* Here you go…

* CBS Chicago | Illinois DCFS report card for past two years shows more failures than last review: Last time the state Auditor General updated us, there were 30 major failures by DCFS. This time, it’s 33. […] “You can see some of these findings are on repeat dating back more than 25 years,” said Cook County Chief Deputy Public Guardian Alpa Patel.

* WSIU | State Rep. Paul Jacobs announced his re-election bid: In his written release, the Pomona republican says Southern Illinoisans deserve a conservative they can trust as their State Representative. Jacobs says his voting records show he supports tax cuts, opposes out of control spending, is 100% pro-life and supports the rights of law abiding gun owners to exercise their Constitutionally guaranteed 2nd Amendment rights.

* Michael Frerichs | Illinois’ secret weapon in job creation is investing in tech companies: So far, the fund’s investments have been a catalyst for creating at least 19,000 jobs, according to 50 South Capital, a Northern Trust subsidiary that administers the program for our office. For every direct job created, another 2.2 jobs are indirectly created through a multiplier effect, according to a study conducted by the Illinois Venture Capital Association. By that group’s metric, our investments have resulted in 36,000 indirect jobs through suppliers and service providers.

* WJBC | Illinois Senate Public Health Committee hears about long covid: Everyone seems to have moved on. Wrongly, said Chicago ob-gyn Dr. Melissa Simon. […] Among the recommendations: to return the level of public education about covid to the levels seen early in the pandemic.

* Capitol News Illinois | In joint effort, election authorities try to tamp down misinformation: Officials from 25 counties scheduled a series of news conferences Tuesday in Tazewell, McLean and LaSalle counties. At the Tazewell event, the election officials said accusations of vote tampering and other misinformation campaigns have proliferated in each of the last two presidential election cycles, and they fear it could get worse in 2024.

* WBEZ | Illinois traffic stops of Black drivers reach a 20-year high: Twenty years ago, a state senator from the South Side of Chicago sponsored groundbreaking legislation to combat racial profiling by police. The 2003 law required law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois to compile and report data on traffic stops in their jurisdictions, including the race of the driver, the circumstances of the stop and the outcome.

* Tribune | Age for required behind-the-wheel testing would remain 79 under secretary of state’s recommendation: The law raising the age was passed in 2021 and was set to expire Oct. 1. A study compiled by the secretary of state’s office showed the rate of traffic crashes in Illinois in 2022 involving motorists age 75 and older was nearly identical to the year before, indicating there is no reason for the state to return to the minimum age of 75 for mandatory road testing.

* WBEZ | Energy assistance in Illinois may fall short without a federal boost: This past month, in Englewood alone nearly 3,000 customers received disconnection notices and over 500 were disconnected outright. LIHEAP provides one-time payments directly to utility providers on behalf of low-income households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or $60,000 for a family of four. The program also provides funds for weather proofing homes and crisis assistance. All of this is available regardless of immigration status. In Illinois, the state supplements federal appropriations through a surcharge that’s built into utility rates on customer bills — but it’s remained unchanged since 1999.

* WBEZ | Michael Madigan’s name is stripped from the property tax firm he helped found: The clout-laden Madigan & Getzendanner law firm is no more after nearly 50 years as the place Chicago’s mighty and powerful went to have their property tax bills slashed. Its website is dead, and paperwork filed with Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office in June legally renamed the firm, Holland Hicks Law. That company is headed by two long-time Madigan & Getzendanner partners, Jeffrey Holland and Harold Hicks.

* Sun-Times | Police board rejects push to move misconduct cases behind closed doors after arbitrator’s decision: The ruling prompted rebuke from FOP President John Catanzara, who said the union is “going to encourage these officers and maybe even assist them in suing the city, the police board and everybody.”

* Block Club | 2 Aldermen Want Voters To Decide If Chicago Should Remain A Sanctuary City Amid Migrant Crisis: The resolution from Ald. Anthony Beale and cosponsored by Ald. Anthony Napolitano would put the sanctuary city question as a March 2024 referendum, potentially increasing restrictions on migrants and refugees arriving in the city.

* Sun-Times | ‘Is Chicago savable?’ GOP congressional hearing in Chicago marked by partisan attacks, false claims: The GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee held the hearing at Fraternal Order of Police headquarters to discuss violence in the city, but it was dominated by sharp partisan attacks, false claims and factual omissions. “The left has implemented pro-criminal policies that have allowed dangerous criminals to remain on the street,” Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said. “The left has attacked law enforcement and has sought to defund the police. And then when crime goes up, they act shocked.”

* Tribune | In Shawnee National Forest, a debate swirls around how to best protect trees amid climate change and wildfires: “It’s impossible to take our hands all the way off. We’ve caused this climate change. We’ve introduced invasive species. We’ve put out historic wildfires. We’ve carved up the forest with roads. So, our influence on our forests is inescapable now,” said Chris Evans, a forest research specialist at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

* CNBC | Retail theft isn’t actually increasing much, major industry study finds: External theft, which includes organized retail crime, was again reported as the largest source of shrink last year at 36.15%, but that was slightly below 37% in 2021. Internal theft, or goods stolen by employees, rose slightly to 28.85% from 28.5% in 2021. Process and control failures and errors made up 27.29% of shrink in 2022, up from 25.7% the year prior.

* Tribune | Lakeview resident reports invasive spotted lanternfly, a threat to fruit trees, other plants; state confirms pest has reached Illinois: Environmentalists across the state have long dreaded the arrival of the nuisance species, notorious for its spotted red and brown wings and the threat it poses to the more than 70 types of fruit trees and other plants it is known to consume. The East Asian insect was first identified in Pennsylvania around eight years ago and has been making its way west with rides hitched on railroad cars, semitrucks and other vehicles.

* Daily Herald | Continued growth: Community colleges’ enrollments rise again, like ECC’s at 7.8%: Elgin Community College’s fall enrollment of 9,616 students increased by 7.8% over last fall’s enrollment. Early figures indicate ECC saw one of the larger enrollment increases in the suburbs. “Students are more aware of what community colleges offer, and the stigma of what used to be associated with going to a two-year school or junior college is slowing going by the wayside,” said Lauren Nehlsen, associate dean of recruitment, outreach services and global engagement at ECC. “We do a lot for the community. And every student is an educational dream, not just a number.”