Jon Zumkehr, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 4070, said the effort aims to start a broader conversation about incorporating suicide prevention features into bridge design and infrastructure projects.

"We want those conversations to be started," Zumkehr said. "Whether it's a sign, whether it's a call box, whether it's netting, we want evidence-based prevention measures."

The push follows outreach efforts by the Gray Matters Collective, a Quad Cities-based suicide prevention organization. Zumkehr said the group recently brought suicide prevention advocate Kevin Hines to the region to share his story. Hines survived a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge and later advocated for the installation of safety netting on the California landmark.

The final cost of the Golden Gate Bridge suicide deterrent net was about $224 million, according to the Golden Gate Bridge District. The project was funded through a combination of federal and state grants, bridge toll revenue, mental health funds, and private donations.

According to Zumkehr, opponents of adding prevention measures often argue that the improvements would be a waste of taxpayer money or that suicides cannot be prevented through physical infrastructure changes.

"Some people say you can't save every life," Zumkehr said. "We simply disagree on that because there is evidence that these measures work."

Zumkehr said he did not have a total number of suicides on the I-74 Bridge. Public agencies also do not publish a year-by-year breakdown for the structure, and no official trend line exists.

Available reporting shows at least one publicly documented suicide on the bridge in recent years, along with additional reported incidents and attempts, but no verified cumulative totals are released by state or local authorities.

Zumkehr said the Quad Cities region experiences a suicide rate higher than the national average and noted that the I-74 Bridge has become a highly visible location for suicide incidents.

"Every life lost is a person, it's a family, it's a father, it's a mother," he said.

Zumkehr referenced the recent death of a correctional officer who died by suicide after jumping from the bridge and said another report involving an attempted bridge jump surfaced in the region within the past week.

While no cost estimates have been provided for potential improvements to the I-74 Bridge, Zumkehr said integrating suicide prevention features into future bridge projects, including discussions surrounding a new Interstate 80 bridge, could reduce costs compared to retrofitting existing structures.

Gray Matters Collective founder and Executive Director Haley DeGreve said obtaining official statistics on suicides and suicide attempts connected to the I-74 Bridge has been difficult because of privacy concerns and inconsistent reporting among agencies.

However, she said first responders, community members and mental health advocates have reported a noticeable increase in bridge-related suicide attempts and deaths in recent years, prompting renewed calls for prevention measures.

DeGreve said her organization is urging Illinois and Iowa transportation officials to begin with visible 988 crisis hotline signage and other intervention tools while exploring longer-term options such as physical barriers or safety netting, which she described as among the most effective evidence-based suicide prevention measures.

"We're not demanding one solution," Zumkehr said. "We want politicians, community groups and stakeholders to bring this issue front and center and have a conversation about what works."

Zumkehr encouraged public officials to consider measures including physical barriers, emergency phones connected to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and highly visible crisis intervention signage.

Police responded around 3:15 p.m. to reports of a fight and gunfire. Officers found evidence of the shooting, and the victim later arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound. Police said the injury is not considered life-threatening.

The Bloomington Police Department has an adult male suspect in custody. The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Logan Fosdick.

Kalshi, a company with a prediction-based platform that allows users to place wagers on the outcome of real-life events, seeks to block the state law from taking effect Wednesday.

The company argued the federal government’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission is its sole regulator, which the CFTC also argued in a lawsuit against the state this year.

Under the current administration, the CFTC has been working collaboratively with companies to craft regulations fitting the services they provide.

“Kalshi will be subject to criminal penalties in Illinois unless it either ceases to offer Illinois residents sports event contracts that are perfectly lawful in the eyes of Kalshi’s exclusive federal regulator or pays Illinois millions of dollars and submits to the State’s regulatory regime,” Kalshi’s legal representation said in the filing.

Users place bets on Kalshi by buying “event contracts,” which act as shares in potential event outcomes. A correct prediction is paid out based on the share of overall contracts a user purchases.

State officials have been critical of platforms like Kalshi because they allow users to bet on sports, which the Illinois Gaming Board heavily regulates and taxes.

The new measure – included in the state’s 2027 revenue package – imposes the same requirements on prediction markets as are placed on other sports betting platforms, such as Fanduel.

Requirements include a 1.75% tax on the first 5 million wagers placed on a service each year – doubling to 3.5% on additional wagers – and for platforms to pay a $15 million licensing fee, which must be renewed every four years for $1 million.

State Sen. Michael Hastings, who introduced a similar measure this year, said in a hearing this April nearly 90% of all sports betting is done on prediction markets, according to his findings.

“This enormous activity occurred entirely outside of the regulatory framework, while our licensed operators must follow every rule,” Hastings told the committee. “In my mind, that's lost revenue to the state of Illinois.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office the state will fight for its law.

“Prediction companies are seeking to use the courts to avoid complying with the same rules and consumer protections that apply to other wagering operators in Illinois. The state of Illinois will continue defending Illinois’ authority to regulate these activities and protect consumers," said a spokesperson for the governor in a statement.

Pritzker also signed an executive order earlier this year barring state employees and officials from using betting markets, while also responding to claims of insider trading through prediction market bets in Washington.

The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., serves as an advisor to Kalshi and also serves on the board of Polymarket, another popular prediction market.

Reporting from the Financial Times on Friday revealed Trump Jr. was gifted a $300,000 stake in Kalshi in early 2025, which is expected to balloon as the company raises more capital.

The report for the fiscal year than ended on June 30, 2025 was released on June 9 by Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office said the report was released nearly eight months earlier than the prior ACFR cycle, signaling a “transformative improvement” in Illinois’ ability to deliver financial information.

Truth in Accounting founder & CEO Sheila Weinberg said the state set a low bar in prior years.

“I guess bringing it to only less than a year is better, but most governments do it within 180 days and corporations obviously get it done a lot quicker,” Weinberg told The Center Square.

States bordering Illinois released their financial reports months ago for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025. Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana released their reports last December. Missouri and Kentucky followed in February.

New York’s report was released Sept. 1, five months and a day after the end of its fiscal year on March 31.

Weinberg said the report is supposed to be useful for governments to make decisions, but the report was not available during budget time. She said the ACFR shows that Illinois continues to put off paying bills.

“So they go ahead and instead defer the costs, and they don't include those in the budget. Therefore, it's a deferred liability that actually could become a deferred tax that people are going to have to pay,” Weinberg said.

The Truth in Accounting CEO said the Securities and Exchange Commission should take another look at the state’s pension contributions.

The SEC charged Illinois with securities fraud in 2013 for misleading municipal bond investors about the state’s approach to funding its pension obligations.

Weinberg said the state still uses the same schedule and claims it will pay 90% of its pension obligations over 50 years.

“The SEC clearly said that is misleading to the public, so maybe the SEC should look at it again,” Weinberg said.

Weinberg said Gov. J.B. Pritzker claims to be balancing the budget, but the state is not paying what pension plan actuaries say it should pay.

“He is balancing the budget by shorting the pension plans by $5 billion,” Weinberg said.

Illinois has an estimated $144 billion in unfunded public pension liabilities.

Government attorneys say Alexander Iniguez Mercado, 20, was an administrator and member of Signal messaging groups that appeared to communicate about the planned attack.

Mercado was charged with obstruction of justice after he allegedly uninstalled the Signal app, causing message data to become unavailable.

Seven other people from multiple states have been charged in connection with the plot.

ILLINOIS GROUP LAMENTS MONSANTO RULING

The Illinois Stewardship Alliance says it is a setback for transparency and accountability that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to limit the ability of farmers and others to pursue state-level claims against pesticide manufacturers.

On Thursday, the high court reversed a Missouri Court of Appeals decision that allowed liability claims against Monsanto for failing to include a cancer warning on the label of Roundup herbicide.

ISA joined an amicus brief supporting Missouri farmer John Durnell, who alleged that his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma resulted from exposure to Roundup.

Kyla Asbury contributed to this story.

PRITZKER ANNOUNCES IDNR LEADERSHIP CHANGE

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced that Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Natalie Phelps Finnie will be replaced Wednesday by the agency’s general counsel, Renee Snow.

Finnie has served as IDNR director since January 2023. She previously served as an Illinois state rep from 2017 to 2019.

Snow has worked at IDNR since 2014.

CHICAGO FINALIZES DEAL WITH O’HARE CONCOURSE CONTRACTOR

Chicago officials say they have finalized an agreement that ensures the O’Hare International Airport Concourse D project will come in at least $21 million under budget.

A statement from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said the city aviation department’s deal with the lead contractor, AECOM Hunt Clayco Bowa, sets a guaranteed maximum price of $1.455 billion for the 19-gate facility.

The statement says the project is funded through airport-generated revenues and not with state or local tax dollars.

The concourse is set for completion in late 2028.

$5 MILLION RENOVATION PLANNED AT ILLINI BASEBALL FIELD

The University of Illinois says a $5 million gift by an anonymous donor is paving the way for the renovation of Illinois Field, home of the Fighting Illini baseball team.

Plans include new and additional seating down the lines, permanent seat backs and new, expanded dugouts with technology upgrades and bathrooms.

The tournament, founded in 2002, is open to golfers ages 3 to 22 and is recognized nationally by the American Junior Golf Association and other junior golf ranking organizations. More than 230 golfers have already registered for this year’s event, including participants from First Tee Greater Chicago.

Organizers say the tournament not only provides top-level competition for young golfers but also generates significant tourism and economic benefits for the Bloomington-Normal area.

July 1 marks a second New Year’s Day in Illinois as a new budget takes effect along with more than a dozen new state laws.

In addition to the state’s nearly $56 billion fiscal year 2027 budget being implemented and the 1-cent motor fuel tax increase being suspended for the remainder of the year, 14 news laws will go into effect on Wednesday.

Cocktails-to-go

A pandemic-era allowance is now law six-and-a-half years later. Senate Bill 618 makes cocktails-to-go permanent.

Illinois lawmakers passed legislation during the pandemic that allowed restaurants and bars to sell cocktails and mixed drinks for pickup or delivery as businesses were closed to in-person customers. That will be allowed to continue permanently under the new law.

AI and bullying

Posting unauthorized artificial intelligence images can be considered cyberbullying in Illinois schools under House Bill 3851. This includes posting or distributing sexual images. Creating sexual images of children can also be charged under the state’s child pornography laws under a law passed in 2025.

“Many people are using AI to produce harmful materials, which has led to a whole new level of cyberbullying,” Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. “We cannot let our laws fall behind technology. This legislation helps our state meet current challenges and ensures bullying via AI is addressed in the school code.”

Illinois lawmakers have broadly sought to regulate artificial intelligence, including its presence in schools.

Department of Early Childhood

The new Department of Early Childhood will officially launch on July 1, completing one of Gov. JB Pritzker’s top priorities of his second term.

Senate Bill 1 to create the new agency passed the General Assembly with bipartisan support in 2024 and calls for consolidating a variety of early childhood services that are spread across multiple state agencies under one roof. Those include oversight and funding of preschools, childcare centers, home visiting and early intervention programs.

Pritzker tapped Teresa Ramos to direct the agency. She worked in childcare advocacy before joining the governor’s office’s education policy team.

Lawmakers appropriated $2.1 billion from the General Revenue Fund to the new agency in fiscal year 2027, which also begins July 1.

Contraband report

The Department of Corrections will have to report more information about contraband in its facilities as the department continues to face scrutiny around substance exposures. Senate Bill 2201 requires the department to annually report data about what contraband is found, where it was discovered, how it got into the facility, and any disciplinary action that was taken as a result.

It also requires IDOC to report on medical responses and hospitalizations for staff members, including the cause.

Statewide public defender

The bricks of the new Office of State Public Defender can begin being laid on July 1, as House Bill 3363 requires an 11-member commission to be appointed by Oct. 1. The commission will identify the costs and funding sources to establish the Office of State Public Defender. The remainder of the bill, including additional processes to set up the office, will take effect Jan. 1.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

This article first appeared on Capitol News Illinois and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

 Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon – Class X Felony
 Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon – Class 3 Felony
 No Valid FOID Card – Class A Misdemeanor

These initial charges are subject to review by the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The Normal Police Department was assisted by the Bloomington Police Department during this investigation.

The victim remains in serious but stable condition at a local hospital.

The Bloomington Police Department says 20-year-old Hollis C. Vanleer Jr. was taken into custody Wednesday during a joint operation with the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force. Officers conducted a traffic stop near West Washington and Caroline streets, where Vanleer was arrested without incident.

Vanleer is accused of participating in the March 25 armed robbery of the Isle of Capri Casino in Boonville, Missouri. He is being held in the McLean County Detention Facility awaiting extradition to Missouri. He also faces several outstanding McLean County warrants. Police say the arrest resulted from cooperation among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

The mayor signed an executive order Thursday to establish the new office, saying the agency would be tasked with coordinating violence prevention efforts, victim services and community safety investments.

A reporter asked Johnson if his current community safety office would be disbanded.

“The Mayor’s Office of Community Safety will still function and exist,” said the mayor.

Johnson said the OCS deals with the fire department, the Office of Emergency Management and other departments in addition to just police.

The mayor did not directly answer a question about how much the new department might cost.

“You mean to tell me that with 31,000 jobs that we’ve offered, 57,000 children applied, that as a city we cannot figure out how to come up with another $20 million to make sure that every young person and young adult who wants a job can have a job?” Johnson asked.

The mayor said the ultra wealthy and big corporations should be held accountable.

Chicago Republican Party chairman Chuck Hernandez, a former Chicago Police Department detective, said the new department is a scheme to siphon funds away from law enforcement.

“We already have a department for gun violence and reduction. It's called the Chicago Police Department,” Hernandez told The Center Square.

Hernandez said he sees the mayor’s executive order as futile.

“This is bad public policy, a gigantic waste of taxpayer money and it ultimately highlights Brandon Johnson's complete lack of courage and unwillingness to combat violent crime in Chicago,” Hernandez said.

Retired Riverside, Illinois police chief Thomas Weitzel said the new department is not just a scheme, but a scam.

“It creates bureaucracy instead of deploying officers, that’s what this will do. That’s not good, and nor are there any measurable outcomes that will come from that,” Weitzel said.

The mayor promised that the new office would work with those on the front lines, including police officers and community violence intervention partners.

Johnson said it actually costs more when you disinvest.

“For decades, the people of Chicago have been demanding more from city government, and today, city government responds to those demands,” the mayor said.