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Appeals court upholds Illinois assault weapons ban (Updated x4)
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals just upheld the state ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines…
…Adding… Rep. Bob Morgan…
…Adding… Gov. Pritzker…
…Adding… Senate President Harmon…
…Adding… AG Raoul…
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Senate Minority Leader John Curran…
* NOTUS…
* GOP Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey calls Flock cameras a mass surveillance network…
* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker signs legislation for energy bill transparency, utility discount program: The first of the two bills, House Bill 4456, expands a discount program for low-income electric and natural gas customers established under the state’s landmark energy legislation passed in 2021, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA. Under CEJA, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the regulatory body that oversees the state’s public utilities, was instructed to assess whether low-income discount programs would be appropriate for residential electric and natural gas customers. * WGN | ‘Failure is the only option’: Alders say Mayor Johnson isn’t doing his job with city budget: “Our goal was to build something stronger, more stable, and more honest for the long-term. But corporate-aligned members of the City Council chose a different direction when they adopted their so-called alternative budget. Throughout that process, we raised concerns about the assumptions in that plan,” Johnson said on Tuesday. The coalition of alders argues that Johnson is the reason the budget is not balanced. They accuse him of failing to implement their revenue proposals. “He accepted that budget,” Ald. Scott Waguespack told WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley on Wednesday. * Tribune | Chicago Tribune seeks ‘serious sanctions’ against OpenAI as deception alleged in copyright lawsuit: Chicago Tribune, The New York Daily News, The New York Times and other media outlets are asking for “serious sanctions” against OpenAI, saying the company destroyed evidence and intentionally hid its ability to locate stolen news stories in training data and responses to ChatGPT users, according to a new motion filed Thursday. The motion, filed in Manhattan Federal Court as part of an ongoing copyright infringement suit, said Open AI expert John Vincent “Vinnie” Monaco “finally revealed” in an April deposition that the company had engaged in a campaign of deception throughout the lawsuit, including by severely misrepresenting technological capabilities and destroying millions of chat histories. * Sun-Times | Judge finds Chicago’s embattled U.S. attorney violated secrecy order in Tren de Aragua case: U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally admonished U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros after ordering him to a highly unusual hearing Thursday. McNally didn’t impose any sanctions, but said Boutros’ decision to detail the case during a press conference alongside top Justice Department officials amounted to a “clear violation of the sealing order.” * Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago’s Black Student Success Director Eugene Robinson Jr. talks about the initiative’s first year: Eugene Robinson Jr., Chicago Public Schools’ first director of Black student success, has faced a tricky balancing act over the past year. Community advocates called for decisive, visible progress on the district’s Black Student Success Plan, the five-year initiative they had championed for years and helped enshrine in state law. Meanwhile, the Trump administration argued the plan discriminates against non-Black students and withheld federal funding over it — a standoff that’s now playing out in the courts. * Crain’s | AI firms’ office demand seen spreading to Chicago: While those places remain key markets for the artificial intelligence industry, office demand is expected to spread to other parts of the country, VTS said. Seattle, Chicago and Washington are cities that are already showing signs of AI growth. “We will 100% see spillover,” said Ryan Masiello, chief strategy officer of VTS. AI tenants have helped drive a recovery in the US office market, easing the pain for landlords who’d been saddled with large vacancies after the pandemic cratered demand for space. San Francisco was especially hard-hit. * Tribune | Chicken coup? Family flap over control of famous Harold’s Chicken Shack brand lands in court: Six months after the death of Harold’s Chicken Shack CEO Kristen Pierce-Sherrod, the question remains: Who owns the iconic Chicago restaurant brand? Pierce-Sherrod’s five adult children claim it’s their birthright, pointing to a mysterious, still-contested “will” that, they say, makes clear their mother’s final wishes. “This is our brand, our everything — our mom worked for many, many years to make sure that her father’s legacy thrives,” Pierce-Sherrod’s daughter Kasee Gill recently told the Tribune. * Block Club | Warehouse Planned For Avondale’s Western Avenue Approved Despite Neighbor Pushback: Although neighbors and the 35th Ward office continue to press for traffic-safety improvements at the nearby intersection of Western Avenue and George Street, the development was permitted to move forward because the site is already zoned for industrial use and did not require a zoning change or City Council approval. City records show the Department of Planning and Development released a zoning hold on June 25, after approving the project’s zoning and landscape reviews. The release cleared a remaining administrative step before the Department of Buildings issued the permit July 1. * Sun-Times | UChicago Press workers vote to unionize: University of Chicago Press Workers Guild members have voted overwhelmingly to unionize, making it the latest in a wave of Chicago cultural institutions to organize. UCP Workers Guild announced Wednesday that 89% of participating voters favored union representation. The guild has 134 members, making it the largest unit in the Chicago News Guild. * Daily Southtown | Will County panel rejects hydro-excavation plan by single vote; County Board to vote next week: Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said another piece of property along 159th Street would be better suited for the truck company’s use because it was away from homes and closer to the village’s future wastewater treatment plant, a more industrial use. Badger’s attorney Cass Wennlund said the asking price for the property the mayor suggested was too high and the land wasn’t suitable for the company’s purposes. * Lake County News-Sun | Deerfield solar array promises big savings: ‘A major accomplishment’: Construction for the array first broke ground in October. A village news release celebrated the 574.6-kilowatt, ground-mounted array as a “monumental step” in the village’s sustainability goals, which will also provide long-term tax savings. According to Mayor Daniel Shapiro, about 70% of the roughly $2 million project, built by Veregy, was covered by state, federal and utility incentives, leaving Deerfield to cover about $640,000. * Pioneer Press | Winnetka advances plans to ban short-term rentals for less than 60 days: Month-to-month extensions of rentals would still be allowed, however, so long as it satisfies the minimum 60-day rental period requirement. Community Development Director Scott Mangum told Pioneer Press short-term rentals have always been prohibited in the village by virtue of their lack of inclusion in Winnetka’s zoning code. “The code’s sort of silent on it, so it’s not allowed because it’s silent, but with that we don’t have any definitions for how long the short-term rental [can be],” Mangum said. * PJ Star | Amid scrutiny in Illinois, Powerton discusses remedies for groundwater contaminants: Midwest Generation LLC held public presentations to discuss concerns about unsafe groundwater at the Powerton Generating Station. “Safety is paramount, and it’s the first thing we concentrate on every day at Powerton,” plant manager Todd Mundorf said Tuesday during a presentation at the Avanti’s Dome in Pekin. “We have a very good safety culture that we improve each and every day.” Joyce Blumenshine, conservation co-chair with the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club, said past groundwater monitoring at Powerton has shown unsafe levels of heavy metals from unlined coal ash ponds at the site that threaten nearby drinking water and waterways. And there are still concerns about toxins from coal plants going into the air and water. * WSIL | Cairo bridge shutdown turns 20-minute trips into 90-minute detours: he U.S. 51 Bridge crossing the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky is closed, forcing drivers into lengthy detours. The U.S. 51 bridge closure has turned a normally busy intersection into an unusually quiet spot, except for the occasional vehicle arriving only to turn around. Truck drivers have been caught off guard by the unexpected closures. Larry Kirby, a truck driver from Missouri, said the closure has transformed his routine 30-minute commute into an hour-and-a-half journey just to start his workday. Kirby’s first stop to pickup inventory from a business is located on the other side of the bridge in Wickliffe, Kentucky, before he heads to his destination in South Carolina. * Downballot | The Downballot releases presidential results for every new House district, sponsored by Grassroots Analytics: In all, 10 states—which include the three largest—cover 181 districts, though 36 were left unaltered. The 145 districts that did change amount to exactly one-third of the seats in the entire U.S. House of Representatives. […] In all, Republicans have targeted 16 seats by making them redder, while Democrats have done the same for just five seats, and the court ruling in Utah adds a sixth. The presidential results for these districts, along with their predecessors, are shown below, demonstrating just how much each of these districts has changed politically.
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Governor Pritzker, Fight For Us.
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Working families face rising costs and medical debt, while hospital systems continue to profit by exploiting the 340B program - making billions, while patients are paying the price. Leaders in Kentucky, Virginia and California recognize that a program meant to help vulnerable patients shouldn’t become a profit stream for billion-dollar hospital systems and their business partners. Governor JB Pritzker has the opportunity to lead the way. Illinois deserves better — veto 340B Profit-Grab (HB 2371).
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State school funding is not keeping up, but CPS is still paying the price for its pandemic mistakes
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * It looks like the state’s progress has stalled out on its equity based funding level goals. From Capitol News Illinois…  The chart shows the state hit a high of 327 schools at 90 percent adequacy in 2024, and then dropped to 313 in 2026. That’s not a huge drop, but it’s most definitely not an increase. One reason is that the state’s annual $300 million payments have not kept up with inflation. $300 million in July of 2017, when the program started would be $410.7 million today. It would be more interesting to see how, exactly, we went from 226 schools at 90 percent adequacy in 2022 to 327 in 2024. CNI…
Illinois was supposed to reach 90 percent adequacy by Fiscal Year 2027, which is the current fiscal year. The problem is the annual “ramp” of $300 million was not enough to accomplish that and nobody really pushed to change it. * Moving along to property taxes…
The tax rate dropped by 10 percent. Something, but not much. Again, inflation contributed to this not only with the state EBF money, but also the annual $50 million designated for property tax relief, which has been paused at least a couple of time. $50 million in July of 2017 would be $68.5 million today. * OK, let’s switch up a bit. This is from a recent Chicago Public Schools report…
According to the report, the district “has more than $9 billion of existing long-term debt that requires $900-plus million in annual debt service payments.” Instead of using the COVID money to pay down its debt, which the state did for itself, CPS put that money into increasing its permanent spending base. And this is from my newspaper column published almost exactly two years ago…
Discuss.
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News coverage roundup: Rep. Ammons indicted on fraud and obstruction charges
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Click here and here for yesterday’s coverage. Sun-Times…
* Tribune…
* More…
* Center Square | Illinois lawmaker, husband indicted over alleged kickback scheme: The indictment also reads that both the Carol and Aaron Ammons made false claims of not knowing there was a conflict of interest with one organization using a state grant to pay her daughter. The pair also allegedly advised a potential witness to communicate with them through code words about ongoing FBI investigations into their conduct. Arron Ammons was alleged to have engaged in conduct toward another person to mislead them and hinder their communication with law enforcement by knowingly directing the potential witness to “muddy the waters” when speaking to the FBI, according to the indictment. * WCIA | Carol, Aaron Ammons indicted for wire fraud, obstruction of justice: The counts against Carol allege that she used donations and contributions to her political support committee, Friends of Carol Ammons, for personal use. They also allege Carol used state grants to fund organizations her daughter Titianna was involved in and to pay her a salary, which is an “impermissible conflict of interest” under Illinois law. * WAND | State Rep. Carol Ammons, Aaron Ammons indicted on federal fraud, obstruction charges: “People are going to do what people are going to do, but if there’s enough holes they’re going to continue to do things like this,” said House GOP Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna). “I can tell you as the leader of the House Republicans, if this [were] my caucus, this would be handled immediately.”
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois ‘reviewing’ DOJ’s threat to prosecute state election officials over noncitizen voting. Capitol News Illinois…
- The letter, dated Tuesday, July 7, was addressed to ISBE Executive Director Bernadette Matthews. It was similar to letters reportedly sent to top election officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. - In addition to Tuesday’s letter threatening prosecution, DOJ is also suing Illinois and dozens of other states for access to the state’s complete, unredacted voter registration list, including sensitive information such as voters’ dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. The federal government has not been successful in any of those lawsuits thus far. * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * Illinois Times | Housing advocates celebrate legislative wins: Bob Palmer, policy director for the statewide housing coalition Housing Action Illinois, said some of the major victories came on the funding front. For one, the General Assembly rejected the governor’s proposed cut of $10 million to the HOME Illinois Program, which aims to prevent and end homelessness in the state. Lawmakers were facing a tight fiscal year, meaning any new funding would be an uphill battle. Even so, David Zoltan, a Chicago-based housing activist, said not increasing funding amid rising inflation is “effectively a cut” for a crucial HOME Illinois program. * Capitol News Illinois | As Illinois enters 10th year under Evidence-Based Funding model, equity remains an elusive goal: But as Illinois enters the 10th year of financing schools under the Evidence-Based Funding model — a formula adopted in 2017 that was supposed to improve both the adequacy and equity of the state’s school finance system — wide disparities still exist in the property tax system that funds more than half the cost of K-12 education. An analysis of school finance data by Capitol News Illinois covering the nine-year period from 2017 to 2025 shows homeowners in the lowest-wealth districts pay tax rates that are double those in the wealthiest districts. The findings are largely consistent with those of other researchers who follow school finance issues nationally. * Chalkbeat Chicago | Johnson-aligned Chicago school board members continue push for more funding from Springfield: Schools had to approve their proposed budgets in early June, but the district has yet to release full details around what might be cut. The Chicago Teachers Union joined Mayor Brandon Johnson-aligned board members at Wednesday’s press conference outside the Board of Education headquarters where they called for state lawmakers to again consider raising education funding through progressive tax policies that target wealthy individuals or corporations. Khari Humphries, the city’s deputy mayor of education and youth, also joined elected board member Jitu Brown and appointed members Michilia Blaise, Karen Zaccor, Norma Rios-Sierra, Emma Lozano, Angel Velez, Cydney Wallace, and Debby Pope. * Crain’s | Illinois ACA health insurance prices set to rise by double digits again in 2027: In Illinois, insurers are seeking rate hikes between 9.2% and nearly 15%. Less than 10% of Americans get their health coverage from the ACA marketplace, or state-run marketplaces like Get Covered Illinois, but the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker points out that factors driving premiums like growth in hospital or pharmaceutical costs are similar across all private plans. * Center Square’s Sean Reed…
* Sun-Times | Cash App parent company agrees to $45 million settlement with Illinois, 44 other states: Illinois will get $1.1 million of a $45 million, 45-state settlement with money transfer app Cash App’s parent company, which was accused of misleading customers about the app’s security. Block Inc. will face $55 million in civil penalties and also have to pay customers nationwide somewhere from $75 million to $120 million as part of the settlement, which includes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. * WGLT | Illinois’ U.S. Senate Republican nominee Don Tracy aims to slow cost-of-living increases: Tracy said the election centers around affordability, and sees that as an advantage for the Republican Party in Illinois. “Democrats … and Republican politicos seem to agree this is a cost-of-living election,” Tracy said in the interview with Capitol News Illinois. “[I] believe that to be a winning message for Republicans, because everything Democrats do increases the cost of living.” “I’m not sure there’s a tax that they didn’t want to increase and that increases the cost of living for all working families,” Tracy said, referring to Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration. * Illinois Times | Data center details: Questions remain about effects on nearby animals, soil temperature: Sangamon County’s average residential electricity bill has increased by more than 52% in the past five years when comparing seasonal data, according to a database constructed by Heatmap News and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That’s nearly 15% more than Cook County, and almost 10% more than the state, experienced over the same time frame. Despite utility costs soaring over the past five years, grid operators keep approving more data centers. Utility providers, such as Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, claim the projects will lower rates for others even in light of the larger amount of power needed to run them. * Shaw Local | Dixon man accused of threatening Lee County official over data center listing pleads guilty to petty offense: A Dixon man charged with felonies accusing him of threatening a Lee County official pleaded guilty to a petty offense on Wednesday and agreed to complete a court-ordered program to get the four felony charges dismissed. […] The charges accused him of threatening Lee County Industrial Development Association Executive Director Tom Demmer. Those charges were amended on Wednesday to also include one count of obstruction of justice, a Class 4 felony, and one count of barratry, a petty offense, court records show. Under Illinois law, barratry is when a person “wickedly and willfully excites and stirs up actions or quarrels…to promote strife and contention.” * Texas Tribune | Planned Texas data centers could emit more greenhouse gases than many countries: Including Stargate’s Abilene campus, at least 15 gas plants tied to data centers are planned for Texas, according to Cleanview. Available permits reviewed by Floodlight show that nine of them combined could emit more than 130 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. That’s the equivalent annual emissions of 35 coal-fired power plants, according to an Environmental Protection Agency calculator. While actual emissions are usually lower than estimates, the impact on the climate could still be enormous: If completed, these nine plants have the potential to emit more annual greenhouse gases than most countries do — even if emissions end up being half of what’s permitted. * Sun-Times | CTA crime has dropped for last 6 consecutive months amid security surge, agency boss says: The Red Line has seen a 47% decline in all crime, and a 76% drop in violent crime through June compared to last year, Leerhsen said. “The perception of safety on CTA is affected by every single incident we have,” Leerhsen said. “But given the importance of our system to the vitality and strength of our city, it is incredibly important to me that we still stop and note this progress, which is real and is continuing to sustain itself.” * Block Club Chicago | Chicago Police Torture Survivors Break Ground On Monument: ‘More Work To Do’: The memorial — a blend of public art, education, reflection and movement-building guaranteed within a 2015 reparations package — broke ground Wednesday at 5520 S. King Drive in Washington Park, with plans for its completion by early next year. “This memorial is about more than remembering the past,” said Gregory Banks, a member of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Foundation and a survivor of beatings, suffocation and racial epithets inflicted on him by officers who extracted his confession in 1983. * Tribune | Chicago FBI boss forced into early retirement, skips lunch with US Attorney Boutros: Shortly after Douglas DePodesta became head of the FBI’s storied Chicago bureau, he told the Tribune he would love to call it a career in his adopted hometown when he hit the mandatory retirement age in a few years. “I think I have a lot left in my tank,” DePodesta said in May 2025. Instead, DePodesta’s impressive FBI career came to an abrupt end this week. He was forced to retire early due to a falling out with bosses in the Justice Department, apparently over issues with his fealty to the Trump administration’s political agenda, or lack thereof. * Crain’s | Judge enforces distance rule for cannabis shops in blow to planned South Loop store: Attorneys for Blounts & Moore argued the location 470 feet away from the existing dispensary violates a provision of the state’s Cannabis Regulation & Tax Act that says a new dispensary can’t be within 1,500 feet of a pre-existing one. The ruling for Blounts & Moore appears to be the first time a court has interpreted the setback rule, casting doubt on future efforts to open cannabis shops in the Loop. * Tribune | Chicago White Sox blanked for the 4th time this season in a 5-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox: Despite the loss, the Sox (47-44) remain alone in first place in the American League Central standings. They are one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians (47-46), who lost 6-5 to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. The Twins (46-47) are two games back. * Daily Southtown | Bolingbrook, Homer Glen mayors urge residents to fight Illinois American Water rate hike: “Water is not a luxury,” Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta said Wednesday. “It is not a vacation. It is not a new television or a shopping trip that can be postponed. Water, electricity and natural gas are essential services that every family needs to live with dignity, safety and health.” Alexander-Basta, along with state legislators, said Bolingbrook residents pay an average of $220 a month for their water bills. Senior citizens on fixed incomes and households already cash-strapped by rising costs in food, insurance and housing, cannot afford more rate hikes, she said. * Tribune | Prime Healthcare seeks to permanently close inpatient pediatric unit at St. Joseph hospital in Joliet: St. Joseph, which was bought by Prime last year, said in April 2025 that it was temporarily suspending pediatric inpatient care. At the time, the move drew criticism from nurses union the Illinois Nurses Association, which represents nurses at the hospital. Now, the hospital has filed an application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to shutter the 13-bed unit for good upon board approval or by the end of the year. The board will vote on the request at a future meeting. * Daily Herald | Plan for massive industrial park approved in Vernon Hills: Including an existing warehouse, the 70-acre Vernon hills Industrial Park could total about 1.2 million square feet in five buildings, following approvals Tuesday by the village board. Property owner JCA Hayes LLC has been pursuing the project at 100-230 S. Milwaukee Ave., in the Continental Executive Parke, since late 2024. The approved plan for the site once scouted by Amazon calls for three speculative buildings, use of an existing warehouse and a huge build-to-suit facility for hand2mind, a sister company of tariff-busting Learning Resources * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora residents still struggling with storm damage: Residents across Aurora, and particularly in the 4th and 6th Wards, experienced basement flooding, tree damage and power outages Friday and Saturday morning, with varying degrees of damage, said Ald. Jonathan Nunez, 4th Ward. Nunez said some basements flooded twice, including his own, and residents struggled to keep the water out. “It’s disheartening when you spend several hours, you know, trying to save whatever you may have,” he said. “A lot of us had to throw away a ton of different items that you just can’t recover.” * Capitol City Now | Springfield Mayor supports Flock contract extension: The company has been accused in the past of violating state law regarding data, which led to other cities ending their contracts with Flock. “It’s our job at the city to police our cameras and our contract with Flock, so that’s what we will do and have been doing,” said Buscher. “I can’t speak on what was going on in other communities. But, for the City of Springfield, we will make sure our data is secure.” * Capitol News Illinois | IDOC worker pleads guilty to padding the payroll of her correctional officer husband: An Illinois Department of Corrections payroll worker admitted in federal court Wednesday that she falsified her correctional officer husband’s overtime and holiday pay, defrauding the state of nearly $125,000. […] According to a stipulation of facts she signed, Tudor doctored her husband’s payroll records for about two and a half years, from July 1, 2022, through Dec. 30, 2024, while he worked as a correctional officer at the Murphysboro Life Skills Re-Entry Center, a satellite facility of the Pinckneyville Correctional Center. Under the plea agreement, the parties calculated an advisory federal sentencing guideline range of 10 to 16 months in prison and a fine of $5,500 to $55,000, but the judge is not bound by that recommendation. * The Daily Egyptian | SIU board expected to give Lane $65K bonus Thursday: The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees is set to determine Thursday if Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane will receive his annual bonus — an additional $65,000 on top of his annual base salary of $378,000. Whether he gets the bonus depends on a series of goals, which for this past academic year included keeping the hiring chill in place and increasing online enrollment. Many of Lane’s goals are focused on improving the university’s enrollment and graduation rate and controlling school spending. A document obtained by the Daily Egyptian through a Freedom of Information Act request outlines 10 goals for the 2025-2026 academic year. * Post-Tribune | Indiana Gov. Mike Braun says Hammond stadium for Chicago Bears is ‘in the red zone’: “I’m excited by the Bears. I think we’re almost there, but we’re not there yet,” [Northwest Indiana, Family Express President and CEO Gus Olympidis] said. “It is always a little risky to overplay something before it happens because if it doesn’t happen, you have some explaining to do,” he said. * Wired | Self-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders. Feds Aren’t Happy:Morrison wrote that NHTSA has documented a “clear pattern” of interference over the last few months, including incidents in which the vehicles drove into active emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and firefighters, and didn’t respond in situations involving flashing lights, fire, and traffic cones.
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Good morning!
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Subscribers were told this morning. Associated Press…
* WGLT | Planned Parenthood of Illinois appoints McLean County’s Carolyn Moon as new board chair: A McLean County-based new leader at Planned Parenthood of Illinois [PPI] is relentlessly focused on providing affordable care to anyone who needs it, all across Illinois. Carolyn Moon, who lives just outside Bloomington-Normal and took the board chair position this month, is the first person from outside the Chicago area to serve in the role. She said she brings a different perspective on rural healthcare. “I really am an advocate for access for everyone in the state, corner to corner, today, tomorrow, and for future generations,” Moon said on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. * Capitol News Illinois | State Rep. Carol Ammons indicted for scheme to receive kickbacks, misusing campaign funds: State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, an 11-year veteran of the Illinois House, has been charged with orchestrating an alleged scheme to receive cash kickbacks from illegal payments from her own campaign account and from local nonprofits for which she helped secure state grant funding. The indictment, brought by a federal grand jury late Tuesday, outline an alleged conspiracy involving both Ammons’ husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, and her daughter, who last month was indicted on separate federal charges alleging she fraudulently collected expanded COVID-era unemployment benefits. * WCIA | Carol, Aaron Ammons indicted for wire fraud, obstruction of justice: The counts against Carol allege that she used donations and contributions to her political support committee, Friends of Carol Ammons, for personal use. They also allege Carol used state grants to fund organizations her daughter Titianna was involved in and to pay her a salary, which is an “impermissible conflict of interest” under Illinois law. […] “From at least on or about May 21, 2024, and continuing through at least June 15, 2025, [Carol and Aaron] knowingly conspired with each other and others, both known and unknown the grand jury, to engage in misleading conduct toward another person,” the indictment with the intent to hinder and prevent the communication to a federal law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission and possible commission of a federal offense, namely wire fraud,” the indictment says. * Press release | Illinois Surpasses 1,000 Certified Peer Professionals, Marking Major Milestone in Behavioral Health Workforce Growth: The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced today that Illinois has surpassed 1,000 certified peer professionals, with 1,010 individuals now credentialed as Certified Recovery Support Specialists (CRSS) and/or Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRS). The milestone reflects the State’s continued investment in peer recovery support services and behavioral health workforce development and represents a 335% increase in the certified peer workforce since 2022. “Growing our behavioral health workforce has been one of the most impactful investments we’ve made in strengthening our system,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This milestone reflects real, statewide momentum—and we’re committed to continuing to grow this workforce so more Illinoisans can access the hope, support, and connection they need.” * WAND | Bill providing resources for youth repeat gun offenders awaits Pritzker’s signature: The plan could require probation agencies to conduct an assessment of the minor’s needs and identify restorative justice programs for high risk youth, cognitive behavioral therapy, family engagement and mentoring options. “Without this help and without the services that are provided through this legislation, the direction of their life is not going to be a positive one,” said Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights). “We believe that we can help some kids with this version.” * Press release | Governor Pritzker Announces Funding for NSF Quantum X-Labs Teams: In addition to the $3 million X-Labs Fast Fund, Chicago’s leading quantum innovation organizations have put together a package to attract teams applying to X-Labs. The Chicago Quantum Exchange, P33, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and mHUB will add $250,000 in funding, immediate access to elite lab space and advanced prototyping facilities, and access to the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park’s (IQMP) technical infrastructure, including cryogenic, test and measurement equipment, and experimental research facilities. With access to Chicago’s state-of-the-art quantum campus and innovation ecosystem, facilities, assets and resources, X-Labs teams will be able to reduce infrastructure costs and maximize the impact of their NSF funding. * CBS Chicago | Black and gold bumblebee officially designated Illinois State Bee: Last year, students in Ms. Barbara Bell’s eighth-grade science class led the push for the state bee designation, after they completed a research project on bee species native to Illinois, according to the governor’s office. The students created presentations for distribution around Illinois, launched a statewide vote, and testified before lawmakers. Because of their efforts, HB 4438 was approved to designate the state bee. * Press release | Former Gov. Quinn & Rep. LaShawn Ford to Introduce & File an Ordinance Calling for a Citywide “Millionaire Tax” Voter Referendum: This Thursday, July 9, at 11:30AM inside the City Clerk’s Office on the first floor of City Hall, former Governor and Chicago resident Pat Quinn will join with Rep. LaShawn Ford to introduce and file an ordinance calling for a citywide referendum this November 3 urging passage of the Illinois Millionaire Amendment for Property Tax Relief and Education. The Referendum asks voters: “Shall Illinois adopt the Millionaire Amendment for Property Tax Relief and Education which would enact a 3% income tax surcharge only on millionaires and use 50% of this new revenue to provide property tax relief for residential and commercial tax payers and 50% to improve state funding for public education?” *Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago cut funding for assistant principals in small schools. Most chose to keep them anyway: More than 130 small schools were poised to lose funding for their assistant principals next school year. Most, including McCutcheon, used discretionary dollars to keep them or convinced CPS to make an exception, leaving about 40 campuses without that position, Chalkbeat has learned. The move comes as district officials are trying to close a $732.5 million deficit to balance a more than $10 billion budget. * WBEZ | Mayor Brandon Johnson taps new public health commissioner: “I’ve spent my career committed to centering a public health approach that addresses the social and economic conditions that shape people’s health and wellbeing,” Walker said in a statement Wednesday announcing his appointment. “As someone who grew up in Chicago, it’s an honor to serve as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health and support the Mayor’s vision for a healthier Chicago.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Walker, but City Council members must approve his new role. He would replace Dr. Olusimbo Ige, who resigned in May after about two and half years on the job. * Tribune | Chicago Public Library Foundation gets a new president and CEO: The foundation’s board of directors has appointed Eva Giglio as its new president and CEO. Joining the organization Aug. 12, Giglio will leave the executive director role at the CME Group Foundation to take up a mantle left behind after former leader Brenda Langstraat Bui died in February. Giglio said she knew Langstraat Bui and that stepping into the position she held for more than seven years is a bittersweet moment. * WGN | O’Hare taxi times soar to highest in nation. Here’s why: “I think the worst ones are when I’m coming back from Minneapolis and the flight is 40 minutes and the taxi time is longer than the actual flight was, which happens!” said frequent flyer Pan Fanshaw. A WGN Investigates analysis of FAA data found the amount of time it’s taking planes to move around the airfield is higher than at any other airport in the nation. Back in 2018, the average time from gate to runway was 22-and-a-half minutes. This year, it’s climbed to more than 28 minutes. Taxi times after landing have also increased, from 13.6 minutes to now, more than 18 minutes on average. * Daily Southtown | Tinley Park storm clean up: ‘Please be patient’: Tinley Park public works employees are still working to clean up damage from the weekend’s heavy storms, Public Works Director John Urbanski told the Village Board Tuesday night. “We had over 200 emails Monday morning that we were welcomed with, and approximately 150 voicemails,” Urbanski said. “I’ve got all of my staff all hands on deck trying to go through and chip up and bring all of the brush away from the parkways, but I just ask everybody that’s waiting to just please be patient.” * Daily Herald | Future of Trickster Cultural Center uncertain as Schaumburg ponders village history museum: Schaumburg officials are sticking with plans to study the feasibility of a local history museum that could displace a Native American cultural center at a village-owned building it’s leased for more than two decades. Officials from the Trickster Cultural Center said they haven’t identified any options for relocation because the village hasn’t provided a time frame or determined if they’ll even have to leave. “We asked if there was a building they could offer Trickster and they said no,” said Gina Roxas, Trickster’s executive director. “We love Schaumburg. This is where our roots are.” * The Daily Egyptian | ‘No one’s selling anyone’s water’: Fear, speculation follow southern Illinois water district consolidation proposal: * Press release | IDNR and City of Springfield announce plans for new downtown park and outdoor venue space: Conceptual designs for the park include landscaping featuring all native Illinois plants. The focal point is a natural limestone amphitheater with seating for 1,500 to 1,800 people, enabling it to continue hosting the popular Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series. Additional features include open lawn seating, shaded gathering areas, ADA accessible walking paths and a natural play space for children. The park layout will be aligned with the Governor’s Mansion to enhance the visual connection between the adjacent blocks and will incorporate design elements inspired by the residence’s historic oval lawn. Interpretive signage will share the history of the park site, including information about the former YWCA building. Plans also call for a dedicated “Community Row” space for vendor tents, mobile restrooms and a food truck plaza along the closed Jackson Street area to support concerts and other events. * IPM Newsroom | New Champaign Unit 4 superintendent brings back some former cabinet members into other leadership roles: Ward and most members of the previous superintendent’s cabinet have all retired or been demoted, with the option to return to teaching. The new superintendent, Geovanny Ponce, appointed three from that group into leadership roles this week. Ward will become interim principal of Central High School. “I have a dream that every student will have a path and a plan,” she said. “And I know that Dr. Ponce and the team here has that same dream.” * WCIA | Decatur City Council approves memorandum with sanitary district to cut down pollutants in waterways: City Council member David Horn said the Sanitation District of Decatur is the largest single point source of phosphorus into waterways in the state. Now, he said the city will be working with the district to get that number down from 20 milligrams per liter flowing into streams and rivers like the Sangamon.“The I-EPA is requiring that by 2029, the sanitary District of Decatur reduced that to 1 mg per liter. This is a big victory from an environmental perspective,” Horn said. * Harvest Public Media | Trump reduced tariffs on farm machinery. But prices could still increase.: Tariffs on equipment made from steel, aluminum and copper decreased from 25 percent to 15 percent on June 8 after President Trump signed a proclamation. Yet, experts say the decrease isn’t enough to relieve manufacturers or farmers in a struggling market. “We appreciate the [a]dministration’s move to lower tariffs on agricultural equipment, but the real-world savings are limited,” said Richard Gupton, the senior vice president of public policy and council for the Agricultural Retailers Association.
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Welch removes Ammons from committees, caucus pending federal case (Updated)
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Background is here if you need it. House Speaker Chris Welch…
…Adding… Gov. JB Pritzker’s office…
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It’s the management
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * WBEZ…
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Jesse’s still got it
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * The Jesse White Tumblers auditioned for ‘America’s Got Talent’…
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Governor Pritzker, Fight For Us.
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Working families face rising costs and medical debt, while hospital systems continue to profit by exploiting the 340B program - making billions, while patients are paying the price. Leaders in Kentucky, Virginia and California recognize that a program meant to help vulnerable patients shouldn’t become a profit stream for billion-dollar hospital systems and their business partners. Governor JB Pritzker has the opportunity to lead the way. Illinois deserves better — veto 340B Profit-Grab (HB 2371).
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Feds indict Rep. Ammons (Updated)
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) was indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud, false statement and obstruction charges. From the indictment…
* The indictment also cites text messages prosecutors allege referred to cash kickbacks…
* After eight wire fraud counts, the indictment alleges Rep. Ammons made a false statement to the FBI…
…Adding… House Minority Leader Tony McCombie…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Attorneys general, state officials sue over 2nd federal attempt to cut permanent housing funds. Sun-Times…
- Raoul and the coalition of state legal officials said the move, which they argue oversteps the Trump administration’s power and violates federal law, will once again risk housing for tens of thousands of people. In Illinois alone, $60 million in funding would be lost, according to the suit. - Similar arguments made by Raoul and others have led to federal court decisions reinstating $2 billion in federal disaster relief funding, $2 billion for transportation and millions in public health research money. * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * Subscribers know more. Politico | When should an ethics report be public?: Questions are mounting about whether the ethics report that led former state Rep. Harry Benton to resign should be made public. […] About the report: The Legislative Inspector General has 30 days to submit its report to the Legislative Ethics Commission, which then has another 60 days to consider its findings and respond. The commission also has the authority to make available a public summary of the findings. It is required to make the findings public if it results in a suspension or termination, according to a person familiar with the state statute, who was granted anonymity due to a lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly. * Capitol News Illinois | Utility watchdog warns of rising water rates as regulators consider requests: Customers across Illinois could be facing higher water and sewage bills as the state’s largest private water utilities seek rate increases and permission to merge. Illinois American Water, the state’s largest private water utility, is seeking a $142 million rate increase, which would raise typical water costs for its 357,000 residential customers by around $14 per month. Typical wastewater customers would see an additional increase of around $28 per month. * Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson says aldermen’s provisions in budget $130 million short: “I want to say this clearly: There were other options,” Johnson said. “We did not need to cede to big money interests and fall back on the tired practice of balancing budgets on the backs of working people.” What’s less clear is how his administration will seek to fill that hole as the clock ticks toward the 2027 budget cycle — and an election that will see the mayor’s office and all 50 aldermanic seats on the ballot. The freshman mayor said he’s “working hard to avoid layoffs and cutting services” but made clear he will use his bully pulpit to blame aldermen should it come to that. * Block Club | Council-Backed Budget Could Lead To $130 Million Shortfall This Year, Mayor Says: Johnson, however, has remained a frequent critic of the budget that got passed. On Tuesday, his administration released a mid-year budget report with preliminary revenue numbers and forecasts showing that some of the alternative budget revenue ideas weren’t panning out — which could lead to an at least $130 million budget hole this year. In particular, the mayor said his team has attempted to find a buyer for the city’s vehicular debt, but “to date, no buyer has been identified,” making a sale impossible. Alderpeople had estimated a debt sale could bring in about $90 million for the city coffers. * Ald. Scott Waguespack | 29 Council members sought to get Chicago to live within its means: Yet when Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled his fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, many members of the City Council were confronted with a troubling reality: They were being asked to approve a nearly $18 billion spending plan without significant efficiencies, without involvement in its development and without answers to basic fiscal questions. At the same time, Mayor Johnson pushed policies like the head tax on businesses to penalize employers for putting people to work and placing Chicago closer toward the end of a financial cliff. This approach lacked transparency while ignoring altogether the concept of trying to live within our means. * Sun-Times | One of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s most ardent City Council adversaries won’t seek reelection in 2027: Ald. Marty Quinn (13th), who learned the game of Chicago politics at the feet of now-convicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), is calling it a career after 15 years in the City Council. Quinn, 51, told the Sun-Times that he has decided not to seek reelection in 2027. After 4,100 conversations in the last four years alone in the living rooms and at the front doors of his Southwest Side constituents, Quinn said he “left it all on the field” and no longer has the energy required to “manage from the front lines.” He said he cannot risk giving the demanding job less than it demands. * Sun-Times | Chicago Public Media launching community website — chicago.com — in the fall: The site will include Chicago-area information, civic and cultural resources, community-sourced knowledge and opportunities for audience participation, the nonprofit said Wednesday. It will also curate headlines from the Sun-Times, WBEZ and other news sources. For independent journalism to “truly service the public … we should have digital infrastructure that is also steered by public media companies,” Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell said. The news industry “has ceded a lot of distribution to places like Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, and I think that has done a disservice to centering civic discourse in a healthy way.” * Tribune | After putting the street race on hold, could NASCAR end up in Chicago and Joliet next summer?: While nothing is set, NASCAR is not only hoping to bring back the Chicago Street Race after a one-year hiatus, but perhaps add the long-dormant southwest suburban track to its regular schedule as well. “It could be both,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s chief operating officer and great-grandson of the family-owned racing organization’s founder. “It’s a market that’s strong enough that absolutely we could have two events there in the future.” * Tribune | Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami begins his injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte: Munetaka Murakami estimated he was at the 99% point of his recovery. “The last road is to play in the minors,” the Chicago White Sox first baseman said through an interpreter on Sunday evening in Cleveland. “That one percent at being at the minors and then being back on the (major-league) field.” That final hurdle got underway Tuesday when Murakami began a minor-league injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte. * Daily Southtown | Dolton passes ordinance allowing payment of $33.5 million judgment over 10 years: “We’re still in negotiations and discussing that, but it looks like we’re going to come up with a positive plan so the taxpayers won’t be burdened,” village attorney Michael McGrath said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. Dolton and the families of John Kyles and Duane Dunlap agreed in court June 10 the village would pay the judgment and accruing interest in installments over 10 years, with the payments secured through a bond. The village is only allowed to pay the judgment over time by adopting an ordinance, which passed Monday, stating that “unreasonable hardship will result” unless the judgment is paid in installments, according to state law. * Daily Herald | State agency wants more information on how DuPage County Board approved raises: DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek filed a request for review of the board’s April 28 vote setting salaries for officials taking office after the November election. In a June 26 letter to the public access counselor, Kaczmarek raised questions about the legality of the vote, arguing the board did not provide enough notice to the public of the pending vote. She also argued the board violated the state’s Open Meetings Act when it approved a change, proposed on the board floor, that increased the originally suggested salary for the county board chairman from $154,390 in the upcoming fiscal year to $185,000. Under the amended salary, the chair’s pay will top $198,000 in the 2030 fiscal year. * Daily Southtown | ‘The stench is putrid’: Nearly full Thornton reservoir brings sewage stink, increased flood risk: As of 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, the water level had receded slightly from that high to 93% capacity, or 7.3 billion gallons, according to the district’s website. The highest the reservoir has ever been before was in 2019, when it hit 54.5% capacity. […] “It smells,” said Thornton Village Clerk Nikki Kitakis. “It’s pretty horrific.” Odors from the reservoir have been a long-standing issue for residents of Thornton, though Kitakis said the issue is particularly severe with the reservoir so full. * WCIA | Decatur Council votes for city to cover full cost of leaking lead service line replacements: At Monday’s meeting, the Decatur City Council voted to up its reimbursement program from 50% to 100% for businesses and homes trying to get rid of drinking water supply pipes at risk of lead contamination. More specifically, for residential and commercial properties with possible lead contamination. […] Back on Jan. 17, 2023, city council approved a policy to provide a 50% cost share to replace privately owned water services. However, the city was recently informed that the Illinois EPA received additional funding from the U.S. EPA for lead service removal. * WGLT | Bloomington Police say drones are an eye in the sky, not a surveillance state: Police Chief Jamal Simington compared the use of drones to other advances in technology that police use: DNA, fingerprinting, and radar guns for monitoring speed. “History tells us community members have struggled with advancements in law enforcement for many many years. This is nothing new,” Simington said. Sgt. Jared Bierbaum is the drone coordinator for Bloomington Police Department. He told the small audience of a few community members at a public forum Tuesday night that not every drone they see in the sky is from the department, but he can understand the unsettling feeling of seeing a drone hovering over one’s property. * BND | Belleville repeals ban on ‘tiny homes’ approved under former administration: Belleville City Council has repealed a ban on new homes smaller than 1,000 square feet that was passed two years ago. At the time, zoning staff under former mayor Patty Gregory were trying to guard against construction of “tiny homes,” arguing they could reduce property values in some neighborhoods. But the ban unnecessarily regulated development and created problems for people trying to get loans or insurance when buying, selling, modifying or rebuilding existing small homes, according to officials. * AP | Obamacare premiums surged this year. A new analysis shows it’s likely to happen again in 2027: Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday’s analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher. * WIRED | Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Unless You Opt Out: The new model, called Muse Image, rolled out with deep integrations woven into the Instagram app. As part of this update, public Instagram profiles are now automatically opted into being fodder for generative AI remixes. All someone has to do is tag your account’s profile in a prompt—if it’s public—and they can use Meta AI to generate an image using your likeness.
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Good morning!
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Every now and then you have to remember that, no matter what challenges you may face, life is most definitely grand… Sun came out the other day This is an Illinois open thread.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Crain’s…
* CBS Chicago | Illinois health department reports “higher-than-average” number of cyclosporiasis cases: As of Tuesday morning, the IDPH reported 141 cases of cyclosporiasis, including 59 acquired domestically and 62 reported after travel outside the U.S. Twenty cases are pending investigation in Illinois. * WCIA | Long-term care residents now have expanded electronic monitoring options with new Illinois law: Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill that will expand authorized electronic monitoring of residents in assisted living and shared housing establishments. Beginning in 2016, nursing home residents have been allowed to install electronic monitoring devices in their room — at their own expense — as long as their roommate consents to having the device in the room. The newly signed House Bill 4517 extends this protection to residents of assisted living and shared housing communities. * Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new transit board picks include CTA board’s current chairman: The mayor’s nominees for the reconstituted CTA board include the board’s current chairman, Lester Barclay, an attorney who was originally appointed to the board by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. If approved by aldermen, Barclay would serve on both the CTA and NITA boards. Barclay has previously criticized aspects of the new transit legislation — namely the increased oversight authority it gives to NITA. * WTTW | Chicago Police Department Overspent Its 2025 Budget by $162.5M: City Analysis: Nearly three-quarters of the overspending, or $120.3 million, was attributed to the department’s personnel budget, even though CPD has more than 1,000 vacant positions, records show. In all, CPD spent $285.8 million to pay officers to work extra hours in 2025, $185.8 million more than it had budgeted, according to a database maintained by the Office of the Inspector General. In addition, CPD overspent its budget to defend and resolve police misconduct lawsuits by $48.5 million, according to the city’s annual financial report. Even though the City Council set aside $82.5 million to defend and resolve lawsuits against the police department, CPD spent a total of $131 million, according to the report. * Tribune | Chicago weighs ban on Kalshi and Polymarket bets for insider city staff: “The work that we do within City Hall and within all of our offices is innately sensitive and often confidential,” Knudsen said. “We just need to be sure that people aren’t using any of that information for profit or for playing games.” Aldermen advanced Knudsen’s measure in a unanimous voice vote Tuesday during a City Council Ethics Committee meeting. It will likely face a final vote next week. * The Tribune’s Alice Yin…
* ABC Chicago | Postal trucks parked illegally in Lincoln Park drawing renewed safety concerns, alderman says: Postal trucks were seen illegally parked in paid parking spaces, in front of fire hydrants, at bus stops and in other restricted areas. Ald. Timmy Knudsen said the renewed violations are disappointing after assurances from the Postal Service that the situation would be fixed. “The uptick is frustrating to us because we took USPS at their word that they’d be solving this process for good,” Knudsen said. “So every time we get a vehicle out there, you know, we call 911, we reach out to USPS, and we send our warning that, you know, you need to obey the rules of the road, you’re creating a safety hazard.” * Block Club Chicago | Bud & Rita’s Opens Loop’s First Weed Shop As City Eases Restrictions For Downtown Dispensaries: Opening a dispensary in the Loop was more complicated than just finding an empty storefront. Under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the city banned dispensaries in the Loop and much of River North in an effort from Lightfoot to keep the area “family friendly.” When the Downtown exclusionary zone was significantly reduced in 2021 to parts of Michigan Avenue and Grand Avenue near Navy Pier, dense high-rises, office buildings, schools and restricted zoning areas often overlapped, creating challenges. * ABC Chicago | New stormwater storage tanks almost complete in effort to reduce West Side flooding: City officials said the project in the 5500-block of Le Moyne Street creates two auxiliary tanks that will increase stormwater storage by 1.7 million gallons. The projects are just part of what the city says will be a more than $500 million project to address flooding, while also upgrading the city’s aging sewer system. * Block Club | Uptown Theatre Owner Says City Funding Needed For Renovations — But City Says He’s Asking For Too Much: There is some hope the Uptown will return to its former glory, though that depends on some $200 million in funding, said building owner Jerry Mickelson. Most of that money would need to come from the city, he said. […] The Department of Planning and Development said Mickelson’s latest bid for TIF assistance was not up to snuff. Mickelson’s October 2024 application for a community development grant featured a “significant funding gap” and “seeks a level of TIF assistance that substantially exceeds program guidance of approximately 30 percent of total project costs and what’s reasonably available within the Lawrence/Broadway TIF district,” Strazzabosco said in an email to Block Club. * Tribune | Family sues state-licensed Rolling Meadows group home for wrongful death, alleging ‘fatal choking event’: Family members are also calling on the state to improve its supervision of community-integrated living arrangements, or CILAs, the small group homes in which many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities reside, according to a statement. Emily Kasanga, a resident of a Clearbrook group home in Rolling Meadows, died in April, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court. […] Staff at her home knew or should have known she was at risk for choking and that she required 24-hour care and support, according to the lawsuit. On the day she died, the home failed to appropriately prepare and cut up her food or supervise her, the suit alleges. * Northwestern Local News initiative | The Daily Herald Deal: Second, Tribune already printed and delivered the Daily Herald, and the newspaper’s publication and delivery contracts with Tribune would expire in four years. Paddock expressed concern that in a potential re-negotiation, the company would have less leverage than the current agreement that came following Paddock’s sale of its printing plant in northwest suburban Schaumburg to the Tribune. That could lead to skyrocketing printing and delivery costs or even an inability to print and deliver the paper. * Pioneer Press | In Northbrook, people with disabilities get affordable housing option as Poupard Place opens: Poupard Place, located at 1593 Shermer Road, was developed by the Housing Opportunity Development Corporation, a not-for-profit affordable housing developer based in Skokie, through a partnership with the Village of Northbrook. The building serves individuals living with a disability or who have at least one person in their household living with a disability, and earn up to 60% of the Area Median Income. […] Koenig said demand has been high for the 48-unit building, with the organization receiving 600 applications for a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. * Naperville Sun | Heavy holiday rain floods Naperville Riverwalk, shuts down river use: As a result of the storms, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced on social media Sunday that the East and West branches of the DuPage River were closed indefinitely to boaters because of swift currents, floating debris, submerged structures and high-water levels. The conditions pose a threat to boaters navigating the waters and emergency responders who may need to perform a rescue, the agency said. * SJ-R | Y Block in Springfield could be given to the state: An ordinance authorizing the city of Springfield to donate the Y Block to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is on first reading July 7. The ordinance would be up for discussion at the July 14 committee of the whole meeting when alderpersons would assign it to the debate or consent agenda for a final vote before the full city council July 21. […] “I am working through that process,” Mayor Misty Buscher told The State Journal-Register in a May 18 interview. “Unfortunately, it was a mess left for me (when I became mayor in 2023). I didn’t create that mess. I’m just trying to fix it.” The state’s FY25 budget included $4 million to design and construct a park on the 2.25-acre site. * 25News Now | Pekin’s Powerton Generating Station now set to retire a year later than planned: In an agreement with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the NRG Powerton Generating Station will remain open until December 31, 2029. Regional grid operator PJM had requested Midwest Generation’s cooperation to help the Powerton station remain in operation beyond what was the previous U.S. EPA’s Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) compliance shutdown date at the end of 2028. Midwest Generation is the electricity generation company in Illinois that partners with NRG, which owns and operate the plant at Powerton. * WGLT | Normal Town Council approves construction projects, strategic plan: Also Monday, the council approved the 2026 strategic plan with the highest-priority goals focusing on economic issues, public safety, modernizing infrastructure and creating transparency. The strategic plan helps guide staff on priorities and initiatives in day-to-day operations and long-term considerations. It concerns plans from 2026-2029, building off the 2023 version of the strategic plan. * WCIA | Urbana getting state tax credit toward creating affordable housing: The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IDHA) announced on Tuesday the approval of $37 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). They also approved an additional $39 million in federal and state subordinate resources to go toward the development projects. […] The 22 approved developments include 20 new projects and the rehabilitation of two existing developments. The project approved in Urbana is the Dr. Grant G. Henry Village, which officials said will include safe and stable housing for youths aging out of the foster care system. * WGLT | Bloomington woman pleads guilty to trying to vote twice in 2024 election: In a hearing before Judge William Yoder, Sud admitted to knowingly trying to vote at a Bloomington polling place after having submitted a mail-in ballot in Wisconsin, where she has another residence. The Bloomington Election Commission flagged the second ballot with the state’s attorney’s office, whose investigation led to Sud’s arrest in September 2025. In pleading guilty to the Class A misdemeanor of attempting to vote twice, Sud agreed to serve 24 months probation and pay a $500 fine, plus additional court fees. In exchange, the court dismissed three felony charges alleged in the same incident. * STLPR | Collinsville has half the money needed to renovate water plant for ‘forever chemicals’: The City of Collinsville has accounted for roughly $5.7 million of the $11.5 million needed to renovate its water treatment facility after tests last summer confirmed the tap water contained so-called forever chemicals. Testing found PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, at levels higher than the federal Environmental Protection Agency allows. These chemicals take a long time to deteriorate, and some can cause health problems when people are repeatedly exposed. * Futurism | Meta’s AI Data Center Caught Infecting Town Water Supply With Deadly Bacteria: That decision came after one bad actor, the Meta-affiliated data center company Goat Systems LLC, flooded local waste water pipes with fill-and-flush swill containing a rare and deadly bacterium known as Cupriavidus gilardii. Per Cowboy State, Goat Systems was found to be in “significant noncompliance” with Cheyenne’s industrial waste regulations after a months-long investigation traced the bacteria to Meta’s discharge. […] “This isn’t something we normally test for,” Frank Strong, Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities engineering and water resource division manager told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle of the investigation. Strong noted that the bacterium was first spotted during routine testing for fecal contamination, adding that it’s a bizarre pathogen to find in any wastewater, even that coming from a data center. * NYT | Trump Administration Guts Efforts to Prevent Gun Violence, Suppressing Reports: The Trump administration has gutted federal gun violence prevention efforts since returning to office, slashing funding for programs and research and even suppressing taxpayer-funded reports aimed at reducing gun injuries and deaths. The cutbacks, which span agencies throughout the federal government, represent a shift in philosophy about how to address gun violence, away from a public-health-oriented approach focused on prevention, to a law-and-order approach focused on beefing up police departments and seizing illegal weapons while also systematically rolling back firearms regulations. The move away from prevention and regulation aimed at saving lives is playing out in other areas of public health too, including illegal drugs and smoking.
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Pritzker touts some data center benefits, but says: ‘We don’t want them if they’re going to take advantage of us’
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Gov. JB Pritzker sat down for a wide-ranging interview with WVIK’s Robin Johnson. Here are his comments about data centers…
Please pardon any transcription errors. Thanks. * Related…
* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Invenergy cancels wind leases for Wisconsin gas plants: As part of a deal with the Trump administration, a national energy developer will end offshore wind projects and redirect some of the money to its natural gas portfolio, which includes two new plants in Wisconsin to power hyperscale data centers. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on June 16 it will refund $765 million to Chicago-based developer Invenergy in exchange for “voluntarily” terminating four offshore wind leases. Invenergy agreed to redirect the money toward the development of natural gas plants in Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, as well as geothermal projects in the western U.S.
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Today’s quotable
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * From the South Africa-born trillionaire…
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US Attorney Boutros appears to threaten Chicago reporters: ‘We’re going to address that at the appropriate time’
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * WGN…
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Governor Pritzker, Fight For Us.
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Working families face rising costs and medical debt, while hospital systems continue to profit by exploiting the 340B program - making billions, while patients are paying the price. Leaders in Kentucky, Virginia and California recognize that a program meant to help vulnerable patients shouldn’t become a profit stream for billion-dollar hospital systems and their business partners. Governor JB Pritzker has the opportunity to lead the way. Illinois deserves better — veto 340B Profit-Grab (HB 2371).
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Dems won’t put state money where their mouths are
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
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RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] Serious Lip Balm, founded by Khara Koffel and Megan Luckey, creates all-natural, handmade lip and skin products designed to help you feel your best. What started as a simple homemade gift in Jacksonville, Illinois, has grown into a thriving brand carried by more than 500 retailers across North America. Retail generates $7.3 billion in income and sales tax revenue each year in Illinois. These funds support public safety, infrastructure, education, and other important programs we all rely on every day. In fact, retail is the second largest revenue generator for the State of Illinois and the largest revenue generator for local governments. Policies that support small businesses help communities thrive as retailers like Khara and Megan in Jacksonville are better equipped to meet local needs. We Are Retail and IRMA are showcasing the retailers who make Illinois work. Please visit https://WeAreRetail.IRMA.org/.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Gov. JB Pritzker signs first-in-nation Illinois law requiring third-party safety audits for AI giants. Tribune…
- Developers will be required to retain a third party each year to conduct an independent compliance audit; auditors would need to demonstrate technical expertise in the safety of so-called frontier AI models. -Some AI companies embraced the legislation, which drew broad support from both sides of the aisle, during the spring legislative session. AI developer Anthropic, which created the Claude chatbot and supported the bill. * Related stories… * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * Subscribers know more. ABC Chicago | South suburban Democrats move to replace former Rep. Harry Benton after undisclosed ethics findings: Democratic leaders in Will and Kendall counties will choose Benton’s replacement for the 97th House District, one of the state’s more politically competitive areas. The weighted vote gives Will County Democratic Party Chairman Billy Morgan the ability to make the selection on his own. “We need someone who will be pragmatic and effective in Springfield,” Morgan said. “They need to be somebody who understands how to get things done, and someone who’s a real fighter for the 97th district.” * Tribune | What’s in the Illinois Tollway’s $26.5 billion construction program?: The 2026 “project list doesn’t have a great deal of ‘wow factor,’ but most items are critically needed,” DePaul University Professor and transportation expert Joseph Schwieterman said. “Anyone doubting that serious bottlenecks exist should hop on the tollway system during peak hours during summer.” Rate hikes averaging 45 cents a toll for I-Pass customers in passenger vehicles would help fund construction as well as inflation-based increases every other year starting in 2029, pending board approval. One blockbuster item on the roster is $3.1 billion for interchange improvements at I-88 and I-355. * Sun-Times | Illinois prison healthcare still poor as state goes 1 year without long-term medical provider: Centurion Health, one of the nation’s largest correctional medicine companies, has been the medical provider for the Illinois Department of Corrections since last July. And a year into Centurion’s short tenure, people inside Illinois prisons say their medical needs are severely neglected. In nearly a dozen emails and letters like Natalie’s, incarcerated people and their loved ones shared with the Sun-Times and WBEZ’s Prisoncast! how their health has deteriorated as they wait for doctor’s appointments, testing and medications. The transition to Centurion has also complicated people’s health care and left at least one subcontractor for IDOC’s previous provider unpaid. * Press release | Illinois Housing Development Authority Announces Creation of 1,000 Units of Affordable Rental Housing: The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) Board approved awards totaling $37 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and an additional $39 million in federal and state subordinate resources that will finance the creation and preservation of 22 affordable housing developments in 15 counties throughout Illinois. The LIHTC awards are expected to generate an estimated $303 million in private capital to support the development of 969 affordable homes for low- to moderate-income families, seniors, and veterans. The 22 approved developments include 20 new construction projects and the rehabilitation of two existing developments. New construction developments will bring much-needed housing for seniors in Fox Lake, Rock Island, and Highland. Additional efforts include safe and stable housing for youths aging out of the foster care system in Urbana to a new development offering housing and supportive services for women experiencing chronic homelessness in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. * Michael Frerichs and Jeannie Tarkenton | Student loan changes at the federal level call for Illinois leadership: That is why we partnered through Illinois’ Student Empowerment Fund to launch the Illinois No-Cosigner Loan. The program was designed to help students who have exhausted grants, scholarships, work-study opportunities and federal loans, but still face a final funding gap that threatens their ability to complete their degree. Borrowing should never be the first option. Students and families should first maximize grants, scholarships and federal aid. But when those resources fall short, too many capable students are shut out because traditional lending relies on family wealth, a co-signer or an established credit history rather than a student’s own record of achievement and future earning potential. * Ghana Web | From Slavery to Reunion: DNA reconnects Illinois lawmaker with family in Ghana: Her journey was made possible through modern DNA genealogy under, the African Kinship Reunion (TAKiR) Project, a collaborative initiative involving the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Ghanaian partners, including the University of Cape Coast, which traced her ancestry directly to the Nania community in Paga. […] The moment also marked a symbolic honour. Representative Ammons was enskinned as the Peace and Development Queen Mother of the area, a gesture signifying her formal integration into the community and her commitment to supporting development initiatives. * Tribune | Illinois bill awaiting Pritzker OK would add oversight on private equity firms buying disability group homes: The bill, which passed the General Assembly this spring with broad bipartisan support, requires facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to report to the state when they are purchased by an asset management company — such as a private equity fund, hedge fund or venture capital firm. After a community integrated living arrangement — commonly known as a group home or CILA — or other licensed facility for people with disabilities is purchased by such a firm, it would have to regularly report financial activity, including assets, liabilities and staffing levels, to the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board. * Tribune | Law adds big cats, bears and primates to Illinois ban on traveling animal acts: On June 26, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the expansion of the state’s Traveling Animals Act into law. The act already banned elephants in traveling shows and circuses — now the ban applies to big cats, bears and primates as well. “In signing this bill, Governor Pritzker advanced the dignified and compassionate care of our wild animals,” said a spokesperson for the governor’s office. The law took effect Wednesday. * Capitol News Illinois | ‘Underdog’ Tracy says he’s ‘answering a call of duty’ by running for Durbin’s seat: “I believe Illinois is a center-right state, and that the right Republican can win again statewide, and I do believe I’m the right Republican,” Tracy told me. “A two-party state is a healthier state, and by winning this seat, then I think we can bring a little more bipartisanship to Illinois. I also think that that will give us a strong senatorial voice in Washington, regardless of who’s in charge.” * Tribune | Data center developer reverses course in Hoffman Estates, days before vote on controversial plan: Residents packed a Hoffman Estates village planning meeting in early June, giving hours of testimony against the project. They protested, filed public records requests and signed petitions to deny the rezoning. A new data center campus at the 186-acre Plum Farms, they feared, would use too much power and water, cause noise pollution and possibly raise utility costs. When Karis Critical, the data center developer leading the project, withdrew its petition for rezoning on Wednesday, five days before a Village Board vote that was set to take place tonight, some in the community breathed a sigh of relief. * WICS | New grassroots coalition says data center fight isn’t over: Illinois Open Field Coalition Forward is a grassroots organization formed by Tara Bergschneider. Bergschneider said counties all across our area are faced with questions and concerns as the rise of data center proposals continues. “We want to inform people how they can be a part of the effort in stopping this. I have a presentation that I’ll go through that’ll just give a very high level overview of what’s going on across the counties, specifically Sangamon and Christian and Logan,” Bergschneider said. * Brownfield Ag | Report highlights rural worries over data center development: Mark White, clinical associate professor in the department of ag and consumer economics, says electricity costs were the leading concern among survey respondents. He tells Brownfield many rural residents were also worried about farmland being used for data centers. “The challenge with some of the data centers is that when you build them, they are not things that can easily be removed,” he said. “You can’t just easily return the land to agricultural land when they have maybe outlived their lifespan.” The researchers said the survey was conducted online in February and reached approximately 1,000 U.S. adults who were representative of the country by region, income, age and gender. * Reuters | Big Tech data centers are driving up power bills at America’s Rust Belt factories: The 141-year-old brick manufacturer, whose products can be found in iconic buildings including the Texas Alamo and Notre Dame University, is seeing power bills rise mainly from a monthly capacity charge, which recently jumped from $1,600 a month to $12,000. […] Such fees have soared in the 13-state region covered by grid operator PJM Interconnection due to stagnant supply and demand from data centers, where one server warehouse can use as much electricity as a mid-sized town. * Tribune | The port strike, the longshoremen and the mayor: Two unions are fighting over who should represent the dozens of stevedores who work for QSL America, a private company that operates at the publicly owned port. For more than a year, some QSL workers have been on strike with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. But others are still at work, laboring under a new collective bargaining agreement with another labor organization, the International Longshoremen’s Association. QSL agreed to recognize the ILA as the dockworkers’ union representative last year, after the Operating Engineers’ strike began, setting off a battle between the labor groups that is under review by federal regulators at the National Labor Relations Board. * Tribune | Cardiologist and whistleblower Dr. Lisa Nee to run for Chicago mayor: “I think they want a city where you don’t need connections to get very basic things done, and I think they want a leader that’s honest,” she told the Tribune. “I’m inside the community, I’m just outside the political machine.” The 59-year-old said she is focused on Chicago’s fiscal health, everyday affordability and safety. But she shared few details on the policy plans she would turn to on day one in office to tackle the city’s challenges. Instead, she argued her background — including no experience in the political arena — means she isn’t bogged down by the thorny loyalties that prevent veteran politicians from making hard decisions. * Sun-Times | Deep Tunnel has never reached its limit. After weekend’s heavy rains, it’s almost full: For the first time in history, Deep Tunnel, Chicago’s massive system of underground tunnels and reservoirs designed to hold flood water, is almost completely full after a weekend of heavy rain. Built over more than a half-century, Deep Tunnel sends floodwaters from Chicago and nearby suburbs through more than 100 miles of tunnels into three reservoirs located just outside of the city. It was designed to help protect area rivers as well as Lake Michigan. * Block Club | Chicago National Archives Closure Will Be Loss For Historians, Researchers, Even Deep-Sea Divers: The National Archives and Records Administration plans to close its Chicago facility, a sprawling building on the Southwest Side that houses transcripts from the Trial of the Chicago 7, maritime records for the Great Lakes region and documents on tribal nations. In a June 23 email to staff, the agency — which functions as the nation’s record keeper — informed its employees that “over the next few years” it would close the National Archives at Chicago, 7358 S. Pulaski Road, and its San Francisco/San Bruno facility, as well as move all temporary records from the Seattle Records Center. Many of the records in Chicago have not been digitized and are only available in person. * Tribune | Emmett Till would’ve been 85 this year. A Bronzeville exhibit reflects on his legacy: Raymond Thomas, creative director of The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, curated the exhibit “From Memory to Movement: Emmett at 85” at Bronzeville’s Blanc Gallery, bringing together 11 Black Chicago-based contemporary artists to produce works that speak to the humanity of Emmett Till and the social construct of the times we’re living in. “It was like putting a band together… thinking how artists’ work talks to each other, and how my work aligns with theirs to have this jam session,” Thomas, a multidisciplinary artist, said. “We all have a connection to this legacy… everyone took their own personal journeys to find where they wanted to be with it.” * ABC Chicago | Attorneys drop out of West Suburban hospital legal fight citing ‘fundamental disagreements’: But on Monday, according to court records, attorneys representing Resilience Healthcare asked to withdraw from the case, writing, “Circumstances have developed that have created fundamental disagreements between undersigned counsel and the Client regarding the representation and the Client’s objectives in this matter.” […] Attorneys for both sides have been meeting behind closed doors weekly with Judge Stanton to negotiate a settlement which could include the hospital reopening under new ownership. * Evanston Roundtable | Business attorney and political newcomer starts mayoral campaign committee: Jade Carpenter registered a candidate committee for Evanston mayor with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Wednesday, July 1, allowing her to begin raising and spending money on a campaign. She is the second person to publicly indicate her bid to succeed incumbent Mayor Daniel Biss, who is resigning Oct. 18 to focus on his congressional campaign and will be replaced through a special election in early 2027. * Pioneer Press | The $25,000 question: Who can afford to be a suburban mayor in Evanston or elsewhere?: Voters may be surprised to learn that in Evanston, the position to oversee a $400 million-plus municipal government and a city of about 76,000 people comes with an annual salary of a little over $25,000. That salary falls well below what would be considered a livable income in Evanston, where median rent for all property types (apartments, condos, houses) exceeds $2,000 a month, according to recent housing projections. * Toni Preckwinkle | Cook County sticks with road map to reduce gun violence as federal funds dry up: The influx of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act allowed us to invest in communities at historic levels. Across the state, county and city, more than $350 million was directed toward community-based violence intervention and prevention efforts, including $110 million from Cook County alone. These funds supported youth development programs, outreach workers and survivor services. […] As the American Rescue Plan Act resources phase out, we face a critical question: whether we will sustain what is working. At Cook County, the answer is yes. We continue to invest $30 million annually for CVI and services for survivors of gun violence, even as federal support for these efforts has declined. * Daily Herald | Lurie seeks state’s OK to build children’s hospital in Downers Grove: The hospital filed a request for a certificate of need with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board on June 6. The hospital will have to prove the project is needed and financially and economically feasible. Oct. 16 is the deadline for submitting written comments about the proposal. The HFSRB is scheduled to consider the application on Nov. 5. * Daily Herald | Despite stadium uncertainty, Bears get OK to keep billboard in Arlington Heights: The digital sign atop a 95-foot pole was installed at the former horse racing venue in 2017 by then-owner Churchill Downs Inc., which sought an additional revenue source amid a precipitous decline in wagering. The approval came with the caveat that the sign come down were the racetrack to cease operations. But board members have granted multiple yearly extensions since the Bears took ownership and knocked down the old grandstand in 2023, and during the NFL club’s ensuing on-again, off-again interest in redeveloping the prime Northwest suburban real estate. * Lake County News-Sun | D112 approves contract with Quest food vendor despite protest: ‘The committee made an informed decision’: This year, OrganicLife again submitted a protest to disqualify Quest, but was seemingly unsuccessful. In this year’s protest, it argued Quest should have been disqualified on several grounds, alleging it had sent a letter to the district’s evaluation committee past the deadline, accusing the district of altering evaluation scores to put Quest ahead, and alleging issues with Quest’s references. * Tribune | Will County Board of Review members serve 2 to 3 years beyond set terms: The longest serving board member, Susan McMillin, has served since 2009. Her term ended June 1, 2024. The terms for Ann Crickman, who been on the board since 2022, and Sue Smith, first appointed in 2019, ended June 1, 2023, according to Michael Theodore, director of communications for the Will County executive’s office. […] All three Board of Review members will be considered for reappointment during the a Will County Executive Committee meeting on July 9, Theodore said. The appointments were scheduled to come to a vote June 11, but were removed from the agenda at the last minute, without any reason given, he said. Will County Board Speaker Joe VanDuyne, a Wilmington Democrat, creates the meeting agendas, and said he pulled the appointments after an “outside individual” voiced concerns about one of the members. * Daily Southtown | Cannabis tax funds to enhance security measures at Will County schools: More than 30 Will County schools will receive funds to enhance security thanks to $129,777 in grants awarded by the county from the state’s cannabis sales tax revenue. The security improvements will take place in 18 Will County school districts, including Beecher School District 200U, Frankfort School District 157-C, Lockport School District 91, Manhattan School District 114, New Lenox School District 122 and Summit Hill School District 161. * Pioneer Press | Woman in six-month coma following Jan. 5 encounter with Evanston police has died, family says: According to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed June 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by Williams’ mother Jacqueline Hoffman, Williams’ family alleges Evanston police used “excessive force” while attempting to restrain her and failed to intervene when Williams demonstrated signs of trouble breathing. […] She remained in a coma until the time of her death, her family said. * NPR Illinois | Massey Commission members launch new effort to advance goals: “Rather than allowing organizations and institutions to continue working in isolation, MCAN seeks to eliminate the silos that have too often prevented lasting systemic change. The organization will convene all accountable parties, educate the public, advocate for policy change, organize communities, pursue funding opportunities, and monitor progress toward implementation, bringing residents, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community partners together to turn recommendations into measurable results.” * Illinois Times | Former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson seeks medical release: Sean Grayson, 32, filed for release under the Joe Coleman Act last month. Under the act, a person in custody who is terminally ill or is medically incapacitated could be considered eligible. Medically incapacitated is defined as having a medical condition that prevents them from completing daily living activity behind bars without assistance and will likely not improve in the future. Doctors diagnosed Grayson with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2023, his attorney Mark Wykoff told the judge at his sentencing in January but added that the cancer had progressed to Stage 4 and spread to his liver and lungs. * NPR Illinois | Springfield expansion of EV charging stations nears completion: pringfield’s City Water, Light and Power said 40 charge ports have been added at nine locations near shopping, tourism and business districts. The project was made possible through a $629,000 Illinois Community Charging Program Grant awarded to CWLP. The program supports the installation of Level 2 charging stations across Springfield. * WCIA | Fisher unearths time capsule, seeking public’s help finding owners of heirlooms: The village took to social media Monday morning, hoping someone knew the owner of a Paxton High School class of 1963 ring. The village treasurer said through the power of social media, and the help of the Paxton historical society, they found the owners’ children and the ring is in the mail headed to them right now. * WGLT | Video: How Bloomington-Normal’s first drone show took flight: Viewers watched 300 LED-lit drones perform a series of complex, preprogrammed movements during the 15-minute show. The drones created animations geared toward the Fourth of July (like an American flag and a Declaration of Independence scroll), while also showing off logos for event sponsors and partners like State Farm, OSF HealthCare, City of Bloomington, and more. “It’s kind of like marching band in the sky, so each drone knows their dot and their placement as to where they need to go. Our pilot just makes sure each drone knows where they’re going and makes sure everything runs smoothly. They’re pre-programmed,” said Amanda Violassi from Firefly Drone Shows, a Michigan company hired to run the show. * AP | Obamacare rolls shrank dramatically in many states over the past year, new federal data shows: The data, posted in late June by the Trump administration and first reported on by The Associated Press, reveals how changes in each state’s insured population led to around 2.6 million fewer Americans having Obamacare plans in February compared with the same time last year. It captures not only how many people signed up for or were automatically reenrolled in plans in 2026, but how many paid their first monthly premiums to keep coverage, according to Cynthia Cox, a vice president and director of the ACA program at the healthcare research nonprofit KFF, who reviewed the dataset. She said it accounts for people who were retroactively removed from coverage after a nonpayment grace period ended. * WaPo | Conservatives seek blue-state bans on trans athletes in wake of Supreme Court win’: The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states may ban trans athletes from girls and women’s teams, affirming policies in 27 states. But it said nothing about the Democratic states that allow transgender students to compete. Now the Trump administration and conservative advocacy groups are pressing forward in pursuit of a coast-to-coast ban as the fight shifts to another set of court cases. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which won Tuesday’s case, is backing three pending cases, while three cases filed by the Justice Department are also making their way through lower courts. * Public Notice | How Kalshi infects the news: Some of CNBC’s reporting about Kalshi includes the disclosure, “CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.” This means CNBC is paid every time it can convert a viewer to a Kalshi user. As an investor, the network also benefits if Kalshi’s overall valuation increases. CNBC is also paid directly by Kalshi for using its data, according to The Wrap. In at least 22 cases, however, CNBC has written about Kalshi and not disclosed its financial conflict. […] On air, where CNBC promotes Kalshi nearly every day, disclosure is also spotty. * Bloomberg | Rivian offers 75 million shares to meet U.S. energy loan terms: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is leading the share sale, according to a filing Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. At the closing price of $20.14 per share, the offering would raise about $1.5 billion. Rivian intends to use the proceeds for purposes including making contributions under the amended loan agreement with the Department of Energy, the filing shows. The vehicle maker has a $4.5 billion loan after renegotiating with the Department, and expects to start drawing from it in early 2027.
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Good morning!
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * If you haven’t seen the new documentary on Earth, Wind & Fire, then you should soon rectify that omission. Shining Star… No matter who you are This is an Illinois open thread.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Tuesday, Jul 7, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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