* ICYMI: Gov. JB Pritzker signs budget amid federal funding uncertainty, unaddressed transit issues. Tribune…

- The spending plan Pritzker signed Pritzker signed includes nearly $400M in additional cuts beyond his February proposal, budget negotiators said last month.
-It raises over $800M through tax hikes on tobacco, sports betting, and corporate income, plus one-time revenues.
- Legislators ended session without passing a transit plan, and Pritzker on Monday did his best to deflect responsibility for the problem, saying transit is “not a state budget issue… It’s really a separate matter entirely.”
- Rep. Kam Buckner, a lead budget negotiator in the House who has also been a leader in discussions on the transit issue, said lawmakers may return this summer if federal cuts hit the budget — and could address transit then.

* Related stories…

∙ NBC Chicago: As Pritzker signs Illinois budget, here’s what’s in, what’s out and other notes
∙ Sun-Times: Gov. JB Pritzker blames ‘Trump slump’ for difficult budget year
∙ Center Square: Enacting largest IL budget ever with tax increases, Pritzker criticizes Trump
∙ Capitol News Illinois: Pritzker signs $55.1B state budget reliant on $700M of new taxes

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect chief meeting with legislators amid license-plate reader controversy: Eterno told village officials at Saturday’s Coffee With Council he has spoken with State Rep. Nicolle Grasse, a Democrat from Arlington Heights. Grasse also spoke with officials in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Rolling Meadows, she said. She and Eterno are meeting this week with state Sen. Mark Walker, also an Arlington Heights Democrat. Mount Prospect was at the center of the issue when Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced last week that 46 out-of-state agencies were blocked from accessing Flock Safety’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system after reports they had been used in searches related to abortion and immigration.

* Crain’s | Chicago Fire, Related Midwest reveal details of South Loop stadium plan: Renderings and site plan documents showcase more details of the $650 million stadium set to be bankrolled privately by billionaire Fire owner Joe Mansueto, as well as new and tweaked public infrastructure projects Related Midwest would finance and be reimbursed for with future property tax revenue generated by the project. Among other soccer-facing revelations: The stadium in the north central portion of the long-fallow, 62-acre site would feature 50 suites, 500 “Loge seats” and 3,500 “Club seats” — including some with access to exclusive clubs, the team said — as well as a dedicated supporter section with a capacity for about 2,000 die-hard fans.

*** Statehouse News ***

* NBC Chicago | Pritzker discusses Trump’s decision to send National Guard into Los Angeles: Immigration protests have remained largely peaceful in Chicago, with just one arrest reported during a “No Kings” march on Saturday, but Pritzker was asked whether he believed Trump would activate the Illinois National Guard to support law enforcement in Chicago. “I do not believe he will call out the National Guard. He has seen this has not gone well for him politically, and he’s all about the politics,” Pritzker said during a press conference Monday. “What he’s done in California has really hurt him politically, so I don’t think he’ll do that in other places.”

* WCIA | Changes coming to Illinois after Pritzker signs multiple bills: Governor Pritzker signed HB742 on Monday. According to his office, this will delay the date the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act would be enforced until July 1, 2026. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act would ban banks or credit card companies from charging businesses a fee for the tipped or taxed portion of a transaction.

* WMBD | On the Record: Breaking down the $55 billion budget with state Senators Koehler, Arellano: “Overall, I think its a fair budget,” said state Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria). “But you can look through the budget and you’ll find areas where things made you satisfied or things didn’t make you satisfied. But that’s what the budget process is.” […] On the other side, state Sen. Li Arellano took issue with the budget saying it was unduly burdensome on taxpayers. He voted against the “reckless” budget plan, he said.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Fiscal watchdog says state financial oversight for CPS is worth exploring: With Chicago Public Schools grappling with a $529 million deficit and no clear way to balance its budget for the fall, the state might want to take over the school district’s finances — a move that could open up new revenue opportunities, but also force CPS to make cuts that school board members and the mayor oppose. That’s according to a new report by the nonpartisan financial watchdog group, the Civic Federation.

* Tribune | Maps show neighborhoods where environmental justice zoning ordinance would benefit residents most: As communities are urging their representatives to support an environmental ordinance introduced in April to the City Council, a neighborhood group released maps showing large swaths of land across the city are currently zoned for commercial warehouses and industrial manufacturing that don’t require public notice or city approval to be developed. Wards with the most land where this kind of use is permitted include the 10th Ward on the city’s Southeast Side, the 11th and 12th Wards on the South Side, the 25th Ward on the Lower West Side, and the 27th Ward on the Northwest Side.

* WTTW | Ald. Jim Gardiner Won’t Have to Pay $20K Fine After He Is Cleared of Violating Ethics Ordinance: After an appeal by the two-term Far Northwest Side alderperson, an administrative hearing officer overturned the Chicago Board of Ethics’ October 2023 determination that Gardiner committed 10 total violations of Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, five violations of his fiduciary duty to the city and five violations for unauthorized use of city property after a probe by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg. The Chicago Board of Ethics voted unanimously Monday evening to clear Gardiner of those violations.

* Crain’s | American Bar Association sues Trump over alleged ‘intimidation’ of law firms: “The result of the Law Firm Intimidation Policy has been a pervasive fear within the legal community and the justice system at large,” the complaint reads. “Many attorneys are no longer willing to take on representations that would require suing the federal government because doing so poses a serious risk of becoming the next target of the administration’s devastating sanctions.” The ABA is represented in the complaint by Susman Godfrey, one of four law firms, along with Chicago-based Jenner & Block, that opted to fight the administration in court rather than reach a deal to avoid an executive order targeting its operations. Jenner won a ruling last month permanently blocking the order.

* Crain’s | Chicago garners two wins at the Beard Awards, the Oscars of the restaurant biz: First up was the West Loop Japanese bar Kumiko, which won in the Outstanding Bar category. Created by Julia Momosé, Kumiko is both a bar and dining experience, combing the two in a very intimate setting at 630 W. Lake St. The restaurant calls itself a “a dining bar” where “food and drink are expertly intertwined” with an emphasis on Japanese ingredients, craft cocktails and saké. Diners can grab a snack with their cocktail or enjoy a tasting menu.

* Chicago Mag | Peering Inside Chicago’s Original Art Colony: Graff was beginning to understand why the Chicago Tribune originally described it as a “magnificent palace” when the edifice first opened in 1885. Designed by Solon Spencer Beman, it served as the showroom for the Studebaker Carriage Company before the business moved. After a renovation that expanded the structure from eight floors to 10, it reopened in 1898 as “the first art colony of Chicago.” Among the many music teachers, theater companies, and literary groups, the storied list of artists-in-residence includes architect Frank Lloyd Wright, sculptor Lorado Taft, and illustrators W. W. Denslow (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and J.C. Leyendecker (The Saturday Evening Post cover artist).

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Aurora Beacon-News | With $771 million budget gap for transit looming, suburban officials and activists still waiting on reform: In Kane County, the failure to pass the Senate funding proposal was met with some optimism from local officials seeking greater suburban influence over the transit agencies. At a county board meeting on June 4, Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog reiterated interest in greater oversight for the collar counties on the region’s transit agencies. “That was our big fight, and we were able to, altogether, with our senators … postpone this for another day, and a much more thoughtful, I hope, less rushed conversation,” Pierog said.

* Shaw Local | Residents express opposition to proposed day care center near Downers Grove: “I am not against day care,” said Ozzello, a working mom who in the past struggled to find day care for her children. “I understand the need for reliable and affordable, trustworthy childcare. I am all for building another day care in another location that makes sense.” But not on a residential lot, she said.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora considers water rate increase: Aurora is considering raising the water and sewer rate by 6% each of the next two years, which city staff members say would mean about a $3.30 monthly increase for the average residential water user each year. If the city were to keep rates the same, it would face a roughly $2.8 million budget deficit in the Water and Sewer Fund. That’s according to Jason Bauer, the interim director of Public Works, who gave a presentation to the Aurora City Council’s Committee of the Whole about the proposed increase earlier this month and then formally proposed the increase at a City Council Finance Committee meeting last week.

* Shaw Local | Which northern Illinois towns have enacted a 1% grocery tax? Check our list: Illinois communities that want to keep a 1% grocery tax after the state’s tax expires have to act soon to put their own laws on the books. More than 200 communities in the state already have chosen to do so, with many more considering it.

* NBC Chicago | Residents, activists blame ‘festering’ antisemitism for Highland Park incident: A Highland Park family is speaking out after receiving a threatening, antisemitic letter at their home — a disturbing incident that has drawn swift condemnation from the community and prompted an investigation involving local police, the FBI, and a hazardous materials team. The letter, which targeted the family for displaying pro-Israel signage in their yard, included antisemitic rhetoric and a reference to a toxic substance. The material was ultimately found to be non-toxic, but the threat was taken seriously.

* Daily Southtown | Federal court filing seeks to bar Dolton from buying pope’s boyhood home: A former Dolton village employee is trying to block the village from using taxpayer money to acquire the childhood home of Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. Lavell Redmond, who has an ongoing lawsuit against Dolton alleging wrongful termination in 2022, is asking a federal judge for a temporary restraining order. The motion, filed Sunday, alleges the village, in seeking to buy the home, is engaging in an “endeavor with substantial cost to taxpayers with no compelling governmental necessity.”

* Daily Herald | Fire departments are handling more false alarms, so why isn’t there more concern?: “I’d rather the system let us know something’s wrong accidentally than it not work at all when we need it to,” said Arlington Heights Fire Chief Lance Harris. “Usually it’s letting the building owner know something needs fixing.” The vast majority of false alarms aren’t malicious or pranks, but rather a warning that maintenance is required on the building’s alert or suppression system, fire officials said.

*** Downstate ***

* Illinois Answers | Wasted Waters: How Southern Illinois is Coping with Decades of Sewage Flooding… and Why it Still Isn’t Solved.: Five dozen communities in Southern Illinois account for a third of the reported sanitary sewer overflows in the state in the last decade. But with low revenues, population declines, and bureaucratic delays, solutions are hard to come by. Meanwhile, residents face property damage flooded yards and basements and governments that still haven’t fixed the problem.

* WCIA | Herff Jones expanding corporations in Arcola, leaving Champaign: The Herff Jones Plant in Champaign will be closing down but expanding operations in Douglas County. The company will be phasing out of Champaign over the next few months and transitioning employees to Arcola and Indianapolis to work. Management said an estimated 90 jobs will be impacted like supervisor and distribution roles. Executive Vice President Andy Penca said the Champaign building has lasted for a half a century, and leaving the city they love is disappointing.

* WGLT | Contacts to statewide domestic violence hotline rose 26% last year — with sharpest increase in Central Illinois: A new report says contacts to the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline rose 26% compared to 2023, with the greatest change registered in Central Illinois. According to data compiled by the statewide domestic violence advocacy group The Network, the hotline received 16 contacts [via phone, text or chat] from Logan County, up 81% from 2023. Livingston County contacts increased from 23 to 30 [77%]. And there were two contacts from Piatt County, compared with none the previous year.

*** National ***

* Axios | Scoop: Colorado pauses campaign finance database after Minnesota shootings: The state’s Transparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting database, known as TRACER, posts candidate filings that often include home addresses and personal phone numbers. Elsewhere in the system, it lists campaign contribution data that requires donors — including lawmakers — to list their names, full addresses and occupations. Secretary of State Jena Griswold ordered the removal after consultation with state and legislative leadership, a spokesperson said.

* WaPo | Trump officials reverse guidance exempting farms, hotels from immigration raids: Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told agency leaders in a call Monday that agents must continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, according to two people familiar with the call. The new instructions were shared in an 11 a.m. call to representatives from 30 field offices across the country.

* NYT | Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security: So far the agency’s core functions — like sending monthly checks to 74 million Americans — have remained largely intact. But under pressure from Mr. Musk’s team, nearly half of the Social Security Administration’s 140 senior executives, and thousands of employees overall, have taken buyouts or retired. As many as 12 percent of staff members, out of a bureaucracy that numbered around 57,000 people, are expected to depart their jobs as part of DOGE’s cost-cutting plan.

* NPR | Press group sues L.A., alleging police abuse of reporters at ICE rallies: Press advocates say such episodes have been common at the often charged and sometimes violent protests that have played out in Los Angeles over the past 10 days. They say law enforcement officials at the protests have not always demonstrated restraint or distinguished between people who pose a threat and others who are reporting on developments. On Monday, the Los Angeles Press Club and the investigative reporting site Status Coup filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department in federal court, alleging that officers at the demonstrations are routinely violating journalists’ rights.