* Interesting…

* I told you yesterday that the governor seems all-in on increasing traffic, particularly truck traffic. Well…

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker visited the Metro East to attend ribbon cutting ceremonies for some big transportation-related projects in the Bi-State region.

“We’ve got 51,000 vehicles everyday going across the bridge. If we expand the bridge, we’re going to have more. And more is better, on both sides of the river,” Pritzker said. “So, we’ve shared the cost of this. $300 million on the Illinois side, and $200 (million) plus on the Missouri side. When you put that together, you’re replacing one bridge with two.”

* First “Home Illinois Summit” held to discuss homelessness…

Governor JB Pritzker, together with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and members of the Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and the Community Advisory Council on Homelessness, hosted the inaugural Home Illinois Summit at Malcolm X College today in Chicago. The summit, which brought together community leaders, and experts to discuss potential solutions and strategies, served as a launch for major next steps in the Home Illinois plan, a multi-year holistic approach to reach “functional zero” homelessness in the state. […]

Since the launch of the Interagency Task Force via executive order in 2021, the Pritzker administration has taken significant steps to address homelessness in Illinois. The Home Illinois plan expands affordable housing options, targeting individuals in high-risk situations (including homeless college students and those leaving medical care), and providing comprehensive support for individuals experiencing homelessness.

The plan also focuses on bolstering the safety net, securing financial stability for clients, and closing the mortality gap all through the lens of racial equity with the goal of correcting the racial disparity among unhoused individuals.

Governor Pritzker’s FY24 budget commits almost $360 million for the initiative, an $85.3 million increase from FY23. These investments include:

• $118 million to support unhoused populations seeking shelter and services, including $40.7 million in the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program.
• $50 million in Rapid ReHousing services for 2,000 households, including short-term rental assistance and targeted support for up to two years.
• $40 million in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Capital funds to develop 90+ new PSH units providing long term rental assistance and case management.
• $37 million in Emergency Shelter capital funds to create more than 460 non-congregate shelter units.
• $35 million for supportive housing services, homeless youth services, street outreach, medical respite, re-entry services, access to counsel, and other shelter diversion supports.
• $21.8 million to provide homelessness prevention services to approximately 6,000 more families.
• $30 million for court-based rental assistance.
• $15 million to fund Home Illinois Innovations Pilots.
• $12.5 million to create 500 new scattered site PSH units.

* Crain’s…

At long last, the state of Illinois appears ready to begin a detailed study of whether the proposed One Central megaproject makes financial sense — a study that, depending on the results, could kill off the South Loop proposal once and for all or clear the way for developer Bob Dunn to get the $6.5 billion state subsidy he wants. […]

(T)he state lawmaker whose district includes the One Central site, Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, is pressing for fast action.

“This study is very important. It’s way overdue,” Buckner said. “This project has been flawed from the beginning,” with open questions about the viability of Dunn’s plan to build $20 billion worth of offices, residences, retail space and a large transportation center on a deck over Metra air rights just west of Soldier Field, Buckner said. A full study should provide some answers.

* WICS…

Regan Deering announced on Wednesday that she will be running to represent the 88th district in the state of Illinois.

State Representative Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) is endorsing Regan Deering.

Caulkins says he chose to endorse Deering because of her strong commitment to values and family.

* WCIA…

The Illinois State Fair announced Tuesday that a new promotion for this year’s fair will give fairgoers a way to double their fun this August.

State fair officials said anyone who pays for parking on the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Thursday, August 10, called County Fairs and Horse Racing Day, will receive a voucher. They said the voucher is for free parking to be redeemed on either Tuesday, August 15, Wednesday, August 16, or Thursday, August 17.

The “Double the Fun” promotion is valid on nights REO Speedwagon, Alter Bridge, and Tim McGraw perform at the Illinois Lottery Grandstand, fair officials reported, making fairgoers’ Grandstand concert experience more affordable. Tickets are still available for all shows and can be purchased online or at the Illinois State Fair Box Office.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WGEM | Local librarians react to statewide measure against book-bans: Director Kathleen Helsabeck said the Quincy Public Library will continue following the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights, and consequently, continue receiving funding. “The ALA’s position has always been to provide a wide variety of materials to all patrons,” Helsabeck said. “The ALA’s position has always been to support libraries and support librarians.”

* WBEZ | Illinois continues to enact abortion protections a year after Roe v. Wade reversal: Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, the abortion battle in Illinois rages on — despite the state previously enacting some of the strongest abortion protections in the country. Since June 2022, Democratic state lawmakers have passed a slew of bills ramping up protections for out-of-state patients and expanding overall access. But a small coalition of GOP legislators has been working to undo many of the abortion-rights bills introduced by their colleagues across the aisle — without much luck.

* Block Club | Cook County Judge Loses Retention Vote: Gregory P. Vazquez, who was set to retire next month, was the only Cook County associate judge not reappointed to a new four-year term. The vote follows Injustice Watch reporting about the judge’s actions inside and outside the courtroom.

* Daily Journal | Kankakee County will soon be debt free: As recently as 2016, the Kankakee County government was nearly $5 million in debt. […] The report showed actual revenues came in higher than projected from sales and use tax, and out-of-county bed rentals at the Jerome Combs Detention Center.

* NPR | Regan Deering launches campaign for Illinois legislature: “I am running because I’m afraid for my children’s future in Pritzker’s Illinois. Families here pay some of the highest taxes in the nation. They struggle to find quality education for their children and live in communities plagued by violence. Extreme Democrats are forcing their radical values into our homes and schools, relentlessly attacking our cherished freedoms, and destroying our jobs and economy.”

* WTTW | Developer Touts ‘Very Balanced’ Plan to Remake Hundreds of Acres of West Suburban Land, But Some Residents Still Skeptical: Hundreds of acres of vacant land in the western suburbs could be in line for a major makeover. It’s land that Crown Community Development has long owned and now wants to use for housing, civic space, retail – and distribution warehouses.

* Tribune | Naperville woman charged with using Indian Prairie-issued credit card to buy personal items, officials say: It’s alleged Mondell, while working as a financial secretary at Neuqua Valley in Naperville, used the district-issued credit card to make purchases ranging between $500 and $10,000 from Nov. 22 to Nov. 27, 2022, the release said.

* PJ Star | Peoria water buyout issue returns as city hires firm to study the contentious issue: After some debate, the council voted 7-4 to spend $99,550 to hire a consulting firm to help do research over the coming months before making a decision whether to buy the waterworks. The issue comes before the council every five years.

* Tribune | Volunteers feel shut out of city meeting on migrants, meanwhile move is made to new shelter at Daley College: Collaboration efforts between volunteers and city officials came to a head when the city hosted a closed meeting to respond to a letter sent by the Police Station Response Team, a network of volunteers providing support and resources to migrants sleeping on the floors of police stations as they wait for placement in shelters.

* WTTW | Chicago Failed For Years to Enforce Law Requiring Half of Construction Waste to be Recycled: Watchdog: That failure likely sent hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete, wood, brick, gypsum, metals, glass, plastics, soil, asphalt, soil and rock as well as doors, windows and plumbing fixtures into landfills that could have been reused or recycled, according to the audit.

* Chalkbeat | Chicago Public Schools proposes flat budget for next year: Roughly half — or $4.8 billion — would go directly to schools. District officials said it’s an additional $240 million compared with last year and about $90 million more than they reported earlier this spring, when they unveiled some preliminary school-level numbers ahead of an appeals process for principals. Roughly half of the increase — $128 million — would pay for additional teachers and support staff dedicated to students with disabilities.

* Sun-Times | Civic Federation offers revenue, cost-cutting options to confront Chicago’s financial challenges: For each new administration, the Civic Federation tries to make confronting Chicago’s financial challenges a little easier, analyzing the pros and cons of taxes, fines and fees — but without taking a definitive position on any of them.

* Tribune | What does it take to afford a 2-bedroom rental in Chicago? New report finds wages still lagging.: The study bases apartment costs on fair market rent values, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development standard that represents the cost to rent a moderately priced unit in the local housing market. The average fair market values of one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in Chicago are $1,255 and $1,440, respectively.

* NYT | ‘Shiny Happy People,’ Fundamentalism and the Toxic Quest for Certainty: It was the same cult featured in the current most-watched show on Amazon Prime, a documentary series called “Shiny Happy People.” It’s centered on the Duggar family and the teachings of a man named Bill Gothard. The Duggars, as many readers know, were the focus of a popular 2008 reality television show called “19 Kids and Counting” and its 2015 spinoff, “Counting On.” Gothard — the Duggars’ spiritual mentor — is less famous in secular America but far more consequential across evangelical America, where the influence of his movement continues today.

* Poynter | Why one local newsroom startup in Chicago succeeded where others failed: Last month, Block Club Chicago officially outlasted its predecessor, DNAinfo, a Chicago online news startup that operated for four years and 11 months before billionaire owner Joe Ricketts abruptly shuttered it (and the Gothamist network of sites) in November 2017. Newly lacking funding and employment, DNAinfo editors Shamus Toomey, Jen Sabella and Stephanie Lulay chose to continue their mission and started a new neighborhood news site from scratch, Block Club Chicago, on June 13, 2018, exactly five years ago

* PJ Star | Temporary ban on 4 a.m. bars? Peoria debates new options to cut down on violence: Downtown Peoria has seen pop-up parties and large gathering plague it this spring and summer, which culminated this weekend when two people were shot at a gathering on Main Street and Hamilton Boulevard. The shooting happened around 3:45 a.m. Councilmember Denise Jackson, who represents the 1st District, asked the city attorney if the city would be able to potentially temporarily require downtown Peoria’s 4 a.m. bars close earlier to curb violence.

* Block Club | Re:SET Music Festival Is In 2 Weeks — And The Park District Won’t Say If The Shows Will Actually Happen: Ticket holders and neighbors trying to block the festival want Chicago Park District officials to make a decision to either reject or approve permits for the three-day event as soon as possible.

* Daily Journal | Presentation on links between Lincoln, Kankakee: Kankakee and Alonzo Mack were factors in Lincoln’s two failed quests for the U.S. Senate. By 1859, Mack had become Kankakee’s state representative and was involved in a financial scandal that required Lincoln’s attention just as he was about to vie for the Republican presidential nomination. George recently published his findings in the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association.