Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here for some background on another lawsuit against Illinois’ medical aid in dying law. Press release…

The Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, the Lutheran Care Center, and four Illinois physicians today sued the State of Illinois over its new assisted suicide law, the “End of Life Options” Act. Thomas More Society filed the complaint on their behalf, asking a federal court to block the law before it takes effect on September 12. The law requires faithful medical professionals to help facilitate patient suicides in violation of the Hippocratic Oath, centuries of legal and medical tradition, and their deeply held religious convictions.

“Illinois is forcing faith-based hospitals, nuns, and doctors into supporting the state’s assisted suicide regime,” said Peter Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation at Thomas More Society. “The law commands Catholic hospitals, religious nursing homes, and faithful doctors to promote suicide’s alleged ‘benefits,’ refer patients to suicide drug prescribers, and then lie on death certificates to cover it up. This immoral scheme flagrantly violates religious liberty and free speech rights, and we intend to stop it.” […]

The four physician plaintiffs include two oncologists, Dr. Michal Porubcin and Dr. Michael Hawking, and two rehabilitation specialists, Dr. Mary Keen Kirchoff and Dr. Brian Couri. They are each faithful Catholics who have built their medical careers around healing the sick, not encouraging them to die. Their faith teaches them that every life is a gift from God and that their duty is to comfort and heal, not to end life.

“The State’s demand that physicians begin helping patients accomplish assisted suicide violates everything I know as a health care professional, as well as my deeply held Catholic convictions on the dignity of every human life,” said Dr. Mary Keen. “As a doctor, I have a responsibility to meet my patients’ existential pain with loving accompaniment, not with abandonment.”

*** Statewide ***

* Investigate Midwest | Illinois farmers saw nation’s biggest jump in seasonal planting diesel costs, analysis finds: Illinois recorded the nation’s largest overall increase in planting diesel costs, at an estimated $163.2 million, followed by Iowa ($151.1 million) and Minnesota ($101.7 million). Florida led the country in percentage increase at 90.6%, followed by Alabama (86.2%) and Oklahoma (85.9%). The calculations only took into account the diesel used to plant corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice. It did not take into account “other war-related increases such as the increased costs of running diesel generators that power some greenhouses or the increases at the pump that farmers and truckers face when they drive products to market,” the committee stated.

* Block Club | Illinois Set To Shatter Tornado Records As ‘Craziest Storm Season Ever’ Continues: In the coming days, the National Weather Service will survey the damage and confirm how many tornadoes were seen Tuesday in Illinois. Each confirmed tornado will add to the growing total in the state, which shattered its yearly record over six weeks ago. WGN meteorologist Bill Snyder said Illinois will likely pass 200 confirmed tornadoes after Tuesday’s storms, far and away the most tornadoes of any state in the country for 2026, according to the National Weather Service.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Injustice Watch | Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit has been responsible for dozens of questionable cases, while acting outside of public view and with little oversight: Since its creation in the 1980s, the unit has been the primary way criminal cases in Illinois are handled when local state’s attorneys are disqualified because of conflicts. Its prosecutors took on more than 1,000 cases in 2024, far more than were pursued through other methods of appointing special prosecutors, including referrals to the state attorney general, private attorneys, or prosecutors from neighboring counties. But an Injustice Watch investigation shows the Special Prosecution Unit has been responsible for miscarriages of justice including withholding evidence and favorable treatment of political insiders, as well as conflicts of interest and ethical breaches.

* Press release | Gov. Pritzker Renames Historic Springfield Armory as Governor Jim Edgar Executive Office Building: Today, Governor JB Pritzker celebrated the renaming the historic Illinois State Armory in Springfield as the Governor Jim Edgar Executive Office Building. The designation honors Governor Edgar’s legacy of integrity and dedication to public service. Once renovations are complete, the building will serve more than 870 employees across multiple state agencies that work on behalf of the people of Illinois. […] The Governor Jim Edgar Executive Office Building will serve as a hub for State government within the Capitol Complex. Upon completion, the facility will house more than 870 employees from the Department of Central Management Services (CMS), the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB), the Capital Development Board (CDB), and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

*** Chicago ***

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Board of Elections rules on final challenges to school board candidacies: Four final candidates for Chicago school board — including two incumbents — survived challenges to their signature petitions and were cleared to get on the November ballot at a Tuesday meeting of the city’s Board of Elections. The board commissioners rejected efforts to block the candidacies of board members Karen Zaccor and Michilla Blaise and would-be members Claudia Peralta and Connie Anderson. Candidate Kernetha Jones was kicked off the ballot.

* Crain’s | Johnson calls for a halt to new data centers in Chicago: The order, unveiled today during a signing ceremony along Lake Michigan, expands the work of a data center working group, directs cross-departmental review of data centers and orders the administration to publish new rules within 90 days. […] New data center proposals will also be subjected to an additional 60-day review from various departments to make recommendations to limit their environmental impact.

* Block Club | Chicago Police Have Failed To Find Loaded Guns On Suspects Twice Since Swedish Hospital Shooting: In June, police inventoried a pair of green dice after arresting a 25-year-old man suspected of gambling and trespassing in Wentworth Gardens. But hours later, after the man had been photographed and fingerprinted in the 9th District station’s lockup, a watch commander reported that staff found a loaded semi-automatic pistol after another search. In another case late last month, a 23-year-old man from whom 7th District police officers allegedly seized 15 grams of suspected cannabis in Englewood sat in police custody for more than eight hours. But it wasn’t until the man was taken to Cook County Jail when staff there found a Taurus handgun tucked in his waistband and “loaded with 13 rounds, including one in the chamber.”

* WTTW | CPD Sergeant Responsible for Botched Raid Won’t Be Fired — But Was Promoted: The Civilian Office of Police Accountability urged Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling to fire Sgt. Syed Quadri for his actions on Dec. 24, 2019, when he tackled and handcuffed 16-year-old Jaylin Stiger without justification and oversaw the nearly two dozen officers who repeatedly detained Jaylin and his 13-year-old brother, according to records recently published by the agency better known as COPA. […] Quadri was promoted to lieutenant two months after Snelling refused to fire him, records show.

* Tribune | Meeting victims where they are, CPD expands assistance in domestic violence cases: CPD is expanding its Victim Services Program within the Office of Equity Engagement in the hopes of connecting more crime victims — especially those affected by domestic violence and nonfatal shootings — to housing and other resource assistance via a growing number of CPD advocates and caseworkers. “We always want to meet the victim where they’re at,” Michael Milstein, deputy director of CPD’s Office of Equity and Engagement, said in a recent interview. “We’re never going to tell a victim, ‘Well, we can’t provide you any more services, we’re done with you.’ It’s really based on what that individual needs and how they want to engage with us.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Daily Herald lays off a dozen less than two months after Tribune acquisition: Months after Tribune Publishing promised Daily Herald employees their jobs and salaries were safe through yearend, the suburban Chicago newspaper has fired about a dozen mostly senior staffers — including Executive Editor Lisa Friedman Miner. The cuts — seven editorial staff and five in other departments — may have eliminated some redundancy between the Herald and Chicago Tribune’s operations, but were not expected to come so quickly after the June 22 acquisition of employee-owned Paddock Publications.

* Tribune | Former Evanston D65 Supt. Devon Horton indicted in Georgia; will also face Illinois trial: Former Evanston-Skokie District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton was indicted by a grand jury in DeKalb County, Georgia Aug. 4 on charges of aggravated assault and cruelty to children following a “verbal dispute” with his wife in January that turned physical, per DeKalb County court records. These charges are separate from Horton’s October 2025 federal indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois over what prosecutors allege as a kickback scheme and misappropriation of District 65 funds that occurred during his tenure as superintendent.

* Lake County News-Sun | Quieter days coming? Glenview to study whether to join Northbrook, Evanston in curbing leaf blowers: Glenview trustees on Aug. 4 approved a resolution to join a gas leaf blower restriction feasibility study at a cost of $15,550. The study is being undertaken by several municipalities that were part of the 11-member Regional Leaf Blower Working Group, formed in 2021. These communities include Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Bluff, Northbrook, Wilmette and Winnetka.

* Daily Herald | Hackney’s on Lake to close after 71 years in Glenview: After more than seven decades, Hackney’s on Lake announced on social media that it will close its location at 1514 East Lake Ave. in Glenview in early September. “Since 1955, this building has served up Hackneyburgers, French-Fried Onions, and a whole lot of Glenview memories — birthdays, sports banquets, first jobs, meeting friends at the Circle Bar,” the post read. “It’s not a decision we take lightly. But a 700-seat restaurant made sense in the 1960s — it doesn’t in 2026.” […] Hackney’s has another Glenview location, Hackney’s on Harms at 1241 Harms Road, that will remain open.

*** Downstate ***

* WCBU | Pekin puts off renewal vote on contract for its 54 Flock cameras : ouncil members said they want to gather more information on what’s suddenly become a hot issue across the country. They also said they want to hear from more constituents after getting little or no feedback on the cameras until the past few days, even though Pekin has had the cameras in place for three years. The cameras have been paid for each year by a four-year state anti-vehicle theft grant. The council unanimously approved the grant and each renewal.

* WCIA | New Champaign County group pushing against data centers: Earlier this year, Champaign County passed a year-long moratorium on data centers. Even with that in place, people are still pushing back on the massive structures. A new organization called Resist A.I. Data Centers in Champaign County hosted a meeting on Monday at the Champaign Public Library. Leaders say their mission is to educate people about the progression of these buildings in Central Illinois and beyond, and that was the main focus of Monday’s meeting. Several speakers presented research against the centers, hoping to create a more informed public.

* WGLT | Environmental and energy groups to address energy needs, costs in Bloomington talk:
The presentation, entitled “Energy In Your Community,” will be from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2 at the Bloomington Public Library. “For the last 100 years, most people in the U.S. could ignore the details of their energy bills and avoid energy policy without much immediate impact on their lives,” said Nick Hylla, MREA executive director. “Those times are over. These events are meant to help people get informed and make sound decisions for themselves and the places they live.” Organizers said the public will hear from MREA renewable energy experts who also will discuss the future of clean energy in the region, including the viability of solar energy.

* Heartland News | 20-year Hwy. 13 expansion project in southern Illinois enters final stage: A 20-year-long road project in southern Illinois has entered into the last stage. The expansion of Highway 13 between Marion and Carbondale finished the westbound side of both bridges over Crab Orchard six weeks ahead of schedule. […] “It was very successful. The contractor did a good job of, you know, keeping things on track. And we also appreciate the public. It’s a shared responsibility. And we didn’t have any serious accidents, so that’s something that we’re all very happy about,” Ben Wills, project implementation engineer, told Heartland News.

* WCIA | Kids ‘100% fine’ after car crashes at YNOT Outdoors building in Chatham: YNOT said all children present are “100% fine” and the couple inside the car refused medical attention. They were extricated within 10 minutes, according to the fire department. […] “We are relieved to report that everyone involved is okay, including the children inside,” the police department said in a release of its own. “We recognize that today’s incident may be particularly concerning for members of our community following recent history. We understand that incidents like this bring back difficult emotions and understandably cause concern, especially for families with children.”

* WCIA | Volunteers in Windsor preparing for Illinois’ longest-running festival this weekend: This week, WCIA 3 is highlighting “Our Town Windsor” and all of the outstanding people, places and things that make the community unique. The Shelby County city of 1,200 people is preparing for its 129th annual Harvest Picnic, the longest-running festival in the state.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Rural Texas conservatives love free markets but not when it comes to data centers: Opposition to data centers has been notably bipartisan in communities across the country. But the fierce pushback from conservatives in Texas has required no help from liberal groups, and it has been felt everywhere from the state GOP’s new party platform to the campaigns of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott, Republicans who now support varying degrees of increased data center regulation. At the GOP convention in June, the platform included a new plank that would require data centers to disclose and finance infrastructure needs without shifting costs to residents; prioritize the use of reclaimed water; and protect aquifers and the state’s electrical grid.

* Tech Crunch | Google co-founder Sergey Brin has now spent $100 million to fight the billionaire tax: Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated another $20 million to Build a Better California, an organization advocating against California’s proposed billionaire tax, according to a new filing. That means that the world’s fourth-richest man, whose net worth hovers around $267 billion, has now spent more than $100 million to avoid an estimated $13.3 billion tax payment. California’s Prop 40, known as the billionaire tax, would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of around 200 billionaires that live in the state. The windfall from this proposed tax would mostly go toward funding California’s healthcare programs. The state’s Medicaid program alone could lose up to $30 billion in federal funding once Trump’s budget cuts take effect next year.

*ref=”https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/11/ai-will-do-more-to-boost-fossil-fuel-production-than-green-energy”> The Guardian | AI’s potential climate benefits outweighed by role in boosting fossil fuels, study finds: Researchers modelled the technical potential for AI to boost clean power generation along with projections for how it can help produce coal, oil and gas. Across 64 scenarios, they found net yearly carbon pollution rose by 0.47-1.8 gigatonnes, or about 1-5% of the energy sector’s annual emissions. The study is the first to quantify the climate impact of AI across the full power sector. Previous research has explored its indirect climate benefits – such as reducing renewable downtime and optimising electricity grids – while ignoring the extra pollution from increasing productivity in drilling oil wells and extracting gas.

3 Comments

Yes, something needs to be done about funeral home oversight, but avoid this potential mistake

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Sun-Times…

A macabre discovery in a Far South Side funeral home is once again revealing gaps in government oversight of facilities like the one in South Deering where authorities found dozens of decomposing bodies last week, according to lawmakers who called for state-level reform on Monday.

But before Springfield takes another swing at the issue, officials were still trying to pin down who could have prevented the nightmare scene uncovered Thursday — other than the Evergreen Park couple accused of mishandling the remains of more than 100 people at South Chicago Chapel, 2939 E. 95th St. […]

The Morgans also ran a Chicago Heights crematory that was shut down by the state last year for mishandling the remains of about 100 other people. That prompted a new state law expanding the regulatory authority of the Illinois comptroller’s office, which, in a quirk of state responsibilities, oversees crematories in addition to its fiscal duties.

But Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office doesn’t regulate funeral directors or embalmers, who are licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration. And apparently no state agency oversees funeral homes themselves, at their physical locations, officials said.

“We need to look at putting it all under one roof,” said state Rep. Diane Blair-Sherlock, D-Villa Park, who co-sponsored the 2025 crematory legislation and said facilities should be subject to quarterly inspections. “But neither of them are really set up with huge enforcement arms. … So I think that’s where we need to look and say, where would this best fit, and who would be willing to take it on?”

* The NASW’s Kyle Hillman has been pushing IDFPR for years to speed up its licensing pace and gave us some advice in comments yesterday…

This case is horrifying and people are right to ask why it keeps happening. But dumping funeral home oversight on IDFPR isn’t the fix.

IDFPR needs to be focused on licensing people, not businesses. Handing them a whole new additional business-licensing function, however it gets funded, pulls focus off that core job.

That means everyone else waiting on a license or a complaint investigation waits longer. Adding another business-regulation mission on top of a professional-licensing agency doesn’t fix funeral home oversight, it just spreads the same overstretched agency thinner. The GA really needs to avoid adding unrelated tasks to agencies - this rarely works.

The real question is who should regulate funeral homes and crematories as businesses (like a new funeral commission), and what’s the wild only in Illinois story on how the Comptroller ended up with part of that job to begin with. But, please don’t start adding new tasks to a licensing department just now climbing out of a backlog.

12 Comments

Today’s quotable

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Peoria Journal Star…

Republican Darren Bailey, who is running against Pritzker in November’s gubernatorial election, cast the possible move to Indiana by the Bears as a done deal on Monday, saying it was too late to convince the team to stay.

Bailey said he talked to [Indiana Gov. Mike Braun] about Indiana’s deal with the Bears and was assured “that ship sailed about five years ago.”

Thoughts?

25 Comments

Do better

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Earth Justice…

Dynegy Midwest Generation, owner of the closed Vermilion Power Station north of Oakwood, IL, disclosed Friday that riverbank erosion next to its coal ash along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River has reached a critical point requiring reinforcement to prevent the collapse of its coal ash waste impoundment. The former power plant’s 3.3 million cubic yards of coal ash remain in the floodplain of the river, awaiting Illinois EPA approval for removal. The Agency has been reviewing the removal plan for over four years without action.

“Four years is too long to wait for a permit review. As long as the coal ash is in the floodplain, it will continue to threaten the Middle Fork,” said Andrew Rehn, Director of Climate Policy at Prairie Rivers Network. “This river bank reinforcement is a wake up call for the Agency to propose a final permit, give the public a chance to weigh in, and get this company moving the coal ash out of the floodplain of our state’s only National Scenic River.”

Dynegy’s August 4 disclosure stated that a June 30 riverbank erosion inspection revealed that the trigger line had been reached, initiating a plan to install 500 feet of rock along a critical section of the river to halt the erosion. The Safety Emergency Response Plan Dynegy submitted to Illinois EPA in 2023 established the trigger line, and requires the company to monitor and report on deteriorating conditions in order to prevent a breach of the coal ash impoundments into the river.

* Canary Media…

Illinois had big plans to turn a bunch of old coal plant sites into solar and battery farms. But the program has turned out to be kind of a bust.

The state created its Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative five years ago, hoping it would speed clean energy deployment by making use of the grid infrastructure and land left behind when coal plants close — as well as replace some of the lost local tax revenue and jobs.

The program was supposed to lead to at least six significant solar and battery storage arrays and five larger stand-alone battery banks. But in the end, only three relatively small solar farms with storage were built, and no stand-alone storage, finds a new report by the University of Illinois’ Climate Jobs Institute and the nonprofit Prairie Rivers Network. […]

The researchers stressed that the lackluster results don’t mean that redeveloping shuttered coal plants into clean energy hubs is a bad idea — it’s just that the design of this specific effort didn’t make the conversion attractive for developers. The silver lining is that the results offer lessons for future coal-to-solar initiatives in Illinois and beyond. […]

The report partially chalks up the cancellations to inadequate financial incentives.

The incentives for building solar came in the form of renewable energy credits, but the companies could claim the credits only if they also built between two and 10 megawatts of battery storage on-site. Companies claim credits based on the generation from their solar array, and then sell those credits to Illinois utilities looking to meet the state-mandated target of 100% clean energy by 2030.

The state set a fixed price for the credits of $30 each. Although Vistra had pushed for a higher price, legislators figured that was sufficient, given market conditions at the time.

But the $30 ended up being too low to spark development after inflation, supply chain challenges, increasing borrowing costs, and other factors made building solar farms and batteries more expensive than expected, the report explains.

10 Comments

AG Raoul wins lawsuit blocking HUD funding cuts

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Politico…

A federal judge on Friday once again struck down an effort by the Trump administration to dramatically restructure $4 billion in federal funding for people experiencing homelessness.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s efforts to modify the so-called Continuum of Care Program aims to shift much of the funding, which is distributed to local organizations, from permanent housing assistance to temporary housing and services. The new funding model being championed by HUD Secretary Scott Turner is a shift from a decadeslong “housing first” policy.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy would block HUD from making changes to the program’s fiscal 2026 funding. McElroy, an appointee of President Donald Trump, had previously ruled against similar changes to the program’s fiscal 2025 funding. HUD unsuccessfully appealed the previous ruling. […]

The ruling responds to two cases — one lawsuit filed by the National Alliance to End Homelessness and a coalition of three other nonprofits and a series of localities, and another lawsuit filed by a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors. Both suits sought an injunction to halt the funding changes.

* AG Kwame Raoul…

“This order ensures states continue to have access to funding that is necessary to address homelessness,” Raoul said. “These resources were appropriated by Congress, and the attempt by the Trump administration to take away these funds is illegal and outside of HUD’s authority. I will continue to take action to protect federal funding for Illinois and stand with my colleagues in defense of the rule of law.”

For more than two decades, HUD has embraced a commitment to permanent housing programs and the Housing First model, which prioritizes getting unhoused individuals and families into permanent housing without pre-conditions, such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold. Housing First is proven to be effective at addressing homelessness and has been the cornerstone of state efforts since HUD and the Continuum of Care program first embraced the model over two decades ago. But the current federal administration has rejected HUD’s longstanding commitment to the Housing First model and undermined the Continuum of Care program.

HUD first published notices of funding opportunities last year that cut funding for permanent supportive housing by 70%. That funding opportunity was subsequently found to be unlawful in a separate lawsuit against HUD that Raoul and the coalition won on June 30 regarding the agency’s decision to impose illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the Continuum of Care program. The program supports housing and other services for people experiencing housing instability or homelessness. On June 1, HUD issued a notice of funding opportunity that creates a $1.3 billion set-aside for new projects prioritizing such things as transitional housing, which has the effect of limiting available Continuum of Care funding for permanent housing. That new funding opportunity, which is the subject of the current lawsuit, threatened housing for at least 97,000 residents of Continuum of Care-funded permanent housing across the country and more than 5,000 residents in Illinois alone, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

* More AG Raoul news…

Press release | AG Raoul leads coalition opposing Trump administration’s rollback of common sense firearms regulations:

* AG Raoul secures victory with Nexstar/Tegna motion: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found that Nexstar is violating the preliminary injunction by putting current or former Nexstar executives on Tegna’s board of directors. The court also ordered monthly reporting and directed the parties to propose procedures for ongoing third-party compliance monitoring, potentially through a special master. If Nexstar is allowed to fully integrate Tegna, the companies would form the largest broadcast station group in the United States, reaching 80% of U.S. television households. That consolidation is expected to put more broadcast programming in the hands of fewer people, cut local jobs, increase cable bills and significantly impact the delivery of news and other media content to Americans nationwide.

* Press release | AG Raoul files lawsuit over fires at Harbor View waste facility: Attorney General Kwame Raoul today filed a lawsuit against Stony Island Reclamation Co., Land and Lakes Co., and J.L.W. Trucking LLC, which operated the facility under the name of Whole Earth Compost, alleging that the companies endangered the environment and public safety by allowing fires to break out at the Harbor View waste facility, a closed landfill site.

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AbbVie, Novartis sue to block 340B drug discount law

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Chicago Tribune last week…

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. […]

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.

“Large tax-exempt hospitals and their for-profit partners are exploiting the program, buying medicines at steep discounts and then marking them up by thousands of dollars,” Will May, a spokesperson for industry group the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said in a statement.

* Courthouse News yesterday…

A group of pharmaceutical companies (AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis) sued Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to block a state law requiring the drug giants to send discounted drugs to any and all pharmacy providers. […]

“It is beyond dispute that commercial pharmacies and their third-party administrators are profiting from 340B-priced sales. And it is also beyond dispute that, without HB 2371, AbbVie would complete far fewer 340B priced sales. As a result, Illinois’ law forces AbbVie to provide more 340B priced drugs and the corresponding profits to hospitals, their commercial pharmacies and commercial third-party administrators than federal law requires,” Owen said in the 63-page complaint.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals made a nearly identical argument in its own complaint, asserting that HB 2371 cannot coexist with federal law. […]

Nearly two dozen other states have passed contract pharmacy laws akin to Illinois’s HB 2371, creating a patchwork of variable regulation the plaintiffs say make it impossible for the federal government to manage compliance with the 340B program.

* From AbbVie’s complaint…

AbbVie brings this lawsuit to halt an unconstitutional state power grab. Illinois enacted H.B. 2371 to compel AbbVie—an Illinois-headquartered biopharmaceutical company— to transfer its pharmaceutical products to commercial pharmacies at substantially discounted prices, on terms Congress never authorized, under pain of escalating civil penalties. In doing so, Illinois has run headlong into the Supremacy Clause. H.B. 2371 impermissibly rewrites the terms of a federal drug-pricing regime—the federal 340B Program—by imposing onerous State-law obligations that conflict with what Congress enacted and what the United States has said those obligations are. H.B. 2371 also effects an unconstitutional taking in violation of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, seizing AbbVie’s private property for the private benefit of commercial pharmacies without just compensation. […]

The 340B statute’s text is deliberate. Manufacturers are required only to “offer” their drugs to covered entities at the 340B price—not to “sell” them unconditionally. That distinction is not a technicality; it is the heart of this case. The statute requires manufacturers to make an offer at a particular price to a particular set of covered entities—and it preserves manufacturers’ liberty to insist upon other non-price terms.

Click here for Novartis’ complaint.

* Crain’s…

AbbVie argues that the [340B] program is being abused with covered entities that now include commercial pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS, which “are not covered entities.”

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AbbVie is seeking a declaration that HB 2371 is unlawful because it is pre-empted by federal law and unconstitutional under the supremacy clause; that the law represents an unconstitutional taking of AbbVie property; that 340B does not require drug manufacturers to unconditionally provide 340B pricing to covered entities or contract pharmacies; and that the federal statute “empowers drug manufacturers to require covered entities to provide claims data in exchange for 340B pricing.”

10 Comments

Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois governor’s race: JB Pritzker, Darren Bailey spar over Trump tariffs, farm economy at ag forum. Tribune…

* Related stories…

• Center Square: Pritzker, Bailey, Tracy address agricultural issues

* At 10 am, Gov. JB Pritzker will host a ceremony to rename the Illinois State Armory in honor of Illinois’ 38th Governor, Jim Edgar. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Crain’s | Realtors’ group launches effort to help towns speed up homebuilding: “The housing shortage gets worse every day,” said Jeff Baker, CEO of the 50,000-member Illinois Realtors, which today launches the Illinois Housing Supply Accelerator. It’s an effort to help local leaders determine what’s holding back construction in their town — such as strict zoning, costly school impact fees or obsolete building codes — and look for solutions.

* Sun-Times | Horrific discovery at South Chicago Chapel raises questions about Illinois funeral home oversight: But before Springfield takes another swing at the issue, officials were still trying to pin down who could have prevented the nightmare scene uncovered Thursday — other than the Evergreen Park couple accused of mishandling the remains of more than 100 people at South Chicago Chapel, 2939 E. 95th St. “We’ve got to figure out a way to stay in front of bad actors,” said state Rep. Marcus Evans, the South Side Democrat whose district includes the parlor. “We don’t want to make excuses. Whatever was done was not enough.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Second House Democrat declines to participate in Welch’s harassment working group: Rep. Gregg Johnson, D-East Moline, confirmed to Capitol News Illinois that he is not a member of the working group that Welch announced last week without releasing the names of the members serving on it to the public. […] But Johnson said he feels “uncomfortable” participating in the working group due to its inclusion of members who’ve publicly staked out positions. Reps. Lisa Davis, D-Chicago, and Norma Hernandez, D-Melrose Park, for example, were recently part of a panel on WGN-TV in Chicago that defended Welch’s handling of complaints.

* NBC Chicago | Suburban state lawmaker aims to require water industry reporting of cyberattacks: “I think my immediate thought was we need to make sure that we do something to keep our water safe,” said State Rep. Dagmara Alevar, a Democrat who represents southwest suburban Romeoville. Right now, if your Illinois water system was hacked by cyberterrorists, there is no regulation in place requiring them to report it anybody, either state officials or the feds.

* Canary Media | Why Illinois has struggled to turn old coal sites into solar farms:
The state created its Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative five years ago, hoping it would speed clean energy deployment by making use of the grid infrastructure and land left behind when coal plants close — as well as replace some of the lost local tax revenue and jobs. The program was supposed to lead to at least six significant solar and battery storage arrays and five larger stand-alone battery banks. But in the end, only three relatively small solar farms with storage were built, and no stand-alone storage, finds a new report by the University of Illinois’ Climate Jobs Institute and the nonprofit Prairie Rivers Network.

* Tribune | Illinois law is the first in the Great Lakes region to designate industrial plastic pellets as pollution: The new law, signed late last week by Gov. JB Pritzker, comes as an ongoing Tribune series, “Great Waste in the Great Lakes,” delves into threats posed by nurdles and other man-made particles known collectively as microplastics. Nurdles, synthesized by petrochemical plants as building blocks of new plastics, have been found in every Great Lake and in rivers throughout Illinois. Light enough to travel long distances through the air, nurdles routinely spill from chemical plants that make them, trains and trucks that transport them and factories that turn them into consumer products, the Tribune has found.

*** Chicago ***

* Bloomberg | Chicago taps Fitch senior director as new CFO amid rash of exits: Chicago is hiring Ashlee Gabrysch, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, as its next chief financial officer, according to a person familiar with the matter. Gabrysch is expected to start Aug. 26, according to the person who asked not to be named because the matter is still private. She will be the third person serving as the city’s chief financial officer in less than a year.

* Sun-Times | City treasurer proposes abolishing $57M Catalyst Fund to avert midyear layoffs:
Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2017 budget included a $100 million “Catalyst Fund” to bridge the funding gap between Chicago’s thriving Downtown and other neighborhoods. Then-City Treasurer Kurt Summers assured a skeptical City Council that the $100 million in seed money would be matched by “three times” that much in outside capital. […] One year later, the Catalyst Fund still had not launched, and board members had not been appointed. Summers proposed that $57 million in excess “portfolio earnings” generated by his office be used to stop violence on Chicago streets — via investing in long-neglected inner-city neighborhoods.

* Sun-Times | Willie Wilson announces 4th run for Chicago mayor: “Some politicians are running for this office at the same time they are standing for reelection for their current office in November. … It may be legal, but it is morally wrong,” Wilson said. In 2019, Wilson fell short of the runoff, finishing fourth overall with 10.6% of the votes in the first round of balloting. Much of his support came from predominately Black wards on the South and West sides. He missed the runoff again in 2023 with a lower share of the vote — 9.13%.

* Crain’s | Why Bally’s is slowing casino construction in its fight with City Hall: The move is the latest escalation in Bally’s protracted fight with a majority of the City Council over its decision to legalize video gambling machines as part of the 2026 budget, which Bally’s views as upending the legal monopoly on most gambling they won through competitive bidding in 2022. […] Despite the break, the statement said the opening of “the permanent casino remains unchanged for early 2027 and Bally’s Chicago intends to fully honor its commitments under the Host Community Agreement.”

* WTTW | Chicago Park District Will Keep 20 Pools Open Through Labor Day: On Monday, the Park District announced that 20 neighborhood pools would remain open through Labor Day, along with all 23 swimming beaches. More than 200 water spray features will continue operating through Sept. 30. In choosing which pools to keep open, the Park District took into account Chicago’s updated Heat Vulnerability Index, which identifies neighborhoods where residents face the greatest health risks during extreme heat.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* The Marshall Project | Why Did an Illinois Prison Fail to Stop 70 Fires?: During routine annual inspections, prison officials could not provide a fire evacuation plan to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The marshal’s reports also noted that alarms were turned off. According to a government document after one deadly fire, an electrician who worked at the facility said cellblocks lacked sprinklers, and fire safety issues had come up at staff meetings, but were not addressed. […] The Illinois Department of Corrections declined to answer questions about the fires at the Joliet Treatment Center, citing pending litigation. In a written statement, a spokesperson said that the department takes its responsibility to uphold requirements related to facility safety seriously.

* Daily Herald | After backlash, Rosemont mall reverses pay-to-park policy: Starting Wednesday, parking will be free for the first three hours, a spokesman for mall owner Macerich confirmed. “We listened to feedback from the community and our retailers,” the Macerich spokesman wrote in an email to the Daily Herald. “Beginning Wednesday, the first three hours of parking are free for all guests, no purchase required, keeping us on track with our original goal of making it easier for shoppers and diners to visit our stores and restaurants while still discouraging long-term parking from non-shoppers.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Audit suggests Mental Health and Public Safety Fund has a deficit, not a surplus: Brian Mateas of CliftonLarsenAllen LLP said the audit was not a comprehensive review of the fund’s balances and activities, but rather focused specifically on the intergovernmental agreement and how the funds are used. According to Mateas, the $20 million fund balance is not a surplus, but rather money that is earmarked for use down the line.

* WCBU | Apartment complex for homeless people on Peoria’s South Side advances; community voices objections: A proposed 48-unit apartment complex at the site of the former Harrison School on Peoria’s South Side would assist families transitioning out of homelessness, but residents who live in the vicinity feel the location is not the right place for such a development. First District Peoria City Council representative Denise Jackson has been the most vocal critic of the project presented by Phoenix Community Development Services. “In my opinion, this whole proposal of putting a housing complex for homeless people in a severely economically depressed neighborhood that has gotten national distinction of being poverty stricken is a recipe for disaster,” Jackson said during Thursday’s two-hour meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

* Muddy River News | Split vote by Quincy City Council moves solar developments forward: The facilities would cover about 13 and 20 acres, respectively, and be fenced with a treeline to obscure the view of the panels. Planners say there will be pollinator-friendly vegetation to promote soil quality, water management and on-site biodiversity. They are expected to produce enough power for about 1,600 homes.

* WCBU | Jamonica Rolle looks to build on foundation, community ties as new Illinois Central College president: While admitting she’s still in the early days of her tenure, Rolle says she has set some overarching goals. Among them is making sure ICC is accessible to students and their needs. “It’s important that we are reaching out and getting more people engaged in higher education,” she said. “Illinois has recently put out a statistic that states that by 2031, 70% of all jobs in the state will require a post-secondary credential.

*** National ***

* Sun-Times | Insurance industry makes millions each day claims go unpaid, analysis shows: For each day of delays on home insurance claims, the industry takes in an extra $8.8 million in interest and investment income, according to an analysis by the independent financial institution rating firm Weiss Ratings for the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, which looked at the money that home insurers take in as premiums as well as their investment income. In Illinois, about 21.7% of home insurance claims in 2024 took 60 or more days to settle, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners cited by the consumer group.

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Good morning!

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

In celebration of the centennial anniversary of Route 66, the Illinois State Fair announces that the legendary Mother Road will serve as the honorary Grand Marshal of the 2026 Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade. Classic cars will lead the parade as a symbol of the iconic highway.

Take it away, Nat King Cole…

Won’t you get hip to this timely tip?

Any special State Fair plans this year?

2 Comments

Selected press releases (Live updates)

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

1 Comment