* Center Square…

In the wake of tax hikes on sports betting apps in Illinois, one operator that announced surcharges to make up revenue is changing course.

DraftKings announced last month it would add surcharges to high-tax states like Illinois, which just hiked taxes on sports books from 15% to as much as 40%. Now the company says for the time being, no surcharges will be imposed.

“We always listen to our customers and after hearing their feedback we have decided not to move forward with the gaming tax surcharge. We are always committed to delivering the best value in the industry to our loyal customers,” the company said in a statement. […]

PlayIllinois.com managing editor Tyler Andrews said the surcharge announcement was a public relations nightmare for DraftKings.

* Capitol News Illinois…

An appeals court last week reversed state regulators’ approval of a permit for the Illinois portion of an 800-mile, high-voltage transmission line, setting up a possible fight at the state’s Supreme Court.

The Grain Belt Express, or GBX, is owned by Chicago-based Invenergy and is meant to carry renewable electricity generated by wind farms. It would run through parts of Kansas, Missouri and Illinois before terminating just over the Indiana border. […]

The company received approval for a key permit from the Illinois Commerce Commission in March last year, but the 5th District Appellate Court overruled that decision last week.

Justice James Moore, writing the unanimous opinion for the three-judge panel, said the issue with the ICC’s permit is primarily a lack of evidence that its owners can actually pay for the development.

Kuykendall also said the company will “immediately appeal” the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.

* Forbes…

The increased utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment practices has ushered in an era of unprecedented efficiency and innovation. However, with these advancements come new regulatory responsibilities, as demonstrated by Illinois’ recent legislative actions. On August 9, 2024, Illinois enacted HB 3773, a landmark law set to take effect on January 1, 2026, that will reshape how employers use AI in employment decisions. This legislation, amending the Illinois Human Rights Act, serves as a critical reminder that the adoption of AI in hiring, promotion, and other employment-related activities must be carefully balanced against the potential risks of discrimination and the need for transparency.

HB 3773 will establish comprehensive regulations governing the use of AI in the employment lifecycle. The law broadly defines AI as any machine-based system that generates outputs such as predictions, recommendations, or decisions based on input data. This definition encompasses generative AI, which produces content that simulates human output, such as text, images, and multimedia, and more traditional predictive AI, which assists decision-making by producing scores, rankings, and classifications.

Employers in Illinois will be required to provide notice to employees, including apprentices and applicants for apprenticeship, whenever AI is utilized for key employment decisions. These decisions include recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, or the terms, privileges, or conditions of employment. Although the law does not explicitly mention job applicants, its language suggests that AI tools used during recruitment will likely fall within its scope.

A critical component of HB 3773 is its prohibition against using AI in a manner that results in discrimination against protected classes under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Employers must also avoid using zip codes as proxies for protected classes in any AI-driven decision-making process. While the specific application of this provision remains somewhat ambiguous, it signals that employers need to be vigilant about the data inputs and algorithms used in AI systems to prevent unintentional bias.

* Prairie Farmer | Who owns the most farmland in Illinois?: Nearly 60% of all farmland in Illinois is owned by absentee landowners and farmed by someone else. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns the most farmland in Illinois, with nearly 54,000 acres. Farmland Partners comes in second; Bill Gates is a distant sixth, with less than a third of the Morman church’s acres.

* Investigate Midwest | Corteva, Pioneer Hi-Bred settle lawsuit with farmworkers sprayed with pesticides: A group of migrant agricultural workers who were sprayed with pesticides while working in a central Illinois cornfield in 2019 reached a confidential settlement late last month with Corteva and its subsidiary, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, ending a three-year lawsuit with the seed giants. The case against the companies that owned and operated the aircrafts that sprayed the workers is ongoing.

* Tribune | DNC protest groups win concessions from city over stages, sound system for Union Park rally: A coalition of activist groups set for a massive protest at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week has won concessions from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration allowing them to set up stages and sound systems for rallies in a park near the United Center. The agreement, which was reached after hours of back-room negotiations between the parties, nullifies an emergency motion filed in U.S. District Court earlier this week alleging the city had violated protestors’ First Amendment rights by restricting how the rallies could be staged.

* Bloomberg | Cops Vow to Avert Risk of Havoc From DNC Protesters Converging in Chicago: In preparation for the Democratic gathering, police studied the failures of 2020 and implemented enhanced training for about 2,500 officers. Chicago is also bringing in as many as 500 police from outside the city, who will be placed around the convention. Some will come from Milwaukee, where Chicago sent officers last month to help with the Republican National Convention.

* WGN | Downtown Chicago businesses board up ahead of Democratic National Convention: Crews with a business called Chicago Board Up Services say they’ve boarded up at least a dozen locations around the West Loop, downtown and Daley Plaza and have plans to work on additional businesses weekend. “If you feel you’re in any type of line where you feel there’s going to be a lot of commotion — we’re not pushing it — we’re hoping the city will be comfortable and there wont be no unrest. But if you feel you want your doors boarded, it’s better to have them boarded up than have to wait and replace glass,” said business manager Vicki Fichter.

* Block Club | Activists Fighting Protest Restrictions At Union Park As DNC Legal Battle Comes Down To The Wire: At a press conference Friday morning, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the restrictions aim to ensure the protesters can exercise their First Amendment rights in a safe environment “in an environment that allows their voices to be maximized and heard.” “As far as staging, microphones and all of that, that is being provided. We’re working out the details around porta potties,” Johnson said. “I’m going to make sure that these individuals have everything that they need to make sure that their voices are heard.”

* Tribune | List of officers recommended for firing grows to 50 as process to discipline Chicago cops in the most serious cases remains frozen : The Chicago Police Department concluded nearly two years ago that one of its officers sexually assaulted a woman in the back seat of her car while she was intoxicated and unable to give consent. […] The officer in the assault case was hired in 2019 and is now 28 years old. He has remained on CPD’s payroll, though stripped of his police powers and assigned to desk duty since July 2022. FOP President John Catanzara told the Tribune that the union did not provide any legal assistance to the officer because the alleged conduct was not related to any sort of police action and allegedly occurred while the officer was off duty.

* Sun-Times | COPA releases video of Auburn Gresham police chase that caused severe head injury to man who died weeks later: As officers attempt to handcuff Curry, who is motionless on the ground, a witness off camera can be heard telling the officers “you didn’t have to slam him like that.” One of the officers replies “no, he tripped.” The man replies “He ain’t trip. You pushed him. I watched you.”

* Block Club | Chicago Public Schools Says Teachers Union Proposals Would Lead To $4 Billion Deficit By 2029-30: Granting just 52 of the union’s 700-plus contract proposals would widen the district’s deficit from a projected $509 million next fiscal year, to roughly $3 billion, said Mike Sitkowski, the district’s budget director. That gap would grow by another $1 billion by fiscal year 2030, he said. Deficits are already projected for each of the next five years, without the cost of a new contract, CPS officials have said. In order to balance future budgets, the district will have to find more funding or will make cuts to staff and programs, they said.

* Block Club | On The Cusp Of Chicago’s Strategic Plan Release, Charter Schools Demand More Details: In December, the school board backed a resolution spelling out its intent of breaking with choice and privatization. Charter advocates read privatization as code for charter schools, which are public campuses run by private entities. They have demanded reassurance from the district and the board that the plan won’t be an assault on charters. District officials have stayed mum on details of the plan, which also has caused some anxiety among families at district-run magnet and selective enrollment schools. Officials have said they wanted to first gather community feedback at a series of public meetings and in other settings this past spring.

* Sun-Times | Judge says Ed Burke got 2-year prison sentence for ’significant reasons’: Kendall cited Burke’s age — he’s 80. She said “prison will be more difficult” for him, and she mentioned his health problems. She said Burke “did not obstruct justice” like Cui. “He did not lie to the FBI.” And yes, she said, Burke “served in the military and the police.” The judge also said she documented “just dozens and dozens of good works” that “were not tied to the gravitas of [Burke’s] position,” but rather “acts of kindness and generosity that he did outside of his position as an alderman.” Then, she turned to Cui, ultimately giving him a higher sentence.

* Daily Southtown | Calumet City aldermen skeptical of Mayor Thaddeus Jones plan to use TIF funds to abate property taxes: Jones has pitched a proposal to transfer $2 million from tax increment financing districts to the pockets of some residents. However, some aldermen are skeptical, saying the plan could face legal challenges and do more harm than good for the city’s long-term economic prospects. […] Jones’ plan, which he hopes to pass through the council once he drums up enough support, would transfer 80% of the city’s generated TIF funds to Cook County to offset some residents’ property taxes. An analysis by the Cook County treasurer’s office found Calumet City has the sixth highest municipal tax rate in the county, exceeding 20%.

* Daily Southtown | Thornton Township trustees say they need more information on bills, residents slam bickering by board: Henyard, at Thursday’s township meeting, said she tries to make herself available to trustees if they have questions about how money is spent. “My line is open to any board member sitting here,” she said. […] [Trustee Carmen Carlisle] said she has been contacted by vendors who’ve done work for the township and submitted bills, but that in some instances the supervisor doesn’t include them on the list of bills for the board to review and approve.

* WAND | Sonya Massey Commission established to address systemic issues in Sangamon County: Sangamon County Board Chairman Andy Van Meter, and State Senator Doris Turner announced on Friday the formation of a citizens’ commission to address systemic issues in law enforcement practices, mental health responses, and community relations. “Since Sonya Massey’s death, I’ve been dedicated to ensuring our community trusts those elected to serve and those called to provide service,” said Senator Turner. “I hope the Sonya Massey Commission honors her life by finding solutions to advance our community.”

* WCIA | Champaign Police Training Institute aims to improve process, involve community: For the Police Training Institute in Champaign, they have a routine cemented in an almost 70-year tradition. Now, they’re looking to make some changes. Since 1955, the Police Training Institute on the University of Illinois’ campus has trained officers from all over the state, focusing not only on physical fitness and tactical skills but also on legal, ethical, and psychological factors of policing.

* The Southern | JALC construction projects look to revitalize and modernize campus: Dr. Kirk Overstreet, president of John A. Logan College, said that while the campus will see its fair share of dust in the short term, the projects will ultimately improve the college’s future outlook. “It would not be my first preference to be doing six projects all at once on campus,” Overstreet said. “But in the long run, it will have a whole new look on campus. It’ll freshen us up, and really bring us up to the 21st century.”

* Illinois Times | Legislating gender: A member of Congress who represents portions of Sangamon County is sponsoring legislation to define, in federal law, what is a male and a female. The move by U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Illinois, stirred consternation among LGBTQ advocates and cheers from those skeptical of the concept of gender fluidity.

* Nieman Lab | “AI reporters” are covering the events of the day in Northwest Arkansas: Each story on the site is bylined by an AI avatar. Together the avatars form a ragtag newsroom of faux beat reporters. “Arlo Artiste” is apparently on the pulse of the arts and culture scene in Northwest Arkansas, “Miles Rythmic” is the designated music critic, and “Sammy Streets” is your bootstrap “street-level reporter.” They are each visualized as a literal robot, most with a microphone in hand.

* The Nation | California’s AI Safety Bill Is a Mask-Off Moment for the Industry: “Does SB 1047…spell the end of the Californian technology industry?” Yann LeCun, the chief AI scientist at Meta and one of the so-called “godfathers” of the artificial intelligence boom, asked in June. LeCun was echoing the panicked reaction of many in the tech community to SB 1047, a bill currently making its way through the California State Legislature. The legislation would create one of the country’s first regulatory regimes specifically designed for AI. SB 1047 passed the state Senate nearly unopposed and is currently awaiting a vote in the state Assembly. But it faces a barrage of attacks from some of Silicon Valley’s most influential players, who have framed it as nothing less than a death knell for the future of technological innovation.

* Atlantic | America Has a Hot-Steel Problem: A basic fact of thermodynamics is coming to haunt every foot of train track in the United States. Heat makes steel expand, moving its molecules farther apart, and as hot days become hotter and more frequent, rail lines are at risk of warping and buckling more often. Any fix must deal with this fundamental truth of physics. Railroads can slow their trains down, which avoids adding more heat. Or they can leave gaps in a rail (or cut them as an emergency measure), which relieves pressure that causes track to bulge but means a potentially bumpier and slower ride. Painting tracks white would help deflect heat, but the paint would need to be reapplied frequently. Adapting to this reality will be expensive, and might ultimately just look as it does now: slow the trains, cut the track, issue a delay.

* AP | Woman charged in brazen plot to extort Elvis Presley’s family and auction off Graceland: Lisa Jeanine Findley, 53, of Kimberling City, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter borrowed $3.8 million from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death last year, prosecutors said. She then threatened to sell Graceland to the higher bidder if Presley’s family didn’t pay a $2.85 million settlement, according to authorities.