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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Sun-Times…
* At least some national Republican lawmakers are hoping to introduce legislation to revoke the federal charter of the National Education Association…
* WCIS | American Cancer Society seeks more Illinois Road to Recovery drivers: A program known as the Road to Recovery allows volunteer drivers to take patients to their doctor’s appointments free of charge. […] Some patients said they have built relationships they will never forget. “I didn’t feel like I was being picked up off the curb and dropped off at the curb,” cancer patient Marcus Ford said. “He rode with me. Literally rode with me through the entire process.” * WCIA | Illinois AG files lawsuit against Trump admin over education grant freeze: In the lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition argue that the Trump administration’s actions violate federal funding statutes. These include the Anti-deficiency Act, the Appropriations Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Impoundment Control Act, as well as multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution. This coalition is calling the Trump administration’s decision to freeze billions of dollars in funding for six longstanding education grants, “unconstitutional, unlawful and arbitrary.” The administration’s decision comes just weeks before the start of the new school year. * WAND | Illinois lawmaker proposes ban on foreign clean energy components to protect grid, national security: An Illinois Republican lawmaker has filed a bill to ban the use of renewable energy components made by foreign adversaries in any Illinois energy projects. Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sue Rezin told WAND News her plan could protect the state’s energy grid and national security. The Morris Republican said she is concerned about security risks tied to inverters, batteries and other components of solar panels and wind turbines. * Center Square | State reps counter Lt. Gov. candidate’s claim that ethics led Illinois energy legislation: Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s candidate for lieutenant governor, former State Rep. Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago, addressed a question about ethics at a campaign stop with the governor in Chicago earlier this month. “Listen, when we passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), we led with ethics. The governor said ethics was his first principle, and so we worked to make sure that how energy legislation was done, instead of being done in a conference room of our largest energy provider, was done in the light of day in large working groups. We made sure that we ended the formula rates that ended up getting a lot of people in legal trouble,” Mitchell said. […] State Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, said it was evident in this year’s legislative session that the General Assembly’s supermajority Democrats have no desire to pass meaningful ethics reform. “The things that Mr. Mitchell pointed to in CEJA are very minor changes to our ethics laws. They do not do really anything that I think an objective observer would say is meaningful change to our ethics laws,” Windhorst told The Center Square. * Sun-Times | City Council fails to override Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s snap curfew veto: Johnson frequently points to the tangible progress being made by his “holistic” strategy of having police work with community-based “violence interrupters” while investing more in young people to confront the “root causes” of crime. He reiterated that point again Wednesday, saying Chicago is coming off the “safest Memorial Day weekend in 16 years” and the “least violent July Fourth weekend” in six years. * Crain’s | Union standoff delays $1.1B riverfront project near Bally’s site again: Utilizing a mechanism to require action if the developer’s zoning change request fails to receive a vote in the Zoning Committee, the project was set to be considered at today’s City Council meeting, but allies of the union used a parliamentary maneuver to block the vote. Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd, and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, motioned to defer and publish the measure, pushing off a vote until the next City Council meeting. * Block Club | Push To Allow New Coach Houses, Basement Units Citywide Advances — With Restrictions: The ordinance, which includes coach houses, basement apartments and so-called granny flats, must still be approved by the full City Council, which meets Wednesday. Under the amended legislation, however, some districts zoned for residential use would see a limit on how many ADUs could be built on specific blocks. That change was added at the last minute to win over support from hesitant City Council members. * WTTW | Chicago Park District’s Internal Review of Douglass Park Pool Shooting Identifies ‘Gaps’ in Oversight: “To date, the Park District’s review has not identified a specific warning that Leto would commit such a violent act,” officials said in a statement. At the same time, the internal investigation “identified gaps in employee oversight, communication and documentation,” according to the statement. Several emails, texts and incident reports relevant to the investigation have been posted online by the Park District for the public to access. These documents show that at least two patrons lodged complaints about Leto in the past. Both involved verbal altercations that were resolved on site by supervisors, and never formally documented in the district’s centralized human resources files, which may have escalated disciplinary action. * WTTW | Chicago to Pay $35.2M to Settle 4 Police Misconduct Cases: Less than seven months into the year, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $224.5 million to resolve nearly two and a half dozen lawsuits, exceeding the city’s budget to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct by more than $142 million, city records show. It is unclear how the city will find the money to make the payments approved Wednesday by the City Council, since it has already exhausted the $82 million officials set aside to cover police misconduct settlements and judgments in 2025. * Crain’s | Tribune staffers brace for layoffs as buyout offer falls flat: The union representing Chicago Tribune newsroom employees expects layoffs to begin soon after buyouts announced last month failed to get many takers. The Chicago Tribune Guild, a unit of The NewsGuild, told members in a July 10 email that “layoffs will come soon” but had few other details after a July 9 meeting with management. Just one person took the buyout, according to the email: Longtime political reporter Ray Long, who announced his retirement last month after more than 27 years at the paper. His coverage included corruption scandals involving former Speaker of the Illinois House Mike Madigan, which he chronicled in a 2022 book. * Tribune | Man working as peacekeeper shot in South Shore: ‘We got a long way to go’: Duncan watched an orange cat step between the shell casings as detectives and evidence technicians examined nearby cars and buildings. He wore khaki shorts, sneakers and a t-shirt that read #MakePeaceCool. “People who are trying to help create peace are still victims of violence,” he said. “We got a long way to go as a city.” Ald. Desmon Yancy, 5th, was disappointed to find himself at the scene of shooting, especially given how the year had been going. “That stretch of 71st Street had actually been much quieter than in previous summers,” he said. “So there was some comfort and some hope that that bad behavior was behind us.” * Tribune | Chicago creating index to identify neighborhoods most vulnerable to heat waves: The team, the Defusing Disasters Working Group, compiled data on citywide heat deaths to produce Chicago’s first heat vulnerability index. The tool shows which Chicago neighborhoods are at the highest risk during heat waves, based on not only their history of heat-related deaths but also on several other factors, including demographics, land use and air conditioning access. This initial version of the map shows a band of neighborhoods stretching from Chatham and Englewood in the south to Austin and Portage Park farther north where heat vulnerability is the highest. Neighborhoods closer to Lake Michigan tended to have lower scores, while those farther inland often had higher scores. * CBS | U.S. Senate panel holds hearing on cargo thefts, a serious problem in Chicago and beyond: Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations cargo thefts have been growing more and more sophisticated. He said he has noticed a shift from opportunistic thieves to highly organized criminal enterprises that use identify theft, fraud, and cyber capabilities to steal or redirect cargo. The money in some cases fuels cartels, terrorists, and human traffickers. “We’re talking about transnational organizations that are operating from Eastern Europe, Russia, hacking into our systems, redirecting the most valuable cargo,” Spear said. * Tribune | Angel Reese sits out Chicago Sky loss with a leg injury. Will she be able to play in the All-Star Game?: Coach Tyler Marsh described Reese’s absence as “precautionary,” but the injury throws some uncertainty into Reese’s availability for the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday in Indianapolis. “I think she should be OK, but I’m not sure,” Marsh said. “She’s taking it day by day. She’s feeling better today.” Reese was selected as an All-Star reserve for the second consecutive season. The 6-foot-3 forward is averaging 14 points and a league-high 12.6 rebounds and leads the Sky with 31.7 minutes per game, which ranks 13th in the league. * Shaw Local | Lifting Joliet residency rule for city workers stirs more debate: Mayor Terry D’Arcy on Tuesday said Joliet needs more apartments if it wants a residency requirement for city workers. D’Arcy’s comments came as the City Council approved a second union contract allowing city workers to live as far a 50 miles away. One resident called the vote “anti-Joliet” as debate continued over whether the city should keep a residency requirement. D’Arcy repeated his argument that the city lacks the available housing, especially apartments, needed to hire workers with a residency rule in place. * Daily Southtown | The south suburban world where Pope Leo XIV grew up now very much changed: But restoring the world Prevost grew up in and around Dolton is not possible. The village has evolved, and many of the boyhood haunts that he and children his age may have frequented, including movie theaters and dime stores, are now empty buildings and photos in history books. * Chicago Mag | Jackman & Co. Will Bring English Pub Favorites to Glenview: O’Donnell is very firm that Jackman & Co. is not one of those replica pubs with mass-produced antiques on the walls and mediocre fish and chips on the menu. While it’s very much inspired by the great pubs of the United Kingdom, it’s also a Midwestern restaurant. “I’m not trying to make everything ‘proper’,” he says. Now, some things are absolutely proper, including British chips and aioli, but don’t expect a theme restaurant. The menu is broken down into four sections — snacks, small, medium, and large. Snacks include Devils on Horseback (cheddar-stuffed dates with bacon and maple) and hand-cut chips. Small plates include English peas and bacon with leek cream, spiced lamb samosas, and a Peekytoe crab toast with dill. Larger dishes, like red curry prawns or a spatchcocked Cornish hen with figs and roasted olives round out the menu, and of course fish and chips are a highlight. * WIFR | Measles case confirmed in Jo Daviess County: Daviess County health officials sound the alarm after a confirmed case of measles is reported in the county. If you were at The Country Store at Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa, 109 Eagle Ridge Dr., any time between 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 6, and you are unvaccinated or unsure of your vaccination status, you are encouraged to contact your healthcare provider. * WCIA | Homelessness up in Champaign County; CSPH pushes for investment in community: A total of 355 people were identified as homeless in the county in this year’s PIT count in January. This number is up from the 279 homeless people accounted for in Jan. 2024. The count was conducted by the Champaign County Continuum of Services Providers to the Homeless (CSPH) on Jan. 22, with more than 40 volunteers helping. * WGLT | Judge cites Aaron Rossi’s ‘hubris and unlimited greed’ in giving 3 more years in prison for COVID fraud: Former Reditus Labs CEO Aaron Rossi’s “fast-paced disruptor mentality” got the best of him when he defrauded the State of Illinois and public and private insurers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars at the height of the COVID pandemic. That’s the phrase Rossi used to describe his actions during a sentencing hearing Tuesday in front of Chief Judge Sara Darrow in Peoria. Those actions resulted in a 37-month prison sentence handed down by Darrow. Rossi faced a maximum of 30 years. * WSIL | Mine collapse reported in Perry County, two hospitalized: Two people were hospitalized after emergency crews responded to a report of a mine collapse in Perry County on Monday night. The Pinckneyville Ambulance Service said they sent crews out to the Knight Hawk Coal mine at around 10 p.m. on July 14. Dan Wilkerson, Assistant Coordinator with the Pinckneyville Ambulance Service said two people were flown out for treatment of their injuries. One flown by Arch helicopter to SLU Hospital and Air Evac to a hospital in Carbondale. * WIFR | Several Winnebago Co. tornado sirens out of order, community worries about safety: Berry adds it will just take time. Schomber, however, worries mobile alerts may not be feasible for everyone, namely those who have difficulty using their phones. She suggests people get a weather radio. “Other people that I’ve said, you know, they’re not watching the local stations. They might be streaming something, so they’re not getting the alerts on TV,” Schomber said. “So we need something, you know, in the community to tell our people.” * WSIL | Funding now available for senior farmers’ market coupons, senior representative says: This information comes from the Egyptian Area Agency on Aging Executive Director Becky Salazar. On July 9, Salazar said funding wasn’t available for vendors when redeeming coupons in connection with the 2025 Illinois Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Therefore, senior facilities held onto the coupon booklets and did not distribute them to area seniors until the money was available. On July 16, Salazar said the funding came into the account and the vendors at area farmers’ markets who honor the coupons, are now able to be reimbursed by the state. * WGLT | B-N street minister and author shares experiences through homeless outreach book: This past winter, Bloomington-Normal street outreach teams visited unhoused people living outside and provided supplies to get them through the freezing temperatures. While providing this type of care to unhoused individuals, Bloomington-Normal street minister Bobby Jovanović said it inspired him to write a book. “I just think this past winter was pretty rough,” Jovanović said, “and in one encampment particularly that sat on the water, it’s obviously colder there, you’re beating the elements [and] there’s no transportation [to services.]” * Gizmodo | Billionaires Convince Themselves AI Chatbots Are Close to Making New Scientific Discoveries: Generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok have exploded in popularity as AI becomes mainstream. These tools don’t have the ability to make new scientific discoveries on their own, but billionaires are convinced that AI is on the cusp of doing just that. And the latest episode of the All-In podcast helps explain why these guys think AI is extremely close to revolutionizing scientific knowledge. * Apple | The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity: Recent generations of frontier language models have introduced Large Reasoning Models (LRMs) that generate detailed thinking processes before providing answers. While these models demonstrate improved performance on reasoning benchmarks, their fundamental capabilities, scaling properties, and limitations remain insufficiently understood. Current evaluations primarily focus on established mathematical and coding benchmarks, emphasizing final answer accuracy. However, this evaluation paradigm often suffers from data contamination and does not provide insights into the reasoning traces’ structure and quality. * Study Finds | Musical Training May Hold The Key To Fighting Age-Related Brain Decline: Scientists have discovered that lifelong musical training appears to shield the brain against one of aging’s most common challenges: understanding speech in noisy environments. The study, published in PLOS Biology, found that older musicians’ brains maintain remarkably youthful patterns of neural connectivity, essentially preventing the typical age-related changes that make it harder to follow conversations when there’s background noise. * NYT | Kennedy Fires Two Top Aides in Health Department Shake-Up: The firings included Heather Flick Melanson, his chief of staff, and Hannah Anderson, his deputy chief of staff for policy, according to two people familiar with the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the personnel changes. Both Ms. Flick Melanson and Ms. Anderson were seen as steady and effective government veterans. During a recent Senate hearing, Mr. Kennedy indicated that they were the people in his office to call to get things done. When one lawmaker raised a concern about regulations governing the amount of sugar in orange juice, Mr. Kennedy advised: “Why don’t you call Heather Flick or Hannah Anderson this week? And we will act on that as quickly as we can.” * CBS | Can female crash test dummies improve safety? A bipartisan group of senators push for equality in testing: Women make up more than half of U.S. drivers, but are 73% more likely to suffer serious injuries in a crash than men, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They are 17% more likely to be killed, data shows. … Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois added, “So there are all those moms and daughters and sisters and best friends come home.” Duckworth and Fischer, along with Sens. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, and Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, are sponsoring the “She Drives Act” to update federal crashworthiness tests by requiring the use of advanced test dummies that better reflect the driving public, including one simulating a woman who’s 4′11″ and 108 pounds.
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TFI analysis: Transit’s fiscal cliff will be $225 million smaller than expected because of state’s online sales tax expansion
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * From an RTA document…
* I told subscribers several months ago that transit’s $771 million “fiscal cliff” might not be that high because of those aforementioned tax changes. The Illinois Department of Revenue was skeptical at the time. But the numbers have held up. So far since April (there’s a three-month reporting lag), the tax has brought in about $94 million extra for the RTA, including the state match, according to an analysis by the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois. * From Crain’s…
So, the RTA will receive $150-156 million extra this year, before the fiscal cliff begins; and then as much as $225 million every year after that cliff is triggered by the loss of federal funding. You’d think the RTA would put those unexpected 2025 dollars aside to help the agency deal with the coming troubles, but they want to spend that money now. But, yeah, no need for governance reform. * Speaking of reform, Mayors Johnson and Rotering say they will be working with other mayors this summer to come up with a plan. That could’ve been done a year ago, but I suppose better late than never. Press release…
* Roundup by Isabel…
* Chicago Reader | CPD, CTA expand surveillance: At a mid-July press event, the CPD claimed an upgraded surveillance center was necessary to address robberies on public transit. As part of its efforts to expand the First District SDSC, detectives from the CPD’s robbery task force will join officers from the public transportation unit to monitor the CTA’s roughly 40,000 cameras. Crime on CTA property has fallen from its peak at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when ridership plummeted. That mirrors a similar trend of falling violent crime rates citywide. * Journal & Topics | Union Pacific Northwest Metra Line’s Future Uncertain As Negotiations Continue: In mid-May, Metra officially assumed the responsibility for operating the three lines that Union Pacific previously operated under contract. The one remaining issue has been how much Metra would pay Union Pacific to continue to use the tracks. On May 21, the freight railroad announced that, if the agreement isn’t reached, it will impose one effective July 1. On June 30, Metra asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board for an injunction to keep the previous arrangement in place until the two sides could finalize an agreement, even while saying that it wouldn’t recognize the Union Pacific-imposed agreement. The Surface Board denied the request, saying that Metra failed to show that there was an imminent danger of Metra’s service being disrupted. But it was dubious about Union Pacific trying to impose an agreement unilaterally, and encouraged both sides to keep negotiating. * Block Club | Lincoln Square Construction Unearths A Piece Of Pre-CTA History: “Those tracks would have been installed in 1895, when electric streetcar service on Lincoln Avenue was extended north from Irving Park to Foster,” said Graham Garfield, whose Chicago “L” website documents the transit system’s history. “Though maybe not those specific rails, as they were likely replaced at some point as part of regular maintenance — though you never know.” * NBC Chicago | Lollapalooza, CTA release streetwear merch in collaboration with local artist: The festival and the CTA partnered to release a three-piece collection designed by Ellen Ma, a local artist and creative director of Leaders 1354, according to the CTA. “This year, Lollapalooza reached out to CTA to collaborate on official concert merchandise. As some of the city’s most recognizable institutions, the partnership felt natural,” the CTA said in a news release. “Lollapalooza is the concert in Chicago and CTA is how Chicago gets there.”
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Reform activist calls Harmon ‘one of our state’s most prolific abusers of Illinois’ self-funding loophole’
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois, writing in the Tribune…
* From Harmon’s self defense…
Discuss.
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Comptroller Mendoza won’t seek 4th term, leaves door open for mayoral bid (Updated x2)
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here for some background. Comptroller Susana Mendoza held a press conference this morning to “announce her plans for the 2026 election.” WTTW…
* In her remarks, Mendoza kept her plans for the future vague…
* Mendoza was pressed on whether she’ll run for Mayor of Chicago…
* NBC Chicago…
* NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern has the latest fundraising numbers for potential mayoral candidates…
Mary Ann yesterday…
…Adding… Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim…
…Adding… Representative Margaret Croke…
I’ve been told Croke plans to attend slating and will make a more formal announcement next week. * More… * Tribune | Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza announces she’s not running for reelection, keeps door open for Chicago mayoral run: Mendoza may not be the only statewide elected official looking at a Chicago mayoral run. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is also believed to be considering a bid for mayor. Giannoulias is scheduled to appear on Friday before Cook County Democrats as he runs for a second term. * WTTW | State Comptroller Susana Mendoza Says She Won’t Run for Reelection, Setting Up 2027 Chicago Mayoral Bid: Mendoza had already launched a bid for a third term as comptroller when Emanuel announced he would not run for reelection in 2019, setting off a massive scramble. Mendoza finished fifth, winning just 9% of the vote, trailing former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley and businessman Willie Wilson in the first round of voting. Mendoza’s campaign was hobbled by her connection to now-convicted former Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward). Burke supported Mendoza’s election as city clerk, and she often referred to his wife, former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, as her “mentor.” * Fox Chicago | Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza says she won’t seek re-election: Mendoza, 53, made the announcement Wednesday at Los Comales restaurant in Little Village. Mendoza has served as state comptroller since 2016. “I know I leave the comptroller’s office in our state in a much, much better spot and I’m definitely not done serving moving forward,” Mendoza said.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * Tribune…
* The Question: Do you think anyone else will jump in? Bonus question: Who would you like to see join the fray? Explain either way.
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C’mon, man
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * CNN last month…
* The paid professional critics weigh in…
Sigh.
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SB 328 Puts Illinois’s Economy At Risk
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] In the final hours of the state’s legislative session, SB 328 was quietly introduced and passed giving lawmakers and the public little time to review and debate this legislation. Now, it’s sitting on the Governor’s desk. If signed, it will allow trial lawyers to drag companies into Illinois courts for lawsuits that have nothing to do with Illinois. Businesses could be sued here simply for being registered in the state — even if the alleged harm occurred elsewhere. And it puts jobs and our state’s economy at risk. Even New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a nearly identical bill twice, calling it a “massive expansion” of jurisdiction that would deter job creation and burden the courts. Governor Pritzker has a choice: Veto the legislation to protect Illinois jobs and businesses — or signal to employers that Illinois is open season for out-of-state lawsuits. Learn more and make your voice heard: 
Comments Off |
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Your tax dollars at work
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * State mailer from Rep. Blaine Wilhour… 
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Catching up with the federal candidates (Updated)
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Add one more to the 9th Congressional District’s growing roster. The Daily Northwestern…
* The video…
* Kat Abughazaleh raised nearly $526,000 in the second quarter. But she’s lagging behind Biss in in-state support…
* Evanston Now…
* Biss also picked up an endorsement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Tribune…
* Moving on to the 2nd Congressional District. Sun-Times…
* A quick look at fundraising in the race for Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat, via the Pantagraph’s Brenden Moore…
* Juliana Stratton’s US Senate campaign announced more endorsements this morning…
…Adding… From the Junaid Ahmed campaign…
* More… * Evanston Now | Former prosecutor joins congressional race: Pyati called his now-opponents “great progressives” with “very inspiring life stories,” but said he didn’t “see the leadership we need … to actually get us out of this era [of Trump].” * Evanston Roundtable | Evanstonian Nick Pyati jumps in race to succeed Schakowsky: “Since November, I’ve been extremely disappointed and dismayed by what’s happening in the country as the Trump administration blazes a path through all of our democratic norms and basic freedoms,” Pyati said in an interview with the RoundTable. “I’ve been disappointed in the Democratic Party’s inability to find a vision or a plan forward for ending this mess.”
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Open thread
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller * I was once so sick of goodbyes years ago that I bought a house… The sun drags locomotives to the ocean Your local report?
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: A race for mayor — or re-run as state comptroller. Mendoza is making her move today. Greg Hinz…
-Other statewide Democrats have long ago announced their intentions, with the Cook County Regular Democratic Organization set to hold slating sessions tomorrow and Friday. That has fueled speculation that Mendoza wants to move on to City Hall. - Also eyeing the mayor’s seat is another state official, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. Unlike Mendoza, he is seeking re-election to that job, but has kept his city options open, with associates expecting him to join the mayoral fray, too. * Related stories…
∙ NBC Chicago: Answers on Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s future could come soon ∙ WJOL: State Comptroller Eyes Mayoral Race * WGLT | After Pritzker’s attacks on State Farm, insurance industry sees another push for rate review coming to Springfield: The head of Illinois’ insurance industry trade group said Tuesday that Gov. JB Pritzker’s attacks on State Farm were “unfortunate” and likely part of a push to give state regulators new power to reject rate increases. Kevin Martin has led the Illinois Insurance Association [IIA] for 31 years. During that time, he said he’s never seen a governor publicly go after a single insurer over a rate hike in the way Pritzker has. “It’s unfortunate. I kind of wish that the governor or his staff would’ve reached out to have that conversation directly with State Farm before issuing a public statement like that, because I don’t think it does anybody any good,” said Martin, the IIA’s executive director. * Chalkbeat Chicago | Report: Illinois graduates who earn college degrees make more money, but racial disparities persist: The report found that students from low-income households were less likely to obtain bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, or professional licenses than their peers from higher-income households. The report also found that the state’s high school students whose parents were among the highest earners went on to earn about 48% more than those whose parents were in the lowest-earning group. Among those who came from the same socioeconomic background, Black and Latino students earned less than Asian American and white students, the report found. * Tribune | Illinois public broadcasters in Chicago, and especially downstate, fear impact as Senate vote to cut funding looms: Chicago’s public media outlets — WBEZ and WTTW — will undoubtedly get hit by the President Donald Trump-endorsed plan to take away $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two years. But the cuts would have a far greater impact on smaller stations that rely more on federal funding and predominantly serve rural areas. * Sun-Times | After years of poor care, preventable deaths, Illinois is changing its prison health care provider: In 2023, IDOC awarded a new $4 billion contract to Wexford Health Sources. The move drew outcry from attorneys who represent incarcerated people because the private company has a track record of substandard care and preventable deaths. Now, in recent memos sent to correctional staff and people in custody, IDOC says negotiations over that contract have stalled. The state revoked its selection of Wexford and inked a short-term emergency contract with another provider, Centurion Health, to run the department’s troubled health care system. * Tribune | Swarms of fireflies in Illinois this summer give enthusiasts hope that insect can overcome population decline: “I do think it is safe to say that many species of fireflies, their population have declined in the past few decades, just based on habitat loss, because that’s kind of a good proxy for firefly populations, in lieu of actually having data from people trapping or or counting fireflies out in the field,” Joyce said. While also hard to track, the 26 firefly species found in Illinois may not be in immediate danger, according to the Firefly Atlas. However, the cypress firefly species is listed as vulnerable as of 2020 and six other species are listed as data deficient on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. * Evanston Now | State senate race fundraising neck and neck: The two candidates seeking to replace Laura Fine in the state senate are running close to each other in the fundraising race. But Patrick Hanley of Winnetka held a slight lead over Rachel Ruttenberg of Evanston. By Tuesday’s deadline to report second quarter contributions, Hanley showed $106,000 raised to Ruttenberg’s $93,532. About $26,500 of Hanley’s funds came from sources other than individual contributors, including a $13,800 check from a group called the Illinois Community Organizing Project and another $10,000 from the North Shore Organizing, a group linked to Hanley’s home address, records show. * WAND | IDFPR launches 24 additional license types to new licensing system: According to the IDFPR, Phase 2 aims to incorporate additional license types into CORE that are currently limited to paper applications and aren’t supported by the legacy online licensing system. This initiative will eliminate the necessity for paper applications, which often lead to longer processing times due to the review of submitted materials. * Capitol News Illinois | Intoxicating hemp remains unregulated in Illinois following legislative inaction: A spokesperson from the governor’s office said his position has not changed since he called for greater regulation. “I think that it’s agreed that, from the speaker of the House, the governor and the Republicans and myself, and the industry, everyone agrees that we should regulate this,” Ford said. “Over the months, we should be able to get something. It’s a priority.” * WGIL | Dan Swanson launches re-election campaign for Illinois’ 71st District: “I have stood strong in opposing budgets that include pay hikes for politicians and overspending,” Swanson said. “Illinois families deserve safe communities, educational freedom, and a state government free from corruption. Taxpayers don’t need the tax-and-spend attitude of many Chicago politicians.” * Sun-Times | Report shows big drop in Chicago police traffic stops, but sharp racial disparities persist: Chicago police traffic stops plummeted last year, but the drop varied wildly across the city and sharp racial disparities persisted, a WBEZ analysis of Illinois Department of Transportation data has found. Compared to the previous year, 2024 vehicle stops by the Chicago Police Department fell 45% citywide with declines in all 22 police districts, according to the analysis. Yet while seven districts reduced their traffic stops by more than 60%, four others cut them by less than 20%. * ABC Chicago | DOJ fires assistant chief judge overseeing Chicago’s immigration court: Judge Jennifer Peyton was the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge for Chicago’s immigration court for nearly nine years and says the past six months have been “brutal.” “I kept telling myself, and my husband kept saying, like, ‘They’re going to have to fire me. I’m not quitting,’” Peyton said. Peyton is still reeling after being terminated in an email over the 4th of July weekend while on vacation with her family. “There’s three complete sentences,” Peyton said. “No reason, no cause. And I’m not trying to flex, but I have a pretty spotless record.” * Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson’s crackdown on retail window signs stalls: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to improve both public safety and retail corridor aesthetics by cracking down on businesses that cover or block more than 25% of their “public-facing window space” ran into a buzz saw of opposition Tuesday amid concern about the impact on struggling retailers. The opposition was so universal, mayoral ally and Rules Committee Chair Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) called off a vote by the City Council’s Zoning Committee to avoid what could have been a mayoral defeat. * Sun-Times | Another crooked Bridgeport bank official gets home confinement, will be paying restitution the rest of her life: Caught by the feds, Jane Tran Iriondo pleaded guilty. She admitted her role in the embezzlement scheme at Washington Federal Bank for Savings that led to a rare government shutdown of a bank. And she worked with authorities to make their cases against her colleagues and bank customers whose insider connections got them millions of dollars in loans that never were meant to be repaid. […] Iriondo also was must pay 10% of any wages she makes for the rest of her life to help repay $27,899,991. * Tribune | NASCAR Chicago Street Race sees lower national TV ratings as city explores keeping event: While attendance figures for the event have yet to be released, TV ratings for the Grant Park 165 on July 6 were down for the third consecutive year, averaging 2.1 million viewers on cable channel TNT, according to Nielsen. The races were broadcast on NBC during the first two years. In 2023, the debut Cup Series street race averaged nearly 4.8 million viewers despite a torrential rain delay. Last year’s race, also plagued by rain delays, averaged 3.87 million viewers, according to Nielsen data. Whether declining ratings for the Cup Series event reflect the shift from a broadcast to a cable network or perhaps waning interest in NASCAR’s first urban street race, it does represent diminished media value for Chicago, which provided the telegenic backdrop for the pop-up street course. * Tribune | Aurora finds high lead levels in drinking water of some homes: Between January and June, 100 samples were collected and tested for lead using recently-heightened federal sampling and monitoring requirements, according to a city news release. More than 10% of the samples contained lead readings above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “action level,” meaning the city is now required to take certain actions, such as replacing lead service lines, adjusting water treatment practices and implementing public education programs. * Daily Herald | District 214 puts prime Arlington Heights Road real estate up for sale, again: The school district is seeking a minimum of $5.5 million for the nearly 6.5-acre parcel at 2123 S. Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights. The site contains a two-story, 24,000-square-foot building — the former Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 headquarters — where District 214 administrative offices relocated during renovations to its Forest View Educational Center just a few blocks away. * Tribune | Northwestern Medicine research finding opens the door to a viral link to Parkinson’s disease: A Northwestern Medicine research lab has found a usually harmless virus in brain samples from Parkinson’s patients. The idea that Parkinson’s could be linked to a virus had been theorized for years, but this is the first study to pinpoint a specific virus as more common in Parkinson’s patients. “The message that we want to give to the general public is, it opens a new field of investigation, something that we didn’t know about,” said Dr. Igor Koralnik, Northwestern’s chief of neuroinfectious diseases and global neurology and lead author of the study. * NBC Chicago | Animal shelter gets $200K thanks to Illinois’ unclaimed property program: Orphans of the Storm in Riverwoods has been in the community for nearly 100 years. It’s beloved by many, so much so that a Lake County woman left behind hundreds of thousands of dollars for them via a life insurance policy when she died. The problem was the shelter wasn’t aware, and the money went unclaimed. * WCIA | Mattoon issues another ‘do not drink’ order: On Tuesday night at 9:10 p.m., Jeff Hilligoss, Mattoon Fire Chief, said the order was reissued because the harmful algal bloom neurological toxin was found at 0.38 parts per billion level. The advisory level for a “do not drink” order is 0.3 parts per billion. Both the Coles County Health Department and the City of Mattoon Water Treatment Plant said that residents should not use tap water for drinking and cooking until further notice. * 25News Now | PPS Board of Education votes down security system with metal detectors for district’s high schools: The Board of Education for Peoria Public Schools opposes a new security system that includes metal detectors at Peoria, Manual, and Richwoods high schools. The equipment, called Evolv, also includes an x-ray system to check bags, and advanced software that can detect various kinds of weapons. Evolv was tested out at Richwoods High School for four days in May and comes with a price tag of $121,000 per year to rent and utilize the software. * WSIL | Benton healthcare facility unveils new mental health treatments at open house event: A local healthcare facility is inviting the public out to see their new state-of-the-art medical equipment and new advanced treatment options for mental health in early August. This is taking place at the Benton Mental Health Wellness Center at 107 East Smith Street, Suite B in Benton, Illinois, on August 6, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. * WCIA | Champaign County Fair gears up to bring mix of classic, new events this year: The Champaign County Fair is nearly here, and organizers are looking forward to bringing nine days of classic fair activities like games, rides, and live music to the community. But, organizers also said they’ll be bringing a brand new event to the fair’s lineup this year. The fair kicks off on July 18 and events include a 4-H Horse Show, pro rodeo and live music by the band Philo Country Opry. * AP | The tariff-driven inflation that economists feared begins to emerge: Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month. * AP | Robot umpires to make All-Star Game debut, another step toward possible regular-season use in 2026: MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 and will use it in an All-Star Game for the first time this summer. Each team gets two challenges and retains the challenge if it is successful. “Pitchers think everything is a strike. Then you go back and look at it, and it’s two, three balls off,” Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, starting his second straight All-Star Game for the National League, said Monday. “We should not be the ones that are challenging it.”
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Jul 16, 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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