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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Good news for Belvidere. Crain’s…
Gov. JB Pritzker…
* Press release | Illinois Housing Development Authority Releases Plan to Create and Preserve Affordable Housing: The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has published its 2027-2028 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP), which establishes the rules and criteria governing Illinois’ Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the state’s primary tool for financing the creation and preservation of affordable housing. The new QAP is part of Governor Pritzker’s broader housing strategy to address Illinois’ housing from multiple facets: maximizing limited federal resources for affordable housing while also supporting the conditions needed for more homes of all types to be built in communities across the state. Together, these efforts advance the goal of ensuring every Illinoisan has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. * Tribune | Trial lawyer Victor Henderson makes his case for Chicago school board president: Victor Henderson, a longtime white-collar civil litigation attorney, points to his time on the board of Urban Prep Academies. The troubled charter school network was on the brink of closure in 2023 amid allegations of financial mismanagement and sexual misconduct. But Henderson said he saw another side to Urban Prep, which serves Black boys at two high schools on the South Side. One student, he recalls, told him his school “saved his life.” He stood alongside other Black business and civic leaders at a press conference calling on City Hall to step in. * Sun-Times | Chicago’s Austin neighborhood was christened ‘Soul City.’ It’s still waiting for its landmark: Since 2020, residents of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood have been waiting for the city to erect a gateway arch at the entrance of its Soul City Corridor, the stretch of Chicago Avenue from Austin Boulevard to Cicero Avenue. They were thrilled when an artist, Bernard Williams, was selected and renderings were drawn up. And last year, Illinois designated a larger segment of Austin as Soul City, one of 15 official cultural districts in the state, paving the way for $200,000 in additional monies to boost the neighborhood. But the gateway construction has stalled, leaving the burgeoning development of Black business, arts and culture unidentifiable to those driving from the west suburbs into the city. The delay over a single symbol illustrates how bureaucratic the process to create a cultural district in Illinois can be. * Block Club | What’s Going On With Harold’s Chicken? Your Questions (Mostly) Answered: “We are asking that you do not support these locations because we cannot ensure that the quality will be the same, since they are not authorized. We would hate for your supporters to spend their hard-earned money and not receive the authentic Harold’s Chicken experience our family has worked so hard to protect,” the statement read. The statement mentioned nine locations, including one in Zion, Illinois. Yet, on Instagram, the owners of the yet-to-open Zion location disputed Harold’s claim, insisting it is “an ‘authorized’ retailer.” * Tribune | Obama Presidential Center digital library access across the US was unintentional, CPL says: People around the country similarly tried to access what was erroneously referred to online as “free library cards.” At the same time, Chicagoans hunted for physical library cards with renderings of the Obama center. However, the Chicago Public Library did not intend for people to register across state lines on Libby, Patrick Molloy, director of government and public affairs at the Chicago Public Library, wrote in an email to the Tribune. He also wrote there wasn’t actually a digital library card, and people were referring to a small collection of e-books and audiobooks. * Oak Park Journal | As planned, OPRF draws down cash reserves in new budget: The tentative budget for the 2027 fiscal year, ending June 30, 2027, that was unveiled at the Aug. 6 meeting of the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education projects an operating surplus of a little more than $900,000 but when all funds, including capital expenditures for construction are taken into account, a total net deficit of nearly $7.5 million. The school’s overall cash reserve is projected to decline to approximately $38 million from the approximately $45.5 million cash on hand as of June 30 of this year. That decline in the school’s cash balance is expected since OPRF has been spending down its once abundant reserves by using $44.2 million in cash reserves to help pay for the nearly completed mostly new physical education wing in the southeast corner of the building called Project 2. * Lake County News-Sun | Grant program teaches Waukegan-area small businesses to thrive: ‘We learn a lot from each other’: Thompson is one of 17 participants in the Lake County Community Foundation’s Small Business Growth Initiative from May 18 through Sept. 21, educating entrepreneurs with businesses in Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion. Courtney Combs, the Lake County Community Foundation’s director of strategy and community impact, said the program is operated in partnership with the Chicago-based Allies for Community Business. * Daily Herald | ‘Almost a finished building’: Buffalo Grove’s new fire station nearly ready for unveiling: “We’re going to see a more modern facility, something that’s way better for our firefighters, better for their health, better for their welfare, as well as better for response times,” Kane said. With the old building, there were areas where, during winter, when the wind hit the right way, it felt like being in a wind tunnel, officials said. * Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County now looking to plant elm tree initially meant for America’s 250th celebration at Judicial Center: America’s 250th anniversary festivities have come and gone, but Kane County is still mulling over what it will do with an elm tree and plaque from the local Daughters of the American Revolution that had initially been central to the county’s plans for celebrating the country’s semiquincentennial. After plans to plant the tree outside the Geneva courthouse were shot down, the county is now looking at a new location, this time outside of the Kane County Judicial Center in St. Charles. The county initially accepted a historical marker and “Liberty Tree” from the Elias Kent Kane Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, meant to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday, in November. * WCIA | DACC Adult Education program will lose funding, end operations: State and federal grant funding for the Danville Area Community College’s Adult Education program has been eliminated, and the 60-year program will cease operations at the end of next month. This comes after an investigation into discrepancies in both money and test scores within the program. DACC conducted an internal investigation, officials said in April, and then notified the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). The ICCB investigated, and officials announced on Thursday the decision to eliminate the college’s funding. The same day, the ICCB released its report from the May 27 Monitoring On-Site Review. * WGLT | McLean County communities and governments are reducing carbon emission levels: The nonprofit Ecology Action Center [EAC] in Normal has released its third study of greenhouse gas emissions in McLean County, finding those emissions have decreased over the last decade. EAC used 2022 as its data year for the most recent publication, which said the county decreased greenhouse gas emissions by about 10% since 2008, the study’s first year. A second publication measured levels in 2015 in the county. * Unraveled | Chicago ICE team seen threatening drivers has roamed from Illinois to Minnesota to Virginia: Unraveled has verified the agents in Molina’s videos were far from their usual base of operations. The team has been recorded inflicting violence on immigrants, protesters, and observers in the Chicago area since last summer, including outside the region’s ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois that became the epicenter of anti-deportation protests during Operation Midway Blitz last autumn. Members of the same team were also recorded intimidating and threatening drivers in the Twin Cities in mid-January—in the brief period after federal agents killed Renée Good, and before U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents killed 37-year old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti.
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Drip, drip, drip
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * You may recall this from yesterday when Rep. Kelly Cassidy countered Speaker Welch’s claim that he had no idea his online behavior could cause someone to be uncomfortable…
The House met at the Springfield convention center during the pandemic, and was there during the transition between Speaker Madigan and Speaker Welch in January of 2021. * Sources have confirmed that those same screen shots which were passed around by House Dem members in early 2021 somehow eventually wound up in the hands of the House Republicans, who used those screen shots in their online ad that we showed you a few weeks ago… I was wondering why all those screen shots predated Welch’s ascension. It finally occurred to me to ask some folks today if those were the same ones passed around at the BoS Center. Yep.
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Pritzker on storm response: National Guard ‘isn’t just the be-all and end-all answer to problems’
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * Gov. Pritzker was asked today if he intends to call up the National Guard to help with storm cleanup in the suburbs…
* Indiana was hit hard and it’s struggling to recover. CBS Chicago…
* Meanwhile, WGN…
* Back to the governor…
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Pritzker on Bears: ‘They have not come forward with the bill that they would like to ask the legislature to pass’
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * At an unrelated event today, Gov. JB Pritzker was asked a few questions about yesterday’s Bears press conference…
* Have the Bears given up on Illinois?…
Please pardon any transcription errors. * WVIK will have Rep. Kam Buckner on tonight…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois sues Trump admin over its demands for CDL database information. Sun-Times…
- The lawsuits claim the Trump administration is violating both state and federal law by creating its own version of the database without guardrails for the handling of sensitive information, such as social security numbers. - Illinois and California state law require written permission from each state for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to share information it has collected from the states, according to the lawsuit. * At 10 am, Gov. JB Pritzker will sign legislation to deliver flood damage relief to Illinois families. At 12 pm, the governor will tour storm damage in Lansing. Click here to watch. * KWQC | Tyson announces Joslin plant closure; employees told Thursday was last day: Illinois officials said about 2,500 union workers lost their jobs with the closure. […] “The old CEO stepped down, a new CEO stepped in. He came here and evaluated our plant and he chose to close our plant without any notice for us, any notice for our union people. It’s just devastating. All these people without jobs,” said Rita Newton. In an online statement, Tyson also said they will be closing its Eagle Mountain, Utah, facility and are planning to sell its Pasco, Washington facility. * QC Times | Local leaders respond to closure of Tyson plant in Joslin: “I am stunned and saddened by the news that Tyson Foods is closing after 43 years in Joslin. This is devastating to our region, to the families that depend on the income they receive from this factory, and to the communities who will bear the downstream impacts of this closure. I have asked Tyson Foods and others to work together to analyze potential repurposing of this facility for preserving jobs.” * Farm Week | Pritzker speaks on supporting FFPA this legislative session: Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday morning he wants the Family Farm Preservation Act (FFPA) passed this legislative session, voicing his support at the opening day of the Illinois State Fair. “Whenever the legislature is in session, I’ve got a list of things that I want to make sure get through, and so I’m going to work hard to get that agenda passed. That is among the things that we need to get passed,” he told FarmWeek when asked if the FFPA would pass during the November veto session. * Capitol News Illinois | DCFS: ‘Significant miscommunication’ within the agency led to missed court dates: Gov. JB Pritzker told CNI on Wednesday he’s received assurances that the agency won’t miss a third upcoming court date on Sept. 9. “Either through the notification process or some mix-up, they did not know about the court date,” Pritzker said. “And, so, they absolutely want to show up. It’s not like they’re avoiding it. We’ve got a great director there who is trying to do the right things.” Capitol News Illinois sued the agency in March after it declined to release personnel files of two caseworkers and one supervisor who were responsible for monitoring Mackenzi Felmlee, a teenage girl who died while in foster care. * Journal-Courier | Video: Interview with Darren Bailey, Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate: * Crain’s | Johnson says Chicago will make full advance pension payment: The announcement was made at the city’s annual investor conference and comes after the mayor was non-committal to making the $130 million payment last month and during significant turnover among his financial team. “We are resolute in our commitment to continue that practice this year,” he said during a speech ahead of a panel with the leaders of the mayor’s budget task force, Loop Capital’s Jim Reynolds and Karen Freeman-Wilson, president of the Chicago Urban League. * Tribune | Chicago school board puts two revenue questions on the November ballot: The first referendum is whether Illinois should impose a surcharge on millionaires to raise public school funding. The second will ask whether Chicago should charge financial penalties on owners of underdeveloped or vacant lots to funnel money to CPS. Both questions approved Thursday are nonbinding, meaning they don’t enact laws and instead serve as signals to legislators as they make policy decisions. * Tribune | SEIU puts $1.1 million into school board race effort as feud with CTU escalates: The budget has emerged as a dividing line between those candidates and the two unions. The CTU-aligned majority of the Chicago Board of Education passed a $10.11 billion budget last month with a surprise amendment to include $150 million in unconfirmed state funding. District leaders warned that the move could leave CPS vulnerable to midyear cuts if the money doesn’t materialize. While CTU supported the plan, SEIU has called it a “gamble” that is “dependent on state funding that does not exist.” Then, the dispute spiraled into an online spat this week between Driver and Potter, the CTU vice president. * Sun-Times | Mike Quigley says he’s ‘willing to risk the job to save the city’ if elected mayor: Quigley’s decision to run for mayor and reelection to Congress simultaneously looks more like playing it safe than risking it all. But the 17-year veteran North Side congressman claims the opposite is true. […] “The next mayor has to be willing to risk the job to save the city. … You have to be willing to say, ‘This is going to be my last job.’ You have to be willing to risk it all, because we’re out of runway,” Quigley told the Chicago Sun-Times. “This is my last and biggest fight. I have nothing to lose. I’m only in this race for Chicago.” * Tribune | Services delayed by discovery of 56 bodies at funeral home finally held: ‘Right a wrong’: The Young family had initially planned Keith’s visitation a week ago, his funeral the day after. They had hired South Chicago Chapel to handle the services. But as the visitation approached, the family grew anguished. They called the funeral home director, who told them there was police activity in the neighborhood blocking the way but she promised to deliver Keith. Instead, his body was among those that authorities recovered from South Chicago Chapel. * ABC Chicago | 2 renovated American Airlines gates reopen at O’Hare airport in $300-million project: Gates K1 and L2A reopened with four baggage claims, signaling the revamp of Terminal 3 is almost complete. The $300-million project dubbed ElevateT3 is part of Chicago’s vision to transform one of the busiest airports. The project includes an expanded passenger corridor between Concourse K and Concourse L, upgrades to the baggage claim area, approximately 10,000 square feet of new space for concessions and amenities, and an updated American Airlines Admirals Club. * Sun-Times | After six months in ICE detention, a Chicago tamale vendor rebuilds her life: Murillo returned to Chicago in March, among the small number of immigrants who have been released as a result of a court order rather than deported. She says she’s in the process of obtaining legal status. In the meantime, Murillo is making more room for her daughters and accepting their growing independence. And she’s trying to rebuild a new identity around a newfound appreciation for her city, a slower pace of life, her faith and the people she loves. * Tribune | Developer proposes replacing now-shuttered Ford City Mall with warehouses and distribution buildings: “It’s frustrating that the local community doesn’t have a voice or a say in what could be a huge development that benefits the Southwest Side,” said Adolfo Castrejon, president and founder of the West Lawn Conservation Club. Castrejon said he and other community residents don’t oppose replacing the old mall. But instead of a quick industrial development, they prefer a long-term planning effort focused on attracting multifamily housing, updated retail, a park and perhaps a transit hub with a new CTA Orange Line stop. * Sun-Times | White Sox starter Davis Martin ejected after hitting Reds’ Sal Stewart with pitch: That’s when the benches and bullpens emptied. No punches were thrown, but a lot of words were exchanged. Video showed -Suarez approaching Martin, saying, “That’s not right, that’s not right. Come on, now.” “I thought that was extremely blatant,” Reds manager Terry Francona said afterward. “You can’t throw two balls like that head-high. You kill somebody. I thought that was terrible.” * Daily Herald | Mayor still hopeful Bears will ‘reverse this ship back toward Arlington Heights’: Officials in Arlington Heights remain optimistic the Chicago Bears may again turn their attention toward the Northwest suburbs, even after team brass said Thursday they are focused on a new stadium in Northwest Indiana. “What I didn’t hear today — there are people on the radio talking about, ‘You know, it’s going to be a big earth-shattering announcement. They’re going to change their name to the Hammond Bears, and everything is moving full speed ahead.’ And none of that is happening,” Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia said. * Tribune | Ex-Assessor’s Office employee who wired up for feds gets probation: Over the next several years, Memisovski operated undercover, secretly recording nearly 100 in-person meetings with associates — including some who claimed to have ties to organized crime — and over 400 phone calls, his lawyers said in a recent court filing. His cooperation helped the feds charge former colleagues in the assessor’s office, crooked developers, and even his own cousin. * Daily Herald | Kane County sheriff remains away from work, and no one is saying why: For more than seven years after his election as Kane County sheriff in 2018, Ron Hain was among the most accessible, outgoing and public-facing figures in suburban law enforcement. That came to an abrupt end this spring, when Hain vanished from the public eye. Months later, the circumstances of Hain’s ongoing absence from the sheriff’s office remain shrouded in mystery. On April 10, members of the sheriff’s office received a memo from Hain’s second-in-command, Undersheriff Amy Johnson, addressing “recent rumors regarding the Sheriff’s health.” * WCIA | Naturalization ceremony taking place at Illinois State Fair: The event will take place Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. in the Orr Building, and will include 309 people from around the world. In a release, the United States District Court of the Central District of Illinois said this ceremony will mark the “culmination of their journey to embrace the rights and responsibilities” of United States citizenship. * PJ Star | He spent six days in jail without being charged. His attorney blames Peoria police: Ronnie Common Jr. spent nearly a week in jail and lost his job partially because of two investigations in which he was never charged, including one he had no involvement with whatsoever. * Muddy River News | Adams County Board approves Quincy Solar One project, coroner facility funding: The Adams County Board approved a special-use permit for a 2.5-megawatt solar energy facility Tuesday night while also signing off on funding for a new coroner’s facility and beginning a broader discussion about how the county could pay for future public-safety needs. The board voted 13-6, with one member voting present and one abstaining, to grant Quincy Solar One LLC a special-use permit for construction and operation of a 2.5-megawatt commercial solar energy facility in Riverside Township. * KFVS | SIU, IDOT launch $40M partnership to protect southern Illinois wildlife: Before heavy equipment moves in at future construction sites, SIU researchers will survey for wildlife as part of the new partnership. The researchers will look for endangered animals and plants, along with bats, turtles and snakes. The goal is to keep construction projects from harming local ecosystems. Brent Pease is the new director helping establish the Roadside Ecology Center. * AP | Flock announces changes to its license plate reader network after reported abuse by members of law enforcement: In an interview, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said many of the product changes will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory for its users to implement by Jan. 1. Among them: All law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool that’s intended to flag abnormal search behavior. When the system detects abnormal behavior, the user would be locked out pending an internal review, the company said in a description of the changes provided ahead of Thursday’s announcement. * Reason | She Spent 7 Months in Legal Hell After Cops Used Flock Surveillance To Identify the Wrong Car: Witnesses said the speeding car was a Dodge Durango. Police found that a Flock camera—a type of automated license plate reader (ALPR)—had spotted a Durango nearby at the time, and they arrested the owner, 23-year-old Lindsey Isaacs. But Isaacs wasn’t involved in the crash, and officers had enough information at the time to exclude her as a suspect. Yet she still spent two weeks in jail and faced the threat of life behind bars for months because police didn’t use basic scrutiny to be sure their cameras implicated the right person.
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Good morning!
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this week…
He kept saying “rout 66″ until the final sentence, when he called it “root 66″ like it’s supposed to be pronounced. Dude is just not hip. * Whatever. Ray Charles… Won’t you get hip to this timely tip? This is an Illinois open thread.
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Campaign update
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (Live updates)
Friday, Aug 14, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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