* Capitol News Illinois…

A federal judge on Friday denied Illinois’ request to end court oversight of its disability services.

Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, agreed with legal advocates who argued that the state still hasn’t met its decade-old promises to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live outside large institutions.

The ruling stems from a legal settlement that established court oversight of the Illinois Department of Human Services’ programs in 2011. Known as the Ligas consent decree, it followed a 2005 lawsuit accusing Illinois of failing to support people who wanted to live in community settings — whether with family, in their own homes, or in small group homes. The lawsuit claimed Illinois violated a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which mandated that states provide options for care in integrated community settings. […]

In her ruling, Coleman acknowledged that while the state had made “significant progress” since 2011 in expanding community-based services, it had not fully met the mandates of the consent decree. Her one-page decision denying the state’s request to end oversight did not provide specific opinions on these issues but indicated that they will remain the focus in future proceedings.

A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services said the agency is reviewing the order to determine next steps.

* Update…

* Former Rep. Brent Hassert passed away last week. From his obituary…

Brent Alan Hassert, age 71, passed away Thursday August 29, 2024, at his residence in Plainfield, IL, formerly of Romeoville, IL. Brent Hassert was a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 85th district where he served from 1993 until January 2009. He served as Deputy House Republican Leader. He was also a former Will County Board Member. Prior to his political career Brent was the owner of Hassert Landscaping Co., as Brent never stopped working, he was the President of Brent Hassert Consulting since 2009.

* WGEM | Health departments in Illinois monitoring Mpox cases, but threat level is low: But the case count in the Tri-State area is much lower — try zero. That’s according to Adams County Infectious Disease Supervisor Jon Campos. He said due to increasing cases of Mpox in areas where it’s endemic, like central and west Africa, Illinois is looking to get ahead of the curve. “We’ve decided to increase surveillance,” said Campos. “The state of Illinois is asking local health departments to just be on the lookout for it, just in case.”

* Tribune | Alleged Blue Line shooter ordered detained pending trial: The suspect charged in the quadruple homicide on a CTA Blue Line train earlier this week made their initial court appearance in Maywood on Wednesday, where a Cook County judge ordered they be detained pending trial. Rhianni Davis, 30, faces four counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of four people who were sleeping on a Blue Line train early Monday as it passed through the near west suburbs.

* Block Club | Mexican Independence Day Fest Planned Downtown As Police Pledge ‘Zero Tolerance’ For Caravans: Residents blasted El Grito festival organizers at a virtual community meeting Tuesday, citing concerns over potential caravanning the festival could attract Downtown — an activity police will have “zero tolerance” for, a police official said. El Grito, a two-day festival celebrating Mexican Independence Day, is slated for Sept. 14-15 in Grant Park and is expected to draw 12,000 people per day. The festival is being organized by the city, the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Chicago Park District and the Mexican Consulate in Chicago.

* Tribune | Northerly Island’s potential as an urban oasis goes unrealized as grand plans come and go: During its colorful history, the manmade island was the center of the Chicago World’s Fair from 1933 to 1934, made the short list of potential United Nations headquarters in 1945 and had a stint as an airport for elite business travelers until it was abruptly closed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley in a controversial move in 2003. Today, Northerly Island houses a seasonal music venue and the little-known nature preserve. Waves smash against the shore, testing the structural integrity of a manmade seawall. A singular access point makes traffic terrible on concert days and leaves the island eerily quiet otherwise. A century after it was built, Northerly Island exists with no clear purpose.

* Block Club | Another Boat Left Abandoned And Sinking On The Chicago River — And It Could Be There Awhile: In these cases, the Coast Guard will usually investigate to find the owner of the boat and figure out what kind of salvage needs to happen, Lt. Junior Grade Santiago Tamburini of the U.S. Coast Guard said. “On our end, we make sure that at least our notification of a hazard to navigation is still current to make sure nearby boaters are safe and can expect to see it as they transit through there,” Tamburini said. “We obviously, sometimes can’t do much without the owner first having an opportunity to handle it directly. And obviously, if that avenue doesn’t work, we step in and work with salvage companies to have it removed.”

* Tribune | Ultra swimmer nicknamed ‘The Shark’ abandons his 4th attempt to cross Lake Michigan again: An online tracker showed Jim Dreyer returned to Grand Haven, Michigan, where he started his planned 82-mile swim to Wisconsin on Monday night. Dreyer, 61, has tried four times since 2023 to swim across Lake Michigan, including an effort just a few weeks ago, but has been unsuccessful due to lake conditions or other factors.

* Block Club | The O’My’s’ Dreamy, Soulful Sound Leads Right Back To Rogers Park: It’s the peak-summer type of sound that flows through Chicago’s streets during festivals, beach days and dancy backyard hangs. The genre-defying group takes inspiration from hip-hop, jazz, soul, blues, gospel and house — “music that helped raise us,” the members wrote on Facebook. […] Comprised of duo Nick Hennessey and Maceo Vidal-Haymes on the keyboard and guitar, respectively, The O’My’s’ spacey, soulful, eclectic sound makes complete sense. The two Chicago natives live and record in Rogers Park — a Far North Side enclave known as a place where artists and nature can flourish together.

* Daily Herald | State panel denies parole for suburban serial killer: The Illinois Prisoner Review Board has denied parole for a serial killer linked to at least 12 murders of young women and teens, including three in the suburbs, authorities announced Wednesday. The decision means Mark Alan Smith, 75, will continue serving the 500-year sentence handed to him in 1971, after he was convicted of killing two women in McHenry County and a third in Des Plaines.

* Sun-Times | Billionaire Crown family sells pizza maker Miracapo to private equity firm: Adding to its portfolio of Chicago-area food manufacturers, a private equity firm announced Tuesday that it has purchased Elk Grove Village-based Miracapo Pizza Co. from the billionaire Crown family. The acquisition gives Brynwood Partners its fourth Chicago-area company producing a range of grocery products, with an emphasis on pizza, and brings its total number of Chicago-area jobs to 1,500. Brynwood deals in “corporate carveouts,” slicing off respected brands from conglomerates whose priorities are elsewhere. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the sale closed last month.

* US Attorney’s Office | Former Chief Operating Officer of Covid-19 Testing Kit Company Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Embezzling $1.85 Million: he former Chief Operating Officer of a suburban Chicago company that sold Covid-19 testing kits has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for embezzling more than $1.85 million in company funds. While on pre-trial and pre-sentencing release for an earlier fraud scheme, Dennis W. Haggerty, Jr. issued fraudulent payments from the Willowbrook, Ill.-based company’s bank account for services and goods purportedly provided by himself or the company’s main vendor, a manufacturer from whom the company purchased Covid-19 testing kits. In reality, the services and goods had not been provided.

* Capitol News Illinois | Coroner’s affidavit shows as many as 800 human remains could have been misidentified: As many as 800 families across the country who patronized a Carlinville funeral home may never know if the remains on their mantles belong to their loved ones, according to an affidavit signed by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon. The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit pending against Carlinville-based Heinz Funeral Home and its director August Heinz for mishandling remains and providing the wrong cremated remains to family members.

* Capitol City Now | Bigger deficit greets D-186: The deficit looks to be $21 million, more than twice that of a year ago: a deficit which the district managed to erase by spending only 95 percent of the budget. Still, it does not sit well with board president Micah Miller. “I trusted the process last time,” he said. “This time we need to consider how much of that fund balance we are holding onto.”

* WSIL | SIU Carbondale sees biggest enrollment increase since 1991: Overall, the school saw 11,790 students enroll for classes at the Carbondale campus this year. This number was released by the school on Wednesday along with further enrollment discussions. For the first time since 2000, that number rose for a second consecutive year compared to last year. Specifically, an extra 431 students enrolled in classes this semester.

* WSIL | John A. Logan enrollment grows for fall semester: The school saw a 2.8% increase in headcount and 3.1% increase in credit hours enrolled this semester, according to the college’s Assistance Vice President of Marketing and Communications Dr. Steve O’Keefe. Overall, the school has gained an 8.6% growth since 2021.

* WCIA | Champaign County estimated to be short more than 300 nursing home beds by 2026: Advocates for Aging Care and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District conducted a needs assessment this year. They found the 65+ population has grown by 67% in the last 20 years. That will be bring a unique set of challenges to the area.

* WSIL | Carbondale officials still searching for name for entertainment space: The city first asked residents for ideas back in January. Officials say the city received many responses suggesting the names of individuals credited with having an impact on the music scene of the city. The city hopes, though, to find a name a bit more broad. “Rather than naming this space after a specific individual, we are striving to broaden the scope of this venue name to be inclusive, diverse, and unifying,” said the city on Facebook.

* First Alert 4 | Over $170k of donations save Illinois prairie that’s rapidly disappearing: The goal was for $175,000 by August 30. It was simple, if funds could be reached by that date – a disappearing section of natural Illinois prairie might be saved. Technically called the Trout Hollow Hill Prairie, the land has been family owned and in this natural state is a rarity, according to people familiar with the fundraising and property. It’s located in Monroe County, Illinois. Less than 1% of the Prairie State is actually still prairie in 2024, according to the National Forest Service and USDA. Once, over 20 million acres of prairie land covered the state – now only tiny, isolated patches stay true to the nickname.

* KCCI | Illinois governor to deliver keynote speech at annual Polk County Democrats Steak Fry: The Polk County Democrats announced Wednesday that JB Pritzker, an Illinois Democrat first elected to the governor’s office in 2018, will be the keynote speaker at the annual event. The rest of the speaker lineup will be announced next week. […] The Steak Fry will feature several prominent Iowa Democrats, including Auditor Rob Sand, Iowa Democratic Party leader Rita Hart, Senate Leader Pam Jochum and House Leader Jennifer Konfrst. Congressional candidates Lanon Baccam (3rd District) and Ryan Melton (4th District) will be featured as well.

* WaPo | A louder voice in fighting abortion bans: Men in red states: Thomas Stovall grew up in a strict Baptist family in Mississippi and always believed that anyone involved with abortion was destined for hell. But his lifelong conviction crumbled when his wife, Chelsea, was 20 weeks pregnant with their third child. Tests showed a severely malformed and underdeveloped fetus, one that was sure to be stillborn if carried to term. There was other devastating news, too. Continuing with the pregnancy could threaten Chelsea’s health and future fertility, doctors warned.