* Tribune…

Immigration advocacy groups on Wednesday filed tort claims against the Department of Homeland Security alleging 18 people were illegally arrested and brutalized in a controversial overnight raid in a South Shore apartment building during Operation Midway Blitz last fall.

The tort claims, a required prerequisite to a lawsuit against the federal government, foreshadow what would be the first litigation filed in connection with the military-style immigration enforcement raid at 7500 S. South Shore Dr. that unfolded in the middle of the night with helicopters, snipers and bright spotlights. […]

“Amidst the chaos, a DHS-hired camera crew and drones followed agents and filmed the operation inside and outside the building; footage was later released on DHS’ social media accounts as promotional content,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a news release.

The claims, filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, were made on behalf of 18 plaintiffs by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, MacArthur Justice Center, the Immigration Clinic of University of Chicago, and the National Immigrant Justice Center.

The filings document the first-hand experiences of several people who were arrested that day.

* Center Square…

The Illinois Senate has approved legislation to regulate auto insurance rates, but a former Illinois Department of Insurance director says the proposal will result in higher premiums.

After adding a second amendment to Senate Bill 714 on Wednesday, state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, said his legislation prohibits auto insurance rates from being excessive or discriminatory.

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office expressed support for the bill at a Senate Insurance Committee hearing on Tuesday. […]

The measure passed by a vote of 42-14 and now goes to the Illinois House.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | Gov. Pritzker, Mayor Johnson pitch Chicago to once again host Democratic National Convention: The Chicago 2028 Host Committee is wrapping up a three-day visit to Chicago, which included a site visit to the United Center — where the 2024 DNC took place — as well as Chicago’s 360 Observation Deck, an architectural boat tour and a pre-public visit to the Obama Presidential Center, which opens to the public on Juneteenth. DNC Chair Ken Martin appeared with Pritzker and Johnson for a Wednesday morning press conference, but jetted off before taking questions. It’s unclear whether the committee might favor another Democratic city for political reasons. Martin said the process is “a deliberative one,” and called it “an important decision.” Martin said he’s laser-focused on the midterm elections, but would then switch gears to the convention.

* Fox Chicago | Illinois lawmakers face budget showdown as tax, education and Bears stadium debates heat up: Capitol News Illinois reporter Ben Szalinski breaks down the final days of budget negotiations in Springfield, including affordability proposals, education funding fights, corporate tax breaks and the latest on Bears stadium talks.

* WTTW | Chicago Board of Education Members Call on Springfield to Back Students Over Bears Stadium: Members of Chicago’s Board of Education are calling on state lawmakers to step up funding for Chicago Public Schools as the cash-strapped district faces impending staff cuts to fill a $732 million budget gap. Board Vice President Angel Velez and five other members called on Illinois legislators to prioritize students over a new stadium for the Chicago Bears and the pending megaprojects bill, saying the cuts announced this week threaten to “devastate classrooms.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson expands alternate response effort for mental health emergencies: Every one of Chicago’s 22’s police districts will have access to an alternate response team to assist non-violent people with mental health challenges, under a long-awaited expansion unveiled Wednesday that may or may not last. For now, Mayor Brandon Johnson is using $31 million from the final chunk of federal stimulus funding delivered to Chicago during the pandemic to check another key item off his progressive to-do list.

* Sun-Times | City Council members want Johnson to tackle replacing ShotSpotter: Opposition alderpersons hoped to learn why it’s taking Mayor Brandon Johnson so long to find a replacement for gunshot detection technology after he canceled the ShotSpotter contract shortly after taking office. But Chief Procurement Officer Sharla Roberts and a pair of deputies refused to answer most questions, fearing it would compromise an “open procurement process.”

* NBC Chicago | NBC 5 exclusive: Chicago mayor to travel to Rome to meet with Pope this month: It was not immediately clear what Johnson plans to discuss in his meeting, but Chicago’s mayor is already thinking about what he plans to bring with him. “It seems like he’s had it all. He’s had hot dogs and Italian beef, he’s got his Nike’s … I’m going to be honest with you. You know what I’m going to bring to him? I’m going to bring him a Cubs hat,” Johnson said. “I’m not sure if he’s going to wear it, but I’m going to bring the one.”

* Nadig Newspapers | 45th Ward alderman Gardiner sues city for more than $1 million; says he was wrongly accused, blames IG office for withholding evidence in ethics case: The lawsuit alleges that city agencies drummed up false charges against him to damage his reputation with voters and “drive him out of elected office.” It also claims that evidence which cleared him of wrongdoing was withheld by the city Office of Inspector General. The Chicago Board of Ethics eventually reversed course and dropped fines against the alderman last year and accepted an appeals hearings officer’s conclusion that he did not commit ethics violations regarding the weed tickets.

* Sun-Times | CTA touts drop in serious crime 2 months into security surge — but violent attacks remain at historic high: Two months into its security surge, CTA leadership boasted Wednesday that violent crime is decreasing on public transit. […] The largest drops in violent crime have been on trains and buses, where police statistics show there has been a 30% drop over last year through May 10.

* Block Club | Reconstruction Of 4 Montrose Harbor Bridges Nearly Finished: Major construction will be done at the end of May, and the pedestrian and bike paths near the bridges are expected to reopen then, a spokesperson for the transportation department said. The bridges weren’t closed to car traffic outside of a two-week period this spring for each bridge, the department said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘It does send a message’: Residents turn up heat on Palatine to raise Pride flag: Residents continued to press Palatine village council members this week to approve flying the Pride Flag at village hall during June, which is Pride Month. But other residents at Monday’s village council meeting also spoke out against flying the flag. Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz has stated his opposition to flying the flag, stating the village is not interested in getting involved in a political fight. “We need to show others that Palatine is a community that supports all of its residents and is a safe place to live,” said Paul Dombrowski, a retired teacher in Palatine Township Elementary School District 15 who has been living with his husband in Palatine for 28 years.

* WTTW | Investigation Finds Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Objects to 4 of 5 Petitions for Certificates of Innocence: “When we dug into the court record, what we found was a night-and-day change between how former State’s Attorney Kim Foxx handled these things and how Eileen O’Neil Burke handles them,” said Dan Hinkel, a senior reporter at Injustice Watch and author of the investigation. “Burke has objected to more (petitions) in a year and a half than Kim Foxx objected to in her entire second term.”

* Unraveled | Feds “conducting surveillance” at domestic violence courthouse, internal documents show: Federal immigration agents have appeared at or near Cook County courthouses on over two dozen occasions since the end of February and early May, according to data provided to Unraveled by the Cook County Public Defender’s Office—and their visits have continued into this week. At least 10 visits have resulted in arrests, during which the Public Defender’s Office reported agents taking at least 12 people, possibly more.

* Daily Herald | Aircraft strikes sign at DuPage Airport, causing fuel leak: The aircraft could not achieve the needed speed for takeoff, the West Chicago Fire Protection District said in a Facebook post. The pilot tried to bring the aircraft to a stop, but it overran the end of Runway 33 and continued into a grassy area. While in the grass, the aircraft hit a sign and came to a stop shortly after the collision, which caused a fuel leak in the left wing. Three people were on board, and all three got out of the aircraft without any injuries, the post stated.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Hollywood Casino Aurora announces first acts at new location including X Ambassadors, Marshall Tucker Band: The first act, the multi-platinum trio X Ambassadors, is planned to take place at the new Hollywood Casino Aurora event center on July 11, the company announced on Tuesday. Officials said that other acts, from a leading band of the ’70s Southern rock movement to an international stand-up comedian, are planned to follow. “Hollywood Aurora is thrilled to unveil its initial entertainment lineup featuring world-renowned acts that will headline our stage this summer and beyond, ” Greg Moore, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino Aurora, said in a news release. “The event center at the all-new property is an exciting new feature to attract visitors from across the region to enjoy all that Aurora has to offer.”

* Daily Herald | ‘It’s like the Super Bowl’: Lilac Time in Lombard culminates in parade on Sunday: “It is very much an identity. People are very proud of living in Lombard. They’re very proud of living in the Lilac Village,” said Alison Costanzo, the executive director of the Lombard Historical Society. “Some people might say it’s hokey, but I don’t know, for a town that’s now 45,000 people, the fact that there is still very much this identity to the festival is pretty special.”

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | School board moves to fire Carterville coach charged with criminal sexual abuse: The Carterville School Board voted Tuesday night to begin the process of firing John “Jake” Wakey, the Carterville High School assistant football coach and teacher who is charged with nine counts of sexual abuse against students, including members of the football team. The decision came during a special meeting five days after Wakey’s arrest. According to dismissal documents obtained by the Daily Egyptian, the board concluded that Wakey engaged in “unprofessional, unacceptable, and immoral conduct,” demonstrated a “consistent pattern” of inappropriate communication with students and was “not qualified to teach.”

* Muddy River News | Adams County Board raises salaries for County Clerk/Recorder and Treasurer: The proposed ordinance would raise the county clerk and recorder salary to $109,663 and the county treasurer salary to $82,239 — figures based on the 75th percentile average for similarly sized Illinois counties. The salaries will also have 3% cost of living increases in each of the next four years. Austin said Adams County ranks 24th in population among Illinois’ 102 counties and that officials used salary data from comparable counties to determine the proposed pay levels.

* IPM News | Urbana appoints new fire chief: Doggett previously served with the Urbana Fire Department for 19 years, including as an arson investigator, the city said in an announcement. He represented employees for seven years as president of the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters and has served as a field staff instructor at the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute.

* WCIA | Arthur Freedom Celebration adding 250 fireballs to July 4th display: “The last 20 years of working on fireballs, I was working towards this one moment, you know, the 250th birthday of America,” Schlabach said. “I thought we need 250 fireballs, so that was probably a year and a half ago I started thinking about that.” He started working on the plan immediately after last year’s display. “I didn’t stop. I just went straight into this and developing a new fireball,” he said.

*** National ***

* CBS | Trump administration pauses Medicare enrollments for hospice providers amid fraud investigations: “There will be no new hospices or home health care open in this country,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in a press conference on Wednesday alongside Vice President JD Vance. “If you have the program now, you can keep it. You can go to ones that already exist. We’re not taking away any services. But there will be no new ones, licenses granted, until we can figure out a better way of working across government.”

* Politico | 10,000 rulings: The courts’ overwhelming rebuke of Trump’s ICE policies: More than 10,000 times, judges have said those detentions, typically carried out with no opportunity for detainees to plead their case, were illegal. That’s roughly 90 percent of all cases — a staggering rejection of a core piece of Trump’s immigration agenda.

* NBC | Supreme Court faces new criticism for redistricting decision so close to the 2026 elections: The Supreme Court often relies on a 2006 ruling called Purcell v. Gonzalez, which gave rise to a term now known as the “Purcell principle” that urges judges to show restraint ahead of an election. In that case, the court blocked a ruling that prevented Arizona from implementing a photo ID requirement for voter registration. […] Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissenting in the Louisiana case, pointedly referenced “the so-called Purcell principle” as a reason not to intervene.