* Keeping up with the congressionals…

The two biggest names so far are State Representative La Shawn Ford and Chicago Alderman/Vice Mayor Walter Burnett.

Important to note that neither man has officially announced a campaign yet, so if Davis does decide to run for re-election, they almost certainly wouldn’t run.

— Uncrewed (@Uncrewed) May 23, 2025

* Click here for some background on the bill. Ben & Jerry’s launched a small Meta ad campaign this week for the FAIR Act…

The bill passed through the House in April but has yet to move in the Senate.

* Be safe out there folks…

We had a little excitement this morning, but everyone is safe and the museum is open.

A driver apparently lost control of his car while passing by the museum this morning and hit the rear of the building. The car caught fire, but we understand no one was seriously injured. pic.twitter.com/nAIetvOtBH

— Lincoln Presidential Library (@ALPLM) May 23, 2025

…Adding… Sen. Meg Loughran-Cappel’s father Edward Loughran has passed away. Click here to read his obituary.

*** Statewide ***

* NWI Times | Around 30 lawsuits filed against Indiana, Illinois cremation services over mishandled, misidentified remains: The Indianapolis-based law firm CohenMalad, Chicago-based attorney Scott Yonover and the Chicago-based law firm Costello, Gilbreth & Murphy have filed 28 lawsuits in Indiana alleging negligence and the mishandling of human remains, and plan to file “dozens more” in coming days. They also additionally plan to file “numerous” lawsuits in Illinois on behalf of family members who say their loved ones’ remains were mishandled, that their loved ones’ ashes were co-mingled with other people’s, and that they were sent the wrong remains.

* Daily Herald | ‘Anything to raise awareness’: Drivers asked to watch for turtles crossing roads: Unlike squirrels or deer that dart out of the woods and can startle drivers, turtles aren’t going to surprise anyone and can’t take evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck. That’s why wildlife experts are reminding drivers to be alert for the slow-moving reptiles crossing roads near lakes, ponds and marshes throughout the region searching for water, food and mates. “This time of the year is probably the highest concentration of road mortality or encounters,” said Dan Thompson, ecologist for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WTTW | Deadline Approaching for Illinois Lawmakers to Secure Transit Funding and Reform Bill: “In order to realize the savings of 20%, you’d have to cut service by up to 40%,” said Orlando Rojas, a Metra train conductor and legislative representative at Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation (SMART) Union Local 653. “There’s certain fixed costs that the transit agencies have. Whether it’s fully funded or not, they’re obligated to meet those costs. So where they have the most room is in service cuts, unfortunately, and that’s the actual service that we provide. Now you’re talking a 40% reduction. Obviously, the people that I work with are concerned about cuts.”

* Chicago Eater | Illinois Third-Party Reservation Ban Bill Awaits Gov. Pritzker’s Approval: The Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act was unanimously passed with 58 votes on Thursday, May 22. The Illinois bill is modeled after a New York policy signed into law in December. The measure seemingly targets Appointment Trader, a website where users sell reservations to trendy restaurants. Lawmakers contend users deploy bots on sites like OpenTable and Resy to scoop up desirable times before customers can book tables. Illinois State Rep. Margaret Croke says the difficulty in finding reservations at restaurants like Armitage Alehouse led her to introduce the legislation in February in Springfield.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | CIRA taxis down $70 million capital projects runway: The Central Illinois Regional Airport has about $70 million in infrastructure projects underway, or in a six-year pipeline. Some are moving faster than others. A road project at CIRA has hit a snag. Airport executive director Carl Olson said a proposed cargo access road has lost about $1.5 million in federal funding. The road would divert heavy truck traffic from the main airport road used by passenger traffic, increasing safety and reducing road wear. Olson said design work for an intersection is done.

* Telegraph | Judge denies protection order for Madison County board member after social media dispute: A hostile response to a social media post by Madison County Board member Alison Lamothe led to a court hearing Thursday, where Associate Judge John Hackett denied Lamothe’s request for an order of protection. On May 7, Madison County Board member and Edwardsville resident Alison Lamothe filed a petition for a stalking/no contact order against Russell Wheat of Roxana. Wheat previously received attention for his battles with the Roxana Landfill.

* WICA | Potential legal action: Rantoul officials upset with landlords following large fire at former Air Force base: Charred piles of mattresses, burned brick and busted windows are what’s left of a vacant building on the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul following a fire on Tuesday. Some village officials are upset with landlords for their lack of action and communication. Now, Rantoul leaders are taking legal action. Fire Chief Chad Smith and Mayor Sam Hall feel the recent fire could have been prevented if the owners had taken care of the property.

* IPM News | Danville says goodbye to Bresee Tower: The demolition of the 12-story downtown office building began in early May. With no explosives involved in the process, city officials say it could take months for a demolition crew to remove the long-vacant building. In its first few days on the job, a demolition crew focused on Bresee Tower’s north side, tearing down the fire escape, and punching through walls.

* PJ Star | Major courthouse renovations will change the look of this Downtown Peoria block: Capped at $6.76 million in construction costs, the Courthouse Plaza and surrounding block will undergo an aesthetic upgrade that will include “new permeable pavers, water jets, lighting, electrical and irrigation systems, vehicle protection bollards, benches, picnic tables, and landscaping,” according to a news release.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago restaurateurs push for repeal of law raising tipped wages; supporters want to expand it statewide: Lopez acknowledged getting the 26 City Council votes needed to repeal the ordinance will likely be an uphill climb. “I’ve had one or two individuals mention [a repeal] to me anecdotally but nothing in terms of a serious effort, which is problematic if it’s going to be successful,” he said.

* WTTW | Jussie Smollett Agrees to Make $50K Charitable Donation to Resolve City of Chicago Lawsuit: On Thursday, the city announced the case will be dismissed in exchange for Smollett making a charitable contribution of $50,000 to BBF Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts, a local organization that provides community, health and education opportunities for Chicago’s underprivileged youth.

* WGN | ‘In crisis mode’: CACC warns of pet drop-offs as daily line keeps getting longer: The shelter is averaging in May around 56 animals being surrendered per day, up from 54 in April. Some are strays, but many are owners giving up their pets. […] “Most of it is the economy — the cost of pet food, vet appointments, other stuff,” Tejeda said. “A lot of people truly love their pets but they just don’t know about all of the resources out there.”

* Sun-Times | No charges for shooter in Roseland double homicide sparked by argument over cheese: The shooting was sparked by an argument over what kind of cheese was being put on a customer’s sandwich at Momty’s Grill, located at 9 East 111th St., on Monday afternoon, according to a Chicago police report. An employee, Lois Wheeler, became upset with the customer, who was yelling at her about the cheese, the Chicago police report said. Wheeler called her son, Tate Wheeler, to the restaurant.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Naperville mayor touts Block 59 dining district, calls I-88 corridor the ‘most significant redevelopment opportunity’ in city history: A new study calls the corridor the only “opportunity area” of its scale left in the city. Much of the corridor in Naperville — once known as its “Innovation Corridor” — was developed with single-use, low-density office space and is underused and “underperforming relative to its potential,” according to the report by AECOM, a consultant hired by the Naperville Development Partnership.

* Daily Southtown | Substitute teacher charged with assault of student at Country Club Hills school: Officers took a statement from Lavana McEwen, who said that earlier that day, her son had been chased and battered by a school staff member, police said. […] Moore is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on June 3, according to court records. […] Parents and students said a substitute teacher chased, choked and hit a student after becoming angry in a fourth grade classroom at Meadowview. Another student was injured when the teacher allegedly pushed and overturned classroom furniture, leaving the child pinned in a corner, according to parents.

* Crain’s | A year ago, Oberweis Dairy was in bankruptcy. Now it’s launching an expansion: Five to seven new stores are set to open in the Chicago area — Oberweis’ largest market — and five in St. Louis, where the company already operates four stores. Oberweis is also targeting an “aggressive expansion” into Southwest Florida, where it plans to open five stores. “We know that (Florida has) a rich history of Midwest-rooted people that live there, whether it’s from Chicago, St. Louis, Wisconsin — all markets we serve, where they’re familiar with the Oberweis brand,” Hoffmann said. “We want to capitalize on all that brand recognition.”

*** National ***

* Courthouse News Service | Florida judge rules AI chatbots not protected by First Amendment: But in her order, U.S. District Court Judge Anne Conway said the company’s “large language models” — an artificial intelligence system designed to understand human language — are not speech. “Defendants fail to articulate why words strung together by an LLM are speech,” she wrote. “By failing to advance their analogies, defendants miss the operative question. This court’s decision as to the First Amendment protections Character A.I. receives, if any, does not turn on whether Character A.I. is similar to other mediums that have received First Amendment protections; rather, the decision turns on how Character A.I. is similar to the other mediums. The court is not prepared to hold that Character A.I.’s output is speech.”