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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
Wednesday, Jun 4, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ABC Chicago…
…Adding… Blocked for now…
* The Illinois Department of Central Management Services…
* Investigate Midwest | Rare Illinois dust storm shows how far climate shifts are reaching: The number of dust storms recorded annually across the U.S. doubled in just over a decade. As bare cropland and rising temperatures dry out the Midwest, even states like Illinois are seeing warnings once reserved for the Southwest.
* 25News Now | Illinois K-2 expulsion and suspension reform bill fails to pass: The bill passed the Senate on a 30-23 vote with some Democrats voting against it or leaving the room as the vote was called. Now, it just needed House approval to pass. However, it had passed midnight of May 31, which means any plan wanting to pass either chamber needs a two thirds majority. That means a legislation needs 71 votes instead of the usual 60 votes to pass. * WAND | TICK Act: Alpha-gal awareness bill gains unanimous support, heads to Pritzker’s desk: Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha) said he filed the legislation because his mother suffers from the disease. “She’s lived with this now for several years but has never sought treatment because she knows how to control it,” Swanson said. “She can’t go into McDonald’s or a restaurant where they actually fry burgers on an open grill because that aroma will cause the shock that she goes through.” * Chalkbeat Chicago | Inside Illinois’ FY 2026 budget: little to no new funding for K-12 schools, early childhood education: The General Assembly’s budget for the Illinois State Board of Education will increase from almost $10.8 billion to almost $11.2 billion. The final budget includes a $307 million increase for K-12 school districts around the state through the state’s evidence-based funding formula. This is the first time since 2020 that the General Assembly did not increase the budget by at least $350 million. * CBS Chicago | Illinois lawmakers pass legislation aimed at helping solve missing persons cases: The Missing Persons Identification Act requires law enforcement to report immediately when they learn of a missing person and enter it into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System. If a person is missing for more than 60 days, investigators will be required to also collect any existing fingerprint or dental records and photos and enter that info into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database. * Tribune | CTU threatens to sue over proposed CPS budget cuts: CTU President Stacy Davis Gates sent a letter to the school board Tuesday, characterizing Martinez and his team’s proposals to balance the Chicago Public Schools’ 2026 fiscal budget as “attempts at vindictive sabotage.” The new fiscal year begins July 1. The union settled a new $1.5 billion four-year contract in late April, following a year of negotiations. CPS has said there is enough money to cover the first year of the contract, but has not detailed plans for the other three. * Block Club | Chicago’s Grocery Tax Was Slated To End In 2026. Now, Mayor Wants To Keep It Going: Chicago has not yet taken action on reimplementing the grocery tax, which must be passed as an ordinance and submitted to the state by Oct. 1 for collection to continue uninterrupted in 2026, according to a fact sheet from the Illinois Municipal League. With that deadline quickly approaching — especially considering the City Council does not meet in August — Johnson and members of his budget team on Tuesday separately spoke in favor of continuing to collect the tax to help the city balance its budget. * Fox Chicago | More than 125 CPS students nailed a perfect ACT score — here’s where they go to school: At least 125 high school students across Chicago Public Schools earned a perfect score on the ACT this year — something fewer than 1% of students pull off nationwide, according to preliminary data shared by CPS. The standout among CPS schools was Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, where 40 students scored a 36. Lane Tech College Prep followed with 24, and Whitney M. Young Magnet High School reported 23 perfect scores. * Block Club | Pilsen Residents On Edge Day After ICE Arrests: ‘People Are Feeling Siloed’: Hernandez said that after the arrests Monday morning, the normally busy stretch of 18th Street that serves as the heart of Pilsen quickly emptied. Students from Jungman Elementary, who normally frequent his store after classes get out, went home instead, he said. “After that, this neighborhood was quiet,” Hernandez said. “The kids from the school, nobody came.” * NYT | Bears minicamp takeaways: Ben Johnson’s obsession with details takes hold at Halas Hall: “I think what sticks out (with) Ben and this staff … is just how detail-oriented they are,” Kmet said. “You can feel that in the meetings; they’re relentless on the details. I think that’s something that may be a little unique from what I’ve had in the past. Not saying other coaches weren’t detailed, but it’s like an obsession with the details. … He just can’t let it go. You feel that from him. Whether it’s on the field, in the meeting room, he brings that with him wherever he’s at.” * Tribune | Blackhawks show off Fifth Third Arena expansion construction — and the future home of the Chicago Steel: The Chicago Blackhawks gave the media a sneak peek at the Fifth Third Arena expansion — still a skeletal collection of steel beams, HVAC systems and construction dust — but they dropped some meatier news during Tuesday’s tour: The Chicago Steel are coming. The United States Hockey League team will play a final season starting this fall at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, its home since 2015, before moving its offices and home ice into the expanded, fancier digs at Fifth Third, the Hawks training facility. * Tribune | In unlikely relationship, endangered herons seek out Lincoln Park Zoo’s red wolves for protection: For the last 15 years, however, Chicago has become a popular summer hub and the location of the last remaining breeding colony of the species in the state, specifically atop the red wolf enclosure at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Hundreds of black-crowned night herons flock there starting in mid-March every year, migrating from nearby Indiana and Kentucky, and from farther away like Louisiana, Florida and Georgia, and more recently, even Cuba. […] In Chicago and, in the obvious absence of alligators, the birds have found the largest carnivorous animals and apex predators around. They rely on the red wolves to scare away smaller threats, such as raccoons and other birds of prey, from their nests. The wolves remain undisturbed and, for the most part, uninterested. * WBEZ | Prejudice ‘follows us to the grave’: The segregated past of Chicago cemeteries: In that era filled with civil rights protests, this group of Chicagoans fought to end the racial segregation of local cemeteries. They focused most of their anger on Oak Woods, the largest graveyard in the South Side’s Black neighborhoods. The nonsectarian cemetery had been excluding African Americans since around 1913, when it sent out a circular ad that declared, “Chapel, vault and cemetery are for the exclusive use of the Caucasian race.” * Tribune | Charges dropped against Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman, arrested at April City Council meeting: Cook County prosecutors dropped charges Wednesday against Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman, who was arrested and removed from a recent City Council meeting, marking the second time charges were against her were not prosecuted. Prosecutors said Wednesday that charges of disorderly conduct and resisting a police officer were being dismissed. Charges filed against Chapman’s mother in the April 28 arrest were also dropped. * Crain’s | Legislator calls for do-over on Wirtz family’s Ivanhoe Village project: A state legislator hopes to reopen talks about the financial impact the Wirtz family’s proposed $2 billion Ivanhoe Village development will have on local schools, fueled by two recent changes: legislation passed in the closing days of the legislative session in Springfield and a new mayor in Mundelein’s village hall. The case was seemingly closed in mid-April, when the village board voted to approve the package of impact fees the developers and village officials negotiated. That 5-1 vote came after a few months of tension between village officials and leaders of the local school districts, who claimed they would be saddled with about $80 million in new costs not covered by the fees. * Shaw Local | Old Joliet Prison offers new tour, hard-hats required: The Administration Building at the Old Joliet Prison now is open for hard-hat tours, the Joliet Area Historical Museum announced Tuesday. The building, familiar from the outside to prison visitors because of its location at the entrance to the prison off the main parking lot, has been closed since a 2020 roof collapse. * Daily Herald | Aurora Farmers Market, the oldest in Illinois, opens for its 114th season Saturday: “We are so excited to kick off our 114th season,” market manager Felicia Freitag said in a press release. “We have a new layout this year that will help us fit up to 75 vendors — more than we’ve ever had at the Water Street Square location.” New this year is the Sprouts Club, a free entertainment and activity hub for children that runs from 9 to 11 a.m. Activities will promote sustainability, creativity and farming and produce knowledge. They also will give children the opportunity to socialize. * Chicago Mag | Jimmy Bannos Jr. Will Open Kouklas This Summer: Jimmy Bannos Jr. made his name in Chicago as the chef-owner of Michigan Avenue stalwart the Purple Pig, but since departing the restaurant a few years ago, Bannos has been quiet. But not for much longer — Bannos is preparing to open Kouklas, a Greek spot in Niles (7620 N. Milwaukee Ave.), later this summer. He’s working on the project with his father, Jimmy Bannos, best known for the beloved Cajun-Creole spot Heaven on Seven. * ABC Chicago | Nearly 300 lose jobs after company announces abrupt closure of IL facility: The sausage manufacturer notified 274 people that the Momence, Illinois facility was closing effective immediately. The Momence Packing Company building has been a steady place of employment for the city for more than six decades. […] “It’s like they didn’t even care about us. You know, same day?” former employee Lupe Hernandez said. * PJ Star | Former Peoria fire chief appointed to interim role with Peoria Heights department: Former Peoria Fire Department Chief Tony Ardis has been named the interim fire chief in Peoria Heights. Ardis was officially appointed to the position on an interim basis by Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton on Tuesday night, where he was given a round of applause by the members of the Village Board. * BND | Metro-east city consolidates three fire departments into one: The advantage, city officials say, should be faster response times, easier recruitment, and tax dollar savings. In the meantime, Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall worked with members of the Cahokia, Camp Jackson and Alorton fire departments on intergovernmental agreements to temporarily bring the three units under one roof immediately. They’ll go back to three separate departments if voters reject the referendum next spring. * WSIL | Vienna High School leads Illinois in FAFSA completion success: Vienna High School achieved a significant milestone by reaching 100% FAFSA completion among its seniors, according to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission’s latest data. Vienna is the only school outside of Chicago to make the top seven list, which includes six academies and prep schools in Chicago. * CJR | Don’t Mourn the Death of Alt-Weeklies. They’re Alive and Well: To survive, alt-weeklies have had to evolve. Several years ago, AAN expanded its membership beyond general-interest papers to include LGBTQ, Black, Latinx, and other niche publications; consequently, AAN currently has a membership of 120 papers, its largest since 2009. Some AAN publications no longer publish weekly; some have dispensed with print and publish daily online. Some no longer use the label “alternative,” having taken the place of local dailies that went out of business. (Boegle also points out that the term “alternative” has been co-opted by the far right, never a constituency represented in alt-weeklies.)
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- Sue - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 2:38 pm:
Stacy seems to be as uninformed about legal matters as is her prize employee( The Mayor tax the rich Johnson)- assuming CPS personnel reductions are announced- her recourse is a contractual grievance not a lawsuit- how is it a union president wouldn’t know the way to challenge an alleged contract violation is thru arbitration?
- Leslie K - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 3:12 pm:
The 25NewsNow article still leaves me wondering what happened to the K-2 suspension bill on concurrence in the House. Was there just too much mailer fodder from earlier iterations that could cloud the facts of what seemed, in the end, a perfectly reasonable bill? (Setting aside for the moment the fact that a bill limiting susupensions and expulsions of kindergarteners apparently needs to be a thing…)
- Rest in Peace - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 3:16 pm:
Oak Woods Cemetery is the final resting place of such prominent African Americans as publisher John Johnson, athlete Jesse Owens, Ida B. Wells, and Harold Washington. Roland Burris has his prepaid mausoleum in Oak Woods.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 3:24 pm:
SDG and the Mayor are fighting the notion of basic facts (like someone else we all know). It’s a poor copy-job of Roy Cohn’s playbook.
- H-W - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 3:24 pm:
Perhaps the official mission and the purpose now collide.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/jobcorps
- H-W - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 3:31 pm:
=== says the program was operating at a $140 million deficit last year, is not cost-effective, has a low graduation rate and was not placing participants in stable jobs. ===
The parties disagree. True, or false?
- H-W - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 3:46 pm:
Re: Investigate Midwest story
I understand why most will never understand global phenomena like warming, climate change, etc. Some have no understanding of natural sciences like biology, chemistry, physics, etc.
But Dust Bowls occur a couple times a century. Let us begin; droughts are growing.
We need to not question this. Science too, is a principle of governance, and reason.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Jun 4, 25 @ 3:53 pm:
===Shapiro Developmental Center unutilized land in Kankakee (70 acres). The Developmental Center will be unaffected.===
I think adding public parkland along the river would be wise, rather than allowing housing or other development there. There is additional space away from the river adjacent to existing roads in Kankakee. And the historic clock tower should remain visible and prominent.
But that’s just my opinion. I’m sure somebody could develop a really nice residential tract along the river that would fetch top dollar. I hope they are able to resist that temptation.
- froganon - Thursday, Jun 5, 25 @ 9:51 am:
Two years ago we drove from the west coast to Illinois in late March/early April. We repeatedly saw tractors plowing up billows of top soil, aka dust. The air was hazy with dust across Iowa and Nebraska. Plowing up a bare field as the wind howls across the landscape is not a natural event. It is a stupefying waste of resources.