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* We told you last month that 12 trans Illinois Army National Guard soldiers had submitted voluntary separation papers. One of them was Dahlia Dahl, daughter of statehouse reporter Dave Dahl. From St. Louis Public Radio…
Four members of the Missouri National Guard and 12 members of the Illinois National Guard are seeking voluntary separations from the military because they are transgender. This came after the Trump administration set a June 6 deadline for trans military members to apply to leave on their own or be removed from service.
Spc. Dahlia Dahl is one of them. The 22-year-old from Chatham, Illinois, enlisted three years ago to serve her country and to pay for a degree at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The choice wasn’t an easy one. Service members who did not identify themselves as trans to their superiors before the deadline face possible investigation and involuntary removal.
“I had to volunteer myself, because I could either walk out or I could be carried out,” Dahl said of her decision to seek voluntary separation. “I don’t want to leave. I wanted to finish out my contract, at least.”
Dahl’s departure from the armed forces will mean the end to her educational benefits, but an honorable discharge will maintain her veteran status and health care coverage.
Dahl is attending college, so she’ll lose that assistance.
In response, here’s Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago)…
My promise when Speaker Welch asked me to lead the Dobbs Working Group was that we would focus on finding ways to at least blunt the impact of coming federal actions. This one seems like a no brainer - a dozen impacted guards, some of whom are also losing the scholarships that they earned through their service.
At minimum, we should ensure that these students get to complete their educations by providing tuition waivers for Illinois university students impacted by these cruel orders. I’ve asked working group staff to look into the best way to protect these students.
* ABC Chicago…
On Wednesday morning, the party faithful gathered for an annual breakfast meeting, where Gov. JB Pritzker welcomed House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries as the keynote speaker.
The annual Democratic County Chairs Brunch is an opportunity for the party to reflect on accomplishments and chart their path forward, as they look to the 2026 midterm elections.
Nearly 1,900 Democrats from across the state packed the Bank of Springfield Convention Center in a show of party unity aimed at building excitement heading into this election season. […]
With a competitive race for the U.S. Senate seat that is being vacated by Dick Durbin, all three of the leading Democratic candidates got their moments to make their pitches to the party.
* Views from the Director’s Lawn by Capitol News Illinois’ Ben Szalinski…
Governor’s Day at the State Fair, unofficially starting the 2026 election season.
“Trump and the Illinois GOP is hell bent on harming our working families,” Chair Lisa Hernandez said pic.twitter.com/XNgrgeeV3Y
— Ben Szalinski (@BenSzalinski) August 13, 2025
* Texas House Democrats will continue to stay in Illinois. The Texas House Democratic Caucus…
“What happens next is entirely up to Greg Abbott. After deliberation among our caucus, we have reached a consensus: Texas House Democrats refuse to give him a quorum to pass his racist maps that silence more than 2 million Black and Latino Texans — in keeping with our original promise to Texans, the First Called Special Session will never make quorum again, defeating Abbott’s first attempt at passing his racial gerrymander. […]
“Texas House Democrats will issue our demands for a second special session on Friday. Abbott can choose to govern for Texas families, or he can keep serving Trump and face the consequences we’ve unleashed nationwide.
* Eye On Illinois | Libraries could get grant money for security measures – will bomb threats persist?: As frequently observed here, legislation billed as protective often amounts to enhancing penalties in hopes of protective or preventive effects. SB 1550 is different in that it does (subject to appropriations) create an actual pathway for physical protection of people and public property. Yet if fortifying public spaces deterred threats, there would be a downturn in such activity instead of a demonstrated increase. It’s apparent that the intent is to frame money as a response to fear. And politicians typically aren’t forthright about limits of their own power, but that makes it incumbent on voters to read between the lines to understand what’s actually happening.
* Center Square | Illinois law empowers officials to crack down on predatory towing: State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, sponsored the bill in response to frequent complaints in her urban district. In 2023, over 500 predatory tows were reported statewide, most in the Chicago area, according to the ICC. “I frequently hear from my constituents and neighbors about bad experiences with rogue tow operators who ignore state rules meant to protect drivers,” Villanueva said at a news conference during spring legislative session. “Many of you have likely heard about motorists scammed by predatory towers, whose cars were taken miles away or whose belongings were held for weeks.”
* Chalkbeat Chicago | Who picks the person to lead Chicago schools? Elected officials and legal experts disagree.: At the time, State Sen. Rob Martwick, who represents parts of Chicago’s Northwest Side and some suburbs, said newly-elected and appointed board members had been asking him who has the power to choose the next CEO. […] In the email obtained by Chalkbeat through a Freedom of Information Act request, Martwick cited a section of Illinois’ school code that was first written when Chicago’s schools were put under mayoral control in 1995. It states: “The Mayor shall appoint a full-time, compensated chief executive officer, and his or her compensation as such chief executive officer shall be determined by the Mayor.”
* Sun-Times | No charges for Chicago police officers involved in deadly shoot-out with Dexter Reed: Prosecutors determined the evidence presented to them didn’t warrant criminal charges — a decision upheld by an independent appellate review. Lawyers for the Reed family didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability’s administrative investigation remains open. A COPA spokeswoman said the agency is “working on an expeditious closing.”
* Evanston Now | Another transit fiscal cliff: The transit authority in Philadelphia says unless a state funding package is approved by this Thursday the first round of service cuts to bus, rail and trolley service will go into effect ten days later. […] Other than the time frame and dollars involved, the Philadelphia situation is basically the same as what could happen to Metra, CTA, and PACE in the Chicago area … massive service cuts plus fare increases in 2026 unless there is a state assistance plan.
* Crain’s | Johnson rules out proposed $1.5B corporate payroll tax: The tax, put forward by the Institute for the Public Good, was presented as a “third option” to avoid the annual discussion over seeking a large property tax hike or drastically cutting city services, but was always considered in legally murky waters. Johnson had directed his administration, including the Law Department, to explore ways to craft the tax to pass legal muster, but city attorneys determined that, like other progressive revenue ideas, the tax exceeds the city’s so-called home rule authority and would first require state approval, according to sources familiar with budget discussions.
* Block Club | Can EV Ambassadors In Bronzeville Help Chicago Drivers Go Electric?: Illinois has big plans for electric vehicles — but they won’t happen unless residents of its biggest city, Chicago, embrace the battery-powered cars. That’s where EV ambassadors like William Davis come in. Davis is one of a handful of community leaders working with utility ComEd under a new program that’s meant to convince skeptical individuals and businesses to electrify, and to connect them with incentives to do so. “People don’t understand how EVs work, how they make their lives better,” he said, or “from a socioeconomic standpoint, why it’s urgent to accelerate this transition from internal combustion engines to EVs.”
* Tribune | Chicago Latin Restaurant Weeks returns with fewer participating restaurants due to immigration uncertainty: While there is a diverse lineup and a variety of specials to pick from, this year’s 20 participating restaurants is almost half what the number was last year, largely due to the political climate. Organizers for Latin Restaurant Weeks said many of its usual roster of restaurants are feeling the economic and emotional effects of the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement in the city and suburbs, forcing them to fly under the radar.
* Sun-Times | Chicago reports first human cases of West Nile virus for 2025: The first three human cases of West Nile virus this season in Chicago were reported Tuesday. The patients range in age from 40 to 80 years old and live on the Northwest and South Sides. Their symptoms began in late July or early August, the Chicago Department of Public Health said. Though they are the first cases of the virus reported in Chicago in 2025, three other people have contracted West Nile this year in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Those cases were reported in DuPage, Lake and downstate Wayne counties.
* Sun-Times | O’Hare reaches all-time June high in passenger traffic: The over eight million travelers at the airport marked the busiest June in its 70 year history and the second busiest month of all time only behind July 2019, the mayor’s office said.
* Block Club | City Launches Arts Relief Fund To Help Cultural Organizations Affected By Federal Funding Cuts: The program will offer one-time grants between $10,000 and $25,000 to eligible nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Chicago. The deadline to apply is Aug. 20. The fund will help ensure continued access to vital cultural programming across the city, according to the city’s cultural affairs department. Priority for grants will be given to organizations previously awarded funding by the National Endowment of the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services and other affected federal agencies.
* Daily Herald | Schaumburg Township road commissioner wants refund for website he says wasn’t ‘delivered’ on time: Lee disputes that, arguing the website at st-roads.org did go live before its July 19 deadline. He said its features include real-time weather reporting and an AI assistant that can reduce the workload of township employees by answering basic questions. “To this day, it’s credited to Mr. Buelow,” Lee said. “It’s up to him whether he wants to take the credit.” But even when informed of the website address Tuesday, Buelow was steadfast control of the site wasn’t turned over to him as highway commissioner and was critical of its content. “I could go on Squarespace and put that up in an hour,” he said. “This isn’t worth $44,000.”
* Daily Herald | Naperville Unit District 203 teachers authorize strike: The authorization vote gives the bargaining team the authority to declare a strike; however, there are currently no plans for a walkout, according to a news release issued Tuesday. Students are set to return to school Thursday. A strike is the “the last thing we want to do,” union President Ross Berkley said in a statement.
* Sun-Times | Highland Park violence prevention activists take commercial approach in targeting gun companies: The founders of the Highland Park Peace Project aren’t just going after Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer and other gunmakers. Instead, they’re aiming for the bottom lines of companies that do business with them, compiling a public database of dozens of law firms, banks, retailers and more, and branding them as “enablers” of violence or “heroes” in their movement — and encouraging consumers to spend accordingly. “We’re coming at it from an angle that is capitalism-based, rather than waiting around for legislative action,” said Highland Park Peace Project co-founder Stephanie Jacobs, who narrowly escaped the parade shooting herself.
* Block Club | Invasive Shrubs Cover Nearly 80% Of Chicago-Area Forests. Can Conservationists Turn Things Around?: Two years ago, the forest preserve was a “wall” of invasive buckthorn shrubs, said Braum, a northwest regional ecologist with the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Those dense buckthorn trees were cleared from the area last winter, but a new crop of waist-high shoots now stand in their place. Forest preserves workers treated the shoots with herbicide last month, in continuation of a cycle that’s become emblematic of the modern-day task of looking after Chicago-area forests: A recent study found that nearly 80 percent of forests in and around the city are infested with invasive shrubs. “You can’t just remove all the invasives and say ‘you’re done,’” Braum said. “It takes constant maintenance.”
* Daily Southtown | Tinley Park police union votes no confidence in police chief: More than three dozen Tinley Park police officers signed a vote of no confidence citing 63 reasons why they think police Chief Thomas Tilton should be removed from his position, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Alliance of Police Tinley Park Chapter 192 union. All Tinley Park officers in the union, except officers on probation, signed the document alleging the department has experienced a decline in morale, disregard for staff concerns, a lack of strategic and overall vision, inadequate or absent decisions, operational uncertainty and reduced efficiency due to Tilton’s leadership, according to union representative Ray Violetto, a retired detective.
* Crain’s | Gotion to start making EV batteries in Manteno next month: With the addition of two manufacturing lines to assemble EV batteries and commercial chargers, Gotion will have five production lines in operation in Manteno, Chen Li, president of Gotion Americas, tells Crain’s. Another line, which makes residential and consumer energy-storage products for applications such as solar, started in April. Gotion is converting and expanding a 1.5 million-square-foot former Kmart distribution center into a battery-production facility with plans to ultimately hire 2,600 workers in one of the largest manufacturing projects landed by Illinois in a generation.
* WCIA | Lake Mattoon beach staying closed:
The area has been closed since Thursday due to toxic algae concerns. Although city officials got approval to spray for algae from the Illinois EPA, the heat and rain is causing them to push the project back until temperatures cool off. “It was more of a drinking thing in the beginning. And I think it’s becoming, in light of everybody, it’s not just Lake Mattoon, it’s not Lake Paradise. It’s probably almost every lake in the state of Illinois and in the country. You can go out there now. I mean, in New Jersey, New York, Idaho, Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, everybody’s seen this same issue,” Mattoon Public Works Director, David Clark, said.
* Smile Politely | Parkland is rolling out a new mobile education unit: The Cobra Pathfinder will officially make its debut this fall. This mobile unit will contain interactive equipment that focuses on Parkland’s various fields of study, including automotive, welding, health professions, agriculture, and more. The vehicle’s goal is to aid in promoting careers and academic programs, which was made possible by the Illinois Community College Board Taking Back the Trades grant.
* WSIL | DuQuoin State Fair announces 2025 Grandstand lineup: The Grandstand will host harness racing, ARCA and USAC auto events, and performances by popular country and rock stars. Tickets are available at the Du Quoin Grandstand box office or through Ticketmaster.
* CNN | NY attorney general sues Zelle parent company, alleging the payment service enabled widespread fraud: The NY AG’s lawsuit claims that in its rush to sign up new customers, Zelle allowed safety precautions to fall by the wayside. The lawsuit claims that scammers were able to sign up for Zelle through a quick registration process that lacked verification steps, allowing them to pose as businesses and government entities, tricking unsuspecting users into sending funds under false pretenses.
posted by Isabel Miller
Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 2:37 pm
Previous Post: Pritzker gives unnecessary ‘tutorial’
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My condolences to Spc. Dahlia Dahl for this horrible injustice being committed against her and so many others like her. She showed more commitment to the values of this country than those seeking to persecute her and others.
If a fund me site is setup for her remaining educational expenses, I would be willing to donate $100. In the event a fund was set up, I’ll challenge the Gov to match the donations. It would be special if more than enough money could be collected to extend help to others.
Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 3:22 pm
The Democratic faithful celebrated their party’s “accomplishments” at the Bank of Springfield Center?
Comment by Say What? Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 3:24 pm
I second the comments of Norseman. And a go fund me page or similar effort would be a very good response from the Democratic party to bring attention to this. Let’s make it clear that the President and his party don’t believe that Spc. Dahl is worthy of serving and protecting this country.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 3:27 pm
The so-called corporate payroll tax is clearly an income tax, making it unconstitutional under the Illinois Constitution.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 3:42 pm
I would hope the schools enrolling these students would work with them to find financial assistance, scholarships, waivers, etc to bridge the gap.
Comment by Casper the Ghost Bus Wednesday, Aug 13, 25 @ 3:55 pm