|
Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois House unveils new version of Bears’ megaprojects bill. Capitol News Illinois…
- Pritzker’s office said in a statement that they’re “currently reviewing the draft amendment” and don’t have further comment at this time. - The latest changes are aimed at winning over skeptical rank-and-file lawmakers, whose concerns include the potential shift of property tax burden to surrounding residents and the long-term impact on revenues to local communities. * Related stories… Sponsored by The Association of Safety-Net Community Hospitals No Cuts. No Closures. Fund Safety-Net Hospitals. For decades, Illinois has underfunded safety-net hospitals, the lifelines for Black and Brown communities. Now, the “Safety-Net Moonshot” and the Medicaid-defunding legislation it has spawned, threatens deeper cuts to these critical health providers. Any reduction inspired by the “Moonshot” would be a killshot to the care our most vulnerable residents rely on. Weakening safety-net hospitals won’t improve care. It will slash essential services, eliminate jobs, and push entire communities into healthcare deserts and economic instability. The state cannot balance its budget on the backs of Black and Brown community hospitals. These institutions are not line items to cut, they are the foundation of care for families who have nowhere else to turn. Disinvestment will deepen inequities and worsen outcomes. When safety-net hospitals are funded, communities are healthier, workforces are stronger, and economies are more resilient. Illinois must fully fund safety-net hospitals. For the communities they serve, it is life or death. * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here. * Tribune | Illinois awards $32M to cannabis companies, but some are still struggling to open: Deputy Director Peter Contos notes that a recent state report showed most arrests for marijuana remain on the mostly Black South and West sides, while very few dispensaries have opened in those areas. “The majority of our members are just looking for access to affordable cannabis,” Contos said. “So we’re excited about this funding and we welcome it, but this program is working by design to keep some people in and some people out.” * Tribune | Planned Parenthood endorses independent Mayra Macías in race to replace retiring US Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García: In a statement announcing the endorsement, Alexis McGill Johnson, the group’s president and CEO, called Macías “a proven leader who understands that accessible and equitable health care is a fundamental right.” “Mayra has fought to protect access to abortion and reproductive health care in the wake of the Dobbs decision,” McGill Johnson said, referring to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal right to abortion. “As we face a federal administration intent on making health care unaffordable and inaccessible, we need champions in Congress who refuse to back down. We know that Mayra will be unrelenting in the fight to protect access to sexual and reproductive health care. * WAND | IL Freedom Caucus airs grievances about Democrats blocking their bills: The MAGA Republicans would like to see lawmakers pass a plan to repeal the estate tax to help farmers. While the ideas have gained bipartisan support in recent years, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch won’t call any bill unless 60 Democrats agree with it. “We need to stop letting Speaker Welch get a pass with this 60-vote rule. It’s made up,” said Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Louisville). “It’s not democracy at all. They go out there and scream about democracy, but then almost 45% of the state is left without a vote because of that.” * Howard A. Learner | Earth Day is a reminder that Illinois must come up with environmental solutions: Earth Day is a reminder for people and policymakers to focus on the opportunities and the challenges to improve environmental health in our communities and better protect the planet. While we need to meet the moment to defend against the Trump administration’s unprecedented assault on core environmental values that most Americans share, we should seize the opportunity for Illinois to lead with better environmental protections and sustainable infrastructure. * Sun-Times | Ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s chief operating officer is at the center of City Hall intern, contracting scandal: A recent inspector general report detailed the allegations, without naming names. The Chicago Sun-Times confirmed that City Hall’s former COO, Paul Goodrich, is at the center of it all. He’s accused of clouting his kid into an internship with a city contracting business run by a pal of Barack Obama’s, then trying to beef up payments to the company by almost $10 million. * Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson, CTA president defend security firings slammed by City Council’s Black Caucus: Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) denounced the “sudden termination” of contracts with Monterrey Security and its two Black subcontractors as a “betrayal of the city’s commitment to equity” because it put more than 70 African American security workers out of work with less than a week’s notice. City records show the CTA embarked on a $44 million, three-year contract with Monterrey Security in 2022, with two one-year options to renew. * WTTW | New Bird-Friendly Building Ordinance Stuck in City Council Purgatory, But Lead Sponsor Says Measure Still Has Wings: Bird-friendly building legislation — intended to help stem the epidemic of birds killed and injured in collisions with Chicago buildings — was previously stymied in 2020. Back then, City Council kicked the issue to the Department of Planning and Development, instructing the department to give greater weight to bird-friendly mitigations within Chicago’s Sustainable Development Policy. It was a blow to bird advocates: Only 50 to 75 projects per year are subject to targets set by the Sustainable Development Policy, leaving scores of other buildings exempt from implementing any bird-friendly mitigations. * Sun-Times | Former Mayor Richard M. Daley recovering after suffering third stroke ahead of his 84th birthday: “He had a stroke. He’s fine now. He’s home. He’s doing some rehab stuff, and that’s about it. … That’s life,” said Bill Daley, who served as U.S. Commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton and White House chief of staff under former President Barack Obama. “They said, he’s out of trouble. He has to do a little rehab. But he’s physically walking around doing everything and whatever. But you’ve got to watch yourself. [He’s] not in any danger or anything, other than what everybody who’s 84 is in danger of.” * Tribune | Chicago’s Tomato Man on the impacts of erratic spring temperatures on his beloved heirlooms: “I understand why (the food industry) has done what it’s done to tomatoes,” Zeni said recently while tending to his plants at Ted’s Greenhouse in Tinley Park. “But those are mass produced in farms the size of football fields and I’m a bit skeptical about how they grow all those tomatoes to make them all look so perfect so fast.” For 26 years, Zeni has been obsessively gardening heirloom tomatoes. What first began as a backyard project has turned him into one of Chicagoland’s leading experts on how to grow the fruit in its unique array of reds, purples, yellows and stripes. * Evanston Now | HCDC advances rental price-fixing ban: The measure, proposed by Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th), would prohibit landlords from entering non-compete agreements with each other. Additionally, it would prohibit price coordination through the use of the use the price-setting software that shares non-public information about competitor prices, and recommends price adjustments based on that information. It would allow rental tenants to file formal complaint, and sue landlords who use the software. Penalties for violating the ordinance would include fines of $500 per violation. * Daily Southtown | Will County Republicans choose Frankfort Township Trustee Hillary Kurzawa to lead party: Kurzawa said the party is looking to pick up a few more Republican seats on the County Board, which for years has been evenly split among Republicans and Democrats. In the event of a tie, the vote now swings to the Democrats with County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Democrat, casting the deciding vote. The party is also looking to reelect its two Republican countywide office holders — Regional Superintendent of Schools Lisa Caparelli-Ruff and County Clerk Annette Parker. * Daily Southtown | Madison School students keep micropantries stocked in South Holland, Harvey: The Kindness Club had its birth in “15 Days of Kindness,” which Michelle Orth, a fifth grade teacher who is a finalist for a Golden Apple Award, started late last year. Students made ornaments for the Police Department, goodie bags for firefighters and bookmarks for the South Holland Public Library. They also helped pack food for Feed My Starving Children in Aurora and placed upbeat sayings on teachers’ classroom doors. * WCIA | Central Illinois pastor enters Danville mayoral race: We’re one year away from the mayoral election, and on Monday, another candidate — Frank McCullough — entered the race, looking to unseat Mayor Ricky Williams. McCullough, a life-long Danville resident, said he has seen the city change a lot through the years, and after some deliberation with family, he wants to help the community in an official capacity. […] “I’ve run for a state representative once. I ran for alderman twice here in the city of Danville. So, you know, been around, been around a long time,” he said. * BND | Belleville police partner with faith-based group to curb violence: Juard Barnes, a strategist for Metro East Organizing Coalition, said the organization sends trained staff and volunteers to talk to residents in at-risk neighborhoods, offers counseling and other social services and presents options for conflict resolution. “Community violence intervention is deeply researched,” Barnes said. “Our work is steeped in data. It’s been going on for decades, and it’s actually been very successful in many cities.” * WGLT | Bloomington targets mid-May completion for all storm damage removal: Cleanup in Bloomington is expected to take weeks following the tornadoes that uprooted trees and caused substantial damage in several neighborhoods. Deputy City Manager Sue McLaughlin said public works crews hope to reach all of the affected homes and businesses by the end of this week. “We understand and acknowledge that there’s going to be a second and probably a third round that we’re going to have to go back as people chop down their limbs, get more stuff out to the curb,” McLaughlin said. “Our intent is to be done with storm cleanup by May 15.” * Press release | Countdown to the 2026 Illinois State Fair: 100 Days Out Celebration!: We invite you to join us for lunch on Tuesday, May 5th, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Reisch Pavilion on the Illinois State Fairgrounds for our “100 Days Out” Celebration! “There’s nothing quite like State Fair food, and we’re thrilled to bring a few of those favorites together for this event,” said Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark. “It’s the perfect way to get a taste of the Fair ahead of opening day.” * AP | Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on federal fraud charges related to past use of paid informants: The indictment came shortly after SPLC revealed the existence of a criminal investigation into its program to pay informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities. The group said the program was used to monitor threats of violence and the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement. SPLC CEO Bryan Fair said the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.” * WIRED | New Gas-Powered Data Centers Could Emit More Greenhouse Gases Than Entire Nations: Michael Thomas, the founder of clean energy research firm Cleanview, has been tracking gas permits for data centers across the country. He calls behind-the-meter power “a crazy acceleration of emissions.” “It’s almost like we thought we were on the downside of the Industrial Revolution, retiring coal and gas, and now we have a new hump where we’re going to rise,” he says. “That terrifies me in a lot of ways.”
|
- Leatherneck - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 8:08 am:
I am Facebook friends with Springfield Alderwoman Notariano, and late last night she posted on FB that the Bears megaprojects bill was now amended to add the controversial Capitol City Tourism Board. This board is causing a stir on City Council due to only 3 City Council members on the board (5 members were to be appointed by the Governor and 3 by the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority).
This proposal is now House Amendment 2 to HB 910, the Bears megaprojects bill. HA2 also includes the Springfield Medical District expansion to everywhere between North and South Grand.
Hopefully the details can get further amended to ensure more Springfield city and/or SMEAA territory residents’ representation on these boards (which in the case of a Chatham resident wanting to be on that board, the only way that can happen is if they are appointed by the Governor since the Village is not part of SMEAA). Anything to help turn around downtown–even if it means gentrification of downtown and the areas around the capitol and the expanded medical district–is beneficial for both Springfield-based state employees and medical personnel alike.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 8:26 am:
=“We need to stop letting Speaker Welch get a pass with this 60-vote rule. It’s made up,” said Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Louisville). “It’s not democracy at all. They go out there and scream about democracy, but then almost 45% of the state is left without a vote because of that.”=
All of the rules and laws are “made up” Blaine. And, learn math dude. WHen you have a majority, you can run the show. For example- please see take not of the US government. And, as always Blaine, thank you for your valuable input.
=The indictment came shortly after SPLC revealed the existence of a criminal investigation into its program to pay informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities.=
If memory serves, they learned this from a couple of conservative groups that did it first. Those indictments must be on their way soon? Blaine, any comment?
- Steve - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:07 am:
SPLC paid a lot of money to get results they wanted.
- Excitable Boy - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:10 am:
- We need to stop letting Speaker Welch get a pass -
Get the votes to stop him then. Until then, stop crying.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:16 am:
Unless they are an actual public defender, a government lawyer should not have to act as criminal defense attorney. It is really ridiculous how people will act when words like confidentiality and privilege are thrown around.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:18 am:
=SPLC paid a lot of money to get results they wanted.=
So did Erik Prince founder of goodtime organization Blackwater, so did Project Veritas. In 2022 Veritas actually lost a lawsuit to Democracy Partners.
But those who are intellectually dishonest won’t acknowledge that.
- Jack in Chatham - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:44 am:
The medical district is a land grab. They want private entities to have the same land acquisition tools as a government doing eminent domain land forced sales. Scam.
- Think Again - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 10:21 am:
=So did Erik Prince founder of goodtime organization Blackwater, so did Project Veritas. In 2022 Veritas actually lost a lawsuit to Democracy Partners=
sounds like two kids point the finger at each other when they get into trouble - fraud is fraud
- JB13 - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 10:22 am:
– All of the rules and laws are “made up” –
Yes, but, this particular one literally exists only in one man’s mind.
Tell me: If a majority in the House wants to vote on something, and one man says, no, because it doesn’t have enough votes from my party… Well, I don’t know what you’d call that, but it ain’t
“Democracy”
- Tax & Spend - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 10:35 am:
I am Facebook friends with Springfield Alderwoman Notariano, and late last night she posted on FB that the Bears megaprojects bill was now amended to add the controversial Capitol City Tourism Board. This board is causing a stir on City Council due to only 3 City Council members on the board (5 members were to be appointed by the Governor and 3 by the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority)
the logjam has been broken…..Legislators lining up at the lard bucket to get what’s in it for them….the Political shakedown has begun
- Steve - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 10:46 am:
-But those who are intellectually dishonest won’t acknowledge that.-
SPLC probably will have to come up with something better than mentioning Blackwater. When you aren’t law enforcement officials and there’s a money trail. Whew..
- Sue - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 10:47 am:
Recognize in advance that fee here sympathize with filks who might be subject to a millionaire’s tax but Welch is proposing a backdoor tax on both retirement and unlawfully on treasury income- as both types of income will go into the taxpayers’ base to reaching the million threshold- the normally exempt income will theoretically be taxed unless the legislation excludes both retirement and treasury components from AGI
- Old IL Dude - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 10:52 am:
Again with the Bears stadium? Why? If Indiana wants to give them a great deal and their taxpayers want to pay for it, then let them move to Indiana.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:12 am:
=If a majority in the House wants to vote on something, and one man says, no=
Like the President of the United States?
- low level - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:15 am:
Doesnt Speaker Mike Johnson have an unwritten rule to not allow a vote in the US House unless a majority of the majority supports it? Does Blaine and the “Freedom” Caucus have a problem w that or is it all good since its their buddy Mikey?
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:24 am:
===unless a majority of the majority supports===
That goes back to Denny Hastert.
The Welch rule is a lot different. Bills have to be able to pass on their own with only Democratic votes. And that Democratic pool doesn’t include votes of members whom Welch has unilaterally kicked out of the caucus.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:31 am:
===Get the votes to stop him then. Until then, stop crying. ===
Last time I checked this was still a free country.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:33 am:
===Like the President of the United States? ===
Again with the whataboutism.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:34 am:
===the logjam has been broken…..Legislators lining up at the lard bucket to get what’s in it for them….the Political shakedown has begun ===
Somebody was using their political dictionary this morning. lol
- Crispy - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:48 am:
The AI data center/greenhouse gas emissions analysis is one of the scarier things I’ve read recently, and that’s saying something. The big tech companies fueling the metastasization of AI without any regard to the social or environmental implications seem more and more like an existential threat to the rest of us–or at least to the 99+ percent of us who don’t have the option of eventually moving to a luxury bunker in New Zealand.
- H-W - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:55 am:
RE: WAND Article and @ JS Mill
Reps. Wilhour and Neimerg loses all credibility when in the story, they are complaining that Democrats refuse to completely repeal (eliminate) estate taxes on farms - not reduce them, but eliminate them. They lose all credibility when they advocate denying medical help and food and the ability to work to what the Hebrew and Christian and Muslim Text refers to as the “foreigners among us.” They lose credibility when they refer to immigrants collectively as aliens and illegals.
Asking the majority of Illinoisans to hate and be evil is not an effective strategy in politics at the community level. Nor is eliminating tax bases that provide for the citizenry writ large, and disproportionately for communities of the Eastern Bloc.
But I digress.
- Excitable Boy - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 12:11 pm:
- Last time I checked this was still a free country. -
Ok he can keep crying, doesn’t matter to me.
- Think Again - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 12:11 pm:
=The AI data center/greenhouse gas emissions analysis is one of the scarier things I’ve read recently=
Read it carefully - they acknowledge that the data is using premit data and there are lots of “coulds” and projections …
It is unlikely that all of the gas facilities WIRED examined will get built;
The projections involved, however, are still substantial. Even if the actual emissions from these power plants end up being half of the emissions numbers on the permits,
Energy researcher Jon Koomey estimates that while emissions from efficient grid-connected gas plants could be 40 to 50 percent of the permitted numbers
- H-W - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 12:13 pm:
@ Steve
=== SPLC paid a lot of money to get results they wanted. ===
=== SPLC probably will have to come up with something better than mentioning Blackwater. ===
Where did you get the theory that citizens groups cannot monitor citizens groups? Where did you get the theory that citizens cannot infiltrate (join) hate groups so as to learn more about how they operate? Where did you get the theory that all people who join organizations are implicitly bound by Non-Disclosure Agreements that do not exist?
Covert participant observation is not an illegal practice. It is a legitimate research method used by anthropologists, organizational scholars, sociologists, etc. Paying participants to participate in research about the on-goings of organizations has been done since the “time-motion” studies of the scientific management research in 1900. Paying researchers to do research is the same thing as paying people to inform on the operations of their organizations.
Good lawyers will beat this bogus charge being brought by the Federal Government on behalf of Christian and White Nationalists to defend Christian and White Nationalism. Give it time to play out before you hitch your horses to a wobbly cart.
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 12:26 pm:
==White Nationalists==
That’s a key base of the current Administration and they aren’t too keen about the SPLC calling out hate groups. So, once again we see the weaponization of the Justice Department to go after the President’s “enemies.” And yet tens of millions of people in this country continue to support these sorts of dictatorial actions.
- Think Again - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 12:41 pm:
=Good lawyers will beat this bogus charge being brought by the Federal Government on behalf of Christian and White Nationalists to defend Christian and White Nationalism=
Over the past decades, federal prosecutorial discretion has looked vastly different based on the party of the administration in charge.
- CA-HOON! - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 12:47 pm:
@ H-W
Spot on. What the SPLC does is not substantially different than a law firm which hires private investigators to go out and find evidence of whatever it is they are trying to prove in any given court case.
Comparing the SPLC to Blackwater or Project Veritas belies a misunderstanding of what those orgs actually do with their money and the kind of “informants” in which they are investing. In Project Veritas’ case, it’s heavily edited “gotcha” moments pretending to be journalism.
In Blackwater’s case it’s contract killers and mercenaries hired to do “stuff”, but all totally “legal” of course.
SPLC will have this dismissed before a jury is ever seated.
- BE - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 3:05 pm:
I am interested in the addition of McCullough to the Danville mayor race. I wonder if there will be any questions brought up about when Williams tried to declare Danville a anti-abortion town (thanks to a Texas lawyer) without talking it over with, say, the municipal lawyer first.
- Steve - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 4:11 pm:
SPLC is not a law enforcement organization. SPLC can’t legally can pay someone who engages in mail and wire fraud and claim they have the power of law enforcement . For you rookies out , judges and juries in the The 11th Circuit aren’t the D.C. circuit.