* ICYMI: Illinois opens a new agency handling services for kids under 5. Chalkbeat Chicago…

- Three years after its inception, the Illinois Department of Early Childhood officially launches today. Instead of splitting programs across three state agencies, the Department of Early Childhood will house most of the services Illinois’ youngest children have relied on for decades.
- The agency is headed by Secretary Teresa Ramos, who will oversee more than 500 staffers. Those include about 340 employees who will transfer from the state’s Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the State Board of Education.
- While Wednesday’s launch marks a milestone for state officials, who have a $86 million operating budget to work with, progress on improving historically labyrinthine services won’t happen overnight. In the coming months, the department will continue to roll out new initiatives — meaning families and providers will need to stay up-to-date on changes that could affect them.

* Related stories…

• WAND: IL Department of Early Childhood officially launches Wednesday
• Chalkbeat: What’s next for the Illinois Department of Early Childhood? Secretary Teresa Ramos gives a sneak peak
•

* Gov. JB Pritzker will tour storm damage in Jefferson County at 2:15 pm. before heading to Effingham County for a second tour at 4:30 pm. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Public universities, community colleges to see funding boost from state budget: Gov. JB Pritzker signed the fiscal year 2027 state budget package earlier this month, with the year set to start on Wednesday for many of Illinois’ public universities and community colleges. The budget package included a 1% increase in operating funds for public universities and community colleges, totaling around $16 million. For public universities, that means a boost of $13 million, while the state’s community colleges will see $3 million.

* The Daily Northwestern | ‘This is hard work’: Inside the Illinois lawsuits challenging the Trump administration: “It’s a collaborative effort, but that’s because there’s just so many cases — it’s 18 of them all at once,” said Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office. “So it’s going to be a fair amount of work, but it’s a righteous cause and hopefully we’ll find out more information about how that raid came to be.” The South Shore case is one of several challenging the Trump administration’s policies in Illinois. From scrutinizing immigration enforcement activities to defending diversity, equity and inclusion policies, lawyers across the state are challenging federal power while encountering new, complex obstacles.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | New Illinois laws take effect Wednesday including gas tax freeze and changes for driving tests and tuition: A new law could eventually ease the workload for county public defenders’ offices, which represent people who cannot afford to hire private lawyers. The law, dubbed the Funded Advocacy & Independent Representation Act, or FAIR Act, calls for the creation of a statewide public defender’s office to support underfunded county-level offices. An 11-member public defender commission will be established and choose a statewide public defender to serve a six-year term. The governor will select four commission members, the Illinois Supreme Court three, and the four legislative leaders — the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Illinois House and Senate — one each.

* WBEZ | Laws on cocktails-to-go, cyberbullying and new rules for older motorists take effect: Another bill would keep a student’s record of receiving special education services confidential. Previously, a student’s private “permanent record” only included personal information like their name, age and birth date, guardian’s names and addresses, and attendance. Senate Bill 408 adds a summary of a student’s performance that benefited from special education services to the list of private information kept on a student’s “permanent record.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker issues disaster proclamation for storm-ravaged counties, including Cook: It comes amid a record stretch of severe weather in the Land of Lincoln. Midway through the year, the National Weather Service has already confirmed 173 tornadoes in Illinois, the most recorded in a single year. Several communities have also sustained damage from flooding, hail and straight-line winds. “Illinois has faced unprecedented severe weather this year, and I remain committed to supporting every community, business, and family as they rebuild,” Pritzker said in a statement. “As communities recover, we remember the lives that were lost and hold their families and loved ones in our thoughts during this difficult time.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | As temperatures soar, city urged to add nighttime cooling options for vulnerable residents: This city should be doing much more for these vulnerable residents, said Lonette Sims, chairperson of the advocate group People’s Response Network. Sims called on City Hall to deploy more outreach teams and cooling buses directly to homeless encampments and low-income neighborhoods. She said it’s a strategy that other municipalities have adopted. She has also called for temporary utility shut-off moratoriums during heat emergencies so residents are not forced to choose between paying their electric bills and running their air conditioning.

* Crain’s | Lightfoot claims Bally’s work doesn’t violate revolving door rules: Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot received input from the city’s top ethics officer before her firm was retained by Bally’s as they threaten the city with legal action unless the City Council overturns its decision to legalize video gambling, according to her law firm. Lightfoot signed off on the 2022 contract that Bally’s now says is in jeopardy of a broad renegotiation because the City Council undermined the deal when they voted to legalize video gambling at bars and restaurants as part of the 2026 budget hoping to generate $6.8 million in revenue.

* Block Club | Chicago’s School Board Is Supposed To Have A Noncitizen Advisory Board. It Still Doesn’t Exist: When state legislators created Chicago’s elected school board, they also required the city’s mayor to name a noncitizen advisory board, meant to give people without citizenship a more formal voice in school board matters since they cannot vote or run in elections. But about four months ahead of this year’s school board races — and 18 months after the city’s first elected members were seated — Mayor Brandon Johnson still hasn’t created that advisory panel.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | DuPage County Board accused of violating Open Meetings Act in approving pay raises for elected officials: Pay raises for some elected officials in DuPage may be in jeopardy as County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek raises questions about the vote approving the increases. […] In her complaint, Kaczmarek argues the county violated state law by failing to post notice of the proposed salary increases six days in advance. Under the state’s open meeting rules, compensation packages totaling more than $150,000 for employees participating in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund must be publicly posted six days before a vote to approve.

* Daily Herald | Protests at Kane County courthouses to be restricted to designated areas: The new rules come in the wake of controversy over federal immigration agents arresting people on the grounds of the public-safety campus in St. Charles, which houses the Kane County Judicial Center, the sheriff’s office and jail, the coroner’s office and the Juvenile Justice Center. People have recently protested while agents were arresting people after they had been released from jail. At the Judicial Center, protesters and picketers will have to use the lawn and stay no less than 100 feet away from the building’s entrance.

* Evanston Roundtable | Evanston feeling the heat as calls for medical help come in: In an email to the RoundTable, City of Evanston spokesperson Cynthia Vargas wrote that the Evanston Fire Department has already begun to receive calls about heat-related emergencies as the Chicago area faces heat indices over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Early Tuesday, the National Weather Service extended the heat warning through Thursday night. Zachary Yack, a meteorologist at NWS Chicago, said that’s because the forecast changed.

* Journal & Topics | Republicans Slate Candidates For Suburban County Board Races: Republican Party committeepersons chose candidates to run for five Cook County Board of Commissioners seats, including two seats that fall within the Journal & Topics coverage area, in the November general election. The March 17 Republican primary included candidates in five out of 17 county board district races. Only the race for the 15th District, which includes parts of Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village and Mount Prospect, ended up competitive. Demographics

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol City Now | Springfield city council may extend contract for license plate readers: License plate reading technology in Springfield is getting a rave review from Springfield’s police chief. Joe Behl is seeking a two-year renewal of the city’s agreement with Flock for $508,000. A final city council vote is July 7. […] Two members of the public dissented, with one saying Flock has a poor track record on keeping citizens’ data private, and another calling Flock’s practices “dangerous.” The city’s agreement with Flock for ShotSpotter is a separate matter.

* WCIA | More than 2 dozen organizations offer resources after storms in Coles Co.: It is part of a multi-agency resource center. The goal is to supply disaster relief to the county with more than 20 organizations and non profits in attendance, including the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. “It’s a privilege and it’s an honor and very humbling to have such an incredible community and a state that’s willing to come in and help survivors. It’s just, I don’t know what to say, it’s just amazing that so many resources have made it a point to take their time and their effort to come here to help individuals,” Christina MaCalan, an emergency manager, said.

* STLR | Then ICE arrived: Inside a rural Illinois traffic stop that upended 3 teens’ lives: A license plate reader had flagged their work truck’s plate for having an expired registration, according to a police report that was provided to STLPR as part of a public records request along with dozens of documents, videos and audio recordings.[…] The Sheriff’s Office told STLPR earlier this month that ICE agents coincidentally were driving through Morrisonville when they stumbled on the three teens outside the Casey’s. Kettelkamp doubled down on that explanation on Monday, saying he believed federal immigration agents could have been driving through Morrisonville on the way back from the Taylorville Correctional Center, where they would have run into the teens.

* Capitol City Now | ‘Miles of Smiles’ this year’s Illinois State Fair theme: State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark said in a press release, “Every great road trip is filled with memorable stops, and the Illinois State Fair is one of Illinois’ favorite destinations. Whether you are enjoying a lemon shake-up along the parade route, discovering a new favorite carnival ride, or revisiting annual family traditions, we invite everyone to come experience the smiles, nostalgia, and adventure at this year’s Fair”.

*** National ***

* The Texas Tribune | Gov. Greg Abbott calls for ban on data center development in rural Texas neighborhoods: Abbott’s push for a prohibition in rural neighborhoods appears to go further than a sweeping regulatory framework he unveiled earlier this month, which called for data centers to add new power generation to the grid, pay for their own infrastructure costs, reuse their own water and implement measures such as setbacks, among other proposals aimed at limiting their impact on residential communities.