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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Jun 30, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Supreme Court rejects GOP mail ballot challenge, but Illinois Dems warn voting rights ’still under attack’. Sun-Times…
- The 5-4 Supreme Court decision targeted laws in 14 states and the District of Columbia, including Illinois, which permits mailed ballots to arrive and be counted for several days after an election if they are postmarked by Election Day. There are 36 states that require absentee or mail ballots to be received on or before Election Day. - Top Illinois Democrats like Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Dick Durbin praised the ruling — but both are warning that Trump’s attacks on voting rights aren’t over. * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * Crain’s | Illinois joins states’ lawsuit to kill Medicaid work requirements: Democratic officials from 25 states, including Illinois, and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the legality of the interim final rule on work requirements that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued this month. The plaintiffs contend the agency didn’t follow proper regulatory procedures when issuing the rule, which they say differs in key aspects from prior regulatory guidance and from states’ expectations, and didn’t give states enough time to meet deadlines set by President Donald Trump’s tax law. The states want the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to impose a stay on the regulation while the case proceeds. * WBEZ | Bill on Pritzker’s desk would boost state payments to the wrongfully convicted: The legislation would hike the maximum payout to $50,000 for each year spent behind bars and $25,000 per year on probation or parole, or under an order to register as a sex offender. The bill would also remove an inflation-adjusted cap that, most recently, was less than $300,000 — no matter how many years the exoneree spent in prison. * Press release | Federal Court Denies Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Paving the Way for Devastating Cuts to Illinois Full-Service Community Schools: In a devastating blow to nearly 19,000 students and their families across 32 schools in Illinois, on Friday, June 26th, a federal court denied ACT Now Illinois and Metropolitan Family Services’ motion for preliminary injunction and partially granted a motion to dismiss on six of the eight claims filed in the lawsuit. The ruling allows the U.S. Department of Education’s abrupt and unlawful non-continuation of two Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grants, totaling $18.5 million annually, to proceed. The ruling, issued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, comes just days before a temporary agreement keeping the programs afloat is set to expire on June 30. Because of this court action, ACT Now will be forced to cease all FSCS operations on July 1, terminate staff, end contracts with partner schools and community organizations, and dismantle a statewide network that has been built over two years. * Evanston Now | State lawmakers talk spring session, priorities for fall: Evanston’s state lawmakers held a community town hall Monday night, sharing updates from the spring’s legislative session in Springfield and their goals for the fall’s veto session, where key legislation on data centers, housing and the Chicago Bears may be up for consideration. * Capitol News Illinois | PGA Tour gets state grant for Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club: The fiscal year 2027 budget that takes effect July 1 appropriates $1 million to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a grant to the PGA Tour for costs associated with a tournament. It also includes a $500,000 reappropriation for a grant to the PGA for unspecified infrastructure improvements. A Freedom of Information Act request by Capitol News Illinois revealed DCEO and the PGA signed a grant agreement for $1 million for the Presidents Cup tournament at the Medinah Country Club in the western suburbs on the last weekend of September. * WAND | IL law expands asthma medication access in schools: A new state law allows schools to keep a supply of asthma medication in secure locations that are accessible before, during, or after school, where someone may be at risk. That includes practice fields, gyms and other athletic facilities. This comes as exercise-induced asthma can put student athletes at heightened risk of sudden respiratory distress. * Tribune | Minimum wage in Chicago and Cook County set to increase July 1: Chicago’s minimum wage will increase July 1, when it will hit $17.05 for most workers across the city. […] It does not apply to tipped workers like restaurant servers or bartenders, who can be paid less than the full minimum wage so long as their tips make up the difference. Tipped workers making the hourly minimum will see a slight increase to their hourly wage on Wednesday — a raise of less than 50 cents per hour. But they won’t be getting more significant hourly raises after the City Council froze planned wage hikes for tipped workers earlier this year. * Tribune | Medical care experts: Extreme heat is a public health emergency for Chicago, not a seasonal nuisance: As of this week, the Garfield Center at 10 S. Kedzie is the only 24-hour cooling center in Chicago — a single location for a city of nearly 3 million. This must change. Many people wrongly assume they can sleep off a hot day, or they hesitate to run the air conditioner overnight due to electricity cost — concerns that are valid — which is exactly why cooling centers matter: They offer relief and safety to the financially vulnerable populations at greatest risk. * Tribune | 2 independents fight to stay on the Illinois 4th District ballot amid machine politics claims: A final decision on the two cases could come as soon as July 14, when the Illinois Board of Elections meets and will likely discuss recommendations from hearing officers. “This process is unfair. It’s open to abuse, and it’s being abused by Patty,” said Macías, a former Planned Parenthood Action Fund member. “Patty is weaponizing this process to keep Latino candidates off the ballot to deprive voters of choices. If this challenge successfully silences the voices of thousands, it will confirm the suspicion so many of the voters I have spoken to have about the system being rigged.” * WBEZ | Why is it so expensive to replace lead pipes in Chicago?: With more than 400,000 lead water service lines, Chicago has the largest known inventory of lead pipes of any city in the country. Officials say replacing each one costs about $31,000 on average — more than six times the Environmental Protection Agency’s national estimate of $4,700 a line. * Sun-Times | Piping plover chicks named after 4 famed Chicago musicians: The four fuzzy, (and currently) flightless birds are now named Buddy, Frankie, Mavis and Tweedy after famed Chicago musicians Buddy Guy, Frankie Knuckles, Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy. The Chicago Piping Plovers group said it received more than 456 submissions and more than 1,500 unique names for the chicks. A seven-person panel with representatives from various local city and conservation groups narrowed down the list. * Daily Herald | Ethics complaint filed over Palatine school district’s use of consultant: An ethics complaint has been filed against Palatine Township Elementary District 15 alleging misuse of funds during the district’s successful $93 million 2022 Moving 15 Forward referendum campaign. It was filed by Americans for Prosperity-Illinois and former District 15 school board candidate Justin Hegy.The complaint, along with a Freedom of Information Act request, was submitted to District 15, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office and the Illinois attorney general’s office for review. * Lake County News-Sun | Lake County’s gun violence initiative touts improved stats: ‘We can’t let those investments in social programs go away’: Approximately $900,000 in renewed funds, running from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027, will go to awareness and education efforts, including pay for two existing full-time positions, a restraining order trainer, and a social worker. The remaining $500,000 is a grant running from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, going to operational supplies — such as gun safes and educational literature — to distribute to the community. The money will also go to fund law enforcement overtime in relation to restraining order incidents. * Daily Herald | College of DuPage board OKs $397 million budget: That amount is roughly $31 million more than COD’s spending plan for the current fiscal year. The fiscal 2027 budget includes funding to remodel laboratory spaces and upgrade the welding lab ventilation system, according to a news release. It also calls for hiring 15 additional full-time faculty members, including people who will teach in the construction management, dance, industrial maintenance, business law and engineering programs. * Lake & McHenry County Scanner | Former Hawthorn Woods man facing charges for allegedly voting multiple times in Illinois, Michigan: The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said the charges were a result of an investigation initiated by the Lake County Clerk’s Office. The clerk’s office began the investigation after it received notice of possible “voting irregularities” from the Illinois State Board of Elections. Prosecutors said the clerk’s office’s investigation showed that Barrick cast two in-person votes in the general election. * Crain’s | Nation’s largest industrial landlord bets $100M on Chicago warehouse demand: The nation’s largest owner of industrial real estate has picked up a west suburban development site as part of a $100 million plan for a pair of large warehouses, a sign that big developers are getting back to building with industrial vacancy hovering near a record low. A venture of real estate investment trust Prologis paid nearly $29.3 million last week for a 25-acre parcel at 375 Army Trail Road in Glendale Heights, according to Illinois property records. The San Francisco-based industrial giant acquired the site from radio and podcast company Audacy, which has a transmission tower there for AM radio stations WBBM and WSCR. * WAND | Effingham County neighbors concerned about solar farm plans: Sixty acres of open farmland have been in Dan Westfall’s family for generations. Now, he — along with other families across Effingham County — says they are fighting to protect that land from what could become the county’s first large-scale solar farm. […] The proposed solar farm would cover about 16 acres and would be located nearly two miles from Westfall’s property. Other neighbors said it would be much closer to their homes. * WCIA | Tolono Park District raising money to add inclusive section to West Side park: For years—the park district says they’ve wanted to make the West Side park more inclusive — and now are raising money for it. They say they missed out on a grant — so they’re turning to the community for donations. Their goal is to replace one of three play areas—making it inclusive for all children. * WCIA | Cooling centers open to help Central Illinois residents beat the heat: With dangerously high temperatures expected in Central Illinois, cooling centers are opening up for the summer to keep people safe. The cooling centers include libraries, malls, nonprofits and homeless shelters that open their doors to keep people cool and keep them out of the sun. * AP | Supreme Court is set to rule on challenge to birthright citizenship: The Supreme Court on Tuesday will rule on the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s order on birthright citizenship declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. The decision comes on the final day of a Supreme Court term that has centered on Trump’s expansive claims of presidential power — and largely ruled in his favor. * WIRED | The Anti-Data-Center Movement Is Reshaping Michigan Politics: Lawrence’s campaign sees data centers as a potent topic to rally voters to his side in the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 7th district, to be held in August. Internal polling conducted by Data for Progress of likely Democratic primary voters in the district shared with WIRED shows that more than 40 percent of respondents were “much more likely” to vote for a candidate who opposed data centers. The message resonated even more with respondents under 45: Almost 80 percent of younger voters said they’d be much more likely or more likely to support an anti-data-center candidate. (The 7th district includes the college county of Ingham.)
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- Incandenza - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 9:58 am:
These decisions at 5-4 should be a red alarm for anyone wanting to maintain a democracy. Praising the good decision should come in hand with condemning the other dissenting justices and their anti-democratic posture. Even better would be promises of developing a plan for SCOTUS reform, at minimum ethics requirements and limits to their terms. We are one fall or sudden sickness of a Justice away from decisions that would essentially put us in the territory of having a Democracy as legitimate as Russia’s.
- Leslie Dimas - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 10:09 am:
Let’s talk about IL-4. I have worked for almost a decade electing Democrats up and down the ballot here in Chicago and across Illinois. I will not stand by quietly while people who have NEVER set foot in our neighborhoods point fingers at “Chicago gatekeepers.”
I admit, I was not a fan of Patty Garcia turning in her signatures late. We know Chicago and Illinois has its own political ecosystem, but so does DC. This is not something new. Like it or not, Patty’s move was a defensive move. But this is turning into something bigger.
The Macias team is a DC operation trying to put its thumb on the scale of local politics without doing the work. This is about gaining influence over the 2028 races and party leadership. Many of her donors are big supporters of Ruben Gallego, some are part of his political team. These are the same DC Biden gatekeepers who blocked Latino Illinoisans, recommended by Illinois members of Congress and the CHC, from serving in the Biden administration.
You may want to ask them where they were when we were trying to elect Kamala here in the Midwest. I mean doing the REAL ground work here in the Midwest with Robin Kelly, her team and Operation Swing state. Before pointing fingers at Chicago, take a hard look at who is actually doing the work here and who is closing the doors in DC.
- Steve - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:10 am:
Elon Musk can now finance pregnant white South Africans to come to America for vacations. Their children can be American as anyone’s. The U.S. Supreme Court just said it.
- Garfield Ridge Guy - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:11 am:
==Elon Musk can now finance pregnant white South Africans to come to America for vacations. Their children can be American as anyone’s. The U.S. Supreme Court just said it.==
He could have done that last year, or 20 years ago. This didn’t change, and those children would be as American as anyone’s.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:13 am:
===they are fighting to protect that land from what could become the county’s first large-scale solar farm===
God love these folks, one of the concerns is that they will pay higher electrical rates because of the project.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:21 am:
===I was not a fan of Patty Garcia turning in her signatures late.===
Look, I am happy to have a daily discussion about the dishonest behavior involved in Patty’s petitions if you folks want to force the issue.
You’re really down playing what happened with this statement. She coordinated with the other Garcia to mislead the public into believing he was running for reelection and then at the last minute, without telling anyone, used his political organization to circulate Patty’s petitions.
Regardless of whether or not you think this was some kind of last minute whimsy and not an intentional political decision to mislead the public and hand pick a successor, the issue isn’t that she turned them in a bit late.
It’s why they were being circulated at all and who was doing that effort.
If Chuy likes her, I’m sure she’ll be fine, but Patty lacks legitimacy and is clearly fine with misleading the public to her personal benefit. Not a great place to start.
- BE - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:23 am:
@Steve - that’s what you got out of keeping the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship?
Birth tourism has existed longer than Musk has been alive, for multiple countries that have the money to come here for a visit. Russia, for instance.
He doesn’t need to bring pregnant white South Africans to the US because a) he’s already impregnating anyone in the US he can convince to sign a contract with him about it and b) Trump’s Administration is only accepting white South Africans right now. Trump is doing it on his own.
Removing birthright citizenship in Trump’s EO for any child born in 2027 or later would just be the first move toward removing it from anyone born before 2027.
The idea that something specific and special makes one an ‘American’ other than just being born here or having been naturalized is rather nationalist to me, because frankly, the only times I see it is in a creepy America Uber All vibe.
Maybe the topic with Musk today would be the SCOTUS ruling that dark money can give as much as they want. (Fine print - GOP money only, since Trump’s DOJ is already investigating Dem non-profit groups.)
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:33 am:
Steve, your trolling game has seriously declined in recent months.
Maybe just try to stick with actual analysis instead of attempting to put some laughable liberal spin on stuff to prove your point.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:35 am:
===but Patty lacks legitimacy===
You may detest how it was done, but it was done within existing law.
- Remember the Alamo II - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 11:37 am:
=== but Patty lacks legitimacy ===
She followed the law. Who are you to undermine the process? You sound a lot like Trump and his cabal of election deniers.
- Leslie Dimas - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 3:59 pm:
@Candydogood Out of ALL of that, that’s what you got? Interesting.
Many of us may disagree. Some election cycles we’re competitors, and in others we’re allies. But I can assure you of one thing: we all believe is that ANYONE, yes, even a Mexican American woman, does not need permission to circulate petitions to get on the ballot.
Is it a courtesy to check in with the incumbent? Usually yes, especially in a state with a super majority. Is it illegal if you don’t? Absolutely not. Rich was spot on.
Team Garcia made a defensive, strategic move based on the information they had. Don’t hate the player. Hate the game. Welcome to Chicago Politics 101.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Jun 30, 26 @ 4:47 pm:
===but it was done within existing law===
You guys are raising a fair point here. My use of the term legitimacy is a bit of hyperbole in this case.
I will have to find a better term to describe when a person winds up as the nominee for congressional seat without ever having campaigned for the office and making no public announcement of their campaign or their intent. I suppose I have foolishly spent all of these years associating giving the voters a choice as being a part of being a legitimate elected representative, but I may have just been too young to fully internalize the existence of Dan Lipinski.
===Don’t hate the player. Hate the game. ===
Odd phrase to use. Is this something that King George said in Hamilton? Or is this something that you’re going to repeat to yourself over and over again to feel better if the gerrymandering and attacks on our election process create a permanent GOP majority and make it impossible for a Democratic electoral victory for the office of president?
In our current election cycles we have watched states deliberately eliminate majority minority congressional districts in a process that is completely legal. Is your statement here universal?
===Welcome to Chicago Politics 101===
You guys act like this is something that shouldn’t be condemned. What’s next? Glorifying firing folks for voting the wrong way? Celebrating the demand of campaign contributions in exchange for permits? Endorsing a business model that requires folks to hire certain attorneys in order to get things done?
- Leslie Dimas - Wednesday, Jul 1, 26 @ 10:07 am:
Hamilton? It’s a sports and hip hop reference, not a Broadway reference. The point is understanding the game.
Petition challenges are part of Illinois politics. They’re technical, not personal. Experienced campaigns verify signatures, prepare for objections, and know where they stand before petitions are ever filed.
Press conferences and influencers don’t win elections. Communities do. Real political power is earned block by block, door by door, neighbor by neighbor. That’s the Chicago many of us believe in, where the community decides, not DC gatekeepers.