Selected react to budget reconciliation bill passage (Updated x2)
Thursday, Jul 3, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Lots of stuff here, but I’ve tried to mostly focus on press releases with actual budget numbers/projections. From the Illinois Health and Hospital Association…
* Excerpt from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s statement…
* From Gov. JB Pritzker earlier today…
* Excerpt from Planned Parenthood of Illinois’ statement…
* US Rep. Mary Miller…
* US Rep. Ray LaHood…
* Latino Policy Forum excerpt…
* Citizens Utility Board…
…Adding… Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition…
…Adding… Speaker Welch…
More releases have been posted here.
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Reader comments closed for Independence Day
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * We talked about this recording last month. Turn it up…
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Some fiscal news
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
Sen. Halpin voted against the FY26 budget and the revenue omnibus. Earlier this week, he told WVIK his vote was due to underfunding higher education in Illinois. * Some familiar names in Illinois media are moving around. Tina Sfondeles is now the Sun-Times’ national political reporter…
* Long-time Tribune reporter Ray Long has retired…
* Amy Jacobson was let go…
* WGN…
…Adding… Capitol News Illinois…
* WSIL | ISP urges safety following four motorcycle-related deaths in the last week: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that while motorcycles make up only about 3% of registered vehicles, they contribute to 12% of roadway deaths. Illinois Department of Transportation data shows that so far for 2025, Illinois has seen 44 motorcycle-related deaths. * Crain’s | Five Illinois cases part of DOJ’s massive health care fraud ‘takedown’: Federal prosecutors unveiled a massive number of criminal indictments, including five in Illinois, alleging COVID-19 testing fraud and a range of other schemes totaling $14.6 billion in losses from fraudulent claims. The 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants, including 96 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other licensed medical professionals, in 50 federal districts, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday. * WICS | Sonya Massey’s family speaks out on her memory, days before death anniversary: Massey’s family said she was a hard working mother who ensured her kids were well taken care of. Sonya stuck to a simple routine of going to work, coming home to cook, clean and spend time with her kids. Sontae Massey said while the world remembers Sonya as the tiny woman speaking to the police in the final moments of her life, she’s so much more than that. “I miss her everyday,” Sontae said. “I miss the Sonya that, I would go over to mom’s house, and we would crack jokes, and she would make fun of me and she would share a laugh with me. I miss that Sonya.” * UIS News | UIS Innocence Project secures exoneration of six men after 124 years of wrongful imprisonment: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, announced the full exoneration of six clients in Cook County today after they collectively served 124 years in prison for a murder they did not commit. Brothers Robert Cardona and Gregorio Cardona, Lowell Higgins-Bey, Harry Rodriguez, Michael McCastle and Fernando Gomez were all teenagers or young adults when they were wrongfully convicted in 1989. Their exoneration follows decades of advocacy and a 2022 post-conviction DNA test that excluded all six men and identified an unknown male as the likely perpetrator. * Crain’s | Why rural Illinois hospitals are bracing for fallout from GOP-backed Medicaid cuts: A recent report by University of North Carolina health care researchers pegged hospitals in Illinois’ 12th Congressional District as being at risk, because either they’ve posted negative margins for three consecutive years or they are among the top 10% of the most Medicaid-dependent rural hospitals in the country. Other rural hospitals at risk of stopping services, converting or closing are in downstate Dixon, Danville and Hoopeston. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost represents the 12th District at the southern tip of Illinois. Bost’s office did not return a request from Crain’s to explain why he voted for the bill, dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” when it passed out of the U.S. House. * KSDK | Her body was found in an Illinois farmer’s field; 35 years later she has been identified: A woman who was killed and had her body left in a farmer’s field in rural Troy, Illinois has been positively identified 35 years later through advanced technologies, Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor announced Tuesday. While detectives have some answers, police still need help finding the killer. Wendy Nadine Michel, who would be 65 years old today, disappeared sometime in the summer of 1990 and her body was found by a farmer in a field near Lebanon Road and Troy O’Fallon Road on July 20, 1990. Investigators believe the body had been there for about a week. * WGLT | Some massage therapists feel heard as Bloomington modifies regulations, but concerns linger: For the first time, the City of Bloomington is regulating an industry that it says has been a source for sex trafficking and other illicit behavior. A number of massage therapists in the city pushed back, claiming they were being unfairly held in suspicion. They also took exception to proposed annual fees and language referring to dress code, individual therapists’ personal information and physical characteristics. The city dropped the fees and some personal info requirements when it approved the new regulations June 23. That muted some of the criticism, though message therapists say the stigma remains regarding public perceptions of what they do. * Rockford Register Star | Rockford terminates officer who had twice been accused of battering suspects: Months after he was acquitted by a jury of misdemeanor battery charges, a Rockford Police Department officer accused of smashing a handcuffed man’s head into a window has been fired. Officer Frank Fabiani was terminated after an internal police department review of the May 14, 2022, incident, according to a June 24 termination letter written by Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd. In the letter, Redd writes that Fabiani violated department general orders and rules of conduct after handcuffing Alize Jones, a suspect in a domestic violence investigation. * WGEM | New pavilion raised at Adams County Fairground: round 25 volunteers with the help from workers at Maas Construction helped raise the new Heritage Farms Pavilion at the Adams County Fairgrounds Tuesday. This is a legacy project for the Adams County Bicentennial Commission. The new pavilion will be a tribute to the 86 farms in Adams County that have been owned continuously by the same family for at least 150 years. * WSIL | Anne West Library Adds Inclusive Workstations Thanks to Local College and Rotary Club Partnership: Thanks to a unique partnership between the Carterville Rotary Club and John A. Logan College, the library now features, a wheelchair-accessible workstation, and a first-of-its-kind desk with an attached playpen, designed to help parents work or study while keeping their toddlers safe and close. Mary Stoner, Director at the Anne West Lindsey District Library, says “In our children’s area, we wanted to provide a kind of workstation area for mom or dad so they can check their email or do a little work, but keep their little one in a safe space.” * WIFR | A look into Transform Rockford since its inception in 2013: Back in 2013, Transform Rockford came together after the city was ranked as one of the most miserable cities in the United States. Following the rankings, the goal was simple: help the Forest City become a top 25 community by 2025. “What Transform did was, I think, change the mindset of the community. It showed the community what’s possible,” said Wally Haas, the current executive director of Transform Rockford. * Chicago Reader | Jobs, block clubs, investment: How Chicagoans are interrupting violence at its roots: Breakthrough, INVC, Chicago CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny), and other violence interruption organizers include workforce development, behavioral health counseling, and job placement to enhance their direct outreach to people involved in violent altercations. That outreach attempts to prevent retaliatory shootings, set up nonaggression agreements among gangs, and pull people off the street. By combining these approaches with workforce development, they hope to break cycles of violence, one person at a time, for good. * Crain’s | CBRE lures office leasing team from its new Chicago landlord: CBRE has bolstered its bench of office leasing agents in Chicago, luring the team that recently signed the real estate services giant as a tenant at an office tower along the Chicago River. The brokerage announced it has hired Greg Tait, Maggie Brophy and Jamion Hartley to join its local office from Newport Beach, Calif.-based real estate firm Irvine. The move comes after CBRE leased about 55,000 square feet at Irvine’s 60-story skyscraper at 300 N. LaSalle St., where it is relocating its Chicago office from 321 N. Clark St. * Sun-Times | Social venture Mona helps microlender Kiva distribute $200,000 in loans to Chicago entrepreneurs: Social venture Mona and the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation have helped 23 Chicago-area entrepreneurs get $200,000 worth of zero-interest loans from Kiva, a global microloan platform. Mona and the Polsky Center collaborated with Kiva, which has distributed the loans to mostly South Side businesses in the past year. The loans of up to $15,000 also have no fees. Applications are still open on Mona’s website. Borrowers include healthy snack brand Ms. P’s Gluten Free; Ecodunia, maker of bags and accessories from Kenya; and Ilava, which makes clothing in Tanzania. * NBC Chicago | Recent Northwestern grad hopes to save parents from deportation: Bryan Carcamo graduated from the school with honors earlier this year, but his parents were not there to see him walk across the state due to fears related to their immigration status. “I made it to Northwestern, and it would have meant the world to me to have my parents among the crowds of families,” he said. His parents have been living, working, and raising a family in Compton, California for 20 years without legal status. The worry is that they will soon be detained and deported, which has led Carcamo to advocate on behalf of his parents and other undocumented immigrants. * Daily Southtown | Another attempt to stop 143rd Street widening fails at Will County committee meeting: A Will County committee voted 4-2 Tuesday to advance the five-year transportation improvement plan for full County Board approval after some board members tried unsuccessfully to remove a controversial road project in Homer Glen for the second time in a month. The County Board last month voted against removing the 143rd Street road widening project from the transportation plan, which offers a snapshot of the county’s future projects in its 258-mile road system. The board then opted to send the plan back to its Public Works and Transportation Committee for a closer look. * ABC Chicago | Blue Island shutting down embattled mobile home park, residents don’t know what’s next: Thursday is the deadline the city of Blue Island has given to the owners of Forest View Mobile Home Park to come up with a plan to shut the property down. Officials have said the city has spent two years trying to get management to clean up its act. Its residents are now caught in the middle, unsure where they will go. The park is currently made up of empty lots, broken up streets and abandoned and stripped-down trailers. It’s a community in dire need of maintenance. But, for residents, it’s home. * Tribune | Downers Grove teacher accused of sexual abuse loses bid to ease pretrial release restriction: A DuPage County judge Wednesday denied a request from a former Downers Grove high school teacher to reduce the distance she must keep from the student she is accused of sexually abusing. Christina Formella, 30, faces 55 counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child and grooming. Prosecutors say she had sexual relations with the student more than 50 times, including at least 45 times at Downers Grove South High School where she once worked as a special education teacher and coach. * Daily Southtown | Dolton buying Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in village, price uncertain: The Village Board at a special meeting Tuesday voted unanimously to move forward on buying the house at 212 East 141st Place, and said there are plans to buy an adjacent home. Mayor Jason House told reporters after the meeting he hoped the village could close on the purchase in a couple of weeks, but that the final purchase price is still up in the air. House said the chance to buy the home is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and a “historic movement moving forward” for Dolton. * NBC Chicago | Giant pothole on I-294 in suburbs leaves 30 cars stranded; lanes reopen: More than two dozen cars were stranded with flat tires on Interstate 294 Monday morning and lanes were closed for hours due to a large pothole in the middle of the road, Illinois State Police said. The pothole — approximately eight feet by three feet — was on the Tri-State Tollway in the northbound lanes at mile marker 19.75, ISP said, near the Mile Long Bridge in Cook County. Two left lanes on the tollway were closed for maintenance for several hours. * Daily Herald | Moderate drought conditions exist for much of northern Illinois: Precipitation over the past 30 days across northern Illinois has been below normal, recording only 3 to 4 inches of rainfall, according to Illinois State Climatologist. From April 1 through June 29, the entire northern half of the state registered less than 10 inches of precipitation, according to the Illinois State Climatologist. * Shaw Local | Buy a drive-thru pork chop, chicken or walleye dinner, help Kane County Farm Bureau Foundation: The Kane County Farm Bureau Foundation is raising funds for college scholarships by hosting Fay’s Drive-Thru BBQ pork chop, chicken and grilled walleye dinners from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 3, at its headquarters, 2N710 Randall Road, St. Charles. * AP | Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority strikes down 176-year-old abortion ban: The justices concluded that “the legislature impliedly repealed” the ban “by enacting comprehensive legislation about virtually every aspect of abortion including where, when, and how healthcare providers may lawfully perform abortions,” Justice Rebecca Dallet wrote for the majority. “That comprehensive legislation so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was clearly meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion.” * Inside Climate | NIH Scientists Link Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mutations in Non-Smokers: In their study, published in the journal Nature, Landi and colleagues from the National Institutes of Health’s NCI and the University of California San Diego analyzed the lung tumors of 871 nonsmokers from 28 locations across four continents. They found that the tumors of patients in highly polluted areas had many more genetic mutations than those in areas with cleaner air, and exhibited a diversity of mutations, including patterns typically found in smokers. * NYT | Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Who Threatened Police Joins Justice Dept.: A former F.B.I. agent who was charged with encouraging the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to kill police officers has been named as an adviser to the Justice Department task force that President Trump established to seek retribution against his political enemies. The former agent, Jared L. Wise, is serving as a counselor to Ed Martin, the director of the so-called Weaponization Working Group, according to people familiar with the group’s activities.
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RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Retail generates $7.3 billion in income and sales tax revenue each year in Illinois. These funds support public safety, infrastructure, education, and other important programs we all rely on every day. In fact, retail is the second largest revenue generator for the State of Illinois and the largest revenue generator for local governments. Retailers like Steve in Metro East enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.
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Groups warn about plan that doesn’t appear to be in the works
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Press release…
Click here for the full report, but just keep in mind that nobody has so far proposed a full electrification plan. And the governor’s spokesperson told me “that’s never been our approach.” * I collected some responses. From the Illinois Environmental Council…
* From the governor’s spokesperson Alex Gough…
* I followed up with Monique Garcia, who wrote the initial press release…
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SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Campaign news: Big Raja money; Benton over-shares; Rashid’s large cash pile; Jeffries to speak at IDCCA brunch
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi adds $3.1 million to his already bulging Senate war chest. Press release…
Click here for a little more on that poll. * Sun-Times…
* We told subscribers about this next topic earlier today. The Illinois GOP is pouncing on a Facebook comment from Rep. Harry Benton, who took a swipe at Gov. JB Pritzker’s LG pick.…
* From the Illinois Republican Party’s Facebook page… Benton told me he only met Mitchell once. “I don’t really feel like getting in the middle of a fight, but, you know, the one time I met him, he was dismissive, didn’t, didn’t care.” Mitchell told Rich he didn’t remember meeting Benton. * Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid announces big cash stash…
Rep. Rashid told Rich this week that, despite some rumors floating around, he’s running for reelection. * Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association…
* Related…
* Crain’s | Stratton raises $1M in U.S. Senate bid: The campaign didn’t release an exact amount or details on donors, which should be available in filings later this month. The race to succeed U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in 2026 is already crowded. Stratton faces off against fellow Democratic U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a prodigious fundraiser who has amassed a war chest of more than $19 million, and Robin Kelly, who had about $2 million on hand at the end of the first quarter, according to Federal Election Commission reports. * CBS Chicago | State Rep. Hoan Huynh running to succeed Jan Schakowsky in Congress for Illinois’ 9th District: Huynh is currently the Illinois General Assembly as the representative for the state’s 13th district, which covers parts of Uptown, Andersonville and Lincoln Square. He filed paperwork to run for Congress late Tuesday night. He released a campaign video Wednesday morning, becoming the eleventh candidate to enter the race for the Democratic nomination. He joins other popular elected officials in the area, including Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and State Senator Laura Fine.
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Rep. Hoan Huynh jumps into packed race for Schakowsky’s seat (Updated)
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Subscribers were told yesterday. Evanston Now…
* Sun-Times…
* Rep. Huynh’s launch video… Thoughts? …Adding… From Rep. Huynh’s campaign website… Ope. * Related…
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Roundup: Pritzker taps Christian Mitchell for LG
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Tribune…
* Sun-Times… Besides being first in the line of succession to the governor’s office, lieutenant governors don’t have specific responsibilities assigned by the Illinois constitution beyond those “that may be delegated to him by the Governor.” * More…
* Pantagraph | Pritzker names former state lawmaker as running mate: In this sense, it is the most low-profile statewide office in Illinois. One former lieutenant governor even resigned the office out of sheer boredom and lack of responsibility. However, some have been called upon to ascend to the top job, most recently Pat Quinn upon the impeachment and removal of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2009. […] In Mitchell, Pritzker tapped someone with both political and policy chops. As a state legislator, Mitchell fended off multiple Chicago Teachers Union-packed primary challenges. In 2018, he was named interim executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois. * ABC Chicago | Gov. JB Pritzker to hit campaign trail with new running mate Christian Mitchell Wednesday: Christian Mitchell, Governor JB Pritzker’s pick to be the state’s next lieutenant governor, will be hitting the campaign trail Wednesday morning alongside the governor. The two will be stopping by a South Side staple, Peach’s Restaurant in Bronzeville Wednesday morning. * Daily Herald | Pritzker picks former deputy, state Rep. Christian Mitchell as running mate: If Pritzker plunges into an all-absorbing presidential campaign, Mitchell would be a loyal, competent second-in-command, political scientist Kent Redfield said. “If you wanted somebody that knows Pritzker, knows the legislative and executive (branches), and could manage the governor’s office if the governor was running for president, it certainly would make sense,” added Redfield, University of Illinois at Springfield professor emeritus. * Capitol City Now | A conversation with a candidate for Lieutenant Governor: He’s gone from the public sector, to the private sector, back to the public sector. Christian Mitchell is a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, running alongside incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker. WTAX’s Dave Dahl talked to Mitchell for the WTAX Morning Newswatch. * WGN | Gov. Pritzker announces Christian Mitchell as pick for Lieutenant Governor: To run for lieutenant governor, Mitchell said he’ll leave the University of Chicago where he oversees government relations. From 2013 to 2019, Mitchell represented parts of the South Side in the state legislature distinguishing himself as a policy wonk. He later served as deputy governor, playing a key role in the Pritzker administration’s response to COVID-19. “He tasked me and others in the office to be in charge of effectively our medical supply chain and to make sure that we had all of the PPE, the gloves, the masks, the ventilators we needed to make sure that our frontline health care heroes could keep doing their work,” Mitchell explained.
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Open thread
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * A California-based Mexican music band featuring a black Sousaphone and a crazy-great slapping bass player with 19 million views in two weeks. The menacing vibe is thorough and real. You gotta love it… Paris, France is my sky I watched that video about 15 times last night. Don’t miss it. Optional discussion topic: July 4th plans?
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Pritzker signs health care legislation. Capitol News Illinois…
- House Bill 1697, known as the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, will impose new restrictions on practices of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, a powerful but little-understood segment of the pharmaceutical industry. - Under the legislation, PBMs will be prohibited from steering consumers toward large pharmacies in which they have a financial interest. They will also be prohibited from engaging in “spread pricing” – the practice of charging health plans a higher price for a drug than the PBM pays a pharmacy for dispensing the drug. * Related stories…
∙ 25News Now: In Peoria, governor touts bipartisan bills aimed at affordable healthcare access ∙ WMBD: Gov. JB Pritzker signs healthcare bills at OSF Healthcare * The Governor is on the campaign trail today with a stop at Peach’s Restaurant in Bronzeville at 11:45 am. * WNIJ | Illinois State Climatologist discusses the future of local weather forecasting: This week Illinois State Climatologist Dr. Trent Ford has been highlighting some possibilities of what federal funding cuts to weather services may look like. Today, Ford shares the effects those cuts could have for local weather forecasters. On top of government funding, local weather forecasters also face uncertainty from their local stations, such as the possibility of weather hubs, as opposed to the current model of forecasters and meteorologists delivering their predictions and information from their local affiliates. * Press release | AG Raoul wins court order blocking Trump administration’s dismantling of HHS: Attorney General Kwame Raoul today secured a preliminary junction halting Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ensuring continued access to critical public health and social service programs. On May 5, Attorney General Raoul and a coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop the administration’s sweeping and unlawful restructuring directive, which left HHS unable to carry out many of its most vital functions. Today, Judge Melissa R. Dubose of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island blocked the administration’s mass layoffs at several key HHS agencies while the case proceeds. * Shaw Local | Wisconsin pot purchases boosting market on our side of Cheddar Curtain: Marijuana Moment said Evers’ February budget request projected the Badger State could realize $58.1 million in pot revenue in fiscal 2027 through 15% wholesale and 10% retail taxes. That’s a far cry from a 2023 Wisconsin Department of Revenue study showing a legalization plan could generate almost $170 million per year. All those numbers make sense in light of a 2022 report wherein Wisconsin officials estimated their residents spent more than $121 million on marijuana here, pumping $36 million into our public coffers. * IPM News | Illinois immigrant advocate responds to birthright citizenship ruling and increased immigration enforcement around the state: ”People whose rights are going to be violated by executive action are going to need to file their own lawsuits or join class action lawsuits that may get filed, and the ability of courts to issue emergency orders in those lawsuits is now very limited. Unfortunately, the executive order could now go into effect while that litigation is moving through the court system. That, unfortunately, is going to mean that countless children — countless families — are essentially going to be stateless.” * Tribune | Go big and stay home! Why Illinois loves its roadside monsters: “Illinois is like a wonderland of large things,” said Rolando Pujol, whose dizzying new book, “The Great American Retro Road Trip: A Celebration of Roadside Americana,” is an obsessive taxonomy of the vintage fiberglass megafauna (and more) amongst us. “My Illinois to-see list numbers in the hundreds. But incongruous, anomalous, larger-than-life objects are American DNA, part of our collective self-identity. We develop attachment to large things. They become signposts in our lives.” * Sun-Times | AG Kwame Raoul joins suit against Trump administration over immigrant Medicaid data: The suit, announced Tuesday, seeks to stop federal immigration officials from securing more health documentation or using already obtained Medicaid records of millions nationwide to target enrollees for immigration enforcement. The attorneys general said the data transfer was not only illegal, but could have a chilling effect on noncitizens and their citizen loved ones enrolling into state healthcare programs they otherwise qualify for due to fear of deportation. * WBEZ | A state lawmaker wants to bring an overdose prevention site pilot program to Illinois: A bill that could help bring pilot programs for overdose prevention sites to Illinois didn’t pass during the recent legislative session. WBEZ’s Isabela Nieto breaks down what happened and why it matters. * WGLT | Illinois becomes first state to include music therapy in Medicaid as federal cuts loom in ‘Big Beautiful Bill’: Effective July 1, Illinois is the first state to allow music therapists to bill Medicaid for services—something Julie Englesdorfer said is a game-changer. Englesdorfer graduated from Illinois State University’s music therapy program and has remained in the area, founding Harmonium Music Therapy in Bloomington. But making ends meet in what she calls a “niche” field has been difficult. Englesdorfer’s inability to bill insurance has long created an accessibility barrier, with the average session costing around $120/hour. * WBEZ | CPS is reducing assistants assigned to some special ed classes, worrying educators and parents: Theresa Nuestro’s sons are among the thousands of Chicago Public School students who depend on special education classroom assistants to keep them safe and focused in classes. […] They worry CPS is trying to find savings on the backs of their children, as has happened in the past. “SECAs are the front-line responders when my son’s blood sugar levels drop to dangerously low levels,” said Nuestro, whose sons are both on the autism spectrum. One has a severe peanut allergy and the other is diabetic. “It is the SECA who communicates when my son is struggling to self-regulate. … These moments are daily life for many autistic students and without adequate SECA support, our children struggle to learn.” * The Guardian | Six Chicago men exonerated in 1987 stabbing death of government official: A Chicago judge threw out the convictions on Tuesday of six men who served a combined 124 years in prison for the 1987 stabbing death of a local government official. Attorneys for the men successfully petitioned a Cook county court to overturn the convictions based on new DNA evidence as well as allegations of misconduct by a now retired Chicago police detective linked to at least 51 other wrongful convictions. * Block Club | How Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Impact Local Food Pantries: ‘People Are Going To Suffer’: In January, Martin was laid off from his job as a nonprofit case manager. He’s actively looking for work, but for now, he relies on the food pantry at 4256 N. Ridgeway Ave. and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for food. He could soon face additional hardship. Under significant cuts to SNAP being considered in Congress, as part of President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” people ages 55-64 would be subject to a work requirement to receive SNAP benefits — an expansion of existing work requirements that could affect more than 200,000 people living in Illinois. * Crain’s | CommonSpirit commits $6M to mental health efforts in Chicago: Grants — totaling $6,369,123 — will be awarded to the Catholic Healthcare Foundation of Northern Illinois, which will receive $5,469,123, and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, which will receive $900,000, the system said in a press release. Catholic Healthcare Foundation will use the funds to expand behavioral health services available to youth and families on Chicago’s Southwest Side, it said. * WTTW | CTA Launches Next Round of Rider Feedback Pop-Ups Following ‘Strong Turnout’: The events are designed for CTA leaders and staff to have open, informal conversations with riders about service, safety, improvements and rider priorities, according to the transit agency. The feedback will be used by the agency to help plan for the next CTA budget and prioritize future investments, according to the agency. The next round of events will be held at eight transit system locations and are scheduled to start in mid-July and run through the end of the month. Events will be held from 4-6 p.m. * Crain’s | Cook County opens first modular homes in $12 million affordable housing push: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will open the first two of 120 planned modular-built houses today, a little more than a year after the county board approved spending $12 million, or $100,000 per unit, to build the homes as new affordable housing options. […] The pair of houses is the start of an initial dozen in this neighborhood, each built in Inherent’s factory 3.5 miles away in North Lawndale and delivered by truck as two pieces—first floor and second floor—to the lot. * Daily Herald | Ascension closure of delivery services sparks protest: Protesters gathered outside Ascension Alexian Brothers Hospital in Elk Grove Village Tuesday, opposing Ascension’s decision to discontinue baby deliveries at the hospital. It would involve closing the Women and Infant Services department, which offers labor, delivery and postpartum care, a special care nursery and lactation services. Ascension plans to consolidate these services at Ascension Saint Alexius Women and Children’s Hospital in Hoffman Estates. * Daily Herald | New Arlington Heights streaming tax could cost residents $61 a year: Village officials are considering an extra charge on streaming services to help fund staffing for a fifth fire department ambulance that is hitting the streets this year, amid increased call volumes. Meanwhile, some village trustees this week pushed back on whether to retain a 1% grocery tax the state will stop collecting at the end of the year. * Daily Herald | Fermilab leader during search for top quark dies: John Peoples was asked in the mid-1990s about the value of doing pure scientific research — that which has no predetermined benefit. […] Peoples was the director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory at the time, charged with overseeing spending hundreds of millions of dollars researching particle physics. It was just after the Batavia-based laboratory was receiving worldwide acclaim for its role in discovering the top quark. He died June 25, at age 92, according to an announcement from Fermilab. * Daily Southtown | South Holland to levy nonresident fee for Friday fireworks display: People who don’t live in South Holland will be charged a $10 fee if they want to see the village’s fireworks display Friday night. South Holland residents will be admitted for free after showing proof of residency, such as a driver’s license or utility bill. * WGLT | ‘We have to stay in the game’: Illinois State opts in to direct payments to student-athletes: July 1 marks the first day colleges and universities can make direct payments to athletes through Name, Image and Likeness [NIL] deals. The decision stems from a settlement with the NCAA involving student compensation, previously from NIL deals being permitted for student-athletes. ISU Athletics Director Jeri Beggs said ISU needs to move its NIL in-house to remain competitive. “Right now if you can’t offer a decent NIL package to a men’s basketball player or women’s basketball player, they won’t come here. In order to be competitive, we have to stay in the game,” Beggs said. * BND | Shiloh sued tax collector for millions from its TIFs. Here’s how it was settled: For years, Shiloh argued in circuit and appellate courts that the county tax collector shorted the village a year’s worth of revenue from two of its tax increment financing districts. […] A TIF district is limited to 23 years. The village and county disagreed over when payments from the two TIF districts Shiloh created in 1998 should end. The county stopped sending Shiloh the TIF revenue in calendar year 2021. But Shiloh thought it should have continued into tax year 2021 — money the village levied in 2021 and the county collected from taxpayers in 2022. * Rock River Current | West announces nearly $13M in state funding for local initiatives, including upgrades to Fairgrounds Park in Rockford: The money was all secured as part of the $55.1 billion budget that Gov. JB Pritzker signed on June 16. West’s announcement includes new initiatives, such as upgrades to Fairgrounds Park, and continuations of past funding, such as the restaurant relief grants that are designed to correct a spike in unemployment taxes caused by the coronavirus pandemic. * WCIA | Coles Co. Board approves wind project: The Coles County Board voted to approve the Coles Wind Project Tuesday night. It narrowly passed with six members of the board voting to approve it and five voting against the project. * BND | Fireworks and festivities: Where to celebrate Fourth of July around the metro-east: The Alton Fireworks Spectacular will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 3 with the fireworks beginning at dusk, around 9 to 9:30 p.m. The celebration is held at the Alton Amphitheater, and will also include food trucks and live entertainment. * NYT | Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit: Paramount said late Tuesday that it has agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” an extraordinary concession to a sitting president by a major media organization. Paramount said its payment includes Mr. Trump’s legal fees and costs and that the money, minus the legal fees, will be paid to Mr. Trump’s future presidential library. […] But Shari Redstone, the chair and controlling shareholder of Paramount, told her board that she favored exploring a settlement with Mr. Trump. Some executives at the company viewed the president’s lawsuit as a potential hurdle to completing a multibillion-dollar sale of the company to the Hollywood studio Skydance, which requires the Trump administration’s approval. * WaPo | Trump to cut protections for home health aides, migrant farmworkers: The U.S. Labor Department announced plans this week to slash more than 60 regulations — including eliminating overtime and minimum wage protections for home health care workers and union organizing rights for migrant farmworkers. The effort to deregulate the federal agency that governs workers’ rights and protections in the United States aims to deliver on President Donald Trump’s promise to “restore American prosperity,” the agency said. * WaPo | A Trans Pilot Was Falsely Blamed for a Plane Crash. Now She’s Fighting the Right-Wing Disinfo Machine: Within two days, the rumor spread like wildfire. The morning of January 31, Jo Ellis, a part-time pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard, woke up to messages from a friend warning that she was being named online as the pilot who killed innocent passengers in the deadly crash. At first, Ellis thought it was an isolated claim—someone erroneously connected her to the crash, because just days earlier she had written an essay on being a transgender pilot from Virginia. But once she logged in to Facebook, she realized she was wrong.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition (Updated)
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Jul 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.
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