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The first time I heard about newsprint tariffs was in early December of last year when Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Josh Sharp and I were in Washington for a meeting of Newspaper Association Managers. We came back to Illinois thinking, “How can we influence or weigh in on a federal issue that would have a devastating effect on our member newspapers?”
Granted, we’re no stranger to the legislative dealings in Springfield and are effective at marshaling our members to the cause; but Washington, that’s a whole new ballgame. We spent most of the month of December trying to understand trade laws and how the tariff process would play out. It’s a complicated issue that involved two separate entities – the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission.
It was Commerce’s responsibility to determine if tariffs were warranted and to establish tariff rates. Then it was the ITC’s singular task to determine if harm was done to U.S. newsprint producers. Both government entities had to agree on tariffs for them to become permanent.
In January, Commerce imposed countervailing duties, acknowledging that the government does subsidize the production of Canadian newsprint. Then in March, Commerce imposed anti-dumping duties, citing that Canadian newsprint is sold below its fair value.
In March, IPF Board of Directors President Jerry Reppert (The Gazette-Democrat, Anna), John Galer (The Journal-News, Hillsboro), Scott Stone (Daily Herald, Arlington Heights), Sue Walker (Hyde Park Herald, Chicago), Josh and I headed to the Hill to explain our position to legislators and their staffs. We were met with tremendous support. In early April, I was able to meet with the editorial board at Sauk Valley Media along with Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., to enlist her support. Bustos, a longtime reporter with the Quad-City Times, agreed to lead the effort to get all members of the House to sign a joint letter to the ITC opposing tariffs. It was ideal, as her legislative director has considerable experience in trade issues, specifically with the ITC process.
Admittedly, this was a tall order to get all 18 members from both sides of the aisle of the House to sign. Many of our members met, called and emailed their House members urging them to sign.
In June a joint letter signed by all 18 members of the Illinois delegation was sent to the International Trade Commission.
Prior to the joint letter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross opposing the tariffs. Thanks to Sue, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., authored her own letter to the ITC in opposition of tariffs. Additionally, Sue, with the help of Dan Haley (Wednesday Journal, Oak Park), was able to get Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., to personally testify before the ITC in July.
During the course of this battle, our newspapers responded with literally hundreds of editorials about the harmful impact of tariffs.
Simultaneously, legislation was introduced both in the Senate and House that would have called for a suspension of tariffs until Commerce could study the impact, not only on newsprint producers, but newspapers as well. Typically trade laws don’t look at the downstream impact of tariffs, only the impact on producers.
I have to admit that I was not overly optimistic the ITC would rule in our favor, and was ecstatic when I received an email that simply said – “we won.” All five ITC commissioners voted in our favor citing that there was no harm done to U.S. newsprint producers.
What happens next is a little unclear, but we know that tariffs will still be collected until the ITC sends its final report to the Department of Commerce on Sept. 24. At that time, Commerce will instruct Customs to cease the collection of duties. How long it will take for Customs to refund the collected duties to the mills is unclear, and equally unclear is what that means for us.
It’s uncertain if there will be any rebates, but it’s best to take up that topic with your newsprint supplier or printer. This could present some confusion in the short term, but realistically, it’s a nice problem to have.
This has been an exhaustive process that has proven invaluable as there were many lessons learned:
Our brand is still valuable, as witnessed by the support of every member of our Congressional delegation. They understand the vital role newspapers play in the communities we serve.
We’ve learned how to connect with our federally elected officials. We need to make sure we maintain those relationships, much like we encourage our newspapers to do with their locally elected officials.
Be thankful – give credit to those members of our Illinois Congressional delegation. They need to know that we appreciate their support. There were 150 members of Congress that officially opposed the tariffs, 20 of them from Illinois. Illinois led the way with the support of our entire Congressional delegation – Colorado was another state that had the complete support of its much smaller delegation.
We won’t know the ITC’s reasoning behind the ruling until the final report is released later this month, but I have to believe the support from Congress played a huge role.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2026 Media Contact Information: Cartwheel Emily Paisner (888) 500-2067 emily.paisner@cartwheelcare.org
$1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will help Cartwheel scale access to care in rural and underserved communities through 2028
CHICAGO — August 26, 2026 — Cartwheel Care, a telehealth mental health provider for K-12 schools, today announced plans to expand access to care for up to 100,000 students across Illinois, supported by a $1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The additional funding builds on an existing partnership between Cartwheel and BCBSIL, following a year of strong engagement and clinical outcomes. Cartwheel currently serves 40 Illinois school districts, and the grant will help expand services further into rural and underserved communities across the state through 2028. Mental health needs among Illinois students remain high. According to data from Lurie Children’s Hospital, approximately 50% of Illinois youth (ages 2–17) have experienced worsening mental health symptoms in recent years. At the same time, access to care has not kept pace: more than 80 of Illinois’ 102 counties have no practicing child psychiatrist, and the shortage is most acute in rural areas, where families often wait months for an appointment or travel significant distances for care. Cartwheel’s telehealth model is designed to remove the access barriers rural families face, like long waitlists and the need to travel to see a provider. By partnering with schools, Cartwheel provides licensed, Illinois-based clinicians with no waitlist, accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid, and reaches kids and families where they already are, without requiring them to find or travel to an outside provider. “Every student experiences mental health challenges differently, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them,” said Dr. Juliana Chen, chief medical officer at Cartwheel. “Our goal is to meet students and families where they are, with practical support that helps them build skills, strengthen relationships, and feel more confident navigating challenges at school and at home. BCBSIL’s support is what allows us to bring that care to more Illinois communities.” “Supporting the health and well-being of Illinois youth is critical to building stronger communities,” said Brian Snell, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “The results we’ve seen through our partnership with Cartwheel demonstrate the impact that timely, accessible mental health services can have for students and families. This investment will help bring those services to even more communities across our state.” To date, four Illinois districts have received Cartwheel’s services through this grant: Steger SD 194 in Cook County and Will County, Troy CCSD 30-C in Will County, Mattoon CUSD 2 in Coles County, and Wolf Branch SD #113 in St. Clair County. In the first year of the program, more than 200 students were referred for care and completed more than 1,000 telehealth sessions. Appointments were scheduled in the same week with no waitlist. Sixty-eight percent of students served were covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Overall, 73% of students showed meaningful improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms on standard clinical screeners (GAD-7/PHQ-9). Additional districts where Cartwheel services are launching this fall include Litchfield CUSD #12, Panhandle CUSD #2, Leyden High School District #212, and Regional Office of Education #40. With the support of this grant, Cartwheel expects to expand into another 30 to 50 school districts, bringing access to care to a total of 100,000 students across Illinois. “Before this partnership, getting a student connected to care could take months,” said Jeffrey Peterson, director of student services & records at Troy CCSD 30-C. “Now our counselors can refer a student, know they’ll be seen within days, and are seeing real improvements as a result.” Through the grant, Cartwheel provides individual and family therapy, parent guidance, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and specialized care programs for challenges like school avoidance, social media use, and intense emotions and behavior challenges. As reported in Illinois Policy, in 2025 about 25% of Illinois students missed at least 10% of the school year and this was more severe among low-income students, with 35.1% in that group chronically absent. Cartwheel’s school avoidance program delivers evidence-based care designed specifically for students struggling with school avoidance. In partnership with Cartwheel, Peoria Public Schools saw a 62% reduction in absences per student, along with decreases in suspensions and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Illinois school districts that want to learn more about this opportunity for the upcoming school year should visit: www.cartwheel.org/illinois. About Cartwheel Cartwheel is the nation’s largest and most trusted telehealth provider for K-12 schools, students, and families. Cartwheel partners with 350 school districts across 15 states to deliver comprehensive mental health services to students, families, and school staff. Founded in 2022 by educators and clinicians, Cartwheel combines evidence-based clinical care with technology to ensure every child has access to high-quality mental health support. Cartwheel accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid and provides care at no cost to uninsured families. For more information visit: www.cartwheel.org. About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest health insurer in Illinois, serving nine million members and operating in all 102 Illinois counties. BCBSIL is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Learn more at bcbsil.com and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 24, 2026 Media Contact Information: Mather Institute Cindy Droog, president, Sabo PR (616) 717-8654 cindy@sabo-pr.com
Free online tool by Mather Institute supports local planning, partnership and investments
EVANSTON, Illinois – Chicago has a new tool to help understand where neighborhood conditions support social wellness among older adults – and where thoughtful investment and partnership may expand opportunities. Mather Institute launched a first-of-its-kind free Social Wellness Map, which scores the 77 community areas in Chicago on social wellness – a measure of feeling connected with others and with a community – for adults 55 and better. Previous research shows strong social ties are one of the most important predictors of a happy and long life, and that neighborhoods and communities shape how people interact, support one another and build shared identity. Mather Institute developed the map in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. Designed as a planning and advocacy resource, the interactive map can help policymakers, community organizations, funders, planners and service providers explore local patterns, identify assets and consider where new investments may have the greatest benefit for older adults. “Social wellness is a crucial, yet often overlooked, part of healthy aging,” said Cate O’Brien, MPH, Ph.D., chief transformation officer at Mather Institute. “Because every community contains diverse histories, people and experiences, the map is intended to inform – not replace – local knowledge. The most useful next step is conversation. When organizations bring this data together with resident voices, they can better understand what is already working and what could be most beneficial to older adults and their communities.” The map is based on a new survey of more than 4,000 Chicago residents age 55 and better, combined with public data on community conditions, including walkability, economic factors and access to gathering places such as libraries, churches and community centers. Factors such as crime, lack of local businesses and poverty can hinder social wellness, but don’t tell the whole story. Users can view a side-by-side comparison of communities to explore how social wellness relates to health, happiness, income and other factors. Key findings include:
“Community leaders often have deep local knowledge, but need data to support the case for programs, funding and partnerships,” said Jennifer L. Smith, Ph.D., vice president of Mather Institute. “The Social Wellness Map offers another lens for understanding older adults’ experiences and for turning local insight into action.” High social wellness scores were not confined to one part of Chicago or to its wealthiest areas, suggesting that other factors such as neighborhood identity, belonging and longstanding social ties are also important to connection. Chatham emerged as a notable example, with a social wellness score of 8.14 out of 10, illustrating social wellness reflects aspects of community life beyond economic and safety indicators alone. Beverly received the highest community connectability score: 100 out of 100. Beverly is notable for its low crime rates, a strong family culture and several longstanding community gathering places. Jefferson Park stood out for having community conditions that support connection such as accessible transit, retail activity and established cultural gathering places. The map is free to use and does not require user registration. It can be explored at: https://www.matherinstitute.com/social-wellness-map/
About Mather and Mather Institute
Based in Evanston, Illinois, Mather is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1941 that is dedicated to a vision of changing the way society views aging. Mather creates Ways to Age Well℠ through programs, places and residences for today’s older adults. These include developing and operating communities that support older adults in pursuing wellness and fulfillment; sparking creativity and connections for older adults in Chicagoland and beyond; and through Mather Institute, conducting research and incubating innovation to help all live and age well.
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