* WBEZ…

Items on Abraham Lincoln’s body the night he was assassinated, his earliest known handwriting and other extraordinary relics from his life are being auctioned this week in what one expert calls a “tragic” byproduct of a messy Springfield break-up.

On Wednesday, a Chicago auction house will be selling part of the Lincoln Presidential Foundation’s 1,540-piece collection of Lincolniana, which was purchased in 2007 from a West Coast collector.

The original intent nearly two decades ago was to showcase the one-of-a-kind treasures in the then newly-opened Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. They were there until an acrimonious divorce between the foundation and state-owned museum that led to the artifacts being trucked out in 2022.

One source of friction has been the foundation’s inability to fully retire the $23 million loan it originally took out for the collection. Now, it says it has no choice but to sell off 144 of its Lincoln heirlooms to pay off remaining debt, which last year was disclosed at nearly $8 million.

* A small update on Madigan’s sentencing…

Correction here: Madigan's attorneys say unsolicited letters should not be publicly posted UNLESS they are reviewed and determined to be "relevant and sufficiently reliable for consideration by the Court." https://t.co/NsNc5f6u2U

— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) May 20, 2025

*** Statewide ***

* WGLT | Regional Planning Commission helps conduct the first Illinois high-speed rail feasibility study: IDOT is exploring the possibility of constructing a high-speed rail system between Chicago and St. Louis, through the Illinois High-Speed Railway Commission. The study aims to give the commission and those studying the system an idea of what it could look like in the state and in McLean County. While there have been studies across the state before from various organizations concerning the possibility of a high-speed rail system, this is the first statewide feasibility study conducted by IDOT.

* WIFR | More than 2 million Illinois residents will travel for Memorial Day, AAA says: AAA expects 50,000 more Illinois residents to travel for Memorial Day this year compared to last year, predicting 2.1 million traveling at least 50 miles away from home. Nationwide, AAA predicts more than 45.1 million people to travel, meaning 1.4 million more travelers than last year.

*** Statehouse News ***

* 25 News Now | Pritzker says every state faces financial challenges under Trump, but is optimistic Illinois will have balanced budget: The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget recently lowered revenue projections for Fiscal Year 2026 by $536 million compared to Pritzker’s budget proposal in February. Staff told lawmakers Thursday that the downward revenue projection was due to Trump’s impact on the economy, and Pritzker has heard many states are struggling. The Democrat said some states put one-time federal COVID-19 emergency funds into their operating budgets. “We were very careful in the state of Illinois to pay off debt and put it into one-time things that we knew we didn’t have to come back to,” Pritzker said. “The result is that our budget challenge is actually relatively small.”

* WCIA | Illinois lawmakers hold hearing on transmission lines in hopes to lower energy costs: “We are an exporter of energy,” Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) said. “I think we have to consider is that the best deal for those of us in Illinois or does it make more sense for us to take a look at maybe setting up our own transmission organization.” Cunningham is expected to introduce a package of energy legislation at the end of this session. He said it will help to stop rising utility costs going forward.

* Illinois Lawmakers | New Budget Projections and Committee Chairman Removal : As state lawmakers head towards their May 31 adjournment, House leaders sit down to discuss crafting a budget in a tight fiscal year. Meanwhile a Democratic lawmaker has been removed from his committee chairmanship with only two weeks left of session

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Mayor Brandon Johnson: ‘We’re Not Going to Be Intimidated’ By Justice Department Hiring Probe: “We’re not going to be intimidated by the tyranny that’s coming from the federal government,” Johnson said. “The diversity of our city is our strength.” Johnson, who has routinely touted his efforts to appoint the most racially diverse cabinet in Chicago history, did so again less than 24 hours after Assistant U.S. Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, launched a probe “to determine whether the City of Chicago, Illinois, is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race.”

* The Trace | When Fatal Shooting Victims Are Black, Chicago Police Arrest Rates Drop: Using records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, The Trace analyzed 8,750 homicides between 2010 and 2024 and learned that Chicago Police made arrests in 27 percent of them. The majority of these cases were gun homicides. In the past 15 years, police arrested someone in 23 percent of fatal shootings. The rate of cases cleared by arrest fluctuated over the past decade, but the overall trend is downward, especially after 2022 — a time when gun homicides also began falling. In 2024, police made arrests in 16 percent of fatal shootings within a year of the incident, down from 23 percent in 2022, when The Trace last investigated this issue.

* Block Club | As Chicago’s Domestic Violence Crisis Deepens, Victims Suffer In Silence: While failures involving law enforcement and orders of protection have made headlines, experts say many victims avoid the legal system entirely — suffering silently until it’s too late. A Block Club analysis of police and court records show most people killed in domestic violence incidents in Chicago last year had never taken out protective orders against their accused attackers. “The public health response has always been focused very much on: How do we help people once they get to a shelter, once they get to a police station or court house? But the reality is that the large majority of people are never going to get to those places,” said Sheerine Alemzadeh, co-founder of community organization Healing to Action.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago youth leaders join mayor to discuss possible solutions for ‘teen takeovers’: During a press conference, youth leaders presented their work to support community safety and safe summer activities. “Maybe we create programs and give them jobs so we can send peacekeepers to those events to keep the violence down,” said James Robinson, a youth peacekeeper with Good Kids Maad City. A final vote on the “snap curfews” could take place as soon as Wednesday.

* Tribune | As Chicago Bears pivot to Arlington Heights, Mayor Brandon Johnson says ‘I’ve done my part’: Following Tribune reporting last week that the team is pivoting its focus back to Arlington Heights and away from the city’s lakefront, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that “there’s a long way to go still” — but hinted that he won’t be an active player in this next round of talks with state lawmakers. Asked whether he plans to lobby Springfield’s Chicago delegation against any legislation the Bears may seek for a new stadium development in the suburbs, the mayor said “That’s a decision that they’ll have to make.”

* Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Visits Local Businesses to Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Today, Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Representative Hoàn Huynh visited two Asian-owned businesses in Uptown to meet with business owners and celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. The visits build on Governor Pritzker’s efforts to support small and minority-owned businesses, including the 23,000 AAPI-owned businesses and 87,000 AAPI-solopreneurs across Illinois.

* WBEZ | Two key Latino theater events just paused. Are there stormier months ahead?: “There’s a lot happening,” said Jorge Valdivia, the executive director of the nine-year-old Latino Theater Alliance. “We’re all trying to make sense of it.” In no way, he added, are these circumstances unique to his group. On Monday, leaders of Latino arts groups around Chicago gathered to collectively discuss the emerging challenges faced by Latino arts organizations. For many people running theaters, this has been a tumultuous year. Executive orders issued in February changed the guidelines for National Endowment for the Arts funding. New stipulations restrict federal grants from going to groups that support “diversity, equity or inclusion” and “gender ideology.”

* Chicago Mag | Summer’s Required Reading: From stories steeped in the rhythms of the city to a lighthearted romance, these new novels by Chicago-connected authors provide ample beach-chair fodder.

* Borderless | Chicago’s Cambodian Heritage Museum Promotes Healing While Remembering Victims Of Genocide: “Remembering Killing Fields” exhibit, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, is used as a moment of reflection from one of the “greatest crimes of the 20th century.” “The impact of that experience is still with them,” said Kaoru Watanabe, the museum’s associate director. […] In Illinois, April 17th is recognized as the historic day of remembrance after officials signed a proclamation earlier this spring.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘We’ll see where he takes it’: Cleanup set to begin at old train depot site in Lake Zurich: “It’s hard to have the vision without clearing all this out and getting the lay of the land,” said Alex Jump, a real estate investor who moved to Lake Zurich about three years ago. That includes whether the former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway depot on the west side of the tracks off South Old Rand Road is in shape to be renovated and/or moved and how the rest of the property fits.

* Daily Herald | Geneva City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins announces retirement: After 17 years with the city of Geneva — the last nine as city administrator — Stephanie Dawkins has announced she will retire Aug. 15. “It has been a deeply fulfilling experience to contribute to our shared mission of creating a place where people are excited to live, work and play,” Dawkins said in a press release. “Over the years, I have witnessed and been a part of significant challenges and achievements within the city.”

* WTTW | Northwestern Receives Anonymous Donation to Expand Jewish Studies Amid Federal Antisemitism Investigation: While the amount of the donation was not revealed, Northwestern President Michael Schill said the funding will be used to help promote “greater understanding around complex issues that fosters informed, respectful dialogue among students of all backgrounds.” “Recent events in our world highlight the urgent need for more education about Judaism and the experiences of Jewish people, and an emphasis on making sure Jewish students always feel a sense of belonging at Northwestern,” Schill said in a statement. “The thoughtfulness of the donor and the generosity of this gift will help ensure that is possible.”

* Tribune | New DuPage County tornado warning system to deliver faster alerts, safety officials say: The DuPage Public Safety Communications, known as DU-COMM, has launched a new Fulton automated tornado siren system that provides a significant advancement in public safety technology for communities served by the agency, officials said. In the past, the siren system was activated manually at DU-COMM’s 911 Center. Now, the new automated system enables real-time activation of outdoor warning sirens directly from the National Weather Service. That ensures faster, more consistent alerts during tornado warnings. “The transition to automation enhances DU-COMM’s mission of providing efficient and timely emergency communications,” said Executive Director Jessica Robb. “By leveraging the Fulton system, we are strengthening our severe weather response and giving our communities the fastest possible warning when every second counts.”

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Normal council approves measures to address housing, homelessness: The entire development will add 477 units within 28 residential buildings — a mixture of one- two- and three-bedroom units. It will have a mixture of apartment buildings and townhomes. A two-story clubhouse will add parking, a gazebo, fitness center, a pool house area, co-working space with lounge and a rental unit leasing office. An internal trail system will encircle the development’s perimeter, maintained by Normal as part of Constitution Trail.

* WGLT | Juveniles’ role in gun violence worries Bloomington-Normal police: To be clear, Bloomington-Normal is statistically safer than many other Illinois cities, including for gun violence. Peoria, Sangamon, Champaign and Macon counties all had over 50 firearm injuries each in 2024, according to a state database. McLean County had 15. “People are bombarded with the information so frequently that they think, ‘Oh my gosh, the city is going downhill,’” said Normal Police spokesperson Officer Brad Park. “But if you look at the numbers, it’s kind of level here and there and maybe a spike every now and again. But obviously, the goal is to make the community the safest it can be.”

*** National ***

* MIT Technology Review | The data center boom in the desert: The corporate race to amass computing resources to train and run artificial intelligence models and store information in the cloud has sparked a data center boom in the desert—just far enough away from Nevada’s communities to elude wide notice and, some fear, adequate scrutiny. The full scale and potential environmental impacts of the developments aren’t known, because the footprint, energy needs, and water requirements are often closely guarded corporate secrets. Most of the companies didn’t respond to inquiries from MIT Technology Review, or declined to provide additional information about the projects.