* Subscribers know more. Capitol News Illinois…

A “millionaire tax” proposal floated in the Illinois House failed to gain enough traction in Springfield this week, making it increasingly unlikely that voters will be asked to approve the measure in November.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, confirmed to reporters on Wednesday night that the constitutional amendment proposed by Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, was not going to be called for a vote this week. The House is not scheduled to be in after Thursday before the May 3 deadline to put constitutional amendments on the November ballot.

“Everyone knows it needs a lot more work,” Welch said. “There were a lot of questions that people had and they deserve to have those answers to those questions.” […]

It could be a few years before lawmakers revisit the concept. The next deadline for approving constitutional amendments is early May 2028, six months ahead of the presidential election.

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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.

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* Illinois Department of Employment Security…

Over-the-year, total nonfarm jobs decreased in 8 metropolitan areas and increased in 4, leading to consecutive months with year-over-year growth in Champaign (13 consecutive months). Over-the-year, the unemployment rate increased in all 12 metro areas for the year ending February 2026, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (DES).

“February’s numbers show job growth in a few parts of Illinois, but rising unemployment across metro areas underscores the uncertainty coming from the federal government,” said Deputy Governor Andy Manar. “Washington’s shifting policies are making it harder for states to maintain momentum. Illinois will continue focusing on growth, supporting employers, and investing in our workforce.”

The metro areas which posted the largest over-the-year percentage decreases in total nonfarm jobs were the Springfield MSA (-2.4%, -2,600), the Rockford MSA (-1.7%, -2,500), and the Bloomington MSA (-1.4%, -1,300). The metro areas which had the largest over-the-year percentage increases in total nonfarm jobs were the Peoria MSA (+1.0%, +1,600), the Champaign-Urbana MSA (+0.9%, +1,100), and the Lake County Metro Division (+0.4%, +1,300). Nonfarm jobs in the Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg Metro Division were down -6,500 (-0.2%). Industries that saw job growth in the majority of the twelve metro areas included: Mining and Construction (ten areas), followed by Private Education and Health Services and Government (nine areas each).

The metro areas with the largest unemployment rate increases were the Kankakee MSA (+1.1 point to 7.0%) followed by a tie between the Decatur MSA (+1.0 point to 6.8%), the Rockford MSA (+1.0 point to 6.7%), and Springfield MSA (+1.0 point to 5.4%). The Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg Metro Division unemployment rate grew by +0.3 point to 5.4%. The unemployment rate increased over-the-year in 100 counties and decreased in 2.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Welch defends silence over ousted caucus member, citing need to ‘respect victims’: Welch did not specify what he meant by “due process,” but multiple sources have told Capitol News Illinois that a report detailing allegations against Benton was filed with the legislative inspector general’s office. The office, which investigates claims of misconduct by legislators and legislative staff, has declined to comment. It’s also worth noting that LIG reports are only made public if allegations are sustained.

* Capitol News Illinois | Lawmakers eye water use transparency requirements for data centers: “We talk a lot about energy, and people express concerns about, ‘Are we utilizing energy? Are we going to have enough resources there?’ We have a plan,” said Democratic Rep. Ann Williams of Chicago, who chaired the committee on Wednesday. “I think that same process needs to happen with water and how much of it already exists versus what we need to put in place with the influx of users.”

* Tribune | Illinois bill would stop publishers from charging libraries more than public for e-books and audiobooks: “More and more taxpayer-funded library budgets are being eaten up by this licensing at unreasonably high prices,” Harris said. “The hold list gets longer and longer for the constituents who are trying to, you know, use these materials and many libraries are now spending almost 50% of their collection budgets on e-books and audiobooks.”

* Investigate Midwest | Illinois Farm Bureau sees ‘moral obligation’ to protect livestock from extreme weather. It opposes temperature standards for workers: As climate change makes the weather hotter and more volatile, worker advocates have pushed to pass temperature standards into law this year. The legally binding standards in House Bill 3762, such as paid water breaks, are necessary to protect workers’ health and safety — and prevent death — in a rapidly heating world, advocates argue. The bill, introduced by Chicago Democrat Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, is currently being debated in committee.

* WGLT | Central Illinois lawmakers split on changing legislative map requirements in Illinois: Democratic state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, representing Peoria, said this amendment would protect minority voting rights and ensure Voting Rights Act protections are able to continue in Illinois. “The Supreme Court is poised to gut the Voting Rights Act,” she said. “We have to understand what we are dealing with. It literally is the last meaningful protection against racial discrimination in voting. The gains [Illinois has] made are because of the Voting Rights Act.”

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Executive in $15M Loretto Hospital embezzlement case pleads not guilty, released on bond: Prosecutors said at least $15 million was embezzled from the West Side safety-net hospital through bogus invoices and shell vendor companies. In July 2024, Suhail was charged with 14 counts of various crimes. Bergdahl and Miller are set to appear in federal court next week. They are expected to plead guilty, the Chicago Tribune reported yesterday. Bergdahl, who served as Loretto’s chief transformation officer between February 2020 and March 2022 was charged in 2024 with 36 federal counts. Miller was indicted in October 2025 in the federal investigation.

* Block Club | Plan To Bring Nearly 500 Homes To Mars Candy Factory Site Slammed By Galewood Neighbors: Tension between Galewood residents and developers boiled over at a meeting about the future of the former home of the Mars Wrigley factory — so much so that officials warned the 20-acre site could remain vacant for an extended period of time. Galewood residents sounded off Tuesday against the suggestion that a redevelopment of the factory site, 2019 N. Oak Park Ave., could include 500 units of housing. The factory operated for 95 years before closing in 2024, the same year Mars selected developer McCaffery Interests to repurpose the site.

* Axios | Chicago jazz radio legends to reunite for International Jazz Day panel: Several radio veterans, including Richard Steele, Barry Winograd and Neil Tesser, will gather for a panel at the Cultural Center as part of Chicago’s International Jazz Day programming. “There used to be so much jazz on the radio in Chicago,” Sirius XM Real Jazz host Mark Ruffin tells Axios. Ruffin, who previously worked at several Chicago jazz stations, put the panel together.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Homer Glen officials unite against ‘one-size-fits-all’ state affordable housing proposal: As Homer Glen celebrates its 25th anniversary, village leaders find themselves advocating again for local control, the same issue they sought to address with incorporation. Residents in 2001 approved a referendum to form the village out of an unincorporated area of Will County in a desire for decisions to be made locally, rather than by county officials.

* Daily Herald | Underwood proposes $1.2M in funding for Metra expansion between DeKalb, Elburn: If Underwood’s federal funding request is approved, the money could be used to help DeKalb prepare development plans and fund additional analyses needed to pursue a Union Pacific West Line extension between DeKalb and Elburn, according to a release from Underwood’s office.

* Pioneer Press | Skokie approves new village flag, depicting ‘Skokie Spirit’ Potawatomi flame: Seeking to highlight a stronger sense of unity and shared community identity, Skokie is set to adopt a new official flag, a long-term effort in an area where students come from families that speak at least 70 different languages at home, according to Niles Township High School District 219.

*** Downstate ***

* Illinois Times | Logan County to consider data center regulations: The meeting could set up a final vote by the Logan County Board on the new zoning rules later in May. A 60-day moratorium that the County Board approved on the acceptance of zoning applications for data centers ends this week. Michael DeRoss, a Lincoln resident who sits on the 12-member, all-Republican County Board, told Illinois Times that the moratorium was designed to help board members become better informed and thoroughly review any proposals in the future. “We could use some more time. This is new,” DeRoss said. “There are people on both sides of the issue. This is not a done deal. We need to do a cost-benefit analysis.”

* WCIA | Vermilion Co. approves grant, contracts for animal shelter, county building improvements: Those buildings are the animal shelter, the Joseph G. Cannon Building and the Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse. The County Board approved acceptance of a grant that would go toward improving the animal shelter. The board also approved contracts for masonry restoration at both the courthouse and Cannon building, along with roof replacement and refurbishment of the latter’s elevator system. The $2.5 million grant comes from the Julius Hegeler II Foundation, and it will be used to either build a new animal shelter facility or renovate and expand the current one. The grant will be paid over the next three years in installments of $800,000 or $850,000.

* Illinois Times | State’s Attorney’s Office joins new effort to to keep kids in school as a means of reducing crime: A new joint initiative between the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Regional Office of Education is taking a tougher, more coordinated approach to chronic truancy. It combines social services with a stark warning: get children back in school or face legal consequences. The effort, spearheaded by Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser and Regional Superintendent Shannon Fehrholz, was on display April 10 during a meeting inside a courtroom at the Sangamon County Building. Parents and guardians of chronically absent elementary school students were summoned not for prosecution — yet — but for what officials described as a final opportunity to change course.

* WCIA | Monticello rewarding business owners for taking care of their facade: “We’re just glad that the Monticello Historic Preservation committee has taken a look at different businesses and buildings here in our community to recognize the ones that have had a good impact on the community,” Owens said. The committee works to preserve businesses in the area. They are doing it with the building improvement grant program, which matches grants to Monticello businesses up to $10,000.

*** National ***

* AP | Trump reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug in a historic shift: The order signed by Todd Blanche does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law. But it does change the way it’s regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I — reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III. It also gives licensed medical marijuana operators a major tax break and eases some barriers to researching cannabis.

* The Independent | All the airlines cancelling flights and adding extra charges amid jet fuel crisis: United’s CEO announced the airline may need to raise fares by as much as 20 percent, while Lufthansa’s airline group announced the cancellation of 20,000 flights in bids to protect their airlines from the soaring cost of oil. Costs have rocketed from approximately $85 to $90 per barrel to an alarming $150 to $200 per barrel in recent weeks.

* AP | School buses should all have alcohol tests to avoid drunken driving, NTSB recommends: But the National Transportation Safety Board then discovered something even more troubling: School bus drivers driving impaired was not an isolated problem. That’s why the NTSB on Thursday recommended for the first time that all new school buses be equipped with alcohol detection systems that can disable the bus if they detect the driver might be impaired.

* NY Mag | Washington Enters Its TMZ Era: TMZ’s lack of familiarity with Washington’s weird ways is both a drawback and a strength. Its D.C. reporters do not seem to have experience covering Washington. And they are now crowdsourcing their way through the learning curve, asking for help finding bathrooms and restaurants and interview subjects. They’ve also printed out the pictures of House members to study their faces. But as the political paparazzi photos show, they can unearth stories that more jaded reporters have passed over as business as usual. The recent scandal over Eric Swalwell’s much-rumored creepiness and previously unreported sexual misconduct underscored that there is plenty of room for different newsgathering sensibilities.