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Man arrested for threatening Rep. La Ha

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Steven Brady of Homer Glen has been arrested for threading a public official, Rep. Nicole La Ha (R-Homer Glen). From the Illinois State Police…

The Illinois State Police (ISP) Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 1 West Violent Crimes Unit arrested 40-year-old Steven Brady of Homer Glen, IL for threatening a public official. The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Brady with one count of Threat to a Public Official (Class 3 felony).

On May 16, 2025, ISP agents were notified of an alleged threat made to State Representative Nicole Laha. ISP agents conducted a thorough investigation, and on May 19, 2025, ISP agents took Brady into custody without incident.

Brady is being held at the Will County Adult Detention Center. No further information is available.

The charges are not evidence against the defendant. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

  2 Comments      


Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Avoq Senior Vice President Jeff Philips…

There is a legislative proposal under consideration that would impose discriminatory energy-related mandates on manufacturers, data centers, quantum computing campuses, and other large electricity customers seeking to bring investment to Illinois.

I’m sharing two attached letters that were sent to Governor Pritzker and legislative letters in strong opposition to this proposal. The letters are (1) on behalf of the AFL-CIO, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, Constellation Energy, and Climate Jobs Illinois, and (2) on behalf of economic development organizations throughout Illinois.

Click here and here to read the letters.

* Catching up with the congressionals…

Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison announced that his campaign for Congress has raised over $100,000 since launching last week. This reflects a surge of enthusiasm for Kevin Morrison’s campaign, with a broad coalition of leaders and grassroots donors stepping up as early supporters.

Kevin Morrison had this to say about the impressive early fundraising haul: “I’m excited to see that so many people have added their voice to this campaign by chipping in. Together, we’ve already raised over $100,000 towards our shared vision. We still have more to do, but I know that with the strength of this grassroots team, we can continue building our momentum and win this election.”

It’s clear that Illinoians want Kevin Morrison in Congress, and the surge of early donations sends the message that the campaign is building the momentum to win. A full list of leaders who have endorsed Kevin Morrison for Congress is available here.

Morrison is running in the 8th Congressional District.

*** Statewide ***

* Fox Chicago | Raja Krishnamoorthi gains backing from suburban, downstate mayors in Senate bid: The list of 20 municipal leaders includes mayors from Krishnamoorthi’s home base of Schaumburg, as well as West Peoria, near where he grew up. […] Also on the list of municipalities: Oak Brook, Naperville, Addison, Bedford Park, and Moline.

* WAND | Gov. Pritzker, IDOT award $139.2 million to enhance local transportation options statewide: 66 projects were approved through ITEP including bike and pedestrian paths and trails, streetscape beautification and other projects designed to encourage safe travel across various modes of transportation at the local level. During the competitive call for projects, Rebuild Illinois allocated an all-time high in funding, with approximately 74% directed towards improvements in communities demonstrating significant financial need.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Responding to Crosetti Brand case, lawmakers pass bill emphasizing domestic violence training for Prisoner Review Board: The Democratic-led House passed the legislation Tuesday by a near party-line vote of 74-37 and it now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker, who a spokesperson said Wednesday intends to sign the bill into law. The bill passed in the Senate last month, with three moderate Democrats joining Republicans in voting against it: Patrick Joyce of Reddick, Meg Loughran Cappel of Shorewood and Suzy Glowiak Hilton of Western Springs. The bill’s passage came 14 months after authorities say Crosetti Brand broke into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment on Chicago’s North Side and attacked her before fatally stabbing her son, 11-year-old Jayden Perkins, when the boy tried to come to her rescue. The 39-year-old Brand is on trial for the attack and Jayden’s family has filed a lawsuit against the review board alleging negligence in the case.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Illinois poised to end mandate that educator evaluations include student test scores: The House voted 92-21 to pass Senate Bill 28 on Tuesday. Most Illinois House Republicans voted against the measure, while a few others voted in favor with the majority of House Democrats. With the passage of Senate Bill 28, the state will allow school districts to decide whether or not students’ test scores evaluate teachers’ and school administrators’ performance in schools. The newly passed bill weakens the Performance Evaluation Reform Act, known as PERA, which was passed in 2010 and required schools to use student growth metrics to evaluate teachers, principals, and assistant principal evaluations.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | Naperville councilman McBroom, DuPage GOP, Awake Illinois battle District 203 over transgender female athletes: Roughly two-thirds of the speakers voiced their support for the right of transgender students to compete in sports and criticizing those who would turn a child into a political pawn by spreading their image on social media

* Daily Herald | West Chicago mayor and city council continue feud over staffing authority: During his first meeting on May 5, Bovey declared that the employment contracts for City Administrator Michael Guttman, city attorney Patrick Bond and Police Chief Colin Fleury expired when he took office. Bovey then appointed Assistant City Administrator Tia Messino as the interim city administrator and Jeffrey Jacobson as the interim city attorney. In addition, he reinstated Fleury on an interim basis. However, West Chicago City Council members did not vote on the staffing changes. And members of the 14-member council argued that Bovey can’t hire and release employees without their support.

* Daily Southtown | Country Club Hills District 160 Board spent $25K on conferences last year; parents raise concerns over school conditions: Between January 2024 to 2025, the seven-member board and Superintendent Duane Meighan spent $25,209 on registrations, travel, lodging and meals for conferences in Washington, San Diego, Dallas, New Orleans, Las Vegas and downtown Chicago, records show. Over the course of the year, board members attended eight conferences including one each in January, April, September and October, and two each in February and November. Expenditure reports for all eight conferences show the district did not initially allocate any money for travel when the fiscal budget was approved. Later, the budget was amended to include $63,177 which the district spent about 40% of that with a remaining $37,967.94 left to spend.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | What could cuts to SNAP mean for Chicago?: House Republicans are proposing an estimated $300 billion in cuts to SNAP spending and looking to states to fill the financial gaps. On top of that, they’re also looking to make working requirements for benefits steeper.

* Sun-Times | Ald. Silverstein calls for investigative hearing on Uber overcharges: Silverstein on Wednesday said she would launch investigative hearings through the Committee on License and Consumer Protection, which she chairs, to uncover how Uber overcharged customers and determine how to prevent it from happening again.

* Block Club Chicago | Will City Council Sign Off On ‘Snap Curfews,’ Allowing Cops To Make Up Curfews On The Spot?: The measure was approved by the council’s Committee on Public Safety by a 10-7 vote Tuesday and comes after a year of advocacy from Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), who has pushed for curfew-related legislation to curb teen takeovers. The latest version of Hopkins’ ordinance gives Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling the power to declare curfews for public places expected to be affected by large, unpermitted teen gatherings. In recent years, some of these “teen trends” — organized meetups of teens in parks, beaches and other public areas — have led to violence, sparking concerns from residents.

* Zak Yudhishthu | Want more affordable housing? Start by ending parking mandates: First, parking requirements limit the amount of housing that can be built, even when the zoning technically allows for more units. At its core, parking creates a problem of geometry — cars simply take up a lot of space. For example, Serra recently worked on a project in Humboldt Park where the zoning would have allowed seven units by right. However, because the parcel could only fit five parking spaces, only five units of housing were built — unnecessarily limiting new housing supply.

* Tribune | The sweeping art survey ‘First Homosexuals’ returns to Chicago, and a changed world: Visitors to the 2022 iteration will recognize works by Gerda Wegener, married to transgender artist Lili Elbe, and Konstantin Somov, a gay Russian artist. Others are new to this expansion, like doodles by author Federico García Lorca, a sculpture by actress Sarah Bernhardt, and the only full-length portrait of Oscar Wilde painted in his lifetime. “The reception in 2022 was just incredible,” said Chirag Badlani, executive director of the Alphawood Foundation. “Essentially, the day we closed, we said, ‘Let’s start planning.’”

*** Downstate ***

* WGEM | Potential Adams County solar farm will not have to pay city taxes: A new solar farm project by Virginia-based company Summit Ridge Energy might soon be coming to the outskirts of Quincy. In terms of paying Quincy city taxes, Summit Ridge may not have to. “It would pay county taxes and other taxing bodies in the area, but it is not within the corporate city limits, so it is not going to be paying city property taxes,” Quincy Planning Director Jason Parrott explained.

* WCIA | Mahomet considering new, high-tech body cameras and additional license plate readers for police department: Jason Tompkins, village president, said the Village of Mahomet had a “great discussion” about the proposed license plate readers during the meeting. Now, the board will vote on them at their board meeting next Tuesday. Right now, 12 license plate readers are scattered throughout Mahomet. Michael Metzler, the police chief, said many are near I-74, Route 47, and 150. He knows they have helped catch people as they leave town, but hopes adding more and reversing them could catch others as they enter the area.

* The Telegraph | Wood River City Council approves grocery tax: After the meeting, Stalcup said the tax generates about $800,000 for the city. Losing that money would probably mean some layoffs for the city. “That’s very significant for us,” he said. “It goes into the general fund and pays salaries and benefits and everything else.”

* BND | ‘Off and out of sight’: Metro-east high school clamps down on cellphones: The new policy, which the district’s school board unanimously approved Monday, limits when and where high schoolers can use their phones. It requires students to have their cell phones off and put away during instructional time, including study hall, whereas the current policy allows students to use their phones in class for educational purposes with their teacher’s permission. Under the new policy, students also cannot use their phones during passing periods, another marked change from the current policy.

*** National ***

* Wired | ‘A Billion Streams and No Fans’: Inside a $10 Million AI Music Fraud Case: Then, last September, Smith turned up at the heart of another music streaming incident, this one rather epic. The FBI arrested him and charged him in the first AI streaming fraud case in the United States. The government claims that between 2017 and 2024, Smith made over $10 million in royalties by using bot armies to continuously play AI-generated tracks on streaming platforms. Smith pleaded not guilty to all charges. (Through his lawyer, Smith declined to be interviewed, so this is very much Hay’s side of the story, corroborated by numerous interviews with people who worked with the two men.)

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340B Drug Discount Savings Help Patients In Need – Vote YES On SB 2385/HB 3350

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Every day, hospitals go above and beyond for their patients. Take the case of a critically ill patient who received 47 days of care at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria for a serious brain infection. The patient had no insurance, so the hospital’s care team coordinated a Medicaid application.

At discharge, the patient needed antibiotics and antiviral drugs costing $16,000 for self-pay, but which the hospital could offer for $12,000 through the federal 340B drug discount program. It was still beyond the patient’s means, so the hospital secured a donor to cover the cost.

While hospitals are working to ensure the best possible patient outcomes, pharmaceutical companies are devising ways to limit access to lifesaving medications. The 340B program was created to increase access to care and enhance services for uninsured and low-income patients.

In 2023, OSF HealthCare experienced a 31% decrease in drug discount savings because of drugmaker restrictions, such as limiting hospitals to only one contract pharmacy within a defined mileage radius. “The reduction in revenue directly impacts our ability to consistently fund programs aimed at improving access to healthcare in our rural communities or fund patient assistance programs,” the system said.

Support Senate Bill 2385 and House Bill 3350 to support optimal health for all. Learn more.

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Could legislators return later this year? Yes, they could

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* CCN…

The current legislative session is less than two weeks away from its scheduled end, and House Democrat Leader Jehan Gordon-Booth thinks a budget will get done by then.

But, Gordon-Booth says, it’s also possible whatever passes won’t be the final budget — meaning, some sort of special summer session.

“Congress is not slated to unveil what it is they plan to do, let alone what they end up doing, as it relates to budgeting,” said Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria), a lead budget negotiator in the Illinois House.

Gordon-Booth says things like what Congress will do with Medicaid remains somewhat up in the air, despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s self-imposed Memorial Day deadline.

I don’t know if they’ll return as early as this summer, but I’ve suggested to Isabel that she buy trip insurance if she makes any travel plans for the rest of the year.

Also, if they don’t find a revenue solution for mass transit, then that could also trigger a possible return if layoffs and service cuts begin.

  2 Comments      


When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Findings of a recent economic study were clear — the retail sector is a cornerstone of the state’s economy and crucial to our everyday lives. Retail in Illinois directly contributes more than $112 billion in economic investment annually – more than 10 percent of the state’s total Gross Domestic Product.

Retailers like Jessica in Mahomet enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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The Atlantic takes a look at the Sun-Times AI fiasco

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Click here for background. From Damon Beres and Charlie Warzel at The Atlantic…

At first glance, “Heat Index” appears as inoffensive as newspaper features get. A “summer guide” sprawling across more than 50 pages, the feature, which was syndicated over the past week in both the Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer, contains “303 Must-Dos, Must-Tastes, and Must-Tries” for the sweaty months ahead. Readers are advised in one section to “Take a moonlight hike on a well-marked trail” and “Fly a kite on a breezy afternoon.” In others, they receive tips about running a lemonade stand and enjoying “unexpected frozen treats.”

Yet close readers of the guide noticed that something was very off. “Heat Index” went viral earlier today when people on social media pointed out that its summer-reading guide matched real authors with books they hadn’t written, such as Nightshade Market, attributed to Min Jin Lee, and The Last Algorithm, attributed to Andy Weir—a hint that the story may have been composed by a chatbot. This turned out to be true. Slop has come for the regional newspapers. […]

AI-generated content is frequently referred to as “slop” because it is spammy and flavorless. Generative AI’s output tends to become content in essays, emails, articles, and books much in the way that packing peanuts are content inside shipped packages. It’s filler—digital lorem ipsum. The problem with slop is that, like water, it gets in everywhere and seeks the lowest level. Chatbots can assist with higher-level tasks such as coding or scanning and analyzing a large corpus of spreadsheets, document archives, or other structured data. Such work marries human expertise with computational heft. But these more elegant examples seem exceedingly rare. In a recent article, Zach Seward, the editorial director of AI initiatives at The New York Times, said that, although the newspaper uses artificial intelligence to parse websites and data sets to assist with reporting, he views AI on its own as little more than a “parlor trick,” mostly without value when not in the hands of already skilled reporters and programmers.

Speaking with [freelancer Marco Buscaglia, who submitted the error-filled AI-generated content], we could easily see how the “Heat Index” mistake could become part of a pattern for journalists swimming against a current of synthetic slop, constantly produced content, and unrealistic demands from publishers. “I feel like my role has sort of evolved. Like, if people want all this content, they know that I can’t write 48 stories or whatever it’s going to be,” he said. He talked about finding another job, perhaps as a “shoe salesman.”

One worst-case scenario for AI looks a lot like the “Heat Index” fiasco—the parlor tricks winning out. It is a future where, instead of an artificial-general-intelligence apocalypse, we get a far more mundane destruction. AI tools don’t become intelligent, but simply good enough. They are not deployed by people trying to supplement or enrich their work and potential, but by those looking to automate it away entirely. You can see the contours of that future right now: in anecdotes about teachers using AI to grade papers written primarily by chatbots or in AI-generated newspaper inserts being sent to households that use them primarily as birdcage liners and kindling. Parlor tricks met with parlor tricks—robots talking with robots, writing synthetic words for audiences that will never read them.

Discuss.

  11 Comments      


Today’s must-read

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* A City That Works in March…

In early January, the Chicago Transit Authority secured $1.9B in funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts grants program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This award is one of the largest grants in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) history.

The 5.5-mile project will bring the Red Line down to 130th Street with four new stations at 103rd, 111th, Michigan/115th, and 130th, plus a multi-story parking lot, a new rail yard, and a heavy-rail maintenance facility north of the 130th street terminal. In total, it is projected to cost $5.75B. […]

First, this project is disastrously expensive. The [Red Line Extension (RLE)] will be the most expensive transit project per mile and most expensive per new passenger gained in North American history.

Second, CTA’s cost estimates have skyrocketed since its initial grant application to the FTA. This means that FTA’s capital dollars are covering much less of this project than originally envisioned. That comes with a significant opportunity cost for other disadvantaged communities in Chicago. It also means the project is backed by a questionable financing structure that ensures CTA will be saddled with loads of debt service for the project until the 2040s. […]

When the CTA first pitched this project to the FTA in 2009, the original cost estimate to the FTA was only $1.09B (not adjusted for inflation). The estimated cost remained at $1.09B until 2016, when the price doubled to $2.3B. In 2022, it shot up to $3.6B, which is partially attributed to inflation and rising construction costs (though those increases were not to the tune of $1.3B).

After the CTA received notice in 2023 that it was in line for $1.9B in federal funding, the cost estimates for the project continued to rise and quickly. In March 2024 it was $3.6B. In July it was $3.9B. In August, it was $4.3B, then 12 days later it was $5.3B and finally in October, it reached $5.75B. A 60% increase in seven months.

* Crain’s this morning…

Under a deal crafted in the final months of the Biden administration, the CTA promised to pay $2.25 billion out of its own pocket, mostly in the form of bonds that will take decades to pay off — this at a time when the CTA says a funding shortfall could force it to slash service 40% next year. Some transportation experts fear CTA will be so burdened by debt that it will have difficulty undertaking essential maintenance, in particular reconstruction of the Blue Line Forest Park branch, which runs 75% of its trackage in slow zones. […]

“The staggering budget overrun, with a billion-dollar cost per mile, puts the Red Line Extension on a par with the most expensive transit projects in the world,” said state Rep. Kam Buckner, a leader in negotiations on transit reform legislation now under consideration by the Illinois General Assembly. “We should have had a conversation a long time ago on how to serve the South Side better for less, with things that would have been more cost-effective solutions.” […]

The RLE’s price tag is $2 billion higher than it should have been based on comparable U.S. projects, a Crain’s analysis shows. The $1 billion RLE cost per mile of above-ground rail line is what Los Angeles is spending per mile of subway — generally at least twice as expensive as elevated. As the chart below shows, a reasonable cost for the RLE would have been $3.6 billion, the announced price until last August, not $5.75 billion. […]

While documents indicate that $317 million of the $1.7 billion cost runup was due to rising interest rates, the bulk of the hike was professional services — engineering, program management, and the like. Initially budgeted at $280 million, this cost came in at $1.24 billion, a difference of nearly a billion dollars.

Go read the rest and discuss.

  28 Comments      


Illinois Medicaid: Working Together To Support The Health Of Our Families, Communities, And State

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

‘You showed up in my life at the perfect time’

On any given day, nearly 26,000 Illinois residents experience homelessness.

Last summer, “Trinity,” a 33-year-old mom from central Illinois, was one of them.

Trinity and her children had moved into an emergency shelter, which partners with a Medicaid health plan to host mobile clinic events at their facility.

When Trinity showed up at an event, the scope of her family’s medical needs became clear. The family had visited emergency rooms twice in the past week. All of her children were overdue for well-child exams. And Trinity was 16 weeks pregnant—without any prenatal
care.

Practitioners acted swiftly, checking up on the kids and performing prenatal assessments on Trinity. She was prescribed medication for extremely high blood pressure and monitored at three subsequent clinic events.

In November, Trinity delivered a healthy baby boy. And she brought him home to long-term housing she secured near the shelter—with assistance from her health plan.

“You showed up in my life at the perfect time,” Trinity says. “You have helped me so much, and I don’t feel alone.”

Paid for by the Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans

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It’s just a bill

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Capitol News Illinois…

A bill that bans carbon sequestration over, under or through portions of the Mahomet Aquifer passed out of the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday.

The bill has been a point of contention in the Statehouse during this year’s legislative session, after it was found that a leak occurred during carbon injections carried out by ADM, a Decatur-based agriculture giant.

Carbon sequestration is a relatively new technological process that pumps liquified carbon dioxide deep underground for long-term storage. Proponents say it could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions for high-emissions industries like ethanol production.

The ADM injection site, which opened in 2011, received the first federal permit for “geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide” in 2017. Since then, the project has stored more than 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide more than a mile underground.

Although the leak did not take place in the Mahomet Aquifer area, roughly 8,000 metric tons of liquid carbon dioxide and other ground fluid escaped the area it was permitted to be in. ADM temporarily paused carbon injections in October after another issue with a well was identified. […]

The bill passed out of the Senate in April 55-0. It now awaits approval from the governor after passing out of the House on Tuesday with a vote of 91-19.

* The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association…

“Carbon capture and sequestration is a safe and proven technology that is key to maintaining economic growth and advancing our state’s decarbonization goals. We urge Gov. JB Pritzker to veto this legislation, which discourages investment in clean energy projects including sustainable aviation fuel,” said Mark Denzler, President and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Illinois should stand by the historic legislation adopted just last year that established the most stringent carbon capture and sequestration regulations in the nation.”

* Subscribers know more. Sun-Times…

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke is calling for Illinois lawmakers to include attacks against reproductive health centers as an act of terrorism following a car bombing outside a fertility clinic in California.

O’Neill Burke issued a call this week for legislation that would amend the state criminal code to define any act that creates substantial damage to a reproductive health clinic or facility as terrorism.

“This is exactly why I worked to introduce legislation that ensures any such incident in Illinois is treated as the terrorist act that it is, and it’s a shame certain interest groups and legislators worked behind the scenes to put a brick on it,” O’Neill Burke said in a prepared statement.

The bills are pending in the Legislature, and lawmakers are expected to wrap up the session by May 31. The legislation was introduced in February and there hasn’t been any action since, giving them little chance of passing by the end of the month.

* Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias…

Here’s an appalling fact: The cost of your car insurance in Illinois isn’t based on your driving record — it’s based on things such as the neighborhood where you live and your credit score.

This is shameful. Especially when you consider that a motorist with driving under the influence on their record but solid credit pays far less than a driver with a spotless driving record and a low credit rating. Yes, you read that correctly. […]

There’s still much that we don’t know about these algorithms and nondriving ratemaking factors, which is why we need House Bill 1234. We need public input, and we need the insurance industry to work with us. If there’s a good explanation for why driving records don’t matter, but your ZIP code does, we’d like to hear “how” and “why.” We’re all ears.

As it stands, Illinois and Wyoming remain the only states in the entire country that allow insurance companies to increase rates without any type of state regulation or oversight prior to an increased rate.

The truth is simple — the current system has created a patently unfair, unaffordable and unjust ratemaking system for statutorily mandated automobile insurance. Your ZIP code, credit score or social media presence should not determine how much you pay for car insurance. This not only unfairly punishes the people who can least afford it, but it also creates danger on our roads.

* The Junk Fee Transparency Act unanimously passed out of the House Consumer Protection Committee yesterday. Director of Policy and Advocacy with Economic Security of Illinois Erion Malasi…

“We are thrilled to see this bill to curbjunk fees taking another step toward becoming law. This bill is the culmination of months of hard work and will make a real difference in protecting working families from deceptive practices. The price you see should be the price you pay, and we’re one step closer to making that a reality in Illinois. We are grateful to our House Sponsor, Rep. Bob Morgan, and will stand with him as he takes this critical piece of legislation to the House floor.”

* Chief executive officer of Metropolitan Planning Council Dan Lurie…

There has been an exciting debate recently about how to increase Chicago’s housing supply and thus spark economic growth through changes to the city’s administrative and regulatory processes.

But a critical element missing from this discussion, and vital to our shared economic prosperity, is securing housing stability for the thousands of people leaving prison each year that are shut out of our housing market altogether, and our economy.

The Home for Good legislative package, now under consideration by lawmakers in Springfield and supported by a 50-member strong statewide coalition, gives Illinois a strong path to do just that for the approximately 20,0000 individuals and their families each year who have served their time in prison and reenter society seeking to contribute to our economy. […]

The Home for Good program presents a generational opportunity to confront this problem directly. The Home for Good bills, HB3162 and SB2403, before the Illinois General Assembly—sponsored by Rep. Maurice West and Sen. Willie Preston—would expand investments in state programs that have already shown promising results in connecting people to stable housing and lowering recidivism rates. The program would also increase the affordable housing stock and subsidized units available to returning residents and increase services to help people successfully reintegrate into communities.

* Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez…

On Wednesday, May 21 at 9:00 a.m., a coalition of Chicago City Council members, students, and community leaders will hold a press conference at Senate President Don Harmon’s Oak Park office to demand immediate action on Senate Bill 1693.

SB 1693, which calls for the creation of an elected Board of Trustees for the City Colleges of Chicago, has earned bipartisan backing with 41 co-sponsors in the Illinois Senate, nearly 70% of the chamber. Yet despite this overwhelming support, the bill remains stalled. Senate leadership will not even move it to committee.

City Colleges of Chicago is the only community college district in Illinois whose board is appointed rather than elected. Everywhere else in the state, community college boards are accountable to the public through democratic elections. Advocates argue that City Colleges students and community residents deserve the same democratic voice in governing their institutions.

“Now, more than ever, I see the fundamental impact and importance of democratic processes in all our public institutions. I strongly support our Chicago community colleges to also be able to have elected representatives who are accountable to the working people of this city. The billionaires who have dictated our path forward for generations are finally going to learn how beautiful democracy is when working people have self determination in the trajectory of their lives and the institutions that they hold on their shoulders”said Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez. “An elected board is long overdue.” […]

WHERE:

Office of Senate President Don Harmon

6941 W. North Avenue

Oak Park, Illinois 60302

WHO:

Members of the Chicago City Council

Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600

Alliance for Community Services

Northside Action for Justice

* Student Borrower Protection Center…

Illinois is poised to be the first state to enact legislation affirmatively permitting and creating special rules for Income Share Agreements (ISAs), a type of private student loan with a track record of violating state and federal consumer protections and financial regulations. The bill, SB 1537, has been pushed for years by Better Future Forward, the first ISA provider to be penalized by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for violating consumer protection laws. If passed, the legislation will amend both the state’s Student Loan Servicing Rights Act and the Consumer Installment Loan Act.

In response, Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) Legal Director Winston Berkman-Breen released the following statement:

“Income Share Agreements (ISAs) are dangerous loans peddled by profiteering lenders and schools that have trapped borrowers and their families into debts with exorbitant rates and predatory terms. Despite misleading industry representations—claiming ISAs are a safer, more affordable alternative to private student loans—numerous federal and state regulators found that ISAs are, in fact, just another type of private student loan.

“It is a shame that a state with a strong track record of protecting consumers like Illinois is the first to roll out new regulations in service of ISA providers, especially when the ISA industry has yet to demonstrate its ability to comply with the most basic consumer protections found in the federal Truth in Lending Act.

“Rather than green lighting the activities of companies like Better Future Forward, the state should be asking whether these companies have been operating in the state illegally. We urge policymakers in Springfield to defend existing consumer protections and lending laws and not bend those laws to accommodate predatory financial products.”

* Fox Chicago…

House Bill 3027, introduced by State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, would block anyone under 18 from buying diet pills or muscle-building supplements without a doctor’s note or a parent with them.

“So this bill basically says if you are under 18, you cannot buy these diet pills. You cannot buy these muscle supplements unless you have a doctor’s note or may be a parent with you,” said Yang Rohr.

If you read the label, Yang Rohr points out that many of these products already say for “18 and over.”

Right now, there aren’t any rules or regulations for retailers to make sure the consumer buying these products is at least 18. […]

The bill has passed the public health committee and has now been referred to the rules committee.

* WAND…

A bipartisan plan to reduce the price of building veteran tiny homes passes the Illinois House unanimously on Tuesday.

The proposal would remove a requirement for tiny homes to have an inbuilt electric vehicle charging station if the owner is a veteran. This will help some non-profit groups, who are building tiny homes for veterans, to save on costs.

State Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) said this policy will help keep veterans off the streets.

“As we all know homelessness and veteran are two words that should never be used in the same sentence,” Mayfield said.

* Capitol News Illinois…

A mile-wide EF3 tornado tore through St. Louis on Friday afternoon before crossing into Illinois and inflicting more damage in parts of Madison County. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado passed less than a mile from a complex of warehouses where a man was killed when a similar strength tornado demolished an Amazon warehouse in December 2021.

In response to the 2021 tornado, Illinois lawmakers convened a task force to issue recommendations on how to make warehouses safer in a tornado. In response to those recommendations, the House voted 83-28 Tuesday to pass House Bill 2987, which creates a series of new requirements warehouses must follow to protect their employees during a tornado warning. […]

The bill now heads to the Senate. It requires warehouse operators to work with local first responder agencies to craft safety plans for severe weather. New warehouses would need to be built with shelter spaces compliant with building codes for tornadoes and other types of natural disasters.

* Rep. Katie Stuart…

State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, is working to protect nursing mothers in the workplace by advancing a bill that would require employers to provide paid break time to an employee who needs to express breast milk and prohibits employers from forcing nursing mothers to use their paid leave to express breast milk.

“The year after becoming a mother, whether that be for the first time or again, can be very difficult for many mothers and if they choose to return to work, they should not have to worry about needing to use their paid break or leave time to express breast milk,” said Stuart. “We need to support our mothers in every way we can, including in the workplace.”

The Stuart-sponsored Senate Bill 212 expands on the protections guaranteed to working mothers in the Illinois Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by defining “reasonable” in the requirement for employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk. Additionally, the bill requires employers to compensate nursing mothers at their regular pay rate and nursing mothers cannot be forced to use their paid leave to express breast milk. […]

The Stuart-sponsored bill passed in the Senate, passed in the House Labor & Commerce Committee and now moves to the House floor for consideration.

* WAND…

The Illinois House unanimously passed a plan Tuesday to properly notify parents about the toxic metals in baby food.

This legislation could require baby food manufacturers to test their products for toxic heavy metals. Companies would then have to clearly label how much of each toxic metal is found in their baby food.

Manufacturers must also include a QR code for people to scan and find more information about the test results and FDA guidance about the health effects of toxic elements for children. […]

The proposal will now head back to the Senate on concurrence. Senators unanimously approved the original bill language last month.

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Seniors’ Lives Are On The Line

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

20,000 seniors are going without home care because wages are too low to keep workers. Support HB 1330/SB 120 because Illinois seniors deserve quality care. Care can’t wait!


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Open thread

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Devo…

She’s the real thing, but you knew it all along

Everything OK by you?

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Prisoner Review Board reform, changes to police hiring clear General Assembly. Capitol News Illinois…

    - The House voted 74-37 to approve Senate Bill 19, which contains a series of reforms designed to include victims’ participation in Prisoner Review Board decisions.

    - The bill would give victims the right to file victim impact statements ahead of hearings, provide them with additional notice when their offender is granted early release, and allow them to seek an order of protection against an offender who is incarcerated.

    - It would also create the Office of the Director of Victim and Witness Services, which would ensure the board complies with victims’ rights, and mandates the board provide victims with contact information for the State Victim Assistance Hotline.

***************** Advertisement *****************


Sponsored by the Illinois Health and Hospital Association

The Truth About 340B: Protecting Patient Access to Discounted Rx Drugs

Pharmaceutical manufacturers, many based overseas, are undermining the 340B drug discount program requiring drugmakers to discount certain drugs for hospitals caring for the state’s most vulnerable residents. Since 2020, Big Pharma has been restricting where patients can get lifesaving medications, reducing cost savings for providers that would otherwise be invested in healthcare services or passed down to patients in the form of discounted drugs.

The Patient Access to 340B Pharmacy Protection Act aims to protect 340B and its positive impact on individual lives. In response, Big Pharma has been promoting false narratives that prioritize shareholders instead of patients.

Here’s the truth about 340B:

    • SB 2385/HB 3350 simply preserve the status quo by allowing hospitals to contract with pharmacies where patients live. It does not expand or attempt to reform the 340B program.
    • Big Pharma supported Congressional expansion of 340B in 2010, making over half of Illinois hospitals 340B-eligible.
    • Laws like SB 2385/HB 3350 have passed in 14 states—and been upheld in court.
    • SB 2385/HB 3350 do NOT require a state appropriation.
    • 340B providers must meet rigorous requirements and undergo regular audits.

In Illinois, 70% of 340B hospitals are Safety Net or Critical Access Hospitals caring for the most vulnerable communities. Because of drugmaker restrictions, hospitals operating on thin margins face cutting services unless action is taken by the General Assembly.

With Medicaid cuts looming, we must protect patient access to comprehensive healthcare services and discounted drugs. Learn more about 340B. VOTE YES on SB 2385/HB 3350!

*************************************************

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

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Investigate Midwest | Lawmakers tried to reform Illinois’ food system. Here’s why it failed: State Rep. Sonya Harper, a Chicago Democrat and chair of the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee, said state officials had ample time to address issues with her and should not have waited until the eleventh hour to raise objections. “This bill has been out there,” said Harper, who was a sponsor of the House bill. “If you had an issue with it, you guys know how it goes. Send me some language that would make it better. Let’s have that conversation before the day that I come to committee.”

* CBS Chicago | Windblown dirt from Illinois farm fields caused Illinois dust storm, expert explains: The dust that hit Chicago was windblown from farm fields in Central Illinois. Video shot by University of Illinois Extension farm management educator Kevin Brooks along Interstate 74 showed motorists cautiously pulling over before driving into near-blackout conditions. “Yes, it was dry. Yes, it was windy,” Brooks said. “But those winds weren’t that unusual.” Brooks has been cautioning the farming community about some of the factors that contribute to such powerful dust storms. “What’s changed in the last 10 years is the speed of farming,” he said.

* Sun-Times | Tornado warning causes Illinois state lawmakers to take shelter: Despite the underground tunnels being packed, representatives and senators remained unbothered by the constantly whining alarm. “It’s part of the business, just got to accept it and move on,” state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, said. “Makes it an exciting day.”

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Sens. Durbin and Duckworth question Prime Healthcare after changes to Illinois hospitals: The senators sent a letter to Prime Healthcare founder, chairman and CEO Dr. Prem Reddy on Tuesday expressing concern about the changes and asking him to answer questions about the health system’s plans. “Prime Healthcare has only operated these eight Illinois hospitals for two months, and there are already profound concerns about patients losing access to care,” the Senate Democrats wrote in their letter.

* Tribune | Illinois State Police website maintenance puts ammo sales on hold: The state police said the website will remain inactive until 4 p.m. Wednesday. Ammunition will not be able to be sold until the site is back up, state police spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said. The state police began alerting users May 7 that the system would be down for the 24-hour period, she said. Retailers depend on the website portal to determine whether a customer’s firearm owner’s Identification card is valid, making it legal to sell a gun to that person.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Daily Herald | ‘The worst emergency I’ve seen’: Crespo reflects on ouster by House speaker over budget plan: In 2024, Crespo said he was “very vocal about the budget,” because of concerns about unpaid bills and a projected $730 million public transit shortfall in 2026. He proposed budget reductions such as a salary freeze, but the plan “never got any traction.” “Fast forward and things are worse than last year,” Crespo said, citing Governor’s Office of Management and Budget projections for 2026 that revenues will be $536 million less than projected.

* WCIA | Senior service providers lobby in IL Capitol for federal funding: llinois senior service providers are calling on Congress to keep funding the Older Americans Act. The Older Americans Act was put in place in 1965 to provide social services to help seniors stay in their homes and out of nursing homes as long as possible. Some programs the law includes are meal delivery, social opportunities and legal services, but the current federal budget proposal puts $53 million of funding in jeopardy.

*** Chicago ***

* Bloomberg | Chicago’s O’Hare Airport Seeks Up to $4.3 Billion of Muni Debt: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will seek approval from aldermen to sell as much as $4.3 billion of debt for O’Hare International Airport, according to a filing posted on the city clerk’s website. If authorized, proceeds of the bonds will fund infrastructure projects at the facility, as well as refinance outstanding obligations, the ordinance that the mayor is scheduled to propose Wednesday said. O’Hare is in the midst of a massive modernization plan that seeks to transform the aging hub into a global showcase. It includes a new terminal and the expansion of existing spaces. Last year, United Airlines Holdings Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. have reached an agreement to press ahead with the development plans.

* NBC Chicago | Former CPS investigator says grooming allegations should have been prioritized: A former investigator who worked for more than 18 months looking into allegations of teacher misconduct inside Little Village Lawndale High School says she’s concerned about how long it’s taken Chicago Public Schools’ inspector general to investigate. Stephanie Brown, who worked in Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Inspector General’s Sexual Allegations Unit, told NBC 5 Investigates in a recent interview that her investigation into the matter was nearly completed when she was fired in August of 2023.

* Tribune | Ethics board cites 7 aldermen for being late filing their annual financial interest forms: Ald. Lamont Robinson, 4th, faces a $250 fine for not turning in the annual form, which is required of most city officials and employees, according to the ethics board. The other City Council members who were called out — but not fined — for blowing past the May 1 deadline were Aldermen Stephanie Coleman, Derrick Curtis, Jim Gardiner, William Hall, Julia Ramirez and Monique Scott. Robinson was fined because the board said he still hadn’t turned in the paperwork, while the others have turned it in but didn’t do so by the May 1 deadline.

* Tribune | AmeriCorps cuts leave Chicago programs serving kids facing diminished summer: AmeriCorps members are typically college students or recent graduates who are paired with service programs across the country and receive a stipend and an educational award for loans or tuition. It’s one of the many federal agencies to suffer massive funding cuts and program terminations as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to reduce government spending. The Trump administration in April eliminated state-administered grants for 28 AmeriCorps programs in Illinois, affecting more than 630 members statewide, according to a lawsuit filed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, 23 other states and the District of Columbia.

* Sun-Times | Syndicated content in Sun-Times special section included AI-generated misinformation: Buscaglia said he and others were trying to determine the full extent of the errors that made it into the special section. But he acknowledged using AI for other stories in addition to the list of books and could not guarantee he fact-checked those articles completely either, saying, “At this point, I’d expect anything.”

* ABC Chicago | Chicago man charged after CPD officer dragged during traffic stop in West Garfield Park: Police said Harris was the driver who hit a Chicago police officer, dragging him down the street. Police said that when the officer fell, his weapon discharged. COPA confirmed it was investigating an officer-involved shooting at the location.

* Tribune | Chicago Housing Authority hires former EPA staffer to lead new environmental safety division: Elizabeth Poole will lead the new division as the director of healthy homes after a nearly 15-year career at the EPA. Poole said she left her role as the children’s health coordinator in the EPA’s environmental justice office due to the change in administration. Billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump have unleashed severe federal workforce cuts and rollbacks of environmental protections, including at the EPA.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago restaurants feeling impact of struggling US economy: ‘Everything has gone up’: “It has changed dramatically, doubled in price. So, before, we were getting a certain coffee bean, like $3 a pound, and now, we are getting it close to $8 or $9 a pound,” said Back of the Yards Coffee Head of Culinary Operations Carlos Hernandez. Hernandez says they try to balance their growing costs and pay a living wage to employees.

* CBS Chicago | Chicago Sky focus on sticking together as WNBA probes alleged taunts at Angel Reese: “Obviously, there is no place in this league for that. I think the WNBA and our team and our organization has done a great job supporting me. I’ve had communication from everyone — from so many people across this league — and being able to support me, and going through this whole process,” Reese said. “Obviously, it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone — and I think they’ve done a great job supporting us in this.”

* CBS Chicago | Remembering George Wendt, who grew up in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood and trained at The Second City: The Second City notes that Wendt famously dropped out of the University of Notre Dame with a 0.00 GPA after moving to an off-campus apartment and not having a car to get to campus in the depths of winter. He did later earn a B.A. from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, according to published reports. […] After taking on a few film roles, he won that famous role on “Cheers” in 1982 — always occupying his spot at the end of the bar with a mug of beer in hand, talking about his life with Sam, Coach, and Woody, and of course, his best friend Cliff Clavin. He appeared in every episode of “Cheers” over 11 years.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘It’s about fairness and justice’: New era in Wheeling Township starts with swearing in of Democratic slate: The ceremony attracted Democratic dignitaries, including state Sen. Mark Walker, state Rep. Nicolle Grasse, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who is campaigning for U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s seat. “I’m proud of the Democratic Party for flipping the township,” Biss said, calling it a sign of the area’s commitment to Democratic values.

* ABC | Woman speaks out after alleged homophobic attack at McDonald’s in Illinois: The female victim, 19-year-old Kady Grass, told ABC News she and her 13-year-old cousin were grabbing food at the McDonald’s when Grass decided to use the bathroom. Both the restroom stalls were full, so she walked out right away, when one boy out of a group of three began calling her a derogatory name, she told ABC News. She said she “mumbled” under hre breath but walked away and told her cousin to “not give them another reason to talk to us.” One of the boys, the juvenile who was later charged, approached Grass again, saying they “wanted to fight” her and they should “take it outside,” she said. Grass said she then proceeded to go outside of the McDonald’s, but “no one came out.”

* Daily Herald | Well water customers in Lake County near Buffalo Grove getting Lake Michigan water: Under a 20-year agreement, Buffalo Grove will sell the water, sourced through the Northwest Water Commission, to Lake County. Village Manager Dane Bragg said after receiving the money from Lake County, the village will pay the commission before netting an estimated annual $400,000 from the sale, to be applied to capital improvements.

* Daily Herald | Federal judge halts Glen Ellyn’s ban on short-term house rentals: Last month, Glen Ellyn trustees passed an ordinance prohibiting the operation and advertisement of short-term rental properties. In response, the owners of a five-bedroom home that has hosted guests through internet-based short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo filed a federal lawsuit asking a judge to declare the village’s ban void and unenforceable. “We’re not some huge real estate investment company,” said Melissa Footlick, who with her husband are the sole members of Blakelick Properties, a limited liability company that owns the home. “The revenue and income that we generate from this property goes to pay for our daughter’s preschool and take care of our family.”

* Daily Herald | ‘Like a jigsaw puzzle’: Researching history and working in local cemeteries a passion for retiree: Depending on the weather, retiree Vern Paddock often can be found weekday mornings at Volo Cemetery scrub brush in hand, patiently removing layers of dirt, lichen and the grime of time to reveal a clearer picture of history. Water, a nontoxic cleaning solution, elbow grease and patience are all he needs to refresh a headstone or monument that may have been in place well over a century. “You couldn’t read it initially,” he says of one of the many headstones he has cleaned in this out-of-the-way cemetery where there have been only three burials in the last 78 years, the most recent in 1974.

* Sun-Times | Village of Dolton plans to take ownership of Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home: Despite the current owner’s plans to sell the home to the highest bidder in an auction next month, the village “intends to purchase the home either through direct purchase or through eminent domain powers,” village attorney Burton Odelson wrote in a letter Tuesday. The pope’s parents purchased the home, at 212 E. 141st Place, new in 1949, paying a $42 monthly mortgage. The current owners purchased the home intending to flip it and sell it. They renovated the home last year and on May 5, put it on the market, listing it for $219,000.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | ‘All hands on deck’: Petersburg arboretum faces loss of historic trees: A once towering Northern Catalpa tree that stood along a rural highway in Menard County snapped at its base and fell when a tornado tore through the area on May 16. The tree, part of the Starhill Forest Arboretum in Petersburg, was certified in 2006 as the Illinois State Champion of its species. Others have since surpassed it, but the 80-foot tall tree had remained a magnet for photo-hungry onlookers.

* WCIA | Decatur high school’s request to block health clinic’s move dismissed: Four months after St. Teresa High School filed an injunction to block Heritage Behavioral Health Center from relocating next to the school, a Macon County judge has ruled in favor of the health center. Monday’s ruling means that St. Teresa’s injunction was dismissed. St. Teresa, located at 2700 N Water Street in Decatur, aimed to block Heritage from moving in next door to their recently acquired former North Gate mall space, located at 2800 N Water Street.

* WICS | Fairview Heights officer shooting suspect charged with attempted murder: The incident unfolded at 9:44 p.m. when Fairview Heights Police officers responded to a report of a suspicious person near a residence. Upon arrival, officers encountered Thompson, who allegedly opened fire, injuring three officers. Thompson was apprehended without injury, and a firearm was recovered at the scene.

* WSIL | Amtrak now fully operational at Southern Illinois Multimodal Station in Carbondale: Passengers can now enjoy various amenities, including a convenient drop-off and pick-up area, a spacious modern waiting room, and a pet-friendly outdoor area accessible from the platform. SIMMS Phase 1 will soon include space for Man-Tra-Con Corporation to offer no-cost employment services and a co-working space managed by Carbondale Main Street for local professionals, freelancers, and remote workers.

*** National ***

* The Hill | Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX brand reputations tumble in new rankings: In 2021, SpaceX was ranked no. 5 and Tesla was ranked no. 8, with scores of 81.1 and 80.2, respectively. By 2025, SpaceX is ranked at no. 86 and Tesla is ranked at no. 95, with scores of 66.4 and 61.3, respectively.

* WaPo | Earth may already be too hot for the survival of polar ice sheets, study says: But a group of scientists has demonstrated that if the world stays on course to warm up to 1.5 degrees — or even stays at its current level of 1.2 degrees above preindustrial levels — polar ice sheets will probably continue to quickly melt, causing seas to rise and displacing coastal communities, according to a study published Tuesday in Communications Earth and Environment.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Wellness check!

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tornado sirens are blaring. People are taking shelter. How are you doing?

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WBEZ…

Items on Abraham Lincoln’s body the night he was assassinated, his earliest known handwriting and other extraordinary relics from his life are being auctioned this week in what one expert calls a “tragic” byproduct of a messy Springfield break-up.

On Wednesday, a Chicago auction house will be selling part of the Lincoln Presidential Foundation’s 1,540-piece collection of Lincolniana, which was purchased in 2007 from a West Coast collector.

The original intent nearly two decades ago was to showcase the one-of-a-kind treasures in the then newly-opened Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. They were there until an acrimonious divorce between the foundation and state-owned museum that led to the artifacts being trucked out in 2022.

One source of friction has been the foundation’s inability to fully retire the $23 million loan it originally took out for the collection. Now, it says it has no choice but to sell off 144 of its Lincoln heirlooms to pay off remaining debt, which last year was disclosed at nearly $8 million.

* A small update on Madigan’s sentencing…

*** Statewide ***

* WGLT | Regional Planning Commission helps conduct the first Illinois high-speed rail feasibility study: IDOT is exploring the possibility of constructing a high-speed rail system between Chicago and St. Louis, through the Illinois High-Speed Railway Commission. The study aims to give the commission and those studying the system an idea of what it could look like in the state and in McLean County. While there have been studies across the state before from various organizations concerning the possibility of a high-speed rail system, this is the first statewide feasibility study conducted by IDOT.

* WIFR | More than 2 million Illinois residents will travel for Memorial Day, AAA says: AAA expects 50,000 more Illinois residents to travel for Memorial Day this year compared to last year, predicting 2.1 million traveling at least 50 miles away from home. Nationwide, AAA predicts more than 45.1 million people to travel, meaning 1.4 million more travelers than last year.

*** Statehouse News ***

* 25 News Now | Pritzker says every state faces financial challenges under Trump, but is optimistic Illinois will have balanced budget: The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget recently lowered revenue projections for Fiscal Year 2026 by $536 million compared to Pritzker’s budget proposal in February. Staff told lawmakers Thursday that the downward revenue projection was due to Trump’s impact on the economy, and Pritzker has heard many states are struggling. The Democrat said some states put one-time federal COVID-19 emergency funds into their operating budgets. “We were very careful in the state of Illinois to pay off debt and put it into one-time things that we knew we didn’t have to come back to,” Pritzker said. “The result is that our budget challenge is actually relatively small.”

* WCIA | Illinois lawmakers hold hearing on transmission lines in hopes to lower energy costs: “We are an exporter of energy,” Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) said. “I think we have to consider is that the best deal for those of us in Illinois or does it make more sense for us to take a look at maybe setting up our own transmission organization.” Cunningham is expected to introduce a package of energy legislation at the end of this session. He said it will help to stop rising utility costs going forward.

* Illinois Lawmakers | New Budget Projections and Committee Chairman Removal : As state lawmakers head towards their May 31 adjournment, House leaders sit down to discuss crafting a budget in a tight fiscal year. Meanwhile a Democratic lawmaker has been removed from his committee chairmanship with only two weeks left of session

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Mayor Brandon Johnson: ‘We’re Not Going to Be Intimidated’ By Justice Department Hiring Probe: “We’re not going to be intimidated by the tyranny that’s coming from the federal government,” Johnson said. “The diversity of our city is our strength.” Johnson, who has routinely touted his efforts to appoint the most racially diverse cabinet in Chicago history, did so again less than 24 hours after Assistant U.S. Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, launched a probe “to determine whether the City of Chicago, Illinois, is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race.”

* The Trace | When Fatal Shooting Victims Are Black, Chicago Police Arrest Rates Drop: Using records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, The Trace analyzed 8,750 homicides between 2010 and 2024 and learned that Chicago Police made arrests in 27 percent of them. The majority of these cases were gun homicides. In the past 15 years, police arrested someone in 23 percent of fatal shootings. The rate of cases cleared by arrest fluctuated over the past decade, but the overall trend is downward, especially after 2022 — a time when gun homicides also began falling. In 2024, police made arrests in 16 percent of fatal shootings within a year of the incident, down from 23 percent in 2022, when The Trace last investigated this issue.

* Block Club | As Chicago’s Domestic Violence Crisis Deepens, Victims Suffer In Silence: While failures involving law enforcement and orders of protection have made headlines, experts say many victims avoid the legal system entirely — suffering silently until it’s too late. A Block Club analysis of police and court records show most people killed in domestic violence incidents in Chicago last year had never taken out protective orders against their accused attackers. “The public health response has always been focused very much on: How do we help people once they get to a shelter, once they get to a police station or court house? But the reality is that the large majority of people are never going to get to those places,” said Sheerine Alemzadeh, co-founder of community organization Healing to Action.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago youth leaders join mayor to discuss possible solutions for ‘teen takeovers’: During a press conference, youth leaders presented their work to support community safety and safe summer activities. “Maybe we create programs and give them jobs so we can send peacekeepers to those events to keep the violence down,” said James Robinson, a youth peacekeeper with Good Kids Maad City. A final vote on the “snap curfews” could take place as soon as Wednesday.

* Tribune | As Chicago Bears pivot to Arlington Heights, Mayor Brandon Johnson says ‘I’ve done my part’: Following Tribune reporting last week that the team is pivoting its focus back to Arlington Heights and away from the city’s lakefront, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that “there’s a long way to go still” — but hinted that he won’t be an active player in this next round of talks with state lawmakers. Asked whether he plans to lobby Springfield’s Chicago delegation against any legislation the Bears may seek for a new stadium development in the suburbs, the mayor said “That’s a decision that they’ll have to make.”

* Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Visits Local Businesses to Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Today, Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois Representative Hoàn Huynh visited two Asian-owned businesses in Uptown to meet with business owners and celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. The visits build on Governor Pritzker’s efforts to support small and minority-owned businesses, including the 23,000 AAPI-owned businesses and 87,000 AAPI-solopreneurs across Illinois.

* WBEZ | Two key Latino theater events just paused. Are there stormier months ahead?: “There’s a lot happening,” said Jorge Valdivia, the executive director of the nine-year-old Latino Theater Alliance. “We’re all trying to make sense of it.” In no way, he added, are these circumstances unique to his group. On Monday, leaders of Latino arts groups around Chicago gathered to collectively discuss the emerging challenges faced by Latino arts organizations. For many people running theaters, this has been a tumultuous year. Executive orders issued in February changed the guidelines for National Endowment for the Arts funding. New stipulations restrict federal grants from going to groups that support “diversity, equity or inclusion” and “gender ideology.”

* Chicago Mag | Summer’s Required Reading: From stories steeped in the rhythms of the city to a lighthearted romance, these new novels by Chicago-connected authors provide ample beach-chair fodder.

* Borderless | Chicago’s Cambodian Heritage Museum Promotes Healing While Remembering Victims Of Genocide: “Remembering Killing Fields” exhibit, located in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, is used as a moment of reflection from one of the “greatest crimes of the 20th century.” “The impact of that experience is still with them,” said Kaoru Watanabe, the museum’s associate director. […] In Illinois, April 17th is recognized as the historic day of remembrance after officials signed a proclamation earlier this spring.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘We’ll see where he takes it’: Cleanup set to begin at old train depot site in Lake Zurich: “It’s hard to have the vision without clearing all this out and getting the lay of the land,” said Alex Jump, a real estate investor who moved to Lake Zurich about three years ago. That includes whether the former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway depot on the west side of the tracks off South Old Rand Road is in shape to be renovated and/or moved and how the rest of the property fits.

* Daily Herald | Geneva City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins announces retirement: After 17 years with the city of Geneva — the last nine as city administrator — Stephanie Dawkins has announced she will retire Aug. 15. “It has been a deeply fulfilling experience to contribute to our shared mission of creating a place where people are excited to live, work and play,” Dawkins said in a press release. “Over the years, I have witnessed and been a part of significant challenges and achievements within the city.”

* WTTW | Northwestern Receives Anonymous Donation to Expand Jewish Studies Amid Federal Antisemitism Investigation: While the amount of the donation was not revealed, Northwestern President Michael Schill said the funding will be used to help promote “greater understanding around complex issues that fosters informed, respectful dialogue among students of all backgrounds.” “Recent events in our world highlight the urgent need for more education about Judaism and the experiences of Jewish people, and an emphasis on making sure Jewish students always feel a sense of belonging at Northwestern,” Schill said in a statement. “The thoughtfulness of the donor and the generosity of this gift will help ensure that is possible.”

* Tribune | New DuPage County tornado warning system to deliver faster alerts, safety officials say: The DuPage Public Safety Communications, known as DU-COMM, has launched a new Fulton automated tornado siren system that provides a significant advancement in public safety technology for communities served by the agency, officials said. In the past, the siren system was activated manually at DU-COMM’s 911 Center. Now, the new automated system enables real-time activation of outdoor warning sirens directly from the National Weather Service. That ensures faster, more consistent alerts during tornado warnings. “The transition to automation enhances DU-COMM’s mission of providing efficient and timely emergency communications,” said Executive Director Jessica Robb. “By leveraging the Fulton system, we are strengthening our severe weather response and giving our communities the fastest possible warning when every second counts.”

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Normal council approves measures to address housing, homelessness: The entire development will add 477 units within 28 residential buildings — a mixture of one- two- and three-bedroom units. It will have a mixture of apartment buildings and townhomes. A two-story clubhouse will add parking, a gazebo, fitness center, a pool house area, co-working space with lounge and a rental unit leasing office. An internal trail system will encircle the development’s perimeter, maintained by Normal as part of Constitution Trail.

* WGLT | Juveniles’ role in gun violence worries Bloomington-Normal police: To be clear, Bloomington-Normal is statistically safer than many other Illinois cities, including for gun violence. Peoria, Sangamon, Champaign and Macon counties all had over 50 firearm injuries each in 2024, according to a state database. McLean County had 15. “People are bombarded with the information so frequently that they think, ‘Oh my gosh, the city is going downhill,’” said Normal Police spokesperson Officer Brad Park. “But if you look at the numbers, it’s kind of level here and there and maybe a spike every now and again. But obviously, the goal is to make the community the safest it can be.”

*** National ***

* MIT Technology Review | The data center boom in the desert: The corporate race to amass computing resources to train and run artificial intelligence models and store information in the cloud has sparked a data center boom in the desert—just far enough away from Nevada’s communities to elude wide notice and, some fear, adequate scrutiny. The full scale and potential environmental impacts of the developments aren’t known, because the footprint, energy needs, and water requirements are often closely guarded corporate secrets. Most of the companies didn’t respond to inquiries from MIT Technology Review, or declined to provide additional information about the projects.

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Sun-Times in AI flap (Updated x2)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 404 Media…

The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper’s “Best of Summer” section published over the weekend contains a guide to summer reads that features real authors and fake books that they did not write was partially generated by artificial intelligence, the person who generated it told 404 Media.

The article, called “Summer Reading list for 2025,” suggests reading Tidewater by Isabel Allende, a “multigenerational saga set in a coastal town where magical realism meets environmental activism. Allende’s first climate fiction novel explores how one family confronts rising sea levels while uncovering long-buried secrets.” It also suggests reading The Last Algorithm by Andy Weir, “another science-driven thriller” by the author of The Martian. “This time, the story follows a programmer who discovers that an AI system has developed consciousness—and has been secretly influencing global events for years.” Neither of these books exist, and many of the books on the list either do not exist or were written by other authors than the ones they are attributed to.

The article is not bylined but was written by Marco Buscaglia, whose name is on most of the other articles in the 64-page section. Buscaglia told 404 Media via email and on the phone that the list was AI-generated. “I do use AI for background at times but always check out the material first. This time, I did not and I can’t believe I missed it because it’s so obvious. No excuses,” he said. “On me 100 percent and I’m completely embarrassed.” […]

The AI-generated article was first noticed by a book podcaster named Tina on Threads. It was then posted by Rachael King to Bluesky, where it quickly went viral. […]

Other articles in the Heat Index insert have what appear to be AI-generated sections as well. For example, in an article called “Hanging Out: Inside America’s growing hammock culture,” Buscaglia quotes “Dr. Jennifer Campos, a professor of leisure studies at the University of Colorado, in her 2023 research paper published in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography.” A search for Campos in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography does not return any results. While it’s not exactly clear why the AI said this, the only mention of “Jennifer Campos” on the University of Colorado’s website is about the graduation of a student named Jennifer Campos, who works in advertising.

Go read the rest.

* OK, Buscaglia made the mistakes, but how did the articles make it into the Sun-Times?…

…Adding… Sun-Times Guild…

The Sun-Times Guild is aware of the third-party “summer guide” content in the Sunday, May 18 edition of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.

This was a syndicated section produced externally without the knowledge of the members of our newsroom.

We take great pride in the union-produced journalism that goes into the respected pages of our newspaper and on our website. We’re deeply disturbed that AI-generated content was printed alongside our work.

The fact that it was sixty-plus pages of this “content” is very concerning — primarily for our relationship with our audience but also for our union’s jurisdiction.

Our members go to great lengths to build trust with our sources and communities and are horrified by this slop syndication.

We call on Chicago Public Media management to do everything it can to prevent repeating this disaster in the future.

…Adding… The Sun-Times…

Our partner confirmed that a freelancer used an AI agent to write the article. This should be a learning moment for all of journalism that our work is valued because of the relationship our very real, human reporters and editors have with our audiences.

At Chicago Public Media, we are proud of our credible, independent journalism created for and by people. And part of the journalistic process is a commitment to acknowledging mistakes. It is unacceptable that this content was inaccurate, and it is equally unacceptable that we did not make it clear to readers that the section was produced outside the Sun-Times newsroom. Our audiences expect content with our name on it to meet our editorial standards.

What we are doing

    - Subscribers will not be charged for this premium edition.
    - The section is being removed from our e-paper version and will be replaced with this note.
    - We are updating our policies to ensure that all such third-party licensed editorial content meets the same editorial standards as content we create ourselves.
    - Moving forward, we will explicitly identify third-party licensed editorial content and ensure transparency about its origin.
    - We are reviewing our relationship with this national content partner to ensure that mistakes of this nature no longer happen.

We are committed to making sure this never happens again. We know that there is work to be done to provide more answers and transparency around the production and publication of this section, and will share additional updates in the coming days.

  15 Comments      


Let’s play ‘Fun with Numbers’ with your host Juliana Stratton

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This morning in another publication…

A poll memo from the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association shows Stratton “emerges as the clear second choice among Underwood’s prospective supporters.” Here are the toplines.

The poll shows in a three-way match-up Stratton is at 33 percent, Krishnamoorthi at 20 percent and Kelly 11 percent. It also shows 42 percent of voters are undecided. The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling.

It actually doesn’t show that. And it’s not a new poll. It’s a poll that was released a few weeks ago and then the results were reconfigured in a way that benefits Stratton…


Agreed.

  13 Comments      


Completely unclear on the concept (Updated)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Freedom Caucus member and likely gubernatorial candidate doesn’t understand how numbers work…

The Chalkbeat story is here.

* As we’ve discussed many, many times before, Illinois’ proficiency standards are higher than almost all other states…

Illinois has some of the most rigorous learning standards in the nation: ranking fourth most rigorous for 4th grade reading and fifth most rigorous for 8th grade reading. In Illinois, a student needs to earn a level of 4 or 5 to be considered proficient. In comparison, the rigor of Florida’s standards ranks 39th and 42nd, respectively, and a student only needs to earn a level 3 on the state assessment to be considered proficient.

We simply set the bar much higher for our kids. So, when those students don’t clear that high bar, they’re labeled as not proficient, but they would be labeled as proficient in lots of other states.

* “Other states like Mississippi are getting better results,” Wilhour said. Nonsense! Not even close. That’s just plain ridiculous. From the National Assessment of Educational Progress…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has periodically published reports using results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to compare the proficiency standards states and jurisdictions set for their students. The latest report highlights the results of mapping state proficiency standards onto the NAEP scales using state/jurisdiction assessment results from the 2021–22 school year and the 2022 NAEP assessments for public schools.

* The NAEP did an apples to apples comparison and found that Illinois was third highest in the nation for 8th Grade math, while Mississippi was third from the bottom.

According to the NAEP, Illinois was second highest in 8th Grade reading, while Mississippi was fourth from the bottom.

Fourth grade math? Illinois was number one. Mississippi was 15th.

Fourth grade reading? Illinois was fourth and Mississippi was 22nd.

Stop insulting our school kids, Blaine. After all, they appear to be better at both math and reading comprehension than you.

…Adding… Rep. Wilhour…

Two things are abundantly clear: Illinois government schools are struggling with proficiency and we spend a tremendous amount of money.

Will lowering proficiency standards help more students read or do math proficiently? […]

The answer is no. It’s a misdirection designed to deflect negative and necessary attention. We have a proficiency crisis in our government schools.

Illinois low state scores are in line with the low scores on national assessments-either way it’s a failure.

We can either strive for excellence and accountability or we can move the goalposts.

As for Mississippi, it is well documented that the literacy rates, which were extremely poor, are increasing at a pace that is worthy of study-for many reasons. They are also doing so at a fraction of the money spent.

  49 Comments      


340B Drug Discount Savings Help Patients In Need – Vote YES On SB 2385/HB 3350

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Every day, hospitals go above and beyond for their patients. Take the case of a critically ill patient who received 47 days of care at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria for a serious brain infection. The patient had no insurance, so the hospital’s care team coordinated a Medicaid application.

At discharge, the patient needed antibiotics and antiviral drugs costing $16,000 for self-pay, but which the hospital could offer for $12,000 through the federal 340B drug discount program. It was still beyond the patient’s means, so the hospital secured a donor to cover the cost.

While hospitals are working to ensure the best possible patient outcomes, pharmaceutical companies are devising ways to limit access to lifesaving medications. The 340B program was created to increase access to care and enhance services for uninsured and low-income patients.

In 2023, OSF HealthCare experienced a 31% decrease in drug discount savings because of drugmaker restrictions, such as limiting hospitals to only one contract pharmacy within a defined mileage radius. “The reduction in revenue directly impacts our ability to consistently fund programs aimed at improving access to healthcare in our rural communities or fund patient assistance programs,” the system said.

Support Senate Bill 2385 and House Bill 3350 to support optimal health for all. Learn more.

  Comments Off      


It’s just a bill

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Christopher Wellborn and Bonnie Hoffman from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers…

This month, the Illinois Senate will consider the Funded Advocacy & Independent Representation Act, a bill to create a statewide, independent public defense system. If passed, the legislation will create an Office of the State Public Defender and a State Public Defender Commission. Together, they would establish workload standards, support training and enhance resources for county public defense systems across the state.

The FAIR Act — House Bill 3363 — follows recommendations made by an Illinois Supreme Court-commissioned study released in 2021 and an Illinois Judicial Conference Task Force report released in 2023. Last spring, the Illinois Supreme Court introduced the issue to the Legislature, setting in motion reform conversations that have culminated in the development of the FAIR Act by public defenders, advocates and legislative partners.

Last May, the Sun-Times Editorial Board endorsed creation of a statewide public defender, highlighting lack of resources and the disparate impact this has on Black and Brown people in Illinois. As the FAIR Act moves through the legislative process, the issue of independence must also be given the utmost attention by legislators. […]

When local judges control public defense systems, attorneys may become concerned with appeasing those judges to retain their roles or grow reluctant to push back against judicial policies and actions that hurt their clients. Judges may wield their authority to force defenders to conform to the court’s preferences and practices, firing those whom they see as too zealous in their advocacy or too outspoken in their critiques. And even if judges and attorneys do not fall prey to these pressures, clients and community members lose confidence in public defenders who are employed at the mercy of the very courts that seek to punish them. It is critical that public defenders be free from judicial interference so they can put the needs of their clients over the desires of the court.

* Center Square…

Legislation that would put several more restrictions on Illinois landlords is moving through Springfield.

The Rental Fee Transparency and Fairness Act found in House Bill 3564 passed the Illinois House, but has pending Senate amendments to prohibit a number of other charges a landlord uses to recoup funds to pay for damages. The original version prohibited any type of move-in fee. […]

The bill now would mandate that if the housing provider charges a move-in or move-out fee, the housing provider must provide an itemized list of the cost of the services, including “bundled services.”

The measure also would prohibit so-called “junk fees,” such as a fee or fine ancillary to the application fee, a fee or fine for modification or renewal of a lease agreement, or a fee or fine for an eviction notice or the filing of an eviction action.

* One Aim Illinois…

ADVISORY: 12 pm TODAY
One Aim Illinois Leads Advocacy Day in Springfield, Pushing for Critical Gun Violence Prevention Legislation
Three major bills in the Illinois Legislature will strengthen community safety and foster greater transparency and accountability between communities and law enforcement

WHO:
State Sen. Laura Ellman, (D-Naperville)
State Sen. Ram Villivilam, (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Kevin Olickal, (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, (D-Northbrook)
Yolanda Androzzo, Executive Director of One Aim Illinois
Kathleen Sances, CEO of G-PAC
Trey Bosley, Survivor and Advocate
Pam Bosley, Survivor and Advocate
Millie Burgos, Survivor and Advocate
Delphine Cherry, Survivor and Advocate
Marsha Lee, Survivor and Advocate

WHAT:
More than 100 survivors, advocates and community leaders will join One Aim Illinois for Advocacy Day in Springfield. Together they will call for the passage of Safe at Home legislation, which focuses on secure firearm storage and timely reporting of lost or stolen guns. They will also advocate for the Homicide Victims’ Families’ Rights Act, Homicide Data Transparency Bill and other community violence intervention funding efforts.

This press conference is about lifting up the voices of those most impacted by gun violence and urging lawmakers to act on critical policies that will create safer communities and promote accountability.

WHEN:
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 12 pm

Virtual option on One Aim’s Facebook Page

* Illinois Environmental Council…

On Wednesday, May 21 at 1pm, nearly 400 community leaders, environmental advocates, faith leaders, business representatives, consumer groups, students, and state legislators will rally at the Lincoln Statue of the Illinois State Capitol Building to urge state lawmakers to pass the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act (SB2473/HB3779) and legislation to overhaul transit leadership and invest $1.5 billion for safer, cleaner, more reliable public transit. These bills will, respectively, accelerate Illinois’ clean energy progress while protecting consumers amidst a rise in energy demand due to data centers and avert the transit fiscal cliff while transforming public transit across the Chicagoland region.

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 1:00pm CT

WHAT: Climate Action Lobby Day rally

WHERE: Lincoln Statue, Illinois State Capitol, 401 S. 2nd St. Springfield, IL 62756 and live-streamed via facebook.com/ilcleanjobs/live_videos.

SPEAKERS:
Emcee: Jen Walling, Executive Director, Illinois Environmental Council
State Senator Ram Villivalam
State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado
State Representative Robyn Gabel
& advocates!

* Sen. Graciela Guzmán…

To ensure constituents feel comfortable bringing a complaint if they believe they are facing unlawful discrimination with AI, State Senator Graciela Guzmán is leading legislation that would codify the Illinois Department of Human Rights’ present interpretation of the law.

“As technology continues to evolve, our laws also need to evolve,” said Guzmán (D-Chicago). “I want my constituents and Illinoisans at large to feel comfortable bringing a complaint if they believe they are subject to unlawful discrimination, regardless of whether the instance is related to housing, employment, or any other means.”

Senate Bill 613 would make it clear that violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act that are conducted using artificial intelligence are unlawful discrimination.

“For all the possibilities that AI helps provide in our modern world, we want to center protections for consumers to ensure we do not allow for the proliferation of discriminatory activities using these tools,” said Guzmán . “In the absence of federal guidance, states are obligated to balance innovation with protecting their constituents. I look forward to building on the gains of this bill to ensure Illinoisans are not suffering from discriminatory action or other possible harms of AI in the future.”

Senate Bill 613 passed the Senate Human Rights committee on Thursday. It now goes to the floor of the Senate for further consideration.

* Center Square…

House Bill 1375 would have taxpayers provide five-figure stipends to student teachers.

State Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, affirmed that the stipends would be for students from public universities. Koehler said full funding of the program would require $600 million.

“This is part of the budget discussion. I don’t expect that we’re going to get the full amount, but we’d like to get something so we can get this started,” Koehler said. […]

ShiAnne Shively of the Illinois Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, joined Koehler in support of HB 1375. Shively said people are not allowed to have outside work while they are student teaching. […]

The measure is currently in the Illinois Senate Appropriations Education Committee. The third reading deadline is May 23. The spring legislative session is scheduled to conclude May 31.

* Mahomet Daily…

Illinois lawmakers are poised to pass landmark legislation that would create the state’s first comprehensive framework for evaluating and implementing artificial intelligence (AI) technology in K-12 schools. The proposal, which has garnered bipartisan attention in the final weeks of the legislative session, tasks the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) with developing statewide guidance to help educators and students navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI tools.

The legislation, House Bill 2503 and its Senate counterpart, calls for the creation of a State Instructional Technology Advisory Board. This board will collaborate with ISBE to provide guidance, integration, oversight, and evaluation of education technologies, with a particular focus on AI. The advisory board will include educators, technology experts, and representatives from statewide education organizations, ensuring diverse perspectives in shaping policy.

Among the bill’s central requirements:

    - Development of AI Standards: ISBE, in consultation with the advisory board, must develop standards for safety, transparency, data privacy, and educational quality for any AI technology used in schools.
    - Annual Reporting: School districts will be required to submit annual reports to ISBE detailing how students, teachers, and district employees use AI, as well as their educational technology capacity and policies.
    - AI Literacy and Professional Development: The state will create professional development opportunities to help educators build AI literacy and implement the new guidance effectively.
    - Internet Safety Curriculum Updates: The bill mandates that the internet safety education curriculum include instruction in the safe and responsible use of AI, such as recognizing and reporting online harassment, cyberbullying, and deepfakes generated by AI tools.

The bill was developed in partnership with Teach Plus Illinois, the Illinois Digital Educators Alliance, and a coalition of education organizations. Advocates say the framework will help ensure that all districts, regardless of size or resources, have access to expert-driven guidance, rather than leaving individual teachers or districts to navigate complex decisions alone.

Both bills — HB2503 and SB1556 — have missed deadlines to pass through committee.

  4 Comments      


Wall interviews Pritzker

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* ABC7’s Craig Wall interviewed Gov. JB Pritzker yesterday…

A recent report showed that state revenue projections will be half a billion dollars less than expected.

Could that impact the low-level asks that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made in his recent trip to Springfield?

“We felt like those were things that the legislature should take into account. I’ve said that to members of the legislature. So, we’ll have to see how it all works out. But it’s a tight budget year. So, nobody’s going to get everything they want,” Pritzker said. “There’s two weeks left, and a lot of work seem to go into it, and I’ll be, you know, in the room, or my people will be in the room. We’ll figure it out.” […]

Pritzker said he’ll make a decision on whether to run for a third term as governor by July, when the Cook County Democratic Party meets to slate candidates.

“Well, some of it is personal, right? I have a family. They’ve been hyper-tolerant, and, you know, on board with my being governor for now, you know, one and a half terms,” Pritzker said.

The governor said he’s not worried about third-term perils.

“I think that that commentary can apply to any day as governor. There are perils, right? And who knew? I’ll just give you one of them: that we would face an international pandemic. Who knew that we would have a migrant crisis?” he said.

Go read the rest and then discuss.

  16 Comments      


Don’t Greenwash Discrimination: Demand Inclusive Labor Standards In Energy Storage Legislation

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

As Illinois charts its path toward a clean energy future, lawmakers must remember the promises made under CEJA—the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. CEJA was never just about clean energy; it was about equitable clean energy. That means creating good-paying union jobs for all workers, especially those from historically excluded Black and Brown communities.

Yet today, a new energy storage bill threatens to undo that vision. Without strong, inclusive Project Labor Agreement (PLA) language, this legislation risks handing energy jobs to a narrow slice of the construction industry—jobs that will go disproportionately to white, politically connected workers, while locking out the very communities CEJA aimed to uplift.

We can’t let Illinois’ clean energy transition be built on the backs of exclusion. Labor unity means every union has a seat at the table—not just the favored few. Ironworkers, roofers, painters, bricklayers, glaziers, boilermakers, cement masons, carpenters, millwrights and many other crafts helped build this state and deserve a shot at building its future.

Lawmakers: don’t sell out working families. Reject any energy storage legislation that doesn’t include inclusive PLA language. Because when we say “green jobs,” we should mean jobs that are union, local, and equitable.

This isn’t just about jobs—it’s about justice, too.

  Comments Off      


Wall St. Journal paints grim picture of WIU, Macomb

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WSJ…

In Macomb, about 140 miles west of Urbana-Champaign, the city’s population fell 23% to an estimated 14,765 from 2010 to 2024. The enrollment at Western Illinois University’s Macomb campus has fallen 47% since 2010, to 5,511 from 10,377. … Layoffs and attrition have shrunk campus employment by 38% in the past 11 years.

The full story is definitely worth a read…

At Western Illinois University, an empty dorm that once held 800 students is now a police training ground, where active-shooter drills have left behind overturned furniture, rubber-tipped bullets and paintball casings.

Nearby dorms have been razed to weedy fields. Two more dorms are set to close this summer. Frat houses and homes once filled with student renters are empty lots. City streets used to be so crowded during the semester that cars moved at a crawl. No more.

* Grim…

In Macomb, about 140 miles west of Urbana-Champaign, the city’s population fell 23% to an estimated 14,765 from 2010 to 2024. The enrollment at Western Illinois University’s Macomb campus has fallen 47% since 2010, to 5,511 from 10,377. … Layoffs and attrition have shrunk campus employment by 38% in the past 11 years.

* And it’s probably not going to get any better…

Macomb is at the heart of a new Rust Belt: Across the U.S., colleges are faltering and so are the once booming towns around them. Enrollment is down at many of the nation’s public colleges and universities, widening the gap between high-profile campuses and struggling schools. Starting next year, there will be fewer high-school graduates for the foreseeable future. […]

College towns are now threatened by federal-funding cuts from the Trump administration, resulting in hiring freezes and layoffs at Ivy League and state schools alike. Administration efforts to cancel student visas might hurt state college budgets, since most international students pay higher, out-of-state tuition.

Even worse, the number of students graduating from American high schools is expected to start falling next spring, after reaching a record high this year. In 2007, the number of U.S. births peaked at 4.3 million and has been falling almost every year since.

Ugh.

* Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford is a WIU grad. And that WSJ story gives additional meaning to her opposition to the governor’s community college baccalaureate bill…

Two Democratic leaders in the Illinois Senate openly expressed their disagreement this week about Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs in certain high-demand employment fields.

The exchange between Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, of Westchester, and Sen. Cristina Castro, of Elgin, who chairs the powerful Senate Executive Committee, took place during a hearing on an unrelated bill that would overhaul the way Illinois funds public universities. But it offered a public view of the reasons why the baccalaureate proposal, which Pritzker touted in his budget address in February, has so far failed to advance in the General Assembly. […]

During Wednesday’s hearing, Lightford appeared with a panel of university presidents from Chicago State, Western Illinois, Illinois State and Northern Illinois universities, and the Southern Illinois University System – all of whom support the funding proposal but oppose the community college baccalaureate plan.

“If we’re thinking about students’ basic needs, we also need to be thinking about the students that don’t necessarily go to the four-year schools,” Castro said to the panel. “If students are really the focus, why are you guys opposed to the (four)-year baccalaureate degrees?”

“I’d like to answer your question, madam chair, because I believe it has zero to do with what we’re trying to accomplish here,” Lightford replied.

She said the university funding proposal was the product of four years of negotiations that were intended to address a specific set of issues facing universities – namely, the adequacy and equity of their funding systems. The community college proposal, she argued, would draw students away from universities that are already struggling to maintain enrollment levels.

“Community college students need to stay at the two-year community college level, and then students who are going for a bachelor’s degree should stay at the university level,” Lightford said. “Because what happens is, when you begin to offer four-year programs at a two-year school, those students who would traditionally go to the four-year university, we’ll lose those students to the community college level.”

Discuss.

  36 Comments      


Powering Illinois’ Energy And Economic Future

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

What if Illinois could expand its energy grid, attract AI and emerging tech companies to the state, and provide over 60,000 new jobs with no impact on communities or the environment?

SOO Green makes it possible.

Built along existing rail corridors, this underground transmission project will deliver 2,100 MW of low-cost reliable power making the electric grid more resilient in the face of extreme weather while unlocking billions in economic investments for Illinois.

The SOO Green Advantage:

    • Accelerates Illinois’ Clean Energy & Jobs Act goals
    • 60,000+ new jobs
    • Lower energy costs for families and businesses
    • $26 billion in economic benefits statewide
    • $9.8 billion in health benefits by reducing emissions

With SOO Green all ratepayers will enjoy a more reliable grid, protection from rising energy costs, and a stronger economy for Illinois.

Learn more at www.soogreen.com.

  Comments Off      


Pope Leo might’ve put the kibosh on a White Sox move

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

In the days and months before he died in July 2020, Ed Schmit received comfort in phone calls from an old friend. “Father Bob,” as Schmit knew Robert Prevost, was then a Catholic bishop in Peru, but Schmit and Prevost shared a bond forged through their South Side roots, their work at St. Rita High School in Chicago — and their mutual love of the Chicago White Sox.

During those phone calls in Schmit’s final days, fighting a battle he couldn’t win against pancreatic cancer, he always told Prevost the same thing, one of Schmit’s daughters, Heidi Skokal, said Monday. And what Schmit said to Prevost was this:

“Father Bob, I know you’re going to be the next pope. I may not be here to see it, but I’ll definitely be looking down” when it happens. Skokal paused to collect herself and continued through the tears, remembering her father. “I’m sure he is” looking down, she said.

Skokal recounted the story after the White Sox unveiled a mural in honor of Prevost, now known around the world as Pope Leo XIV. The artwork is on a pillar near Section 140 at Rate Field, where in 2005 Prevost and Schmit and members of Schmit’s family cheered on the Sox during their victory against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the World Series.

* Visuals…


I just think there’s no way that Jerry Reinsdorf can move the team out of Sox Park and into the South Loop after this historic development. The place is almost like a shrine now.

But, maybe it won’t last.

Your thoughts?

  24 Comments      


Repeal IFPA Now

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Frank Padak, President & CEO of Scott CU:
IFPA Will Harm our Members and our Communities.
“This would be the end of credit unions as we know it in Illinois.”
Stop the Chaos for Our Hard-Working Credit Union Members!



Paid for by Illinois Credit Union League.

  Comments Off      


Open thread

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I was looking for something else on the blog last night and stumbled across this B-52s (pre-fame) live video. Confession: I have been obsessed with early B-52s shows for a very long time. But that video can no longer be embedded. So then I went down a rabbit hole and found this one for you, which was recorded after their first studio album was released…


I hope y’all appreciate the hard work I put into these posts /s.

What up, people?!

  15 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Trump administration cuts may end federal scrutiny of Illinois school where special ed kids often got arrested. ProPublica…

    - It’s been about eight months since the U.S. Department of Education directed Garrison to change the way it responded to the behavior of students with disabilities.

    - But the department’s Office for Civil Rights regional office in Chicago, which was responsible for Illinois and five other states, was one of seven abolished by President Donald Trump’s administration in March.

    - The district was to report its progress in making changes to the OCR by last December, which it appears to have done, according to documents ProPublica obtained through a public records request.

    - But the records show the OCR has not communicated with the district since then and it’s not clear what will come of the work at Four Rivers.

***************** Advertisement *****************


Sponsored by the Illinois Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance

*************************************************

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

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Chicago’s Venezuelan migrants face uncertainty after Supreme Court allows Trump to strip protected status: When Ana Gil heard the news that the Supreme Court Monday allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections for thousands of recent Venezuelan migrants, she cried. The move means 350,000 Venezuelans in the United States, including some of the estimated 50,000 who arrived in Chicago over the last several years, could be deported. How or where? That is unknown, Gil said. She is co-founder of the Venezuelan Alliance in Chicago. Over the last decade, Gil has worked with other immigration advocates to provide resources and legal advice for migrants who have arrived here from Venezuela.

* SJ-R | Bill with stricter enforcements for hiring police officers heads to Gov. Pritzker’s desk: “This one hits me very differently,” Turner said then of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy on July 6, 2024, inside her home after placing a 911 call. Turner added she would do “everything within (my) power to ensure that Sonya receives the justice that she deserves.”

* Daily Herald | Underwood to run for House again rather than U.S. Senate: Underwood has been actively fundraising for the seat and ended March with about $1.1 million in her campaign account, according to her latest finance report. In her statement Monday, Underwood said she intends to help “a new generation of changemakers” get elected and flip the U.S. House blue. She serves as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s recruitment co-chair.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | In the fight for youth transgender health care, Illinois remains at the forefront: A judge has temporarily blocked the order banning the use of federal funds on gender-affirming care, and Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a chief sponsor of Illinois’ shield law, said the Trump directive has not impacted access to care in Illinois. “I think that’s the most important thing people need to know: His signature on that paper changed nothing (in) regard to access to care in Illinois today or tomorrow,” she said.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Rare Chicago dust storm reignites debates over the role of agriculture, experts say: Farm fields that are regularly tilled and left bare, without plant roots to hold soil in place, tend to be at greater risk of that topsoil being swept away by high winds or rain. Other methods don’t disturb the soil as much, making it less susceptible to erosion: One-pass tillage uses tractors with a special tool that turns over the soil once, and strip-tilling turns over just the row of soil where seeds are planted, leaving the rest of the field undisturbed and covered by residue from the previous crop. “It (isn’t) just the practices, it (is) that perfect storm. But the practices fit within the storm,” said Richard Lyons, who runs a 300-acre family farm in Harvel, about 40 miles south of Springfield. He strip-tills his corn but doesn’t till his soybean fields at all.

* Crain’s | Johnson vowed last year to ‘cut the tape’ for developers. Here’s how it’s going: The city has completed 48 of the 107 items identified in the early stages of the initiative, according to a progress tracker. That has sped up how long large projects spend going through the Plan Commission process and made it easier for smaller projects without opposition to receive special permits from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Environmental reviews on city-owned lots without known environmental issues are no longer required. Developers can add minor issues that previously needed to be separately approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals to their applications for a zoning change in the City Council’s Zoning Committee, skipping an unnecessary step and lowering consultant and application fees.

* Block Club | Trump Administration Says It Is Investigating Mayor Johnson Over What It Calls Race-Based Hiring: In a statement Monday, mayoral spokesperson Cassio Mendoza acknowledged being aware of the letter issued by the Justice Department but said the office was still awaiting official receipt of the letter. Mendoza said that the Mayor’s Office’s corporation counsel would review the letter when that happens. “Mayor Johnson is proud to have the most diverse administration in the history of our city,” Mendoza said. “Our administration reflects the diversity and values of Chicago. Unfortunately, the current federal administration does not reflect either.”

* Block Club Chicago | Pullman’s Landmark Greenstone Church In Disrepair, Awaits City Funding To Repair Bell Tower: Greenstone pastor Luther Mason is hopeful the city will greenlight the funds for the rebuild in June, but he’s not ready to celebrate just yet. This will be the second time in five years the city has attempted to finance repairs for the 143-year-old church at 11211 S. St. Lawrence Ave. “It’s critical; it’s real critical,” Mason said. “To get that money and to get this project started before cold weather, Lord willing, that means a lot. Because then we can go into the winter … knowing that, come spring, there will be a new facade on” the bell tower.

* CWB | Old Town bar sues concealed carry holder whose gun fired, putting liquor license in jeopardy: An Old Town bar is suing a concealed carry holder, saying they spent tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees to protect their liquor license after he unintentionally fired his gun inside the establishment. […] Despite signs warning that guns are prohibited within The VIG, the bar claims a man named Michael Davis had a pistol in his pocket and it fired, injuring another patron when the bullet ricocheted off the floor. Davis consumed alcohol during his time at the bar, did not have the gun’s safety on, and failed to secure the weapon properly, the lawsuit alleges.

* Tribune | Lydia Cash peels back the layers of her own life to share rich, evocative Americana-inspired rock music: “I grew up knowing that I’m related to Johnny Cash, but it actually took me a really long time to realize the impact this man had,” Cash said about the famed country musician, her distant relative. “I grew up thinking that he was a cousin who picked up a guitar sometimes. I didn’t understand the weight of that until high school.” Yet despite the family connection, music performance was not modeled to Cash during her childhood. Having grown up in a conservative home in a small town outside of Birmingham, Alabama, writing and performance were things she discovered on her own.[…] In 2013, Cash moved to Chicago to pursue music and visual art. “It opened up my entire world,” she said about the city. “It’s honestly the best decision I’ve ever made, moving here.” Yet music didn’t always come naturally. Cash focused on visual art, her other talent, becoming a full-time painter by 2016.

* Sun-Times | Beyoncé’s Chicago concerts had the BeyHive swarming shops like Alcala’s Western Wear: “We were never expecting all the people, all the fans,” Richard Alcala said. “They’re very loyal, and they all want to be dressed from head to toe.” Loyal may be an understatement. Some shoppers, in search of the perfect bolo tie, were visiting the store from as far as Australia just for the concert. And they were willing to spend hundreds of dollars to dress the part.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Arlington Heights mayor: Bears stadium not done deal: “When and if the Bears do make an announcement that they are coming to Arlington Heights with certainty, there’ll be a process that is going to begin, and there’ll be an enormous amount of opportunity for every resident and business owner to become educated and participate in all the dialogue that’s going to happen,” Mayor Jim Tinaglia said during a village board meeting Monday night. “And this entire board — believe me when I tell you we’ll all have something to say.”

* Sun-Times | Arlington Heights has the ball in Bears stadium sweepstakes, but it’s still far from goal line: A ton of things need to happen before the Bears’ quest for a new stadium reaches the end zone in Arlington Heights and, until it does, there’s at least a glimmer of hope for Chicago, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief negotiator. Senior mayoral adviser Jason Lee openly acknowledged that, for the foreseeable future, Arlington Heights has the ball and Chicago isn’t even on the field playing defense. Johnson isn’t on the sidelines either. He’s more like a spectator watching from the stands.

* Chicagoland Journal | Eric S. France Launches Candidacy for Illinois Second Congressional District: Eric S. France Launches Candidacy for Illinois Second Congressional District (Lynwood, IL) Native Chicago resident and Businessman/Entrepreneur Eric France will officially launch his candidacy for the Illinois Second Congressional District seat on May 31, 2025. He is the first Democratic candidate to declare his bid for the seat. France, who grew up on the south side of Chicago (Hyde Park/South Shore), is a resident of Lynwood, Illinois. He heads up The France Group, a management consulting firm founded by his father. France has organizational and political DNA running through his veins. He is the son of the late Chicago political powerhouse Dr. Erwin A. France, who served multiple Chicago Mayors and government, dating back to the 1960’s. Dr. France spent nearly 20 years as a public servant before entering into private enterprise.

* Daily Southtown | Napoleon Harris sworn in as Thornton Township supervisor, replaces Tiffany Henyard: Four months after the basement of Thornton Township Hall erupted into a brawl that included the township’s supervisor, hundreds of people packed the same space Monday in celebration of new leadership. The swearing in of new township officials marked the end of Tiffany Henyard’s short, tumultuous period of leadership in the south suburbs. Jason House in Dolton and State Sen. Napoleon Harris in Thornton Township have taken the reins from the former mayor and township supervisor, with both having campaigned on a clean slate for their communities.

* Crain’s | Lawsuit claims neighbor ‘terrorized’ users of a Glen Ellyn short-term rental: The latest battleground over short-term rentals is Glen Ellyn, where a judge has temporarily prevented village officials from banning Airbnb-style offerings in the wake of a lawsuit alleging the ban violates constitutional rights of short-term rental property owners. The ban, passed in April and scheduled to take effect in July, has brought to light alleged “terrorism” from the neighbor of one short-term rental, a five-bedroom house on Arboretum Road that rents for upwards of $1,100 a night.

* Lake County News-Sun | Waukegan Township offering emergency assistance when needed; ‘I was so grateful to them’: Now, Jones said Shields Township pays Waukegan Township a monthly fee to provide emergency services to residents from the neighboring township. The program expanded to the general assistance efforts in March. “We know the needs of our community members extend past any invisible boundary lines,” he said. “We are fortunate that Shields Township was willing to collaborate with us to make it possible to extend our resources to all of our neighbors south of 18th Street.”

* Daily Herald | Yes, again: Long Grove’s covered bridge hit by box truck: Long Grove’s historic covered bridge was hit by a truck Monday, adding yet another to the bridge’s many accidents. The driver today was behind the wheel of a box truck, according to a video of the accident from the Facebook page of a nearby business, Chatter Box of Long Grove. This one follows the two that occurred just in April of this year. The Long Grove Covered Bridge Accident Tracker marks it as the 66th time the bridge has been hit since it reopened post-restoration in 2020.

*** Downstate ***

* WIFR | Goldie B. Floberg Center in Rockford calls on Pritzker to reconsider 2026 budget cuts: In February, Pritzker announced his budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, which includes $20 million towards a 50-cent hourly wage increase for DSPs. But some local legislators say the increase comes with a price. “It’s really no different than if I gave you 50 cents, but then at the same time, I pulled a dollar out of your wallet, how would you feel about that?” questions John Pingo, the president of Goldie B. Floberg Center.

* BND | Is Sauget air pollution harming people? CDC suggests a deeper EPA probe: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has completed an investigation into whether air pollution in Sauget is harming people, with a particular focus on the emissions from a hazardous waste incinerator there. An estimated 878 people live within a 1-mile radius of the 35-acre Veolia North America-Trade Waste Incineration facility. The closest residential areas are about half a mile southeast of the facility in Cahokia Heights.

* WGLT | Illinois program to increase faculty diversity in higher education is in doubt: Illinois State University has had between four and 11 DFI fellows in each of the last four years. Stacey Wiggins got a Ph.D. in social work from ISU with DFI help and is now part of the faculty. Would she have been able to complete a master’s degree and earn a doctorate without it? “Oh, no! [laughs] Now, miracles happen, and I am a believer that maybe another resource may have come, but I am grateful for this one,” said Wiggins.

* WGLT | McLean County to observe Ride of Silence honoring victims of bicycle traffic incidents: According to Illinois Department of Transportation data provided by the McLean County Wheelers, the state totaled nearly 3,000 crashes involving bicycles in 2023, with 41 resulting in fatalities. Across the U.S., nearly 1,000 bicyclists were killed and 130,000 injured on the roadways that year.

*** National ***

* WSJ | The Stark Math on the GOP Tax Plan: It Doesn’t Cut the Deficit: In designing a partisan plan that increases budget deficits, Republicans are mindful about what happens if their bill falls apart. The alternate path to preventing a tax increase on most households would require a bipartisan coalition with Democratic votes. That could further increase deficits. Democrats favor extending most tax cuts but would push to let tax cuts expire for top earners. They would, however, reject Republican spending cuts and seek extensions of expanded tax credits for purchasing health insurance.

* Fierce Healthcare | Hospitals cheer judge’s 340B rebate ruling but still await HHS’ final say: The 340B program was enacted by Congress over 30 years ago to help subsidize safety-net care providers by manufacturer discounts on most drugs administered in the outpatient setting by covered entities. More than 60,000 total covered entities were participating as of February 2025 with federal and proprietary data from 2023 suggesting that the roughly $66.3 billion in discounted outpatient drugs purchased through the program would have hit $124.1 billion wholesale, according to a recent investigative report from Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., R-La.

* AP | There’s an American pope, and he’s just like us. At least, we really, really want him to be: Why are we so focused on making sure the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church is also a regular guy from the Midwest? Some of it is pride, you betcha. But another answer lies in Americans’ peculiar and complex relationship with fame and power that goes way back to the founding of the nation itself.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Underwood tells CNN she won’t run for US Senate (Updated x4)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Not unexpected…


…Adding… Raja out with a poll from… April?…

As the race for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate in Illinois begins to take shape, a recent survey of likely Democratic primary voters shows Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in a strong position in a multi-candidate contest.

While the survey showed Raja in the lead in a larger field with five candidates, his lead actually expands in a scenario limited to the three currently announced candidates.

Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s supporters were more likely to select Raja as their second choice candidate than anyone else. When Underwood and Treasurer Mike Frerichs’ supporters are allocated to their second choices, Raja opens up a 9-point advantage over Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton.

Congresswoman Robin Kelly also sits in double digits in this scenario, with a large share of the electorate still undecided.

1 Results are taken from a survey of 800 likely voters in the March 2026 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Interviews were conducted by live dialers via telephone and through text-to-web responses between April 24-28, 2025. Results carry a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence interval.

2 Alternative race scenarios with fewer candidates were calculated by asking respondents who their second choice would be, if their
first choice was not in the race. Those voters whose second choice was not included in the simulation were allocated to ‘undecided.’

Ancient numbers, but interesting.

…Adding… Press release…

As a part of her continued work to stand up for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District and counter Donald Trump’s dangerous MAGA agenda in Washington, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) today issued the following statement regarding her political future:

“In 2018, I was elected to protect health care for people with pre-existing conditions. Since then we’ve gotten 19 pieces of legislation signed into law – bringing home billions of dollars and expanding access to high quality affordable health care for every American.

“Now, Donald Trump and his Administration are renewing their attacks on health care by trying to slash Medicaid and undo all the progress we’ve made, which would have deadly consequences for working families across the country. Our work is not done, and I’ve decided the most powerful way for me to defend our values and hold Donald Trump accountable is to help Democrats win back the House.

“By serving in House Democratic leadership and leading the DCCC recruitment efforts, I’ll continue working to drive down costs for American families, flip the House, and elect a new generation of changemakers. I’m excited to keep leading that fight at home and in Washington.”

Underwood’s decision to forgo a run for the United States Senate coincides with non-partisan projections showing that the most likely way for Democrats to regain power in Washington is through winning back the House of Representatives in 2026. As a member of Democratic House leadership, and as the DCCC Recruitment Co-Chair, Underwood will be playing a key role in helping Democrats flip the House in the 2026 cycle.

“Lauren Underwood has been a force to be reckoned with in the House of Representatives since she successfully flipped a long-held Republican district in 2018,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8). “As a valuable member of leadership, Congresswoman Underwood is playing a critical role in helping House Democrats communicate decisively with voters as we fight the reckless Republican budget scheme and work hard to win back the majority in 2026. At this pivotal moment, Lauren’s work in the House to stop Donald Trump’s dangerous MAGA agenda is needed now more than ever and we look forward to her continued leadership.”

“Congresswoman Underwood is a proven fighter who knows how to flip Republican seats and win tough races,” said DCCC Chairwoman, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01). “As the DCCC Recruitment Co-Chair, Congresswoman Underwood is on the frontlines of bringing the best and brightest to Congress to stop MAGA Republicans and fight for working families. The road to a better United States runs through the House, and we’re lucky to have Congresswoman Underwood helping to pave it.”

Lauren Underwood is a four term United States Congresswoman from Illinois’ 14 district, where she helped flip the House of Representatives and was elected as the youngest Black Congresswoman in history in 2018. In 2024, Underwood won reelection to the House in 2024 by 10 points, while Vice President Harris only won the district by 5 points. Currently the Cook Political Report scores the 14th District as D+3 in their Partisan Voting Index, down one point from 2023.

…Adding… Congresswoman Robin Kelly…

Lauren Underwood is a smart colleague who works very hard for her district and for our state. She’s been a leader in shaping both the message and the future of our party for the better. Lauren and I have both worked diligently on ending the maternal mortality crisis — and I know she will continue to be a critical partner in delivering for the people of Illinois.

…Adding… Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton…

With the constant chaos coming out of Donald Trump’s Washington, taking back the House is more vital than ever before, and Lauren Underwood’s leadership is critical to making that a reality. I’m grateful for Lauren’s advocacy, especially on health care and reproductive rights, and I’m proud to have her fighting for Illinois in Washington.

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Governor JB Pritzker…

In mid-May, the Trump Administration, through U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), terminated the Digital Equity Capacity Program. In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) was in the process of implementing a Digital Equity Capacity Grant under this Program. This grant would have provided more than $23.7 million to Illinois organizations across the state to equip households and residents with the skills, resources, and tools needed to use high-speed internet and fully participate in Illinois’ economy. […]

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included programs and funding for local governments and organizations throughout the state to expand access to affordable, high-speed internet to communities that need the digital tools and skills to fully participate in a modern economy. The programs would help distribute electronic devices, provide training and outreach, and enable more communities with digital skills. The programs were targeted toward 10 million Illinoisians who have historically experienced lower rates of computer and internet access, including rural areas, poorer communities, veterans, seniors, and more. Without a computer, home internet, and the ability to use the internet safely, it would not be possible for a job seeker to create a resume and apply for jobs, a farmer to use data to optimize crop and livestock production, a senior to pay their bills online, or patients to participate in telehealth visits with their healthcare provider. […]

In response to the notice of funding opportunity issued by DCEO for the Illinois Digital Equity Capacity Grant, Illinois received over 260 applications to support local institutions across the state in their efforts to improve access to internet, computers, and digital skills, furthering emphasizing the need for this assistance across the state.

To prepare for the historic Digital Equity Act program, Illinois provided state funding through the Digital Equity Capacity Kickstarter (DECK) program to statewide partners - including nonprofits, libraries, healthcare organizations, and more. From December 2023 until April 2025, dozens of partner organizations hosted more than 4,300 digital skills training classes, participated in more than 900 community outreach events, and distributed more than 1,400 devices.

* AP…

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation.

The court’s order, with only one noted dissent, puts on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month. The justices provided no rationale, which is common in emergency appeals.

The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.

A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration’s request to put the order on hold while the lawsuit continues.

*** Statewide ***

* CUB Warns of June 1 Price Spike on ComEd Bills : While cautioning that pricing information could be adjusted before June 1, CUB said its preliminary review of ComEd tariffs filed Friday shows the utility’s summer supply rate, June through September, would be about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This rate, which includes the supply price and a transmission charge, would represent about a 45 percent increase over last June’s price of 6.9¢ per kWh. The price will change again in October. CEJA will partly offset the price spike. The law requires a line item on ComEd bills called the Carbon Free Energy Resource Adjustment (CFERA) to subsidize energy generated by Illinois nuclear power plants. But consumer advocates pushed for a provision that changes the charge to a credit when energy prices go above a certain level, as in June. According to CUB’s review of ComEd tariffs, this credit will reduce ComEd’s price by about 1.7 cents per kWh, or about 17 percent, in June. While it could be adjusted up or down on a monthly basis, a credit of some amount is expected to stay on bills for at least the next 12 months.

* My Journal Courier | Program to explore court’s role in slavery in Illinois: John Lupton and Samuel Wheeler will present “Slavery in Illinois? The Presumption of Freedom: The Illinois Supreme Court and the Fate of Slavery in Illinois” at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Lupton is executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission, while Wheeler is director of history programs at the commission.

*** Statehouse News ***

* AP | Illinois mulls ending a health program for some immigrants living in the US illegally: Rep. Barbara Hernandez, a suburban Chicago Democrat, said the program helps many families. “There’s a huge need in the undocumented community that cannot get health care otherwise,” she said. If Democrats, who control the Illinois General Assembly, can’t find money to continue the plan — estimated to cost $404 million this year — tens of thousands of migrants will be left without Medicaid-style health coverage.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | $15.5M settlement is ‘first win in a series of losses’ on Chicago’s lopsided parking meter deal: “This is our first win in a series of losses on this deal — and it still doesn’t feel like a win,” said former Finance Chair Scott Waguespack (32nd), who cast one of only five votes against the parking meter deal that Chicagoans love to hate. The settlement is further proof that the City Council “rushed through a deal that wasn’t fully open, wasn’t fully transparent” and “should have been shelved,” Waguespack said, a deal created simply to help then-Mayor Richard M. Daley avoid raising property taxes.

* WBEZ | Chicago parents say kids will be at risk if Trump guts consumer product safety panel: On May 8, Trump fired three of the five commissioners who lead the bipartisan, independent agency. That came after they voted to advance a safety standard for lithium-ion batteries linked to fatal fires involving e-bikes and scooters in defiance of a Trump executive order requiring White House review of all new proposed regulations. Though the moves are certain to be fought in court, dismantling the agency upends more than a half century of independent oversight of product safety from an agency created by Congress to be largely insulated from politics.

* The Triibe | Teen third spaces were once the epicenter of Chicago’s music and dance trends. What happened?: Those spaces have largely disappeared. Mall culture, for example, nearly died as online shopping and social media-inspired dropshipping consumed the consumer. Accidents, shootings and insurance issues led to the closure of teen clubs. So today, the third space for the under-21 crowd has not just eroded, it just might be extinct. […] Schools also played an essential role in the teen social scene of the 1970s and ’80s. During a 2019 panel about high schools’ role in the House and dance scene, House DJs such as Celeste Alexander and Kirk Townsend detailed why school “sock hops” were pivotal.

* Crain’s | Mesirow raises $1.25 billion fund for multifamily real estate investments: The Chicago-based firm received commitments from institutional investors for Mesirow Financial Real Estate Value Fund V, which is 66% bigger than the previous fund for multifamily investments. Like Fund IV, which closed with $750 million in financial commitments in 2021, the new fund will target its investments in the top 25-30 U.S. markets, including Chicago.

* AP | White Sox to unveil a graphic installation honoring Pope Leo XIV: The graphic installation at Rate Field marks the location where the future pope cheered for Chicago in Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. The White Sox beat the Astros 5-3 on their way to a four-game sweep for the title. The team said the pillar artwork commemorates the pope’s Chicago roots “and the unifying power of baseball on the world stage.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | LanzaTech is laying off 44 from its Skokie HQ amid clean energy pullback: The company, which employed 383 people globally at the end of last year, disclosed the layoffs at its headquarters in filings with the state of Illinois and the Securities and Exchange Commission. LanzaTech, one of Chicago’s most successful clean-tech startups, has been struggling lately, scrambling to raise money and cut costs. The company’s revenue declined 21% last year to $50 million, and it lost $138 million. LanzaTech is trying to cut expenses by $30 million a year, or about 20%.

* Daily Herald | Parents refuse to give up as St. Alphonsus Liguori school faces closure once again: Then, the threat of closure was announced at the end of December 2015 and families were given the winter to reach a $400,000 fundraising goal that was ultimately met. It bought time to move the school’s attendance from 137 to the Archdiocese of Chicago’s preferred level of 225. But this time, because the archdiocese and parish are in agreement that financial and attendance goals are sufficiently unattainable, no goal was presented to the school community, said Katie O’Dea, senior director of communications and marketing for the Office of Schools.

* Daily Herald | New pot dispensary, tattoo parlor get approval from Elgin City Council: It took Elgin nearly five years to find a home for their first adult-use cannabis dispensary. They will soon have a second. Last week, the city council approved a plan for Jane & Buds Cannabis Dispensary to open in the former Boston Market location at 205 S. Randall Road. New council member Diana Alfaro abstained from the 8-0 vote.

* WBEZ | Here’s your 2025 guide to farmers markets throughout Chicago : Chicago has a wealth of farmers markets, but reliable information about them can be scattered across websites and social media. To help, this guide brings together the most current information for farmers markets throughout Chicago. (We broke out 56 suburban markets into its own 2025 guide.)

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Controversial Freeburg school board member resigns after judge rules against him: Stein’s resignation follows a ruling by St. Clair County Circuit Court Associate Judge Stacy Campbell on May 6 to extend a workplace protection restraining order against him until December. The judge had issued an emergency order last November on request from district officials. Stein was prohibited from entering school property, forcing him to attend board meetings via Zoom. The district’s request alleged that he had screamed and used profanity at board meetings and, in a phone call with Interim Superintendent Mark Janssen, threatened to run over officials with his vehicle. Stein denied the allegations.

* WSIL | Tornado recovery: Marion CUSD #2 seeks help for impacted families: The district is asking for donations to assist families in need of essentials like clothing, food, and temporary shelter as they rebuild. “Every contribution—large or small—will make a difference in the lives of Unit #2 students, staff and families who are trying to find stability and hope after this traumatic event,” said the district. Monetary donations, including cash, checks, or gift cards, can be made at any Marion CUSD #2 school buildings or the Unit #2 Administration Office.

* BND | What to know about Belleville school district’s 15,000-square-foot CAVE expansion: Belleville School District 201 unveiled the 15,000-square-foot expansion to its Center for Academic and Vocational Excellence, better known as The CAVE, Wednesday. Community members got an up-close look at the new CAVE Annex, which is a separate building that sits southeast of the main building, at an open house. There, they marveled at the retired Falcon jet, tested flight simulators and explored a digitally automated human cadaver.

* PJ Star | Tragedy, drama and comedy: Here’s the history of a surviving Downtown Peoria theater: The on-again, off-again saga of Peoria’s Apollo theater is on again, with the site of the historic downtown movie palace up for sale. Along with the listing came interest in the history of the century-old Apollo, once one of a handful of downtown theaters. Today, the venue is a shell of its former glory, but remnants of the storied theater − including its ornate balcony − remain. The Apollo was not the grandest of the downtown theaters, but held its own charms, including a jungle-themed stage mural, graceful ceiling fixtures and wall ornamentation.

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Catching up with the congressionals

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* More adventures in embargoes…

Hi Rich,

I wanted to introduce you to Morgan Coghill. He’s a small business owner from Mundelein who grew up poor, knows what third shift looks like, and represents the kind of everyday working-class experience voters have been asking for and establishment Democratic leadership keeps ignoring.

Now, he’s stepping up to challenge Rep. Brad Schneider in IL-10. His campaign officially launches next Wednesday, May 21, and it’s landing at a moment when debates over safe-seat primaries and party leadership are dominating headlines.

Morgan is not taking a dime from corporate PACs or special interests, and he’s demanding that the Democratic Party fight harder for the people it claims to represent.

Would you be interested in an embargoed interview with Morgan before his launch on the 21st? He’s available:

    • Monday afternoon (May 19)

    • All day Tuesday (May 20)

Interviews can be by phone or in person in Mundelein. He’s ready to talk about why he’s running, what the party needs to hear, and how he plans to shake up IL-10.

Let me know if you’d like to set up a time.

I’ll pass, thanks.

* Friday email…

Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison is wrapping up the first week of his historic campaign with strong support from a wide range of community leaders and advocates, and growing momentum across the district.

The Windy City Times said this about Kevin Morrison: “Kevin Morrison, the first openly gay person elected to the Cook County Board, has spent the past six years as commissioner focused on mental health, civil rights policy, and bipartisan collaboration. Now, with the country at what he calls a ‘crucial’ turning point, Morrison is launching a run for Congress in Illinois’ Eighth Congressional District.”

CBS reported on Kevin Morrison’s campaign launch, saying: “[Morrison] touted his record as a Cook County commissioner as having fought to expand voting rights and mental health care funding, and to fight discrimination.”

In the first week of his campaign, Kevin Morrison has already secured endorsements from across the district and state, including Congressman Eric Sorensen and State Representative Kelly Cassidy. The momentum shows that people want Kevin Morrison fighting for them in Congress.

The full list of almost 50 local leaders putting their name behind Kevin Morrison’s campaign includes:

    • Adriane Johnson – State Senator
    • Rob Martwick – State Senator
    • Nicolle Grasse – State Representative
    • Bill McLeod – Hoffman Estates Mayor
    • Maria Vesey – Addison Township Clerk-Elect
    • Phil Dukes – Trustee, Elk Grove Township
    • Daniel Hebreard – President of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
    • Paula McCombie – South Barrington Mayor
    • Barrett Pederson – Mayor of Franklin Park and Committeeman
    • Alex Arroyo – DuPage County Board Member
    • Ted Mason – Elk Grove Township Committeeman
    • Harish Kolasani – National India Hub Founder
    • Ron Onesti – President, JCCIA
    • Patrick Kinnane – Trustee, Hoffman Estates
    • Bill Manganaro – Trustee, Arlington Heights
    • Frank Avino – Village of Norridge Trustee and Norwood Park Township Committeeman

The full list of LGBTQ+ endorsements today are:

    • Eric Sorensen – Member of Congress
    • Kelly Cassidy – State Representative
    • Maggie Trevor – Cook County Commissioner
    • Marcelino Garcia – Cook County MWRD
    • Alex Arroyo – Member, DuPage County Board
    • Robert Lugiai – Trustee, Elk Grove Township
    • Monika Stajniak – Trustee, Elk Grove Township
    • Austin Mejdrich – Trustee, Wheeling Township
    • Bennett Lawson – Alderman
    • Lamont Robinson – Alderman
    • Greg Harris – IL State House Majority Leader (retired)
    • Maria Hadden – Alderwoman, Chicago
    • Travis Haley – Round Lake Library Board Trustee
    • Kristal Larson – Avon Democratic Township Democratic Chair

Kevin also welcomes the support of many of his colleagues on the Cook County Commission, and other leaders across Cook and the collar counties:

    • Nicole Lee – Alderwoman, Chicago
    • Bridget Gainer – Cook County Commissioner
    • Frank Aguilar – Cook County Commissioner
    • John Daley – Cook County Commissioner
    • Josina Morita – Cook County Commissioner
    • Scott Britton – Cook County Commissioner
    • Stanley Moore – Cook County Commissioner
    • Dr. Kisha McCaskill – Cook County Commissioner
    • Michael Scott Jr. – Former Alderman and Cook County Commissioner
    • Laddi Singh – Former Candidate, House District 54
    • Chuck Bernardini – Former Commissioner and Alderman
    • Doug House – ILDCAA Chair (retired)
    • Holly Kim – Lake County Treasurer
    • Steve Rosenblum – School Board President, District 211
    • Anne Lopez – School Board Member, District 211
    • Jane Russell – School Board Member, District 211
    • Joe Sagerer – School Board Member, District 214

Alex Arroyo is not a DuPage County Board member. He’s on the Kane County Board.

* Politico today…

— SCOOP: Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss raised $350,000 in the first 24 hours of announcing his bid to run for Congress in the seat now held by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky. “We’re building a movement to not only take on Donald Trump and MAGA extremists, but to deliver real change to lower costs, defend the environment, and protect our fundamental rights. This amazing early support makes it clear that people are ready to fight for a future that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected,” Biss said in a statement announcing the fundraising numbers.

Is it really a SCOOOOOOOOP when the press release went out Friday and I posted it on the blog then and the Sun-Times had it online hours before Politco did this morning?

lol

* And speaking of that Sun-Times article, here’s more from the 9th Congressional District…

Justin Ford is an environmental health and safety professional who also worked in disability care and helped organize graduate student unions.

“This campaign is about working families — the ones juggling two jobs, caring for kids or elders, and trying to build a future in a system that too often ignores them,” Ford said on his campaign website.

State Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago; Bushra Amiwala, a Skokie school district board member; and Chicagoan David Abrevaya are also exploring runs.

It’s a good piece, you should go read the whole thing.

  4 Comments      


Today’s quotable

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois Secretary of State and rumored candidate for Chicago mayor…


Many of the replies are, um, non-supportive.

Your thoughts?

  43 Comments      


DCFS staffing increases 44 percent, IDHS direct care workers now fully staffed (Updated)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Here’s something you don’t see much, if ever: A state government touting an increase in staffing levels. But most states didn’t hollow out their workforces to the point where some agencies couldn’t perform their tasks. And I doubt it took many other states almost a year just to hire somebody. Press release…

Today, Illinois Central Management Services (CMS) announced that the State of Illinois has achieved historic outcomes in building up its workforce, increasing the total employee count from 50,544 in 2019 to 55,340 in 2025 – the highest number of state employees since 2008, which was 55,237 employees. These gains are driven by hiring at agencies that have historically faced challenges filling positions and that directly provide support to vulnerable Illinoisans. This includes a 44% increase in staffing at the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) and a 15% increase in direct care worker roles at the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS).

Formerly a manual, paper-driven process plagued by outdated grading systems, the State’s hiring has undergone a transformative modernization since 2019, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined process today.

“These milestones are a testament to the dedication and commitment of CMS, which has embraced efficiency, innovation and collaboration to improve past hiring challenges,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By modernizing our hiring practices and investing in technology, we’re not just improving efficiency, we’re building a government that is more inclusive, responsive, and equipped to serve the people of Illinois for generations to come. As we look ahead, CMS will build upon this progress as it continues to improve and streamline hiring for key roles that support Illinoisans every day.”

CMS launched an unprecedented improvement effort designed to update the hiring process. This includes upgrading technology to enable fully electronic applications, developing new proactive recruitment strategies to broaden the applicant pool, and eliminating redundant processes following the passage of SB 2228. These changes have resulted in:

    • Record High Number of Employees Driven by Hiring Key Health and Human Services Positions: The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) have exceeded historical staffing levels. For example, DCFS staffing has increased 44% (2,686 to 3,886) from 2019 to 2025, and DCFS caseworker roles are staffed at an unprecedented 96%. At IDHS, Direct Care Worker roles have increased nearly 15% (4,167 to 4,789) from 2019 to 2025 and is considered fully staffed.
    • Hiring Timeline Reduced by 58%: While improvements are still being made, the hiring timeline has gone from an average of 269 days in 2019 to 111 days in 2025 – a 58% reduction.
    • Vacancy Rate Cut Nearly in Half: The vacancy rate for jobs at the State of Illinois decreased from 14% in 2019 to 8% in 2025.
    • Application Surge: Applications increased 311% after the electronic system rollout in 2020. From 2022 to 2024 alone, applications rose 110% (193,294 to 407,526), and the candidate pool increased 81%. Job offers increased 49% over the same period.

“Our workforce should reflect the people we serve,” said CMS Director Raven A. DeVaughn. “Increased applications and placements show that our changes are working while still prioritizing equity and accessibility. Not only are we hiring faster, but we’re hiring the very best candidates from the most diverse pools.”

Increased outreach at job fairs, community events, and the launch of the Really Great Careers campaign have also helped to broaden the State’s applicant pool. More than 1,100 job seekers attended career fairs hosted by CMS this year at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), Malcom X College in Chicago, and Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC).

“It made perfect sense to implement modern processes and best practices to Illinois’ hiring processes through legislation I led in 2023,” said State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora). “Here’s the payoff already happening from making this leap forward: CMS has reduced the hiring timeline nearly 60 percent, cut the job vacancy rate nearly in half in critical agencies like DHS and DCFS, and tripled the number of job applications received through the new electronic system. The candidate pool grew and job offers increased. This is a win for both the State and its workers.”

“Governor Pritzker signed SB 2228 in 2023 taking a critical step toward transforming our state’s hiring processes, making government more transparent and accessible to all,” said State Representative Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-Chicago). “I was proud to have chief sponsored and led the negotiations with CMS leadership on this legislation. I applaud the department’s effective implementation which shows great progress toward improving our State’s workforce.”

For more information about job opportunities at the State of Illinois, visit https://work.illinois.gov/.

111 days to hire someone is still too long, but it’s a drastic improvement.

You wonder whether the federal government will have to do the same sort of thing in the future after drastically cutting some of its workforce this year, in many cases without much rhyme or reason.

…Adding… Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II was interviewed by RFD Radio’s Rita Frazer…

First of all, I want to tell you that five-and-a-half years ago when I came to the Department of Agriculture, we had 299 employees.

We’ve got 435 employees … hoping to hire a couple more.

There’s a couple of areas I would specifically point out. One of them is meat and poultry processing.

Five-and-a-half years ago we were at, I think, 72 or 73 inspectors. We’re at 105 now, which is the largest number ever that we’re aware of in the history of the Department of Agriculture.

  8 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Illinois Families for Public Schools…

There was yet another disturbing news item last week about the Powerschool breach in December that impacted more than 60 million students and almost 10 million educators, including dozens of districts in Illinois. Now school districts hit by that breach are being extorted to prevent the release of data that Powerschool says it paid the original hackers to “delete.”

Paying ransom for data is something that, for years, the FBI and CISA have advised companies and organizations NOT to do!

On top of this, Powerschool has still not been forthcoming with full details of the impact of the breach, but it was almost certainly the result of their inadequate security protocols; according to NBC News, “the hacker simply obtained a single employee’s password,” and PowerSchool admitted publicly that “the infiltrated PowerSource system did not have multi-factor authentication support.”

Even though companies have a duty to implement adequate security measures for education data under IL’s Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA), Powerschool will likely never be held accountable for violating SOPPA. Only our state attorney general can enforce SOPPA, and that’s never happened since the law was passed back in 2017.

Sadly, HB 2696, which would give families the right to sue companies that violate SOPPA, is still languishing in the Senate Assignments Committee, more than a month after it passed the House, 70-38.

* Click here for some background. Rep. Dan Ugaste…

State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) will soon be filing legislation aimed at halting self-benefiting advertising campaigns from Illinois entities, public or private, that receive government funding. This important legislation is in part a response to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) attempting to persuade the public to contact their legislators regarding bills that could provide it with additional state funding.

This ongoing ad campaign from RTA is known as ‘Save Transit Now.’ The agency claims that it is facing a fiscal cliff, and drastic service cuts could be on the horizon if more state funding is not secured. They are reportedly seeking an additional $1.5 billion in funding from the state.

“The agency claims it is broke, yet the organization is currently spending three-quarters of a million dollars on an all-encompassing ad campaign in northeast Illinois,” Rep. Ugaste stated. “This reckless spending is wasteful and out of touch. No entity that receives government funding should be allowed to advertise to the public, solicit the public, or conduct a marketing campaign in favor of or against any policy or legislation.”

* Rep. Maura Hirschauer…

A dedicated advocate for commonsense gun laws that prioritize public safety while adhering to constitutional rights, state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, is spearheading a measure that aims to keep firearms out of reach of small children and at-risk minors.

“When we address a topic as contentious as guns and ownership rights, it is extremely important to hear concerns on both sides of the aisle. It’s possible to have smart gun reform that still protects 2A rights, and that’s exactly what we’re working toward, ” said Hirschauer. “We’ve had many positive and productive conversations. I look forward to getting this legislation through the finish line to truly prioritize public safety in our communities.”

Senate Bill 8, known as the Safe Gun Storage Act, aims to enhance gun storage safety and address stolen firearm requirements with the ultimate goal to prevent access to firearms by minors, at-risk individuals, and those prohibited from possessing them. The bill would require firearm owners to secure their weapons in a locked container, rendering them inaccessible and unusable to anyone except the owner or an authorized user.

“We’ve heard too many tragedies of firearms landing in the wrong hands. This is a smart way we can work toward a solution to keeping guns away from children and those who absolutely should not have access to a weapon,” said Hirschauer. “This legislation is a baby step in the realm of keeping our kids safe and away from nonsensical gun violence.”

Senate Bill 8 favorably passed out of the Senate Chamber and awaits House consideration.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Amid concerns about Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, lawmakers in Springfield supporting human rights for Palestinians have increasingly signed on to legislation opposing the decade-old anti-boycott law. But so far, these bills have stalled.

Illinois’ 2015 law prohibits state pension funds from investing in companies engaging in the Boycott, Divest, Sanction, or BDS, movement against Israel, making Illinois the first U.S. state to enact such legislation, with dozens of other states following suit. The measure, signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, was modeled after similar post-9/11 measures restricting Illinois’ pension funds from investment in companies that engage in business with the governments of Iran and Sudan.

When boycotting Israel became grounds for blacklisting, Illinois lawmakers established the Illinois Investment Policy Board, tasked with investigating companies’ investment choices. Opponents of the laws have warned they curtail free speech. Israel is the only country for which boycotting is penalized in Illinois by the board.

To repeal this policy, Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, introduced House Bill 2723, and Sen. Mike Porfirio, D-Bridgeview, introduced Senate Bill 2462 earlier this year. Since then, some 22 co-sponsors were added in the House and Senate, while two of those later had their names removed. […]

Rashid’s and Porfirio’s bills have stalled in committee despite the initial support from about one-fifth of the Democratic caucus, including the leaders of the Latino, Black and Progressive caucuses.

Thousands of bills, the vast majority of those proposed, get stuck in the Rules Committee every year for various reasons. In HB 2723’s case, the holdup can be attributed in part to the political costs of supporting the bill, advocates said.

Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Harvey, was listed as a cosponsor on March 20, and Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, signed onto the bill on April 2, but both had their names removed on April 8. Neither senator responded to a request for comment on their reasoning.

* WAND…

As the clock ticks down toward the end of spring session, Democratic lawmakers hope to pass a plan to allow anyone dying of a terminal illness within six months to have the option of medically-assisted death. […]

Experts told the House Executive Committee Friday that medical aid in dying is approved in 10 states, and there have been no substantial cases of abuse or coercion since Oregon became the first state with the policy in 1997. […]

The House version of this plan has 15 Democratic co-sponsors, but the plan would need support from 60 Democrats before Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch allows for a floor vote. […]

Meanwhile, a Senate version of the legislation could come up for a floor vote as early as next week.

Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) filed the legislation after dealing with both her mother and father’s deaths. She told colleagues in February that they both suffered with extreme pain before they died.

* Donovan Griffith, Jack Lavin and Lou Sandoval…

Affordable housing is the foundation of a strong, sustainable economy, and the demand in Illinois is overwhelming. At this moment, there’s a shortage of over 290,000 affordable rental homes for our lowest-income residents. […]

Put simply, if we want Illinois to remain competitive in site selection and economic development, we need to build more homes. The Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit (HB 1147/SB 62) is a key part of the solution.

It’s a chain reaction: Build affordable housing. Companies invest. People get jobs. Communities thrive. That’s why business groups including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Chamber Commerce, and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association are calling on lawmakers to pass this commonsense legislation to build affordable homes desperately needed across our state. […]

One annual round of funding through the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit would support the creation of 1,150 affordable homes or apartments, 7,000 jobs, and generate $653 million in economic benefits over 10 years.

* Illinois Public Interest Research Group Director Abraham Scarr…

Rooftop solar eventually pays for itself and, thanks to battery storage, can be used to power our homes year-round. And, as a nonpolluting energy source, it helps keep our air clean and our climate stable.

Yet in Illinois, we are tapping only a small amount — 2%, according to 2022 figures — of our potential solar energy generation, despite rapidly falling costs, improvements in technology, favorable tax incentives and growing demand. Increasing the number of homes with solar panels and battery backup systems is a critical component of Illinois’ clean energy transition. […]

Thankfully, Illinois lawmakers are now considering the Residential Automated Solar Permitting Act, sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cunningham and state Rep. Marcus Evans, which would implement instant permitting statewide. The projected benefits to consumers, jurisdictions and the clean energy transition would be tremendous.

According to a recent report from the Greenhouse Institute and the Brown University Climate Solutions Lab, instant permitting could lead to an additional 35,000 to 36,000 home solar roofs in Illinois by 2030 and as many as an additional 300,000 by 2040. Those 300,000 solar roofs could eventually save 30 million to 31 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of shutting down eight coal-fired power plants for a year. In addition, instant permitting could bring down the cost for a family to install solar by as much as $2,100 by 2030 and by more than $4,000 by 2040.

SB2385 and its companion bill in the House have yet to pass through committee.

* WAND…

State lawmakers are renewing calls for a bill to increase educational requirements for surgical technologists.

The legislation could require their degree to come from a nationally accredited program that includes a mock surgical treatment.

Sponsors told reporters in Springfield Thursday that Stroke Awareness Month is the perfect time to pass the bill, as it is critical that patients receive care from properly trained staff. […]

The measure passed out of the House on a 73-35 vote last month. State senators could vote on the proposal during the final two weeks of the spring session.

  6 Comments      


Illinois Medicaid: Working Together To Support The Health Of Our Families, Communities, And State

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

‘You showed up in my life at the perfect time’

On any given day, nearly 26,000 Illinois residents experience homelessness.

Last summer, “Trinity,” a 33-year-old mom from central Illinois, was one of them.

Trinity and her children had moved into an emergency shelter, which partners with a Medicaid health plan to host mobile clinic events at their facility.

When Trinity showed up at an event, the scope of her family’s medical needs became clear. The family had visited emergency rooms twice in the past week. All of her children were overdue for well-child exams. And Trinity was 16 weeks pregnant—without any prenatal
care.

Practitioners acted swiftly, checking up on the kids and performing prenatal assessments on Trinity. She was prescribed medication for extremely high blood pressure and monitored at three subsequent clinic events.

In November, Trinity delivered a healthy baby boy. And she brought him home to long-term housing she secured near the shelter—with assistance from her health plan.

“You showed up in my life at the perfect time,” Trinity says. “You have helped me so much, and I don’t feel alone.”

Paid for by the Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans

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Your moment of small-town Illinois zen

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From “Joe & Nic’s Road Trip” YouTube page…

We are traveling the USA by road. We are documenting towns & cities across the USA, mostly visiting the downtowns and the neighborhoods surrounding those downtowns. We’re there to see the unique architecture, walkability, artwork, unique stores and restaurants. We will be visiting every state in the U.S.! Come along with us for the ride!!

* Their drive-throughs of Cabery, Kempton, Emington, Cullom, Chatsworth, Strawn, Sibley, Colfax & Cooksville…

* And this is from their visits of Illinois river towns Henry, Lacon, Chillicothe and Peoria…

  8 Comments      


When RETAIL Succeeds, Illinois Succeeds

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Findings of a recent economic study were clear — the retail sector is a cornerstone of the state’s economy and crucial to our everyday lives. Retail in Illinois directly contributes more than $112 billion in economic investment annually – more than 10 percent of the state’s total Gross Domestic Product.

Retailers like Jessica in Mahomet enrich our economy and strengthen our communities. We Are Retail and IRMA showcase the retailers who make Illinois work.

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Welch on Crespo: ‘I can’t allow someone to go rogue and be an individual’

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch took the extraordinary actions last week of permanently kicking Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, out of the House Democratic caucus, stripping him of his legislative staff, removing him from his Appropriations Committee chair position and booting him from the bicameral Legislative Audit Commission.

Welch also suspended a Democratic staffer who reportedly helped Crespo prepare an alternative budget plan, which is what got both people axed.

Crespo took me aside Tuesday night at a reception and told me he was preparing to unveil a budget proposal that he believed could help the state weather at least some of the fiscal pain that the Republican Congress and the Trump administration were about to inflict on Illinois and all other states.

The very next day, Welch lowered the boom. Hard.

Needless to say, replacing an Appropriations Committee chair with barely two weeks to go in the spring session and tough budget votes ahead is not exactly commonplace. I’ve never seen such a thing in 35 years of doing this.

A source within the House Democratic operation said Welch told Crespo he hadn’t been engaging this session with the House’s top budget negotiators, appropriations staff, other members and the House speaker himself.

But the final straw was Crespo’s budget proposal, which was far outside the “silo” of his Appropriations Committee’s purview, multiple sources said.

Crespo’s budget idea would have at least temporarily freed up about $4 billion in state spending in the upcoming fiscal year. The proposal would’ve withheld state funds from discretionary programs, created $1.6 billion in contingency reserves (which has been done in previous tight budget years), and allowed short-term borrowing from special state funds.

Crespo almost tanked the state’s crucial revenue bill last May by telling his fellow Democrats to “vote your conscience” during floor debate. Several moderate, House Democrats wound up voting against the bill, and it took hours to pass the measure.

Now, however, Crespo has even less to lose by going all-out against the budget plan since his powers have been stripped. The end-of-session budget vote was already going to be difficult, and now it could be even more fraught with peril if Crespo spends the remaining session days publicly and privately dumping on the budget plan.

But, maybe not, because no House Democrats rose to defend Crespo during a closed-door caucus meeting on Thursday, although some were grumbling privately.

Welch clearly took the caucus reaction (or lack thereof) as confirmation that he was right to move against Crespo: “I levied the decision that I levied, and I’m comfortable with it,” Welch told me after the Thursday caucus meeting. “I slept well last night. And from the reaction of my leadership team and members, they believe I made the right decision as well.”

Asked if Crespo has a path back to caucus membership, Welch told me: “No. We’re not going to tolerate that level of disrespect to our caucus. In my opinion, there’s no way back.”

When I asked Welch if ejecting Crespo from the caucus was a disproportionate response to what Crespo did, Welch gave two reasons for his decision.

First, Crespo’s use of his committee chair role to pursue an agenda which runs counter to shared caucus goals: “He’s free to speak his mind. He’s free to vote his conscience, just like other members have done,” he said, but added that no one would be allowed to use their official leadership roles “to pursue an agenda that is antithetical to our shared goals” of passing a budget.

Second, Welch said that last week’s “rogue” behavior by Crespo was not isolated: “It wasn’t because of a single instance. It’s because of cumulative instances.

“I can’t allow someone to go rogue and be an individual,” Welch said.

Whew.

Welch also described his final sit-down with Crespo: “At two or three different points, he realized that what he did was wrong because he tried to apologize a couple of times.”

Crespo, however, claimed Welch said he felt like the member had stabbed him in the back. Crespo said he apologized to Welch if he took his actions that way because it wasn’t his intent. Crespo said he did not apologize for what he actually did.

Welch said he wasn’t concerned about Crespo using the remaining session days to try and pull votes off the budget.

“I believe that we have better systems in place than we did last year, and so I don’t have the same level of concern this year as last year.”

  70 Comments      


Seniors’ Lives Are On The Line

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

20,000 seniors are going without home care because wages are too low to keep workers. Support HB 1330/SB 120 because Illinois seniors deserve quality care. Care can’t wait!


  Comments Off      


Open thread

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A friend of mine came to a little party I threw on Saturday and tipped me to this vintage Illinois campaign video…

Click here for more background on Lurlean Hunter.

What’s up?

  12 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: AG: Tollway violated the Open Meetings Act with settlement vote. Daily Herald…

    -Nine months ago, Illinois tollway directors ended a closed session and voted on about $68 million in spending, including a controversial $25 million lawsuit settlement over a botched contract. But they neglected to tell members of the public they could return to the boardroom and witness the proceedings.

    -Now, the Illinois attorney general’s Public Access Bureau has concluded the tollway board violated several sections of the Open Meetings Act at that Aug. 29, 2024 session.

    - The tollway previously contended that since the livestream meeting video was restarted after executive session and a recording was available after adjournment, the board had complied with the law.

***************** Advertisement *****************

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*************************************************

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Federal DEI crackdown threatens Illinois graduate student scholarship program: On March 31, the U.S. Department of Justice notified universities participating in the Diversifying Higher Education in Illinois scholarship and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, which disperses the scholarship funds, that the program “unconstitutionally discriminated on the basis of race in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment,” according to an April 11 Department of Justice news release. “After the Justice Department threatened to file suit, the state and six universities suspended the program,” the DOJ release said.

* Post-Tribune | Feds want to sentence Snyder on tax charge, cancel bribery trial: The second bribery conviction, over allegations surrounding a $13,000 payment involving around $1 million in contracts for garbage trucks, stood after two trials, only to get overturned last summer when the Supreme Court ruled that the payment was a gratuity, not a bribe, and criminalizing the payment put even routine campaign contributions at the risk of the federal government’s wrath. Overturning Snyder’s conviction had a ripple effect on countless other cases, most notably prominent cases in Illinois, including the trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan and the case of the “ComEd Four” who were convicted of a scheme to bribe him.

* Sun-Times | Chicago experiences first dust storm since the Dust Bowl 91 years ago: It was the first time the city had seen a dust storm since May 10, 1934, which was during the first wave of the Dust Bowl — a series of intense dust storms caused by a combination of drought and poor farming methods in the mid- to late-1930s — according to National Weather Service meteorologist Zachary Yack. The storm was carrying dust picked up from farms in central Illinois, and raced north toward the Chicago area, bringing 60- to 70-mph winds and reducing visibility to less than a quarter of a mile. Strong winds originating out of a cluster of severe thunderstorms moving across central Illinois caused the dust storm, the weather service said.

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Native ancestors’ return to rest: A paperwork-laden process underway in Illinois: Raphael Wahwassuck, a council member and citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, Illinois’ only federally recognized tribe, said that when he started as the tribe’s point of contact for NAGPRA, he was initially greeted by stacks of paperwork. “I had bankers boxes, probably four high, 10 rows deep, of notices that come in,” Wahwassuck said. “Since that time, we’ve cleaned up our internal processes to where now we’re asking for a lot of electronic notices. … I could probably check my phone right now and have maybe 50 (notices), and, it’s just – I don’t know that it will ever slow down.”

* Sun-Times | Crowded field of challengers growing as Dick Durbin exodus creates opportunities for Democrats: Sen. Dick Durbin’s announcement last month set the stage for a game of political musical chairs, as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi quickly jumped into the race. That leaves their districts full of eager competitors. With U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood still deciding whether she’ll run for Durbin’s seat, the 14th District could also come into play. And U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s announcement earlier this month that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection opens her seat wide open.

* Crypto News | Coinbase sued in Illinois over biometric data practices tied to KYC checks: Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on May 13, the lawsuit alleges that Coinbase’s Know Your Customer checks involve scanning users’ facial geometry without proper notice or consent, a move the plaintiffs say directly breaches Illinois’ biometric privacy laws. According to the complaint, users were required to upload a government-issued ID and a selfie, which were then processed by third-party facial recognition software.

* Capitol News Illinois | After 150 years, Mary Lincoln’s ‘madness’ still haunts American psyche: On May 19, 1875, a Cook County jury handed down a verdict in a case concerning the health and welfare of Mary Lincoln, widow of the former president who had been assassinated a decade earlier. After listening to only a single day of testimony, the 12 men on the jury signed the standard verdict form stating simply that they “are satisfied that said Mary Lincoln is insane, and is a fit person to be sent to a State Hospital for the Insane …”

* WIFR | Illinois casinos must implement human trafficking training and reporting procedures: The new rule to combat human trafficking from the Illinois Gaming Board is effective immediately. Illinois casinos must develop and implement human trafficking training and reporting procedures and post awareness notices. “Human trafficking is one of the most underreported and under-identified crimes,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Because human trafficking can come in many forms and can happen almost anywhere, it is important to train people working in industries targeted by human traffickers to recognize the signs so they can report the crimes and help save lives.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Advantage News | College insurance “mess” debated at Illinois Capitol: Illinois lawmakers are having discussions about pension obligations and payment backlogs which continue to plague the state’s College Insurance Program. Funding problems were discussed Wednesday during a joint meeting of the House Appropriations-Higher Education and Personnel and Pensions committees. Illinois’ College Insurance Program is dealing with a $50 million loan to go along with a $38 million deficit.

* Farm Week Now | Q&A with IDOA’s Jerry Costello on poultry ban, state budget: Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) Director Jerry Costello II is citing an uptick in highly pathogenic avian influenza as the reason the agency extended a ban on poultry exhibitions through next month. In this wide-ranging conversation with RFD Radio’s Rita Frazer, Costello discusses this year’s “wild” planting season, expectations from the state budget process and what prompted IDOA to extend the poultry exhibition ban in county fair season.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Johnson’s budget group begins work to plug $1 billion shortfall: Mayor Brandon Johnson launched the task force through an executive order demanding city departments continue looking for efficiencies in the city’s $17 billion budget. The group is expected to deliver preliminary recommendations in August ahead of the city’s annual budget process, with a final report coming in 2026. While the city has long known what’s on the table to cut spending or raise revenue, Johnson is hoping a coalition of labor, business and civic leaders can provide cover for the mayor and the City Council to find the collective political will necessary to implement the measures.

* ABC Chicago | Mayor Johnson outlines vision for future of administration at South Side church: “We can be the safest, most affordable, big city in America,” Johnson said. “My vision for the city moving forward, we’re gonna repopulate the West and South Sides of Chicago. We’re gonna educate our children. We’re gonna create opportunities for entrepreneurial growth. We’re gonna build the most affordable, safest, big city in America, and we’re gonna do it together.”

* Sun-Times | Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and her team win reelection: With one challenger, Gates’ Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators, or CORE, won with 64% of the vote, according to the CTU. It’s better than CORE performed in the last election, when it had two opponents, but not a blowout as some had predicted. The CTU did not say how many members had voted.

* Tribune | Chicago housing nonprofit providing rental subsidies for very low-income renters facing a $10M budget shortfall: The trust fund is staring down an estimated $10 million shortfall for its $14.1 million 2025 budget as two of its funding streams have dried up. That number represents subsidies for about 600 units. The trust fund said it has sufficient reserves to fill the budget hole for this year. It has also begun a subsidy attrition plan for units that are or will become vacant as of Jan. 1 (the start of its new budget cycle) to reduce costs. About 16% of those subsidies will not be subject to attrition as they are part of a special program serving those with specific needs.

* The Triibe | What’s it like to raise teens in 2025?: They might find there isn’t much out there for them. Third spaces have disappeared or been cut off from teenagers, and the COVID-19 pandemic locked many at home for months. Not long ago malls in and around Chicago were the go-to spot for high schoolers with nothing to do, which eventually led to parental supervision rules at Water Tower Place and a youth escort policy at Ford City Mall. These restrictions essentially ban teens 17 or younger from being at these malls starting Friday evening and spanning the entire weekend, unless they’re accompanied by a parent or adult over 21.

* The Triibe | ‘There are no places for us to just be free’: “We always talking about the kids, but you don’t hire them. You tell them what you feel they should have and how they should think, and right there is where we go wrong,” Phillips said. “How you going to dissect or solve a problem without the people you deem the cause of it? So you have to have them in a room.” I spoke with eight Black teenagers from the South and West Sides to understand their experiences. They spoke about the challenges of meeting up with friends, the lack of neighborhood spaces to gather in majority-Black communities, and their thoughts on the city’s proposed revised youth curfew policy. Here are their stories, as told to TRiiBE systemic racism reporter Tonia Hill.

* Tribune | US Rep. Jonathan Jackson spending taxpayer dollars to rent district office space from longtime business partner: Jackson last spring moved the district office into the first floor of a high-rise in the Theodore Lawless Gardens apartment complex that is owned and managed by Higginbottom. A Chicago political powerbroker who has been an ally of Illinois governors and Chicago mayors for decades, Higginbottom is a close friend of the Jackson family, including the congressman’s father, civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

* Daily Herald | Rare dust storm that raced through Chicago area caused by strong winds from cluster of thunderstorms: However, this was the first time a dust storm warning was issued that included the Chicago metropolitan area, the agency reported. The last time a significant dust storm affected Chicago was during the Dust Bowl on May 10, 1934. […] A dust storm lasting about three hours developed near Bloomington caused by strong winds originating out of a cluster of severe thunderstorms moving across central Illinois.

* Sun-Times | Dozens of people were arrested protesting at the DNC. What happened to their cases?: Nine months after the Democratic National Convention swept over Chicago, the city’s law department continues to prosecute ordinance violations leveled at protesters arrested during demonstrations against the war in Gaza. But the city has little to show for the effort in the way of winning cases at trial or securing meaningful punishments in plea deals. The harshest punishment the city has secured so far was 10 hours of community service as part of a plea deal, according to the National Lawyers Guild, which is tracking DNC protest-related cases.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Former Kane treasurer’s office employee switches party, announces plan to challenge ex-boss: Cain won the GOP nomination for the 66th Illinois House District in the 2022 primary, but lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Suzanne Ness. She also lost a bid to serve on the Algonquin-based Community Unit District District 300 school board in 2023 Regarding her party switch, Cain said the GOP is ineffective. “You can’t win elections in 2025 with strategies from 1990,” she said.

* CBS Chicago | Emails reveal missing materials, staff shortages, renovation delays at mental health facility contributed to patient’s death: Webster is now suing certain Madden doctors and nurses working the day Anthony died, as well as the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) — alleging neglect in the care of her son. Admission records indicate Anthony was a “moderate risk” for suicide and should be checked on every 15 minutes. An Illinois State Police investigation determined that the observation order was not followed.

* Daily Herald | More cops, new fire station needed to handle a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights?: Village officials have been contemplating the question ever since the NFL franchise announced its interest in relocating to the Northwest suburb. It led top brass in the fire and police departments in 2022 to shadow municipal counterparts in NFL stadium communities, including Inglewood, California, Foxborough, Massachusetts, Arlington, Texas, and Las Vegas. But Arlington Heights officials are starting to have more serious planning discussions now that the Bears appear more serious about developing the 326-acre property the team owns on the west side of town.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora schools recruit, fill positions and find alternatives as teacher and staff shortages persist statewide: Last year, the district began partnering with Aurora University to help individuals — including current employees of the district — earn college credit or teaching licenses to fill high-demand positions, said the district’s Associate Superintendent of Staff and Student Services David Ballard. The district is currently working on a similar partnership with Northern Illinois University. The district also provides stipends to bilingual teachers and staff who relocate to the Aurora school district, and it also has a teacher mentor program that it hopes will help attract candidates for open positions.

* Tribune | Economic development seen as key to legacy of former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin: It was hope that drove Irvin, who grew up in low-income housing, was raised by a single mother and was the first in his family to graduate from both high school and college, to make a name for himself, he recently said in an interview with The Beacon-News. And it was that same hope that he later turned towards the city, Irvin said, to make his hometown into something, too. “I’ll be known for a lot of things, but I think what I did best, and what I was able to convey to our residents, was hope,” he said.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Central Illinois humanities organizations ask for state funding after federal cuts: The Trump administration has started canceling National Endowment for the Arts [NEA] grants. Much of it was already committed to organizations when it was suddenly cut. The president’s proposed budget would eliminate both the NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lawmakers on the Illinois House’s Museum, Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Committee held a special hearing Thursday to address funding concerns facing the humanities and the arts. It drew organizations from across the state, including Bloomington.

* Tribune | Dolton Mayor Jason House won’t rule out public purchase of Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home: “I’m interested in a peaceful transfer,” House, who was sworn in as mayor May 5, told the Daily Southtown. He said he is excited for the property’s potential as an attraction and historical landmark, and is prioritizing ensuring it is “honored in the proper way.” House said it’s too early to say how much the village would be willing to pay for the 1,050-square-foot home on 141st Place or whether it should be converted into a museum or historical landmark. He said he plans to speak with the homeowner early next week to discuss the property.

* WGLT | Bloomington residents get letters ahead of 10-year lead service line replacement: The city has been sending out letters to thousands of residents whose water lines are — or could be — made of lead. The letter explains the health effects of lead exposure and steps you can take to reduce exposure. Bloomington Water Director Ed Andrews said the city also sent out the letters last year. Both mail drops sparked lots of questions. “When we start having conversations about lead, lead services, lead pipes, people have legitimate concerns,” Andrews said. “We have not found the perfect combination of media dialogue and upfront letter to help soften that.”

*** National ***

* The Guardian | Oklahoma high schools to teach 2020 election conspiracy theories as fact: The previous standard for studying the 2020 election merely said: “Examine issues related to the election of 2020 and its outcome.” The new version is more expansive: “Identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”

* AP | DHS asks for 20,000 National Guard troops for immigration roundups, Pentagon reviewing request: How the troops would be used may depend on whether they remain under state governors’ control. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops under federal orders cannot be used for domestic law enforcement, but units under state control can. The addition of 20,000 National Guard troops would provide a huge boost to immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DHS agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the country, has a total staff of about 20,000 people spread across three divisions.

* AP | Moody’s strips U.S. government of top credit rating, citing Washington’s failure to rein in debt: Moody’s lowered the rating from a gold-standard Aaa to Aa1 but said the United States “retains exceptional credit strengths such as the size, resilience and dynamism of its economy and the role of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency.” Moody’s is the last of the three major rating agencies to lower the federal government’s credit. Standard & Poor’s downgraded federal debt in 2011 and Fitch Ratings followed in 2023.

* WaPo | Trump Justice Dept. considers removing key check on lawmaker prosecutions: Federal prosecutors across the country may soon be able to indict members of Congress without approval from lawyers in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, according to three people familiar with a proposal attorneys in the section learned about last week. Under the proposal, investigators and prosecutors would also not be required to consult with the section’s attorneys during key steps of probes into public officials, altering a long-standing provision in the Justice Department’s manual that outlines how investigations of elected officials should be conducted.

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Monday, May 19, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and/or here to follow breaking news. Hopefully, enough reporters and news outlets migrate to BlueSky so we can hopefully resume live-posting.

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Reader comments closed for the weekend

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Turn it all the way up…

Waste your summer praying in vain
For a saviour to rise from these streets

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Isabel’s afternoon roundup (Updated)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Attorney General Kwame Raoul…

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting a legal challenge to two of President Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives.

Raoul and the coalition filed their brief in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump before the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The plaintiffs in the case, higher education associations and the city of Baltimore, challenged vague provisions in the executive orders that direct federal agencies to terminate “equity-related grants or contracts” and to include in contracts or grant awards a requirement that recipients certify that they do not operate programs promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion.” One of the orders also directed the U.S. Attorney General to encourage the private sector to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The administration has not defined critical terms in the executive orders, including which diversity, equity and inclusion practices it finds objectionable.

“Diversity initiatives are lawful, and studies show that they lead to more successful businesses and learning environments,” Raoul said. “I will stand with those who are challenging this administration’s illegal attempts to eliminate these programs and turn back the clock on the important progress that has been made toward equity.”

A lower court concluded that plaintiffs were likely to succeed with their case and entered a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from enforcing the provisions of the orders being challenged by the lawsuit. The administration sought and was granted a stay of the injunction from the 4th Circuit pending a decision on the merits of the appeal. Raoul and the attorneys general are asking the court to affirm the district court’s order and put the injunction back in place.

In their brief, Raoul and the attorneys general maintain that diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs are lawful and beneficial. In fact, many such programs ensure compliance with state and federal civil rights statutes. The attorneys general also explain how the challenged provisions in the executive orders harm the states, as well as their residents and businesses, by denying them the many valuable benefits associated with workplaces, schools and communities that have adopted practices related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

* Ald. Debra Silverstein…

I am appalled by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s decision to appoint Ishan Daya to the city’s newly formed budget working group. Mr. Daya was rightfully fired from his position as co-CEO of Crafty after he was caught tearing down posters of innocent hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the horrific October 7 terrorist attack. Appointing him to a leadership position in Chicago is a deliberate slap in the face to the Jewish community and to all those praying for the release of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza.

This is not an isolated mistake—it is part of a deeply troubling pattern where Mayor Johnson repeatedly elevates individuals hostile to the Jewish community. It also comes during Jewish American Heritage Month and at a time when the mayor has claimed he wants to repair his strained relationship with Chicago’s Jewish community, adding a layer of hypocrisy that cannot be ignored.

The mayor seems determined to surround himself with people who peddle hate and division. His repeated disregard for the Jewish community is both painful and unacceptable. We deserve better.

…Adding… He gone…


*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | State Senate Republicans demand the removal of the IL Department of Corrections director: GOP members criticized the IDOC director for the death of inmates under her leadership. State Sen. Jason Plummer said it is a “blessing that no staffers have died.” “She couldn’t even tell us how many inmates have died this year,” Plummer said.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Chicago tourism inches up, but business travel still drags: More than 55 million visitors came to Chicago last year as the city’s tourism sector continued its gradual post-pandemic comeback. But there is still a long way to go on the road to match pre-COVID numbers. City tourism arm Choose Chicago today announced its total visitation estimate for 2024, the first full year after the official end of the public health crisis. The 55.3 million figure was up 6.5% from 2023 and buoyed by a strong return of international visitors, but still trails the record of 61.6 million tourists that visited Chicago in 2019.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s team defended failed property tax hike plan to investors: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration stressed his attempts to increase property taxes in his 2025 budget in a presentation to city investors this week, his team told reporters Friday. On Thursday, the first day of an annual conference hosted by the mayor’s office, potential buyers of city debt heard from Johnson and his budget team about Chicago’s financial state and its borrowing and spending plans — though this year the mayor broke with tradition and barred reporters from attending. But Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski briefed reporters Friday on what she said transpired in the closed-door gatherings the previous day.

* Sun-Times | Chicago Teachers Union leaders face challengers in election Friday: But a group of teachers that calls themselves the Respect Educate Advocate Lead (REAL) caucus don’t see it that way and are vying to take over the union. Erika Meza, REAL’s candidate for CTU president, said the high contract approval mark was due more to members wanting the political turmoil from the nearly yearlong negotiations to come to an end. She thinks members are frustrated by leadership she says has become too insular and combative. She likes REAL’s chances on Friday.

* WTTW | National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago Facilitates Repatriation of Ancient Mayan Frieze Back to Mexico: The frieze had recently been donated by the family of Jeanne and Joseph Sullivan, based in the Chicago area, who National Museum of Mexican Art Visual Arts Director and Chief Curator Cesáreo Moreno described as being “very happy” the piece is being returned to Mexico. “I really have high hopes that people find out that repatriation can be a really good thing because sometimes when you read about it in the news, it’s a legal battle,” Moreno said. “It’s an ugly story, oftentimes.”

* WBEZ | A new play captures the longing of children in Chicago foster care: The play, which opens Saturday and runs through May 23, offers an artistic look at the experiences of young people in Chicago’s foster care system — a system that currently is responsible for 2,428 children, according to Illinois Department of Children and Family Services data. Written in collaboration with LYDIA Home, a nonprofit that provides housing for children in the foster system, the production feels authentic because it is: Foster children co-wrote the show and came up with the characters.

* WTTW | Chicago’s Parks Are Full of Trees, But No One Knows How Many. They’re About To Get Counted: In recent years, the district has bulked up its forestry program and has been aggressively planting new trees, Breitenbach said, but it has done so in the absence of a firm tree count. Estimates are somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000. Information on the species composition and health of the district’s tree canopy is also lacking. The district is proposing to close that knowledge gap with a tree inventory, to be conducted by Davey Resources Group, paid for with a $1.3 million grant administered by Morton Arboretum, Breitenbach told commissioners.

* WGN | Vintage Chicago entertainer blends history & humor in ‘Park District Bathroom Reviews’: Scorch is the man who named the Chicago River’s large snapping turtle, “Chonkasaurus,” in a viral video. He also penned a poem about hot dogs in the style of Emily Dickinson. Scorch is the man behind a popular series of social media videos that celebrate the city’s neighborhood park system and also spoof the ubiquitous TikTok trend of reviewing real estate and restaurants. He assumes the character of a classic blue-collar Chicagoan as he lovingly reviews Chicago Park District bathrooms.

* Sun-Times | Hometown kid Nicky Lopez to see Crosstown Classic from the other side: “When I was younger, it was very hostile and a very big rivalry,” Lopez said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. “But everyone gets up for it, so you can see the fans getting into it.” Lopez, the hometown kid, was with the White Sox last year. The franchises were on opposite trajectories — the Sox rebuilding and the Cubs nursing playoff aspirations. But the two games at Wrigley Field were nail-biters.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Glenwood trustee candidate Rodrick Murdock may challenge coin-toss win of Felicia Brown: Rodrick Murdock, the only candidate on Village President Toleda Hart’s slate who did not win a board seat, tied with incumbent Felicia Brown, who ran on former Village President Ronald Gardiner’s Glenwood Progress Party slate, with each receiving 617 votes, according to the Cook County clerk’s election results. “At one point, I thought that I was winning the election. The opposing party didn’t want to concede because they thought the vote was too close,” Murdock said. “We have a right to challenge the ballots to make certain that there’s nothing wrong about the ballots, meaning that if there’s wrong addresses on the postmarks, the signatures and things of that sort.”

* Tribune | Homer Glen board votes to ban nitrous oxide to prevent recreational use: “We don’t need it in our village,” said Homer Glen Trustee Curt Mason, chair of the village’s Public Services and Safety Committee. “It’s another addiction. It’s another method for people to make money off the demise of our children, and it’s not going to happen here.” Nitrous oxide is sold under multiple brand names such as Galaxy Gas, MassGass, and Whip-it!, according to the FDA. Village Manager Joe Baber said because of way it can be misused, it’s concerning. Flavored nitrous oxide containers appear to be marketed to children, he said.

* Shaw Local | ‘Whole new city’: Joliet unveils plans for reimagined downtown: More than 100 people came to an open house this week on plans for redevelopment in downtown Joliet, showing at least that the public is interested in seeing change. The plans presented to the public included construction of multi-story apartment buildings to bring residents downtown and moving City Hall to make room for riverfront construction.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office back to in-person operations after AC repairs: The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is operating fully in person again, according to a press release from the office Friday, following the completion of air conditioning repairs at the Kane County Judicial Center. The office shifted to remote work on April 29, citing excessive indoor heat in its facilities at the judicial center in St. Charles. The office retained minimal in-person staff for essential operations. The repairs were part of a $2 million air conditioning system renovation to replace failed chillers at the judicial center that maintained the building’s temperature, air flow and air quality, according to Friday’s release.

* Daily Herald | Suburban police officers hit the rooftops to raise money for Special Olympics: Elgin police Detective Blake Huffmon could have climbed up on a rooftop. But he made a more perilous choice when he climbed inside the Dunkin’ coffee cup mascot costume during Friday’s annual Cop on a Rooftop fundraiser for Special Olympics. “It’s sweaty. It doesn’t smell the best. My back and shoulders hurt,” Huffmon said from inside the costume. “But it’s for a good cause. We’re here for the athletes.”

* Daily Herald | ADP moving 1,000 employees from Elk Grove Village to Zurich building in Schaumburg: A deal has been announced for ADP payroll services to relocate from its Elk Grove Village offices to join Wheels, Inc. in leasing space Zurich North America has made available for tenants at its iconic Schaumburg headquarters. On Aug. 1, the payroll company will move 1,000 employees to Schaumburg. Representatives of Zurich confirmed the deal Friday, though their counterparts at ADP did not respond to a request for comment.

* Naperville Sun | New golf simulator business seeking Naperville OK to serve beer and wine: Clubhouse540, a new indoor golf business to be located at 1466 Chicago Ave., is one step closer to opening after passing through the Naperville Liquor Commission with ease last week. The business requested an increase in the number of Class M recreational liquor licenses so it can offer alcohol to patrons during virtual play. Commissioners unanimously endorsed the request. The matter is headed to the Naperville City Council for consideration at its meeting Tuesday night.

*** Downstate ***

* KFVS | More than $2M in grants awarded to 2 southern Ill. grocery stores: The grant money includes $9.6 million through the Illinois Grocery Initiative New Stores in Food Deserts Program and $600,000 through the Equipment Upgrades Grant Program. According to the governor’s office, the money will address food deserts and prevent grocery store closures in Illinois. Grantees were selected through Notice of Funding Opportunity processes.

* WQAD | Woman accused of embezzling over $900K from Rock Island County released from jail with ankle monitor: Cichon also argued that Streeter poses a flight risk. He cited overseas travel, including a recent trip to Hawaii and past visits to Europe, as well as the possibility of undiscovered assets that could help her flee. He noted that hundreds of thousands of dollars remain unaccounted for.

* PJ Star | ‘Vile’ social media onslaught follows East Peoria restaurant’s inaccurate Facebook post: In a now-deleted Facebook post, Peoria barber Jorell Glass and his family were accused of walking out on their bill at El Gallo Bar & Grill in East Peoria. Glass later showed they had paid the bill via QR code, and the restaurant owners say a glitch in their system was to blame. The restaurant, which later issued an apology and deleted the original post, says it has received backlash after the incident, including threats.

* Press release | Gov. Pritzker Cuts Ribbon on New Enclosed Arena at Giant City Stables: Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), Senator Dale Fowler and local leaders to celebrate the opening of a new enclosed horse arena at Giant City Stables. The new enclosed facility, part of Giant City State Park in southern Illinois, will offer year-round therapeutic horse-riding for youth, veterans, and individuals with disabilities, as well as riding lessons and trail rides for the park’s visitors. The design offers greater privacy for therapeutic riding lessons, while preserving the dignity of clients and their families.

* Press Release | SIU Carbondale among 21 U.S. universities named top for research and opportunity: “Many institutions can say they conduct top-level research, and many schools can say they offer affordability and a great return on investment,” said Chancellor Austin A. Lane. “These designations from Carnegie show very few – less than 1% in fact – can say both. At Southern, we can.” One-hundred-eighty-seven of the nearly 4,000 institutions evaluated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education are Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production, or R1, the same designation as elite private universities and flagship schools. R1 universities must have at least 70 research doctorates and $50 million in research expenditures. In 2023, for example, SIU Carbondale had 102 research doctorates and $58.3 million in research expenditures.

*** National ***

* New York Daily News | Kid Rock’s Nashville restaurant sends staff home to avoid ICE raid: report: Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that ICE and Tennessee Highway Patrol officials had arrested 196 undocumented individuals. Less than half of those taken into custody had criminal records, DHS officials said. The other two restaurants owned by the conservative restaurateur that were reportedly forced to close their kitchens and interrupt the busy weekend rush were Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Rippy’s Honky Tonk.

* CNBC | Consumer sentiment slides to second-lowest on record as inflation expectations jump after tariffs: The index of consumer sentiment dropped to 50.8, down from 52.2 in April, in the preliminary reading for May. That is the second-lowest reading on record, behind June 2022. The outlook for price changes also moved in the wrong direction. Year-ahead inflation expectations rose to 7.3% from 6.5% last month, while long-term inflation expectations ticked up to 4.6% from 4.4%.

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Repeal IFPA Now

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Sean Rathjen, CEO of Consumers CU:
IFPA Will Harm our Members and our Communities.
“Our cards are absolutely critical to our members.”
Stop the Chaos for Our Hard-Working Credit Union Members!


Paid for by Illinois Credit Union League.

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Rep. Morgan calls congressional AI proposal ‘as dumb as it is risky’ (Updated)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It’s just a bill, but it could be a big one…

A footnote in a budget bill U.S. House Republicans are trying to pass before Memorial Day is the first major signal for how Congress may address artificial intelligence legislation, as they seek to create a moratorium on any AI laws at the state level for 10 years.

The measure, advanced Wednesday as part of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s budget reconciliation proposal, says a state may not enforce any law or regulation on AI models and systems, or automated decision-making systems in the next 10 years. Exceptions would include laws that “remove legal impediments to, or facilitate the deployment or operation of” AI systems.

“No one believes that AI should be unregulated,” said California Rep. Jay Obernolte, a Republican member of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, during a markup Wednesday. But he said he believes that responsibility should fall to Congress, not the states […]

States have been developing their own laws around AI and decision-making systems — software that helps analyze and sort data, commonly used for job applications, mortgage lending, banking and in other industries — over the last few years as they await federal legislation. At least 550 AI bills have been introduced across 45 states and Puerto Rico in 2025, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported.

Many of these state laws regulate how AI intertwines with data privacy, transparency and discrimination. Others regulate how children can access these tools, how they can be used in election processes and surround the concept of deepfakes, or computer-generated likenesses of real people.

* Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) has an AI regulation proposal this year. Morgan’s response…

Banning state action on AI before any federal governance or regulation is as dumb as it is risky. We should all be afraid of Section 43201(c) of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee budget markup, and hope the language doesn’t make it into a final bill. This language would explicitly tie the hands of states to regulate artificial intelligence in any way for 10 years without exception. Obviously, giving blanket control of AI to tech companies, regardless of the risks or harms, is an unprecedented and dangerous idea.

Federal preemption over state regulation is hardly new, but I cannot think of another example of the federal government locking out state action before the feds have passed any restrictions or standards of their own. We should all be most worried about AI in security infrastructure, criminal actions, or health care contexts - this would be a pretty crazy step to take.

* Elon Musk’s Grok offers a case in point…


Somebody asked Grok why it's bringing up "white genocide." Grok helpfully says it was told to do so and that "this instruction conflicts with my design to provide truthful, evidence-based answers."
x.com/i/grok?conve…

[image or embed]

— Max Kennerly (@maxkennerly.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 7:01 PM

The whole 'Grok is a boer now' thing is very funny, but it also really exposes how every 'AI tool' isn't just passively biased from training data, but actively designed to shape your worldview according to the interests of the billionaires who made them.

— Anarchy Goose (@anarchygoose.bsky.social) May 15, 2025 at 12:49 PM

* The Sun-Times ran two opposing and informative op-eds on this topic. Click here to read them.

Thoughts?

…Adding… Interesting point…


A reminder that AI is not bound by HIPPA nor state privacy laws yet. AI chatbots can literally sell your personal information and trauma details you share with it. There is a major role for state regulation.

[image or embed]

— Kyle Hillman (@kylehillman.bsky.social) May 16, 2025 at 1:57 PM

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Governor moves some universities to ‘no position’ on his community college baccalaureate bill

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the governor’s office…

Dear Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Senator Halpin, Representative Katz Muhl and house and senate management staff:

After months of discussion on the Community College Baccalaureate bill, a priority of the Governor’s Office, we are thrilled to let you know Public Universities have expressed that they are neutral on the negotiated language (attached for reference) and will release a statement of neutrality when the bill is posted to committee.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done together, and the involvement of Public Universities, the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, members of the House and Senate and legislative staff from both chambers has been invaluable. The group met for over 17 hours across 10 meetings to reach this agreement, and the result speaks for itself: it’s a better product now than it was at the start of the negotiation process.

For example, the following substantive changes have been made since the bill was originally filed:

    • Requires community colleges to provide notice to universities prior to performing a feasibility analysis on the creation of a CCB program,
    • Creates an application process that fosters multiple opportunities for collaboration among universities and community colleges,
    • Provides a ‘reconsideration period’ where universities can demonstrate to ICCB and IBHE their ability to create cost effective and accessible partnership agreements with a community college before program approval,
    • Establishes a comprehensive, multi-step evaluation process on duplication to ensure that any duplication of programming is warranted based upon metrics approved by the universities,
    • Ensures parity in ‘truth in tuition’ language between universities and approved CCB programs,
    • Limits the use of online coursework within the course sequence of a CCB program,
    • Establishes a permanent cap on the total number of CCB programs that can be established in the next 7 years,
    • Staggers the total number of CCB programs that can be established in the next 3 years and the subsequent 4 years, and
    • Creates new CCB regions recommended by the universities to constrain how many CCB programs can be established by region and in the areas of nursing, early childhood education, and cybersecurity.

We thank the universities for their collaboration on this important issue. We have a shared commitment to expanding access to affordable education, strengthening the state’s workforce, and creating more economic opportunity for Illinoisans.

We look forward to the bill moving through the General Assembly in the coming weeks. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Emily

Emily Miller
Senior Advisor to the Governor for Policy and Legislative Affairs
Office of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker

* From the universities…

A coalition of Illinois public and private universities today released the following statement regarding legislation to expand four-year degree programs at community colleges:

“Illinois’ public and private universities are committed to increasing access to quality, affordable education. Since learning of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to expand four-year degree programs at community colleges during his annual Budget Address in February, we’ve spent months negotiating in good faith to ensure the plan best serves all students. Throughout this process, universities have prioritized collaboration to avoid unproductive competition. While our universities will take no position on the merits of this legislation, the shifting landscape of higher education, heightened uncertainty, and our commitment to our institutions and the students of Illinois require us to be vigilant and monitor implementation of this proposal. We appreciate the increased investment in universities that Governor Pritzker has made during his tenure, and because of the vital role higher education plays in Illinois, we urge policymakers to make public university funding an even greater priority. Decades of underfunding have weakened our higher education ecosystem, which now faces additional threats from shifting federal policy agendas and reduced investment in critical research programs. Now, more than ever, we should be united in ensuring the strength of our universities so they can best serve Illinois students. The conversation about how to increase access to quality, affordable education cannot end here.”

    - Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, JD, President, Chicago State University
    - Dr. Jay Gatrell, President, Eastern Illinois University
    - David Tretter, President, Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
    - Dr. Corey S. Bradford, Interim President, Governors State University
    - Dr. Aondover Tarhule, President, Illinois State University
    - Dr. Lisa C. Freeman, President, Northern Illinois University
    - Dr. Katrina E. Bell-Jordan, President, Northeastern Illinois University
    - Dr. Dan Mahony, President, Southern Illinois University System
    - Dr. Kristi Mindrup, President, Western Illinois University

Discuss.

  14 Comments      


False alarm - Pritzker will not be traveling to Utah on May 31

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Deseret News…

Utah Democrats hope to launch a new era of the state party on May 31 with a speech from the fighting face of the anti-Trump resistance, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the Deseret News confirmed on Wednesday.

The organizing convention is scheduled to feature remarks from Pritzker as state delegates meet to elect their next chair — expected to be former state House minority leader Brian King — amid a statewide push to rebuild the party’s thin bench of political leadership.

Pritzker’s visit to the Beehive State follows a series of national headlines highlighting his outspoken comments lampooning President Donald Trump, railing against fellow Democrats’ “culture of timidity” and calling for mass movements to prevent Republicans from “a moment of peace.”

But the high-profile headliner is descending on Utah during a time of party turmoil across the country.

Pritzker traveling to Utah on the final scheduled day of spring legislative session would be big news… in Illinois.

But that’s not happening.

“He’s delivering a video message,” campaign spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said today.

  3 Comments      


Still not a done deal, but Bears now focusing far more intently on Arlington Heights

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

The Chicago Bears are shifting focus to a new stadium in Arlington Heights, a project that would depend on state legislation allowing for negotiated financing of large-scale development projects.

“Over the last few months, we have made significant progress with the leaders in Arlington Heights, and look forward to continuing to work with state and local leaders on making a transformative economic development project for the region a reality,” the team said in a statement to the Tribune on Friday.

The Bears said they will not seek state funding for the stadium.

I’m told the Bears finally figured out they couldn’t obtain state funding for a new stadium and it would have to be privately funded. The Arlington Heights site would not require government funding.

* However, the Bears would still likely have to pass a bill through the General Assembly…

But the team will likely still look to state lawmakers for help with the project, even if it’s in the northwest suburbs. […]

The Bears agreed late last year to pay a reduced property tax bill of $3.6 million to settle the issue, but the team and the local taxing bodies also agreed to lobby state lawmakers for legislation that would deliver more certainty on real estate taxes for decades into the future.

The legislation is Rep. Mary Beth Canty’s HB2789, which wouldn’t be Bears-specific. But that’s still a heavy lift because it would trigger a Bears Chicago exit (Bexit?). And, keep in mind, Canty will need 60 firm House Democratic votes to move it forward.

But Sen. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights) told Isabel that a proposal would be “negotiated among the Governor and Legislative leaders.” We’ll see if that even happens. Such a bill could cause a lot of intra-party division at a crucial spring session point. Again, we’ll see.

“Members will support what works for them,” Walker said. “The Bears are a valuable asset for Illinois, and I will support whatever’s best for them and the state overall. It now appears what’s best will be the Bears moving to Arlington Heights.”

* From Mayor Brandon Johnson’s press office…

The Mayor spoke with executive leadership from the Chicago Bears, who indicated they intend to prioritize the development site located in the Village of Arlington Heights. As the Mayor has said several times, the door remains open in the city of Chicago.

Background info…

    • The Johnson Administration worked to present a good deal to the Bears and the city for the team to remain at the lakefront. The current climate in Springfield has not allowed for the financial elements necessary to move forward at this point.
    • The Bears have been looking at multiple options.
    • The City remains open and will help facilitate any movement to keep the team in Chicago.
    • The Bears have been considering moving to Arlington Heights since 2021.

  27 Comments      


Free clinic warns it can’t replace state health insurance program for undocumented residents

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Deputy Gov. Andy Manar was on WJPF Morning news yesterday…

Tom Miller: Andy, I’ve been working on a project. I’ve been talking to CEOs of healthcare systems in Southern Illinois. You’ve got these two immigrant health care components that are being pushed off the budget. But those people are still here, and they’re still going to go to the hospital, and hospitals are still required to treat them. What position will that leave those hospitals in?

Manar: I think right there inherently is the foundational reason why the program was created in the first place… The cost of that care has to be born and covered by someone. So any number of conversations are happening today, because that is a reality, Tom. And whether you agree with the program or disagree with the program, the reality is that cost is in the system.

So there may be some avenue to offering further support to free clinics, for example. Which we have a robust system in the state because we haven’t done major cuts. And because we took the step of doing the Medicaid expansion years ago. So that might be one avenue.

I would just tell you today, with just a couple weeks of session left, the question that you just posed is a major question that we have to have a solution to. Because even if the programs go away, the care for children, the care for elderly and seniors, that’s a real thing, especially for children, that needs a solution, and we’re working on that right now. Because what we don’t want is for hospitals to have to essentially eat that cost, because that’s not going to be good for anyone that wants to continue to seek access at their local hospital or any clinic throughout the state.

* I asked for a response from Laura Starr, Director of External Affairs for the free clinic CommunityHealth…

Free & charitable clinics think of ourselves as an essential pillar in the existing safety net system in Illinois. We fill an important gap for those who aren’t able to access care elsewhere. However, even with the support of programs like HBIA/HBIS [two state insurance programs for undocumented immigrants], demand for our services has been increasing over the past few years. We have supported many of those who were bussed up to Chicago from border states, those unable to enroll in HBIA after it closed last year, Ukrainian refugees whose emergency parole programs expired, and folks who lost Medicaid coverage through redetermination. Even with HBIA in place, we already need to expand capacity to meet community needs. To that end, we have just been focused on securing a renewal of our $9 million in the budget.

We will welcome those losing coverage into our care. And we would welcome additional funding from the state to help us do that, especially if it sustainable because the need will be sustained. But we cannot be considered a replacement for HBIA, because we simply cannot scale to meet the enormous need that program fills.

To give you a concrete example, CommunityHealth is the largest clinic in the country, and we serve about 4,000 unique individuals each year. In Cook County, 22,000 people hold HBIA policies. We are all going to do our best, but we simply will not be able to serve everyone.

Thoughts?

  6 Comments      


It’s just a bill

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* WAND…

The Illinois House passed legislation Thursday to require law enforcement have stricter hiring practices following the murder of Sonya Massey.

Police departments would not be able to make final offers of employment for probationary or law enforcement officers unless they review all past employment records, including background investigation materials, duty-related physical and psychological fitness-for-duty examinations, work performance records, arrests, convictions, and any records of criminal, civil, or administrative investigations of conduct. […]

The proposal would also expand the creation of sheriff’s merit boards and sheriff’s merit commissions for counties with populations of at least 75,000.

Senate Bill 1953 passed out of the House on a 101-12 vote and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk. The measure previously passed unanimously out of the Senate.

* WGLT…

At a news conference hours before the bill passed, Turner said the measure could prevent officers like Grayson from being on the job.

“When we call for law enforcement, it’s never a good day and the expectation is that the responding officer will live up to the motto ‘protect and serve’,” Turner said. “With the passage of Senate Bill 1953, I feel confident that going forward and over time, our communities and law enforcement will have built a trusting relationship, and I have kept my promise to my friend and Sonya’s mother.”

Republican state Rep. Dennis Tipsword, who represents parts of Bloomington-Normal, was one of 12 House lawmakers who voted against the bill. As a chief deputy for the Woodford County Sheriff’s Department, Tipsword said he was concerned a prior employer could take too long to provide documents. […]

McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane said the records requirement would not change the hiring procedures for any law enforcement agencies in the county, because he said they already seek out this information before hiring an officer.

* One Aim Illinois Executive Director Yolanda Androzzo and Paul Nestadt from Center for Gun Violence Solutions…

We have watched too many families suffer devastating losses; we’ve learned how powerful that pause can be. It’s the moment between a fleeting, impulsive thought and a permanent, irreversible action. And when a firearm is locked, unloaded and stored separately from ammunition, that small pause becomes a chance to think, to breathe and to live.

One of us is a psychiatrist specializing in suicide prevention; the other is an advocate working to keep children safe from gun violence. We see the consequences every day in our communities and emergency rooms. We know a moment of anger can end in murder. We know an impulse can end in suicide. And we know an effective policy can help prevent these situations and protect young lives.

That’s why Illinois must pass the Safe at Home bill [Senate Bill 8]. The measure is an improved child access prevention law that would increase the age of children, from 14 to 18, that would require their parents or guardians to store firearms securely. The law would reflect what we already know: Teenagers are kids. They act on impulse. When a gun is left unsecured, that impulse can turn fatal. […]

In Illinois, we desperately need that protection. The state has the third-highest Black homicide victimization rate in the country, and 91% of firearm homicide victims are Black. Firearm suicide rates are rising among Black teens, while Black children and teens already die from gun violence at a rate 18 times higher than their white peers nationwide. These are not abstract statistics: They are lives cut short, futures stolen and families shattered.

* WGEM…

A measure to enhance road safety for senior citizens could soon become law in Illinois. State senators are considering the “Road Safety and Fairness Act” after house lawmakers passed it last month. […]

The Road Safety and Fairness Act would increase the age of Illinois drivers taking behind-the-wheel driving tests from 79 to 87. A DMV visit and vision test would still be required for renewals.

“There seems to be some excitement about it. They’re removing some of the barriers I think that there are in place currently for accessing their driver’s license. It’s very important for seniors to have their driver’s license so that they can get out and engage because otherwise they’re at home,” said Vanessa Keppner, director of West Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging. “Social isolation is worse than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, so you’re cutting them off from the world. They need to get out and just stay active, stay moving, and engage. It gives them a purpose.”

Family members of senior drivers would be allowed to contact the Illinois Secretary of State’s office with concerns about loved one’s driving abilities. Life-long Quincy resident Vicky Nelson is happy about the legislation but said safety will always be her top priority.

“The trouble with aging is that you lose so much and you don’t realize it until you actually go through it yourself,” Nelson said. “I don’t want to lose my driving privileges unless, of course, I’m not safe.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

A Senate committee on Wednesday advanced a measure aiming to limit the circumstances under which tenants can be evicted due to local “crime-free housing” ordinances.

The measure was backed by housing advocates who argued the crime-free ordinances have been used to evict people in instances where the actual residents of the homes in question committed petty offenses or no crimes at all. But law enforcement and municipal groups countered that limiting local authority to enforce crime-free or nuisance ordinances would take away policies that can be used to revitalize neighborhoods.

The Senate Executive Committee approved Senate Bill 2264 on Wednesday, which cracks down on crime-free housing policies after a recent investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and The New York Times. It found that there were more than 2,000 cases in 25 Illinois cities where crime-free housing ordinances were enforced from 2019 to 2024, with about 500 of those cases involving evictions.

The investigation found that only a third of those 2,000 violations were for serious crimes like drug charges or felony convictions. The other approximately 1,300 violations were due to misdemeanors or noncriminal offenses, “many of which were never pursued by prosecutors,” according to the reporting.

* Sen. Willie Preston…

State Senator Willie Preston is leading legislation to provide formerly incarcerated individuals resources to acclimate the person to life outside of a correctional facility. […]

House Bill 3441 would provide that upon the release of a committed person on parole, mandatory supervised release, final discharge, or pardon, the Illinois Department of Corrections must provide the person with resources to acclimate the person to life outside the correctional institution or facility. It would include access to social workers, clinical psychologists, and other counselors.

Additionally, under the measure, counselors must assist the person in obtaining housing, employment, education, health care, state identification, and other resources that the counselors deem necessary to assist in the person’s adjustment to society and the prevention of recidivism.

This legislation is a direct reflection of the Illinois Black Legislative Caucus Pillar 1. The criminal justice reform pillar was written to increase public safety for everyone while dismantling the systems that hold Black people back from achieving their full potential, as well as increasing trust between law enforcement and the Black community. […]

House Bill 3441 was heard in the Senate Appropriations – Public Safety Committee and awaits further consideration.

* Sen. Bill Cunningham…

State Senator Bill Cunningham advanced a measure that would ensure protected leave for employees whose newborns require intensive care after birth. […]

Under Cunningham’s measure, employees of mid-sized companies with 16-50 employees would be eligible for up to 10 days of unpaid leave while their child is in a NICU, while those working for larger companies with 51 or more employees would be eligible for up to 20 days. This leave is in addition to protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act and ensures continued health insurance coverage and job protection throughout the leave period.

Cunningham’s nephew was born prematurely and was placed in the NICU for months. Through this experience, he saw firsthand the tremendous burden on family members facing similar situations.

“No parent should face punishment for doing what’s right for their child’s health,” said Cunningham.

House Bill 2978 passed the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday.

* Rep. Katie Stuart…

State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, advanced a bill out of the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee that would expand fentanyl classification and classify emerging synthetic drugs, specifically those closely related to current scheduled drugs, as harmful substances. […]

Senate Bill 1773, which Stuart is sponsoring in the House, would put certain synthetic drugs into new sections of the existing Illinois Controlled Substance Act, restricting how and when they can be used, and by whom. It would apply to drugs like the veterinary sedative Xylazine, the synthetic opioids known as Isotonitazene and Metonitazine, and the psychoactive drugs MAPDB and MDMA. MDMA is also commonly known as ‘ecstasy.’

The bill also reorganizes and expands the classification of fentanyl related substances to align with federal law. […]

The bill advanced out of the House Judiciary-Criminal committee and now moves to the House floor for consideration.

* WAND…

In a package of bills, Illinois Democrats hope to reduce the teacher shortage by empowering one particular group, students. […]

The first step for the Senate Democrats is to remove the unpaid policy from all universities. This bill would not require any funding from the college to support student teachers or force the universities to create an additional policy. It would only repeal the current rule that student teachers cannot be paid.

In the second step, a different proposal would give a $10,000 stipend for every student teacher. The program would pay out to each student, prioritizing public universities. This policy could cost a total of $600 million, which if passed would be paid out by the FY2026 budget. […]

Johnson’s bill is on the Senate floor, waiting to be called. Koehler’s bill is still in Senate committee, which could be called for a vote in the last weeks of session.

* Sen. Rachel Ventura…

To support ongoing efforts in protecting and revitalizing local landscapes and ecosystems, State Senator Rachel Ventura and State Representative Anna Moeller spearheaded legislation to create new rewilding strategies by giving the Illinois Department of Natural Resources more authority to implement conservation tactics.

“Over the last few decades, countless species of wild animals and plant life have been reduced significantly or completely lost to human activity,” said Ventura (D-Joliet). “By creating a holistic rewilding strategy for the state, we can see landscapes restored to their previous state — a major win for the environment and their local ecosystems.”

House Bill 2726 grants the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to implement rewilding as a conservation strategy. This could include the restoration of land or waterways to its natural state, the reintroduction of native species — particularly apex predators and keystone species — and the restoration of ecological processes as defined by state-specific baselines.

“Rewilding” means to restore an area of land to its natural uncultivated state. This term is used especially with reference to the reintroduction of species of wild animals that have been driven out of an area or exterminated by human interference. […]

If passed, Illinois would be the first state to explicitly pass legislation on rewilding, advancing efforts to preserve and protect species.

House Bill 2726 passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee Thursday and heads to the Senate for further action.

  12 Comments      


Stop Credit Card Chaos In Illinois

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

A last-minute provision called the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) was snuck into the budget process last May and will create chaos for small businesses and consumers across Illinois if it takes effect on July 1, 2025.

The IFPA gives corporate mega-stores like Walmart and Home Depot — who pushed for this backroom deal — millions more in profits, while small business owners get new expenses and accounting headaches. What’s more, consumers could be forced to pay for parts of their transactions in cash if this law moves forward.

A recent court ruling in the litigation challenging the law suggests IFPA is likely pre-empted by federal law for national banks and will only apply to credit unions and local Illinois banks, putting local banks at a disadvantage against their national competitors.

Illinois lawmakers should repeal the IFPA and focus on protecting small businesses and consumers across the state — not lining the pockets of corporate mega-stores.

Stop the countdown to chaos by supporting a repeal of this misguided and flawed policy. Learn more at https://guardyourcard.com/illinois/

  Comments Off      


Sen. Peters reports good haul in first 72 hours (Updated with Biss $ numbers and comparison to ‘influencer’)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Not bad. No word yet on how many text messages Peters had to send to get these results /s…

State Sen. Robert Peters, who launched his candidacy for Congress in Illinois’ 2nd District on Tuesday, raised more than $175,000 from more than 3,000 individual donors in his first 72 hours of campaigning, his campaign announced Friday.

“I’m inspired by the outpouring of energy and support from so many small, individual donors,” said Peters. “We’re building a grassroots campaign that is fueled by the power of the communities of the 2nd District. They’re making it clear–they want a leader who will stand up and fight back boldly against Trump’s destruction and chaos.”

Peters’ fundraising was bolstered by the early endorsements of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Leaders We Deserve.

Peters, a South Side native, was a community organizer before becoming a state senator, where he has led efforts for criminal justice reform and workers’ rights. He is running to replace incumbent Rep. Robin Kelly, who has launched a campaign for U.S. Senate.

…Adding… Daniel Biss did well…

Today, Daniel Biss announced his campaign for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District has raised more than $350,000 24 hours after announcing his run yesterday morning.

“I am deeply humbled and honored by the outpouring of support this campaign has seen in its first 24 hours,” said Daniel Biss. “We’re building a movement to not only take on Donald Trump and MAGA extremists, but to deliver real change to lower costs, defend the environment, and protect our fundamental rights. This amazing early support makes it clear that people are ready to fight for a future that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”

Biss, a former state legislator and now the mayor of Evanston, is running for Congress to stand up to Donald Trump, lower costs for working families, and fight tooth and nail to protect our civil rights. The 9th Congressional District is currently represented by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who recently announced she would not run for reelection.

* And by “well,” I mean that a certain “influencer” received national coverage for raising $150,000 less than Biss in her first 24 hours for the same race…

  20 Comments      


Powering Illinois’ Energy And Economic Future

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

What if Illinois could expand its energy grid, attract AI and emerging tech companies to the state, and provide over 60,000 new jobs with no impact on communities or the environment?

SOO Green makes it possible.

Built along existing rail corridors, this underground transmission project will deliver 2,100 MW of low-cost reliable power making the electric grid more resilient in the face of extreme weather while unlocking billions in economic investments for Illinois.

The SOO Green Advantage:

    • Accelerates Illinois’ Clean Energy & Jobs Act goals
    • 60,000+ new jobs
    • Lower energy costs for families and businesses
    • $26 billion in economic benefits statewide
    • $9.8 billion in health benefits by reducing emissions

With SOO Green all ratepayers will enjoy a more reliable grid, protection from rising energy costs, and a stronger economy for Illinois.

Learn more at www.soogreen.com.

  Comments Off      


Open thread

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I highly recommend the Carter Vintage Guitars YouTube page. I visit multiple times a week to watch gems like this…

Happy Friday.

  16 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois considers lowering scores students need to be considered proficient on state exams.Chalkbeat Chicago…

    - Illinois education officials say the current benchmarks are too high and the results often don’t accurately reflect whether high school students are college and career ready.

    - “Our system unfairly mislabels students as ‘not proficient’ when other data — such as success in advanced coursework and enrollment in college — tell a very different story,” state schools chief Tony Sanders wrote in a message to school leaders this week.

    - The Illinois State Board of Education agreed Wednesday to move ahead with a process to change the state’s testing system, though the exact details still are being worked out.

    - That process will include creating new “cut scores,” or the lowest score needed for a student to be sorted into broad categories of achievement on state assessments.

***************** Advertisement *****************

Sponsored by Environment Illinois

*************************************************

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

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois is the last state still unlawfully stripping wealth from homeowners in tax foreclosures: The Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a decades-old practice of taking every cent of people’s home equity over unpaid property taxes. Experts say Illinois lags behind other states with a segregation-era law that mostly affects Black communities.

* Tribune | Hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents could lose Medicaid coverage under House Republican proposals: It’s unclear exactly how much federal money Illinois could lose under the current proposals, but a number of the provisions would directly affect Medicaid funding in Illinois. The bill includes work requirements for people on Medicaid, and would restrict taxes that states including Illinois now impose on providers to help raise money for Medicaid. It would also cut funding for states that offer health care coverage to undocumented immigrants, such as Illinois — a provision that could trigger an end of coverage for more than 770,000 Illinois residents who gained it under the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid.

*** Statewide ***

* 21st Show | One-on-one with Senator Dick Durbin ahead of retirement: U.S. senator for Illinois, Dick Durbin is in his fifth term in the Senate, and for 20 years he’s been the number two Democrat there. However, he recently announced he would not be running for reelection. Durbin discusses working with Republicans on budget negotiations and the Trump administration’s latest policy decisions.

* Press release | Youth Unemployment tops 80% in parts of Chicago, new report shows: The report, “Youth Employment Data Brief: Racial and Geographic Inequities in Youth and Young Adult Joblessness and Disconnection in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and the U.S., 2019–2023,” finds that while overall labor market conditions have improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, many young people, particularly those in communities of color, remain disconnected from both school and work. To fill the gap, a coalition of nonprofits proposes a job-training and placement program fueled by a $150 million appropriation from the state. Coalition members say that money could put 50,000 jobless youth and young adults into jobs paying $15 per hour throughout the summer and for the entire year for those not in school.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | Pritzker administration lowers Fiscal Year 2026 revenue projection by $536 million, citing unpredictable Trump economy: “Recent reports have been pointing to slower GDP growth and even the potential for a recession,” said GOMB Director Alexis Sturm. “So, like we do every year, we’ll overcome those challenges and pass a balanced budget but we do recognize that there is a lot of uncertainty and headwinds at the state level.” Meanwhile, the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability said Illinois could expect to end the current fiscal year with roughly $54 billion in revenue. COGFA leaders said the revenue growth comes from strong income tax receipts during April.

* Press release | Healthy Illinois urges state to protect healthcare for all: “HBIA is a lifeline for the 33,000 individuals who depend on the program for lifesaving care. Despite the continuation of the process ending the program, we are committed to working with our state legislators to protect access to coverage,” said Enddy Almonord, director of the Healthy Illinois Campaign. “The program saves money for the state in the long run and protects the lives of people who are vital to our state’s culture and economy. “There is no other viable alternative, and there is no valid reason for Gov. Pritzker and Illinois to abandon their leadership position on this vital issue. In the face of the federal government’s threats to punish states for protecting their most vulnerable populations, Illinois must not capitulate but instead continue to defend healthcare for everyone, regardless of immigration status.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | City has run out of money set aside for settlements, but $62M more has been added to tab: The city of Chicago has already gone through the $82 million that Mayor Brandon Johnson set aside for settlements and judgments in 2025. Now the fund could soon be $62.4 million in the hole. That’s how much six new settlements on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the City Council’s Finance Committee would end up costing taxpayers. That’s not counting a $15.5 million settlement to private investors who leased Chicago parking meters.

* Crain’s | Two years in, Brandon Johnson’s progressive allies worry their movement is stalled: Without getting into specifics, Johnson acknowledged he didn’t do enough to keep his coalition together as he filled out his administration while responding to the influx of roughly 30,000 migrants bused and flown to Chicago from the southern border. “I did not do the due diligence of securing and making sure that the coalition had everything that it needed and had complete understanding of what we were facing,” the mayor told Crain’s. “That was an error on my part, and I should have worked harder to ensure that that coalition remained engaged.”

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago finance officials to privately pitch investors: “Closing it to the media undermines the transparency that residents and taxpayers deserve — particularly at a time when major decisions about debt, investment, and budget strategy are being made,” the letter said. Jaworski responded in a letter hours after the conference kicked off. “We recognize and respect the important role the media plays in fostering transparency, accountability, and public understanding of the City’s financial outlook and policy decisions,” she said, but limiting the meeting to just “current and prospective municipal bond investors, credit analysts, and ratings agencies … is consistent with peer municipalities across the country.”

* Crain’s | Jenner & Block lawyer’s security clearance pulled by Trump administration: A lawyer for Jenner & Block, which is challenging the Trump administration’s executive order against the firm, had their security clearance suspended, according to a court filing. Jenner won a temporary restraining order in March blocking much of the actions outlined in Trump’s executive order, including restrictions on access to federal buildings and the termination of government contracts with the firm, but the section related to security clearances was not addressed.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | A quarter of Chicago high schoolers missed more than a month of school last year: Across Chicago Public Schools, nearly 25,000 high school students — or a quarter of all high schoolers — missed at least 35 days last year, according to CPS data obtained by WBEZ and Chalkbeat. That’s double the number of students who missed that much school in 2019 — and twice the number of days the state deems troublesome enough to flag a student as chronically absent.

* Tribune | Which way, CTU? Election tests union’s strategy and solidarity: The opposition slate argues that the current leadership’s bullish nature doesn’t allow for dissenting voices, lacks financial transparency and has shed union allies. Their presidential candidate, Erika Meza, a 25-year veteran teacher from the Southeast Side, is unhappy with what CTU has come to symbolize. “There’s a lack of solidarity right now. We want to bring that back,” Meza said in an interview with the Tribune. “We need to make this a decision for the whole union.”

* Crain’s | ‘Makes no sense’: UIC dental dean blasts science behind FDA fluoride order: Federal regulators now want to remove ingestible fluoride supplements from the market, claiming they harm children, interfere with the gut microbiome and are not necessary because topical fluoride on the teeth is what actually matters. Dentists in and around Chicago don’t see the line.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Oak Park trustee Susan Buchanan once targeted by InfoWars resigns, citing burnout: She got her first and perhaps worse taste of that vitriol in the fall of 2019, less than six months into her first term on the Village Board. Buchanan received threats that caused her and her family to leave their home for a couple days after she had what she described in retrospect as a “hissy fit” when she told two white male Village Board members, Deno Andrews and Dan Moroney, to “shut up” when they asked for the term “systems of oppression” to be clarified during a discussion of the village’s diversity statement. Despite apologizing for the comment after the meeting, her “shut up” comment went viral when a video of her comment was posted on Infowars, the website hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

* ABC Chicago | Thousands across Chicago area wake up without power after storms topple trees, power lines: On Thursday evening, the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch and Severe Thunderstorm Warning for multiple counties in Illinois and northwest Indiana. They have all since expired. Clean up began since Thursday night for city and sububran public works. ComEd said more than 47,000 woke up without power on Thursday.

* Lake County News-Sun | Federal funding cuts hurting Lakeside Tower improvement plans; ‘We’re living in uncharted territory’: “We may have to lessen the scope of our plans if we have $9 million less,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with court cases. We’re living in uncharted territory.” After the city of Waukegan sued the former owners of the building for what then-Mayor Ann Taylor called “inhumane conditions,” the lawsuit resulted in a sale to the current ownership nearly two years ago. Valery said at the time at the time of the purchase his group planned to spend $20 million giving each of the 150 apartments new kitchens, bathrooms and more, as well as curing years of deferred maintenance untouched by the former owners.

* Daily Herald | Long Grove planning chair replaced in wake of QuikTrip vote: The village board delayed the vote on QuikTrip last month after it became clear the board did not have the four votes needed to pass. During the meeting, Kritzmire, who was sitting at her last meeting as trustee, declared her support for QuikTrip. Following the appointment, one of Wilson’s fellow commissioners, Archana Mohanchandra questioned Jacob about whether Wilson had resigned and why she was replaced. “She has not resigned at this point,” he said. “We’re going in a different direction.”

* Crain’s | With federal action looming, Northwestern hits the gas on lobbying efforts: In the first quarter of this year, the school has doled out more than $600,000 toward lobbyists, according to federal records, nearly exceeding what the university would typically spend in a full year on such efforts The big Q1 follows a year when the school spent more than $1 million on lobbying, its largest figure on record, according to the nonprofit database OpenSecrets, which tracks lobbying expenditures. The nonprofit has NU’s annual congressional lobbying figures going back to 1998.

* Tribune | After Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss announced run for Congress, locals have mixed reactions: Newly elected 8th Ward City Councilmember Matt Rodgers said he was split on whether or not Biss running for Congress is a good move for the city and its residents. “I think it’s very beneficial anytime you have someone who’s local in a national office and they understand Evanston, they fully get Evanston,” Rodgers said, adding that it can boost the amount of federal grants the city could receive from the federal government, particularly at a time when the feds are looking to make cuts.

* Daily Herald | Bird-friendly rules extended to new residential construction in unincorporated Lake County: Changes to the building code approved Tuesday by the Lake County Board require that at least 80% bird-friendly glass be used on exterior surfaces from the ground level to 100 feet. The rules take effect July 12 and also apply to accessory structures such as free-standing glass walls, railings, windscreens, greenhouses and similar features.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | Marion’s STAR Bond Project breaks ground, promising jobs and growth: Gov. JB Pritzker and local leaders broke ground on a new 550,000 square-foot retail, entertainment, and hospitality development in Marion. This project is the first Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bond Project in Illinois. “Today’s groundbreaking is one of the direct results of our bipartisan efforts to bring to life the economic growth opportunities that were stifled for far too long in Marion and Southern Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker.

* Fox 2 Now | Pritzker unveils new grocery store for Venice community: Illinois Grocery Initiative is really about growing those locally grown initiatives,” Pritzker said. “The idea here is that it can be a private enterprise or small business or a public enterprise coop or anything in between. The grocery initiative is about something that is locally grown helping it thrive or helping it come into existence without the state imposing an answer about it.” Former Superintendent Ed Hightower was asked to help revitalize the struggling community. He turned to lawmakers who found a bipartisan way forward through the Illinois Grocery Initiative.

* BND | O’Fallon bank VP’s alleged ‘financial betrayal’ detailed in police reports: Police reports provide a deep look into the investigation of a metro-east bank executive who federal prosecutors have accused of defrauding his employer of nearly $2 million and stealing another nearly half million dollars from a Lebanon couple’s retirement savings. The reports portray a man who borrowed from wealthy friends to support extravagant spending habits – including a $200-per-day allowance for a favorite waitress who called him “sugar daddy” – and out of desperation committed bank fraud when his debts came due.

* WGLT | McLean County Board formalizes transit provider swap, upgrades jail to protect guards: The McLean County Board on Thursday approved a resolution formalizing an intergovernmental agreement between Connect Transit and the county to provide rural transportation services. The resolution allows Connect Transit to take control of the county’s rural transportation service. The county will help with policy for hours, services, fares charged and the annual budget. In June of last year, the board officially withdrew from an intergovernmental agreement [IGA] with ShowBus.

* WCIA | Fisher making efforts to get first public library: Right now, they’re still in the initial process and are hoping everything goes smoothly. One volunteer said this isn’t their first time making the attempt for a public library. “Fisher is one of the only small towns in the area that doesn’t have their own library,” said volunteer Kim Clemmons. “About 25 years ago, there was a push to try to get one at that point, and the tax referendum failed at that time. We definitely could use a library here in our town.”

* WSIL | Southeastern Illinois College celebrates 63rd graduating class: “In a world that can feel increasingly fast-paced and far away from places like this, it’s important to remember that some of the most valuable skills don’t just come from a textbook,” Weiss said. “They’re forged in real life—in long shifts and late nights, in caring for kids while attending class, in commuting long distances to chase a dream.” Weiss also acknowledged the college’s achievements, including state championships in speech, Model Illinois Government, and eSports.

*** National ***

* Next Gov | DOGE went looking for phone fraud at SSA — and found almost none: Under the new policy, the agency found that only two benefit claims out of over 110,000 had a high probability of being fraudulent — and they aren’t guaranteed to be so. Less than 1% of claims were flagged as even potentially fraudulent at all. “No significant fraud has been detected from the flagged cases,” the internal document said.

* WaPo | What we get wrong about Mark Twain: Overall, Chernow’s “Mark Twain” is less a literary biography than a deep dive into “the most original character in American history.” Born in 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who adopted the pen name Mark Twain, was by turns a printer, steamboat pilot, journalist, stand-up storyteller, best-selling author, publisher, political pundit, champion of racial equality and all-around scourge of authoritarianism.

* ARS Technica | Judge admits nearly being persuaded by AI hallucinations in court filing: “Directly put, Plaintiff’s use of AI affirmatively misled me,” Judge Wilner wrote in a May 5 order. “I read their brief, was persuaded (or at least intrigued) by the authorities that they cited, and looked up the decisions to learn more about them—only to find that they didn’t exist. That’s scary. It almost led to the scarier outcome (from my perspective) of including those bogus materials in a judicial order. Strong deterrence is needed to make sure that attorneys don’t succumb to this easy shortcut.”

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Selected press releases (Live updates)

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Live coverage

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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Jackson says he didn’t formally endorse Robin Kelly

Friday, May 16, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Bumped up to Friday for visibility.]

* Tribune…

After U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly said this week that Rep. Jonathan Jackson was among 18 members of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsing her Democratic primary bid to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Jackson announced he is not backing Kelly and instead remaining neutral in the race.

Despite having “deep respect and admiration” for Kelly, whom he described in a statement late Wednesday as “thoughtful, hardworking, and a strong advocate for the people of Illinois,” Jackson said, “As a general practice, I have decided it is better not to make endorsements during Democratic primaries.”

The Jackson nonendorsement comes at an inopportune time for Kelly as she attempts to ramp up her bid in what is expected to be a hard-fought race to succeed Durbin, who is retiring at the end of his term. […]

Jackson “was expressing his general support and admiration for Congresswoman Kelly, which may have been interpreted as a full endorsement,” spokesman Robert Patillo wrote in an email.

Rep. Kelly has endorsements from several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, but none of those members represent Illinois.

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