* The world could use more men like Matt Jones, may he rest in peace…

Matthew Patrick Jones, age 59, of Edwards, Illinois, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in the garden of the Richard L. Owens Hospice Home in Peoria, following a valiant four-plus-year battle with glioblastoma multiforme. A courageous fighter in the courtroom and in life, Matt was born on September 30, 1965, in Pekin, Illinois.

Matt was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and dedicated attorney whose career in public service will be remembered for his strength as a prosecutor, his trusted expertise in criminal policy, and his popularity as a law school professor. He will be forever remembered for his kindness, wit, generosity, and his exceptional ability to cultivate meaningful, bipartisan criminal justice reform. Matt believed deeply in the importance of ethics, collaboration, and compromise in state government.

He earned a sterling reputation in Springfield and on Capitol Hill for bridging political divides on critical issues, including juvenile justice reform, pretrial fairness, and violence against women and children. Matt developed and led trainings for new attorneys, mentored trial advocacy skills among Illinois prosecutors, advocated zealously on behalf of state’s attorneys, and championed justice for survivors of violent crime and domestic violence. A brilliant legal mind, Matt was respected and relied upon by members of the Illinois General Assembly, Congress, judges, peers across the country, and former clients alike. […]

While Matt made an impact in state and national politics as a criminal policy expert, he also aspired to run for elected office someday. Whether he would have served as state’s attorney, judge, or senator ultimately doesn’t matter; Matt Jones achieved something far greater: he prioritized doing what was right over personal ambition, he treasured his family and friendships, he lifted his community, and he championed justice throughout Illinois. He made a lasting impact on so many and lived his life to the fullest. For that alone, he is deeply mourned.

Memorial contributions may be made to the W.D. Boyce Council, Scouting America, in support of the ‘Be Brave Initiative,‘ a new scholarship fund created in Matt’s memory.

* At 2:30, Governor Pritzker will join a rally supporting students as a continuation of his “Standing Up for Illinois” tour. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Casino crime logs show thefts, fights, patrons passing counterfeit bills: Rivers — the state’s busiest and most profitable casino, located in the shadows of O’Hare Airport — had the most reported crime of the eight casinos in Chicago and the suburbs, with more than 1,500 crimes logged from 2020 to early this year out of roughly 3,800 reported at those casinos by the Illinois Gaming Board, according to records from the government agency. Those cases are a tiny fraction of the 31.3 million trips through casino turnstiles during that time, including about 13 million visits to Rivers.

* ProPublica | The untold story of how Missourian Ed Martin ghostwrote online attacks against a Metro East judge: The attacks on Judge John Barberis in the fall of 2016 appeared on his personal Facebook page. They impugned his ethics, criticized a recent ruling and branded him as a “politician” with the “LOWEST rating for a judge in Illinois.” […] After Barberis dealt Martin a major setback in the case in October 2016, the attacks began. The Facebook user who posted them, Priscilla Gray, had worked in several roles for Schlafly but was not a party to the case, and her comments read like those of an aggrieved outsider. Almost two years later, the truth emerged as Cori’s lawyers gathered evidence for her lawsuit: Behind the posts about the judge was none other than Martin.

* Daily Herald | ‘This is your LAST WARNING’: Tollway texting you about unpaid fees? Don’t believe it: The Illinois tollway is alerting I-PASS customers of a phishing scam using texts with dire but fake warnings intended to trick people into divulging personal information. “Toll text scams are occurring nationwide. The Illinois tollway is advising customers to disregard these phishing texts. These messages are not associated with the Illinois tollway or our customer data,” agency leaders said Friday.

*** Statehouse News ***

* US Senator Tammy Duckworth endorses Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton for Durbin’s Senate seat.

* Sun-Times | Feds no longer seeking $3.1 million from Michael Madigan: The feds notified U.S. District Judge John Blakey of their position in a two-page status update filed Friday. It said prosecutors continue “to stand on the legal arguments” made March 28, when they first argued Madigan should forfeit the $3.1 million. However, it said, “the government has decided to no longer seek a forfeiture judgment” in Madigan’s case. “This decision is independent from any other issue or briefing in this matter,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker wrote. “The government’s position in this filing relates solely to forfeiture and not to any other issue in the case.”

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Facing Trump’s trade war, Illinois soybean farmers say they’ve seen this before: “Last time, we lost about 20% market share,” said Todd Main, director of market development for the Illinois Soybean Association. “The federal government put some financing programs to help cover the revenue stream for that first year that farmers lost. But that lasted one year, and the 20% market share never came back.” “I think it’s going to be a disaster for Illinois soybean growers,” said William Ridley, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois.

* Sun-Times | Taking advantage of Illinois’ new turkey gun regulations: Richard Music used a .410 shotgun, now allowed under new Illinois regulations, to bag a big turkey on opening day of Illinois’ spring turkey season in the north zone.

*** Chicago ***

* Daily Herald | The parking meter was paid, but minutes later, a $70 ticket from Chicago: “There should be no discrepancy,” Chicago Alderman Scott Waguespack said. But it’s a familiar complaint. “Over the years, I’ve got people calling from all over the city asking for help” with undeserved tickets. Concerns range from mistakes about the time frame to inadequate signage supposed to alert drivers if parking isn’t allowed, he explained.

* Sun-Times | University of Chicago Crime Lab boss: Most conventional wisdom about what causes shootings is wrong:
America has a fundamental misunderstanding of what drives violence, and that’s gotten in the way of doing more to prevent shootings. That’s the premise of the new book “Unforgiving Places” by University of Chicago Crime Lab director Jens Ludwig. Ludwig, an economist, talked about that in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times that has been edited for length and clarity.

* Block Club | Lincoln Square Car-Free Zone Extended To May As Neighbors Make The Most Of Street Closure: The car-free zone was originally slated to end Sunday. But a decades-old brick electrical vault at the intersection is damaged and needs emergency repairs before the rest of construction can move forward, said Josh Mark, Ald. Matt Martin’s (47th) chief of staff. The work means the closure will stretch into May.

* Crain’s | In legal fight over disputed artwork, Art Institute dealt a big blow: In her ruling, New York Supreme Court Judge Althea Drysdale agreed with New York officials that the work had been stolen from Grünbaum by the Nazis, adding that the museum’s own provenance inquiries of the artwork “fell short of their self-imposed standard.” The museum filed an appeal notice to the ruling yesterday. In an email, a spokesperson for the Art Institute said it is “disappointed” in the court’s decision and “will look at all available options for appeal.”

* Tribune | Diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 44, WGN’s Mike Lowe shared his battle with viewers. Now, he’s at a turning point.: It was a message from his doctor — the results of his latest colonoscopy, a test meant to show whether six weeks of radiation and four months of chemotherapy had worked. The results were exactly what he had hoped to see: The cancer was no longer detectable. “Getting those results, it was just the most amazing feeling,” Lowe said. “I think back to one year ago, when I went to the initial doctor’s appointment … .In some ways it feels like forever and in some ways it feels like the blink of an eye — but what a year.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Federal cuts threaten program that allows suburban libraries to share books: President Donald Trump last month ordered the gutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that serves as a key source of funding for museums, libraries and educational institutions across the country. The cuts, which are still being rolled out, could prove devastating to the interlibrary loan program throughout the region. RAILS and the Illinois Heartland Library System, the state’s other major library delivery service that reaches southern and central parts of Illinois, receive about $2.5 million annually for delivery services, about one-third of their budgets, through IMLS funding. Though the state was told to expect this year’s award around April 20, the program officer who oversees Illinois funding has been terminated and the money has not yet arrived, according to a spokesman for Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

* Tribune | Cook County Circuit Court clerk reports progress on transparency promises: New Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Mariyana Spyropoulos released a progress report Monday claiming her team is already digging out from a backlog of reports, unfiled civil court documents and “serious financial management issues.” Spyropoulos campaigned on running a tighter ship than her predecessors, promising better transparency around court operations and stricter ethics enforcement. She used the milestone of her first 100 business days in office to make the case she is fixing things.

* Sun-Times | Former Jan. 6 defendant set to stand trial for Skokie woman’s murder: ‘Don’t do this!’: Now Shane Jason Woods, a 47-year-old Taylorville man once sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison for assaulting two people at the U.S. Capitol, faces trial for the first-degree murder of 35-year-old Lauren Wegner of Skokie in that crash detailed in police and court records. The trial is set to begin Monday in Springfield.

* Shaw Local | Underwood talks immigration, education concerns at DeKalb town hall: When asked if she’s considering running for Dick Durbin’s Senate seat in 2026, Underwood downplayed the idea. Durbin, 80, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, announced this week that he does not plan to seek reelection to a sixth term. “It has truly been a great honor to serve as your congresswoman and I certainly am reflecting on ways to continue my service,” Underwood said.

* Daily Herald | Illinois lawmakers stop in Buffalo Grove to protest federal funding cuts: Democratic state lawmakers gathered Sunday in Buffalo Grove as part of a four-stop bus tour of Chicago and the suburbs to speak out against cuts in federal funding. “We have a federal government that is attacking everything that we hold dear,” state Rep. Daniel Didech of Buffalo Grove said during the “For The People” bus tour stop at the Mike Rylko Community Park amphitheater.

* Crain’s | Spotlight back on Northwestern’s president amid Trump administration jabs: Federal officials continue to circle Northwestern, having already frozen $790 million in federal funds as part of a larger battle with elite universities the administration views as out of step with its policies. Meanwhile, NU faculty are pushing for President Michael Schill to take the fight to Trump and congressional leaders, a move that could stoke more attacks and further imperil the school and its president. “The university president is walking a very fine line right now,” said Ron Culp, a veteran public relations consultant who teaches at DePaul University. “It’s a delicate balancing act to pull off.”

* Daily Southtown | Flossmoor in film: Board approves production regulations after influx of interest: “When we saw that you had to register your dog in Flossmoor but … there was no regulations for film, we were like, ‘oh OK, um, maybe we should reach out,’” Troy said. They worked with the village manager’s office to draft an ordinance the Village Board passed last week. It aims to address residents’ complaints and ensure the community benefits as Flossmoor, a town of 9,700 people, draws more attention from production companies.

* Daily Herald | What you need to know about the local grocery tax most suburbs are adopting: Illinois will eliminate its 1% grocery tax on Jan. 1, joining the majority of states without one. Basically, the state collects the tax and distributes it back to the municipalities where it was collected. In recent years, the tax has generated an estimated $360 million for Illinois’ 1,294 cities, towns and villages. Statements by Gov. JB Pritzker during the early months of 2024 led municipal leaders to anticipate the elimination of the tax. A compromise struck in late spring allowed towns to replace the state tax with ones of their own.

* Shaw Local | Veterans rally in McHenry against ‘goal’ to cut tens of thousands of VA jobs: Over 200 people gathered outside the McHenry Veterans Affairs Clinic with signs and flags Sunday afternoon to protest against potential nationwide staff cuts to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. The rally, sponsored by Illinois Veterans for Change, included speakers like former McHenry County Board member Lou Ness and Kat Abughazaleh, a political newcomer who’s running for Congress in Illinois’ 9th District long held by Democrat Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | One person shot, injured during student group’s event at ISU’s Bone Student Center: One person was injured in a shooting Sunday night during a student organization’s event at the Bone Student Center at Illinois State University, authorities said. Police are still looking for the suspect. The shooting happened around 7:40 p.m. during what ISU called a “registered student organization event” at the Bone. An ISU spokesperson would not identify the student group. There were at least two events happening in the Bone on Sunday night, including a sorority event, witnesses told WGLT.

* Tribune | Health officials urge caution after dead rabbit and squirrel found with rare bacterial disease: The rabbit infected with tularemia was found in Tuscola, a small community south of Champaign, following weeks of reports of ill and dead squirrels in nearby Urbana. One of the rodents had also tested positive for the disease, which is rare but serious and can affect animals and humans. “The presence of infected wildlife may indicate an increased risk of exposure in the area,” the Douglas County Health Department said in a Thursday statement, echoing an announcement made by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District three days earlier about local squirrel deaths.

* PJ Star | Peoria airport sets new monthly record for passengers: The Peoria airport announced 71,988 departed and arrived in March, breaking the all-time monthly record of 68,447 set in July 2019. “We knew that March,” airport director Gene Olson said, “was going to put up some impressive numbers based on the activity in our parking lots, and we suspected we might set a record. But we didn’t anticipate breaking the all-time monthly record, and we didn’t foresee setting the record by that large of a margin.”

* WGLT | ‘A place to call home’: Habitat for Humanity of McLean County breaks ground on 200th house: Conely said the wait for their very own house was “a long time coming.” She and her three children, 20-year-old daughter Jasharar and 18-year-old and 9-year-old sons Jakalib and Jashawn, have moved repeatedly from different areas of low-income housing or shelters. “I used to stay a long time in the mission, then after the mission and I was there for a couple years, then I move into a two-bedroom, then I had Section 8 for a little bit,” Conely said. “Where I’m at now is not a good neighborhood … [we’re] just holding on until we get our house built.”

*** National ***

* Semafor | The group chats that changed America: This constellation of rolling elite political conversations revolve primarily around the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and a circle of Silicon Valley figures. None of their participants was surprised to see Trump administration officials firing off secrets and emojis on the platform last month. I did not have the good fortune to be accidentally added to one of the chats, which can be set to make messages disappear after just 30 seconds. But their influence flows through X, Substack, and podcasts, and constitutes a kind of dark matter of American politics and media. The group chats aren’t always primarily a political space, but they are the single most important place in which a stunning realignment toward Donald Trump was shaped and negotiated, and an alliance between Silicon Valley and the new right formed. The group chats are “the memetic upstream of mainstream opinion,” wrote one of their key organizers, Sriram Krishnan, a former partner in the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (typically styled a16z) who is now the White House senior policy adviser for AI.

* WaPo | U.S. attorney for D.C. accuses Wikipedia of ‘propaganda,’ threatens nonprofit status: In the letter dated Thursday, Ed Martin said he sought to determine whether the Wikimedia Foundation’s behavior is in violation of its Section 501(c)(3) status. Martin asked the foundation to provide detailed information about its editorial process, its trust and safety measures, and how it protects its information from foreign actors. “Wikipedia is permitting information manipulation on its platform, including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States,” Martin wrote. “Masking propaganda that influences public opinion under the guise of providing informational material is antithetical to Wikimedia’s ‘educational’ mission.”

* WSJ | Elite Universities Form Private Collective to Resist Trump Administration: The informal group currently includes about 10 schools, including Ivies and leading private research universities, mostly in blue states. Strategy discussions gained momentum after the administration’s recent list of demands for sweeping cultural change at Harvard, viewed by many universities as an assault on independence.