* Here’s the roundup…

* WBEZ | Outside conservative groups back candidates as school board races become ideological battlegrounds: Their plan to raise scores, the candidates said, is to scrutinize what is taught in schools. They contend that certain lessons, such as Illinois’ social-emotional learning and sex ed standards, are based on harmful ideologies and are distracting students from academics.

* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker discloses plan for troubled downstate mental health center that would allow more than half of its residents to move: Pritzker’s plan includes “repurposing” the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna over a three-year period in partnership with the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, and “expanding” support for residents and their families “to pursue opportunities for community-based living while continuing to invest in provider capacity.”

* Center Square | Pritzker acknowledges some changes at troubled facility haven’t worked: “As we made changes, some of them were ineffective, we have changed them, we have moved them, we added more regulation or oversight,” Pritzker said. “We’re at a point today where it’s clear all of those things weren’t working to the degree that we wanted them to.”

* The Southern | SIU School of Medicine to lead Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center: The new center, which will be housed at the School of Medicine’s Springfield campus, was created in partnership with the Jane Adams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Department of Human Services.

* Center Square | Pritzker says it’s ‘ridiculous’ to expect justices to recuse themselves after $2M donations: “If you’re suggesting that the fact that I gave money to let’s say the Democratic Party or the committees that supported candidates means that everybody who’s received any money has to recuse themselves from anything to do with the state of Illinois, that’s ridiculous,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event in Springfield. “And I’ve certainly never asked anybody to vote a certain way or decide on a case a certain way. I would never do that. I never have and I never will.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois Supreme Court grants expedited appeal in assault weapons ban case: In both cases, Raoul filed motions for an expedited hearing schedule. But on Tuesday, the court chose to take only one, accepting the Caulkins case and denying the motion in the Accuracy Firearms case.

* Sun-Times | Bid to block Illinois’ new assault weapons ban now before federal appeals court: Bevis’ lawsuit is one of several challenges filed in state and federal courts since Pritzker signed the law. Four federal challenges have been consolidated in southern Illinois’ federal court, where state lawyers recently argued the weapons restricted by the new law aren’t commonly used for self-defense.

* Tribune | At first debate of mayoral runoff, Johnson attacks Vallas’ record as rival tries to stay above the fray: Over the course of an hour, Johnson repeatedly accused Vallas of wanting to raise property taxes, enacting policies in the 1990s that cause lasting harm to the city and school district’s financial position, and working with Republicans to damage the pension system. Johnson also said Vallas doesn’t want to teach Black history and claimed he does not support women’s abortion rights.

* Sun-Times | Johnson casts Vallas as ally of ‘right-wing extremists’ — but Vallas dubs attacks ‘nonsense, again’: Both mayoral hopefuls accused each other of trying to, as Paul Vallas put it, ‘make race the issue’ in the campaign between Black and white candidates where the African-American vote is likely to be decisive.

* Tribune | Two former Cook County prosecutors hit with charges in Burge-connected Jackie Wilson case: Two former Cook County prosecutors have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of perjury and official misconduct in connection with a complicated, decades-old case of a man who alleged torture after he was accused in the killing of two cops in 1982, according to a special prosecutor who was assigned to investigate the matter.

* Northwest Herald | Union solidarity bypassed for mayoral runoff candidates: That leads to the second thing worth noting: this election is a perfect example of the rift between the two most powerful labor unions – teachers and cops – while shedding light on how that schism resonates throughout the political and commentary spectrum.

* Lake County News-Sun | Volkswagen offering free emergency assistance after delay in giving authorities GPS location of stolen car carrying toddler: Volkswagen said the refusal to provide police information represented a “serious breach” of the way Car-Net is supposed to operate. This week the company said in response to the incident, it would offer Car-Net emergency services for most 2020-2023 Car-Net equipped models free for a five-year period.

* WaPo | California suspends $54M Walgreens contract over abortion pills policy: “California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement. Noting that the state has one of the largest economies in the world, he added that “we will leverage our market power to defend the right to choose.”

* Tribune | UIC students plan to protest far-right speakers Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens at Thursday event: “Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens’ past use of hate speech and discriminatory language against marginalized groups indicates that these figures are in search of furthering divisions and ‘triggering’ people rather than engaging in meaningful discussion,” said a member of UIC Against Hatred who asked to remain anonymous. “The main goal of our rally is to create a space for UIC students to feel free to express their concerns regarding the TPUSA event, the university’s failure to act, and the need for more solidarity and community among students.”