* ICYMI: Rep. Darin LaHood won’t run for Illinois governor, he says. NBC Chicago…

- Republican Rep. Darin LaHood announced Monday that he will not run for governor in Illinois, and will instead seek reelection to Congress.
- If LaHood had decided to run, he would have been the highest profile Republican to throw their hat in the ring during the current election cycle.
- DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick has announced a run for the office, along with suburban businessman Joseph Severino.
- Today marks the first day for candidates in Illinois to begin circulating petitions for the 2026 primary election in the state.

* Related stories…

∙ Daily Herald: Former GOP official Porter won’t run for Durbin’s Senate seat
∙ Tribune: As political petition passing begins, Illinois Democrats have flood of candidates; Republicans have a trickle

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | They’re here. They’re queer. They’re farming. New generation of LGBTQ farmers more visible and vocal: Scheider and Alem never thought they would be able to own a farm — the financial hurdles were just too great. But Schneider had a knack for the work, and was drawn to the idea of running their own business. The couple both took a business class after Schneider’s apprenticeship — and then took the leap to farming at Windy City’s incubator farm in Bronzeville. Their farm, Otter Oaks, is named for Schneider’s grandfather’s ranch.

* Austin Weekly News | Dem party role contested as Davis retires, Welch and Harmon vie for seat : Don Harmon, State Senate President and Democratic Oak Park Township Committeeman, said Sunday that he will be circulating nominating petitions for the party office of 7th District State Central Committeeman, an office Davis has held since 1998. Meanwhile, Harmon’s counterpart in the Illinois General Assembly, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has started actively campaigning for the post and has secured an endorsement from Davis and 18 other political figures, including River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci and State Rep. LaShawn Ford.

* Sun-Times | Chicago immigration judges fired by Trump White House call for transparency about their terminations: Jennifer Peyton, a former assistant chief immigration judge in Chicago, said she has watched more than 100 judicial colleagues be abruptly terminated, transferred or resign this year. Peyton and Carla Espinoza are among a group of dozens of judges who have been terminated without explanation since President Donald Trump took office in January. Both women spoke out Monday about what they called a lack of transparency and due process — adding they’re concerned about a staggering 3.5 million backlog in immigration cases. “Since January 2025, immigration courts… are no longer honoring or offering due process like it did when I was appointed in September 2016. The court system has been systematically and intentionally destroyed, defunded and politicized by this administration,” Peyton said at a Chicago press conference alongside Sen. Dick Durbin. “I don’t know why this has happened, but I fear for our country and for justice.”

*** Statewide ***

* WBEZ | Police use of force is declining, according to University of Illinois study: Researchers with the school’s Cline Center for Advanced Social Research compiled data to track and identify the use of lethal force by officers throughout the country. They found that from 2021 to 2023 the number of such incidents fell by 24 percent nationally. The drop was about the same in Illinois. The report includes any incident in which police used a firearm, including those with nonfatal outcomes, as well as any other use of force that resulted in a death. But it doesn’t draw conclusions as to why the decrease is occurring.

* Shaw Local | Girls flag football surges in Illinois as hundreds more take the field in year two: Last fall, hundreds of first-year players from 156 schools competed in the inaugural season of girls flag football in Illinois – up from the 22 in 2021, when Crystal Lake’s Gustavo Silva, the Chicago Bears’ director of football development, kicked off a pilot program in Chicago. More than 200 schools are expected to have teams this fall, IHSA assistant executive director Tracie Henry said. Silva’s big goal for the 2026-27 school year is 300.

*** Statehouse News ***

* FYI…

Capitalizing on the Texas Dems fight against redistricting, Gov. JB Pritzker is on Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night: https://t.co/7hmnP8cKKA

— Tina Sfondeles (@TinaSfon) August 4, 2025

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights trustee launches bid for state Senate seat: Arlington Heights Trustee Carina Santa Maria is running for the state Senate seat held by Mark Walker, who isn’t seeking reelection next year. Santa Maria, elected to the village board last April, is the first Democratic candidate to declare her candidacy for the 27th District opening since Walker’s announcement last Tuesday. She filed paperwork Thursday with the Illinois State Board of Elections that formally amends her candidate political committee in order to seek the General Assembly office. The committee is chaired by Wheeling Township Supervisor Maria Zeller Brauer, while Arlington Heights Memorial Library board Trustee Darnell McClaney serves as treasurer.

* WaPo | Inside Texas Democrats’ plan to seek refuge with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker: Soon his staff was talking daily with Texas Democrats. And early this week, he stood next to state lawmakers as they explained their escape to Chicago, assembled in front of a “JB” backdrop advertising Pritzker’s reelection campaign. “This is a righteous act of courage,” Pritzker said. “When you show people that you have the will to fight, well, they can muster the will to fight, too.”

* WAND | Illinois to start tracking firefighter cause of death in 2026: The Associated Firefighters of Illinois asked lawmakers to require the State Fire Marshal’s office to track and record the manner of death for firefighters across the state. Sponsors said it is important to evaluate the types of death these first responders are experiencing, whether it is suicide or various types of cancer.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Are ghost buses all but gone? Canceled CTA buses will now be noted on tracker apps: The CTA began publicly sharing the data on canceled buses earlier this spring. But it wasn’t until recently that the phone app Transit began showing canceled buses to CTA riders — marking them with a line through their scheduled time. It is currently the only application that has incorporated CTA’s new data. The Ventra app, Google Maps and Apple Maps don’t show canceled buses yet — but they will soon, according to the CTA.

* Crain’s | In downtown Chicago’s condo market, the hits keep coming: Last week was rough on the downtown condo market, with nine different examples popping up to show that the price declines of the fraught early 2020s aren’t over. Several condos sold for prices below what they went for 15 years ago or more. Sellers on a high floor in a showcase tower put their condo on the market at $1.2 million off what they paid for it in 2022. And one North Michigan Avenue’s million-dollar sale price was below what it went for in 2019, 2011 and 2009.

* AP | In ‘Sinners’ and his music, Buddy Guy is keeping the blues alive. It hasn’t been easy.: For the eight-time Grammy Award-winning musician, those recognitions aren’t priority. The longevity of the music that made his life is his primary concern. “Like I promised B.B. King, Muddy Waters and all of them,” he tells The Associated Press over the phone, “I do the best I can to keep the blues alive.” Which he does with the Chicago blues venue Buddy Guy’s Legends, which the artist opened in 1989.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘We will hide them at our own legal peril’: DuPage Democratic leader pledges to protect Texan lawmakers: “This was an opportunity to highlight the Democratic success in the area,” he said. While he wouldn’t give specifics, McCollum acknowledged the Texans are staying in the West suburbs. […] If the Texas Democrats are trying to run out the clock on the session, McCollum said they’re welcome to stay in DuPage County for the duration. “I will dig a bunker and stock it,” McCollum said. “We will hide them at our own legal peril, until hell freezes over if need be.”

* Crain’s | Northwestern’s president is appearing again before Congress. Here’s what to know: Unlike in a typical congressional hearing, the appearance will be closed to the media and the public, though it will be transcribed, according to a spokesperson for the committee. No information was available on whether the transcription will be released. Details on how many committee members will take part in the interview and if it will include both House Democrats and Republicans, in a similar fashion to a regular committee hearing, were also unavailable.

* Tribune | Cuts ripple across Northwestern, as faculty warn of dire situation: “Let’s say they unfreeze the funds. The damage is done,” said Guillermo Oliver, a professor in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. “Let’s be clear, this is not going to be, ‘OK, back to business.’” Northwestern never received formal notification of the funding freeze in April, which came amid several federal probes into allegations of antisemitism. The Evanston-based university has been spending about $10 million a week to keep research afloat, faculty told the Tribune in June.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey police: House party shooting that injured 4-year-old part of long-standing conflict between ‘bad actors’: At a news conference Monday in front of the Harvey police station, police Chief Cameron Biddings provided more details about the shooting, and said the violence was part of a longstanding conflict between “individuals with a long and disruptive history within our city.” “We now know who the bad actors are. These are not random acts of violence or anonymous individuals,” Biddings said. “We are very familiar with them, and frankly, they have caused harm within our community for far too long.” Biddings said police have increased patrols in the area and are looking at “pursuing charges where applicable.”

* Aurora Beacon-News | Paramount Theatre cancels its Bold subscription series due to Aurora funding cut: Aurora has seen political change in recent weeks. Former mayor Richard Irvin, who had staked much of the city’s future on downtown Aurora becoming a long-term hub for arts and entertainment, was defeated by John Laesch, who is now in office and has said Aurora now faces a gap between revenue and expenses. As the Tribune has reported, Laesch already has canceled plans for the proposed construction of new 4,000-seat music venue to be known as the City of Lights Center, and has said at a public meeting both that the city faced a “significant hole” between revenue and expenses and that the city’s subsidy of the existing historic theater was “too much.”

* Daily Herald | Lake County forest preserve to sell land for Fort Sheridan National Cemetery expansion: Three pending moves by the Lake County Forest Preserve District will allow for the expansion of the Fort Sheridan National Cemetery, create a new preserve in far northeastern Lake County and enlarge another near Round Lake. The district for several years has been discussing a deal with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which wants to expand the cemetery near Lake Bluff with columbaria structures for the interment of cremated remains.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | ISU, IWU and Heartland international student enrollment is down, following national trend: In a statement, ISU said it estimated the entering class of international students will be about a third smaller. Though their overall numbers are small, Heartland and IWU entering classes both will be down around 17% compared with last year. Last year’s IWU international student cohort was above the post-pandemic average, said a spokesperson. ISU said it’s expecting about 100 new international students to show up for classes, though it won’t have a precise count until after the 10th day of classes. That number is equivalent to roughly 17% of last year’s total international student enrollment.

* WCIA | New DMV+ in Champaign making visits faster: This is the first DMV+ outside of Springfield and Chicago to open, and it’s a decision that’s been in the works since 2023. “It essentially started as soon as we took office and we knew that we wanted to create some more efficiencies, we knew we wanted to bring more services,” Giannoulias said. Customers at the DMV can now get certified copies of business records, can file items for LLCs, and get documents needed for things like adoption or international business. Before Monday, that could only be accomplished in Springfield or Chicago.

* WGLT | Bloomington mobile home park residents reach settlement over tenants’ rights lawsuit: The agreements between the tenants and Oak Wood Properties include the amendment of the model lease and community rules to conform with Illinois law, according to PSLS. They will also disclose rent increase projections and notice of tenants’ rights, PSLS said. The disclosure of rights informs tenants that signing a new lease is not a requirement to stay in the park, they cannot be evicted for choosing to not sign a new lease, tenants can automatically renew a lease and can only be given a new proposal at the time, PSLS said. It also will tell tenants they can only be charged fees itemized in the lease and any past notices in conflict are null and void, according to PSLS.

* WJBD | Marion County Fair Board President Pleased with Fair Week: Marion County Fair Board President Doug Telford says it was a good fair week even with the extremely hot start. Telford reviewed the week as the fair came to a close on Saturday night. “We started extremely hot, but I will brag on the Marion county fair board. The fair board members, we all pulled together. We pulled through the heat and we made sure to have every show ready for the grandstands. The community come out and supported us through the heat. Unfortunately, that’s all we had was a lot of hot air the first few nights. It turned off and got cooler towards the end of the week. The community come out again for us. It’s been a good week all and all.”

*** National ***

* WaPo | U.S. visa bonds would charge some foreign travelers $15,000 deposits: The State Department plans to start running a pilot program this month that would require some foreign travelers to pay up to $15,000 for a reimbursable visa bond that deters them from staying in the U.S. longer than they’re allowed for business or tourism. Some details are outlined in a public notice that appeared Monday on the Federal Register, but many are still unclear, including which countries would be targeted by the program.

* The Hill | RFK Jr. ‘reviewing’ ouster of preventive task force members : The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is composed of medical experts who serve four-year terms on a volunteer basis. They are appointed by the HHS secretary and are supposed to be shielded from political influence. The task force reviews reams of scientific evidence to make recommendations on services such as cancer screenings, HIV prevention medications and more. It makes its recommendations using a grading scale, and ObamaCare requires insurers to cover services the task force recommends with a “grade” of A or B at no cost to patients.