* Tribune…

The Chicago Tribune won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting Monday for its coverage of Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement mission in the Chicago area last fall. […]

The Tribune’s capstone piece, “64 days in Chicago: The story of Operation Midway Blitz,” also was included in the winning entry. […]

More than 75 Tribune reporters, photographers, senior editors, copy editors, audience engagement editors, page designers and editorial board members contributed to coverage of the unprecedented incursion, reporting that frequently challenged or disproved the Trump administration’s version of events.

The win marks the newspaper’s 29th Pulitzer Prize in its 179-year history. The Tribune was last awarded the prize for local news in 2022 for “Failures before the Fires,” an investigation conducted with the Better Government Association that exposed the city’s long history of failed building- and fire-safety code enforcement.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois municipal leaders unveil ‘REAL’ counter to Pritzker’s ‘BUILD’ housing plan: “We could easily have just sat here and said ‘no’ on everything,” IML executive director Brad Cole told me on Friday. “But what we did is we said ‘no, we don’t agree with those things, but here are a couple of dozen more proposals and ideas and suggestions, and we’re happy to come up with more.’” […] The Illinois REALTORS – the top outside group pushing Pritzker’s plan – blasted the IML’s plan as a “wish-list of anti-real estate measures,” specifically targeting provisions capping real estate commissions, controls on rental charges and overriding Homeowners Association agreements.

* Governor’s Office | Response to IML: “A coordinated, statewide approach is necessary to solve the housing affordability crisis. The current status quo has only deepened the housing shortage, so the time for action is now. BUILD doesn’t eliminate local control — it establishes minimum expectations and sets the floor in a coordinated way to meet every locality’s housing needs, all while ensuring the enhancement and preservation of each town’s character. Governor Pritzker’s BUILD plan comprehensively addresses Illinois’ housing affordability crisis by removing unnecessary barriers to development and creating clear, pathways for the construction of accessible, affordable homes.”

*** Chicago ***

* ABC Chicago | Chicago Mayor Johnson answers wide range of questions as part of ABC7 town hall: As for large teen gatherings that have turned destructive, the mayor said police are managing to prevent most of them before they happen. “In fact, we took one step further. There was a young person who was calling for these gatherings and these trends. We hired that young person, and now that young person is working with us to create safer spaces so that young people don’t feel that their only form of entertainment is reckless and dangerous behavior,” Johnson said.

* Crain’s | Supreme Court won’t block Chicago’s suit over guns tied to crime scenes: The justices denied without comment or dissent the appeal by Westforth Sports, whose retail location is about 10 miles from the Illinois border. The action allows the city to proceed with its suit alleging that Westforth deliberately sold guns to “straw purchasers” — people who bought guns for others who were likely criminals or otherwise barred from firearms purchases. The suit also alleges Westforth was aware its guns were being trafficked into Chicago.

* NPR Illinois | Illinois Innocence Project client released from prison: He walked out of Dixon Correctional Center Friday after 39 years after serving a long prison sentence despite decades of proclaiming his innocence. He immediately returned to his childhood home to see his mom, who never gave up on her dream he would one day return. […] Michael was a high school student preparing for his senior year at Evanston Township High School when his nightmare began. He was arrested at his home for the murder of a Chicago woman. In August 1987, a grand jury indicted Daniels on three counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. The IIP said getting home now is especially timely and poignant for Daniels because his mother, now 80, has been his most steadfast supporter.

* Sun-Times | Chicago launches e-scooter safety campaign in wake of recent scooter deaths: Critics have voiced safety concerns over the e-scooters as riders faced injuries varying from bumps and bruises to life-altering — and sometimes fatal — injuries. With no official citywide tally of e-scooter related deaths and injuries, advocates noted a combination of responsibility from riders and e-scooter organizations and enforcement from police would help prevent crashes.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Pro-Trump group tests officials’ patience with public testimony and triggers legal tangles: In a statement, [Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps] said she should not have to “face harassment or intimidation simply for doing the work my community entrusted me to do,” and that groups like Chicago Flips Red cross “the line from civic engagement into conduct that is disruptive, disrespectful, and, at times, threatening.

Especially in a moment where threats against elected officials have escalated — and in some cases have turned deadly — we must be clear: no one should have to serve under fear for their safety or their life.” The situation involving Stamps is noteworthy in part because her mother, Marion Nzinga Stamps, was a passionate community activist at the Cabrini-Green public housing complex who was known to confront officials to press her case. Mayor Richard M. Daley once skipped his own news conference on job creation rather than face her.

* Evanston Now | D65 needs more money to finish Foster: Her memo says that there are about $10.3 million in remaining obligations and $5.5 million in available lease certificate. That leaves about $4.8 million in “estimated additional funding need[ed].” D65 had hoped to use proceeds from the sale of the soon-to-be-closed Bessie Rhodes school building and property, but as with so much in this project, that’s not working out quite the way it was first hoped.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Two West Aurora schools to have new principals next school year: Brian Lawson will assume the role of principal at Fearn Elementary School when students return to the classroom for the next school year. Lawson currently serves as principal of Strassburg Elementary in Sauk Village School District 168, where he has led schoolwide instructional improvement efforts, implemented student intervention structures and expanded family and community engagement opportunities, district officials said.

* Daily Herald | Geneva’s historic blacksmith shop gets covered in plastic; city wants it removed: The historic limestone remnant of an 1840s blacksmith shop on the former Mill Race Inn site in Geneva is now entirely covered in a giant sheet of white plastic. The covering is the latest source of friction between the city and Shodeen Development over the latter’s ownership of the former Mill Race Inn property at 4 E. State St. In a response to Shodeen’s action to cover the building on April 23, Geneva Community Development Director David DeGroot directed the developer to put a tarp over the property instead.

*** Downstate ***

* WTVO | SNAP data shows Rockford area remains one of highest‑need regions in northern Illinois: According to IDHS’ February 2026 “SNAP Data by Servicing Office” report, 32,855 households in Winnebago County received SNAP benefits, representing 63,928 people. That is one of the largest SNAP caseloads of any county outside Cook County.

* STLPR | Metro-east nature preserve adds 1,000 acres thanks to conservation groups: With the purchase, the expanded White Rock Nature Preserve near Valmeyer in Monroe County will now be connected to another conservation area, Salt Lick Point Land and Water Reserve, for a total of 2,300 acres between the properties. […] “There aren’t that many places left in Illinois, Missouri or the Midwest in general that are this big where you can achieve such a large conservation and environmental outcome in one single transaction,” said Jim Johannsen, Illinois state director for the Conservation Fund. “But size aside, it’s also just kind of a nexus where so many interesting outdoor values come together.”

* WCIA | Pain at the pump: Gas prices in Central Illinois continue rising: Just three weeks after surpassing $4 per gallon, gas prices in Central Illinois are now approaching $5 per gallon. Another large price increase in the last week has all of the region’s gas stations selling in the upper $4 range. In Champaign-Urbana, GasBuddy’s weekly survey of 79 gas stations in and around Champaign-Urbana found the average price of gas is $4.81 per gallon, 62 cents higher than the average price last week. Most gas stations are priced at $4.79 per gallon, but the most expensive gas is at $4.99 per gallon.

* WSIL | Solar farm coming to Jackson County to power 200+ homes: The Jackson County Board has unanimously approved a new community solar project that will generate electricity for more than 200 homes. The 1.25 MW solar project from Pivot Energy marks the first approval under the county’s solar ordinance enacted in 2025. Pivot Energy, a national renewable energy independent power producer, has been working in Illinois since 2018. The company now has 64 Illinois solar projects in operations or construction, totaling 213 MW.

*** National ***

* NYT | More Than 150 Wind Projects Stall as Pentagon Delays Reviews: The Trump administration is blocking more than 150 onshore wind farms across the United States by delaying military reviews that were once considered routine, according to a leading industry trade group. The delays, which companies said worsened significantly in recent weeks, are the latest escalation in President Trump’s efforts to stop wind power, a technology he detests. Several of the administration’s moves to thwart the construction of wind farms on land and in the ocean have been struck down by courts over the past few months.

* AP | Supreme Court restores access to abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth, mail and pharmacies: The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation. The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week.

* Bloomberg | Trump ends visa freeze that exacerbated foreign doctor shortage: That freeze had blocked visa renewals and work authorization updates for physicians from those countries, many of whom practice in rural and underserved communities where foreign-trained doctors account for a disproportionate share of the workforce. More than 10,000 H-1B physician visa holders and 17,000 J-1 doctors were subject to the hold. The reversal follows sustained pressure from the medical community. The American Medical Association and 53 medical societies wrote to the Department of Homeland Security urging an exemption, arguing physician entry into the US is a matter of national interest. A bipartisan group of 100 lawmakers, led by New York congresspeople Yvette Clarke and Michael Lawler, sent a separate letter to DHS in February.

* AP | California says State Farm broke the law handling insurance claims after 2025 LA wildfires: California’s top insurance regulator says the state is seeking millions of dollars in penalties from State Farm after an investigation found the insurance company violated state law while handling claims from the 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said Monday that State Farm violated the law hundreds of times. Lara launched the investigation last June after survivors of the Palisades and Eaton fires said that the state’s largest home insurer was delaying and mishandling claims regarding damage to their homes and possible contamination from smoke.