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Appeals court upholds Illinois assault weapons ban (Updated x4)

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals just upheld the state ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines…

In 2023, six months after a mass shooting at a Chicago suburb’s Independence Day parade left seven dead and dozens more wounded, Illinois enacted the Protect Illinois Communities Act. Among other things, the Act criminalizes the manufacture, sale, delivery, purchase, and possession of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. A grandfather clause permits preexisting lawful own- ers of the regulated items to continue possessing them.

Plaintiffs across Illinois swiftly challenged the Act, suing state and local officials for declaratory and injunctive relief protecting their right to keep and bear arms. One federal court granted a preliminary injunction, two did not, and all three losing parties appealed. We consolidated their appeals and held in Bevis v. City of Naperville, 85 F.4th 1175 (7th Cir. 2023), that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their challenges

One of the consolidated cases in Bevis was Barnett v. Raoul, which itself was the lead case for a set of four similar challenges pending in the Southern District of Illinois. After building out the record following Bevis, the Barnett parties proceeded to a bench trial. In the end, the district court held that much of the Act violated the Second Amendment and that the offending provisions were not severable. The court therefore enjoined enforcement of the Act in its entirety. The defendants appealed.

For reasons that follow, we focus on the Act’s application to AR-15s and thirty-round rifle magazines. The Act’s restrictions on these items, we hold, are consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation. Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse. […]

We REVERSE the judgments of the district court, and we REMAND the cases with directions to enter judgments for the defendants.

Go read the rest.

…Adding… Rep. Bob Morgan…

”Four years after the Highland Park mass shooting, today’s decision of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that the Illinois assault weapon ban (the “Protect Illinois Communities Act”) is constitutional. This is the highest court to rule on the merits of our law, but the ban on weapons of war, high capacity magazines and rapid-fire devices has already led to record lows of gun violence and mass shootings. As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider whether any assault weapon ban is allowed under the 2nd Amendment, this 7th Circuit ruling should guide the majority of the Supreme Court. We are saving lives in Illinois with our assault weapon ban, and will continue to pursue all options available to end the scourge of gun violence in our state.”

…Adding… Gov. Pritzker…


…Adding… Senate President Harmon…

This decision is a victory for common sense and community safety. These high-powered weapons of war have no place on our streets.

…Adding… AG Raoul…

“This is a win that enhances public safety in Illinois. We have seen the damage that assault weapons and large-capacity magazines can inflict, and these weapons of war have no place in our communities. My office has successfully defended the state’s prohibition on these weapons in both state and federal court, and I am immensely proud of the hardworking attorneys in my office who have worked diligently to preserve this critical public safety measure.”

  12 Comments      


Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Senate Minority Leader John Curran…

Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) released the following statement in response to the latest federal charges brought against State Representative Carol Ammons:

“Once again, the federal government has had to come to Illinois to charge a sitting state legislator with criminal conduct involving taxpayer-funded grants and official state business.

“The people of Illinois do not deserve this continued embarrassment of having to wait for the feds to come in to investigate public corruption by their own state elected officials because the Democratic Majority continues to sideline the Illinois Attorney General and local prosecutors from policing public corruption in our state.

“I am calling for a hearing on my legislation, Senate Bills 2378 and 3862, which expand Illinois’ Racketeering Law to allow local prosecutors to utilize wiretapping authority to investigate and prosecute local and state officials for corruption, and to expand the Illinois Attorney General’s authority to investigate and prosecute public corruption.”

* NOTUS…

After [US Rep. Chuy García] announced his retirement plans the same day as the candidate filing deadline, effectively clearing out the primary field for his chief of staff, Patty Garcia (no relation), several Democrats gathered signatures to appear on the ballot as independent candidates.

But now, people who circulated signatures for Patty Garcia are challenging the signatures gathered by two independent candidates — Mayra Macías and Byron Sigcho-Lopez — to remove them from the ballot in November. Manuel Díaz, a senior adviser for the Illinois congressman, is also helping in the effort to invalidate the signatures.

Macías, a former Democratic political operative, is urging the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate García and his staff for using official House time for political activity. Specifically, she alleges his staff used congressional resources, including staff time, to coordinate Patty Garcia’s candidacy and to challenge the independents running in the race, according to letters sent to each entity first shared with NOTUS. […]

“Not only is it unethical, but it is a disservice to the constituents of the 4th Congressional District, because there is a lot of need here that is not being met, and if a staffer is being used for political purposes instead of actually doing that casework that is so necessary in our community, voters need to know that,” Macías told NOTUS.

The House ethics manual prohibits the use of official House resources, including official congressional staff time, for campaign or political purposes. The manual allows House employees to engage in campaign activity on their own time when they “have completed their official duties.”

In her letters, Macías accuses Díaz, Patty Garcia and Chuy García’s district director, Adrian Calderon, of using official time to coordinate Patty Garcia’s candidacy before she resigned as García’s chief of staff on Oct. 31, just three days before she filed to run. Macías also alleges that Díaz used official time to challenge the independent candidates. Sigcho-Lopez, the other independent candidate, told NOTUS he supports Macías’ ethics investigation efforts.

*** Statehouse News ***

* GOP Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey calls Flock cameras a mass surveillance network…

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker signs legislation for energy bill transparency, utility discount program: The first of the two bills, House Bill 4456, expands a discount program for low-income electric and natural gas customers established under the state’s landmark energy legislation passed in 2021, the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA. Under CEJA, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the regulatory body that oversees the state’s public utilities, was instructed to assess whether low-income discount programs would be appropriate for residential electric and natural gas customers.

*** Chicago ***

* WGN | ‘Failure is the only option’: Alders say Mayor Johnson isn’t doing his job with city budget: “Our goal was to build something stronger, more stable, and more honest for the long-term. But corporate-aligned members of the City Council chose a different direction when they adopted their so-called alternative budget. Throughout that process, we raised concerns about the assumptions in that plan,” Johnson said on Tuesday. The coalition of alders argues that Johnson is the reason the budget is not balanced. They accuse him of failing to implement their revenue proposals. “He accepted that budget,” Ald. Scott Waguespack told WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley on Wednesday.

* Tribune | Chicago Tribune seeks ‘serious sanctions’ against OpenAI as deception alleged in copyright lawsuit: Chicago Tribune, The New York Daily News, The New York Times and other media outlets are asking for “serious sanctions” against OpenAI, saying the company destroyed evidence and intentionally hid its ability to locate stolen news stories in training data and responses to ChatGPT users, according to a new motion filed Thursday. The motion, filed in Manhattan Federal Court as part of an ongoing copyright infringement suit, said Open AI expert John Vincent “Vinnie” Monaco “finally revealed” in an April deposition that the company had engaged in a campaign of deception throughout the lawsuit, including by severely misrepresenting technological capabilities and destroying millions of chat histories.

* Sun-Times | Judge finds Chicago’s embattled U.S. attorney violated secrecy order in Tren de Aragua case: U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally admonished U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros after ordering him to a highly unusual hearing Thursday. McNally didn’t impose any sanctions, but said Boutros’ decision to detail the case during a press conference alongside top Justice Department officials amounted to a “clear violation of the sealing order.”

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago’s Black Student Success Director Eugene Robinson Jr. talks about the initiative’s first year: Eugene Robinson Jr., Chicago Public Schools’ first director of Black student success, has faced a tricky balancing act over the past year. Community advocates called for decisive, visible progress on the district’s Black Student Success Plan, the five-year initiative they had championed for years and helped enshrine in state law. Meanwhile, the Trump administration argued the plan discriminates against non-Black students and withheld federal funding over it — a standoff that’s now playing out in the courts.

* Crain’s | AI firms’ office demand seen spreading to Chicago: While those places remain key markets for the artificial intelligence industry, office demand is expected to spread to other parts of the country, VTS said. Seattle, Chicago and Washington are cities that are already showing signs of AI growth. “We will 100% see spillover,” said Ryan Masiello, chief strategy officer of VTS. AI tenants have helped drive a recovery in the US office market, easing the pain for landlords who’d been saddled with large vacancies after the pandemic cratered demand for space. San Francisco was especially hard-hit.

* Tribune | Chicken coup? Family flap over control of famous Harold’s Chicken Shack brand lands in court: Six months after the death of Harold’s Chicken Shack CEO Kristen Pierce-Sherrod, the question remains: Who owns the iconic Chicago restaurant brand? Pierce-Sherrod’s five adult children claim it’s their birthright, pointing to a mysterious, still-contested “will” that, they say, makes clear their mother’s final wishes. “This is our brand, our everything — our mom worked for many, many years to make sure that her father’s legacy thrives,” Pierce-Sherrod’s daughter Kasee Gill recently told the Tribune.

* Block Club | Warehouse Planned For Avondale’s Western Avenue Approved Despite Neighbor Pushback: Although neighbors and the 35th Ward office continue to press for traffic-safety improvements at the nearby intersection of Western Avenue and George Street, the development was permitted to move forward because the site is already zoned for industrial use and did not require a zoning change or City Council approval. City records show the Department of Planning and Development released a zoning hold on June 25, after approving the project’s zoning and landscape reviews. The release cleared a remaining administrative step before the Department of Buildings issued the permit July 1.

* Sun-Times | UChicago Press workers vote to unionize: University of Chicago Press Workers Guild members have voted overwhelmingly to unionize, making it the latest in a wave of Chicago cultural institutions to organize. UCP Workers Guild announced Wednesday that 89% of participating voters favored union representation. The guild has 134 members, making it the largest unit in the Chicago News Guild.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Will County panel rejects hydro-excavation plan by single vote; County Board to vote next week: Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said another piece of property along 159th Street would be better suited for the truck company’s use because it was away from homes and closer to the village’s future wastewater treatment plant, a more industrial use. Badger’s attorney Cass Wennlund said the asking price for the property the mayor suggested was too high and the land wasn’t suitable for the company’s purposes.

* Lake County News-Sun | Deerfield solar array promises big savings: ‘A major accomplishment’: Construction for the array first broke ground in October. A village news release celebrated the 574.6-kilowatt, ground-mounted array as a “monumental step” in the village’s sustainability goals, which will also provide long-term tax savings. According to Mayor Daniel Shapiro, about 70% of the roughly $2 million project, built by Veregy, was covered by state, federal and utility incentives, leaving Deerfield to cover about $640,000.

* Pioneer Press | Winnetka advances plans to ban short-term rentals for less than 60 days: Month-to-month extensions of rentals would still be allowed, however, so long as it satisfies the minimum 60-day rental period requirement. Community Development Director Scott Mangum told Pioneer Press short-term rentals have always been prohibited in the village by virtue of their lack of inclusion in Winnetka’s zoning code. “The code’s sort of silent on it, so it’s not allowed because it’s silent, but with that we don’t have any definitions for how long the short-term rental [can be],” Mangum said.

*** Downstate ***

* PJ Star | Amid scrutiny in Illinois, Powerton discusses remedies for groundwater contaminants: Midwest Generation LLC held public presentations to discuss concerns about unsafe groundwater at the Powerton Generating Station. “Safety is paramount, and it’s the first thing we concentrate on every day at Powerton,” plant manager Todd Mundorf said Tuesday during a presentation at the Avanti’s Dome in Pekin. “We have a very good safety culture that we improve each and every day.” Joyce Blumenshine, conservation co-chair with the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club, said past groundwater monitoring at Powerton has shown unsafe levels of heavy metals from unlined coal ash ponds at the site that threaten nearby drinking water and waterways. And there are still concerns about toxins from coal plants going into the air and water.

* WSIL | Cairo bridge shutdown turns 20-minute trips into 90-minute detours: he U.S. 51 Bridge crossing the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky is closed, forcing drivers into lengthy detours. The U.S. 51 bridge closure has turned a normally busy intersection into an unusually quiet spot, except for the occasional vehicle arriving only to turn around. Truck drivers have been caught off guard by the unexpected closures. Larry Kirby, a truck driver from Missouri, said the closure has transformed his routine 30-minute commute into an hour-and-a-half journey just to start his workday. Kirby’s first stop to pickup inventory from a business is located on the other side of the bridge in Wickliffe, Kentucky, before he heads to his destination in South Carolina.

*** National ***

* Downballot | The Downballot releases presidential results for every new House district, sponsored by Grassroots Analytics: In all, 10 states—which include the three largest—cover 181 districts, though 36 were left unaltered. The 145 districts that did change amount to exactly one-third of the seats in the entire U.S. House of Representatives. […] In all, Republicans have targeted 16 seats by making them redder, while Democrats have done the same for just five seats, and the court ruling in Utah adds a sixth. The presidential results for these districts, along with their predecessors, are shown below, demonstrating just how much each of these districts has changed politically.

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Governor Pritzker, Fight For Us.

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Working families face rising costs and medical debt, while hospital systems continue to profit by exploiting the 340B program - making billions, while patients are paying the price.

Leaders in Kentucky, Virginia and California recognize that a program meant to help vulnerable patients shouldn’t become a profit stream for billion-dollar hospital systems and their business partners.

Governor JB Pritzker has the opportunity to lead the way. Illinois deserves better — veto 340B Profit-Grab (HB 2371).

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State school funding is not keeping up, but CPS is still paying the price for its pandemic mistakes

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It looks like the state’s progress has stalled out on its equity based funding level goals. From Capitol News Illinois…

The chart shows the state hit a high of 327 schools at 90 percent adequacy in 2024, and then dropped to 313 in 2026. That’s not a huge drop, but it’s most definitely not an increase.

One reason is that the state’s annual $300 million payments have not kept up with inflation. $300 million in July of 2017, when the program started would be $410.7 million today.

It would be more interesting to see how, exactly, we went from 226 schools at 90 percent adequacy in 2022 to 327 in 2024.

CNI…

537 districts, 63% of the total, [are] funded at less than 90% of adequacy. ISBE reported during this year’s budgeting process that it would take an additional $3 billion to get all districts up to at least 90% of adequacy.

Illinois was supposed to reach 90 percent adequacy by Fiscal Year 2027, which is the current fiscal year. The problem is the annual “ramp” of $300 million was not enough to accomplish that and nobody really pushed to change it.

* Moving along to property taxes…

According to the data [from Fiscal Year 2017], people in the poorest 10% of districts in the state paid an average tax rate of $5.39 per $100 of EAV. That was more than double the average tax rate in the wealthiest 10% of districts, which was $2.50 per $100 of EAV. […]

From 2017 through 2025, the average tax rate among the poorest 10% of districts fell considerably, to $4.81 per $100 of EAV. But that was still more than twice as high as the average tax rate among the wealthiest 10%, which was $2.40 per $100.

The tax rate dropped by 10 percent. Something, but not much. Again, inflation contributed to this not only with the state EBF money, but also the annual $50 million designated for property tax relief, which has been paused at least a couple of time. $50 million in July of 2017 would be $68.5 million today.

* OK, let’s switch up a bit. This is from a recent Chicago Public Schools report…

● Since 2019, CPS has added 9,790 staff positions, mostly working directly in schools, while enrollment has declined by 45,000 students.

● In the same period, our budget has grown by over $2.6B. Between FY21 and FY25, the operating budget was supplemented by nearly $3B of COVID federal relief funding. […]

CPS has faced a major budget deficit each year since FY25, when the district used the last of its remaining COVID federal relief funding.

Post-COVID, the pressures impacting districts nationwide — increasing costs, declining enrollment, stagnant revenue — are in plain view.

According to the report, the district “has more than $9 billion of existing long-term debt that requires $900-plus million in annual debt service payments.”

Instead of using the COVID money to pay down its debt, which the state did for itself, CPS put that money into increasing its permanent spending base.

And this is from my newspaper column published almost exactly two years ago…

I told Pritzker I assumed other school districts also put temporary federal money into their permanent spending bases and would also be demanding more state aid.

“I don’t think that that’s the job of Springfield, to rescue the school districts that might have been irresponsible with the one-time money they received,” said Pritzker. “Poor fiscal management on the part of a local government is not necessarily the responsibility of Springfield.”

Is CPS poorly fiscally managed? Pritzker at first hedged, then, when pressed, said he’d like to answer the question his own way.

“One-time money shouldn’t be spent for ongoing operations.”

Discuss.

  12 Comments      


News coverage roundup: Rep. Ammons indicted on fraud and obstruction charges

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Click here and here for yesterday’s coverage. Sun-Times…

State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice, along with her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons. He faces an obstruction of justice charge for allegedly instructing a potential witness to “muddy the waters” for investigators tracing them. […]

The six-term Rep. Ammons “devised a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois, its taxpayers, and donors and contributors to her campaign” from 2017 through June 2025, the indictment reads. […]

Meanwhile, payments were made from the Friends of Carol Ammons campaign fund to herself and family members “that were not legitimate payments for services actually rendered.” Other individuals allegedly received inflated payments and were expected “to provide cash kickbacks to her, sometimes referred to as ‘gifts,’” according to the feds.

“I’m home now but can catch you before board at the county building at 6 to grab the gift,” Rep. Ammons allegedly wrote in a 2022 text message.

Rep. Ammons — who’s unopposed in the November election being overseen by her husband’s office — failed to report some $25,000 in other supposed campaign expenses that included kickbacks, prosecutors said. She allegedly paid her daughter about $600 per month, totaling almost $16,000.

* Tribune…

For the state’s 2020 budget year, Ammons directed a grant to an organization called Hood Vote Neighborhood Transformation, according to the indictment.

Hood Vote paid Ammons’ daughter more than $3,300 in salary from the state grant, the indictment alleges.

After the state told Ammons it was a conflict for her daughter to be paid with the state funds, Ammons helped another organization, Bridgewater Sullivan Community Life Center, secure grants for the next year “and assisted Bridgewater in drafting her daughter’s employment contract with Bridgewater,” the indictment alleges. […]

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, in a statement announcing sanctions that will continue for the duration of Ammons’ case, called the allegations against her “extremely serious,” while also noting her right to due process. Welch said he directed his staff to review the state budget “to determine whether any funds need to be paused or reconsidered.”

The indictment shows the state “identified and took steps to stop an impermissible conflict of interest with a state grant,” Pritzker spokesperson Matt Hill said, but in light of the “extremely concerning” allegations against Ammons, the governor’s office “will review all the other grants listed in the indictment to ensure we are taking all steps possible to protect taxpayer dollars.”

* Capitol News Illinois…

The indictment names one final nonprofit that benefited from Ammons’ help directing state grant funding. The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, which happened to employ Ammons before she was elected to the Illinois House, received more than $1 million in state grants in 2021 and 2022, “including a $700,000 member initiative funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act,” according to the charging document.

Titianna Ammons again received payments directly funded by the state grant facilitated by her mother — this time as a “digital marketing coordinator” for the IMC. From July to October 2022, while she was also working full-time at Bridgewater and as an “intermittent public service representative” with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, the IMC paid Titianna Ammons approximately $9,990.

The state budget for the fiscal that began last week includes a $750,000 reappropriation to the [Independent Media Center] for violence prevention programs and operational expenses, which may be flagged in the review Welch ordered for the state budget after Ammons’ indictment Wednesday.

* More…

    * IPM Newsroom | Rep. Carol Ammons, Clerk Aaron Ammons indicted by federal grand jury for alleged wire fraud, obstruction of justice: The indictment also names her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons. It states he misled witnesses and conspired with his wife to obstruct a federal investigation into the alleged fraud. […] In a statement, a spokesperson for Clerk Aaron Ammons said he has no comment, citing the ongoing investigation in the federal legal case.

    * Center Square | Illinois lawmaker, husband indicted over alleged kickback scheme: The indictment also reads that both the Carol and Aaron Ammons made false claims of not knowing there was a conflict of interest with one organization using a state grant to pay her daughter. The pair also allegedly advised a potential witness to communicate with them through code words about ongoing FBI investigations into their conduct. Arron Ammons was alleged to have engaged in conduct toward another person to mislead them and hinder their communication with law enforcement by knowingly directing the potential witness to “muddy the waters” when speaking to the FBI, according to the indictment.

    * WCIA | Carol, Aaron Ammons indicted for wire fraud, obstruction of justice: The counts against Carol allege that she used donations and contributions to her political support committee, Friends of Carol Ammons, for personal use. They also allege Carol used state grants to fund organizations her daughter Titianna was involved in and to pay her a salary, which is an “impermissible conflict of interest” under Illinois law.

    * WAND | State Rep. Carol Ammons, Aaron Ammons indicted on federal fraud, obstruction charges: “People are going to do what people are going to do, but if there’s enough holes they’re going to continue to do things like this,” said House GOP Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna). “I can tell you as the leader of the House Republicans, if this [were] my caucus, this would be handled immediately.”

  11 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Illinois ‘reviewing’ DOJ’s threat to prosecute state election officials over noncitizen voting. Capitol News Illinois…

    - The Illinois State Board of Elections said Wednesday it is “reviewing” a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice threatening criminal prosecution of any official who allows noncitizens to cast ballots and requesting information about how the state intends to prevent noncitizens voting.
    - The letter, dated Tuesday, July 7, was addressed to ISBE Executive Director Bernadette Matthews. It was similar to letters reportedly sent to top election officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
    - In addition to Tuesday’s letter threatening prosecution, DOJ is also suing Illinois and dozens of other states for access to the state’s complete, unredacted voter registration list, including sensitive information such as voters’ dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. The federal government has not been successful in any of those lawsuits thus far.

* Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Illinois Times | Housing advocates celebrate legislative wins: Bob Palmer, policy director for the statewide housing coalition Housing Action Illinois, said some of the major victories came on the funding front. For one, the General Assembly rejected the governor’s proposed cut of $10 million to the HOME Illinois Program, which aims to prevent and end homelessness in the state. Lawmakers were facing a tight fiscal year, meaning any new funding would be an uphill battle. Even so, David Zoltan, a Chicago-based housing activist, said not increasing funding amid rising inflation is “effectively a cut” for a crucial HOME Illinois program.

* Capitol News Illinois | As Illinois enters 10th year under Evidence-Based Funding model, equity remains an elusive goal: But as Illinois enters the 10th year of financing schools under the Evidence-Based Funding model — a formula adopted in 2017 that was supposed to improve both the adequacy and equity of the state’s school finance system — wide disparities still exist in the property tax system that funds more than half the cost of K-12 education. An analysis of school finance data by Capitol News Illinois covering the nine-year period from 2017 to 2025 shows homeowners in the lowest-wealth districts pay tax rates that are double those in the wealthiest districts. The findings are largely consistent with those of other researchers who follow school finance issues nationally.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Johnson-aligned Chicago school board members continue push for more funding from Springfield: Schools had to approve their proposed budgets in early June, but the district has yet to release full details around what might be cut. The Chicago Teachers Union joined Mayor Brandon Johnson-aligned board members at Wednesday’s press conference outside the Board of Education headquarters where they called for state lawmakers to again consider raising education funding through progressive tax policies that target wealthy individuals or corporations. Khari Humphries, the city’s deputy mayor of education and youth, also joined elected board member Jitu Brown and appointed members Michilia Blaise, Karen Zaccor, Norma Rios-Sierra, Emma Lozano, Angel Velez, Cydney Wallace, and Debby Pope.

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | Illinois ACA health insurance prices set to rise by double digits again in 2027: In Illinois, insurers are seeking rate hikes between 9.2% and nearly 15%. Less than 10% of Americans get their health coverage from the ACA marketplace, or state-run marketplaces like Get Covered Illinois, but the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker points out that factors driving premiums like growth in hospital or pharmaceutical costs are similar across all private plans.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Center Square’s Sean Reed…

* Sun-Times | Cash App parent company agrees to $45 million settlement with Illinois, 44 other states: Illinois will get $1.1 million of a $45 million, 45-state settlement with money transfer app Cash App’s parent company, which was accused of misleading customers about the app’s security. Block Inc. will face $55 million in civil penalties and also have to pay customers nationwide somewhere from $75 million to $120 million as part of the settlement, which includes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

* WGLT | Illinois’ U.S. Senate Republican nominee Don Tracy aims to slow cost-of-living increases: Tracy said the election centers around affordability, and sees that as an advantage for the Republican Party in Illinois. “Democrats … and Republican politicos seem to agree this is a cost-of-living election,” Tracy said in the interview with Capitol News Illinois. “[I] believe that to be a winning message for Republicans, because everything Democrats do increases the cost of living.” “I’m not sure there’s a tax that they didn’t want to increase and that increases the cost of living for all working families,” Tracy said, referring to Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration.

*** Data Center News ***

* Illinois Times | Data center details: Questions remain about effects on nearby animals, soil temperature: Sangamon County’s average residential electricity bill has increased by more than 52% in the past five years when comparing seasonal data, according to a database constructed by Heatmap News and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That’s nearly 15% more than Cook County, and almost 10% more than the state, experienced over the same time frame. Despite utility costs soaring over the past five years, grid operators keep approving more data centers. Utility providers, such as Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, claim the projects will lower rates for others even in light of the larger amount of power needed to run them.

* Shaw Local | Dixon man accused of threatening Lee County official over data center listing pleads guilty to petty offense: A Dixon man charged with felonies accusing him of threatening a Lee County official pleaded guilty to a petty offense on Wednesday and agreed to complete a court-ordered program to get the four felony charges dismissed. […] The charges accused him of threatening Lee County Industrial Development Association Executive Director Tom Demmer. Those charges were amended on Wednesday to also include one count of obstruction of justice, a Class 4 felony, and one count of barratry, a petty offense, court records show. Under Illinois law, barratry is when a person “wickedly and willfully excites and stirs up actions or quarrels…to promote strife and contention.”

* Texas Tribune | Planned Texas data centers could emit more greenhouse gases than many countries: Including Stargate’s Abilene campus, at least 15 gas plants tied to data centers are planned for Texas, according to Cleanview. Available permits reviewed by Floodlight show that nine of them combined could emit more than 130 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. That’s the equivalent annual emissions of 35 coal-fired power plants, according to an Environmental Protection Agency calculator. While actual emissions are usually lower than estimates, the impact on the climate could still be enormous: If completed, these nine plants have the potential to emit more annual greenhouse gases than most countries do — even if emissions end up being half of what’s permitted.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | CTA crime has dropped for last 6 consecutive months amid security surge, agency boss says: The Red Line has seen a 47% decline in all crime, and a 76% drop in violent crime through June compared to last year, Leerhsen said. “The perception of safety on CTA is affected by every single incident we have,” Leerhsen said. “But given the importance of our system to the vitality and strength of our city, it is incredibly important to me that we still stop and note this progress, which is real and is continuing to sustain itself.”

* Block Club Chicago | Chicago Police Torture Survivors Break Ground On Monument: ‘More Work To Do’: The memorial — a blend of public art, education, reflection and movement-building guaranteed within a 2015 reparations package — broke ground Wednesday at 5520 S. King Drive in Washington Park, with plans for its completion by early next year. “This memorial is about more than remembering the past,” said Gregory Banks, a member of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Foundation and a survivor of beatings, suffocation and racial epithets inflicted on him by officers who extracted his confession in 1983.

* Tribune | Chicago FBI boss forced into early retirement, skips lunch with US Attorney Boutros: Shortly after Douglas DePodesta became head of the FBI’s storied Chicago bureau, he told the Tribune he would love to call it a career in his adopted hometown when he hit the mandatory retirement age in a few years. “I think I have a lot left in my tank,” DePodesta said in May 2025. Instead, DePodesta’s impressive FBI career came to an abrupt end this week. He was forced to retire early due to a falling out with bosses in the Justice Department, apparently over issues with his fealty to the Trump administration’s political agenda, or lack thereof.

* Crain’s | Judge enforces distance rule for cannabis shops in blow to planned South Loop store: Attorneys for Blounts & Moore argued the location 470 feet away from the existing dispensary violates a provision of the state’s Cannabis Regulation & Tax Act that says a new dispensary can’t be within 1,500 feet of a pre-existing one. The ruling for Blounts & Moore appears to be the first time a court has interpreted the setback rule, casting doubt on future efforts to open cannabis shops in the Loop.

* Tribune | Chicago White Sox blanked for the 4th time this season in a 5-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox: Despite the loss, the Sox (47-44) remain alone in first place in the American League Central standings. They are one game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians (47-46), who lost 6-5 to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. The Twins (46-47) are two games back.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Bolingbrook, Homer Glen mayors urge residents to fight Illinois American Water rate hike: “Water is not a luxury,” Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta said Wednesday. “It is not a vacation. It is not a new television or a shopping trip that can be postponed. Water, electricity and natural gas are essential services that every family needs to live with dignity, safety and health.” Alexander-Basta, along with state legislators, said Bolingbrook residents pay an average of $220 a month for their water bills. Senior citizens on fixed incomes and households already cash-strapped by rising costs in food, insurance and housing, cannot afford more rate hikes, she said.

* Tribune | Prime Healthcare seeks to permanently close inpatient pediatric unit at St. Joseph hospital in Joliet: St. Joseph, which was bought by Prime last year, said in April 2025 that it was temporarily suspending pediatric inpatient care. At the time, the move drew criticism from nurses union the Illinois Nurses Association, which represents nurses at the hospital. Now, the hospital has filed an application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to shutter the 13-bed unit for good upon board approval or by the end of the year. The board will vote on the request at a future meeting.

* Daily Herald | Plan for massive industrial park approved in Vernon Hills: Including an existing warehouse, the 70-acre Vernon hills Industrial Park could total about 1.2 million square feet in five buildings, following approvals Tuesday by the village board. Property owner JCA Hayes LLC has been pursuing the project at 100-230 S. Milwaukee Ave., in the Continental Executive Parke, since late 2024. The approved plan for the site once scouted by Amazon calls for three speculative buildings, use of an existing warehouse and a huge build-to-suit facility for hand2mind, a sister company of tariff-busting Learning Resources

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora residents still struggling with storm damage: Residents across Aurora, and particularly in the 4th and 6th Wards, experienced basement flooding, tree damage and power outages Friday and Saturday morning, with varying degrees of damage, said Ald. Jonathan Nunez, 4th Ward. Nunez said some basements flooded twice, including his own, and residents struggled to keep the water out. “It’s disheartening when you spend several hours, you know, trying to save whatever you may have,” he said. “A lot of us had to throw away a ton of different items that you just can’t recover.”

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol City Now | Springfield Mayor supports Flock contract extension: The company has been accused in the past of violating state law regarding data, which led to other cities ending their contracts with Flock. “It’s our job at the city to police our cameras and our contract with Flock, so that’s what we will do and have been doing,” said Buscher. “I can’t speak on what was going on in other communities. But, for the City of Springfield, we will make sure our data is secure.”

* Capitol News Illinois | IDOC worker pleads guilty to padding the payroll of her correctional officer husband: An Illinois Department of Corrections payroll worker admitted in federal court Wednesday that she falsified her correctional officer husband’s overtime and holiday pay, defrauding the state of nearly $125,000. […] According to a stipulation of facts she signed, Tudor doctored her husband’s payroll records for about two and a half years, from July 1, 2022, through Dec. 30, 2024, while he worked as a correctional officer at the Murphysboro Life Skills Re-Entry Center, a satellite facility of the Pinckneyville Correctional Center. Under the plea agreement, the parties calculated an advisory federal sentencing guideline range of 10 to 16 months in prison and a fine of $5,500 to $55,000, but the judge is not bound by that recommendation.

* The Daily Egyptian | SIU board expected to give Lane $65K bonus Thursday: The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees is set to determine Thursday if Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane will receive his annual bonus — an additional $65,000 on top of his annual base salary of $378,000. Whether he gets the bonus depends on a series of goals, which for this past academic year included keeping the hiring chill in place and increasing online enrollment. Many of Lane’s goals are focused on improving the university’s enrollment and graduation rate and controlling school spending. A document obtained by the Daily Egyptian through a Freedom of Information Act request outlines 10 goals for the 2025-2026 academic year.

*** National ***

* Post-Tribune | Indiana Gov. Mike Braun says Hammond stadium for Chicago Bears is ‘in the red zone’: “I’m excited by the Bears. I think we’re almost there, but we’re not there yet,” [Northwest Indiana, Family Express President and CEO Gus Olympidis] said. “It is always a little risky to overplay something before it happens because if it doesn’t happen, you have some explaining to do,” he said.

* Wired | Self-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders. Feds Aren’t Happy:Morrison wrote that NHTSA has documented a “clear pattern” of interference over the last few months, including incidents in which the vehicles drove into active emergency scenes, blocked ambulances and firefighters, and didn’t respond in situations involving flashing lights, fire, and traffic cones.

  6 Comments      


Good morning!

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* David Byrne…

What’s going on?

  2 Comments      


Selected press releases (Live updates)

Thursday, Jul 9, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

  Comment      


Isabel’s afternoon roundup

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Subscribers were told this morning. Associated Press…

President Donald Trump’s administration is threatening to withhold some federal funding from states that don’t make changes to voting practices and is warning state election officials that they face arrest if they don’t remove noncitizens from voter rolls.

Letters to states and grant application details are the latest in a line of actions by Trump’s administration to shape details of running elections that have long been the job of states.

Courts have largely rejected the administration’s previous efforts, which reflect untrue claims about widespread voting fraud and come less than four months ahead of crucial midterm elections where Democrats seek to take control of one or both chambers of Congress and check Trump’s power. […]

In letters sent Tuesday, to election officials for all 50 states and the District of Columbia — often secretaries of state — the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said they and other election administrators could face criminal charges if they knowingly allow nonvoters to vote or remain on voting rolls.

*** Statewide ***

* WGLT | Planned Parenthood of Illinois appoints McLean County’s Carolyn Moon as new board chair: A McLean County-based new leader at Planned Parenthood of Illinois [PPI] is relentlessly focused on providing affordable care to anyone who needs it, all across Illinois. Carolyn Moon, who lives just outside Bloomington-Normal and took the board chair position this month, is the first person from outside the Chicago area to serve in the role. She said she brings a different perspective on rural healthcare. “I really am an advocate for access for everyone in the state, corner to corner, today, tomorrow, and for future generations,” Moon said on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | State Rep. Carol Ammons indicted for scheme to receive kickbacks, misusing campaign funds: State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, an 11-year veteran of the Illinois House, has been charged with orchestrating an alleged scheme to receive cash kickbacks from illegal payments from her own campaign account and from local nonprofits for which she helped secure state grant funding. The indictment, brought by a federal grand jury late Tuesday, outline an alleged conspiracy involving both Ammons’ husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, and her daughter, who last month was indicted on separate federal charges alleging she fraudulently collected expanded COVID-era unemployment benefits.

* WCIA | Carol, Aaron Ammons indicted for wire fraud, obstruction of justice: The counts against Carol allege that she used donations and contributions to her political support committee, Friends of Carol Ammons, for personal use. They also allege Carol used state grants to fund organizations her daughter Titianna was involved in and to pay her a salary, which is an “impermissible conflict of interest” under Illinois law. […] “From at least on or about May 21, 2024, and continuing through at least June 15, 2025, [Carol and Aaron] knowingly conspired with each other and others, both known and unknown the grand jury, to engage in misleading conduct toward another person,” the indictment with the intent to hinder and prevent the communication to a federal law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission and possible commission of a federal offense, namely wire fraud,” the indictment says.

* Press release | Illinois Surpasses 1,000 Certified Peer Professionals, Marking Major Milestone in Behavioral Health Workforce Growth: The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced today that Illinois has surpassed 1,000 certified peer professionals, with 1,010 individuals now credentialed as Certified Recovery Support Specialists (CRSS) and/or Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (CPRS). The milestone reflects the State’s continued investment in peer recovery support services and behavioral health workforce development and represents a 335% increase in the certified peer workforce since 2022. “Growing our behavioral health workforce has been one of the most impactful investments we’ve made in strengthening our system,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This milestone reflects real, statewide momentum—and we’re committed to continuing to grow this workforce so more Illinoisans can access the hope, support, and connection they need.”

* WAND | Bill providing resources for youth repeat gun offenders awaits Pritzker’s signature: The plan could require probation agencies to conduct an assessment of the minor’s needs and identify restorative justice programs for high risk youth, cognitive behavioral therapy, family engagement and mentoring options. “Without this help and without the services that are provided through this legislation, the direction of their life is not going to be a positive one,” said Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights). “We believe that we can help some kids with this version.”

* Press release | Governor Pritzker Announces Funding for NSF Quantum X-Labs Teams: In addition to the $3 million X-Labs Fast Fund, Chicago’s leading quantum innovation organizations have put together a package to attract teams applying to X-Labs. The Chicago Quantum Exchange, P33, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and mHUB will add $250,000 in funding, immediate access to elite lab space and advanced prototyping facilities, and access to the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park’s (IQMP) technical infrastructure, including cryogenic, test and measurement equipment, and experimental research facilities. With access to Chicago’s state-of-the-art quantum campus and innovation ecosystem, facilities, assets and resources, X-Labs teams will be able to reduce infrastructure costs and maximize the impact of their NSF funding.

* CBS Chicago | Black and gold bumblebee officially designated Illinois State Bee: Last year, students in Ms. Barbara Bell’s eighth-grade science class led the push for the state bee designation, after they completed a research project on bee species native to Illinois, according to the governor’s office. The students created presentations for distribution around Illinois, launched a statewide vote, and testified before lawmakers. Because of their efforts, HB 4438 was approved to designate the state bee.

*** Chicago ***

* Press release | Former Gov. Quinn & Rep. LaShawn Ford to Introduce & File an Ordinance Calling for a Citywide “Millionaire Tax” Voter Referendum: This Thursday, July 9, at 11:30AM inside the City Clerk’s Office on the first floor of City Hall, former Governor and Chicago resident Pat Quinn will join with Rep. LaShawn Ford to introduce and file an ordinance calling for a citywide referendum this November 3 urging passage of the Illinois Millionaire Amendment for Property Tax Relief and Education. The Referendum asks voters: “Shall Illinois adopt the Millionaire Amendment for Property Tax Relief and Education which would enact a 3% income tax surcharge only on millionaires and use 50% of this new revenue to provide property tax relief for residential and commercial tax payers and 50% to improve state funding for public education?”

*Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago cut funding for assistant principals in small schools. Most chose to keep them anyway: More than 130 small schools were poised to lose funding for their assistant principals next school year. Most, including McCutcheon, used discretionary dollars to keep them or convinced CPS to make an exception, leaving about 40 campuses without that position, Chalkbeat has learned. The move comes as district officials are trying to close a $732.5 million deficit to balance a more than $10 billion budget.

* WBEZ | Mayor Brandon Johnson taps new public health commissioner: “I’ve spent my career committed to centering a public health approach that addresses the social and economic conditions that shape people’s health and wellbeing,” Walker said in a statement Wednesday announcing his appointment. “As someone who grew up in Chicago, it’s an honor to serve as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health and support the Mayor’s vision for a healthier Chicago.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Walker, but City Council members must approve his new role. He would replace Dr. Olusimbo Ige, who resigned in May after about two and half years on the job.

* Tribune | Chicago Public Library Foundation gets a new president and CEO: The foundation’s board of directors has appointed Eva Giglio as its new president and CEO. Joining the organization Aug. 12, Giglio will leave the executive director role at the CME Group Foundation to take up a mantle left behind after former leader Brenda Langstraat Bui died in February. Giglio said she knew Langstraat Bui and that stepping into the position she held for more than seven years is a bittersweet moment.

* WGN | O’Hare taxi times soar to highest in nation. Here’s why: “I think the worst ones are when I’m coming back from Minneapolis and the flight is 40 minutes and the taxi time is longer than the actual flight was, which happens!” said frequent flyer Pan Fanshaw. A WGN Investigates analysis of FAA data found the amount of time it’s taking planes to move around the airfield is higher than at any other airport in the nation. Back in 2018, the average time from gate to runway was 22-and-a-half minutes. This year, it’s climbed to more than 28 minutes. Taxi times after landing have also increased, from 13.6 minutes to now, more than 18 minutes on average.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Tinley Park storm clean up: ‘Please be patient’: Tinley Park public works employees are still working to clean up damage from the weekend’s heavy storms, Public Works Director John Urbanski told the Village Board Tuesday night. “We had over 200 emails Monday morning that we were welcomed with, and approximately 150 voicemails,” Urbanski said. “I’ve got all of my staff all hands on deck trying to go through and chip up and bring all of the brush away from the parkways, but I just ask everybody that’s waiting to just please be patient.”

* Daily Herald | Future of Trickster Cultural Center uncertain as Schaumburg ponders village history museum: Schaumburg officials are sticking with plans to study the feasibility of a local history museum that could displace a Native American cultural center at a village-owned building it’s leased for more than two decades. Officials from the Trickster Cultural Center said they haven’t identified any options for relocation because the village hasn’t provided a time frame or determined if they’ll even have to leave. “We asked if there was a building they could offer Trickster and they said no,” said Gina Roxas, Trickster’s executive director. “We love Schaumburg. This is where our roots are.”

*** Downstate ***

* The Daily Egyptian | ‘No one’s selling anyone’s water’: Fear, speculation follow southern Illinois water district consolidation proposal:
In mid-May, then-Republican Illinois Rep. Paul Jacobs — now a state senator — mass-emailed a letter to southern Illinois water district managers and engineers inviting them to an informal, closed-door meeting to discuss a potential project to “cross-connect” or “inter-connect” water districts in southern Illinois. Crossconnection and interconnection, otherwise known as consolidation, would mean small water districts join together to form larger ones. The letter, co-signed by Illinois Rep. Patrick Windhorst, former Illinois Sen. Dale Fowler and U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, included conceptual details of the proposed project that would allow for southern Illinois water districts to “combine into one large district for grant purposes,” an idea that stems from a similar proposal from nearly a decade ago.

* Press release | IDNR and City of Springfield announce plans for new downtown park and outdoor venue space: Conceptual designs for the park include landscaping featuring all native Illinois plants. The focal point is a natural limestone amphitheater with seating for 1,500 to 1,800 people, enabling it to continue hosting the popular Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series. Additional features include open lawn seating, shaded gathering areas, ADA accessible walking paths and a natural play space for children. The park layout will be aligned with the Governor’s Mansion to enhance the visual connection between the adjacent blocks and will incorporate design elements inspired by the residence’s historic oval lawn. Interpretive signage will share the history of the park site, including information about the former YWCA building. Plans also call for a dedicated “Community Row” space for vendor tents, mobile restrooms and a food truck plaza along the closed Jackson Street area to support concerts and other events.

* IPM Newsroom | New Champaign Unit 4 superintendent brings back some former cabinet members into other leadership roles: Ward and most members of the previous superintendent’s cabinet have all retired or been demoted, with the option to return to teaching. The new superintendent, Geovanny Ponce, appointed three from that group into leadership roles this week. Ward will become interim principal of Central High School. “I have a dream that every student will have a path and a plan,” she said. “And I know that Dr. Ponce and the team here has that same dream.”

* WCIA | Decatur City Council approves memorandum with sanitary district to cut down pollutants in waterways: City Council member David Horn said the Sanitation District of Decatur is the largest single point source of phosphorus into waterways in the state. Now, he said the city will be working with the district to get that number down from 20 milligrams per liter flowing into streams and rivers like the Sangamon.“The I-EPA is requiring that by 2029, the sanitary District of Decatur reduced that to 1 mg per liter. This is a big victory from an environmental perspective,” Horn said.

*** National ***

* Harvest Public Media | Trump reduced tariffs on farm machinery. But prices could still increase.: Tariffs on equipment made from steel, aluminum and copper decreased from 25 percent to 15 percent on June 8 after President Trump signed a proclamation. Yet, experts say the decrease isn’t enough to relieve manufacturers or farmers in a struggling market. “We appreciate the [a]dministration’s move to lower tariffs on agricultural equipment, but the real-world savings are limited,” said Richard Gupton, the senior vice president of public policy and council for the Agricultural Retailers Association.

  5 Comments      


Welch removes Ammons from committees, caucus pending federal case (Updated)

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Background is here if you need it. House Speaker Chris Welch…

“The allegations in this indictment are extremely serious. Every person under our system of justice is entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process. The U.S. Attorney will lay out evidence in court, where Representative Ammons will have the chance to defend herself against the allegations.

“In the interest of upholding the integrity of the House and ensuring we can continue our important work without distraction, I am taking the following actions immediately while this case is pending: I am temporarily removing Representative Ammons from any and all House Democratic Caucus meetings, from all House committees, and from accessing Speaker’s Office staff and resources. Additionally, I directed my staff to review the budget to determine whether any funds need to be paused or reconsidered.”

…Adding… Gov. JB Pritzker’s office…

“Governor Pritzker believes all elected officials need to be held to the highest standards of integrity and ethics. While everyone is entitled to due process in a court of law, the information outlined in the indictment is extremely concerning and needs to be taken very seriously to ensure elected officials are accountable to the people they represent. As the indictment notes, the State of Illinois had identified and took steps to stop an impermissible conflict of interest with a state grant. The Governor’s Office will review all the other grants listed in the indictment to ensure we are taking all steps possible to protect taxpayer dollars.”

  12 Comments      


It’s the management

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WBEZ…

No city dealing with a lot of lead pipes spends as much as Chicago does to replace them.

With more than 400,000 lead water service lines, Chicago has the largest known inventory of lead pipes of any city in the country. Officials say replacing each one costs, on average, about $31,000 — more than six times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s national estimate of $4,700 a line. […]

[Michael Grillo, the Chicago water department’s deputy commissioner] also blamed labor costs in part for the city’s high price tag.

But that explanation doesn’t appear to pan out. The base prevailing wage for a union plumber in the Chicago area is $99.52 an hour. It’s about $97 in Minneapolis and roughly $121 in New York City. Both of those cities replace their lead pipes at less than half of Chicago’s costs.

Go read the rest.

  9 Comments      


Jesse’s still got it

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Jesse White Tumblers auditioned for ‘America’s Got Talent’…

* Block Club Chicago…

The Jesse White Tumblers, formed 67 years ago by former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to keep Chicago youth away from gangs and drugs, brought their flips, somersaults and other gravity-defying tricks to NBC’s popular reality competition show “America’s Got Talent” in California.

After their performance, which premiered Tuesday night, the group now known as the Jesse White Tumbling Team received a standing ovation and four “yes” votes from the panel of celebrity judges — Howie Mandel, Mel B, Simon Cowell and Sofía Vergara — to advance to the next round of competition as the show continues its 21st season. […]

“I thought it was sensational,” said judge Simon Cowell, who eventually went up to shake White’s hand onstage. “You’re following an act with lasers and pyrotechnics, and this was all about you as a group, as individuals, being great, putting the hours in … I mean it really, really paid off.” […]

“’America’s Got Talent’ is a highlight of all we’ve been able to accomplish with this program,” White, now 92, told Block Club. The youngest tumbler performing with the team on the show was just 8 years old.

  29 Comments      


Governor Pritzker, Fight For Us.

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department

[The following is a paid advertisement.]

Working families face rising costs and medical debt, while hospital systems continue to profit by exploiting the 340B program - making billions, while patients are paying the price.

Leaders in Kentucky, Virginia and California recognize that a program meant to help vulnerable patients shouldn’t become a profit stream for billion-dollar hospital systems and their business partners.

Governor JB Pritzker has the opportunity to lead the way. Illinois deserves better — veto 340B Profit-Grab (HB 2371).

  Comments Off      


Feds indict Rep. Ammons (Updated)

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) was indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud, false statement and obstruction charges. From the indictment…

As a political candidate, AMMONS organized a political committee, Friends of Carol Ammons, which she registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) around 2013. AMMONS opened a bank account for the Friends of Carol Ammons into which campaign funds were deposited. […]

For state fiscal year 2020, AMMONS, in her role as a state representative, caused a change in an appropriation for a state grant from the Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center, which served children from historically underserved neighborhoods, to Hood Vote Neighborhood Transformation (”Hood Vote”), which was focused on reentry and corrections reform. The total state grant to Hood Vote was approximately $605,431.

AMMONS’s daughter was associated with Hood Vote and eventually served as its Program Director. On or about April 2, 2021, AMMONS’s daughter was paid approximately $3,326 in salary by Hood Vote out of the state grant appropriation. Thereafter, the State of Illinois informed AMMONS and Hood Vote that it was an impermissible conflict of interest for AMMONS’s daughter to be paid out of the state grant funds. Consequently, Hood Vote discontinued paying AMMONS’s daughter a salary.

Beginning on or about 2017, and continuing until on or about June 15, 2025, in Champaign County, in the Central District of Illinois, and elsewhere, CAROL AMMONS, defendant herein, knowingly devised a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois, its taxpayers, and donors and contributors to her campaign and to obtain money and property by means of materially false pretenses, promises, and representations, including by omissions and the concealment of material information.

It was a purpose and objective of the scheme that AMMONS enriched herself by converting contributions and donations to her campaign to her personal use. It was a further purpose and objective of the scheme that she concealed from ISBE and law enforcement authorities that she was engaging in such conversion of campaign funds for her personal benefit.

It was also a purpose and objective of the scheme that AMMONS assisted local organizations in obtaining state grants that would benefit her and her daughter financially in violation of Illinois conflict of interest rules. It was a further purpose and objective of the scheme that she concealed from the public, state authorities, and law enforcement authorities that she and her daughter were benefitting financially from state grants that she had a role in obtaining for local organizations.

As part of the scheme, from approximately 2017 through December of 2022, AMMONS caused funds from her Friends of Carol Ammons campaign account to be paid to herself and to family members that were not legitimate payments for services actually rendered to her political committee.

It was a further part of the scheme that, to avoid detection of the payments to herself, AMMONS caused checks to be issued to an individual in excess of the amount for services actually rendered. AMMONS then required the individual to provide cash kickbacks to her, sometimes referred to as ” gifts.” […]

It was part of the scheme that the D-2 forms did not disclose the illegal cash payments to AMMONS. The D-2 forms falsely classified certain expenditures as mileage reimbursements that were later paid back to AMMONS in cash. The D-2 forms omitted certain payments to AMMONS’s family members. Between January of 2019 and November of 2020, the D-2 forms failed to disclose over $25,000 in payments to individuals, a portion of which were paid back to AMMONS in cash. Between March of 2021 and August of 2022, the D-2 forms falsely claimed payments totaling over $15,000 were paid to a consulting firm, when in fact, they were paid to an individual who paid a portion back to AMMONS in cash.

* The indictment also cites text messages prosecutors allege referred to cash kickbacks…

Message from AMMONS

6/18/2022 What’s up? Gift

10/20/2022 I’m home now but can catch you before board at the county building at 6 to grab the gift

12/2/2022 Hey you dropping my gift off today?

* After eight wire fraud counts, the indictment alleges Rep. Ammons made a false statement to the FBI…

COUNT NINE
(False Statement)
On or about May 21, 2024, in Champaign County, in the Central District of Illinois, CAROL AMMONS, defendant herein, willfully and knowingly made a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and representation in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States, by stating to a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that she had no knowledge regarding a conflict of interest with Hood Vote Neighborhood Transformation paying her daughter from a state grant, when AMMONS knew full well that individuals from the State of Illinois and Hood Vote Neighborhood Transition had previously discussed the conflict of interest with AMMONS. […]

COUNT TEN
(Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice) […]

From at least on or about May 21, 2024, and continuing through at least June 15, 2025, in Champaign County, in the Central District of Illinois, and elsewhere, CAROL AMMONS and [Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons], defendants herein, knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other and others, both known and unknown to the grand jury, to engage in misleading conduct toward another person with the intent to hinder and prevent the communication to a federal law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission and possible commission of a federal offense, namely, wire fraud as set forth in Counts One through Eight of this Indictment. […]

On or about February 17, 2025, Aaron Ammons advised a potential witness that there is “nothing illegal” about friends giving friends money regarding illegal cash kickbacks paid to Carol Ammons from the Friends of Carol Ammons political committee. Aaron Ammons communicated with the potential witness on a paper note that Aaron Ammons destroyed after showing it to the potential witness.

COUNT ELEVEN
(Obstruction of Justice) […]

On or about June 9, 2025, in Champaign County, in the Central District of Illinois, AARON AMMONS, defendant herein, knowingly and intentionally engaged in misleading conduct toward another person with the intent to hinder and prevent the communication to a federal law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission and possible commission of a federal offense, namely, wire fraud as set forth in Counts One through Eight of this Indictment, in that Aaron AMMONS knowing and intentionally directed a potential witness to “muddy the waters” with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obstruct its ability to trace illegal cash payments to Carol Ammons.

…Adding… House Minority Leader Tony McCombie…

“Public officials must be held to the highest ethical standards and Rep. Carol Ammons should resign immediately. Speaker Welch should join me in calling for her resignation. Leadership means holding your own members accountable, not waiting until political pressure becomes unavoidable.

“Elected officials are entrusted with serving the public, not enriching themselves and the seriousness of these allegations demands accountability.

“House Republicans have consistently pushed for stronger ethics laws and greater accountability, while the Democratic majority has repeatedly blocked or ignored meaningful ethics reform. Illinois deserves better.”

  56 Comments      


Isabel’s morning briefing

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* ICYMI: Attorneys general, state officials sue over 2nd federal attempt to cut permanent housing funds. Sun-Times…

    - On June 1, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tried for a second time to condition money for permanent housing, including shifting $1.3 billion in funding to temporary housing programs.
    - Raoul and the coalition of state legal officials said the move, which they argue oversteps the Trump administration’s power and violates federal law, will once again risk housing for tens of thousands of people. In Illinois alone, $60 million in funding would be lost, according to the suit.
    - Similar arguments made by Raoul and others have led to federal court decisions reinstating $2 billion in federal disaster relief funding, $2 billion for transportation and millions in public health research money.

* Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Subscribers know more. Politico | When should an ethics report be public?: Questions are mounting about whether the ethics report that led former state Rep. Harry Benton to resign should be made public. […] About the report: The Legislative Inspector General has 30 days to submit its report to the Legislative Ethics Commission, which then has another 60 days to consider its findings and respond. The commission also has the authority to make available a public summary of the findings. It is required to make the findings public if it results in a suspension or termination, according to a person familiar with the state statute, who was granted anonymity due to a lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly.

* Capitol News Illinois | Utility watchdog warns of rising water rates as regulators consider requests: Customers across Illinois could be facing higher water and sewage bills as the state’s largest private water utilities seek rate increases and permission to merge. Illinois American Water, the state’s largest private water utility, is seeking a $142 million rate increase, which would raise typical water costs for its 357,000 residential customers by around $14 per month. Typical wastewater customers would see an additional increase of around $28 per month.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson says aldermen’s provisions in budget $130 million short: “I want to say this clearly: There were other options,” Johnson said. “We did not need to cede to big money interests and fall back on the tired practice of balancing budgets on the backs of working people.” What’s less clear is how his administration will seek to fill that hole as the clock ticks toward the 2027 budget cycle — and an election that will see the mayor’s office and all 50 aldermanic seats on the ballot. The freshman mayor said he’s “working hard to avoid layoffs and cutting services” but made clear he will use his bully pulpit to blame aldermen should it come to that.

* Block Club | Council-Backed Budget Could Lead To $130 Million Shortfall This Year, Mayor Says: Johnson, however, has remained a frequent critic of the budget that got passed. On Tuesday, his administration released a mid-year budget report with preliminary revenue numbers and forecasts showing that some of the alternative budget revenue ideas weren’t panning out — which could lead to an at least $130 million budget hole this year. In particular, the mayor said his team has attempted to find a buyer for the city’s vehicular debt, but “to date, no buyer has been identified,” making a sale impossible. Alderpeople had estimated a debt sale could bring in about $90 million for the city coffers.

* Ald. Scott Waguespack | 29 Council members sought to get Chicago to live within its means: Yet when Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled his fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, many members of the City Council were confronted with a troubling reality: They were being asked to approve a nearly $18 billion spending plan without significant efficiencies, without involvement in its development and without answers to basic fiscal questions. At the same time, Mayor Johnson pushed policies like the head tax on businesses to penalize employers for putting people to work and placing Chicago closer toward the end of a financial cliff. This approach lacked transparency while ignoring altogether the concept of trying to live within our means.

* Sun-Times | One of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s most ardent City Council adversaries won’t seek reelection in 2027: Ald. Marty Quinn (13th), who learned the game of Chicago politics at the feet of now-convicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), is calling it a career after 15 years in the City Council. Quinn, 51, told the Sun-Times that he has decided not to seek reelection in 2027. After 4,100 conversations in the last four years alone in the living rooms and at the front doors of his Southwest Side constituents, Quinn said he “left it all on the field” and no longer has the energy required to “manage from the front lines.” He said he cannot risk giving the demanding job less than it demands.

* Sun-Times | Chicago Public Media launching community website — chicago.com — in the fall: The site will include Chicago-area information, civic and cultural resources, community-sourced knowledge and opportunities for audience participation, the nonprofit said Wednesday. It will also curate headlines from the Sun-Times, WBEZ and other news sources. For independent journalism to “truly service the public … we should have digital infrastructure that is also steered by public media companies,” Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell said. The news industry “has ceded a lot of distribution to places like Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, and I think that has done a disservice to centering civic discourse in a healthy way.”

* Tribune | After putting the street race on hold, could NASCAR end up in Chicago and Joliet next summer?: While nothing is set, NASCAR is not only hoping to bring back the Chicago Street Race after a one-year hiatus, but perhaps add the long-dormant southwest suburban track to its regular schedule as well. “It could be both,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s chief operating officer and great-grandson of the family-owned racing organization’s founder. “It’s a market that’s strong enough that absolutely we could have two events there in the future.”

* Tribune | Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami begins his injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte: Munetaka Murakami estimated he was at the 99% point of his recovery. “The last road is to play in the minors,” the Chicago White Sox first baseman said through an interpreter on Sunday evening in Cleveland. “That one percent at being at the minors and then being back on the (major-league) field.” That final hurdle got underway Tuesday when Murakami began a minor-league injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Dolton passes ordinance allowing payment of $33.5 million judgment over 10 years: “We’re still in negotiations and discussing that, but it looks like we’re going to come up with a positive plan so the taxpayers won’t be burdened,” village attorney Michael McGrath said at Monday’s Village Board meeting. Dolton and the families of John Kyles and Duane Dunlap agreed in court June 10 the village would pay the judgment and accruing interest in installments over 10 years, with the payments secured through a bond. The village is only allowed to pay the judgment over time by adopting an ordinance, which passed Monday, stating that “unreasonable hardship will result” unless the judgment is paid in installments, according to state law.

* Daily Herald | State agency wants more information on how DuPage County Board approved raises: DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek filed a request for review of the board’s April 28 vote setting salaries for officials taking office after the November election. In a June 26 letter to the public access counselor, Kaczmarek raised questions about the legality of the vote, arguing the board did not provide enough notice to the public of the pending vote. She also argued the board violated the state’s Open Meetings Act when it approved a change, proposed on the board floor, that increased the originally suggested salary for the county board chairman from $154,390 in the upcoming fiscal year to $185,000. Under the amended salary, the chair’s pay will top $198,000 in the 2030 fiscal year.

* Daily Southtown | ‘The stench is putrid’: Nearly full Thornton reservoir brings sewage stink, increased flood risk: As of 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, the water level had receded slightly from that high to 93% capacity, or 7.3 billion gallons, according to the district’s website. The highest the reservoir has ever been before was in 2019, when it hit 54.5% capacity. […] “It smells,” said Thornton Village Clerk Nikki Kitakis. “It’s pretty horrific.” Odors from the reservoir have been a long-standing issue for residents of Thornton, though Kitakis said the issue is particularly severe with the reservoir so full.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Decatur Council votes for city to cover full cost of leaking lead service line replacements: At Monday’s meeting, the Decatur City Council voted to up its reimbursement program from 50% to 100% for businesses and homes trying to get rid of drinking water supply pipes at risk of lead contamination. More specifically, for residential and commercial properties with possible lead contamination. […] Back on Jan. 17, 2023, city council approved a policy to provide a 50% cost share to replace privately owned water services. However, the city was recently informed that the Illinois EPA received additional funding from the U.S. EPA for lead service removal.

* WGLT | Bloomington Police say drones are an eye in the sky, not a surveillance state: Police Chief Jamal Simington compared the use of drones to other advances in technology that police use: DNA, fingerprinting, and radar guns for monitoring speed. “History tells us community members have struggled with advancements in law enforcement for many many years. This is nothing new,” Simington said. Sgt. Jared Bierbaum is the drone coordinator for Bloomington Police Department. He told the small audience of a few community members at a public forum Tuesday night that not every drone they see in the sky is from the department, but he can understand the unsettling feeling of seeing a drone hovering over one’s property.

* BND | Belleville repeals ban on ‘tiny homes’ approved under former administration: Belleville City Council has repealed a ban on new homes smaller than 1,000 square feet that was passed two years ago. At the time, zoning staff under former mayor Patty Gregory were trying to guard against construction of “tiny homes,” arguing they could reduce property values in some neighborhoods. But the ban unnecessarily regulated development and created problems for people trying to get loans or insurance when buying, selling, modifying or rebuilding existing small homes, according to officials.

*** National ***

* AP | Obamacare premiums surged this year. A new analysis shows it’s likely to happen again in 2027: Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday’s analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher.

* WIRED | Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Unless You Opt Out: The new model, called Muse Image, rolled out with deep integrations woven into the Instagram app. As part of this update, public Instagram profiles are now automatically opted into being fodder for generative AI remixes. All someone has to do is tag your account’s profile in a prompt—if it’s public—and they can use Meta AI to generate an image using your likeness.

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Good morning!

Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Every now and then you have to remember that, no matter what challenges you may face, life is most definitely grand…

Sun came out the other day
Through those dusty clouds
And in my mind I was a child
And it felt good

This is an Illinois open thread.

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Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller

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