* Click here for some background. WTTW…

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office has transferred at least two men into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, in apparent violation of the state’s TRUST Act and Way Forward Act, according to a lawyer who helped provide technical support for the legislation. Both men were later deported.

In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin pointed to both men’s criminal charges — but in one case, the federal government dismissed its criminal complaint; in the other, he was never charged for the alleged crime that landed him in jail.

In addition, the Adams County Jail also has a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service that authorizes ICE to utilize the jail to detain people for $80 a day. Such contracts also appear to run afoul of state law. […]

“No law enforcement agency, law enforcement official, or any unit of State or local government may enter into or renew any contract, intergovernmental service agreement, or any other agreement to house or detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations,” states the Illinois’ Way Forward Act. […]

“A law enforcement agency or law enforcement official shall not detain or continue to detain any individual solely on the basis of any immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant or otherwise comply with an immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant,” the TRUST Act states.

Click here for a TRUST Act explainer.

* Journal & Topics…

Longtime Maine Township Democratic committeeman Laura Murphy will not seek reelection for the local party position this coming spring. Instead, she is endorsing Des Plaines Mayor Andrew Goczkowski for the job.

A few weeks ago, Goczkowski announced that he was running for committeeman. A short time later, Murphy said she is running for reelection to the four-year post she has held for the last 23 years.

“It’s time to get new blood in,” said Murphy late last week. “ My leadership responsibilities in the state senate are growing. I don’t have the time.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Nuclear Newswire | Gov. Pritzker looks to possible changes in Illinois nuclear: When Pritzker vetoed S.B. 76, he spoke in support of allowing small modular reactors, explaining that he was specifically against large-scale nuclear. In an official statement, he said that the bill would have opened the door to “the proliferation of large-scale nuclear reactors that are so costly to build that they will cause exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts.” At the end of 2023, he signed H.B. 2473, repealing Illinois’s construction moratorium for projects with a rated nameplate capacity of 300 MW or less, beginning January 1, 2026. Now, it seems that Pritzker has changed tack. On August 13, in response to a question on managing energy costs, he said, “We in Illinois can do something very important; we can get rid of the moratorium on nuclear, which has been in place for decades now. We already got rid of it on small modular nuclear. We can do that on large nuclear. It’s going to be an important part of the transition to renewable energy everywhere and to our 2050 goal of clean energy.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Governor gives boon to trial lawyers, vetoes treasurer-backed bill: One of the bills Pritzker signed Friday invited almost immediate pushback from Republicans and business groups. The law, outlined in Senate Bill 328, allows lawsuits to continue against companies that operate in Illinois even if the company and plaintiffs are from other states. The law only applies to cases dealing with “toxic” substances under state law.

*** Chicago ***

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools students head back to class amid budget uncertainty: King made brief remarks at Courtenay before introducing Johnson as “the mayor of education who has made so much possible,” and Johnson complimented King on her work as interim CEO before making his own remarks. Neither King nor Johnson took questions from reporters at either stop. The two may also be at odds, however, over how to close the district’s $734 million deficit. Last week, King put forward a budget plan that does not include a reimbursement to the city to pay a portion of a pension payment that partially covers school district employees. The proposal says CPS would only contribute if it finds additional revenue. The 21-member school board is also divided over the proposal, with Johnson’s allies urging King to include the city pension reimbursement. Johnson said last week that he expects CPS to make that payment.

* Fox Chicago | CTA adds bus routes to ‘Frequent Network’ with rides every 10 minutes: The CTA said the expansion of the #53 Pulaski bus route alone will reach 69,000 more residents and link more than 35,000 jobs. The agency also added Sunday service to the #93 California/Dodge route to close a mile-long gap. Four additional routes are expected to be added to the “Frequent Network” in December for a total of 20 routes, the CTA said.

* Sun-Times | Flood sensors aim to get help to Chicago neighborhoods faster: “Ultimately, the goal is to make sure the residents of our city are safer, faster,” said Nina Idemudia, chief executive of Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology. “It can also help determine where money goes and where improvements are made.” The telecommunications giant Verizon and the Michigan-based tech startup Hyfi are providing the technology for free through next year. The city will then have the option to keep the network for $1,495 per sensor, or less than $75,000 per year. Ten of the solar-powered sensors had already been deployed by Monday, but the installation of the other 40 sensors has been held up because permits haven’t been obtained to put them in place. No timeline was given for the installation.

* Daily Herald | ‘We will enhance the O’Hare experience from curb to gate’: Work begins on new concourse: The 19 new gates will accommodate a variety of aircraft from narrow-bodied to international wide-bodied, which will reduce layovers and allow for greater efficiency. “Today we begin building for the future of O’Hare,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

* Block Club | Gun Found At Whitney Young High School On First Day Of Classes: Whitney Young Prinicpal Rickey Harris shared the news in an email to parents Monday morning. Harris said the gun was “identified during our standard entry screening,” and it was “secured” and did not get further into the building. “Safety is always my top priority, which is why I am writing to notify you of a situation that occurred earlier today,” Harris said. A person was arrested and charges are pending, a Chicago Police spokesperson said. Police did not release an age of the person arrested.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Lawmakers urge one more look at Wirtz’s impact fees for Ivanhoe Village project: State legislators who represent the Mundelein area are urging the village mayor to re-open discussions on the impact fee agreement the municipality made earlier this year with the Wirtz family’s team developing the vast Ivanhoe Village project. The mayor, who previously issued a statement indicating she’ll keep the village’s existing deal in place, responded with a memo saying that instead she’s working separately with the school districts—which had said their needs were ignored—to set up a path for them to negotiate with developers such as the Wirtzes on their own.

* Evanston Now | District 65 plans student cell phone ban: In a memo for Monday’s school board meeting, several administrators outlined both the reasons behind the ban, and why it will be for the entire instructional day, and not just in class in the elementary/middle school system. The all-day ban is different than what’s already in effect at Evanston Township High School, where cell phones are prohibited in class, but allowed during passing periods and at lunch.

* Daily Southtown | Frankfort to reimagine Commissioners Park with $7.9 million state grant: While the village in May received $1.6 million to link the eastern part of Frankfort and Commissioners Park, 22451 S. 80th Ave, to the broader Frankfort trail system, the most recent grant will largely focus on improving Commissioners Park itself, according to parks Director Gina Hassett. “This amount of money is pretty much unprecedented to get,” Hassett said Monday. “I’ve been with the district for 10 years and our Park District is underfunded compared to other districts in the Southland.”

* UPDATE: The meeting has been canceled. Evanston RoundTable | Council returns Monday for Envision work, over objection from Seventh Ward group: Mayor Daniel Biss confirmed he was calling the meeting last Monday, but on Friday he and the council received a letter signed by more than 100 residents of the Seventh Ward requesting to postpone it. The letter, initially written and distributed by resident Mary Rosinski, cites the fact that Seventh Ward Councilmember Parielle Davis is currently on medical leave through Aug. 25 for “an unavoidable major medical procedure,” which Davis notified residents of in an emailed city newsletter sent on Aug. 5.

*** Downstate ***

* 25News Now | Study underway to examine McLean County’s 2 election authorities: In 2008, the League of Women Voters recommended a consolidation of the two agencies. That did not happen, and a 2018 referendum in Bloomington rejected abolishing the city’s election commission. […] “We are collecting information and talking to stakeholders so that we can decide if we want to take a position,” said Diana Hauman, who’s leading the League’s study and addressed the Bloomington City Council on Monday, Aug. 11.

* QC Times | ‘Voices Without Fear’ festival to be held after Mexican Independence Day Parade canceled: Following the cancellation of the Mexican Independence Day Parade & Fiesta in Moline, Hispanic leaders in the Quad-Cities have rallied to establish a new festival on the same day that honors Mexican and Mexican-American heritage, community organizer Graciela Macias announced in a press release Friday. The new festival is called Voces Sin Miedo – El Griot de Todos, or “Voices Without Fear – The Cry of All,” and will take place 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, in downtown East Moline. […] The news comes after Moline-based LULAC Council 5285 announced the cancellation of the Mexican Independence Day Parade & Fiesta, on Wednesday, Aug. 13. According to LULAC, festival organizers encountered multiple unexpected issues while planning the celebration.

* WGLT | New union representing ISU lab school employees hopes to start negotiating first contract this fall: LSEA is the latest in a wave of organizing on ISU’s campus, where over half of all workers are now unionized. Now that it’s certified, LSEA’s next steps are to get all members to fill out some forms, and to elect a bargaining team and building representatives, Flanagan-Rudd said. They hope to begin negotiating their first contract with ISU sometime this fall, although Flanagan-Rudd said they expect those negotiations to take awhile — possibly through the end of the 2025-26 school year.

* WCIA | Urbana Police launches next phase of planned mental health unit: The department launched the live-response model of its Crisis Co-Response Team (CCRT) on Monday. This step builds on a pilot program already in operation, which provided follow-up care and outreach for individuals in mental health crisis. Now, the CCRT will respond in real time during weekday hours, offering support on-scene, stabilization and connection to mental health services.

* Journal Courier | Jacksonville hospital, library partnering to make mental health kits available for families: Each kit includes books about emotions and mental health, worksheets explaining techniques to help with breathing and grounding, coloring pages, and contact information for local support and mental health resources. The kits, designed for those ages 3 and above, can be checked out from the libraries for a two-week period. A library card is not required.

* WGLT | ‘It was never about him’: Bloomington-Normal leader Bill Sulaski passes away: Former ISU president David Strand said he and Sulaski inherited an institution that was isolated from the community, the media, and state government. “There was quite a bit of divisiveness on the campus,” said Strand. “He and I talked about ways that would be helpful in healing wounds that had been created, and building bridges so that we would have better relationships with each of those constituencies.”

*** National ***
* NYT | Newsmax Will Pay $67 Million to Settle Dominion Defamation Lawsuit: The right-wing cable channel Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a libel lawsuit that Dominion Voting Systems had brought against the channel for falsely claiming that the voting machine company had rigged votes in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The settlement, which the companies completed on Aug. 15, was disclosed in an S.E.C. filing by Newsmax. It noted that Newsmax would make the payments in three installments by Jan. 15, 2027.