* Diesel prices now averaging $6…

Soon to peak- diesel prices in the Great Lakes (MI, IN, OH, IL, WI) will be peaking in the next couple days before starting to decline as refinery restarts lead to relief. For now, NEW RECORDS set today:
MI $6.215/gal
IN $6.179
OH $6.161
IL $6.150
WI $5.872 (yesterday)

— Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) May 14, 2026

* Crain’s…

Illinois Wesleyan University, a small liberal arts school in Bloomington, is making a big bet on quantum, offering an undergraduate degree in an emerging technology that’s suddenly attracting a lot of attention.

It’s the latest school to offer a formal quantum education program, joining a roster that includes City Colleges University of Chicago and Chicago State University, as well as University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University. […]

Illinois Wesleyan received a $3.5 million gift from board member Ann Fisher and her husband, Alan, a technology entrepreneur, to launch the Fisher Center for Interdisciplinary Quantum Science & Engineering.

“If people think AI is big, quantum is bigger,” says Sheahon Zenger, the university’s president.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press release | G-PAC applauds Cook County Board vote urging lawmakers to act on DIY Machine Guns: The Gun Violence Prevention PAC of Illinois (G-PAC), the state’s leading gun violence prevention organization, applauded the Cook County Board of Commissioners for voting today to urge the General Assembly to pass the Responsible Gun Manufacturing Act. Sponsored by Rep. Justin Slaughter and Sen. Celina Villanueva, House Bill 4471/Senate Bill 2801 will address the growing public safety threat of do-it-yourself machine guns. […] “We are so grateful to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for their support in urging the General Assembly to pass the Responsible Gun Manufacturing Act,” said Kathleen Sances, G-PAC President and CEO. “This legislation goes to the root of the problem by holding the gun industry accountable for making a product that is easily made into a weapon of war. Just as we hold other companies responsible for their products, gun manufacturers should be held accountable when their product has extremely deadly consequences on American lives.”

* WCIA | Illinois lawmakers advance bill to help consumers get cash back on returns: State Senator Rachel Ventura said House Bill 4044 would prohibit retailers from requiring that people accept store credit instead of a refund on unopened or unused products. Eligible products include any machine, appliance, clothing or similar product that was purchased for personal, family or household purpose, the bill reads. […] House Bill 4044 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

* Axios | Illinois bill targets privacy for abortion care records: Lawmakers have had extensive conversations with health care providers about potential risks associated with segregating information about past abortion care, state Rep. Mary Beth Canty tells Axios. Canty says that post-abortion health issues present like — and can be treated as — a miscarriage, so patients wouldn’t feel forced to share that they received an abortion to get the treatment they needed.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Pay $13M to Man Who Spent 26 Years in Prison After Being Wrongfully Convicted, City Lawyers Recommend: Twenty-four Black men have been exonerated after being convicted based on evidence developed by former Chicago Police detectives James Halloran, Kenneth Boudreau, Michael Kill, William Foley, James O’Brien and James Clancy. All were trained by Burge who tortured and beat more than 100 Black men, from the 1970s to the 1990s, city officials have acknowledged.

* WTTW | City Lawyers Recommend Paying $3.5M to Family of Little Village Vendor Killed by Driver Being Chased by Police: Jose Almanza-Martinez, 67, died in the crash that ended the chase on Aug. 2, 2020, near 26th Street and Pulaski Road, records show. Almanza-Martinez sold garapiñados — caramelized peanuts and pecans — for 25 years outside a Little Village restaurant, as first reported by the Chicago Tribune. Almanza-Martinez, who was married and had two adult sons at the time of his death, was walking to a nearby drugstore when he was struck and killed, according to the lawsuit filed by his family.

* Tribune | Ald. Jim Gardiner sues Chicago ethics watchdogs for defamation, wants $1 million: Gardiner sued the city, the Board of Ethics, the Office of the Inspector General and former Inspector General Deborah Witzburg in Cook County court Monday. He is seeking $1 million. He argued in the suit that a series of investigations into allegations he used city resources to retaliate against a constituent were a malicious ploy “to harass, punish, and drive him out of elected office.” The Ethics Board fined Gardiner $20,000 in 2023 for his conduct, only to later clear him and drop the case.

* Tribune | City wrongly awarded lucrative CPD body-removal contract to small funeral home, suit claims: The lawsuit alleges the city terminated its contract with Allied more than a month before it was set to expire. Further, Allied claims the city awarded the contract to Wallace-Harrison despite “obvious” failings in its bid, including a skeleton crew staff, a failure to hold insurance and non-compliance with city rules governing women- and minority-owned businesses. Allied alleged its contract with the city lasted until mid-August 2025, but Allied was “prevented” from performing body removal services after July 1.

* Crain’s | Developers seek $50M TIF loan for Loop conversion to new W hotel: The local developers getting a $40 million city subsidy to turn part of a Loop office building into apartments are now seeking a $50 million loan from taxpayers to convert the rest of it into a new 308-room W hotel. The Chicago Community Development Commission this week approved a redevelopment agreement for a $50 million tax-increment financing loan to back the proposed office-to-hotel project at 111 W. Monroe St. The TIF money would help a joint venture of Chicago-based Prime Group and Capri Investment Group finance their planned $166.5 million transformation of the former BMO Harris Bank building’s lower 10 floors and penthouse level.

* Block Club | South Chicago’s Only Indoor Pool, Closed Since 2017, Could Soon Reopen: Leaders at the forthcoming Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park and P33, a nonprofit aiming to drive global technology and innovation leadership in the city, ignited efforts this month to revive the dilapidated indoor pool at South Chicago’s Salud Center, 3039 E. 91st St. The century-old pool has been closed since 2017, when previous building owners YMCA shut down the South Chicago hub. It was the only indoor pool within miles of the community.

* Block Club | Blue Island Data Center Planners Get Booed By Residents: A proposal to build a data center just over the border from Morgan Park was met with boos during a Blue Island City Council meeting Tuesday night. No preliminary concept for a data center has been submitted to the suburb after city officials announced the plan in April, which was initially met with concerns from residents across the South Side. But on Tuesday, a representative from the Washington-based owners of the land, Builders Capital, addressed the council during a public comment session and said a data center was the only financially viable plan for the site, which formerly housed MetroSouth Medical Center, 12935 Gregory St.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Still no home for elm tree, plaque in celebration of America’s 250th, as Kane board votes down courthouse site: With the United States’ 250th birthday less than two months away, one part of Kane County’s celebration still remains undecided: where the county will put an elm tree and a plaque recognizing several Revolutionary War patriots buried in the county, donated by the local Daughters of the American Revolution. On Tuesday, at its monthly meeting, the Kane County Board shot down a proposal to build a “Declaration Square” in honor of America’s 250th behind the county courthouse site in Geneva, leaving the tree and plaque still without a permanent home in the county. The county accepted the historical marker and “Liberty Tree” from the Elias Kent Kane Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, meant to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday, in November.

* WTTW | Oh Baby, What a Surprise! Bison Calf Unexpectedly Born to New Herd in Kane County: Well, the secret is out. On May 9, one of the herd’s females gave birth to a calf, the first baby bison born on tallgrass prairie in the county in 200 years, officials estimate. “These things aren’t always planned, as you can imagine,” said Laurie Metanchuk, spokesperson for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol City Now | Central Illinois shoppers feeling the pinch of rising costs: Jacob Garecht, a Decatur resident, said he’s seen a lot of price hikes on beef and other meats. As gas prices near $5.00 a gallon in central Illinois, he’s focusing on driving less to save money. “There’s no way around it, and it just seems like it’s just going up and up and up,” Garecht said. “Grocery prices are reflected in that as well. What used to cost maybe $100 for a full cart. Now you’re seeing it’s like 150.”

* WAND | Fuyao Glass announces major expansion proposal in Decatur: Fuyao Glass announced a major expansion proposal that representatives said will make it one of the largest glass producers. Rick Price, the Human Resources Vice President of Fuyao Glass Illinois, announced the plan during the Decatur Regional Chamber of Commerce State of the Community luncheon Thursday. Price said pending federal approval, the facility will be built right next to the current facility in Mt. Zion. It will be a duplicate facility with brand new, up-to-date technology. According to Price, the new facility would create 200 new jobs, including jobs that come from construction.

* WAND | Logan County approves 90-day moratorium on large data centers amid resident concerns: The Logan County Zoning Board has voted to approve a 90-day moratorium on large data centers in the county. Some county residents are concerned that data centers could strain the power grid, water supply and farmland. “Thirty to 50 years from now, the decisions they make are going to affect the young children and the young adults that are raising those children now and grandchildren,” resident Tonjia Ritchie said. Many called for a year-long moratorium. However, the Zoning and Economic Development Chairman, Dale Nelson, said the county will lose the deal with Hut 8 if it waits too long, something he said they cannot afford.

* BND | If you drank beer, he probably delivered it. Remembering Bob Fritz: His son, Robert L. Fritz, later took over the business, moved it to Belleville, modernized with the times, expanded brands and territory and turned Robert “Chick” Fritz, Inc. into one of the largest beer distributors in Illinois south of Chicago. Known as “Chick” like his father, Bob Fritz died April 28 at age 86. He had never fully recovered from a fall in January, according to his son, Robert G. “Bobby” Fritz, who serves as company president. But he was working several days a week, talking to customers and salesmen, making good on the company’s tagline, “Your friendly distributor.”

*** National ***

* AP | Trump has hindered offshore wind while China and other countries invest heavily: There are more than 40 federal offshore wind leases. The Trump administration is buying some leases back, giving payouts to energy companies to walk away from offshore wind. Trump has erected other roadblocks for the industry, while going all-in on fossil fuels. […] China added 6.6 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity in 2025, according to GWEC. China’s total offshore wind capacity stood at 48.4 gigawatts by the end of 2025, the group said.

* NYT | Green Card Holders Targeted for Deportation by New ‘Removal Apparatus’: The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to deport at least 50 green card holders through a new unit dedicated to revetting thousands of immigrants with permanent residency across the country, according to internal data obtained by The New York Times. Those cases represent a small fraction of the total number of green card holders who have been reviewed so far. About 2,890 cases had been reviewed or were still being assessed as of May 7. Eighty percent of those cases were deemed as requiring “no further action.” More than 500 green card holders were still under review.