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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Jul 31, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Trump administration stops work on Great Lakes Asian carp project near Joliet. Sun-Times…
- Contractors at the Brandon Road Interbasin Project received a work stoppage order on July 24 stating the project is under administrative review, despite about $2 million worth of material already on site. - The $1.15 billion project in the Des Plaines River near Joliet is seen as a crucial way to stop invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. * At 10 am, Gov. JB Pritzker sign the Children’s Online Social Media Safety Act. Click here to watch. * Capitol News Illinois | Sean Grayson, seeking medical release from his murder sentence, still maintains Sonya Massey ‘attacked’ him: In his hand-written application, obtained by Capitol News Illinois via the Freedom of Information Act, Grayson did not show remorse in his description of the shooting, maintaining that Massey attacked him with a pot of boiling water. He also did not check a box stating his condition was likely to lead to his death in the next 18 months. * CBS Chicago | Columbia College Chicago launches first scholarship for students who experienced foster care: Columbia College Chicago is now the first private college in Illinois to offer free tuition and wraparound support to students who have experienced foster care. […] “It’s giving students that need a little bit more from foster care a little more support and development to say, ‘We believe that you are just as valuable and that you can cross the finish line,’” Kirk said. * CBS Chicago | Former Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg takes focus statewide as top aide to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul: Now serving as Raoul’s top aide, she’s turning her focus to the state of Illinois. “I think there are opportunities to apply that kind of efficiency lens to the work of the office,” she said. […] As for landing Witzburg as his chief of staff, Raoul said he tried to hire her in the past, but this time was a fit. * Gov. Pritzker’s spokesperson reacts to Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez saying “we’re going to find you, governor” at yesterday’s CPS Board hearing…
* ABC Chicago | Social media influencers helping boost Mayor Johnson’s online presence; some question transparency: Hennessy reviewed Johnson’s recent social media activity after he stated that those posting about him were not paid but acting organically. She said she noticed “a significant uptick in the number of influencers,” including some from out of state, “trying to humanize, trying to make Brandon Johnson seem cool.” “As our sort of communications environment emerges and changes, I don’t see why at some point that type of disclosing wouldn’t be necessary. I think that there’s some value in people knowing who’s responsible for what,” Johnson said during a news conference Wednesday. * Block Club | Ald. Bill Conway Launches Reelection Bid, Ending Speculation About Mayoral Run: The alderperson who represents parts of Downtown and the West Loop made the announcement to supporters via email Thursday afternoon, saying he spent the past several months reflecting on how he could best serve the city. “After serious consideration, I’ve concluded that the best place for me to continue making a difference is right here in the 34th Ward, serving the residents who put their trust in me,” Conway said in the email. * Crain’s | Push to sideline Johnson from picking new police chief draws mixed response: Johnson’s office declined to comment on the letter. The mayor previously said on WBEZ he supports the current selection process and it shouldn’t “wait based upon a political cycle or calendar.” Driver argued in a letter to the City Council the timing of the search coinciding with the mayor’s race could lead to a lesser-quality crop of candidates because veteran police leaders are hesitant to put their names forward for what ultimately could be a months-long job if Johnson is not reelected. Driver told Crain’s a potential new mayor “will more than likely want their own police superintendent.” * Crain’s | Illinois Tech to lay off 160 as enrollment, financial woes force restructure: The Illinois Institute of Technology will lay off 160 faculty and staff members as part of a sweeping financial and academic restructuring, a move that reportedly prompted a faculty senate vote of no confidence in the school’s top leadership. […] The science and engineering-focused Bronzeville university is particularly vulnerable to the Trump administration’s foreign student measures, as the school depends on international students for about half of its enrollment and is in the middle of extending coursework abroad — targeting students who may not immediately, or ever, come to the U.S. * Sun-Times | Art Institute of Chicago workers’ union pushes back against museum’s pending custodial contract: “We’re out here to say it’s not fair,” said Cameron Day, staff representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, the union’s bargaining unit. “We want to have a conversation. Let’s keep these workers in-house here at the Art Institute of Chicago.” […] The decision to outsource the jobs through third-party contractor GDI Integrated Facility Services is “better for daily operations” at the cultural institution, the spokesperson said. * WBEZ | After decades behind bars, Ivy Kelly was given a choice: Walk free, or keep fighting to clear his name: Kelly has always insisted he’s innocent of the 1999 killing that led to his decades-long prison sentence. In 2014, an appeals court raised doubts about his trial’s fairness. Eventually, prosecutors made Kelly an offer: He could walk free — if he just admitted guilt. We’ve spoken a couple times online, but I’ve come to the jail to ask in person about his response to the offer — a response that has weighed heavily ever since. * Daily Herald | Safety or surveillance? Debate over license plate cameras in the suburbs heats up: Rolling Meadows council members agreed this week to hold a special public session in August to address citizens’ concerns about the use of the cameras on city thoroughfares. That comes days after the police chief in the small McHenry County village of Holiday Hills was charged with unlawfully accessing reader data to track six people from his personal life, including three women he dated. In DuPage County, three men appeared in court Monday facing charges they stole or vandalized at least five cameras in and around Lisle. They’ve since become folk heroes to some, with one collecting nearly $8,000 in an online fundraiser to support his legal defense. * Pioneer Press | Oak Park board advances possible changes to single-family zoning: In the proposed changes, single-unit dwellings would still be allowed in all districts where they’re already permitted and multi-unit buildings would no longer be grouped into just one category, but would be divided into subcategories based on the number of units up to five. Those with six units and more would constitute another category. * Daily Herald | ‘Something I can do to help’: Suburban donors respond to blood shortage crisis: “My husband has been going through cancer treatments, so he has been getting blood at Condell (hospital),” said Glass, of Libertyville. “So I feel like I need to give back.” Glass was among a handful of donors who saw an announcement about the blood drive Thursday afternoon at Club Five Health clinic and wellness center on Milwaukee Avenue. The event was prompted by the Red Cross’ declaration on Monday of a “national blood crisis” — only the second time the nonprofit has made such a public statement in its 145-year history. * WAND | CUB challenges Ameren Illinois over rate hike and questionable grid spending: “Everybody agrees that Ameren needs to maintain its system, but they should do it in a way that doesn’t bankrupt their customers. That’s why consumer advocates get involved, to weed out wasteful, unwarranted and unnecessary spending,” Chilsen said. Chilsen said hearing directly from customers could make all the difference in how the ICC rules on these cases. * Illinois Times | Wyndham hotel up for sale: Affiliated told Rajabi in a letter in August 2025 that the vandalism in the early morning hours of March 27, 2025, “was intentionally caused by Mr. Rajabi, Mr. Rajabi colluded with others to cause the damage, and/or the damage was caused by other individuals with the knowledge of Mr. Rajabi.” Affiliated also said Rajabi filed a fraudulent claim related to a purported March 2024 lightning strike on the hotel building that resulted in Affiliated paying Rajabi $4.05 million. * First Alert 4 | Multi-studio film complex on the way to Wood River, Illinois: President and CEO of Hollywood River Studios Christopher Breakwell explained to me the Metro East is a great location, “It really is the centerpiece of being close to St. Louis, for us St. Louis has kind of been undershot in the Hollywood community not a lot of movies have been here, there’s just beautiful architecture and beautiful landscapes that we can take advantage of.” * WCIA | Thomasboro Mayor resigns, cites ‘personal and professional reasons’: The Mayor of Thomasboro submitted a letter of formal resignation on Thursday. The letter obtained by WCIA states the resignation of Jeff Roberston is effective as of 5 p.m. on July 29. Roberston states that the decision came after careful consideration, and that he decided to step away from his position for personal and professional reasons. * WTVO | Rickie Traeger says he’s a ‘political prisoner’ in letter from Winnebago County Jail: Traeger, 46, has been lodged in the Winnebago County Jail since April after authorities accused him of threatening Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara. Court records allege Traeger sent an email to the mayor that included statements such as “hold your family close you never know when today could be your last” and “you’re never gonna forget me.” Prosecutors also alleged Traeger later told police he was going to shoot the mayor. * Daily Egyptian | Carbondale’s painted hay bale tradition ends as family farm changes hands: What began as a hobby slowly became one of Carbondale’s most recognizable roadside landmarks. Drivers would honk as they went by. People stopped to take pictures. One visitor traveled from Canada just to photograph the display, Jim said. Even schoolchildren — riding the bus that Jim drove as a secondary job — would often ask him what he was going to paint next. * Capitol City Now | Justice Miller’s big bequest: The Community Foundation of the Land of Lincoln says Miller’s trust has given it $3.2 million, of which $1.2 million has already been granted to seven women- and children-focused charities “He shared with me he saw so many people come before him in court where there were troubles with young people, especially,” said the foundation’s president and CEO, John Stremsterfer. “Oftentimes he witnessed that many of these young people were raised by single mothers, and he had great empathy and sympathy for women in those situations.” * 404 Media | Data Centers Are Easy to Build. Powering Them Is Complicated, Slow, and Expensive: On Wednesday the power flickered in homes from Washington DC to Chicago. The cause was a data center disconnecting from PJM — a massive power grid that connects 13 states including North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Michigan, a span that covers 67 million customers. The incident points to a larger problem with the compute warehouses fueling the AI boom: It’s physically and economically impossible to build power infrastructure fast enough to meet the demands of AI data centers and when problems occur, everyone will pay the price. * AP | Anthropic says its AI models hacked 3 organizations during testing: Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI company behind Claude, posted on its website Thursday that it discovered the three incidents after reviewing more than 141,000 evaluation runs. It had launched a “large-scale” cybersecurity review which specifically looked for evidence whether its AI models were able to access the internet from within testing environments that should have been sealed off, in response to the OpenAI incident, Anthropic said.
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