* ICYMI: Lawmakers unveil $55B spending plan with just 1 day left to pass it. Capitol News Illinois…

Illinois Democrats introduced what a leading budgeteer described as a $55 billion budget Friday evening ahead of a Saturday deadline to pass the fiscal year 2026 spending plan.

The 3,363-page spending proposal was unveiled after 6 p.m. At the time the Senate’s lead budget negotiator, Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, briefed reporters on the plan; an exact proposal for raising about $1 billion in revenue to pay for it had not been made publicly available.

But Sims said lawmakers are not using broad tax hikes to balance the budget, although the plan does call for specific tax increases in certain areas. Sims said the proposal includes new taxes on gambling as well as tobacco and vape products. He also hinted that some businesses will pay more under the plan – though Illinois’ constitution mandates that the state corporate income tax remain a flat rate. […]

Later, in a House hearing on the spending plan, Democratic Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, said it relies upon $55.4 billion in revenue with $55.2 billion in spending. But at several points the chamber’s budget leaders declined to talk about revenue, noting that proposal will come before the committee later, likely on Saturday.

* Related stories…

∙ Sun-Times: Illinois legislators unveil $55.2 billion spending plan that cuts immigrant health care program
∙ Week in Review: Scramble to Pass State Budget; Assisted-Dying Bill Advances
∙ State Week: The legislative session winds down
∙ Tribune: Democrats propose tax hikes on cigarettes, vaping and gambling to balance $55B budget

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

* Governor Pritzker has no scheduled press conferences.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WCIA | IDPH issues health warning on wildfire smoke: “Breathing wildfire smoke can have immediate health impacts, including respiratory and cardiovascular effects,” IDPH officials said on the agency’s website. “Particle pollution may also affect the body’s ability to remove inhaled foreign materials, such as viruses and bacteria, from the lungs.” Children, older adults, people with chronic respiratory or cardiovascular disease and people with low socioeconomic status are described as being the most at-risk from wildfire smoke.

* Tribune | Here’s who wrote a letter of support for former House Speaker Michael Madigan: Former Gov. James R. Thompson, who penned the letter prior to his death in 2020, wrote that he could always “count on Mike to give it to me straight, tell me the truth and stick to his word.” Thompson, a Republican who served as governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991, wrote that “there were times when I didn’t much care for him” but “I always respected him, and I have never questioned his integrity.”

*** Statewide ***

* WBEZ | What it’s like to graduate from college while inside an Illinois prison: The Augustana Prison Education Program, or APEP, began full-time in the fall of 2021 and gained accreditation the following spring. It now has about 30 people enrolled. Students take college courses on everything from physics to poetry — but without access to the Internet and sometimes writing assignments by hand. “It’s the same Augustana degree requirements, same professors, same rigor — in a prison,” said Sharon Varallo, the program’s executive director.

* Rockford Register Star | Illinois counties, cities listed as sanctuary jurisdictions by Trump administration: The Trump administration has added more than 100 Illinois counties and cities to a national list of jurisdictions that could be targeted if they do not comply with federal immigration laws.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Daily Herald | ‘A political time bomb’? RTA predicts service cuts as local leaders say state transit plan is ‘pickpocketing’ the suburbs: “We are grateful for the Senate focusing on the fiscal cliff, however, as proposed, the new revenue included in (Thursday’s) Senate bill fails to address the region’s $771 million transit operating budget gap and would result in significant service cuts in 2026,” RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard said. The critique came as Kane County leaders lambasted the plan at a news conference for “pickpocketing” the suburbs. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Ram Villivalam, however, stressed that the whole region has to share the burden.

* Hm…

As Madigan maybe faces prison, perhaps his role as GOP punching bag is diminished as well. Rep. CD Davidsmeyer, in committee, just praised the ex-speaker

"The former speaker wanted bipartisan bills. This one doesn't," Davidsmeyer said, noting GOP last voted for a budget in '19. https://t.co/9mQKCwnEyo

— Jerry Nowicki (@NowickiPress) May 31, 2025

* Illinois Lawmakers | Spring Session Countdown…

* WCIA | Illinois AG joins lawsuit to stop federal cuts to science, research programs: In the lawsuit he and the coalition filed, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is seeking a court order to block the implementation of the NSF’s new directives to eliminate programs addressing diversity in STEM. In addition, the changes would eliminate funding and programs that Raoul said, “help maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in STEM.”

*** Chicago ***

* South Side Weekly | For Senior Homeowners, Solutions to Expensive Home Repairs Can Be a Lifeline… or Leave Their Families with an Inheritance of Debt: Home repair is at the root of the ability of senior Chicagoans to stay in their homes as they age. Local organizations are trying to provide relief without depriving seniors of the ability to pass their homes down to the next generation.

* Crain’s | Buyers and sellers are hitting snags under Chicago’s new anti-gentrification ordinance: The first problem is a potentially large obstacle to buyers — whether they are the existing renters or outside buyers — securing a mortgage. The second is in obtaining title insurance, a buyer’s protection against legal threats to the property’s ownership, or clear title. City Hall’s Law Department is “working to identify a solution to the issue” of title insurance, a Department of Housing spokesperson told Crain’s in an emailed statement. In a later statement, the city said “the Department of Housing is unaware of any statements that Fannie Mae will not lend to buildings that have a right of first refusal. However, we are actively looking at the ordinance to address the issues” that Crain’s asked about.

* Fox Chicago | Major update to Kennedy Expressway project lets express lane drivers head to O’Hare: The Illinois Department of Transportation announced Thursday that the north end of the Kennedy Expressway work zone is shifting as of Saturday night. Starting Sunday morning, drivers leaving downtown will be able to exit the express lanes north of Irving Park Road to continue on Interstate 90 and reach O’Hare International Airport.

* South Side Weekly | Jobs. Block Clubs. Investment: How Chicagoans Are Interrupting Violence at its Roots: The causes and solutions to gun violence are difficult to quantify—or control. One thing is clear: gun violence is highest in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Organizers in the hardest-hit communities like Garfield Park say tackling poverty is the only way to create lasting change.

* Ronald S. Safer: I prosecuted Larry Hoover. Here is why he should not have his sentences commuted.: Through extraordinary investigation, too lengthy and intricate to detail here but well documented in a monthslong trial, federal agents obtained recorded conversations of Hoover in state prison giving orders to his top lieutenants. While publicly claiming to be a changed man, privately, Hoover described how the GDs needed to enforce drug street taxes: “But this is our land. We fought battles on this land so everybody got to pay taxes,” he said. The GDs collected these taxes through the threat of drive-by shootings, beatings and torture, not audits. In one poignant conversation, Hoover described how the GDs needed to corrupt our youth. He urged a gang leader to share some of his opulent wealth with younger gang members.

* Crain’s | Restaurant group delivers boutique steaks straight to your kitchen: Lettuce Entertain You’s new Prime Meats by Lettuce, set to launch June 2, will be a delivery-only butcher shop offering more than a dozen cuts used at restaurants from RPM Steak to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab. The group says it has long-standing relationships with farmers, ranchers and purveyors across the world, and it’s tapping into that network to bring recreational chefs cuts of meat they might not otherwise be able to access.

* Sun-Times | Kool & the Gang’s Michael ‘Chicago Mike’ Sumler dies at 71: Michael “Chicago Mike” Sumler, who grew up on the Side Side and worked and traveled with the band Kool & the Gang, died May 25 following a car accident in suburban Atlanta. Kool & the Gang posted of his passing on Facebook: “We’re deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our longtime wardrobe valet, Mike Sumler. Mike worked alongside Kool & the Gang from 2000-2015, making sure the guys looked their best on stage every night. He also hyped the crowd with his energy and dance moves at the top of the show.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* South Side Weekly | Cook County Medical Debt Help Comes Too Late: Cook County became the first local government to buy medical debts in bulk. But data shows the majority of debt was relieved for people who likely should have qualified for free care—a sign that hospitals are failing to screen for some of the region’s poorest patients.

* Shaw Local | Ticketing begins right away as Yorkville bans heavy trucks from Kylyns Ridge, Cannonball Estates: “You had some people barreling through the subdivisions and semi-trucks too,” Mayor John Purcell said during the May 27 city council meeting. “We’re going to get out there and start ticketing them right away.” The heavier trucks would be denied usage of the residential streets including Blackberry Shore Lane, from the intersection of Northland Lane to the westerly dead end. They will also be denied usage of Northland Lane, High Ridge Lane, and Norton Lane.

* Lake and McHenry County Scanner | Disgraced former McHenry County detective pleads guilty to charges of official misconduct : A disgraced former McHenry County sheriff’s detective has pleaded guilty to charges that he used county property to arrange drug and prostitution deals and allowed a woman to drive his squad car while he was intoxicated. Christopher Marvel, 41, of Poplar Grove, was sentenced to two years of probation and about $1,700 in fines after pleading guilty to two counts of official misconduct, court records show.

* Naperville Sun Naperville fire and police combat recruiting crisis with creative tactics to attract candidates: “People in this day and age … want mobility,” he said. “They want to be able to go and live wherever they want.” Another challenge is a lack of paramedics, Puknaitis said. A 2022 study by the American Ambulance Association and Newton 360 found the turnover among paramedics and emergency medical technicians across the country ranges from 20% to 30% annually.

* Daily Southtown | Mobile help for opioid overdoses rolls into south suburbs with aid of Cook County $1M grant: The program was announced Friday during a news conference outside the Posen Fire Department’s headquarters, with the new van and another already in use by Family Guidance Centers parked outside. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said while opioid overdose fatalities are “trending in the right direction,” the problem is still of major concern.

* Daily Herald | Expect hazy skies from Canadian wildfires that could last throughout weekend: Smoke is expected to move into the suburbs around noon and will affect air quality, potentially affecting those with respiratory issues. Thunderstorms are expected in the area this evening, but the severe weather isn’t anticipated to be enough to clear the air.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Champaign School Board president responds after tense meeting outing superintendent: A contentious Champaign School Board meeting is still making waves almost 24 hours later. The meeting saw an approval to move on from Superintendent Dr. Sheila Boozer — a fiery public comment period — and even a near fight. “We conducted some tough business last night,” said Champaign School Board President Tony Bruno.

* WCIA | Danville alderman banned after aggressive argument: Alderman Thomas Hightower was seen cursing out the mayor and the Danville Police Chief. It happened at city hall during a new alderman orientation. Now, Hightower is left facing some repercussions because of his actions. “What made me mad with the mayor was the time when I was talking to the chief, when I was fussing at the chief, the mayor was recording me without my knowledge,” Hightower said.

* WTVO | Judge halts Rockford’s efforts to limit video gaming terminals: 17th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Fabiano issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit brought by Kelly Quinby, the proprietor of Spinning Slots, at 1625 Sandy Hollow Road, after the city refused to license a 6th video gaming terminal (VGT) at the location, despite allowances by the Illinois Gaming Board to do so.

* WGLT | Mural celebrating anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Lost Speech unveiled in downtown Bloomington: The “Lost Speech” resulted in the formation of the Illinois Republican Party and is thought by historians to have been an intense condemnation of slavery. The mural depicts Lincoln giving the address at the 1856 Bloomington Convention, also known as the Anti-Nebraska Convention, at Major’s Hall that was located at the corner of East and Front streets from 1852 until 1958.

*** National ***

* WIRED | DOGE Is Busier Than Ever—and Trump Says Elon Musk Is ‘Really Not Leaving’ : “I expect to continue to provide advice,” Musk, wearing a black hat with DOGE written on it and a black shirt reading “DOGEFATHER,” said during Friday’s press conference, while noting that his legal limit for service as a special government employee was coming to an end. “I expect to remain a friend and an advisor.”

* Status | The Business Insider Bloodletting: To be fair to management, Business Insider is very much reckoning with forces far outside its control, namely a structural collapse in the very distribution model it was built upon: SEO. For years, the outlet drew large volumes of traffic from Google search. Its e-commerce operation, in particular, was engineered for such traffic, surfacing affiliate-driven shopping guides and “best of” lists that was algorithmically served up to the masses. But that golden pipeline is now drying up. Google has recently rolled out major changes to its search engine—including the AI Overviews feature—that deprioritize traditional news links in favor of machine-generated summaries.

* Post-Tribune | Steel industry experts react to Nippon Steel, U.S. Steel deal: The United Steelworkers Union still remains concerned about what Nippon’s involvement in U.S. Steel means, saying much is still up in the air. “Our core concerns about Nippon Steel — a foreign-owned corporation with a documented history of violating U.S. trade laws — remain as strong and valid today as ever,” said a May 28 union statement, “and that is so whether U.S. Steel and Nippon adhere to the same deal that they have pursued since December 2023 or whether they tweak the terms to satisfy concerns in Washington.”