* Shaw Local…

Last month’s pro-Donald Trump rally in Woodstock showed a familiar side of McHenry County, one that has long been loyal to the Republican Party.

But while hundreds of supporters of the former president celebrated their GOP affiliation and listened to speeches from prominent party figures like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, McHenry County Board Chair Mike Buehler acknowledged the shift that has taken place in every other collar county around Chicago in recent years: They’ve turned blue. […]

The GOP still holds a large majority on the McHenry County Board and – whatever happens in the Nov. 5 election – will continue to hold most of the countywide elected offices, since the Democrats are not running anyone against the state’s attorney or auditor, and other countywide offices not up this cycle are also held by Republicans. Buehler himself is facing a challenge from Democratic county board member Kelli Wegener, while GOP Coroner Michael Rein faces a challenge from Democrat Chris Kalapodis.

Buehler won his position in 2020 by besting Jack Franks, who four years earlier became the first Democrat to win a countywide elected office in McHenry County since 1978.

And Democrats have made inroads in presidential politics in McHenry County too. In 2016, Trump carried the county with 50.3% of the vote against Hillary Clinton, beating her by almost 11,000 votes. In 2020, Trump still won the county, but this time it was by slightly more than 4,000 votes, and he received less than 50% of the vote.

* A lot going on in Downstate today…

#HappeningNow Crews from all over central Illinois are battling a massive fire in Lincoln. @WANDTVDoug is there now. @wandtvnews pic.twitter.com/xFlEoBwNcS

— Caryn Eisert (@CarynEisert) September 5, 2024

* NBC Chicago…

Western Illinois University Macomb will be closed Thursday after an “ongoing emergency” near the campus, an alert on the school’s website said.

The closure comes a day after two Macomb police officers were shot Wednesday while trying to serve a warrant. […]

According to the Macomb Police Department, two officers Wednesday evening were shot while in the process of serving a warrant in the 300 block of North Normal Street.

“After knocking and announcing their presence several times, they forced entry into the residence but were immediately fired upon by someone in the residence,” Macomb’s chief of police said in an update late Thursday.

* Freedom From Religion Foundation…

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking for the removal of an unconstitutional Ten Commandments display at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

FFRF was informed that a Ten Commandments display was recently installed at the courthouse in Mount Vernon, Ill. The display is nearly 6-and-a-half feet tall and sits in the center of the first floor lobby. The display includes a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments, given its particular language and numbering. At the bottom of the display is the biblical quote for Proverbs 21:15, which reads: “When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to the evildoers.”

“Government promotion of one particular religion deters the nonreligious and minority religions from accessing important government services,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi writes to Jefferson County Board Chair Cliff Lindemann.

By displaying this religious text in its courthouses, the county demonstrates a plain and undeniable preference for religion over nonreligion, and Protestant Christianity above all other faiths. Illinois’s Establishment Clause reads: “No person shall be required to attend or support any ministry or place of worship against his consent, nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship.” FFRF is confident that state courts will find that a large Protestant Ten Commandments display by the county demonstrates preference for a religious denomination and mode of worship.

* Illinois State Rifle Association…

The Illinois State Rifle Association has released the following statement regarding the tragic events in Georgia yesterday.

“The Illinois State Rifle Association in the strongest of terms, does not condone any act of violence – especially the criminal misuse of firearms to commit violent acts.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed during today’s tragic shooting at a high school in Georgia. We’re also thinking of the other victims and their families and wishing them a full recovery.”

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | City sees modest improvement in violence figures over the summer: Chicago recorded 186 homicides between June 1 and Aug. 31, data show. Another 764 people suffered nonfatal gunshot wounds in that span. Summer 2023 saw 190 homicides while 747 others were shot and wounded. A year earlier, in 2022, the city recorded 207 homicides with another 957 shot over the summer.

* Sun-Times | Logan Square art gallery founder calls arrest, citations harassment — and neighbors agree: Trejon D’Angelo Williams said he created the gallery at 2334 N. Milwaukee Ave. to highlight marginalized artists, but he says he has been hindered due to harassment by Chicago police. He said police have been a constant presence at the venue, which showcases provocative art — most recently an exhibit about the war in Gaza and police violence. Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) said Chicago police told him they were not proactively checking on Williams, but responding to 911 calls when they visited Aug. 21. They claimed they arrested Williams after he shoved officers, which resulted in injuries, La Spata said.

* Sun-Times | Humboldt Park ‘basement’ comedy club shut down after Instagram video goes viral: For five years, the Humboldt Jungle was the cool kids club, an underground comedy and music venue inside a residential basement that provided a space for local performers and audience members in the know. Humboldt Park resident Nathan Weil operated the secret space out of his home. Potted plants adorned the basement venue to give it a jungle feel, and patrons could bring their own alcohol. The shows had become popular enough to attract the attention of the popular Best Date Food Instagram page, which posted a video of the space in late August.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Northwestern | University administration rolls out new demonstration, discrimination policies: The updated Demonstration policy will enforce new requirements, barring overnight demonstration and adding limitations on what the University considers “activity that disrupts classes and other functions of the University, including prohibiting demonstrations at the Rock before 3 p.m. on weekdays and the use of amplified sound in that area before 5 p.m.”

* Tribune | Former assistant state’s attorney who headed wrongful conviction unit amid scrutiny sues Kim Foxx alleging discrimination: Nancy Adduci, who began her career at the Cook County state’s attorney’s office in 1996, filed a federal lawsuit last month that accuses Foxx and the office of demoting and firing her due to her age and race. Adduci, who is white, said in the complaint that Foxx’s deputies in October 2023 demoted her from her position supervising the Conviction Integrity Unit, now called the Conviction Review Unit, telling her they sought someone “more representative of the community” for the role.

* Daily Herald | How many officers does a suburban police department need? Answers vary: “You really need to know what your officers’ workload is and when the peaks and valleys are,” said Leonard Matarese, the managing partner at the Center for Public Safety Management at the International City/County Management Association. “You’ve got to really dig into the details, but that’s not something many police departments are equipped to do.” After keeping its police staffing level steady at about 108 sworn officers for the better part of a decade, Palatine is one of those suburbs ready to increase its ranks. The shift comes after officials identified a greater need for neighborhood-based policing and community services.

* Daily Southtown | Summit Hill District 161 calls for quick changes to ‘inexcusable’ school bus service: The CEO and founder of Safeway Transportation Services Corp. took full responsibility Wednesday for the bus problems that disrupted the start of school at Summit Hill Elementary District 161 in Frankfort. Meanwhile, the District 161 School Board and administration demanded the bus company improve its services as quickly as possible. […] [Board member John Winters] said he was disturbed hearing about kindergarten students riding the bus for two hours in the afternoon and having bathroom accidents during the long ride.

*** Downstate ***

* News-Gazette | Siblings to be honored as grand marshals of Arcola Broomcorn Festival: For many years, Terry and Angie Thornton have let people attending the Arcola Broomcorn Festival know what is going on during the festivities. This year, they will be part of what’s going on. The brother-sister Arcola natives will serve as grand marshals of the 53rd broomcorn festival parade.

* Pantagraph | Illinois State, Wesleyan universities safe after false reports of threats connected to WIU shooting: No active shooter and no credible threats were found, according to statements from ISUPD and BPD. The departments noted the rumors about a threat in Bloomington-Normal came at the same time as a shooting near Western Illinois University, almost two hours west of the Twin Cities.

* WAND | Man who escaped Sangamon Co. jail arrested by marshals in Springfield: The sheriff’s office said that Chane L. Jones, 42, had been booked on Tuesday for burglary and theft and was able to “mingle with three other inmates, who were administratively released from custody” Jones was arrested by sheriff’s deputies and US Marshals in the 1100 block of North 5th Street in Springfield. He is back in custody and faces additional charges.

* WCIA | ‘It left a lasting impact on our family’: Central IL woman urges more Nurse Honor Guard volunteers: When a nurse passes away after a career of serving his or her patients, the care doesn’t stop. The Nurse Honor Guard program aims to remember them even at the end of their lives. Phyllis Rogers called Carle Hospital in Urbana her office for many years. She started in family medicine and eventually switched to a management role. But Ali Boatright, her daughter, said her stethoscope was always close by.

*** National ***

* NYT | Republicans Seize on False Theories About Immigrant Voting: There is no indication that noncitizens are voting in large numbers. And yet the notion that they will flood the polls — and vote overwhelmingly for Democrats — is animating a sprawling network of Republicans who mobilized around former President Donald J. Trump’s false claims of a rigged election in 2020 and are now preparing for the next one.