* Illinois is an island on yet another issue. From Kansas City’s KCUR…

Hundreds of National Guardsmen have spent the past three years rotating through a deployment in Texas. They’ve traded Midwestern green grass, highways and sprawling crop fields for dusty roads, a dry riverbed and close-ups of concertina wire thousands of miles away from their families.

Baking for hours in the withering heat, the troops from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska share a mission under the banner of Operation Lone Star: Intercept immigrants arriving illegally and drugs crossing the U.S. border from Mexico.

“Political theater” is how immigration and border relations researcher Tony Payan describes the operation. He regularly travels both sides of the border interviewing activists, migrants and experts about immigration. […]

Records show that the sensational arrests and busts Midwest governors predicted have been few and far between. Meanwhile, state highway patrol officers from understaffed Midwestern departments are assisting with traffic stops miles from the border while National Guardsmen stare at sand, researchers and critics of Operation Lone Star told the Midwest Newsroom.

A visual…

* WICS…

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced a change in DMV facility operating hours across the state next week.

Beginning Monday, Sept. 23, Illinois DMV locations will be open to customers Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., a half an hour earlier than the previous hours of 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Facilities that offer services on Saturday will also change hours from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.-Noon on Saturdays.

Senior facilities located in Addison, Bridgeview, Calumet Park, Evanston and Westchester will remain the same 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. The Roscoe Express DMV will stay open 9 a.m-4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and the Orland Township DMV hours will remain 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

*** Statewide ***

* Madison Record | Rosenstengel denies Meta’s motion to dismiss Messenger biometric case: Meta Platforms must defend a claim that facial recognition on Facebook Messenger and Messenger Kids violates privacy of biometric data, Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ruled on Sept. 17. […] [St. Clair County residents Rebecca Hartman and Joseph Turner] claim Meta doesn’t comply with Illinois biometric privacy law when it collects face geometries from filters and effects like bunny ears.

* Press Release | IDNR announces nearly $1 million for Natural Areas Stewardship grants: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced nearly $1 million in grants to support 14 stewardship programs managed by land trusts on land protected by the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC). The grants are part of the Illinois Natural Areas Stewardship Grant program, which aims to increase the delivery of much-needed land and water stewardship activities to natural areas permanently protected within the INPC system. Given the growing stewardship needs of natural areas throughout Illinois, this grant program funds projects that help land trusts expand staff and purchase equipment for these activities.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Cook County creates tax incentive that helped land quantum campus in Chicago: The Cook County Board of Commissioners has followed through on a commitment to create a new property tax incentive that helped Chicago land the massive quantum computing campus at the former U.S. Steel South Works site on Lake Michigan. The new Class 8 MICRO incentive provides property tax relief by reducing the property tax rate at the site from 25% to 10% for 30 years. The incentive can not be renewed.

* Tribune | ‘It’s not who we are’: Jury awards CPS student beaten at school with belts $750,000: Among the facts not in contention: After Champ, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, was repeatedly disruptive in her class, Haynes allowed her personal acquaintance, who was not affiliated with CPS, Juanita Tyler, into the West Garfield school at the start of a late September school day in 2018. Haynes brought Champ, then 9, to a bathroom with Tyler, and then left him alone with her there. Tyler, an estranged relative whom the boy did not know, proceeded to beat Champ repeatedly with two belts – which Haynes kept in her classroom.

* WBEZ | Trying to build a more climate-resilient Chicago, one balloon at a time: Until now, scientists haven’t had a substantial, vertical profile of Chicago’s atmosphere. The closest sites collecting similar data via weather balloons are in Lincoln, Ill. and Davenport, Iowa. As a result, there’s effectively no data about how Chicago’s atmosphere responds to its massive cityscape and proximity to Lake Michigan.

* Block Club | ComEd Unveils Plan To Fill Giant Hole In Washington Park: Part of ComEd’s plan involves workers appearing on the block next week to take confirmation samples of the soil. If enough of the contaminant has been removed, work will begin soon after and continue into early winter, said principal project manager Gabriel Salamanca to residents during a virtual meeting this week.

* The Athletic | An owner who ‘thinks he knows everything’ led the White Sox to historic disaster: A team plane doesn’t make errors or poor baseball decisions. But the White Sox’s decision to use a smaller, older plane reflects how they operate. The difference between the White Sox and other clubs is so stark, players who leave Chicago for other teams celebrate their freedom by texting each other “This is the big leagues.” “They don’t do the little or the big things right,” said a recently departed veteran.

* Chicago Mag | When Chicago Hustled: In the late ’70s, a pro women’s hoops team briefly captivated the city by living up to its name. Then it all unraveled: Nationally, the short-lived Women’s Professional Basketball League seemed doomed from its early stages, but in Chicago, the city’s upstart franchise flashed promise. The team led the WBL in attendance all three seasons before the league collapsed in 1981. Its inaugural game was spotlighted on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Les Grobstein served as the play-by-play radio announcer. Nancy Faust played the organ at home games. Jerry Sloan, Walter Payton, and Reggie Theus would show up to watch the women play. Games were broadcast on WGN-TV. But even with that hoopla, there was a bootstrap aspect to the Hustle: Shriver contracted with auto mechanic students at a local community college to paint a secondhand school bus with the team’s colors and logo, serving as an in-town rolling billboard and means of transportation for visiting teams.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | Local businesses urge Naperville council to lift video gaming ban: Several local bar and restaurant representatives Tuesday implored the Naperville City Council to lift the city’s 15-year ban against video gambling, but city officials did not entertain the request. “By lifting the ban and supporting local businesses, the city can help ensure that those of us who have invested in Naperville for decades can continue to thrive,” Ken Eng, owner of Anthem Ale House, told council members. “This isn’t about changing the fabric of our community. It’s about giving local businesses a fighting chance to survive.”

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | A project to build a tiny-home community for homeless veterans is on hold. Here’s why: A proposal to build a community center to serve a tiny-home community on the city’s east side came to screeching halt Tuesday night after City Council members argued with each other over the city’s approach to homelessness and whether it’s saturating certain neighborhoods with homeless people. “You see success out there, but we don’t see success in ward 2,” Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory said speaking to the disparity in housing types in different wards.

* WCIA | Danville City Council member calls for investigation into mayor: After a complaint from Danville Mayor Ricky Williams Jr. led to the president of Danville Area Community College being placed on leave, one city council member is calling for an investigation into the mayor. Council member Ed Butler said the mayor overstepped his authority and it could affect the city. Butler said he believes everyone should be equal in the eyes of the government, and that includes people who work for the city.

* WSIL | City of Carbondale begins search for new City Manager: The search follows the retirement of former City Manager, Gary Williams. Williams served in the role for 8 years. Following Wiliams’ retirement, Police Chief Stan Reno has pulled double duty, sitting as both Police Chief and City Manager.

* WCIA | Charleston Police debunk school social media threat: The Charleston Police Department has determined the community is safe after a threat went viral on social media. The Police Department said they were aware of a threat Wednesday evening spreading on Snapchat of threats of violence. After further investigation, officers determined the message was being circulated across the country on social media platforms like Reddit and Snapchat.

* WCIA | City of Decatur offering electric vehicle test drives this weekend: City officials are partnering with the Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation for the event. Officials said participants can explore the future of transportation by test driving EVs, listening to IACT leaders talk about the newest technologies and learning about the financial incentives availble to help buy an Electric Vehicle.

* Illinois Times | Former SPD officer indicted on drug charges: Former Springfield police officer Clayton Hadley was indicted Sept. 18 on drug charges after sheriff’s deputies allegedly found illicit drugs and more than $5,000 in cash in his home. […] Scarlette said the state of Illinois has been contacted regarding the matter and efforts are being made to decertify Hadley as a police officer. “We certainly did our due diligence on our end, to say, ‘I don’t want this guy to ever be a cop anywhere again.’”

* STLPR | Edwardsville Amazon warehouse where 6 died in tornado has reopened. What has changed?: To the chagrin of some critics, this facility — which is not owned by Amazon but rather a San Diego based real estate company — was not rebuilt with a storm shelter. None of the nearly 30 large warehouses in the commerce district have shelters.

* Rock River Current | State Rep. Joe Sosnowski’s Photo Contest Aims To Show The Beauty Of The 69th District: State Rep. Joe Sosnowski is encouraging local photographers, nature lovers, architecture fanatics and anyone else who enjoys taking pictures to enter the annual 69th District Photo Challenge. The subject of the photo must be within Boone, Winnebago or McHenry counties. The submission deadline is Nov. 15, and the limit is two entries per person.

*** National ***

* Sun-Times | $500 scholarship will go to student who cooks up the best ending for ‘The Bear’: Through July 2025, fans of the Chicago-based FX show can submit 200 to 600 words describing their perfect ending to the Emmy- and Golden Globe award-winning series. The scholarship is open to high school and college students at any level with any GPA, and entries are accepted online each month on a rolling basis. The next deadline is Sept. 30.

* NYT | On YouTube, Major Brands’ Ads Appear Alongside Racist Falsehoods About Haitian Immigrants: On YouTube, an ad for the car company Mazda appeared before a video that repeated the racist falsehood that Haitian migrants in Ohio were “eating ducks on the side of the road.” An ad for the software giant Adobe showed up alongside another video that claimed “people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” […] Just this month, researchers discovered advertisements on YouTube for more than a dozen large organizations and consumer brands that monetized xenophobic (and quickly debunked) claims. Advertising dollars flowed both to YouTube and to the commentators it allowed to amplify inflammatory and racist narratives, according to a report by Eko, a group focused on corporate accountability.