* Crain’s…

President Donald Trump today called Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “incompetent” and floated the idea of federal intervention over law enforcement for the city of Chicago of the type he was announcing for Washington, D.C.

“Other cities are hopefully watching this,” Trump said in the White House press briefing room as he announced that the District of Columbia National Guard would be deployed and federal officials would take control of D.C.’s municipal police force because local officials had “lost control of public order and safety in the city.”

Asked whether other U.S. cities might expect similar action, Trump specifically cited New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.

“We’re just going to see what happens with it all,” Trump said. “They’re all watching, just like everyone’s watching here, they’re all watching, and maybe they’ll self-clean up.”

* Governor Pritzker was asked about the President’s during an unrelated news conference…

Reporter: You may have seen or heard that President Trump said that he would consider sending the National Guard into Chicago, describing Chicago as a disaster. This is obviously in context, the way he wants to do in Washington, DC. He then insulted you and Mayor Johnson. He also talked about you being a possible presidential contender. For example, he commented on how you lost weight, ‘a telltale sign that you’re considering running for president’. Number one, can you do anything to prevent what President Trump is saying about bringing the National Guard to Chicago? And number two, what’s your reaction everything else that President said today?

Pritzker: …There is a law on the books, confirmed by the Constitution, called posse comitatus. And it means that the federal government does not have a right to send soldiers into American cities for the purpose of, well, for any purpose really, but specifically to fight crime, let’s say. And that is what he’s suggesting that he will do violate that law. It’s not surprising to me that he suggests violating the law. He’s done it many times and been convicted of it 34 times. And so I would just say he has absolutely no right and no legal ability to send troops in to the city of Chicago, and so I reject that notion.

As to everything else that he had to say this morning. I guess I should say thank you for the compliment.

* President Trump also criticized the SAFE-T Act. The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice responded…

We are disappointed but unsurprised to see President Trump once again calling to repeal the Pretrial Fairness Act and bring money bail back to Illinois.

Whether it’s gutting the social safety net, ending funding for violence prevention programs, or calling to repeal effective reforms to our criminal legal system, the President has consistently shown that he is deeply unserious about keeping our communities safe.

What Donald Trump really means when he argues to bring back money bail is that he wants a system that punishes poor people and People of Color based on the size of their bank accounts and the color of their skin while rewarding wealthy and white people. That’s not any surprise-it’s what he stands for in everything he does. We have no doubt that Governor Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly will ignore his latest temper tantrum.

Contrary to Trump’s statements, “dangerous people” are not “flooding the streets,” and crime has not increased since Illinois ended money bond. Violent crime has actually significantly decreased since Illinois implemented the Pretrial Fairness Act. Thanks to Governor Pritzker and our state legislators, Illinois is now safer because money is no longer the primary factor determining who returns to the community and who is jailed while awaiting trial. People who are not deemed to be a risk to public safety no longer have to scrape for cash to purchase their freedom while awaiting trial. That means that more people are able to keep their jobs, housing, and social connections while awaiting trial, which makes us all safer. Since families no longer have to choose between paying rent or paying a ransom to free a loved one who is presumed innocent, millions of dollars are staying in our most marginalized communities.

* House Speaker Chris Welch announced endorsements in his race against Senate President Don Harmon for the 7th District State Central Committee. Press release…

Support continues to grow for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and his run for the 7th District State Central Committee. Today, the Speaker announced endorsements from Chicago LGBQT Hall of Famer and Former Personal PAC President Terry Cosgrove, State Representative Kelly Cassidy, 42nd Ward Alderman and Cook County Committeeman Brendan Reilly, State Representative Marcus Evans, State Representative Debbie Meyers Martin, and State Representative Kim DuBuclet.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Which Republicans are seeking statewide office in 2026? So far, hardly any: Thus far, just two lesser-known Republicans have expressed interest in challenging Pritzker in 2026. A similar group of lesser-known candidates is considering a U.S. Senate run, but there has been no news about anyone running for comptroller, treasurer or secretary of state. It’s still early in the election cycle — the petition gathering period began last week and runs through October — and Salvi said she expects there will be a Republican candidate in November for each statewide office.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | ‘The small engine that can’: Chicago Survivors group faces funding strain as it works in the aftermath of violence: This year, Illinois lawmakers gave the organization $1 million in the recently passed budget in a year when expiring federal funds and a projected budget shortfall led to reductions for many other groups as well. About $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funding, given out through the city, is also set to expire Dec. 31. Hill said there were promising options for the future, if the organization can make it through the next year. Cook County officials late last month announced $25 million in grant funding for gun violence prevention, of which $5 million is earmarked for survivors of gun violence victims. For now, the group is being forced to lay off staffers a handful at a time. As of Friday, they’d eliminated jobs for three crisis responders, three family support workers and an advocate who worked out of the Leighton Criminal Court Building. Hill said they expect to cut three more jobs later in August.

* Crain’s | Government job cuts take a bite out of Chicago’s economy: The federal government is the largest employer in the Chicago area, although at nearly 48,000 it’s a modest slice of a 5 million-strong area workforce. At the start of the year, the federal workforce nationwide was 3 million and 82,000 in Illinois. […] Of the federal workforce, 18.6% are Black, while Black people account for 13.7% of the U.S. population. And Black workers are an even bigger presence — 20% or more — at a number of departments including the Postal Service, Education Department, Department of Housing & Urban Development, Treasury Department and Department of Veterans Affairs — all of which have been hit with job cuts since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.

* Block Club | As CHA’s Plan For Transformation Turns 25, Advocates Worry It Could Take 40 More Years To Complete: Hertz’s group is urging leaders at the CHA, the city and the state to prioritize redeveloping vacant CHA land and buildings within 10 years. They could do that through incentives such as reducing property taxes on developments that include public housing units or offering rental subsidies to developers who partner with the CHA. The CHA and the city could also purchase existing buildings that can be “entirely or partially converted to public housing,” the report suggests.

* Block Club | Will Trump Tower’s Riverfront Retail Space Ever Get A Tenant?: The Trump Organization has tapped Newmark real estate brokers in Chicago, New York City and London to search for retail tenants with the funds to build out the space and the stomach to operate underneath a 20-foot-tall “Trump” sign in a city the president has bemoaned as a “total disaster.” The double-decker retail space at the base of Trump Tower, 401 N. Wabash Ave., has sat empty for 16 years — except for a hairdresser near the hotel lobby and a tour boat company docked near the building’s plaza. The 70,000-square-foot space holds the record for the longest-running Downtown retail vacancy over 5,000 square feet.

* Sun-Times | A year later, first tower at former Chicago Spire site takes shape: The project is being developed in two phases. Phase one is the 72-story tower at the waterfront, sitting on the site’s northern end. The phase will also includes a plaza with retail space, public art and three levels of underground parking. The first tower will have 635 units, including 127 affordable apartments. Units will range from studios to three-bedroom penthouses with views of Lake Michigan, the Chicago River and the city’s skyline. The first units are expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2027. Pre-leasing is expected to start next fall, according to Related.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Aurora Beacon-News | West Aurora School District eyes tax credit for solar project: The school board recently authorized the district’s administration to execute documents and invest $250,000 as a “downpayment” to lock-in the availability of tax credits for a proposed solar panel canopy project at the facility. The Federal Investment Tax Credit for solar projects has a “safe harbor” provision that permits school districts to secure tax credits by showing “continuous progress” toward the completion of a project. The proposal is to install a canopy with solar panels at the school district’s transportation facility in North Aurora, officials said.

* Aurora Beacon-News | CyrusOne warns residents near Aurora data center of upcoming generator use: During similar repairs in April, the use of backup generators for multiple days straight caused consistently loud noise in the surrounding area, which some residents told The Beacon-News was “unlivable” and “horrible.” CyrusOne has since put in place a temporary sound wall blocking the site’s generators, with a permanent sound wall currently under construction. The latest round of repairs, set to take place on Tuesday, Aug. 12, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., was announced Friday on an official webpage set up by CyrusOne to communicate with residents about the ongoing sound issues surrounding the facility, which is located at the corner of Eola and Diehl roads on Aurora’s far East Side near Interstate 88.

* Daily Herald | ‘Development friendly and ready’: Bartlett to pay $3 million for Lake Street site: The village expects to pay about $3 million for the land at 651 W. Lake St., which sits just east of Route 59 and within the town’s Lake Street Tax Increment Financing District. Once the land is in the village’s hands, officials would seek public input on what should be built there and solicit proposals from developers. Village President Dan Gunsteen said the development could serve as a catalyst for bringing other projects to that part of town.

*** Downstate ***

* WCBU | Peoria County considering $2.65M loan to help Liberty Steel & Wire bring headquarters to region: Sorrel said the company also is seeking tax credits through the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy [EDGE] program. However, requirements of this funding include maintaining the company headquarters in Illinois. Sorrel said other requirements include employing a minimum of 700 full-time equivalent workers and making a minimum capital investment of $40 million. “So that they can comply with those new EDGE tax credit requirements from the state, they’re proposing to relocate their corporate headquarters from the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area to the Peoria area,” said Sorrel, adding that Liberty is the region’s second-largest manufacturing employer behind Caterpillar. “But they don’t have anywhere near the number of employees,” he said. “Realistically, I don’t have the exact numbers, but we’re probably talking less than 20 individuals relocating.”

* Muddy River News | DCFS back in Quincy to interview Denman students, investigation into spankings/tapings reopening: A parent of two Denman Elementary students said she received a call from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Wednesday morning who said an investigator would be arriving at her home that afternoon to interview her, her husband and her children. They told her the purpose of the visit was that the state’s department in charge of child protective services was reopening its investigation into the multiple incidents of two Denman Elementary physical education teachers giving birthday spankings and taping their mouths shut for punishment when talking.

* WAND | Danville City Council approves security camera system for city’s parks: Danville City Council approved the purchase of a security camera system for its parks Tuesday night. The estimated cost for the system is $200,000. The decision comes after the death of 18-year-old Aniyah Davis at Winter Park in June. The cameras will be installed at all 10 of Danville’s parks, including the Douglas Discovery Garden.

* WGLT | Normal’s public works director explains temporary traffic fixes coming to ISU campus: Eight locations will see temporary measures implemented starting Sept. 3. These measures could help to calm traffic, improve crossing safety and limit accidents across the 1,180 acres that make up the ISU campus. “We hope to have another big chunk of information come out for the campus community the last week in August before Labor Day,” said Ryan Otto, the town’s engineering and public works chief. “And so we’ll have details on exactly what’s going to happen at each intersection as well as the exact timing.”

* WAND | Up close with nature: Macon County Conservation District hosts annual Hummingbird Festival: The Macon County Conservation District is hosting its annual Hummingbird Festival on Thursday, August 21, from 3-6 pm at Rock Springs Conservation Area. Attendees can learn about hummingbirds, watch as they are caught, banded, and released, and have the opportunity to help with releases and enter a prize drawing.

*** National ***

* WIRED | Ford’s Answer to China: A Completely New Way of Making Cars: Ford calls its new way of making EVs the “Ford Universal EV Production System,” and will spend $2 billion to set it up at the company’s Louisville assembly plant. Ford says the new method will be 40 percent faster than the existing process there, and have a comparable reduction in workstations. Parts needed to make Ford’s new EVs will be cut by 20 percent. “It has 30 percent less fasteners,” says Farley, referring to the bolts, nuts, screws, rivets, clips, and clamps used to put vehicles together securely. The wiring harness in a coming midsize truck will be nearly a mile (1.3 km) shorter and 10 kilograms lighter. The savings go on.

* Politico | Teamsters pour money into GOP, shifting away from Dems: The group hasn’t forsaken Democrats — it still gives them more, including $15,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in April. A DCCC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. But the GOP donations signify a marked shift in the pivotal labor union’s strategy since 2024, when Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien delivered a historic address at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and his outfit began more seriously supporting Republicans.

* Bond Buyer | State tax trouble could have muni implications, analysts say: Out of date taxing plans could be holding back state economies, and the methods of addressing tax codes could be important to those in and accessing the municipal bond market, analysts said.