* ICYMI: Pritzker signs health care legislation. Capitol News Illinois…

- Gov. JB Pritzker signed a pair of health care-related bills Tuesday that he said would put more controls on the pricing of pharmaceutical drugs sold through insurance plans while expanding insurance coverage for certain kinds of hospital costs.

- House Bill 1697, known as the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, will impose new restrictions on practices of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, a powerful but little-understood segment of the pharmaceutical industry.

- Under the legislation, PBMs will be prohibited from steering consumers toward large pharmacies in which they have a financial interest. They will also be prohibited from engaging in “spread pricing” – the practice of charging health plans a higher price for a drug than the PBM pays a pharmacy for dispensing the drug.

* Related stories…

∙ WAND: Pritzker signs Prescription Drug Affordability Act, bans prior authorization for mental healthcare
∙ 25News Now: In Peoria, governor touts bipartisan bills aimed at affordable healthcare access
∙ WMBD: Gov. JB Pritzker signs healthcare bills at OSF Healthcare

* The Governor is on the campaign trail today with a stop at Peach’s Restaurant in Bronzeville at 11:45 am.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WNIJ | Illinois State Climatologist discusses the future of local weather forecasting: This week Illinois State Climatologist Dr. Trent Ford has been highlighting some possibilities of what federal funding cuts to weather services may look like. Today, Ford shares the effects those cuts could have for local weather forecasters. On top of government funding, local weather forecasters also face uncertainty from their local stations, such as the possibility of weather hubs, as opposed to the current model of forecasters and meteorologists delivering their predictions and information from their local affiliates.

* Press release | AG Raoul wins court order blocking Trump administration’s dismantling of HHS: Attorney General Kwame Raoul today secured a preliminary junction halting Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ensuring continued access to critical public health and social service programs. On May 5, Attorney General Raoul and a coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop the administration’s sweeping and unlawful restructuring directive, which left HHS unable to carry out many of its most vital functions. Today, Judge Melissa R. Dubose of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island blocked the administration’s mass layoffs at several key HHS agencies while the case proceeds.

*** Statewide ***

* Shaw Local | Wisconsin pot purchases boosting market on our side of Cheddar Curtain: Marijuana Moment said Evers’ February budget request projected the Badger State could realize $58.1 million in pot revenue in fiscal 2027 through 15% wholesale and 10% retail taxes. That’s a far cry from a 2023 Wisconsin Department of Revenue study showing a legalization plan could generate almost $170 million per year. All those numbers make sense in light of a 2022 report wherein Wisconsin officials estimated their residents spent more than $121 million on marijuana here, pumping $36 million into our public coffers.

* IPM News | Illinois immigrant advocate responds to birthright citizenship ruling and increased immigration enforcement around the state: ”People whose rights are going to be violated by executive action are going to need to file their own lawsuits or join class action lawsuits that may get filed, and the ability of courts to issue emergency orders in those lawsuits is now very limited. Unfortunately, the executive order could now go into effect while that litigation is moving through the court system. That, unfortunately, is going to mean that countless children — countless families — are essentially going to be stateless.”

* Tribune | Go big and stay home! Why Illinois loves its roadside monsters: “Illinois is like a wonderland of large things,” said Rolando Pujol, whose dizzying new book, “The Great American Retro Road Trip: A Celebration of Roadside Americana,” is an obsessive taxonomy of the vintage fiberglass megafauna (and more) amongst us. “My Illinois to-see list numbers in the hundreds. But incongruous, anomalous, larger-than-life objects are American DNA, part of our collective self-identity. We develop attachment to large things. They become signposts in our lives.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | AG Kwame Raoul joins suit against Trump administration over immigrant Medicaid data: The suit, announced Tuesday, seeks to stop federal immigration officials from securing more health documentation or using already obtained Medicaid records of millions nationwide to target enrollees for immigration enforcement. The attorneys general said the data transfer was not only illegal, but could have a chilling effect on noncitizens and their citizen loved ones enrolling into state healthcare programs they otherwise qualify for due to fear of deportation.

* WBEZ | A state lawmaker wants to bring an overdose prevention site pilot program to Illinois: A bill that could help bring pilot programs for overdose prevention sites to Illinois didn’t pass during the recent legislative session. WBEZ’s Isabela Nieto breaks down what happened and why it matters.

* WGLT | Illinois becomes first state to include music therapy in Medicaid as federal cuts loom in ‘Big Beautiful Bill’: Effective July 1, Illinois is the first state to allow music therapists to bill Medicaid for services—something Julie Englesdorfer said is a game-changer. Englesdorfer graduated from Illinois State University’s music therapy program and has remained in the area, founding Harmonium Music Therapy in Bloomington. But making ends meet in what she calls a “niche” field has been difficult. Englesdorfer’s inability to bill insurance has long created an accessibility barrier, with the average session costing around $120/hour.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | CPS is reducing assistants assigned to some special ed classes, worrying educators and parents: Theresa Nuestro’s sons are among the thousands of Chicago Public School students who depend on special education classroom assistants to keep them safe and focused in classes. […] They worry CPS is trying to find savings on the backs of their children, as has happened in the past. “SECAs are the front-line responders when my son’s blood sugar levels drop to dangerously low levels,” said Nuestro, whose sons are both on the autism spectrum. One has a severe peanut allergy and the other is diabetic. “It is the SECA who communicates when my son is struggling to self-regulate. … These moments are daily life for many autistic students and without adequate SECA support, our children struggle to learn.”

* The Guardian | Six Chicago men exonerated in 1987 stabbing death of government official: A Chicago judge threw out the convictions on Tuesday of six men who served a combined 124 years in prison for the 1987 stabbing death of a local government official. Attorneys for the men successfully petitioned a Cook county court to overturn the convictions based on new DNA evidence as well as allegations of misconduct by a now retired Chicago police detective linked to at least 51 other wrongful convictions.

* Block Club | How Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Impact Local Food Pantries: ‘People Are Going To Suffer’: In January, Martin was laid off from his job as a nonprofit case manager. He’s actively looking for work, but for now, he relies on the food pantry at 4256 N. Ridgeway Ave. and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for food. He could soon face additional hardship. Under significant cuts to SNAP being considered in Congress, as part of President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” people ages 55-64 would be subject to a work requirement to receive SNAP benefits — an expansion of existing work requirements that could affect more than 200,000 people living in Illinois.

* Crain’s | CommonSpirit commits $6M to mental health efforts in Chicago: Grants — totaling $6,369,123 — will be awarded to the Catholic Healthcare Foundation of Northern Illinois, which will receive $5,469,123, and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, which will receive $900,000, the system said in a press release. Catholic Healthcare Foundation will use the funds to expand behavioral health services available to youth and families on Chicago’s Southwest Side, it said.

* WTTW | CTA Launches Next Round of Rider Feedback Pop-Ups Following ‘Strong Turnout’: The events are designed for CTA leaders and staff to have open, informal conversations with riders about service, safety, improvements and rider priorities, according to the transit agency. The feedback will be used by the agency to help plan for the next CTA budget and prioritize future investments, according to the agency. The next round of events will be held at eight transit system locations and are scheduled to start in mid-July and run through the end of the month. Events will be held from 4-6 p.m.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Cook County opens first modular homes in $12 million affordable housing push: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will open the first two of 120 planned modular-built houses today, a little more than a year after the county board approved spending $12 million, or $100,000 per unit, to build the homes as new affordable housing options. […] The pair of houses is the start of an initial dozen in this neighborhood, each built in Inherent’s factory 3.5 miles away in North Lawndale and delivered by truck as two pieces—first floor and second floor—to the lot.

* Daily Herald | Ascension closure of delivery services sparks protest: Protesters gathered outside Ascension Alexian Brothers Hospital in Elk Grove Village Tuesday, opposing Ascension’s decision to discontinue baby deliveries at the hospital. It would involve closing the Women and Infant Services department, which offers labor, delivery and postpartum care, a special care nursery and lactation services. Ascension plans to consolidate these services at Ascension Saint Alexius Women and Children’s Hospital in Hoffman Estates.

* Daily Herald | New Arlington Heights streaming tax could cost residents $61 a year: Village officials are considering an extra charge on streaming services to help fund staffing for a fifth fire department ambulance that is hitting the streets this year, amid increased call volumes. Meanwhile, some village trustees this week pushed back on whether to retain a 1% grocery tax the state will stop collecting at the end of the year.

* Daily Herald | Fermilab leader during search for top quark dies: John Peoples was asked in the mid-1990s about the value of doing pure scientific research — that which has no predetermined benefit. […] Peoples was the director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory at the time, charged with overseeing spending hundreds of millions of dollars researching particle physics. It was just after the Batavia-based laboratory was receiving worldwide acclaim for its role in discovering the top quark. He died June 25, at age 92, according to an announcement from Fermilab.

* Daily Southtown | South Holland to levy nonresident fee for Friday fireworks display: People who don’t live in South Holland will be charged a $10 fee if they want to see the village’s fireworks display Friday night. South Holland residents will be admitted for free after showing proof of residency, such as a driver’s license or utility bill.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | ‘We have to stay in the game’: Illinois State opts in to direct payments to student-athletes: July 1 marks the first day colleges and universities can make direct payments to athletes through Name, Image and Likeness [NIL] deals. The decision stems from a settlement with the NCAA involving student compensation, previously from NIL deals being permitted for student-athletes. ISU Athletics Director Jeri Beggs said ISU needs to move its NIL in-house to remain competitive. “Right now if you can’t offer a decent NIL package to a men’s basketball player or women’s basketball player, they won’t come here. In order to be competitive, we have to stay in the game,” Beggs said.

* BND | Shiloh sued tax collector for millions from its TIFs. Here’s how it was settled: For years, Shiloh argued in circuit and appellate courts that the county tax collector shorted the village a year’s worth of revenue from two of its tax increment financing districts. […] A TIF district is limited to 23 years. The village and county disagreed over when payments from the two TIF districts Shiloh created in 1998 should end. The county stopped sending Shiloh the TIF revenue in calendar year 2021. But Shiloh thought it should have continued into tax year 2021 — money the village levied in 2021 and the county collected from taxpayers in 2022.

* Rock River Current | West announces nearly $13M in state funding for local initiatives, including upgrades to Fairgrounds Park in Rockford: The money was all secured as part of the $55.1 billion budget that Gov. JB Pritzker signed on June 16. West’s announcement includes new initiatives, such as upgrades to Fairgrounds Park, and continuations of past funding, such as the restaurant relief grants that are designed to correct a spike in unemployment taxes caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

* WCIA | Coles Co. Board approves wind project: The Coles County Board voted to approve the Coles Wind Project Tuesday night. It narrowly passed with six members of the board voting to approve it and five voting against the project.

* BND | Fireworks and festivities: Where to celebrate Fourth of July around the metro-east: The Alton Fireworks Spectacular will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 3 with the fireworks beginning at dusk, around 9 to 9:30 p.m. The celebration is held at the Alton Amphitheater, and will also include food trucks and live entertainment.

*** National ***

* NYT | Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit: Paramount said late Tuesday that it has agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” an extraordinary concession to a sitting president by a major media organization. Paramount said its payment includes Mr. Trump’s legal fees and costs and that the money, minus the legal fees, will be paid to Mr. Trump’s future presidential library. […] But Shari Redstone, the chair and controlling shareholder of Paramount, told her board that she favored exploring a settlement with Mr. Trump. Some executives at the company viewed the president’s lawsuit as a potential hurdle to completing a multibillion-dollar sale of the company to the Hollywood studio Skydance, which requires the Trump administration’s approval.

* WaPo | Trump to cut protections for home health aides, migrant farmworkers: The U.S. Labor Department announced plans this week to slash more than 60 regulations — including eliminating overtime and minimum wage protections for home health care workers and union organizing rights for migrant farmworkers. The effort to deregulate the federal agency that governs workers’ rights and protections in the United States aims to deliver on President Donald Trump’s promise to “restore American prosperity,” the agency said.

* WaPo | A Trans Pilot Was Falsely Blamed for a Plane Crash. Now She’s Fighting the Right-Wing Disinfo Machine: Within two days, the rumor spread like wildfire. The morning of January 31, Jo Ellis, a part-time pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard, woke up to messages from a friend warning that she was being named online as the pilot who killed innocent passengers in the deadly crash. At first, Ellis thought it was an isolated claim—someone erroneously connected her to the crash, because just days earlier she had written an essay on being a transgender pilot from Virginia. But once she logged in to Facebook, she realized she was wrong.