* Press Release | Jobs Up in Most Metro Areas in September: Over-the-year, total nonfarm jobs increased in eleven metropolitan areas and decreased in three for the year ending September 2023, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (DES). Over-the-year, the unemployment rate increased in all fourteen metropolitan areas.

* Illinois Times: Unsung Hero: Emma Shafer: Emma Shafer, 24, was a much-beloved community activist, friend an d family member whose life was taken suddenly and far too soon on July 11, 2023. Her life and her death have greatly impacted our community. Emma was involved in a multitude of social justice and community activist groups including Resistor Sisterhood, Faith Coalition for the Common Good, Sierra Club (Sangamon Valley), Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, Moms Demand Action and many more. Emma often hosted “soup night” at her home to encourage activists of different causes to share ideas, debate topics and develop friendships. Her vibrant smile, bountiful hugs, hilarious sense of humor, thrift-store fashion and a serious passion for equity attracted people from all walks of life.

* WCIA | NTSB releases initial report on Teutopolis HAZMAT crash: The NTSB found that the Sept. 29 crash was caused by a car trying to pass the truck in a no-passing zone, right as another car was driving the opposite direction. To avoid a collision between the two cars, the truck driver said he steered to the right. The truck went off Route 40 and into a roadside ditch, hitting a 12-inch metal culvert in the process. The truck jackknifed and rolled onto its right side.

* Crain’s | Bally’s gets approval to operate at Medinah Temple until 2026: The board unanimously approved converting Bally’s temporary operating permit into a full casino license, which will not only be valid for the Medinah Temple, but also for the company’s future 505,000-square-foot casino along the Chicago River between Grand and Chicago avenues in River West, according to Gaming Board spokeswoman Elizabeth Kaufman.

* Peoria Journal Star | Here’s what Illinois lawmakers are saying about the new House speaker: Illinois Republican Darin LaHood, who represents Peoria in the 16th District, said he was proud to support Johnson as the next speaker. “Mike is a family man who understands the importance of advancing conservative policies that promote individual liberty, rein in spending, and secure the border, while also conducting needed oversight of the Biden Administration,” LaHood said in a statement. “Mike can unite our Conference and I look forward to working with him to deliver results for central and northwestern Illinois.”

* Farm Week | One Earth Energy proposes CO2 pipeline project: One Earth Sequestration, a Ford County-based firm, filed Oct. 18 its Application for Certificate of Authority (CoA) with the Illinois Commerce Commission to construct in Illinois the 7.34-mile One Earth Sequestration (OES) Pipeline. The project represents the third proposed CO2 pipeline before the ICC, after Wolf Carbon Solutions applied to build 166 miles of the Mt. Simon Hub Pipeline and Navigator CO2 Ventures moved to build 292 miles of the Heartland Greenway Pipeline System in Illinois.

* Pekin Daily Times | ‘Not for the people’: Tazewell board hears more opposition to CO2 pipeline: “These proposed pipelines are coming with one goal: to make money for their bottom line and their investors, not for the people,” said Elton Rocke, spokesperson for the Facebook group Tazewell County: Stop the CO2 Pipeline. “Although Wolf cites pipeline safety, they have partnered with Archer Daniel Midland, whose deplorable business record over the last 20 published years is almost $1 million in paid fines and penalties. These include OSHA violations, EPA violations and price fixing.”

* WIFR | Stephenson County Sheriff defends deputy, denounces Oath Keepers: [Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall] states Schroeder was first introduced to the Oath Keepers in 2010 by a friend that he had made during his time serving in the National Guard. According to Stovall, the friend told Schroeder that the group was “pro-law enforcement, pro-military, and a way to interact with fellow law enforcement officers and military personnel.” Schroeder then received a link to join the group online in which he accepted. A year later, in 2011, the deputy then changed his email address and had no continued contact with the group. Stovall noted that during this period Schroeder never attended an in-person meeting or had face-to-face interactions with any members of the Oath Keepers.

* Journal Standard | Stephenson County officials call for investigation into reported Oath Keeper ties: Wednesday, Jodi Coss, chair of the Stephenson County Democratic Party, said any officers’ affiliation with the group should be a concern to all residents regardless of their political affiliation. […] Coss said she is trying to determine if Schroeder’s ties to the group are a violation of the sheriff’s department’s code of ethics or code of conduct.

* Crain’s | Appeals court upholds $2.67 billion Blue Cross settlement: A federal appeals court has rejected an effort by Home Depot and other employers to revise a $2.67 billion antitrust settlement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The plaintiffs argued that the deal, which a district court approved last year, favors fully insured Blue Cross and Blue Shield customers over self-insured employers. In a decision handed down Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit rejected their plea and ordered the agreement to proceed as the lower court instructed.

* Crain’s | Pressure rises on both sides of anti-homelessness tax plan: Supporters of the Bring Chicago Home ordinance, which would raise the transfer tax on property sales worth $1 million and up, have a planned protest march at 10 a.m. in front of the Michigan Avenue offices of the Chicago Association of Realtors. The activists will deliver a “cease and desist” letter, in which they demand the city and state real estate associations quit lobbying against the proposal, according to a press release announcing the protest.

* South Side Weekly | Workers Put Pressure on CTA to Improve Working Conditions: “The CTA has been saving money hand over fist, cutting back on labor, quadrupling productivity.…It’s a superhuman ability of these train operators, what they’re doing now,” Basir said. “I always wanted to be a motorman ever since I was little. But I grew up when there were conductors [and] two-person crews. They’re undergoing so much mental [and] physical trauma. They say this is the most hated job—train operators. And it’s highly exploitative.”

* Tribune | 1.6 million acres of Great Plains grasslands were destroyed in 2021 alone, World Wildlife Fund says: Most grassland plowing has been occurring on private land as landowners have the option to plow, whether to make room for crops or commercial development. For instance, in March the Rockford International Airport began construction in the Bell Bowl Prairie, home of the endangered rusty patched bumblebee, to make way for a roadway. Meanwhile, very little federal-owned land can be plowed, Bolt said. In Illinois, the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, about an hour outside Chicago, serves as an example of nearly 9,000 acres of protected grassland.

* Crain’s | Ford deal a ’stunning victory’ for union: Employees were called off picket lines shortly after the deal was reached, and many have been placed on temporary layoff as they await notification to return to work in the coming days, according to some who spoke with Crain’s sister publication Automotive News. That slow restart could add to Ford’s financial losses from the strike, which J.P. Morgan estimated Thursday at slightly more than $1 billion. Ford plans to release its third-quarter results Thursday afternoon, but it’s unclear whether executives will provide additional details on the tentative deal.

* Crain’s | Big Shoulders Fund Ball breaks attendance record in support of student scholarships: The 17th annual Big Shoulders Fund Ball was held in Wintrust’s Grand Banking Hall on Sept. 29 where a gathering of more than 500 set an attendance record for this event. Presented by the organization’s Next Generation Boards, the fundraiser brought in more than $200,000 to help provide a quality, values-based education for underserved children.

* News-Gazette | Nonprofit ecstatic over farm donation: The president of a Vermilion County-based nonprofit that serves special-needs individuals said board members and staff there are “just over the moon” with the gift of a 16-acre farm near Rankin that is likely to one day turn into a residential facility. The Wheeler Foundation board voted to donate the property to WorkSource Enterprises of Danville. President Todd Seabaugh said WorkSource works with developmentally disabled adults, assisting them with activities of daily living to increase their independence “to live in the community at the highest level possible.”

* Axios | X usage plummets in Musk’s first year: App downloads fell roughly 38% globally between October 2022 and September 2023, according to Sensor Tower estimates. In the U.S., mobile app downloads fell 57% in the same time period. Data from Data.AI, another app tracking firm, shows similar trends.

* Jim O’Donnell | From father to son, Bagent family line is all about confidence and winning: If Bagent and his laser release can emerge from the bright lights, big venue of Sofi Stadium at 2-0, more people will start to believe. What they’ll be believing is that he may be one of the most confident, efficient, adaptable young quarterbacks in the history of the Chicago Bears.