* ICYMI: Illinois clean energy hit hard by Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill: ‘An incredibly damaging blow’. Tribune…

- The repeal of that tax credit under President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is “pretty catastrophic” for residential solar, according to All Bright owner Lisa Albrecht, who expects demand to fall sharply.
- Under the bill, Illinois will see about 30% to 60% less clean power added to the grid by 2035, according to an analysis of a similar scenario by the Rhodium Group, a financial research firm.
- The firm also found that there would be about 16% to 38% fewer electric vehicles on the road nationwide in 2035.

* Related stories…

∙ Sun-Times: Illinois among 24 states suing Trump administration over frozen education funding
∙ WGN: Illinois Boys & Girls Clubs face funding crisis amid federal cuts

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | John Hooker, first of ‘ComEd Four’ to be sentenced, gets 1½ years in prison: In sentencing Hooker on Monday, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah zoomed out from the specific actions that led to across-the-board guilty verdicts for the ComEd Four, convicted in 2023 for orchestrating a yearslong bribery scheme targeted at Madigan to grease the wheels for major legislation the utility was pushing in Springfield. “Corruption fuels a power that is wielded not for representative democracy by the will of the people, but things like oligarchy, autocracy, even kleptocracy, all while keeping up appearance of democracy,” Shah said. “To do business with corrupt power encourages it, and that’s what you did here.”

* WTVO | ATF agrees not to distribute machine-gun conversion ‘switch’ devices in Illinois: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Monday that the ATF will not redistribute forced reset triggers (FRTs) in Illinois, “switch devices” that convert semi-automatic weapons to machine guns. The federal government signed a settlement agreement promising to stop enforcing federal law that prohibits FRTs and to redistribute the thousands of devices seized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Raoul said switch devices are illegal under Illinois law and noted their increased use in crimes.

* Crain’s | Chicago transit’s $771M fiscal cliff could shrink because of extra sales tax: The Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois says the Regional Transportation Authority, which coordinates mass transit across the metropolitan area, could get over $200 million more a year than it previously received if the rate of spending holds up. That would take a substantial bite out of the projected $771 million shortfall in annual funding for the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace rail and bus services once the pandemic-era relief funds from the federal government dries up next year.

*** Statewide ***

* WTTW | The Median Time in Restrictive Housing in Illinois Prisons is 1 Week. But Some Assigned More Than 600 Days: In May, there were 2,483 placements into restrictive housing, or what’s commonly known as solitary confinement or segregation. The longest time spent in restrictive housing were two men who had each spent over 600 days in assignment, despite IDOC directives capping extended restrictive housing to a year. The median time in restrictive housing in May was seven days.

* WSIL | Illinois state police bring back historic Sam Browne belts: Starting with Cadet Class 150, ISP Director Kelly ordered the return of the traditional Sam Browne belts for the dress uniform. “The belts remind us of our history and the professionalism all ISP officers display,” said an ISP spokesperson.

* Daily Herald | Illinois firefighters join disaster response in Texas: Thirty-nine firefighters representing 25 agencies deployed to Texas as Illinois Task Force 1. All are from departments participating in the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, a statewide disaster response program based in Wheeling. They come from nine counties, most in northeast Illinois, said MABAS Operations Section Chief Kevin Lyne.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | Ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan asks judge for freedom while he appeals his conviction: The motion filed Monday by Madigan’s lawyers is no surprise — they warned U.S. District Judge John Blakey it’d be coming after Blakey handed down the harsh sentence June 13. But it formally kicks off Madigan’s bid to remain a free man as the clock ticks down toward his surrender date. Blakey ordered Madigan to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Oct. 13.

* Shaw Local | Dixon’s Fritts will seek third term in Illinois House: State Rep. Bradley Fritts, R-Dixon, has announced he will seek a third term to represent the 74th House District in the Illinois House of Representatives. “Serving the people of this district has been the honor of a lifetime,” Fritts said when making his announcement Monday, July 14.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Granny flat legislation set for key vote after Johnson makes concession: A proposed compromise that would legalize coach houses citywide while limiting the amount built in single-family housing blocks is set for a committee vote tomorrow. The draft amendment, obtained by Crain’s, would accomplish Johnson’s goal of allowing accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to be built across Chicago without the need for the owner to obtain a costly and protracted zoning change at City Hall.

* Block Club | After Cutting Program, City Can’t Meet Demand For Home Repair Help: During the city’s designated registration period for its Home Repair program from March 10-21, the Department of Housing received online applications and calls from 6,818 interested homeowners, but the department only expects to serve 250-300 households this year, spokesperson Michael Cox said. The flood of people seeking home repair assistance comes after the housing department in December halted a different program called Small Accessible Repairs for Seniors, or SARFS. SARFS relied on eight community groups to provide minor repairs and accessibility upgrades for older homeowners. In contrast, the Home Repair program used general contractors, not community partners, for roof and porch repairs.

* Block Club | Family Wants Justice After Bodycam Footage Shows Police Fatally Shoot 19-Year-Old In Back Of Head: Police have said Fejerang had a gun, and that a gun went off and wounded an officer as police attempted to arrest Fejerang, leading to an officer shooting Fejerang in the back of his head and neck while he was on the ground. That officer was identified in reports as officer Oscar Asilis. But the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates police shootings, has not yet said who fired that initial shot — or why police were stopping Fejerang, 19, to begin with. Video of the shooting does not clearly show who fired the shot, which rang out as officers were scrambling around and on top of Fejerang.

* Tribune | CPD officers reporting use of force more often, as video becomes important training tool: A new report from CPD shows a sizable year-over-year increase in reports of both use-of-force and firearm-pointing incidents by Chicago cops. The upticks come as the department continues its efforts to gather and analyze internal data in its march toward compliance with the city’s federal consent decree. After a use-of-force incident, CPD officers are required to fill out and submit a Tactical Response Report, or TRR. Those reports are used to detail the exact circumstances an officer faced when force was used: Was a suspect armed? Were other officers or civilians facing a threat? What were the weather and lighting conditions at the scene? The CPD Tactical Review and Evaluation Division, or TRED, last year recorded 6,413 TRRs submitted by officers. That was a nearly 30% increase from 2023, when officers submitted 4,960 such reports.

* Crain’s | BlackRock marks Chicago milestone with new office — and plans to grow: “I have always viewed our Chicago presence as almost a melting pot of the broader organization,” Neetika Singh, a BlackRock managing director and head of its Chicago office, told Crain’s in an interview. “We have an important client segment and business here. We have invested in entities here. We engage with clients here.” Back in 2005, the firm staffed the office with about 10 employees, a total it has grown to nearly 200, said Singh, one of the office’s pioneers who moved to Chicago with BlackRock. Singh also is co-head of the firm’s global consultant relations business as well as head of platform and scaled distribution for the Americas institutional business.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson, inspector general reach compromise on ethics reform: The City Council Ethics Committee on Monday advanced an ordinance that restricts when the city’s Law Department can attend investigative interviews and lays out when city attorneys can claim attorney-client privilege to avoid sharing records sought by the inspector general. “The crux of the policy proposal is still there to ensure that we are protecting the integrity of these investigations,” Ethics Committee chair Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, said after the unanimous vote. “At the end of the day, if we can land on a compromise that both sides are satisfied with, that’s a job well done.”

* Tribune | HUD Chicago office taking on more public housing authority oversight as staff dwindles regionally, nationally: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Chicago office will now oversee 65 public housing authorities in Wisconsin because of staffing shortages in the agency’s Milwaukee office. This represents a roughly 62% increase in the number of public housing authorities the Chicago office is responsible for holding accountable to their missions, potentially stretching staff thin amid national cuts. The office had previously been limited to the oversight of Illinois’ 105 housing authorities. Those public housing authorities’ budgets combined, according to HUD, are more than $1.9 billion in federal dollars.

* Block Club | City Adds 6 More Speed Cameras. Here’s Where They Are: The cameras will not begin issuing tickets until next month, according to a Chicago Department of Transportation news release. Monday’s announcement brings the total number of cameras installed in 2025 to 40. […] Expected revenue from the 50 new cameras was earmarked in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2025 budget, which narrowly passed City Council in December. They were added to pay for about $11 million in Police Department positions related to a federal consent decree, according to the Tribune.

* Sun-Times | Smoke from Canadian wildfires prompts air-quality alert across Chicago: The Chicago area recorded ozone levels of 156 late Monday afternoon. Levels above 100 are considered unhealthy. Residents with respiratory issues, children and the elderly are advised to stay indoors and limit exposure to air outside until Tuesday evening.

* Sun-Times | Meet Chicago’s last bike messengers. Here’s how they survive: The pandemic was devastating to the courier business, but it survived. The industry is a far cry from where it was in its heyday a few decades ago, but the culture and camaraderie remain, couriers say.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WGN | How Tiffany Henyard’s successor at Thornton Township maneuvered to keep earning six-figure salary: But WGN Investigates found that Harris — even before he won the township office — introduced legislation in the Illinois General Assembly to protect the payment perk. His bill didn’t pass. But we found legislation with the same language was later advanced and passed by a different Democratic legislator. It was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker last year. Thanks to the legislative maneuver, Harris stands to collect the same benefits as Henyard. That’s in addition to $123,971 he is to be paid as a state senator.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora considers extending grocery tax that would otherwise expire: Aurora receives around $4.5 million in revenue through the grocery sales tax each year. Without those funds, which help pay for public safety, road maintenance, public works, community programs and environmental services, the city would likely need to look to alternative funding sources or make cuts to services, according to Stacey Peterson, Aurora’s director of financial operations. Peterson proposed continuing the 1% grocery sales tax within the city at a meeting of the Aurora City Council’s Finance Committee last week.

* Daily Herald | ‘Near and dear to my heart’: Retired Metra CEO leaves board, union leader joins: Not that many transit executives can shift from spreadsheets and scheduling to operating a train in a pinch. Retired Metra CEO and outgoing board Director Don Orseno is one of those select few. June marked Orseno’s last board meeting and Wednesday will be the first for replacement Brian Shanahan, railroad coordinator for the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) and a former Metra employee.

* Daily Herald | ‘A fun one’: Why Chicago band Sincere Engineer’s show at a South Elgin strip mall restaurant is a big deal: Deanna Belos said it’s no big deal to be playing a concert at a restaurant in a strip mall in South Elgin. Her band played an earlier iteration of Legit Dogs & Ice in 2018, and with her boyfriend living nearby in Elgin, she occasionally pops in for a bite at the new Legit Dogs & Ice, 322 S. Randall Road. Despite Belos’ claim, the Saturday, July 19, show is a big deal. Since she started as a solo act in 2015 under the pseudonym Sincere Engineer and added Crystal Lake musicians Nick Arvanitis and Kyle Geib and Highland Park’s Adam Beck to record their first album in 2017, the punky outfit is as exciting as any current Chicago band.

* Naperville Sun | With big influx of animals, A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter cutting dog adoption fees by 50% through Aug. 1: A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter in Naperville, which is now partnering with Will County Animal Control, is trying to reduce the overflow of animals they now have by offering a 50% reduction for all dog adoption fees through Aug. 1. Because Will County wants to expand its facilities to humanely house more animals, A.D.O.P.T. agreed to take in some of their stray animals as part of the new arrangement, according to Chris Yelle, executive director of A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | McLean County Board to consider audit of mental health, public safety sales tax fund: All members of the committee voted to move the resolution forward, except District 10 member Corey Beirne. Vice Chair Jim Rogal was absent. The audit will be capped at $50,000 to review the expenditures of the sales tax fund. The committee also considered a resolution to suspend collection of the 1% sales tax for one year, but members opted not to move the proposal forward.

* WCIA | Former CS Johnson Factory in Champaign could have new future: The Champaign City Council is voting Tuesday night to turn the lots that hold the old CS Johnson factory into residential property. The city said this would be the biggest development agreement the city has ever entered into Champaign would reimburse any increases in property taxes up to ten years or $6.6 million — whatever comes first — to prepare the site.

*** National ***

* NYT | What Would Funding Cuts Do to NPR and PBS?: Yes. NPR gets about 2 percent of its annual budget directly from federal grants, including from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; for PBS, that amount is about 15 percent. Both organizations also get federal money indirectly, through payments from member stations across the country that receive government funding, though it’s difficult to estimate how much. The real pain will be felt by local stations in far-flung locations like Unalakleet, Alaska, and Pendleton, Ore. Those broadcasters often rely disproportionately on federal grants for their operations because of a funding formula that takes into account the fact that they have fewer donors and programming sponsors.

* WIRED | AI ‘Nudify’ Websites Are Raking in Millions of Dollars: An analysis of 85 nudify and “undress” websites—which allow people to upload photos and use AI to generate “nude” pictures of the subjects with just a few clicks—has found that most of the sites rely on tech services from Google, Amazon, and Cloudflare to operate and stay online. The findings, revealed by Indicator, a publication investigating digital deception, say that the websites had a combined average of 18.5 million visitors for each of the past six months and collectively may be making up to $36 million per year.

* KFF Health News | Vested Interests. Influence Muscle. At RFK Jr.’s HHS, It’s Not Pharma. It’s Wellness: While Kennedy lambastes federal agencies he says are overly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, he and some other figures of the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement — such as siblings Calley and Casey Means, Robert Malone, and Peter McCullough — have their own financial ties to a vast and largely unregulated $6.3 trillion global wellness industry they also support and promote. Kennedy and those four advisers — three of whom have been tapped for official government roles — earned at least $3.2 million in fees and salaries from their work opposing Big Pharma and promoting wellness in 2022 and 2023, according to a KFF Health News review of financial disclosure forms filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Health and Human Services; published media reports; and tax forms filed with the IRS.