* Tribune | Ford workers walk out as UAW expands strike to Chicago Assembly Plant: ‘It’s our time’: The Chicago Ford plant has about 4,600 workers on three shifts making the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs, the automaker said Friday. In 2019, Ford spent $1 billion to transform the nearly century-old Torrence Avenue facility, which phased out production of the Taurus sedan to focus on building SUVs.

* SJ-R | Springfield to receive $100,000 in grants for police hiring: Springfield will get $102,523 from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to aid in the hiring of new Springfield Police Department officers and retention of current police employees. U.S. Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) of the 13th Congressional District announced the grant recipients Wednesday, with Springfield being one of six cities in her district to receive money. Departments in Champaign, Decatur, Alton, Belleville and Edwardsville also received funding.

* Sun-Times | Teachers will have ‘strong demands’ in contract talks — even with one of their own on other side of bargaining table: With the old contract due to expire next summer, Davis Gates has started “talking turkey” with her members about their priorities for any new deal. They include smaller class sizes; more bilingual support staff to serve the children of asylum seekers; building time into the elementary school day for teachers to collaborate; and more “sustainable community schools.”

* Tribune | What’s the impact on Illinois if the federal government shuts down?: “We are truly heading for the first-ever shutdown about nothing,” said Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank. Strain has started referring to the current GOP House-led impasse as “the ‘Seinfeld’ shutdown,” a reference to the popular sitcom widely known as “a show about nothing.” “The weirdest thing about it is that the Republicans don’t have any demands. What do they want? What is it that they’re going to shut the government down for? We simply don’t know.”

* WaPo | Amid GOP confusion, U.S. braces for ‘first-ever shutdown about nothing’ : House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s last-ditch plan to keep the federal government temporarily open collapsed on Friday as hard-right holdouts rejected the package, making a shutdown almost certain. McCarthy’s right-flank Republicans refused to support the bill despite its steep spending cuts of nearly 30% to many agencies and severe border security provisions, calling it insufficient.

* Daily Herald | DuPage County judge ousted over 2017 gun incident found guilty of aggravated assault: O’Shea, you may recall, has been in trouble with guns before. In 2017, while he was still on the bench, O’Shea was charged with reckless conduct after authorities said he fired a handgun in his Wheaton apartment.

* Crain’s | Walgreens eyes ex-Cigna executive for CEO: Walgreens Boots Alliance is considering former Cigna Group executive Tim Wentworth to be its next chief executive officer, according to people familiar with the matter. A final decision hasn’t been made and Wentworth may not wind up in the job, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information. Wentworth and a representative for Walgreens both declined to comment.

* Shaw Local | Troubled DeKalb County nursing home’s future again in state hands: It’s been 14 months since the DeKalb County Board decided to sell the DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center to a private buyer, but this week a unanimous decision by elected leaders stalled the sale yet again.

* Tribune | After no victim or witnesses found, COPA closes investigation of alleged sexual misconduct involving CPD officer, migrant: The investigation was opened in early July after a text message, circulated among police officers and other city employees, alleged that a 29-year-old CPD field training officer assigned to the Ogden District had engaged in a sexual relationship with a 16- or 17-year-old female migrant who was housed at the police station, 3315 W. Ogden Ave. The text message further claimed that the teen was impregnated by a CPD officer.

* Tribune | Migrant teens from Venezuela jumped after school in Rogers Park: A group of students from Venezuela were punched and kicked by local teens near Sullivan High School in Rogers Park Wednesday afternoon, said Ricky D’Gucci, an activist who spoke to the students after the altercation […] According to D’Gucci, the Venezuelan teens walk about 30 minutes to school every morning from a city-run shelter at a Super 8 motel on the Far North Side. He said the fight was likely race related, and that the perpetrators were older than the Venezuelans. “The only reason they got them was because they were Latinos,” he said. “They got pretty beat up.”

* Block Club Chicago | Chicago Public Schools Says $3.1 Billion For ‘Critical’ Building Repairs Needed: The $3.1 billion in costs identified as the most urgent work includes repairs to windows, roofs, masonry, and heating and cooling systems. Another $5.5 billion would go toward repairs in the next six to 10 years, according to the facilities plan. Beyond that, the district wants money to build labs “to support STEM education,” accommodations for students with disabilities, new auditoriums, new fields for sports, and classrooms “outfitted” for career and technical education — programming that [CEO Pedro Martinez] wants to expand, according to the plan.

* Pitchfork | Man Arrested and Charged in Tupac Shakur Murder Case in Surprise Breakthrough: Nevada police detained Duane Keith “Keefe D” Davis today (September 29), and a grand jury indicted him in the killing of Shakur, The Associated Press reports. Davis, who has long been known to investigators, has admitted in interviews and in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, that he was in the Cadillac with Shakur’s shooter. He is now the first person to be arrested in direct connection with the killing.

* Daily Herald | ‘It is pumpkin guts galore’: Jack O’Lantern World takes over Lake Zurich’s Paulus Park: “Not only do we have this huge conglomerate of jack-o’-lanterns, we have pumpkins which people took 30 hours on,” Starykowicz said. “Every one is hand-carved, it’s one-of-a-kind, you can’t go anywhere else and see another version of this.”

* Sun-Times | Clearer college financial aid offers promised by hundreds of colleges, including some in Illinois: Northern Illinois University, Chicago State University and Northeastern Illinois University have signed onto a new commitment to standardize financial aid offers so students can more easily compare costs and understand what they will owe after graduation. Other Illinois schools that have signed on include both campuses of Southern Illinois University, Oakton Community College, Waubonsee Community College and Rockford University.

* WMBD | Honor Flight co-founder and former Boys and Girls Club head found dead at West Bluff home: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Peoria’s board of directors and staff are profoundly saddened by the passing of their former CEO, Lesley R. Matuszak. During Lesley’s tenure at the Clubs, thousands of local under-served youth benefited from her tireless devotion to provide them with one-of-a-kind educational and life experiences. Her belief that every child deserves an equal opportunity to succeed in life has created a legacy that will continue long into the future.

* The Atlantic | Trump Didn’t Go to Michigan to Support Autoworkers, So why did so many news outlets report he did?: There’s an expression reporters use, that you’ve “reported yourself out of a story.” That is, you had a hunch or a tip about something, but when you checked the facts, the story didn’t pan out. Sometimes, though, reporters stick to the narrative they’ve decided on in advance, and they don’t let facts get in the way.

* Block Club | Dorm Room Picassos? UChicago Students Can Borrow Rare Pieces Through Art Loan Program: “Everybody doesn’t have exposure to art in their daily lives,” said Lauren Payne, the university’s associate registrar of art and public spaces. “Having time to live with a piece can change the way you experience it over time. It’s an invaluable experience for [students] to have an opportunity to live with these pieces.” Students receive the pieces for free and must hang the art in their dorm bedroom. They sign loan agreements requiring a certain level of care for the pieces, and Smart Museum staffers check on the works’ condition throughout the year, UChicago spokesperson Rachel Hatch said.

* SJ-R | ‘A beautiful woman inside and out:’ Wenonah Bish turns 111 and shares secrets to longevity: Bish’s daughter, Delores Hughes, who lives in Bolingbrook, turns 90 later this year. Wright joked that Bish also has said: “Never let a man control your life,” as her secret to longevity.