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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, May 15, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Advocates, accusing governor of ‘lack of engagement,’ urge passage of data center regulations by end of May. Capitol News Illinois…
- With less than three weeks left before lawmakers are slated to adjourn, however, it’s unclear whether the wide-ranging bill will come together and whether Gov. JB Pritzker will throw his support behind any specific regulatory proposal. - “We are confused and concerned by the Governor’s lack of engagement on the issue of data centers this spring legislative session,” Kady McFadden, lead lobbyist on behalf of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition that has been behind several recent energy reforms, said in a statement. - Pritzker mentioned data centers in his February State of the State address, calling for PJM Interconnection, the electric grid operator that covers all or part 13 states from Illinois to the East Coast, to require data center developers to pay for and provide their own energy. * Related stories… Sponsored by American Innovators Network
* Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here. * Telegraph | Illinois warns of rising tick activity and disease risk: The best protective measure against tickborne illness is preventing tick bites, no matter where residents are in. IDPH has created an interactive Tickborne Disease Dashboard that documents Illinois counties where different tick species have been confirmed, along with the diseases they may carry. The CDC noted in April that across the United States, visits to emergency rooms for tick bites are higher than normal, according to the CDC’s Tick Bite Tracker. In all regions except the South Central United States, weekly rates of emergency room visits for tick bites are the highest for this time of year since 2017. * Capitol News Illinois | Behind the scenes of Illinois’ AI regulatory negotiations: llinois’ bill would take things a step further than California and New York in at least one regard: requiring that large AI companies annually retain a third party for an independent audit of the mechanisms they have in place to mitigate catastrophic risks. “We need to have outside reporting rather than reporting from within,” said state Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, D-Libertyville, the bill’s sponsor. * Sun-Times | Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover’s bid for freedom is now in Gov. JB Pritzker’s hands: Rev. Michael Pfleger and former Chicago mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green said they’ve lobbied Pritzker to free the onetime gang kingpin. Hoover’s clemency petition poses potential political costs and benefits for the governor as he seeks reelection and mulls a possible run for the presidency. * Center Square | Springfield strains for balanced budget; Illinois revenue forecast shifts down: Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, also brought up a worry she had about the state’s heavy reliance on income from interest to maintain a stable budget. “It’s our job to make sure that we have a sustainable budget moving forward. When I see a bunch of shifting, weakening numbers and only one holding up the fort, I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket,” Ventura said. Clayton Klenke, director of COGFA, said while being heavily reliant on interest rates may look concerning, he does not expect a sharp drop in interest rates, at least in the coming year. * WAND | IL House GOP demand action on bills addressing gas prices, school choice, no tax on tips: Rep. Mike Coffey (R-Springfield) said Illinois should also let families benefit from the federal private school choice scholarship program. “Donors could give up to $1,700 and receive a tax credit of 100% for that expenditure,” Coffey said. “So far 30 states, even the conservative state of New York, have opted in.” * Stand for Children’s latest newsletter includes an Illinois-themed crossword puzzle that’s “somewhat” inspired by the Italian beef state sandwich bill. Click here to check it out. * Crain’s | Johnson pitches city takeover of stadium authority to keep Bears in Chicago: Hoping to keep the Chicago Bears in the city, Mayor Brandon Johnson has floated giving Chicago more control of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, a complicated plan likely to receive significant pushback in Springfield. The discussion is part of the mayor’s broader effort to convince members of the General Assembly to stall or shoot down a megaprojects bill that would help the Bears move to Arlington Heights and creates new tiers of tax subsidies meant to spur development in Chicago. * Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson decries further cuts to CPS in district’s budget plan: Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday condemned further cuts to Chicago Public Schools following the district’s latest proposal to address a yawning budget deficit by eliminating teaching staff, arguing the fate of Black enrollment is at stake. During an interview with the Tribune ahead of his three-year mark in office, the mayor responded to questions on planned cuts to teaching positions in the next school year by saying the nation’s fourth-largest school district needs to spend more, not less. Throughout the sit-down, Johnson also stuck to his talking points on Chicago needing more progressive taxation while continuing to refuse to say if he will run for a second term next year. * Block Club | 3 Years In, Mayor Defends Bike Lanes And Talks CTA Safety — But Is Mum On Reelection: “CTA Non-Congregate Bed Program to serve transit-based unsheltered populations, prioritizing high-need CTA locations such as O’Hare, 95th/Dan Ryan, Howard, Forest Park, the Loop, and bus stops,” reads a bullet point in the plan’s first pillar. Few additional details have been released about the program, but Johnson said he hopes it will be up and running “within the next year” — although he admitted budget shortfalls could delay it further. “It could take longer. Because there are some funding challenges that we have,” he said, before reiterating his longstanding call for the state legislature to pass “progressive revenue” measures like a millionaire’s tax. * Tribune | Chicago ‘Dreamers’ say they’re fearful of job loss and deportations: More than 260 “Dreamers,” or children who were brought to the U.S. at a young age and stayed under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, were arrested by the Department of Homeland Security in 2025, according to a Feb.11 letter from former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to Durbin, which he referenced in the May 12 focus hearing. Of those individuals, at least 86 were deported from the U.S. to countries where the “Dreamers,” now adults, may have no familiarity. In the letter, Noem said 241 of them had criminal histories, which the Tribune was unable to verify. * ABC Chicago | Chicago Fire Department member dies during training exercise on North Side, CFD says: “The Chicago Fire Department mourns the loss of a 30-year member who died today during a training exercise,” a statement read. “A procession to the Medical Examiner’s Office is pending.” […] The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the fallen firefighter as 61-year-old Steven Decker. * Daily Southtown | South suburban Black leaders protest redistricting in Southern states, urge higher voter turnout: Guided by Cook County Commissioner Kisha McCaskill, the leaders pointed to low voter turnout numbers in the south suburbs and urged the audience to mobilize neighbors, clergy and even the people sitting around their dinner tables to vote in the November midterm elections. “A voteless people is a hopeless people,” repeated several speakers, quoting a phrase used to mobilize Black voters in the 1930s. Despite Illinois being a supermajority Democratic state, officials, including former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., said they worry the Supreme Court decision could affect Illinois, as the protections that informed the state’s existing voting map are formally gone. * Daily Herald | ‘It’s so pervasive’: Why Cook sheriff is cracking down on expressway shoulder drivers: Dart’s office is using the new, $11 million helicopter added to its fleet last year to identify, track down and ticket drivers using the shoulders to avoid backups on Chicago-area expressways. “You’d have to be an idiot not to know how dangerous it is,” Dart told us Thursday. “And yet it’s so pervasive.” * Daily Herald | ‘Something lasting’: Buffalo Grove developer has big plans for former Walgreens HQ: Shorewood first engaged with Orion about the property roughly a year ago. Orion set the table by demolishing the six office buildings on the campus. “They were a constructive seller — they took the necessary step of demolishing the existing buildings to get the site to a marketable stage, which made the acquisition cleaner,” Schriber said. “We commend Orion for that. It was a big reason we were able to close as quickly as we did.” * WGLT | Bloomington to consider temporary moratorium on data centers: “To allow time for a more comprehensive review process, staff is going to propose a temporary moratorium on applications for hyperscale data centers while updated regulations are considered,” City Manager Jeff Jurgens said in a news release. Mayor Dan Brady said a moratorium, if approved, would give the city time to review standards and gather more public feedback before putting permanent rules in place. * WICS | Logan County recommends another data center moratorium, could kill project as a result: Logan County’s zoning committee is recommending a new moratorium for data centers. This follows months of debate and discussion, and a previous 60-day moratorium. The committee voted 3 to 2, recommending a 90-day moratorium be imposed on data center construction. The vote came after two hours of debate between potential developer Hut 8, committee members, and the public. * Illinois Times | Wyndham plywood gets a paint job: More than six months after the Wyndham Springfield City Centre Hotel had its first-floor windows boarded, city workers began painting those coverings to keep the property compliant with a city ordinance. David Fuchs, director of Public Works, told Illinois Times the city had asked the Wyndham owner to paint the coverings, as required by the city’s ordinance requiring property owners to maintain enclosures of vacant buildings, but the owner had not complied. Now, the city is stepping in and plans to bill the owner for the work completed, Fuchs said. He was unsure how much the city would ultimately charge as city workers were still painting when Fuchs responded to IT on May 14, the day the work began. * WGLT | Divided McLean County Board rejects pay raise for members: The proposal would have increased a member’s salary to $6,400 in 2029 and 2030. The chairman’s pay would have increased from $19,522 to $25,574 in those same years. Administrator Cassie Taylor said in Central Illinois, county board member salaries range from $2,400 in Tazewell County to $11,006 in Peoria County. Champaign County, meanwhile, pays $60 a meeting, and Kankakee County members make $85 per meeting. * WGLT | A new Route 66 book shares stories from forgotten women who shaped the Mother Road: Illinois author and Route 66 historian Cheryl Eichar Jett’s latest book, Aprons Away: Women’s Work on Route 66, documents the roles women have played along the highway’s 2,448-mile stretch—from Chicago to Los Angeles—over the past century. […] Jett said the idea for a book about women’s roles in Route 66 grew out of a pattern she noticed while researching and traveling the famous highway. “Many of the women’s stories along Route 66 were unrecognized or forgotten,” Jett said in and interview for WGLT’s Sound Ideas. * WICS | Decatur police release body camera footage in crossbow incident; Officers cleared of criminal charges: The Illinois State Police released body camera footage linked to the man accused of pointing a crossbow at Decatur police. […] “Officers secured the perimeter of the building, and a short time later, made entry,” Allen said. “Once inside, the officers encountered an armed subject. The subject presented a crossbow in a shoulder ready type position pointed at the officers.” According to the Macon County State’s Attorney’s Office, the officers will not face criminal charges. The state’s attorney said the officers who responded to the incident acted lawfully. * MediaITE | Taxpayers Have Coughed Up $550,000 in Sexual Harassment Settlements for Members of Congress, CNN Reports: “In its initial production to Congress, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights had missed a $220,0000 payment on behalf of former Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in 2021. The payment marks the single biggest congressional sexual harassment settlement known to date and nearly doubles the tax-payer funded total for such cases disclosed last week. Hastings previously called the allegations ‘ludicrous,’” Grayer reported. * NBC | Grocery prices jumped more in April than they did in nearly four years: Driving that increase were substantial price hikes for things like fresh veggies. On an annualized basis, fresh vegetable prices are more than 44% higher today than they were three months ago. Other basic necessities like bread and milk have risen by a more modest 8% and 5% over that same time period, respectively. * The Guardian | Illinois Knight Rider car framed for speeding in New York City: A replica of the talking car Kitt from the 1980s US television action series Knight Rider for years has been parked in a museum about an hour’s drive north of Chicago, so how did it get a speeding ticket in New York City? That is the question the Volo Museum is asking after it says it was recently mailed a $50 fine by New York City for a violation caught by a traffic camera, alleging that its Knight Industries Two Thousand – Kitt for short and a black Pontiac Trans Am – got busted going 9mph over the speed limit in a 25mph zone on 22 April. * AP | Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill while lawsuit plays out : The court’s order allows women seeking abortions to continue obtaining the drug, mifepristone, at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Access is likely to remain uninterrupted at least into next year as the case plays out, including a potential appeal to the high court.
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