* Tribune…

The state’s top universities, including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, confirmed Wednesday that visas of international students were revoked by the Trump administration, joining a growing number of international students across the country who have had their visas canceled.

Officials say that many if not all have been revoked with no explanation and no prior notice, creating confusion on campuses and deep-rooted fear among students.

On Wednesday, U. of C. officials confirmed that the federal government terminated the F-1 visas for three current students and four recent graduates, while their Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) status had also been terminated.

Meanwhile Southern Illinois University Edwardsville confirmed eight of its international students had their visas canceled, including three enrolled undergraduate students and five graduate students on optional practical training.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Southern Illinois University Carbondale reported one student with a revoked visa in late March but has since declined to comment on whether additional students have been affected. […]

A Northern Illinois University spokesperson confirmed Thursday that five international students there had lost their visas. […]

Illinois state Rep. Katie Stuart, chair of the House Higher Education Committee, said she’s heard “lots of stories of visas being revoked” but also had no concrete numbers about the impact across Illinois.

“I think it would be helpful to put together a briefing for legislators to understand what the different institutions are doing to protect students because ultimately that’s our goal,” said Stuart, a Democrat whose district includes SIU Edwardsville. “But the answer really is — right now — we don’t know for sure what’s going on.”

Illinois Sen. Dale Fowler, a Republican whose district includes SIU Carbondale, also said he did not have any sense of the scope of the situation. “I would love to know for sure,” he said.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Chicago Eater | The Illinois House Takes a Big Swing Against Reservation Scalping: The thinking is tech-savvy power users set up bots to snatch up reservations, much in the way scalpers secure tickets for sporting events and concerts. The difference is that scalpers purchase tickets for those events, with money going to the artist and venue — even in the case of an unused ticket. Unless a restaurant uses a prepay option, something popularized by Chicago’s own Tock reservation platform, the restaurant isn’t insulated from no-shows or if a scalper doesn’t sell a restaurant reservation. Walk-ins and last-second customers could also be out of luck, thinking a restaurant is fully booked.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WBEZ | Northwestern braces for massive cuts that could nearly wipe out all its federal research funding: Northwestern University faculty say the Trump administration’s decision to freeze $790 million in federal funding to the school will disrupt research that benefits communities across the Chicago area and the country. Northwestern receives just over $1 billion in research funding each year, according to a 2024 audited financial report. The Trump funding freeze could wipe out nearly all of it.

* Shaw Local | Plan to replace Pistakee Country Club near Lakemoor with solar farm wins village backing: Trustees voted last week to annex into the village the Pistakee Country Club and to issue a conditional-use permit for the solar farm to operate. The property borders Lakemoor on multiple sides. The golf course property at 815 Bay Road, near the intersection of Bay and Cuhlman roads, was unincorporated but had a McHenry address. The road ahead for Turning Point LLC, the privately held company proposing the solar farm, is to complete the purchase of the golf course property and then apply for building permits, which take approximately three weeks to review, said Village Administrator Todd Weihofen.

* Daily Herald | Lake County’s $117 million road construction season set to begin. Here’s what’s in the plan: The 2025 program announced Wednesday includes nearly 30 projects. Among them: the Arlington Heights Road reconstruction in the Buffalo Grove/Long Grove area; the Hunt Club Road/Washington Street intersection in Gurnee; and the Route 59/Grand Avenue project in Fox Lake. Program highlights include eight lane miles of new or rebuilt pavement, 31 lane miles of pavement resurfacing, intersection improvements, bike and pedestrian trails, and bridge and culvert maintenance.

* ABC Chicago | Try a meal eaten on the Titanic at Lincolnshire restaurant; chef shares recipe: It comes as “Titanic: The Musical” is making its debut at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. Chef Jonathon Silver and Brent Mulvey, director of food and beverage, joined ABC7 Chicago Thursday to cook with Butler.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | City lacked transparency in push to pull Black federal judge from Burge lawsuits, inspector general says: City lawyers have fired back against what they deem “thinly veiled accusations of racism” leveled against them by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, highlighting the growing fault line between Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration and Chicago’s chief government watchdog. Witzburg’s office on Wednesday publicly aired concerns that it shared in February with Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry, over the Law Department’s motion to recuse the Black judge overseeing federal lawsuits brought by two Black men in notorious alleged cases of Chicago police torture.

* WBEZ | CTA expanding gun-detecting camera surveillance program: The current $200,000 pilot program with ZeroEyes has detected 10 guns and resulted in six arrests since it began last summer, according to the CTA. But the technology, limited now to 250 cameras on train platforms, did nothing to alert police to a quadruple murder on a Blue Line train in September. Despite that record, the CTA’s board of directors on Wednesday approved a $1.2 million contract with ZeroEyes to expand the technology to 1,500 cameras through the summer of 2026. Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen praised the program for taking advantage of the agency’s vast network of 33,000 cameras. Many of the cameras offer high-definition digital video that can be analyzed by ZeroEyes’ gun-detecting software.

* WTTW | Chicago’s City Animal Shelter Faces Overcrowding as Owner Surrenders Spike, Euthanasia Numbers Continue to Climb: In late March, the city-run Chicago Animal Care and Control partnered with rescue groups for a weekend-long adoption event that led to about 60 animals from the city shelter finding new homes. Armando Tejeda, CACC’s spokesperson, described the event as a “huge undertaking.” However, the relief was short-lived. “As soon as those cages got empty, it just got filled up with another animal,” Tejeda said. “I really try to focus on: Let’s celebrate the win tonight and then tomorrow we just start over again.”

* Sun-Times | Off-duty police officer fatally shot at station was ‘warm and welcoming person,’ says source: A 34-year-old Chicago police officer known as a “very warm and welcoming person” who “loved her family” was found fatally shot early Thursday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police and sources said. She was identified as Malissa Torres, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. “She was a very warm and welcoming person,’’ according to a police source who worked with her.

* Crain’s | JPMorgan Chase expands to become biggest tenant at Citadel Center — for now: Under the short-term arrangement, JPMorgan Chase now leases space on the building’s fourth, fifth and eighth floors through the end of 2026 and floors three and six through the end of 2029, sources said. The expansion gives the bank some extra workspace in the Loop as it takes on the first major renovation to Chase Tower at 10 S. Dearborn St. in more than 20 years. Among other projects planned for the 56-year-old skyscraper known for its inward-sweeping curve, the company is redoing the outside plaza, updating the lobby, building a new fitness center and conference center, and renovating elevators and workspace. The project is slated to be done next year, according to a company spokesperson.

* The Athletic | How much does a beer and a hot dog cost you at Wrigley Field or the Rate? I did the math: But for those who wanted to warm up with a hot drink, let it be known they do sell hot chocolate at Wrigley Field. All it will cost you is … $11.99? No, that can’t be right. Twelve bucks for a hot chocolate? […] Now, if you go to a White Sox game on a cold night this month, you can get a smaller hot chocolate in a regular cup for just $4.99 (all prices are before tax, unless otherwise noted). They also have hot coffee for $4.99 at Rate Field, while at Wrigley Field, they only serve cold coffee in a can … for $9.99.

*** Downstate ***

* Press Release | Grammy award-winning duo the Chainsmokers to play the Illinois State Fair on August 15: Known for their boundary-defying fusion of pop, indie, electronic, alternative, and rock, Drew Taggart and Alex Pall have consistently shaped the landscape of popular music. Fans can expect an electrifying performance featuring some of their biggest hits like Closer, Something Just Like This, the GRAMMY®-winning Don’t Let Me Down, and anthemic new classics from Addicted to the cross-genre smash, Don’t Lie. “Bringing world-class talent like The Chainsmokers to the Illinois State Fair emphasizes our commitment to providing top-tier entertainment for fairgoers,” said Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II.

* WCIA | ‘Rug pulled out from under us’: Decatur schools lose nearly $2M federal funding: They found out on Monday the near $2 million of promised federal money would not be coming. Now, the district is forced to move money elsewhere to finishing paying for four projects that are almost finished. “It just feels like we went through the process properly, filled out all the paperwork, received the approval from the state and the federal government, and then had the rug pulled out from under us,” said Chief Operations Officer Mike Curry. In December, the Decatur School District was approved for nearly $6.3 million to put towards four projects.

* WCIA | Champaign appoints new Deputy City Manager: Christopher Walton will take on the role starting on June 2. He currently works as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Village of Savoy. Walton has more than 10 years of experience working in different Illinois municipal governments. In 2018-2020, he served as the City of Champaign`s Assistant to the City Manager.

* River Bender | Tractor Driver Rescued After Bridge Collapse In Macoupin County: The incident occurred at approximately 3:42 p.m. Sunday when the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office received an emergency call regarding the collapse. Sheriff Shawn Kahl reported that the tractor was crossing a bridge when it gave way, plunging the vehicle into water estimated to be 14 to 15 feet deep. The bridge, located at the corner of Valley Road and Ridge Road in rural Carlinville, is a well-traveled route for local residents. The driver, who was trapped inside the cab, managed to keep his head above water, allowing him to breathe, the sheriff said.

* KFVS | Pope County granted emergency aid to help save historic building: According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the state approved $41,500 in grant funding to save the historic Sweetwater Saloon after pleas for emergency aid from Main Street Golconda. DCEO said Governor JB Pritzker helped get the ball running in getting the grant to help preserve the building that has been at the “heart of Pope County” since 18887.