* ICYMI: Illinois schools chief pushes back against Trump administration’s anti-DEI push. Chalkbeat Chicago…

- In a letter on Wednesday, State Superintendent Tony Sanders challenged the U.S. Department of Education to prove which programs and activities violate federal civil rights law and to identify “illegal DEI” activities.

- The U.S. Department of Education last week ordered state education officials to certify within 10 days that their school districts do not engage in any practices the administration says illegally promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

- The administration threatened to pull federal funding from schools in states that failed to do so. Illinois would lose about $6.4 billion in federal funding if the administration follows through with its threat.

* Related stories…

∙ WBEZ: Illinois State Board of Education rebuffs Trump administration demand to reject DEI in schools
∙ Chalkbeat: Illinois schools chief tells districts to follow state law, not Trump threats

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Federal Medicaid cuts and rising inflation are threatening essential services that thousands of people across our state rely on every day. With reimbursement for support rate expenses currently being paid at 2017 levels in 2025, nursing facilities have already begun closing, leaving staff without jobs and needy Illinoisans without services. Lawmakers should support SB1606/HB2858 to protect the most vulnerable and reform Medicaid reimbursement rates before more people suffer.

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* BlueRoomStream.com’s coverage of today’s press conferences and committee hearings can be found here.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Subscribers know more. Tribune | Illinois Senate President Don Harmon disagrees $4 million he took in political donations was improper: “I don’t agree with their interpretation,” Harmon said in an interview steps from the Senate floor. The Oak Park Democrat added that he is “confident this will be resolved.” In a certified letter sent to Harmon after a Tribune inquiry in March about his fundraising, state election officials said he has until April 18 to return the excess campaign cash above the limits “to the contributor or donate an equal amount to charity” or to the state’s general fund.

* Tribune | ‘You tell me a number’: Ex-red-light camera company exec takes stand in bribery trial of state Sen. Emil Jones III: Then Jones dropped the number: “If you can raise me five grand, that’d be good.” “Done,” Maani replied quickly. That conversation, which Maani secretly recorded for the FBI, was the focal point of a long first day of trial for Jones, the son of former Senate President Emil Jones Jr. Jones III is accused of agreeing to accept bribes from Maani in exchange for his help tamping down anti-red-light camera legislation in Springfield.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Democratic-led Illinois Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to legislative maps that kept Democrats in control: Republicans had argued the Democratic mapping effort was unconstitutional political gerrymandering that limited voters’ choices. But the court’s five-member Democratic majority said the GOP’s “timing in filing the instant motion shows a lack of due diligence.” “Plaintiffs could have brought their argument years ago,” the majority wrote in an unsigned decision. “Their claim that waiting multiple election cycles is necessary to reveal the effects of redistricting is unpersuasive.”

* Subscribers were told about this yesterday. Sun-Times | ADL report shows rise in hate crimes across Illinois: Hate crimes, intimidation and extremism are on the rise in Illinois, according to a report released Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League. […] To curtail the increase in threats of violence and intimidation, the ADL called on the state to pass legislation that would provide targeted groups or individuals greater ability to seek damages starting at $10,000. The legislation has drawn opposition from groups that say it could have a chilling effect on individuals’ rights to free speech.

* Sun-Times | Illinois politicians, advocacy groups fight back as Trump cuts funding for libraries and museums: Established by Congress in 1996, the agency allocated $266.7 million in 2024 to support libraries, museums and archives, about $11.3 million of that designated for Illinois, though some organizations say they’re still waiting to receive their 2024 grants. Nearly all of the federal agency’s staff has been placed on administrative leave. The Trump administration described the action as a reduction of “unnecessary” federal bureaucracy, and the Department of Government Efficiency boasted on the social media platform X of cutting the institute’s “wasteful DEI grants.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Teamsters Local 700…

In February, Teamsters Local 700 formally submitted a majority interest representation petition to the Illinois Labor Relations Board seeking to organize Assistant State’s Attorneys (ASA’s) in Cook County into a union. This petition was only necessary because State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke reneged on her stated promise to voluntarily recognize the union during her 2023 campaign.

Now, O’Neill Burke is going even further to stop her employees by actively opposing the majority interest petition and hiring outside counsel to do so, further wasting taxpayer dollars in her quest to squash the unionization effort she previously purported to support.

As a candidate, O’Neill Burke wrote, “Should majority interest be clearly demonstrated amongst the Cook County Assistant State’s Attorneys during my term of office, I also pledge to voluntarily recognize the union.” As State’s Attorney, O’Neill Burke went back on her word, forcing the ASA’s into a lengthy, expensive legal process to certify the union.

Teamsters Local 700 President Ramon Williams released the following statement:

“The office of State’s Attorney is one that demands honesty and integrity, but unfortunately politician Eileen O’Neill Burke has proven she has neither. O’Neill Burke promised she would recognize the union rights of the Assistant State’s Attorneys when it came time to ask for their votes and then went back on her word as soon as these brave women and men stepped up to make their union a reality. 

“O’Neill Burke wants to use dubious legal arguments to distract the public and her own employees from the simple fact that she could recognize the union today, empower the public servants in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, save taxpayer dollars, and spare everyone this unnecessary fight. Regardless of O’Neill Burke’s hypocrisy, Local 700 will never give up in our duty to stand up for the rights of the amazing Assistant State’s Attorneys of Cook County, who dedicate their careers to keeping people safe.”

* Tribune | Orland Park trustees backed by Keith Pekau say they want good working relations with Jim Dodge backed candidates: “I think it will be an interesting two years,” Trustee Michael Milani, in the middle of his term, said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. “I don’t think we’ll agree on everything, but we’re going to continue to do what’s best.” Milani and Trustees William Healy and Cynthia Katsenes were first elected in 2019 and won second terms in 2023, running unopposed on outgoing Mayor Keith Pekau’s People Over Politics ticket.

* Daily Herald | Three-term Village President Wallace to hand reins to lifelong Bartlett resident Gunsteen: I couldn’t be more pleased with Dan’s leadership moving forward,” Wallace said of the ascendance of the one-term trustee. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve in this role for the past 12 years.” Gunsteen said if he’d had to campaign for the past three months, he would have promised voters a continuation of the growth, stability and professionalism of Wallace’s tenure.

* Crain’s | New year, same trend for record-high suburban office vacancy: Fueled by another stretch of companies predominantly shedding workspace, the suburban office vacancy rate edged up during the first quarter to an all-time high of 32.2% from 32% at the end of 2024, according to data from brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle. The new share of available office space in the suburbs is up from 30.8% a year ago, 22.1% when the public health crisis broke out, and has reached new record highs for 17 consecutive quarters.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Trump administration revokes visas of some ISU students: Illinois State University is among the many higher education institutions affected by Trump administration revocations of international student visas. “We can confirm that a small number of those students have had their visas revoked. We are directly communicating with the affected students to provide appropriate resources and options,” said a university spokesperson.

* WICS | Former Springfield officer pleads guilty to charges of sexual misconduct: Taylor Staff, a former Springfield police officer, pleaded guilty to Aggravated criminal sexual abuse, two counts of official misconduct, custodial sexual misconduct, and criminal sexual abuse. Staff was arrested in 2021 following incidents involving three separate victims that occurred while he was on duty between January and July 2020.

* WAND | Springfield police chief announces retirement after 27 years of service: Chief Ken Scarlette announced his plans to retire from the Springfield Police Department this June. Scarlette has been with SPD for 27 years. “After much discussion, thought, and prayer with my family and friends, I have made the decision to announce my retirement. To the former and current police officers and staff of the Springfield Police Department, I want to thank you for your tireless dedication to the Springfield community. I am so blessed to have worked beside you over the past 27 years,” said Chief Scarlette.

* BND | They don’t have TV sets or internet, but nuns at a Belleville monastery are going solar: Nuns in the Franciscan Order of St. Clare live in isolation at a Belleville monastery, spending most of their time in prayer, never leaving to visit family, go shopping or even walk in the neighborhood. Known as the Poor Clares, they don’t have TV sets, radios or internet. Private telephone use is prohibited, except in emergencies. But the monastery has electricity, and rising power bills have led the 11 cloistered sisters to make a decidedly modern move: They’ve hired a company to install a solar system on their 8.2-acre property near Frank Scott Parkway West and West Main Street.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | For accused mentally ill killers and their victims in Chicago, help comes too little too late: To try to understand the reasons behind a spate of shocking crimes that occurred in downtown Chicago between 2021 and 2024, the Chicago Sun-Times examined four unprovoked killings and two nonfatal attacks, including a bizarre assault on a flight attendant from Mexico. Most of the attacks happened during the daytime. The victims: people who were just going about their lives. In each case, the people charged — two who’ve been convicted — had a history of serious mental illness or delusional behavior and had drifted in and out of jails and hospitals, sometimes for decades, their conditions never regularly treated.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Where is Chicago’s Black Student Achievement Committee?: Months after the new Chicago Board of Education was sworn in, some advocates are pushing the board to launch a state-mandated Black Student Achievement Committee. The committee in question is required under the state law that defines Chicago’s new elected school board. But Chicago Public Schools came under federal scrutiny in February after releasing its long-awaited Black Student Success Plan.

* Tribune | Artists rip Mayor Brandon Johnson’s arts commissioner, department ‘dysfunction’ in letter: The letter, posted to Instagram Wednesday as a petition people can sign, harshly criticizes Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth, appointed by Johnson a year ago. As Chicago artists and cultural institutions face “a unique and critical time” amid inflation, federal funding cuts and declining attendance, “needs are not being met” under Hedspeth’s leadership, the letter reads. “The department’s budget, staff, and influence have diminished during your tenure, and the department has lost invaluable talent—as well as the confidence of Chicago’s creative sector,” the self-dubbed “Artists for Chicago” told Johnson in the letter.

* WBEZ | Prosecutor pushes to exclude ex-Gitmo detainee’s torture allegations against former Chicago detective: Assistant State’s Attorney William Meyer argued against including Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s testimony in an upcoming evidentiary hearing on whether former Detective Richard Zuley tortured a confession out of Anthony Garrett, convicted of murdering 7-year-old Dantrell Davis in an infamous 1992 shooting at the Cabrini-Green public housing complex. “It was in a time of war and I think that should be taken into account,” argued Meyer about the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, saying Slahi “was a person who was accused of aiding and abetting our enemies.”

* Tribune | Chicago-based law firm fights Trump executive orders: About a dozen Chicago law firms signed the brief, including Clifford Law, Edelson and Jenner & Block, one of the few so-called Big Law firms on the list. “This isn’t a political issue. This is a constitutional and legal issue regarding the rule of law,” John Sciaccotta, Chicago Bar Association president, said Wednesday. “I think it’s important for people to choose their lawyers, and I think it’s important for lawyers to choose their clients.”

* Block Club | Riot Fest Staying In Douglass Park After Organizers Agree To Increase Park Payments: Festival organizers announced Wednesday a deal with the Chicago Park District to host its event at Douglass Park through 2027 with the option to extend the deal through 2029. The deal also triples festival payouts to Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive, for use of the park. Under the new deal, the Park District will send 20 percent of the revenue it collects from Riot Fest to Douglass Park, up from 10 percent previously. Riot Fest will also pay 10 percent of its revenue to Douglass Park to fund capital improvements to the park.

*** National ***

* CNBC | Dot-com bust, 1987 crash had massive relief rallies similar to Wednesday’s pop: Of the 25 best days for the Nasdaq, including Wednesday, 22 took place during the dot-com collapse, the 2008-09 financial crisis or the early days of Covid. One occurred on Oct. 21, 1987, two days after Black Monday. The other was in November 2022. Call it a dead-cat bounce, a relief rally or short covering. It’s a familiar reaction during the worst of times for Wall Street. Be prepared for plenty more volatility.