* Neil Steinberg…

As fond as I am of teachers, generally, and despite being a good union man myself, I couldn’t help but shake my head in wonder at the Chicago Teachers Union, which I consider a fairly savvy organization, suing a pair of conservative watchdogs, the Illinois Policy Institute and the Liberty Justice Center, for sinking their teeth into CTU finances and accusing the union of using “cooked” books. […]

Since the lawsuit pivots on charges that the CTU “cooked” their books, doesn’t this lawsuit invite the Illinois Policy Institute to pick over the union’s finances with a lice comb, and show up in court with all sorts of charts highlighting every error, discrepancy and questionable meal expense they can find? Isn’t that exactly what the IPI wants to do anyway? And isn’t the CTU basically shining klieg lights, setting the stage for the IPI to parade their charges and theories across? I think they are.

From the CTU’s lawsuit…

The Source Code report identified the strategy underlying IPI’s campaign to undermine CTU: driving down Chicago residents’ support of CTU “through targeted digital, text, and media campaigns.” The article reported on the effects of IPI’s smear campaign: approval of CTU by Chicago residents fell from 70% to 28%.

The recording reported by Source Code confirms Defendants’ intent to injure CTU.

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* Press release…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law three bills implementing more comprehensive orders of protection for survivors of domestic violence, identification and intervention protocols for cases of high-risk intimate partner violence, and expanded access to sexual assault nurse examiners across the state.

The Governor signed the following bills into law:

- SB 3044: Strengthens protections for survivors of domestic violence and harassment by closing a legal loophole that occurs between emergency and final orders of protection (Sen. Stadelman/Rep. West); effective January 1, 2028
- SB 3048: Creates safeguards for those at the highest risk of being seriously injured or killed by an intimate partner (Sen. Morrison/Rep. Williams); effective January 1, 2027
- SB 3506: Expands access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners with telehealth options (Sen. Morrison/Rep. Cassidy); effective January 1, 2027, except that changes to Section 2 of the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act are effective June 1, 2027 and changes to Section 8.5 of the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act are effective July 1, 2026

*** Statehouse News ***

* AP | Governors’ races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers: Shapiro isn’t the only potential 2028 White House hopeful to step up his criticism data centers. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat running for a third term, halted new sales tax exemptions for data centers there until lawmakers impose tougher standards on their operations.

* Capitol News Illinois | With $65M infusion, Pritzker has now self-funded $439M since 2018 campaign launch: Pritzker contributed $171.5 million to his JB for Governor campaign account to defeat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018 and $145 million to beat GOP opponent Darren Bailey in 2022. His campaign fund has spread some of that money around to other campaigns. Facing Bailey again in 2026, Pritzker’s spending has slowed, relatively speaking, as the latest donation brings his tally for this cycle up to $90.5 million.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Giannoulias calls for $22 minimum wage: Despite proposing to increase their labor costs, Giannoulias said business leaders should line up behind a minimum wage hike. He said he’s been meeting with industry groups seeking buy-in. […] The gradual wage increase would exempt businesses with tipped workers like bars and restaurants, firmly re-establishing the tipped credit Johnson sought to eliminate over five years until the City Council extended the phase-out.

* The Real Deal | Chicago brokerage caught up in federal probe of Dodgers owner Mark Walter: Federal prosecutors are circling four businesses controlled by Mark Walter, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which includes the Chicago-based Bradford Allen commercial real estate brokerage and Chicago’s Hudson Trading. Bradford Allen has been tied to investment firm Guggenheim Partners, where Walter is CEO, for years. The brokerage is now a part of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probe into Walter to investigate whether he or his companies committed fraud by concealing financial ties while they borrowed billions from insurers he controlled, according to the Wall Street Journal.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago families paying average $794 per child on supplies: Many parents are likely getting some sticker shock, Deloitte Chicago’s Matt Adams joined ABC7 to breakdown what a study found. The average spending per student in Chicago is almost $800 dollars.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Cook County mailing tax bills Sept. 1, after two-month delay: Second installment bills in Cook County typically are mailed by July 1 and due Aug. 1. However, ongoing problems with a yearslong overhaul of the county’s tax system led to delays once more this year. In 2025, second installment bills didn’t go out until November, forcing some local governments — such as school, library and park districts — to dip into their reserves or take out short-term loans to pay their bills while awaiting their property tax dollars.

* Tribune | Northwestern University to revamp decades-old African Studies program, cut some staffers: Northwestern University officials deny reports that the school is closing its decades-old Program of African Studies, saying it is instead undergoing administrative changes. The 78-year-old program will move from being one of the school’s “Research Institutes and Centers” under the university’s Office for Research to being administered under the Office of the Provost, NU’s Vice President for Global Marketing and Communications Jon Yates confirmed in an email to the Tribune. […] The number of faculty positions will also stay the same throughout the transition. However, two staff positions in the Office of Research — where the program was previously housed — are being eliminated. For Meagan Keefe, the program’s director of operations and outreach programming, co-sponsorships, publications and grant development, the shift came as a shock.

* Daily Herald | Grayslake schedules extended comment session on controversial data center plan: “Our coalition strongly opposes any form of aggression, threats or violence against anyone involved on either side of this,” said Michael Smith, chair and co-founder of lake County Data Center Opposition Coalition. The group is supporting a lawsuit filed against the village, T-5 Data Centers LLC and Alter Asset Management Co., the developer of Cornerstone business park where the data center will be built.

* Oak Park Journal | Oak Park village board election season begins with new candidate : The official election does not take place until April 6, 2027, but candidates are able to start getting petition signatures as early as next week and nomination paperwork is due in November. Corbin said she hopes that starting the conversation early will get more people involved and “the more the merrier” when it comes to other candidates.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Why District 204 is reducing pay for retired teachers who work as substitutes: In a reversal from a decision made earlier this summer, Indian Prairie School District 204 is cutting pay for retired teachers who work as substitutes in the district by 35%. Despite some criticism of the move, the cuts were approved during the Indian Prairie school board’s meeting on Aug. 11. The district has said the substitute rates were creating budget concerns, and that reducing them is expected to save the district about $400,000 next year.

* Sun-Times | 354 Niles luxury apartments at former White Eagle site to be completed in 2027: Once the $156 million Riverbank project is complete, Niles officials said the gateway will be revitalized with art, much-needed housing and public green space. “What you’re going to see along Milwaukee Avenue is transformation,” Chris Ragusto, Niles’ director of community development, said. Developing the Riverbank is Noah Properties, led by Bart Przyjemski. Przyjemski is a native of Poland and a former Niles resident. He purchased the site in December 2025 for $5.7 million, with a $3.9 million mortgage from California-based Genesis Capital, property records show.

* Crain’s | This Chicago suburb has one of the nation’s hottest housing markets: Wheaton fits a broader pattern in this year’s rankings: All of the top 10 ZIP codes are in the Northeast or Midwest and are located in suburban corridors near major cities. Realtor.com says buyers increasingly are willing to pay a premium for larger, established homes with character, amenities and access to major employment centers.

*** Downstate ***

* IPM Newroom | Bipartisan group of Champaign County Board members thwart vote on home rule, blocking a plan to ban data centers: An attempt to pass home rule in Champaign County Monday night was cut short when a bipartisan group of county board members left the meeting early, forcing the meeting to end after three minutes and before any member of the public could comment on the issue. Champaign County Executive Steve Summers called the special board meeting last week, with the intent to vote on putting the issue of home rule on the November ballot. Residents and some elected officials have championed the county gaining home rule status as the only way for the county to permanently ban data centers. The county currently has a moratorium on data centers that ends next spring.

* WGLT | Joint B-N data center forum to include a mix of environmental, energy and policy experts:Both the city and town are in the middle of dual moratoriums on data center projects, put in place to give the municipalities time to draft regulations on hyper-scale data centers. Hyper-scale data centers use 5 or more megawatts of power. The forum is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. on Aug. 26 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

* WCIA | Champaign Co. State’s Attorney leading efforts to uphold victims’ rights in the courtroom: Marsy’s Law for All is honoring Champaign County State’s Attorney, Julia Reitz, and her victim advocacy team. The law gives legal rights to the victims of crimes in Illinois.[…] In addition to Rietz, the Champion of Victims’ Rights Award was also presented to the Champaign County victim advocacy staff: Lisette Lugo, Senior Victim Advocate; Jessica Cox, Kimberley Easton-Morris and Chantelle Jasper.

* WICS | Weathering the Illinois State Fair: Keith Cullers said his family has been serving Cullers Fries at the Illinois State Fair for 81 years, making unpredictable weather nothing new for the business. “Yesterday that storm blow through, we kicked up some dirt, we closed our awnings, we probably closed up for about 10 minutes and back up we was and they came out and kept on going. So it didn’t hurt us too bad,” said Cullers.

* WGLT | Bloomington extends dual disaster declarations tied to microburst, heavy rain: On Thursday, a microburst dropped 1.5 inches of rain within a one-hour period, causing several areas and roads to flood. Wind gusts topped 60 mph, snapping trees and power poles across the city. McLean County’s Emergency Management Agency Director Cathy Beck said Thursday that Bloomington appeared to have sustained most of the damage. Mayor Dan Brady declared a local disaster emergency for the storm damage and power outages Thursday evening, and issued another on Saturday as flooding became the focus. Now, both of those declarations are in place until Sept. 16.

*** National ***

* Kansas Reflector | Three years after police raid on Kansas newspaper, reporter settles lawsuit for $850K: Phyllis Zorn, the reporter whose acts of journalism served as an excuse for the August 2023 police raid of the Marion County Record, will get $850,000 from the city of Marion to settle her federal lawsuit over the raid. Attorneys for Zorn and the city filed a motion Tuesday, exactly three years after the raid, to dismiss the case. Kansas Reflector reviewed a copy of the settlement agreement, which has not been entered into the court record.

* CNBC | Disney-owned ABC files First Amendment lawsuit against FCC: On Tuesday, ABC said it “continues to face irreparable harm” from the administration, which “has been acting” through the FCC. Last week, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro doubled down on the company’s position in a CNBC interview. “I think you saw in our FCC filings our position on this is clear,” D’Amaro told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin at the time. “We’re very principled on this. We’re going to stand up to what we believe is journalistic and integrity, and we’re not going to be told how to run that side of our business.”