What they did … Illinois lawmakers stayed up late—or is 4:30 a.m. early?—to approve a budget that Gov. Pritzker praises.
■ It includes new taxes on social media companies—and tires.
■ It’s balanced thanks(?) to the state’s windfall from rising tax revenue on those skyrocketing gas prices.
■ The governor was scheduled to praise the plan in an 11 a.m. news conference to stream live here.
■ Also headed to his desk: A bill to isolate a woman’s abortion information from digital medical records—and out-of-state retaliation …
■ … a modest increase in state school funding …
■ … a statewide ban on student use of cellphones through the school day …
■ … and a bill that would make Illinois the last state to comply with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling by letting homeowners behind in their property taxes keep surplus cash when their homes are seized and sold at auction.
■ One bill sponsor says they’d still have the option to sell their homes first, pay their tax debt and keep what’s left.
■ The Onion dives into gentrification’s pros and cons.
… and didn’t. A deal on a new Illinois stadium for the Bears flopped …
■ … partly because some Chicago lawmakers opposed a deal that they said would “take the Chicago Bears right over to Arlington [Heights]” …
■ … but a special legislative session could keep the notion alive.
■ Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch (gift link): The Democratic New Jersey governor’s response to rising tension between protesters and police at a Newark immigrant detention center “is a national disgrace … violently shredding the First Amendment.”
■ Economist Paul Krugman: “The Trump administration’s attack on immigrants isn’t about rule of law, crime or jobs. It’s racism and sadism all the way down.”
■ 404 Media: “We sued ICE to get its spyware contract. The agency is redacting essentially everything.”
‘His malignant narcissism is ramping up even higher than its usual galactic level.’ Columnist Robert Reich: “Beware of Trump’s 250th Rally on the Mall. He’s given up on all the ‘talent’ except for You Know Who.”
■ USA Today’s Chicago-based columnist Rex Huppke: “He. Doesn’t. Care. About. You. And he never has. Republicans know this. They also don’t care.”
■ Despite a judge’s order to strip Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, his Interior secretary says not so fast.
■ John Oliver last night reviewed the state of presidential pardons under Trump, warning that we’re nearing “a point where we don’t so much have a system of laws as much as we just have ‘a guy’—and if you’re on that guy’s team, you basically get to commit crimes.”
Some ceasefire. The U.S. government said it bombed Iran over the weekend, and Iran said it aimed missiles at U.S. soldiers in Kuwait.
■ The Daily Beast: “Trump’s 1 a.m. war brag blows up in his face.”
‘Smash Authoritarianism Summer Camp.’ The activist group States at the Core next week will offer nightly virtual training sessions on “how to grow … networks that are ready for what comes next.”
■ Ctrl-Alt-Right-Delete columnist Melissa Ryan recommends attending “if you want … to join or start community defense efforts where you live.”
■ Law professor and former U.S. prosecutor Joyce Vance: “Lawyers and courts are pushing back, with more developments on the way this week and next.”
■ Law Dork Chris Geidner: Supreme Court justices this month will decide “whether to constrain Trump at all—or give up completely.”
‘They count on you not knowing you can fight back.’ Tech watchdog Kim Komando on insurance companies’ use of artificial intelligence to deny claims in 1.2 seconds: “Less than 0.2% of people ever appeal. But when they do, up to 90% win” …
■ … and she offers an AI prompt you can use to generate an appeal “using the insurer’s exact words against them.”
■ The Conversation: “Dr. ChatGPT is getting remarkably good at diagnosing health problems—but actual doctors are still better at weighing treatment options.”
‘Thank you … Pumpkin McPornhumper.’ Accepting his Peabody Award at last night’s ceremonies, Jimmy Kimmel acknowledged his debt to Trump—for “inspiring us to fight for our freedom of speech.”
■ For the first time since Stephen Colbert departed CBS, the other late-night shows are all back with originals this week.
■ A call to put Colbert back on the air—for PBS—is going viral.
‘Podcasting has become this explosive medium.’ Veteran broadcaster and podcast host John St. Augustine invited your Chicago Public Square columnist to discuss the intersection of news, podcasting … and farmers’ market music.
■ Award-winning former radio reporter turned media critic Rob Archer mourns the shuttering of CBS News Radio: “This should be a golden age for reporting. Instead, it’s … a liquidation sale.”
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