* Tribune…

Anthony Gonzalez Alvarez, 27, of Lyons, pleaded guilty in April to a felony charge stemming from a traffic altercation with Border Patrol agents in Brighton Park in October.

His sentencing had been scheduled for July 22. On Thursday, however, prosecutors filed a cryptic motion asking for the sentencing to be stayed as “the parties are in the process of evaluating a potential legal issue” with the charge to which Alvarez pleaded guilty.

The motion stated that the U.S. attorney’s office “has re-offered” Alvarez a plea agreement that would resolve the case as a misdemeanor — which could allow him to avoid any prison time. […]

To have a felony conviction unravel after a defendant pleads guilty is a rare occurrence at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. But Alvarez’s case has an even more interesting wrinkle.

Court records show Alvarez was indicted on Oct. 23 by the same grand jury that had also returned an indictment that same day in the “Broadview Six” case, which later collapsed amid allegations of wrongdoing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg.

* From Rep. Stephanie Kifowit…

*** Statewide ***

* WAND | Illinois launches America 250 website, events celebrating state history: The new America 250 webpage is meant to serve as a digital gateway to Illinois history, showcasing the state’s contributions to the nation’s political, economic, agricultural and cultural development. It will feature historic photographs, documents and other treasures from the collections of the Illinois State Archives and the Illinois State Library, while also giving access to a complete schedule of America 250 events and activities happening throughout the Capitol Complex.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Task force pitches long-term Chicago budget fillers, but many need state buy-in: The group also said the city should seek a rule change in Springfield to make sure there’s a fiscal impact note whenever lawmakers change the city’s pension benefits, contributions or funding. The city claimed that recent state-mandated pension changes were done without enough consultation or a full accounting of the cost, let alone any help paying for them. Among the most feasible tweaks: making sure leaders meet twice a year to discuss significant pension policy decisions.

* WTTW | Chicago Budget Task Force Recommends Long-Term Structural Reforms to Address City’s Fiscal Challenges: The Chicago Financial Future Task Force — a group of nearly two dozen business, labor, public policy and community leaders — published its final report Thursday that included 58 policy recommendations, such as instituting a downtown congestion fee, restructuring electricity tax rates and instituting property tax increases based on the national consumer price index. “This challenge was not created overnight,” Chicago Urban League President and task force co-chair Karen Freeman-Wilson told reporters this week. “So there has to be — for there to be sustainability — a gradual fix. And it’s not just revenue, it’s not just cutting expenses, it’s not just looking at some of the long-term structural liabilities. It’s all of those things.”

* Crain’s | Chicago’s political megadonors crack the nation’s top 50: Several other donors with Chicago ties also made the Post’s top 50. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker ranked 37th after contributing $12 million to Democratic causes. Citadel founder Ken Griffin — whose financial empire was headquartered here until his high-profile departure to Miami — ranked 39th with $10.5 million in Republican donations. J. Christopher and M. Jude Reyes, the billionaire brothers who co-chair Rosemont-based Reyes Holdings, ranked 41st after giving $10.1 million.

* Sun-Times | New study finds the creative sector is Chicago’s third-largest industry: The report states that only healthcare and professional, scientific and technical services make up larger workforces in Chicago. It also found that Chicago’s creative economy generates $50 billion in economic output, measured by the sales of goods and services, like concert ticket sales or broadcasting services.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Weeks after tornado, Bartlett cleaning up again from damaging storms: Bartlett Fire Protection District Chief William Gabrenya said fire crews began receiving service calls at about 6:30 p.m. and handled 38 “storm-related incidents” over the course of the night. […] National Weather Service storm survey teams are starting their investigations in Huntley and working their way southeast into the Carpentersville and Bartlett areas, officials at the agency said.

* Daily Herald | ‘A legacy for all of us’: St. Charles eyes redevelopment of former police station site: City council members gave direction to staff this week during a workshop meeting to draft a statement of interest signaling support for working with the park district and the property’s redevelopment. A statement of interest agreement could be reviewed by aldermen in July, Deputy City Administrator Derek Conley said. Mayor Clint Hull expects to put together a group of city council and park district representatives to begin work on the project.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville lags far behind other towns in protecting historic buildings, study finds: But when it comes to preserving its historic buildings, the city lags behind peer communities and should dedicate more resources to preserving its structures, according to a report issued by Naperville Preservation Inc. The nonprofit, which spent about a year putting together the analysis, created its own preservation plan after being told repeatedly that the city does not have enough staff to focus on the subject. Members have been told by city staff that historic preservation appears to be a low priority for the Naperville City Council.

*** Downstate ***

* STLPR | East St. Louis schools could lose food pantry, programs while grant is in limbo: Emma Giamberdino, deputy director of policy, communications and external Affairs for ACT Now Illinois, said her organization has already seen some schools lay off staff and cut back programs when the funding was first disrupted in December. “I unfortunately don’t have a timeline,” Giamberdino said. “A lot of that infrastructure had already been degraded. I think the worst part about this is that students, families and certainly the practitioners and school staff are really the ones that are suffering.”

* WCIA | Funding uncertainty threatens Urbana Farm to School program: “We alternated for several years in securing grants for the farm school program as we were building it up and getting the components in place,” Barkley said. These grants, Sola Gratia’s executive director said, are ones that they and the public health district have consistently found. That is until one from the USDA fell through this year. “And what we need right now is for the school district to be taking some ownership and investment into the program,” Barkely said.

* Illinois Times | Man fights city hall: He lives in an 18-square-foot home on a corner lot at 17th and Carpenter streets. He built the “pod” himself, he says, from watching how-to videos on YouTube, and it features solar panels, battery-powered generators, a foundation of heavyweight tires, air conditioning, insulation, a six-foot bed, a microwave and an internet connection from a cheap satellite service. He wants to market the mass production of such do-it-yourself, off-the-grid tiny homes not only for his potential profit, but more because of a “calling from God” to better help the homeless get off the streets, just like he did. He thinks he can design a car that would run for at least 100 miles on “a gallon of water and electricity.” Meanwhile, the city of Springfield is “unjustly harassing me,” he says, because none of the structures on the lot he owns are up to code regarding zoning and other public works requirements.

*** National ***

* AP | Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end legal protections for Haitians, Syrians: The decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries. The Trump administration argued judges that can’t second-guess immigrations officials’ decisions about the protections, which were intended to be temporary.

* AP | Supreme Court ruling blocks thousands of lawsuits against maker of Roundup weedkiller: The high court, in a 7-2 ruling, found that Roundup cannot face failure-to-warn lawsuits in state courts because federal regulations have found a cancer link unlikely and do not require a warning label. Though focused on Roundup, the ruling could affect similar health claims against other pesticide products. “This decision is good for American farmers who help feed the world,“ Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said. ”It provides the regulatory clarity necessary for innovators like us to develop the agricultural tools that guarantee an affordable food supply.”

* NYT | Apple Raises Prices on Macs and iPads Amid the A.I. Boom: Apple increased prices on some laptop and tablet models $200 or more. A base model of the MacBook Pro, for example, now costs $1,999, up from $1,699. Apple’s entry-level laptop, the MacBook Neo, now costs $699, $100 higher than when it was unveiled in March.