* ICYMI: Audit finds state agency fell short on social equity initiatives outlined in Gov. JB Pritzker’s landmark climate bill. Tribune…

From June 2022 to June 2024, the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity failed to implement programs designed to assist clean energy contractors in underserved areas and to deliver clean energy jobs training to people exiting Illinois prisons, two social equity elements that were part of one of the country’s most ambitious climate bills, the audit found. […]

For example, the law designates the Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program as a “central small business support program” to provide services including “low-cost capital, training, mentorship” and networking at certain sites in Illinois communities, according to an October 2023 press release. Pritzker at that time said DCEO would award $21 million for the program.

While the department said it selected some sites for awards, “no grants were executed by the end of the examination period,” the audit said.

* The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition sent this statement pushing back on the Tribune’s story…

CEJA is a massive piece of first-of-its-kind legislation that will transform Illinois’ entire power sector to deliver clean, affordable power for Illinois’ future. It takes time to implement that policy equitably and effectively. Building our clean energy economy will require a lot of labor - from the administrative staff required to implement the policy itself, to the tens of thousands of good jobs being created now across the state bringing clean power online. Though it has taken time to fully staff up the agencies and programs on deck to support CEJA’s implementation, largely due to hiring delays related to COVID-19 and administrative red tape, we are now seeing tremendous success in policy implementation. We’re pleased to see DCEO working diligently to ensure we meet CEJA’s clean energy goals and keep Illinois moving forward. This leadership from Illinois is more important than ever, with our federal government doing everything it can to reverse the progress our country has made toward clean, affordable energy.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* ABC Chicago | New Chicago police support center will monitor crime on CTA: According to CPD’s latest numbers, there is a slight increase in reported CTA crimes this year compared to this time last year. […] According to CPD’s latest numbers, there is a slight increase in reported CTA crimes this year compared to this time last year.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools facing cash crunch as it works to close $734 million deficit: At its rally Wednesday, the teachers union demanded that Gov. J.B. Pritzker call a special legislative session in order to allocate more state funding to education funding in light of potential federal funding cuts. Several states, including New Mexico and Colorado, are considering calling special sessions in response to President Donald Trump’s tax bill that imposes cuts to social safety net programs. The state created a new funding formula in 2017 that provides more money to all districts across the state, but prioritizes additional dollars to those with higher needs. Illinois lawmakers set a goal to fully fund all districts by 2027, but projections indicate they won’t make that deadline.

*** Statewide ***

* WTTW | Safety-Net Hospitals Face an Uncertain Future With Planned Medicaid Cuts: Once Medicaid funding is cut, as many as 330,000 people in Illinois could be impacted, officials said. Advocates say low-income patients don’t have many options if they lose Medicaid coverage and or if their local hospital closes. People could end up not seeking preventative care and pushing off routine check-ups until their conditions become life-threatening emergencies. Medicaid cuts would hit local hospitals like Mount Sinai Hospital hard; 70% of the hospital’s patients are on Medicaid. Dan Regan, Sinai’s communications vice president, said the cuts will be felt far beyond hospitals’ bottom lines and everyone will feel the effects.

* Tribune | State Farm to raise Illinois homeowners insurance rates by 27.2% in August: As Texas grapples with the massive flooding that struck Hill Country and killed at least 119 people during the July Fourth weekend, many Illinois homeowners will soon see their home insurance rates skyrocket due to the increase in such extreme weather events. State Farm is raising homeowners insurance rates in Illinois by a whopping 27.2% beginning Aug. 15, according to a filing with the state last month. The rate hike, one of the largest in the state’s history, will affect nearly 1.5 million policyholders. New policyholders will pay the higher rates as of July 15.

* WICS | Illinois law enforcement adjusting, building off of new mental health trainings: Law enforcement agencies across Illinois are adapting to new mental health training requirements mandated by the SAFE-T Act, which took effect in 2022. The act, enforced by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB), requires officers to complete annual mental health and wellness training. Champaign Police Chief Timothy Tyler emphasized the importance of mental health maintenance, stating, “Just like any valuable equipment, it needs maintenance and the most important thing that we have is our mind.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Lake County News-Sun | Illinois Pollution Control Board denies stay to NRG Energy: ‘They are going to … remove the coal ash ponds from our lakefront’: Shortly after NRG announced its proposal in December of 2021, state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, and state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, introduced legislation to require that all coal ash ponds along Lake Michigan in Illinois be removed. Easily gaining approval in the state Senate in early 2022, Mayfield did not bring the bill to the House floor because she said she was several votes short of a majority. She reintroduced the bill in 2023, and again this year. It remains a few votes short of the majority, she said. She said NRG has lobbied hard against it.

* Kane County Chronicle | Geneva’s Dan Ugaste a no-go for governor after all: After two weeks of consideration, State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, decided not to make a run for Illinois governor, but to seek a fifth term instead. Ugaste announced his decision in a news release, saying he wants to continue his fight “for Illinois families and restoring fiscal sanity in Springfield” from the State House.

* Herald-Whig | Davidsmeyer announces reelection effort for Illinois 100th District: “I first ran for office on the promise that I would remain a good person, that I would fight against big-government intrusion, and that I would work to create a better future for the next generation of Illinoisans,” Davidsmeyer said in a statement announcing his reelection campaign. “I have remained true to that promise, and I have become a stronger voice than ever against the Democratic majority that wants to take away our God-given rights.”

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Walter Burnett Is Leaving His Job As Alderman — And His Son Wants To Replace Him: One of Chicago’s most influential aldermen is stepping down by the end of the month to lead the Chicago Housing Authority — or retire from politics entirely. […] “My wife told me she’s been at home by herself for 30 years,” Burnett said. “She said, ‘You put in your time. Now, come home.’”

* Tribune | Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman declares victory after charges dismissed: Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman formally learned Wednesday a felony charge of aggravated battery to a police officer against her was dismissed, but she was not in an overly celebratory mood. It was the second time in recent months the alderwoman, who represents Harvey’s 2nd Ward, had faced charges she alleges stem from a political dispute with Mayor Christopher Clark. Chapman was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and resisting a police officer charges following a City Council meeting April 28. Clark ordered Chapman be removed from the meeting.

* Daily Herald | What’s in Bears stadium survey? Seating chart, ticket prices and ‘VIP tailgating’: A survey sent to some Bears season ticket holders this week sheds light on possible seating options, ticket prices and amenities in and around a potential new Arlington Heights stadium. The Bears’ questionnaire seeking thoughts on a “state-of-the-art stadium that will serve all of Chicagoland and the state of Illinois” doesn’t mention the NFL franchise’s 326-acre Arlington Park property specifically. But the online survey ticket holders reported receiving Tuesday comes nearly two months after the team formally reshifted its stadium focus back to the sprawling suburban site it purchased in 2021.

* WBEZ | Richard Hunt’s life is on exhibit in Chicago — and it’s a walk through Civil Rights history: The monument speaks to Black history and the Civil Rights Movement, two themes persistent in the work of the late sculptor, who died in 2023 at age 88. Now, a new exhibition aims to tell more of his story. Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt, which opens Friday at the Loyola University Museum of Art, explores his 70-year career, starting with his early days as a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

* WBEZ | CPS wants more students from all backgrounds to get the chance to skip a grade: “Our goal with this revision is to expand access to acceleration and remove unnecessary barriers for students to be able to access this opportunity,” said Errika Baker Perkins, executive director of advanced learning & speciality programs for CPS. CPS wants to add this statement to the front of the policy: “The district affirms that all students possess unique strengths and potential. Accelerated placement decisions will be made through a strengths-based lens that accounts for the community context and avoids reinforcing bias or deficit-based assumptions.”

* Sun-Times | Putrid smells from South Side plant enrage neighbors: “Near the entrance of the facility, we experienced a very strong odor that could best be described as rotting fish/decay of flesh. This odor made us not want to breathe and made us nauseous,” inspectors said in their report. Ald. Peter Chico (10th) said that he alerted both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Chicago Department of Public Health about the nuisance after getting complaints from residents. Chico said he asked for an investigation and contacted company officials. “It’s unbearable,” Chico told the Sun-Times. “You can’t even take your dog for a walk or keep your windows open.”

* Sun-Times | Amid East Coast spike in tick diseases, Chicago doctors urge caution as bug’s season ramps up: Eastern states like New York and Massachusetts have reported a spike in tick bites and Lyme disease cases. On Monday, Michigan’s Lenawee County Health department issued an advisory on an increase in tickborne infections. The Chicago Department of Public Health has not seen an increase in Lyme disease cases compared to last year, according to the department spokesman Jacob Martin. “However, ticks tend to be the most active from April through September and so we’d expect that both the number of ED visits due to tick bites and the number of tick-borne disease cases to increase during the summer,” Martin said.

* Tribune | Crumb rubber: How NASCAR recycles the thousands of tires it used over the Chicago race weekend: During a weekend of hot, high-speed friction against the asphalt of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course, thousands of tires burn out and wear down. After a few dozen laps, they lose their grip and become obsolete. But their life cycle doesn’t end there. Each NASCAR race weekend, most of the 3,000 tires provided by Goodyear Racing become a fraction of the tens of thousands recycled annually by Liberty Tire Recycling. Before state laws prohibited it, used tires would be landfilled or stored in stockpiles, said Rick Heinrich, Goodyear’s product manager for NASCAR.

* Tribune | There are few memorials for Chicagoans who died from heat in 1995. But there are remnants.: ike many of the 739 Chicagoans who died of heat that summer, many elderly, many people of color, he was forgotten for years. His grave is one of two places in the Chicago area where you are even reminded of what happened. Thirty years ago, on July 13, 1995, the temperature in Chicago was 106 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat index — what it actually feels like outside — reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Melrose Beach was packed long after dark with families lingering on blankets. Supermarkets humored customers who came to buy milk and eggs and stayed for hours, lulled by cheap air conditioning. O’Hare International Airport — six years before our current TSA checkpoints — welcomed those without travel plans, who loitered away days, curled up in books, paying for airport food.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Press Release | IL-8 Candidate Junaid Ahmed Raises nearly $350,000 in less than a Month: In a powerful show of grassroots energy and early momentum, Democratic congressional candidate Junaid Ahmed announced today that his campaign has raised nearly $350,000 in under four weeks. Junaid officially launched his bid for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District on June 3, 2025, and is quickly building robust support across the district. “I’m humbled and energized by the outpouring of support we’ve received in such a short time,” said Junaid Ahmed. “This campaign is about delivering for working families who are being crushed by the rising cost of living—from housing and groceries to healthcare and student debt. People in this district are working harder than ever, and they are ready to send a fighter to Congress who will make their life more affordable and help them thrive.”

* Press Release |
Sandy Hart Announces Candidacy for 10th District Democratic State Central Committeewoman: Sandy Hart, Chair of the Lake County Board, announced her candidacy today for the 10th District Democratic State Central Committeewoman for the Democratic Party of Illinois (DPI). Sandy has been helping to elect Lake County candidates and fighting for the Democratic values we share for many years. “I look forward to working with DPI to continue to recruit, support, and elect Democrats in the 10th District,” said Sandy. “Thanks to the hard work of Democratic volunteers and

* Elgin Courier-News | DuPage sheriff’s officer from Elgin convicted of having sex with jail inmate: The bench trial conviction against Ricardo Hardy, 54, of Elgin, was announced Wednesday by Judge Joseph Bugos about a month after the case was heard, a news release from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office said. Hardy was found guilty of five counts of custodial sexual misconduct and five counts of official misconduct, all class 3 felonies. Hardy was assigned to the county’s corrections bureau when officials learned in May 2023 that he’d had sexual intercourse and other sexual contact with a female inmate on at least two occasions in the woman’s cell and in the shower/bathroom area between March 13, 2023, and April 26, 2023, the release said.

* ESPN | Michael Jordan’s former Chicago-area estate listed on Airbnb: The two-story estate, which was built in 1995, has seven bedrooms and 17.5 bathrooms. Amenities include a full-size basketball court, putting green, tennis court, cigar room and infinity pool. Its signature feature is a giant entrance gate with a 23, Jordan’s jersey number from his Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards playing days. Booking the mansion requires a minimum seven-night stay, and it is limited to 12 guests. Guests must sign a liability waiver and nondisclosure agreement and pay a $25,000 security deposit.

*** Downstate ***

* Press Release | “A Devastating Blow”: Boys & Girls Clubs of Central IL Warns Families Will Pay the Price: The Trump administration is withholding more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs. This is a devastating blow to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois. (BGCCIL) Among the grant programs being evaluated is the 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative. This is the only federal funding stream dedicated to after-school and summer learning programs, helping to sustain over 10,000 local programs across the country, based on data from the Afterschool Alliance. Each state administers its own competitive process to award these funds, which amounted to $1.3 billion in the current fiscal year. The BGCCIL, which relies on roughly $3M in 21st Century Funding, was expecting it to be distributed July 1, but an U.S. Department of Education notice sent last week announced the funds would not be released while the programs are under review. The department did not provide a timeline and warned that “decisions have not yet been made” on grants for the upcoming school year.

* WCIA | U of I researcher honored for his work in making crops more resilient: Stephen Long, the Ikenberry Endowed Chair Emeritus of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at the U of I, was named a 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneer (TAP) by the World Food Prize Foundation. 39 innovators around the world were chosen, representing 27 countries. Each of the nominees worked to transform food systems, and work in fields related to food or agriculture. Long’s research showed that by engineering crops to improve photosynthesis, it leads to better productivity. His work offered solutions to make crops more resilient in the face of climate change. He also led Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project, from 2012 to earlier in 2025.

* WCIA | Danville seeing increasing costs for bus repairs: City officials with Danville Mass Transit claim the current presidential administration’s tariff policy is increasing costs for their bus repairs. Danville Public Transportation Director Steve White said the price of a motor increased $7,000 in the past four months. Danville Mayor Rickey Williams said he has noticed prices increase by 10% despite buying American products. “The thing is we’re buying from American dealers but there are parts and components of the piece that we are buying that come from overseas,” Williams said.

* WCIA | Champaign Co. Sheriff announces candidacy for third term: Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman has announced he is running for a third term as the top law enforcement officer in the county. Heuerman announced his candidacy in a news release on Wednesday. He was first elected Sheriff in 2018 and was reelected in 2022. […] Heuerman also highlighted accomplishments and successes that include navigating the county through COVID-19, the implementation of the SAFE-T Act, modernization projects at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters and the Champaign County Jail and enhancing the use of technology for operations.

* WGLT | Rep. LaHood supports Medicaid cuts and SNAP reductions in the GOP megabill: U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood is voicing full-throated support for the massive Republican tax and spending bill, despite past opposition to Medicaid cuts and concern over the mounting federal budget deficit. Critics of the measure say it will grow the federal budget deficit by trillions of dollars. LaHood, a Republican, has based support for things like cuts to the Agency for International Development, scientific research and ag research on the idea the budget deficit is unsustainable, yet most estimates project the GOP megabill substantially worsens the deficit.

* WGLT | Metcalf School sixth-graders design, build and donate a tiny house to homeless shelter village in Bloomington: Thomas Metcalf School sixth-graders designed and built a tiny house in their makerspace class that Home Sweet Home Ministries [HSHM] will put in its new shelter village. Makerspace teacher Kristi Sutter said her students came up with the idea in January, before hearing about the shelter village HSHM was already planning. “The kids put together a pitch to Home Sweet Home and Salvation Army and offered it as a donation, and Home Sweet Home accepted it,” Sutter said. “We kept our [tiny house] pretty basic right now so that it would fit in with the rest of the community that Home Sweet Home had already envisioned.”

*** National ***

* Washington Monthly | The Broadband Story Abundance Liberals Like Ezra Klein Got Wrong: When the New York Times columnist told the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart about out-of-control regulations ruining a Biden administration rural broadband program, the clip went viral, with Elon Musk’s help. But the story wasn’t true—and the telecom monopolies who were the real saboteurs are still laughing.

* NYT | A.I. Is Making Sure You Pay for That Ding on Your Rental Car: The next time you rent a car, that ding on the door might not slip under the radar. Powerful new A.I.-driven tools are helping Hertz and other companies catch every little scratch, and puzzled renters are being asked to pay up. Hertz, one of the world’s largest car rental companies, debuted the technology last fall at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and it’s now in use at five other U.S. airports, said Emily Spencer, a Hertz spokeswoman. Developed by a company called UVeye, the scanning system works by capturing thousands of high-resolution images from all angles as a vehicle passes through a rental lot’s gates at pickup and return. A.I. then compares those images and flags any discrepancies.

* AP | Trump administration pulls back on plans to rewrite Biden-era asbestos ban: The Environmental Protection Agency said in a court filing Monday that it will now defend the Biden administration’s ban of chrysotile asbestos, which is used in products like brake blocks and sheet gaskets. The carcinogenic chemical has been mostly phased out in the U.S., but last year, the agency under former President Joe Biden sought to finish the decadeslong fight with a comprehensive ban. The EPA in 2024 said “exposure to asbestos is known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, and laryngeal cancer, and it is linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.”