* ICYMI: AG: Tollway violated the Open Meetings Act with settlement vote. Daily Herald…

-Nine months ago, Illinois tollway directors ended a closed session and voted on about $68 million in spending, including a controversial $25 million lawsuit settlement over a botched contract. But they neglected to tell members of the public they could return to the boardroom and witness the proceedings.

-Now, the Illinois attorney general’s Public Access Bureau has concluded the tollway board violated several sections of the Open Meetings Act at that Aug. 29, 2024 session.

- The tollway previously contended that since the livestream meeting video was restarted after executive session and a recording was available after adjournment, the board had complied with the law.

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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Federal DEI crackdown threatens Illinois graduate student scholarship program: On March 31, the U.S. Department of Justice notified universities participating in the Diversifying Higher Education in Illinois scholarship and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, which disperses the scholarship funds, that the program “unconstitutionally discriminated on the basis of race in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment,” according to an April 11 Department of Justice news release. “After the Justice Department threatened to file suit, the state and six universities suspended the program,” the DOJ release said.

* Post-Tribune | Feds want to sentence Snyder on tax charge, cancel bribery trial: The second bribery conviction, over allegations surrounding a $13,000 payment involving around $1 million in contracts for garbage trucks, stood after two trials, only to get overturned last summer when the Supreme Court ruled that the payment was a gratuity, not a bribe, and criminalizing the payment put even routine campaign contributions at the risk of the federal government’s wrath. Overturning Snyder’s conviction had a ripple effect on countless other cases, most notably prominent cases in Illinois, including the trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan and the case of the “ComEd Four” who were convicted of a scheme to bribe him.

* Sun-Times | Chicago experiences first dust storm since the Dust Bowl 91 years ago: It was the first time the city had seen a dust storm since May 10, 1934, which was during the first wave of the Dust Bowl — a series of intense dust storms caused by a combination of drought and poor farming methods in the mid- to late-1930s — according to National Weather Service meteorologist Zachary Yack. The storm was carrying dust picked up from farms in central Illinois, and raced north toward the Chicago area, bringing 60- to 70-mph winds and reducing visibility to less than a quarter of a mile. Strong winds originating out of a cluster of severe thunderstorms moving across central Illinois caused the dust storm, the weather service said.

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Native ancestors’ return to rest: A paperwork-laden process underway in Illinois: Raphael Wahwassuck, a council member and citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, Illinois’ only federally recognized tribe, said that when he started as the tribe’s point of contact for NAGPRA, he was initially greeted by stacks of paperwork. “I had bankers boxes, probably four high, 10 rows deep, of notices that come in,” Wahwassuck said. “Since that time, we’ve cleaned up our internal processes to where now we’re asking for a lot of electronic notices. … I could probably check my phone right now and have maybe 50 (notices), and, it’s just – I don’t know that it will ever slow down.”

* Sun-Times | Crowded field of challengers growing as Dick Durbin exodus creates opportunities for Democrats: Sen. Dick Durbin’s announcement last month set the stage for a game of political musical chairs, as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi quickly jumped into the race. That leaves their districts full of eager competitors. With U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood still deciding whether she’ll run for Durbin’s seat, the 14th District could also come into play. And U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s announcement earlier this month that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection opens her seat wide open.

* Crypto News | Coinbase sued in Illinois over biometric data practices tied to KYC checks: Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on May 13, the lawsuit alleges that Coinbase’s Know Your Customer checks involve scanning users’ facial geometry without proper notice or consent, a move the plaintiffs say directly breaches Illinois’ biometric privacy laws. According to the complaint, users were required to upload a government-issued ID and a selfie, which were then processed by third-party facial recognition software.

* Capitol News Illinois | After 150 years, Mary Lincoln’s ‘madness’ still haunts American psyche: On May 19, 1875, a Cook County jury handed down a verdict in a case concerning the health and welfare of Mary Lincoln, widow of the former president who had been assassinated a decade earlier. After listening to only a single day of testimony, the 12 men on the jury signed the standard verdict form stating simply that they “are satisfied that said Mary Lincoln is insane, and is a fit person to be sent to a State Hospital for the Insane …”

* WIFR | Illinois casinos must implement human trafficking training and reporting procedures: The new rule to combat human trafficking from the Illinois Gaming Board is effective immediately. Illinois casinos must develop and implement human trafficking training and reporting procedures and post awareness notices. “Human trafficking is one of the most underreported and under-identified crimes,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Because human trafficking can come in many forms and can happen almost anywhere, it is important to train people working in industries targeted by human traffickers to recognize the signs so they can report the crimes and help save lives.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Advantage News | College insurance “mess” debated at Illinois Capitol: Illinois lawmakers are having discussions about pension obligations and payment backlogs which continue to plague the state’s College Insurance Program. Funding problems were discussed Wednesday during a joint meeting of the House Appropriations-Higher Education and Personnel and Pensions committees. Illinois’ College Insurance Program is dealing with a $50 million loan to go along with a $38 million deficit.

* Farm Week Now | Q&A with IDOA’s Jerry Costello on poultry ban, state budget: Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) Director Jerry Costello II is citing an uptick in highly pathogenic avian influenza as the reason the agency extended a ban on poultry exhibitions through next month. In this wide-ranging conversation with RFD Radio’s Rita Frazer, Costello discusses this year’s “wild” planting season, expectations from the state budget process and what prompted IDOA to extend the poultry exhibition ban in county fair season.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson’s budget group begins work to plug $1 billion shortfall: Mayor Brandon Johnson launched the task force through an executive order demanding city departments continue looking for efficiencies in the city’s $17 billion budget. The group is expected to deliver preliminary recommendations in August ahead of the city’s annual budget process, with a final report coming in 2026. While the city has long known what’s on the table to cut spending or raise revenue, Johnson is hoping a coalition of labor, business and civic leaders can provide cover for the mayor and the City Council to find the collective political will necessary to implement the measures.

* ABC Chicago | Mayor Johnson outlines vision for future of administration at South Side church: “We can be the safest, most affordable, big city in America,” Johnson said. “My vision for the city moving forward, we’re gonna repopulate the West and South Sides of Chicago. We’re gonna educate our children. We’re gonna create opportunities for entrepreneurial growth. We’re gonna build the most affordable, safest, big city in America, and we’re gonna do it together.”

* Sun-Times | Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and her team win reelection: With one challenger, Gates’ Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators, or CORE, won with 64% of the vote, according to the CTU. It’s better than CORE performed in the last election, when it had two opponents, but not a blowout as some had predicted. The CTU did not say how many members had voted.

* Tribune | Chicago housing nonprofit providing rental subsidies for very low-income renters facing a $10M budget shortfall: The trust fund is staring down an estimated $10 million shortfall for its $14.1 million 2025 budget as two of its funding streams have dried up. That number represents subsidies for about 600 units. The trust fund said it has sufficient reserves to fill the budget hole for this year. It has also begun a subsidy attrition plan for units that are or will become vacant as of Jan. 1 (the start of its new budget cycle) to reduce costs. About 16% of those subsidies will not be subject to attrition as they are part of a special program serving those with specific needs.

* The Triibe | What’s it like to raise teens in 2025?: They might find there isn’t much out there for them. Third spaces have disappeared or been cut off from teenagers, and the COVID-19 pandemic locked many at home for months. Not long ago malls in and around Chicago were the go-to spot for high schoolers with nothing to do, which eventually led to parental supervision rules at Water Tower Place and a youth escort policy at Ford City Mall. These restrictions essentially ban teens 17 or younger from being at these malls starting Friday evening and spanning the entire weekend, unless they’re accompanied by a parent or adult over 21.

* The Triibe | ‘There are no places for us to just be free’: “We always talking about the kids, but you don’t hire them. You tell them what you feel they should have and how they should think, and right there is where we go wrong,” Phillips said. “How you going to dissect or solve a problem without the people you deem the cause of it? So you have to have them in a room.” I spoke with eight Black teenagers from the South and West Sides to understand their experiences. They spoke about the challenges of meeting up with friends, the lack of neighborhood spaces to gather in majority-Black communities, and their thoughts on the city’s proposed revised youth curfew policy. Here are their stories, as told to TRiiBE systemic racism reporter Tonia Hill.

* Tribune | US Rep. Jonathan Jackson spending taxpayer dollars to rent district office space from longtime business partner: Jackson last spring moved the district office into the first floor of a high-rise in the Theodore Lawless Gardens apartment complex that is owned and managed by Higginbottom. A Chicago political powerbroker who has been an ally of Illinois governors and Chicago mayors for decades, Higginbottom is a close friend of the Jackson family, including the congressman’s father, civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

* Daily Herald | Rare dust storm that raced through Chicago area caused by strong winds from cluster of thunderstorms: However, this was the first time a dust storm warning was issued that included the Chicago metropolitan area, the agency reported. The last time a significant dust storm affected Chicago was during the Dust Bowl on May 10, 1934. […] A dust storm lasting about three hours developed near Bloomington caused by strong winds originating out of a cluster of severe thunderstorms moving across central Illinois.

* Sun-Times | Dozens of people were arrested protesting at the DNC. What happened to their cases?: Nine months after the Democratic National Convention swept over Chicago, the city’s law department continues to prosecute ordinance violations leveled at protesters arrested during demonstrations against the war in Gaza. But the city has little to show for the effort in the way of winning cases at trial or securing meaningful punishments in plea deals. The harshest punishment the city has secured so far was 10 hours of community service as part of a plea deal, according to the National Lawyers Guild, which is tracking DNC protest-related cases.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Former Kane treasurer’s office employee switches party, announces plan to challenge ex-boss: Cain won the GOP nomination for the 66th Illinois House District in the 2022 primary, but lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Suzanne Ness. She also lost a bid to serve on the Algonquin-based Community Unit District District 300 school board in 2023 Regarding her party switch, Cain said the GOP is ineffective. “You can’t win elections in 2025 with strategies from 1990,” she said.

* CBS Chicago | Emails reveal missing materials, staff shortages, renovation delays at mental health facility contributed to patient’s death: Webster is now suing certain Madden doctors and nurses working the day Anthony died, as well as the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) — alleging neglect in the care of her son. Admission records indicate Anthony was a “moderate risk” for suicide and should be checked on every 15 minutes. An Illinois State Police investigation determined that the observation order was not followed.

* Daily Herald | More cops, new fire station needed to handle a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights?: Village officials have been contemplating the question ever since the NFL franchise announced its interest in relocating to the Northwest suburb. It led top brass in the fire and police departments in 2022 to shadow municipal counterparts in NFL stadium communities, including Inglewood, California, Foxborough, Massachusetts, Arlington, Texas, and Las Vegas. But Arlington Heights officials are starting to have more serious planning discussions now that the Bears appear more serious about developing the 326-acre property the team owns on the west side of town.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora schools recruit, fill positions and find alternatives as teacher and staff shortages persist statewide: Last year, the district began partnering with Aurora University to help individuals — including current employees of the district — earn college credit or teaching licenses to fill high-demand positions, said the district’s Associate Superintendent of Staff and Student Services David Ballard. The district is currently working on a similar partnership with Northern Illinois University. The district also provides stipends to bilingual teachers and staff who relocate to the Aurora school district, and it also has a teacher mentor program that it hopes will help attract candidates for open positions.

* Tribune | Economic development seen as key to legacy of former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin: It was hope that drove Irvin, who grew up in low-income housing, was raised by a single mother and was the first in his family to graduate from both high school and college, to make a name for himself, he recently said in an interview with The Beacon-News. And it was that same hope that he later turned towards the city, Irvin said, to make his hometown into something, too. “I’ll be known for a lot of things, but I think what I did best, and what I was able to convey to our residents, was hope,” he said.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Central Illinois humanities organizations ask for state funding after federal cuts: The Trump administration has started canceling National Endowment for the Arts [NEA] grants. Much of it was already committed to organizations when it was suddenly cut. The president’s proposed budget would eliminate both the NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lawmakers on the Illinois House’s Museum, Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Committee held a special hearing Thursday to address funding concerns facing the humanities and the arts. It drew organizations from across the state, including Bloomington.

* Tribune | Dolton Mayor Jason House won’t rule out public purchase of Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home: “I’m interested in a peaceful transfer,” House, who was sworn in as mayor May 5, told the Daily Southtown. He said he is excited for the property’s potential as an attraction and historical landmark, and is prioritizing ensuring it is “honored in the proper way.” House said it’s too early to say how much the village would be willing to pay for the 1,050-square-foot home on 141st Place or whether it should be converted into a museum or historical landmark. He said he plans to speak with the homeowner early next week to discuss the property.

* WGLT | Bloomington residents get letters ahead of 10-year lead service line replacement: The city has been sending out letters to thousands of residents whose water lines are — or could be — made of lead. The letter explains the health effects of lead exposure and steps you can take to reduce exposure. Bloomington Water Director Ed Andrews said the city also sent out the letters last year. Both mail drops sparked lots of questions. “When we start having conversations about lead, lead services, lead pipes, people have legitimate concerns,” Andrews said. “We have not found the perfect combination of media dialogue and upfront letter to help soften that.”

*** National ***

* The Guardian | Oklahoma high schools to teach 2020 election conspiracy theories as fact: The previous standard for studying the 2020 election merely said: “Examine issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome.” The new version is more expansive: “Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”

* AP | DHS asks for 20,000 National Guard troops for immigration roundups, Pentagon reviewing request: How the troops would be used may depend on whether they remain under state governors’ control. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops under federal orders cannot be used for domestic law enforcement, but units under state control can. The addition of 20,000 National Guard troops would provide a huge boost to immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DHS agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the country, has a total staff of about 20,000 people spread across three divisions.

* AP | Moody’s strips U.S. government of top credit rating, citing Washington’s failure to rein in debt: Moody’s lowered the rating from a gold-standard Aaa to Aa1 but said the United States “retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency.” Moody’s is the last of the three major rating agencies to lower the federal government’s credit. Standard & Poor’s downgraded federal debt in 2011 and Fitch Ratings followed in 2023.

* WaPo | Trump Justice Dept. considers removing key check on lawmaker prosecutions: Federal prosecutors across the country may soon be able to indict members of Congress without approval from lawyers in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, according to three people familiar with a proposal attorneys in the section learned about last week. Under the proposal, investigators and prosecutors would also not be required to consult with the section’s attorneys during key steps of probes into public officials, altering a long-standing provision in the Justice Department’s manual that outlines how investigations of elected officials should be conducted.