TGIF, Illinois. Talk about a curveball. The Yankees landed Anthony Rizzo in a blockbuster trade with the Cubs, via ESPN.

Coronavirus is surging — an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report says the Delta variant is more transmissible than Ebola or chicken pox — but Chicago is forging ahead with Lollapalooza, allowing 100,000 concert-goers a day through Sunday into Grant Park.

Organizers say 90 percent of attendees Thursday, the day Miley Cyrus headlined, showed proof of a vaccination and about 600 people were not allowed to enter the festival due to lack of paperwork. Surely, everyone saw the fine print explaining how all this is at your own risk.

Fingers crossed those numbers will hold up for today’s concerts featuring Tyler the Creator and Marshmello.

Dr. Allison Arwady, a guiding light for Chicagoans during the pandemic, said, “I certainly know we’re being a lot more responsible than many other settings that are just as large that are gathering around the country.” It's Party in the USA.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was on stage yesterday welcoming the crowd and urging vaccinations. And Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he’s attending over the weekend with his wife and friends.

Hanging over their enthusiasm to attend is emerging information about the Delta variant and the so-called breakthrough cases — people who have been vaccinated but still carry the virus (Even so, the vaccinated who might get sick aren't ending up in the hospital or dying, which is kinda the point). They’re out there. And City Hall and every parent of a fearless "Can't Be Tamed" young adult grooving in Grant Park to the tune of "Nothing Else Matters" hopes Lolla doesn’t turn out to be a super spreader event.

Masks seem to be in order, but WTF do I know?

RELATED

— Lollapalooza’s contract with Chicago is set to expire. Will it be renewed? by Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart

— Sun-Times photos from Day 1 of Lollapalooza.

— Tribune photos from Day 1 of Lollapalooza.

The five Republicans in the Illinois congressional delegation differ on a lot of things, from their allegiance to Donald Trump to the importance of masks. But there’s one thing they are all united on: repealing Roe v. Wade.

They are among 228 GOP lawmakers from across the country who joined a legal brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark ruling on a woman’s right to an abortion.

It may be the most significant case addressing abortion that the high court has taken up in decades. That’s especially so given the court has shifted right with three appointments by former President Donald Trump.

"Congress and the States have shown that they are ready and able to address the issue in ways that reflect Americans' varying viewpoints and are grounded in the science of fetal development and maternal health," lawyers for the Republicans told the justices.

Signing on from Illinois: Reps. Mike Bost (IL-12), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Mary Miller (IL-15), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) and Darin LaHood (IL-18).

In recent months, Kinzinger’s Republican credentials have been questioned as he has called out Trump for his role in the attack on the Capitol and for serving on the House panel investigating it.

The Illinois Republican’s support for ending Roe v. Wade is a reminder that he really is a conservative.

In the brief filed Thursday, the GOP lawmakers joined Mississippi's argument that the 14th Amendment does not include the right to abortion and that the rulings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey muddle the separation of federal and states’ rights. Planned Parenthood v. Casey is a decision that upheld the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

The lawmakers are supporting a case that challenges a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Lower courts struck down the law, and now Mississippi is appealing, which was the plan all along.

Illinois has enacted a state law that explicitly says the right to an abortion will remain in effect in the event Roe is overturned.

That doesn’t ease concerns of Terry Cosgrove, head of the Personal PAC abortion rights group, who criticized the Republican’s brief as “full of unscientific, anti-abortion propaganda and lies about women, doctors, pregnancy and abortion.” If Roe v. Wade is eliminated, he told Playbook, “Illinois becomes a top target of the right-wing in the 2022 election to enforce their dangerous agenda here.”

TALK ABOUT DISAGREEING

Rep. Mary Miller joins Freedom Caucus call to punish her Illinois GOP colleague, Rep. Adam Kinzinger: “Rep. Rodney Davis ‘does not support efforts to remove Rep. Kinzinger from his committee assignments or the Conference,’ said Davis spokesman Aaron DeGroot,” by Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet.

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— Lightfoot negotiating mandatory vaccination and testing regimen for city employees: “Earlier this week, New York City became the nation’s first major city to order mandatory vaccines and weekly testing for municipal employees. The state of California promptly followed suit. Chicago could be next,” by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman.

— Chicago clinics serving low-income patients mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees, following lead of big hospitals, by Tribune’s Lisa Schencker

— DuPage’s ‘substantial’ increase in Covid cases puts it on CDC’s indoor-masking list with Will County, according to the Naperville Sun

— Biden rolls out aggressive plan to jump-start vaccination, by POLITICO’s Lauren Gardner

ENDORSEMENT: State Sen. Robert Peters is endorsing Ald. Pat Dowell’s bid to lead the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. “Illinois is key in the fight for voting rights, and the Secretary of State’s office is key to implementing an Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) process,” Peters said in a statement to Playbook. “Pat Dowell is a trusted and steady hand who will continue making Illinois a leader in expanding voting rights and access available to all people.” Peters, a Chicago Democrat, gained headlines this month for co-sponsoring a new law that bars police officers from lying to juveniles during interrogations.

— Illinois’ unemployment agency has another fraud problem: Thieves ‘hijacking’ people’s payments: “It’s called account hijacking...This type of theft is different from impostor fraud, in which criminals file fake claims in the names of real people. In account hijacking, qualified people start getting their benefits and then somebody, somehow, directs that cash elsewhere,” by Tribune’s Joe Mahr.

... Illinois unemployment claims remain at a high, phone numbers waiting for callbacks still rising, by CBS/2’s Tara Molina

— Meet the state’s new ‘thought leader’ on moving Illinois from diversity to equity: “Nearly three and a half months after joining Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, Sekile Nzinga will get to put her theory into practice as head of a new office of equity that the governor plans to create Friday through an executive order,” by Sun-Times’ Rachel Hinton.

— No Ransom Paid, but Illinois AG Office Is Spending More Than $2.5M on Hacker Attack: “In his first in-depth interview since the April breach at the state’s top law enforcement agency, Raoul acknowledges the hack is ‘embarrassing,’” by Better Government Association’s Jared Rutecki, and Tribune’s Ray Long.

— An estimated 300 trillion invasive mussels blanket Lake Michigan: “Eradication may be impossible, but small-scale removal efforts could be the answer,” reports Tribune’s Morgan Greene.

— Pet store protests bill that would ban puppy mills in Illinois, by WREX’s Andrew Carrigan

After more than a year of waiting, 55 winners in a lottery Thursday were awarded cannabis dispensary licenses.

Toi Hutchinson, the chief cannabis adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, called the lottery “an important step” in the state’s efforts to create racial equity in the white-dominated weed industry.

“Illinois has taken the most comprehensive approach in the country to putting social justice at the heart of cannabis legalization,” she said in a statement, also making note that the state has expunged drug-related convictions and invested “tens of millions of cannabis revenue into the communities hit hardest by the war on drugs.”

The 55 winners were among 626 entrants who scored 85 percent or better on their applications.

When recreational marijuana was legalized in January of 2020, only medical marijuana dispensaries that were already in business could open retail shops.

A lottery for new retailers was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and hiccups in how applications had been scored. That was resolved with recent state legislation, allowing for Thursday’s lottery. Two more drawings for another 130 additional cannabis licenses will be held Aug. 5 and 19 from a pool of 900 total applicants.

The process of doling out dispensary licenses still is fraught with tension.

Just a day before Thursday’s lottery results were announced, a judge ordered that the licenses can’t be awarded until he rules on a lawsuit challenging the process, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Wah Group LLC and Haaayy LLC are questioning a provision in the lottery process that awarded majority veteran-owned companies an extra 5 points on their applications. “As it turned out, only applicants with perfect scores initially qualified for licenses, and only veteran-owned teams got perfect scores,” the Tribune reports.

The two companies also claim applicants had unfair advantages, “such as those with ties to lobbyists or to former state cannabis regulators.” The next hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Aug. 9.

RELATED

In contested vote, Wilmette trustees move toward allowing recreational cannabis sales, by The Record North Shore’s Martin Carlino

Among the winners, some new players and some with deep ties to existing industry, reports Sun-Times’ Tom Schuba

— WBEZ sues Chicago Park District, mayor’s office for files on lifeguard sexual misconduct: “The station first reported in April that the park district’s internal watchdog was conducting a 'broad investigation' into complaints that dozens of workers regularly committed “sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, workplace violence, and other criminal acts” – sometimes against minors,” by WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos.

— Victory for elected school board: Pritzker signs long-sought measure over opposition from Lightfoot: “The board overseeing Chicago Public Schools will become a hybrid panel in 2025, with 10 members elected from geographic districts and 11 members, including a board president, appointed by the mayor. The appointed members would be replaced with elected ones following the 2026 election,” by Tribune’s Dan Petrella, Gregory Pratt and Tracy Swartz.

— City to cite General Iron’s owner after building collapse: “A building containing asbestos was discovered to have a caved-in roof since April but Reserve Management Group didn’t report it to Chicago officials, the city alleges,” by Sun-Times’ Brett Chase.

After ‘pandemic pups,’ local veterinary clinics are overwhelmed and overbooked: “Animal hospitals and clinics have seen an extraordinary amount of business since the pandemic, and the last few months have been the busiest they’ve ever been, according to many Chicago-area veterinarians. Some clinics estimate they are up to 75% busier than they were before the pandemic,” by Tribune’s Mariah Rush.

A Chicago drag legend celebrates his 80th birthday with showgirls, sequins and a few hundred close friends: “Where I come from, with 13 kids in public housing, I never thought I would have this many friends in the room on my 80th birthday,” Jim Flint said, suddenly choking back tears.

Flint, who built a Midwestern drag dynasty from a tiny gay bar in River North, is the owner of the 52-year-old Baton Show Lounge — home of the longest-running drag show in the city — and the founder of the national Miss Continental pageant for female impersonators, by Tribune’s Nara Schoenberg.

Bobby Rush calls for special task force to find missing Black women and girls: “The fact that these women are exploited, brutalized, missing, murdered — and overlooked — without a serious, determined effort from law enforcement just smacks of benign neglect," the congressman said, via Block Club’s Jamie Nesbitt Golden.

— How Biden’s sherpa, Steve Ricchetti, scored the big deal, by POLITICO’s Laura Barrón-López and Christopher Cadelago

— Pelosi and Sanders brace for Democratic upheaval over Biden agenda, by POLITICO’s Burgess Everett, Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle

— A Liberal Michigan town struggles to move past ‘defund the police,’ by Lynette Clemetson for POLITICO

Ron Popeil, inventor and king of TV pitchmen, dies at 86: “Ron Popeil, whose father was also an inventor-salesman, built his ability to sell things as a young man in the open-air markets of Chicago, where he moved as a teen in the 1940s,” by The Associated Press and Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney.

THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to House speaker legislative aide Aaron Lowe, IDES senior manager Marco Morales and Rick Bryant, senior adviser to Rep. Robin Kelly, for correctly answering that Sam Panayotovich was the Democratic state rep who flipped parties to run as a Republican in the late 1980s only to lose the election. It was a time when “Reagan Democrats” were emerging, and then-House Speaker Michael Madigan didn’t want others to think they could so easily jump ship. So he threw everything he had to beat Panayotovich, who was defeated by Democrat Clem Balanoff.

Special h/t to Sam Panayotovich who emailed with the correct answer, too!

TODAY’s QUESTION: What settlements simultaneously served as the county seat for St. Clair County when it was established as part of the Northwest Territory? Email to [email protected]

Today: State Rep. Dan Swanson, former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, former state Rep. Mike Tryon, former Ald. Deb Mell, former Metropolitan Water Reclamation Commissioner Cynthia Santos, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s Kendra Abercrombie, LBH Chicago Project director Lauren Cvengros, McCormick Foundation early education director Cornelia Grumman, Northwestern University associate dean of comms Roderick Hawkins, World Business Chicago marketing VP Andrew Hayes, Durbin alum and American Petroleum Institute comms VP Ben Marter, Chicago Police spokesman Don Terry, and WBEZ reporter Kristen Schorsch.

Saturday: state Rep. Mary Flowers, former House GOP leader Tom Cross, former state Rep. Helene Miller-Walsh, State Board of Education co-director of legislative affairs Amanda Elliott, Durbin legislative assistant James Floyd, Salvation Army Chicago PR manager Katie Heinz, real estate attorney Langdon Neal, and investment adviser Claude Ohanesian.

Sunday: Assistant State’s Attorney Amy Crawford, chief of staff to Rep. Danny Davis Tumia Romero, CTA comms director Steve Mayberry, and former Illinois Film Office head Brenda Sexton.

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