* The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans…

The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans (JCCIA) is proud to announce a collaboration with members of the Native American Community during the 2024 Columbus Day Parade to be held on Monday, October 14, 2024. A press conference will be held on Friday, October 11 at 11am to commemorate the partnership between the JCCIA and the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA).

“This is an initiative that has been a long time coming,” said Ron Onesti, President of the JCCIA. “We have been working together with tribal communities to dispel mistruths about Christopher Columbus, while at the same time promoting mutual respect, peace and unity between the two ethnic groups.”

Leaders from the Dakota Sioux, Creek Sioux, Navajo, Cherokee and Chippewa tribes will come from around the country to participate in the parade. They are members of the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), an organization against the “Cancel Culture” environment and promotes Native American history and heritage.

“We are all Americans…Native Americans, Italian Americans, all Cultural Americans united as one,” said Tony Henson, President of NAGA. “I am looking forward to coming to Chicago in peace and harmony. We are excited to promote the values of the Iroquois Great Law of Peace that is the basis of our U.S. Constitution.”

Several cultural groups will also perform traditional Native American song, dance and spoken word.

Also in attendance will be Rafael Ortiz, author of several adult and children’s books about Christopher Columbus, including “Christopher Columbus The Hero.” He is Hispanic of Indigenous (Taino) descent and is a speaker in great demand about the topic.

The Chicago Columbus Day Parade will kickoff at Noon on Monday, October 14 on State Street at Wacker Drive.

* WGEM…

Makers are on the move again in the Land of Lincoln as the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) and the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) kicked off their third annual “Makers on the Move” bus tour at Ace Sign Company in Springfield Friday morning.

“Without you, Illinois would not be the powerhouse it is today,” IMEC President David Boulay said.

He said that powerhouse comes from manufacturers across Illinois. […]

According to the IMA, the industry contributes $580 billion to the state’s economy annually, the largest of any industry to Illinois’ gross domestic product. It also directly employs 662,298 workers and supports as many as 1,771,928 jobs, which is nearly one-third of all jobs in the state. […]

The bus tour continues across the state through Oct. 12. In total, the bus will travel more than 2,500 miles making roughly 40 stops according to the IMA.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WCIA | Illinois AG leads coalition supporting minimum staffing for train operations: Unsafe railroad conditions have cost train workers their lives, and the Illinois Attorney General is part of a movement pressing to put an end to the problem. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of attorneys general in favor of a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rule that requires freight and passenger trains be staffed with at least two crew members to ensure safer conditions for workers., according to a release on Wednesday.

* Capitol News Illinois | Jury selection begins next week in corruption trial of former Speaker Madigan: The 82-year-old ex-speaker faces 24 counts of bribery and racketeering — along with his longtime friend and powerful Springfield lobbyist Mike McClain — in a case that frames Madigan’s power in government, politics and as a partner in his law firm as a criminal enterprise. The trial, which is scheduled to last through mid-December, is the culmination of more than a decade of digging by the FBI and prosecutors, and it’s the final in a series of related cases that have played out in Chicago’s federal courthouse over the last few years.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Head of CPD drug investigations is finalist for Iowa police chief job — and is saddled with mountain of debt: A Chicago police commander of major narcotics investigations was struggling with almost $840,000 in debt earlier this year, including more than $30,000 in taxes he owed the IRS, according to bankruptcy records. Joshua Wallace, 50, is one of the two finalists to become the next police chief in Des Moines, Iowa. On Wednesday, the Des Moines Register newspaper first reported on Wallace’s bankruptcy filing in February.

* Block Club | Garfield Park Conservatory Starts Charging Entry Fee For Non-Chicagoans: Starting Oct. 16, people who do not reside in Chicago will be charged an entrance fee to the conservatory, with prices depending on age. Non-resident adults will be charged $10, while children 7-17 will get in for $5 and kids younger than 7 will be admitted for free, according to an announcement. College students and people 65 and older will be charged $5.

* Sun-Times | U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeal of Patrick Daley Thompson, heir to Chicago political dynasty: The high court’s deliberations are not expected to completely undo the former City Council member’s conviction for tax crimes, regardless of how things play out. But 2025 could be the second year in a row that the justices hear arguments about how the feds pursue local politicians in high-profile cases.

* Sun-Times | Schwinn led the bicycle industry from Chicago for a century before losing its way: The pioneering bike company was sold long ago and no longer is based in Chicago. But it left behind a huge legacy that even missteps of the ‘70s and ‘80s can’t erase.

* NBC Chicago | With Savannah Bananas coming to Chicago for 1st time, here’s how to enter the ticket lottery: The Bananas, who have pioneered a style of baseball called “Banana Ball” will play at Guaranteed Rate Field against the Firefighters on Aug. 15-16, 2025. Fans interested in purchasing tickets must sign up for a ticket lottery via the team’s website. Only one city can be selected when entering the lottery.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WGN | Judge warns Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard to comply with rulings: Trustees opposed to Henyard returned to court Thursday, claiming Henyard disobeyed the order by instructing a vendor to cut off Keith Freeman’s access to village license and permitting software. Freeman was Henyard’s top adviser in both Dolton and Thornton Township before he fell out of favor for cooperating with Henyard’s opponents and she attempted to fire him.

* Shaw Local | Kane County offering $755K in ARPA funds to food-related businesses: The Kane County Food and Farm Resiliency Grant Program is now open for applications, offering $755,000 in financial assistance to local food-growing businesses and nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, officials announced in a news release. The funds are available through Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds created through the American Rescue Plan Act.

* Beacon-News | $26M Dauberman Road extension in Kane County nearly complete: A $26 million Kane County project to extend Dauberman Road over Route 30 and the nearby railroad tracks in Big Rock is nearly complete, county officials announced Tuesday at a ribbon cutting. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Dauberman Road Extension Project comes around a year and a half after construction began on the project, according to a news release about the ceremony. County officials said during the ceremony that the road extension project will improve accessibility and safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists in the area.

* Daily Herald | ‘Best day ever’: Wheaton man grows 2,000-pound pumpkin : His 2,021-pounder took first place at the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association weigh-off on Saturday. Adkins didn’t know how much it weighed until it went on the scale during the event in Minooka. “It was so unbelievable,” he said Thursday. “I’ve been shooting for this for the longest time, so I can’t even tell you the excitement I felt. It still feels so incredible. Best day ever.”

* WGN | Wildlife expert describes pulling python from woman’s car in Kane County: Brad Lundsteen of Suburban Wildlife Control says the job was among the top 10 strangest scenarios he’s encountered. The reptile was first spotted in a neighborhood in Geneva on Tuesday before it made its way under the vehicle. After multiple efforts to remove the reptile, the car was driven to an area body shop where it could be lifted to grant Lundsteen easier access.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIL | 80 vacancies for 12 job positions posted in connection to Choate in Anna: 80 vacancies for job positions are posted on an Illinois official state website with dates ranging from mid-September to early October for Choate Mental Health and Development Center in Anna. On the Illinois Department of Human Services website are employment opportunities linked to the Work For Illinois page with a number of positions posted across the state. In Anna, a total of 12 jobs are posted from dates starting from September 16 through October 3 in connection to Choate Mental Health and Development Center.

* State Week | What changes might come from Sonya Massey’s death?: Sonya Massey was an unarmed Black woman who was shot and killed by a former sheriff’s deputy in Sangamon County this summer. The case drew outrage and placed more focus on police hiring and training. It could lead to new legislation. Massey’s mental health struggles also showed how a law designed to prevent such individuals from having police confrontations has failed to get up and running.

* PJ Star | Runaway trucks, tornadoes and millions of pies: Beloved Peoria bakery had long, colorful history: The fondly remembered Kitchen Made Pie Co. has a storied, if turbulent, history. It supplied more than 10,000 pies to the 1951 Eureka Pumpkin Festival, when that was a thing. It weathered a runaway pie truck in 1963, a safecracking and tornado in 1965, and a worker dismemberment in 1972. For decades, the company supplied restaurants and groceries across the Peoria area.

* WCIA | Champaign’s Promise Healthcare receives $600K for mental health, substance abuse services: A new grant for $600,000 has been received by Promise Healthcare after applying in June. They were one of 16 clinics in Illinois to be chosen by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). 400 clinics were selected nationwide.

*** National ***

* NPR | Storm damage closes N.C. factory that makes vital hospital supplies: The Baxter International factory in Marion, N.C., about 35 miles outside of Asheville, was evacuated right before the worst of the storm passed, according to social media posts from employees. It’s now shut down and covered in mud — like a lot of western North Carolina. Bridges leading to the facility were also badly damaged. The facility is one of the largest suppliers of IV fluids in the country, the Food and Drug Administration says. Baxter says it will spare no expense to get the factory back online, but the company doesn’t “have a timeline for when operations will be back up and running.”

* Vox | Get used to more absurdly hot Octobers: Palm Springs, California, hit a staggering 117 degrees Tuesday, setting a new October record for itself, and matching the highest temperature that’s ever been documented in the US in October. Other places in California, Arizona, and Wyoming have also experienced some of their hottest October temperatures ever, with San Jose reaching a temperature of 106 degrees, Phoenix hitting 113, and Cheyenne reaching 85 degrees.