* Politico…

Americans’ attitudes toward data centers have grown increasingly sour and politically polarized in the past six months, a trend that signals trouble for the artificial intelligence industry and leaders of both parties, according to new results from The POLITICO Poll. […]

The poll also found that more people now oppose nearby data centers than support them — a reversal from the findings of an earlier POLITICO Poll in January.

The new poll found that 41 percent of Americans would oppose a data center being built within three miles of where they live, up from 28 percent in the January survey. The number supporting those projects dropped during the same period, from 37 percent to 24 percent.

* Crain’s…

​A state board voted this morning to give two Illinois hospital operators more time to keep services closed, granting extensions to health systems that shut down care without first seeking state approval.

The Illinois Healthcare Facilities Services & Review Board’s votes allow two health systems, Resilience Healthcare and Prime Healthcare, which are both dealing with financially strapped safety nets, to work through separate legal issues before entering a formal facilities review process.

Resilience said it is appealing a federal funding cutoff at now-closed Weiss Memorial Hospital and coping with state demands for recouped funding from the shuttered hospital.

Separately, Prime Healthcare, which owns St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee, is facing a county lawsuit over abruptly closing its obstetrics and gynecological services last year.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press release | NCSL Celebrates America’s 250th at the Legislative Summit in Chicago: As the nation celebrates its 250th year of independence, NCSL’s annual Legislative Summit will welcome more than 7,000 attendees to Chicago’s McCormick Place July 27-29 for a wide range of bipartisan policy sessions on a host of issues that both divide and unite us. […] Monday’s opening session, “How to Disagree Better: Leading in Polarized Times,” features two governors and two state House speakers in an examination of how authentic leadership can turn partisan argument into productive conversation. Panelists include Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman (R) and Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D).

* WICS | Illinois launches statewide Blue Envelope Program for drivers with autism: Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced the program after legislation creating it was signed into law. The voluntary initiative will take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The program allows drivers, passengers or vehicle owners to keep their driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance inside a blue envelope. Presenting the envelope during a traffic stop alerts officers that the individual may communicate differently or need additional time to respond.

* Bloomberg | Congressional Hopeful Advances Suit Against Illinois Ballot Rule: A congressional hopeful can pursue his claims that Illinois’ ballot-access requirements are unfair to independent candidates, a federal judge found Monday. Precedent “strongly suggests” that Randy Flowers’ lawsuit won’t succeed, wrote Judge Sara Darrow of the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois. But “the constitutional test for ballot access requirements is ‘fact-intensive,’” she wrote, so the case can proceed for discovery and further development of the record.

* Center Square | Illinois diversity certifications lag despite partial computer fix: By May 2026 the number of businesses had dropped to about 2,700, or half of its peak of about 5,400. This month the commission reported an increase of about 21 percent to 3,268. It was the first meaningful increase in certifications since the computer switch.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | A ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ For Landlords? Challenge To Mayor’s Housing Plan Slammed By Tenant Groups: Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th) joined tenant advocates from the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, Belden Sawyer Tenants Association, Law Center for Better Housing and Palenque LSNA on Monday outside City Hall to denounce the coalition’s FAIR proposal. “F-A-I-R is the Chicago landlord’s big, beautiful bill — a great name for something that actually takes away tenants’ rights,” Devon Carson, member of the Belden Sawyer Tenants Association, said to reporters Monday. “FAIR deregulates and removes accountability from the rich and powerful and increases the burden on working-class tenants.”

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Teachers and CTU tell Chicago Board of Education to reject proposed budget cuts, furloughs: During one of two required budget hearings, teachers discussed how the district’s proposed budget — which also includes staff cuts to help close a $732.5 million deficit — would hurt them and their schools and would exacerbate problems that educators are already facing due to recent budget woes. For example, a teacher in the Austin neighborhood said Monday that teachers across four grades at her school have already received layoff notices, meaning each of those grades would have just one teacher, and at least one class could have as many as 47 kids, based on current enrollment estimates, she said. That figure would violate the Chicago Teachers Union’s contract with the district.

* Block Club | South Side High School, College STEM Programs Get $250,000 From PsiQuantum: Recipients include George Washington and St. Francis de Sales high schools in East Side, Olive Harvey College and Chicago State University. The money is intended to prepare South Siders for jobs in quantum research and other scientific fields, company officials said. […] The funds include grants to Project SYNCERE, an organization offering education and internships to prepare South and West side kids for engineering careers; and Phalanx Family Services, a West Pullman-based group which has hosted a STEM lab alongside the Museum of Science and Industry and trainings in artificial intelligence.

* Crain’s | Chicago developer buys River North office building for conversion that would add two stories: Concord Capital paid $4.1 million for the 48,000-square-foot building at 226 W. Ontario St. and plans to convert it into 70 rental apartments, Principal Drew Millard said. Sixty of those units will be built within the existing building’s six floors, and 10 more are planned for a two-story addition Concord envisions on top of the 113-year-old property.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Locals put dibs on new houses in Elk Grove Village lottery: With husband Miharsh Patel, she had been through a round of house-hunting frustrations before Elk Grove Village’s mayor in June unveiled a unique plan to give the town’s residents a head start on buying homes in the first new subdivision within its borders in at least a quarter-century. On July 18 at the Belvedere banquet hall, the Patels, who both work in healthcare, were the first whose names Mayor Craig Johnson drew from a box onstage. They had five minutes to make their choice.

* Pioneer Press | Skokie business lawyer is first to enter race to become Evanston’s next mayor: Carpenter, a 2nd Ward Evanston resident and founding partner attorney at Zeidman & Carpenter PLLC law firm in Skokie, is the first to announce definite plans to run in what is likely to be a contentious race to finish out the remainder of current Mayor Daniel Biss’ term ending in 2029. […] Carpenter filed paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections earlier this month, the first candidate to do so and weeks before contenders in the municipal election are permitted to begin circulating petitions for the mayoral seat, which starts on July 28.

* Pioneer Press | La Grange Park eyes restructure of sales tax in business districts: “As part of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget process, the Village Board discussed various revenue options,” Trustee and Finance Committee Chair Bob Lautner told his colleagues July 14 at the monthly board work session. “One of the options presented was the implementation of a village-wide, non home-rule municipal retailers occupation tax and municipal service occupation tax, coupled with a corresponding reduction in the sales tax imposed within the village’s four business districts.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Champaign Co. Board member files resolution calling for Aaron Ammons’ resignation: The resolution was filed by Board Member Jeff Wilson, a Republican representing District 1 and the party’s nominee for the upcoming election in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. Wilson filed the resolution after Ammons was federally indicted for conspiracy to obstruct justice and witness tampering. Ammons’ wife, State Rep. Carol Ammons, is facing charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

* WCIA | Former Sangamon Co. police chief accused of stealing between $10k-$100k: A former Sangamon County police chief who was arrested for driving under the influence and domestic battery earlier this year has now been indicted on new charges of theft, misapplication of funds and official misconduct. Daniel T. Ryan, the former Police Chief of Leland Grove, was unanimously terminated by the city council on Feb. 24, 2026.

* WGLT | McLean County Board chair addresses tax errors, delays in records overhaul: A no-interest loan to the Village of Hudson totals just over $81,000 to account for tax revenue it won’t see until next year. “I think I’ll be satisfied when we see the fruits of those efforts, and we see that there are no more errors being sent out officially on the tax documents,” said Elizabeth Johnston in an interview for WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “We do want to have those backstops. We do want to have these double checks to make sure that things are as they should be before they go to the printer,” Johnston said.

* 25News Now | Hundreds face furloughs at Liberty Steel & Wire’s Bartonville plant: Hundreds of workers at Liberty Steel and Wire in Bartonville are being furloughed because of a downturn in the market for industrial wire products made at the plant, a company spokesperson said on Friday. The spokesperson, Stephanie AlKhafaji, told 25News that the action is temporary and “we are looking forward to bringing all employees back.”

* Smile Politely | Building the dream of homeownership with Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County: Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County (HfHCC) is a HUD-certified (Housing and Urban Development) counseling agency that offers services to prospective homebuyers and current homeowners. It’s one the few certified programs in Central Illinois, and has held that certification since 2018. It’s an incredible slate of services, and they’re all free. The funding for HUD certification looks just as potentially bleak with recent funding cuts, but Habitat for Humanity has no worries about slashing their program.

*** National ***

* NYT | Why States Are Making It Harder to Save Money With Solar Panels: In Illinois, by contrast, lawmakers decided to let homeowners sell excess energy for about half the retail rate, and the transition took place over more than three years. “California got rid of traditional net metering, and Illinois got rid of traditional net metering,” said Amy Heart, vice president of public policy at Sunrun, the country’s largest residential solar and storage company. “You didn’t hear about it in Illinois because it was planned out.”