* ICYMI:10 years after state budget impasse, human services in Illinois again brace for ‘tsunami.’’ Illinois Answers Project…

- This summer marks a decade since Illinois’ budget impasse began, which ultimately dragged on for two years and decimated human services across the state
- As governor, Pritzker has touted significant growth in spending under his administration; annual General Funds state spending on human services jumped by 60% from 2014 to 2024 — from $12.3 billion to $19.7 billion.
- But that progress very well may be upended by large cuts to Medicaid benefits and cuts to housing and food assistance contained in congressional Republicans’ recently passed federal budget signed into law July 4 by President Donald Trump.

* Governor Pritzker will give remarks at the 100% solar-powered Manner Polymers facility at 11:20 am, then attend the Shawneetown Port groundbreaking at 1:30 pm. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* AP | Guard not needed in Chicago, Pritzker tells AP during tour of city to counter Trump’s crime claims: “Certainly there’s a lot more going on in the world than for him to send troops into Chicago,” Pritzker said. “He ought to be focused on some of the bigger problems.”

* Active Transportation Alliance | More than 70 organizations urge lawmakers to pass transit funding & reform in veto session: Without decisive intervention, Illinois will face gridlocked streets, heightened pollution, and a dramatic decline in safe, affordable transit options. If lawmakers neglect this crisis, communities will lose their freedom to move—and thousands of good transit jobs will be wiped out. The time to act is now.

* WGN | Pritzker says he has ‘received no calls from the White House,’ as Chicago grapples with a possible National Guard deployment: Meanwhile, Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President John Catanzara expects there will be notice if the National Guard is mobilized. “I think once they make up their mind and the president says it’s a go, at that point, the federal partners will start contacting CPD, the superintendent, and the city officials and let them know this is what’s going on. This is what we’re doing and this is what we’re tasked with, and you are either working with us or you’re not,” Catanzara said. “I guess we will see how that plays out.” The FOP president told WGN-TV the National Guard’s presence is needed, even if they do not have arresting powers like everyday officers with the Chicago Police Department. “It would be nice to have some extra bodies,” Catanzara said. “We are well over 1,000 people short in this department, and some extra bodies—especially for that crazy week of Mexican Independence Day—[are] greatly appreciated.”

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Advocate Health Care no longer prescribing gender-affirming care medications for patients under 19: Advocate Health is pulling back on its gender-affirming care for minors, joining a growing list of hospital systems in Illinois and across the country cutting the services amid threats to their federal funding. Advocate Health has “revised our policy to no longer provide or prescribe gender-affirming care medications for patients under age 19,” Advocate said in a statement. “We recognize that this is a deeply complex issue, and this decision was made after a multi-disciplinary team spent numerous hours carefully considering the options and outcomes,” Advocate said. “This new policy allows our hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to continue caring for all patients’ health needs in the changing federal environment.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Hundreds of police departments use camera company accused of breaking state law: Giannoulias’ office told Capitol News Illinois it is “conducting an investigation” into the matter. The office has been in talks with the state’s attorney general, although it declined to describe specifics. At least one city, Evanston, has deactivated its Flock cameras and begun the process of canceling its contract with the surveillance company. In a statement, the city called the situation “deeply troubling.” A spokesperson for Flock, meanwhile, said that they were unaware of any ongoing investigation and that the company disagreed with the secretary of state’s legal assertions.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Republican US Senate hopeful Don Tracy lends $2M to his campaign fund: “This shows how committed I am to winning this race so all of Illinois has a leader working for them to lower the cost of living and defend our Midwestern values,” Tracy said. Tracy announced his Senate candidacy on Aug. 13. The $2 million loan stands against six GOP rivals, none of whom had more than $15,000 in campaign cash as of July 1.

* Pantagraph | Darren Bailey ‘considering’ another run for Illinois governor in 2026: Bailey confirmed to Lee Enterprises in an interview that he is “considering” another run for governor and would make a decision within the next two to three weeks. “We’re just checking out all the options,” Bailey said. “I remain frustrated at the state that the state is in. I didn’t think it could get any worse in Chicago. I didn’t think it could get any worse in the state. But in my opinion, it has. And I think the people are fed up. It finally hit their pocketbooks hard enough that people are angry.”

* WAND | New Illinois laws could improve response for school shootings, hazmat emergencies: Senate Bill 2057 requires the Illinois State Board of Education to provide school districts with standards for threat assessment procedures. The law allows ISBE and the State Fire Marshal to create new rules that guide public schools, private schools and first responders on how to develop threat assessment procedures and rapid entry response plans.

* Illinois Times | Frank Lesko to take on Doris Turner: Lesko has also come under fire for issues related to his recent transition from the city to the county. He assumed the position of county recorder Dec. 2 but did not vacate his city clerk post until more than a month later, despite several council members calling on him to resign and questioning how he could be allowed to hold two full-time jobs simultaneously. Lesko told the council at the time, “I challenge anybody to qualify anything that hasn’t been done in the city clerk’s office. That office has been covered.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago Public Schools deficit deadline: CPS started the summer with a $734 million deficit for the school year that begins Aug. 18. WBEZ and the Sun-Times are tracking how the Board of Education and CPS officials work to close the budget hole, this month and long-term.

* Block Club | AI Use And Data Centers Are Causing ComEd Bills To Spike — And It Will Likely Get Worse: With demand surging, ComEd’s price for electricity jumped by about 45 percent this summer compared to last summer, according to the Citizens Utility Board. The price jump this summer means the average ComEd customer will pay an extra $11 per month through May, the utility watchdog group reported. Data centers’ impact on power bills is already evident — and there are no signs the centers’ demand for energy is slowing down.

* Tribune | ‘It’s like a slap in the face’: Laid off CPS custodians frustrated, worried about future: Positions such as Salazar’s are represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 1, which oversees custodians and other workers under private contracts with companies and organizations, including CPS. An estimated 700 laid-off privatized custodians are expected to be rehired under SEIU’s Local 73, which represents public sector employees in Illinois and northwest Indiana, including some CPS custodians and non-teacher employees. Salazar, who planned to retire next school year, is now worried about her bills and medical insurance. Her husband is diabetic and depends on medicine to regulate his body, medicine that will skyrocket in price if she loses insurance. Another concern is the pay cut which would change her personal budget.

* WBEZ | How we mapped Chicago’s lead service lines and what we learned: The city offers a lookup tool where residents can search for their address to see what their service line is made from. It also provides overall statistics on the number of lines requiring replacement. But that information has never been mapped in a way that shows the public how the problem with lead service lines is distributed across Chicago — and how that intersects with poverty and race. Inside Climate News, Grist and WBEZ have analyzed city data obtained through a public records request to create a lookup tool that allows Chicagoans to find out their risk by searching their own address. Users can also see where the problem is most acute and compare lead pipe distribution against race and poverty.

* CBS Chicago | Black Men United renovates Maywood, Illinois building for affordable housing that has residents pleased: “We have 23 families that currently live in the construct of this great building,” said Pastor John Harrell, president and cofounder of Black Men United. The nonprofit was launched in a church parking lot five years ago, and has now made an impact in Maywood and beyond. “That’s been their mission — to make communities better,” said Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Westchester).

* Tribune | ‘Our president is listening’: Handful of Black MAGA activists in Chicago catch Trump’s eye: Some of the Trump supporters say they are driven by unresolved gripes against Chicago government. Others livestream their City Council criticism and post to social media, where they solicit donations and sell merchandise. Easley recently launched a bid for Congress, running as a Republican for the seat U.S. Rep. Danny Davis plans to vacate.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WGN | Arlington Heights considers criminalizing homelessness after woman sits on bench for too long: The bench in question sits across from the Arlington Heights Metra Station on Vail Avenue, where a woman without a home often spends most of her time. Right now, staying or sleeping on a park bench in the village isn’t illegal, but the board of trustees met Monday night to discuss the issue and whether the village could enact a new ordinance to regulate the behavior. […] “Do we want to be a village that criminalizes somebody without having a home?” Nabors said. “How is somebody paying a fine with no money? How is somebody remembering a court date without a phone with an Outlook calendar on it?”

* Tribune | Dolton 148 approves contract for interim superintendent at $1,500 per day:
Sheila Harrison-Williams will be paid $1,500 a day for up to 120 days, according to board President Shalonda Randle. Students returned to District 148’s 10 early childhood, elementary and junior high schools last week. Harrison-Williams said despite the district making headlines for Nohelty’s $450,000 salary, which the board voted in March to increase by $30,000 over each of the following two years, district community members have welcomed her with open arms.

* Daily Herald | DuPage County will spend up to $147K to retain Springfield lobbyists: Though the political makeup of the county board has changed over the years, officials continued using Roger C. Marquardt & Co. as a state-level lobbyist. In 2024, Scott Marquardt and Humes solidified their business partnership, forming Marquardt & Humes, according to a firm overview. The county also will pay Raucci & Sullivan Strategies no more than $52,500 for one year of lobbying services through August 2026. Former Republican state Sen. Dave Sullivan is the firm’s president. Marc Poulos, who was a member of Gov. JB Pritzker’s transition team, also is part of the firm.

* Tribune | Aurora City Council agrees to continue grocery tax amid budget concerns: Aurora is already facing a nearly $30 million deficit in the 2026 budget, which is currently being developed, according to city officials. The grocery tax expiring would have only added to the problem, officials said. The 1% tax on groceries provides Aurora with around $4.5 million in revenue each year, which helps pay for public safety, road maintenance, public works, community programs and environmental services, according to past reporting. Officials have said that, if the tax were to expire, the city would likely need to find alternative funding sources or make cuts to services.

* Daily Herald | Crystal Lake man convicted in $8M Ponzi scheme wants to take back plea to defrauding American Legion group: But in a motion to withdraw his guilty plea filed Aug. 21, Hanke claims that the plea was entered “under a misapprehension of the law … (and) the facts” and he now wants his case heard by a jury. A new lawyer representing Hanke wrote in the court filing that Hanke’s previous attorney “forced and coerced” him into the plea deal. In Hanke’s plea — which he now seeks to reverse — he admitted to using the Legion’s debit card fraudulently between January 2023 and March 2024, while he was a commander for the post, according to court records.

*** Downstate ***

* KWQC | Sheriff says cashless bail works fine in Rock Island County: Rock Island County Sheriff Darren Hart said that the bail reform system was drastic but said it has run smoothly for his county. “We are seeing a similar amount of jail bookings, so that really hasn’t decreased during this period of time. Some of the data that we know here for Rock Island County: we’re issuing about the same amount of warrants, so when you talk about community safety, we’re not seeing that there has been a big change in the sense of violent crime. ‘Is it on the rise?’ We’re not seeing that,” Sheriff Hart said.

* WGLT | As DOJ questions Illinois voter rolls, McLean County election authorities double down on their confidence: “As far as what they’re trying to ask for, I think it’s an overreach,” he said. “I’m not a lawyer, that’s something for legal minds to debate. I know that the State Board of Elections did give what they would give any … political action committee or any other member of the state of Illinois that can purchase the voter registration data.” Michael said the McLean County clerk’s office welcomes scrutiny from citizens and, if lawful, the questions the DOJ has about voter rolls.

* WCIA | Champaign Township board member calls for supervisor’s resignation: The preliminary City of Champaign Township budget was approved by a vote of 6-3 Tuesday night, after being delayed for “a lack of reasoning” from Township supervisor Kyle Patterson. Two weeks ago, increases in more than $100,000 in spending for the Strides Shelter and contractor fees were presented without reason, according to several board members.

* WCIA | Vermilion Co. solar farm says they’re still moving forward despite USDA announcement: Earthrise Energy says they have plans to build a 1,400-acre solar farm between the villages of Catlin and Tilton. The USDA recently announced they will not be funding any more solar or wind farms on farmland, leading some to question whether this project will continue. “So, the USDA’s announcement will not affect our project,” said project manager Ellis Ginnis. “We have no plans to use federal grants for the Tilton solar project.”

* WCIA | Title IX investigation into PBL teacher ignores ‘problematic information’: Last week, WCIA reported that investigators looked into the alleged misconduct but found “insufficient evidence” to support the claims. The investigators cited the length of time it took for the conduct to be reported, and the fact that they were not able to speak with the complainant directly. WCIA’s partner’s at the Ford County Chronicle submitted a Freedom of Information request for documents and correspondences submitted by Chicago civil rights attorney Bhavani Raveendran. In return, the Ford County Chronicle obtained information about how Raveendran and her client’s family disagrees with what the investigation found, as well as its thoroughness.

*** National ***

* LA Times | L.A. teen is moved to ICE detention center out of state without parents’ knowledge: Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz’s family was stunned and heartbroken when the 18-year-old was grabbed by immigration agents while walking his dog in Van Nuys just days before he was set to start his senior year at Reseda Charter High School. This week, his family was caught off-guard once again when they learned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had transferred him to Arizona without notifying any relatives, according to the office of U.S. Rep. Luz Rivas (D-North Hollywood), which spoke to his family and reviewed ICE detention records.

* The Hill | 4 CDC leaders resign over ‘weaponizing of public health’: The resignations came the same day that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a slew of changes to limit access to the COVID-19 vaccine, and just hours after news broke that CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted from the agency. Demetre C. Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry have all submitted their resignations, according to emails shared with The Hill.

* Harvest Public Media | ‘Solar For All’ would have powered emergency housing in a Midwest town. Then the EPA cut the funds: Grantees weren’t immediately worried by the rescinded funding in the new law, since Solar for All funding has been fully obligated. Now, with the funds frozen, the path forward isn’t clear. Some grantees and advocacy groups have threatened legal action, though no litigation has been filed as of Aug. 25. In Nebraska, multiple projects were in the final planning phases with about $20 million of the state’s $63 million award set to go out in the coming months, said Brian Depew, the executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs. For a state like Nebraska, where not even 1% of the state’s electricity generation comes from solar, Depew said the funds were a generational opportunity to kickstart the industry.