* WGN political reporter Tahman Bradley…

Shade alert! Mayor Johnson throws elbow at Governor Pritzker (without mentioning his name) for helping Texas Democratic lawmakers. pic.twitter.com/7jrMvsM1Fn

— Tahman Bradley (@tahmanbradley) August 4, 2025

Transcript…

Mayor Johnson: There should be no reason why we don’t do everything in our power to ensure that Illinois shows up for Illinoisans. In fact, as much as I appreciate Illinois helping out people from Texas, the South Side and the West Side could use that same level of energy.

* Meanwhile, from the Washington Post…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is threatening to try to remove Democratic lawmakers from office for fleeing the state and claiming they could be charged with crimes, escalating tensions overnight in a showdown over redrawing congressional lines ahead of the midterm elections.

Most of the Democrats in the Texas state House exited the state Sunday — many of whom arrived here in Chicago in the evening — to prevent Republicans from overhauling the state’s map to give themselves five more safe GOP seats. Abbott’s response underscores the Republicans’ commitment to passing their plan and the challenges Democrats face in stopping him.

“This truancy ends now. The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM [Central time] on Monday,” Abbott said in a letter to Democrats released late Sunday. […]

Abbott, who also launched a $750,000 digital ad campaign Sunday against Democrats, cited a 2021 opinion from state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in his letter to contend that courts could determine that Democrats had abandoned their duties and given up their jobs. That would allow Abbott to call special elections to replace them, he said.

* More from Politico…

Abbott’s options to compel those Democrats — whose departure to Illinois and other states is preventing the state Legislature from conducting any business — to return and vote are more constrained and legally uncertain than he let on. And they may take significant time to resolve in court. […]

Importantly, breaking quorum is not a crime. However, if the absentee Democratic lawmakers remained in Texas, Abbott could order state troopers to haul them to the Capitol. That’s why they fled for the friendlier confines of Illinois and other blue states, where Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and other allies have vowed to shelter them from Texas’ demands to bring them back.

Federal laws allow states to demand the return, or “extradition,” of criminal fugitives from other states. But because breaking quorum is not illegal, Abbott can’t seek help from the courts to compel the Democrats’ return.

Instead, Abbott threatened to take another action against the absentee lawmakers: Ask Texas courts to remove them from office altogether. State law permits a Texas district court to determine whether a public official has “abandoned” his or her office, declaring it vacant — enabling the governor to set new elections to fill the empty seats.

“Come and take it,” dared state Rep. Gene Wu, the Texas House Democratic Caucus leader, in an appearance Monday morning on CNN. Wu declared Abbott’s threat to be “all bluster.”

*** Statewide ***

* Bloomberg | Home Depot Face Scans Accused of Violating Illinois Privacy Law: Home Depot Inc. was hit with a new lawsuit alleging the retailer violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act by failing to ask for permission to collect facial scans at self checkout kiosks and not providing a public retention schedule that aligns with the law’s limits.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Aquifer protection, Chicago pension boost among more than 100 new laws: After the state moved to regulate carbon sequestration last year, advocates called on lawmakers to codify protections for the Mahomet Aquifer — a measure which Pritzker signed last week. The aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for more than a dozen counties in Central Illinois, including communities in and around Peoria and Champaign. Supporters of carbon sequestration technology, which sees carbon dioxide pollution buried deep underground, say that the process wouldn’t affect any drinking water because the carbon dioxide is hundreds or thousands of feet below where water sits.

*** Chicago ***

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools cuts 480 janitor positions as it ends all private custodial contracts: Chicago Public Schools will cut 480 custodian jobs, end all private custodial contracts, and directly oversee the work of keeping schools clean. The move, which comes as the district is working to close a $734 million deficit, sparked an immediate rebuke and demand for reconsideration from the two unions representing school custodians. Starting Sept. 30, CPS will oversee 2,100 full-time custodians and end seven contracts with private custodial companies. The change will mean cutting about 1,250 private custodians and ending a longstanding practice of contracting with private companies to help clean schools.

* WTTW | ‘It Is an Investment in Our Future’: CPS Announces 16 New Sustainable Community Schools: Launched in 2018, CPS based its SCS model around engaging academic curriculum, high-quality teaching, wrap-around supports, restorative justice discipline, parent engagement and inclusive school leadership. By the end of the 2024-25 academic year, 20 Chicago schools were classified as sustainable community schools, but after Monday’s announcement, that total has jumped up to 36. Interim CPS CEO Macquline King called that expansion a “significant step forward in our investment in education.”

* Block Club | New Life Coming To CHA-Owned Pullman Row House That’s Been Vacant For 2 Decades: The announcement comes more than a year after Block Club Chicago reported that the home in the 10500 block of South Corliss Avenue was unused and deteriorating — one of hundreds of CHA homes sitting empty as the city struggles with an affordable housing shortage. The Corliss property, which is more than 150 years old, is part of the South Side neighborhood’s rich labor history. The area is a city, state and national landmark. The CHA has owned the Corliss row house since 1983.

* ABC Chicago | Alleged Chicago squatters move out of home after Illinois Rep. La Shawn Ford pays for U-Haul: The new law won’t go into effect until Jan. 1. So, Ford says he had to get creative to convince the alleged squatter to leave. He says he talked to the woman at length, and ultimately got her to agree to move out. Ford paid for a U-Haul truck, and 24 hours later the alleged squatter and her family were gone.

* WBEZ | Loop’s famed Sol LeWitt sculpture needs total rebuild, feds say: A celebrated sculpture by artist Sol LeWitt was removed from the facade of a Downtown federal building because it deteriorated and needs a complete rebuild, according to the U.S. General Services Administration. But the fabrication work has not been approved or funded, a GSA spokesperson said. While the agency said it’s working with LeWitt’s estate on the sculpture’s conservation, the late artist’s wife said she hasn’t heard from the GSA about the artwork in “years.”

* Tribune | They’re here. They’re queer. They’re farming. New generation of LGBTQ farmers more visible and vocal: Laid off by a bar during the COVID pandemic, Jarvi Schneider turned to the internet for job leads. The Chicago Botanic Garden was offering a training program for would-be farmers that included paid, hands-on experience, and Schneider signed up. That led to a business class and four years growing vegetables at a shared plot in Bronzeville. Now Schneider, who is transgender and uses they/them pronouns, is taking the next step with their spouse, Soraya Alem. The couple is leasing a 43-acre farm in McHenry County, with the intention to buy.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Press Release | “From the Mail Room to the Board Room” – Will County Metra Appointee has Deep Ties to Agency: Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant has appointed local labor leader and lifelong Will County resident Brian Shanahan to serve on the Metra Board of Directors, bringing a wealth of railroad, transit, and economic development experience to the transit agency’s leadership team. “Serving on the Metra Board of Directors is a tremendous honor and a culmination of a lifelong commitment to regional transit,” said Director Shanahan. “Transit is absolutely pivotal for both residents to have access to opportunities and for stable, long-term, good-paying career opportunities. My goal on the board will be to promote interconnectivity and create the level of transit access that Will County residents deserve.”

* Block Club | Bridgeport’s Sausage Queen Moves To The Burbs As Family Meat Empire Grows: Nicole Makowski, the fourth-generation owner of Makowski’s Real Sausage, is moving the business to Lansing after 90 years on the South Side to meet increased production needs. But she “will always be the sausage queen of Chicago.”

* Daily Herald | Naperville 203 contract talks continue; both sides pledge teachers will be in classrooms Aug. 14: Within a week, the district sent two notices to families regarding ongoing negotiations with the Naperville Unit Education Association. In the first, sent July 24, the district advised families that the union had submitted a “posting” notice, requiring both sides to publicly post their latest offers through the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board. In a second letter sent July 30, the district sent a notice confirming that teachers will be in the classroom on the first day of school.

* Daily Herald | Carpentersville hopes special taxing district lure developers: illage trustees recently annexed two parcels, totaling 100 acres, along Randall Road north of Huntley Road. The village intends to include both in a tax increment financing district covering approximately 150 acres. In a TIF district, property tax disbursements to local governments are frozen at current levels. As development increases property values, the extra tax revenue that would have gone to taxing bodies such as schools and parks instead to go a special village fund to pay for improvements within the TIF’s boundaries.

* Daily Herald | How marina purchase will help keep the Chain O’ Lakes flowing: Its mission is to improve and maintain 7,100 acres of the Fox River and Chain for recreation; restore environmental quality; control flooding; promote tourism; and preserve and enhance the system for residents and visitors. A key move that checks several of those boxes, waterway officials say, was the $2.4 million purchase of Bauske Boat Basin marina, strategically located on a channel between Nippersink and Pistakee lakes.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Festival along Fox River gives North Aurora a chance to celebrate: An annual event dating back to 1990, the festival has continued to offer music, food and entertainment as well as community interaction including a village-wide garage sale, activities at the local library and more. The two-day event kicked off formally at 5 p.m. Friday with food and beer tents, face painting and balloon art, inflatables for kids to play on, a petting zoo and live music. Saturday offered a fishing derby at Willow Lake Park and a softball tournament at Fearn Park, followed by a Touch-A-Truck opportunity and plenty of food and entertainment.

* Daily Herald | Maury Ettleson, Elmhurst car dealer whose catchy commercials made him a star, has died at 93: The tagline he proclaimed with his business partner Nick Celozzi was tailor-made for their Chicago accents: “Celozzi-Ettleson Chevrolet …. Where you always save more money!” Wearing suits and waving handfuls of cash, the pair implored Chicagoans to visit their dealership at York and Roosevelt roads in Elmhurst.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Workers at metro-east Boeing plant among thousands on strike: Three Boeing defense plants, including those at a manufacturing plant at MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, face a strike as 3,200 hourly machinists walked off their jobs. Members of the International Association of Machinists voted to strike at about noon Monday. “3,200 highly-skilled IAM Union members at Boeing went on strike at midnight because enough is enough,” the union wrote on X. IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Sam Cicinelli on Sunday urged a new contract for the workers.

* Illinois Times | Repeat Offender: Friends and family say custody is where he belongs : Crystal Page has been advocating for justice for her younger brother, 14-year-old Harold “H.P.” Page III, since Gansbauer shot and killed him in 1993. This case gave Gansbauer his first conviction for a violent crime, but not his last. […] Illinois’ armed habitual criminal statute is designed to penalize repeat felony offenders for unlawful possession of weapons. Conviction under this charge requires the state to prove the accused unlawfully possessed a firearm and has been convicted of two or more qualifying past felony offenses. Gansbauer has at least two qualifying convictions, including unlawful possession of a weapon in 2016 and aggravated robbery in 2021. To avoid the new weapons charge, Gansbauer’s lawyer will have to prove that Gansbauer did not receive, sell, possess or transfer a firearm. Those harmed by Gansbauer in past cases are hoping the state will finally take his record seriously, five criminal charges and three convictions later.

* River Bender | Illinois State Fair Announces Free Randy Houser Grandstand Concert On Aug. 11, 2025: With an inimitable voice, Houser has become one of country music’s most celebrated vocalists. His chart-topping album How Country Feels delivered smash hits including “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight,” “Goodnight Kiss,” and CMA Song of the Year nominee “Like A Cowboy.” Houser has since added more No. 1 hits to his catalog, including “We Went,” and continues to wow audiences with his powerhouse vocals. His sixth studio album, Note To Self, further cemented his reputation as a standout in country music, while his latest single, “Country Back,” is already making waves. Beyond music, Houser has showcased his talent on the big screen, appearing in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Dennis Quaid’s The Hill.

* WICS | Traffic pattern changes for Illinois State Fair: Starting at 5 a.m. on Thursday, August 7, traffic around the fairgrounds will be redirected to flow one way counterclockwise. Additionally, both eastbound and westbound turn lanes from Veterans Parkway to Eighth Street will be closed. Temporary signs will be installed to guide motorists through the new traffic patterns. Normal traffic flow is set to resume by 6 a.m. on Monday, August 18.

* WICS | Illinois State Fair trams return with expanded service and new stops: Two trams will operate daily on a dedicated route throughout the fair’s 11-day run, providing free rides for all attendees with handicap accessibility. The trams will run continuously each day, with maps of the routes displayed on the fairgrounds. Stops include Happy Hollow at the Handicap Ramp to Illinois Building/Senior Center, Campground/Arena entrance, 4-H Road at the 4-H Master Gardeners, entrance to Conservation World, Goat Barn at Grandstand Avenue, South End of the Half-Mile Track near Gate 4, ISF Security Office near the Fire Station, and the Hobbies Arts & Crafts building.

* WGLT | Bloomington Public Library creates 2025 time capsule to be opened in 2050: Another time capsule was discovered at Bloomington Public Library during a renovation period and was the inspiration behind starting a second one. The first time capsule was made in 1977 when the library was first built, according to library director Jeanne Hamilton. “We thought that was a really fun experience to open and see what they thought was important then,” Hamilton said. Hamilton said the 1977 time capsule was found buried inside a wall in 2022 when the $25 million expansion and renovation began. Hamilton credited Illinois State University archivist April Anderson-Zorn for helping to advise them on how to examine the 1977 time capsule.

* WCIA | Mattoon’s AMC plans to close this week: “AMC routinely reviews the theatres in our circuit, as well as opportunities outside of our circuit, and makes decisions based on what will best strengthen the Company going forward,” AMC said in a statement sent to WCIA. AMC Decatur 10 and AMC Champaign 13 will remain open.

* WSIL | Safety inspection to close Mississippi River bridge at Cairo: The bridge, which connects Alexander County, Illinois, to Mississippi County, Missouri, will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, starting Monday, Aug. 11, through Friday, Aug. 15, and again from Monday, Aug. 18, through Friday, Aug. 22. These closures are necessary for the annual safety inspection of the structure.

* WCIA | Discolored water in Gibson City caused by contractors’ ‘unauthorized use’ of hydrants: Officials posted on Facebook that the discoloration is the result of unauthorized use of fire hydrants by contractors. Water was pulled from the city system in bulk without authorization from the city. “This activity has disturbed the water system, and we are actively working to address the issue and prevent it from happening again,” officials wrote.

*** National ***

* On Data and Democracy | The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine: The digital deluge is a familiar annoyance for anyone on a Democratic fundraising list. It’s a relentless cacophony of bizarre texts and emails, each one more urgent than the last, promising that your immediate $15 donation is the only thing standing between democracy and the abyss. The main rationale offered for this fundraising frenzy is that it’s a necessary evil—that the tactics, while unpleasant, are brutally effective at raising the money needed to win. But an analysis of the official FEC filings tells a very different story. The fundraising model is not a brutally effective tool for the party; it is a financial vortex that consumes the vast majority of every dollar it raises.

* Restaurant Business | Washington, D.C. reinstates the tip credit: “We appreciate Mayor (Muriel) Bowser and the D.C. Council acting to mitigate the real-life challenges tip credit elimination was presenting to tipped workers and restaurant owners in the District,” Mike Whatley, VP of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, said in a statement. He said that the compromise “will provide meaningful relief for operators and preserve a model that is supported by tipped employees.” D.C. officials have sounded regret on the tip credit elimination in recent months, worried about the impact its elimination would have on the city’s restaurant scene.

* 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.

* CBS | Plastic causing “disease and death from infancy to old age” that costs $1.5 trillion a year, report warns: The new review of existing evidence, which was carried out by leading health researchers and doctors, was published one day ahead of fresh talks in Geneva aiming at getting the world’s first treaty on plastic pollution. The experts called for the delegates from nearly 180 nations expected to attend the gathering to finally agree on a treaty after previous failed attempts. Comparing plastic to air and lead pollution, the report said the impact on health of plastic pollution could be mitigated by laws and policies.

* Electrek | Tesla withheld data, lied, and misdirected police and plaintiffs to avoid blame in Autopilot crash: Within about three minutes of the crash, the Model S uploaded a “collision snapshot”—video, CAN‑bus streams, EDR data, etc.—to Tesla’s servers, the “Mothership”, and received an acknowledgement. The vehicle then deleted its local copy, resulting in Tesla being the only entity having access What ensued were years of battle to get Tesla to acknowledge that this collision snapshot exists and is relevant to the case. The police repeatedly attempted to obtain the data from the collision snapshot, but Tesla led the authorities and the plaintiffs on a lengthy journey of deception and misdirection that spanned years.

* The Telegraph | Tesla hands Elon Musk $29bn to stop him from leaving: The entrepreneur is the company’s largest shareholder, with a 12.7pc stake, but Mr Musk has said he would be “uncomfortable” leading Tesla without a holding of around 25pc. He warned that he was vulnerable to being kicked out of the company by activist investors. During an investor call last month, he said: “I think my control over Tesla should be enough to ensure that it goes in a good direction, but not so much control that I can’t be thrown out if I go crazy.” In a letter to shareholders on Monday, Tesla said: “Retaining Elon is more important than ever before.

* CBS | Kristi Noem says “Alligator Alcatraz” to be model for ICE state-run detention centers: “The locations we’re looking at are right by airport runways that will help give us an efficiency that we’ve never had before,” Noem said, adding that she’s appealed directly to governors and state leaders nationwide to gauge their interest in contributing to the Trump administration’s program to detain and deport more unauthorized migrants. “Most of them are interested,” Noem said, adding that in states that support President Trump’s mission of securing the southern border, “many of them have facilities that may be empty or underutilized.”