* Subscribers know more. ICYMI: Speaker Welch pledges to CTU he’ll push for more CPS funding amid scrutiny over handling of harassment claims. Tribune…

- “I strongly committed in the veto session to supporting the supplemental funding bill because I know we’re all going to be there (in Springfield) for veto session,” Welch told CTU members at an Illinois Federation of Teachers board meeting.
- It’s the latest opportunity the Hillside Democrat has had to court progressive-minded interests as he navigates uncertain support among his own members, many of them progressives, as leader of the 78-member House Democratic Caucus.
- It’s unclear where the state would find the money after Gov. JB Pritzker last month signed a nearly $56 billion budget that relied on a series of new taxes and other tweaks to come into balance, while also reviving some temporary election-year tax breaks Democrats last used when Pritzker sought a second term four years ago.

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

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Press release | Governor Pritzker Launches FRESH Program to Support up to 175,000 Illinoisans the Trump Administration Kicked Off SNAP: Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced that Illinoisans who lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will receive a one-time $400 benefit per eligible household member through the new Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger (FRESH) program. This $70 million program was enacted as part of the Governor’s FY27 budget, which was focused on making life more affordable for Illinois families especially after the Trump Administration slashed food assistance for Illinoisans. Approximately 100,000 Illinoisans will receive a one-time benefit beginning August 1, and IDHS will provide funding each month to additional individuals who lose coverage until funding is exhausted.

* Tribune | Illinois lawmakers seek families hurt by courthouse immigration arrests as more states weigh right-to-sue laws: Illinois elected officials in the Latino Caucus and allied advocates are seeking to connect families of people arrested at courthouses with civil rights attorneys for potential legal action, Democratic state Rep. Lilian Jimenez of Chicago said Wednesday. The call for affected families came months after Illinois passed a law largely banning civil immigration enforcement against people involved in courthouse proceedings. It also coincided with an announcement that lawmakers in several other states are pursuing similar legislation that would make it easier for people to sue immigration enforcement agents, following Illinois’ lead.

* WGLT | State’s Attorney is using FOIA to seek Unit 5’s communications with WGLT about Chiddix teachers: The state’s attorney sent a Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] request to Unit 5 asking for all emails, letters, text messages, FOIA requests and FOIA responses between Unit 5 and WGLT since January pertaining to Brandon Knapp and Andrew Miller. The two men are awaiting trial for alleged misconduct with children. Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Unit 5 said the school district had not anticipated the request. “We do not know the purpose of their FOIA request and do not wish to speculate,” the district said.

*** Data Center News ***

* Illinois Times | New solar field could soon be owned by parent company of CyrusOne data center: linois Times asked AES if the company will prioritize powering operations or companies owned by parent Global Infrastructure Partners should AES stockholders approve the deal. Ella Walker, development manager for AES, did not directly answer the question in a response sent to IT. “This transaction will deliver compelling near-term value to stockholders and better position AES to drive sustained growth across its business units, allowing the company to deliver reliable energy solutions for customers and create long-term value for other stakeholders, including its workforce and local communities,” Walker wrote.

* Center Square | Data centers warn of national security threat if centers don’t develop: “How about if we say ‘we’re not going to incentivize you, we’re going to tell you that you’ve got to bring energy with you,’” Pritzker said last week. “If you’re going to come and you’ve got to have closed loop systems that make sure that you’re not contaminating our water or taking too much of our water and costing people in your utility bills, water and electricity.” Data Centers Coalition Executive Vice President Dan Diorio told The Center Square that’s what developers are doing. He worries such a move will backfire. “That exemption provides a valuable incentive to ensure that communities are served by the most up to date equipment and the most energy efficient equipment,” Diorio told The States by The Center Square. “I worry that this is going to ultimately have and be a long term detriment, to fostering economic development, in the state of Illinois and elsewhere.”

* WAND | Decatur residents raise concerns at data center town hall: These are some of the questions organizers hoped to answer during the “Let’s Talk Data Centers” town hall Wednesday night. Hundreds of residents attended the meeting, hoping to get clarity about how large-scale data centers could affect the community. One main concern is the environmental impact. “We were in a big drought in 2025, so water stress is coming,” said Andrew Rehn of Prairie Rivers Network.

* WAND | Meeting to vote on Hut 8 rezoning, annexation in Latham for data center canceled: A meeting that was going to be held Monday where The Village of Latham Board of Trustees would have voted on the Hut 8 rezoning and annexation plan has been canceled. Data center developer Hut 8 filed an application with the Village of Latham to rezone farmland for a data center project. Hut 8 has not withdrawn its application for annexation. So, it is possible that the hearing will be rescheduled.

* Grist | It’s official: Data centers are slowing America’s shift away from coal: A report released last week from the Energy Information Administration found that carbon emissions from the U.S. power sector rose by 4 percent last year — larger than the increase in the economy overall, where emissions only ticked up 2 percent. The agency attributes this rise to a 13 percent increase in coal power generation, partially driven by the proliferation of large-scale data centers.

*** Statewide ***

* WGN | Illinois vote-by-mail applications open August 5: Illinois voters will soon be able to apply for vote-by-mail ballots ahead of the November election, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Officials said applications for vote-by-mail open August 5. Voters who want to receive a ballot by mail must submit an application to their election authority either in person or online. The deadline to request a ballot is October 29.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WBEZ | Democratic state lawmakers push to hold ICE accountable nationwide: A group of Democratic state lawmakers from around the nation were in Chicago Wednesday to push for more legislation that would give the public the ability to sue U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents over fatal shootings and arrests made without warrants. “I never imagined that I would spend the majority of my first two years in my term drafting laws and helping support laws that protect people from our own federal government,” said state Sen. Graciela Guzman, D-Chicago, who led a news conference organized by an advocacy group known as State Innovation Exchange.

* Tribune | NASCAR seeking larger grant from state to bring Chicago Street Race back in 2027: The problem, first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, is that NASCAR was seeking $15 million from the state for next year’s event — up from the $5 million grant it received for the last Chicago Street Race in 2025, according to a source familiar with negotiations. NASCAR did not specifically address the reported $10 million funding gap Wednesday, but issued a statement touting the economic impact of the Chicago Street Race while confirming a deal is not done to bring it back in 2027.

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois state elections board tells DOJ it follows federal law on voting integrity: “The Board and Illinois election authorities take very seriously their responsibility to maintain up-to-date and accurate voter registration records while ensuring that no eligible voters are disenfranchised by being mistakenly removed from the rolls,” Marni Malowitz, the state board’s general counsel, said in a letter Monday to the U.S. Department of Justice. “Illinois’s comprehensive list maintenance framework, consistent with the (National Voter Registration Act), ensures free and fair elections.”

* Crain’s | Michael Madigan asks U.S. Supreme Court to review bribery conviction: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review his conviction, saying the case gives the court a much-needed opportunity to resolve differing interpretations of federal bribery law. In a petition for review dated July 27, attorneys asked the court to overturn an April 27 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upholding his conviction on an array of corruption charges.

* CBS Chicago | Bill to crack down on fraudulent tow truck operators goes to Gov. Pritzker’s desk: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ bill to crack down on rogue tow truck companies and strengthen oversight has been sent to the desk of Gov. JB Pritzker. The Illinois General Assembly approved HB 4843 unanimously. The bill expands the authority of the Secretary of State’s office to suspend or revoke certificates and special registration plates issued to tow truck and wrecker operators who obtain their registrations fraudulently, use tow truck license plates illegally, or otherwise violate vehicle registration laws.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | ‘I Hope to See Mayor Johnson Come Off the Sideline’ in Mayoral Race: CTU President Stacy Davis Gates: “I hope to see Mayor Johnson come off the sideline,” said Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union in an interview with WTTW News on Tuesday. “And I hope to see the people who support him get out here and pass a petition. If he’s not going to pass one, I’ll pass one for him.” The incumbent mayor kept reporters guessing when asked Tuesday about his reelection plans during an unrelated news conference.

* Sun-Times | Latino high schools hit especially hard by teacher cuts in CPS budget heading for vote: High schools like Kelly are being hit hard by budget cuts that district officials acknowledge will affect the student experience. When laying out the budget earlier this month, the district said it was cutting nearly 1,000 core instructional positions, which include English and math teachers, as well as art teachers. But Chicago Public Schools only publicly released information on how exactly budget cuts are impacting individual schools on Monday — just days before Thursday’s budget vote and weeks later than it typically shares this information.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools budget conflict revolves around revenue assumptions, timing: Many board members don’t like the cuts in the current spending plan. Some say they’re a painful necessity to balance the budget. Others say the district should keep pushing for more state money, press the county over a tax-revenue issue, and pass a budget that assumes those dollars will come through. Why does CPS have to pass a budget this week to make September payroll? Two reasons: the late distribution of property taxes and the need to borrow money.

* Sun-Times | Mayor makes a last appointment to Chicago school board, choosing leader on school integration plan: Connie Anderson will fill a vacancy on Chicago’s school board representing the city’s Far South Side, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office announced Wednesday. That means Anderson will get to serve for a few months in the seat she’s seeking in November, when Chicagoans will vote for all 21 members of the school board for the first time. She’s still facing a challenge to her candidacy, which will likely be decided by mid-August. There is one other candidate in that race and one expected write-in.

* Sun-Times | City Council urged to postpone police superintendent search until after mayoral election: A key member of a Chicago police oversight body urged the City Council Wednesday to postpone the search for a permanent replacement for retired Police Supt. Larry Snelling until after the mayoral election. As president of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, Anthony Driver led the nationwide search that culminated in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s selection of Snelling. Driver stepped down as president to mount what turned out to be a losing race for Congress, but he is still a commission member involved in the search for Snelling’s replacement.

* Cook County Record | Chicago PD can’t curb class action over race-based traffic stops: In an opinion filed July 27, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland granted class certification to five named plaintiffs who allege Fourteenth Amendment and Illinois Civil Rights Act violations. Rowland traced a four-decade history of lawsuits alleging Chicago Police discriminated in their stops of pedestrians. And she noted several successful legal challenges, including the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court opinion, Chicago v. Morales, that neutralized a Chicago “gang loitering” ordinance as unconstitutionally vague.

* WTTW | Chicago Can’t Keep Trying to Poison Its Way Out of Rat Problem: Watchdog Report: By relying almost exclusively on complaints logged with 311 to determine where abatement is needed, Chicago’s Bureau of Rat Control — under the Department of Streets and Sanitation — is playing defense rather than offense, the report concluded. “This audit shows the need for a unified strategy, coordinated across city departments, to cut rats off from the resources that let them thrive and multiply,” said David Glockner, Inspector General for the city of Chicago. “Without a change in tactics, it will be nearly impossible to make lasting progress.”

* Tribune | The story behind the White Sox pope hat: Initially, it was planned as a special ticket giveaway limited to 1,500 people attending. “It was a way for us to test the waters and, within 24 hours of the announcement, we tripled that number in ticket sales,” said Mike Downey, the White Sox senior director of marketing and fan promotions. “We were getting so much positive sentiment that we expanded it to an all-fan giveaway. Everyone who comes to the ballpark will get a pope hat.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘So caring’: Community rallies to help Wheaton pantry that lost three tons of food after storm: “The folks who live around PRC in Wheaton and Westmont are so caring and generous. As soon as we announced we had to discard food and asked for help, we immediately started hearing from people,” she said. Closed Tuesday for cleanup, the PRC — which also operates a clothing closet and offers educational programs including computer training, literacy and job coaching — reopened Wednesday.

* Tribune | Forest Park cemetery workers arrested during Operation Midway Blitz seek damages: Daniel Greer and Darren Eichler, who were detained while at work at Concordia Cemetery, are not suing the government but instead seeking compensation — $1 million each — under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows citizens to pursue compensation for wrongdoing by federal employees. […] According to the claim, the federal agents who were shouting from the other side of the river then crossed a footbridge into the cemetery. Greer and Eichler, along with their supervisor and co-worker, retreated into a locked area by the cemetery’s water intake building and told the agents they disapproved of their actions. Their supervisor began videotaping the agents, who allegedly cut the padlock on the gate, tackled both Greer and Eichler, sprayed them with chemical munitions and restrained them.

* Daily Herald | Not what it once was, but still plenty of ag to show off and celebrate at Lake County Fair: “Lake County in general isn’t as much an agricultural county as some of the others, but we still do have plenty of agriculture in this county we want to show off and celebrate,” she later added. In fact, the Lake County Fair Association’s mission “shall be the preservation of the past, promotion of the future, and education on the future of agriculture, horticulture, mechanical arts, rural and domestic economy of the Lake County community.”

* Tribune | Former gubernatorial candidate Rick Heidner buys $5.2M Barrington mansion from Motorola Solutions CEO: With about 8% of the vote in the Republican primary, Heidner lost to winner Darren Bailey, who snared 53% of the vote and now is facing off in the general election for governor in a rematch against incumbent Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. Longtime real estate developers and managers, Heidner and his wife, Alisa, in 2012 founded Gold Rush Gaming, which now operates in more than 700 locations around Illinois. The Heidners also own the Ricky Rockets fuel center gas station chain and a wholesale fuel supplier.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Sean Grayson hearing to decide whether he is released early from prison, citing terminal cancer: Speaking with WCIA on Wednesday, Hall explained that during Grayson’s hearing, neither he nor his lawyers will not be present. A three-person panel will consider the case; deliberations will be made in private, but the vote will be made in public. If the board grants Grayson release from prison, he will be on supervised release for five years.

* WTVO | Rockford Alderwoman Gabrielle Torina seeks appointment as interim mayor following McNamara resignation:Rockford 5th Ward Alderwoman Gabrielle Torina announced Wednesday that she intends to seek appointment as the city’s next interim mayor following Mayor Tom McNamara’s planned resignation at the end of August. Torina becomes the first member of the Rockford City Council to publicly declare her interest in serving as interim mayor, a position that the council will fill after McNamara leaves office on August 31. The council is expected to select one of its members to serve as acting mayor beginning September 1 while the city prepares for a special mayoral election in 2027.

* WCIA | Springfield Diocese sued over sexual abuse allegations involving former Taylorville priest: A lawsuit filed in Sangamon County last week alleges the Catholic Archdiocese of Springfield enabled and concealed the sexual abuse of an altar boy by a former priest in Taylorville in the 1990s. The lawsuit was filed by Gould Grieco & Hensley PLLC on July 22, 2026. It alleges that Father John O’Connell — who served at St. Mary’s Catholic School and Parish in Taylorville — sexually abused a young boy between 1991 and 1994. O’Connell died in 2002 at the age of 68.

* WCIA | Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office employee let go after online video: They said the off-duty employee made “insensitive and derogatory” remarks and are “completely inconsistent with the values, professionalism, and standards expected of every member of this agency.” The man in the video, which is widespread on social media, says that “I don’t want any minorities here, that’s how it is.”

* STLPR | Miles Davis’ metro-east home collects stories to celebrate 100 years of influence: House of Miles East St. Louis launched its storytelling initiative earlier this year. Museum curators want to memorialize the artist by collecting memorabilia owned by people who had known Davis or have memories of his childhood home, now the site of the museum. The project started after curators heard from visitors of their experiences with Davis, said Lauren Parks, president and founder of the museum.

* WGLT | McLean County Penguin Project launches theater program for adult performers with disabilities: The chapter’s existing theater program, which modifies full-scale musicals for the stage, serves performers ages 10 to 24. Director Jackie Gunderson said the upper age limit was set deliberately: many services for disabled people end at 22, often the same year other supports, therapies and social routines fall away all at once. Setting the traditional program’s cutoff at 24 gave participants a two-year buffer before joining the alumni program, allowing the actors to acclimate to the adult-style program.

*** National ***

* IPM Newsrooom | Weatherman-turned-congressman Eric Sorensen wants to guide weather preparedness from D.C.: Sorensen said he’d like to see the federal government take a more proactive role in more accurately forecasting the weather and warning the public when precautions are necessary. He said the federal government is usually associated with weather disasters after the fact, such as the floods in Texas in July of last year when more than 100 people were killed. […] Sorensen found a Republican colleague, U.S. Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska — another former broadcaster — to help form the Weather Enterprise Caucus. It’s a group of lawmakers who will assess weather forecasting and research, and examine the weather’s impact on the economy, national security and our general safety.

* Chalkbeat | As more teen boys turn to sports betting, financial literacy teachers rush to show gambling’s real odds: Data obtained by Chalkbeat from GoGuardian, an education software company that provides institutions tools to block and restrict certain webpages, shows that the rate of sites blocked in its gambling, betting and fantasy sports category has increased nearly 30% since the company started tracking in 2022, from a low of 13.48 blocks per 1,000 students to 17.4 this year. The company blocks roughly 140,000 attempts to access such sites on average every month — although that’s still a tiny fraction of the 86 million monthly attempts to access blocked content.