* ICYMI: The latest in the La Schiazza trial…

* Tribune | ‘Is there even a small contract for Eddie Acevedo?’: Jury sees emails from Madigan confidant asking AT&T to pay former state rep: “Eddie tended to go out in the evenings in Springfield after session and on occasion would have too much to drink,” testified Stephen Selcke, who worked for years as one of AT&T’s top internal lobbyists. “And when he drank too much, he could get belligerent and, to a degree, a little loose-lipped.” But it turned out Acevedo had something going for him that trumped even his more unpleasant attributes. He had Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan in his corner.

* Sun-Times | No job at AT&T for ‘loose-lipped’ Madigan ally — until exec ‘got a call,’ jurors hear: The push came when the utility was trying to pass crucial legislation. Selcke said he believed the request came from a Springfield insider named Michael McClain. And Selcke explained to a jury Thursday why the contract for Acevedo was likely so important to La Schiazza. “My impression was that Mr. McClain was advancing a request to [La Schiazza] after a presumed discussion that he had had with Speaker [Michael] Madigan,” Selcke testified.

If you want live updates from the trial, we’ve added a link to the live coverage post.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Nostalgia and pride: The Chicago history of celebrating Mexican Independence Day by caravan: The event commemorated the cry of the Mexican people to rise against the Spaniards. It was the heart of the celebration for the growing population in Chicago and nearby cities. “It was a beautiful and heartfelt celebration even though there weren’t very many of us yet,” said Teresa Fraga, now the president of the Mexican Cultural Committee of Chicago.

* WAND | Treasurer Frerichs introducing lower fees, mobile app for Bright Start 529 program: Illinois families participating in the Bright Start college savings program will soon have lower fees and easier access to their investments. Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced Thursday that he is preparing to launch a new mobile app to help people prepare for their future college students. The Bright Start 529 is already among one of the lowest-cost savings programs in the country. Although, Frerichs said he wants to make it even better.

*** Statewide ***

* WGEM | Illinois Treasurer announces changes to Bright Start College Savings Program: Frerichs said the change will lead to lower management fees and give people more investment options. Bright Start will also be launching a mobile app for people to track their savings. “We’re proud of the progress that Bright Start has made over the past nine years but we’re not finished,” Frerichs said. “I want Illinois families to have the absolute best 529 program in the country.”

* WTTW | Illinois Child Care Advocates Say Higher Wages Needed to Overcome Staffing Shortage: The state has plans to invest in Smart Start compensation grants and the Illinois Department of Human Services has allocated federal COVID-19 funding, which officials say needs to be allocated by the end of this year and spent by the end of 2026. The lack of those federal dollars could add to the already growing crisis.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Dirksen Courthouse Juror Kitchen, Public Cafeteria Tested Positive for High Legionella Levels; CDC Says Building Has Widespread Problem: WTTW News obtained information showing positive results for legionella bacteria across dozens of tests in 2023 and 2024. While many of those tests merely showed reportable levels of legionella, some found fixtures with potentially dangerous levels of the bacteria — including in a kitchen used by jurors and in the building’s cafeteria, which is open to the public. The fixture in the juror kitchen was found to be contaminated last year, while two cafeteria fixtures tested positive as recently as July.

* Sun-Times | Mayoral aide who called cops ‘f—ing pigs’ now accused of antisemitism: Ald. Debra Silverstein, the City Council’s only Jewish member, said two days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Kennedy Bartley tweeted, “From the river to the sea. Palestine will be free. Amen!” Four months later, Silverstein said, Bartley jeered her during Council debate on a Gaza cease-fire resolution.

* Tribune | Aldermen call on Mayor Johnson aide to resign over social media post, police comment: Ald. Matt O’Shea, 19th, said Bartley’s X post will renew concerns over the judgment of Johnson’s leadership team, given that it came weeks before Israel’s full invasion of Gaza on Oct. 27. “This is disgusting that someone could comment on social media about such a vicious, brutal attack of innocent people,” O’Shea, Johnson’s handpicked chair of the Aviation Committee, said, questioning “how this administration could not have known about this from a high-ranking member on their own social media account less than a year ago. This individual is not suited for leadership in government.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Fox Chicago | Dolton trustees meet without Mayor Henyard, address layoffs and budget issues: House also noted that the village must [Trustee Jason House] a new bank after Henyard allegedly refused to sign numerous checks totaling millions of dollars. House stepped in to sign them, but said Henyard disapproved. “The mayor’s office was disappointed in that they contacted our bank claiming false, false signatures on the bank account so the bank essentially said we are not playing this game we are tired of it and gave us a 60 day notice,” House said.

* WGN | With Henyard absent, an ally and trustee joins village board to help tackle fiscal issues: In the wake of WGN Investigates extensive reporting on Henyard and her allies’ lavish travel on taxpayer dimes – the trustees voted to approve a moratorium on reimbursing the travel for elected officials and employees. “Taking these trips to all of these conferences and bringing back absolutely nothing means you’re just taking trips on the taxpayers dime,” said Kiana Belcher.

* Tribune | Convicted ex-US Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. pushing for presidential pardon with help from suburban mayors: Jackson, who served about 17 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2013 to conspiring to defraud his campaign fund of roughly $750,000, has enlisted the help of south suburban mayors from his former congressional district and also put out a general call on his Facebook page for others to write letters of support to Biden. […] That was the same day NBC News reported nine south suburban mayors had sent a letter to the White House requesting Jackson be pardoned. Jackson shared the NBC story and a copy of the letter in one of his posts that day on Facebook. But neither Jackson, who served in Congress from 1995 until he resigned amid burgeoning controversies in 2012, nor the NBC story mentioned the letter was drafted with Jackson’s involvement and at his request.

* Daily Herald | ‘A lot of people have an interest in it’: What could be Lake County’s single largest road project advances: Untangling congestion centered in the Hawthorn Woods/Lake Zurich area along Old McHenry Road has been considered for years. Doing that will involve a railroad underpass and related improvements for what could be the single largest road project ever undertaken by Lake County.

* Action Network | IIlinois Gaming Board Renews Rivers Casino’s License: Rivers Casino, located in Des Plaines near O’Hare International Airport, is the top revenue generator among Illinois’ 15 casinos in operation, having reported $346.2 million in winnings through the first eight months of the year. That has resulted in $103.9 million in state and local tax revenue.

* Rock River Current | Hard Rock’s August Numbers Illustrate High Interest In Casino’s Rockford Debut: The casino had 57,047 admissions in August, according to data released this week by the Illinois Gaming Board. The most monthly admissions Hard Rock has had since opening its interim casino nearly three years ago was 58,379 in March. Specific grand-opening weekend numbers haven’t been released. The data comes from the gaming board’s regular monthly reporting.

* Daily Herald | Cook County leaders ponder future of programs begun with ARPA funds: Cook County received $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2021. After distributing $800 million of those ARPA funds to 73 community programs and spending nearly $200 million on county operations, county leaders are looking for input to determine which programs should continue and how to sustain them as originally funding dries up. Today is the last day for people to submit their thoughts to the Community Voices Survey about prioritizing potential future funding.

* Daily Herald | Why Des Plaines might change ambulance rates: The city council may switch to a federally subsidized system that would increase the city’s revenue without increasing most customers’ costs. The program’s fee for a participating fire department is determined annually by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, based on a cost report that includes the department’s budget for ambulance service. The subsidized system’s current rate for Des Plaines would be about $2,647 for advanced life support service and about $2,756 for basic life support service, documents indicate.

* ABC Chicago | Teacher allegedly calls Elgin middle school student racial slur; mother sues district: Amica Richardson said last year her then-11-year-old daughter was verbally abused by her math teacher who called her a racial slur. “She walked into the classroom, and the teacher immediately got into her face, and saying, ‘What should you be called? What should I address you as? The N word or Black?” Richardson told media on Thursday.

* Tribune | FDA calls out AbbVie over ‘misleading’ commercial featuring Serena Williams: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking North Chicago-based drugmaker AbbVie to task, warning in a recent letter that a migraine medication commercial featuring Serena Williams is “misleading.” The television commercial shows Williams in a talk show dressing room, appearing to experience migraine pain, closing her eyes and holding a hand up to her head. She then starts walking and a logo for the AbbVie medication Ubrelvy appears in a backstage hallway. Williams’ face relaxes and she holds up a single dose packet of Ubrelvy. She then says: “With Ubrelvy, there’s another option. One dose works fast to eliminate migraine pain.” She’s then shown in the dressing room laughing and smiling. The problem, the FDA says, is that a dose of Ubrelvy has not been shown in clinical trials to work immediately or for all patients.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | School district to discipline rumor spreaders disrupting Jacksonville Middle School: Jacksonville School District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek sent a letter to parents regarding rumors of threats at Jacksonville Middle School: […] Here are the facts. A student did make a statement today after school, in anger, to a group of students that they needed to back off because he has a gun. The police are involved. They did a threat assessment of the student. It was determined that he does not have weapons and doesn’t have access to weapons in the home. Regardless, this student will face serious disciplinary consequences for his statement and for the disruption he is causing.

* WCIA | Springfield bridge to be renamed, decorated with mural to honor Sonya Massey: A bridge in Springfield may be dedicated to Sonya Massey, thanks to the support of the Springfield City Council. The pedestrian bridge over Clearlake Avenue and Jefferson Street has already been painted with a mural by Alex Wells, and now city leaders are working to add more murals on the bridge to remember her and officially designate the bridge as Massey Memorial Bridge.

* WIFR | Rockford’s ‘Go Team’ launches at The Music Box: At Thursday night’s launch party at The Music Box in Rockford, dozens of the community’s movers and shakers learned what they could do to become a ‘first friend’ to people who just moved to the area and really make the newcomers feel at home. ‘Go Team’ members will lead tours of the Rockford area and become a resource to those committed to making the stateline their new permanent residence.

*** National ***

* Washington Times | DHS designates Electoral College vote count as special national security event: The move comes in response to the 2021 count, which saw a mob storm the Capitol to try to head off the count that certified President Biden as the winner over former President Donald Trump. The vote counting joins other major events such as the national nominating conventions, presidential inaugurations and the president’s annual State of the Union address.

* AP | Boeing factory workers go on strike after rejecting contract offer: The strike started at 12:01 a.m. PDT, less than three hours after the local branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced 94.6% of voting workers rejected the proposed contract and 96% approved the work stoppage, easily surpassing a two-thirds requirement. The labor action involves 33,000 Boeing machinists, most of them in Washington state, and is expected to shut down production of the company’s best-selling airline planes. The strike will not affect commercial flights but represents another setback for the aerospace giant, whose reputation and finances have been battered by manufacturing problems and multiple federal investigations this year.

* Press release | AG Raoul calls for DOJ investigation into Texas raids targeting Latino candidates and campaign volunteers: In the letter, Raoul and the coalition argue the Texas attorney general’s office sought to intimidate voters of color by conducting raids and seizing the property of organizers and Latino candidates. Raoul and the coalition are calling on the DOJ to investigate the Texas raids to determine whether they constitute violations of civil rights, including the right to vote. There has never been evidence of widespread voter fraud anywhere in the United States, and by conducting the Aug. 20 raids to search the homes of Latino candidates and voting rights activists, Raoul and the coalition argue the Texas attorney general’s office is perpetuating a racist, baseless claim in order to intimidate voters of color.

* News Guard | Triple Hearsay: Original Sources of the Claim that Haitians Eat Pets in Ohio Admit No First-Hand Knowledge: NewsGuard identified and tracked down the two people central to the claim: Erika Lee, the Springfield resident who wrote the original Facebook post, and Kimberly Newton, the neighbor who had provided her with a third-hand account of the rumor, making Lee’s social media post a fourth-hand account: the alleged acquaintance/cat owner; Newton’s friend; Newton; and Lee, who posted it on Facebook. In exclusive interviews, NewsGuard spoke both with Lee, a 35-year-old hardware store worker who has lived in Springfield for four years, and Newton, her neighbor and a 12-year resident of Springfield. The interviews reveal just how flimsy and unsubstantiated the rumor was from the beginning — based entirely on third hand hearsay. Yet it quickly gained traction and, remarkably, found its way to Trump’s lips on a national stage.