* ICYMI: Anti-data center movement is on collision course with Labor Unions. Newsweek…

- Unions in numerous states are supporting the construction of data centers. In states like Illinois, organized labor has advocated for policies that would incentivize their construction while opposing data center moratoriums.
- In June, however, Pritzker directed his administration to “pause the processing of data center agreements while we continue working with the General Assembly and stakeholders on a comprehensive framework that protects affordability, safeguards our natural resources, and ensures responsible growth across Illinois,” he said in a statement.
- Kristine Kavanagh, communications director for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, which represents operating engineers in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, told Newsweek that the union supports building data centers, but that must come with responsibility. She said lawmakers have been “receptive” to their concerns about data centers.

* At 10:30 am, Gov. JB Pritzker will sign SB 2427, banning cell phones in schools from bell-to-bell to create distraction-free classrooms. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Is Hawthorne Race Course being torn down for a data center? Cicero thinks so: One resolution before the trustees opposes a data center at the nearby Hawthorne property, though there has been no public acknowledgment that any such plan is in place. The resolution says town officials don’t want any projects built anywhere near Cicero, home to more than 80,000 people. A mystery buyer by the name of Allimac 2023 LLC agreed to pay $90 million for the property at 3501 S Laramie Ave. in Stickney, which borders Cicero. The owner has not publicly identified itself or said what it will do with the land.

* Tribune | Illinois teachers union sues to force Cook County treasurer to issue property tax bills and make payments: While the suit adds pressure, it’s unclear whether it can or will move the needle to get bills out the door faster. Pappas has steadfastly insisted the delays are occurring upstream of her office, and there’s little she can do to move more quickly. Pappas’ office did not comment on the suit, but did say in a written statement that it anticipates sending CPS a chunk of money this week. The district has said it needs $85 million to avert implementing furlough days.

* Capitol City Now | Brad Cole to retire from IL Municipal League: Cole said Monday he would depart his job in January, to be succeeded by Rockford mayor Tom McNamara. “I think he brings some good experience,” said Cole. “Our board was very interested in having a mayor like myself at the top of the organization to speak with that background and that experience, whether that’s to the General Assembly or the Congress or just to each other.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* ABC Chicago | Ethics report expected to scrutinize IL House Speaker Welch’s handling of harassment complaints: House Republican Leader Tony McCombie criticized Welch’s handling of the earlier allegations, saying, “Not only not speaking to him about it, not reprimanding him then, he didn’t remove him from the caucus then. Then he continues to spend one point four million dollars to get him re-elected. That’s a real problem.” Republicans have also launched a political ad highlighting Welch’s use of his professional Instagram account to like posts featuring women in swimsuits. Washington said the issue could resonate among Democratic women in the legislature.

* 25News Now | Area lawmakers weigh in on speaker’s handling of allegations against disgraced representative: “What I have found- the information I have without having read the report - is that the victim did not want to come forward. The victim asked that information not be shared,” said [Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth], adding that she still has confidence in Welch’s leadership “at the moment.”

* Center Square | Trump, member states aligned on reform of PJM amid capacity concerns: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker mentioned during an appearance at a climate conference last week that the part of the state’s power grid being on the PJM grid has negative impacts on residents. “I almost want to declare independence. Not from the United States, although there’s moments,” Pritzker said. “Independence from these regional transmission organizations because when we’re doing it right here and yet someone next door or five states away is doing it wrong and it’s affecting everybody.”

* SJ-R | Illinois’ first appellate defender, death penalty foe dies in Springfield: Theodore “Ted” A. Gottfried, who served as the Illinois appellate defender for three and a half decades and was on the landmark commission that recommended death penalty reforms to then-Gov. George Ryan in 2002, died in Springfield July 23.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago’s mayoral campaign revs up as circulation of nominating petitions starts: Johnson’s political director Christian Perry said it simply means there are “groups that supported us last time that would like to see him run” and there is a “good deal of organic energy on the ground to see his leadership continue.” “They reached out to us, asked if it was OK, and we gave the OK that they could absolutely” circulate petitions on Johnson’s behalf. “But the mayor still hadn’t come to a decision,” Perry said.

* Tribune | Fast-moving storms bring golf ball-sized hail, power outages across Chicago area: ‘Insane’: Monday’s weather saw a slew of warnings and watches take effect throughout the city, collar counties and northwest Indiana. Storms grounded flights, suspended public transportation and sent those outside seeking immediate shelter. By Monday evening, nearly 320,000 customers were without power, according to ComEd.

* Sun-Times | Rep. Delia Ramirez visits Chicagoans at Kentucky ICE detention center and calls conditions ‘devastating’: The Illinois congresswoman joined two Democratic colleagues at the Campbell County Detention Center in Newport, Kentucky, where she checked on two constituents: Ricardo, a 39-year-old man who has been detained since September and Octavio, 53, who has been detained for two months. Ramirez said both are diabetic and have complained to her about inadequate food and medication.

* WBEZ | George Clinton expands his Afrofuturist universe through paintings, now on display in Chicago: Though he is colorblind, he has created a variety of vibrant motherships using acrylic, spray paint and charcoal. The exhibit even includes a tiny replica of the iconic, $500,000 spaceship that he debuted on his P-Funk Earth Tour in 1976. Building upon the universe he created as the leader of Parliament-Funkadelic, his visual art underscores his contribution to Afrofuturism, a cultural movement that envisions a future of liberation for Black people.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Evanston Now | Biss submits resignation letter, affirming October departure: Mayor Daniel Biss submitted a formal, notarized letter of resignation to Evanston City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza on July 21, binding him to a departure from office as Evanston’s 22nd mayor just before midnight on Oct. 18, 2026.

* Daily Herald | District 220 board members violated policies, investigation finds: Two Barrington Area Unit School District 220 board members violated board policies by posting images of students, district property and the district’s chess piece logo on campaign social media sites, an outside investigator determined. Board members Leah Collister-Lazzari and Barry Altshuler have since deactivated those campaign Facebook pages.

* Crain’s | Oak Park mulls wiping out zoning that only allows houses: With the village board set to hear two consulting firms’ proposal at its meeting today, the near west suburb is in an early stage on the trail blazed in the past few years by Minneapolis and the states of Oregon, California and Washington. Opening single-family zones to multiunit buildings was also a key part of Gov. JB Pritzker’s housing initiative called BUILD, which failed in the spring legislative session. If the proposal from consulting firms Opticos Design and All Together goes through over the next several months, Oak Park would accomplish locally what Pritzker couldn’t do statewide.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora may add nine electric vehicle chargers to support its electric fleet: Just over 70% of the $292,000 total expense for the chargers would be covered by federal reimbursement grants, and city funds would pay the remaining $80,707. The reimbursement vouchers were awarded to the city in 2023 by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.

*** Downstate ***

* WCBU | Peoria Housing Authority taking initial steps toward demolishing ‘obsolete’ Harrison Homes:
Damon Duncan, the PHA’s interim CEO, said the public housing agency hopes to submit its application for decommissioning the apartment complex to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development within the next few weeks. “The quality of the housing stock is substandard, that’s first and foremost,” said Duncan. “Quality, affordable housing is not only the mission of HUD, but one of the objectives of the authority.

* WIFR | Data center moratorium request stalls in Rockford committee meeting: The push to temporarily pause new data center proposals surfaced during the Rockford Codes and Regulations committee meeting, as committee members continue debating what regulations should be in place before the city considers any future projects. “Tonight, where there was no second or conversation about this moratorium it kind of reflects a little bit of the consistency that we’ve seen with this item being proposed, where there was no conversation with colleagues over the last maybe month or two with the individual or alderman who proposed this,” 13th Ward Alderperson Tamir Bell said.

* Crain’s | U of I launches search for next president at one of Illinois’ most important engines: The University of Illinois is launching its search to replace Tim Killeen as president of a system with three campuses, more than 100,000 students and a nearly $9 billion budget. Killeen has been in the job 11 years, among the longest tenures of a U of I president. He stabilized an institution that had been embroiled in a political scandal followed by a financial crisis. Then he grew it, with enrollment rising 29% and its budget increasing 59%.

* WGEM | Quincy Regional Airport faces uncertainty as federal EAS funding cuts swirl: Quincy Regional Airport is currently in a nearly $6.5 million EAS contract with Contour Airlines, which operates flights to Chicago and Nashville. Airport Director Bill Lantz said the program supports two separate streams of federal money — EAS subsidies, which go directly to airlines, and entitlement funds, which are used for airport upkeep and infrastructure. A cut to EAS subsidies could trigger a reduction in entitlement money as well.

* Effingham Daily News | Demolition derbies change over the years, but the goal remains the same for Becker: ‘I want to have a good show for the fans’: nce a driver, now behind the scenes, Jon Becker has always had demolition derbies in his blood. Becker drove in them from 1985 to 2001. Following an injury, he was forced to work with demolition derbies through a new lens. “I joined the fair board in 2008 and helped manage the demo,” Becker said. “I had also announced demos from 2001 to just recently, but only do the Effingham County Fair now.”

* MPR News | Silos are disappearing from the farm landscape. One woman wants to track them down before they do: Silos probably fade into the background for most people who live in the Corn Belt. Though they often serve as landmarks, people’s connection to them has tended to be utilitarian. Occasionally, silos have been saved by being converted into housing or public space, but many others have been destroyed. But their legacy is rooted in Illinois. Historians believe the first one in the Midwest was built in Spring Grove, Illinois. Bill Kemp, historian with the McLean County Museum of History, said silos transformed agriculture in the Midwest.