* ICYMI: A CTA Yellow Line train crashed into a snow plow doing scheduled training, sending two dozen to hospitals. Tribune…

-The train was moving at a normal speed, but came around a curve and struck a slower diesel-powered snow removal train that was moving in the same direction on the same track.

-23 people, including four children, were taken to hospitals after the crash.

-Three of the people were in serious or critical condition, though no injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

* Related stories…

∙ Block Club: At Least 23 Injured, 3 Critically After CTA Train Crashes Near Howard
∙ NBC Chicago: Largest CTA train crash in decades leaves 38 injured
∙ *ABC Chicago: CTA Yellow Line service remains suspended after train crash injures 38 at Howard Station

* More from X (previously known as Twitter)…

Just talked with @ntsb chair @JenniferHomendy, who’ll lead the investigation into the @cta crash. She’s spoken with @GovPritzker and @janschakowsky. NTSB staff talked with CTA’s top safety officer. But as of minutes ago, CTA director Dorval Carter had not returned her call. https://t.co/VKIfWkXM2N

— Amanda Vinicky (@AmandaVinicky) November 17, 2023

CTA canceled tonight's virtual public meeting on the next phase of the Red & Purple Line Modernization plan pic.twitter.com/xWbiuw24vb

— Claudia Morell (@claudiamorell) November 16, 2023

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Capitol News Illinois | Advocates hail regulatory ‘earthquake’ as state slashes requested gas rate increases: Rates will still rise next year, but not nearly as much as they would have if the commission had approved the utilities’ initial requests. The commissioners instead sided with consumer advocates – rejecting several recommendations from the ICC’s own staff – in several key areas, including profit rates, low-income discounts and spending oversight.

* Sun-Times | Ed Burke’s corruption trial opens with conflicting takes on leading figure — ‘extortionist’ vs. ‘good man’: When the trial of former Ald. Ed Burke finally kicked off in earnest Thursday, a federal prosecutor wasted no time leaning forward, pointing his finger at the veteran politician and calling him perhaps the “most powerful member of the Chicago City Council.” Then, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman told the jury that Burke was more than that: “He was a bribe taker. And he was an extortionist.”

* Sun-Times | Chicago police unit that reviews cops’ use of force ‘critically understaffed,’ Illinois attorney general’s office says: The unit had a backlog of 2,702 cases in July, which has nearly doubled to 5,116, [Assistant Attorney General Samuel Kennedy] said. In February, the unit had 54 police officers and now has 47. The department is adding four part-time employees to the unit, but that isn’t going to be enough to address the three-month backlog, Kennedy said.

* A first for Illinois…

Congratulations, First Deputy Director Rebecca Hooks! #HERStory in the making as the first woman First Deputy Director of the @ILStatePolice! https://t.co/8phOEyoquj

— Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton (@LtGovStratton) November 16, 2023

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* WTTW | Legislation Would Help Non-English Speakers Access Government Services in Illinois: State Rep. Dagmara Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, introduced the Language Equity and Access Act earlier this year and explained that current language services fall short. […] The bill calls for a centralized office that would ensure all government agencies, offices and services have the adequate tools to provide language services. This includes having translators or documents for a variety of languages.

* Herald-Review | Requiem for ‘Invest in Kids,’ and other takeaways from Illinois legislature’s fall session: It was controversial from the beginning, with progressive lawmakers and powerful allies, most notably the state’s teachers unions, opposing it on ideological grounds, claiming that it siphons money away from public schools. But there is a difference between now and then. In 2017, the state’s governor was a Republican and longtime advocate for school choice. The Democratic legislative leaders were were products of Chicago’s once-dominant parochial system.

* Jim Dey | Inmates’ mental issues present problem with no solution: It sounds hellish and probably was. But what’s the best way to deal with inmates whose malignant personalities and mental-health issues make them a constant behavior problem and/or threats to themselves, other inmates and prison employees Previous litigation has shown Illinois prisons provide poor mental-health services, one significant factor being the state’s inability to hire enough psychiatrists to meet the demand.

* Tribune | Chicago police officer pleads not guilty to felony aggravated battery for videotaped school incident: The Police Department, however, stripped him of his police powers last week and prohibited from carrying a gun or his badge while awaiting trial, his attorney said. He has been assigned to desk duty until the case is resolved. Lancaster was indicted earlier this month after the Chicago Tribune published a video of the altercation, which shows him hitting 14-year-old JaQuwaun Williams near his throat as the boy walked into Gresham Elementary School on May 18.

* Daily Southtown | Will County rejects plans for solar farm near Frankfort: The solar facility would have been about a quarter mile from the village of Frankfort’s border, and officials there objected to the plan. Michael Schwarz, Frankfort’s director of community and economic development, said it was not consistent with the comprehensive plan. The village includes that property in its long-term plans and officials believe it is best suited for residential development, Schwarz said. “We are not opposed to solar,” Schwarz said. “We don’t think this is the right location.”

* Block Club | Downtown Alderman Says He Asked Mayor’s Office For Help — And Was Told He’d Get It In Return For Votes: Ald. Bill Conway (34th) is accusing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office of refusing to help him resolve issues around tent encampments in his ward after he did not support two of the mayor’s key proposals in City Council last month. The mayor said the situation is being misunderstood. At the same time, another key Conway proposal to boost safety around a women’s clinic was unexpectedly delayed amid the public squabble.

* Politico | Resolute abruptly lays off staff: On the call, Resolute CEO Greg Goldner told the group that “business development hasn’t gone the way we expected it,” and after a series of tough meetings with the firm’s founder and COO, Dave Smolensky, everyone on the call would be laid off — effective immediately, according to a person at the meeting.

* KSDK | Illinois hunting isn’t affected by the state’s assault weapon restrictions. Here’s what the law says: Under PICA, hunters are permitted to use firearms classified by the law as “assault weapons” while hunting, as long as the guns are authorized under the Illinois Wildlife Code and have the appropriate licenses and permits usually required for hunting.

* NBC | Global decline in male fertility linked to common pesticides: Researchers compiled, rated and reviewed the results of 25 studies of certain pesticides and male fertility and found that men who had been exposed to certain classes of pesticides had significantly lower sperm concentrations. The study, published Wednesday in Environmental Health Perspectives, included data from more than 1,700 men and spanned several decades.

* Tribune | Tiny Chicago Hope Academy is in the state football semifinals, but its mission is bigger than sports: With 290 students, Hope plays in the smallest division in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). It is one of only two Chicago teams left in the playoffs, along with Mount Carmel in Class 7A. If Hope wins, it’s believed it will be the first West Side school to win the state title.

* Sun-Times | Jason Benetti’s departure from White Sox hastened by contentious relationship with exec Brooks Boyer: Multiple sources said a contentious relationship with Sox senior vice president and chief revenue and marketing officer Brooks Boyer was at the center of the situation, particularly an inappropriate remark Boyer made to Benetti.

* Sun-Times | Ray Tate, musician who ran Old Town School of Folk Music and taught John Prine guitar, dies at 86: “The spirit of the Old Town School was bringing music to people who had never played before, and Ray was at the center of that,” said Michael Miles, a teacher at the school. […] He accompanied other musicians on stage, performed as a studio musician, created jingles for radio and television ads and established Project Upbeat, a program for city kids at the Old Town School that garnered a letter of support from then President Richard Nixon. He also composed, arranged and produced more than 25 film scores and television themes.