* Daily Herald…

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has declared an Air Pollution Action Day for the region, urging everyone to limit outdoor exposure.

Air quality reached the most dangerous levels in the Chicago area by midday with reporting stations in Cary, Chicago, Grayslake, Sugar Grove and Willow Springs showing air quality at “hazardous” levels in excess of 300 due to particulate matter in the air. That’s according to AirNow, a website that combines data from county, state and federal air quality agencies nationwide.​ The levels in Cary were reported as high as 727 at 1 p.m. Healthy levels are below 50, according to the state’s air quality index.

* Press release…

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate remained at 5.1 percent in June, unchanged from May, and up +0.8 percentage point from the same month, one year ago, based on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The revised May unemployment rate was 5.1 percent.

Total nonfarm payrolls saw a fourth consecutive over-the-month increase in June, up +1,500 (0.0%) to 6,164,400. The May monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +6,000 to +4,100. The June payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.

The industry sectors with the largest monthly payroll jobs increases included: Leisure and Hospitality (+3,000), Professional and Business Services (+2,300) and Private Education and Health Services (+1,600). The sectors with the largest over-the-month jobs decreases included: Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-4,100), Information (-1,800) and Financial Activities (-1,700).

Compared to a year ago, total nonfarm payroll jobs were up +9,200 jobs. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Private Education and Health Services (+14,900), Construction (+10,700) and Leisure and Hospitality (+6,900). The industry groups with the largest jobs decreases included: Financial Activities (-13,100), Professional and Business Services (-9,500), and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-7,300). In June, total nonfarm payrolls were up +0.1% over-the-year in Illinois and up +0.3% in the nation.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press release | NRF Honors Rob Karr with 2026 J. Thomas Weyant Award: The National Retail Federation today presented the 2026 J. Thomas Weyant Award to Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA). Karr was recognized at NRF’s Retail Advocates Summit, where retailers, industry leaders and policymakers from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., for the retail industry’s premier advocacy event. “For more than three decades, Rob Karr has been a trusted friend, advocate and voice for retailers and their businesses, employees and the communities they serve,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “His work through the years has had a lasting impact on the retail industry in Illinois, and we are proud to recognize him for his remarkable career and all he has accomplished.”

* WCIA | Carol, Aaron Ammons plead not guilty to federal charges of wire fraud, obstruction of justice: On Thursday at the Federal Courthouse in Urbana, it was a packed courtroom. It quickly reached its capacity — 49 people — so an overflow room was needed to accommodate everyone who showed up for Carol and Aaron’s first federal court appearances. […] When asked two different times if she will still be on the ballot in November, Carol said she looks forward to continuing to serve her constituents, but she did not mention the general election.

* Crain’s | Kwame Raoul urges feds to reject Enova, OppFi bids for national bank charters: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul urged federal banking regulators to reject attempts by nontraditional financial lenders such as Enova International and OppFi to obtain bank charters that would allow them to offer high-interest loans across a national platform. “Some of these companies engage in high-risk practices that threaten both consumers and the stability of the financial system,” according to a letter Raoul, along with 19 other states’ attorneys general, sent today to the heads of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve. “Allowing such companies into the national banking system without guardrails empowers and incentivizes predatory lending and needlessly leaves consumers vulnerable to harm.”

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Air quality hits hazardous levels in Chicago from wildfire smoke and could worsen tonight: Particulate matter levels in the Chicago area by midafternoon had reached an index of 549, eclipsing a scale that tops out at 500, according to AirNow, a website that combines data from county, state and federal air quality agencies nationwide. Air quality was even worse in the North Shore suburbs, where Wilmette and Winnetka registered above 700. Levels between 200 and 300 are “very unhealthy,” and anything above 300 is “hazardous.” When the forecast is hazardous, everyone should stay indoors and reduce activity levels.

* Sun-Times | City Council joins chorus demanding Boutros’ resignation as U.S. attorney: Only a handful of alderpersons opposed the resolution, which adds the Council to the chorus of those demanding Boutros’ resignation and urges the Justice Department to “ensure a full review of obligations and matters connected to Operation Midway Blitz, the Broadview prosecutions and related proceedings.” Northwest Side Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) accused his colleagues of political hypocrisy and advised the Council to “stay in our lane.”

* Crain’s | Congressional hearing on UIC med school veers from antisemitism to DEI, gender care: In his opening comments, Walberg went on to say the schools have integrated DEI into their admissions decisions and curricula, promoting courses that have nothing to do with medical science, but seek to turn medical students into “far left activists.” In opening testimony, Benedetti addressed the questions over antisemitism at the medical school, which has campuses in Chicago, Peoria and Rockford, saying the school has taken steps to better deal with religious and other bigotry.

* Tribune | Toni Preckwinkle backs Red Line extension connections, wins approval for transit picks: “We have a challenge across the board with our service agencies because they are siloed and they have not been collaborating,” Preckwinkle said during a Wednesday news conference. She cited a failure to plan a Metra station for the site where the future CTA Red Line Extension will cross its tracks, and the fact the bus service that PACE extended to downtown Round Lake doesn’t take riders to the Metra station there. “Everybody’s just sort of planning for themselves and not having any coherent, holistic plan.”

* Tribune | William Shatner will debut his new heavy metal band at Riot Fest: Metal, the final frontier. Joining the musical lineup at Riot Fest in September is the debut of William Shatner’s new heavy metal band The *Uckers. The band will be added to the bill on Sunday and will feature, along with Shatner, guitarists Marcus Nand (Mike Tramp, Candice Night) and Britt Lightning (Vixen, Cactus), bassist Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol) and Fred Aching (Kings of Thrash, Dead Groove, Fraxures) on drums.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Bond Buyer | Fitch Ratings upgrades Cook County: Fitch Ratings upgraded Cook County, Illinois, to AA-plus from AA on Monday, citing the county’s moderating long-term liability burden, restrained new money debt issuance and sustained resource base growth. The outlook is stable.

* Tribune | Cook County watchdog finds Samantha Steele offered job to opponent: Cook County’s watchdog found this week that Board of Review commissioner Samantha Steele made “an offer of employment” to her opponent in the March primary election, concluding she misled the public and “made blatantly false statements.” […] The IG’s investigation included an interview with one of the intermediaries, their phone records and a voice message, statements Steele made to the media, and a review of her phone records. Steele did not reply or show up to an interview with the inspector — a violation of the county’s ethics code that requires participation in IG investigations.

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Trump budget proposal could threaten airline service at downstate airports: Congress is evaluating the budget proposal, which calls for reducing funding for the Essential Air Service program at the U.S. Department of Transportation by $372 million. The program, which subsidizes flights to rural areas and small cities throughout the country, costs about $633.5 million annually as of May 1, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s annual report. Current funding includes $18.7 million for commercial flights from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Decatur, Quincy and Marion — airports that otherwise would not have commercial aviation without the EAS program. It’s early in the budgeting process, so implementation dates and the amount of cuts, if any are approved, are subject to change.

* Capitol News Illinois | A woman’s death was the first fatal shooting by Illinois State Police this year. Were the trooper’s actions justified?: Tarrence’s shooting received little or no attention. No one took to the streets. The governor didn’t comment on her death. And the only investigation was launched by the same state agency that employed the trooper who fired the fatal shots — the Illinois State Police. Months after the completion of that investigation in February, there still is no definitive answer on whether the trooper so feared for his life or the lives of others at the liquor store that the only action he could take was to shoot.

* WAND | Charleston Middle School relocates after tornado damage: “For some of our students, it may be a new look for them, but what they need to know is that we’re going to have the same culture,” said Robert Lynn, principal of Charleston Middle School. School will be held inside Eastern Illinois University’s Coleman Hall. CMS students will use the first two floors for classes. Lynn said the partnership shows how communities come together after a tragedy.

* WGLT | One year post defunding: WGLT saw strong and steady revenue throughout the year. But we have a lot of work to do to make up for an annual loss of $175,000. And while we’re cautiously optimistic, we don’t yet know if last year was a complete outlier or if the defunding moment will turn into a movement and become our new normal.

*** National ***

* ABC | White House teleprompter operator made more than $100K betting on Trump’s speeches: Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant to the president who has been operating Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, is in talks with federal regulators to settle allegations he used his inside knowledge of the president’s speeches to win more than $100,000, the sources said. According to the sources, Kalshi alerted its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to the suspicious activity on its “Mentions” market, where users can bet on whether specific words, phrases or topics are uttered during a public speech.

* WSJ | Kalshi to Offer Contracts Predicting Flight Cancellations: The contracts will allow users to predict the percentages of flights canceled at an airport within a given timeframe. The prediction-markets platform disclosed the contracts in a Tuesday filing with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Kalshi said it plans to use the flight-tracking platform FlightAware to resolve the contracts, with data from the U.S. Department of Transportation as a backup.