* Crain’s…

Illinois home insurance rates jumped by nearly 60% between 2019 and 2024, according to a study by LendingTree, an online loan lead generator and mortgage broker.

The increase made Illinois the seventh fastest-growing state in terms of prices, and was well above the national average of 40.4%, according to the study.

“Insurance companies have been raising their rates to keep up with their escalating expenses,” LendingTree home insurance expert Rob Bhatt said. “The early 2020s saw an uptick in natural disasters and inflation. Insurance companies have had to rebuild more homes than normal, and the cost of rebuilding each one has become more expensive.”

LendingTree, which used a $400,000 dwelling coverage with a $1,000 deductible in its study, said the average home insurance rate in Illinois last year was $2,743, which was 2.1% lower than the national average, even after the sharp growth.

*** Statehouse News ***

* E&E News | State lawmakers go big on bills to advance nuclear power: Sue Rezin, a Republican state senator from Illinois and co-chair of NCSL’s Energy Supply Task Force, has seen the growing interest in nuclear firsthand. “The conversation around nuclear has changed,” said Rezin, whose northern Illinois district is ringed by three of the state’s six Constellation Energy nuclear plants. “Not so long ago, absolutely no one except for me was speaking about nuclear. It was all about wind, solar and batteries. But now that the economy is changing, which is exciting, because of AI, we’ve seen this huge need for power.”

* BND | You may pay more for gas, see less plastic under new Illinois laws in effect soon: House Bill 5028 will go into effect July 1, which says state agencies may make opioid antagonists, such as Naloxone or Narcan, available at workplaces if the agency trains employees on how to use and administer them. The act also says state employees who administer an opioid antagonist in good faith following regulations, as described by the law, will be exempt from any civil liability related to their use.

* WCIA | Deadline missed: Marijuana market reform could come back during veto session with hemp regulations: “We do have plans on bringing it back. Many members feel that they were rushed with making the decision about the bill,” Ford said. “We still have to make sure that we respect the members’ wishes to talk more about the language of the bill, make sure that we’re not missing anything, and make sure that everyone’s perspectives and desires are at least considered before we bring it to members to vote on it.”

*** Chicago ***

* The Triibe | Ahead of vote, Progressive Caucus urges Mayor Brandon Johnson to veto ‘snap curfew’ ordinance: The Chicago Progressive Caucus has sent out a letter addressed to Mayor Brandon Johnson ahead of the “snap curfew” vote. In the letter, they express their “strong opposition” to the proposed ordinance and urge Johnson “to veto this measure should it pass.”

* Tribune | As Chicago teen curfew faces final vote, Snelling backs away from ‘politics’ of debate: Sponsor Ald. Brian Hopkins said Tuesday afternoon Snelling is calling aldermen to urge them to pass the ordinance. But Ald. Jason Ervin said Snelling told the aldermanic Black Caucus he did not need the curfew power during a Tuesday night briefing. Snelling did not take a clear side Wednesday morning when his spokesperson was pressed by the Tribune. The superintendent said police will “do everything in our power to prevent violence,” regardless of the outcome in a statement.

* WTTW | How an Ex-Police Officer Fired for Sexual Misconduct Slipped Through CPS Background Checks to Work at Lane Tech: It wasn’t until WTTW News began investigating Alexander’s background that school officials took a deeper look into his past, eventually resulting in his exit. The school district scheduled a discharge hearing for Alexander in 2024 but he quit before the district reached a decision, and a do-not-hire designation was placed in his file for falsifying multiple employment records and concealing his former employment with CPD, records show.

* Crain’s | Two aldermen want their wards out of Northwest Side anti-gentrification zone: Two members of the Chicago City Council want to remove their wards from being subject to an anti-gentrification ordinance that went into effect this spring. Alds. Felix Cardona Jr., 31st, and Gil Villegas, 36th, plan to introduce an amendment to the Northwest Side Preservation Ordinance at today’s council meeting to pull out the portions of their wards it covers. Villegas estimates around 20% of the 6 square miles covered by the ordinance is in the two wards.

* Sun-Times | Community meeting planned for Damen Silos demolition: Preservationists and others have asked owner Michael Tadin Jr. to consider keeping the historic structures or to sell to someone who would adapt them for a new use. Tadin hasn’t said what he will do with the land, which sits near South Damen Avenue along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. But he has made it clear that he’s not looking to sell the more than 20 acres that he acquired from the state for $6.5 million in December 2022.

* CBS Chicago | White Sox get clobbered by Cardinals in 6th straight loss: Brendan Donovan had four hits and Iván Herrera drove in four runs to back a strong start by Matthew Liberatore as the St. Louis Cardinals handed the Chicago White Sox their sixth straight loss, 12-2 on Tuesday night. Alec Burleson went 3 for 5 for St. Louis, including his sixth home run, a solo shot in the seventh that made it 9-2. Victor Scott II — in the midst of a 5-for-35 slump — hit a two-run homer off Chicago position player Vinny Capra in the ninth.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Winnetka signs contentious 20-year extension with coal-dependent electric provider: While most Illinois cities and towns source their power through larger electric providers like ComEd or Ameren, Winnetka is one of about 30 municipalities in the state — three of which are in the Chicago area — that banded together to contract with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, a not-for-profit cooperative electric supplier. Winnetka has contracted with IMEA since 1991, and its last contract locked the municipality in with the provider until 2035. While the contract was met with support from Winnetka residents when initially signed, it’s drawn criticism since 2011, when the Prairie State Generating Station, a downstate Illinois coal plant, came online and started supplying IMEA members.

* Daily Southtown | New Thornton Township Board approves first post-Tiffany Henyard budget: Thornton Township trustees approved a tentative budget for 2025-26 during their second meeting since Tiffany Henyard left office, acknowledging kinks they’re still working out while remaining a united front. New Thornton Township Supervisor Napoleon Harris said a forensic audit approved under Henyard’s administration was never initiated and said he is considering “rebuilding and revisiting” the website to better communicate services to residents.

* Daily Herald | Former Downers South teacher facing 52 new sexual charges, including grooming: Christina Formella was arraigned Tuesday on 20 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, plus multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child and six counts of grooming. The DuPage County grand jury indicted her on the additional charges in May, but the indictment was sealed until Tuesday morning. Judge Mia McPherson denied prosecutor Jaclyn McAndrew’s petition to detain Formella pretrial, saying the new information was not sufficient evidence that there were not any conditions she could impose to mitigate the threat Formella posed to the victim.

* Daily Herald | Naperville debates grocery tax replacement vs. local sales tax increase: However, some Naperville City Council members have raised the possibility of a home-rule sales tax increase to offset the loss of revenue from the elimination of the statewide grocery tax. Without replacement revenue, the city estimates a $6.5 million hit to its general fund beginning in 2026.

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Parents of 10-year-old girl file federal lawsuit against Taylorville School District over alleged assault: The lawsuit, filed by a Chicago law firm, contains five counts against the Taylorville School District and Durham School Services, including violations of the victim’s Title IX rights, of her right to bodily integrity under the 14th Amendment, willful and wanton negligence, and infliction of emotional distress. […] The victim’s mother said that over the course of a week between late January and early February 2024, her daughter was sexually assaulted by an older student on her daughter’s school bus and at her bus stop. The court filing alleges that the assaults ranged in severity from fondling to digital penetration, most often taking place on the school bus where the perpetrator cornered the girl.

* WAND | Mattoon goes solar for waste water treatment: The city has put in a solar installation to power its waste water treatment plant. Solar panels will provide 80 to 90 percent of the plants electrical needs. The remainder will be covered through a conventional connection with Ameren. The solar installation is on the treatment plant property at 820 South 5th Place. “We’re going to save $5.3 million over a 25 year period,” Mayor Rick Hall told WAND News. “All of the sewage from the city comes through this plant. A lot of motors need to run. Really a lot of electricity it takes to do that.”

* WSIL | Tornado Watch issued for portions of southern Illinois and southeast Missouri: Potential severe thunderstorms will enter our region in the late morning and afternoon hours. Threats include scattered hail up to two inches, scattered gusts up to 70 mph and a couple tornadoes, all of which are possible.

* WGLT | OSF St. Joseph Medical Center reveals new ICU as critical care ramps up in Bloomington: The $17.8 million renovation more than doubles the space previously available in the ICU. There are now 25 rooms and 29 beds accompanied by a wide range of convenient details — from giving the lights a dimmer setting to adding mini nurses’ stations outside each room. The latter allows staff to work independently while still being able to keep eyes on their patient as needed. The relocation of the ICU will also allow for additional expansion in the future.

* PJ Star | Could a tiny home village help solve homelessness in Peoria? Here are the arguments: The council took made no official votes during its special policy meeting, but it did signal approval to allow city staff to continue exploring a plan to build a tiny home village somewhere in Peoria that would house some of the city’s homeless population. Those tiny homes — which would be operated by the Dream Center Peoria — would be roughly 70-square-feet and have heating, air conditioning and on-site laundry, showers and bathrooms. The homes would primarily be for single adults and targeted at individuals who are not suited for a congregate shelter setting.

*** National ***

* NYT | Trump Administration Will End L.G.B.T.Q. Suicide Prevention Service: The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that has provided that specialized support to L.G.B.T.Q. callers to the 988 suicide prevention hotline, said Wednesday that it had received a stop-work order for that service, effective July 17, and provided a copy of the order to The New York Times. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees the hotline, confirmed the decision.

* WaPo | Industry leaders plead with White House on relief from raids after setback: “To see such a quick overturn, I think, was disheartening for many. A lot of these business and trade associations that need workforce solutions have been very supportive of the administration,” Murray said. “That’ll be something they continue to be disappointed about for a while.” The American Farm Bureau Federation, the country’s powerful lobbying group for farmers, expressed “concern” that the policy had been reversed.

* NYT | Elected Officials Who Have Been Detained in Protests: On Tuesday, Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, was arrested at an immigration court in Lower Manhattan, the latest lawmaker to be swept up in the protests against the administration’s immigration raids and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He was trying to escort a migrant whom agents were seeking to arrest. Mr. Lander, a candidate in the Democratic primary for mayor, was seen in a video posted to his personal account on X being placed in handcuffs and led into an elevator by men in plain clothes wearing backward baseball caps and surgical masks.

* AP | Nippon Steel finalizes $15B takeover of US Steel after sealing national security agreement: Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel did not list the full terms of the deal, and did not release a national security agreement struck with Trump’s administration. But in a statement Wednesday, the companies said the federal government will have the right to appoint an independent director and “consent rights” on specific matters. Those include reductions in Nippon Steel’s capital commitments in the national security agreement, closing or idling of U.S. Steel’s existing domestic facilities and changing U. S. Steel’s name and headquarters.