* As we wait for final language on transit reform, another transit mystery appears…

*** Statehouse News ***

* JG-TC | What could downstate Illinois’ public transit agencies get in new funding bill?: Currently, about 7.5% of state sales taxes collected within transit service areas are deposited into the Downstate Public Transportation Fund, which funds 65% of the operating costs of public transit districts. The remaining share comes from fares and local revenue sources. More than $300 million is expected to be deposited into the fund this fiscal year, according to budget documents. But under the proposed revamp, the share of state sales tax dedicated to downstate transit would increase to about 12.5% and the state cost share would increase to 75% for urban transit districts and 80% in rural districts.

* Sun-Times | For mentally ill people facing low-level charges, lawmakers take steps to get them care, not prosecution: The legislation would put a time limit on how long people facing a misdemeanor charge could be held in a hospital. Because they wouldn’t have spent more than a year in jail for a misdemeanor, they wouldn’t spend more than a year in treatment.

* Daily Herald | Three-point seat belts to be required on new school buses in Illinois: The belts will be required in every seat in newly purchased or leased school buses. Buses already in operation won’t need to be retrofitted with belts.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune Chicago arts commissioner touts increased grants for artists, defends against criticism | Chicago arts commissioner touts increased grants for artists, defends against criticism: Hedspeth is proud of having secured the extra money, given Chicago’s thorny fiscal outlook. Johnson and the City Council budgeted $7 million for the grants, $1 million more than the year before, but less than the $10 million allocated in former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2023 budget, when the city’s coffers were bolstered by a massive influx of federal COVID-19 funding.

* Crain’s | Ascension nears $3.9B deal for outpatient centers, including 3 around Chicago: Ascension’s own footprint in the Chicago market has recently shrunk, as it sold eight of its hospitals to Prime Healthcare in February and closed Ascension St. Elizabeth in Chicago. Ascension maintained ownership of Ascension Alexian Brothers and Ascension Alexian Brothers Rehabilitation hospitals in Elk Grove Village; Ascension Saint Alexius and Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health hospitals in Hoffman Estates; and Ascension Saint Joseph in Chicago, as well as several other assisted living communities. The deal would give Ascension, one of the biggest nonprofit health systems in the US, added scale amid a broader shift in which care is moving toward lower-cost settings outside of traditional hospitals.

* Block Club | Irving Park Food Pantry Awarded $1 Million City Grant To Build New Home: The $1 million grant will go toward the development of a multi-use building the food pantry and other nonprofits and community groups will use, city officials said. It’s estimated the project will cost about $2.1 million to complete, and it should not need a zoning change to move forward, Psiharis said.

* WBEZ | What happened to Chicago’s Japanese neighborhood?: The reason Chicago’s Japanese neighborhood disappeared is directly tied to a Chicago immigrant experience like no other. Japanese-Americans didn’t end up in Chicago of their own accord: The U.S. government forcibly resettled 20,000 of them to the city from World War II incarceration camps. And, as part of that effort, the government pressured them to shed their Japanese identities and assimilate into white society.

* WTTW | The Bank of America Chicago 13.1 Half Marathon Is Sunday. Here Are the Expected Street Closures, Race Schedule: The fourth annual Bank of America Chicago 13.1 half marathon on Sunday is expected to bring 10,000 runners through the West Side. The course starts and ends at Garfield Park and also takes runners through Douglass Park and Humboldt Park. The race begins at 7 a.m. Sunday. Race-related events, including a wellness walk and race day festival, will also be held throughout the weekend.

* Sun-Times | 23 students at Whitney Young Magnet High School get perfect ACT scores: That was a first in the school’s 50-year history, Harris said. Students in past years had received perfect scores, but it was a first to have that many students get perfect scores in the same year. The ACT tests students’ knowledge and skills in English, mathematics, reading, writing and science reasoning. Less than 1% of students who take the ACT nationally get a perfect score of 36.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WTTW | ‘Egregious Delays’ and No Attorney Assistance: How Those Incarcerated Fight Their Convictions: Every year, hundreds of people in Cook County file these petitions, compiling alleged evidence of police misconduct, violations of constitutional rights or claims of actual innocence. It’s a vital tool for those alleging injustice to get a new trial or be resentenced — Chicago has some of the highest numbers of wrongful convictions in the nation. Incarcerated people typically file on their own, as they don’t have the right to an attorney provided by the state for these petitions.

* Daily Herald | Neighbors oppose marijuana dispensary proposed near Bartlett day care center: But officials at the DuPage County Health Department clarified Friday that under current regulations it can’t issue a food permit to any retail operation offering products that contain hemp.

* Daily Herald | West Dundee begins exterior demolition of shuttered Spring Hill Mall: Earlier this month, Carpentersville officials approved purchasing the recently closed Kohl’s store — the last remaining portion of the mall that was up for sale — for $2 million. West Dundee officials have said buying the mall was critical to reimagining the property into a mixed-use development featuring residential, retail and entertainment. A recent study indicated that the 70 acres of mall property inside the ring road and another 32 acres adjacent to it could support up to 1,500 residential units and 325,000 square feet of commercial use. The mall offered 1 million square feet of commercial space.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | That’s a wrap: Annual charity music festival not returning to Springfield: On May 23, the Legacy of Giving (LoG) Music Festival announced the end of the chapter for the annual festival. Citing reflection on the end of the event, organizers posted to Facebook the difficult decision to not stage a festival in 2025, and thanking past volunteers and sponsors of the event. “While we’re unable to continue the festival in its current form, we are incredibly proud of the impact it has had, raising both awareness and funds for charity,” the Facebook post said. “The memories we’ve created, the talents we’ve celebrated, and the causes we’ve supported will remain a testament to the power of coming together as a community.”

* WCIA | Former Clark Co. student arrested in Indiana after bomb threat of former school: A former Marshall High School graduate was arrested in Indiana after planning to deploy destructive devices at her former school. In a joint statement from the Marshall Police Department and Marshall Community School District, they announced that on Friday, they were informed of the arrest of a past graduate of Marshall High School in Evansville, Indiana, where the female subject currently lives.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | Trump’s attorney general steps up fight with American Bar Association: The Trump administration will not provide the American Bar Association with access to its judicial nominees, escalating a fight with the group that traditionally rates the candidates ahead of Senate confirmation hearings. […] The Justice Department will no longer tell judicial nominees to provide waivers to the ABA to access non-public information, according to the letter. The nominees also will not sit for interviews with the ABA or respond to questionnaires from the group.

* WIRED | The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database: The Department of Justice has argued that extensive DNA collection activity at the border provides “an assessment of the danger” a migrant potentially “poses to the public” and will essentially help solve crimes that may be committed in the future. Experts say that the children’s raw genetic material will be stored indefinitely and worry that, without proper guardrails, the DNA dragnet could eventually be used for more extensive profiling.