* ICYMI: In largest annual Illinois rally, Democrats reflect on surge of enthusiasm with Harris atop ticket. Capitol News Illinois…

- Democrats gathered in Springfield Wednesday for their annual rally at the Illinois State Fair amid a surge of enthusiasm and a renewed sense of optimism about their chances of retaining the White House in November.

- Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said he has seen the change in enthusiasm as well, and expressed hope that it will reach into down-ballot races, enabling Democrats to expand their already-existing super majority in the General Assembly.

- Pam Davidson, Democratic State Central Committee member and chair of the local Democratic Party in western Illinois’ Knox County, told the hundreds gathered at Wednesday’s breakfast that Democrats can turn even one of the party’s most vulnerable issues into an opportunity for a more appealing message.

* Related stories…

∙ WCIA: 200 immigrants become citizens at IL State Fair naturalization ceremony
∙ ABC Chicago: Democrats rally at Illinois State Fair days ahead of DNC in Chicago
∙ Capitol News Illinois: Notes & Quotes: From ‘dad jokes’ to ‘embrace the boring,’ Illinois Dems praise new national ticket

* The steer will be donated to Feeding Illinois and dispersed to food banks across the state…

The Governor’s Sale of Champions:@GovPritzker and his family give $105,00 to “buy” the best steer in Illinois, which is RJ from Putnam County. RJ is on his way to food banks around Illinois, and appeared understandably agitated about his future #twill pic.twitter.com/xzaK7g90cs

— Ben Szalinski (@BenSzalinski) August 14, 2024

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Block Club | CTA Approves Massive Contract To Build Red Line Extension As Costs Top $5 Billion: CTA board members on Wednesday unanimously approved a $2.9 billion contract to the entity known as Walsh-VINCI Transit Community Partners to design and build four Red Line stops south of 95th Street. […] The mammoth construction contract awarded by the CTA comes after the Federal Transit Authority pledged “accelerated funding” for the Red Line Extension earlier this month. That puts the project’s ballooning budget now at $5.3 billion — up from $4.1 billion — which CTA officials said Wednesday accounts for steep rises nationally in construction and labor costs.

* Sun-Times | ‘One-stop-shop’ DMV opens in Melrose Park with expanded business services: The Melrose Park site will also process and certify foreign use documents, provide assistance to notaries public, and hold employment testing for current and prospective DMV employees. Since April, four other DMVs downstate have been upgraded to one-stop shops for driver and vehicle services. The Melrose Park location is the first near Chicago.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Inside Higher Ed | Illinois Becomes Fourth State to Pass Legacy Ban: It’s the third successful ban passed since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action last year, resuscitating legislative efforts to end the practice, and marks a symbolic win for the anti-legacy movement after a disappointing setback in Connecticut in May. The law will have little practical impact, however; none of Illinois’s public universities currently give admissions preference to relatives of alumni. Proposals to ban legacy preferences are also up for consideration in New York, Massachusetts, California and Minnesota.

* WAND | New Illinois law could curb underage purchase, drinking of alcopop: The law requires retailers to separate soda and juice from liquor that looks like soda. It also prohibits retailers from displaying alcopop drinks next to soft drinks, bottled water or snacks catered to young customers.

*** Statewide ***

* WTVO | Illinois Sheriffs’ Association condemns violence over elections, political motives: The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association shared the letter to Facebook on Tuesday, stressing the importance of sharing and listening to different perspectives while also respecting constitutional process without resorting to violence, even amid “We know that our citizens and communities do not support violence as a way of ‘resolving’ conflict because it does not resolve anything, instead, it is perpetuated and replicated,” reads the last paragraph of the letter. “As Chief Law Enforcement Officers of our counties, we believe that no matter what your personal political leanings and beliefs are, violence is never tolerable and can never be accepted.” disagreements.

*** Chicago ***

* Fox Chicago | Aldermen react to reports of Chicago mayor pushing CPS CEO out: ‘Not a good idea’: When asked about the rumors, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates responded with a text saying, “That’s news to me.” Alderman Matt O’Shea (19th Ward) expressed shock at the news, recalling that he was at a fundraiser with both Johnson and Martinez the night before. “He’s brought stability to the Chicago Public Schools, particularly to neighborhoods that need stability,” O’Shea said. “I think this would be a tremendous setback. I hope it’s just a rumor.”

* Sun-Times | Homeless hotline won’t restart for a few more weeks: A taxpayer-funded nonprofit overseeing a hotline that puts unhoused people on a waiting list for housing said Wednesday it has a signed agreement with the organization 211 Metro Chicago to restart the service, possibly in the next few weeks. The Sun-Times reported recently that the call center was abruptly shut down at the end of June because Catholic Charities was no longer willing to provide the service. That left potentially hundreds of unhoused people unable to take an important first step in finding a place to live.

* Sun-Times | Amtrak to Mayor Brandon Johnson: ‘We have significant concerns’ about Greyhound stop at Union Station: Amtrak President Roger Harris tells Mayor Brandon Johnson that Union Station, which Amtrak owns, does not have the capacity or money to handle any additional bus riders. He suggested the city move the bus stop to Ogilvie or La Salle Street stations.

* Sun-Times | Former Cook County prosecutor, two Chicago police officers charged with overtime theft: Officer Jason Arroyo, 40, and Detective Edis Skrgic, 35, each face two counts of theft of more than $100,000 from a government entity and two counts of official misconduct for overtime collected between May 2019 and August 2021. Former assistant state’s attorney Ashley Moore, who now lives in Idaho, faces counts of theft, official misconduct and obstruction of justice for allegedly providing false information in August 2021 to a Chicago police sergeant regarding notifications for the officers to appear in court in a murder case, according to the indictments.

* WTTW | COVID-19 Cases Are on the Rise. Here’s What Chicago Health Officials Say You Should Know: Chicago has seen an increased number of cases in previous years following a similar pattern emerging around the end of summer and beginning of fall. However, experts claim there is not enough evidence to classify COVID-19 as a seasonal virus.[…] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases started to rise the week ending May 18 and have seen a steady incline since. The CDC no longer recommends universal case investigation and contact tracing but suggests health departments turn to alternative methods to keep track of the virus.

* Sun-Times | Riot Fest staying at Douglass Park, scrapping plans to move to Bridgeview’s SeatGeek Stadium: According to Wednesday’s announcement from the Chicago Park District, Ald. Monique Scott (24th) and fest organizers, “strong support from the North Lawndale leadership and community” was among the key reasons for the location about-face. The festival is slated to run Sept. 20-22. The announcement noted Park District Board approval is still needed, but Park District CEO Rosa Escareno didn’t expect any complications.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Elk Grove sends $200 gift cards to households, thanks to better-than-expected revenues: The prepaid plastic — going to all 14,000 residential addresses including apartments, condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes — comes from better-than-expected general fund revenues bolstered by new data center construction permit fees. Three months into the new fiscal year, village coffers already have reaped $5 million in permit fees villagewide — most from data centers. That’s the amount officials estimated they would collect for the whole year.

* Crain’s | HR company eyes move to Zurich’s Schaumburg HQ: Human resources services provider ADP is in advanced discussions to sublease around 150,000 square feet from the insurance giant at 1299 Zurich Way in the northwest suburb, according to people familiar with the talks. If the deal is completed, ADP would relocate its suburban Chicago workforce to the property from Elk Grove Village, sources said. The company last year sold its 242,000-square-foot longtime office building at 100 Northwest Point Blvd. to a data center operator that plans to raze it as part of a broader redevelopment project.

* Daily Herald | Demolition begins on mammoth Sears complex in Hoffman Estates: At its peak, the campus was home to about 9,000 employees. But after the last of them were sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, none ever returned. One of the 30 largest structures in the world in terms of square footage, the Sears headquarters is significantly ahead of even the John Hancock and Empire State buildings, according to Jeff Olson, project executive for Carol Stream-based American Demolition.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | Attorney: SAFE-T Act ‘failed to stop’ former sheriff’s deputy accused of Massey’s murder: While calling Illinois’ SAFE-T Act “one of the most comprehensive police reform bills” passed, Antonio Romanucci, an attorney who has worked with the Massey family’s attorney, Ben Crump, said the act “needs a little bit of help.”Romanucci said a more comprehensive national database would include infractions such as DUIs, driving excessive speeds during a police chase and incidents of excessive force or unnecessary profane language on a citizen.

* WCIA | Monticello police officer accused of child pornography offenses resigns: Rob Bross, the Chief of the Monticello Police Department, said William Griswold submitted a letter to the department in which he resigned from his position. The resignation is effective immediately. Bross elaborated that after learning of his arrest by the Illinois State Police on Tuesday, the Monticello Police Department launched an administrative investigation into Griswold’s actions and scheduled a disciplinary hearing with the Monticello Fire and Police Commission. With Griswold’s resignation, that hearing has been cancelled.

* Illinois Times | Battling blight: Two of the major solutions pushed for years by the Springfield Independent Coalition for Our Neighborhoods (ICON) were a comprehensive landlord registration and inspection program for rental properties and reforms to the city’s garbage collection system so all residents are billed for garbage service through their City Water, Light and Power bills instead of by individual waste haulers. The lack of movement in the direction of these options in the city under former mayor Jim Langfelder and now current Mayor Misty Buscher, who took office in May 2023, is disappointing, according to the leader of ICON, a nonprofit that advocates for all neighborhoods and especially older sections of Springfield.

* SJ-R | Pritzker calls Trump a ‘loser’ as Dems champion Harris, Walz during Governor’s Day: At both the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch and Governor’s Day events, elected officials and party leaders drummed up support for Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and levied attacks against Republicans up and down the ballot. In Harris, Democrats accounted for the historical significance in having the first woman in the Oval Office. Still, they say it’s the platform, advocating for nationwide abortion protections and promoting gun control, that she would strive for as president in addition to her identity that make her the best candidate.

*** National ***

* AP | Ruling: Fetus can be referred to as ‘unborn human being’ in Arizona abortion measure voter pamphlet: The Arizona Supreme Court justices sided with Republican lawmakers, who drafted the language sent to all voters in the state, over proponents of the ballot measure on abortion rights. The ruling comes as abortion foes have long worked to give embryos and fetuses the same legal and constitutional protections on par with those of the women carrying them. The issue was highlighted recently when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally protected children, forcing lawmakers to scramble to enact protections for in vitro fertilization.

* MIT Technology | DHS plans to collect biometric data from migrant children “down to the infant”: The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to collect and analyze photos of the faces of migrant children at the border in a bid to improve facial recognition technology, MIT Technology Review can reveal. This includes children “down to the infant,” according to John Boyd, assistant director of the department’s Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), where a key part of his role is to research and develop future biometric identity services for the government. […] Facial recognition technology (FRT) has traditionally not been applied to children, largely because training data sets of real children’s faces are few and far between, and consist of either low-quality images drawn from the internet or small sample sizes with little diversity. Such limitations reflect the significant sensitivities regarding privacy and consent when it comes to minors.