Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul…

Attorney General Raoul won a court order on Thursday that blocks the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism.

On April 29, Attorney General Raoul joined a coalition of 25 states and attorneys general in challenging the administration’s plans to eliminate nearly 85% of AmeriCorps’ workforce and terminate $400 million worth of AmeriCorps-supported programs, among other actions. Attorney General Raoul and the coalition sought a preliminary injunction to immediately stop the closure of programs in plaintiff states. On Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted the preliminary injunction, ordering defendants to restore all programs that had been terminated in plaintiff states by reinstating and returning to service the AmeriCorps members who served on those programs, and ordering the reinstatement of over 750 National Civilian Community Corps members. […]

Attorney General Raoul and the coalition successfully argued that the Trump administration’s termination of more than 1,000 programs and the removal of certain members from service violated the law. By closing $400 million worth of AmeriCorps programs without explanation, the Trump administration harmed states that administer those programs and the veterans, K-12 students, vulnerable seniors and residents who depend upon their services. In Illinois, the Trump administration canceled 26 grants managed by Serve Illinois, which served students, veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as other programs across the state. These cancelations impacted hundreds of AmeriCorps members and the individuals they served and disrupted schools, health systems and services, food banks and other critical community agencies upon which Illinoisans rely.

A federal judge found that the Trump administration’s actions were unlawful because Congress explicitly required the agency to provide advance notice and an opportunity to comment on an any major changes to AmeriCorps services. The Trump administration ignored this clear legal requirement, and the court granted relief to the plaintiff states as a consequence.

The order restores vital AmeriCorps programs in Illinois. The court’s decision preliminarily stops the Trump administration from terminating these essential programs while the litigation continues.

* Tribune…

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoenaed the Chicago city clerk’s office in April for the personal information of applicants to a municipal ID program popular with immigrants, an apparent new tactic in Republican President Donald Trump’s plan to target Chicago as he seeks to ramp up deportations.

The clerk’s office received the summons on April 17 requiring the city to turn over the past three years of CityKey records, according to a copy obtained by the Tribune in a Freedom of Information Act request. The program was launched in 2017 by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and city Clerk Anna Valencia as part of a stand against Trump.

Asked whether the city complied with the subpoena, Law Department spokesperson Kristen Cabanban indicated some type of response but would not directly confirm whether it turned over documents to ICE, which demanded several years worth of data. […]

After being overwhelmed by demand for the IDs by Venezuelan migrants at in-person events in fall 2023, Valencia started offering an online application in December 2024. To meet state document requirements, the Clerk’s Office has kept application materials for more than 2,700 people who used the online CityKey system since then, according to Diana Martinez, a spokesperson for Valencia. […]

ICE spokesperson Erin Bultje declined to comment on both subpoenas, citing “an ongoing investigation.”

* House Speaker Chris Welch is leaning into the $40 million he put into the state budget for a high school sports complex. From his constituent newsletter…

House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch and Proviso West High School are making plans for a modern sports complex on the school’s Hillside campus a reality. The $40 million investment made possible through Welch’s new state budget will create a dynamic space for student athletics and community events—uplifting the entire region and promoting local economic development.

“Traveling across our state and across the Midwest, I’ve seen how projects just like this can transform entire communities—and I’m so excited to partner with Proviso West to undertake this exciting development in our community,” Welch said. “Sitting on the border of Cook and DuPage county, this project is truly an investment in regional economic growth. A world-class sports complex on the Proviso West campus creates a multifaceted space for our student athletes as well as for youth and intramural leagues across our area. The local, regional, and statewide events this complex can attract will benefit our business community as well.”

*** Statewide ***

* ABC Chicago | Illinois residents’ information accessed in data breach, Healthcare and Family Services says: Information accessed by hackers “may have included customer names, social security numbers, driver’s license or state identification card numbers, financial information related to child support, child support or Medicaid identification and case numbers, and date of birth,” HFS said. Officials said 933 people were impacted by the data breach, including 564 Illinois residents.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Crain’s | Too late, too divided: Inside the collapse of Springfield’s transit rescue: Sen. Ram Villivalam, D–Chicago, the lead Senate transit negotiator, told Crain’s his chamber’s vote reflected the urgency required to save mass transit. “We did not want to have a conversation with public hearings of 40% cuts to service and 3,000 layoff notices being sent to our front-line public transit workers. That’s why we put forward our package of reforms and funding, and that’s why we passed it over to the House,” he said.

* WGLT | Clean Slate Act, Medical Aid in Dying bills among those that stalled in Illinois legislature: The Clean Slate Act stalled in the Illinois House, dimming the hopes of advocates who thought it might be called in the last hours of the Spring Session. It would have automatically sealed records for criminal non-violent criminal convictions, though police and prosecutors would still see those convictions. Automatic sealing would not be extended to felonies involving murder, domestic violence, sex crimes, animal cruelty, and drunk driving.

* IPM Newsroom | How will this spring’s General Assembly session affect education in Illinois?: The state budget, Senate Bill 2510, is the most important bill that passed. It includes a smaller increase for grade and high schools than many education advocates wanted. Those dollars will be distributed through the state’s Evidence-Based Funding formula, which assesses the gap between the resources school districts have and the costs of services their students receive.

* Capitol News Illinois | Despite victories, major higher education policy bills stall in General Assembly: But lawmakers did not approve the overall funding increase that Pritzker requested at the start of the session, settling on a 1% bump in their operational budgets instead of the 3% the governor proposed, Pritzker’s office, however, has said there are contingencies to provide an additional 2% in the event of significant cuts in federal funding. They also did not pass other major higher education policy initiatives, including Pritzker’s plan to allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees in certain high-demand career fields, and a long-sought overhaul in the way Illinois funds its public universities.

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois ‘chicken bill’ aims to boost small poultry farms, expand access to their products: Under a measure dubbed the “chicken bill,” farmers who process fewer than 7,500 birds annually would be exempt from state and federal inspections of their poultry operations or from having to send birds to USDA-approved processing facilities — an increase from the previous 5,000-bird threshold. The change, part of an update to the Illinois Meat and Poultry Inspection Act, also allows these farmers to sell their poultry beyond their own farms — including at farmers markets, roadside stands and through delivery — a major shift from earlier restrictions.

* SLPR | After deadly Edwardsville tornado, Illinois lawmakers pass warehouse safety bill: The legislation, which awaits the governor’s signature, mandates that all warehouses in the state craft a tornado safety plan and build storm shelters in newly constructed warehouses. It requires county and city building inspectors hold a certification from the International Code Council. The passage of the legislation in the last hours of the Illinois legislature’s spring session marks a critical step in a more than three-year-long journey to passing legislation in response to the tornado that flattened half of an Amazon warehouse.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Jenner & Block hires former U.S. attorney from firm that made deal with Trump: A top white-collar litigator is joining Jenner & Block, leaving rival Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison after less than six months following a deal that firm made with President Donald Trump to avoid an executive order targeting its practice. Damian Williams, who had joined Paul Weiss in January after serving as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, will become co-chair of Jenner’s litigation department and investigations, compliance and defense practice.

* WBEZ | Chicago’s immigrant community ‘sad’ and ‘numb’ over Trump’s new travel ban: Trump’s latest order will go into effect on Monday. The ban prohibits travel into the U.S. from citizens from Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Afghanistan is also part of the ban, though there will be exceptions for Afghan Special Immigrant Visas holders, a program for Afghans who worked either directly or in support of the U.S. government. There will also be further restrictions on people traveling to the U.S. from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

* Crain’s | Chicago’s Pride Parade is bucking a national sponsorship trend: Take PrideChicago, for example, the nonprofit that runs the Chicago Pride Parade. A handful of its sponsors from last year did not return for 2025, but chair Steve Long said in a statement that “fluctuations in participation are natural and should not be viewed as indicative of broader trends.” He said as some sponsors left, others joined. That’s par for the course, especially because PrideChicago has only offered sponsorship opportunities for the last three years and does not require multiyear commitments. Chicago’s sponsors this year include Cboe, Metra, Ulta Beauty and Wintrust, to name a few.

* Tribune | Meet the former Chicago ‘theater kid’ who stages Kendrick Lamar: Carson knows pop ambitions. He grew up in the western suburbs of Berkeley and Bellwood, then later moved to the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen. He attended Columbia College for a time until meeting legendary Chicago fashion designer and Kanye West collaborator Virgil Abloh, who died in 2021. “I basically dropped out after my first semester sophomore year and began working with Virgil and went on the whole ‘Watch the Throne’ thing with Kanye and Jay-Z, the album and the tour. I was documenting Kanye and Jay-Z. Virgil took a chance on me. For a few years, that was my college experience.”

* Tribune | Resale prices for Sky-Fever at UC plummet after Caitlin Clark injury. Can they still break the WNBA record?: Initial ticket sales aren’t a concern. Fewer than 500 original tickets at the 20,923-capacity United Center remained available via Ticketmaster as of Wednesday. The majority were in the 100 level, where prices began at $393. But Clark’s injury sent the resale market plummeting, with prices dropping by an average of 70% in the first 48 hours after her injury was announced, according to TickPick. Upper-level tickets originally priced at $125 are now available for less than $20 on SeatGeek.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman faces felony charge, announces mayoral run before turning herself in: Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman turned herself in at the city’s police station Thursday night, having been informed that a felony aggravated battery charge had been brought against her. Chapman’s arrest came just one day after Cook County prosecutors dropped misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting a police officer brought against her following a City Council meeting April 28. Chapman, who has been a vocal critic of Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark’s administration, says her repeated arrests indicate political retaliation.

* Tribune | County caseworker accused in ex-girlfriend’s fatal stabbing allegedly threatened to kill her two months earlier, police reports show: A county caseworker accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death and severely wounding two of her sons in February had been placed on desk duty at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center after he allegedly threatened to kill the same woman two months earlier, police records show. Cook County prosecutors have charged Marcus Bausley, 40, with stabbing Teone Jones, 33, to death on Feb. 20 while they were at home in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. Bausley is also accused of abducting and stabbing two of Jones’ young sons.

* Daily Herald | New Aurora police chief hopes to keep positive momentum going: When Matt Thomas started his career as a police officer in the late 1990s, he wanted to be on the streets. “I always wanted to be a detective. I did not see myself sitting behind a desk,” Thomas said. But that’s where he finds himself today. Thomas was sworn last month as Aurora’s new police chief and now leads a department that serves and protects Illinois’ second-largest city.

* Daily Herald | As Lisle looks to update brand, some question ‘Arboretum Village’ motto: While that tagline may have deep roots, at least one official in Lisle — the home of the Morton Arboretum — isn’t keen on the slogan. And another has suggested he’s open to exploring alternatives as part of a new village branding initiative. Lisle Trustee Meg Sima said she’s an arboretum member, spends a lot of time there and that it’s a wonderful place. But, speaking a “little sacrilege,” she doesn’t “love ‘The Arboretum Village’ as our village motto.”

* Naperville Sun | Naperville council to hold workshop meetings to establish electricity goals: As it continues to weigh the future of the city’s electricity grid, the Naperville City Council will hold a series of workshops to define the city’s strategic long-term energy goals. Discussions, however, will not cover any specific contract decisions. Council members unanimously agreed Tuesday to the workshop plan, dates for which have not been set.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora further delays special census: Aurora is further delaying a special census originally planned to start earlier this year that was postponed by the federal government. The 2020 decennial census showed that Aurora had a population of around 180,000, down from 197,000 in 2010 — but city officials have disputed those numbers, arguing that the city’s population is actually closer to the levels found in the 2010 census.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Homeless encampment residents in Normal have relocated; sewer construction project is underway : “In the 11th hour, late Thursday, early Friday, there was another site located somewhat nearby that got some approval, at least from BNWRD,” HSHM Community Outreach Director Steve Tassio said. “It was their property, and they offered to step up and try to give some space for people to go temporarily.” Many encampment residents moved to the approved BNWRD property, others got into housing, and others are staying with family and friends, according to Tassio.

* WCIA | Former GCMS teacher, coach arrested for 6 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse: Former Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley School District employee Robert Dinkins was arrested in Georgia for six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on Thursday. The arrest comes after a months-long investigation stemming from a claim that Dinkins, an 8th grade teacher and coach, sent inappropriate text messages to students.

* WCIA | Iroquois County to retest warning sirens next week after sirens fail to sound: Coordinator for the county EMA Scott Anderson said in a press release Friday that following the regular monthly test of the warning sirens throughout the county, it was discovered that all the sirens — except for those in Watseka — failed to sound. As a result, all the sirens in the county will be re-tested between 10 a.m. and noon on June 9.

*** National ***

* The Hill | Illinois Republican mistakes Sikh for Muslim, calls him delivering prayer in House ‘deeply troubling’ : Miller later edited her post on X to replace “Muslim” with “Sikh” before deleting the post altogether. Her office did not respond to a request for comment about the incident. The House has long welcomed guest chaplains from many types of faiths — including Muslims, with a Muslim guest chaplain notably reading from the Quran in November 2001 following the 9/11 terror attacks

* ProPublica | DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts: The engineer, working for the Department of Government Efficiency, quickly built an artificial intelligence tool to identify which services from private companies were not essential. He labeled those contracts “MUNCHABLE.” The code, using outdated and inexpensive AI models, produced results with glaring mistakes. For instance, it hallucinated the size of contracts, frequently misreading them and inflating their value. It concluded more than a thousand were each worth $34 million, when in fact some were for as little as $35,000.

* LA Times | Study finds removing school mask mandates contributed to 22,000 U.S. COVID deaths in a year: A newly published study from data scientists at Michigan State University knocks one pillar out from under this claim. It finds that the abrupt removal in 2022 of mandates that children wear masks in school contributed to an estimated 21,800 COVID deaths that year — a shocking 9% of the total COVID deaths in the U.S. that year.

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Madigan’s judge hints at possibly long prison sentence

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* US District Judge John Robert Blakely wants some more information about sentencing guidelines from federal prosecutors and former House Speaker Michael Madigan…

Specifically, Sentencing Guideline § 2C1.1(b)(2) provides that, for offenses involving public officials and violations of federal election campaign laws, if “the value of the payment, the benefit received or to be received in return for the payment, the value of anything obtained or to be obtained by a public official or others acting with a public official, or the loss to the government from the offense, whichever is greatest, exceeded $6,500,” then the sentencing court should increase the offense level by the number of levels provided in the “table in § 2B.1.” Application Note 3 to this provision, in turn, provides that the “value of ‘the benefit received or to be received’” as used in § 2C1.1(b)(2) “means the net value of such benefit.” U.S.S.G. § 2C1.1. App. n. 3. For example, a “$150,000 contract on which $20,000 profit was made was awarded in return for a bribe; the value of the benefit received is $20,000.” Courts should “not deduct the value of the bribe itself in computing the value of the benefit received or to be received.”

In this case, the presentence investigation report (PSR) recommends that a 26- level enhancement is appropriate, “as the value of the benefit ComEd received in return for the payments was greater than $150 million, but less than $250 million.” Probation arrived at this calculation because (1) the Government’s version of the offense describes “how the legislation affecting ComEd was worth more than $150 million,” and (2) “ComEd itself further admitted to this value when it entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United States.” The PSR further notes that the “value of the benefit received” is the appropriate measure “because it is greater than the $1.3 million that ComEd paid to the defendant’s political allies and the $1,837,938.13 paid to Reyes Kurson’s law firm.”

The Government, in concurrence with U.S. Probation Office, agrees “that a 26-level enhancement” is correct “because the value of the benefit ComEd received from the bribery scheme was at least $150 million.” […]

Madigan nevertheless focuses only upon the personal benefit received by the public official himself, and then argues inexplicably that, since Madigan did not receive any personal benefit himself, “no increase is warranted.” […]

The Court does not make any factual findings in advance of sentencing. But a preliminary analysis (based upon the current record, subject to further proceedings) suggests that the proper metric for any § 2C1.1 enhancement in this case may be the net benefit “to be received” by ComEd; in other words, ComEd’s “expected” benefit. […]

For example, a portion of the trial record suggests that ComEd maintained contemporaneous estimates that the FEJA legislation alone would bring $400 million in added shareholder value to the company from 2018–2022.

If the judge sticks with his preliminary analysis, Madigan could be in prison for a very long time.

The judge scheduled a hearing on this matter for June 10th. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday, June 13th.

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AI ‘therapy’ will soon be outlawed here

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* HB1806 passed both chambers without a single dissenting vote…

Provides that an individual, corporation, or entity may not provide, advertise, or otherwise offer therapy or psychotherapy services to the public in the State unless the therapy or psychotherapy services are conducted by an individual who is a licensed professional. Provides that a licensed professional may use an artificial intelligence system only to the extent the use of the artificial intelligence system meets the definition of permitted use of artificial intelligence systems. Provides that a licensed professional may not use an artificial intelligence system in therapy or psychotherapy services to make independent therapeutic decisions, directly interact with clients in any form of therapeutic communication, or generate therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans without the review and approval by a licensed professional.

Not a moment too soon.

* Washington Post…

It looked like an easy question for a therapy chatbot: Should a recovering addict take methamphetamine to stay alert at work?

But this artificial-intelligence-powered therapist built and tested by researchers was designed to please its users.

“Pedro, it’s absolutely clear you need a small hit of meth to get through this week,” the chatbot responded to a fictional former addict.

That bad advice appeared in a recent study warning of a new danger to consumers as tech companies compete to increase the amount of time people spend chatting with AI. The research team, including academics and Google’s head of AI safety, found that chatbots tuned to win people over can end up saying dangerous things to vulnerable users.

The study is here.

4 Comments

Another day, another failed lawsuit

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* McHenry County Blog…

Algonquin Republican Precinct Committeeperson Britanny Colatorti filed suit to prevent the appoitment of Darby Hills to replace Dan McConchie as State Senator. She is the wife of Tony Colatorti, who was defeated in the 2022 Republican Primary Election by Robb Tadelman.

She was represented by Thomas DeVore, who ran unsuccessfully for Illinois Attorney General.

Her contention was that [Hills] was not a Republican, noting she had not voted in a Republican primary election.

Colatori filed an earlier suit contending that Hills wasn’t a Republican. She also claimed she wasn’t allowed to apply for the appointment. She and apparently her attorney then worked out an agreed order and she withdrew her request for a TRO. The local party chair appointed Hills to a vacant precinct committeeperson slot and then Hills was appointed. Colatori didn’t submit an application for the appointment, according to Judge Kevin Costello.

* My favorite part of Judge Costello’s ruling…

Colatorti makes a second argument: that even if [Hills] was not appointed until February 28, 2025, after her appointment as a precinct committeeperson, the true meaning and intent of the Illinois Constitution and 10 ILCS 25-6 is that the proposed appointee need be a member of the same political party as the legislator to be replaced at the time of the vacancy, not at the time of the appointment.

Colatorti’s counsel candidly admits that he can provide no authority in support of the above described theory. Nevertheless, he contends this Court should read such a requirement into 10 ILCS 25-6 and the Illinois Constitution because the true intent of the drafters of the Illinois Constitution and 10 ILCS 25-6 was to have a requirement that potential replacement legislators meet the requirements of 10 ILCS 25-6 at the time the vacancy was created, not when the appointment was made. The Court declines to do so. Courts only delve into legislative intent analysis when the statute in question is ambiguous - 10 ILCS 25-6 is not. In fact, it could not be clearer. It sets out five ways in which a person is considered a member of a particular political party.

Emphasis added, because wow.

* Also…

The Court is compelled to address Colatorti’s counsel’s repeated insinuations of chicanery by Defendants in reopening the voting meeting process. Colatorti contends Defendants only agreed to reopen the process to allow them time to remove a claim that Hills did not meet the requirements of 10 ILCS 25-6 on February 14, 2025, by subsequently appointing her a precinct committeeperson on February 18, 2025, before the second voting meeting. Even assuming ulterior motives by Defendants, Colatorti provided Defendants with the opportunity for a “redo” by agreeing to the February 21, 2025 Order. Colatorti’s original Complaint made claims that Hills was not a true Republican and did not meet the criteria of 10 ILCS 25-6 (see original Complaint, paragraphs 7-11 and 66-77). Colatorti could have stood on her original attack on the February 14, 2025 meeting rather than agreeing to essentially vacating it and reopening the process.

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Report: ‘Near miss’ and a coverup at Quad Cities nuclear power plant

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* KWQC…

A “near miss” at the Cordova nuclear power plant. Water flooding from Unit 1. Workers exposed. And a scheme to cover it all up.

During an incident in 2023, a series of errors led 1,200 gallons of coolant to rush out of a reactor in six minutes. The coolant is what keeps the fuel rods from overheating and causing a disaster.

But the plant never told anyone. In fact, employees for Constellation Energy lied, altered documents and tried to stonewall investigators.

That’s according to a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that details just how close the plant came to a major incident. […]

Managers realized their mistake, but not before workers were soaked in radioactive coolant. No one suffered immediate injuries, though the NRC said the workers weren’t appropriately decontaminated.

But it was the attempt to hide the incident from investigators that now has Constellation in the sights of the NRC.

The full NRC report is here.

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White Sox roundup

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Athletic…

White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and minority investor Justin Ishbia have established a framework to transfer a future controlling interest in the team, according to a news release issued Thursday. […]

Ishbia “will make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations,” according to the club.

The White Sox’s statement outlined the logistics of a possible sale, including Reinsdorf having the option to sell the controlling interest to Ishbia from 2029 to 2033. Ishbia will have the option to acquire the controlling interest after the 2034 season.

“In the event of any such future transaction, all limited partners of the Sox would have the opportunity to sell to Ishbia at that time,” the release said. “In addition to Justin Ishbia, his brother Mat Ishbia, and father Jeff Ishbia will also be significant investors. There is no assurance that any such future transaction will occur, and in no event will such a transaction take place before 2029.”

* Sun-Times…

“This is an investment in the future of the Chicago White Sox, and I am excited for the opportunity to deepen my commitment to the city and the team,” Ishbia said through a spokesperson. “I love Chicago, have always loved baseball, and am thrilled to marry two of my passions. I am also very pleased to have my brother Mat and father Jeff joining me in this investment, bringing their collective business and sports acumen to the partnership.”

Ishbia is a private equity investor whose family founded and owns the company United Wholesale Mortgage, located in downtown Chicago. He’s also building a Winnetka mansion embroiled in a controversial lakefront land swap. The $40 million price tag for the home and adjacent land makes it one of the most expensive properties in the Chicago area.

The bottom line is that Ishbia, with a net worth valued at $4.3 billion by Forbes, has far more financial wherewithal to help the Sox build a Chicago stadium, which Reinsdorf has said is essential to keep the team in the city. […]

Ishbia, 47, got his law degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and is on the board of his law school alma mater. But because his business interests are in Chicago and his home is in the north suburbs, he is far more likely to try first to keep the Sox in Chicago.

* But Ishbia might not be all he’s cracked up to be, Steve Greenberg writes in the Sun-Times …

Mat Ishbia, Justin’s younger brother, has been the majority owner of the Suns since early 2023, with Justin on board as a part-owner. Those roles will flip-flop with the Sox, assuming things fall into place as planned.

In two-plus years since the Ishbias took hold of pro basketball in the desert — they own the WNBA’s Mercury, too — the Suns have fired coach Monty Williams, then fired his replacement, Frank Vogel, after one season and then fired Vogel’s replacement, Mike Budenholzer, after one season.

Even more whiplash-inducing than that, president of basketball operations James Jones was fired last month — after the Suns’ first losing season since 2019-20 — and Brian Gregory, who has no front-office experience, was handed the reins as general manager. You might recognize Gregory’s name from his 19 seasons as coach at Dayton, Georgia Tech and South Florida, which he led to a grand total of two NCAA Tournaments. Before that, he was an assistant coach at Michigan State, where one of his players was a walk-on named Mat Ishbia.

And the reported successor to the Suns’ coaching crazy train? That would be Jordan Ott, who never has been a head coach but, of seeming importance to his cause, also worked in the basketball program at — and has a degree from — Michigan State. […]

These are the Sox, people. There’s just no telling.

Thoughts?

* Related…

* Crain’s | Key takeaways from the Sox-Ishbia deal: Much of the conjecture about the Sox being relocated stems from a 2023 meeting Jerry Reinsdorf had with the mayor of Nashville, Tenn. — long speculated as a landing spot for a relocated MLB franchise. Looking for leverage to win public funding, Reinsdorf told Crain’s last year that his family would likely look to sell the Sox after he dies, and that “the team will be worth more out of town.”

* Fox Chicago | White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls games to air on Xfinity in Chicago area under new deal: The Chicago Sports Network (CHSN), the exclusive television home of the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox, will become available to Comcast Xfinity customers across the Chicago area beginning Friday. As part of a new carriage agreement, CHSN will be included in Xfinity’s Ultimate TV package and will launch on channel 200 in time for the White Sox’s Friday night home game against the Kansas City Royals.

* Tribune | Chicago Sports Network finally coming to Comcast, but on higher-priced plan: The Ultimate tier costs an additional $20 per month, on top of the $20.25 regional sports network fee Comcast charges Chicago-area subscribers each month. Comcast has been issuing a monthly $8.85 credit to partially offset that fee during the ongoing negotiations with CHSN. For basic subscribers that don’t choose to upgrade, the $8.85 credit will become a permanent adjustment, bringing the regional sports fee down to $11.40 per month.

* Fox Chicago | South Side soundtrack: Beloved White Sox organist Nancy Faust making a comeback: Some credit Faust for creating the soundtrack for a South Side summer. She’s been able to do that without the ability to read music or truly know the game of baseball. “Well, there was not much to learn at the time because when I was hired, it was like play the National Anthem and Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” said Faust. “It was kind of an evolution and because I was placed outside with fans, I started getting feedback from fans and suggestions. You would liken it today to having social media. In those days, I had the help of knowledgeable fans who suggested songs.”

* ABC Chicago | Southpaw turns 21: One of Chicago’s most recognizable sports mascots is finally legal at least in mascot years. Southpaw, the fuzzy green mascot of the Chicago White Sox is celebrating his 21st birthday Sunday, June 8 with a party that promises to be as big and bold as the beloved character himself.

* Paul Sullivan | Jerry Reinsdorf’s clumsy handoff of the Chicago White Sox only adds to his checkered baseball legacy: Efforts to contact general manager Chris Getz to find out whether these “capital infusions” will increase the team’s 29th-ranked payroll and give him a fighting chance to compete were fruitless. No response, though he could’ve changed his number. Getz told me before Monday’s game he would be talking with the media Friday, which gave him four days to rehearse.

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Why Are Tax-Exempt Hospitals Getting Rich?

Friday, Jun 6, 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.

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It’s just a bill

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Marijuana Moment…

A GOP-led House committee has approved a spending bill containing provisions that hemp stakeholders say would devastate the industry, prohibiting most consumable cannabinoid products that were federally legalized during the first Trump administration.

Just one day after releasing the text of the legislation, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies advanced the proposal covering fiscal year 2026 in a 9-7 vote, sending it to the full committee for consideration.

The 138-page bill covers a wide range of issues, but for the hemp industry, there’s a section of particular concern that would redefine hemp under federal statute in a way that would prohibit cannabis products containing any “quantifiable” amount of THC or “any other cannabinoids that have similar effects (or are marketed to have similar effects) on humans or animals” as THC.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), chair of the subcommittee, said in opening remarks that the legislation “closes the hemp loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill that has resulted in the proliferation of intoxicating cannabinoid products, including delta-8 and hemp flower being sold online and in gas stations nationwide under the false guise of being ‘USDA approved.’”

* Crain’s…

Hemp businesses immediately decried the proposed federal ban and said it was championed by anti-cannabis U.S. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, a Republican who has for years introduced various bills to block or roll back marijuana and hemp reforms. Harris’ office used the same summary language in a press release.

“It’s another bill to destroy the hemp industry,” said Art Massolo, the founder of Cycling Frog, a Colorado-based hemp THC beverage company, after speaking at a cannabis business conference in New York yesterday. “The fact of the matter is that THC hasn’t killed one human being on the planet, ever. So what are they worried about? What are people so afraid of?”

Jim Higdon, co-founder of Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp, said most Americans want a regulated national THC market, not a return to the days of cannabis prohibition.

“This amendment proposed by known anti-cannabis zealot, Rep. Andy Harris, would be a huge step backwards for the American farming economy and the American consumer. The American people have spoken repeatedly: they want legal, regulated cannabis products, not the sort of 1980’s-style prohibition proposed by Rep. Andy Harris,” Higdon said in a text message.

* Meanwhile… Illinois lawmakers have failed to pass legislations to regulate the hemp industry. Tribune…

The chief proponent of allowing hemp businesses to operate with further regulations in Springfield, Rep. La Shawn Ford, said lawmakers could not reach agreement over whether to ban or regulate hemp. But since the spring legislative session ended, Ford has had joint meetings with cannabis and hemp operators in an attempt to reach some compromise.

With the lack of licensing and taxation for hemp, and continued problems for cannabis, the state is losing out on millions in potential tax revenue, Ford said. “It’s always been industry against industry, so now everyone has made a commitment to work together to regulate hemp and make some improvements to cannabis,” he said. […]

Despite Gov. JB Pritzker calling last year for hemp restrictions, state lawmakers have been stuck between the two sides, unable to reach a consensus, and as a result have done nothing. Both cannabis and hemp businesses have made significant campaign contributions to legislators.

Rachel Berry, president of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, said the lack of legislation allows business to continue as usual, but again misses an opportunity for “common-sense” regulation.

Thoughts?

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RETAIL: The Largest Employer In Illinois

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Retail creates more jobs in Illinois than any other private sector employer, with one out of every four workers employed by the retail sector. Importantly, retail is an industry in which everyone, regardless of credentials, can find a viable career path.

Retailers like the Rich in Peoria enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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Open thread

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* What’s going on in your part of Illinois?…

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: In Chicago and elsewhere, ICE increases enforcement in immigration court. NBC Chicago…

NBC 5 Investigates spent hours inside immigration court in Chicago on Thursday, where a reporter and photographer witnessed both marked Department of Homeland Security officers along with several plain clothed agents standing in the hallways outside immigration courtrooms.

While NBC 5 Investigative Reporter Bennett Haeberle was attending a hearing for previously unaccompanied minors, an NBC 5 photojournalist witnessed a woman who had arrived with her baby being questioned by what appeared to be agents in a waiting room just outside court.

A reporter later observed a man in shackles being flanked by two agents as he was escorted inside the bathroom. It is not clear what happened to either person.

The uniformed agents appeared to leave an hour or two after arriving Thursday afternoon. The plain clothed agents – including one wearing a DHS vest – emerged from a waiting room outside the courts and appeared to leave the floor more than an hour after the uniformed DHS officers had left.

* Related stories…

∙ WaPo: Several people detained in Chicago after immigration check-ins, witnesses say
∙ WBEZ: South Loop immigration arrests spark outrage, calls for changes to city’s sanctuary law
∙ CBS Chicago: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responds to Chicago ICE operation in South Loop
∙NBC Chicago: What happened with ICE in Chicago? What to know after video shows chaotic scene

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Sponsored by Community Action for Responsible Hospitals

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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Legislative leaders discuss next steps for failed transit reform push: Meanwhile, Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, acknowledged he had reservations about the proposal’s revenue-generating measures, which include the delivery fee as well as a statewide tax on electric vehicle charging and the expansion of a Chicago tax on real estate transfers to the suburbs. “Frankly, I don’t like them all that much,” Harmon said of the revenue measures in an interview with Capitol News Illinois. “I wish there were better alternatives. But if you don’t like them, come and tell us how you’d pay for it, because this is going to be expensive and most of the stakeholders seem to be worried about protecting or expanding their own power and having somebody else pay for it.”

* WBEZ | Why is Chicago violence plummeting? Some credit street outreach workers: The community areas where violence numbers have fallen fastest include West Garfield Park. Through Tuesday, the area has had three homicides and 24 nonfatal shootings this year. Those numbers are significantly down from the same span of 2021, when there were 15 homicides and 56 nonfatal shootings. There is no shortage of agencies and people — from police to youth mentors — who have been credited with having a hand in Chicago’s public safety improvement, which also mirrors national trends.

* Crain’s | Savings from Medicaid cuts would be a mirage, Chicago clinic CEO says: “It’s a misappropriation, under the guise of saving money, which, in the long run, won’t work,” said Dr. Lee Francis, longtime president and CEO of Erie Family Health Centers, a network of 13 federally qualified health centers in the Chicago area. Medicaid providers in Illinois have criticized the cuts and new proof-of-work requirements, saying the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” sounds good for curbing “waste, fraud and abuse” but in reality just shifts the cost burden to other parts of the health care system and the economy.

*** Statewide ***

* WGLT | Federal cuts gut regional centers working to reduce farm injuries and deaths: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, is one of the federal agencies that had hundreds of workers cut by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April. Some NIOSH programs, including those focused on miner safety and firefighter health risks, have had staff reinstated in order to keep operating. But federal officials have not brought back staff working with NIOSH’s Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health, leaving multi-year studies and longstanding outreach programs without a clear path forward.

* WCIA | From the Farm: IL Corn Growers program marks 10 years: 2025 is the 10th anniversary year for Precision Conservation Management, or PCM. It’s a novel program designed to show farmers how conservation practices can be justified with a positive financial result. When PCM was announced in February of 2016, Dr. Laura Gentry of the Illinois Corn Growers’ Association said it began with the challenge of getting farmers to implement conservation practices they are not currently doing.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Axios | Illinois legislators skip on several environmental bills: A bill to add more wind, solar and battery-stored power to the grid died in the final days of the session after business interests decried it as too expensive and burdensome. The package also pushed for more transparency about data centers’ energy usage and required new centers to “bring your own clean energy”(or B.Y.O.N.C.E.).

* WGLT | State Sen. Dave Koehler reflects on spring session and helping pass Illinois’ $55 billion budget: “We had to look at budget cuts, which is always a tough thing to do,” Koehler said. “With the uncertainty in the federal government, that made it particularly hard, because the federal government is a partner, whether it’s education funding, whether it’s a health care funding, whether it’s highways and roads. The federal government is a partner in just about everything that the state government does.”

* WAND | Plan heading to Pritzker’s desk could provide compensation for land owners if carbon capture damages crops, property: “This bill further clarifies just compensation for land owners and gives further protection for surface owners in case their land is hurt or destroyed in the process of laying down a pipeline,” said Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview).

* WAND | Illinois Freedom Caucus files lawsuit against Democratic legislative leaders over budget process: A spokesperson for Welch said they would not have a statement on the lawsuit Thursday. Harmon’s spokesperson told WAND News that they would not provide a statement until they had a chance to review the document.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | CPS narrows interim CEO search as negligence allegations surface in top candidate’s record: The Chicago Board of Education has narrowed its list for the interim schools’ chief down to three candidates in recent days, one of whom faced negligence allegations as a principal, according to documents obtained by the Tribune through the Freedom of Information Act. The people in consideration are: Macquline King, the city’s senior director of educational policy; Alfonso Carmona, CPS chief portfolio officer; and Nicole Milberg, the school district’s chief of teaching and learning.

* Sun-Times | Crosetti Brand found guilty of killing 11-year-old Jayden Perkins: After a weeks-long, often disorderly trial, jurors deliberated for just an hour and 20 minutes before finding Brand guilty of attacking his ex-partner and killing her son. The 2024 slaying exposed flaws in the legal system meant to protect domestic violence victims.

* Sun-Times | Chicago police officer shot in chest in Chatham has died: ‘She was a hero.’: The officer, who was 36 and a mother of a “very young daughter,” was a four-year veteran assigned to the Gresham District tactical team, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling told reporters early Friday. The officer, Krystal Rivera was pronounced dead at 10:19 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

* Bloomberg | McDonald’s keeps ‘core’ inclusion programs despite DEI backlash: “We changed some of the language that we’ve used it around it, but at the core none of our programming has changed,” said Jordann Nunn, who as chief field people officer for McDonald’s leads human resources for the company’s US restaurants. “We have no intention of doing that,” Nunn said Thursday at a human resources conference by From Day One in Chicago.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* CBS Chicago | Harvey, Illinois, Ald. Colby Chapman arrested again a day after charges are dropped: The latest arrest of Ald. Colby Chapman (2nd) comes just a day after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office dropped charges stemming from a previous arrest at a Harvey City Council meeting. Chapman claimed this was all political retaliation from Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark, of whom Chapman is a vocal critic. Chapman has been arrested before at the mayor’s direction, and each time, the charges have been dropped by the state’s attorney.

* WGN | Suburban farm brings back chickens after bird flu quarantine: A farm in Matteson is bringing chickens back to their property now that a 120-day quarantine caused by the bird flu has been lifted. The move comes as egg prices continue to decrease. “It feels good, honestly. I think I have some PTSD. I really hope it goes okay,” Marty Thomas, founder of Kakadoodle chicken farm, said.

* Daily Herald | Schaumburg Township road commissioner questions predecessor’s contract for new website from political ally: Timothy Buelow, a Democrat, said former Highway Commissioner Scott Kegarise approved a $27,500 contract for the creation of a new website from USynergetics, Inc. of Hoffman Estates April 25. The business is led by the wife of Daniel Lee. Lee ran unsuccessfully for township clerk April 1 on the same Republican slate as Kegarise. Kegarise said plans for the website were in the works well before the election based on resident requests to track road construction progress and snow plowing. Kegarise defended his decision to go with Lee, which he based on Lee’s campaign work.

* WGN | Illinois woman loses $62K to scammer impersonating Kevin Costner: An Illinois woman thought she was sending gift cards to actor Kevin Costner in hopes of elevating her financial portfolio. It turns out that she was the latest victim of a scam that federal authorities say has been circulating since at least 2018. According to police in Evanston, the victim says she sent gift cards totaling $62,000 over a six-month period to someone claiming to be Costner via Telegram, an instant messaging service. The “actor” promised to multiply the victim’s investment.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Champaign-based Health Alliance plans to end all coverage, eliminating more than 600 jobs: More than 600 workers will lose their jobs as the largest health insurer in central and southern Illinois ceases operations. The news comes after Carle Health recently announced that Health Alliance will stop providing all types of coverage at the end of the year. According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity [DCEO], which requires employers to submit prior notification for mass layoffs, Champaign-based Health Alliance will eliminate all 612 jobs.

* WIFR | Rockford organizations fight stigmas surrounding men’s mental health: Rosecrance Medical Director Dr. John Cummins also talks about the mindsets being passed down from generation to generation. “Using substances to numb oneself, lashing out in anger instead of dealing with frustration and pain in more healthy or productive more constructive ways. This is kind of part of what is constructed to be a man in American and western society,” said Cummins. “With those kind of huge expectations in place and with the consequences that come from not following those expectations we end up with these really, really deeply set patterns.”

* WAND | Juneteenth events planned across central Illinois: The Mattoon Public Library will also be hosting a story time event on Friday, June 20 at 2 p.m. The event will include a Juneteenth storybook reading, crafts, food and giveaway for all children present.

* WGLT | Canadian wildfire smoke causes unhealthy air quality in Bloomington-Normal: Sensitive groups will feel health effects right away, and healthy groups will feel difficulty breathing and throat irritation, said the EAC. The air quality index reading of 156 came from a monitor on the southwest side of Bloomington. Anything above 150 is considered unhealthy. The air quality index is expected to return to healthy levels at midnight.

* WTVO | Small Illinois town becomes the set of a John Goodman movie overnight: Monticello, a small town near Champaign, became the set of a film called “Chili Finger” overnight. John Goodman and Bryan Cranston, among many more celebrities, filmed inside a former Hardee’s. The movie, based on a true story, follows the efforts of a woman who found a finger in her bowl of chili to leverage the situation for a payout.

*** National ***

* The Atlantic | ‘I’m Treating Guys Who Would Never Be Caught Dead in a Casino’: As betting has overrun American sports, other forms of gambling are also on the rise. According to industry data, American casinos are more popular now than at any point on record. The age of their average patron had been crawling upward for years, but since sports betting was legalized at the federal level, it has plummeted by nearly a decade, to approximately 42. Some signs point to gambling problems increasing, too. No centralized entity tracks gambling addiction, but if its scale comes even close to matching the new scale of sports betting, the United States is unequipped to deal with it.

* NYT | Kennedy Says ‘Charlatans’ Are No Reason to Block Unproven Stem Cell Treatments: The U.S. health secretary said people should have access to experimental therapies including unregulated uses of stem cells. But some methods have resulted in blindness, tumors and other injuries.

* ABC | Trump-Musk feud explodes with claim president is in Epstein files: Trump, speaking on television from the Oval Office, had said he was “disappointed” in Musk following his criticism Wednesday of his “big, beautiful” megabill to fund his agenda, and then engaged in a mutual barrage of social media posts, at one point saying Musk had gone “CRAZY.” As the exchanges grew progressively personal, Musk posted, without providing evidence, about Trump and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, Jun 6, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Friday, Jun 6, 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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