* ICYMI: Illinois maintains LGBTQ+ youth support on 988 hotline amid federal cuts. WTVO…

- The Illinois Department of Human Services announced Thursday it will continue to provide support for LGBTQ+ youth on the 988 Suicide & Crisis hotline, after the federal government cut funding for the program last month.
- Illinois said each month, more than 1,600 calls and 600 chats or texts are fielded by the hotline agents.
- Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that LGBTQ+ youth have a higher risk of suicide, with 26% of students who identify as transgender attempting suicide in the past year, compared to 5% male and 11% female students.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has released his re-election launch video…

* WCIA | Corn genetics lab faces relocation, pending 2026 federal budget: University of Illinois’s National Soybean Germplasm Collection is the largest soybean seed bank in North America. The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center houses more than 100,000 genetic corn mutants. The federal budget item would relocate the soybean collection to Columbia, Missouri and the corn stock center to Ames, Iowa — locations an Illinois professor said might be unfit to take care of them.

* Maurice Scholten | The RTA has more money to work with than it realizes. State lawmakers need to know this.: A vast coalition of public transportation advocates, including the Regional Transportation Authority, has referenced since 2022 projections showing an original budget deficit of $730 million that is now calculated to be $771 million as emergency federal funding recedes and operating costs reportedly rise. The coalition hopes state lawmakers return to Springfield and approve a package of new revenues and governance reforms to head off service cuts at the CTA, Metra and Pace.

*** Statewide ***

* WCIA | 23 Central Illinois nursing homes, care facilities fined by IDPH: The IDPH recently released its quarterly report for violations across the state. A total of 243 reports were made between January and March, with some reports listing multiple violations and some facilities having multiple reports against them. The laws that were violated are the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and Titles XVII and XIX of the Federal Social Security Act.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker seeks more regulatory authority over homeowners insurance business: Although Pritzker was not specific about what kind of increased regulatory authority he wants lawmakers to consider, some consumer advocates have called for giving the state Department of Insurance broad authority to review, modify or even reject proposed rate hikes. Under current state law, companies are required to file their rates with the Department of Insurance, and the agency can review consumer complaints to determine whether the rates being charged are consistent with those filings. The department also has the authority to conduct examinations to determine whether a company is paying out claims in a timely manner. It can also conduct examinations into a company’s financial condition and solvency.

* WAND | Plan expanding state grant program for agriculture education teachers awaits final action: School districts can currently apply for a state grant covering 50% of the personal service cost for agriculture teachers. This plan clarifies that teachers should receive 100% of that compensation for working 60 additional days or 400 hours outside their regular teaching duties.

* WAND | Illinois could guarantee universal mental health screenings for youth, teens under bill on Pritzker’s desk: Illinois could soon become one of the first states to provide universal mental health screenings for young children and teens. A bill on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk could require public schools to offer age appropriate, confidential mental health screenings to identify mental health concerns and link students to support. Students in grades three through 12 would participate in the screenings once per school year.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | City Inspector General Deborah Witzburg won’t seek second term: Witzburg was appointed inspector general in 2022, beginning a four-year term after serving as the city’s deputy inspector general for public safety. “I can be confident that, at the end of my term in April, I will leave OIG better and stronger than I found it,” Witzburg said in a statement. “…We will have a great deal to do and to say between now and April, and then I will happily pass a more effective, more independent OIG along to its next steward.”

* WBEZ | Mayor Brandon Johnson talks affordable housing, funding CPS, transportation with Reset callers: Constituents and listeners from around the Chicago area called in to ask about Johnson’s accomplishments and policy proposals, several of which focused on transit. One caller from West Elsdon on the city’s Southwest Side asked why Chicago has so few bike lanes outside the North Side. “They’re coming” to the West and South sides, said Johnson, himself an avid cyclist. Another caller in Rogers Park lamented the post-pandemic experience of riding the Red Line, pointing out that many schoolchildren use the CTA as “school buses” amid passengers who smoke and sometimes relieve themselves on train cars and station platforms.

* Sun-Times | Ex-Gitmo detainee will be allowed to testify about alleged torture by former Chicago detective: Circuit Court Judge Adrienne E. Davis ruled at a brief hearing Thursday she would let Mohamedou Ould Slahi testify about his “enhanced interrogation” at the U.S. detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, starting in 2003. The abuse was allegedly overseen by Richard Zuley, at the time a U.S. Naval reservist on leave from his CPD detective job. Years earlier, Zuley allegedly tortured a confession out of Anthony Garrett that led to his conviction for 7-year-old Dantrell Davis’ 1992 fatal shooting in the Cabrini-Green public housing complex.

* Sun-Times | City Council members pushing to legalize video gambling — at Chicago airports or even citywide: City Council members are revving up the fight to legalize video gambling in Chicago — even after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s financial team argued that the meager jackpot is not worth pursuing. Two ordinances were introduced at Wednesday’s Council meeting, the last before the August recess. One would authorize installation of hundreds of video gambling machines beyond security checkpoints at O’Hare and Midway Airports. The other would lift the longstanding ban on video gambling citywide in an attempt to offer an economic lifeline of sorts to neighborhoods bars and restaurants fighting for survival.

* Tribune | Chicago arts organizations press on despite ‘gut punch’ federal cuts: Organizers opted to shorten the 35th anniversary programming so they could weather changes without losing the heart of the festival, they say. But their choice is becoming a familiar one these days, as federal downsizing places pressure on arts organizations across the Chicago area to make do without funding. On May 2, the White House released President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, which called for billions of dollars of sweeping cuts, including the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the largest funder of arts and arts education in the country.

* Sun-Times | City Hall wouldn’t pay $14 million for cop overtime. Now, it might have to pay at least $195 million: Already facing massive yearly budget deficits, the city of Chicago could face a bill in the hundreds of millions of dollars for police overtime in a long-running case on behalf of 8,500 current and former Chicago Police Department employees. It’s been nearly 10 years since the case was filed and almost five years since a federal judge ruled in favor of the officers, who argued that the city “willfully violated” labor laws by miscalculating overtime pay they were due over a span of years.

* Block Club | Chicago’s Late-Night Talk Show Isn’t That Late — And It’s Very Local: Since 2018, Swinson has hosted “The Not That Late Show” at local venues. The show is a spectacle “for Chicago, by Chicago,” inspired by local and national news, online happenings and more, he said. The in-person show’s segments focus on a range of topics: from serious issues like Chicago’s public transit budget shortfall to comedic bits like “the random Chicagoans that you’ll encounter during your perfect Chicago summer that will make your life a little bit more of a hassle,” Swinson said.

* Block Club | Smoque BBQ Vs. Weber Grill: Acclaimed BBQ Joint Says Grill Giant Is Infringing On Its Trademarked Name: At the start of this year, suburban Palatine-based Weber-Stephen Products LLC announced it would release the Weber Smoque smoker, a $699-$899 pellet smoker. The issue: Smoque BBQ — an ultra-popular barbecue spot at 3800 N. Pulaski Road — has had the name “Smoque” trademarked for over a decade. When Barry Sorkin, Smoque BBQ co-owner and chef, saw the news, he “immediately thought, ‘They can’t do that,’” he said. Sorkin said he is worried the similar names will create confusion, causing customers to think the pellet smoker is associated with the neighborhood barbecue joint. He’s also concerned the new product will dilute Smoque BBQ’s branding and name recognition, which the restaurant has carefully crafted over the past 19 years, he said.

* Sun-Times | Smoked alligator burger? That’s just one of the options at this year’s Roscoe Village Burger Fest.: So there are burgers tantalizing with tandoori spices; one made of smoked alligator; another a blend of bison, elk, wild boar and venison. There’s one from Cheesie’s Pub and Grub (with five locations including Wrigleyville and Lake View) that celebrates the unique cravings of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll: The creation is called the “Smash Elvis” and consists of a 5-ounce patty, deep-fried peanut butter and jelly, and banana ketchup, all on a brioche bun. There are 13 vendors in all this year.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Cook County Democrats mostly sticking with incumbents on primary slate — but Assessor Fritz Kaegi is in limbo: Former Chicago Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) was a late entry Thursday in the field of candidates seeking the Cook County Democratic Party’s endorsement for commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in next year’s primary election. It’d be a new title for the longtime Far South Side City Council member, but familiar territory, he said. “I know a lot about crap. I was an alderman for 20 years,” Brookins joked to party leaders.

* Tribune | Cook County Democrats hold off endorsement decision for county assessor, don’t back Board of Review incumbent: But during a closed-door executive session of party higher-ups Thursday at the IBEW Local 134 meeting hall in Bronzeville, Black members of a party committee united to oppose a recommendation that the full county party organization endorse Kaegi when it convenes Friday. Caucus members were split on which of Kaegi’s two primary challengers to support. Several other committee members voted “present” on a Kaegi endorsement recommendation, bringing him short of the threshold needed to win the endorsement of the countywide slating committee. Instead, the full party will vote on that endorsement Friday.

* Shaw Local | Rep. Underwood demands answers over alleged ‘reckless’ ICE activity in Joliet: In the letter, Underwood said multiple witnesses reported on July 9 that an “an unmarked black extended cab truck taking part in ICE enforcement actions” had rammed into the rear of a civilian vehicle and trapped it near the intersection of Cass Street and Arch Street in Joliet. “This location is adjacent to a youth center, a high school, and a minor league baseball stadium, and is considered a high-traffic public area,” Underwood’s letter said.

* Daily Herald | Elk Grove Village officials decry proposed closure of hospital’s maternity ward: The hospital at 800 Biesterfield Road plans to discontinue its 28-bed inpatient obstetrics department and consolidate those services — including all baby deliveries — at its sister hospital, Saint Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates. Johnson argued that inpatient pregnancy care is especially needed now in Elk Grove amid an increase in younger families moving to the village, and he questioned if Saint Alexius would be able to handle the influx. “We want Alexian Brothers back to what we’ve all known and loved for 60 years,” Johnson said at a village board meeting this week. “The sad part is, they are changing. Unfortunately, it’s not quite the hospital we all remembered for a lot of years.”

*** Downstate ***

* Illinois Answers Project | A New Wastewater Plant in Carterville Could Stop Sewage Overflows — Why Hasn’t Construction Started Yet?: Last year, Carterville was approved for a $31 million federal loan administered through the Illinois EPA for the project. Yet city council did not sign the loan agreement, one of the requirements for dispersal of the funds, until March of this year — more than five years after the project was proposed. The loan amount has since increased to $44 million, according to minutes from the May meeting of the Carterville water and sewer board. The city’s contracted engineer, Rodney Potts, reached out to state representatives and senators to ask for additional funding assistance, but they did not have anything to provide.

* WCIA | Toxic algae levels going down in Mattoon, community resources continue popping up: While the city shared encouraging news that the toxic algae bloom levels in the water had gone down since the reissued “do not drink” order, more testing will have to be done before the order is lifted. Eliana Brown is a water quality and storm water specialist with Illinois Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. She said from the initial “do not drink” order to the second, the warm weather and sunshine could have played a vital role in the algae’s ability to flourish.

* WCIA | Illini Solar Car team wins national competition: rivers and engineers from the University of Illinois’ Illini Solar Car team came in first place at an event during this year’s Formula Sun Grand Prix in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They took home gold in the single occupant vehicle class by driving the most laps of all the nation’s collegiate teams. The team drove 223 laps — or 703 miles — continuously.

* WSIL | Renovations at SIU have started for a new lounge created by the students: Alex Baughman is the Chief of Staff for the Undergrad Student Government. He spoke with News 3 about the new changes. “We have some places on campus to hang out, but nothing that’s designed by students and for students, and this is what this space is going to be,” Baughman said.

* Telegraph | New owners continue legacy of Metro East’s only LGBTQ+ bar: Church, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, is one of the new owners of Bubby & Sissy’s bar, located at 602 Belle St. in Alton. The new owners took possession at the beginning of April of Alton’s renowned LGBTQ+ bar. It’s special for Church to own the bar that supported him and the local LGBTQ+ community for decades. He is using his ownership to continue the bar’s legacy, which he and the other owners, like Mike Klasner, agree is “important now, more than ever.”

*** National ***

* Price Points | The 340B program has gone off the rails: What started as a way to subsidize safety-net hospitals and help low-income patients has morphed into a critical way for hospitals to generate income. The program lets hospitals buy drugs at a discount, give them to patients, and then get reimbursed at a much higher price, pocketing the difference. In theory, those profits are supposed to be passed on to patients – used to provide uncompensated care, offer community benefits, expand care access, and/or subsidize otherwise unprofitable lines of business. However, the program doesn’t require hospitals to report their 340B-derived spending, or even how much they make from the sales.

* All the Young Punks | Jeff Tweedy announces album, releases four songs: The Wilco frontman released four songs off the new album, including the opening and closing tracks, One Tiny Flower and Enough. The other songs, now streaming, are Out in the Dark and Stray Cats in Spain. I’ve given them multiple spins and they’re all solid.

* Chalkbeat | Religious opt-outs could complicate new Bible-infused state curriculum in Texas: Sikh parents and community members fear that Bluebonnet will leave children feeling even more isolated than they do now, said Upneet Kaur, the senior education manager at the Sikh Coalition, which is working with Sikh parents in Texas who are concerned about Bluebonnet. “Sikhs already have a very large amount of bullying that they face in classrooms due to a lack of understanding that students and educators may have of their identity,” Kaur said.