* Chicago Reader…

The explosion of proposed data centers across Illinois has sparked a fierce, bipartisan backlash and even legislation to curb the long-lasting effects on people’s air quality, water quality, and energy bills. In town halls from Pekin to Joliet to Chicago’s southeast side, people have packed rooms and spent hours discussing the impact of potential developments on their communities. As residents grapple with project proposals, it’s never been more important to understand the impact of data centers. […]

“What makes the data center problem unique is the fact that these facilities are being built in a specific location, or specific locations, and they are being built en masse,” said Yury Dvorkin, an engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University. “[If] you put a lot of electricity demand in a very constrained location, what happens is that it’s harder for the grid to deliver power in that specific location.”

In many cases, hyperscale data centers will actually require more power than currently exists on the grid. Meeting that demand “requires building new generators, building new transmission lines—and we cannot build that fast,” Dvorkin said. “Naturally, when you have an imbalance between the demand and supply, that leads to a price spike. That is something that we’ve been observing for a while now.” […]

Another thing to consider, said Moskowitz, is that “ComEd customers aren’t just paying for the electricity that we’re using. We are also paying for the electricity that we could be using.”

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Unemployment rising throughout Illinois: Unemployment continues to rise faster than the national average in Illinois and was up 0.5 points in March over the last year. The rate has increased in all metro areas and only three areas have recorded new job growth compared to March 2025. The state overall has also lost nonfarm jobs since then.

* Capitol News Illinois | As Illinoisans lose federal food assistance, independent grocers face debt, store closure: Many independent grocery stores struggle to make substantial profits, with high overhead costs and inconsistent consumer habits. And when consumers’ spending power is limited, like when they lose SNAP benefits, local businesses feel the effects of their limited spending. During the federal shutdown last fall, when some SNAP recipients didn’t receive their November benefits, Norrenberns said he knew some business owners who saw the effects of that. “They did what they had to to get by,” Norrenberns said. “I think there’s a lot of people that are struggling with like, credit card debt, you know. It’s like, hey, we can’t wait. What else do we do?”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | Battle continues over Illinois law to limit credit card fees: A battle over credit card transaction fees continues after a federal appeals court on Friday sent the case about a new Illinois law seeking to limit so-called swipe fees back to District Court. When customers use credit cards, businesses typically pay credit card companies an interchange fee on each transaction, including sales tax and workers’ tips, that ranges from about 2% to 4%.

* NBC Chicago | ‘Credit Card Chaos?’ Why ads are targeting an Illinois bill aimed at swipe fees: protecting merchants from having to pay interchange fees on sales taxes and gratuities, but the law as written would require merchants to transmit detailed tax and gratuity data during payment authorization, and would also require merchants to retroactively recover interchange fees. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association and other lobbying groups have contested those arguments, saying they’re based on scare tactics and that software upgrades, similar to those implemented when debit and credit cards were required by law to utilize chip technology, would be all that’s needed to make the law workable.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | City Lawyers Fought — And Won — Lawsuit Filed by Man Shot Twice by Police. Taxpayers Still Paid $1.37M: Lawyers for the city of Chicago convinced a federal jury in December that a police officer did not violate the civil rights of the unarmed man she shot twice during rush hour inside one of the busiest CTA Red Line train stations in February 2020. But that victory, which came after a court fight that stretched for nearly six years, still cost Chicago taxpayers $1.37 million, according to records obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

* Tribune | Little Italy priest removed by archdiocese for alleged ‘inappropriate conversations’: The Archdiocese of Chicago removed a Little Italy priest accused of “improper and inappropriate conversations and communications” with children and adult women, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, wrote in a Saturday letter. The priest, Rev. Jose Molina, had been serving as the temporary minister at St. Francis of Assisi Parish since August 2025. “We appreciate the courage it takes to step forward and encourage others who believe they have experienced abuse or inappropriate behavior by a member of the clergy, religious or lay employee of the Archdiocese to report it to the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth,” Cupich wrote.

* Block Club | Jim’s Original Leaving Maxwell Street Area After 87 Years, Moving To Pilsen Due To UIC Development: The move will end a nearly 90-year run for the restaurant in the Maxwell Street area. Opened in 1939, the street food staple called the corner of Halsted and Maxwell streets home for over 60 years, anchoring a Maxwell Street neighborhood that was a hub for immigrants and home to a famous outdoor market.

* Sun-Times | Folk singer-songwriter John Prine to be feted with star-studded Chicago tribute: Hosted by actor/musician John C. Reilly, the October concert will bring together a who’s who of Americana music, including Steve Earle, Amos Lee, Josh Ritter, Margo Price and Joy Oladokun. Several acts with Chicago ties will perform including Ratboys, Shemekia Copeland, Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra and Jon Langford.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Chicago Reader | The Cook County sheriff is quietly lobbying the county board to expand surveillance both inside the jail and out on the streets: Neither of the proposed contracts—for BriefCam, an AI surveillance software developed in Israel, or the controversial license plate reader company Flock Safety—was subject to the county’s standard public notice and competitive bidding requirements. Though the terms of the agreements have not yet been publicly released, the full county board could vote on the measures as soon as Thursday. The sheriff’s office claims BriefCam’s AI-powered surveillance camera system will allow officers to identify and respond more quickly to potential drug use in the Cook County jail “by alerting staff based on activity the software identifies from live video streams in real time.” Dart’s office has denied multiple interview requests and declined to provide copies of the proposed agreements or respond to a detailed list of questions.

* Crain’s | Fight over $35 million delays bid to reopen West Suburban Hospital: A court fight over millions of dollars transferred out of West Suburban Medical Center and Weiss Memorial hospital accounts is delaying efforts to reopen the shuttered Oak Park hospital. At a Cook County receivership hearing today, attorneys for the landlord of the two hospitals and their operator, Resilience Healthcare, agreed to exchange records tied to a bank account that allegedly received more than $35 million in operating funds from the hospitals over the past several years.

* Sun-Times | Cook County judge puts off ruling on whether to install special prosecutor to probe Operation Midway Blitz: Prosecutors denied setting any limits for themselves. But Cook County Circuit Judge Erica Reddick posed the question while considering whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate those federal agents — offering possible insight into her thinking. Reddick did not rule Monday on whether to appoint a special prosecutor, despite previously setting that goal for herself. The judge said she now expects to rule on May 21.

* Crain’s | Former Walgreens office site in Deerfield sold for suburban revamp: A local real estate firm paid $13.1 million for a demolished former Walgreens office complex in Deerfield, which it plans to redevelop with a mixed-use project bringing retail, restaurants and other uses to the north suburb. A venture of Buffalo Grove-based Shorewood Development Group bought the vacant 37.5-acre site at 1411-1435 Lake Cook Road last month, according to Illinois property records. The deal came several months after the seller, real estate investment trust Orion Properties, razed a 575,000-square-foot office property on the site that previously housed workspace for Walgreens near its Deerfield headquarters.

* Daily Herald | Harper College marks construction milestone with beam-signing for new Business and Social Sciences Building: “Spaces like the moot courtroom, the Early Childhood Lab School and flexible classrooms will give students hands-on opportunities that prepare them for careers and for transfer. These experiences matter because they help our students see themselves in their future professions.” Funded by the voter-approved 2018 referendum, the $78 million project is part of Harper’s broader campus master plan to modernize facilities and expand opportunities for students and the community.

*** Downstate ***

* Illinois Times | “A lot of things are getting confused”: Van Meter addresses city, county roles in legislation meant to spur downtown development : “A lot of things are getting confused,” Van Meter said. “I think the city misunderstands the city’s role in this project. The city is only being asked to do the things that it would do with any developer who came to town.” Van Meter, a Springfield Republican, acknowledged that some sections of House Bill 910 may be misleading when it comes to the impact on the capital city. Those sections, he said, likely will be clarified before the legislation is passed by both chambers and sent to Gov. JB Pritzker for his signature.

* STLPR | $62M Metro East studio could be filming TV shows by summer 2027: Named Hollywood River Studios for the town where it’s located, the Metro East complex is already under construction and will consist of up to six studios, totaling 140,000 square feet when complete. Developer Chris Breakwell said the St. Louis region has missed out on filmmaking with television shows like HBO’s “DTF St. Louis” and Netflix’s “Ozark” both being filmed in and around Atlanta. “I want to get that stuff filmed in Missouri and Illinois and help change the image of the city,” Breakwell said.

* Capitol City Now | Goodbye, downtown Springfield parking meters: According to a news release, the City of Springfield says it will soon begin removing parking meters from the area, and will provide updates during the removal process. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that the city discontinued requiring the feeding of the meters. “Downtown Springfield, like many downtown areas across the nation, continues to evolve, and the City hopes these improvements encourage more people to come downtown to shop, dine, conduct business, and enjoy the many cultural and entertainment opportunities available throughout the area,” said a news release.

* BND | This metro-east city is one of the ‘safest college towns’ in US, analysis finds: The March 17 analysis “50 Safest College Towns in America for 2026”, from academic rankings company Research.com, named Edwardsville No. 14. The city is home to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and Research.com reported Edwardsville has a population of 26,698, with an overall crime rate of 6.07, a violent crime rate of 0.3 and a property crime rate of 5.77 per 1,000 residents.

*** National ***

* AP | Trump says he’ll move to suspend federal gasoline tax. He can’t do it on his own: The president cannot suspend the federal tax on his own. Congress would have to approve the move. Lawmakers from both parties have pushed for a gas-tax suspension, saying it would provide much-needed relief for families and businesses that rely on their cars and trucks to get to work and school and run everyday errands.

* Miami Herald | Over 100 people get norovirus on cruise ship that left from Fort Lauderdale: The VSP is conducting a field response “for an environmental assessment and outbreak investigation to assist the ship in controlling the outbreak,” according to the CDC. This is not the first time passengers aboard the Caribbean Princess have fallen ill to norovirus. In 2020, over 300 passengers got sick, resulting in the 14-day voyage ending early.

* Bloomberg | United Airlines sponsorship puts Duffy’s TV side gig under scrutiny: Democrats and good-government groups criticized the trip given the sponsorships by companies that have business before Duffy’s agency. Duffy posted on X Saturday, writing that “career ethics and budget officials at the Department of Transportation reviewed and approved” his participation and travel. Duffy added that neither he nor his family received a salary or production royalties from the show and a department spokesperson said the secretary also conducted additional visits touring air traffic control facilities and assessing port infrastructure during travel for the show.

* AP | A real WKRP radio comes to Cincinnati, decades after the sitcom about a fictional station: WKRP isn’t dead — as of Monday, it’s living on the air in Cincinnati. The call letters from the fictional radio station featured in a CBS sitcom were adopted by a trio of real “adult hits” stations in time for Monday’s morning drive, and co-owner Jeff Ziesmann described listeners as “stoked.”