Gov. JB Pritzker signed Illinois’ fiscal year 2026 budget into law Monday, taking shots at President Donald Trump’s budget management to defend hard choices state lawmakers were forced to make this year.
The $55.1 billion spending plan set to take effect July 1 is the largest in state history and is supported by $55.3 billion in anticipated revenue, including more than $700 million in new taxes and more than $500 million in one-time revenues. […]
The budget’s passage came after months of discussion about closing an initially projected $3 billion deficit and growing concerns about Trump’s treatment of state funding in Washington. Pritzker, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, used Monday’s budget signing ceremony in Chicago as an opportunity to draw a contrast between his and Trump’s budgets. […]
Pritzker and other Democratic leaders acknowledged that crafting the FY26 budget was challenging but continues to make investments Democrats believe are priorities. Discretionary spending will increase by less than 1% in FY26, Pritzker said. Despite the minimal increase, the FY26 budget still spends about $2 billion more than FY25.
Those decisions included some $400 million in cuts to state programs, with wholesale slashing of immigrant health care spending, while squeezing big corporations, online sportsbooks and nicotine users for more tax revenue.
But the state is still managing to increase K-12 education funding by $307 million, go beyond its required pension payment, add to the state’s “rainy day” fund and maintain “core investments for Illinois families, without raising their taxes,” Pritzker said.
“That’s hard to do while balancing the budget, but we did. Not everyone can say that,” Pritzker said before signing the budget package at a West Loop state office. “The Trump administration is spending wildly on tax cuts for their wealthy friends, while the Republicans in Congress are voting to gut health care and food assistance for working parents, for seniors and children.
“The Trump slump is affecting the entire nation,” Pritzker said. “You’re seeing red states and blue states across the country struggle this year, forced to grapple with lagging national economic growth estimates due to high tariffs and bad policy choices in Washington.”
* Some context from the Kaiser Family Foundation on the “Trump slump” Pritzker referenced…
Last month House Republicans passed a sweeping legislative package that combined tax cuts with other legislative priorities of President Trump. Known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the tax and budget bill contains health care provisions which include significant changes to the Medicaid program and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). […]
While the legislation continues to be debated as the debate moves from the House to the Senate, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their report estimating the legislation would increase the number of adults without health insurance by more than 10 million and reduce federal spending on Medicaid by almost $800 billion. In addition, several Republican Senators have said they oppose the provision in the House-passed legislation that freezes states’ provider taxes at their current rate and prohibits states from establishing new provider taxes because of the negative impact it may have on rural hospitals.
Reflecting these ongoing discussions, public attitudes towards the legislation are dynamic and can shift after hearing some of these details. For example, public support for the legislation drops 14 percentage points to 21% after hearing that the legislation would decrease funding for local hospitals. In addition, three-fourths of the public (74%) have an unfavorable view of the legislation after hearing that the bill would increase the number of people without health insurance by about 10 million.
On the other hand, hearing that the bill would reduce federal spending on Medicaid by more than $700 billion seemingly has no impact on public opinion with two-thirds still holding unfavorable views of the bill after hearing this.
Illinois would see a decrease in health care spending of $22.2 billion over 10 years under the budget reconciliation measure, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by the U.S. House and now before the Senate, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In addition to the impact to people on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act policies, the blow to hospital and other provider revenue will be drastic, the analysis predicts.
The Illinois breakdown among health care sectors shows hospitals in the state would see $9.2 billion less in the next decade, physicians would see a $2.2 billion decrease and federal payment for prescriptions would fall $5.2 billion, with another $5.7 billion split among other categories.
Of the $797 billion in reductions in the federal bill over the next decade, the report said, Illinois is one of nine states that would see a drop of more than $20 billion.
The largest sum of new taxes – $336 million – are on businesses outside of Illinois that lawmakers call “leveling the playing field” and will require businesses to pay more income tax to the state on their profits.
Consumers will face new taxes on specific items, including taxes on tobacco, vaping and other nicotine products, which are increasing to 45% to raise $50 million. An existing telecommunications tax will also rise from 7% to 8.65% and raise $49 million to fund the statewide 988 hotline.
A new tax on sports bets will charge betting sites 25 cents for the first 20 million wagers and 50 cents for each bet following that. It’s projected to raise $36 million. Sports betting sites FanDuel and DraftKings have both announced they will implement 50-cent transaction fees on Illinois customers in response to the tax.
Short-term rentals will have to begin paying the state’s hotel operator’s tax. The charge is already applied to hotels in the state, and Airbnb already pays it voluntarily, but more companies like Vrbo will now be required to pay the tax expected to raise an additional $10 million.
A pair of tax amnesty programs are expected to raise $228 million. Those programs are meant to incentivize taxpayers to pay overdue taxes.
Barring a decision to convene this summer, state lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return to Springfield until their annual fall session, when they could address the transit fiscal cliff. Depending on the outcome of the federal budget currently being negotiated by Republican lawmakers in Washington, Illinois legislators may also need to discuss changes in federal funding to the state or impacts to Illinoisans, such as potential cuts to Medicaid.
The budget package signed by Pritzker after passage by Democratic allies in the legislature included funding for a number of capital projects. Despite the fiscal challenges, the plan includes $8.2 billion in new spending on infrastructure projects, which are separate from the operating budget and funded by dedicated taxes and borrowing.
Republicans, none of whom voted for the budget package, again complained that they received nowhere near the money for large projects accorded their colleagues across the aisle.
* More…
* NYT | Senate Bill Would Make Deep Cuts to Medicaid, Setting Up Fight With House: Senate Republicans on Monday released legislation that would cut Medicaid far more aggressively than would the House-passed bill to deliver President Trump’s domestic agenda, while also salvaging or slowing the elimination of some clean-energy tax credits, setting up a fight over their party’s marquee policy package. The measure, released by the Senate Finance Committee, contains the core provisions of that chamber’s version of the legislation that Republicans muscled through the House last month and are hoping to speed through the Senate and deliver to Mr. Trump’s desk by July 4. But its differences with that bill are substantial and are all but certain to complicate the measure’s path to enactment, casting doubt on that timetable.
* Patch | Rep. Spain: Dem Budget Sets Table for More Tax Hikes: “The FY 26 state budget package was passed in the middle of the night after Democrats once again conspired behind closed doors. Their process was so opaque, the Democrats presenting the budget bills couldn’t even answer more than a dozen questions. How are the people of Illinois expected to trust that the government is spending their tax dollars wisely when the process is so lacking in transparency that even the sponsors don’t know critical information?
* WRAM | Hammond Statement on Gov. Pritzker’s Budget Signing: “The tax-and-spend budget that Governor Pritzker just approved is completely irresponsible. It’s a $55 billion budget that relies on $1 billion in new taxes and fund sweeps and hundreds of millions of dollars in Road Fund diversions. What’s in this budget? Pay raises for politicians. Nearly $250 million in pork projects for Democratic legislators aka the ‘Democratic Majority Slush Fund’ and an additional $100 million slush fund for the Governor.
* Center Square | Enacting largest IL budget ever with tax increases, Pritzker criticizes Trump: Meeting with the leader of the G7 Monday, President Donald Trump was asked about immigration enforcement and paused to criticize Pritzker. “I look at Chicago and you’ve got a really bad governor in Chicago, and a bad mayor, but the governor is probably the worst in the country, Pritzker,” Trump said.
* NBC Chicago | As Pritzker signs Illinois budget, here’s what’s in, what’s out and other notes: Pritzker used reduced appropriations in one of the budget bills as a corrective measure, saying that the amounts had been duplicated. That move reduced the amount of spending in the final budget agreement by just over $161 million. The series of bills also called for a deposit of $161 million in the state’s “rainy day” fund, which Pritzker says will contain nearly $2.5 billion by the end of the next fiscal year.
* Journal Courier | Governor signs next budget, JDC demolition money is included: Among many items in the budget is the inclusion of $300 million that will be split among five dilapidated, state-owned sites, including Jacksonville Developmental Center, which has been abandoned since 2012. Since its closure, the 134-acre property has been host to fires, vandalism and complaints about its appearance.
* Daily Herald | Illinois’ $55.2 billion budget ‘incomplete,’ Civic Federation president says: “It’s an incomplete budget,” Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson told Capitol News Illinois. “It does not add in any meaningful way to discuss any structural issues the state has. It’s a maintenance budget.” Ferguson said a key reason for that is at least $271 million in fund sweeps used to balance the general revenue fund. Fund sweeps occur when lawmakers dip into lesser-known and underutilized funds outside the main general fund to use as a source of revenue for the fiscal year. This year’s budget also pauses several transfers to keep certain dollars available in the general fund for use this year.
In a historic breakthrough to transform the rideshare industry and to improve the lives of drivers across the state, the Illinois Drivers Alliance – a coalition powered by drivers and anchored by SEIU Local 1 and IAM Local 701 – announced on Monday that it will file legislation that will at last secure bargaining rights for the more than 100,000 estimated rideshare drivers who reside in Illinois. At the same time, the coalition also announced that after years of grassroots pressure and mobilization, including many protests and rallies aimed at the largest companies in the rideshare industry, Uber has now agreed not to oppose bargaining rights for rideshare drivers in Illinois.
For years, rideshare drivers in Illinois have been united in their demand to have the right to form a union and to bargain with rideshare industry giants. Thousands of drivers have attended rallies, protests, and regular events and meetings organized by SEIU Local 1, IAM Local 701, the Chicago Gig Alliance, among others. Many of these demonstrations and protests, some outside Uber headquarters and others at key rideshare locations like the airport, have been focused on demanding that the companies agree to respect the rights of workers to unionize and bargain for better wages and stronger working conditions.
The victory for drivers in winning such a condition from the company follows another major victory for drivers in Massachusetts, where rideshare drivers secured bargaining rights by passing a ballot referendum in November 2024. That referendum was backed by thousands of rideshare drivers who had been organizing with SEIU and the IAM. It drew support not only from a majority of voters but also countless community and religious allies who understood that workers could not wait any longer to gain the right to unionize in the rideshare industry.
The breakthrough is partly the result of years of organizing by the members of the Illinois Drivers Alliance and the Chicago Gig Alliance to advance the Chicago Rideshare Living Wage and Safety Ordinance, which, until now, had been set to face a vote in the City Council this week.
Due to loopholes and restrictions in current federal labor regulations, state-level legislation needs to be passed in order to allow rideshare drivers to bargain to improve pay and working conditions.
“This breakthrough would not have been possible without the courage and efforts of drivers shining the light on their safety and working conditions. The Illinois Drivers Alliance, the Chicago Gig Alliance, and their many allies, along with Workforce Committee Chair Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22) laid the groundwork by pushing the envelope at the city level. That forced the largest rideshare company in Illinois to begin reckoning with the fact that opposing bargaining was an untenable position in our city and our state,” said Illinois Drivers Alliance leader and IAM Midwest Territory Special Representative Ronnie Gonzalez. “Ald. Rodriguez’s dedication to improving the lives of workers was essential in paving the way for this unprecedented agreement and the path to union rights for rideshare drivers.”
“This is a historic day for Illinois rideshare drivers, not just in Chicago but all across Illinois who are leading the fight to unionize, which would improve their working conditions, pay standards, and give them a voice on the job,” said Illinois Drivers Alliance leader and SEIU Local 1 President Genie Kastrup. “With state legislation, we will be able to reach beyond city limits to lift up hundreds of thousands of drivers across Illinois. Real change can only happen when workers have a union and a voice at the table. We’re ready to take this fight to Springfield and win the future of rideshare.” […]
Rideshare drivers with the Illinois Drivers Alliance, the Chicago Gig Alliance and their allies will now work to advance legislation in Springfield that secures union rights for drivers and establishes a statewide framework for bargaining in the rideshare industry.
While the details of the bargaining bill are being finalized, the bill is expected to draw some inspiration from reforms recently passed by ballot referendum in Massachusetts, where drivers won the right to a union in November 2024.
Click here for some background on the Massachusetts ballot referendum.
The deal was announced Monday morning, hours before Rodriguez was set to call a vote on an ordinance that would have required drivers to be paid anytime they were logged into the app, and not just when a passenger was in the car.
But the passage of Rodriguez’s bill was not certain. He had delayed a vote on the ordinance last week to allow Council members to ask questions of representatives from Uber, Lyft and the unions.
Some alderpersons supported the ordinance they said would give drivers a living wage. Others opposed it out of fear that the price of trips would rise for hospitality workers downtown. Uber warned that the bill would have pushed the company to lay off 10,000 drivers.
Rodriguez had been negotiating for months with the unions and ride-hailing app companies over language in the ordinance. Those negotiations will now move to Springfield.
Marc Poulos, executive director for labor management relations with the Local 150, said he helped convince some aldermen to oppose the city ordinance by arguing it was a bad deal.
“Some of the drivers would have liked it and some of them wouldn’t — 15% to 20% of the drivers would have been laid off. They would have foreclosed an opportunity to get a lot more things they could have otherwise gotten,” he said.
The Local 150 will also support state legislation allowing drivers to unionize. Poulos said it’s unlikely a bill will move quickly because of the complications of imposing regulations on an industry without strict labor standards.
He also said he’s surprised Lyft has not signed the same deal as Uber, but isn’t worried about the company being able to scuttle the unionization bill.
Because they are classified as independent contractors, gig drivers are excluded from the right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act, the law that protects the right of private-sector workers in the U.S. to form unions, bargain collectively and organize without retaliation from their employers.
The kind of legislation proposed by the Drivers Alliance would allow the drivers to form a union and engage in collective bargaining, but would not go so far as to classify them as employees. Details were not yet available Monday about exactly how the workers’ union rights would be structured under such a law. […]
“There’s a split in the labor movement over those kinds of deals,” said Gali Racabi, a professor at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. On the one hand, Racabi said, some view the abandonment of the fight for full employee classification — and the benefits that come with it — as an unacceptable concession. […]
However, efforts to reclassify gig drivers as employees have largely failed. To supporters, deals such as the one proposed in Illinois are a recognition that “half a loaf is better than no loaf,” he said.
* This is a story an activist who has never been to Springfield would, and did, write. StreetsBlog Chicago…
Uber and the road construction lobby just killed Illinois’ transit funding bill, and your lawmakers let them
After months of negotiations, hearings, and community organizing, the most ambitious transit funding and reform bill Illinois has seen in decades was quietly killed. Not by voters, not by public outcry, but by notifications from Uber and Lyft.
It happened like this. Local 150 — the powerful private construction union that benefits from Illinois’ road-building contracts — which said it had “partnered” with the transit unions on funding, insisted that no toll revenue be used to support public transportation. That demand helped stall negotiations for weeks.
On May 31, in the final hours of the spring legislative session, the construction union only came on board after a last-minute addition to the transit funding bill introduced a $1.50 fee on some deliveries and a 10 percent ride-hail tax. These aren’t radical ideas. States across the country are already successfully using similar tools to support their transit systems. The fee didn’t apply to groceries, and most people already paying for delivery probably wouldn’t even notice the extra cost.
But then Uber and other gig economy giants went on the offensive anyway. Uber immediately blasted customers with a fear-mongering push notification: “SECRET tax hike… Act NOW.” [Emphasis added.] In other words, your pizza will cost more! Downstate Illinoisans will subsidize Chicagoland!
Um, no.
* The Senate Democrats were flat-out told by organized labor that a tollway surcharge would never be acceptable, and the SDems did it anyway. The idea was dropped almost immediately and replaced by a tax on deliveries, which StreetsBlog ridiculed…
"Sorry folks, we'd have liked to have picked another way to raise money for Illinois transit besides the widely reviled 'pizza tax' that didn't pass the House, but we couldn't think of any other funding sources… Wait, what?!" 🍕💰 –> 🛣️💰https://t.co/zubKrMRVf8@capitolfaxpic.twitter.com/la0pflWPVf
— Streetsblog Chicago (@streetsblogchi) June 7, 2025
* Kristine Kavanagh, Communications Director, IUOE Local 150 replied to the StreetsBlog story…
Local 150 is committed to the future of public transportation in our region. We have collaborated with over 30 labor unions and state legislators for nearly a year supporting labor-backed legislation aimed at addressing public transit’s fiscal challenges and ensuring a smarter, safer transit system. Despite reforms being introduced close to the deadline, revenue discussions were lacking, particularly in the House. Local 150 is equally disappointed that the General Assembly failed to pass the legislation. We continue to advocate for better solutions alongside LAPT and emphasize the importance of adhering to the Safe Roads Amendment to prevent critical infrastructure funding diversions. Utilizing road funds in this manner would simply shift the crisis to highways and bridges, resulting in a scenario where we once again confront deteriorating infrastructure characterized by crumbling bridges and pothole-ridden roads.
Furthermore, any attempt at diverting funding from roads and bridges shows a lack of understanding of Illinois’ public transportation system. Nearly 55% of our public transit system operates on roads and bridges rather than rails. The time for Illinois Legislators to act is now, so we can find innovative solutions that ensure a robust public transportation system and maintain the integrity of our state’s infrastructure.
From day one, we have said that reforms have to come before funding. The House has been insistent that reforms have to come before funding. And we are close on reforms, but we’re not there yet, and so we don’t want to continue to talk about this in five years, in 10 years and 15 years, because the system continues to be a failing system.
“In the House, we have not talked about a way to fund the transit system because we were committed to reforms first,” he said. “The Senate knew the bill they were proposing would be dead on arrival because we haven’t even discussed funding sources in the House.”
The House Democrats took this position despite the fact that organized labor, including Local 150, was fully on board with the Senate bill. And Uber’s astroturf lobbying was just not a factor. It wasn’t moving anyway.
I’d also like just to point out that there are a lot of contributors to the solution here. I know there are people who say, ‘Well, this is the cliff, and here’s the amount of money, and what is the state going to do to fill that gap?’ And the answer is not that the state is solely responsible for filling that gap. There are lots of sources right, the counties where their residents were affected, the City of Chicago, Cook County, too, and the riders themselves, as well as the efficiencies that need to be brought to the system.
And you have to put all of that together and determine how much money that the state should be putting forward. And I think that, you know, I just want to point out that everybody’s focusing only on the state, when actually there’s a whole lot to put together here.
Unsolicited advice: If you’re an activist, get your best deal on reform and then take the revenue that’s offered.
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Across Illinois, big hospital systems and PBMs are abusing the 340B drug discount program – making massive profits while patients drown in medical bills. One whistleblower called it “laundering money.”
Here’s how the scam works: big hospitals buy discounted 340B drugs, bill patients full price, then split the difference with for-profit pharmacies and PBMs.
340B was meant to help Illinois communities in need. But there are no rules requiring hospitals and PBMs to pass savings on to patients. No transparency. No oversight. Just higher costs for working families, small businesses, and taxpayers.
Meanwhile, tax-exempt hospitals cash in – and PBMs get a cut too.
The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger sings in swaggering French. Louisiana native Lucinda Williams delivers a slow, slinky, swamp pop sound. Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, Jimmie Vaughan, Charley Crockett and more energize Creole classics from accordionist and pioneer Clifton Chenier, the late King of Zydeco.
Chenier, who died in 1987 due to diabetes-related kidney disease, would’ve turned 100 on June 25. To celebrate his centennial, Valcour Records founder Joel Savoy and Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin teamed up with executive producer John Leopold to produce “A Tribute to the King,” out June 27.
Savoy’s primary role was to assemble the local backing band to support these artists — and to spotlight “the Zydeco legacy families,” he said. “My job was to help create a house band paired with the best accordion players representing Clifton’s style and the appropriate people for this project.”
As Landry remembers it, he first met Jagger at a Los Angeles house party following a Philip Glass Ensemble performance at the Whisky a Go Go. The next night, as luck would have it, he saw Jagger again, this time out at a restaurant, and they got to talking. At some point in the conversation, “Jagger goes, ‘Your accent. Where are you from?’ I said, ‘I’m from South Louisiana.’ He blurts out, ‘Clifton Chenier, the best band I ever heard, and I’d like to hear him again.’ ”
“Dude, you’re in luck,” he told Jagger. Chenier was playing a show at a high school in Watts the following night. […]
As the final addition to the album lineup, the Stones were the last to choose which of Chenier’s songs to record. Looking at the track listing, Jagger noticed that “Zydeco Sont Pas Salé” hadn’t been taken. “Isn’t that, like, the one?” Adcock recalls him saying. “The one the whole genre is named after? If the Stones are gonna do one, shouldn’t we do the one ?” […]
The Stones’ version of “Zydeco Sont Pas Salé” opens with St. Julien, Chenier’s longtime drummer, playing a backbeat with brushes. He’s 77 now, no longer the young man Jagger saw in Watts in 1978. “I quit playing music about 10 years ago, to tell the truth,” he said when we spoke this spring, but you wouldn’t know it by how he sounds on the track. Keith Richards’s guitar part, guttural and revving, meets St. Julien in the intro and builds steadily. The melody is introduced by the accordionist Steve Riley, of the Mamou Playboys, who told me he’d tried to “play it like Clifton—you know, free-form, just from feel.”
It’s strange that it doesn’t feel stranger when Jagger breaks into his vocal, sung in Creole French. His imitation of Chenier is at once spot-on yet unmistakably Jagger.
- The spending plan Pritzker signed Pritzker signed includes nearly $400M in additional cuts beyond his February proposal, budget negotiators said last month.
-It raises over $800M through tax hikes on tobacco, sports betting, and corporate income, plus one-time revenues.
- Legislators ended session without passing a transit plan, and Pritzker on Monday did his best to deflect responsibility for the problem, saying transit is “not a state budget issue… It’s really a separate matter entirely.”
- Rep. Kam Buckner, a lead budget negotiator in the House who has also been a leader in discussions on the transit issue, said lawmakers may return this summer if federal cuts hit the budget — and could address transit then.
* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect chief meeting with legislators amid license-plate reader controversy: Eterno told village officials at Saturday’s Coffee With Council he has spoken with State Rep. Nicolle Grasse, a Democrat from Arlington Heights. Grasse also spoke with officials in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Rolling Meadows, she said. She and Eterno are meeting this week with state Sen. Mark Walker, also an Arlington Heights Democrat. Mount Prospect was at the center of the issue when Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced last week that 46 out-of-state agencies were blocked from accessing Flock Safety’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system after reports they had been used in searches related to abortion and immigration.
* Crain’s | Chicago Fire, Related Midwest reveal details of South Loop stadium plan: Renderings and site plan documents showcase more details of the $650 million stadium set to be bankrolled privately by billionaire Fire owner Joe Mansueto, as well as new and tweaked public infrastructure projects Related Midwest would finance and be reimbursed for with future property tax revenue generated by the project. Among other soccer-facing revelations: The stadium in the north central portion of the long-fallow, 62-acre site would feature 50 suites, 500 “Loge seats” and 3,500 “Club seats” — including some with access to exclusive clubs, the team said — as well as a dedicated supporter section with a capacity for about 2,000 die-hard fans.
*** Statehouse News ***
* NBC Chicago | Pritzker discusses Trump’s decision to send National Guard into Los Angeles: Immigration protests have remained largely peaceful in Chicago, with just one arrest reported during a “No Kings” march on Saturday, but Pritzker was asked whether he believed Trump would activate the Illinois National Guard to support law enforcement in Chicago. “I do not believe he will call out the National Guard. He has seen this has not gone well for him politically, and he’s all about the politics,” Pritzker said during a press conference Monday. “What he’s done in California has really hurt him politically, so I don’t think he’ll do that in other places.”
* WCIA | Changes coming to Illinois after Pritzker signs multiple bills: Governor Pritzker signed HB742 on Monday. According to his office, this will delay the date the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act would be enforced until July 1, 2026. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act would ban banks or credit card companies from charging businesses a fee for the tipped or taxed portion of a transaction.
* WMBD | On the Record: Breaking down the $55 billion budget with state Senators Koehler, Arellano: “Overall, I think its a fair budget,” said state Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria). “But you can look through the budget and you’ll find areas where things made you satisfied or things didn’t make you satisfied. But that’s what the budget process is.” […] On the other side, state Sen. Li Arellano took issue with the budget saying it was unduly burdensome on taxpayers. He voted against the “reckless” budget plan, he said.
*** Chicago ***
* WBEZ | Fiscal watchdog says state financial oversight for CPS is worth exploring: With Chicago Public Schools grappling with a $529 million deficit and no clear way to balance its budget for the fall, the state might want to take over the school district’s finances — a move that could open up new revenue opportunities, but also force CPS to make cuts that school board members and the mayor oppose. That’s according to a new report by the nonpartisan financial watchdog group, the Civic Federation.
* Tribune | Maps show neighborhoods where environmental justice zoning ordinance would benefit residents most: As communities are urging their representatives to support an environmental ordinance introduced in April to the City Council, a neighborhood group released maps showing large swaths of land across the city are currently zoned for commercial warehouses and industrial manufacturing that don’t require public notice or city approval to be developed. Wards with the most land where this kind of use is permitted include the 10th Ward on the city’s Southeast Side, the 11th and 12th Wards on the South Side, the 25th Ward on the Lower West Side, and the 27th Ward on the Northwest Side.
* WTTW | Ald. Jim Gardiner Won’t Have to Pay $20K Fine After He Is Cleared of Violating Ethics Ordinance: After an appeal by the two-term Far Northwest Side alderperson, an administrative hearing officer overturned the Chicago Board of Ethics’ October 2023 determination that Gardiner committed 10 total violations of Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, five violations of his fiduciary duty to the city and five violations for unauthorized use of city property after a probe by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg. The Chicago Board of Ethics voted unanimously Monday evening to clear Gardiner of those violations.
* Crain’s | American Bar Association sues Trump over alleged ‘intimidation’ of law firms: “The result of the Law Firm Intimidation Policy has been a pervasive fear within the legal community and the justice system at large,” the complaint reads. “Many attorneys are no longer willing to take on representations that would require suing the federal government because doing so poses a serious risk of becoming the next target of the administration’s devastating sanctions.” The ABA is represented in the complaint by Susman Godfrey, one of four law firms, along with Chicago-based Jenner & Block, that opted to fight the administration in court rather than reach a deal to avoid an executive order targeting its operations. Jenner won a ruling last month permanently blocking the order.
* Crain’s | Chicago garners two wins at the Beard Awards, the Oscars of the restaurant biz: First up was the West Loop Japanese bar Kumiko, which won in the Outstanding Bar category. Created by Julia Momosé, Kumiko is both a bar and dining experience, combing the two in a very intimate setting at 630 W. Lake St. The restaurant calls itself a “a dining bar” where “food and drink are expertly intertwined” with an emphasis on Japanese ingredients, craft cocktails and saké. Diners can grab a snack with their cocktail or enjoy a tasting menu.
* Chicago Mag | Peering Inside Chicago’s Original Art Colony: Graff was beginning to understand why the Chicago Tribune originally described it as a “magnificent palace” when the edifice first opened in 1885. Designed by Solon Spencer Beman, it served as the showroom for the Studebaker Carriage Company before the business moved. After a renovation that expanded the structure from eight floors to 10, it reopened in 1898 as “the first art colony of Chicago.” Among the many music teachers, theater companies, and literary groups, the storied list of artists-in-residence includes architect Frank Lloyd Wright, sculptor Lorado Taft, and illustrators W. W. Denslow (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and J.C. Leyendecker (The Saturday Evening Post cover artist).
*** Cook County and Suburbs ***
* Aurora Beacon-News | With $771 million budget gap for transit looming, suburban officials and activists still waiting on reform: In Kane County, the failure to pass the Senate funding proposal was met with some optimism from local officials seeking greater suburban influence over the transit agencies. At a county board meeting on June 4, Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog reiterated interest in greater oversight for the collar counties on the region’s transit agencies. “That was our big fight, and we were able to, altogether, with our senators … postpone this for another day, and a much more thoughtful, I hope, less rushed conversation,” Pierog said.
* Shaw Local | Residents express opposition to proposed day care center near Downers Grove: “I am not against day care,” said Ozzello, a working mom who in the past struggled to find day care for her children. “I understand the need for reliable and affordable, trustworthy childcare. I am all for building another day care in another location that makes sense.” But not on a residential lot, she said.
* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora considers water rate increase: Aurora is considering raising the water and sewer rate by 6% each of the next two years, which city staff members say would mean about a $3.30 monthly increase for the average residential water user each year. If the city were to keep rates the same, it would face a roughly $2.8 million budget deficit in the Water and Sewer Fund. That’s according to Jason Bauer, the interim director of Public Works, who gave a presentation to the Aurora City Council’s Committee of the Whole about the proposed increase earlier this month and then formally proposed the increase at a City Council Finance Committee meeting last week.
* NBC Chicago | Residents, activists blame ‘festering’ antisemitism for Highland Park incident: A Highland Park family is speaking out after receiving a threatening, antisemitic letter at their home — a disturbing incident that has drawn swift condemnation from the community and prompted an investigation involving local police, the FBI, and a hazardous materials team. The letter, which targeted the family for displaying pro-Israel signage in their yard, included antisemitic rhetoric and a reference to a toxic substance. The material was ultimately found to be non-toxic, but the threat was taken seriously.
* Daily Southtown | Federal court filing seeks to bar Dolton from buying pope’s boyhood home: A former Dolton village employee is trying to block the village from using taxpayer money to acquire the childhood home of Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. Lavell Redmond, who has an ongoing lawsuit against Dolton alleging wrongful termination in 2022, is asking a federal judge for a temporary restraining order. The motion, filed Sunday, alleges the village, in seeking to buy the home, is engaging in an “endeavor with substantial cost to taxpayers with no compelling governmental necessity.”
* Daily Herald | Fire departments are handling more false alarms, so why isn’t there more concern?: “I’d rather the system let us know something’s wrong accidentally than it not work at all when we need it to,” said Arlington Heights Fire Chief Lance Harris. “Usually it’s letting the building owner know something needs fixing.” The vast majority of false alarms aren’t malicious or pranks, but rather a warning that maintenance is required on the building’s alert or suppression system, fire officials said.
* WCIA | Herff Jones expanding corporations in Arcola, leaving Champaign: The Herff Jones Plant in Champaign will be closing down but expanding operations in Douglas County. The company will be phasing out of Champaign over the next few months and transitioning employees to Arcola and Indianapolis to work. Management said an estimated 90 jobs will be impacted like supervisor and distribution roles. Executive Vice President Andy Penca said the Champaign building has lasted for a half a century, and leaving the city they love is disappointing.
* WGLT | Contacts to statewide domestic violence hotline rose 26% last year — with sharpest increase in Central Illinois: A new report says contacts to the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline rose 26% compared to 2023, with the greatest change registered in Central Illinois. According to data compiled by the statewide domestic violence advocacy group The Network, the hotline received 16 contacts [via phone, text or chat] from Logan County, up 81% from 2023. Livingston County contacts increased from 23 to 30 [77%]. And there were two contacts from Piatt County, compared with none the previous year.
*** National ***
* Axios | Scoop: Colorado pauses campaign finance database after Minnesota shootings: The state’s Transparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting database, known as TRACER, posts candidate filings that often include home addresses and personal phone numbers. Elsewhere in the system, it lists campaign contribution data that requires donors — including lawmakers — to list their names, full addresses and occupations. Secretary of State Jena Griswold ordered the removal after consultation with state and legislative leadership, a spokesperson said.
* WaPo | Trump officials reverse guidance exempting farms, hotels from immigration raids: Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told agency leaders in a call Monday that agents must continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, according to two people familiar with the call. The new instructions were shared in an 11 a.m. call to representatives from 30 field offices across the country.
* NYT | Inside DOGE’s Chaotic Takeover of Social Security: So far the agency’s core functions — like sending monthly checks to 74 million Americans — have remained largely intact. But under pressure from Mr. Musk’s team, nearly half of the Social Security Administration’s 140 senior executives, and thousands of employees overall, have taken buyouts or retired. As many as 12 percent of staff members, out of a bureaucracy that numbered around 57,000 people, are expected to depart their jobs as part of DOGE’s cost-cutting plan.
* NPR | Press group sues L.A., alleging police abuse of reporters at ICE rallies: Press advocates say such episodes have been common at the often charged and sometimes violent protests that have played out in Los Angeles over the past 10 days. They say law enforcement officials at the protests have not always demonstrated restraint or distinguished between people who pose a threat and others who are reporting on developments. On Monday, the Los Angeles Press Club and the investigative reporting site Status Coup filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department in federal court, alleging that officers at the demonstrations are routinely violating journalists’ rights.
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