Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

Dozens of recipients of the Illinois Youth Investment Program are asking Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to support funding for the program. They say nearly 5,000 Illinois youths will lose work this month because of budget cuts.

Initially, a group of 59 partner organizations scheduled a press conference for Wednesday to bring attention to the matter. This afternoon, Jack Wuest, executive director of the Alternative Schools Network, said the press conference has been called off “in light of the strong discussions we’ve had with the [state] legislature in the last week and a half.” […]

The Illinois Youth Investment Program is run by the Department of Human Services (DHS). According to DHS, the program is a multi-faceted approach to youth employment that invests in the future of at-risk teens and young adults between the transitional ages of 16 to 24. […]

All 59 organizations are asking Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to:

- Support funding of the Illinois Youth Investment Program to keep 5,000 youths working from Sept. 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027
- Support additional funding for the program

*** Statewide ***

* IPM Newsroom | Few parents in Illinois opting kids out of required vaccines, data shows: Lo and the co-authors published their map of rising exemptions in January in the Journal of the American Medical Association. […] Most Illinois counties have a non-medical exemption rate under one percent. Six counties in northern and southern Illinois have a two percent exemption rate. The exemption rate is higher in most other states in the Midwest. In one Wisconsin county, between 10-20% of parents are opting their kids out of vaccines.

*** Chicago ***

* Tina Sfondeles…

Delia's team has squashed this rumor to me, twice. I think it's being spread to make it seem like there's a faction of CTU looking for another candidate. Ramirez will be the most progressive member of the Illinois delegation next year. Why would she leave that? https://t.co/3QNZAoykab

— Tina Sfondeles (@TinaSfon) August 10, 2026

* The Tribune | As Chicago’s mayoral race takes shape, social media influencers step in — including for Brandon Johnson: The disclosure late last month marks the arrival of a new form of campaign advertising in a Chicago election. The decision by Johnson — who has not yet officially launched a 2027 mayoral bid — is a sign the mayor believes short-video influencers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok hold rising, largely untapped sway over voters as he weighs a reelection run. It’s a strategy that raises thorny questions about compensation and disclosure but one, Johnson campaign director Christian Perry said, that will only grow more common.

* CBS Chicago | Activists file police reports alleging crimes by federal agents in Chicago during Operation Midway Blitz: At a news conference, Vásquez said the mass filing of police reports on Monday will be the first of many. “Today’s mass filing is not an exclusive exercise,” she said. “We have chosen our right to file police reports together to make our collective demand for accountability both public and impossible to ignore.” Among those in attendance was Marimar Martinez, who was shot by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent last fall in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood. Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot Martinez five times in October 2025 after agents wrongly claimed she tried to ram into them.

* Sun-Times | Tracking every known federal prosecution in Chicago tied to Trump’s deportation blitz: Two defendants have pleaded guilty. Twenty-five have been cleared. Grand jurors refused to indict at least three of the 25, and another member of that group was found not guilty at trial. One of the 25 saw their charges dropped through a deferred-prosecution agreement. Under the terms of such a deal, prosecutors agree to drop charges if a defendant abides by certain terms over a set period of time. Five Midway Blitz defendants struck such a deal, and four are still pending.

* Block Club | Obama Presidential Center Releasing More Tickets This Week: Tickets range in price from $15 to $30. They allow entry into the museum, but other parts of the Obama Presidential Center are ticketless and free to explore — including the Forum event space, Home Court athletic facility and Chicago Public Library branch.

* Sun-Times | Chicago man gets ‘time served’ in gun turn-in case that angered former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan: Duncan says he fears Smith’s saga will discourage people from participating in the Chicago Police Department’s gun turn-in program. “I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said, ‘I saw the story,’ and they’re like, ‘We’re never turning in a gun,’” Duncan says. “All we want is guns off the street. That’s what we’re trying to do. So it’s all the wrong messaging.”

* Sun-Times | Tim Anderson announces retirement from baseball with White Sox, who will honor him Sept. 17: “Definitely a lot of dark moments,” Anderson said. “Got to a point where I couldn’t enjoy it. You see I’m sweating. I still love the game; it just brought too much pain for me. So going back to play is not for me right now in life.” The good moments include two All-Star Game appearances (2021, 2022), one Silver Slugger Award (2020) and one American League batting title. They also include one of the most memorable home runs in Sox history, Anderson’s walk-off homer against the Yankees in the 2021 “Field of Dreams” game.

* Block Club | Vienna Beef Restaurant, Factory Store At Bucktown Headquarters Still Happening — In 2027: Known as Vienna Beef Plaza, the development’s restaurant and factory store had initially been slated for a spring 2024 opening, Tom McGlade, a Vienna Beef vice president, previously said. That timeline has since been repeatedly pushed back, partly due to Vienna Beef’s focus on expanding its pickle business in recent years, McGlade told Block Club.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Cook County moves to end decades-old tax buying practice: It’s not clear whether the new fees will discourage buyers from participating in upcoming sales or whether the fees on tax buyers will be sufficient to pay claims of lost equity by property owners who have lost their homes in the previous two years. If not, the county is on the hook to pay claims. “I fully expect the buyers will continue to participate,” Tarver says. “They had a hand in negotiating what those fees will look like. It won’t be as lucrative, but it’s not like they’ll lose money.”

* Aurora Beacon-News | As Army Corps study stalls, future still uncertain for Fox River dams: ‘It’s just going to run its course’: Dams have become the subject of removal for numerous reasons, among them benefits to public safety, improved water quality and a better habitat for wildlife. But, at least in the Fox’s case, that suggestion has also been met with opposition, on the grounds that removal would negatively affect recreational use of the river and impact property owners and the cities along the waterway, among other reasons.

* Daily Herald | Want to ditch the drop-off line? Maybe there’s a Bike Bus in your kid’s future: About 20 Bike Bus groups are active in Chicago and the suburbs, including in Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn and Woodridge. The results are “we have healthier, safer schools because you have people that are more physically active. There’s also less congestion around the schools. There’s less people driving and healthier air,” Resman noted. Bike buses also build a community, advocates say.

*** Downstate ***

* WTVO | Rockford City Council scheduled to elect acting mayor Monday night: The selection was postponed after the city attorney requested additional time to determine the legal procedures required to appoint an interim mayor. The council is set to choose the acting mayor from among its current alderpersons.

* Capitol News Illinois | Feds: Southern Illinois coal mine managers concealed ‘deadly conditions’: Though no workers died, prosecutors say the mine managers put more than 100 miners’ lives at risk. The indictments allege that federal regulations and the mine’s own emergency plan required an evacuation after the fire could not be extinguished within 10 minutes. Instead, prosecutors say, managers kept miners working underground for portions of three shifts while trying to fight the uncontrolled fire.

* Capitol City Now | Lincoln Library to host a 4-day event learning about the 1908 Race Riots: “1908, we found that there were a series of lynchings all over the United States, and that spurred the formation of the NAACP in 1909,” said Trees. “So many unfortunate, ugly things that people did to one another. So, we felt that we’ve been working for the last 12 months on putting this together with a lot of partners, just to bring forth these things, that we can keep the 1908 race riots before the public, so that the young children know about it. It’s important that my grandchildren learn and those behind us so that we can keep this up.”

* Press release | Route 66 Named Honorary Grand Marshal of the 2026 Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade: The highway’s influence extends far beyond transportation. Route 66 has inspired bestselling books, classic songs, television series, and blockbuster films that introduced millions to the romance of the open road. From John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, which immortalized the highway as the “Mother Road,” to Bobby Troup’s iconic song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” and Disney-Pixar’s Cars, generations have experienced the spirit of Route 66 through American popular culture. Its nostalgic roadside diners, vintage neon signs, quirky attractions, and small-town charm continue to draw travelers from around the world to Illinois and the communities that helped define the Route 66 experience. Many of those moments are captured in the Route 66 Experience, a self-guided educational exhibit located at Gate 2 on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

*** National ***

* Sun-Times | National pediatrics group says all kids 6 months and older should receive flu shot: The guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics comes before any federal agencies release their own guidelines for the upcoming flu season. Last year, the CDC removed its long-time universal recommendation for the annual flu shot from its childhood vaccine guidance.

* WSJ | If You Get in a Car Crash, the Risk Is Growing Your Insurance Won’t Pay: The industry says an uptick in fraud, driven in part by fake claims enhanced with AI tools, is triggering more denials. It also points the finger at attorneys. “People are going to litigation as a first step, instead of a last resort,” said Sean Kevelighan, chief executive of industry group the Insurance Information Institute.” Plaintiff lawyers say they are being made the scapegoat for a problem of the insurers’ own making.

* The Ringer | The End of Google Search—and the Internet—as We Know It: Like Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch, who admitted on the tech news web show TBPN in May that his elite publishing house was already preparing for the worst when it came to the future of inbound traffic referrals from Google. “Last year, I told our teams: Assume there’s no search,” Lynch told the hosts. “You have to have your businesses planned as if search is zero.” He wasn’t alone in his proactive pessimism. Mike Reed, the CEO of USA Today, shared recently on the Rebooting Show podcast that at his company, “our plan is to assume search is gone and build our business in other ways.” Drastic times call for drastic projections, and as Reed phrased it in his interview, more than once: “The traditional Google Search model is broken.”

* WaPo | Water systems are ripe for cyberattacks, experts warn after suspected Iranian hacks: In March 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a memo to require that states work with local officials to spot weaknesses in water systems that hackers could exploit, and then develop plans to remediate them. Municipalities could apply for federal grants to help defray costs. But attorneys general in three Republican-led states — Arkansas, Iowa and Missouri — sued, arguing that the memo exceeded the EPA’s authority, failed to provide for public comment and was a financial burden on small towns. The federal appeals court for that region, seen as among the most conservative, halted the rule change. The EPA withdrew it. Late last month, a water utility in the western part of Arkansas, one of the states that sued, was hit with a cyberattack, part of a spate of intrusions into municipal water systems that U.S. spy agencies believe is the work of Iranian regime hackers. The campaign comes as a U.S.-launched war with Iran moves into its sixth month, with Tehran showing no sign of backing down.

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Rep. Cassidy cites Speaker Welch’s ‘mishandling’ of the Benton case: ‘That’s not an investigation’

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) appeared on Brian Mackey’s Illinois Public Media show…

Kelly Cassidy: The speaker says he did an investigation. Well, he talked to the two parties involved and decided it was a he said, she said. That’s not an investigation. That is, as I used to say about what Speaker Madigan would propose in terms of ethics reform, the least you can do.

And so, we don’t necessarily have a really good process laid out anywhere in the building for how to truly get to the bottom of these things and what to do about it when you do. But common sense would dictate you would want to talk to more than just the perpetrator and the victim and make a decision based on that alone. […]

This young woman at the beginning of her career didn’t feel safe going to the LIG, and we still don’t know why. What I know as someone who has gone to the LIG is that it is an incredibly daunting process. It feels huge and scary. And if you’re afraid that, just as the speaker concluded, well, it’s just a he said, she said, you’re likely to just try to keep your head down and keep moving. And so we have built a system that doesn’t work for the people that we need it to work for.

Brian Mackey: I’m looking at a news headline here from 2018: “State representative says she’s facing retaliation for speaking out against Madigan.” And that’s obviously about you. Why did you choose to speak out again this time, specifically against Speaker Welch and his handling of this case, when so many of your colleagues have not?

Kelly Cassidy: At the end of the day, you are never safer from retaliation than when you’re standing in the middle of the street screaming the truth. And that’s something I would like all of my colleagues to understand and all of these victims to understand — that as hard and scary as it can be, and I don’t like that I have colleagues dragging me and, you know, talking about me in very unpleasant ways as they try to defend the speaker — but the bottom line is right is right. And we can’t — if I hide, that’s telling the victims who are hiding that they’ve made the right decision.

Brian Mackey: There are people who are going to say she’s doing this because she wants his job. What do you say to that?

Kelly Cassidy: Sorry. I don’t know why in the world anybody would want to be speaker. It’s a terrible job. I have no interest in being Speaker of the House. I have a great deal of interest in having a Speaker of the House who is going to be the leader we deserve and need.

Brian Mackey: Can Welch maintain your confidence to do that?

Kelly Cassidy: That remains to be seen. The speaker’s election is going to be in January. We’re going to have months of this. We’re going to be on the doors for ourselves or our colleagues when the mail is full of, you know, all of the news about the police reports and the sexual harassment suits and all the stuff from the past — and then this stuff, whether it’s his social media activity, his mishandling of the case, all of these things. This is going to be in our faces for months. How he navigates that is going to be very telling.

12 Comments

When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Paper Moon in downtown Mascoutah offers thoughtfully curated gifts, locally made products, handcrafted candles, and an array of creative classes for all ages. What began as owner Kimberly Kilgore’s passion project has grown into a vibrant boutique that offers unique gifts and a community connection.

Findings of a recent economic study are clear: the retail sector is a cornerstone of the state’s economy and crucial to our everyday lives. Retail in Illinois directly contributes more than $112 billion in economic investment annually – more than 10 percent of the state’s total Gross Domestic Product.

Policies that support small businesses help communities thrive as retailers like Kimberly from Mascoutah 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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State’s EBF ramp just got a billion dollars larger as state falls further behind

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* CNI…

Despite a $350 million increase in base funding for public schools this year, Illinois is falling further behind in its quest to bring all school districts up to adequate funding levels.

That’s according to new data from the Illinois State Board of Education, which announced Friday the details of how it will distribute $9.3 billion in Evidence-Based Funding dollars for public schools.

For the third consecutive year, the number of districts being funded at or above 90% of their “adequacy target” will fall while the overall “adequacy gap” — the amount of additional money it would take to bring all districts up to full adequacy — will increase.

According to the new distribution figures, only 292 of the state’s 850 elementary, high school and unit school districts will be funded at 90% or more of their adequacy target in fiscal year 2027, down from a peak of 327 in fiscal year 2024.

And the overall adequacy gap this year will total $6.8 billion, up from $4.8 billion three years ago.

State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders said that’s primarily due to three factors: rising costs; a decline in one source of corporate tax revenue; and an increase in the number of students identified as “low-income.”

* Illinois Federation of Teachers…

In response to the new data released today, the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) called for the Governor and General Assembly to convene a special session to address the backwards motion exposed by the release of the state’s latest Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) report, which demonstrates that Illinois is losing ground on its legal requirement to adequately fund public education by 2027.

The new data released today by the Illinois State Board of Education shows the state’s school funding gap grew by more than $1 billion in just a single year, now sitting at nearly $7 billion. Of the state’s 936 school districts and organizational units, 714 moved further from adequate funding this year alone. At the state’s current minimum annual investment, adequacy is now fourteen years away, up from eleven years just last year.

The new figures make clear that Governor JB Pritzker and state lawmakers must correct the bare-minimum approach to school funding that is currently failing students, educators, and communities across Illinois.

“Today’s report should serve as a wake-up call,” President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and Chicago Teachers Union, Stacy Davis Gates, said. “A child entering kindergarten today will graduate from a high school that is still underfunded. Our students are about to report to crumbling buildings, without the food, special education support, and transportation that they need to meet the minimum of a functional school day, let alone the quality school day our students deserve.”

Schools in Waukegan, Rockford, Elgin, Aurora, Peoria, Kankakee, Urbana, Danville, Quincy, Springfield, Belleville, Carbondale, and Marion are farther from full funding this year than they were last year.

The new calculations underscore that underfunding of schools is truly a statewide problem.

To try to address the shortfall, school districts have been making painful cuts that directly harm students and their futures. In northern Illinois, Harlem School District 122 recently closed two community schools because of ongoing financial pressures. In Cicero School District 99, more than 50 educators were laid off in an effort to close budget gaps. In Peoria, large class sizes, fewer support staff, and lack of counseling services are directly impacting student learning.

The underfunding is felt from Pre-K to PhD. Higher education is feeling the same squeeze. In Macomb, students at Western Illinois University are facing skyrocketing tuition while the university cuts academic programs and staff in an effort to manage years of inadequate state investment. Meanwhile, mass layoffs hit Eastern Illinois University in Charleston last fall. These cuts land hardest on regional institutions that serve Black and Brown communities, which have absorbed the effects of chronic underfunding for decades. These are not isolated cases.

Illinois now owes $6.9 billion to fill the gap in its own school funding formula, a gap that grew by $1 billion in the last year alone. At the current pace, the state’s legal obligation to fully fund the Evidence-Based Funding formula has fallen dramatically behind schedule.

At the very least, the state should’ve tied annual EBF increases to inflation.

21 Comments

It’s now signed into law

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Chicago Tribune…

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Friday that places guardrails on a drug discount program that hospitals and other healthcare providers say they rely on to help them care for vulnerable patients.

The new law prohibits drugmakers from restricting the number or types of pharmacies that hospitals and other providers can contract with to dispense medications to their patients through a federal program called the 340B Drug Pricing Program. It also bars drugmakers from placing certain other restrictions and requirements on providers and pharmacies participating in the program. […]

Under the federal 340B program, drugmakers provide outpatient medications at a significant discount to certain healthcare providers, including those that serve large numbers of low-income patients.

The idea behind the program is to help healthcare providers expand services using the money they save and pass the medication savings on to patients.

But drug manufacturers argue that the savings are not being passed along to patients, and that hospitals and others are instead profiting from the program.

* Illinois Environmental Protection Agency…

Governor JB Pritzker signed three bills (HB 5070, SB 3772 and HB 4418) that protect Illinoisans from the legacy of toxic pollution and insulate the state from some of the worst impacts of the Trump administration’s federal environmental policy rollbacks. Environmental and community advocates across the state are celebrating the new laws as a set of historic “firsts” that will result in cleaner air and water and improved public health across the state. […]
As the federal government aggressively moves to weaken federal environmental protections, Illinois is instead strengthening them. In signing HB 5070, Gov. Pritzker, his Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the General Assembly have, for the first time, ended the state’s automatic adoption of federal environmental rules when such rollbacks would weaken existing state protections. […]

By enacting SB 3772, Gov. Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly have further solidified Illinois’ legacy as the home of the Environmental Justice (EJ) movement. SB 3772 codifies, for the first time in Illinois law, a legal framework for addressing the cumulative impact of industrial air pollution in Illinois’ Environmental Justice communities. The Illinois EPA will have greater air permitting authority to protect environmental justice communities, now defined by data analysis pinpointing low-income communities of color with historically disproportionately high concentrations of polluting industries, against increasingly toxic accumulations of air pollution. Researchers estimate that air pollution contributes to about five percent of premature deaths in environmental justice communities. […]

With the Governor’s signature of HB 4418, Illinois state law will officially designate plastic pellets as a pollutant for the first time. In doing so, Illinois will become the first of the Great Lakes states to hold producers of industrial plastic pellets accountable for spills of these toxic pellets into our waterways.

* WAND…

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Friday to help women receive proper medical treatment for menopause.

Healthcare professionals in Illinois are already required to complete a one-hour implicit bias training during their license renewal period. However, this law will allow a course covering perimenopause and menopause to satisfy the requirement. […]

Pritzker also signed legislation mandating private insurance plans cover medically necessary evaluation and treatment of perimenopause and menopause conditions, including hormone conditions and medications. It also amends the Human Rights Act to state it is unlawful to discriminate against an individual due to a menopause-related condition, including in the workplace.

“Illinois should be a leader in caring for women going through perimenopause and menopause - and that means removing obstacles that have held too many back from getting help,” said Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood). “Requiring private insurance to cover these evaluations and treatments will make care more affordable and help prevent serious long-term health issues.”

* WTVO…

Illinois rideshare drivers will soon have the ability to unionize and collectively bargain under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, a measure supporters say will give more than 100,000 Uber and Lyft drivers a greater voice in pay, benefits and working conditions.

The legislation, House Bill 5090, creates the Transportation Network Driver Labor Relations Act, establishing a framework for drivers working through app-based transportation companies to organize, select bargaining representatives and negotiate industrywide agreements with rideshare companies. […]

The measure creates a statewide bargaining unit for transportation network drivers and allows an exclusive bargaining representative to negotiate with covered rideshare companies on issues including compensation, benefits, paid leave, deactivation appeals, earnings transparency and workplace safety requirements. Any negotiated agreement would require approval from the Illinois Department of Labor before taking effect.

The law also establishes a Rideshare Workers Support Fund, financed through a per-trip fee paid by covered transportation network companies. Revenue from the fund will help cover administrative costs and support education and representation efforts for drivers.

* WCIA…

A new pilot program in Illinois aims to make it easier to obtain disability parking placards.

The program, spearheaded by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, was announced on Thursday. Giannoulias said it follows a newly signed law that expands parking relief for families caring for children and individuals with disabilities.

Under the new law, legal guardians who transport people with disabilities that are unable to drive themselves will be able to obtain a meter-exempt disability parking placard. This allows individuals to park in reserved spaces, like at malls and grocery stores, without paying a parking meter free. Previously, those placards had primarily been available to people with disabilities who are able to drive themselves. […]

House Bill 4843 was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker on July 31. It took effect immediately.

* Sen. Christopher Belt…

State Senator Christopher Belt’s measure to reduce unfair barriers to employment for people living with disabilities was signed into law.

“Everyone in our state deserves the opportunity to earn a living and support their family,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “Too many people are being shut out of good jobs because of requirements that have nothing to do with the work, and this measure will help change that.”

The legislation will prohibit employers and employment agencies from requiring applicants to have a valid driver’s license in job postings unless driving is an essential function of the position and is considered a business necessity.

Currently, many job descriptions continue to include driver’s license requirements regardless of whether operating a vehicle is actually necessary for the role. Advocates estimate nearly 1.85 million Illinoisans face barriers to employment because they do not possess a driver’s license, including many people with disabilities who rely on public transportation, paratransit services, rides from caregivers or family members or other accessible transportation options.

House Bill 4758 was signed into law on Friday.

* The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association…

The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) today released the following statement after Gov. JB Pritzker signed SB3070, an initiative led by the IMA that will allow high school students to take Career & Technical Education courses in lieu of foreign language classes currently required for graduation:

“We commend Governor Pritzker for signing this important measure, which expands student access to technical education, opening more career pathways to high demand jobs in manufacturing and the skilled trades,” said Sarah Hartwick, Senior Vice President and Corporate Board Secretary for the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Providing hands-on learning opportunities is critical to the development of a skilled manufacturing workforce that will strengthen our state’s economy for generations to come. We thank Sen. Willie Preston and Rep. Will Davis for their leadership on this issue and look forward to preparing more students for rewarding careers in the manufacturing industry.”

* The Illinois State Medical Society…

The Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) today applauded the governor’s signing of House Bill 5228, which amends the Workers’ Compensation Act to improve the care received by injured workers accessing treatment through the workers’ compensation system.

This landmark legislation addresses longstanding challenges in the Illinois workers’ compensation system that have delayed care and created unnecessary barriers for injured workers and their physicians. The law streamlines the medical review process, reduces treatment delays, strengthens patient safety and reinforces patient privacy protections by limiting insurers’ access to medical records that are unrelated to the injury being treated. […]

The significant reforms laid out in HB 5228 will:

1. Require that adverse determinations of medical necessity during the utilization process be made by a board-certified physician specialist with experience treating and managing patients with the medical condition for which the service is being requested.
2. Specify that utilization review certifications be valid for three months or for the length of treatment. For surgical procedures, an additional three-month certification will be provided for post-surgical care.
3. Require that certification determinations must be inclusive of services typically included with the requested healthcare service.
4. Require that an individual reviewing appeals of non-certified services be a board-certified physician specialist, or a subspecialist when applicable. The physician must have experience treating and managing patients with the medical condition of the service that is being appealed.
5. Require that an Independent Medical Examination (IME) used to determine reasonableness and medical necessity be provided by a board-certified physician specialist. The IME report must be furnished to the employee, or their representative, and the treating physician within 90 days, with the clock starting when the employer receives the medical records from the physician requesting the medical service.
6. Create a rebuttable presumption that if the timeline is not followed then payment of benefits and approval of medical services will be paid for by the employer. The language also provides penalties should the employer fail to meet the provisions of this section.

* More…

Press release | Cunningham formalization of mobile IDs is now law:

* Press release | New Illinois Law Requires Easier Access to Local Government Financial Records: “The people of Illinois deserve transparency when it comes to how units of government manage their tax dollars,” said Plummer. “Public financial records should not be difficult to find or buried in websites. This law is a simple, commonsense step to make important financial information easier for taxpayers to locate and review.” House Bill 2137 requires local governments, counties, and municipalities that already maintain a public website to post information directing residents to where audit reports and financial statements can be accessed through the Illinois Comptroller’s Office.

* WRMJ | Hammond Bill Strengthening Assisted Living & Shared Housing Act Signed Into Law: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently signed legislation sponsored bylocal State Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb), which modernizes and strengthens the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act to improve resident safety, elevate professional standards, and enhance regulatory clarity across Illinois. House Bill 3392 ensures that residents in assisted living and shared housing establishments will continue to receive high-quality care, with regulations that adapt to meet the changing needs of those who receive care in these settings.

* Alton Telegraph | New Illinois law changes how prosecutors get DNA match results:A new Illinois law that will take effect Jan. 1 requires the Illinois State Police to automatically share certain DNA results with a county’s prosecutor. But the change comes with some confusion because the law applies only to DNA results that match a suspect. Illinois House Bill 5580, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law almost a week ago, requires DNA test results from the Illinois State Police crime lab to be sent automatically to the law enforcement agency handling the case, with a copy sent to the county state’s attorney prosecuting the case.

* Press release | Johnson’s new law requires life-saving training: House Bill 3275 will require all paid school head coaches and chief sponsors of the sports activities to obtain training in CPR, first aid and the use of an AED. School districts will be required to conduct an annual cardiac response drill to practice the steps established in its cardiac emergency response plan. The drills are able to be conducted without student participation.

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Why does this keep happening? (Updated)

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* CBS 2…

Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who regulates crematories, shut that business down last year, revoking its license.

“It is really disgusting and upsetting to find out that they’re still at it, and I had said back then, these folks will figure out a way to circumvent the system,” she said. “I don’t know how there’s not like a microscope on this entity. You know, the Morgans literally run a house of horrors in their businesses.”

But when it comes to the Morgans’ funeral home, Mendoza said her hands are tied, because funeral homes are regulated by a different state agency.

“We don’t have the authority to, you know, look at what’s going on in their funeral home. That’s not something that we regulate or investigate. That is fully under the purview of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations, and we have made it clear to them that these are terrible actors,” Mendoza said on Friday.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said, while they have the power to revoke funeral directors’ licenses, they do not have jurisdiction over funeral homes.

Mendoza said regulation of funeral homes and crematories should be handled by a single state agency.

* NBC 5…

In a news release sent Friday, the IDFPR said it took “swift action” after learning of the situation at the South Side funeral home, and was working with investigators “to ensure all appropriate regularly and public-safety steps are taken.”

The IDFPR handles the physical operations and professional credentials of funeral homes, Mendoza’s office said. The department also licenses and disciplines funeral directors and embalmers, and investigates operational issues like professional incompetence, vital records noncompliance, or the improper handling of human remains.

In 2024, Morgan’s husband Clark, who previously held a funeral director and embalmer intern license, had his credentials suspended.

In 2025, the Illinois Office of the Comptroller shut down the Morgan’s other business, Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights, after investigators discovered “several improperly stored bodies and hundreds of cremated remains that had never been returned to their families.”

* AP…

Capitol News Illinois reported in 2023 that state regulators allowed a Carlinville funeral director to operate for months despite a complaint filed by a local coroner who found a decomposing body in his funeral home and alleged the care of the remains was “unacceptable and criminal in nature.”

While trying to assist a local family with retrieving cremated remains in March, Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson found the unrefrigerated corpse in the embalming room of Heinz Funeral Home. She contacted IDFPR, the state agency that oversees funeral directors, and filed a complaint.

IDFPR took no immediate action against the funeral home director Albert August “Gus” Heinz, allowing him to continue to handle arrangements for grieving and unsuspecting families. It wasn’t until Oct. 5 — days after another local coroner went public with what he found at the funeral home — that Heinz agreed to allow [IDFPR] to revoke his funeral director license. The coroner later filed an affidavit saying Heinz might have misidentified up to 800 human remains.

…Adding… IDFPR…

Our hearts are with the families whose loved ones were affected by the disturbing circumstances uncovered at the South Chicago Chapel funeral home. Every family deserves the assurance that their loved one will be treated with dignity, care, and respect. Any breach of that trust is deeply troubling.

Late Friday, July 31, IDFPR received information about potential operational concerns at the funeral home, prompting IDFPR to open a complaint and conduct an on-site inspection shortly after. As soon as investigators identified evidence of misconduct, IDFPR initiated expedited disciplinary proceedings, suspended Johanna Morgan’s funeral director license earlier this week, and notified law enforcement. On a separate matter in 2024, IDFPR revoked the license of the funeral director’s husband for misconduct.

While IDFPR issues licenses and regulates funeral directors, and does not regulate funeral homes or crematoriums, the Department communicates regularly and promptly with the Illinois Office of the Comptroller, state and local law enforcement, and other local partners to address any form of known misconduct. As evident in this case, once evidence of misconduct by a licensed professional was identified, IDFPR acted swiftly and decisively within our jurisdiction to suspend the funeral director’s license.

We will continue to support law enforcement and local authorities as the investigation proceeds, pursue every regulatory action available under Illinois law, and take any additional action necessary to safeguard the public and uphold the integrity of the profession.

This oversight needs to be consolidated.

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Turning Promise Into Progress For Illinois Students

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Thank you, Governor Pritzker and members of the General Assembly for taking an important step forward for Illinois students with a $26 million investment in free, healthy school meals, a $17 million increase and the largest expansion in over a decade.

Your leadership is turning policy into meaningful action, helping schools provide nutritious meals that support students’ health, learning, and success every day. At a time when families and educators are facing growing challenges, this investment demonstrates a strong commitment to the well-being of Illinois children.

This significant progress begins to fulfill the promise established in 2023 to expand access to healthy school meals and shows what is possible when leaders prioritize the health and success of students.

While this investment marks an important milestone, more work remains to fully fund school meals and ensure every child has reliable access to the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive. We look forward to building on this momentum together to make that vision is a reality for every Illinois student.

Learn more at: https://www.healthyschoolmealsil.com/

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Labor: ‘False’

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch sat down for interviews with selected reporters last week. He told most of them that his office had conducted an “informal investigation” into sexual harassment allegations against former Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, in 2023.

Welch’s staff has not responded to our request for an interview (same goes for the Chicago Tribune). But nobody asked whether he and his staff spoke to anyone other than Benton and the 22-year-old district office staffer who accused Benton of sexual harassment during that informal investigation after she’d resigned to avoid more harassment. Benton resigned last month.

Jessica Dixon Heitman also worked in Benton’s office at the time and has said she left because of the treatment of the young woman. But as far as I can tell, nobody talked to her in 2023. Heitman was recently appointed to replace the disgraced Benton.

So based on talking to just two people, Welch concluded that this was a “he said, she said” dispute, and, therefore, since no formal complaint was filed, Benton “was entitled to a constitutional right to due process,” Welch told WGN TV. “I had to support a member, and I supported a member.” His caucus committee contributed $1.4 million to Benton’s reelection campaign.

Set aside for a moment the constitutional right to receive $1.4 million in campaign contributions after an overly narrow informal probe. Welch also told WGN, “We had to respect the wishes of the survivor, even though she didn’t want to go through a formal complaint process.”

However, as the Tribune has reported, the accuser’s main reason for coming forward was to make sure that no other woman would be harassed by Benton.

At least two more women were sexually harassed by Benton after that, according to the legislative inspector general.

And despite what Welch reportedly told the House Democratic Women’s Caucus last month and then WGN last week, the Illinois AFL-CIO issued a remarkably forceful response to a question I asked by releasing a statement saying, “Any suggestion that Harry Benton — or any elected official — controlled labor’s support for a candidate or caucus is false.”

Last month, I informed my subscribers that Welch told members of the Women’s Caucus, “Harry Benton went around telling union people that the speaker retaliated against him and should have given more support in his last [2022] race,” a member paraphrased Welch’s response at the time.

The Tribune reported last week that the newspaper learned from participants in the meeting that “Welch assisted the now-disgraced former lawmaker’s 2024 reelection campaign with $1.4 million to prevent Benton from actively working to curb organized labor support to the speaker’s war chest.”

And Welch told WGN last week that, while he regretted supporting Benton, “labor was a big advocate of Rep. Benton. As a union member himself, he had a lot of support.”

Some folks I talked to said it looked like Welch was throwing labor under the bus, so I reached out to the Illinois AFL-CIO and asked for its reaction to last week’s stories.

“The Illinois AFL-CIO has no tolerance for sexual harassment, in the workplace or anywhere else,” the labor umbrella organization declared. “We were deeply disturbed by the legislative inspector general’s report and by recent reporting on former Rep. Harry Benton’s egregious conduct, and we agree with his decision to resign. Any suggestion that Harry Benton — or any elected official — controlled labor’s support for a candidate or caucus is false. It is clear the General Assembly needs to take further action to strengthen its policies and procedures to combat harassment and support the brave victims who come forward.”

The Tribune also quoted some Democrats close to organized labor who accurately noted that “Benton had little power to influence organized labor or its massive fundraising apparatus.”

Labor did support Benton in 2024, and a big reason was that Benton’s Republican opponent was Gabby Shanahan. At the time, Shanahan worked for the anti-union Illinois Policy Institute. I’ve written several times (including in my syndicated newspaper column in 2024) that there was no way on this earth that organized labor wanted an Illinois Policy Institute staffer in the General Assembly. Shanahan is running again this year, but she no longer works for the Illinois Policy Institute.

Now, a question could be asked about what would’ve happened if Welch or someone in his organization had told union leaders about the 2023 sexual harassment allegations against Benton by a 22-year-old district staffer.

But remember, Welch’s “informal investigation” included talking to only Benton and the staffer. And then the matter was closed.

28 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: PJM’s big new data center plan: Make the states figure it out. Canary Media…

* Related stories…

• NPR: Data centers are a political issue crossing party lines, driving voters to candidates
• Daily Herald: Critics of Grayslake data center plan sue to stop construction
• NYT: New Amazon Data Center Stokes Worry It Would Be the Most Polluting Power Plant in the U.S.

* At 2:15 pm, Gov. JB Pritzker will participate in the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable Candidate Forum. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Pritzker signs bill that aims to protect 340B drug discount program: The new law prohibits drugmakers from restricting the number or types of pharmacies that hospitals and other providers can contract with to dispense medications to their patients through a federal program called the 340B Drug Pricing Program. It also bars drugmakers from placing certain other restrictions and requirements on providers and pharmacies participating in the program.

* Crain’s | Pritzker presses Welch for quick action on sexual-harassment reforms: “It seems like other states have figured this out but not the House of Representatives in the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said at an unrelated press conference today. “I know there’s been talk about a working group. I’ve seen working groups go on for a year and a half. There is no time here. There are already models for dealing with this in other states.”

* Capitol News Illinois | School funding stretched thin as costs rise, corporate revenue source shrinks: Despite a $350 million increase in base funding for public schools this year, Illinois is falling further behind in its quest to bring all school districts up to adequate funding levels. That’s according to new data from the Illinois State Board of Education, which announced Friday the details of how it will distribute $9.3 billion in Evidence-Based Funding dollars for public schools. For the third consecutive year, the number of districts being funded at or above 90% of their “adequacy target” will fall while the overall “adequacy gap” — the amount of additional money it would take to bring all districts up to full adequacy — will increase.

*** Statewide ***

* WGLT | Amtrak reports banner year, though growth in Illinois is more mixed: Much of the growth in nationwide ridership happened on the northeast corridor where Amtrak is putting a new generation of Acela higher speed engines into service. Ridership on Illinois routes was not as robust — nearly 4.58 million people for FY 2025, according to an Amtrak fact sheet. That’s a significant increase from FY 2024 but still lags each of the five years before the pandemic.

* Tribune | As Trump proposes deregulating Head Start, Illinois providers worry what the changes could mean for families: Head Start leaders in Illinois say it’s too soon to tell how the proposed rule will fully affect the low-income families in the state, but many say they are alarmed. Classes could have more students and fewer educators under the proposal, and programs would be required to be taught in English instead of supporting dual-language learners, as current rules require. They are changes that could hit some of Chicago’s most vulnerable families, according to Nadia Gronkowski, director of federal policy and advocacy at Start Early, an Illinois-based organization that advocates for Head Start accessibility.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WBEZ | Darren Bailey’s running mate maintains abortion is ’sin against God’: “Nobody wants to make Illinois a mecca for abortions from everyone around the country to come here and sin against God,” Del Mar said, drawing applause from the audience. But the Cook County GOP chairman said, in a July interview with WBEZ as part of a media tour promoting his slate’s economic policies, that abortion is not on their legislative agenda this time around.

* WGN | Illinois House GOP Leader not swayed by Speaker Welch’s apology tour: On Wednesday, Welch told WGN-TV he was forming a new House Culture and Accountability working group that would begin meeting next week. It will be led by State Rep. Dagmara Avelar. No Republicans are members. “It’s just political posturing. We could right now, strengthen the the powers of the LIG. We could have independent investigations. And, certainly I don’t understand why we have to have a working group to do what’s right and what should have been done,” McCombie said.

* CWB Chicago | Electronic monitoring system is ‘broken’ and needs legislative fix, State’s Attorney says: “The whole system right now is broken and it needs a legislative fix,” Burke said in a wide-ranging interview with Landon Campbell posted to YouTube on Sunday. “So, I’m going to be asking you and everybody you know and everybody who’s listening to this to please reach out to your legislators and tell them that you do not believe that violent criminals should be on electronic monitoring. They should not and we can work out an agreement with the legislators of okay, where do we draw the line?”

* Shaw Local | Joliet GOP candidate for secretary of state hopes to capitalize on Giannoulias’ run for Chicago mayor: “Is this what the voters are voting him in on – to be secretary of state for three months? Harris asked. ”He cannot commit to the four-year term as secretary of state if he is running for mayor.” Whether voters pay much notice, however, is another issue. Harris’ campaign did not get a big boost in the days following Giannoulias’ announcement that he would run for mayor. She has not seen an upsurge in campaign contributions. “I have gotten some more moral support,” Harris said, noting there are people who think as she does regarding Giannoulias’ campaign in two races.

* NPR Illinois | Illinois Environmental Council gives over half of Illinois legislators a perfect score on environmentally conscious votes this year: The 2026 Environmental Scorecard gave 100% scores to 95 state legislators, all of whom are incumbent Democrats. This included 58% of state representatives and 46% of state senators. The IEC’s Chief Communications Officer Tucker Barry says that while Democrats were the only ones to receive perfect scores, some Republicans still had scores in the high 80s.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top aide intervenes in city dispute with antiviolence group: Acclivus executives spent months staunchly protesting the audit’s findings with officials at the health department, which manages the city’s antiviolence grants. The conflict played out under the watchful eye of Johnson’s senior adviser, Jason Lee — an unusual involvement for a high-ranking mayoral staffer, given that the $8 million grant is administered by a separate department.

* Crain’s | Once stars of Chicago tech, Outcome Health founders lose appeal of fraud convictions: Outcome Health created a network of television screens in doctors’ offices and sold advertising to companies such as AbbVie. It became one of Chicago’s most high-profile startups in 2017 when it raised nearly $500 million from investors that included Alphabet, the parent company of Google, Goldman Sachs and Pritzker Group Venture Capital, a firm co-founded by Gov. JB Pritzker. The deal paid $225 million to Shah and Agarwal. The company soon went into a tailspin when The Wall Street Journal reported that it had been selling advertising inventory on screens it didn’t have without informing customers.

* Tribune | Bally’s Chicago pauses construction on hotel, other amenities over video gambling dispute with city: The reset notice, issued Saturday to the Chicago Community Builders Collective, a general contracting partnership overseeing the project, essentially puts everything from a towering hotel and events center to a number of planned restaurants on hold. The decision also puts 1,500 union workers on hiatus, as much of the construction grounds to a halt, Bally’s said. The casino itself remains on target for an early 2027 opening, but the larger entertainment complex is in temporary limbo, pending resolution of the VGT dispute.

* Sun-Times | Chicago parents expect to outspend U.S. average on back-to-school supplies, survey shows: Chicago K-12 parents, surveyed by Deloitte, expect to spend a whopping $794 per child on back-to-school items this year, up 7% year over year. It’s also 35% higher than the national average spend $557 per child. The survey reported children’s preferences influenced their parents to spend more and splurge on items. But Matt Adams, principal at Deloitte, said 39% were “hyper-value seekers,” meaning they’ll save by shopping strategically, like buying in bulk or choosing private labels.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Lawsuit filed against planned Grayslake data center: ‘We have a really strong case’: It’s not the only lawsuit in the region against data center developments: Chloe Russell, the attorney representing the Lake County residents, previously said she’s been working with similar groups in Joliet and Yorkville. Last month, a settlement was reached in the Yorkville lawsuit. Grayslake Mayor Elizabeth Davies said Friday the village had not been served with the lawsuit.

* Daily Herald | Riding into the new school year: Suburban students to face new e-bike regulations: In light of recent deaths and injuries involving kids on e-bikes, e-scooters and e-motos, public safety advocates are seeing the return to school this month as a chance to educate students about these vehicles and the rules governing them. Hoffman Estates Police Chief Kasia Cawley cited a troubling lack of awareness of those rules when the department hosted a National Night Out event last week. Many children were riding vehicles they’re not allowed to use at a police-sponsored event, she said.

* Sun-Times | Can would-be buyer afford to take over more Chicago-area hospitals?: These records raise questions about how Insight Health Systems can afford to reopen and operate two more hospitals — West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown. The owner of both facilities suddenly closed West Suburban in March and Weiss in August 2025, forcing patients to travel farther for care to hospitals already stretched thin. Insight, West Suburban and Weiss are all safety-net hospitals, which are often the fabric of low-income and immigrant communities. They typically don’t make much money and struggle to make ends meet.

* Daily Herald | Attorney recalls ‘proudest moments’ representing Arlington Heights for nearly half century: The village of Arlington Heights has been in existence as a municipality for nearly 140 years, and for more than a third of that time, Ernest R. Blomquist III has been the village prosecutor. Blomquist, an icon in the Northwest suburban legal community, recently was feted for his legal acumen, work to keep Arlington Heights safe, and mentorship to young lawyers and community members over 48 years representing the village on cases ranging from DUIs to homicides.

* Shaw Local | Joliet to toss 375 costumes, props and more from Bicentennial Park theater: The city is getting rid of 375 costumes, props and other theater items deemed too damaged to be used anymore at the Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park & Theatre. But there is plenty more of the same available for productions and events, said Ann Sylvester, director of cultural affairs and special events for Joliet.

*** Downstate ***

* 25News Now | Pekin Police ask city to waive competitive bidding for license plate reading cameras: On Monday night’s agenda, the council is being asked to forgo competitive bidding and renew the city’s annual contract with Flock for 54 cameras. The cost is $173,900, funded by a multi-year State of Illinois grant to prevent carjackings and vehicle thefts.

* BND | 35 new principals, superintendents joining St. Clair County schools this year: Schools across St. Clair County have new leaders for the 2026-27 school year. The Belleville News-Democrat sent questionnaires to all new superintendents, principals, assistant principals and associate principals at public and private schools. We asked about their previous experience, their concerns and hopes for the coming year and how to contact them. As of Friday evening, we heard back from 35 new administrators. Some have been at the same school for years, while others are new to the area.

* WAND | Arcola celebrates America’s 250th at inaugural Ben Franklin Fest: “We’ve got a lot of running jokes; there’s a lot of whimsy here in Arcola. And some say that maybe Ben Franklin helped to name the town; some say that maybe he lifted some tariffs and that’s what brought broomcorn in,” said Green Mill Village Marketing and Development Cassie Yoder.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Who’s winning in California v. Trump lawsuits so far?: California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) told reporters Tuesday that courts have blocked Trump officials’ actions — at least temporarily — in 83 percent of his office’s cases against the administration (excluding cases in which judges have yet to act). Many cases are still working their way through the courts, making the final outcomes uncertain.

* Education Week | Some Schools Stop Free Meals for All as SNAP Enrollment Falls: More than 49,000 public schools participated in the CEP in the 2024-25 school year—roughly half of all public schools—providing free meals to more than 25 million students, according to a recent report by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. That report estimates that a family with two children in public school that loses access to free school meals would spend about $1,890 more per year on school meals. […] “We’re going to see these impacts of these SNAP cuts for the next few years to come, as school districts have to go to recertify for CEP and relook at their numbers, and as more children drop off SNAP rosters,” Hysom said. “Schools’ ability to continue offering free school meals through community eligibility is going to decrease.”

* ABC | Taylor Farms pulls jalapeño products sold at grocery stores: It’s the latest recall as part of the salmonella outbreak that has made 345 people sick in 27 states. Restaurant chains Chipotle and QDOBA pulled jalapeños last week. The USDA said this weekend grocery stores are also removing meat products that include jalapeños. The list of 20 recalled foods provided to ABC News includes dips, salsas and guacamole sold at grocery stores like Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Kroger.

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Good morning!

Monday, Aug 10, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This should wake you up…

You scream and you holler ’bout my Chevy Impala
But the sweat is getting wet around the ring around your collar

What we have here is an Illinois open thread.

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