* The Real Deal…

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker cemented a political alliance with the state’s real estate trade association — and spurned local government critics — on Tuesday when he praised the group’s housing policy activism during its annual lobbying event.

It was the first time Pritzker spoke at the Illinois Realtors’ annual Capitol Conference Realtor Day, a coup for the group that has pushed the same policies in Springfield for years. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch also spoke at the gathering.

In front of about 800 real estate professionals in Springfield, Pritzker gave unequivocal support for the 50,000-member trade group as “indispensable partners” in a shared mission to expand housing supply in Illinois to combat rising expenses.

Illinois Realtors has made an aggressive push in recent years to convince policymakers to ease zoning rules and cut red tape as a solution to the state’s increasing housing costs. This year, many of those proposals showed up in Pritzker’s Building Up Illinois Development (BUILD) plan, which calls for eliminating single-family zoning on lots of a certain size statewide and legalizing accessory dwelling units across the state. Other pieces of the agenda include cutting building regulations, streamlining impact fees and allocating state funding to building projects.

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* Politico…

Christian Mitchell is introducing himself to Illinois voters as the lieutenant governor running mate to JB Pritzker. The governor is seeking reelection while also being viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, making this race an early test of who could succeed him. […]

He wouldn’t entertain any speculation about 2028. “The governor is running for reelection. I’m running for lieutenant governor for the first time,” Mitchell told your Playbook host. “I’m going to be the second black lieutenant governor of Illinois, God willing.” […]

The negotiations that took place while he was deputy governor required sustained talks with labor unions, business interests and community organizations — work that, Mitchell acknowledged, helped define his reputation inside Springfield as a lawmaker with sharp elbows.

“I am a tough negotiator for the people of Illinois, that I won’t apologize for,” he told me, though he added he is “absolutely willing to learn and grow” to change the views of anyone critical of that.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Will this be the year the state legislature approves a cellphone ban in schools?: An amendment to Senate Bill 2427, which passed the Illinois House Education Committee unanimously on March 25, would require all Illinois public and charter schools to adopt policies restricting student use of cellphones, tablets and other devices during class time. The bill still needs approval from the full House, where it’s not subject to a Friday deadline for final action, because a previous version already passed the Senate 55-0 last year. Because it was amended in the House, however, the Senate will need to approve the amended version before it can head to Gov. JB Pritzker, who’s been pushing for the measure for two years.

* CBS Chicago | Rally in Springfield to support SNAP benefit bills that would counteract requirements in Trump’s budget: Advocates are urging Illinois state lawmakers to pass three bills: the first gives a one-time $600 payment to families, another expands eligibility for an existing program giving nutrition benefits to immigrants and victims of serious crimes, and the third bill would create a working group to track federal SNAP changes then develop ways to help Illinois residents. The work requirements went into effect on Feb. 1, but the benefit cutoffs start May 1. As defined in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” anyone between the ages of 18 and 64 taking part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program must meet new work requirements to keep their food stamp benefits by working, volunteering, or going to school for at least 80 hours a month to remain in the program.

* WCIA | Illinois Supreme Court amends rules to combat unmet legal needs across state: Specifically, “legal deserts” have become an issue in largely rural areas across the United States. These are described as areas where there are a limited number of practicing attorneys. This issue has led to a lack of access to legal help that is effective, affordable and responsive to the needs of people in these areas, including parts of Illinois. […] The amendments to Rule 711 will extend the length of time a law graduate may qualify for a 711 license after graduating from law school by allowing a graduate who does not pass the first bar examination administered following graduation to retain their 711 license through the next administered bar exam.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | City seeks to shut down Ford City Mall over ‘imminent’ health and safety threat: The city of Chicago is seeking a court order to vacate Ford City Mall on the Southwest Side because of a broken fire suppression system, a long-standing problem deemed an “imminent threat” to tenants and shoppers — and one that could complicate a local firm’s $150 million plan to redevelop the property. The city late last week formally asked a Cook County judge to force all tenants and occupants to vacate the shopping center at 7601 S. Cicero Ave., court records show. The emergency motion came as part of a lawsuit filed in May alleging the mall’s owner, a venture of Great Neck, N.Y.-based Namdar Realty Group, was violating the city’s building code by failing to fix its faulty system.

* Crain’s | Conagra’s new CEO faces a pricing bind with no clear fix: The challenge for John Brase, according to Morningstar analyst Kristoffer Inton, is that there’s no quick fix for the bind Chicago-based Conagra has created. The company — known for Slim Jim meat sticks and Birds Eye frozen foods — held prices steady while competitors raised theirs during the pandemic. That kept customers loyal but crushed margins, and now the company is caught between alienating shoppers with price hikes or continuing to bleed profits.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | West Suburban’s River Forest campus faces eviction over $7.2 million in back rent: An eviction notice was recently posted to West Suburban Medical Center’s River Forest campus demanding the hospital pay over $7 million in rent owed. Both the River Forest campus and West Suburban’s main campus in Oak Park suddenly closed temporarily late last month because the owner, Manoj Prasad, couldn’t pay employees following complications with the medical center’s records system. The notice, spotted by the Sun-Times on the doors of the medical campus Tuesday morning, says Prasad had five days to pay a rent bill totaling $7,258,966.60 or else access to the property will be terminated. The notice, dated April 9, lists three addresses all roughly within a block of each other: 420 William St., 7420 Central Ave. and 7411 Lake St.

* Daily Herald | ‘A unicorn event’: Allstate property could be annexed back into South Barrington ahead of redevelopment: The annexation is proposed ahead of a potential redevelopment of the roughly 67-acre site, which is on the southeast corner of Higgins and Bartlett roads. A Rosemont company called Opus wants to purchase the site and construct a light-industrial complex. The proposal is similar to the one Texas-based Hillwood Development Co. put forth in 2022. Allstate petitioned for disconnection the following year, and it was granted by a Cook County judge in February 2025. But Hillwood is out of the picture now, and Opus has a contract to purchase the land, Vasselli said.

* Daily Herald | Final steps near for 91-unit apartment building near downtown Libertyville Metra station: Libertyville trustees Tuesday will consider the final step before ordinances are drawn to allow for construction of a landscape-changing, 91-unit apartment building near the downtown Metra station. The village’s advisory plan commission recommended approval of the project in October, with some conditions attached. Developer Libertyville Land LLC has been finalizing engineering and required documentation leading up to Tuesday’s consideration by the village board.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey City Council may consider grant-funded solar project: The proposal is from Marquis Matilla, who said his business, Evolved Living, develops community solar projects in underserved communities. “What happens is, not everyone can get solar panels on their homes,” Matilla said. “We would develop this solar farm, and that solar farm feeds energy back to ComEd’s grid. ComEd then takes that electricity, credits it and everyone who’s a subscriber to that community solar project is basically a partial owner.” Residents would not have to pay anything to subscribe, Matilla said.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora employee rescues historic photos dating back to city’s founding: ‘Really precious stuff’: Saville had originally been looking for a different type of photo — those of past aldermen, which were accidently destroyed before digital scans could be made. He believed the historic photos of past mayors had also been lost. And they would have been, if not for Harden’s foresight. Saville met Harden in the aldermen’s office in Aurora on Friday morning to receive the photos she recovered. The two looked through the box together, chatting about stories they’d heard of the men who once had been mayor of Aurora.

*** Downstate ***

* The Daily Egyptian | Southern Illinois town in turmoil after top cop admits he shared image he ‘shouldn’t have’: At some point, a photograph was taken of the woman while she was naked, according to interviews. It remains unclear who took the photo, how it was transmitted or whether Boss obtained it as part of official police activity. […] “I think I know what this is about and it’s about the photograph and I realize I shouldn’t have shown it to the others,” the chief told the board, according to the meeting minutes, before they voted to investigate. The meeting minutes do not describe the contents of “the photograph” Boss referred to. In a March 31 phone call with the DE, he denied the allegations against him. “It’s all false,” he said, adding that he was being retaliated against for disciplinary action he took against a police officer in the department.

* Wall Street Journal | Rivian’s Illinois Factory Will Run on Recycled EV Batteries: Once completed later this year, Rivian’s plant in Normal, Ill., will draw electricity from more than 100 Rivian EV batteries in an area the size of a small parking lot. It will reduce Rivian’s dependence on the power grid during peak demand hours. “It saves Rivian money on what it takes to run the plant. It reduces the demand on the grid, which is great,” Rivian Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said in an interview.

* STLPR | Now under city ownership, Grafton Ferry will stay open year-round: The Grafton Ferry, which transports cars between the city and St. Charles County across the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, reopened for the season on Friday — but city officials said it won’t shut down later this fall like it normally does. The ferry will remain open year-round under new ownership by the city, Mayor Mike Morrow said Friday. “This means growth for Grafton,” Morrow said.

*** National ***

* Bond Buyer | States jockey for priority over locals for federal transportation funds in next surface bill: State transportation officials are urging Congress to ensure that states retain control of federal formula dollars in the next surface transportation bill, arguing that small local governments “often face challenges meeting complex requirements necessary to deliver federally funded projects.”

* The Hill | Anthropic’s Mythos puts DC, Wall Street on high alert: The limited release of Anthropic’s new Mythos model is putting Washington officials on high alert after the AI firm’s warning about the model’s security risks sent shockwaves through and sparked debate in the tech industry. Within days of being informed of Anthropic’s new technology, the White House ratcheted up a multipronged response involving Trump administration leaders across agencies to evaluate just how powerful AI is becoming.