Judge to rule on Medicaid pay:

A federal judge says she’ll decide soon whether to order Illinois to pay health care bills for low-income and other groups even as the state heads into another fiscal year without a budget. Judge Joan Lefkow said during a Tuesday morning hearing in Chicago that she’d deliberate on the question of forcing Medicaid payments and post a ruling in the civil case later the same day. Lawyers for the state say any such order could make it even harder to grapple with a backlog of unpaid bills of more than $14 billion and rising. But advocates for low-income families and others who rely on Medicaid say an order would help clarify that payments to health care providers should be as high or a higher priority than other payments, including state salaries.

Humane society offers reward:

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for killing six coyote puppies. Cook County Forest Preserves Communications Director Lambrini Lukidis says the killing of the coyotes was discovered May 11. That’s when a fisherman noticed a bag floating in a Spring Lake Forest Preserve pond near Barrington. The man pulled the bag ashore and found seven puppies inside. Humane Society Illinois state director Marc Ayers is calling the drownings callous. On top of the $5,000 reward offered by the Humane Society, a donor from Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in Barrington added $1,000. Flint Creek Wildlife is caring for one coyote puppy who survived the attempt to kill it. The animal suffered a broken leg and displaced hip.

Indiana-Chicago train derails:

Normal service resumed on the South Shore Line hours after the derailment of a commuter train in downtown Chicago halted service between the city and South Bend, Indiana. The train, which originated in Dune Park, Indiana, derailed Tuesday near the final stop of Millennium Station in the Loop business district. The train was traveling at a slow speed when the derailment occurred. Authorities say two people suffered minor injuries. The train appeared to derail in an area where trains switch tracks as they enter the station at Randolph Street. Officials said 18 cars were trapped by the derailment. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District said maintenance crews will work through the night to clear the derailment. The cause of the derailment is under investigation.