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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Sep 1, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Head of Chicago’s Insight hospital talks about future of West Suburban amid pushback from doctors, lawmakers. Tribune…
- “What began as a discussion about bringing residents and public officials together in the neighborhoods served by West Suburban Hospital has turned into something else entirely,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and Illinois House Assistant Majority Leader Camille Lilly. - When asked if the two lawmakers oppose Insight taking over the hospitals, a spokesperson for Harmon said in an email: “It’s too soon to say. We’ve heard concerns from key community members but we haven’t had a chance to hear from the broader community.” * Related stories… * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * WGLT | Bloomington-Normal not immune from journalism and media cuts: Justin Conn, who had been sports editor, is now listed on the Pantagraph website as the new Central Illinois executive editor overseeing those newspapers. In a note to readers published Sunday, Conn said he and his wife plan to move from Decatur to Bloomington-Normal. Watznauer’s exit, and the recent layoff of another newsroom employee, brings The Pantagraph’s news staff to just 10, down from around 25 in 2019 and 75 in 1999. * Press release | Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Officially Launches: Today, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) officially replaced the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), taking over oversight of Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and Pace. Governor JB Pritzker signed the NITA Act into law in late 2025, putting landmark transit reform in motion that will make service more frequent and consistent, fares more affordable, and rides safer and more seamless between lines. * NBC Chicago | Indiana stays optimistic on Bears’ stadium bid despite Goodell meeting with Illinois lawmakers: On Aug. 13, Goodell met with four lawmakers, including State Sen. Bill Cunningham and State Rep. Kam Buckner – the lead negotiators for the Bears’ stadium proposal in the Illinois General Assembly. […] Sources told NBC Chicago the meeting with Goodell centered on Arlington Heights, not Chicago. * Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker pledges to stay on ‘Team Fight’ as he asks Illinois voters for 3rd term: Pritzker’s also not saying if a third term would be his last. “I don’t know whether it’s my last term or not, but I certainly feel like the next four years are an opportunity to sort of cap off many of the things,” he said. * NPR Illinois | Illinois law promotes school “share tables” to cut waste and feed students: A newly signed Illinois law makes it clear that share tables are allowed to be used by schools and creates rules when using them. Students can visit the tables to place whole, unopened, unwanted food items they received from the cafeteria that day. After a food or beverage is placed, any student is allowed to take it for no charge. The law does not allow food from home to be offered. “Many school districts did not know if this was something they were allowed to do because of federal regulations around sharing food in schools. This law aims to make the rules around share tables clear so that schools can benefit from using them,” said Illinois State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), who sponsored the bill. The governor approved it in August. * Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s business affairs chief stepping down: Ivan Capifali, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, confirmed his retirement on Monday via a news release from the mayor’s office following inquiries from the Tribune. The City Hall veteran assumed the role in March 2025 after his predecessor, Kenneth Meyer, retired. “After more than three decades of dedicated service to the City of Chicago, I am closing one chapter of my career and beginning another,” Capifali said in a statement. “I am leaving public service with a deep understanding of the people, businesses, and communities that make our city thrive. As BACP Commissioner, I have had the opportunity to engage with the small business community, and I am inspired to apply that experience in a new way.” * Block Club | Former Loretto Hospital Executive Pleads Not Guilty To COVID-19 Testing Scams: Prosecutors have said O’Hare Clinical Lab Services submitted over 1.3 million claims for COVID-19 testing of uninsured people during this period. Federal prosecutors allege that the scheme sought nearly $894 million in reimbursements from the federal government. About $293 million was actually paid out. * Crain’s | UChicago, U of I land $75 million in federal funding for quantum research: Teams led by University of Chicago and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have received new five-year grants from the National Science Foundation for quantum technology research worth $37.5 million apiece. Coupled with larger $125 million grants to Chicago-area national labs by the Department of Energy that were renewed last year, the new funding bolsters Illinois’ effort to position itself as one the nation’s leaders in quantum technology. * Daily Herald | As demand for mental health services grows, providers turning to publicly funded 708 boards: A growing number of suburban townships in recent years have placed referendum questions on ballots asking voters to create community mental health boards, better known as 708 boards. Comprising appointed volunteers, the panels receive public dollars through a new property tax levy authorized by the referendum. They then distribute those funds via grants to local agencies that assist people with mental health issues, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. * Daily Herald | Ascension Illinois adding 14 primary care clinicians in the Northwest suburbs: By the end of the year, Ascension expects to add 14 primary care clinicians at its Northwest suburban locations in Barrington, Bartlett, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg. Primary care clinicians include physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and are usually patients’ first point of contact with the health care system, Ascension officials said. * Oak Park Journal | Oak Park ramping up costs for single-use bags leading to full ban in 2030 : The 10-cent fee on single-use bags has been in place since 2018 and has been successful in raising over $1 million in revenue for the village’s sustainability fund. However, it has been the opposite of successful in reducing usage of plastic bags, actually seeing an increase from the first year of the policy according to Roland Nieratka. The new regulations, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, will raise the fee for single-use plastic and paper bags by 5 cents until reaching a cap of 25 cents per bag and eventually a complete ban on plastic in 2030. * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora electoral board to decide if recall referendum questions will be on November ballot: With about two months left before the November election and a few weeks before the start of early voting, it’s still unclear if two referendum questions aiming to allow for the recall of a sitting mayor and at-large aldermen in Aurora could appear on the fall ballot. If placed on the ballot, the questions would ask Aurora voters if the city should adopt mechanisms that would allow a sitting mayor or an alderman at-large to be recalled. * WGLT | McLean County GOP calls for Republican county auditor to resign: The county GOP issued a statement on Monday stating that McLean County Auditor Michelle Anderson is responsible for a wide range of problems linked to county finances, including delayed grants and bill payments and the county’s 2024 audit which was not completed until October 2025. County Republican party chair Connie Beard said those delays have been costly for the county. “The call for her resignation was, we felt, a step toward trying to make sure she realizes we are trying to hold her accountable,” Beard said, noting the party’s 14-member executive committee was unanimous in supporting Anderson’s resignation. “I’m not going to let them slide just because they have an R after their name.” * WGLT | The $400 million dispute: Why Rivian thinks its Normal properties are overvalued and overtaxed: Government assessors think Rivian’s property is worth $527 million. Rivian’s own appraiser argues it’s only worth $115 million. After losing an initial appeal with McLean County’s Board of Review, Rivian is taking its case to the state’s Property Tax Appeals Board. * WAND | Pritzker, lawmakers divided on future of Choate Developmental Center: Some note that an SIU School of Medicine study supported their efforts to keep the facility open. “In that 40-page report, it was almost as if the governor’s administration and DHS were checking a box,” said Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro). “Legislators want a study done, check. And then they ignored the 40-page report that said not only should we not decrease the beds there, but we should increase the beds there.” * WCIA | Rantoul leaders unveil new Tuskegee Airmen mural: Rantoul Mayor Sam Hall said the mural, painted by Dwight White, helps the community understand the village’s history. “It’s important that we all the understand the history… the history behind not just Chanute overall for its innovation and with the air force, but also what the Tuskegee Airmen meant to Chanute and also the rest of the air force,” said Hall.
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- H-W - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 8:25 am:
Re: NPR story on share tables
What a wonderful idea. It is a shame the tables will not go officially go online until next academic year (according to the story).
I hope the teachers, staff and children will avoid allowing use of the tables to signify a social class stigma. About 13% of all children (and about 20% of children of color) are food insecure.
Allowing any child to grab an extra snack at no expense to anyone is the right thing to do.
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 9:02 am:
- the 40-page report that said not only should we not decrease the beds there, but we should increase the beds there -
That was the recommendation if Choate were to remain open. It isn’t, so it’s irrelevant.
- Google is Your Friend - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 10:43 am:
The Choate report in question is here:
https://www.dhs.state.il.us/OneNetLibrary/27897/documents/DD%20Reports/ChoateTransformationPhaseOneReport-SUN-A11Y.pdf
Suffice to say, it is Bryant who has clearly not read the report for any form of comprehension.
- Team Sleep - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 10:46 am:
The story in CST about the kiss cam is both hilarious & wild.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 10:47 am:
===On Aug. 13, Goodell met with four lawmakers===
Kevin Warren really needs to be fired. He lead the Bears’ effort here so poorly that they need to bring in the NFL chair in order to have any credibility in future discussions. They’ve also tease the Indiana move in such a fashion that shows a complete disregard for any of the potential stakeholders. Kevin Warren has really demonstrated that the Bears organization does not care about anyone other than the wealth of the people that own it and no legislative or community partners can trust them going forward. Even if they stay in Illinois they’ve soured a lot of their relationships and they have dampened my enthusiasm for this up coming season.
===That was the recommendation if Choate were to remain open. It isn’t, so it’s irrelevant. ===
The Governor’s running around defending the decision to reduce services at Choate by suggesting that it is his goal for the state to completely stop offering inpatient care in any setting. What is really exciting about this is that the Governor is planning on reducing support for mental health services at a time when there’s already a shortage and the OBBBA is about to go into effect and eliminate access in a lot of areas of the state.
I missed the * and the fine print on the Fighting For You bus tour.
- Leslie K - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 10:59 am:
Wishing Ivan Capifali well in his retirement. Definitely a solid professional.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 11:15 am:
Isn’t Rush in Oak Park near enough to serve those who went to West Suburban? Rush is a 24/7 has an er hospital.
- hmmm - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 11:21 am:
Rush isn’t a safety-net hospital. Those who are underinsured or uninsured will be left to fend for themselves
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 11:24 am:
- reducing support for mental health services -
These patients are being transferred to other care providers, not put on the street. Shuttering outdated, underutilized, and highly problematic institutions is a good thing, no matter the wailing of the locals.
- hisgirlfriday - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 11:31 am:
The Pantagraph had been auto-charging me like $25 a month for a digital subscription and I let it slide despite the ever-deteriorating quality for sentimental reasons but my credit card expired so they had to reach out to try to get me to renew.
My latest offer is $26 for a year’s worth of Pantagraph but I’m still not sure the product is worth the effort of initiating a renewal given the lack of local journalism the Pantagraph generates in 2026 and all the layoffs.
It’s just easier to avoid the paper completely than to attempt to engage with its emaciated husk when all that gets me is depressed thinking about how our civilization has declined in my lifetime.
- Johnny B - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 11:40 am:
Kevin Warren needs to be fired…
What do we do with the leaders of the legislature who passed different bills the last day of session to keep the Bears in Illinois and never reconciled them?
Before Indiana was an option they sat on their hands.
Are we supposed to pretend they aren’t at fault too?
The Bears will continue to sell out every regular game this season as they have since 1984, and hopefully win their division again and have a good run in the playoffs
- It's always Sunny in Illinois - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 11:42 am:
Kevin Warren has really demonstrated that the Bears organization does not care about anyone other than the wealth of the people that own it and no legislative or community partners can trust them going forward.
Of which Roger Goodell and the NFL are full fledged supporters and participants
- Johnny B - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 11:45 am:
Nothing unprecedented about the NFL commissioner getting involved with the Bears stadium.
The last time the Bears renovated their stadium, the NFL kicked in $100 million dollars.
No doubt former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was involved in that negotiation.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 12:21 pm:
===highly problematic institutions is a good thing===
He’s been the Governor for just about 8 years now. Are you suggesting that Choate needs to be closed because he’s administration is incapable of operating the facility — or are you suggesting that the facility should be closed now because of your perception based off of issues that predate the Governor’s administration?
===These patients are being transferred to other care providers, not put on the street===
But will they wind up on the street? It’s hard to take a statement like this seriously because it looks at the immediate action, not the long term effect. What’s next? Address the increased number of mentally ill homeless people by buying bus tickets to California?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 12:22 pm:
===Address the increased number of mentally ill homeless people by buying bus tickets to California? ===
I don’t think Illinois could or would try to get away with that. But that’s a very Council 31 warning for sure.
- Pundent - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 1:09 pm:
=What do we do with the leaders of the legislature who passed different bills the last day of session to keep the Bears in Illinois and never reconciled them?=
I say we thank them. But that’s just me.
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 1:21 pm:
- He’s been the Governor for just about 8 years now. Are you suggesting that Choate needs to be closed because he’s administration is incapable of operating the facility -
And he’s been winding things down there for a few years. Pritzker has no obligation to operate Choate when it’s cleaner to shut it down.
- The Farm Grad - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 2:20 pm:
“These patients are being transferred to other care providers, not put on the street.”
How has Tom Dart described his prison system: defacto inpatient psychiatric facility
- Riders Down - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 2:25 pm:
The only person who could do worse than Kevin Warren of the Bears would be Tim Carey from the defunct Hawthorne Park Race Course. After being awarded a casino license, Hawthorne managed to waste six years by sitting still while looking for an angel investor to remodel the building for casino purposes.
The last horses have been removed from Hawthorne.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Sep 1, 26 @ 2:58 pm:
===I don’t think Illinois could or would try to get away with that===
I suppose I should have made it more clear that the statement was approaching snark, but there are plenty of examples of negative impacts from the loss of services and capacity when other states have closed their mental health hospitals and some of the care and interventions available due to their presence.
We do unfortunately live in a time where communities are more likely to make camping and sleeping outside illegal than they are to do something to meaningfully address homelessness or unhoused people.
- Excitable Boy - Wednesday, Sep 2, 26 @ 6:52 am:
- How has Tom Dart described his prison system: defacto inpatient psychiatric facility -
Are you under the impression these folks are being shipped to Cook County Jail? You might want to work on your thinking ability.