* ICYMI: Head of Chicago’s Insight hospital talks about future of West Suburban amid pushback from doctors, lawmakers. Tribune…

- The head of Insight Hospital & Medical Center spoke at a town hall Monday night about how his health system might help to reopen West Suburban Medical Center — even as West Suburban’s former doctors decried the plan and two state lawmakers pulled out of the event entirely.
- “What began as a discussion about bringing residents and public officials together in the neighborhoods served by West Suburban Hospital has turned into something else entirely,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and Illinois House Assistant Majority Leader Camille Lilly.
- When asked if the two lawmakers oppose Insight taking over the hospitals, a spokesperson for Harmon said in an email: “It’s too soon to say. We’ve heard concerns from key community members but we haven’t had a chance to hear from the broader community.”

* Related stories…

• Tribune: Illinois ignores rules and red flags as ‘servant leader’ runs up $100M state tab, then closes 2 hospitals
• ABC Chicago: Community advocates press for reopening of West Suburban, Weiss hospitals as sale remains in court
• WGN: Lawmakers skip planned forum on West Suburban and Weiss Memorial closures

* Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WGLT | Bloomington-Normal not immune from journalism and media cuts: Justin Conn, who had been sports editor, is now listed on the Pantagraph website as the new Central Illinois executive editor overseeing those newspapers. In a note to readers published Sunday, Conn said he and his wife plan to move from Decatur to Bloomington-Normal. Watznauer’s exit, and the recent layoff of another newsroom employee, brings The Pantagraph’s news staff to just 10, down from around 25 in 2019 and 75 in 1999.

* Press release | Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Officially Launches: Today, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) officially replaced the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), taking over oversight of Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), and Pace. Governor JB Pritzker signed the NITA Act into law in late 2025, putting landmark transit reform in motion that will make service more frequent and consistent, fares more affordable, and rides safer and more seamless between lines.

*** Statehouse News ***

* NBC Chicago | Indiana stays optimistic on Bears’ stadium bid despite Goodell meeting with Illinois lawmakers: On Aug. 13, Goodell met with four lawmakers, including State Sen. Bill Cunningham and State Rep. Kam Buckner – the lead negotiators for the Bears’ stadium proposal in the Illinois General Assembly. […] Sources told NBC Chicago the meeting with Goodell centered on Arlington Heights, not Chicago.

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker pledges to stay on ‘Team Fight’ as he asks Illinois voters for 3rd term: Pritzker’s also not saying if a third term would be his last. “I don’t know whether it’s my last term or not, but I certainly feel like the next four years are an opportunity to sort of cap off many of the things,” he said.

* NPR Illinois | Illinois law promotes school “share tables” to cut waste and feed students: A newly signed Illinois law makes it clear that share tables are allowed to be used by schools and creates rules when using them. Students can visit the tables to place whole, unopened, unwanted food items they received from the cafeteria that day. After a food or beverage is placed, any student is allowed to take it for no charge. The law does not allow food from home to be offered. “Many school districts did not know if this was something they were allowed to do because of federal regulations around sharing food in schools. This law aims to make the rules around share tables clear so that schools can benefit from using them,” said Illinois State Senator Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), who sponsored the bill. The governor approved it in August.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s business affairs chief stepping down: Ivan Capifali, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, confirmed his retirement on Monday via a news release from the mayor’s office following inquiries from the Tribune. The City Hall veteran assumed the role in March 2025 after his predecessor, Kenneth Meyer, retired. “After more than three decades of dedicated service to the City of Chicago, I am closing one chapter of my career and beginning another,” Capifali said in a statement. “I am leaving public service with a deep understanding of the people, businesses, and communities that make our city thrive. As BACP Commissioner, I have had the opportunity to engage with the small business community, and I am inspired to apply that experience in a new way.”

* Block Club | Former Loretto Hospital Executive Pleads Not Guilty To COVID-19 Testing Scams: Prosecutors have said O’Hare Clinical Lab Services submitted over 1.3 million claims for COVID-19 testing of uninsured people during this period. Federal prosecutors allege that the scheme sought nearly $894 million in reimbursements from the federal government. About $293 million was actually paid out.

* Crain’s | UChicago, U of I land $75 million in federal funding for quantum research: Teams led by University of Chicago and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have received new five-year grants from the National Science Foundation for quantum technology research worth $37.5 million apiece. Coupled with larger $125 million grants to Chicago-area national labs by the Department of Energy that were renewed last year, the new funding bolsters Illinois’ effort to position itself as one the nation’s leaders in quantum technology.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | As demand for mental health services grows, providers turning to publicly funded 708 boards: A growing number of suburban townships in recent years have placed referendum questions on ballots asking voters to create community mental health boards, better known as 708 boards. Comprising appointed volunteers, the panels receive public dollars through a new property tax levy authorized by the referendum. They then distribute those funds via grants to local agencies that assist people with mental health issues, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

* Daily Herald | Ascension Illinois adding 14 primary care clinicians in the Northwest suburbs: By the end of the year, Ascension expects to add 14 primary care clinicians at its Northwest suburban locations in Barrington, Bartlett, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg. Primary care clinicians include physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and are usually patients’ first point of contact with the health care system, Ascension officials said.

* Oak Park Journal | Oak Park ramping up costs for single-use bags leading to full ban in 2030 : The 10-cent fee on single-use bags has been in place since 2018 and has been successful in raising over $1 million in revenue for the village’s sustainability fund. However, it has been the opposite of successful in reducing usage of plastic bags, actually seeing an increase from the first year of the policy according to Roland Nieratka. The new regulations, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, will raise the fee for single-use plastic and paper bags by 5 cents until reaching a cap of 25 cents per bag and eventually a complete ban on plastic in 2030.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora electoral board to decide if recall referendum questions will be on November ballot: With about two months left before the November election and a few weeks before the start of early voting, it’s still unclear if two referendum questions aiming to allow for the recall of a sitting mayor and at-large aldermen in Aurora could appear on the fall ballot. If placed on the ballot, the questions would ask Aurora voters if the city should adopt mechanisms that would allow a sitting mayor or an alderman at-large to be recalled.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | McLean County GOP calls for Republican county auditor to resign: The county GOP issued a statement on Monday stating that McLean County Auditor Michelle Anderson is responsible for a wide range of problems linked to county finances, including delayed grants and bill payments and the county’s 2024 audit which was not completed until October 2025. County Republican party chair Connie Beard said those delays have been costly for the county. “The call for her resignation was, we felt, a step toward trying to make sure she realizes we are trying to hold her accountable,” Beard said, noting the party’s 14-member executive committee was unanimous in supporting Anderson’s resignation. “I’m not going to let them slide just because they have an R after their name.”

* WGLT | The $400 million dispute: Why Rivian thinks its Normal properties are overvalued and overtaxed: Government assessors think Rivian’s property is worth $527 million. Rivian’s own appraiser argues it’s only worth $115 million. After losing an initial appeal with McLean County’s Board of Review, Rivian is taking its case to the state’s Property Tax Appeals Board.

* WAND | Pritzker, lawmakers divided on future of Choate Developmental Center: Some note that an SIU School of Medicine study supported their efforts to keep the facility open. “In that 40-page report, it was almost as if the governor’s administration and DHS were checking a box,” said Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro). “Legislators want a study done, check. And then they ignored the 40-page report that said not only should we not decrease the beds there, but we should increase the beds there.”

* WCIA | Rantoul leaders unveil new Tuskegee Airmen mural: Rantoul Mayor Sam Hall said the mural, painted by Dwight White, helps the community understand the village’s history. “It’s important that we all the understand the history… the history behind not just Chanute overall for its innovation and with the air force, but also what the Tuskegee Airmen meant to Chanute and also the rest of the air force,” said Hall.