What’s New

“It’s the ‘Chicago Bears,’” one fan tweeted after team president Ted Phillips announced the Bears have placed a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property.

After much speculation, the Bears took a concrete step towards moving the historic franchise by placing a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property Thursday — and as expected fans had much to say.

Some fans applauded the move, as they hoped for a larger new stadium that could be more accessible by car or Metra — while others were outraged by the mere idea of the team leaving the city.

Nicole Richardson, a lifelong fan, told the Sun-Times that Soldier Field is “iconic” even with the renovation that some have compared to a “spaceship.”

“It’s the ‘Chicago Bears,’” Richardson wrote. “If the owners want to move outside of the city they need to relinquish the name.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot took to Twitter and issued a similar statement, affirming her commitment to “keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team.”

In the announcement Thursday, team president Ted Phillips said the Bears are exploring “every possible option,” adding if their bid is selected it would allow them to “further evaluate the property and its potential.”

Since the Park District owns Soldier Field, the team is looking for more control over changes it wants to see at the 97-year-old building.

The Bears would not face such restrictions in Arlington Heights, opening the door for a larger stadium possibly with a dome.

Another lifelong fan, Jamal Neff, fully supports the potential move, hoping it will make games more accessible and affordable.

As an adult, Neff said he has been to only one game at Soldier Field.

“When I was there, the price of the tickets was just outrageous — to sit in an angle that was cumbersome [and] to look at playing that was atrocious,” Neff said.

Like many others, Neff remembers the excitement of the ‘85 Super Bowl season but says the stadium itself had nothing to do with that.

“I remember the city being electric, the neighborhoods coming alive,” Neff said. “I remember the song and how it united the city and it wasn’t really about being at the stadium or in the Museum Campus. It was just about being in the neighborhoods that make up Chicago.”

But Neff said he is positive on the Bears outlook for the future, saying regardless of location “the future is bright” for the team.

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The ruling was specific to the facts of the case, sidestepping bigger questions about how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws.

WASHINGTON — In another victory for religious groups at the Supreme Court, the justices on Thursday unanimously sided with a Catholic foster care agency that says its religious views prevent it from working with same-sex couples. The court said the city of Philadelphia wrongly limited its relationship with the group as a result of the agency’s policy.

The ruling was specific to the facts of the case, sidestepping bigger questions about how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws. Instead, the outcome turned on the language in the city’s foster care contract. Three conservative justices would have gone much further, and LGBTQ groups said they were relieved that the decision was limited.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a majority of the court that Catholic Social Services “seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else.”

Roberts concluded that Philadelphia’s refusal to “contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents … violates the First Amendment.”

Roberts noted that no same-sex couple has ever asked to work with Catholic Social Services, which is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. If that were to happen, that couple would be referred to one of the more than 20 other agencies that works with same-sex couples, Catholic Social Services has said.

“For over 50 years, CSS successfully contracted with the City to provide foster care services while holding to these beliefs,” said Roberts, one of seven members of the court who is Catholic or attended Catholic schools.

Because of its beliefs, the Catholic agency also does not certify unmarried couples.

In recent years, religious groups have been delighted by victories at the court, often by wide margins. That includes cases in which the court lifted a ban on state aid to religious schooling, gave religious schools greater leeway to hire and fire teachers and allowed a cross to remain on public land. More recently, the court repeatedly sided with religious groups in fights over coronavirus restrictions.

Philadelphia learned in 2018 from a newspaper reporter that Catholic Social Services would not certify same-sex couples to become foster parents. The city has said it requires the foster care agencies it works with not to discriminate as part of their contracts. The city asked Catholic Social Services to change its policy, but the group declined.

As a result, Philadelphia stopped referring additional children to the agency. Catholic Social Services sued, but lower courts sided with Philadelphia.

In coming to the conclusion that Philadelphia had acted improperly, Roberts said the city gave Catholic Social Services a choice between “curtailing its mission or approving relationships inconsistent with its beliefs.”

He also pointed to language in the city’s standard foster care contract. The contract says that agencies cannot reject prospective foster or adoptive parents based on their sexual orientation “unless an exception is granted.” Because the city created a process for granting exemptions, it cannot then deny Catholic Social Services an exemption, Roberts concluded.

The case’s outcome was similar to a 2018 decision in which the court sided with a Colorado baker who would not make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. That decision, too, was limited to the specific facts of the case and dodged bigger issues of how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws. But the court has grown more conservative since that ruling.

In “both cases the court reached narrow, very fact-specific decisions that leave non-discrimination laws and policies standing and fully enforceable by governments,” said Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union LGBTQ & HIV Project, which was involved in the case on Philadelphia’s side.

Three conservative justices who joined Roberts’ opinion said they would have gone further. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch said they would have overruled a 1990 Supreme Court decision that they said improperly allows limits on religious freedom.

Alito called the court’s ruling Thursday a “wisp of a decision.” Gorsuch said it was an “(ir)resolution,” predicting that the litigation would continue, with the city perhaps rewriting its contract.

Philadelphia City Solicitor Diana Cortes said the ruling was a “difficult and disappointing setback.”

In a statement, she said the court had “usurped the City’s judgment that a nondiscrimination policy is in the best interests of the children in its care.” But she said the city was also “gratified” that the justices did not “radically change existing constitutional law to adopt a standard that would force court-ordered religious exemptions from civic obligations in every arena.”

A lawyer with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty who argued the case on behalf of Catholic Social Services called it a “common-sense ruling in favor of religious social services.”

“The Supreme Court recognized that CSS has been doing amazing work for many years and can continue that work in the city of Philadelphia,” Lori Windham said.

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Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

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From NFC North to NFC Northwest Suburbs?

Jason Lieser and Patrick Finley break down the Bears’ bid to potentially move the team to the northwest suburbs.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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Tensions have remained high since a cease-fire halted the war on May 21, even as Egyptian mediators have met with Israeli and Hamas officials to try and shore up the informal truce.

JERUSALEM — Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip late Thursday for a second time since a shaky cease-fire ended last month’s 11-day war. The strikes came after activists mobilized by Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers launched incendiary balloons into Israel for a third straight day.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes, which could be heard from Gaza City. Israel also carried out airstrikes early Wednesday, targeting what it is said were Hamas facilities, without killing or wounding anyone.

The military said fighter jets struck Hamas “military compounds and a rocket launch site” late Thursday in response to the balloons. It said its forces were preparing for a “variety of scenarios including a resumption of hostilities.”

Rocket sirens went off in Israeli communities near Gaza shortly after the airstrikes. The military later said they were triggered by “incoming fire, not rockets.”

Surveillance camera footage obtained by The Associated Press showed what appeared to be heavy machine-gun fire into the air from Gaza, a possible attempt by Palestinian militants to shoot down aircraft. Other footage showed projectiles being fired from Gaza, but it was unclear what kind or where they landed.

Tensions have remained high since a cease-fire halted the war on May 21, even as Egyptian mediators have met with Israeli and Hamas officials to try and shore up the informal truce.

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and countless smaller skirmishes since the Islamic militant group seized power from rival Palestinians forces in 2007. Israel and Egypt have imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, since Hamas took over.

Earlier, Israeli police used stun grenades and a water cannon spraying skunk water to disperse Palestinian protesters from Damascus Gate in east Jerusalem, the epicenter of weeks of protests and clashes in the run-up to the Gaza war.

After the crowds were dispersed, Palestinians could be seen throwing rocks and water bottles at ultra-Orthodox Jews walking in the area.

Calls had circulated for protesters to gather at Damascus Gate in response to a rally held there by Jewish ultranationalists on Tuesday in which dozens of Israelis had chanted “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn.” The police had forcibly cleared the square and provided security for that rally, part of a parade to celebrate Israel’s conquest of east Jerusalem.

In a separate incident, a Palestinian teenager died Thursday after being shot by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank during a protest against a settlement outpost, the fourth demonstrator to be killed since the outpost was established last month.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that a soldier stationed near the wildcat outpost in the West Bank saw a group of Palestinians approaching, and that one “hurled a suspicious object at him, which exploded adjacent to the soldier.” The army said that the soldier fired in the air, then shot the Palestinian who threw the object.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that Ahmad Shamsa, 15, died of a gunshot wound sustained a day earlier.

Settlers established the outpost, which they refer to as Eviatar, near the northern West Bank town of Nablus last month and say it is now home to dozens of families. Palestinians say it is built on private land and fear it will grow and merge with other large settlements nearby.

Nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers live in some 130 settlements across the occupied West Bank. The Palestinians and much of the international community view the settlements as a violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace.

Israeli authorities have evacuated the outpost on several occasions. They appear reluctant to do so this time because it would embarrass Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other right-wing members of the fragile government sworn in over the weekend.

Palestinians from the nearby village of Beita have held several protests in which demonstrators have hurled stones and Israeli troops have fired tear gas and live ammunition. Four Palestinians have been killed since mid-May, including Shamsa and another teenager.

The Israeli military also shot and killed a Palestinian woman on Wednesday, saying she had tried to ram her car into a group of soldiers guarding a West Bank construction site.

In a statement, the army said soldiers fired at the woman in Hizmeh, just north of Jerusalem, after she exited the car and pulled out a knife. The statement did not say how close the woman was to the soldiers, and the army did not release any photos or video of the incident.

The family of Mai Afaneh insisted she had no reason or ability to carry out an attack.

In recent years, Israel has seen a series of shootings, stabbings and car ramming attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the occupied West Bank. Most have been carried out by Palestinians with no apparent links to organized militant groups.

Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups say the soldiers often use excessive force and could have stopped some assailants without killing them. In some cases, they say that innocent people have been identified as attackers and shot.

The Palestinians seek the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exerts limited self-rule in population centers, as part of a future state along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel captured all three territories in the 1967 war and says Jerusalem is indivisible. There have been no substantive peace talks in more than a decade.

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Associated Press reporters Adel Hana and Khalil Hamra in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, and Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed.

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In Englewood, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network is holding an event on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. where community leaders will talk about their vision for the corner on 63rd Street and Racine Avenue.

President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday afternoon that makes Juneteenth a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

The move comes a day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that officially made Juneteenth a state holiday.

“I’m pleased to see the federal government join Illinois in recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday, offering all Americans a day to reflect on the national shame of slavery and the work we must do to dismantle systemic racism,” said Pritzker. “Most importantly, let us stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Black Americans who will celebrate Juneteenth as a milestone in their fight for every ounce of the freedom that is their God-given right — and continue with them in that fight.”

In observation of the federal holiday, all state government offices will be closed Friday, Pritzker said.

But it’s unclear how most businesses and city government will observe the holiday this year since most of the ordinance passed early this week.

Earlier this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared Chicago would recognize June 19 as an official city holiday starting next year. The city has several events planned as well, but since the city won’t recognize the holiday until next year, many city buildings will remain open Friday.

Last year, Fifth Third Bank shortened its hours in honor of Juneteenth for the first time, but since June 19 lands on a Saturday this year, hours are already shortened. Mark Hoppe, the bank’s president, will join a panel with Chicago’s and the state’s treasurers offices and other bank leaders to discuss advancing equity in the banking industries hiring practices.

Target will be observe the holiday nationwide, and while all stores and distribution centers will remain open, hourly employees who work June 19 will be paid time and a half. Team members will have the option to take the day off with full pay. Juneteenth will remain an annual company holiday.

A spokeswoman with the Chicago Public Library said because the holiday doesn’t go into effect until next year, they won’t be closing. On Thursday, CPL was hosting the first city-wide virtual Juneteenth Reading Circle.

In Englewood, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network is holding an event Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. where community leaders will talk about their vision for the corner on 63rd Street and Racine Avenue.

The Bronzeville Abundance Campaign and Northwestern Medicine will also celebrate Juneteenth with a day of service in the South Side neighborhood. The “Day of Service – A Celebration of Life!” will have volunteers with Northwestern Medicine join community residents for a day of cleaning, painting and updating gardens along the Calumet Avenue corridor.

That day of service will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Piece of Peace Garden at 5135 S. Calumet Ave.

Other events are planned Saturday throughout the Chicago area that include live music, parades, marches, block parties, specialized yoga classes and tours.

Cook County is also at the end of its weeklong celebration of Juneteenth — marking its first year as a paid county holiday.

The county was ahead of the curve when it passed its holiday ordinance in December. On Friday, the county will kick off its Black Culture Week Citywide Caravan March at Malcom X College at 1:45 p.m.

Cook County courts will be closed Friday.

Federal employees and buildings will observe Juneteenth as a holiday Friday since the newly declared Juneteenth National Independence Day falls on a Saturday this year, according to a tweet Thursday from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the human resources office for the federal government.

A portmanteau of June and 19, the holiday celebrates the day when the last enslaved African Americans learned they had been freed.

While the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the South in 1863, it wasn’t enforced in many places until the Civil War ended, two years later. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news to Galveston, Texas.

Contributing: Associated Press

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Former Hawks president John McDonough and current general manager Stan Bowman were among a group of Blackhawks executives informed in 2010 that former video coach Bradley Aldrich had sexually assaulted two players, according to a TSN report Thursday.

Blackhawks management was informed in May 2010 of the alleged sexual assault by former video coach Bradley Aldrich, according to a Thursday report by TSN, but decided not to report the incidents to police.

Former Hawks president John McDonough, current general manager Stan Bowman, current vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac and former skills coach James Gary were told by former skills coach Paul Vincent in a meeting at a California hotel that Aldrich had sexually assaulted two players earlier that season, TSN reported.

But the group of Hawks executives refused Vincent’s request to inform the Chicago police’s sex crimes division about the assaults, TSN reported.

A Hawks spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

One of the unidentified players who was allegedly assaulted by Aldrich filed a lawsuit against the Hawks on April 30 in Cook County Circuit Court. The lawsuit claimed the player notified Gary after the alleged assault but that Gary “did nothing” and instead convinced the player they were culpable for the assault.

Aldrich “sent . . . inappropriate text messages,” “turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of [the player] . . . without his consent” and “threatened to injure [the player if he]… did not engage in sexual activity,” according to the first lawsuit.

Aldrich left the Hawks after the 2010 Stanley Cup championship and pled guilty in 2013 for a criminal sexual-contact incident at a Michigan high school. The victim of that incident filed a separate lawsuit against the Hawks in late May for not reporting Aldrich’s assaults before he began volunteering at the high school.

The Hawks said in a statement after the first lawsuit’s filing that they believe the allegations “lack merit” and that “the team will be absolved of any wrongdoing.”

The Hawks filed a motion Monday to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the player did not exhaust all legal remedies before suing and that the Illinois statute of limitations on sexual abuse expired before the suit was filed.

The original lawsuit argued the statute of limitations did not begin until July 2019, when the player’s memories of the sexual assault were triggered, rather than in 2010.

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Jay Españo brings international perspective as the new AD for PrideArts; plus Leaders for a New Chicago awards and a new fund in honor of the late Malcolm Ewen

In a year of upheaval, perhaps no Chicago theater company has seen more of it than the Company Formerly Known as Pride Films and Plays. Rocked by social media allegations that founder David Zak (a pioneer of LGBTQ+ theater in Chicago) had either engaged in patterns of abuse and harassment toward actors and staff or ignored such incidents from others involved in the company (as well as wide-ranging complaints about the general safety and hygiene of the rehearsal and performance spaces), Zak announced he was stepping away on July 3 of last year.…Read More

But the second-round draft pick — pegged to be a rookie starter — knows he has a lot to learn and a lot to prove once the Bears practice in pads. And he can’t wait.

The past year has been a blur for Bears rookie offensive tackle Teven Jenkins.

He started last season at left tackle for Oklahoma State against Tulsa, moved to right tackle the next week, opted out after seven games, starting preparing for the draft, lost weight, got drafted, gained weight, participated in rookie minicamp, then the Bears’ offseason program and finally veteran minicamp this week.

It’s time for a well-deserved break. But the kid is so pumped about playing in the NFL, he wants to keep going. If training camp started today, he’d be thrilled.

“It’s just work for me, and that’s exactly what I need,” the 6-6, 320-pound Jenkins said Thursday after minicamp concluded. “So I’d be happy with it, because I just want to keep perfecting my craft.”

In reality, Jenkins said he plans to head to Dallas, spend time with his girlfriend and her family and continue to work out in preparation for his first NFL training camp.

“I’m actually excited to put on pads,” said Jenkins, who has worked only in shorts so far with the Bears. “It’s been however many months for me. I’ve been missing that sound, missing that feeling. And I’m very excited to get back out there.”

Bears coach Matt Nagy and offensive line coach Juan Castillo share that excitement. Jenkins has been pegged as a Week 1 rookie starter at left tackle since the Bears cut veteran Charles Leno three days after they traded up to take Jenkins 39th overall in the second round of the draft. Jenkins played with the second team behind veteran Elijah Wilkinson in OTA practices. But he played with the starters at left tackle next to guard Cody Whitehair in minicamp when Wilkinson moved to right tackle to replace the injured Germain Ifedi.

If it hasn’t already happened, it’s expected to be only a matter of time before Jenkins is with the starters permanently — if not to start training camp, then soon after.

“I think for Tev, being able to line up with the ones and see what that’s like being on the left side and getting to go up against some of these experienced vets and getting some communication with Cody [is good],” Nagy said.

“It’s hard because there are no pads, so [we tell] the defense you have to take three hard steps and pull up. There is no bull-rushing. You can’t lower your head. So it’s not really real, but they can at least get the burst and we can work their feet. Teven is doing a really good job of trying to get down the fundamentals of what coach Juan [Castillo] teaches, and put it together.”

With so much to learn, Jenkins’ head figures to be spinning in the first few days of camp, especially once the Bears practice in full pads.

“Right now … I’m trying my best to understand the pace of the game as we’re going against the defense and understanding how fast the changes from college to NFL, of course,” Jenkins said. “It’s all about getting in there with coach Castillo and keep working on my sets, working on my left and keep working on that ’til I’m fluid and being more comfortable in my stance.”

Like most rookies, It’s a matter of how quickly the game can slow down for him. But for Jenkins, it seems like a matter of when and not if. Asked if there was a moment when he knew he belonged here, he said there were several.

“There’s a lot of moments for me,” Jenkins said, “because we’ve been going since OTAs — some veteran guys were at OTAs. And when everybody got here for minicamp, I felt like I belonged, where I knew I’m exactly where I need to be.”

Note: Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols did not practice for the second consecutive day because of a toe injury. “I feel like he’s going to be fine [for training camp],” Nagy said.

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The repeal was passed overwhelmingly, 268-161. Forty-nine Republicans voted for the bill. Only one Democrat, Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, voted against it.

WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led House, with President Joe Biden’s backing, passed legislation Thursday to repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force in Iraq, a step that supporters said was necessary for Congress to reassert its constitutional duty to weigh in on matters of war. Detractors worried it would embolden militias or terrorist groups.

The repeal was passed overwhelmingly, 268-161. Forty-nine Republicans voted for the bill. Only one Democrat, Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, voted against it. In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., intends to bring the measure to the floor this year.

Supporters said repeal would not affect U.S. military operations around the world, but could prevent a president from relying on the 2002 authorization to conduct unrelated military actions. The White House says there are no ongoing military activities reliant solely upon that authorization.

The authorization was directed against the government of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, authorizing the “necessary and appropriate” use of force to “defend U.S. national security against the continuing threat posed by Iraq” and to “enforce all relevant” U.N. Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.

“Repeal is crucial because the executive branch has a history of stretching” the authorization’s legal authority, said Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “It has already been used as justification for military actions against entities that had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist dictatorship simply because such entities were operating in Iraq.”

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said he agreed the authorization was outdated, but he argued that Congress should not repeal it without also approving a replacement.

“We should not encourage any president to go it alone without Article I congressional authorization,” McCaul said.

The action follows years of debate over whether Congress has ceded too much of its war-making authority to the White House. Many lawmakers, particularly Democrats, say passage of the 2002 authorization was a mistake, and some Republicans agree the authority should be taken off the books. Some lawmakers say the 2001 resolution to fight terrorism, passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, should be reexamined as well.

As a senator in 2002, Biden voted for the resolution that President George W. Bush used to invade Iraq the following year. Biden was not considered a leading critic of that 2003 military operation at the time, despite his claims as a presidential candidate in 2020.

Biden faced considerable criticism for the vote during the Democratic primary campaign. He and his aides, including now-Secretary of State Tony Blinken, initially defended the vote by saying the Bush administration wanted more leverage against Hussein and that Biden hadn’t intended his vote as a blank check. Biden eventually called the resolution a mistake.

Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California, the bill’s sponsor, said that 87% of the current members of the House were not in Congress in 2002 and that the authorization for military force passed at that time bears no correlation to the threats the nation faces today. She also was the lone vote against the 2001 auhtorization following Sept. 11.

“To this day, our endless war continues costing trillions of dollars and thousands of lives in a war that goes way beyond any scope that Congress conceived or intended,” Lee said.

Schumer had said on Wednesday that “the Iraq War has been over for nearly a decade” and that ”the authorization passed in 2002 is no longer necessary in 2021.”

The White House said Biden is committed to working with Congress to update the authorization with a “narrow and specific framework appropriate to ensure that we can continue to protect Americans from terrorist threats.”

Schumer said he wanted to be clear that legislation terminating the use of force in Iraq does not mean the U.S. is abandoning the country and the shared fight against the Islamic State group. He said the measure would eliminate the possibility of a future administration “reaching back into the legal dustbin to use it as a justification for military adventurism.”

He cited the Washington-directed drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani in January 2020 as an example.

The Trump administration said Soleimani was plotting a series of attacks that endangered many American troops and officials across the Middle East. The national security adviser at the time, Robert O’Brien, told reporters that President Donald Trump exercised America’s right to self-defense and that the strike was a fully authorized action under the 2002 authorization to use military force.

“There is no good reason to allow this legal authority to persist in case another reckless commander in chief tries the same trick in the future,” Schumer said.

In the Senate, key lawmakers are working on a bill that would repeal not only the 2002 authorization, but also the 1991 authorization for use of force in Iraq, which remains on the books. The 1991 authorization gave President George H.W. Bush the authority to use force against Iraq to enforce a series of Security Council resolutions passed in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

The Senate and House would have to work out any differences in their bills and vote on a final product before it can go to Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

In the end, legislation terminating the 2002 authorization will need 60 votes in an evenly divided Senate to overcome procedural hurdles. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he opposes the effort to terminate the authorization.

“We used it to get Soleimani and there might be another Soleimani out there,” Inhofe said.

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Associated Press writer Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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State environmental officials are now testing water around the Chemtool plant fire to determine whether firefighting foam caused contamination. 

A private fire fighting company hired by the owner of a manufacturing plant that exploded near Rockford Monday initially sprayed the blaze with a harmful chemical foam that is now prompting water testing to check for contamination.

Following the explosion at the Chemtool plant in Rockton, the facility’s owner hired a private contractor to help more than 80 fire departments from Illinois and Wisconsin control the flames.

The problem, according to state and federal environmental officials, is that the private company, Louisiana-based US Fire Pump, sprayed a foam containing perfluorooctanoic acid, part of a class of chemicals known as PFAS. Nationally, there is a push to ban these chemicals for fear that they are harmful to humans, potentially causing organ damage and cancer. Nicknamed “forever chemicals,” they are believed to remain in the environment, animals and humans for long periods of time.

Now Illinois environmental officials are testing samples from the nearby Rock River and area groundwater to determine whether any “chemicals of concern” contaminated the sources. The area’s drinking water source is groundwater wells and the closest well to the fire is about 1.25 miles, state officials said.

US Fire Pump used PFAS-containing foam for about three hours on Tuesday, even though state and federal officials had warned against doing so, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Both state and federal environmental officials raised concerns to Chemtool on Monday about using the PFAS foam and asked that the company discuss it with the various state, local and federal officials who are on site near the disaster, EPA said.

On Tuesday, “upon realizing that pumping operations were beginning before that discussion had happened, the agencies requested that the operations be halted so containment controls could be reviewed,” the EPA said in a statement.

Rockton Fire Department Chief Kirk Wilson, who is leading the effort to put out the fire, ordered the foam spraying to be stopped while protections were put into place to try to prevent runoff of the chemical, the EPA said. Wilson couldn’t be reached for comment.

The company has since stopped using the foam with the PFAS, state and federal officials said.

The Illinois EPA, which is leading the water-testing effort, said it will share results as soon as they’re available.

While some states, such as California and New York, have been addressing PFAS concerns through restrictions or outright bans, national groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, have pushed for federal laws to protect public health.

“It is very disturbing to hear that PFAS foam was used despite the warnings of both federal EPA and Illinois EPA,” said Daniel Rosenberg, an NRDC senior attorney and director of Federal Toxics Policy. “This is exactly why we need federal laws to prevent more incidents of PFAS contamination.”

In a statement, Lubrizol, the company that owns the Chemtool plant, said it provided “all requested information” to government officials overseeing the response to the fire.

“We followed all notifications protocols throughout the process,” Lubrizol said in a statement.

A representative of US Fire Pump declined to comment and deferred questions to the Rockton Fire Department.

Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.

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