* Sun-Times…

As senators spent Monday debating President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax bill, Illinois Democrats, advocates and experts warned that the measure’s $1.2 trillion in cuts would cost more than 500,000 Illinoisans their health care coverage and put about 427,000 people at risk of losing food assistance. […]

In total, the Senate bill includes about $4 trillion in cuts and makes Trump’s 2017 tax rates permanent, while also adding new ones, including no taxes on tips. The bill would also provide $350 billion for border and national security, including for deportations.

But an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill passes. The package would also increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade, the analysis found.

The Senate package’s largest cuts include $1.2 trillion to Medicaid and food stamps — making states pay a minimum of 5% and up to 25% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] benefit costs. That would place an astonishing budget cost onto Illinois that could force lawmakers to cut benefits, or the number of recipients.

* Click here for the full list. KSDK’s Mark Maxwell…

Here are the rural hospitals in Illinois (9) and Missouri (4) at greatest risk of being forced to close if the Senate cuts Medicaid, according to research from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/dRNd59PvIZ

— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) June 30, 2025

* Illinois Federation of Teachers…

Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) President Dan Montgomery has announced that he will not seek reelection this fall at the union’s convention, concluding 15 years of transformational leadership and decades of service to public education, the labor movement, and working families.

Since his election in 2010, Montgomery has been a tireless advocate for IFT members, public education, state services, and all Illinoisans. He was unanimously reelected by delegates in 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022, leading the 103,000-member union through a period of significant growth, increased activism, and bold advocacy. […]

A successor will be elected at the IFT convention in October.

*** Statewide ***

* WGN | Law banning little shampoo bottles in Illinois hotels goes into effect Tuesday: This doesn’t mean an Illinois hotel guest will be totally unable to get a small plastic shampoo bottle, for example. The law says a hotel may provide personal care products in small, single-use plastic bottles to a person at no cost, upon request, at a location other than a guest room. In other words, according to the law, if you go to the front desk and ask for a little shampoo bottle, you can still get one.

* Politico | The politics of Dobbs persists: The political action committee that for decades supported candidates who back abortion rights in Illinois — making the state a haven for reproductive choice — is taking its political playbook to red states, including Indiana and Arkansas, which virtually ban the procedure. “Since Roe fell, there are many PACs bubbling up in different states. I’ve been talking to new organizations, sharing our playbook, our questionnaires and ideas about where to start,” Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick tells Women Rule.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press Guard | Gov. Pritzker Signs College Access and Affordability Bills into Law: Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), community college presidents, and legislators to sign bills into law that will support Illinois high school students pursuing higher education. Governor Pritzker signed four bills into law that help improve college access and affordability: HB 2967, HB 3096, HB 3097, and HB 3522. During his February State of the State Address, Governor Pritzker emphasized that support for college admissions would be a priority initiative during this year’s session.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Future of NASCAR’s downtown Chicago weekend is unclear going into the third year of contract: The future of NASCAR in Chicago is murky going into its third edition on the first weekend in July. The three-year contract between the motorsports organization and the city that was announced in 2022 has two mutual options, and their fate is unclear. Giese said there have been “good conversations” between NASCAR and the city, and there is time to work on the possibilities beyond the event. “So really right now the focus is on let’s execute a really great 2025,” Giese said. “We’ll continue to have the conversations with the city. But right now, honestly, the more consistent conversations are the planning conversations.”

* Sun-Times | A once-resplendent bandstand in Garfield Park is getting the $2 million restoration it deserves: The work includes restoring the marble cladding on the bandstand’s 1,600-square-foot cloverleaf-shaped base and also fixing up the mosaic panels along the structure’s parapet. And the bandstand’s most visible feature — an ornately-detailed copper dome that’s a showstopper, even in its long-dulled state — will be restored as well.

* Sun-Times | Park District lifeguard accused of shooting two teens is a ‘terrifying threat to the community,’ judge says: A Chicago Park District lifeguard displayed a “terrifying lack of judgment” when he shot two teenagers outside the Douglass Park pool Thursday night, a Cook County judge said Sunday. The lifeguard, 55-year-old Charles Leto of Lake View, was charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly killing 15-year-old Marjay Dotson and critically wounding 14-year-old Jeremy Herred. Leto also shot at a third teenager but did not hit him, authorities say. […] Leto then called police and said he was attacked by the boys and shot them in self-defense. But prosecutors said witnesses and surveillance footage do not indicate he was in any immediate danger.

* Tribune | Florida man with ties to Loretto Hospital indicted in massive $233 million COVID fraud scheme : Jamil Elkoussa, 35, who currently resides in Orlando, is the latest to be charged in a fraud scheme involving the small West Side safety-net hospital that became a lighting rod of controversy during the coronavirus pandemic for administering vaccinations to connected insiders and paying millions in contracts to companies with close ties to facility administrators. The indictment made public Monday charges Elkoussa with five counts of wire fraud and seeks forfeiture of a $4.9 million home in Miami, as well as properties in Alsip, Burr Ridge, Homer Glen and South Holland. A lawyer for Elkoussa could not immediately be reached.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Hospital staffer slams cuts at former Ascension hospitals as Illinois senators step up oversight: Complaints continue that cutbacks by Prime Healthcare, the company that took over several Ascension hospitals in Illinois in February, are moving too rapidly — and with limited input from clinicians — at some of these hospitals. Changes to services at Prime hospitals in Joliet, Aurora and Kankakee have been criticized by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, with the Illinois democrats’ seeking explanations for cutbacks and closures, and urging Prime to maintain current levels of care at all eight of its Illinois hospitals.

* Daily Herald | Republican state lawmaker won’t run for Congress in 14th District after all: Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville has one fewer potential Republican challenger to worry about in 2026. State Rep. Jed Davis of Newark on Monday announced he’ll seek reelection to the state House rather than run for Congress. “Illinois is worth the fight,” Davis said in a Facebook post. “I’m officially running for reelection as your State Representative because the job’s not finished. From helping local families to proposing real solutions — and standing firm against broken policies and politicians — our voices matter now more than ever.”

* Fox Chicago | Cook County Down Payment Assistance Program is back open — how to apply: The Cook County Down Payment Assistance Program has opened again. This program helps not only with down payments, but also closing costs and mortgage buydowns. The program provides subsidies of up to $25,000 or 5% of the home’s sale price, whichever is less. The assistance is provided as a forgivable second loan over a five-year term. Households with an annual income at or below 120% of the area’s median income are eligible.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Oswego trustees look at criteria for downtown grant program: The program has undergone revisions from involving facade improvement grants to include various other upgrades over the years. The grant program was last updated in 2018 to permit additional types of improvements. So far this year, $100,000 in grants have been awarded. “The overall intent is to enhance downtown real estate,” Oswego Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty said in a report to trustees.

* Daily Herald | ‘To see this in my lifetime is huge’: Regional 911 facility set to debut in Libertyville: With construction of the $53.8 million Regional Operations and Communication Facility essentially complete, county officials opened the doors for a behind-the-scenes look Friday with nearly 300 in attendance. The facility was built for a new consolidated 911 agency called LakeComm and goes fully operational later this summer. Created in June 2024 to provide faster, more coordinated emergency responses, LakeComm now comprises 25 members representing 30 police and fire agencies in Lake County.

* Daily Herald | Mother-daughter duo unleashes dog-friendly market in Arlington Heights: They offer pet-related products from local vendors and commercial dog food alongside homemade smoked pet treats. Shchekin, a chef by trade, brings culinary expertise to her smoked creations. The event Sunday featured organizations devoted to pet rescue and dog training, as well as services such nail clipping and pet embroideries. Food for hungry pet owners included barbecue, lemonade and baked goods.

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | ‘Hidden gem’: Growing number of visitors discovering southern Illinois as travel destination: Carol Hoffman, executive director of the Southernmost Illinois Tourism Bureau, said the primary draws to southern Illinois are the outdoor recreation activities in Shawnee National Forest, including hiking, cycling, rock climbing and ziplining, as well as another Illinois surprise linked to the unusual terrain: vineyards and five wine trails. The bureau has appealed to riders of the Chicago Transit Authority with a recent signage campaign that invited potential travelers to “go where the bus won’t take you” and to “come see our skyscrapers.”

* IPM | Immigration advocates in Central Illinois face uncertainty, chaos following birthright citizenship ruling: Madelyn Cox-Guerra is a staff attorney with the Normal-based Immigration Project. She represents about 35 immigrant families across Central and Southern Illinois from her office in Champaign. Cox-Guerra said the court’s non-answer on the legality of birthright citizenship, which was enshrined in the 14th Amendment shortly after the Civil War, leaves a great deal of uncertainty. “[The Trump administration has] the option to start enforcing the executive order in whatever way that they can, which will at the very least cause confusion,” Cox-Guerra said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.

* WSIL | Marion Ministerial Alliance receives large food donation: The Marion Ministerial Alliance received a large donation of food over the weekend, thanks to a church organization based out of Utah. JR Russell, Executive Director with the Marion Ministerial Alliance, stated they received 9 pallets of food on June 28, part of a large donation which benefitted multiple area food pantries thanks to a distribution grant through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints out of Salt Lake City.

* WCIA | Gao Grotto holds Thunder on Vermilion boat race: Gao Grotto held its annual Thunder on the Vermilion boat race this weekend, bringing in boaters from all over the Midwest and as far as Long Island, New York. The money raised from the event helps to fund the organization’s two-week summer camp with AMBUCS — an organization dedicated to helping people with mobility and learning disabilities.

*** National ***

* WIRED | ICE Rolls Facial Recognition Tools Out to Officers’ Phones : Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now using a mobile app called Mobile Fortify that allegedly allows agents to identify individuals by pointing a smartphone at their face or capturing contactless fingerprints, 404 Media reports. The app reportedly taps into government databases, including Customs and Border Protection’s Traveler Verification Service and a DHS biometric intelligence system, in an attempt to match facial images taken in the field against prior government-collected records. ICE says the tool is intended to help officers identify “unknown subjects,” but civil liberties advocates tell 404 Media that it may open the door to surveillance-driven profiling and wrongful arrests.

* AP | NOAA delays the cutoff of key satellite data for hurricane forecasting: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it is delaying by one month the planned cutoff of satellite data that helps forecasters track hurricanes. Meteorologists and scientists warned of severe consequences last week when NOAA said, in the midst of this year’s hurricane season, that it would almost immediately discontinue key data collected by three weather satellites that the agency jointly runs with the Defense Department.

* Stereogum | AI-Generated Psych-Rock Band The Velvet Sundown Rack Up Hundreds Of Thousands Of Spotify Streams: A few weeks ago Timbaland unveiled the not-human artist TaTa, who was the first signee of his AI record label Stage Zero. Now there’s a new AI-generated act on the scene called the Velvet Sundown, and they have over 400,000 monthly listeners on Spotify after less than a month of existing. […] Neither the Velvet Sundown nor its four members (“vocalist and mellotron sorcerer Gabe Farrow, guitarist Lennie West, bassist-synth alchemist Milo Rains, and free-spirited percussionist Orion ‘Rio’ Del Mar”) had social media until yesterday (June 27) when they created an Instagram. The pictures of the “band” are very obviously and disturbingly AI-generated.