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The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 just broke the caps in the Illinois secretary of state race by spending $255,000 on advertising through its independent expenditure PAC supporting Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.

The ad spend with Panache Strategies is large enough to lift contribution limits for all candidates in the race and open the door to unlimited donations for Giannoulias’ reelection campaign, even though he is expected to breeze by little-known Republican challenger Diane Harris.

A similar $255,000 contribution via Local 150 was made during Giannoulias’ primary campaign, despite the absence of any serious opposition then, too. […]

Under Illinois law, Giannoulias could transfer money raised for his secretary of state campaign into a potential mayoral campaign. Breaking the caps now gives him the ability to collect much larger checks should he decide to make a run for City Hall.

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois’ abortion landscape continues to evolve amid persistent growth in demand: The Chicago Abortion Fund, which provides financial, logistical and material assistance to abortion seekers, is the largest of its kind in the nation. Since June 2022, the fund has assisted more than 60,000 callers and distributed more than $25 million in direct support. In 2025, about 13,760 people, or 43% of the nearly 32,000 people who came to Illinois from out-of-state, were given direct support from the fund, an increase from the 28% of callers who received that level of support in 2024, according to data released by the group.

* Tribune | Workers plan to strike at six Illinois Prime Healthcare hospitals: The union members include workers who maintain HVAC systems, plumbing and other systems, according to the union, and they work across six hospitals: Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago; Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Chicago; Holy Family Medical Center in Des Plaines; Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago; Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston; and Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin. Saint Elizabeth is closed, but workers still maintain the building, according to a union spokesperson. The strike comes after the union filed 10 unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this month against Prime hospitals and MedSpace Services, which is a subsidiary of Prime Healthcare Management, Inc.

* Capitol News Illinois | ‘A Legacy Brand Sunset’: Illinois Radio Stations Reckon With CBS News Radio’s Shutdown: In Chicago, WBBM Newsradio was among the Audacy stations left searching for a replacement after CBS News Radio announced it would end its services. As late as April, it was unclear what would fill the gap, until the station switched to ABC News Radio one day before CBS News Radio went silent, according to the Chicago Tribune. For some downstate Illinois stations, however, the switch came seamlessly. Tammy Sondgeroth, general manager of NRG Media Ottawa, which operates WCMY, said the station moved to NBC News Radio almost immediately after learning of the closure.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Payments Dive | Buy now, pay later groups ‘neutral’ on Illinois bill : The Illinois bill “is probably an indication of growing interest in states picking up from where the CFPB has backtracked,” Saunders said Monday in an interview. Under the law, BNPL players operating in Illinois would be licensed and overseen by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The measure – which defines a BNPL loan as one with a term of 120 days or less – also mandates a dispute resolution process and refunds for consumers.

* WGN | Illinois Secretary of State announces more than $27M in grants to libraries across state: The Secretary of State’s office is awarding more than $22.6 million through its annual Public Library Per Capita and Equalization Aid Grant programs, which represents a 15% increase over last year’s grants. A total of 640 public libraries in Illinois will receive $20.6 million in Per Capita Grants to support books and multilingual materials, internet access, digital resources, staffing, community programming and facility improvements. Funding amounts were calculated according to a formula based on the population of each community.

* Capitol City Now | Illinois junk fees ban arrives on Pritzker’s desk: The plan makes it unlawful for any business to advertise, display, or offer a price for products or services that does not include all mandatory fees or surcharges before taxes. Sponsors said junk fees cost an average family of four $3,200 annually.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago sues Airbnb and a host company for alleged improper rentals: The complaint filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court alleged that real estate broker Milan Rubenstein and his company, Slumber Stay LLC, did not properly register his short-term rentals and used a single nontransferable hotel license for multiple listings — then kept renting those units after being issued citations. Airbnb was accused of profiting from those allegedly unlawful rentals rather than working with the city to ensure compliance with the Shared Housing Ordinance.

* CBS Chicago | Mayor Johnson addresses call for Chicago Department of Gun Violence Prevention: “A particular advocacy group has been calling for such an office to exist through multiple administrations, and we’re going to continue to hear how the work that we’re doing to drive violence down can work in coordination with the visit that this organization and organizing apparatus has,” Mayor Johnson said. A proposed ordinance to create the Department of Gun Violence Prevention would bring together existing violence reduction programs under one umbrella, with more than $100 million allocated in the city’s budget.

* Press release | 40th Ward Dems Youth Organizer Fighting to Recover After Devastating Car Accident; Friends, Colleagues & Chicago Politicos Rally Support: Truman Community College student Ana “Rey,” a well-known fixture since childhood in the 40th Ward Democrats office, is fighting to recover after a severe traumatic brain injury suffered in a car accident on April 25, 2026. 40th Ward Committeeperson, Maggie O’Keefe, who has mentored Ana since she was in eighth grade – later making Ana Deputy Committeeperson – is spearheading a fundraising campaign to help cover the cost of her care while also working on policy solutions to improve Illinois Medicaid coverage. “Ana walked into my office when she was in eighth grade, determined to be involved in the community that raised her,” said Maggie O’Keefe, 40th Ward Committeeperson. “Now it’s our turn to help her. When we found out that her insurance–Illinois Medicaid–will not cover the physical therapy she needs, we knew she would need more help than her friends and family alone could give her.”

* Block Club | Chicago’s Bike Lanes Don’t Hurt Businesses, City Report Finds: The Chicago Department of Transportation last month published a report on the economic impacts of bike lanes that examined six commercial corridors with different types of bike lane projects. Researchers analyzed data as well as surveys and interviews with local businesses, residents and real estate developers. The case studies compared the surveyed areas with “control” corridors nearby, and looked at the change in sales tax revenue, commercial property vacancy and employment, as well as safety and bike usage data since the lanes were installed.

* Block Club | Work Begins On Bronzeville Trail, The South Side’s 1st Elevated Bike Path: Members of the Bronzeville Trail Task Force — joined by State Rep. Kimberly du Buclet and Bronzeville Community Farm’s Rosalyn “Roz” Owens — were on hand to mark a milestone signaling that work to convert the two-mile abandoned rail into a public park is officially underway. “The soil borings beginning here at 45th and State Street may look like technical work, but they represent something much bigger. It will reconnect communities, create new public space, support health and wellness, strengthen local businesses, and bring new energy to this historic neighborhood,” said du Buclet.

* NYT | Barack Obama Has Strong Opinions About Cheeseburgers: The chef Cliff Rome said President Obama — once called “Foodie-in-Chief” by People Magazine — told him that the burger that would end up on the menu at the Obama Presidential Center was missing a few essential ingredients. Namely, it needed a smear of yellow mustard and the bite of a sharp Cheddar. “He had a lot of opinions on what makes a good cheeseburger,” said Mr. Rome, who was tapped by the Obamas to conceptualize and run two restaurants, Tafari’s Kitchen and a casual cafe, on the center’s campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | 171 townhouses proposed for one-time Naperville hockey arena site: But the site’s location at 2255 Monarch Drive, at the northwest corner of Ferry Road and Comfort Drive, is raising some issues for city staff. Anna Franco, a member of the city’s planning services team, said staff is concerned about the inconsistency of the proposed single-family attached housing with the site’s designation in the land use master plan. The future use for the property calls for a “regional center,” and Franco said townhouse-style units are not listed as a primary or supporting use within that designation.

* Tribune | Feds: Owner of Oak Lawn methadone clinic stole millions, funded lavish lifestyle including yacht ‘Butt Nekkid’: The charges were part of a nationwide effort called the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which the U.S. Justice Department says resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, involving more than $6.5 billion in false claims and “significant patient harm.” According to the charges, Robinson is the owner of ODA Solutions, a clinic that offers both substance abuse services and mental health services from the same site in the 4200 block of West 95th Street in Oak Lawn.

* Daily Herald | ‘This is huge’: Major League Baseball to hold America250 event at suburban drive-in: The theater was one of four drive-ins nationally selected by MLB as part of its America250 celebration on July 4. The festivities will include a showing of the classic childhood baseball movie “The Sandlot” and a live screening of that night’s Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals game. They’ll also have MLB Ballpark Bites and baseball-themed activities, including Wiffle ball, a pop fly scramble and virtual batting cages.

* Daily Herald | Rolling Meadows to outsource garbage collection after long haul of in-house service: Aldermen will vote on a proposed 5-year contract with Lakeshore Recycling Services to pick up refuse, landscape waste and recycling from single-family homes throughout town, in a deal that would provide notable cost savings for residents, city officials said. At the same time, the council will take a preliminary first reading vote on a separate 10-year lease extension with Lakeshore, which has operated the city-owned transfer station at 3851 Berdnick St. for the past three decades.

* Pioneer Press | Winnetka Music Festival celebrates 10 years of bringing world-class talent to the suburbs: For its 10th anniversary, the two-day festival welcomed more than two dozen artists to the stage, with headliners Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Father John Misty performing alongside notable musical acts like Grace Potter, Jonah Kagen, Petey USA, Ben Kweller, Futurebirds and more.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Wiz Khalifa joins Grandstand lineup for Illinois State Fair: On Tuesday, it was announced that Wiz Khalifa will be performing at the Illinois State Fair Grandstand on Wednesday, Aug. 19. He is joining the likes of Ella Langley, Ziggy Marley, The Chicks and Bailey Zimmerman at this year’s festival. It was also announced that Wiz Khalifa will be performing at the Du Quoin State Fair Grandstand on Saturday, Aug. 29.

* Illinois Times | Rolling out the welcome mat: Springfield seeks to capitalize on Route 66 centennial, America 250: Being the host city as the starting point for the Great Race is something of a Super Bowl event for people such as Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau director Scott Dahl. The competition to be the host city is fierce, as two additional days of festivities accompany it. The vintage cars are the major attraction, as gearheads the world over come to see and, if they’re lucky, take one for a spin. The route to Pasadena will traverse much of Route 66.

* WAND | Café vendor opportunity open at future Springfield-Sangamon County Transportation Hub: The county is offering incentives to attract businesses, such as a basic commercial kitchen and potential subsidies on rent and utilities. Two informational sessions are planned to explain The HUB space and RFP requirements. They will be available in person, virtually, and will be recorded.

* SJ-R | Roughly 175-year-old ‘witness tree’ officially removed in Springfield: A tree dating from the time Abraham Lincoln and his family lived at a home at Eighth and Jackson streets in Springfield was removed June 19, a little more than a week after storms irreparably damaged it.

*** National ***

* WaPo | CDC’s chief blocked a covid vaccine study. Now it’s in a top medical journal: The study, which had been slated for publication in March in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found that the covid-19 vaccine reduced the risk of emergency department visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults by about half last winter. The findings were consistent with what researchers have found in past years, that the vaccine can help reduce the risk of severe illness in adults even after accounting for immunity from prior vaccination or infection. “Science was never the issue,” said Michelle Barron, one of the study’s authors and senior medical director of infection prevention and control for UCHealth, a nonprofit health system in Colorado. “Certainly it was within [the CDC’s] purview to keep it out, for whatever reason, but it was clearly not for scientific reasons that the study was withheld from publication in the MMWR.”

* Bloomberg | Trump orders U.S. to speed quantum adoption, boost cyber defenses: Trump said the first order would launch an effort to create a quantum computer capable of performing important scientific calculations. White House officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of the signing, said they believed a computer could be developed by 2028. The order also calls on agencies to work on plans to deploy quantum-enabled sensors and networks in the next five years, the officials said. The order also supports coordination with allies to protect quantum intellectual property and bolster supply chains.