* WBBM Radio…

Executives at Bally’s say they have gotten approval from regulators to open their temporary casino at the old Medinah Temple in River North.

The doors will open for the first time at 8 a.m. Saturday, company officials said in a news release issued Friday. Casino employees had gone through a dry run of the operation earlier this week, under the eye of the Illinois Gaming Board.

* Bailey has Don Jr. and Mike Bost has this…

We all know that Nancy Pelosi’s sham impeachments of President Donald Trump were partisan and ridiculous - that’s why I’m taking concrete action to reverse those impeachments and expunge them from the record. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/jcaOvwnJiM

— Mike Bost (@BostForCongress) September 8, 2023

Not sure he can do that.

* One of the architects of the SAFE-T Act…

I am incredibly grateful and honored to have been chosen by my esteemed colleagues as the next House Chair of the…

Posted by State Representative Justin Slaughter on Tuesday, September 5, 2023

* A bit of trolling by Leader Curran…

Senate Republican Leader John Curran invites CTU President to join SGOP in advocating for Invest in Kids

Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) released the following statement in response to Chicago Teacher’s Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ preference for private school educational opportunities.

“The Illinois Senate Republicans have been steadfast in our fight to continue the Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program that is funded through private donations and allows lower income parents to make the best educational choices for their children. The recent stories regarding school choice opponent and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ own decision for her children’s education highlight the hypocrisy in the opposition to extending the Invest in Kids Program. Ms. Gates has every right to make that choice, and hopefully now that her decision is public, she will join our fight to allow the same opportunities for lower income, less connected families as well.”

* It’s petition season!…

From sunrise to sunset, we’ll see you at your doors! #Chicago pic.twitter.com/wPdZHxjBiM

— Hoan Huynh (Hahn Win) (@HoanDHuynh) September 7, 2023

Almost looks like a threat /s

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Crain’s | Gotion unveils ambitious plan for Manteno battery plant: Speed was a crucial factor in the company’s decision to set up shop in Manteno, state and local officials involved in the $2 billion project said. Gotion is building a new battery-components factory north of Grand Rapids, Mich., which was announced last year, from the ground up.

* Fox Chicago | New $2B electric vehicle battery factory coming to Manteno: The plant, which is expected to create 2,600 jobs, is slated to begin production of electric vehicle lithium batteries in 2024.

* Center Square | Illinois pension officials warn legislators of compounding problems: Illinois House Personnel and Pensions Committee members met for the fourth time with state pension officials this week to discuss Tier 2 pensions, including for those workers with 96 consecutive months of service out of the past 10 years.

* Tribune | After CPS violated state law over physical restraint, district says it’s met training mandates. Parents and experts say more needs to be done.: By the first day of school last month, the district announced its “full compliance” with PRTO training requirements, meeting the minimum of two trained staff members per district-managed school. […] Yet at least two ISBE investigations of improper physical restraint of CPS students remain ongoing — involving an April supine restraint and an unspecified incident at an elementary school. And, with additional corrective actions mandated by the state agency, addressing the use of restraint in CPS will require more than training.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson discusses moving migrants from police stations to base camps: The mayor said he will “move with expediency” to transition asylum-seekers into “more suitable” base camps as migrants wait for spots in city-run shelters. As of a week ago, 1,576 migrants were living in Chicago police stations and another 418 were sleeping inside O’Hare International Airport, according to city data.

* Block Club Chicago | Alderman Launches Migrant Data Portal, Improving Transparency On Care For New Arrivals: The website will provide weekly updates on the number of migrants in the city, new arrivals, shelter locations and other data, as well as efforts by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration and city departments to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis, Vasquez said. The data includes how many migrants are staying in each shelter, in police stations and other locations.

* NYT | G.O.P. Gets the Democratic Border Crisis It Wanted: The Federal Emergency Management Agency in June allocated huge “shelter and service” grants to cities and states unused to such attention — $105 million to New York City, $10.6 million for Chicago, $19 million to Illinois, more than $5 million to Washington. Other programs at the Department of Human Services boosted the total federal money to New York to $140 million, and $45 million for Chicago. Those numbers, however, hardly meet the need: Chicago and Illinois alone have allocated about $200 million on migrant care in the city this year.

* Sun-Times | How other cities are responding to migrant crisis: New York City, which has received over 110,000 migrants since Southern governors began sending migrants north last year, opened a tent shelter Wednesday on an island between Manhattan and Queens.

* WTTW | Police Oversight Board Votes to Permanently Scrap New Chicago Gang Database: The unanimous vote by the interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability caps an effort that began in 2017 to stop the Chicago Police Department from using databases to track Chicagoans they believe to be in a gang. It also fulfills a campaign promise made by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who vowed to “erase the racist gang database and remove this source of racial profiling that leads to frequent, unproductive police interactions and harms residents’ ability to find housing and jobs.”

* Taylorville Daily News | A One-On-One With Comptroller Mendoza: When Mendoza took the Comptroller’s Office in December of 2016, the state of Illinois owed vendors and providers almost $17 billion in unpaid bills, some over two years overdue. This left many vendors and service providers out to dry as many could not withstand the fiscal crisis without being paid by the state.

* Bloomberg | Walgreens to pay $44 million to settle Theranos fraud claims: The lawsuit accused Walgreens of being “willfully blind” to fraud at Theranos and entering into a partnership with the startup even though it had good reason to suspect its finger-prick testing technology didn’t really work.

* Sun-Times | Kinzie Hotel ends lockout of union employees: Unite Here Local 1 said the workers were reinstated after a lengthy bargaining session Thursday. The talks also resulted in a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract that largely mirrors agreements reached last month with 31 other Chicago hotels. Workers must ratify the new contract for it to take effect. The ratification vote is scheduled for Sunday.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson makes pitch to business while addressing crime, office vacancy in speech to Economic Club of Chicago: Some of his answers to questions posed by Conagra Brands CEO Sean Connolly, who became chair of the Economic Club in July, were met with a more muted response. Notably, Johnson acknowledged Chicago has a “long way to go” to reduce crime, a key concern for many business leaders.

* Tribune | Chicago Ethics Board to address allegations against Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin: “This matter was settled by the City, and, as you know, the Board of Ethics cannot adjudicate a case like this — which requires a full factual investigation — without a full factual investigation by the Office of Inspector General,” which the board did not receive, Berlin said.

* Crain’s | Kroger selling Mariano’s name and some Illinois stores in $1.9 billion deal: The number of Mariano’s grocery stores could dwindle in the Chicago area, as parent company Kroger divests assets to win antitrust approval for a $24.6 billion merger with Jewel-Osco parent Albertsons. The two companies announced plans this morning to sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers for $1.9 billion in cash. Closely held C&S is a major grocery wholesaler that also operates Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly stores.

* NBC Chicago | What could grocery chain merger mean for Mariano’s? Kroger releases statement: The grocery chains have said they must merge to compete with Walmart, Amazon and other major companies that have stepped into the grocery business. And there is significant consolidation throughout the grocery sector as companies fight with rising prices for everything from food to workers.

* Tribune | Ex-Summit official pleads guilty in liquor license bribery case, is cooperating with feds: The former public works director in southwest suburban Summit pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring with the town’s police chief to take bribes to grease a liquor license transfer in the village and admitted that he’d “also engaged in corrupt activities with other public officials.”

* Sun-Times | Mayor’s pick for top cop asks for collaboration from community at public forum: ‘We have to be partners in this’: When asked by a community member if holding officers accountable for their actions would help build trust in the police, Snelling said there will always be people who don’t like those in uniform, but he won’t allow a few bad actors to tarnish the reputation of the department.

* Sun-Times | Feds make $2B commitment to CTA Red Line extension: The Red Line extension includes four new stations at 103rd; 111th Street near Eggleston Avenue; along Michigan Avenue near 116th Street; and the new terminus at 130th Street near Altgeld Gardens.

* Illinois Times | More motorcycle fatalities: According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, four people on motorcycles have been killed in Sangamon County so far this year. In 2022, no local motorcycle deaths were recorded by the state agency. In 2021 four motorcyclists were killed; in 2020 one died and in 2019 three lost their lives in Sangamon County wrecks.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey residents decry flood control project that will cost 15 families their homes: “A lot of them are 70 or 80 years old, where are they going to restart their lives?” said resident Chapelle Hooks. “Some of them, this is generational wealth for them because it’s the property their parents or grandparents started.”

* Shaw Local | Joliet church owes $300,000 after fallout linked to convicted fraudster: A Joliet church could go under if they don’t pay $300,000 owed to a court-appointed receiver who is working to recover investor money that federal authorities said was misused by a fraudulent business owner. Between 2010 and 2019, Messiah Lutheran Church, 40 Houbolt Road, received more than $780,000 in donations from Today’s Growth Consultant

* My Journal Courier | Illinois Supreme Court opening new learning center in courthouse: There will be a grand opening ceremony for its Learning Center from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Supreme Court Building, 200 E. Capitol Ave., Springfield. Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission Executive Director John Lupton will speak at the opening.

* Shaw Local | Flags of Freedom presents ‘Governor’s Hometown Award’ plaques to Princeton Council: Representatives from Flags of Freedom spoke Tuesday during the “Positively Princeton” portion of the Princeton City Council meeting. During the presentation, the group presented two “Governor’s Hometown Awards” to the council to be display in city hall.

* SJ-R | Violins that survived the Holocaust to be played, exhibited at Illinois State Museum: The Illinois State Museum has partnered with the Jewish Federation of Springfield to present the “Violins of Hope: A Celebration of Survival” exhibit and a recital series that starts today and continues through Sept. 13.

* WSIL | SSM Health Illinois receives donation for skin care screenings: SSM Health Illinois received a donation from the Motte Foundation Saturday to support the hospitals’ efforts in skin care and melanoma screenings. The check gives SSM Health $28,000. It was presented by the Motte Foundation at its 9th Annual Strike Out Cancer Golf Classic at Greenview Golf Course in Centralia.