* ICYMI: Bally’s halts Chicago casino construction over questions about waste hauler dogged by mob allegations. Sun-Times…

- D&P Construction Co., Inc., is providing dumpsters for the Bally’s work site in River West.

- Two decades ago, the company’s involvement in the construction of a proposed casino in Rosemont helped torpedo the project over concerns by regulators of organized crime influence.

- The state government agency, which ultimately answers to Gov. JB Pritzker, released a written statement Thursday saying: “The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) issued an order to cease construction work on the Bally’s Chicago permanent casino in connection with a pending IGB investigation into the use of undisclosed and unapproved vendors at the construction site.

* Related stories…

∙ Tribune: Gaming Board stops construction at Bally’s Chicago casino site over unauthorized waste hauler
∙ Sun-Times: Bally’s drops minority investor requirement from Chicago casino IPO

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Illinois Answers Project | Gun Stolen From a Room Full of Chicago Cops Ended Up Being Used in a Series of Shootings: Last month, the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times reported on the stolen gun and how — 16 months later — the police appeared to have made little progress in finding out who stole it or how a type of gun notoriously used in street violence wound up in the hands of a teenage boy. Now, newly obtained police records show, it turns out that the gun is known to have been used in three violent crimes after it was stolen from the police station.

* Capitol News Illinois | ‘Never asked to be a part of this somber club’: Illinois honors fallen police officers: Treasurer Mike Frerichs also gave an emotional speech honoring his cousin, a California police officer who recently died. Frerichs’ office provides a college scholarship fund for children of first responders who died on the job. Former ISP Trooper Kim Cessna, who leads a nonprofit for family members of fallen police officers, gave a personal remembrance of her colleague Thompsen, who was killed in a crash last October. “We take these memories with us, allowing them to guide us, reminding us the beauty they brought into our lives,” Cessna said. “We carry their love in our hearts, and we let that love become a source of strength.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | Illinois House GOP strongly oppose potential tax hikes in FY26 budget: House GOP budgeteers told reporters in Springfield Thursday that they have ongoing discussions with Gov. JB Pritzker’s Office of Management and Budget. Although, the minority party has only participated in a few budget meetings with House Democrats. Republicans said some progressive Democrats are calling for a graduated income tax. The Illinois Revenue Alliance is also calling for multiple revenue enhancements which could raise taxes by $6 billion.

* Sun-Times | Gov. JB Pritzker creates nicknames for Trump to call him, including ‘JBeefy,’ in Jimmy Kimmel appearance: Pritzker called Trump an authoritarian who is “tearing apart the things that really matter to working families across the United States.” And he urged Americans to show their displeasure in Republican-led districts. “We’ve got to be out there, loud, proud, stand up, speak out,” Pritzker said. Kimmel told Pritzker, “when you go to New Hampshire, it’s because you’re planning to run for president.” “Or you’re going skiing. There are other reasons to go to New Hampshire,” Pritzker said.

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois’ most endangered buildings list includes Bernie Mac’s high school, a Frank Lloyd Wright home: Landmarks Illinois on Thursday included Chicago Vocational, at 2100 E. 87th St., on its yearly list of the state’s 10 most endangered buildings. The preservation group cited the school’s shrunken enrollment and its vacated and fenced-off Anthony Avenue wing, “which formerly housed the heavy industry vocational programs,” as reason for the listing. Designed by the school system’s chief architect, John C. Christensen, Chicago Vocational is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Restaurant group bets big on the Loop with new spots anchored to hotels: “Our bread and butter is the Loop,” said Chief Operating Officer Brad Alaoui. “We believe 100% in the neighborhood. It’s coming back. We’ve gone through the trenches of it, but I feel like there’s a bright future.” It’s not just optimism driving the restaurant group. As it expands, Roanoke is building a new kind of business model indicative of the post-pandemic reality for downtown restaurants. No longer able to rely solely on heavy five-days-a-week daytime traffic, restaurants must pursue other options. For some, that means relying more on catering or to-go orders than walk-in business, or shifting hours of operations.

* ABC Chicago | Woman accused of squatting in South Side home arrested, charged with burglary, forgery: The couple said when they arrived with police, the woman inside claimed she was the new owner and had so-called mortgage documents to prove her purchase. The couple said police wouldn’t arrest the woman because it was a civil matter. But after doing some digging, the couple said they got a call from a CPD detective informing them they’d be taking a closer look at the case. “I knew the ID was fake,” Marcia Lee said. I knew the documentation was fake. I’m just super excited that they finally got her out.”

* Sun-Times | Loss of longtime Uptown day care center leaves families devastated: Her troubles with the landlord began in 2015, when Parker began renovations and discovered leaks in the ceilings of some of the storefronts. Parker paused the remodel and contacted the landlord, but she said the problems weren’t fixed. By 2019 the conditions worsened. Water “rained” down walls from a plumbing problem in one of the apartments above the day care, damaging books and other supplies. A substance that appeared to be mold developed.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* ABC Chicago | Chicago doctors frustrated as measles cases spread into Cook County: ‘This is an effective vaccine’: “We’ve had 11 people hospitalized, three deaths, more than 800 cases throughout the U.S., a clear difference from years prior,” said Dr. Max Brito, an infectious diseases professor at University of Illinois Chicago. […] “The other thing that makes measles different is people can have long-term consequences; so, years later, they can get encephalitis,” Davis said. Infectious disease experts say over 90% of people who get measles are not vaccinated.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman removed, arrested at council meeting, city says: A Harvey alderwoman has been charged with misdemeanor offenses after being forcibly removed by police during Monday’s City Council meeting, according to the city. It was the latest skirmish involving 2nd Ward Ald. Colby Chapman, charged last year after a dispute with the city’s administrator, although the matter appears not to have advanced in court. Chapman did not respond to messages seeking comment on the latest arrest. She has previously said her vocal criticism of city affairs under Mayor Christopher Clark had resulted in retailiation by the mayor.

* CBS Chicago | Sentencing Friday for Illinois landlord convicted in hate crime murder of Palestinian boy: Joseph Czuba was convicted of one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery, and two counts of hate crime in the attack that killed Wadee Alfayoumi and seriously injured his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in 2023. […] Czuba could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing is expected to start at 9:30 a.m. at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet.

* Daily Herald | ‘We need to voice our concerns’: Suburbs join in on global May Day rallies: As the work day concluded Thursday afternoon, hundreds of people lined both sides of Northwest Highway in Palatine to protest President Donald Trump’s policies as part of May Day, or International Worker’s Day, rallies held around the globe. With Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime” playing in the background, protesters carried signs, urged observers to “rise up/fight back,” waved flags and cheered drivers who honked their horns in solidarity.

* Naperville Sun | Water main replacement at Ogden and Washington in Naperville going to be ‘disruptive’: Work began last week and is expected to continue until about October, he said. It will be completed in stages. The existing water main along Ogden and Washington dates back to the 1930s, according to Parrish. It’s also undersized for what the city needs it to do, he said. Typically, water mains have a 100-year lifespan, Parrish said. Replacing them as they near the end of their useful life is important because it helps the city avoid leaks from aging infrastructure, he said.

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect relaunches downtown alfresco dining on Prospect Avenue: Once again, six on-street parking spaces will be converted into a protected outdoor dining area in front of the Lady Dahlia Tequila Bar, 127 W Prospect Ave., and the Patina Wine Bar, 133 W Prospect Ave. Outdoor diners will be sheltered within concrete barriers — village officials said Lady Dahlia and the Patina Wine Bar collaborate with the village on such beautification elements as planter boxes, umbrellas and decorative lighting.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Solar farm, energy storage facility proposed in Iroquois Co.: The project, estimated to cost $100 million, is expected to produce enough renewable energy to power approximately 8,000 homes each year while creating more than 100 local jobs. It is also supposed to generate economic benefits including an estimated $8-9 million in new local property tax revenue over the project’s life span to the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district, Buckley Fire Protection District, Parkland Community College, Iroquois County and Artesia Township.

* WCIA | Carle doctors testing out ‘digital intelligence technology’ in certain appointments: Some doctors now use Nabla, digital intelligence technology that transcribes the symptoms patients are telling doctors about. Dr. Ryan Porter, an ear surgeon, has been using it with most patients for about six months. He feels it helps him better connect with the person in front of him. Plus, it’s faster. “It takes the history of the patient at the same time I’m hearing it, so we essentially have two ears hearing the same story,” he explained. “When I get back to my office, I open that same encounter in Epic, which is all privately transferred, and I review that information.”

* KWQC | Lawmakers want answers from Army about future of Rock Island Arsenal: “They have a significant portion of our GDP in the region from the manufacturing they do there,” he said of the base. “And so, that’s always been a critical operation of the Quad-Cities, for the health of the economy, for keeping our residents employed.” The Arsenal is the Quad-Cities’ largest employer, with 7,500 workers. First Army’s headquarters is on the Island, as well as the Army’s only active foundry.

* KWQC | Illinois Lt. Governor, senate hopeful Juliana Stratton slams proposed job cuts at the Rock Island Arsenal: Stratton joins a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Illinois and Iowa who have tried to convince federal leaders to back off of cuts to the Arsenal. Senators Dick Durbin (D) and Chuck Grassley (R) along with Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) and Eric Sorensen (D).

* KFVS | Southern Illinois strawberry season now underway after historic rainfall: Co-owner Austin Flamm said strawberries do better in a drier environment, and the only effects to this year’s crop was a later start by about three weeks. “We were able to open on Saturday. We’re a few weeks later opening later this year. That’s due to the cool and wet weather we had early in the spring. We finally got some sunshine and warm days that really pushed the berries along. Typically when we open we are worried about the supply because we aren’t in full production yet. But it seems how late before we got started, production does not seem to be an issue right now,” Flamm said.

*** National ***

* USDA | United States and Mexico Reach Agreement to Resume Eradication Efforts on New World Screwworm: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced today that Mexico has committed to eliminate restrictions on USDA aircraft, and waive customs duties on eradication equipment aiding in the response to the spread of New World Screwworm (NWS). Due to this agreement the ports will remain open to livestock imports, however if at any time these terms are not upheld, port closure will be revisited. This agreement follows Secretary Rollins’ letter to Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Julio Antonio Berdegue Sacristan on Saturday pushing for a resolution of the restrictions.

* ARS Technica | RFK Jr. rejects cornerstone of health science: Germ theory: It’s important to note here that our understanding of Kennedy’s disbelief in germ theory isn’t based on speculation or deduction; it’s based on Kennedy’s own words. He wrote an entire section on it in his 2021 book vilifying Fauci, titled The Real Anthony Fauci. The section is titled “Miasma vs. Germ Theory,” in the chapter “The White Man’s Burden.”But, we did reach out to Health and Human Services to ask how Kennedy’s disbelief in germ theory influences his policy decisions. HHS did not respond.

* Politico | Trump to rename Veterans Day as ‘Victory Day for World War I’: In a late-night Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the move was needed to honor the unique U.S. sacrifices in both World Wars. Trump also announced he would rename Victory in Europe Day, which is commemorated on May 8, to “Victory in World War II Day” to recognize that “we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II.”

* Sun-Times | Trump signs executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR: The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and have been preparing for the possibility of stiff cuts since Trump’s election, as Republicans have long complained about them. Paula Kerger, PBS’ CEO and president, said in a statement last month that the Trump administration’s effort to rescind funding for public media would “disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people.”