* ICYMI: ‘A terrible position’: Illinois sprints to lower new SNAP costs without booting people who need it. Tribune…

- Officials with the Pritzker administration said they anticipated earlier this year that they would need additional staff even without knowing the specifics of the Republican-led tax bill. Now, the department is looking into the number of additional staff it might need to deal with SNAP changes, according to the governor’s office.
- Illinois could be on the hook for an additional annual $700 million bill to pay for some of the benefits though that contribution could be eliminated if the state manages to bring down the payment error rate.
-To bring down the rate, IDHS is using an existing contract with Deloitte to diagnose exactly where those mistakes happen and what changes could be made to the program, according to the governor’s office, which did not provide an estimated timeline on those efforts. IDHS is also reviewing its own policies to see how it could reduce the error rate, according to the state.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Crain’s | RTA leader backs off contract extension request amid pushback: “Nothing’s been decided,” board chairman Kirk Dillard told Crain’s of Redden’s contract. “It’s off the agenda and there’s nothing to talk about at this time. I didn’t want to have it go forward.” Dillard said he’s “waiting to see what the lay of the land is” before deciding if a new contract is in order. […] ​​“Trying to lock yourself into a three-year contract as workers are potentially getting layoff notices goes beyond being tone-deaf,” said Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor.

* Bloomberg | Data centers need to bring their own power supply, watchdog says: Data centers looking to connect to the largest US grid must bring their power supply, the system’s independent watchdog said. The warning escalates the watchdog’s position from just a month ago when it said the grid operated by PJM Interconnection LLC, stretching across 13 states from Virginia to Illinois, has no spare supply for new data centers and suggested developers build their own power plants.

* Daily Herald | RTA drills down into costs of fiscal crisis from ‘pizza tax’ to 10% higher fares: The RTA is recommending raising fares systemwide by 10% in both cases, noting there’s been no increase since before the pandemic. That action would raise about $50 million. “Our regional fare structure continues to be affordable after past prices were reduced during the pandemic,” Communications Manager Melissa Meyer said. “But generating another $50 million in system-generated revenues will help lower the funding gap.”

*** Statewide ***

* Daily Herald | Federal cuts to weather staff put Illinois emergency alerts at risk: “The issue is that the NWS people who do communications and put out things like weather warnings are incredibly productive, efficient, and resilient,” Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford said. “Right now, from my perspective, there hasn’t been too much impact, but only because the workload of those forecasters monitoring the weather has been absorbed by other wonderful people who are still there. That’s not a stable model, though.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Chicago Bears face a long drive to get passage of stadium legislation in the fall: Already, there is $525 million in outstanding public debt from the controversial 2003 Soldier Field renovation, a tab currently covered by city hotel taxes and, when that falls short, by Chicago’s share of state income taxes. The Bears’ lease at Soldier Field expires in 2033, but it can be broken early with a penalty, and the team says it will take three years to build its new stadium. But even if the Bears were forced to pay off the outstanding debt, that alone is unlikely to be enough to satisfy city lawmakers who are key in providing the necessary votes to advance any legislation to help the team.

* Center Square | IL state reps challenge IEMA-OHS responses to local agencies: During a Joint Committee on Administrative Rules hearing on Wednesday, state Rep. Steven Reick, R-Woodstock, noted that there have been delays with the agency’s drafting of revisions and issues with certification and paperwork. Reick said the extensive rule-making expected in the next two months will have a great impact on local emergency management agencies. Louise Conway, deputy general counsel for IEMA-OHS, told Reick her agency is aware that local emergency services disaster agencies have been unhappy with the state’s rule-making process.

* Sun-Times | State Sen. Napoleon Harris to reimburse his campaign fund more than $20k over questionable expenditures: The Flossmoor Democrat, who also serves as the Thornton Township supervisor, had used the Friends of Napoleon Harris campaign fund for clothing purchases from upscale department stores, along with payments to a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Orland Park and a pizza restaurant he ran in south suburban Harvey.

* Evanston RoundTable | Texas Dem leader endorses Hoan Huynh to succeed Schakowsky: Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus and one of numerous Texas Democrats who were staying in Illinois and elsewhere this month to prevent a mid-decade redrawing of Texas’ congressional districts, endorsed Illinois state Rep. Hoan Huynh (D-13th District) on Sunday in the open race to succeed Jan Schakowsky as Evanston’s representative in Congress.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson’s plan to push out zoning board chair sparks independence concerns: Johnson appointed Shiller, who represented Uptown in the City Council from 1987 to 2011, to the board in 2024 and now wants to place her in the lead seat. The decision has rankled other members of the ZBA, according to sources familiar with the situation, and a former chair told Crain’s the appointment risks the board’s independence. The current chair, Brian Sanchez, a partner at Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman, was expecting to be renominated by Johnson, but is instead being pushed out altogether. He was informed he would not be reappointed by Shiller in a phone call this week, according to the same sources.

* Tribune | Bally’s Chicago completes its $250M IPO, falls short of fundraising target: Bally’s Chicago announced Friday it has completed its $250 million initial public offering, adding 1,800 individual investors to the project, but falling short of its fundraising goals. The company created 10,000 Class A shares valued at $25,000 each, but sold only 2,551 shares to public investors, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That puts the value of the IPO at $96.7 million, including Class A investments, private placement and Bally’s funding to support the individual investors, according to the company. The gross proceeds to the company from the initial public offering were $5.5 million, according to the filing.

* Crain’s | Five Chicago community centers get $1 million for youth mental health efforts: The community centers, chosen through a competitive application process, will implement programming over the next 12 months. “Partnering with trusted community organizations allows us to meet young people where they are,” said Melvin Rodriguez, co-founder of Mielle Cares and chief operating officer of Mielle Organics, said in the release. “These centers are already doing incredible work. Our role is to amplify their efforts and ensure they have the resources to help youth identify challenges, heal from adversity and rebuild their future.”

* ABC Chicago | Chicago police officers face new lawsuit over stop-and-search in the Gold Coast: “I was just terrified,” said Limorris Bell, the plaintiff and driver behind the latest lawsuit. “Honestly, I didn’t know what was gonna happen next.” Bell said he had no clue why Chicago police were pulling him over on Sept. 1, 2024, while he was driving to pick up his date in the Gold Coast. According to police-worn body camera footage obtained and reviewed by the I-Team, officers said they pulled Bell over for not wearing his seat belt, or using his turn signal, points that Bell denies was the case.

* Crain’s | Work begins on $730 million concourse at O’Hare: Work is underway on a $730 million new concourse adjacent to Terminal 1 at O’Hare International Airport, the first of three major projects remaining that are part of a major upgrade and expansion of the airport’s terminals. The final design features a soaring, arched roof and a curved wall of windows with views of the airfield and downtown skyline. There’s also a two-story main entry area, capped by a skylight dome that floods the space with natural light, and several indoor trees nestled into curved seating areas, a nod to O’Hare’s early days as Orchard Field.

* WBEZ | CPS enrollment, Trump actions and special ed: What to watch this school year: Federal and state funding for [after school] programs is a mess, said Brosnan of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. Fewer schools in CPS are getting federal money for after-school programs, due to a technical error that was uncovered two years ago. State lawmakers allocated $50 million last year for after-school programs, but the state board of education never sent that money out, saying they never got direction from lawmakers. Now, that pot is gone. Another pot of state funding for after-school programs did get a $10 million increase this year, but the state has yet to ask schools and programs to apply for that money.

* Sun-Times | Sustainable community schools will kickstart CPS ‘reconstruction’: The concept of sustainable community schools was born from the Latina mothers who went on hunger strike to build Little Village Academy and Black community leaders who starved for 34 days to prevent former Mayor Rahm Emanuel from closing Dyett High School on the South Side. In the face of power that saw our neighborhoods as places to ignore or our schools as facilities to close, Black and Latino Chicagoans created an educational model like Dyett where graduation rates set standards and underdog basketball teams bring home championships.

* CBS Chicago | Angel Reese hosts back-to-school celebration for Chicago Public Schools students: Reese hosted a back-to-school bash at International Sports Chicago this afternoon on the Northwest Side. There was live music, food and of course, basketball. About 2,000 students received new Reebok backpacks filled with school supplies. Reese also sent the students off with some words of encouragement, telling them they can do anything they set their mind to.

* Sun-Times | Savannah Bananas players draw raves from fans for second sold-out Chicago game: “Baseball can be really long, so the fact they’ve got a time limit and they try to do entertaining things every inning is really a draw,” said Emily Pustelnik, 24, of Tinley Park, who bought her $60 tickets through a lottery. “Everyone wants to be here. So the fact that we got tickets was super-exciting.” A family of four from Elmwood Park who couldn’t get tickets in the lottery bought them via resale for a whopping $800.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Gap in law leaves unorthodox school in Oak Park mansion largely unregulated by state: Illinois law allows nonprofit private schools to register voluntarily with the state or seek state recognition, giving the Illinois State Board of Education the power to review some of a school’s practices. But state law bars for-profit operations such as The Language and Music School from doing either. These omissions create such a blind spot for regulators that state officials say they don’t know how many students attend Illinois schools run on a for-profit basis. By contrast, for-profit private universities that largely serve adults are tracked and regulated by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. […] Asked if her bill would also address for-profit schools, [Rep. Terra Costa Howard] said the situation at The Language and Music School is “rare” but she would consider whether it makes sense to include such schools in the bill or craft different legislation.

* Sun-Times | How tattoo removal could give some incarcerated Illinoisans a blank slate: A soft buzzing sound radiates from a small room within the DuPage County Jail in Wheaton. On the door, in hand-painted red and black letters, are the words “Redemption Studio.” Walk in, and you’ll find the only state-licensed tattoo studio located inside a prison or jail in Illinois. The clients are people incarcerated at the jail. But this ink shop is less about what new images are going onto their skin and more about what’s getting covered up.

* Tribune | Oak Park District 97 Superintendent Ushma Shah abrubtly resigns: Oak Park Elementary School District 97 Superintendent Ushma Shah abruptly resigned Friday, effective immediately, on the eve of the start of a new school year. The resignation was announced in what was termed a joint statement issued by the school district late afternoon Friday Aug. 15. “Dr. Shah has served the district with dedication since June 1, 2022, bringing visionary leadership, a deep commitment to student success, and a collaborative spirit that has strengthened our school community,” it read.

* Tribune | After a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse decades ago at Maryville Academy, a Lake Zurich priest is placed on leave for the third time: Now there’s another allegation that in the mid-1990s, during his years on staff at Maryville Academy, Ryan sexually abused a child. The allegation is part of a civil complaint that Chicago lawyer Mike Grieco filed against Maryville last week in Cook County. These days, Grieco, 35, describes a sense of urgency surrounding the matter. He said he has tried to “push the archdiocese” to examine testimony that Ryan recently provided in a deposition concerning the alleged abuse at Maryville. Grieco said he questioned Ryan in June at the office of Ryan’s defense attorney and that Ryan’s answers reflected “the issues on campus” at Maryville during his tenure there.

* Evanston Round Table | Council returns Monday for Envision work, over objection from Seventh Ward group: After four earlier special meetings on June 24, July 21, July 30 and Aug. 4, councilmembers have discussed and voted on most of their proposed amendments to the plan, which the Land Use Commission recommended for adoption on May 21. Like prior agendas, Monday’s meeting has the draft plan included “for discussion,” meaning the council will only be voting on revisions to the plan and will not take a final vote to adopt it as the city’s guiding policy document for the next 20 years.

* Daily Herald | A railway merger trifecta? What supersized UP/Norfolk Southern combo could mean: Here we go again. For the second time in recent years, two railroad titans are contemplating a marriage that could shake the freight landscape nationally and locally. Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway informed the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in late July they want to merge, pending approval. The two are among the biggest freight carriers in the U.S. — UP owns over 32,000 miles of track in the central and western U.S.; Norfolk Southern stretches from the Midwest to the East Coast on 19,000 miles of track.

* Daily Southtown | Southland road work, bike path projects to receive Cook County grants: Nearly $8.3 million in grants for 32 projects were announced last week by Cook County. The county awarded $300,000 to Calumet City to install stormwater bumpouts on Wentworth Avenue at 156th Street and 156th Place. Calumet Park will get $350,000 for design and construction of alley improvements in the village.

*** Downstate ***

* WGlT | Mayor Brady says Bloomington Police should not take part in immigration-related events: The City of Bloomington pulled out of a planned event regarding immigration issues earlier this month, with Mayor Dan Brady saying he wasn’t aware of the event until someone brought a flyer to his attention. The event went on at Wesley United Methodist Church. “I didn’t believe, and after checking with the police department and our chief and others, that we, the Bloomington Police Department, had any type of specialty that was going to lend to [a] talk about ICE and immigration issues and what to do or not to do when you talk about an ICE raid,” said Brady.

* WQAD | John Deere to lay off nearly 240 workers in Illinois, Iowa: The layoffs affect the following facilities: Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois — 115 workers, last day Aug. 29. Seeding and Cylinder in Moline, Illinois — 52 workers, last day Sept. 26. Foundry in Waterloo, Iowa — 71 workers, last day Sept. 19.

* National Geographic | This Illinois city should be the first stop on your Route 66 road trip: The state capital may not get a shout out in the iconic highway’s famous song, but with its growing roster of sites and attractions, Springfield has become a mandatory stop——especially as the Main Street of America gears up for its centennial.

* WQAD | Floatzilla draws more than 1,000 paddlers to the Mississippi River: The Mississippi River looked a little different Saturday as a 10-mile section from Rock Island to Hampton was closed to boat traffic and filled instead with more than 1,000 kayaks & paddleboards for the annual Floatzilla event. River Action, which has organized the event since 2010, said about 1,200 paddlers from 20 states participated this year. More than 100 local volunteers helped make the event possible.

*** National ***

* AP | States rethink a long-held practice of setting speed limits based on how fast drivers travel: Under its “20 is Plenty” campaign, the Wisconsin capital of Madison has been changing signs across the city this summer, lowering the speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph on local residential streets. When Seattle took a similar step in a pilot program seven years ago, not only did it see a noticeable decline in serious injury crashes but also a 7% drop in the 85th percentile speed, according to the Vision Zero Network.

* 404 Media | ICE Adds Random Person to Group Chat, Exposes Details of Manhunt in Real-Time: The texts included an unredacted ICE “Field Operations Worksheet” that includes detailed information about the target they were looking for, and the texts showed ICE pulling data from a DMV and license plate readers (LPRs), according to screenshots of the chat obtained and verified by 404 Media. The person accidentally added to the group chat is not a law enforcement official or associated with the investigation in any way, and said they were added to it weeks ago and initially thought it was a series of spam messages.

* NPR | Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose: The data the two missions collect is widely used, including by scientists, oil and gas companies and farmers who need detailed information about carbon dioxide and crop health. They are the only two federal satellite missions that were designed and built specifically to monitor planet-warming greenhouse gases. It is unclear why the Trump administration seeks to end the missions. The equipment in space is state of the art and is expected to function for many more years, according to scientists who worked on the missions. An official review by NASA in 2023 found that “the data are of exceptionally high quality” and recommended continuing the mission for at least three years.

* WaPo | As Trump takes over D.C.’s police, here’s what law enforcement can and cannot do: The ACLU of D.C. has expressed concerns that federal law enforcement will be able to “act with impunity” while carrying out Trump’s directives in Washington. It cited a comment he made this week — that he would let police “do whatever the hell they want” to curb crime — which it said raises concerns of “civil rights abuses to come.”

* NPR | Electricity prices are climbing more than twice as fast as inflation: Power-hungry data centers have been popping up all over, to serve the boom in artificial intelligence. The Energy Department projects data centers and other commercial customers will use more electricity than households for the first time ever next year. That’s a challenge for policymakers, who have to decide how to accommodate that extra demand and who should foot the bill. “Regulators always play catchup,” says John Quigley, senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. “The growth of data centers is far outpacing the response by grid managers, public utility commissions across the country, and they’re racing to catch up.”

* LA Times | Sierra Club in turmoil after board fires executive director: Jealous’ tenure had been tumultuous. He clashed with staff over sweeping layoffs and faced sharp criticism from ousted high-level employees, volunteers and some notable environmental advocates. They said the Oakland-based organization had stifled differing opinions and had become weakened as the Trump administration rolled back environmental protections.