* ICYMI: As Illinois House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch navigates a new crisis, an older scandal remains unresolved. Sun-Times…

- When Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch was first elected in 2021, the National Organization for Women’s Chicago chapter raised concerns over accusations he had engaged in domestic violence and sexual harassment years earlier, saying they were serious enough to warrant some kind of investigation.
- But five years later — as new questions emerge about whether Welch slow-walked sexual harassment accusations brought against now-former state Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield — there is no indication any such investigation ever occurred.
- Welch’s government spokesman said it was news to him if there was ever talk in 2021 about an investigation into this “very old story,” but he said he would check into it. He never got back to a reporter.

* At 3 pm, Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver remarks at the 2026 UnidosUS Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Rep. Fred Crespo | Did Illinois’ Speaker of the House normalize sexual harassment?: We cannot accept that. Everyone must work toward zero tolerance, and we can start by investigating the issues the Tribune reported. The speaker’s failure to protect sexual harassment victims certainly requires transparency and answers. At best, his failure to adequately respond to sexual harassment complaints is the consequence of poor management and irresponsibility. At worst, the speaker doesn’t take sexual harassment seriously and his office normalizes such behavior. […] As a member of the Leadership Council for Women In Need Growing Stronger (WINGS), which has provided pathways to independence for victims of domestic violence since 1985, I have zero tolerance for sexual harassment. But the speaker doesn’t. And that’s a problem. I don’t believe that I am the only Democrat who is tired of politics getting in the way of protecting victims. I urge my colleagues in the House to call for the speaker’s resignation, renew its call for zero tolerance, and perhaps even push for the state’s first-ever female speaker of the house.

* Illinois Times | Data center development linked to power plant construction: Ken Loeber, a founder of North Carolina-based Eagle Rock Partners, told the Christian County Board on June 16 that Eagle Rock worked out a power purchase agreement with the future power plant’s owner and developer, New Jersey-based Kindle Energy LLC. Such an agreement would allow Eagle Rock’s proposed Meridian Technology Park data center southwest of Taylorville to get all of the 1,000 to 1,100 megawatts it needs from the long-delayed Lincoln Land Energy Center. A power purchase agreement could be less expensive for Eagle Rock than buying power from the regional electrical grid. Loeber told Christian County officials that the agreement with Kindle would be important for Eagle Rock’s plans to proceed.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Rep. Angie Guerrero-Guellar | ComEd’s $15 billion grid plan fuels questionable spending: The most troubling finding is not just how much ComEd wants to spend, but how it is trying to classify the spending. CUB identified $96 million in capital spending, plus $18 million more in operating costs, that ComEd labeled “mandatory” even though it’s clearly discretionary. That distinction matters under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, known as CEJA. CUB found that “ComEd hid these expenses in the mandatory category to skirt the CEJA mandate of having to prove that the benefits of discretionary spending outweigh the costs.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker says he has now seen the January Illinois State Police shooting video, but defers to local decision: “First of all, I received a full briefing about the video and about the circumstances back in January,” Pritzker said upon questioning from CNI insider Brenden Moore at an unrelated event Tuesday in Elgin. “So that’s six months, really when it happened, we were made aware. Did not watch the video back then.” He said he watched the video in the past week — though he didn’t directly comment on it. Instead, he pointed to the St. Clair County state’s attorney, the locally elected official who declined to charge the trooper, Gary Blake Novack.

* Center Square | IL FOID litigants given deadline to provide joint status report: Plaintiffs suing over the ID requirement to own and possess not just guns but ammunition say it violates their Second and 14th Amendment rights. Attorney Jacob Huebert of the New Civil Liberties Alliance filed the lawsuit in May, saying it’s been around since 1967. […] Illinois State Police and Cook County asked for a delay in their response, which was initially due in June. A judge granted that extension. The eventual response was provided earlier this month. Defendants denied the law violates civil liberties, among the 75 other allegations made through the complaint.

* Center Square | US Senate race: Tracy rips Stratton for liberal policies, not committing to debate: Juliana for Illinois campaign spokesperson Allison Janowski said Stratton “has previously stated that she welcomes the opportunity to debate Tracy.” Stratton was not available for an interview with The Center Square for this story, but Janowski said they would look for “future opportunities.”

* 21st Show | Secretary overseeing state department of early childhood discusses Illinois’ childcare challenges: The new department’s secretary, Teresa Ramos has served in leadership roles at education nonprofits Illinois Action for Children and Advance Illinois. Before becoming Secretary for the Department of Early Childhood, she was first assistant deputy governor for education under Pritzker. Ramos discusses the role of the new department and how it’s navigating ongoing shortages in staffing and availability for childcare across the state.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Chicago’s acting CFO exits ahead of Johnson’s next budget showdown: The exit comes a little more than a month before the city will release an updated budget forecast that will likely tweak the projected $89 million 2026 deficit and provide a projected 2027 shortfall that the mayor and City Council must close with a budget plan by the end of the year. Despite the interim title, the Johnson administration leaned on Mahr to provide public testimony against a state bill that would have hastened the Chicago Bears exit to Arlington Heights and during committee hearings to spar with a frustrated City Council coalition over the 2026 budget they approved over the mayor’s objection.

* Tribune | ‘This is exhausting’: Chicago school board race objections leave 5 seats uncontested: District 10A candidate Tameka Walton was removed from the ballot at Tuesday’s meeting. However, she will still challenge incumbent Che “Rhymefest” Smith as a write-in candidate endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. To date, objection challenges have kicked six candidates off the ballot. Candidates running in Districts 9A and 10A on the South Side, Districts 8A and 8B on the Southwest Side and District 4B on the North Side have been removed from the ballot since June, leaving the races technically uncontested.

* Sun-Times | Lake View man sues feds for raiding his home, arresting construction worker during Midway Blitz: Using the camera’s microphone, Feler told the agents they were trespassing and demanded they get off his property, according to the lawsuit. A tenant, who was home at the time, also demanded a warrant but was ignored. One worker was arrested by federal agents, and dozens of Feler’s neighbors were tear-gassed while protesting. Feler returned home to find several “puddles of blood” and tens of thousands of dollars in damage to his property, according to the lawsuit.

* WGN | Lobbyist John Kelly launches campaign for Chicago Mayor on The Point: In anticipation of the campaign, Kelly says he has de-registered as a lobbyist but retains ownership of his firm. He plans to have someone else control the company while he runs for office. “When you’re working on behalf of those clients, you know how to make government work,” Kelly said during an interview on The Point.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | West Suburban, Weiss owners punt again on settlement as community groups push for state action: This afternoon, Cook County Chancery Division Judge Patrick Stanton heard from lawyers from Ramco, the real estate company owned by Rathnaker Patlola, and Resilience, in which Patlola has a minority 40% stake. Ramco attorney Scott Kaplan requested permission to make a motion that Stanton enforce the existing settlement agreement. “The problem is everyone should be trying to reopen these hospitals,” Kaplan said about getting the settlement enforced.

* CBS Chicago | Man accused of stealing automated license plate reading cameras in Lisle, Illinois, speaks out: Anthony Pareigis and his two friends, Jacob Steichmann and Thomas Yano, are charged with vandalizing and stealing five Flock automated license plate reader cameras on Sunday. “We probably wouldn’t tolerate a policeman on every corner photographing every single one of us as we drove on by,” Pareigis said. Flock cameras photograph license plates and vehicle characteristics, creating searchable records that police say help solve crimes, recover stolen vehicles and locate missing people. The company says the cameras do not use facial recognition.

* Sun-Times | Libertyville man gets 6 months in prison for threatening federal judges with photos of bullets: So while Lebuhn insisted he’d made a one-time mistake, Ellis said she had “to think about the people that are sitting in front of their computer who are angry and frustrated and feel like they don’t have a voice, and they feel like the world is going in a direction they don’t agree with.” Then she gave Lebuhn six months in prison, reminding the 66-year-old Libertyville man that “if we allow folks to just do what they want and threaten people in order to get the outcome that they want, that will ruin democracy faster really than anything we can do.”

* Daily Herald | ‘We can’t be bystanders’: Rolling Meadows mayor announces reelection bid amid Bears stadium saga: Touting her regional approach to the prospective Chicago Bears redevelopment just over the backyard fence, Rolling Meadows Mayor Lara Sanoica has announced plans to seek reelection next spring. And in a town once beset by council wars, Sanoica also can tout the endorsements of all seven city council members. So far, no one has lined up to run against the 35-year-old, first-term mayor. Candidates can begin circulating petitions in late August for the April 6, 2027, election.

* Daily Herald | ‘DuPage was hit hard’: Tornado confirmed in Glen Ellyn, straight-line winds strike Carol Stream, Downers Grove: Monday’s weather saw a slew of warnings and watches take effect throughout the suburbs. By Monday evening, nearly 320,000 customers were without power, according to ComEd. Around 170,000 ComEd customers remained without power Tuesday. As of 2:15 p.m., there were still 29,870 customers without power in DuPage County. Power outages led to closures and cancellations. The College of DuPage canceled classes in some buildings on its Glen Ellyn campus, due to a lack of electricity.

* Crain’s | Northwestern lands $20M for first publicly accessible AI-powered protein lab in U.S.: Northwestern University will establish the first publicly assessable “cloud laboratory” for protein engineering in the nation, with a $20 million, four-year award from the National Science Foundation, the school announced. The Northwestern lab will be one of 20 National Science Foundation-funded programmable cloud laboratory — or PCL — test beds that will make up a network of remotely accessible, AI-enabled labs to let researchers share expensive, sophisticated equipment and conduct experiments from their own locations around the country.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | From the Farm: Federal budget cuts hit U of I research: The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has admitted to cancelling congressionally approved research grants to institutions such as the University of Illinois. The loss of funding is something that Senior Vice Chancellor Susan Martinis said is very serious. Agricultural research in Illinois could be set back if research fund cancellations continue.

* Muddy River News | Anti-public camping ordinance goes before next week’s Quincy City Council meeting: The city is using a model generated by the Illinois Municipal League (IML) following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which allows local governments to regulate or ban camping on public property. Dozens of Illinois municipalities have since adopted local camping restrictions, sparking ongoing debate and state legislative pushback. The model ordinance suggests the city provide a posted notice of campsite removal at least 24 hours in advance. The exact language of Quincy’s version is expected to be released several hours before next Monday’s meeting. Agendas are usually finalized by 2 or 3 p.m.

* WGLT | After forum, Bloomington-Normal unions endorse Democrats across the board for November elections: Appearing at the forum were all Democrats running for county board positions as well as three Republicans, plus Republican countywide candidates Kathy Michael (incumbent county clerk), Rebecca McNeil (incumbent treasurer, unopposed), and Jon Albee (sheriff, unopposed). Democratic clerk challenger Joshua Crockett also attended. All 10 Democratic candidates for county board, as well as Crockett, were subsequently endorsed by the union delegates.

* WGLT | How siloed investigations and mistrust left Unit 5 in the lurch in Chiddix cases: Despite Andrew Miller and Brandon Knapp being removed from their classrooms at Chiddix Junior High, many asked why the two men were kept on the taxpayer-funded payroll as the criminal investigations unfolded — and why Unit 5 didn’t do more to protect its students. The reality is Unit 5 was caught flat-footed, in part because police and prosecutors kept the school district in the dark. A WGLT investigation showed Unit 5 repeatedly tried to gain information about Knapp’s case — and was repeatedly rebuffed, limiting the district’s ability to act swiftly.

*** National ***

* The Journalist’s Resource | Rethinking the campus mental health “crisis”: 3 things journalists should know: The most striking evidence of these intergenerational connections comes from a cohort of students from the Class of 1975 at Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges. When we returned to this cohort and re-interviewed them fifty years after graduation, they assumed their experiences were profoundly different from those of their children and grandchildren. But, when they listened to their past interviews, they discovered instead how much they had in common with later generations.

* MPR News | Elon Musk’s company sues Minnesota over new law to bar manipulated images to fake nudity: Companies that violate the law could face a $500,000 penalty for each unlawful use. There are exceptions within law for cases that require technical or artistic skill. […] Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, posted on X that he was prepared to defend the law. “Using AI to generate nude images of people against their will is appalling. There are plenty of worthy debates to have about AI. This is not one of them. AI nudification robs the target of their dignity and could cause them immense harm on many levels,” Ellison wrote. “I’ll see X in court.”