* ICYMI: Gov. Pritzker announces $7.9M in grants to grocery stores across Illinois. WGEM…

-In total, 11 stores are receiving money as part of the Illinois Grocery Store Initiative, which covers $6.9 million, and the Equipment Upgrades Grants program, which totals $1 million.
- Pritzker said right now, there are more than 3 million Illinoisans living in food deserts, which means they don’t have easy access to affordable healthy food options.
-Recipients include stores in Peoria, Rockford, Marion, Carlinville and Alton. A full list of recipients can be found here.

* Related stories…

∙ WMBD: Illinois governor urges more facilities like West Peoria’s Young Minds Center across state
∙ WMBD: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker makes two stops in Peoria
∙ WAND: Carlinville, Urbana receive grant money for grocery stores

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | ADM stops carbon injection as its Decatur facility remains under federal scrutiny: After identifying an underground carbon dioxide leak earlier this year, agribusiness giant ADM found a further “anomaly” in one of the wells at its Decatur carbon dioxide sequestration plant last week. […] As part of the company’s “ongoing diagnostic efforts,” it found evidence of brine – salty water – moving between the underground rock formations it uses for carbon dioxide storage, according to a letter from ADM to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This creates the potential for other underground material to escape its containment zones, although the company’s letter said it has not collected any data indicating that has happened.

* Bolts | In Illinois, a Private Prison Company’s Long Trail of Deaths and High-Dollar Contracts: Sarah Grady, a civil rights lawyer who has represented a number of incarcerated people in lawsuits against IDOC and Wexford, is disappointed in state leaders like Governor JB Pritzker and Latoya Hughes, the governor’s pick to lead IDOC as interim director since March 2023 for awarding Wexford a new contract despite its tumultuous history. “It was a really incredible opportunity for the governor and the state to really think about a model that does not embrace this privatization,” she told Bolts.

* Sun-Times | Want to apply for the new Illinois rental assistance program? Here’s what landlords, tenants should know: The state-funded, court-based rental assistance program started Sept. 20. Tenants and landlords can apply for up to $15,000 in emergency rental payments, which can be applied to past-due rent dating back to March 2020. The funds can also pay up to $500 for court costs and up to two months of future rent payments to prevent an eviction.

* Sun-Times | Mike Madigan, once Illinois’ most influential powerbroker, now faces federal corruption trial: Prosecutors still have one crucial task ahead of them: proving former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan guilty of a racketeering conspiracy. That work finally begins Tuesday, in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge John Blakey, where the once-powerful Southwest Side Democrat is expected to face a jury of fellow Illinois residents whose lives have all been affected by Madigan — whether they know it or not.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Daily Herald | Opponents in 45th District state representative race share their differing top priorities: Democrat and Elmhurst Ward 1 Alderman Martha “Marti” Deuter is running against Republican and Addison Township Supervisor Dennis M. Reboletti, also of Elmhurst, to succeed Democratic incumbent Jenn Ladisch Douglass, who chose not to seek a second term. Reboletti is a former Will County assistant state’s attorney and served as a state representative from 2007 to 2015. He said he considers himself the more effective choice for the seat because of his previous experience and ability to provide a fresh perspective to a Democratic-dominated legislature.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Emboldened by CPS strife, CTU critics pour more cash into school board elections: A month out from Election Day, business and charter school interests that have raised millions of dollars are now infusing cash and stepping up in school board races against the CTU — in three districts dishing out so much money that election officials have lifted the contribution limits. They appear emboldened by the strife at CPS, many of them having spent the past few weeks backing schools CEO Pedro Martinez in his ongoing fight against Johnson and the teachers’ union.

* Tribune | Chicago sees steep drop in number of deaths tied to opioid overdoses: Public health and law enforcement officials point to a variety of factors that could be responsible. Increased community outreach, addiction treatment efforts and less available fentanyl all likely play a role, they said. Through Sept. 20, Cook County had recorded 806 opioid-related deaths this year, according to data from the medical examiner’s office. Of those, 580 occurred in Chicago. In that same time frame in 2023, the county saw 1,363 opioid-related deaths with 1,022 in Chicago.

* Tribune | ‘Make a plan to vote now’: First 2 Chicago early voting sites open: Between June 1 and the end of September, close to 50,000 Chicagoans — more women than men, and the majority were under the age of 35 — registered to vote, according to the city’s elections board. More than 3,600 18-year-olds and over 3,000 19-year-olds, who will be voting in their first presidential election, registered. No ages registered more than those two, which board Chair Marisel Hernandez said was “truly inspiring.”

* Tribune | In an effort to address food deserts, Illinois doles out first round of state grocery funding. An Austin grocer is among the recipients.: The state awarded $750,000 to Forty Acres for its new bricks-and-mortar store at 5713 W. Chicago Ave. Reached by phone while running a produce stand at an Austin farmers market Thursday, Forty Acres founder Liz Abunaw described the state grant program as a “game changer” because unlike many grants which must go toward construction and renovation costs, the program allows funds to go toward first-year operational costs such as labor and inventory.

* Block Club Chicago | Babe’s, A Women’s Sports Bar, Launches Fundraiser To Help It Open In Logan Square: Nora McConnell-Johnson, a lifelong athlete and sports fan, plans to open Babe’s at 3017 W. Armitage Ave. after getting overall positive feedback from neighbors and the alderperson on the idea. Now that the storefront is officially hers, she aims to raise $75,000 to transform the former Music Lounge space, which has sat vacant since 2017 or early 2018.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Ford Heights residents voice ire at new mayor’s first meeting: ‘Give us : Frustration erupted Wednesday in Ford Heights as the Village Board met for the first time following the appointment of interim Mayor Freddie Wilson, who was elevated last week to mayor of the impoverished community despite being in his first term as a trustee. Roughly 50 people were on hand to witness how the Board would move on after their former mayor resigned due to a criminal conviction. After Wilson failed to address former Mayor Charles Griffin’s embezzlement of village funds as well as concerns over his personal ties to Griffin, the crowd became restless.

* Daily Herald | New Cook County dashboard tracks opioid, gun and temperature deaths: The Medical Examiner Case Archive Dashboard allows users to access a range of demographic information for Cook County residents who’ve died as a result of opioids, guns or temperature-related deaths, including age, gender, race and ethnicity. The dashboard allows users to filter data by municipality and cause of death. Visitors also can pinpoint which neighborhoods are experiencing higher death rates.

* Daily Herald | Judge’s decision in Barrington Hills horse-boarding case upheld: A three-judge panel on Monday unanimously affirmed Judge David B. Atkins’ decision against James J. Drury III, who’d sued Barrington Hills in 2015 over a zoning ordinance establishing rules for boarding businesses in the equestrian-friendly town. Drury alleged the ordinance was unconstitutional; Atkins disagreed. The appeals court found Atkins made no errors and that the evidence presented at trial “fully supported” his conclusion.

*** Downstate ***

* KFVS | Union members at Choate Mental Health hit the picket line for more staffing: According to AFSCME Local 141, union members hit the picket line over unsafe working conditions and delays in hiring new staff. Union President Ona Rivero Winfield said there has been an increase in staff assaults over the last several months due to insufficient staffing. The union is citing changes in hiring have caused delays in hiring new staff. She said current staff members are assigned to oversee a greater number of residents than has been deemed acceptable by recent policy.

* WCIA | Motorcyclist injured in crash sues former Springfield officer charged with DUI: Court records show Trevor Hopkins filed a lawsuit for negligence against former Springfield police seargent Michael Egan and the Blue Ridge Club on Tuesday. […] Blue Ridge Club is also named in the lawsuit. Under Illinois’ Dram Shop Act, businesses that serve alcohol are liable if they overserve their customers.

* WTVO | Hard Rock Casino donation to help Northwest Communtity Center with outreach programs: Northwest Community Center received a $1,000 donation from the Hard Rock Casino Thursday morning, in an effort to help with employment training and afterschool programs. “This is going to make a tremendous impact on the programming we have here. It’s gonna help further our mission, which is to provide a place for the local community to gather, learn, and actually be social,” said Northwest’s executive director, Nicole Fricks.

* WCIA | Urbana Police letting clergy care for victims at crime scenes in new program: Chief Larry Boone brought this concept with him from his previous job in Norfolk, Virginia. He saw how successful it was there and believes the same results can be achieved here. They overlaid the map of gun violence with churches in the same area, and plan to pull from that pool. “A lot of people are looking forward to it,” Behavior and Health Detective Antwan Funches said. “The community, as well as my department.”

* SJ-R | Remaining Neuhoff owned radio stations officially sold in Springfield area: Woodward Communication, Inc. officially acquired seven radio station brands from Neuhoff Media in Springfield and Bloomington on Sept. 30, according to a press release from WCI. “We are pleased to announce that today we successfully consummated the acquisition of Neuhoff Media’s radio stations and brands based in Springfield and Bloomington, IL,” stated WCI President/CEO Tom Woodward in the news release. “Over the past couple of months, we have gotten to know each other better, shared ideas, aspirations, etc. which in turn has created positive momentum and energy on which we can enhance our capabilities to serve our customers and communities.”

* PJ Star | Here’s the plan to replace the Christopher Columbus statue in Peoria. And how much it will cost: Artist Preston Jackson was tabbed by the Peoria Park District to construct a new art piece to replace the statue of Christopher Columbus, which was removed from Laura Bradley Park in 2020. Jackson’s piece, which the Peoria Park District is paying him $100,000 to create, will pay homage to Peoria’s Native American population.

*** National ***

* Tribune | President Biden’s student loan cancellation is put on hold again after day of legal whiplash: A federal judge in Missouri put a temporary hold on President Joe Biden’s latest student loan cancellation plan on Thursday, slamming the door on hope it would move forward after another judge allowed a pause to expire. Just as it briefly appeared the Biden administration would have a window to push its plan forward, U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp in Missouri granted an injunction blocking any widespread cancellation.

* WaPo | Dockworkers’ union suspends strike, ports reopen on East and Gulf coasts: The deal — brokered with the apparent help of senior Biden administration officials, according to a person close to the talks — came on the third day of the strike, sparing the U.S. economy the worst of the disruptions. It also takes a difficult issue for the Biden administration out of play less than five weeks before the presidential election, in which the White House’s stewardship of the economy is a key issue.

* WaPo | With races tight, some House Republicans tout ‘pro-choice’ credentials: Not all of the Republicans using the phrase support the legal protections for abortion that Democrats have championed. But their tone is a significant shift that reflects the Democrats’ success in campaigning on the issue since 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and hints at Republican anxiety about how voters are responding. In the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday, JD Vance (R-Ohio) conceded that the Republican Party has to do a better job in “earning the American people’s trust back” on abortion.