* ICYMI: UAW-Stellantis agreement may include a new vehicle, EV battery facility for idled Belvidere plant. Crain’s…

- Governor Pritzker learned about a week ago that both an EV factory and battery plant were on the table in the deal being worked out between Stellantis and the UAW.
- The Belvidere plant was idled in February.
- Stellantis will likely receive a more than Gotion’s $536 million tax incentive package from the state since it involves an assembly facility and a battery plant.

* Related stories…

∙ Rockford Register Star: Illinois leaders sound off on UAW, Stellantis tentative agreement, impact on Belvidere
∙ WEHT: Gov. Pritzker issues statement on UAW contract deal
∙ Tribune: UAW-Stellantis tentative agreement to include a new vehicle, EV battery facility for idled Belvidere plant
∙ WIFR: Local leaders react to agreement that could reopen Belvidere’s Stellantis plant

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Crain’s | Replacing lead pipes could save Illinois as much as $89 billion in health costs: The heart association made the case that, while “traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease do not currently include environmental toxicants,” research confirms that lead, cadmium and arsenic are associated with premature death, due in large part to increased cardiovascular disease risk.

* Daily Herald | ‘Taking the side of peace’: Suburban Muslim and Jewish women try to find common ground here amid Middle East war: “Even the word for peace is so similar in our religions,” said Shazia Khan, co-leader of the Northwest suburban group that aims to build relationships between Muslim and Jewish women. “And that’s the point … that 99% of what we do and say is common, and it’s the 1% difference that has divided our societies and our political leaders have politicized and taken to extremes. But we’re trying to remind everybody of that 99%.”

* Thoughts on the Governor’s Halloween costume?

First Lady MK Pritzker and @GovPritzker take Halloween seriously pic.twitter.com/vbo9962DzZ

— Anne Caprara (@anacaprana) October 28, 2023

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* ABC Chicago | Morgan Park residents raise concerns over city’s plans for migrant shelter at vacant lot: But, the people living in Morgan Park say they want the city to provide critical resources for current residents, echoing the same message people have had in other neighborhoods that are being discussed as shelter options. “The people here in the community, they’re afraid they’re going to lose jobs. They’re afraid there won’t be shelter for the homeless. And so, this is a big thing for this community,” said Pastor Anthony Wilson. “I don’t oppose migrants or foreigners. I’m not against that, but the citizens of Chicago come first.”

* NBC Chicago | Roseland residents frustrated over proposal to build migrant shelter: At a meeting in September, 21st Ward Ald. Ronnie Mosely, which represents the community, listened to residents concerns about the proposed tent city. In a statement, the alderman expressed his disappointment over the plan and said his “ward will not tolerate the prioritization of a crisis over our needs and voices!”

* South Side Weekly | UN Specialist Warned City Council that Tent Camps Could Become Permanent: Emails obtained by the Weekly reveal that Committee Chair Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) discussed the camps with Joseph Ashmore, the IOM specialist, last month. In an email exchange following the discussion, Ashmore provided materials on mass shelters that explain topics such as preparedness, violence prevention, and community involvement. Ashmore emphasized that tent camps are “a last resort,” adding in his email to Vasquez, “They can be unsustainable, can last for much longer than expected, and are expensive to run and maintain.” Ashmore declined requests for an interview.

* Sun-Times | Danny Solis’ rise and fall, from promising activist to disgraced Chicago politician to FBI mole: The former 25th Ward alderperson sold his political soul for small favors, then tried to reclaim it by wearing a wire on two of the biggest powerhouses in the history of Illinois politics.

* Sun-Times | 15 shot at unsanctioned Halloween party in North Lawndale; suspect in custody: William Betancourt, commander of the Chicago Police Department’s Ogden District, told reporters the “senseless act of violence” occurred around 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of South Pulaski Road. Some of the roughly 100 partygoers told officers that the alleged shooter “was ejected from the party, and he came back a few minutes later with a gun and he began to shoot,” Betancourt said during a news conference Sunday afternoon.

* Cook County Record | Union League Club hit with class action over worker fingerprint scans: The Union League Club of Chicago has become one of the latest employers in Chicago targeted by a class action lawsuit under the state’s biometrics privacy law, because the Club allegedly improperly required workers to scan their fingerprints when punching in and out of work shifts. The club’s biometric timekeeping system “includes the dissemination of biometrics to each other and third parties, such as data storage

* Tribune | As Mayor Brandon Johnson invests in mental health, questions linger about funding for other public health crises: Johnson’s 2024 plan devotes relatively few additional city resources to keeping the systems that were created during the pandemic in place. Instead, the new mayor’s 2024 Department of Public Health proposal pledges to boost spending on mental health by more than $15 million.

* Tribune | North suburban homeowners seeing biggest property tax increase in 30 years, treasurer’s analysis finds: After months of delay, nearly 1.8 million property tax bills for Cook County home and business owners are landing in mailboxes this week, and many homeowners in the north and northwest suburbs are in for jarring news. A new analysis from county Treasurer Maria Pappas’ research team found the median residential tax bill there increased by 15.7%, according to the report, “the largest percentage increase in the last 30 years.”

* Tribune | Chicago-area environmental activists, experts seek to protect region’s trees after bur oak removal in Kane County: For years, Maher and a group of activists have tried to stop the removal of bur oak trees at a proposed industrial park development in Kane County near Geneva, contacting local elected officials, starting a petition and even climbing on machinery. They say almost all of the historic trees were cut down in the two weeks after Labor Day, calling it a “colossal failure” for the “Tree City USA” community.

* Block Club | Columbia College Adjunct Faculty Plan To Strike Monday: The decision comes as a result of the school administration’s plans to cut hundreds of class sections, which union leaders said would decrease adjunct faculty’s workload — and therefore pay — or increase class sizes without a corresponding pay increase. Diana Vallera, union president and a part-time faculty member in the photography department, said about 340 class sections would be eliminated.

* Fox 2 | George Harrison’s long-lasting impact on southern Illinois: Lead guitarist George Harrison ended up in southern Illinois for several days. Archives from BeatlesBible.com note that he flew into New York and caught a connecting flight to St. Louis before a roughly hour-and-a-half car ride to southern Illinois. At the time, Harrison’s sister, Louise, had recently moved to Benton, Illinois, with her husband, Gordon Caldwell. He was a passionate engineer and found opportunities within Illinois’ coal mining industry.

* AP | Biden administration encouraging conversion of empty offices to affordable housing: The Biden administration is launching a multi-agency effort to encourage states and cities to convert more empty office buildings into housing units, with billions of federal dollars available to help spur such transitions

* WaPo | Faced with abortion bans, doctors beg hospitals for help with key decisions: Huntsberger said she called six administrators before she finally got ahold of someone, her patient awaiting help a few rooms away. When she asked whether she could terminate a pregnancy under Idaho’s new abortion ban - which allows doctors to perform an abortion only if they deem it “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman” - the OB/GYN said the decision was punted back to her.

* The Atlantic | What Financial Engineering Does to Hospitals: Watkins and other Riverton residents concluded that, instead of dividing specialties between the two hospitals and beefing up the ones remaining at each location, hospital managers were simply stripping away essential services from their community. The drive to Lander isn’t hard in the summer, Watkins told us, but in the winter, the roads are often closed. Many more patients needed to be transported out of the county altogether.