* ICYMI: Illinois governor still awaiting Trump guarantee on $1.15B for invasive carp. Michigan Live…

- Governor Pritzker said yesterday he’s still awaiting written guarantees that the federal government will, in fact, fund the $1.15 billion project to block invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes.
- Trump unexpectedly pledged to “save Lake Michigan” from invasive carp during an Oval Office meeting with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and GOP House Speaker Matt Hall, calling the fish “powerful” and the project “very expensive” but necessary.
- Project advocates had hoped that would be enough to end the impasse with Illinois. But, on Thursday, Pritzker said that he while he was “glad” to see that Whitmer and Trump talked about the project, “we’ve not received any assurance from the federal government, on paper, from the Army Corps of Engineers or from the White House, that they’re not going to withhold those funds once this project starts.”

* Related stories…

∙ Detroit News: U.S. reps want Illinois to quit delaying project to block invasive carp from Great Lakes
∙ AP: Pritzker delays $1.2B invasive carp project over concerns Trump won’t cover federal share
∙ Wisconsin Public Radio: Illinois delays project to keep invasive carp out of Great Lakes, cites uncertainty over federal funding

Stay tuned for Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Emil Jones III roundups.

* The governor will be on 83rd Street at 11 am for the Green Era Urban Growers Collective Week ribbon-cutting. At 2 pm Governor Pritzker will be in Deerfield to announce investment in Illinois from healthcare company Vantive. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WTTW | 12 Years Later, Lawsuit That Called Attention to Conditions at Now-Closed Stateville Prison Settled: The settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood, vacated Stateville’s general housing unit in September, transferring men to other facilities across the state. “What was considered an impossible outcome at the start of this litigation—the closure of Stateville—became a reality,” filings state.

* NYT | Art Institute of Chicago told to surrender drawing to heirs of man killed in Nazi concentration camp: The drawing “Russian War Prisoner” was purchased by the Art Institute in 1966, but investigators for the Manhattan district attorney’s office had asserted that it and other works once owned by entertainer and art collector Fritz Grünbaum had been looted by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Many of the works created by Schiele, the Austrian Expressionist, that Grünbaum owned ended up in the hands of museums and collectors around the world. Grünbaum’s heirs have spent years working to reclaim them.

*** Downstate ***

* WGEM | Solar company questioned by Adams County Board and Ursa residents: “Please don’t think of this as a ‘check the box’ application. Don’t consider the other solar farms you may have approved in Adams County. This one is different,” Ursa resident Tim Hightower said. One of the main concerns that Ursa residents have with the project is the potential property value decline that could occur if the farm is built. Ursa Creek Solar brought in a real estate appraiser who said that in similar projects, no value decline took place.

* WCIA | Dead rabbit tests positive for tularemia in Douglas Co.: Tularemia is caused by a bacteria called Francisella tularensis. It’s commonly found in animals like rodents, rabbits and hares. Humans, cats and dogs can also become infected. It can be passed on through contact with infected animals, through tick or flea bites, or by inhaling or ingesting infected materials. Symptoms may include skin ulcers, swollen lymph nodes, a sudden fever, chills, headaches, diarrhea, joint pain, muscle aches, cough and weakness.

* WGLT | B-N primary care providers want everyone to know they treat mental health too: “We actually do treat quite a bit of anxiety and depression and address those concerns with our patients,” Hill said. “It’s actually something that is a quality of care measure for us.” It’s a mixed bag whether people know their primary care is available for mental health struggles, Hill said. Some people are really knowledgeable and may schedule an appointment for that purpose. Others have no idea it’s something a primary care doctor can address.

* WTVO | Shelly Leab, co-owner of Poopy’s biker bar, killed in murder-suicide: Police in Clinton, Iowa, identified Leab as the victim in a murder-suicide on Friday. Authorities said Brian Witherspoon, 57, shot Leab, 52, and then himself. […] The family said Leab’s body was found in the home along with her ex-fiancé. “Whether she was lighting up a room with her smile or lending a hand when someone needed it most, Shelly lived with a heart wide open. Shelly had a way of making everyone feel like family. Her warmth, her laugh, and her unwavering love for her people left a lasting impression on every heart she touched. Whether you knew her for a lifetime or just a moment, you felt her kindness,” the bar wrote on Facebook.

* WCIA | Ebertfest and Race Weekend could bring Champaign Co. millions of dollars: Two of the biggest events of the year are happening in Champaign-Urbana at the same time: Ebertfest and the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend. Officials said Ebertfest is expected to bring in around $350,000 while the marathon may top $5 million.

* WGLT | Town of Normal goes in a new direction with Illinois Art Station staff: In a press release, the town announced three new staff members, replacing those who worked for the Normal nonprofit that donated itself to the town earlier this year. The town assumed control of Illinois Art Station on April 1. Both full-time employees, executive director Hannah Johnson and education coordinator Joey Hatch, were not retained as part of the transition. Johnson confirmed with WGLT that she had applied for the job.

* BND | Disabled southern Illinois woman fears loss of home if Medicaid funding is cut: Foushee, 40, is among the thousands of people who use the public health insurance program to pay for long-term, residential care in their communities. For the last 13 years, she has lived at Clinton Manor Living Center in New Baden, a nursing home that also cares for adults like Foushee who have developmental disabilities. She is watching discussions around new budget proposals in Washington, D.C., to find out whether her fears will become reality.

*** Statehouse News ***

* NH Journal | Billionaire Pritzker Bringing Deep-Blue Illinois Politics to NHDem Fundraiser: The billionaire governor of the “Vote Early and Often!” State is bringing his progressive politics to “Live Free or Die” New Hampshire this weekend, at the invitation of Granite State Democrats. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, 60, is heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune and the second-richest politician in America, according to The Wall Street Journal. (Trump is first.) He will take center stage Sunday in Manchester at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club fundraising dinner. He will reportedly speak about Trump’s authoritarianism.

*** Chicago ***

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago school board approves contract with Chicago Teachers Union: The board’s Thursday vote puts the contract into effect; the union’s membership ratified the contract earlier this month with a nearly unanimous vote to approve it from 85% of union members. The four-year contract is expected to cost a total of $1.4 billion. It includes class size limits, requirements to hire hundreds of new staff, including more teacher assistants, and ten additional minutes of preparation time for elementary school teachers — which at some schools could also mean ten more minutes of recess.

* Sun-Times | Oversight chief hits traffic stop rules: ‘Why would we have officers pulling people over for a light bulb?’: The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability said officers should be banned from making stops for certain violations, such as missing only a front license plate, a nonfunctioning headlight or loud music.

* Crain’s | American Bar Association cuts 300 jobs after Justice Department pulls grant funding: The group said in a lawsuit seeking to restore the funding that it lost nearly $69 million in obligated federal grant and cooperative agreement funds after it issued support for federal judges who had been the target of Trump’s ire. The ABA pointed to a memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as proof the government’s motivation for canceling the grants was retaliation. Among other actions, the memo prohibited the use of funds to pay for Justice Department employees to attend ABA events or speak at those events while on duty.

* Chicago Reader | Hip-hop prodigy Kaicrewsade puts community first: Kai understands chord progressions and music theory. “That comes from church,” he explains. He says that his church background—and being around “old folk” his entire life—gave him his love for music played on real instruments. “My mother is a singer. She sang in the choir. I was in choir practice growing up. Between my mama and my nana, I stayed in the church. So if I’m not telling the homies how to sing, I trust them that they already got it down,” he says. “I’m a crate-digger and I’m a composer. All I do is sit and listen to jazz all day. It’s not a hobby. It’s literally something I’ve done with my father, my mother. . . . I grew up just listening to so much music.”

* WTTW | The Wrigley Building Is Iconic, But Its Stories Are Little-Known. A New Book Changes That: So an unmissable corporate headquarters was appealing to Wrigley – especially one that had a clock for everyone to look at, an unprecedented amount of electric lighting illuminating its exterior, and a site visible directly up Michigan Avenue from the south, thanks to the street’s slight jog at the river. The site may have been unusually shaped, as a trapezoid tucked into a rectangular street grid, but it allowed the building to have four unique sides that, at the time of its construction, were all highly visible.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Illinois revokes trauma designation at Aurora hospital now owned by Prime Healthcare: The Illinois Department of Public Health revoked the Level II trauma center designation of Mercy Medical Center in Aurora on April 20, four days before Prime Healthcare, the hospital’s new owner, announced it was “withdrawing” the designation. In an emailed statement today, an IDPH spokesman said the state revoked the trauma designation due to Mercy Medical Center’s absence of mandated essential services.

* Daily Herald | District 21 approves administrative restructuring after ouster of top officials: The board action formally eliminates the positions once held by Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Micheal DeBartolo and Assistant Superintendent of Support Services Kim Cline. Both were placed on administrative leave March 21, then told not to return and given severance April 16. New records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by a parent and shared with the Daily Herald show the two administrators received bigger payouts than previously disclosed.

* Daily Southtown | Orland Park, township officials question proposed vehicle repossession business: “The presence of repo lots can fundamentally change the atmosphere of our communities,” O’Grady said in a news release. “The unease and intimidation felt by residents cannot be overlooked. We want to foster safe neighborhoods where families feel secure, and that can be compromised by the intimidating presence of repossession activities.”

* Daily Herald | Des Plaines enacts grocery tax to avoid losing $1.4 million annually: After some debate and public comment, the city council voted 7-1 Monday night to create the tax. As was the case when the council gave preliminary approval to the plan two weeks ago, 5th Ward Alderman Carla Brookman was the lone dissenter. Illinois is phasing out a tax on grocery items that generates revenue for the communities where the purchases occurred. It will be eliminated as of Jan. 1, 2026.

* Shaw Local | Oswego village trustees debate whether to implement its own 1% grocery tax: Oswego village trustees are considering whether to implement its own grocery tax in light of the state’s 1% grocery tax expiring on Jan. 1 of next year. Like other municipalities, Oswego receives a share of that tax. The village received an estimated $1 million to $1.25 million in grocery tax revenue in 2024.

*** National ***

* WaPo | U.S. agencies alarmed by China’s curbs on exports of rare-earth minerals: While companies search for alternative suppliers and urge the White House to cut a deal that will keep the materials flowing to U.S. manufacturers, the Trump administration is finding there are no easy solutions. China has a lock on the supply of certain elements that are essential to making such things as military drones, consumer electronics and battery-powered vehicles.