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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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