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Good afternoon, Chicago. Despite Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office saying it was not pursuing controversial changes to the Chicago Board of Education’s voting procedures, his top Springfield lobbyist emailed a state official in the closing days of the spring legislative session expressing interest in a bill that would
do just that. In a May 23 message, city lobbyist John Arena wrote to a state education official that the city wanted legislation to align
the Chicago board’s rules with those governing other school boards around the state. That would have included a provision to lower from a two-thirds supermajority to a simple majority the threshold the Chicago Public Schools board would need to approve certain issues — and ease the path for adopting contentious borrowing plans favored by City Hall. Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History news Gov. J.B. Priztker speaks during a press conference at the Painters District Council No. 30 union hall on
Aug. 5, 2025, in Aurora. He was there in support of Texas lawmakers who left their state this past weekend. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune) Texas Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said today the FBI has granted his request to assist Texas law enforcement in locating House Democrats who fled the state, setting up a potential confrontation with Illinois Democratic officials who have vowed to protect them. More top news stories: business A customer shops a grain isle at New India Bazar, where most merchandise is imported from India and Canada, on Aug. 6, 2025, in Fremont, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. More top business stories: sports Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon (6) takes a video with a fan at the end of Chicago Bears Family Fest at Soldier Field on Aug. 3, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) The Bears open their preseason schedule against the Miami Dolphins at noon Sunday at Soldier Field, the first of three games before the Sept. 9 regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football.” More top sports stories: eat. watch. do. Busker Zhen Jinling plays traditional Chinese folk music on the Erhu outside the Chinatown Branch of the Chicago Public Library on July 27, 2025, in Chicago. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune) Since 2022, Zhen Jinling has spent Saturday and Sunday afternoons busking outside Wentworth and Archer avenues. Rotating between several instruments, Zhen shares a taste of traditional Chinese music with locals and visitors alike. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: nation & world President Donald Trump listens during an event to sign an executive order restarting the Presidential Fitness
Test in public schools, July 31, 2025, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The Trump administration is ramping up a massive hiring spree at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, offering up to $50,000 signing bonuses, waiving age limits and invoking wartime-style imagery in a bid to lure thousands of new officers. More top stories from around the world: | 
