This Month's Latest Tech News in Joliet, IL - Sunday August 31st 2025 Edition

Weekly commentary: AI momentum in Joliet and Illinois schools - Illinois lawmakers have pushed K–12 AI from debate to direction: Senate Bill 1920 overview and implications for Illinois schools requires the Illinois State Board of Education to build practical, district- and classroom-level guidance on AI use, from basic concepts to bias, privacy and risk; coverage of those classroom examples is outlined in reporting on the new law and the ISBE's role.

The bill's timeline even asks ISBE to publish guidance by July 1, 2026 (Senate Bill 1920 bill details and timeline), and local coverage highlights what those district resources will include (ISBE statewide guidance overview for AI in K–12).

The result: clear policy momentum, but also a training gap - so Joliet schools should pair policy readiness with practical upskilling to turn guidance into classroom impact.

Bootcamp	Length	Early-bird Cost	Register
AI Essentials for Work	15 Weeks	$3,582	AI Essentials for Work - syllabus and registration

“We found more than 90% of teachers find that AI is something they believe will make a great difference for students in the future, but less than half of them were getting training from their districts or schools on how to use it safely or well.” - Bill Curtin, Teach Plus Illinois Policy Director

Headline 1: Illinois Senate Bill 1920 advances - statewide K–12 AI guidance required - SB1920 now charges the Illinois State Board of Education with producing practical, district- and classroom-level guidance that explains basic AI concepts and outlines how schools can use and evaluate AI tools for bias, privacy, transparency and risk; see WAND's coverage for the scope and timeline of the guidance (WANDTV coverage of Illinois K–12 AI guidance).

The bill passed the House 74–34 after unanimous Senate support and even asks ISBE to encourage districts to gather ASL teaching resources by July 2026, pairing accessibility with technology policy.

For Joliet districts, that vote means concrete rules are coming - and the practical work (teacher training, data-privacy routines, evaluation rubrics) should start now; the bill text and official status are available on the legislature's tracker for planners mapping next steps (Illinois General Assembly SB1920 bill status and text).

“We found more than 90% of teachers find that AI is something they believe will make a great difference for students in the future, but less than half of them were getting training from their districts or schools on how to use it safely or well.” - Bill Curtin, Teach Plus Illinois Policy Director

Headline 2: DuPage ROE's 2nd Annual AI in Schools conference highlights practical classroom adoption - the event underscored a clear theme from statewide reporting and practitioner toolkits: teachers want hands-on, classroom-ready guidance, not just policy.

Sessions mirrored the kinds of professional learning and toolkits listed by the LTC's K–12 AI resources (workshops, prompt-writing guides, and AI lesson libraries) and fed directly into the same priorities outlined as SB1920 moves toward statewide guidance (LTC Illinois AI toolkit and events, WANDTV coverage of the new law requiring statewide AI guidance in K–12).

Practical takeaways - rubrics for bias and privacy checks, sample lesson prompts, and low-cost PD models - gave superintendents and classroom teachers immediate steps to try next term, a vital “so what?” given surveys showing strong teacher demand for training ahead of full ISBE guidance.

Event	Date	Focus
AI in Our Classroom and Lives	Aug 13	Explore AI's impact on education and students' futures
Level Up your AI Game	Aug 14	Hands-on with AI tools in classrooms
Google Gemini in Classroom	Aug 28	Using Google Gemini for lesson planning

“The rapidly expanding presence of artificial intelligence in schools means that teachers have to make decisions about AI in their classrooms every day, whether they're AI experts or not. Teachers need guidelines now, and our teacher leaders were able to call attention to this issue and develop legislation that both addresses the possibilities AI offers for innovative teaching and learning, as well as the need to ensure this learning benefits all students.” - Teach Plus Illinois

Headline 3: SIU Student Speakers Forum spotlights AI and humanity debate - Southern Illinois University's Student Speakers Forum on April 10 put students squarely into the conversation about how AI intersects with human values and society, framing technical questions as ethical and civic ones (SIU Student Speakers Forum on April 10 to focus on AI and humanity); the forum dovetailed with SIU's broader lineup of events including a free public workshop on AI, ethics, and society at SIU and a College of Arts and Media symposium that featured fast-paced, three-minute flash talks showcasing faculty, staff, and student AI projects (SIU College of Arts and Media AI symposium and flash talks); together these events amplify student and community voices in the region's unfolding debate over AI's human impact, a timely complement to policy and classroom discussions across Illinois.

Headline 4: Indeed and Glassdoor cut 1,300 jobs as AI reshapes recruiting - Recruit Holdings this summer announced a consolidation that will eliminate roughly 1,300 roles as Glassdoor operations fold into Indeed, a move framed as part of an aggressive shift toward AI-driven hiring tools rather than a short-term cost cut (CBS News report on Indeed and Glassdoor layoffs).

The cuts hit R&D, people and sustainability teams hardest and amount to about 6% of Recruit's HR-tech workforce, underscoring how automation is replacing routine hiring work while companies redirect payroll into AI systems; industry reporting and analysis note this follows prior workforce reductions and signals a longer-term reallocation of human roles to AI oversight and complex judgment tasks (Final Round AI analysis of the Indeed–Glassdoor restructuring).

For Joliet-area tech workers and school-to-career programs, the practical takeaway is clear: skills that manage, evaluate and partner with AI will matter far more than roles centered on repetitive data or service tasks, and local workforce strategies should accelerate AI literacy and human-centered skills training.

Item	Detail
Jobs eliminated	~1,300
Parent company	Recruit Holdings
Primary areas affected	R&D, people & sustainability, operations

“Hiring is still too slow and too hard, and we're using AI to make it simpler and more personal for both job seekers and employers.” - Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba, Recruit Holdings CEO

Headline 5: GP Transco wins CCJ Innovator of the Month for AI logistics tools - Joliet-based GP Transco earned CCJ recognition after deploying two in‑house AI systems that squeeze waste out of planning and boost both driver and customer satisfaction: the HOS ETA/ETE Simulator predicts arrival windows using HOS, location, weather and traffic data, while the Loads and Drivers Recommender matches drivers to loads for fleet‑wide profitability and minimal downtime; CCJ's profile shows the tools recalibrate in real time and let planners handle dramatic growth (the company says it could add 100 drivers “tomorrow” with the same staff) and cut human errors in scheduling (CCJ Innovators: GP Transco's AI tools improve planning and profitability).

Those efficiency gains sit alongside other tech investments - including ESMART speed‑management rollout in Joliet - that underscore why carriers leaning into AI are delivering more on‑time loads and happier drivers (GP Transco equips fleet with ESMART technology press release).

Item	Detail
Tractors	520
Company drivers	500
Owner‑operators	20
On‑time delivery	99%

“The biggest impact right now we're seeing is that my planning team has more time on their hands… loads are being pre-planned pretty well by the tool.”

Headline 6: Ranpak and Walmart to deploy AutoFill AI packaging - Joliet among sites - Walmart will expand use of Ranpak's AutoFill™ systems across five Next Generation Fulfillment Centers, bringing AI-powered machine vision and the DecisionTower™ control to centers including Joliet, IL, McCordsville, IN (already live), Greencastle, PA, Lancaster, TX and Stockton, CA; the tech measures package contents, dispenses just enough recyclable paper filler, then closes and seals the box to cut waste and speed throughput, a move detailed in Ranpak's announcement and industry coverage (see the Ranpak press release on the AutoFill and Walmart collaboration Ranpak press release on AutoFill and Walmart collaboration and Supply Chain Dive's reporting on the rollout).

Analysts and company materials say pairing AutoFill with DecisionTower can shrink packaging waste by roughly 50% and lift throughput by about 30%, a practical win for Joliet's fulfillment workforce and for local sustainability goals.

Fulfillment Center	State
McCordsville	Indiana (existing)
Greencastle	Pennsylvania
Joliet	Illinois
Lancaster	Texas
Stockton	California

“Our collaboration with Walmart represents a significant milestone for Ranpak as we continue to scale our automation capabilities to meet the needs of the world's largest retailers.” - Omar Asali, Ranpak Chairman and CEO

Headline 7: Federal debate over preempting state AI regulation raises stakes for Illinois policy - a new federal playbook is tilting toward a pro‑innovation, deregulatory stance that stops short of outright preemption but uses powerful incentives to shape state action: the White House's AI Action Plan and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act left a proposed 10‑year moratorium off the books, yet signal that “AI‑related Federal funding” could be steered away from “states with burdensome AI regulations” (see Bracewell's policy update and Linklaters' analysis of the AI Action Plan).

Congress briefly flirted with a moratorium and budget riders that would condition $500M in modernization funds on regulatory alignment, so Illinois' SB1920 and other state efforts now sit in a practical tug‑of‑war - districts could gain clear federal support for infrastructure and workforce programs if state rules align with federal priorities, or face funding friction if they don't.

The upshot for Joliet and Illinois education planners: federal incentives are becoming the policy lever that will help determine whether statewide AI guidance is a launchpad for resources or a compliance maze.

Date	Event
Oct 30, 2023	EO 14110 issued ("Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI")
Jan 23, 2025	EO 14179 issued ("Removing Barriers to American Leadership in AI")
Jul 4, 2025	OBBBA signed (excluded 10‑year moratorium)
Jul 23, 2025	White House publishes the AI Action Plan

“AI-related Federal funding” should not be directed toward “states with burdensome AI regulations that waste these funds.” - AI Action Plan (as summarized by Bracewell)

Headline 8: Teacher sentiment vs. training gap - Teach Plus findings underscore urgency - Illinois teachers are eager to use AI as a classroom ally but are clear that policy without practice won't move the needle: a Teach Plus brief based on a survey of more than 200 Illinois educators flags an “urgent need for clear guidelines,” strong concerns about student safety and equity, and a persistent training gap that leaves teachers making daily, sometimes minute-by-minute, decisions about AI without consistent support (Teach Plus brief on Illinois teachers and AI guidance).

Those teacher-led recommendations helped shape state legislation that Teach Plus later praised as a first step toward classroom-ready guidance (Teach Plus statement on Illinois AI bill passage and guidance), but the practical imperative is clear for Joliet districts: pair the new guidance with rapid, hands-on PD so policy becomes practice rather than paperwork.

Finding	Detail
Survey size	More than 200 Illinois educators
Use of AI	About a third of teachers nationwide report using AI in classrooms
Top needs	Clear guidelines, teacher training, student safety and equity
Policy action	Teach Plus recommendations fed into state legislation

“The rapidly expanding presence of artificial intelligence in schools means that teachers have to make decisions about AI in their classrooms every day, whether they're AI experts or not. Teachers need guidelines now, and our teacher leaders were able to call attention to this issue and develop legislation that both addresses the possibilities AI offers for innovative teaching and learning, as well as the need to ensure this learning benefits all students.” - Bill Curtin, Teach Plus Illinois Policy Director

Headline 9: Regional focus on AI literacy, ethics and inclusion in school programming - suburban districts from Orland Park to Oak Lawn are moving past bans and toward structured, classroom-ready AI learning that pairs hands-on pilots with clear ethical guardrails: Bremen District 228 is rolling out tools like DFFIT.me and a planned Magic School pilot (complete with AI personas students can “chat” with), while Oak Lawn and District 230 emphasize mandatory staff training, privacy agreements, and teacher-led discretion on permitted uses; regional work mirrors national moves to formalize pilots and curricula, from state-level trials cataloged by the Education Commission of the States to nonprofit partnerships building full-year modules (aiEDU + Quill's 21 instructional modules) and free K–12 pathways like Skill Struck's 2025–26 AI literacy offering - practical options that make equity and ethics central, not optional.

The practical takeaway for Joliet-area schools: prioritize scalable PD, age-appropriate curricula, and shared pilot data so inclusion doesn't get left behind as tools scale; read local reporting on district plans and classroom examples for specifics (Chicago Tribune / Daily Southtown coverage of suburban AI programs and district plans), survey-level context on pilots and risks (Education Commission of the States analysis of K–12 AI pilot programs and risks), and the aiEDU + Quill curriculum rollout that converts grant-funded modules into classroom-ready lessons (aiEDU and Quill full-year AI literacy curriculum announcement and rollout details).

Resource	Key feature
Skill Struck (2025–26)	Free, age-appropriate K–12 AI literacy courses
aiEDU + Quill	21 instructional modules for grades 8–12 (full-year curriculum)
ECS report	State pilots in Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa and others - practical PD + tool trials

“Because it's been embedded in so many programs now, we had to come up with a clause in our policy that actually covers that. I mean, AI is just everywhere.” - Marcus Wargin, assistant principal at Oak Lawn Community High School

Headline 10: Coordinated momentum across K–12, higher ed, and industry signals lasting change - momentum is no longer scattered experiments but a policy-and-funding handshake: SB1920 moves K–12 from debate to deliverable by directing ISBE to post statewide AI educational materials (deadline: July 1, 2026), and the broader legislative sweep captured in the Illinois SB1920 bill status and timeline sits alongside the Illinois association's wrap-up of the 2025 session that ties budget lines, CTE investment, and higher‑ed pathways into one playbook; see the IASB 2025 End of Session Report on education funding, CTE, and direct‑admit pathways for how evidence‑based funding, a $59.3M CTE allocation, and direct‑admit program language are converging.

The result is practical: districts, colleges and employer partners now have clear policy levers and funding signals to build aligned PD, credit pathways and workforce pipelines - turning abstract AI debate into a summer‑2026 to‑do list that will shape classroom practice and local hiring for years to come.

Sector	Signal
K–12	SB1920 requires ISBE guidance and materials by July 1, 2026
Higher ed	Direct‑admit pathways and alignment (listed in IASB session highlights)
Workforce / CTE	CTE funding boost ($59.3M) and budget support for career programs

“We found more than 90% of teachers find that AI is something they believe will make a great difference for students in the future, but less than half of them were getting training from their districts or schools on how to use it safely or well.”

Conclusion: What Joliet should watch and do next - Joliet districts should treat the coming ISBE materials as a deadline and a launchpad: track the statewide guidance and ASL‑resource timeline reported by WANDTV (ISBE guidance and ASL resources by July 2026), accelerate hands‑on professional learning that turns policy into practice, and lean on educator voices that helped write the law (see Teach Plus Illinois summary and teacher recommendations).

Use ISBE Educational Technology resources and FY25 survey to claim grants, pilot funding, and STRLP loans for devices and PD. Practically: start small pilots this fall, document outcomes, and supply teachers with prompt-writing toolkits and rubrics so the 90% of educators who expect AI to matter aren't left making minute‑by‑minute decisions without support.

Bootcamp	Length	Early-bird Cost	Register
AI Essentials for Work	15 Weeks	$3,582	AI Essentials for Work - syllabus & registration

“The rapidly expanding presence of artificial intelligence in schools means that teachers have to make decisions about AI in their classrooms every day, whether they're AI experts or not. Teachers need guidelines now, and our teacher leaders were able to call attention to this issue and develop legislation that both addresses the possibilities AI offers for innovative teaching and learning, as well as the need to ensure this learning benefits all students.” - Bill Curtin, Teach Plus Illinois Policy Director