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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Aug 20, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois regulators propose allowing licensed cannabis producers to grow outdoors. Tribune…
- Outdoor cultivation is common in other states that have legalized cannabis, from California to Michigan. Researchers say it could save up to 76% of the energy used on indoor cultivation, helping the state towards its goal of reducing net carbon emissions. It could also lower prices for consumers. - The growing area must be fully enclosed by a continuous chain-link fence at least 8 feet high and topped with razor wire or other security wire; and screened or covered so that it’s out of public view from nearby streets or roads. Sponsored by Chronic Care Policy Alliance It’s a fact: obesity is a chronic disease. Access to FDA-approved obesity treatments shouldn’t depend on a patient’s financial situation. A recent study of Illinois voters found:
- 81% believe access to obesity treatment is especially important for communities facing higher rates of chronic disease. - 78% agree that when programs like Medicaid cover obesity medicines, they help improve lives and lead to better health outcomes down the road. Expanding access to obesity medicines through Medicaid can help eligible patients receive the care they need to manage a chronic disease and prevent long-term complications. Learn why Illinois policymakers should provide Medicaid coverage for obesity medicines and help ensure every eligible patient has access to treatment. * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * Illinois Times | Unamended consequences: The 2050 planners explain that only about 10% of Springfield’s population and housing units are found within a mile of the downtown core. Most of Springfield’s peer small rural capital cities, such as Des Moines or Madison, in contrast, sustain larger shares of their populations downtown “and are growing those concentrations at a faster annual rate” than Springfield. The 2050 plan does not explain that one of the reasons there are not more people living in downtown Springfield is that the state incited (and the city permitted) the destruction of hundreds of dwellings around the Statehouse beginning in the 1970s, when that neighborhood was mostly residential. * WGLT | Wind farm development could resume in Central Illinois: A federal judge has ordered the Pentagon to lift its freeze on reviewing onshore wind project permits and to end delays that have brought U.S. wind power development to a standstill, including projects in Central Illinois. Johnston said that could make a difference, though the moratorium has not so far been terribly disruptive. “These are projects that have been in the works for a long time, and I’m hoping that that moratorium really serves as just a blip and that the organizations that were looking to come to McLean County, that it did not disrupt their plans at all,” said Johnston. * KWQC | Pritzker in talks with Tyson on repurposing Joslin facility after sudden closure: Pritzker attributed the cost of beef across the country as the reason for the plant’s closure. “It’s a tragedy that was caused by the very high cost of beef across the country. You saw that they unfortunately closed not just that facility, but one in Utah,” Pritzker said. “They’re selling off one in Washington. This is really terrible for the people who live in Joslin. We’re doing everything that we can to lift them up.” * WCIA | IL Attorney General releases audit into U of I’s Discovery Partners Institute: The Illinois Auditor General has released the results of an audit into the University of Illinois’ Discovery Partners Institute, after Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) initiated the audit last year. In 2024, the institute announced it was shifting away from its plan to build a tech hub on the south side of Chicago. Rose said the move prompted him to ask questions about the money being spent on the plan. Now, the audit’s results show each payment toward the development of DPI’s development, known as “The 78” was accurate and accounted for. It shows nearly $50 million was spent on architectural plans, construction and salaries before the project was scrapped. * WGN | Health advocates protest Chicago HIV and AIDS care funding cuts: The AIDS Health Care Foundation staged a protest the morning of Aug. 19, outside the Chicago Board of Health’s meeting in the Loop. Earlier in the year, the organization filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Department of Public Health after it ended grant programs that funded care for HIV and AIDS patients. These cuts have hit the city’s South and West sides the hardest. “These are real people that we’re talking about. These are real systems that have been critically adjusted. There are folks who have fallen out of care, and the question remains, ‘Does the city really care about these communities?’” * Sun-Times | No clear leader in race for Chicago School Board president, poll finds: A third of likely voters in November’s elections have no idea which of the five candidates for Chicago School Board president they’d vote for, or if they’d vote at all, according to a poll released Thursday that provides one of the first looks at the state of the historic contest. The survey of 600 likely voters, which was commissioned by candidate Sendhil Revuluri’s campaign and conducted last week, found that even after hearing brief biographies about each candidate pulled from campaign materials, 34% of likely voters remained undecided or said they’d skip voting in the race. * Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Board of Education 101: Know the basics of the soon-to-be elected board guiding Chicago Public Schools: A desire for better representation on Chicago’s school board — rather than unceasing mayoral control — played a large part in adding more members. To determine how those members would represent different parts of Chicago, state lawmakers passed separate legislation in March 2024 dividing the city into electoral districts. * Crain’s | Chicago apartment sales jump 91% as rent growth draws investor confidence: Investors traded nearly $2.5 billion worth of Chicago-area apartment buildings in the first half of 2026, a 91% increase from the first six months of 2025, according to data from real estate services firm Newmark, which tracks deals of more than $15 million or 50 units. * Sun-Times | Jesse White Tumbling Team eliminated from ‘America’s Got Talent’: The Jesse White Tumbling Team’s journey on Season 21 of “America’s Got Talent” ended on Wednesday night as the Chicago troupe did not advance to the semifinal rounds of the hit reality/competition series. The outcome was revealed during the show’s first results round telecast. The team’s disappointment was palpable as their hopeful smiles dissolved into heartbreak as the news was announced. * ABC Chicago | Itasca police officer accused of misusing Flock technology, no longer employed by department: Village officials said during an internal audit of the Itasca Police Department, officials discovered that a law enforcement officer allegedly used the department’s technology systems “for a purpose that was not authorized.” “Upon learning of these actions, the Village immediately placed the involved officer on administrative leave while it conducted an internal investigation,” the village said. “The officer is no longer employed by the Itasca Police Department, and per department policy, the matter was turned over to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office for review.” * Daily Herald | Anti-Flock signs removed as Rolling Meadows debates license plate cameras: City leaders say the signs were on public property and rights-of-way — particularly, the parkway grass areas between sidewalks and street curbs — where municipal code prohibits political campaign signs, real estate signs and contractor signs, among others. Organizers of the no-camera campaign admit many placards were placed near the street and on public property — indeed, 15 had arrows pointing up to identify individual cameras — but accused city hall of selective enforcement. * ABC Chicago | Ex-Cook County commissioner accuses Treasurer Maria Pappas of intimidation in complaint over texts: The dispute began after Pappas sent Boykin a series of text messages over the weekend in response to a letter Boykin wrote earlier this month on behalf of mayoral candidate Willie Wilson. The letter criticized Pappas and several other public officials for seeking re-election to their current offices while also pursuing a mayoral campaign. While Pappas has not formally launched a mayoral campaign, she has indicated she plans to run. * Daily Herald | Bartlett has no marijuana dispensaries. It could soon have two at the same intersection: Bartlett trustees are expected to vote Sept. 1 on whether to allow the village’s first pot dispensary at the northeast corner of Route 59 and Army Trail Road. Just two days later, the village’s planning and zoning commission is scheduled to review a proposal for another dispensary at the southeast corner of Route 59 and Army Trail. If built, the dispensaries would be less than 1,500 feet apart. Typically, the state doesn’t issue licenses to recreational marijuana businesses that close to each other, according to Kurt Asprooth, Bartlett’s village attorney. The state usually licenses the dispensary that successfully applies first, he said. * WGLT | McLean County, city and town have more work to resolve shared sales tax dispute: A clean audit of the McLean County Mental Health and Public Safety Fund won’t wipe away all the disagreements over how the county spends sales tax money shared by Bloomington and Normal. McLean County Board chair Elizabeth Johnston said the audit adequately captured what has been happening in the fund and that it shows expenditures happened appropriately. Johnston said as long as the contract continues between the City of Bloomington, Town of Normal and the county, the auditor believes the fund will remain able to meet contractual obligations for criminal justice records handling technology and mental health programs. * Tribune |: A major ethanol refinery on the Illinois River near Peoria has been ordered to fund efforts to restore its wetlands and floodplain after an eight-year legal fight over alleged water discharges up to 40 degrees hotter than permitted, threatening aquatic life. “Rivers can’t speak in court, so we speak for them,” said Robert Hirschfeld, director of water policy at Prairie Rivers Network. * WPSD | Southern Illinois winery permanently closing, cites property tax burden: After nearly two decades as a Southern Illinois hospitality destination, Walker’s Bluff is closing its Winery and Legends permanently on Wednesday, with the owners saying rising property taxes made it impossible to continue operating. [….] Walker’s Bluff CEO Brad Elders told board members the property tax bill had reached about $194,000, approximately $14,200 more than the previous year. He described what the financial strain meant for longtime employees. * WAND | New Unit 4 superintendent addresses registration delays amid residency checks: Champaign School District Unit 4 said hundreds of students have not started school because their parents or guardians cannot prove they live in the district, and it has requested three residency documents. Board member Betsy Holder said in a Facebook post Tuesday that an estimated 750 students are being removed from Unit 4 schools because they do not live within the boundary lines. * WAND | Decatur begins first comprehensive plan update since 2009: Lacie Elzy, director of economic and community development for the City of Decatur, said it is a long-range plan and a roadmap for how the community wants to reinvest in itself and develop over the next 10 to 20 years. “It also gives us, by giving us a policy and a roadmap to follow,” Elzy said. “So, you know, in future years when we are looking at grant funds that are available, when we are looking at budgets and we’re looking at projects coming down the pipeline, we can go back to this document and really be intentional with those investments.” * Capitol City Now | 1,500-pound steer is star of Sale of Champions at Illinois State Fair: Eighteen-month-old Badger (pictured) weighs about 1,500 pounds and is, says Gensini, “the best boy ever.” Soon enough, he’ll be the best steaks and hamburgers distributed at Illinois food banks. While the other animals and commodities at the annual event are auctioned off, the custom the last few years has been for Gov. Pritzker and the First Lady to donate $105,000.
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