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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Energy prices become huge issue to tackle for Illinois lawmakers next session. WMBD…
- The biggest issue identified was data centers. These large buildings power AI technology, requiring an immense amount of power. A spokesperson for ComEd said he’s had requests from data centers that could take gigawatts worth of energy off the grid. - Ideas discussed during the committee include battery storage, additional nuclear power plants and legislation that would require data centers to build their own power plants. * Related stories… * Former gubinatorial candidate Darren Bailey teases another run against Gov. Pritzker…
* WBEZ | Illinois joins federal lawsuit against Trump plan to withhold crime victim funding: The lawsuit filed in Rhode Island is the latest in a series of clashes between Illinois, which has positioned itself as a “sanctuary” state for those without legal status, and the federal government. Under Illinois’ TRUST Act, police are greatly limited in how they cooperate with federal authorities for the purpose of immigration enforcement, and Trump’s move puts more than $50 million at risk for the state. * Ira Weiss | A personal plea for JB Pritzker to forgo a third term: The governor has announced he’ll seek a third term. Yet many of us in the business community sense his heart isn’t fully in it. We know he’s considering a run for president, and we understand why: He’s talented, ambitious and has a national vision. If he runs for president, I will likely vote for him just as I voted for him multiple times as governor. But running a state like Illinois — a state that, for all its assets, faces serious structural challenges — requires undivided attention. And right now, we are not convinced that a third term is about Illinois. * Fox News | ‘Slap in the face’: Major blue state governor signs bill opening financial aid to illegals: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a major Democratic leader and rumored presidential candidate, signed a bill into law opening student financial aid to all residents, regardless of immigration status, opening a pathway for illegal immigrants residing in the state to receive educational financial benefits. The move was slammed by conservative Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., as rewarding illegal immigrants and a “slap in the face” to Illinois families and students. The bill purports to establish “equitable eligibility for financial aid and benefits” for all students in the state. * Crain’s | CPS seeks $1 billion of short-term debt as cash gone: A delay in local property-tax bills is exacerbating Chicago Public Schools’ cash crunch, leading the junk-rated district to rely more on short-term borrowing. The school system plans to seek authorization to issue $1.25 billion in tax-anticipation notes. For the first time in three years, the district closed the fiscal year ending on June 30 with a negative net cash position, according to budget documents. Making matters worse, it’s unclear when property-tax collections, originally due on Aug. 1, will arrive. * Sun-Times | UChicago gets federal grant to expand U.S. semiconductor, chip production: The announcement comes just weeks after President Donald Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on computer chips, raising the specter of higher prices for electronics, autos, household appliances while trying to spur more domestic production. * Sun-Times | Thunderbirds ‘clearly’ caused sonic booms at Chicago Air and Water Show practice, expert says: Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th) said residents have told him the boom was louder than any they had ever heard at an air show. He said the window damage was primarily confined to the first floors of four residential high-rises along the lakefront: 3180, 3600 and 3950 North Lake Shore Drive and 4200 N. Marine Drive. Lawson said he has advised residents and managers of those buildings to file a claim with the city because the Air and Water Show was a “city-sponsored” event. * Crain’s | Sterling Bay puts its only finished Lincoln Yards building up for sale: It’s unclear what prompted the duo to hire brokers to sell the property, and spokesmen for Sterling Bay and J.P. Morgan declined to comment. A Harrison Street spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. But the listing comes as the developers face an imminent deadline to pay off a $125 million construction loan — also from Bank OZK — they used to build the structure. That mortgage is due to mature next month, though the sale offering has not come at the direction of the lender, according to sources familiar with the property. * Sun-Times | Eileen O’Neill Burke’s top aide out at state’s attorney’s office after just 8 months: O’Neill Burke credited the resigning First Assistant State’s Attorney Anna Demacopoulos’ “tireless efforts on behalf of the people of Cook County” in an email to her staff. “Anna Demacopoulos stepped away from a thriving private practice in order to utilize her legal expertise to help stabilize the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office and implement innovative and needed restructuring,” O’Neill Burke wrote of the former judge and prosecutor. “Now that those restructures are complete, Anna is resigning her position as First Assistant and returning to her private practice.” * Daily Southtown | Court orders former Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau to stop posting, remove information from blog: Cook County Judge Kate Moreland granted a temporary restraining order Aug. 7 barring Pekau from publishing “future statements disclosing the village’s attorney-client privileged communications and confidential non-public information contained in village personnel files,” and ordered he remove any publications of such information. Moreland denied the village’s request that Pekau return village records containing confidential information and destroy copies of the records. She also denied their request for Pekau to “itemize the ways in which he has published or distributed” confidential information and identify people to whom he gave the information. * NBC Chicago’s | The half-million-dollar superintendent: Up to today, Nohelty has been in charge of Dolton School District 148, which oversees 10 grade schools. He’s been there since 2016. In that time, his salary has nearly doubled. But during that same period, the district’s financial profile has fallen from the Illinois State Board of Education’s top rank to its lowest rank, and Dolton 148 is now the only public school district in Cook County on the Illinois State Board of Education’s “Watch List.” That spurred NBC 5 Investigates to start asking questions about a possible disconnect between Nohelty’s income, the district’s low financial status with the state, and the tax burden of the residents who pay his salary. No one, however, would talk to us, until Thursday afternoon. That’s when Nohelty’s attorney contacted NBC 5 to say that Nohelty retired from his job, effective immediately, citing “a smear campaign…. riddled with baseless allegations, innuendo and repeated threats of investigations and discharge” which he alleges is being orchestrated by the board’s new president. His attorney says Nohelty’s retirement has nothing to do with NBC 5’s inquiries. * ABC Chicago | Arlington Heights Village Board approves streaming subscription tax: The Village Board approved Monday night a new five percent tax on streaming entertainment subscriptions. The new tax will help pay for six new paramedics who will staff a fifth fire department ambulance. In addition, a one percent local grocery tax, which was set to expire at the end of the year, was extended by the board. * Tribune | Evanston commission corrects error after preventing citizens from speaking on controversial project: Commission officials acknowledged their error at the meeting, saying they had misinterpreted two conflicting government codes. They rescheduled the hearing for Aug. 27. The building has been controversial because in addition to its proposed 31 stories and 331 feet in height, some have spoken about density, parking and potential wind issues at its proposed site in downtown Evanston at 605 Davis St. The proposal calls for 430 apartment units and 80 on-site parking spaces, with an agreement proposed for 120 more at a city-owned garage. * Lake County News-Sun | Waukegan casino opens poker room ahead of schedule; ‘We decided not to wait’: American Place and Waukegan officials cut a ribbon to officially open the casino’s six-table Harbor Poker Room Saturday in Waukegan adding another activity as its profitability continues to grow. Before the poker room opened this month, American Place owner Full House Resorts released its second-quarter earnings report with record net revenue and operating profit for American Place. Babinski also met with city officials several times to discuss plans for the permanent facility. * Daily Herald | Naperville teachers rally again as strike threat looms: NEUA President Ross Berkley, however, said going on strike is not a foregone conclusion. The last time the union took similar action, in 2021, a strike was averted when both sides reached an agreement, Berkley said. “The gaslighting of the teachers and the community needs to stop,” Berkley said before Monday’s school board meeting. “This is always and always will be about our students, and the district is being disingenuous about its information.” * ABC Chicago | Federal mediator to assist negotiations between Naperville School District 203, teachers: “We have the number one academically performing district as far as student performance goes as unit districts in the state of Illinois. Our compensation does not reflect that,” Naperville Unit Education Association President Ross Berkley said. “The union’s current proposal is simply not sustainable. If we were to accept their proposal, our board would have to make tough choices that would directly impact you and your families,” said Naperville 203 Board President Charles Cush. * NBC Chicago | Relentless rain leads to major flooding, street closures in Chicago suburbs: Flood warnings were issued for portions of DeKalb, Kane, Kendall and LaSalle counties, with the National Weather Service saying flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. […] A flood watch was issued for nearly the entire Chicago area until 4 a.m. The NWS reported numerous streets were closed or covered with significant standing water. * Capitol News Illinois | Billboard promoting far-right group Proud Boys springs up in southern Illinois: A billboard rising from a Clinton County cornfield near Breese that appears to be a recruiting tool for the Proud Boys — a far-right extremist group tied to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — has touched off outrage in the small southern Illinois community. The sign is located at Old U.S. Route 50 and St. Rose Road, about 1,000 feet from the entrance to Central Community High School. It lists a local phone number for people to call. Repeated calls to a phone number on the recruiting billboard went to a voicemail that is full. * WGLT | Origin unknown for ‘March on Bloomington’ flyers with swastika imagery: The flyers’ message reads, “We have the White House, Congress, the courts, and the Bloomington Mayor,” and refers to taking back the state while calling for a march in Bloomington-Normal on Aug. 30, from Miller Park to the downtown farmers market. It urges participants to proudly wear military or patriotic organization colors. The flyers claim “the time of ‘not in our town’ is over” and they are claiming Illinois for “REAL CITIZENS.” […] The City of Bloomington said it’s aware of the “inflammatory flyers” and is “looking into the matter.” * WCIA | ADA shortcomings in Mattoon leads city to step up: A paralyzed man in Mattoon says he’s tired of accessibility problems at the train station. Recently, Amtrak told him the elevator wasn’t working when he needed to get to an appointment… But a good Samaritan made sure he could make it. Mattoon’s City Manager Kyle Gill saved the day and made sure everything was working properly to help 48-year-old Christopher Cunningham travel safely to Chicago. But the advocacy doesn’t stop here for Gill and Cunningham. They said the situation has brought up another conversation for the city to have with others. * WGLT | Town of Normal will expand electric vehicle infrastructure with help from Ameren Illinois: The funding allocated to Normal will allow it to potentially install EV charging stations at priority locations and participating businesses and organizations, as well as develop a plan to expand the amount of EVs in Normal’s own fleet vehicles. The partnership also wants to educate the public and businesses about EVs. Eric Sackett, senior manager of beneficial electrification and business development of Ameren Illinois, said they hope more people will learn EVs could be accessible to them, with the planned launch of an EV outreach and education program from Normal. * WGLT | Bloomington seeks solutions to ‘missing middle’ housing gaps: Bloomington city leaders continue to explore potential methods for addressing the “missing middle” portion of the city’s housing shortage, as the administration seeks guidance on possible zoning and subdivision code changes. “We see this as a potential piece in the housing puzzle. This is not going to solve all of our housing problems,” City Manager Jeff Jurgens said at the outset of a 50-minute discussion during Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting with city council members. * Semafor | Red-state Republicans’ next promise: No property taxes: Yet Republicans who want to end property taxes have a big problem on their hands — namely, a lack of alternative funding that could replace lost revenue for popular public services that the taxes pay for. Efforts to end property levies with ballot measures have floundered for the same reason, and some politicians who pitch abolition face related accusations that eliminating property taxes will inevitably lead to higher sales taxes. But those risks haven’t stopped an anti-tax campaign that sees property taxes as inherently unfair from gaining momentum in a party that likes the idea of slashing voters’ more visible tax bills. Republicans like DeSantis have warned of homes lost to unelected assessors. Grassroots groups have found new recruits for once-obscure ax-the-tax efforts. * WaPo | Defying RFK Jr., pediatric group urges covid shots for young kids: The American Academy of Pediatrics on Tuesday urged parents to get their youngest children vaccinated for covid, part of a broader effort by medical organizations to bypass Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his criticism of broadly administering coronavirus vaccines.
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Open thread
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Aug 19, 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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