* ICYMI: Federal drug discount expansion proposal may cost Illinois millions, agency head says. Capitol News Illinois…

- A proposal that would expand access to a federal program that discounts the price of prescription drugs could end up costing Illinois employers an additional $89 million a year, including more than $12 million a year for the state of Illinois itself.
- “Independent analysis estimates that the current 340B program costs Illinois employers approximately $224 million annually, with the proposed legislation expected to increase those costs by an additional $89 million,” CMS said in the memo. “For SEGIP specifically, lost rebates are estimated at $31 million annually, with an additional projected impact of $12.4 million under the proposed legislation.”
- The memo released this week by CMS simply regurgitated Big Pharma’s testimony from the April 14th COGFA hearing,” Illinois Health and Hospital Association president and CEO AJ Wilhelmi said in a statement. “The footnotes in the memo clearly indicate that the research referenced in the memo was funded by Big Pharma. So, unsurprisingly, Big Pharma is trying to misrepresent the government’s position on the legislation.”

* Related stories…

• Crain’s: New state memo throws fuel on Illinois hospital drug discount fight
• Opinion: Chicago hospitals get millions in drug discounts. Are patients seeing the savings?
• Opinion: 340B drug discounts supports patients — not profits

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* At 9 am, Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver remarks at the Chicago Cares 35th Anniversary Leadership Breakfast. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Cook County Record | IL biometric privacy suits say tech companies used broadcasters’ work to train AI: Some of America’s biggest tech companies have been hit with class action lawsuits under Illinois’ stringent biometrics privacy law, accusing them of illegally using the voices of prominent Illinois broadcast journalists, voice actors, podcasters and others to train their AI text-to-speech and voiceover software systems and then use those systems to compete with the people whose work was used to train and create the systems. Beginning May 11, attorneys with the firm of Loevy & Loevy, of Chicago, filed suit in Chicago federal court against Facebook- and Instagram-parent company Meta; Microsoft; NVIDIA; Google, Amazon and Apple.

* Tribune | Illinois passed a law to expose diversity gaps at top nonprofits. Almost none are complying.: Some cited the Pritzker administration’s slow pace in releasing “a standardized list of demographic classifications” for nonprofits to report. One nonprofit said it simply didn’t know the requirement existed. “Frankly, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher that we’re hearing about this from you and not the state, or our compliance partner, or our attorney,” Jim O’Kelley, the director of the Elks National Foundation, told the Tribune.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune |
A mysterious company abandoned 603 oil wells, costing Illinois millions. Here’s how they did it: A four-month Chicago Tribune investigation, drawing on hundreds of pages of previously unreleased public records and interviews with former state officials and oil operators, has revealed the startling ease with which Fireball was able to evade its legal responsibility for plugging wells that have stopped producing, exposing downstate communities to a host of contaminants — above and below ground — while saddling the state with millions in cleanup costs. In Fireball’s case, state data show, the company ultimately abandoned 603 wells.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | School choice option at standstill as legislators weigh benefits, political fallout: n a statement on May 8, a spokesperson for the governor’s office confirmed the governor’s team is reviewing the federal tax credit. “We will evaluate the issue through a lens focused on affordability for working families and what best supports Illinois students, families, and public schools,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to CNI. As the states await federal guidelines, Pritzker and state legislators in Illinois are measuring the costs, benefits and political calculus behind the decision to opt into the program.

* Chicago Mag | JB Pritzker Isn’t Thinking About Running for President (or so he says): “Running for president is something other people, probably on some prediction markets, would contemplate. All I can say is it’s not something that’s occupying my psyche. It’s flattering that people have talked about me in the same conversation they’re talking about others.”

* WCIA | Community violence intervention groups push for support in Springfield: Community and faith leaders gathered at the capitol on Thursday to urge lawmakers to continue investing in programs which they believe are helping reduce gun violence in some of the state’s hardest-hit communities. More than 100 groups belonging to Community Violence Intervention Services, also known as CVI, made the trip to Springfield. Their outreach workers are tasked with mediating tensions in their community — before it erupts into gun violence.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | ICE detains Chicago Public Schools senior and his mother: ‘We had done everything by the rules’: Originally from Colombia, Ricardo and his mother came to the United States in 2022, when he was 15 years old. She filed for asylum and that petition remains pending, court records show. Each of them was taken to Kentucky jails for detention, but the government separated them and is holding them in different facilities. For two months, the mother and son have had almost zero face-to-face contact, Ricardo told the Tribune in an interview from jail. “I miss my mother,” he said. “I miss playing soccer.”

* Tribune | DraftKings closing its 2-year-old retail sportsbook at Wrigley Field: Blaming increased Illinois wagering taxes, DraftKings is shutting down its two-year-old retail sportsbook at Wrigley Field, a high-profile but small part of its business. DraftKings, one of the leading sportsbooks in the state, will continue to operate online across Illinois, but the last day to place your bets in-person at the Friendly Confines will be May 31. “DraftKings has made the decision to discontinue onsite sportsbook operations at DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field following a review of our retail presence in Illinois,” the company said in a statement. “The venue itself will remain open, but in-person sports betting will no longer be offered at the location.”

* Press release | Mayor Chris Getty to file Independent candidacy for IL-04 Monday morning in Springfield: Filing of nominating petitions with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Getty collected nearly 20,000 signatures — well above the 10,816 required — becoming the first Independent candidate to file in the IL-04 race. Organizers describe the effort as one of the largest independent congressional petition drives in recent Illinois history. Getty will be available for media questions immediately following the filing.

* Sun-Times | U. of C. faculty and parents protest Lab School policy they say limits classroom discussion, inclusion: A new policy at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, which serve around 2,000 students from preschool through high school, establishes “standards for viewpoint-neutral education” and gives teachers guidance on how to handle “contested issues.” School administrators say the policy, which had gotten pushback since a draft was first shared in January, is meant to encourage students to become “independent thinkers” and support “open inquiry.”

* Crain’s | Spirit Airlines shutdown costs Chicago hundreds of jobs: Most of the 356 jobs cut here involved flight crews, including 100 pilots and 239 flight attendants, according to a new filing with the state. Chicago had become a relatively small market for the Florida-based discount carrier, but it’s a major hub for pilots and other aviation employees because of the presence of United, American and Southwest airlines at O’Hare and Midway airports.

* Tribune | At Montrose and Waukegan beaches, piping plovers lay the first eggs of the season: Sharing the news on Saturday, volunteer monitors said they expect three more eggs from Imani and Searocket. In 2025, the pair had a successful nesting season with three new hatchlings. The previous summer, the pair hatched one surviving chick. Imani and Pippin returned to the area for the summer on the same day in mid-April, before the latter made his way up to Waukegan, where he’s received a warm welcome.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Convenience or concern? Projections of thousands of flying packages worry some suburbs as Amazon pitches drone deliveries: Amazon has been a “great partner,” Winfield Village Manager Evan Summers said. But “we obviously have concerns regarding protecting the quality of life for our residents. It’s up to the FAA to ensure that commercial objectives are balanced with smart regulations.” Other issues include drone weight, the newness of the technology and the fact the village has little control over what happens, Summers noted. “The FAA has made it very clear: The village has no jurisdiction in the regulation of drones,” he said.

* WBBM | Illinois park district director used taxpayer credit card for daughter’s prom helicopter, invoice shows: The Park District’s executive director, Quintina Brown, told officers she had the OK for the helicopter landing, but city leaders never authorized the landing in the public park where children were playing. The pilot told officers that day he had approval to land, even presenting a signed notice by the park director herself to the questioning officer The company later handed over an invoice to the city attorney. The receipt raises many deeper questions. The bill was for a minimum of $800 for one hour. At the bottom, there’s a credit card number linked to Brown. She named Markham Parks as the company and even used the address of the fieldhouse and provided her signature on a taxpayer-funded credit card.

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights’ neighbors want in on Bears talks: The mayors of Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg have asked state leaders for a seat at the table in discussions about infrastructure upgrades that would be needed around a Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights. The mayors say they also want to see a transportation/traffic study the NFL club’s consultants have been working on — since that would guide the kind of infrastructure work that needs to be done — while expressing frustration such an analysis isn’t yet complete more than three years after the team acquired the 326-acre Arlington Park property.

* Daily Herald | Rookie suburban mayors navigate growth, conflict and change during first year: Arlington Heights Village President Jim Tinaglia described his first year in office as “wonderful,” crediting his service as a village trustee since 2013 with preparing him for the job. […] He cited his 35 years as a practicing architect as vital experience in helping guide development of the Chicago Bears’ proposed stadium project on 326 acres in the village. He has a standing weekly call with the Bears organization, and outlined four criteria for any development: safety, economics, traffic and infrastructure.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora residents push for way to recall a sitting mayor and at-large aldermen from office: If the referendum questions make it onto the ballot in November, they would ask voters if the city should adopt mechanisms that allow the mayor or an alderman at-large to be recalled. Under the proposed mechanism, residents looking to recall an elected official would need to circulate petitions and collect at least enough signatures to equal 20% of the total votes cast in the most recent mayoral election, according to the proposed referendum question. If a recall petition got enough signatures, then the recall would go to a general vote in the next election.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora launches grant program for neighborhood festivals: The Neighborhood Festival Funding Grant Program is offering up to $1,000 per event, which could be used to pay equipment rental, rental of tables or chairs, general liability insurance, security or emergency personnel and other similar needs, according to a news release from the city of Aurora. The grants are available to organizations and neighborhood groups planning public community events that connect residents with each other, while also educating them about Aurora, city officials said in the news release.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora City Council approves millions of dollars for road and water infrastructure projects: The largest dollar amount of any single one of the projects was the $4.6 million allocated towards annual road resurfacing work on the west and north sections of the city. A similar project, which focused on the East Side at a cost of around $4.4 million, was approved late last month.

* Daily Herald | ‘People don’t want to pay for parking in the suburbs’: Rosemont mayor blasts mall’s new policy: Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens has expressed frustration with, and opposition to, a new paid parking policy at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago mall. “What they’re doing there is not sitting well with me. People don’t want to pay for parking at a mall in the suburbs,” Stephens told the Daily Herald this week. The 19-year chief executive of the tiny-yet-powerful entertainment and business mecca has had a friendly relationship with executives at mall owner Macerich since the two-level, 530,000-square-foot indoor shopping center opened in 2013.

* Daily Herald | Suburban single-story office buildings without amenities experiencing surge in demand: This unsung parallel growth is summed up as “no amenities are the new amenities” by Jason Wurtz, executive vice president of commercial real estate firm NAI Hiffman. The alternate attraction is based on a desire for affordable, accessible space where employees can park, work and head home without a hassle.

* Daily Southtown | Subjects in Park Forest documentary share stories of town’s racial ‘Utopia’ era: About 70 people were interviewed for the film, including former NBA player Craig Hodges plus Hiro Yamamoto and Kim Thayil, who are members of the rock group Soundgarden. They all grew up in the community. For the most part, interviewees had glowing remarks about growing up during what Rockrohr calls the “sweet spot” between 1972-86. Many in the documentary said it was a time when whites, Blacks and other groups grew up socializing and playing sports with each other. Some described it as living in a bubble and when they left Park Forest for college or other reasons, they saw racial tension they didn’t know existed.

*** Downstate ***

* Tribune | As data centers seek more power, Constellation launches nuclear plant upgrades to meet rising demand: As the state faces grid reliability concerns, Tomc said it’s encouraging to see Constellation make “a positive contribution of filling the gap in supply.” Still, both Tomc and ComEd, the primary electricity provider for Chicago and northern Illinois, cautioned that increasing nuclear power alone won’t be enough to solve the state’s looming energy challenges. A ComEd spokesperson said increased PJM prices expected to take effect June 1 are a signal that more generation is urgently needed.

* WAND | Macon County Board considers large solar farm project north of Argenta: The Macon County Board approved the next step for clean energy company Apex’s Spring Creek solar project on Thursday night. It’s a large solar panel farm proposed to be north of Argenta, outside Maroa, along the Macon-DeWitt County line. A development manager from Apex says if the county issues a building permit, construction would start sometime this summer.

* BND | Inaction is unacceptable after tests show E. coli in Cahokia Heights water, soil: It is extremely disheartening to both hear and see the mischaracterization of the residents affected due to inhumane, unsafe water contamination that is being publicly labeled as “erroneous.” For decades, area residents have voiced concerns over and complaints of their ongoing problems with water quality. The seriousness of the issue was downplayed, dismissed, and ignored, as evidenced by the lack of actions from elected local politicians and companies that did absolutely nothing (investigate nor research) for years.

* WICS | Economic pressures, rising intakes push Sangamon County Animal Control to max capacity: Jeanne Keenan, director of operations for Sangamon County Animal Control, said this week alone has been pretty bad. She said they took in a lot of strays and dogs that were confiscated for animal cruelty. She said their facility has taken in more than 100 dogs over the last three weeks. Pet owners surrendering their dogs also make up part of that number. Keenan said intakes are worse this year than they have been in the past.

* WGLT | With enhanced website, McLean County government leaps ahead in ADA compliance: The new software module also does something even more difficult. Until now, image files on the county website that have words in the picture could not be read out loud for visually impaired people. “This one actually can take a scanned document and turn it into something that can be read and copied and pasted and I kind of geeked out about it,” said Johnston.

* BND | Swansea to decide fate of crime-free housing program. What residents should know: The program, established in 2018, requires participating landlords to evict renters if the tenants or their guests are charged with a felony in a crime that takes place at the rental property. Swansea’s rules also require eviction for three ordinance violations at a rental property within a six-month period. It offers exceptions to tenants who are disabled. But police and village officials who support the repeal describe the program as burdensome and ineffective, producing no “measurable improvements to rental property conditions or community safety.”

* BND | What we know — and don’t know— about Justice Department’s O’Fallon schools probe: Rodriguez said many of the 35 districts’ leaders theorize the common thread is that they all received federal School Violence Prevention Program grants from the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS. The Department of Justice has not confirmed the theory’s accuracy to the BND.

* WAND | Springfield community celebrates LGBTQ+ community at Pridefest: The event featured local drag performers, community artists, a parade and a variety of food and drink options from local businesses. There were also over 120 vendors. Organizers said the goal of the event is to create a safe and inclusive space that celebrates and uplifts the LGBTQ+ community.

*** National ***

* ProPublica | In a Private Meeting, Colorado Marijuana Regulators Acknowledge the Extent of Illegal Hemp Sales: During the meeting, Kyle Lambert, the enforcement division’s deputy senior director, said the number of hemp-derived products is “larger than we can quantify.” He said the agency feared the prevalence of banned hemp was driving down the price of marijuana in the state and helping facilitate the diversion of high-grade marijuana out of Colorado and into the black market in other states.

* Tribune | Gas surges past $4 a gallon while tomato and beef prices notch new records. A look at rising costs amid the Iran war: Stateside, this has translated into higher fuel costs. Since the start of the war, retail gas prices have spiked more than 50% nationwide, and diesel, which trucks use to transport all kinds of goods and agricultural products across the country, has similarly sprung up 48%, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And increased shipping and transportation costs? That means higher prices on everything from groceries to airline tickets and your morning latte.

* NYT | Political Money Is Flowing to Influencers. But From Whom?: Last month, Carlos Eduardo Espina, a progressive influencer, revealed a surprising endorsement to his 14.5 million followers on TikTok: He would support Tom Steyer, the billionaire running for California governor as a Democrat. “I really believe Tom Steyer is different,” Mr. Espina said in a speech that he posted on social media. “He could be traveling around the world or doing whatever he wants, but he wants to serve the people of this state.” Unmentioned in Mr. Espina’s post: Mr. Steyer’s campaign was paying him $100,000 to help win the election.

* Time | Mary Todd Lincoln and the Double Standard of Mental Illness: In the 1840s and 1850s, Lincoln was so depressed that he routinely ingested “blue pills,” which contained dangerous levels of mercury. He had, at one point, a complete nervous collapse that many Springfield politicians were well aware of. And, even when his behavior panicked his friends to the point that they feared he would harm himself, Lincoln was not stigmatized. When his career hit bumps, his friends later reported he would sink into a trance-like gloom. Still, historians never suggested his depression was disqualifying.