald | ‘It’s very unique’: Lake County forest preserves to buy and protect sensitive rookery property near Antioch: The largest heron and egret rookery in Lake County will become a conservation preserve under forest preserve control. Lake County Forest Preserve District commissioners on Wednesday agreed to buy about 41 acres on the east side of Grass Lake Road near Antioch for $361,000. The site will not be developed because of nesting birds and other sensitive ecological features.

* Naperville Sun | What’s Naperville good for? New rankings cite everything from active retirees to remote working to house buying: Naperville has once again found itself on a handful of 2024 best-of lists lauding destinations across the country for attributes big and small. Namely, Naperville has been named among the best cities for remote workers by online platform LawnStarter; one of the top locations nationwide for active retirees according to online media company MarketBeat; one of the best cities to buy a house in America in 2024 by Niche; and among the nation’s 15 safest suburbs by SmartAsset, a personal finance website.

*** Downstate ***

What fun to welcome Illinois rocker Billy Corgan of @SmashingPumpkin to the @ALPLM this morning! The band will be headlining the @ILStateFair grandstand Friday night. pic.twitter.com/jkcfm8ewok

— Joe Crain (@JoeCrain) August 15, 2024

* WICS | Big events at Illinois State Fair emphasize state’s own products: There are still plenty of big events taking place at the Illinois State Fair, and many of them are looking to highlight Illinois products.

* WCIA | Former assistant principal files suit against Champaign school district: Rebecca Ramey, former Assistant Principal for Booker T. Washington STEM Academy, filed the lawsuit against the Unit 4 School District on Aug. 13 with the U.S. District Court in Urbana, according to documents obtained by WCIA. In the documents, Ramey claimed she was discriminated and retaliated against due to her sexual orientation and marital status. Ramey’s wife — Diana Kistler, a teacher at BTW — was among the teachers vocal about the need for safety after two groups of children exchanged gunfire near the school in September 2023. Kistler publicly criticized how district leadership handled the situation.