* ICYMI: New taxes on sports bets, nicotine products as Democrats pass $55.2B budget. Capitol News Illinois…

- Illinois Democrats pushed through a $55.2 billion budget for next fiscal year late Saturday, bolstering coffers with new taxes on sports bets, nicotine products and businesses.
- The budget marked a roughly 3.9% spending increase from the current year, while Republicans criticized it for containing few cuts.
- It raises about $500 million more in new revenue than what Gov. JB Pritzker proposed in February to make up for declining base revenues.

* Related stories…

∙ Daily Herald: What’s next after transit rescue dies in Illinois House, and what caused the meltdown? Lawmakers explain
∙ WGN: Illinois lawmakers approve $55.2B budget, tax hikes on sports betting and tobacco just before midnight deadline

* The Governor has no public events scheduled for today, but you can read a transcript of his post-session press conference here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois Senate leaves without taking a vote on plan to let terminally ill people end their own lives: State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, the lead sponsor of the measure, said the Senate ran out of time this legislative session to get the bill over the finish line. It could still be called for a vote at a later date. […] It remains unclear where Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker stands on the proposal. A spokesman for Pritzker said he would only comment on the bill if it landed on his desk.

* Tribune | After lawmakers pass budget with cuts and tax hikes, Gov. JB Pritzker blames state’s fiscal challenges on Trump: “Donald Trump’s incomprehensible tariff policies have put a tax on our working families and dampened the nation’s economic outlook,” he said. “The Trump slump is affecting every state, and the chaos and uncertainty of the Republicans’ proposed cuts to health care and education and jobs have made budgeting, well, harder than ever before.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Senate’s transit funding, delivery tax proposal stalls in House: With public transit agencies in Chicagoland facing a fiscal cliff and the potential for thousands of layoffs, the state did not pass a bill that would have provided the agencies with potentially over $1 billion in new funding. A version of the bill passed in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago. But the House adjourned early Sunday morning without concurring as some of its tax hikes became too controversial. Now, the future of Chicagoland transit is in limbo as the bill awaits further action.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Who owns most of the farmland in Illinois? Not farmers: Less than a fourth of Illinois farmland is owned by the farmer who works the land, according to data from the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management, a nonprofit association that helps farmers make management decisions. The rest is leased to farmers by individuals, family trusts and, increasingly, businesses. The Tribune is launching a series of special reports analyzing the hurdles many farmers face in trying to be good stewards of the land as climate change intensifies. Among the challenges are fewer opportunities for farmers — and would-be farmers — to own their land.

* WCIA | Free fishing days coming to Illinois waterways: The IDNR said the free fishing days will be June 13-16. During these four days, everyone can fish in Illinois lakes and waterways without a license, salmon stamp or inland trout stamp.

* Axios | Trump halting student visas could have $2B risk for Illinois: International students contribute about $2.4 billion to the state economy and more than 23,000 jobs, according to data from NAFSA, an international education nonprofit. Of the 1.1 million international college students studying in the U.S. during the 2023-24 school year, about 5.5% were studying in Illinois, per data from NAFSA.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol City Now | Leaders’ farewell to 2025 IL General Assembly spring session: “We’ll be back when the world requires us to be back,” said Senate President Don Harmon (pictured, lower left) (D-Oak Park), “but for the next weeks or months, the world is safe, because the General Assembly is not in session.”

* KWQC | Illinois Democrats pass resolution calling for health care reforms, not cuts: The majority party passed a resolution Thursday that calls on the U.S. Senate to table the health care cuts bill. Instead, the party suggests they pursue reforms such as the Illinois’ Healthcare Protection Act which provides care to illegal immigrants.

* Crain’s | Transit bailout falls apart in Springfield as clock strikes midnight: The setback came despite Senate Democrats approving the package in a 32-22 vote without GOP support less than 20 minutes before midnight, a constitutional deadline to approve the bill with a simple majority. At the time, the House was debating the state’s $55.2 billion budget, which was approved seven minutes before the deadline. That left the House little wiggle room to call the transit bill, but the chamber had already realized the votes weren’t there, even if they had more time.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Chicago Public Transit In Limbo After State Lawmakers Fail To Fill Nearly $1 Billion Budget Gap: With no new funding for Chicago-area mass transit included in next year’s state budget, CTA and other agencies could see massive cuts to service and its workforces, officials have warned. The funding nosedive is set for the beginning of 2026 as COVID-19 relief money runs out. An estimated 40 percent of the Regional Transit Authority’s service could be cut along with an additional 3,000 layoffs without a new funding mechanism, Villivalam said.

* ABC Chicago | I-Team reporting on illegal gun trafficking through O’Hare Airport leads to congressional inquiry: Now, U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi is asking the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for more information on their work deterring illegal weapons and materials from entering the country. “We were astonished by what you found,” Krishnamoorthi told the I-Team, “Namely that illegal firearms, as well as firearm accessories, are coming from China, and, you know, furthering the gun epidemic that exists across the country, but also here in Illinois.”

* WTTW | New Navy Pier Marina, Offering Short-Term Docking for Recreational Boaters, Expected to Open Mid-June: The Navy Pier Marina is expected to officially open to the public June 14. The opening of the marina, located on the north side of Navy Pier, comes as this year’s boating season kicks off. Navy Pier Marina founder and developer Randy Podolsky said during a Wednesday news conference that the idea for the marina came in 1983.

* Block Club | 60-Unit ‘Passive Living’ Affordable Housing Breaks Ground In West Humboldt Park: The project will have 60 apartments geared toward young professionals and families in the community, with 48 of those units reserved for households making at or below 60 percent of the area median income. Thirteen units will be reserved for people with disabilities, including four for people with sensory impairments.

* Tribune | As residents and dogs again fill Chicago parks, data shows fewer than 1 in 4 reported bites result in citations: The city department received some 6,435 bite reports between January 2020 and April 30 of this year, according to a Tribune review of data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. For that same period, data shows that CACC has issued about 1,516 citations, for “unrestrained violations,” to animal owners. The violations cover dogs found to be off-leash in public areas, but not every violation issued pertains to a bite.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Fox Chicago | Construction begins on Chicago project to send Lake Michigan water to southwest suburbs: he project is a partnership between the City of Chicago and the Grand Prairie Water Commission, which is made up of Joliet, Crest Hill, Channahon, Minooka, Shorewood, and Romeoville. The southwest suburban municipalities banded together to establish the new commission last year to purchase Lake Michigan water through the City of Chicago. They did so because their current water supply from underground aquifers is projected to be insufficient to meet current needs by the year 2030.

* Daily Herald | Student journalist’s investigation into Prospect’s first principal prompts review of honorary naming: A student journalist for Prospect High School’s newspaper uncovered former Principal Alvin Kulieke’s ties to a fringe religious group and its early embrace of eugenics principles. Now Northwest Suburban High School District 214 is considering stripping the name of Kulieke — principal of the Mount Prospect school from its opening in 1957 until his death in 1973 — from the school theater.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville expanding composting program, introducing clothing recycling: Starting Monday, there will be city-designated locations around town for residents to compost food scraps and to drop off clothing and textiles for reuse and recycling, city officials said. The programs will run through Aug. 29. Compost drop-offs locations will be available at the city’s compressed natural gas filling station at 1720 W. Jefferson Ave. and the former park-and-ride lot at 91st Street and Wolf’s Crossing Road. As for clothing and textiles, residents can leave items at the city’s Environmental Collection Campus at 156 Fort Hill Drive from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

* Daily Herald | Buffalo Grove embraces its diversity with seventh annual Pride Parade: With the theme “Pride is Natural,” and organized by The Pinta Pride Project, the parade included groups from schools, religious organizations, businesses and advocacy groups marching along Buffalo Grove Road. […] “I never thought we’d get the chance to be married, and so that’s probably the biggest thing that we’ve experienced in 40 years,” said Woodard, a retired physical education teacher.

* Daily Herald | Algonquin landowner wants to create a public riverfront park. Village says no thanks: Swanson asked the village “on more than one occasion” to purchase the land and turn it into a park. But the village does not back his plans. Village President Debby Sosine said the village already has allocated millions toward upgrading its existing parks. Presidential Park opened Wednesday and Towne Park is nearing completion, while officials recently revealed a final renovation design for Willoughby Park. “I appreciate his enthusiasm for wanting to do something there, but village is not buying — especially at the cost ($324,000)he is asking,” Sosine said.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Central Illinois lawmakers stick to party lines on state budget: After some tension in both chambers, the budget was passed in the last two hours before the deadline with no Republican support. For Democrats, the budget is a success. Democratic state Rep. Sharon Chung of Bloomington said the caucus was engaged and focused throughout the session.

* WCIA | U of I researchers looking back at COVID protocols to see what they can learn: Becky Smith is a professor of epidemiology. She said the shutdowns were successful in keeping hospitals from being flooded with patients. But — she thinks the federal government could have used that time to build a better test for the virus– and understand its transmission quicker. Smith’s biggest takeaway was the erosion of trust between public health officials — and the general public.

* BND | Opponents of solar farm at Mount Hope Cemetery launch campaign to stop it: More than 450 people have signed a petition asking Belleville officials to halt their plans to clear-cut woods behind Mount Hope Cemetery to make way for a community solar farm. Opponents are hoping that the new administration of Mayor Jenny Meyer, who defeated former Mayor Patty Gregory in April, will be more open to their concerns about what’s planned for the city-owned property.

*** National ***

* AP | States are rolling out red carpets for data centers. But some lawmakers are pushing back: Kansas approved a new sales tax exemption on goods to build and equip data centers, while Kentucky and Arkansas expanded pre-existing exemptions so that more projects will qualify. Michigan approved one that carries some protections, including requirements to use municipal utility water and clean energy, meet energy-efficiency measures and ensure that it pays for its own electricity.

* You Gov | Trust in Media 2025: Which news sources Americans use and trust: By this measure, The Weather Channel persists as the most trusted news source, as it was in 2022, 2023, and 2024: Americans are 49 percentage points more likely to call The Weather Channel trustworthy as they are to call it untrustworthy — up from +43 last year. Like last year, the Weather Channel is followed by two public broadcasters: the BBC (+26) and PBS (+25). By far the least-trusted outlet included in the poll is the National Enquirer (-37, better than -44 last year, when it also ranked last for trust). The outlets trusted least besides the Enquirer are, like last year, Infowars (-15) and Breitbart News (-7).

* WaPo | Discrimination cases unravel as Trump scraps core civil rights tenet: The Justice Department now is reviewing its entire docket and has already dismissed or terminated “many” cases that were “legally unsupportable” and a product of “weaponization” under the Biden administration, said Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will fully enforce civil rights laws in a way that satisfies the ends of justice, not politicization,” she said in a statement to The Washington Post.