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Underwood tells CNN she won’t run for US Senate (Updated x4)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Not unexpected…


…Adding… Raja out with a poll from… April?

As the race for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate in Illinois begins to take shape, a recent survey of likely Democratic primary voters shows Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in a strong position in a multi-candidate contest.

While the survey showed Raja in the lead in a larger field with five candidates, his lead actually expands in a scenario limited to the three currently announced candidates.

Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s supporters were more likely to select Raja as their second choice candidate than anyone else. When Underwood and Treasurer Mike Frerichs’ supporters are allocated to their second choices, Raja opens up a 9-point advantage over Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton.

Congresswoman Robin Kelly also sits in double digits in this scenario, with a large share of the electorate still undecided.

1 Results are taken from a survey of 800 likely voters in the March 2026 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Interviews were conducted by live dialers via telephone and through text-to-web responses between April 24-28, 2025. Results carry a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence interval.

2 Alternative race scenarios with fewer candidates were calculated by asking respondents who their second choice would be, if their
first choice was not in the race. Those voters whose second choice was not included in the simulation were allocated to ‘undecided.’

Ancient numbers, but interesting.

…Adding… Press release…

As a part of her continued work to stand up for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District and counter Donald Trump’s dangerous MAGA agenda in Washington, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) today issued the following statement regarding her political future:

“In 2018, I was elected to protect health care for people with pre-existing conditions. Since then we’ve gotten 19 pieces of legislation signed into law – bringing home billions of dollars and expanding access to high quality affordable health care for every American.

“Now, Donald Trump and his Administration are renewing their attacks on health care by trying to slash Medicaid and undo all the progress we’ve made, which would have deadly consequences for working families across the country. Our work is not done, and I’ve decided the most powerful way for me to defend our values and hold Donald Trump accountable is to help Democrats win back the House.

“By serving in House Democratic leadership and leading the DCCC recruitment efforts, I’ll continue working to drive down costs for American families, flip the House, and elect a new generation of changemakers. I’m excited to keep leading that fight at home and in Washington.”

Underwood’s decision to forgo a run for the United States Senate coincides with non-partisan projections showing that the most likely way for Democrats to regain power in Washington is through winning back the House of Representatives in 2026. As a member of Democratic House leadership, and as the DCCC Recruitment Co-Chair, Underwood will be playing a key role in helping Democrats flip the House in the 2026 cycle.

“Lauren Underwood has been a force to be reckoned with in the House of Representatives since she successfully flipped a long-held Republican district in 2018,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8). “As a valuable member of leadership, Congresswoman Underwood is playing a critical role in helping House Democrats communicate decisively with voters as we fight the reckless Republican budget scheme and work hard to win back the majority in 2026. At this pivotal moment, Lauren’s work in the House to stop Donald Trump’s dangerous MAGA agenda is needed now more than ever and we look forward to her continued leadership.”

“Congresswoman Underwood is a proven fighter who knows how to flip Republican seats and win tough races,” said DCCC Chairwoman, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01). “As the DCCC Recruitment Co-Chair, Congresswoman Underwood is on the frontlines of bringing the best and brightest to Congress to stop MAGA Republicans and fight for working families. The road to a better United States runs through the House, and we’re lucky to have Congresswoman Underwood helping to pave it.”

Lauren Underwood is a four term United States Congresswoman from Illinois’ 14 district, where she helped flip the House of Representatives and was elected as the youngest Black Congresswoman in history in 2018. In 2024, Underwood won reelection to the House in 2024 by 10 points, while Vice President Harris only won the district by 5 points. Currently the Cook Political Report scores the 14th District as D+3 in their Partisan Voting Index, down one point from 2023.

…Adding… Congresswoman Robin Kelly…

Lauren Underwood is a smart colleague who works very hard for her district and for our state. She’s been a leader in shaping both the message and the future of our party for the better. Lauren and I have both worked diligently on ending the maternal mortality crisis — and I know she will continue to be a critical partner in delivering for the people of Illinois.

…Adding… Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton

With the constant chaos coming out of Donald Trump’s Washington, taking back the House is more vital than ever before, and Lauren Underwood’s leadership is critical to making that a reality. I’m grateful for Lauren’s advocacy, especially on health care and reproductive rights, and I’m proud to have her fighting for Illinois in Washington.

  20 Comments      


Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Governor JB Pritzker

In mid-May, the Trump Administration, through U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), terminated the Digital Equity Capacity Program. In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) was in the process of implementing a Digital Equity Capacity Grant under this Program. This grant would have provided more than $23.7 million to Illinois organizations across the state to equip households and residents with the skills, resources, and tools needed to use high-speed internet and fully participate in Illinois’ economy. […]

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included programs and funding for local governments and organizations throughout the state to expand access to affordable, high-speed internet to communities that need the digital tools and skills to fully participate in a modern economy. The programs would help distribute electronic devices, provide training and outreach, and enable more communities with digital skills. The programs were targeted toward 10 million Illinoisians who have historically experienced lower rates of computer and internet access, including rural areas, poorer communities, veterans, seniors, and more. Without a computer, home internet, and the ability to use the internet safely, it would not be possible for a job seeker to create a resume and apply for jobs, a farmer to use data to optimize crop and livestock production, a senior to pay their bills online, or patients to participate in telehealth visits with their healthcare provider. […]

In response to the notice of funding opportunity issued by DCEO for the Illinois Digital Equity Capacity Grant, Illinois received over 260 applications to support local institutions across the state in their efforts to improve access to internet, computers, and digital skills, furthering emphasizing the need for this assistance across the state.

To prepare for the historic Digital Equity Act program, Illinois provided state funding through the Digital Equity Capacity Kickstarter (DECK) program to statewide partners - including nonprofits, libraries, healthcare organizations, and more. From December 2023 until April 2025, dozens of partner organizations hosted more than 4,300 digital skills training classes, participated in more than 900 community outreach events, and distributed more than 1,400 devices.

* AP

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation.

The court’s order, with only one noted dissent, puts on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month. The justices provided no rationale, which is common in emergency appeals.

The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.

A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration’s request to put the order on hold while the lawsuit continues.

*** Statewide ***

* CUB Warns of June 1 Price Spike on ComEd Bills : While cautioning that pricing information could be adjusted before June 1, CUB said its preliminary review of ComEd tariffs filed Friday shows the utility’s summer supply rate, June through September, would be about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This rate, which includes the supply price and a transmission charge, would represent about a 45 percent increase over last June’s price of 6.9¢ per kWh. The price will change again in October. CEJA will partly offset the price spike. The law requires a line item on ComEd bills called the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA) to subsidize energy generated by Illinois nuclear power plants. But consumer advocates pushed for a provision that changes the charge to a credit when energy prices go above a certain level, as in June. According to CUB’s review of ComEd tariffs, this credit will reduce ComEd’s price by about 1.7 cents per kWh, or about 17 percent, in June. While it could be adjusted up or down on a monthly basis, a credit of some amount is expected to stay on bills for at least the next 12 months.

* My Journal Courier | Program to explore court’s role in slavery in Illinois: John Lupton and Samuel Wheeler will present “Slavery in Illinois? The Presumption of Freedom: The Illinois Supreme Court and the Fate of Slavery in Illinois” at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Lupton is executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission, while Wheeler is director of history programs at the commission.

*** Statehouse News ***

* AP | Illinois mulls ending a health program for some immigrants living in the US illegally: Rep. Barbara Hernandez, a suburban Chicago Democrat, said the program helps many families. “There’s a huge need in the undocumented community that cannot get health care otherwise,” she said. If Democrats, who control the Illinois General Assembly, can’t find money to continue the plan — estimated to cost $404 million this year — tens of thousands of migrants will be left without Medicaid-style health coverage.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | $15.5M settlement is ‘first win in a series of losses’ on Chicago’s lopsided parking meter deal: “This is our first win in a series of losses on this deal — and it still doesn’t feel like a win,” said former Finance Chair Scott Waguespack (32nd), who cast one of only five votes against the parking meter deal that Chicagoans love to hate. The settlement is further proof that the City Council “rushed through a deal that wasn’t fully open, wasn’t fully transparent” and “should have been shelved,” Waguespack said, a deal created simply to help then-Mayor Richard M. Daley avoid raising property taxes.

* WBEZ | Chicago parents say kids will be at risk if Trump guts consumer product safety panel: On May 8, Trump fired three of the five commissioners who lead the bipartisan, independent agency. That came after they voted to advance a safety standard for lithium-ion batteries linked to fatal fires involving e-bikes and scooters in defiance of a Trump executive order requiring White House review of all new proposed regulations. Though the moves are certain to be fought in court, dismantling the agency upends more than a half century of independent oversight of product safety from an agency created by Congress to be largely insulated from politics.

* The Triibe | Teen third spaces were once the epicenter of Chicago’s music and dance trends. What happened?: Those spaces have largely disappeared. Mall culture, for example, nearly died as online shopping and social media-inspired dropshipping consumed the consumer. Accidents, shootings and insurance issues led to the closure of teen clubs. So today, the third space for the under-21 crowd has not just eroded, it just might be extinct. […] Schools also played an essential role in the teen social scene of the 1970s and ’80s. During a 2019 panel about high schools’ role in the House and dance scene, House DJs such as Celeste Alexander and Kirk Townsend detailed why school “sock hops” were pivotal.

* Crain’s | Mesirow raises $1.25 billion fund for multifamily real estate investments: The Chicago-based firm received commitments from institutional investors for Mesirow Financial Real Estate Value Fund V, which is 66% bigger than the previous fund for multifamily investments. Like Fund IV, which closed with $750 million in financial commitments in 2021, the new fund will target its investments in the top 25-30 U.S. markets, including Chicago.

* AP | White Sox to unveil a graphic installation honoring Pope Leo XIV: The graphic installation at Rate Field marks the location where the future pope cheered for Chicago in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. The White Sox beat the Astros 5-3 on their way to a four-game sweep for the title. The team said the pillar artwork commemorates the pope’s Chicago roots “and the unifying power of baseball on the world stage.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | LanzaTech is laying off 44 from its Skokie HQ amid clean energy pullback: The company, which employed 383 people globally at the end of last year, disclosed the layoffs at its headquarters in filings with the state of Illinois and the Securities and Exchange Commission. LanzaTech, one of Chicago’s most successful clean-tech startups, has been struggling lately, scrambling to raise money and cut costs. The company’s revenue declined 21% last year to $50 million, and it lost $138 million. LanzaTech is trying to cut expenses by $30 million a year, or about 20%.

* Daily Herald | Parents refuse to give up as St. Alphonsus Liguori school faces closure once again: Then, the threat of closure was announced at the end of December 2015 and families were given the winter to reach a $400,000 fundraising goal that was ultimately met. It bought time to move the school’s attendance from 137 to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s preferred level of 225. But this time, because the archdiocese and parish are in agreement that financial and attendance goals are sufficiently unattainable, no goal was presented to the school community, said Katie O’Dea, senior director of communications and marketing for the Office of Schools.

* Daily Herald | New pot dispensary, tattoo parlor get approval from Elgin City Council: It took Elgin nearly five years to find a home for their first adult-use cannabis dispensary. They will soon have a second. Last week, the city council approved a plan for Jane & Buds Cannabis Dispensary to open in the former Boston Market location at 205 S. Randall Road. New council member Diana Alfaro abstained from the 8-0 vote.

* WBEZ | Here’s your 2025 guide to farmers markets throughout Chicago : Chicago has a wealth of farmers markets, but reliable information about them can be scattered across websites and social media. To help, this guide brings together the most current information for farmers markets throughout Chicago. (We broke out 56 suburban markets into its own 2025 guide.)

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Controversial Freeburg school board member resigns after judge rules against him: Stein’s resignation follows a ruling by St. Clair County Circuit Court Associate Judge Stacy Campbell on May 6 to extend a workplace protection restraining order against him until December. The judge had issued an emergency order last November on request from district officials. Stein was prohibited from entering school property, forcing him to attend board meetings via Zoom. The district’s request alleged that he had screamed and used profanity at board meetings and, in a phone call with Interim Superintendent Mark Janssen, threatened to run over officials with his vehicle. Stein denied the allegations.

* WSIL | Tornado recovery: Marion CUSD #2 seeks help for impacted families: The district is asking for donations to assist families in need of essentials like clothing, food, and temporary shelter as they rebuild. “Every contribution—large or small—will make a difference in the lives of Unit #2 students, staff and families who are trying to find stability and hope after this traumatic event,” said the district. Monetary donations, including cash, checks, or gift cards, can be made at any Marion CUSD #2 school buildings or the Unit #2 Administration Office.

* BND | What to know about Belleville school district’s 15,000-square-foot CAVE expansion: Belleville School District 201 unveiled the 15,000-square-foot expansion to its Center for Academic and Vocational Excellence, better known as The CAVE, Wednesday. Community members got an up-close look at the new CAVE Annex, which is a separate building that sits southeast of the main building, at an open house. There, they marveled at the retired Falcon jet, tested flight simulators and explored a digitally automated human cadaver.

* PJ Star | Tragedy, drama and comedy: Here’s the history of a surviving Downtown Peoria theater: The on-again, off-again saga of Peoria’s Apollo theater is on again, with the site of the historic downtown movie palace up for sale. Along with the listing came interest in the history of the century-old Apollo, once one of a handful of downtown theaters. Today, the venue is a shell of its former glory, but remnants of the storied theater − including its ornate balcony − remain. The Apollo was not the grandest of the downtown theaters, but held its own charms, including a jungle-themed stage mural, graceful ceiling fixtures and wall ornamentation.

  3 Comments      


Catching up with the congressionals

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* More adventures in embargoes…

Hi Rich,

I wanted to introduce you to Morgan Coghill. He’s a small business owner from Mundelein who grew up poor, knows what third shift looks like, and represents the kind of everyday working-class experience voters have been asking for and establishment Democratic leadership keeps ignoring.

Now, he’s stepping up to challenge Rep. Brad Schneider in IL-10. His campaign officially launches next Wednesday, May 21, and it’s landing at a moment when debates over safe-seat primaries and party leadership are dominating headlines.

Morgan is not taking a dime from corporate PACs or special interests, and he’s demanding that the Democratic Party fight harder for the people it claims to represent.

Would you be interested in an embargoed interview with Morgan before his launch on the 21st? He’s available:

    • Monday afternoon (May 19)

    • All day Tuesday (May 20)

Interviews can be by phone or in person in Mundelein. He’s ready to talk about why he’s running, what the party needs to hear, and how he plans to shake up IL-10.

Let me know if you’d like to set up a time.

I’ll pass, thanks.

* Friday email…

Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison is wrapping up the first week of his historic campaign with strong support from a wide range of community leaders and advocates, and growing momentum across the district.

The Windy City Times said this about Kevin Morrison: “Kevin Morrison, the first openly gay person elected to the Cook County Board, has spent the past six years as commissioner focused on mental health, civil rights policy, and bipartisan collaboration. Now, with the country at what he calls a ‘crucial’ turning point, Morrison is launching a run for Congress in Illinois’ Eighth Congressional District.”

CBS reported on Kevin Morrison’s campaign launch, saying: “[Morrison] touted his record as a Cook County commissioner as having fought to expand voting rights and mental health care funding, and to fight discrimination.”

In the first week of his campaign, Kevin Morrison has already secured endorsements from across the district and state, including Congressman Eric Sorensen and State Representative Kelly Cassidy. The momentum shows that people want Kevin Morrison fighting for them in Congress.

The full list of almost 50 local leaders putting their name behind Kevin Morrison’s campaign includes:

    • Adriane Johnson – State Senator
    • Rob Martwick – State Senator
    • Nicolle Grasse – State Representative
    • Bill McLeod – Hoffman Estates Mayor
    • Maria Vesey – Addison Township Clerk-Elect
    • Phil Dukes – Trustee, Elk Grove Township
    • Daniel Hebreard – President of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
    • Paula McCombie – South Barrington Mayor
    • Barrett Pederson – Mayor of Franklin Park and Committeeman
    • Alex Arroyo – DuPage County Board Member
    • Ted Mason – Elk Grove Township Committeeman
    • Harish Kolasani – National India Hub Founder
    • Ron Onesti – President, JCCIA
    • Patrick Kinnane – Trustee, Hoffman Estates
    • Bill Manganaro – Trustee, Arlington Heights
    • Frank Avino – Village of Norridge Trustee and Norwood Park Township Committeeman

The full list of LGBTQ+ endorsements today are:

    • Eric Sorensen – Member of Congress
    • Kelly Cassidy – State Representative
    • Maggie Trevor – Cook County Commissioner
    • Marcelino Garcia – Cook County MWRD
    • Alex Arroyo – Member, DuPage County Board
    • Robert Lugiai – Trustee, Elk Grove Township
    • Monika Stajniak – Trustee, Elk Grove Township
    • Austin Mejdrich – Trustee, Wheeling Township
    • Bennett Lawson – Alderman
    • Lamont Robinson – Alderman
    • Greg Harris – IL State House Majority Leader (retired)
    • Maria Hadden – Alderwoman, Chicago
    • Travis Haley – Round Lake Library Board Trustee
    • Kristal Larson – Avon Democratic Township Democratic Chair

Kevin also welcomes the support of many of his colleagues on the Cook County Commission, and other leaders across Cook and the collar counties:

    • Nicole Lee – Alderwoman, Chicago
    • Bridget Gainer – Cook County Commissioner
    • Frank Aguilar – Cook County Commissioner
    • John Daley – Cook County Commissioner
    • Josina Morita – Cook County Commissioner
    • Scott Britton – Cook County Commissioner
    • Stanley Moore – Cook County Commissioner
    • Dr. Kisha McCaskill – Cook County Commissioner
    • Michael Scott Jr. – Former Alderman and Cook County Commissioner
    • Laddi Singh – Former Candidate, House District 54
    • Chuck Bernardini – Former Commissioner and Alderman
    • Doug House – ILDCAA Chair (retired)
    • Holly Kim – Lake County Treasurer
    • Steve Rosenblum – School Board President, District 211
    • Anne Lopez – School Board Member, District 211
    • Jane Russell – School Board Member, District 211
    • Joe Sagerer – School Board Member, District 214

Alex Arroyo is not a DuPage County Board member. He’s on the Kane County Board.

* Politico today

— SCOOP: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss raised $350,000 in the first 24 hours of announcing his bid to run for Congress in the seat now held by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky. “We’re building a movement to not only take on Donald Trump and MAGA extremists, but to deliver real change to lower costs, defend the environment, and protect our fundamental rights. This amazing early support makes it clear that people are ready to fight for a future that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected,” Biss said in a statement announcing the fundraising numbers.

Is it really a SCOOOOOOOOP when the press release went out Friday and I posted it on the blog then and the Sun-Times had it online hours before Politco did this morning?

lol

* And speaking of that Sun-Times article, here’s more from the 9th Congressional District

Justin Ford is an environmental health and safety professional who also worked in disability care and helped organize graduate student unions.

“This campaign is about working families — the ones juggling two jobs, caring for kids or elders, and trying to build a future in a system that too often ignores them,” Ford said on his campaign website.

State Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago; Bushra Amiwala, a Skokie school district board member; and Chicagoan David Abrevaya are also exploring runs.

It’s a good piece, you should go read the whole thing.

  4 Comments      


Today’s quotable

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois Secretary of State and rumored candidate for Chicago mayor…


Many of the replies are, um, non-supportive.

Your thoughts?

  43 Comments      


DCFS staffing increases 44 percent, IDHS direct care workers now fully staffed (Updated)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Here’s something you don’t see much, if ever: A state government touting an increase in staffing levels. But most states didn’t hollow out their workforces to the point where some agencies couldn’t perform their tasks. And I doubt it took many other states almost a year just to hire somebody. Press release…

Today, Illinois Central Management Services (CMS) announced that the State of Illinois has achieved historic outcomes in building up its workforce, increasing the total employee count from 50,544 in 2019 to 55,340 in 2025 – the highest number of state employees since 2008, which was 55,237 employees. These gains are driven by hiring at agencies that have historically faced challenges filling positions and that directly provide support to vulnerable Illinoisans. This includes a 44% increase in staffing at the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) and a 15% increase in direct care worker roles at the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS).

Formerly a manual, paper-driven process plagued by outdated grading systems, the State’s hiring has undergone a transformative modernization since 2019, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined process today.

“These milestones are a testament to the dedication and commitment of CMS, which has embraced efficiency, innovation and collaboration to improve past hiring challenges,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By modernizing our hiring practices and investing in technology, we’re not just improving efficiency, we’re building a government that is more inclusive, responsive, and equipped to serve the people of Illinois for generations to come. As we look ahead, CMS will build upon this progress as it continues to improve and streamline hiring for key roles that support Illinoisans every day.”

CMS launched an unprecedented improvement effort designed to update the hiring process. This includes upgrading technology to enable fully electronic applications, developing new proactive recruitment strategies to broaden the applicant pool, and eliminating redundant processes following the passage of SB 2228. These changes have resulted in:

    • Record High Number of Employees Driven by Hiring Key Health and Human Services Positions: The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) have exceeded historical staffing levels. For example, DCFS staffing has increased 44% (2,686 to 3,886) from 2019 to 2025, and DCFS caseworker roles are staffed at an unprecedented 96%. At IDHS, Direct Care Worker roles have increased nearly 15% (4,167 to 4,789) from 2019 to 2025 and is considered fully staffed.
    • Hiring Timeline Reduced by 58%: While improvements are still being made, the hiring timeline has gone from an average of 269 days in 2019 to 111 days in 2025 – a 58% reduction.
    • Vacancy Rate Cut Nearly in Half: The vacancy rate for jobs at the State of Illinois decreased from 14% in 2019 to 8% in 2025.
    • Application Surge: Applications increased 311% after the electronic system rollout in 2020. From 2022 to 2024 alone, applications rose 110% (193,294 to 407,526), and the candidate pool increased 81%. Job offers increased 49% over the same period.

“Our workforce should reflect the people we serve,” said CMS Director Raven A. DeVaughn. “Increased applications and placements show that our changes are working while still prioritizing equity and accessibility. Not only are we hiring faster, but we’re hiring the very best candidates from the most diverse pools.”

Increased outreach at job fairs, community events, and the launch of the Really Great Careers campaign have also helped to broaden the State’s applicant pool. More than 1,100 job seekers attended career fairs hosted by CMS this year at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), Malcom X College in Chicago, and Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC).

“It made perfect sense to implement modern processes and best practices to Illinois’ hiring processes through legislation I led in 2023,” said State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora). “Here’s the payoff already happening from making this leap forward: CMS has reduced the hiring timeline nearly 60 percent, cut the job vacancy rate nearly in half in critical agencies like DHS and DCFS, and tripled the number of job applications received through the new electronic system. The candidate pool grew and job offers increased. This is a win for both the State and its workers.”

“Governor Pritzker signed SB 2228 in 2023 taking a critical step toward transforming our state’s hiring processes, making government more transparent and accessible to all,” said State Representative Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-Chicago). “I was proud to have chief sponsored and led the negotiations with CMS leadership on this legislation. I applaud the department’s effective implementation which shows great progress toward improving our State’s workforce.”

For more information about job opportunities at the State of Illinois, visit https://work.illinois.gov/.

111 days to hire someone is still too long, but it’s a drastic improvement.

You wonder whether the federal government will have to do the same sort of thing in the future after drastically cutting some of its workforce this year, in many cases without much rhyme or reason.

…Adding… Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II was interviewed by RFD Radio’s Rita Frazer

First of all, I want to tell you that five-and-a-half years ago when I came to the Department of Agriculture, we had 299 employees.

We’ve got 435 employees … hoping to hire a couple more.

There’s a couple of areas I would specifically point out. One of them is meat and poultry processing.

Five-and-a-half years ago we were at, I think, 72 or 73 inspectors. We’re at 105 now, which is the largest number ever that we’re aware of in the history of the Department of Agriculture.

  8 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Illinois Families for Public Schools

There was yet another disturbing news item last week about the Powerschool breach in December that impacted more than 60 million students and almost 10 million educators, including dozens of districts in Illinois. Now school districts hit by that breach are being extorted to prevent the release of data that Powerschool says it paid the original hackers to “delete.”

Paying ransom for data is something that, for years, the FBI and CISA have advised companies and organizations NOT to do!

On top of this, Powerschool has still not been forthcoming with full details of the impact of the breach, but it was almost certainly the result of their inadequate security protocols; according to NBC News, “the hacker simply obtained a single employee’s password,” and PowerSchool admitted publicly that “the infiltrated PowerSource system did not have multi-factor authentication support.”

Even though companies have a duty to implement adequate security measures for education data under IL’s Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA), Powerschool will likely never be held accountable for violating SOPPA. Only our state attorney general can enforce SOPPA, and that’s never happened since the law was passed back in 2017.

Sadly, HB 2696, which would give families the right to sue companies that violate SOPPA, is still languishing in the Senate Assignments Committee, more than a month after it passed the House, 70-38.

* Click here for some background. Rep. Dan Ugaste…

State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) will soon be filing legislation aimed at halting self-benefiting advertising campaigns from Illinois entities, public or private, that receive government funding. This important legislation is in part a response to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) attempting to persuade the public to contact their legislators regarding bills that could provide it with additional state funding.

This ongoing ad campaign from RTA is known as ‘Save Transit Now.’ The agency claims that it is facing a fiscal cliff, and drastic service cuts could be on the horizon if more state funding is not secured. They are reportedly seeking an additional $1.5 billion in funding from the state.

“The agency claims it is broke, yet the organization is currently spending three-quarters of a million dollars on an all-encompassing ad campaign in northeast Illinois,” Rep. Ugaste stated. “This reckless spending is wasteful and out of touch. No entity that receives government funding should be allowed to advertise to the public, solicit the public, or conduct a marketing campaign in favor of or against any policy or legislation.”

* Rep. Maura Hirschauer…

A dedicated advocate for commonsense gun laws that prioritize public safety while adhering to constitutional rights, state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, is spearheading a measure that aims to keep firearms out of reach of small children and at-risk minors.

“When we address a topic as contentious as guns and ownership rights, it is extremely important to hear concerns on both sides of the aisle. It’s possible to have smart gun reform that still protects 2A rights, and that’s exactly what we’re working toward, ” said Hirschauer. “We’ve had many positive and productive conversations. I look forward to getting this legislation through the finish line to truly prioritize public safety in our communities.”

Senate Bill 8, known as the Safe Gun Storage Act, aims to enhance gun storage safety and address stolen firearm requirements with the ultimate goal to prevent access to firearms by minors, at-risk individuals, and those prohibited from possessing them. The bill would require firearm owners to secure their weapons in a locked container, rendering them inaccessible and unusable to anyone except the owner or an authorized user.

“We’ve heard too many tragedies of firearms landing in the wrong hands. This is a smart way we can work toward a solution to keeping guns away from children and those who absolutely should not have access to a weapon,” said Hirschauer. “This legislation is a baby step in the realm of keeping our kids safe and away from nonsensical gun violence.”

Senate Bill 8 favorably passed out of the Senate Chamber and awaits House consideration.

* Capitol News Illinois

Amid concerns about Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, lawmakers in Springfield supporting human rights for Palestinians have increasingly signed on to legislation opposing the decade-old anti-boycott law. But so far, these bills have stalled.

Illinois’ 2015 law prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies engaging in the Boycott, Divest, Sanction, or BDS, movement against Israel, making Illinois the first U.S. state to enact such legislation, with dozens of other states following suit. The measure, signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, was modeled after similar post-9/11 measures restricting Illinois’ pension funds from investment in companies that engage in business with the governments of Iran and Sudan.

When boycotting Israel became grounds for blacklisting, Illinois lawmakers established the Illinois Investment Policy Board, tasked with investigating companies’ investment choices. Opponents of the laws have warned they curtail free speech. Israel is the only country for which boycotting is penalized in Illinois by the board.

To repeal this policy, Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, introduced House Bill 2723, and Sen. Mike Porfirio, D-Bridgeview, introduced Senate Bill 2462 earlier this year. Since then, some 22 co-sponsors were added in the House and Senate, while two of those later had their names removed. […]

Rashid’s and Porfirio’s bills have stalled in committee despite the initial support from about one-fifth of the Democratic caucus, including the leaders of the Latino, Black and Progressive caucuses.

Thousands of bills, the vast majority of those proposed, get stuck in the Rules Committee every year for various reasons. In HB 2723’s case, the holdup can be attributed in part to the political costs of supporting the bill, advocates said.

Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Harvey, was listed as a cosponsor on March 20, and Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, signed onto the bill on April 2, but both had their names removed on April 8. Neither senator responded to a request for comment on their reasoning.

* WAND

As the clock ticks down toward the end of spring session, Democratic lawmakers hope to pass a plan to allow anyone dying of a terminal illness within six months to have the option of medically-assisted death. […]

Experts told the House Executive Committee Friday that medical aid in dying is approved in 10 states, and there have been no substantial cases of abuse or coercion since Oregon became the first state with the policy in 1997. […]

The House version of this plan has 15 Democratic co-sponsors, but the plan would need support from 60 Democrats before Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch allows for a floor vote. […]

Meanwhile, a Senate version of the legislation could come up for a floor vote as early as next week.

Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) filed the legislation after dealing with both her mother and father’s deaths. She told colleagues in February that they both suffered with extreme pain before they died.

* Donovan Griffith, Jack Lavin and Lou Sandoval

Affordable housing is the foundation of a strong, sustainable economy, and the demand in Illinois is overwhelming. At this moment, there’s a shortage of over 290,000 affordable rental homes for our lowest-income residents. […]

Put simply, if we want Illinois to remain competitive in site selection and economic development, we need to build more homes. The Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit (HB 1147/SB 62) is a key part of the solution.

It’s a chain reaction: Build affordable housing. Companies invest. People get jobs. Communities thrive. That’s why business groups including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Chamber Commerce, and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association are calling on lawmakers to pass this commonsense legislation to build affordable homes desperately needed across our state. […]

One annual round of funding through the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit would support the creation of 1,150 affordable homes or apartments, 7,000 jobs, and generate $653 million in economic benefits over 10 years.

* Illinois Public Interest Research Group Director Abraham Scarr

Rooftop solar eventually pays for itself and, thanks to battery storage, can be used to power our homes year-round. And, as a nonpolluting energy source, it helps keep our air clean and our climate stable.

Yet in Illinois, we are tapping only a small amount — 2%, according to 2022 figures — of our potential solar energy generation, despite rapidly falling costs, improvements in technology, favorable tax incentives and growing demand. Increasing the number of homes with solar panels and battery backup systems is a critical component of Illinois’ clean energy transition. […]

Thankfully, Illinois lawmakers are now considering the Residential Automated Solar Permitting Act, sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cunningham and state Rep. Marcus Evans, which would implement instant permitting statewide. The projected benefits to consumers, jurisdictions and the clean energy transition would be tremendous.

According to a recent report from the Greenhouse Institute and the Brown University Climate Solutions Lab, instant permitting could lead to an additional 35,000 to 36,000 home solar roofs in Illinois by 2030 and as many as an additional 300,000 by 2040. Those 300,000 solar roofs could eventually save 30 million to 31 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of shutting down eight coal-fired power plants for a year. In addition, instant permitting could bring down the cost for a family to install solar by as much as $2,100 by 2030 and by more than $4,000 by 2040.

SB2385 and its companion bill in the House have yet to pass through committee.

* WAND

State lawmakers are renewing calls for a bill to increase educational requirements for surgical technologists.

The legislation could require their degree to come from a nationally accredited program that includes a mock surgical treatment.

Sponsors told reporters in Springfield Thursday that Stroke Awareness Month is the perfect time to pass the bill, as it is critical that patients receive care from properly trained staff. […]

The measure passed out of the House on a 73-35 vote last month. State senators could vote on the proposal during the final two weeks of the spring session.

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Illinois Medicaid: Working Together To Support The Health Of Our Families, Communities, And State

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

‘You showed up in my life at the perfect time’

On any given day, nearly 26,000 Illinois residents experience homelessness.

Last summer, “Trinity,” a 33-year-old mom from central Illinois, was one of them.

Trinity and her children had moved into an emergency shelter, which partners with a Medicaid health plan to host mobile clinic events at their facility.

When Trinity showed up at an event, the scope of her family’s medical needs became clear. The family had visited emergency rooms twice in the past week. All of her children were overdue for well-child exams. And Trinity was 16 weeks pregnant—without any prenatal
care.

Practitioners acted swiftly, checking up on the kids and performing prenatal assessments on Trinity. She was prescribed medication for extremely high blood pressure and monitored at three subsequent clinic events.

In November, Trinity delivered a healthy baby boy. And she brought him home to long-term housing she secured near the shelter—with assistance from her health plan.

“You showed up in my life at the perfect time,” Trinity says. “You have helped me so much, and I don’t feel alone.”

Paid for by the Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans

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Your moment of small-town Illinois zen

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From “Joe & Nic’s Road Trip” YouTube page

We are traveling the USA by road. We are documenting towns & cities across the USA, mostly visiting the downtowns and the neighborhoods surrounding those downtowns. We’re there to see the unique architecture, walkability, artwork, unique stores and restaurants. We will be visiting every state in the U.S.! Come along with us for the ride!!

* Their drive-throughs of Cabery, Kempton, Emington, Cullom, Chatsworth, Strawn, Sibley, Colfax & Cooksville

* And this is from their visits of Illinois river towns Henry, Lacon, Chillicothe and Peoria

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When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Findings of a recent economic study were 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.

Retailers like Jessica in Mahomet enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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Welch on Crespo: ‘I can’t allow someone to go rogue and be an individual’

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch took the extraordinary actions last week of permanently kicking Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, out of the House Democratic caucus, stripping him of his legislative staff, removing him from his Appropriations Committee chair position and booting him from the bicameral Legislative Audit Commission.

Welch also suspended a Democratic staffer who reportedly helped Crespo prepare an alternative budget plan, which is what got both people axed.

Crespo took me aside Tuesday night at a reception and told me he was preparing to unveil a budget proposal that he believed could help the state weather at least some of the fiscal pain that the Republican Congress and the Trump administration were about to inflict on Illinois and all other states.

The very next day, Welch lowered the boom. Hard.

Needless to say, replacing an Appropriations Committee chair with barely two weeks to go in the spring session and tough budget votes ahead is not exactly commonplace. I’ve never seen such a thing in 35 years of doing this.

A source within the House Democratic operation said Welch told Crespo he hadn’t been engaging this session with the House’s top budget negotiators, appropriations staff, other members and the House speaker himself.

But the final straw was Crespo’s budget proposal, which was far outside the “silo” of his Appropriations Committee’s purview, multiple sources said.

Crespo’s budget idea would have at least temporarily freed up about $4 billion in state spending in the upcoming fiscal year. The proposal would’ve withheld state funds from discretionary programs, created $1.6 billion in contingency reserves (which has been done in previous tight budget years), and allowed short-term borrowing from special state funds.

Crespo almost tanked the state’s crucial revenue bill last May by telling his fellow Democrats to “vote your conscience” during floor debate. Several moderate, House Democrats wound up voting against the bill, and it took hours to pass the measure.

Now, however, Crespo has even less to lose by going all-out against the budget plan since his powers have been stripped. The end-of-session budget vote was already going to be difficult, and now it could be even more fraught with peril if Crespo spends the remaining session days publicly and privately dumping on the budget plan.

But, maybe not, because no House Democrats rose to defend Crespo during a closed-door caucus meeting on Thursday, although some were grumbling privately.

Welch clearly took the caucus reaction (or lack thereof) as confirmation that he was right to move against Crespo: “I levied the decision that I levied, and I’m comfortable with it,” Welch told me after the Thursday caucus meeting. “I slept well last night. And from the reaction of my leadership team and members, they believe I made the right decision as well.”

Asked if Crespo has a path back to caucus membership, Welch told me: “No. We’re not going to tolerate that level of disrespect to our caucus. In my opinion, there’s no way back.”

When I asked Welch if ejecting Crespo from the caucus was a disproportionate response to what Crespo did, Welch gave two reasons for his decision.

First, Crespo’s use of his committee chair role to pursue an agenda which runs counter to shared caucus goals: “He’s free to speak his mind. He’s free to vote his conscience, just like other members have done,” he said, but added that no one would be allowed to use their official leadership roles “to pursue an agenda that is antithetical to our shared goals” of passing a budget.

Second, Welch said that last week’s “rogue” behavior by Crespo was not isolated: “It wasn’t because of a single instance. It’s because of cumulative instances.

“I can’t allow someone to go rogue and be an individual,” Welch said.

Whew.

Welch also described his final sit-down with Crespo: “At two or three different points, he realized that what he did was wrong because he tried to apologize a couple of times.”

Crespo, however, claimed Welch said he felt like the member had stabbed him in the back. Crespo said he apologized to Welch if he took his actions that way because it wasn’t his intent. Crespo said he did not apologize for what he actually did.

Welch said he wasn’t concerned about Crespo using the remaining session days to try and pull votes off the budget.

“I believe that we have better systems in place than we did last year, and so I don’t have the same level of concern this year as last year.”

  70 Comments      


Seniors’ Lives Are On The Line

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

20,000 seniors are going without home care because wages are too low to keep workers. Support HB 1330/SB 120 because Illinois seniors deserve quality care. Care can’t wait!


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Open thread

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A friend of mine came to a little party I threw on Saturday and tipped me to this vintage Illinois campaign video

Click here for more background on Lurlean Hunter.

What’s up?

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: AG: Tollway violated the Open Meetings Act with settlement vote. Daily Herald

    -Nine months ago, Illinois tollway directors ended a closed session and voted on about $68 million in spending, including a controversial $25 million lawsuit settlement over a botched contract. But they neglected to tell members of the public they could return to the boardroom and witness the proceedings.

    -Now, the Illinois attorney general’s Public Access Bureau has concluded the tollway board violated several sections of the Open Meetings Act at that Aug. 29, 2024 session.

    - The tollway previously contended that since the livestream meeting video was restarted after executive session and a recording was available after adjournment, the board had complied with the law.

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*************************************************

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Federal DEI crackdown threatens Illinois graduate student scholarship program: On March 31, the U.S. Department of Justice notified universities participating in the Diversifying Higher Education in Illinois scholarship and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, which disperses the scholarship funds, that the program “unconstitutionally discriminated on the basis of race in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment,” according to an April 11 Department of Justice news release. “After the Justice Department threatened to file suit, the state and six universities suspended the program,” the DOJ release said.

* Post-Tribune | Feds want to sentence Snyder on tax charge, cancel bribery trial: The second bribery conviction, over allegations surrounding a $13,000 payment involving around $1 million in contracts for garbage trucks, stood after two trials, only to get overturned last summer when the Supreme Court ruled that the payment was a gratuity, not a bribe, and criminalizing the payment put even routine campaign contributions at the risk of the federal government’s wrath. Overturning Snyder’s conviction had a ripple effect on countless other cases, most notably prominent cases in Illinois, including the trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan and the case of the “ComEd Four” who were convicted of a scheme to bribe him.

* Sun-Times | Chicago experiences first dust storm since the Dust Bowl 91 years ago: It was the first time the city had seen a dust storm since May 10, 1934, which was during the first wave of the Dust Bowl — a series of intense dust storms caused by a combination of drought and poor farming methods in the mid- to late-1930s — according to National Weather Service meteorologist Zachary Yack. The storm was carrying dust picked up from farms in central Illinois, and raced north toward the Chicago area, bringing 60- to 70-mph winds and reducing visibility to less than a quarter of a mile. Strong winds originating out of a cluster of severe thunderstorms moving across central Illinois caused the dust storm, the weather service said.

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Native ancestors’ return to rest: A paperwork-laden process underway in Illinois: Raphael Wahwassuck, a council member and citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, Illinois’ only federally recognized tribe, said that when he started as the tribe’s point of contact for NAGPRA, he was initially greeted by stacks of paperwork. “I had bankers boxes, probably four high, 10 rows deep, of notices that come in,” Wahwassuck said. “Since that time, we’ve cleaned up our internal processes to where now we’re asking for a lot of electronic notices. … I could probably check my phone right now and have maybe 50 (notices), and, it’s just – I don’t know that it will ever slow down.”

* Sun-Times | Crowded field of challengers growing as Dick Durbin exodus creates opportunities for Democrats: Sen. Dick Durbin’s announcement last month set the stage for a game of political musical chairs, as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi quickly jumped into the race. That leaves their districts full of eager competitors. With U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood still deciding whether she’ll run for Durbin’s seat, the 14th District could also come into play. And U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s announcement earlier this month that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection opens her seat wide open.

* Crypto News | Coinbase sued in Illinois over biometric data practices tied to KYC checks: Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on May 13, the lawsuit alleges that Coinbase’s Know Your Customer checks involve scanning users’ facial geometry without proper notice or consent, a move the plaintiffs say directly breaches Illinois’ biometric privacy laws. According to the complaint, users were required to upload a government-issued ID and a selfie, which were then processed by third-party facial recognition software.

* Capitol News Illinois | After 150 years, Mary Lincoln’s ‘madness’ still haunts American psyche: On May 19, 1875, a Cook County jury handed down a verdict in a case concerning the health and welfare of Mary Lincoln, widow of the former president who had been assassinated a decade earlier. After listening to only a single day of testimony, the 12 men on the jury signed the standard verdict form stating simply that they “are satisfied that said Mary Lincoln is insane, and is a fit person to be sent to a State Hospital for the Insane …”

* WIFR | Illinois casinos must implement human trafficking training and reporting procedures: The new rule to combat human trafficking from the Illinois Gaming Board is effective immediately. Illinois casinos must develop and implement human trafficking training and reporting procedures and post awareness notices. “Human trafficking is one of the most underreported and under-identified crimes,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Because human trafficking can come in many forms and can happen almost anywhere, it is important to train people working in industries targeted by human traffickers to recognize the signs so they can report the crimes and help save lives.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Advantage News | College insurance “mess” debated at Illinois Capitol: Illinois lawmakers are having discussions about pension obligations and payment backlogs which continue to plague the state’s College Insurance Program. Funding problems were discussed Wednesday during a joint meeting of the House Appropriations-Higher Education and Personnel and Pensions committees. Illinois’ College Insurance Program is dealing with a $50 million loan to go along with a $38 million deficit.

* Farm Week Now | Q&A with IDOA’s Jerry Costello on poultry ban, state budget: Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) Director Jerry Costello II is citing an uptick in highly pathogenic avian influenza as the reason the agency extended a ban on poultry exhibitions through next month. In this wide-ranging conversation with RFD Radio’s Rita Frazer, Costello discusses this year’s “wild” planting season, expectations from the state budget process and what prompted IDOA to extend the poultry exhibition ban in county fair season.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson’s budget group begins work to plug $1 billion shortfall: Mayor Brandon Johnson launched the task force through an executive order demanding city departments continue looking for efficiencies in the city’s $17 billion budget. The group is expected to deliver preliminary recommendations in August ahead of the city’s annual budget process, with a final report coming in 2026. While the city has long known what’s on the table to cut spending or raise revenue, Johnson is hoping a coalition of labor, business and civic leaders can provide cover for the mayor and the City Council to find the collective political will necessary to implement the measures.

* ABC Chicago | Mayor Johnson outlines vision for future of administration at South Side church: “We can be the safest, most affordable, big city in America,” Johnson said. “My vision for the city moving forward, we’re gonna repopulate the West and South Sides of Chicago. We’re gonna educate our children. We’re gonna create opportunities for entrepreneurial growth. We’re gonna build the most affordable, safest, big city in America, and we’re gonna do it together.”

* Sun-Times | Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and her team win reelection: With one challenger, Gates’ Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators, or CORE, won with 64% of the vote, according to the CTU. It’s better than CORE performed in the last election, when it had two opponents, but not a blowout as some had predicted. The CTU did not say how many members had voted.

* Tribune | Chicago housing nonprofit providing rental subsidies for very low-income renters facing a $10M budget shortfall: The trust fund is staring down an estimated $10 million shortfall for its $14.1 million 2025 budget as two of its funding streams have dried up. That number represents subsidies for about 600 units. The trust fund said it has sufficient reserves to fill the budget hole for this year. It has also begun a subsidy attrition plan for units that are or will become vacant as of Jan. 1 (the start of its new budget cycle) to reduce costs. About 16% of those subsidies will not be subject to attrition as they are part of a special program serving those with specific needs.

* The Triibe | What’s it like to raise teens in 2025?: They might find there isn’t much out there for them. Third spaces have disappeared or been cut off from teenagers, and the COVID-19 pandemic locked many at home for months. Not long ago malls in and around Chicago were the go-to spot for high schoolers with nothing to do, which eventually led to parental supervision rules at Water Tower Place and a youth escort policy at Ford City Mall. These restrictions essentially ban teens 17 or younger from being at these malls starting Friday evening and spanning the entire weekend, unless they’re accompanied by a parent or adult over 21.

* The Triibe | ‘There are no places for us to just be free’: “We always talking about the kids, but you don’t hire them. You tell them what you feel they should have and how they should think, and right there is where we go wrong,” Phillips said. “How you going to dissect or solve a problem without the people you deem the cause of it? So you have to have them in a room.” I spoke with eight Black teenagers from the South and West Sides to understand their experiences. They spoke about the challenges of meeting up with friends, the lack of neighborhood spaces to gather in majority-Black communities, and their thoughts on the city’s proposed revised youth curfew policy. Here are their stories, as told to TRiiBE systemic racism reporter Tonia Hill.

* Tribune | US Rep. Jonathan Jackson spending taxpayer dollars to rent district office space from longtime business partner: Jackson last spring moved the district office into the first floor of a high-rise in the Theodore Lawless Gardens apartment complex that is owned and managed by Higginbottom. A Chicago political powerbroker who has been an ally of Illinois governors and Chicago mayors for decades, Higginbottom is a close friend of the Jackson family, including the congressman’s father, civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

* Daily Herald | Rare dust storm that raced through Chicago area caused by strong winds from cluster of thunderstorms: However, this was the first time a dust storm warning was issued that included the Chicago metropolitan area, the agency reported. The last time a significant dust storm affected Chicago was during the Dust Bowl on May 10, 1934. […] A dust storm lasting about three hours developed near Bloomington caused by strong winds originating out of a cluster of severe thunderstorms moving across central Illinois.

* Sun-Times | Dozens of people were arrested protesting at the DNC. What happened to their cases?: Nine months after the Democratic National Convention swept over Chicago, the city’s law department continues to prosecute ordinance violations leveled at protesters arrested during demonstrations against the war in Gaza. But the city has little to show for the effort in the way of winning cases at trial or securing meaningful punishments in plea deals. The harshest punishment the city has secured so far was 10 hours of community service as part of a plea deal, according to the National Lawyers Guild, which is tracking DNC protest-related cases.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Former Kane treasurer’s office employee switches party, announces plan to challenge ex-boss: Cain won the GOP nomination for the 66th Illinois House District in the 2022 primary, but lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Suzanne Ness. She also lost a bid to serve on the Algonquin-based Community Unit District District 300 school board in 2023 Regarding her party switch, Cain said the GOP is ineffective. “You can’t win elections in 2025 with strategies from 1990,” she said.

* CBS Chicago | Emails reveal missing materials, staff shortages, renovation delays at mental health facility contributed to patient’s death: Webster is now suing certain Madden doctors and nurses working the day Anthony died, as well as the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) — alleging neglect in the care of her son. Admission records indicate Anthony was a “moderate risk” for suicide and should be checked on every 15 minutes. An Illinois State Police investigation determined that the observation order was not followed.

* Daily Herald | More cops, new fire station needed to handle a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights?: Village officials have been contemplating the question ever since the NFL franchise announced its interest in relocating to the Northwest suburb. It led top brass in the fire and police departments in 2022 to shadow municipal counterparts in NFL stadium communities, including Inglewood, California, Foxborough, Massachusetts, Arlington, Texas, and Las Vegas. But Arlington Heights officials are starting to have more serious planning discussions now that the Bears appear more serious about developing the 326-acre property the team owns on the west side of town.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora schools recruit, fill positions and find alternatives as teacher and staff shortages persist statewide: Last year, the district began partnering with Aurora University to help individuals — including current employees of the district — earn college credit or teaching licenses to fill high-demand positions, said the district’s Associate Superintendent of Staff and Student Services David Ballard. The district is currently working on a similar partnership with Northern Illinois University. The district also provides stipends to bilingual teachers and staff who relocate to the Aurora school district, and it also has a teacher mentor program that it hopes will help attract candidates for open positions.

* Tribune | Economic development seen as key to legacy of former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin: It was hope that drove Irvin, who grew up in low-income housing, was raised by a single mother and was the first in his family to graduate from both high school and college, to make a name for himself, he recently said in an interview with The Beacon-News. And it was that same hope that he later turned towards the city, Irvin said, to make his hometown into something, too. “I’ll be known for a lot of things, but I think what I did best, and what I was able to convey to our residents, was hope,” he said.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Central Illinois humanities organizations ask for state funding after federal cuts: The Trump administration has started canceling National Endowment for the Arts [NEA] grants. Much of it was already committed to organizations when it was suddenly cut. The president’s proposed budget would eliminate both the NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lawmakers on the Illinois House’s Museum, Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Committee held a special hearing Thursday to address funding concerns facing the humanities and the arts. It drew organizations from across the state, including Bloomington.

* Tribune | Dolton Mayor Jason House won’t rule out public purchase of Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home: “I’m interested in a peaceful transfer,” House, who was sworn in as mayor May 5, told the Daily Southtown. He said he is excited for the property’s potential as an attraction and historical landmark, and is prioritizing ensuring it is “honored in the proper way.” House said it’s too early to say how much the village would be willing to pay for the 1,050-square-foot home on 141st Place or whether it should be converted into a museum or historical landmark. He said he plans to speak with the homeowner early next week to discuss the property.

* WGLT | Bloomington residents get letters ahead of 10-year lead service line replacement: The city has been sending out letters to thousands of residents whose water lines are — or could be — made of lead. The letter explains the health effects of lead exposure and steps you can take to reduce exposure. Bloomington Water Director Ed Andrews said the city also sent out the letters last year. Both mail drops sparked lots of questions. “When we start having conversations about lead, lead services, lead pipes, people have legitimate concerns,” Andrews said. “We have not found the perfect combination of media dialogue and upfront letter to help soften that.”

*** National ***

* The Guardian | Oklahoma high schools to teach 2020 election conspiracy theories as fact: The previous standard for studying the 2020 election merely said: “Examine issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome.” The new version is more expansive: “Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”

* AP | DHS asks for 20,000 National Guard troops for immigration roundups, Pentagon reviewing request: How the troops would be used may depend on whether they remain under state governors’ control. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops under federal orders cannot be used for domestic law enforcement, but units under state control can. The addition of 20,000 National Guard troops would provide a huge boost to immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DHS agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the country, has a total staff of about 20,000 people spread across three divisions.

* AP | Moody’s strips U.S. government of top credit rating, citing Washington’s failure to rein in debt: Moody’s lowered the rating from a gold-standard Aaa to Aa1 but said the United States “retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency.” Moody’s is the last of the three major rating agencies to lower the federal government’s credit. Standard & Poor’s downgraded federal debt in 2011 and Fitch Ratings followed in 2023.

* WaPo | Trump Justice Dept. considers removing key check on lawmaker prosecutions: Federal prosecutors across the country may soon be able to indict members of Congress without approval from lawyers in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, according to three people familiar with a proposal attorneys in the section learned about last week. Under the proposal, investigators and prosecutors would also not be required to consult with the section’s attorneys during key steps of probes into public officials, altering a long-standing provision in the Justice Department’s manual that outlines how investigations of elected officials should be conducted.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Reader comments closed for the weekend

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Turn it all the way up

Waste your summer praying in vain
For a saviour to rise from these streets

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Attorney General Kwame Raoul…

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting a legal challenge to two of President Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives.

Raoul and the coalition filed their brief in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump before the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The plaintiffs in the case, higher education associations and the city of Baltimore, challenged vague provisions in the executive orders that direct federal agencies to terminate “equity-related grants or contracts” and to include in contracts or grant awards a requirement that recipients certify that they do not operate programs promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion.” One of the orders also directed the U.S. Attorney General to encourage the private sector to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The administration has not defined critical terms in the executive orders, including which diversity, equity and inclusion practices it finds objectionable.

“Diversity initiatives are lawful, and studies show that they lead to more successful businesses and learning environments,” Raoul said. “I will stand with those who are challenging this administration’s illegal attempts to eliminate these programs and turn back the clock on the important progress that has been made toward equity.”

A lower court concluded that plaintiffs were likely to succeed with their case and entered a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from enforcing the provisions of the orders being challenged by the lawsuit. The administration sought and was granted a stay of the injunction from the 4th Circuit pending a decision on the merits of the appeal. Raoul and the attorneys general are asking the court to affirm the district court’s order and put the injunction back in place.

In their brief, Raoul and the attorneys general maintain that diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs are lawful and beneficial. In fact, many such programs ensure compliance with state and federal civil rights statutes. The attorneys general also explain how the challenged provisions in the executive orders harm the states, as well as their residents and businesses, by denying them the many valuable benefits associated with workplaces, schools and communities that have adopted practices related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

* Ald. Debra Silverstein…

I am appalled by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s decision to appoint Ishan Daya to the city’s newly formed budget working group. Mr. Daya was rightfully fired from his position as co-CEO of Crafty after he was caught tearing down posters of innocent hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the horrific October 7 terrorist attack. Appointing him to a leadership position in Chicago is a deliberate slap in the face to the Jewish community and to all those praying for the release of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza.

This is not an isolated mistake—it is part of a deeply troubling pattern where Mayor Johnson repeatedly elevates individuals hostile to the Jewish community. It also comes during Jewish American Heritage Month and at a time when the mayor has claimed he wants to repair his strained relationship with Chicago’s Jewish community, adding a layer of hypocrisy that cannot be ignored.

The mayor seems determined to surround himself with people who peddle hate and division. His repeated disregard for the Jewish community is both painful and unacceptable. We deserve better.

…Adding… He gone…


*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | State Senate Republicans demand the removal of the IL Department of Corrections director: GOP members criticized the IDOC director for the death of inmates under her leadership. State Sen. Jason Plummer said it is a “blessing that no staffers have died.” “She couldn’t even tell us how many inmates have died this year,” Plummer said.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Chicago tourism inches up, but business travel still drags: More than 55 million visitors came to Chicago last year as the city’s tourism sector continued its gradual post-pandemic comeback. But there is still a long way to go on the road to match pre-COVID numbers. City tourism arm Choose Chicago today announced its total visitation estimate for 2024, the first full year after the official end of the public health crisis. The 55.3 million figure was up 6.5% from 2023 and buoyed by a strong return of international visitors, but still trails the record of 61.6 million tourists that visited Chicago in 2019.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s team defended failed property tax hike plan to investors: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration stressed his attempts to increase property taxes in his 2025 budget in a presentation to city investors this week, his team told reporters Friday. On Thursday, the first day of an annual conference hosted by the mayor’s office, potential buyers of city debt heard from Johnson and his budget team about Chicago’s financial state and its borrowing and spending plans — though this year the mayor broke with tradition and barred reporters from attending. But Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski briefed reporters Friday on what she said transpired in the closed-door gatherings the previous day.

* Sun-Times | Chicago Teachers Union leaders face challengers in election Friday: But a group of teachers that calls themselves the Respect Educate Advocate Lead (REAL) caucus don’t see it that way and are vying to take over the union. Erika Meza, REAL’s candidate for CTU president, said the high contract approval mark was due more to members wanting the political turmoil from the nearly yearlong negotiations to come to an end. She thinks members are frustrated by leadership she says has become too insular and combative. She likes REAL’s chances on Friday.

* WTTW | National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago Facilitates Repatriation of Ancient Mayan Frieze Back to Mexico: The frieze had recently been donated by the family of Jeanne and Joseph Sullivan, based in the Chicago area, who National Museum of Mexican Art Visual Arts Director and Chief Curator Cesáreo Moreno described as being “very happy” the piece is being returned to Mexico. “I really have high hopes that people find out that repatriation can be a really good thing because sometimes when you read about it in the news, it’s a legal battle,” Moreno said. “It’s an ugly story, oftentimes.”

* WBEZ | A new play captures the longing of children in Chicago foster care: The play, which opens Saturday and runs through May 23, offers an artistic look at the experiences of young people in Chicago’s foster care system — a system that currently is responsible for 2,428 children, according to Illinois Department of Children and Family Services data. Written in collaboration with LYDIA Home, a nonprofit that provides housing for children in the foster system, the production feels authentic because it is: Foster children co-wrote the show and came up with the characters.

* WTTW | Chicago’s Parks Are Full of Trees, But No One Knows How Many. They’re About To Get Counted: In recent years, the district has bulked up its forestry program and has been aggressively planting new trees, Breitenbach said, but it has done so in the absence of a firm tree count. Estimates are somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000. Information on the species composition and health of the district’s tree canopy is also lacking. The district is proposing to close that knowledge gap with a tree inventory, to be conducted by Davey Resources Group, paid for with a $1.3 million grant administered by Morton Arboretum, Breitenbach told commissioners.

* WGN | Vintage Chicago entertainer blends history & humor in ‘Park District Bathroom Reviews’: Scorch is the man who named the Chicago River’s large snapping turtle, “Chonkasaurus,” in a viral video. He also penned a poem about hot dogs in the style of Emily Dickinson. Scorch is the man behind a popular series of social media videos that celebrate the city’s neighborhood park system and also spoof the ubiquitous TikTok trend of reviewing real estate and restaurants. He assumes the character of a classic blue-collar Chicagoan as he lovingly reviews Chicago Park District bathrooms.

* Sun-Times | Hometown kid Nicky Lopez to see Crosstown Classic from the other side: “When I was younger, it was very hostile and a very big rivalry,” Lopez said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. “But everyone gets up for it, so you can see the fans getting into it.” Lopez, the hometown kid, was with the White Sox last year. The franchises were on opposite trajectories — the Sox rebuilding and the Cubs nursing playoff aspirations. But the two games at Wrigley Field were nail-biters.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Glenwood trustee candidate Rodrick Murdock may challenge coin-toss win of Felicia Brown: Rodrick Murdock, the only candidate on Village President Toleda Hart’s slate who did not win a board seat, tied with incumbent Felicia Brown, who ran on former Village President Ronald Gardiner’s Glenwood Progress Party slate, with each receiving 617 votes, according to the Cook County clerk’s election results. “At one point, I thought that I was winning the election. The opposing party didn’t want to concede because they thought the vote was too close,” Murdock said. “We have a right to challenge the ballots to make certain that there’s nothing wrong about the ballots, meaning that if there’s wrong addresses on the postmarks, the signatures and things of that sort.”

* Tribune | Homer Glen board votes to ban nitrous oxide to prevent recreational use: “We don’t need it in our village,” said Homer Glen Trustee Curt Mason, chair of the village’s Public Services and Safety Committee. “It’s another addiction. It’s another method for people to make money off the demise of our children, and it’s not going to happen here.” Nitrous oxide is sold under multiple brand names such as Galaxy Gas, MassGass, and Whip-it!, according to the FDA. Village Manager Joe Baber said because of way it can be misused, it’s concerning. Flavored nitrous oxide containers appear to be marketed to children, he said.

* Shaw Local | ‘Whole new city’: Joliet unveils plans for reimagined downtown: More than 100 people came to an open house this week on plans for redevelopment in downtown Joliet, showing at least that the public is interested in seeing change. The plans presented to the public included construction of multi-story apartment buildings to bring residents downtown and moving City Hall to make room for riverfront construction.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office back to in-person operations after AC repairs: The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is operating fully in person again, according to a press release from the office Friday, following the completion of air conditioning repairs at the Kane County Judicial Center. The office shifted to remote work on April 29, citing excessive indoor heat in its facilities at the judicial center in St. Charles. The office retained minimal in-person staff for essential operations. The repairs were part of a $2 million air conditioning system renovation to replace failed chillers at the judicial center that maintained the building’s temperature, air flow and air quality, according to Friday’s release.

* Daily Herald | Suburban police officers hit the rooftops to raise money for Special Olympics: Elgin police Detective Blake Huffmon could have climbed up on a rooftop. But he made a more perilous choice when he climbed inside the Dunkin’ coffee cup mascot costume during Friday’s annual Cop on a Rooftop fundraiser for Special Olympics. “It’s sweaty. It doesn’t smell the best. My back and shoulders hurt,” Huffmon said from inside the costume. “But it’s for a good cause. We’re here for the athletes.”

* Daily Herald | ADP moving 1,000 employees from Elk Grove Village to Zurich building in Schaumburg: A deal has been announced for ADP payroll services to relocate from its Elk Grove Village offices to join Wheels, Inc. in leasing space Zurich North America has made available for tenants at its iconic Schaumburg headquarters. On Aug. 1, the payroll company will move 1,000 employees to Schaumburg. Representatives of Zurich confirmed the deal Friday, though their counterparts at ADP did not respond to a request for comment.

* Naperville Sun | New golf simulator business seeking Naperville OK to serve beer and wine: Clubhouse540, a new indoor golf business to be located at 1466 Chicago Ave., is one step closer to opening after passing through the Naperville Liquor Commission with ease last week. The business requested an increase in the number of Class M recreational liquor licenses so it can offer alcohol to patrons during virtual play. Commissioners unanimously endorsed the request. The matter is headed to the Naperville City Council for consideration at its meeting Tuesday night.

*** Downstate ***

* KFVS | More than $2M in grants awarded to 2 southern Ill. grocery stores: The grant money includes $9.6 million through the Illinois Grocery Initiative New Stores in Food Deserts Program and $600,000 through the Equipment Upgrades Grant Program. According to the governor’s office, the money will address food deserts and prevent grocery store closures in Illinois. Grantees were selected through Notice of Funding Opportunity processes.

* WQAD | Woman accused of embezzling over $900K from Rock Island County released from jail with ankle monitor: Cichon also argued that Streeter poses a flight risk. He cited overseas travel, including a recent trip to Hawaii and past visits to Europe, as well as the possibility of undiscovered assets that could help her flee. He noted that hundreds of thousands of dollars remain unaccounted for.

* PJ Star | ‘Vile’ social media onslaught follows East Peoria restaurant’s inaccurate Facebook post: In a now-deleted Facebook post, Peoria barber Jorell Glass and his family were accused of walking out on their bill at El Gallo Bar & Grill in East Peoria. Glass later showed they had paid the bill via QR code, and the restaurant owners say a glitch in their system was to blame. The restaurant, which later issued an apology and deleted the original post, says it has received backlash after the incident, including threats.

* Press release | Gov. Pritzker Cuts Ribbon on New Enclosed Arena at Giant City Stables: Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Senator Dale Fowler and local leaders to celebrate the opening of a new enclosed horse arena at Giant City Stables. The new enclosed facility, part of Giant City State Park in southern Illinois, will offer year-round therapeutic horse-riding for youth, veterans, and individuals with disabilities, as well as riding lessons and trail rides for the park’s visitors. The design offers greater privacy for therapeutic riding lessons, while preserving the dignity of clients and their families.

* Press Release | SIU Carbondale among 21 U.S. universities named top for research and opportunity: “Many institutions can say they conduct top-level research, and many schools can say they offer affordability and a great return on investment,” said Chancellor Austin A. Lane. “These designations from Carnegie show very few – less than 1% in fact – can say both. At Southern, we can.” One-hundred-eighty-seven of the nearly 4,000 institutions evaluated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education are Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production, or R1, the same designation as elite private universities and flagship schools. R1 universities must have at least 70 research doctorates and $50 million in research expenditures. In 2023, for example, SIU Carbondale had 102 research doctorates and $58.3 million in research expenditures.

*** National ***

* New York Daily News | Kid Rock’s Nashville restaurant sends staff home to avoid ICE raid: report: Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that ICE and Tennessee Highway Patrol officials had arrested 196 undocumented individuals. Less than half of those taken into custody had criminal records, DHS officials said. The other two restaurants owned by the conservative restaurateur that were reportedly forced to close their kitchens and interrupt the busy weekend rush were Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Rippy’s Honky Tonk.

* CNBC | Consumer sentiment slides to second-lowest on record as inflation expectations jump after tariffs: The index of consumer sentiment dropped to 50.8, down from 52.2 in April, in the preliminary reading for May. That is the second-lowest reading on record, behind June 2022. The outlook for price changes also moved in the wrong direction. Year-ahead inflation expectations rose to 7.3% from 6.5% last month, while long-term inflation expectations ticked up to 4.6% from 4.4%.

  7 Comments      


Repeal IFPA Now

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Sean Rathjen, CEO of Consumers CU:
IFPA Will Harm our Members and our Communities.
“Our cards are absolutely critical to our members.”
Stop the Chaos for Our Hard-Working Credit Union Members!


Paid for by Illinois Credit Union League.

  Comments Off      


Rep. Morgan calls congressional AI proposal ‘as dumb as it is risky’ (Updated)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It’s just a bill, but it could be a big one

A footnote in a budget bill U.S. House Republicans are trying to pass before Memorial Day is the first major signal for how Congress may address artificial intelligence legislation, as they seek to create a moratorium on any AI laws at the state level for 10 years.

The measure, advanced Wednesday as part of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s budget reconciliation proposal, says a state may not enforce any law or regulation on AI models and systems, or automated decision-making systems in the next 10 years. Exceptions would include laws that “remove legal impediments to, or facilitate the deployment or operation of” AI systems.

“No one believes that AI should be unregulated,” said California Rep. Jay Obernolte, a Republican member of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, during a markup Wednesday. But he said he believes that responsibility should fall to Congress, not the states […]

States have been developing their own laws around AI and decision-making systems — software that helps analyze and sort data, commonly used for job applications, mortgage lending, banking and in other industries — over the last few years as they await federal legislation. At least 550 AI bills have been introduced across 45 states and Puerto Rico in 2025, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported.

Many of these state laws regulate how AI intertwines with data privacy, transparency and discrimination. Others regulate how children can access these tools, how they can be used in election processes and surround the concept of deepfakes, or computer-generated likenesses of real people.

* Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) has an AI regulation proposal this year. Morgan’s response…

Banning state action on AI before any federal governance or regulation is as dumb as it is risky. We should all be afraid of Section 43201(c) of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee budget markup, and hope the language doesn’t make it into a final bill. This language would explicitly tie the hands of states to regulate artificial intelligence in any way for 10 years without exception. Obviously, giving blanket control of AI to tech companies, regardless of the risks or harms, is an unprecedented and dangerous idea.

Federal preemption over state regulation is hardly new, but I cannot think of another example of the federal government locking out state action before the feds have passed any restrictions or standards of their own. We should all be most worried about AI in security infrastructure, criminal actions, or health care contexts - this would be a pretty crazy step to take.

* Elon Musk’s Grok offers a case in point…


* The Sun-Times ran two opposing and informative op-eds on this topic. Click here to read them.

Thoughts?

…Adding… Interesting point…


  13 Comments      


Governor moves some universities to ‘no position’ on his community college baccalaureate bill

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the governor’s office…

Dear Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Senator Halpin, Representative Katz Muhl and house and senate management staff:

After months of discussion on the Community College Baccalaureate bill, a priority of the Governor’s Office, we are thrilled to let you know Public Universities have expressed that they are neutral on the negotiated language (attached for reference) and will release a statement of neutrality when the bill is posted to committee.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done together, and the involvement of Public Universities, the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, members of the House and Senate and legislative staff from both chambers has been invaluable. The group met for over 17 hours across 10 meetings to reach this agreement, and the result speaks for itself: it’s a better product now than it was at the start of the negotiation process.

For example, the following substantive changes have been made since the bill was originally filed:

    • Requires community colleges to provide notice to universities prior to performing a feasibility analysis on the creation of a CCB program,
    • Creates an application process that fosters multiple opportunities for collaboration among universities and community colleges,
    • Provides a ‘reconsideration period’ where universities can demonstrate to ICCB and IBHE their ability to create cost effective and accessible partnership agreements with a community college before program approval,
    • Establishes a comprehensive, multi-step evaluation process on duplication to ensure that any duplication of programming is warranted based upon metrics approved by the universities,
    • Ensures parity in ‘truth in tuition’ language between universities and approved CCB programs,
    • Limits the use of online coursework within the course sequence of a CCB program,
    • Establishes a permanent cap on the total number of CCB programs that can be established in the next 7 years,
    • Staggers the total number of CCB programs that can be established in the next 3 years and the subsequent 4 years, and
    • Creates new CCB regions recommended by the universities to constrain how many CCB programs can be established by region and in the areas of nursing, early childhood education, and cybersecurity.

We thank the universities for their collaboration on this important issue. We have a shared commitment to expanding access to affordable education, strengthening the state’s workforce, and creating more economic opportunity for Illinoisans.

We look forward to the bill moving through the General Assembly in the coming weeks. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Emily

Emily Miller
Senior Advisor to the Governor for Policy and Legislative Affairs
Office of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker

* From the universities…

A coalition of Illinois public and private universities today released the following statement regarding legislation to expand four-year degree programs at community colleges:

“Illinois’ public and private universities are committed to increasing access to quality, affordable education. Since learning of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to expand four-year degree programs at community colleges during his annual Budget Address in February, we’ve spent months negotiating in good faith to ensure the plan best serves all students. Throughout this process, universities have prioritized collaboration to avoid unproductive competition. While our universities will take no position on the merits of this legislation, the shifting landscape of higher education, heightened uncertainty, and our commitment to our institutions and the students of Illinois require us to be vigilant and monitor implementation of this proposal. We appreciate the increased investment in universities that Governor Pritzker has made during his tenure, and because of the vital role higher education plays in Illinois, we urge policymakers to make public university funding an even greater priority. Decades of underfunding have weakened our higher education ecosystem, which now faces additional threats from shifting federal policy agendas and reduced investment in critical research programs. Now, more than ever, we should be united in ensuring the strength of our universities so they can best serve Illinois students. The conversation about how to increase access to quality, affordable education cannot end here.”

    - Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, JD, President, Chicago State University
    - Dr. Jay Gatrell, President, Eastern Illinois University
    - David Tretter, President, Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
    - Dr. Corey S. Bradford, Interim President, Governors State University
    - Dr. Aondover Tarhule, President, Illinois State University
    - Dr. Lisa C. Freeman, President, Northern Illinois University
    - Dr. Katrina E. Bell-Jordan, President, Northeastern Illinois University
    - Dr. Dan Mahony, President, Southern Illinois University System
    - Dr. Kristi Mindrup, President, Western Illinois University

Discuss.

  14 Comments      


False alarm - Pritzker will not be traveling to Utah on May 31

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Deseret News

Utah Democrats hope to launch a new era of the state party on May 31 with a speech from the fighting face of the anti-Trump resistance, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the Deseret News confirmed on Wednesday.

The organizing convention is scheduled to feature remarks from Pritzker as state delegates meet to elect their next chair — expected to be former state House minority leader Brian King — amid a statewide push to rebuild the party’s thin bench of political leadership.

Pritzker’s visit to the Beehive State follows a series of national headlines highlighting his outspoken comments lampooning President Donald Trump, railing against fellow Democrats’ “culture of timidity” and calling for mass movements to prevent Republicans from “a moment of peace.”

But the high-profile headliner is descending on Utah during a time of party turmoil across the country.

Pritzker traveling to Utah on the final scheduled day of spring legislative session would be big news… in Illinois.

But that’s not happening.

“He’s delivering a video message,” campaign spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said today.

  3 Comments      


Still not a done deal, but Bears now focusing far more intently on Arlington Heights

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune

The Chicago Bears are shifting focus to a new stadium in Arlington Heights, a project that would depend on state legislation allowing for negotiated financing of large-scale development projects.

“Over the last few months, we have made significant progress with the leaders in Arlington Heights, and look forward to continuing to work with state and local leaders on making a transformative economic development project for the region a reality,” the team said in a statement to the Tribune on Friday.

The Bears said they will not seek state funding for the stadium.

I’m told the Bears finally figured out they couldn’t obtain state funding for a new stadium and it would have to be privately funded. The Arlington Heights site would not require government funding.

* However, the Bears would still likely have to pass a bill through the General Assembly

But the team will likely still look to state lawmakers for help with the project, even if it’s in the northwest suburbs. […]

The Bears agreed late last year to pay a reduced property tax bill of $3.6 million to settle the issue, but the team and the local taxing bodies also agreed to lobby state lawmakers for legislation that would deliver more certainty on real estate taxes for decades into the future.

The legislation is Rep. Mary Beth Canty’s HB2789, which wouldn’t be Bears-specific. But that’s still a heavy lift because it would trigger a Bears Chicago exit (Bexit?). And, keep in mind, Canty will need 60 firm House Democratic votes to move it forward.

But Sen. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights) told Isabel that a proposal would be “negotiated among the Governor and Legislative leaders.” We’ll see if that even happens. Such a bill could cause a lot of intra-party division at a crucial spring session point. Again, we’ll see.

“Members will support what works for them,” Walker said. “The Bears are a valuable asset for Illinois, and I will support whatever’s best for them and the state overall. It now appears what’s best will be the Bears moving to Arlington Heights.”

* From Mayor Brandon Johnson’s press office…

The Mayor spoke with executive leadership from the Chicago Bears, who indicated they intend to prioritize the development site located in the Village of Arlington Heights. As the Mayor has said several times, the door remains open in the city of Chicago.

Background info…

    • The Johnson Administration worked to present a good deal to the Bears and the city for the team to remain at the lakefront. The current climate in Springfield has not allowed for the financial elements necessary to move forward at this point.
    • The Bears have been looking at multiple options.
    • The City remains open and will help facilitate any movement to keep the team in Chicago.
    • The Bears have been considering moving to Arlington Heights since 2021.

  27 Comments      


Free clinic warns it can’t replace state health insurance program for undocumented residents

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Deputy Gov. Andy Manar was on WJPF Morning news yesterday

Tom Miller: Andy, I’ve been working on a project. I’ve been talking to CEOs of healthcare systems in Southern Illinois. You’ve got these two immigrant health care components that are being pushed off the budget. But those people are still here, and they’re still going to go to the hospital, and hospitals are still required to treat them. What position will that leave those hospitals in?

Manar: I think right there inherently is the foundational reason why the program was created in the first place… The cost of that care has to be born and covered by someone. So any number of conversations are happening today, because that is a reality, Tom. And whether you agree with the program or disagree with the program, the reality is that cost is in the system.

So there may be some avenue to offering further support to free clinics, for example. Which we have a robust system in the state because we haven’t done major cuts. And because we took the step of doing the Medicaid expansion years ago. So that might be one avenue.

I would just tell you today, with just a couple weeks of session left, the question that you just posed is a major question that we have to have a solution to. Because even if the programs go away, the care for children, the care for elderly and seniors, that’s a real thing, especially for children, that needs a solution, and we’re working on that right now. Because what we don’t want is for hospitals to have to essentially eat that cost, because that’s not going to be good for anyone that wants to continue to seek access at their local hospital or any clinic throughout the state.

* I asked for a response from Laura Starr, Director of External Affairs for the free clinic CommunityHealth…

Free & charitable clinics think of ourselves as an essential pillar in the existing safety net system in Illinois. We fill an important gap for those who aren’t able to access care elsewhere. However, even with the support of programs like HBIA/HBIS [two state insurance programs for undocumented immigrants], demand for our services has been increasing over the past few years. We have supported many of those who were bussed up to Chicago from border states, those unable to enroll in HBIA after it closed last year, Ukrainian refugees whose emergency parole programs expired, and folks who lost Medicaid coverage through redetermination. Even with HBIA in place, we already need to expand capacity to meet community needs. To that end, we have just been focused on securing a renewal of our $9 million in the budget.

We will welcome those losing coverage into our care. And we would welcome additional funding from the state to help us do that, especially if it sustainable because the need will be sustained. But we cannot be considered a replacement for HBIA, because we simply cannot scale to meet the enormous need that program fills.

To give you a concrete example, CommunityHealth is the largest clinic in the country, and we serve about 4,000 unique individuals each year. In Cook County, 22,000 people hold HBIA policies. We are all going to do our best, but we simply will not be able to serve everyone.

Thoughts?

  6 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WAND

The Illinois House passed legislation Thursday to require law enforcement have stricter hiring practices following the murder of Sonya Massey.

Police departments would not be able to make final offers of employment for probationary or law enforcement officers unless they review all past employment records, including background investigation materials, duty-related physical and psychological fitness-for-duty examinations, work performance records, arrests, convictions, and any records of criminal, civil, or administrative investigations of conduct. […]

The proposal would also expand the creation of sheriff’s merit boards and sheriff’s merit commissions for counties with populations of at least 75,000.

Senate Bill 1953 passed out of the House on a 101-12 vote and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk. The measure previously passed unanimously out of the Senate.

* WGLT

At a news conference hours before the bill passed, Turner said the measure could prevent officers like Grayson from being on the job.

“When we call for law enforcement, it’s never a good day and the expectation is that the responding officer will live up to the motto ‘protect and serve’,” Turner said. “With the passage of Senate Bill 1953, I feel confident that going forward and over time, our communities and law enforcement will have built a trusting relationship, and I have kept my promise to my friend and Sonya’s mother.”

Republican state Rep. Dennis Tipsword, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal, was one of 12 House lawmakers who voted against the bill. As a chief deputy for the Woodford County Sheriff’s Department, Tipsword said he was concerned a prior employer could take too long to provide documents. […]

McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane said the records requirement would not change the hiring procedures for any law enforcement agencies in the county, because he said they already seek out this information before hiring an officer.

* One Aim Illinois Executive Director Yolanda Androzzo and Paul Nestadt from Center for Gun Violence Solutions

We have watched too many families suffer devastating losses; we’ve learned how powerful that pause can be. It’s the moment between a fleeting, impulsive thought and a permanent, irreversible action. And when a firearm is locked, unloaded and stored separately from ammunition, that small pause becomes a chance to think, to breathe and to live.

One of us is a psychiatrist specializing in suicide prevention; the other is an advocate working to keep children safe from gun violence. We see the consequences every day in our communities and emergency rooms. We know a moment of anger can end in murder. We know an impulse can end in suicide. And we know an effective policy can help prevent these situations and protect young lives.

That’s why Illinois must pass the Safe at Home bill [Senate Bill 8]. The measure is an improved child access prevention law that would increase the age of children, from 14 to 18, that would require their parents or guardians to store firearms securely. The law would reflect what we already know: Teenagers are kids. They act on impulse. When a gun is left unsecured, that impulse can turn fatal. […]

In Illinois, we desperately need that protection. The state has the third-highest Black homicide victimization rate in the country, and 91% of firearm homicide victims are Black. Firearm suicide rates are rising among Black teens, while Black children and teens already die from gun violence at a rate 18 times higher than their white peers nationwide. These are not abstract statistics: They are lives cut short, futures stolen and families shattered.

* WGEM

A measure to enhance road safety for senior citizens could soon become law in Illinois. State senators are considering the “Road Safety and Fairness Act” after house lawmakers passed it last month. […]

The Road Safety and Fairness Act would increase the age of Illinois drivers taking behind-the-wheel driving tests from 79 to 87. A DMV visit and vision test would still be required for renewals.

“There seems to be some excitement about it. They’re removing some of the barriers I think that there are in place currently for accessing their driver’s license. It’s very important for seniors to have their driver’s license so that they can get out and engage because otherwise they’re at home,” said Vanessa Keppner, director of West Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging. “Social isolation is worse than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, so you’re cutting them off from the world. They need to get out and just stay active, stay moving, and engage. It gives them a purpose.”

Family members of senior drivers would be allowed to contact the Illinois Secretary of State’s office with concerns about loved one’s driving abilities. Life-long Quincy resident Vicky Nelson is happy about the legislation but said safety will always be her top priority.

“The trouble with aging is that you lose so much and you don’t realize it until you actually go through it yourself,” Nelson said. “I don’t want to lose my driving privileges unless, of course, I’m not safe.”

* Capitol News Illinois

A Senate committee on Wednesday advanced a measure aiming to limit the circumstances under which tenants can be evicted due to local “crime-free housing” ordinances.

The measure was backed by housing advocates who argued the crime-free ordinances have been used to evict people in instances where the actual residents of the homes in question committed petty offenses or no crimes at all. But law enforcement and municipal groups countered that limiting local authority to enforce crime-free or nuisance ordinances would take away policies that can be used to revitalize neighborhoods.

The Senate Executive Committee approved Senate Bill 2264 on Wednesday, which cracks down on crime-free housing policies after a recent investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and The New York Times. It found that there were more than 2,000 cases in 25 Illinois cities where crime-free housing ordinances were enforced from 2019 to 2024, with about 500 of those cases involving evictions.

The investigation found that only a third of those 2,000 violations were for serious crimes like drug charges or felony convictions. The other approximately 1,300 violations were due to misdemeanors or noncriminal offenses, “many of which were never pursued by prosecutors,” according to the reporting.

* Sen. Willie Preston…

State Senator Willie Preston is leading legislation to provide formerly incarcerated individuals resources to acclimate the person to life outside of a correctional facility. […]

House Bill 3441 would provide that upon the release of a committed person on parole, mandatory supervised release, final discharge, or pardon, the Illinois Department of Corrections must provide the person with resources to acclimate the person to life outside the correctional institution or facility. It would include access to social workers, clinical psychologists, and other counselors.

Additionally, under the measure, counselors must assist the person in obtaining housing, employment, education, health care, state identification, and other resources that the counselors deem necessary to assist in the person’s adjustment to society and the prevention of recidivism.

This legislation is a direct reflection of the Illinois Black Legislative Caucus Pillar 1. The criminal justice reform pillar was written to increase public safety for everyone while dismantling the systems that hold Black people back from achieving their full potential, as well as increasing trust between law enforcement and the Black community. […]

House Bill 3441 was heard in the Senate Appropriations – Public Safety Committee and awaits further consideration.

* Sen. Bill Cunningham…

State Senator Bill Cunningham advanced a measure that would ensure protected leave for employees whose newborns require intensive care after birth. […]

Under Cunningham’s measure, employees of mid-sized companies with 16-50 employees would be eligible for up to 10 days of unpaid leave while their child is in a NICU, while those working for larger companies with 51 or more employees would be eligible for up to 20 days. This leave is in addition to protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act and ensures continued health insurance coverage and job protection throughout the leave period.

Cunningham’s nephew was born prematurely and was placed in the NICU for months. Through this experience, he saw firsthand the tremendous burden on family members facing similar situations.

“No parent should face punishment for doing what’s right for their child’s health,” said Cunningham.

House Bill 2978 passed the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday.

* Rep. Katie Stuart…

State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, advanced a bill out of the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee that would expand fentanyl classification and classify emerging synthetic drugs, specifically those closely related to current scheduled drugs, as harmful substances. […]

Senate Bill 1773, which Stuart is sponsoring in the House, would put certain synthetic drugs into new sections of the existing Illinois Controlled Substance Act, restricting how and when they can be used, and by whom. It would apply to drugs like the veterinary sedative Xylazine, the synthetic opioids known as Isotonitazene and Metonitazine, and the psychoactive drugs MAPDB and MDMA. MDMA is also commonly known as ‘ecstasy.’

The bill also reorganizes and expands the classification of fentanyl related substances to align with federal law. […]

The bill advanced out of the House Judiciary-Criminal committee and now moves to the House floor for consideration.

* WAND

In a package of bills, Illinois Democrats hope to reduce the teacher shortage by empowering one particular group, students. […]

The first step for the Senate Democrats is to remove the unpaid policy from all universities. This bill would not require any funding from the college to support student teachers or force the universities to create an additional policy. It would only repeal the current rule that student teachers cannot be paid.

In the second step, a different proposal would give a $10,000 stipend for every student teacher. The program would pay out to each student, prioritizing public universities. This policy could cost a total of $600 million, which if passed would be paid out by the FY2026 budget. […]

Johnson’s bill is on the Senate floor, waiting to be called. Koehler’s bill is still in Senate committee, which could be called for a vote in the last weeks of session.

* Sen. Rachel Ventura…

To support ongoing efforts in protecting and revitalizing local landscapes and ecosystems, State Senator Rachel Ventura and State Representative Anna Moeller spearheaded legislation to create new rewilding strategies by giving the Illinois Department of Natural Resources more authority to implement conservation tactics.

“Over the last few decades, countless species of wild animals and plant life have been reduced significantly or completely lost to human activity,” said Ventura (D-Joliet). “By creating a holistic rewilding strategy for the state, we can see landscapes restored to their previous state — a major win for the environment and their local ecosystems.”

House Bill 2726 grants the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to implement rewilding as a conservation strategy. This could include the restoration of land or waterways to its natural state, the reintroduction of native species — particularly apex predators and keystone species — and the restoration of ecological processes as defined by state-specific baselines.

“Rewilding” means to restore an area of land to its natural uncultivated state. This term is used especially with reference to the reintroduction of species of wild animals that have been driven out of an area or exterminated by human interference. […]

If passed, Illinois would be the first state to explicitly pass legislation on rewilding, advancing efforts to preserve and protect species.

House Bill 2726 passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee Thursday and heads to the Senate for further action.

  12 Comments      


Stop Credit Card Chaos In Illinois

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A last-minute provision called the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) was snuck into the budget process last May and will create chaos for small businesses and consumers across Illinois if it takes effect on July 1, 2025.

The IFPA gives corporate mega-stores like Walmart and Home Depot — who pushed for this backroom deal — millions more in profits, while small business owners get new expenses and accounting headaches. What’s more, consumers could be forced to pay for parts of their transactions in cash if this law moves forward.

A recent court ruling in the litigation challenging the law suggests IFPA is likely pre-empted by federal law for national banks and will only apply to credit unions and local Illinois banks, putting local banks at a disadvantage against their national competitors.

Illinois lawmakers should repeal the IFPA and focus on protecting small businesses and consumers across the state — not lining the pockets of corporate mega-stores.

Stop the countdown to chaos by supporting a repeal of this misguided and flawed policy. Learn more at https://guardyourcard.com/illinois/

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Sen. Peters reports good haul in first 72 hours (Updated with Biss $ numbers and comparison to ‘influencer’)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Not bad. No word yet on how many text messages Peters had to send to get these results /s…

State Sen. Robert Peters, who launched his candidacy for Congress in Illinois’ 2nd District on Tuesday, raised more than $175,000 from more than 3,000 individual donors in his first 72 hours of campaigning, his campaign announced Friday.

“I’m inspired by the outpouring of energy and support from so many small, individual donors,” said Peters. “We’re building a grassroots campaign that is fueled by the power of the communities of the 2nd District. They’re making it clear–they want a leader who will stand up and fight back boldly against Trump’s destruction and chaos.”

Peters’ fundraising was bolstered by the early endorsements of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Leaders We Deserve.

Peters, a South Side native, was a community organizer before becoming a state senator, where he has led efforts for criminal justice reform and workers’ rights. He is running to replace incumbent Rep. Robin Kelly, who has launched a campaign for U.S. Senate.

…Adding… Daniel Biss did well…

Today, Daniel Biss announced his campaign for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District has raised more than $350,000 24 hours after announcing his run yesterday morning.

“I am deeply humbled and honored by the outpouring of support this campaign has seen in its first 24 hours,” said Daniel Biss. “We’re building a movement to not only take on Donald Trump and MAGA extremists, but to deliver real change to lower costs, defend the environment, and protect our fundamental rights. This amazing early support makes it clear that people are ready to fight for a future that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”

Biss, a former state legislator and now the mayor of Evanston, is running for Congress to stand up to Donald Trump, lower costs for working families, and fight tooth and nail to protect our civil rights. The 9th Congressional District is currently represented by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who recently announced she would not run for reelection.

* And by “well,” I mean that a certain “influencer” received national coverage for raising $150,000 less than Biss in her first 24 hours for the same race…

  20 Comments      


Powering Illinois’ Energy And Economic Future

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

What if Illinois could expand its energy grid, attract AI and emerging tech companies to the state, and provide over 60,000 new jobs with no impact on communities or the environment?

SOO Green makes it possible.

Built along existing rail corridors, this underground transmission project will deliver 2,100 MW of low-cost reliable power making the electric grid more resilient in the face of extreme weather while unlocking billions in economic investments for Illinois.

The SOO Green Advantage:

    • Accelerates Illinois’ Clean Energy & Jobs Act goals
    • 60,000+ new jobs
    • Lower energy costs for families and businesses
    • $26 billion in economic benefits statewide
    • $9.8 billion in health benefits by reducing emissions

With SOO Green all ratepayers will enjoy a more reliable grid, protection from rising energy costs, and a stronger economy for Illinois.

Learn more at www.soogreen.com.

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Open thread

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I highly recommend the Carter Vintage Guitars YouTube page. I visit multiple times a week to watch gems like this

Happy Friday.

  16 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois considers lowering scores students need to be considered proficient on state exams.Chalkbeat Chicago

    - Illinois education officials say the current benchmarks are too high and the results often don’t accurately reflect whether high school students are college and career ready.

    - “Our system unfairly mislabels students as ‘not proficient’ when other data — such as success in advanced coursework and enrollment in college — tell a very different story,” state schools chief Tony Sanders wrote in a message to school leaders this week.

    - The Illinois State Board of Education agreed Wednesday to move ahead with a process to change the state’s testing system, though the exact details still are being worked out.

    - That process will include creating new “cut scores,” or the lowest score needed for a student to be sorted into broad categories of achievement on state assessments.

***************** Advertisement *****************

Sponsored by Environment Illinois

*************************************************

* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois is the last state still unlawfully stripping wealth from homeowners in tax foreclosures: The Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a decades-old practice of taking every cent of people’s home equity over unpaid property taxes. Experts say Illinois lags behind other states with a segregation-era law that mostly affects Black communities.

* Tribune | Hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents could lose Medicaid coverage under House Republican proposals: It’s unclear exactly how much federal money Illinois could lose under the current proposals, but a number of the provisions would directly affect Medicaid funding in Illinois. The bill includes work requirements for people on Medicaid, and would restrict taxes that states including Illinois now impose on providers to help raise money for Medicaid. It would also cut funding for states that offer health care coverage to undocumented immigrants, such as Illinois — a provision that could trigger an end of coverage for more than 770,000 Illinois residents who gained it under the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid.

*** Statewide ***

* 21st Show | One-on-one with Senator Dick Durbin ahead of retirement: U.S. senator for Illinois, Dick Durbin is in his fifth term in the Senate, and for 20 years he’s been the number two Democrat there. However, he recently announced he would not be running for reelection. Durbin discusses working with Republicans on budget negotiations and the Trump administration’s latest policy decisions.

* Press release | Youth Unemployment tops 80% in parts of Chicago, new report shows: The report, “Youth Employment Data Brief: Racial and Geographic Inequities in Youth and Young Adult Joblessness and Disconnection in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and the U.S., 2019–2023,” finds that while overall labor market conditions have improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, many young people, particularly those in communities of color, remain disconnected from both school and work. To fill the gap, a coalition of nonprofits proposes a job-training and placement program fueled by a $150 million appropriation from the state. Coalition members say that money could put 50,000 jobless youth and young adults into jobs paying $15 per hour throughout the summer and for the entire year for those not in school.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | Pritzker administration lowers Fiscal Year 2026 revenue projection by $536 million, citing unpredictable Trump economy: “Recent reports have been pointing to slower GDP growth and even the potential for a recession,” said GOMB Director Alexis Sturm. “So, like we do every year, we’ll overcome those challenges and pass a balanced budget but we do recognize that there is a lot of uncertainty and headwinds at the state level.” Meanwhile, the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability said Illinois could expect to end the current fiscal year with roughly $54 billion in revenue. COGFA leaders said the revenue growth comes from strong income tax receipts during April.

* Press release | Healthy Illinois urges state to protect healthcare for all: “HBIA is a lifeline for the 33,000 individuals who depend on the program for lifesaving care. Despite the continuation of the process ending the program, we are committed to working with our state legislators to protect access to coverage,” said Enddy Almonord, director of the Healthy Illinois Campaign. “The program saves money for the state in the long run and protects the lives of people who are vital to our state’s culture and economy. “There is no other viable alternative, and there is no valid reason for Gov. Pritzker and Illinois to abandon their leadership position on this vital issue. In the face of the federal government’s threats to punish states for protecting their most vulnerable populations, Illinois must not capitulate but instead continue to defend healthcare for everyone, regardless of immigration status.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | City has run out of money set aside for settlements, but $62M more has been added to tab: The city of Chicago has already gone through the $82 million that Mayor Brandon Johnson set aside for settlements and judgments in 2025. Now the fund could soon be $62.4 million in the hole. That’s how much six new settlements on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the City Council’s Finance Committee would end up costing taxpayers. That’s not counting a $15.5 million settlement to private investors who leased Chicago parking meters.

* Crain’s | Two years in, Brandon Johnson’s progressive allies worry their movement is stalled: Without getting into specifics, Johnson acknowledged he didn’t do enough to keep his coalition together as he filled out his administration while responding to the influx of roughly 30,000 migrants bused and flown to Chicago from the southern border. “I did not do the due diligence of securing and making sure that the coalition had everything that it needed and had complete understanding of what we were facing,” the mayor told Crain’s. “That was an error on my part, and I should have worked harder to ensure that that coalition remained engaged.”

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago finance officials to privately pitch investors: “Closing it to the media undermines the transparency that residents and taxpayers deserve — particularly at a time when major decisions about debt, investment, and budget strategy are being made,” the letter said. Jaworski responded in a letter hours after the conference kicked off. “We recognize and respect the important role the media plays in fostering transparency, accountability, and public understanding of the City’s financial outlook and policy decisions,” she said, but limiting the meeting to just “current and prospective municipal bond investors, credit analysts, and ratings agencies … is consistent with peer municipalities across the country.”

* Crain’s | Jenner & Block lawyer’s security clearance pulled by Trump administration: A lawyer for Jenner & Block, which is challenging the Trump administration’s executive order against the firm, had their security clearance suspended, according to a court filing. Jenner won a temporary restraining order in March blocking much of the actions outlined in Trump’s executive order, including restrictions on access to federal buildings and the termination of government contracts with the firm, but the section related to security clearances was not addressed.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | A quarter of Chicago high schoolers missed more than a month of school last year: Across Chicago Public Schools, nearly 25,000 high school students — or a quarter of all high schoolers — missed at least 35 days last year, according to CPS data obtained by WBEZ and Chalkbeat. That’s double the number of students who missed that much school in 2019 — and twice the number of days the state deems troublesome enough to flag a student as chronically absent.

* Tribune | Which way, CTU? Election tests union’s strategy and solidarity: The opposition slate argues that the current leadership’s bullish nature doesn’t allow for dissenting voices, lacks financial transparency and has shed union allies. Their presidential candidate, Erika Meza, a 25-year veteran teacher from the Southeast Side, is unhappy with what CTU has come to symbolize. “There’s a lack of solidarity right now. We want to bring that back,” Meza said in an interview with the Tribune. “We need to make this a decision for the whole union.”

* Crain’s | ‘Makes no sense’: UIC dental dean blasts science behind FDA fluoride order: Federal regulators now want to remove ingestible fluoride supplements from the market, claiming they harm children, interfere with the gut microbiome and are not necessary because topical fluoride on the teeth is what actually matters. Dentists in and around Chicago don’t see the line.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Oak Park trustee Susan Buchanan once targeted by InfoWars resigns, citing burnout: She got her first and perhaps worse taste of that vitriol in the fall of 2019, less than six months into her first term on the Village Board. Buchanan received threats that caused her and her family to leave their home for a couple days after she had what she described in retrospect as a “hissy fit” when she told two white male Village Board members, Deno Andrews and Dan Moroney, to “shut up” when they asked for the term “systems of oppression” to be clarified during a discussion of the village’s diversity statement. Despite apologizing for the comment after the meeting, her “shut up” comment went viral when a video of her comment was posted on Infowars, the website hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

* ABC Chicago | Thousands across Chicago area wake up without power after storms topple trees, power lines: On Thursday evening, the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch and Severe Thunderstorm Warning for multiple counties in Illinois and northwest Indiana. They have all since expired. Clean up began since Thursday night for city and sububran public works. ComEd said more than 47,000 woke up without power on Thursday.

* Lake County News-Sun | Federal funding cuts hurting Lakeside Tower improvement plans; ‘We’re living in uncharted territory’: “We may have to lessen the scope of our plans if we have $9 million less,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with court cases. We’re living in uncharted territory.” After the city of Waukegan sued the former owners of the building for what then-Mayor Ann Taylor called “inhumane conditions,” the lawsuit resulted in a sale to the current ownership nearly two years ago. Valery said at the time at the time of the purchase his group planned to spend $20 million giving each of the 150 apartments new kitchens, bathrooms and more, as well as curing years of deferred maintenance untouched by the former owners.

* Daily Herald | Long Grove planning chair replaced in wake of QuikTrip vote: The village board delayed the vote on QuikTrip last month after it became clear the board did not have the four votes needed to pass. During the meeting, Kritzmire, who was sitting at her last meeting as trustee, declared her support for QuikTrip. Following the appointment, one of Wilson’s fellow commissioners, Archana Mohanchandra questioned Jacob about whether Wilson had resigned and why she was replaced. “She has not resigned at this point,” he said. “We’re going in a different direction.”

* Crain’s | With federal action looming, Northwestern hits the gas on lobbying efforts: In the first quarter of this year, the school has doled out more than $600,000 toward lobbyists, according to federal records, nearly exceeding what the university would typically spend in a full year on such efforts The big Q1 follows a year when the school spent more than $1 million on lobbying, its largest figure on record, according to the nonprofit database OpenSecrets, which tracks lobbying expenditures. The nonprofit has NU’s annual congressional lobbying figures going back to 1998.

* Tribune | After Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss announced run for Congress, locals have mixed reactions: Newly elected 8th Ward City Councilmember Matt Rodgers said he was split on whether or not Biss running for Congress is a good move for the city and its residents. “I think it’s very beneficial anytime you have someone who’s local in a national office and they understand Evanston, they fully get Evanston,” Rodgers said, adding that it can boost the amount of federal grants the city could receive from the federal government, particularly at a time when the feds are looking to make cuts.

* Daily Herald | Bird-friendly rules extended to new residential construction in unincorporated Lake County: Changes to the building code approved Tuesday by the Lake County Board require that at least 80% bird-friendly glass be used on exterior surfaces from the ground level to 100 feet. The rules take effect July 12 and also apply to accessory structures such as free-standing glass walls, railings, windscreens, greenhouses and similar features.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | Marion’s STAR Bond Project breaks ground, promising jobs and growth: Gov. JB Pritzker and local leaders broke ground on a new 550,000 square-foot retail, entertainment, and hospitality development in Marion. This project is the first Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bond Project in Illinois. “Today’s groundbreaking is one of the direct results of our bipartisan efforts to bring to life the economic growth opportunities that were stifled for far too long in Marion and Southern Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker.

* Fox 2 Now | Pritzker unveils new grocery store for Venice community: Illinois Grocery Initiative is really about growing those locally grown initiatives,” Pritzker said. “The idea here is that it can be a private enterprise or small business or a public enterprise coop or anything in between. The grocery initiative is about something that is locally grown helping it thrive or helping it come into existence without the state imposing an answer about it.” Former Superintendent Ed Hightower was asked to help revitalize the struggling community. He turned to lawmakers who found a bipartisan way forward through the Illinois Grocery Initiative.

* BND | O’Fallon bank VP’s alleged ‘financial betrayal’ detailed in police reports: Police reports provide a deep look into the investigation of a metro-east bank executive who federal prosecutors have accused of defrauding his employer of nearly $2 million and stealing another nearly half million dollars from a Lebanon couple’s retirement savings. The reports portray a man who borrowed from wealthy friends to support extravagant spending habits – including a $200-per-day allowance for a favorite waitress who called him “sugar daddy” – and out of desperation committed bank fraud when his debts came due.

* WGLT | McLean County Board formalizes transit provider swap, upgrades jail to protect guards: The McLean County Board on Thursday approved a resolution formalizing an intergovernmental agreement between Connect Transit and the county to provide rural transportation services. The resolution allows Connect Transit to take control of the county’s rural transportation service. The county will help with policy for hours, services, fares charged and the annual budget. In June of last year, the board officially withdrew from an intergovernmental agreement [IGA] with ShowBus.

* WCIA | Fisher making efforts to get first public library: Right now, they’re still in the initial process and are hoping everything goes smoothly. One volunteer said this isn’t their first time making the attempt for a public library. “Fisher is one of the only small towns in the area that doesn’t have their own library,” said volunteer Kim Clemmons. “About 25 years ago, there was a push to try to get one at that point, and the tax referendum failed at that time. We definitely could use a library here in our town.”

* WSIL | Southeastern Illinois College celebrates 63rd graduating class: “In a world that can feel increasingly fast-paced and far away from places like this, it’s important to remember that some of the most valuable skills don’t just come from a textbook,” Weiss said. “They’re forged in real life—in long shifts and late nights, in caring for kids while attending class, in commuting long distances to chase a dream.” Weiss also acknowledged the college’s achievements, including state championships in speech, Model Illinois Government, and eSports.

*** National ***

* Next Gov | DOGE went looking for phone fraud at SSA — and found almost none: Under the new policy, the agency found that only two benefit claims out of over 110,000 had a high probability of being fraudulent — and they aren’t guaranteed to be so. Less than 1% of claims were flagged as even potentially fraudulent at all. “No significant fraud has been detected from the flagged cases,” the internal document said.

* WaPo | What we get wrong about Mark Twain: Overall, Chernow’s “Mark Twain” is less a literary biography than a deep dive into “the most original character in American history.” Born in 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who adopted the pen name Mark Twain, was by turns a printer, steamboat pilot, journalist, stand-up storyteller, best-selling author, publisher, political pundit, champion of racial equality and all-around scourge of authoritarianism.

* ARS Technica | Judge admits nearly being persuaded by AI hallucinations in court filing: “Directly put, Plaintiff’s use of AI affirmatively misled me,” Judge Wilner wrote in a May 5 order. “I read their brief, was persuaded (or at least intrigued) by the authorities that they cited, and looked up the decisions to learn more about them—only to find that they didn’t exist. That’s scary. It almost led to the scarier outcome (from my perspective) of including those bogus materials in a judicial order. Strong deterrence is needed to make sure that attorneys don’t succumb to this easy shortcut.”

  12 Comments      


Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

  Comment      


Live coverage

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

  Comment      


Jackson says he didn’t formally endorse Robin Kelly

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Bumped up to Friday for visibility.]

* Tribune

After U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly said this week that Rep. Jonathan Jackson was among 18 members of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsing her Democratic primary bid to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Jackson announced he is not backing Kelly and instead remaining neutral in the race.

Despite having “deep respect and admiration” for Kelly, whom he described in a statement late Wednesday as “thoughtful, hardworking, and a strong advocate for the people of Illinois,” Jackson said, “As a general practice, I have decided it is better not to make endorsements during Democratic primaries.”

The Jackson nonendorsement comes at an inopportune time for Kelly as she attempts to ramp up her bid in what is expected to be a hard-fought race to succeed Durbin, who is retiring at the end of his term. […]

Jackson “was expressing his general support and admiration for Congresswoman Kelly, which may have been interpreted as a full endorsement,” spokesman Robert Patillo wrote in an email.

Rep. Kelly has endorsements from several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, but none of those members represent Illinois.

  12 Comments      


« NEWER POSTS PREVIOUS POSTS »
* Selected react to budget reconciliation bill passage (Updated x2)
* Reader comments closed for Independence Day
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Some fiscal news
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)
* RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois
* Groups warn about plan that doesn't appear to be in the works
* SB 328: Separating Lies From Truth
* Campaign news: Big Raja money; Benton over-shares; Rashid's large cash pile; Jeffries to speak at IDCCA brunch
* Rep. Hoan Huynh jumps into packed race for Schakowsky’s seat (Updated)
* Roundup: Pritzker taps Christian Mitchell for LG
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition (Updated)
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Live coverage
* Trump admin freezes $240 million in grants for Illinois K-12 schools
* Yesterday's stories

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