* Capitol News Illinois…

A House committee got an overview this week of how data centers are driving up energy demand and threatening potential shortfalls in the second of three planned hearings on the matter. […]

Representatives from Ameren and Commonwealth Edison, Illinois’ major electric supply companies, said a majority, though not all, of the large load projects in their queues are data centers, and the expected demand will be significant.

“If all the projects in our pipeline come to be and they all reach their maximum, requested demand will more than double our system peak it took us 120 years to achieve, roughly by 2040,” said Max Leichtman, the director of economic and workforce development at ComEd.

However, he said that projected load will come online over time and likely be in place by 2040 or 2045. […]

House Leader Robyn Gabel asked if the state has the tools to build more energy supply.

Granahan said that while IPA is assessing whether the deadline for closing gas and coal plants is viable. It’s also assessing the regulatory and legal barriers for new nuclear power following Gov. JB Pritzker’s executive order aimed at spurring nuclear development after CRGA ended a longstanding moratorium on new plant construction.

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Illinois is paying the price for 340B medicine markups.

Through the federal 340B program, nonprofit hospitals can buy medicines for pennies, then charge huge markups – even on life-saving medicines. Those markups have become big business for large hospital systems, driving higher costs for Illinois patients, employers and taxpayers.

And the problem is getting worse. The program’s lack of oversight has allowed 340B to become a revenue stream for hospitals, PBMs, private equity firms and big chain pharmacies — with no requirement that the money be used to help patients afford medicines. It’s time for Washington to hold hospitals accountable and fix 340B. Read more.

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* Crain’s…

A bill establishing an Illinois board that would set price limits on prescription drugs has been scaled back in the General Assembly, with a restricted, five-year pilot program now in the works.

Health care advocates who had wanted Illinois to be among the states breaking new ground with a state-run prescription drug advisory board, or PDAB, still hope to pass the downsized provisions today before a deadline for bills to move out of the Legislature. […]

Among the compromises, the amended bill would make the PDAB a pilot, which would sunset in five years and have a board spending cap of $750,000 a year.

The bill would now require that the board prioritize and implement payment limits on the first 10 drugs negotiated by Medicare, before it could review other drugs. The number of additional drugs would be capped at two more per year.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Fortune | Illinois is OpenAI and Anthropic’s latest battleground as the state tries to assess liability for catastrophes caused by AI: Experts told Fortune that SB 3444 is unlikely to pass as it’s a markedly weak approach to corporate liability in the case of catastrophe while Illinois has been a leader on AI regulation. Last year, the state banned AI therapy while allowing its use in administrative and support services for licensed professionals.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | CPS Reaches Deal With CTU to Hold May Day Classes, Allow Students to Attend Afternoon Rally: Chicago Public Schools will hold classes on May 1 after reaching an agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union that will allow students and staff to attend a rally as part of the annual “May Day” labor holiday. The announcement comes after a push by the CTU and some Board of Education members to close schools and allow for demonstrations that day. “This agreement preserves the classroom time students deserve and respects our staff and families who must be able to trust CPS to uphold the academic school year calendar,” CPS CEO Macquline King said in a statement. “At the same time, the agreement honors the proud history of civic action in Chicago and beyond.”

* Sun-Times | Officer Krystal Rivera’s partner hid after fatally shooting her and failed to provide aid, new video shows: Body camera footage released Friday shows that Chicago police officer Carlos Baker sat in a stairwell for more than 90 seconds after shooting his partner Krystal Rivera last summer, leaving her bleeding from a gunshot he initially said had been fired by someone else. […] Rivera’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year alleging Baker was struggling to accept her daughter’s decision to end their romantic relationship when he fatally shot her during the foot chase.

* Crain’s | Feds crack down on Federal Savings Bank over misleading ads for VA loans: Federal regulators have clamped down on Chicago-based Federal Savings Bank for the second time in five years, this time finding the mortgage lender used deceptive ads to trick customers into refinancing into Veterans Affairs-backed loans with higher interest rates and bigger fees. The consent order between the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Savings, which promotes itself as founded and owned by veterans and features a tab on its homepage dedicated to VA home loans, comes after regulators found its operations were unsound and needed improvements in consumer protection in 2021.

* Block Club | Ford City Mall A ‘Death Trap’ That Could ‘Cave In,’ Ald. Says As Its Closure Looms: Business owners have seven days to come up with a plan to “spare the tragic consequence that might come to both the individual business owners and their employees and the neighbors and consumers” or prepare to vacate, Murray said. He denied a request from a JCPenney representative to have 30 days to respond to the motion. “My expectation is that you will have a meeting of the minds over the next seven days,” Murray said. “Let’s get to the bottom of this if we can, but if not, my job is to save lives, and it may well require the shutting down of this structure in order to prevent loss of life to anyone.”

* Sun-Times | Arthur Loevy, attorney who worked police misconduct and wrongful conviction cases with his son, dies at 87: Mr. Loevy worked out of a conference room at the firm’s West Loop office. Younger attorneys regularly stopped in to pick his brain. “He could come up with a strategy and could get to the bottom of a matter in like 10 seconds,” said attorney Matt Topic, who learned how to be confident at the negotiating table from watching Mr. Loevy.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Evanston Now | Over $22M spent in House primary: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss was outspent by his two top opponents, whom he emerged victorious over in last month’s Democratic congressional primary, campaign records filed Wednesday show. In total, between individual campaign spending and outside spending, over $22 million was dumped into the 9th Congressional District Democratic primary, more than any of the other local Democratic primaries on last month’s Illinois ballot.

* Shaw Local | Ex-Joliet City Council member loses lawsuit against former police chief, deputy chief: A former Joliet City Council member lost his lawsuit against a former police chief and a deputy chief that claimed they used him as an “unwitting tool” in their conspiracy against the former mayor. On Friday, Kankakee County Judge Lindsay Parkhurst issued a court order that granted summary judgment in favor of retired Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner.

* Daily Herald | Cash for concerts, roads in new $6.9 million Deer Park budget: That spending estimate is down about 15% from the current year’s $8.1 million total, Village Administrator Beth McAndrews said. Expenses are decreasing, she said, because improvements at Town Center Park and Charles E. Brown Park are nearly complete. No major parks upgrades are planned for the new fiscal year, which begins May 1. Playground equipment, pickleball courts and other amenities were added at Town Center Park, 21880 W. Field Parkway.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | East St. Louis punished for obstructing discovery in housing authority lawsuit: But Judge David W. Dugan has entered a default judgment against the city of East St. Louis and City Manager Robert Betts on all claims against them, in addition to at least $10,871 in monetary sanctions, because of their “flagrant bad faith” in the discovery process. The price includes $7,771 in plaintiffs’ attorney fees and $3,100 in unpaid daily penalties of $100 per business day, which will continue to accrue until they pay the sanctions and fully comply with every remaining discovery obligation.

* WCIA | U of I researchers creating “AI virtual try-on technology” to ease online shopping stress: “It really started seeing a problem everyone faced,” he said. “People shopping online, seeing an outfit, but having no idea how it will actually fit on their body. Online shopping can feel more like a guessing game.” He and his team wanted to take the “guesswork” out of the shopping experience and developed AI technology to do so. “We are not just copying and pasting onto the person. We are creating a real-life preview of how that outfit actually looks,” Wang explained.

* Joural Courier | SIU asks for community member thoughts for next strategic plan: A “strategic plan” is typically a set of goals and guidelines set up by a university. SIU’s strategic plan will go over the goals for the university that will go until 2031. Officials are asking for input from alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members about upcoming goals. […] The survey link can be found at siusystem.edu. It asks people how relevant things like academics, anti-racism, community impact, creative activities, professional development of employees, infrastructure are as university goals.

* AP | For sale: Illinois house where George Harrison visited his sister before Beatlemania: The bed-and-breakfast closed in 2010. Benton resident Grady Adams has since operated it as regular bed-and-bath apartments but now wants to sell, listing it for $105,000. Brian Calcaterra, Benton’s director of economic development, suggested the city draft an ordinance to protect the house from demolition by a new owner, but Benton Mayor Lee Messersmith said the city council has not discussed the matter.

* Press release | Illinois State Fair Arena Tickets To Go On Sale Tuesday, April 21: The Arena kicks off with two nights of rodeo excitement presented by N Rodeo Company on Thursday, August 13 and Friday, August 14, both beginning at 7:30 p.m. Fans can experience classic rodeo competitions and thrilling performances. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-12.

*** National ***

* USA Today | Pope Leo XIV to visit with Notre Dame, Villanova basketball teams in Rome: When the Notre Dame and Villanova men’s and women’s basketball teams face off in Rome, Italy, to start the 2026-27 season on Sunday, Nov. 1, the athletes will get a chance to meet Pope Leo XIV. Per a press release from Notre Dame, “student-athletes from two of the United States’ top Catholic universities will travel to Rome and Vatican City for a one-of-a-kind international experience to begin their college hoops season — including a planned audience with Pope Leo XIV set to take place ahead of the game.”

* NYT | Supreme Court Sides With Oil Companies in Louisiana Coastal Lawsuits: The ruling is a significant victory for oil companies, led by Chevron and Exxon Mobil, in their legal battle with Louisiana state officials over who should pay for the state’s coastal erosion. The companies have been supported by the Trump administration. The justices unanimously agreed to allow the oil companies to fight the lawsuits in federal court rather than state court. “Congress has long authorized federal officers and their agents to remove suits brought against them in state court to federal court,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote.