* Here you go…

* Capitol News Illinois | State Police rules for assault weapons permits begin Oct. 1: According to the statute, those affidavits must include the applicant’s name, date of birth and FOID card number. Applicants also need to provide the make, model, caliber, and serial number of each weapon, and a statement testifying that they own a locking mechanism for the weapon.

* Tribune | House Democrats drop PR firm that helped Madigan on #MeToo allegations while also working with accuser: While working with Madigan, SKDK had hired a private contractor to help provide Hampton and other survivors with public relations support in a deal paid for by Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, a women’s advocacy group. SKDK told the Tribune in August that this work was “wholly separate from any work helping Speaker Madigan address systemic cultural problems within his office.”

* Sun-Times | Gov. Pritzker heads to New York to speak on abortion rights panel with Hillary Clinton : The Clinton Global Initiative panel, called “Women’s Rights are Human Rights: How to Provide Abortion Care in a Post-Dobbs World,” also includes Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki and model and philanthropist Karlie Kloss. The event will be livestreamed at 12:30 p.m.

* SLPD | U.S. Steel to idle only operating blast furnace at Granite City plant, citing auto strike: U.S. Steel plans to temporarily idle one of the blast furnaces at its Granite City plant and shift some work to other facilities, citing softening demand from the automotive industry during the United Auto Workers strike. That furnace is the only one currently operating at the plant. A local United Steelworkers representative said Monday that about one-third of the union employees there work in the areas that will be affected, where the plant converts ore and pellets into metal slabs.

* Labor Tribune | Pritzker praises Labor unions at Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council awards dinner: Pritzker also said he was amused that frustrated drivers sometimes complain about all the orange construction cones that can slow traffic on the state’s road and bridge projects. “I want to say sorry, (but) not sorry,” he said. The more orange cones there are, the more that prevailing wage work is getting done, he said.

* Tribune | Chicago inspector general’s office seizes computers from city treasurer’s office: The move by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s staff comes after the release late last month of a 2020 letter that laid out a series of accusations by two aides Conyears-Ervin had fired who said the treasurer misused taxpayer resources and abused the powers of her office.

* Crain’s | UAW to unveil next wave of striking plants Friday: The UAW will expand its strike against the Detroit 3 on Friday if negotiations this week stall, President Shawn Fain said. “If we don’t make serious progress by noon on Friday, Sept. 22, more locals will be called on to stand up and join the strike,” Fain said in a video posted by the union Monday evening. “Autoworkers have waited long enough to make things right at the Big 3. We’re not waiting around and we’re not messing around.”

* Sun-Times | Johnson unveils city reforms to fight environmental racism: The proposals include new policies for city departments that include better response times to environmental complaints, air monitoring and measures to reduce air pollution, public engagement around planning and development, and investments in so-called environmental justice communities, areas that receive a disproportionate share of pollution.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson OKs compromise giving restaurants 5 years to phase in higher pay for tipped workers: It calls for tipped workers — currently paid 60% of Chicago’s minimum wage — to receive 8% annual increases beginning on July 1, 2024, until they reach 100% parity on July 1, 2028.

* Sun-Times | 40 years ago, Illinois recognized the collective bargaining rights of teachers: Republican Gov. Jim Thompson led the way for the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act in 1983. The law requires school districts to recognize and bargain with education labor unions, the head of the Illinois Education Association writes.

* News Gazette | Danville casino still waiting to get approval for sportsbook: Despite assurances from casino officials in March that the sportsbook would be open in time for kickoff of the NFL season — if not sooner — the facility is still awaiting approval from the state, General Manager Juris Basens said Monday.

* Hyde Park Herald | Local CPS students work on social-emotional learning: In the program, which meets after school four days a week, Tinubu, a visual arts and photography student, said he found ways to express himself that helped build his emotional resilience. “Art, in a way, could be like a comfort,” Tinubu said. “Art works with emotions. As you look at the art it gives you a warm emotion. You envision yourself in it.” Overall, he said the program helps him gain more control of his emotions to form stronger interpersonal connections with his peers and parents.

* Crain’s | Illinois has a new best university in revamped U.S. News college rankings: The University of Chicago is no longer Illinois’ best university, according to the much-watched new rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Long ranked the most prestigious higher education institution in the state, U of C fell from No. 6 last year to No. 12 in this year’s report.

* Tribune | No such thing as too much Bozo for Elgin man whose massive memorabilia collection memorializes the TV clown: “It all started with my mom buying me a Bozo Lakeside Bendy (bendable figure) when I was five. I have so many Bozo-related items now, my friends say I should contact the Guinness Book of World Records about it being the largest collection of its kind,” Holbrook, 59, said.

* Tribune | Ferrero opens downtown innovation lab, marking a return of chocolate-making to Marshall Field building: Details of the new operation are closely guarded. The Tribune was allowed to enter the labs where food scientists will research the development of new cookie products, but not its chocolate labs or the innovation center, where a team will conduct long-term research in support of products that could hit shelves a decade from now. Nor was the Tribune permitted to view the “sensorial” or “analytical” facilities, where workers will participate in blind taste tests of new products and evaluate their properties down to the gram.

* SJ-R | Announcement expected about new service coming to Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport: Springfield Airport Authority and Springfield Sangamon County Growth Alliance officials will make a joint announcement today at 10:30 a.m., according to a press release from the groups. SSGA executive board chairman Ed Curtis, Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher, SSGA chief executive and president Ryan McCrady, and SAA executive director Mark Hanna are expected to speak.