* ICYMI: Health insurers propose double-digit price increases for Affordable Care Act exchange plans in Illinois. Tribune…

- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, which covers 238,000 residents, is seeking a 27% average hike on its individual exchange plans, while UnitedHealthcare of Illinois, with about 32,000 enrollees, is proposing nearly a 21% increase. Celtic Insurance Co., which covers 111,000 residents is seeking the steepest hike at nearly 39% on average.
- In filings with the state, insurance companies blamed the price increases on growing health care costs and increasing use of health care services. They also assumed in their calculations that enhanced tax credits that many people now use to help lower their monthly premiums for exchange plans will expire at the end of this year.
- The Illinois Department of Insurance placed the blame for the higher rates squarely on President Donald Trump, “Trump’s harmful policies will result in more uninsured Americans, which drives up costs up for everyone.”

* Related stories…

• CNI: Insurers blame inflation, climate change for Illinois rate hikes in pushback to state
• KFF News: The price increases that should cause Americans more alarm

* Gov. Pritzker will sign reproductive health bills in Champaign at 11 am, join a rural healthcare roundtable in Du Quoin at 3 pm, and cut the ribbon to open the DuQuoin State Fair at 5:30 pm. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | New Illinois law gives media better ability to curb retaliatory lawsuits: The new law is an attempt to bolster efforts to combat what are known as “strategic lawsuits against public participation” or “SLAPPs” used by political figures as acts of intimidation that use the courts to try to forestall criticism of their governmental actions. In a statement accompanying his signing of the bill, Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential aspirant, cited President Donald Trump’s efforts to try to weaken the work of journalists investigating his presidency and administration.

* WBEZ | CPS Kindergartener’s first day ends in ER after long, hot bus ride: “She kept saying, `It is too hot on the bus. It is extremely hot,’” Fernandez said. Fernandez was outraged. Why wasn’t there air conditioning? Why were Zoe and other children sitting on the bus so long? Were her daughter and others even offered water? Fernandez was shocked by what Chicago Public Schools officials told her: To ensure a spot on an air conditioned bus, Fernandez needed to get her daughter’s individualized education plan changed. That requires getting a doctor’s note and calling a meeting of school staff.

* Sun-Times | Alternative energy suppliers have cost Illinois consumers more than $2 billion, watchdog group says: Customers of ComEd and Ameren Illinois have lost more than $2 billion over the past 10 years to alternative electricity suppliers — businesses known for ringing people’s doorbells and promising great deals, according to an analysis of state data by the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board. CUB Executive Director Sarah Moskowitz called Illinois “a buyer-beware market.”

*** Statewide ***

* IDES | Unemployment Down in All 12 Metro Areas for July: For the second month in-a-row, the unemployment rate decreased in all twelve metro areas for the year ending July 2025, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (DES). Over-the-year, total nonfarm jobs increased in five metropolitan areas, leading to consecutive months with year-over-year growth: Champaign (6 consecutive months); Chicago (13 consecutive months); Springfield (21 consecutive months).

*** Statehouse News ***

* Center Square | Illinois’ FY23 financial audit released amid criticism of tardy reports: Illinois taxpayers can now look at how the state spent their money in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023, but they’re still waiting for the report for the fiscal year that ended over a year ago. […] Mendoza said she’s working with the auditor general and the governor’s office to speed up the auditing process. “And I think we’re finally there, hopefully [for the fiscal year 2025 report], fingers crossed, we’ll have that,” she said. “First year, there might be a few hiccups, but moving forward it should be smooth sailing.”

* WAND | Pritzker signs bill allowing immigrants to become driving instructors: In 2013, Illinois led the country as one of the first states to issue temporary visitor driver’s licenses to help drivers who passed road tests regardless of immigration status. The 2024 law allowed undocumented immigrants to receive standard IDs without the large purple mark stating not valid for identification. House Bill 3125 will allow anyone with a TVDL for at least two years to teach driving courses. Sponsors said this change will help expand the people eligible to become driving instructors without reducing qualifications for the job.

* WAND | New Illinois law requires transparency on how contraband enters prisons: The legislation requires the Illinois Department of Corrections to document the contraband, where it was found and any method of entrance to the facility. That includes employee and visitor entrances, vendor entrances, mail delivery and attorney visits. Rep. Gregg Johnson (D-East Moline) said this law can provide transparency around emergency medical responses, hospitalizations and drug overdoses. “Getting this data is very important with all of the things we’ve been hearing over the last couple years in the department,” Johnson said. “So, we were very open to moving it out and giving them sufficient time to compile and report the data.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | New Chicago police oversight boss has been wiping out recommendations to fire cops: Chicago’s new police oversight chief has repeatedly wiped out or dramatically scaled back recommendations to fire officers following pushback from the city’s top cop, the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ have found. The reversals by the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability follow acrimony and infighting that roiled the agency, culminating in the resignation of its chief administrator, Andrea Kersten, after a tenure marked by internal accusations of mismanagement and anti-police bias.

* Sun-Times | Chicago police told state officials Officer Krystal Rivera was shot by an ‘armed suspect,’ not her partner: The Chicago Police Department told state safety regulators that a barricaded suspect shot Officer Krystal Rivera when she’d actually been killed by her partner despite police investigators having viewed body-worn camera footage the night of the shooting. More than two months later, the police department hasn’t corrected that report with the Illinois Department of Labor, the state agency that investigates public-sector workplace deaths. Police departments are required to report work-related deaths to the state within eight hours.

* Crain’s | Developers reveal new Foundry Park details at former Lincoln Yards site: The proposal for the recently rebranded “Foundry Park” development along the North Branch of the Chicago River between Lincoln Park and Bucktown would cover nearly 28 acres and include a mix of single-family homes and townhouses near the river and high-rise residential buildings. Specifics of the plan were revealed in a recent letter — a copy of which was obtained by Crain’s — from the city’s Department of Planning & Development providing feedback to an initial pitch last month by a joint venture of Chicago-based JDL Development and Boca Raton, Fla.-based Kayne Anderson Real Estate.

* Sun-Times | Chicago came together to find Bam Bam, now the dachshund and his owner have a long way to go: Almost two days after being reunited, Santiago, 58, of Logan Square, is none the wiser on who took him and what they were after. Sitting in his living room with an alert and gentle Bam Bam, Santiago said the dachshund is not back to his old self just yet. While he is happy that Bam Bam is back, Santiago wants answers. He is keen to find out who was behind it all. “We’re getting there,” Santiago said Thursday afternoon. “It’s hard for him to sleep at night. He has really bad anxiety issues. I only take him out on his leash in the back because he’s skittish to go outside.” 


* Sun-Times | Proposed 26-story hotel near Obama Presidential Center gets first city approval: The Chicago Plan Commission gave the first round of approvals for a 26-story hotel that would be near the Obama Presidential Center, despite concerns from neighbors. Aquinnah Investment Trust, headed by veteran real estate developer and lawyer Allison Davis, said the hotel would include up to 250 rooms. It would also have retail and office space, as well as amenities like a pool, outdoor terraces and conference center.

* NBC Chicago | First Chicago city official meets pope and entrepreneur brings special gift: In an NBC 5 Exclusive, Mary Ann Ahern spoke to Chicago Ald. Bill Conway, who visited the Vatican on Wednesday. He is now back in the United States, but before he left he presented the pontiff with a proclamation honoring the first American-born pope. “The pope came over and I said ‘I’m Bill Conway, an alderman from the city of Chicago, and this is a proclamation we passed for you and he looked at it (and) expressed gratitude,” he said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Naperville Unit District 203 teachers set strike date as contract talks resume: The Naperville Unit Education Association announced late Thursday that it has set its official strike date for Tuesday, Aug. 26. The announcement came after a third day of negotiations with a federal mediator this week. Union officials said the district’s latest proposal “represents a major step backwards.” “We have always said a strike is our last resort,” said Ross Berkley, president of the Naperville Unit Education Association, in a written statement. “However, after months of bargaining, overwhelming community support and the board’s refusal to make meaningful progress, we have reached a point where we may have no other choice.”

* Daily Southtown | Tinley Park District 146 teachers union declares impasse over contract negotiations: While most of the contract’s provisions are settled, the Tinley Council Teachers 146 of Local 604 is fighting for higher wage increases and improved retirement benefits than the district is offering. Negotiations began in February, and the most recently approved contract expired July 31. The district’s most recent offer includes wage increases of 6% for each of the next two school years and 5% for the 2027-2028 school year.

* Daily Southtown | Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant boasts of successes, presents $791 million budget: In November, the County Board approved a $832 million budget for Fiscal 2025, with $273 million in the corporate fund, which is used for county operations, and about $558 million in special revenue funds which are restricted in their use. Bertino-Tarrant touted that Will County has been the number one job creator in Illinois since 2019 and has created 15,000 jobs. This includes 1,900 manufacturing jobs despite a nationwide reduction in that sector, she said.

* Daily Southtown | Tinley Park Village Board pause new business and zoning licenses: The Tinley Park Village Board voted Tuesday to put a six-month moratorium on certain business licenses and zoning permits in an effort to align development with an upcoming comprehensive development plan. For the next six months, the village will not issue new businesses licenses for 13 different types of establishments including grocery stores, coffee shops, gas stations, salons, dry cleaning and hotels.

* Aurora Beacon-News | CyrusOne in Aurora again warns of upcoming generator use for repairs Friday: CyrusOne is warning those who live near its data center in Aurora that it will be doing another round of emergency repairs on Friday, and that those repairs will again require the use of backup generators which have in the past significantly impacted nearby residents. 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 previously called “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.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Job cuts ahead at Bridgestone tire plant in Normal: “We will be implementing a workforce reduction to align capacity with demand in response to challenging conditions and market changes in the off-the-road tire markets. The premium market is shifting towards radial products. After a thorough review and analysis, the decision has been made to exit production of unprofitable tires,” said a Bridgestone Americas statement. The transition from bias to radial tires has been ongoing over the last half-century across all makers. Radial tires cost more to make but have much greater durability. Steelworkers local 787 President Jason Beckett estimated only 20-25% of tire production in Normal is still of bias tires.

* WIFR | How Davis Park redevelopment could grow Rockford’s entertainment district: Entertainment board leaders said they’re hopeful park renovations will increase this number. RAVE General Manager Gretchen Gilmore said the board’s overseen the most shows in the last five years and credits their success to its ability to adapt and serve the community. “We did lose a lot of shows this year due to other competition in the market. We had to expand our show offerings and have more diverse programming,” said Gilmore.

*** National ***

* ABC | 750 HHS employees send signed letter to RFK Jr. asking him to stop spreading misinformation: More than 750 employees across the Department of Health and Human Services sent a signed letter to members of Congress and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday morning, calling on the secretary to stop spreading misinformation. The letter states the deadly shooting that occurred at the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 8 was “not random” and was driven by “politicized rhetoric.”

* Cory Franklin, Robert Weinstein | 2025 will be the year of measles in North America. Why? : While there is a cyclical component to measles every several years, declining vaccination rates are by far the largest factor in this increase. According to Johns Hopkins University, the average county-level vaccination rate in the U.S. for measles, mumps and rubella declined from 93.9% pre-pandemic to 91.3% post-pandemic, moving further away from the 95% herd immunity threshold necessary to limit the spread of measles. (There are actually far more people vaccinated in the U.S. than there were in 2000, when measles was “eliminated” but the U.S. population has risen by 20% since then, and the number of unvaccinated has outpaced the population rise.)

* ProPublica | How Deeply Trump Has Cut Federal Health Agencies: Some labs have been unable to purchase the sterile eggs needed to replicate viruses or the mice needed to test vaccines. And less than five years after a pandemic killed more than a million Americans, scientists who study infectious diseases are struggling to pay for saline solution, gloves and blood to feed lab mosquitos.

* Courthouse News Service | Supreme Court lets Trump gut $800 million in health grants : Chief Justice John Roberts was joined by the three liberal justices in dissent. The George W. Bush appointee said that the administration’s directives and the grant terminations were inseparable. “If the district court had jurisdiction to vacate the directives, it also had jurisdiction to vacate the ‘resulting grant terminations,’” Roberts wrote. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, was the only justice to vote for the mixed ruling, breaking the tie between her conservative colleagues and Roberts and the liberal justices.