* ICYMI: ‘Having Medicaid keeps me alive’: Illinois residents anxiously watch as Congress considers Medicaid cuts. Tribune…

- The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would slash the program, which provides health care coverage to people with low incomes, in order to help pay for tax cuts and border and national security. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans say the bill would cut waste, fraud and abuse from Medicaid, providing coverage only to those who truly need it.

- But Democrats, health care leaders and patients say it would devastate those who rely on the program, and the hospitals that serve all patients. Across Illinois, 3.4 million people are on Medicaid — about one-fourth of the state’s population.

- Though the bill was still in flux as of Friday afternoon, multiple proposals in recent weeks have included work requirements for some people who receive Medicaid, changes to rules surrounding so-called provider taxes, and have threatened coverage for more than 770,000 Illinois residents who receive Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of the program.

* Related stories…

∙ NYT: G.O.P. Bill Has $1.1 Trillion in Health Cuts and 11.8 Million Losing Care, C.B.O. Says
∙ The Hill: Senate GOP looks to pass marathon final test on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
∙ Press release: Duckworth Hosts Telephone Town Hall, Highlighting Negative Impacts of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on Illinois
∙ WTVO: SNAP-Ed programs could cease to exist in Illinois due to the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

* Governor Pritzker will sign college access and affordability bills into law at 9:30 am. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Route 66: The last (or first) 300 miles in Illinois: About 50 miles north, Pontiac also appears to have capitalized on its position along the route. Among its attractions is the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum. There, visitors can find a school bus-turned-land yacht and a Volkswagen van belonging to Bob Waldmire, whose family opened the Springfield, Illinois, institution Cozy Dog on Route 66 and claims to have invented the corn dog.

* Daily Herald | ‘Why risk it?’: Despite state ban, fireworks injure on average 150 each year in Illinois: While most fireworks are prohibited in Illinois, hospital emergency rooms statewide still treat on average 150 fireworks-related injuries each year. That’s according to Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office figures that also show on average 12 of those injuries each year result in amputation or dismemberment. And the majority will happen over the course of the next week.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Gov. JB Pritzker is running for reelection. Who will he pick as his No. 2? : Among those who likely top the list are Andy Manar, the former downstate state senator and Pritzker’s current deputy governor on budget issues; Christian Mitchell, a former state representative from Chicago and ex-deputy governor for Pritzker; state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth of Peoria, who was previously a lead budget negotiator in the House; and state Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez of Cicero, chair of the Illinois Democratic Party.

* Evanston Now | Is Philly transit crisis a preview for us?: The funding crunch for mass transit in Philadelphia is the canary in the train tunnel, and what is happening right now is a sign of what could happen in across the Chicago region, including Evanston. Last Thursday, the board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority approved a budget which starts chopping commuter rail, bus, subway and trolley service effective Aug. 24, with elimination of 32 bus routes and reduction of rail trips.

* Press Release | AG Raoul reaches $1 million settlement with temporary staffing agency for use of no-poach agreements, wage fixing: Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced a settlement with Midway Staffing Inc. (Midway) that resolves allegations the temporary staffing agency entered into no-poach agreements and engaged in wage fixing with other staffing agencies. This settlement requires Midway to pay $1 million to compensate temporary workers impacted by the unlawful activity. Midway was the last remaining defendant in a lawsuit Raoul’s office filed against three staffing agencies and their client. The settlement with Midway means the litigation is now fully resolved, with the office recovering a total of $5.5 million from all four defendants.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson faces tough task with Chicago Housing Authority CEO search: Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has made housing a cornerstone of his policy agenda, must make an important decision in the coming weeks on a new leader for the embattled agency. Some residents and housing advocates, including CHA board member Francine Washington, did not like the way former CEO Tracey Scott conducted business and have told the Tribune they are eager to see someone who is more engaged with residents. The new CEO will be tasked with rebuilding residents’ trust, boosting staff morale and addressing safety and environmental concerns at its properties while shepherding more housing developments in a city where housing has become increasingly less affordable.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ‘pending’ Springfield lobbyist team draws ethics questions: Email records and Springfield sources indicate that three lobbyists — Lakeisha Purchase, Frank Bass and Vincent Williams — coordinated with top Johnson officials during the most recent session. But they did not update their state registration to show the city among their lobbying clients before the Illinois General Assembly adjourned June 1. In an interview on Friday, the mayor’s new lead Springfield IGA director, John Arena, argued those lobbyists did not need to register because their contracts with the city were still “pending.” In the meantime, Purchase was only “helping facilitate” lobbying, while Bass was coordinating with the city’s team in his capacity as a lobbyist for the Chicago Teachers Union and Williams as one for the Chicago Transit Authority, Arena said.

* Tribune | Last weekend’s heat wave shows gaps in Chicago’s network of cooling centers: According to the city, besides the splash pads, 152 cooling locations were open last weekend. But a Tribune analysis found all 79 public libraries were only open for four hours on Sunday. Five community colleges and 27 Park District field houses were closed at least one day during the heat wave. Five of the six community centers and all 21 senior centers were closed for the whole weekend. On Monday, all of the city cooling centers were open for regular business hours. When asked by the Tribune how many cooling centers do not have air conditioning, city officials from the mayor’s office, the Office for Emergency Management and Communications, the Department of Family and Support Services and the Department of Public Health said in a joint statement: “All facilities on the map have air conditioning.” But they did not specify which sites only had one air-conditioned room.

* Crain’s | Chicago investor buys Tribune Tower retail space: NARE has scooped up several properties in Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue and State Street retail corridors at steep markdowns. The strategy of buying those properties at a low basis has paid off, and the firm has been getting lots of interest from retailers who want a presence on the Magnificent Mile as downtown foot traffic recovers to pre-pandemic levels, Er said.

* Tribune | Amid celebration, Pride Parade calls for resistance to federal incursions on LGBTQ+ rights: This year’s theme was “United in Pride,” as the Pride Chicago organization emphasizes community solidarity in an uncertain political time for the LGBTQ+ population in America and celebrates 10 years of legalized same-sex marriage. Pride Month wraps up as the federal government has moved to restrict services and rights for many in the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier in June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors and allowed parents to opt their kids out of curriculum involving LGBTQ+ themes. The Trump administration will also end the 988 suicide hotline’s specialized services for LGBTQ+ youths in mid-July.

* Sun-Times | Undaunted, Chicagoans put on a colorful display at 54th annual Pride Parade: Janae said they weren’t there just to party, but to show her daughter what love and acceptance can look like. “I want her to know that everything that’s going on here is normal and that hate is not an option,” Janae said. The mother-daughter pair were also at the parade in support of LGBTQ+ family members, including an uncle who died of AIDS in the ‘90s.

* Tribune | The struggle that produced Pride: Before Pride was about celebration, it was about protest. It was, and still is, about human dignity refusing to cower in the face of hateful opposition. It has taken on weightier relevance today, with the institutional silencing of LGBTQ history and the concerted targeting of transgender people and drag performers. Like that of many big cities, the history of Chicago features major mile markers in the movement for acceptance and enfranchisement. It was here where the first gay rights organization in the United States was founded, by Chicagoan Henry Gerber in 1924. But the most potent decades in the LGBTQ community’s fight in Chicago came in the 1970s and ’80s, with the early years of the AIDS crisis and the Stonewall riots in New York serving as major catalysts for the urgency of queer Americans to be seen as human. Advocacy, including from Mayor Harold Washington, and pressure from activists led the Chicago City Council to pass the Human Rights Ordinance in 1988 and include sexual orientation in prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation.

* Popular Mechanics | The Rodents of Chicago Are Evolving in Real Time, Scientists Say: While both chipmunks and voles have experienced changes to their skulls in response to urban navigation and hearing needs, chipmunks have also grown larger because of the availability of human food scraps (especially high-calorie processed foods).

* Sun-Times | City outlines safety protocols for Damen Silos demolition: City officials and contractors presented the proposed demolition plan during a community meeting Friday evening at Arturo Velasquez Westside Technical Institute. Residents are concerned about risks to air quality and health from demolition work. A permit for a teardown has not been issued.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Cook County tax board commissioner, staff face multiple fines from ethics board: Cook County’s Board of Ethics fined Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele and aides for a series of breaches this week, finding that she provided confidential information to the press about the Chicago Bears’ Arlington Heights property and wrongly allowed a staffer to attend a conference on county time. A top Steele aide was separately fined for attending Cubs games and traveling for personal trips on county time. Reached Friday, Steele said she “absolutely disagreed” with the findings but declined to comment further.

* Daily Herald | ‘Stand up for our hometowns’: Suburban mayors slam transit proposal: A coalition of 25 suburban mayors is beseeching lawmakers to think twice before approving a transit rescue plan they say is seriously flawed. “We are asking you … to stand up for our hometowns and your constituents in northeastern Illinois,” reads a letter spearheaded by Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig and signed by leaders across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. The Suburban Mayors Coalition for Fair Transit criticizes new taxes proposed in a bill approved by the state Senate to avert a $771 million shortfall facing Metra, Pace and the CTA in 2026.

* Daily Herald | Vape vending machines facing pushback from some suburbs: A fledgling Elmhurst-based company that distributes vending machines offering electronic cigarettes and vaping products is facing pushback from some suburbs. Among them are Hoffman Estates, which last week banned the machines from the village. “The sale of tobacco and tobacco-related products … is fairly regulated in terms of where it’s sold and point-of-sale locations,” Village Manager Eric Palm said. “(Village) staff just doesn’t feel that having these in establishments that could be more easily reached by minors and other people who shouldn’t be buying them is appropriate.”

* Tribune | Sharp drop in arrests, other long-term crime trends shown in new Cook County data dashboard: Throughout 2019, Chicago police officers made nearly 80,000 arrests before scaling them back significantly during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the following spring. Now five years later, that drop appears not to be just a COVID-era blip: In recent years, arrests have rebounded slightly, but annually police still are recording tens of thousands of fewer arrests than they did in 2019. The trend is among a number of long-term shifts in how the criminal justice system operates in Cook County, according to Loyola University researchers who in partnership with local officials produced a data project that seeks to shed light on how “shocks to the system” like the pandemic have reshaped how crime and violence are handled in Chicago.

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect factory’s neighbors win round in court: Cook County Judge Clare Quish ruled Thursday that the neighbors’ experts can tour the Prestige Feed Products facility at 431 Lakeview Court while it is operating. Quish also ruled the neighbors’ attorneys can take depositions of two witnesses who previously conducted testing and odor analysis at the site. Prestige had refused entry into the facility and the depositions, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said.

* Daily Southtown | Trial concludes in Calumet City document destruction lawsuit against Clerk Nyota Figgs: Cook County Judge Joel Chupack said he will present an update Aug. 4 on his deliberation on whether Figgs improperly destroyed two truck loads of documents shortly after Mayor Thaddeus Jones took office in 2021. Figgs and those supporting her have claimed the records lawsuit represents a targeted political attack from Jones, with whom she was previously involved in a romantic relationship. “The reason (the lawsuit) was brought has nothing to do with records were being destroyed,” James Kelly, attorney for Figgs, said Friday. However, the city contested that Figgs destroyed the documents “surreptitiously and without approval” during an audit, and requested Chupack hold her accountable by filing an injunction against unlawfully destroying records in the future.

* Daily Herald | ‘The life of an angel’: Plainfield monument dedicated to slain 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy: The monument at Van Horn Woods East Playground in Plainfield preserves the memory of Wadee, who was stabbed to death Oct. 14, 2023, in an anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim hate crime in Plainfield. […] Trisha Mathias, Wadee’s teacher at Bonnie McBeth Early Learning Center in Plainfield, shared aspects of Wadee’s personality: He always wore his snow boots to school, always chose the red ball on the playground, loved graham crackers and goldfish crackers, and “was obsessed” with the planets.

* Daily Herald | Elburn rejects proposal to allow golf carts on streets: The possibility of allowing golf carts on the streets of Elburn has been a topic of board discussion since November. Resident Melissa Bollivar brought to the village a petition with 582 signatures in favor of a village ordinance permitting it. Village Trustee Luis Santoyo said he didn’t think the village could determine that public safety would not be jeopardized without additional due diligence, such as traffic studies. That would cost money that is not in the village’s budget, officials said.

* Daily Herald | High bacteria levels close beaches in Lake, McHenry counties: The closings, some of which have been in place since Thursday, come as high temperatures are expected to remain in the upper 80s and low 90s throughout the Fourth of July holiday week ahead. Among the sites closed, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, are Lake in the Hills’ Indian Trail and Butch Hagele beaches; Crystal Lake’s Main Beach; Veterans Park Beach in Island Lake; Waukegan North and South beaches; North Pointe Marina Beach in Winthrop Harbor; and Moraine Park Dog Beach in Highland Park.

* Daily Herald | ‘People don’t know this’: Why MLK came to DuPage County in 1967: Almost four years after his “I Have a Dream” speech, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived at a tent-in demonstration in DuPage County. King sat in front of a gaggle of microphones. Behind the civil rights leader, green tents were pitched on the grounds of a retreat house run by the Cenacle Sisters. Huge “trees shade the area along Batavia Road near Warrenville,” reported the Roselle Register newspaper. .[…] Around the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday and wanting to learn more about the history of the forest preserves, Gieser saw a photo online of King with a caption referring to the Cenacle property. He checked newspaper databases and read various accounts from the time to “definitely verify” the date of King’s visit: June 23, 1967.

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | Illinois Innocence Project pushes for DNA samples to enter state’s database in Slover case: The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has entered the courtroom in the Illinois Innocence Project’s effort to overturn the Slover family’s murder convictions. In early June, the Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) filed a motion asking the Illinois State Police (ISP) to submit DNA profiles into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in hopes of identifying the true killer(s) of Karyn Hearn Slover. The IIP said newly discovered DNA evidence could exonerate Michael Slover Sr., Jeanette Slover, and Michael Slover Jr.

* WGLT | ‘Love and rainbows’: LGBTQIA+ community and allies push for equality at Bloomington protest: The “Stop the Assault on LGBTQ+ and Trans Rights” peaceful protest was sponsored by Bloomington-Normal 50501 and the Prairie Pride Coalition. Threats to gender-affirming healthcare, proposed budget cuts to HIV and AIDS research and treatment, the banning of transgender military servicemembers and cutbacks to DEI programs are a few examples of motivations for Saturday’s gathering, according to demonstrators.

* WCIA | Vermilion Co. poultry show takes place amid uncertainty: It wasn’t because they were too chicken to hold it: People didn’t know whether or not the fair’s poultry show would take place until a few weeks ago because of the widespread bird flu. When they found out that there would be one, the contestants were overjoyed.

* WGLT | Home Sweet Home launches $750,000 fundraising campaign for The Bridge shelter village: On June 24, HSHM closed on the purchase of a former Connect Transit lot at 104 E. Oakland Ave. near downtown Bloomington. The non-congregate shelter will have 48 private sleeping cabins, a central community building with on-site support and other accommodations. It is on track to open this winter. The first donation The Bridge has is a $100,000 commitment from Eastview Christian Church. Lead Pastor Brandon Grant expressed his excitement with the project.

*** National ***

* Crain’s | Vaccine experts reject new RFK Jr.-backed federal panel, urge use of past guidance: The Infectious Disease Society of America is telling its members they should use the vaccination schedule recommended by the previous iteration of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s vaccine advisory council because the new federal advisory group’s recommendations “can’t be trusted,” according to the group’s president, an immunization expert at Northwestern Medicine and Lurie Children’s. IDSA President Dr. Tina Tan said this afternoon she expects a coalition of health care groups, including her organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, will soon provide further guidance, likely later this summer, on what vaccines should be administered and at what doses.

* Post-Tribune Environmental activists explain concerns with U.S. Steel deal: About one week after a partnership between U.S. Steel and a Japanese company was finalized, environmental activists called on the companies to address the health, climate and economic impacts of the deal. “It’s our conclusion that, whether in Japan or the United States, emissions from blast furnaces cannot be significantly mitigated,” said Roger Smith, Asia lead at SteelWatch. “The company should transition to a renewable energy-based approach that would achieve its net-zero target and fulfill its obligations as a leading global steelmaker.” Speakers at a press conference organized by the Sierra Club highlighted their concerns with blast furnaces, which Nippon Steel has previously said is a technology it plans to invest in through the deal.

* WaPo | This punctuation mark is semi-dead. People have thoughts: No piece of punctuation, though, stirs people up more than the humble semicolon. Too demure to be a colon but more assertive than a comma, the semicolon was introduced in 1494 by Venetian printer and publisher Aldus Manutius. What a useful little tool it has been in its primary role of inserting a graceful pause between two related independent clauses, as in: “RFK Jr. came to my house; he tore out the medicine cabinet with a crowbar.”

* Politico | Blackburn, Cruz find potential truce on state AI moratorium, child online safety: Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) are planning to pitch significant changes to a state AI moratorium in the Republican megabill that has split the conference and alarmed GOP governors. The pair, who have publicly championed opposing views on the potential ban, have reached a deal that would cut the proposed 10-year moratorium in half and make accommodations for internet protections, according to a draft amendment obtained by POLITICO.

* ARS Technica | SCOTUS upholds part of ACA that makes preventive care fully covered: The ruling means that tens of millions of Americans can continue getting a variety of preventive services for free under their plans. Those cost-free services include an array of screenings, such as cancer screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies, as well as screens for obesity, lead exposure in children, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some sexually transmitted diseases, to name a few. The free services also include recommended vaccines for children and adults, well-baby and well-child doctor visits, birth control, statins, PrEP HIV prevention drugs, and fluoride supplements and varnishes for children’s teeth.

* NPR | The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system: The tool, which is being rolled out in phases, is designed to be used by state and local election officials to give them an easier way to ensure only citizens are voting. But it was developed rapidly without a public process, and some of those officials are already worrying about what else it could be used for. NPR is the first news organization to report the details of the new system. For decades, voting officials have noted that there was no national citizenship list to compare their state lists to, so to verify citizenship for their voters, they either needed to ask people to provide a birth certificate or a passport — something that could disenfranchise millions — or use a complex patchwork of disparate data sources.