* Maryland Matters…

As a powerful heat wave threatens much of the eastern United States this week, the nation’s largest electric grid is warning of record-high power demand.

Beginning on Tuesday and extending through Friday, the entire 13-state PJM Interconnection grid, [which includes Illinois,] will be operating under a hot weather alert, with temperatures climbing toward the triple digits in Baltimore and beyond. With the system under increased strain, adverse events such as blackouts are more likely — and short-term energy prices can soar.

On Thursday, PJM is projecting electricity demand that could reach over 166,000 megawatts, which would surpass an all-time record set in 2006, at 165,563 megawatts.

PJM is facing a new era of unprecedented energy demand because of AI data centers, which use immense amounts of power, and are spreading far beyond their Northern Virginia hotbed.

In a filing with the U.S. Department of Energy on Saturday, PJM asked for permission to require data centers and other large customers to rely on their back-up generators during the heatwave, freeing up more power for the grid to prevent residential power loss. In his filing, PJM senior vice president of operations Michael E. Bryson noted that this arrangement had been approved in other regions, and in PJM in the past.

* Rep. Kevin Olickal and Senate candidate Patrick Hanley joined Daniel Biss and Kat Abughazaleh to promote Niles Township’s People’s Prairie…

It’s… a wetland prairie garden ?

?: Michael Ognisanti pic.twitter.com/P0B9MTPcgJ

— Daniel Biss (@DanielBiss) June 30, 2026

*** Statewide ***

* Center Square | Illinois second in local fines and forfeitures: The report titled “Taxation by Citation” found that Illinois generates the second-largest share of local general revenue from fines and forfeitures of all 50 states. Illinois is also second in the nation in per-capita fines and forfeitures collected by local governments, at $53.76 per resident, more than double the national weighted average of $24.77. […] “Taxation by Citation” reviewed 8,054 cities. Nastasi said the Franklin County city of Orient collects $22 per capita in fines.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Fourth of July travel has already begun in Illinois: In a recent press release, officials with AAA predicted that 4.2 million Illinois residents will travel at least 50 miles during the Fourth of July travel period, which has already begun and will end Sunday, July 5. The release adds that about 3.8 million Illinois residents will travel by car during the holiday period, and that “while this year’s increase is modest compared to recent gains, it still sets a record for Fourth of July travel in Illinois, as strong consumer demand continues to offset higher travel costs.”

* Patch | Saharan Dust Plume Moves Across Illinois Tuesday: The Weather Channel said the Saharan Air Layer typically ramps up in mid-June, and peaks in late June into mid-August. “And at certain times, the dust can cover an area as large as the entirety of the lower 48 states,” The Weather Channel said. So, look out for hazy skies on Tuesday, and you might see a beautiful sunset this week from the dust.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Center Square | Pritzker signs 62 new laws, many not in effect until 2027: House Bill 4461 will prevent hospitals from being allowed to file a lien on a patient’s primary residence because they have past-due medical debt, taking effect on Jan. 1. House Bill 4702 requires all diapers sold or distributed in the state to be labeled with a list of ingredients used to produce the product. While the law is effective on Jan. 1, it has a grace period for companies to come into compliance, ending on June 1, 2028.

*** Data Center News ***

* Daily Herald | Opponents cite documents as proof Hoffman Estates plans data center on Plum Farms site: Barrington Hills resident Amanda Pollard filed the request Monday, asking that any finding of a violation be used to challenge the village board’s possible rezoning of the northwest corner of Higgins Road and Route 72 to manufacturing use at Monday’s board meeting. She cited documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act as proof plans for a data center are more specific than the landowner or village officials have said aloud.

* Business Insider | Cargo thieves have set their sights on data center supplies: Investigators with the Cook County Sheriff’s office in Illinois said last week they recovered a pair of trailers with $1.3 million worth of data center supplies at a Chicago-area truck yard. Officials said the organized retail crime unit was tipped off about a trailer containing about $300,000 worth of copper wire spools, which had been reported stolen from Pine Hill, Alabama. Copper wiring is a key supply for building and connecting data centers.

* Business Insider | An AI data center suing for Colorado River water highlights a bigger question: Who should get the West’s water?: The developer behind what would be California’s largest AI data center is suing for access to Colorado River water, the threatened source of freshwater for 40 million people and the subject of countless disputes over water use in the West. The lawsuit, filed this month by Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, says the company needs access to 287 million gallons of water for the 330-megawatt data center. If the proposed project in Southern California’s Imperial Valley is built, it would be the largest AI data center in the state.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club Chicago | Who Were The Midway Blitz Border Patrol Agents? Most Were Veteran Immigration Officers: They averaged more than a decade on the job, and about two-thirds of them had some form of special training. More than 100 had “Mobile Field Force” training, which includes deescalating civil unrest and crowd control. Still, Block Club found that in at least 52 separate incidents across the Chicago area, agents used force against individuals and crowds by deploying tear gas, pepper spray or tasers, tackling or physically assaulting them, or chasing or ramming them with their cars.

* Crain’s | Johnson tees up fight with landlords over new renters’ rights ordinance: Mayor Brandon Johnson formally introduced legislation to overhaul the city’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance on Monday, with provisions that could force landlords to pay thousands in relocation assistance for choosing not to renew certain tenant leases. Housing advocates argue the legislation, called the Protecting Renters Ordinance, is urgently needed to ensure fairness and transparency for tenants who are being pushed out of their homes by rent increases in gentrifying neighborhoods. Building owners, meanwhile, say the regulations would increase the cost of providing housing, causing them to pass the burden on to their tenants and pushing smaller landlords out of the market.

* Crain’s | Chicago housing market defies national downdrafts as prices hit another high: For the third month in a row, home prices in Chicago reached record highs in May, while the broader national market has seen prices barely lifting above year-ago levels. It’s the latest chapter in a now long-running story of the Chicago-area housing market doing its own thing. That’s rarely been more clear than it is in this month’s roundup of housing market data, which shows Chicago tightening where other major cities are getting looser (inventory) and rising where many of them are falling (prices.)

* Block Club | O’Hare’s Expansion Forced Chicago To Invest In Wetlands 20 Years Ago. Conservationists Are Seeing Results: The city of Chicago had to make up for the more than 280 acres of wetlands lost in the $8 billion expansion of O’Hare International Airport. In 2005, the city gave the nonprofit Openlands $26 million to restore five sites within the Des Plaines River watershed. Nearly 20 years and 530 acres of restored wetlands later, Openlands celebrated the completion of the O’Hare Modernization Wetlands Mitigation Project last fall. Now, the sites are still being maintained by local site stewards and volunteers. Samantha Chavez, the director of restoration at Openlands, said the project should be used as a model for similar restoration across the country.

* Sun-Times | Chicago advocates, immigrant families feel ‘relieved’ as Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship: “While we’re relieved that the [Supreme] Court upheld birthright citizenship, we can’t overlook all the other decisions written by MAGA aligned justices that have chipped away at our rights and freedoms,” said Brandon Lee, spokesperson for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Danae Kovac, executive director of the HANA Center, an immigrant justice organization, said the Supreme Court’s ruling drew “mixed feelings.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights Road project wrapping up after frustrating delays: Utility conflicts, need for bridge rehabilitation, more unsuitable soil than expected and a delay in the paving contractor opening its asphalt plant added months to the project. According to Carr, several underground utilities were found in different places than available records and resolving the conflicts required redesign and coordination with utility owners adding several months of work.

* Daily Herald | Rolling Meadows hikes ambulance fees to pay for six new firefighters: In making the staffing request to the city council, Fire Chief Pete Sutter pointed to statistics showing 4,200 calls for service logged in 2025 — a marked increase from 2,715 in 1990. Hiring another two firefighters per shift was the recommendation of a 2012 Illinois Fire Chiefs Association Consulting Services report, which was the impetus for a then-controversial plan to relocate the city’s two fire stations to improve response times and reduce fire risk throughout town.

* Pioneer Press | The time is near for the Chicago Bears training camp open practices in Lake Forest: Fans looking to get a glimpse of the 2026 Chicago Bears will have 10 opportunities to do so this summer as the team has announced its training camp schedule in Lake Forest. The Bears are scheduled to hold 10 open practices this summer at Halas Hall beginning Friday, July 31, according to a team statement.

*** Downstate ***

* STLPR | With judge’s ruling, East St. Louis schools lose federal grant funding: James Avant and Annette Harris Officer Elementary Schools are each set to lose $500,000 in funding. The funds provide in-school tutoring for reading and math as well as before and after care programs. It also has funded the district’s current summer programming. Executive Director of ACT Now Illinois Susan Stanton said the impact will be felt immediately by 16 school districts.

* Illinois Times | LifeStar Ambulance seeks to drop lawsuit against Memorial: LifeStar Ambulance Service. Inc. wants to temporarily drop its lawsuit against Springfield Memorial Hospital to gather proof of what LifeStar considers the hospital’s bias against the company. “We’re still trying to find more evidence,” LifeStar Chief Executive Officer John Wright told Illinois Times. “We need more for a lawsuit.” If Associate Circuit Judge Christopher Perrin grants LifeStar’s request, the company will have up to a year to refile the suit, Wright said. Perrin is scheduled to preside in a hearing in the case June 30.

* WJBD | Marion County Democrats Open Salem Campaign Headquarters: The recently elected chair of the party, Gina Reynolds, says the party is making a comeback in the county. “More candidates win some seats, more involvement, and make sure that people know that we are out here, and we’re working for everyone in Marion County, not just the Marion county Democratic Party. We want everyone to have a better chance at life, more affordability, and we are worried about Medicaid cuts coming to hospitals. Last time I checked the hospital in Centralia, about 40% of their inpatient patients are on Medicaid, and if we have Medicaid cuts, that hospital will be really damaged.”

* KSDK | ‘Unghosting’ history: America’s first Black incorporated town officially restored to Route 66 map: On Friday, Brooklyn officially joined America’s most famous highway as community leaders unveiled a new Route 66 marker on Madison Street. For the village, it represents the first step toward a long-awaited comeback for America’s first Black-incorporated town. “Every good thing needs a foundation, so the Route 66, the unveiling, the unghosting, that’s the foundation that we’ve been waiting for here on Madison Street,” says Mayor Trenton Atkins.

* WAND | ISP: Part of I-72 in Springfield buckling from heat: Illinois State Police issued a traffic advisory saying the right lane of I-72 west at milepost 96.5, just before the Scheels exit, is buckling. The Illinois Department of Transportation is at the scene.

* WSIL | Carbondale to Bury 100-Year Time Capsule at SIMMS on July 2: The time capsule contains contributions from city staff, community organizations, local businesses, public schools, and Southern Illinois University, all designed to capture what life in Carbondale was like in 2026 for future generations.

*** National ***

* AP | As wildfires worsen, Trump administration revives discredited policy to stomp out all fires quickly: And the administration’s focus on “full suppression” of new fires marks a sharp reversal from a decades-long trend toward embracing flames as a tool — to burn off old vegetation and growth that acts like fuel and lessen the risk of catastrophic blazes being stoked by a warming planet. The changes benefit private fire aviation companies that are key to hitting blazes fast.