* ICYMI: With jury stuck 11-1, judge declares mistrial in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Speaker Madigan. Tribune…

A federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday after a jury apparently deadlocked 11-1 on charges alleging former AT&T Illinois boss Paul La Schiazza bribed House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The panel was overwhelmingly leaning toward a conviction, one juror told the Tribune. But the mistrial still leaves a significant unknown about the strength of some of the prosecution’s evidence as Madigan heads to trial in less than three weeks. […]

The jurors who spoke in the courtroom could be heard saying a key sticking point was La Schiazza’s intent. Speaking to the Tribune, Duran agreed that was the case.

“We spent a lot of time … breaking down what constituted a conspiracy, what constituted a bribe, and particularly how do you determine whether somebody knowingly offered a bribe, or participated in a bribing,” she said. “You know, this idea of intent or the defendant’s mindset when he was going through all of this was, I think, a pain point.”

* Related stories…

∙ Sun-Times: AT&T jury hangs up — mistrial declared in case of former exec accused of bribing Madigan, weeks before ex-speaker’s own trial
∙ Capitol News Illinois: Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan
∙

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Questions on Illinois officials’ oversight of state-funded South Side center for troubled kids: The center, run by Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness, was closed by the state in June after a care provider and a guard were charged with sexual assault of young residents. But problems, including thousands of reports of violence and years of lax oversight, had gone on for years.

* Press Release | Illinois Payroll Jobs, Unemployment Rate Up in August: The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that nonfarm payrolls were up +800 while the unemployment rate increased +0.1 percentage point to 5.3 percent in August, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and released by IDES. The July monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +12,900 to +10,300 jobs, while the revised unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, unchanged from the preliminary July unemployment rate. The August payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.

* Crain’s | Christy George named CEO of an increasingly active Intersect Illinois: Fresh off her role leading day-to-day efforts to prepare to host the Democratic National Convention, Christy George is taking over as CEO of Intersect Illinois, the state’s private-sector partner in recruiting and retaining businesses. It’s a homecoming of sorts for George, 38, who previously was part of J.B. Pritzker’s economic team, working on deals such as the Gotion battery plant in Manteno and Lion Electric electric-bus factory in Joliet. She replaces Dan Seals, who left in July.

* Capitol News Illinois | State wraps up case in challenge to assault weapons ban: A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has presided over the trial, called attention to the neighborhood just outside the courthouse, much of which was destroyed during a series of deadly attacks by a white mob against the city’s Black population. […] “I wonder what would have happened,” he said in a possible indication of how he intends to rule. “I wonder what would have happened if they (the Black population) had had some of the weapons we’re talking about today.”

*** Statewide ***

* WAND | Illinois state dental society, IDFPR raise awareness about unlicensed dentists: “I want Illinois to understand that unregulated and unlicensed dental care is a huge problem and it is a dangerous risk,” said Dr. Sherece Thompson. “You are gambling with a person’s oral health and there is no procedure that is safe when done by someone who does not have proper training in oral health.”

* NBC Chicago | What is an advisory question? What Illinois voters will decide on this November: While these questions will certainly provoke a measure of debate and discussion, they do not come with any guarantee of future legislation or amending the state’s Constitution, according to officials.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Bed supply should remain constant as city seeks to merge homeless, migrant shelter systems, social service leaders say: Advocates for both asylum-seekers and homeless Chicagoans have supported the move toward a unified shelter network, saying it will boost resources for the unhoused population in the city. Others warn it will overwhelm an already overstretched system, as the groups have very distinct mental health, language, legal and other needs.

* Sun-Times | Deadbeat Chicago city workers owe $18 million in unpaid fines, fees: About $16.5 million of the debt is owed by employees of sister agencies like the CTA, where about one of every four workers is carrying an outstanding debt — by far the highest rate of any of the agencies.

* Crain’s | Amazon closing Goose Island fulfillment center, one of the first it opened in Chicago: Amazon is closing its fulfillment center in Goose Island, nearly 10 years after it opened as part of the e-commerce titan’s expansion efforts in Illinois. The company says it will not renew its lease at 1111 N. Cherry Ave. According to a WARN notice filed with the state, 211 employees are set to receive layoff notices effective Nov. 13. However, Amazon says these workers will have the option to relocate to “nearby operations sites.”

* Crain’s | The future of the hybrid office? It could look like this: Relativity is one of the few companies tying itself to the future of LaSalle Street after a series of departures of big-name tenants. Roughly one-third of office space along LaSalle in the Loop is empty, according to a recent analysis of the street by the Urban Land Institute, largely a result of banking giants BMO and Bank of America decamping for new towers in the West Loop. […] To foster this environment, the company put in stadium-style communal seating and a large video wall for broadcasting company-wide meetings. The office also features other amenities such as a library, a juice bar and an arcade with a sports simulator, all designed to attract employees to work at the office.

* Tribune | Amtrak salutes Latino workers who kept the trains running on time: When train travel expanded into Illinois in the 1800s, it was the lowest ranking employees who laid the rails, which could weigh close to half a ton. To keep the trains running on time through the winter, they’d light fires to thaw the tracks. Called “traqueros,” a term derived from the Spanglish word traque, which means track, these Latino workers were honored by Amtrak on Wednesday in Union Station.

* Sun-Times | Worst team ever plans 2025 payroll cut, seeks money for new ballpark. Wanna be a White Sox fan?: The current public discussion is about the Sox’ intention to decrease its payroll next season because they’ve had such a rotten year financially. It’s something the Sun-Times has written about several times this season. Whenever they get around to openly discussing the payroll, the Sox surely will talk about sticking to “The Plan,’’ which means nurturing young, talented and inexpensive players. But it’s also about profit. I very well might be brain-addled, but it seems to me that the solution to what ails the team is better baseball players, which means spending more money.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Foster cites lying politicians as top issue; challenger Evans says it’s immigration: Foster, a scientist and former entrepreneur who has served the 11th District since 2013, warned about politicians who lie repeatedly because “they expect that there’ll be political benefit from it.” In scientific fields, saying something you know isn’t true will end your career, Foster said. But that’s not the case in politics today, he added.

* Daily Herald | Hanover Park parks president speaking out on citation for verbal assault of teen referee: According to the police report, the 17-year-old boy was escorted to his vehicle after the game by adults who had witnessed the altercation. The referee reported he felt scared Elkins was going to hit him, according to the police report. Elkins Thursday said he was inspired to speak out further because of the response news coverage of the police report was generating.

* Daily Heral d| Hoffman Estates native uses archaeology training in search for Americans missing in combat worldwide: Friday is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, but bringing missing Americans home is a year-round focus for Hoffman Estates native and professional archaeologist David Brown. He now employs the same techniques to find and identify U.S. military personnel from World War II and later for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency within the Department of Defense as he previously did to unearth the culture of ancient civilizations.

*** Downstate ***

* SJ-R | New sheriff in town: County board officially approves Crouch nomination: Crouch, 51, was sworn in by Seventh Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow as her husband, Robert, the police chief of Riverton, and her two sons looked on. […] Crouch was also assigned to the Child Advocacy Center before her retirement, where she investigated cases of child abuse. Board chairman Andy Van Meter cited her “incredible breadth of experience with almost every aspect of policing and managing.”

* WCIA | Champaign Co. organizations aid low-income families: Two groups in Champaign County are partnering together to help low-income families. The Housing Authority of Champaign County and VOLO are eliminating the cost of Wi-Fi. They’re starting a new project called VCHAP it’ll provide free wi-fi for 355 homes in six Housing Authority of Champaign County properties.

*** National ***

* CBS Chicago | Hours before Freddie Owens’ execution, friend who testified against him says he lied: “Freddie was not there”: Owens is set to die at 6 p.m. Friday at a Columbia prison for the killing of a Greenville convenience store clerk in 1997. It will be South Carolina’s first execution in 13 years. But Owens’ lawyers on Wednesday filed a sworn statement from the friend and co-defendant, Steven Golden, late Wednesday to try to stop South Carolina from carrying out the execution. Prosecutors reiterated that several other witnesses testified that Owens told them he pulled the trigger. And the state Supreme Court refused to stop Owens’ execution last week after Golden, in a sworn statement, said that he had a secret deal with prosecutors that he never told the jury about.