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A bill that would have established a new funding formula for state universities in Illinois was not included in the $55.2 billion dollar state budget approved by lawmakers in late May.
State Sen. Mike Halpin, D-36, introduced Senate Bill 13, which would have applied the evidence-based funding model for K-12 public schools in Illinois to state universities. The bill never came to a vote, but Halpin said it would have “leveled the playing field” for public universities. […]
Halpin said he was able to get a smaller line item in the fiscal year 2026 state budget for capital improvements at WIU for things like building repairs, sidewalk fixes, and parking lot issues. […]
“We’re working with the university to try to gather more support to see if maybe in veto session we can get those things where they need to be, but it’s going to take a lot of effort,” Halpin said. “Unfortunately, there’s no other way, in my opinion, other than those additional resources, to really put the university on sound footing.”
Sen. Halpin voted against the FY26 budget and the revenue omnibus. Earlier this week, he told WVIK his vote was due to underfunding higher education in Illinois.
* Some familiar names in Illinois media are moving around. Tina Sfondeles is now the Sun-Times’ national political reporter…
Very proud to formally announce a new role I've taken on at the @suntimes: national political reporter. I'll be reporting on the Illinois congressional delegation, federal elections, the Trump administration and beyond.
— Tina Sfondeles (@TinaSfon) July 1, 2025
* Long-time Tribune reporter Ray Long has retired…
7pm July 26, Billy Goat Bash!
— Ray Long (@RayLong) July 1, 2025
* Amy Jacobson was let go…
After 15 1/2 years at WIND AM560 radio, due to staffing reductions, today was my last day on the air.
I am still processing this but I am happy to announce I have launched https://t.co/RBJyeJQbpv where I will be hosting a weekly podcast, posting behind-the-scenes blogs,…
— amyjacobson (@amyjacobson) July 1, 2025
* WGN…
Grundy County’s Board of Health recently shuttered its mental health services despite an increase in patients in recent years.
The decision to close the behavioral unit, located within the health department, came during a closed-door meeting on May 14. The decision was not made open to the public, but people with knowledge of the situation tell WGN News that’s when it occurred.
More than 1,600 children and adults received treatment last year through the unit, for everything from substance abuse help to elderly group therapy. The total number of patients increased by nearly 160% compared to 2023. […]
A longtime former counselor at the unit, who is remaining anonymous, said there were staffing shortages and that employees had quit amid conflicts with a new leadership team.
…Adding… Capitol News Illinois…
Despite uncertainty over the economy and federal funding during the second half of fiscal year 2025, the year closed on June 30 with the state setting a new record for annual revenue.
Numbers compiled by the independent Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability show FY25 concluded with $54 billion in revenue, the most the state has ever received in a fiscal year. The state also brought in $717 million more in revenue than lawmakers originally budgeted for when they passed a $53.3 billion budget in May 2024.
All told, the final revenue numbers track closely with projections made in May by both COGFA and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget that formed the basis of the FY26 budget. In other words, June revenues produced no surprises, and lawmakers aren’t sitting on any substantial surplus as the new fiscal year begins.
The record revenues also don’t alleviate any uncertainty for the current or future fiscal years as Congress considers drastic reductions to the social safety net and aid to states.
Strong personal income tax growth drove the revenue increase in FY25, largely thanks to a “true up” conducted by the Department of Revenue that reallocated business related income tax revenue into the personal income tax category. Personal income tax revenue was 10% higher than in FY24, but corporate income taxes declined by 9.5%.
Some other revenue sources also saw minimal growth. Sales tax revenue grew by less than 1%, though COGFA noted it increased by nearly 3% in the second half of FY25 after a weak start last summer as gas prices dropped and people cut back on large purchases amid growing economic uncertainty.
* WSIL | ISP urges safety following four motorcycle-related deaths in the last week: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that while motorcycles make up only about 3% of registered vehicles, they contribute to 12% of roadway deaths. Illinois Department of Transportation data shows that so far for 2025, Illinois has seen 44 motorcycle-related deaths.
* Crain’s | Five Illinois cases part of DOJ’s massive health care fraud ‘takedown’: Federal prosecutors unveiled a massive number of criminal indictments, including five in Illinois, alleging COVID-19 testing fraud and a range of other schemes totaling $14.6 billion in losses from fraudulent claims. The 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants, including 96 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other licensed medical professionals, in 50 federal districts, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.
* WICS | Sonya Massey’s family speaks out on her memory, days before death anniversary: Massey’s family said she was a hard working mother who ensured her kids were well taken care of. Sonya stuck to a simple routine of going to work, coming home to cook, clean and spend time with her kids. Sontae Massey said while the world remembers Sonya as the tiny woman speaking to the police in the final moments of her life, she’s so much more than that. “I miss her everyday,” Sontae said. “I miss the Sonya that, I would go over to mom’s house, and we would crack jokes, and she would make fun of me and she would share a laugh with me. I miss that Sonya.”
* UIS News | UIS Innocence Project secures exoneration of six men after 124 years of wrongful imprisonment: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, announced the full exoneration of six clients in Cook County today after they collectively served 124 years in prison for a murder they did not commit. Brothers Robert Cardona and Gregorio Cardona, Lowell Higgins-Bey, Harry Rodriguez, Michael McCastle and Fernando Gomez were all teenagers or young adults when they were wrongfully convicted in 1989. Their exoneration follows decades of advocacy and a 2022 post-conviction DNA test that excluded all six men and identified an unknown male as the likely perpetrator.
* Crain’s | Why rural Illinois hospitals are bracing for fallout from GOP-backed Medicaid cuts: A recent report by University of North Carolina health care researchers pegged hospitals in Illinois’ 12th Congressional District as being at risk, because either they’ve posted negative margins for three consecutive years or they are among the top 10% of the most Medicaid-dependent rural hospitals in the country. Other rural hospitals at risk of stopping services, converting or closing are in downstate Dixon, Danville and Hoopeston. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost represents the 12th District at the southern tip of Illinois. Bost’s office did not return a request from Crain’s to explain why he voted for the bill, dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” when it passed out of the U.S. House.
* KSDK | Her body was found in an Illinois farmer’s field; 35 years later she has been identified: A woman who was killed and had her body left in a farmer’s field in rural Troy, Illinois has been positively identified 35 years later through advanced technologies, Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor announced Tuesday. While detectives have some answers, police still need help finding the killer. Wendy Nadine Michel, who would be 65 years old today, disappeared sometime in the summer of 1990 and her body was found by a farmer in a field near Lebanon Road and Troy O’Fallon Road on July 20, 1990. Investigators believe the body had been there for about a week.
* WGLT | Some massage therapists feel heard as Bloomington modifies regulations, but concerns linger: For the first time, the City of Bloomington is regulating an industry that it says has been a source for sex trafficking and other illicit behavior. A number of massage therapists in the city pushed back, claiming they were being unfairly held in suspicion. They also took exception to proposed annual fees and language referring to dress code, individual therapists’ personal information and physical characteristics. The city dropped the fees and some personal info requirements when it approved the new regulations June 23. That muted some of the criticism, though message therapists say the stigma remains regarding public perceptions of what they do.
* Rockford Register Star | Rockford terminates officer who had twice been accused of battering suspects: Months after he was acquitted by a jury of misdemeanor battery charges, a Rockford Police Department officer accused of smashing a handcuffed man’s head into a window has been fired. Officer Frank Fabiani was terminated after an internal police department review of the May 14, 2022, incident, according to a June 24 termination letter written by Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd. In the letter, Redd writes that Fabiani violated department general orders and rules of conduct after handcuffing Alize Jones, a suspect in a domestic violence investigation.
* WGEM | New pavilion raised at Adams County Fairground: round 25 volunteers with the help from workers at Maas Construction helped raise the new Heritage Farms Pavilion at the Adams County Fairgrounds Tuesday. This is a legacy project for the Adams County Bicentennial Commission. The new pavilion will be a tribute to the 86 farms in Adams County that have been owned continuously by the same family for at least 150 years.
* WSIL | Anne West Library Adds Inclusive Workstations Thanks to Local College and Rotary Club Partnership: Thanks to a unique partnership between the Carterville Rotary Club and John A. Logan College, the library now features, a wheelchair-accessible workstation, and a first-of-its-kind desk with an attached playpen, designed to help parents work or study while keeping their toddlers safe and close. Mary Stoner, Director at the Anne West Lindsey District Library, says “In our children’s area, we wanted to provide a kind of workstation area for mom or dad so they can check their email or do a little work, but keep their little one in a safe space.”
* WIFR | A look into Transform Rockford since its inception in 2013: Back in 2013, Transform Rockford came together after the city was ranked as one of the most miserable cities in the United States. Following the rankings, the goal was simple: help the Forest City become a top 25 community by 2025. “What Transform did was, I think, change the mindset of the community. It showed the community what’s possible,” said Wally Haas, the current executive director of Transform Rockford.
* Chicago Reader | Jobs, block clubs, investment: How Chicagoans are interrupting violence at its roots: Breakthrough, INVC, Chicago CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny), and other violence interruption organizers include workforce development, behavioral health counseling, and job placement to enhance their direct outreach to people involved in violent altercations. That outreach attempts to prevent retaliatory shootings, set up nonaggression agreements among gangs, and pull people off the street. By combining these approaches with workforce development, they hope to break cycles of violence, one person at a time, for good.
* Crain’s | CBRE lures office leasing team from its new Chicago landlord: CBRE has bolstered its bench of office leasing agents in Chicago, luring the team that recently signed the real estate services giant as a tenant at an office tower along the Chicago River. The brokerage announced it has hired Greg Tait, Maggie Brophy and Jamion Hartley to join its local office from Newport Beach, Calif.-based real estate firm Irvine. The move comes after CBRE leased about 55,000 square feet at Irvine’s 60-story skyscraper at 300 N. LaSalle St., where it is relocating its Chicago office from 321 N. Clark St.
* Sun-Times | Social venture Mona helps microlender Kiva distribute $200,000 in loans to Chicago entrepreneurs: Social venture Mona and the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation have helped 23 Chicago-area entrepreneurs get $200,000 worth of zero-interest loans from Kiva, a global microloan platform. Mona and the Polsky Center collaborated with Kiva, which has distributed the loans to mostly South Side businesses in the past year. The loans of up to $15,000 also have no fees. Applications are still open on Mona’s website. Borrowers include healthy snack brand Ms. P’s Gluten Free; Ecodunia, maker of bags and accessories from Kenya; and Ilava, which makes clothing in Tanzania.
* NBC Chicago | Recent Northwestern grad hopes to save parents from deportation: Bryan Carcamo graduated from the school with honors earlier this year, but his parents were not there to see him walk across the state due to fears related to their immigration status. “I made it to Northwestern, and it would have meant the world to me to have my parents among the crowds of families,” he said. His parents have been living, working, and raising a family in Compton, California for 20 years without legal status. The worry is that they will soon be detained and deported, which has led Carcamo to advocate on behalf of his parents and other undocumented immigrants.
* Daily Southtown | Another attempt to stop 143rd Street widening fails at Will County committee meeting: A Will County committee voted 4-2 Tuesday to advance the five-year transportation improvement plan for full County Board approval after some board members tried unsuccessfully to remove a controversial road project in Homer Glen for the second time in a month. The County Board last month voted against removing the 143rd Street road widening project from the transportation plan, which offers a snapshot of the county’s future projects in its 258-mile road system. The board then opted to send the plan back to its Public Works and Transportation Committee for a closer look.
* ABC Chicago | Blue Island shutting down embattled mobile home park, residents don’t know what’s next: Thursday is the deadline the city of Blue Island has given to the owners of Forest View Mobile Home Park to come up with a plan to shut the property down. Officials have said the city has spent two years trying to get management to clean up its act. Its residents are now caught in the middle, unsure where they will go. The park is currently made up of empty lots, broken up streets and abandoned and stripped-down trailers. It’s a community in dire need of maintenance. But, for residents, it’s home.
* Tribune | Downers Grove teacher accused of sexual abuse loses bid to ease pretrial release restriction: A DuPage County judge Wednesday denied a request from a former Downers Grove high school teacher to reduce the distance she must keep from the student she is accused of sexually abusing. Christina Formella, 30, faces 55 counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child and grooming. Prosecutors say she had sexual relations with the student more than 50 times, including at least 45 times at Downers Grove South High School where she once worked as a special education teacher and coach.
* Daily Southtown | Dolton buying Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in village, price uncertain: The Village Board at a special meeting Tuesday voted unanimously to move forward on buying the house at 212 East 141st Place, and said there are plans to buy an adjacent home. Mayor Jason House told reporters after the meeting he hoped the village could close on the purchase in a couple of weeks, but that the final purchase price is still up in the air. House said the chance to buy the home is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and a “historic movement moving forward” for Dolton.
* NBC Chicago | Giant pothole on I-294 in suburbs leaves 30 cars stranded; lanes reopen: More than two dozen cars were stranded with flat tires on Interstate 294 Monday morning and lanes were closed for hours due to a large pothole in the middle of the road, Illinois State Police said. The pothole — approximately eight feet by three feet — was on the Tri-State Tollway in the northbound lanes at mile marker 19.75, ISP said, near the Mile Long Bridge in Cook County. Two left lanes on the tollway were closed for maintenance for several hours.
* Daily Herald | Moderate drought conditions exist for much of northern Illinois: Precipitation over the past 30 days across northern Illinois has been below normal, recording only 3 to 4 inches of rainfall, according to Illinois State Climatologist. From April 1 through June 29, the entire northern half of the state registered less than 10 inches of precipitation, according to the Illinois State Climatologist.
* Shaw Local | Buy a drive-thru pork chop, chicken or walleye dinner, help Kane County Farm Bureau Foundation: The Kane County Farm Bureau Foundation is raising funds for college scholarships by hosting Fay’s Drive-Thru BBQ pork chop, chicken and grilled walleye dinners from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 3, at its headquarters, 2N710 Randall Road, St. Charles.
* AP | Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority strikes down 176-year-old abortion ban: The justices concluded that “the legislature impliedly repealed” the ban “by enacting comprehensive legislation about virtually every aspect of abortion including where, when, and how healthcare providers may lawfully perform abortions,” Justice Rebecca Dallet wrote for the majority. “That comprehensive legislation so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was clearly meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion.”
* Inside Climate | NIH Scientists Link Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mutations in Non-Smokers: In their study, published in the journal Nature, Landi and colleagues from the National Institutes of Health’s NCI and the University of California San Diego analyzed the lung tumors of 871 nonsmokers from 28 locations across four continents. They found that the tumors of patients in highly polluted areas had many more genetic mutations than those in areas with cleaner air, and exhibited a diversity of mutations, including patterns typically found in smokers.
* NYT | Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Who Threatened Police Joins Justice Dept.: A former F.B.I. agent who was charged with encouraging the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to kill police officers has been named as an adviser to the Justice Department task force that President Trump established to seek retribution against his political enemies. The former agent, Jared L. Wise, is serving as a counselor to Ed Martin, the director of the so-called Weaponization Working Group, according to people familiar with the group’s activities.
posted by Isabel Miller
Wednesday, Jul 2, 25 @ 2:57 pm
Previous Post: RETAIL: Strengthening Communities Across Illinois
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Great article on Grundy County Mental Health by WGN. Amazing that the County Board didn’t have any checks and balances in place to prevent the appointees from taking that action without prior approval.
Comment by Earnest Wednesday, Jul 2, 25 @ 3:15 pm
Don’t most of the air personnel on WIND pay to be on the air? Was she let go for low ratings? Or something she said? And how is the pool?
Comment by Give us Barabbas Wednesday, Jul 2, 25 @ 3:22 pm
Amy Jacobson’s 5 listeners will be devastated.
Comment by Former Downstater Wednesday, Jul 2, 25 @ 3:23 pm
I find a cruel irony in these three articles:
1. “NIH Scientists Link Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mutations in Non-Smokers”
2. “ISP urges safety following four motorcycle-related deaths in the last week”
3. “Another attempt to stop 143rd Street widening fails at Will County committee meeting”
Illinois’ overreliance on car/highway travel is bad for our lungs (1), safety (2), and property values (3). But what are Illinois leaders doing? They’re letting transit decay while making it easier for 85-year-olds to hit the roads.
Someone help Springfield and IDOT connect the dots please and stop catering to the roadbuilder/asphalt lobby.
Comment by Joseph M Wednesday, Jul 2, 25 @ 3:30 pm
Wouldn’t the Grundy County Board of Health be subject to the Illinois Open Meeting Act? If so they may certainly discuss in a properly noticed closed session, but action would have to be taken in open session, hence the action would be readily available to the public. Help me out here.
Comment by Stix Hix Wednesday, Jul 2, 25 @ 3:36 pm
===Don’t most of the air personnel on WIND pay to be on the air?===
That is my understanding.
===for low ratings?===
WIND doesn’t appear to participate in Nielsen ratings: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb005
===Or something she said?===
Proft angrily insulted her on-air a while back.
===how is the pool? ===
No comment.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jul 2, 25 @ 4:00 pm