* Governor JB Pritzker…

In mid-May, the Trump Administration, through U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), terminated the Digital Equity Capacity Program. In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) was in the process of implementing a Digital Equity Capacity Grant under this Program. This grant would have provided more than $23.7 million to Illinois organizations across the state to equip households and residents with the skills, resources, and tools needed to use high-speed internet and fully participate in Illinois’ economy. […]

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included programs and funding for local governments and organizations throughout the state to expand access to affordable, high-speed internet to communities that need the digital tools and skills to fully participate in a modern economy. The programs would help distribute electronic devices, provide training and outreach, and enable more communities with digital skills. The programs were targeted toward 10 million Illinoisians who have historically experienced lower rates of computer and internet access, including rural areas, poorer communities, veterans, seniors, and more. Without a computer, home internet, and the ability to use the internet safely, it would not be possible for a job seeker to create a resume and apply for jobs, a farmer to use data to optimize crop and livestock production, a senior to pay their bills online, or patients to participate in telehealth visits with their healthcare provider. […]

In response to the notice of funding opportunity issued by DCEO for the Illinois Digital Equity Capacity Grant, Illinois received over 260 applications to support local institutions across the state in their efforts to improve access to internet, computers, and digital skills, furthering emphasizing the need for this assistance across the state.

To prepare for the historic Digital Equity Act program, Illinois provided state funding through the Digital Equity Capacity Kickstarter (DECK) program to statewide partners - including nonprofits, libraries, healthcare organizations, and more. From December 2023 until April 2025, dozens of partner organizations hosted more than 4,300 digital skills training classes, participated in more than 900 community outreach events, and distributed more than 1,400 devices.

* AP…

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation.

The court’s order, with only one noted dissent, puts on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month. The justices provided no rationale, which is common in emergency appeals.

The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.

A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration’s request to put the order on hold while the lawsuit continues.

*** Statewide ***

* CUB Warns of June 1 Price Spike on ComEd Bills : While cautioning that pricing information could be adjusted before June 1, CUB said its preliminary review of ComEd tariffs filed Friday shows the utility’s summer supply rate, June through September, would be about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This rate, which includes the supply price and a transmission charge, would represent about a 45 percent increase over last June’s price of 6.9¢ per kWh. The price will change again in October. CEJA will partly offset the price spike. The law requires a line item on ComEd bills called the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA) to subsidize energy generated by Illinois nuclear power plants. But consumer advocates pushed for a provision that changes the charge to a credit when energy prices go above a certain level, as in June. According to CUB’s review of ComEd tariffs, this credit will reduce ComEd’s price by about 1.7 cents per kWh, or about 17 percent, in June. While it could be adjusted up or down on a monthly basis, a credit of some amount is expected to stay on bills for at least the next 12 months.

* My Journal Courier | Program to explore court’s role in slavery in Illinois: John Lupton and Samuel Wheeler will present “Slavery in Illinois? The Presumption of Freedom: The Illinois Supreme Court and the Fate of Slavery in Illinois” at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Lupton is executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission, while Wheeler is director of history programs at the commission.

*** Statehouse News ***

* AP | Illinois mulls ending a health program for some immigrants living in the US illegally: Rep. Barbara Hernandez, a suburban Chicago Democrat, said the program helps many families. “There’s a huge need in the undocumented community that cannot get health care otherwise,” she said. If Democrats, who control the Illinois General Assembly, can’t find money to continue the plan — estimated to cost $404 million this year — tens of thousands of migrants will be left without Medicaid-style health coverage.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | $15.5M settlement is ‘first win in a series of losses’ on Chicago’s lopsided parking meter deal: “This is our first win in a series of losses on this deal — and it still doesn’t feel like a win,” said former Finance Chair Scott Waguespack (32nd), who cast one of only five votes against the parking meter deal that Chicagoans love to hate. The settlement is further proof that the City Council “rushed through a deal that wasn’t fully open, wasn’t fully transparent” and “should have been shelved,” Waguespack said, a deal created simply to help then-Mayor Richard M. Daley avoid raising property taxes.

* WBEZ | Chicago parents say kids will be at risk if Trump guts consumer product safety panel: On May 8, Trump fired three of the five commissioners who lead the bipartisan, independent agency. That came after they voted to advance a safety standard for lithium-ion batteries linked to fatal fires involving e-bikes and scooters in defiance of a Trump executive order requiring White House review of all new proposed regulations. Though the moves are certain to be fought in court, dismantling the agency upends more than a half century of independent oversight of product safety from an agency created by Congress to be largely insulated from politics.

* The Triibe | Teen third spaces were once the epicenter of Chicago’s music and dance trends. What happened?: Those spaces have largely disappeared. Mall culture, for example, nearly died as online shopping and social media-inspired dropshipping consumed the consumer. Accidents, shootings and insurance issues led to the closure of teen clubs. So today, the third space for the under-21 crowd has not just eroded, it just might be extinct. […] Schools also played an essential role in the teen social scene of the 1970s and ’80s. During a 2019 panel about high schools’ role in the House and dance scene, House DJs such as Celeste Alexander and Kirk Townsend detailed why school “sock hops” were pivotal.

* Crain’s | Mesirow raises $1.25 billion fund for multifamily real estate investments: The Chicago-based firm received commitments from institutional investors for Mesirow Financial Real Estate Value Fund V, which is 66% bigger than the previous fund for multifamily investments. Like Fund IV, which closed with $750 million in financial commitments in 2021, the new fund will target its investments in the top 25-30 U.S. markets, including Chicago.

* AP | White Sox to unveil a graphic installation honoring Pope Leo XIV: The graphic installation at Rate Field marks the location where the future pope cheered for Chicago in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. The White Sox beat the Astros 5-3 on their way to a four-game sweep for the title. The team said the pillar artwork commemorates the pope’s Chicago roots “and the unifying power of baseball on the world stage.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | LanzaTech is laying off 44 from its Skokie HQ amid clean energy pullback: The company, which employed 383 people globally at the end of last year, disclosed the layoffs at its headquarters in filings with the state of Illinois and the Securities and Exchange Commission. LanzaTech, one of Chicago’s most successful clean-tech startups, has been struggling lately, scrambling to raise money and cut costs. The company’s revenue declined 21% last year to $50 million, and it lost $138 million. LanzaTech is trying to cut expenses by $30 million a year, or about 20%.

* Daily Herald | Parents refuse to give up as St. Alphonsus Liguori school faces closure once again: Then, the threat of closure was announced at the end of December 2015 and families were given the winter to reach a $400,000 fundraising goal that was ultimately met. It bought time to move the school’s attendance from 137 to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s preferred level of 225. But this time, because the archdiocese and parish are in agreement that financial and attendance goals are sufficiently unattainable, no goal was presented to the school community, said Katie O’Dea, senior director of communications and marketing for the Office of Schools.

* Daily Herald | New pot dispensary, tattoo parlor get approval from Elgin City Council: It took Elgin nearly five years to find a home for their first adult-use cannabis dispensary. They will soon have a second. Last week, the city council approved a plan for Jane & Buds Cannabis Dispensary to open in the former Boston Market location at 205 S. Randall Road. New council member Diana Alfaro abstained from the 8-0 vote.

* WBEZ | Here’s your 2025 guide to farmers markets throughout Chicago : Chicago has a wealth of farmers markets, but reliable information about them can be scattered across websites and social media. To help, this guide brings together the most current information for farmers markets throughout Chicago. (We broke out 56 suburban markets into its own 2025 guide.)

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Controversial Freeburg school board member resigns after judge rules against him: Stein’s resignation follows a ruling by St. Clair County Circuit Court Associate Judge Stacy Campbell on May 6 to extend a workplace protection restraining order against him until December. The judge had issued an emergency order last November on request from district officials. Stein was prohibited from entering school property, forcing him to attend board meetings via Zoom. The district’s request alleged that he had screamed and used profanity at board meetings and, in a phone call with Interim Superintendent Mark Janssen, threatened to run over officials with his vehicle. Stein denied the allegations.

* WSIL | Tornado recovery: Marion CUSD #2 seeks help for impacted families: The district is asking for donations to assist families in need of essentials like clothing, food, and temporary shelter as they rebuild. “Every contribution—large or small—will make a difference in the lives of Unit #2 students, staff and families who are trying to find stability and hope after this traumatic event,” said the district. Monetary donations, including cash, checks, or gift cards, can be made at any Marion CUSD #2 school buildings or the Unit #2 Administration Office.

* BND | What to know about Belleville school district’s 15,000-square-foot CAVE expansion: Belleville School District 201 unveiled the 15,000-square-foot expansion to its Center for Academic and Vocational Excellence, better known as The CAVE, Wednesday. Community members got an up-close look at the new CAVE Annex, which is a separate building that sits southeast of the main building, at an open house. There, they marveled at the retired Falcon jet, tested flight simulators and explored a digitally automated human cadaver.

* PJ Star | Tragedy, drama and comedy: Here’s the history of a surviving Downtown Peoria theater: The on-again, off-again saga of Peoria’s Apollo theater is on again, with the site of the historic downtown movie palace up for sale. Along with the listing came interest in the history of the century-old Apollo, once one of a handful of downtown theaters. Today, the venue is a shell of its former glory, but remnants of the storied theater − including its ornate balcony − remain. The Apollo was not the grandest of the downtown theaters, but held its own charms, including a jungle-themed stage mural, graceful ceiling fixtures and wall ornamentation.