* ICYMI: If you’ve been AFK we posted a couple of Chicago school board roundups this weekend. You can find them here and here…

* Related stories…

∙ Crain’s: Entire CPS board to quit amid power struggle with Mayor Johnson
∙ WSJ: The Chicago School Board Coup
∙ WGN: Mayor Johnson to appoint 7 new School Board members Monday after current board members’ resignation announcement

Mayor Johnson is set to announce appointments to the Chicago Board of Education at Sweet Holy Spirit Church at 10:30 am.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Federal agency opposes new state law; Pritzker to lead trade mission to Japan: After a coalition of financial institutions sued over the law in federal court this summer, federal officials this week sided with the banks. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency – an independent bureau within the U.S. Department of Treasury – wrote in a legal brief that Illinois’ law is both “bad policy” and in conflict with federal law. The filing, published Wednesday, frames interchange fees as a “core feature of an intricately designed nationwide payments system.”

* Bloomberg | Stellantis sues UAW to stop strike over plant investments: In a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California on Thursday, the automaker accused the UAW of planning to violate a 2023 collective bargaining agreement by way of “impermissible” mid-contract strikes. The UAW is threatening to walk off over delayed investments in the agreement, including a promise from Stellantis to reopen in Belvidere. Stellantis disputes the UAW’s claim that workers are allowed to strike under the agreement if the company fails to deliver on promises in the deal, which runs through April 2028.

*** Statehouse News ***

We also gained insights into the positive status of the Japanese economy, details about their new Prime Minister, and the significance of the US-Japanese alliance. Gov. Pritzker led our delegation of business leaders, and other Illinois leaders as we embark on dozens of… pic.twitter.com/sObYRgK5PA

— Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (@SpeakerWelchIL) October 7, 2024

* WCIA | Pritzker heading to Japan to try and attract businesses to Illinois: The trip will be used as an opportunity to advertise Illinois, and the products that are made here. Exports from Illinois to Japan increased by almost 32 percent since 2019, according to the Governor’s office. But the governor will also be using the trip to try and attract more businesses to come to Illinois as well. The state is making huge investments in new areas like quantum computing, electric vehicle manufacturing, and data center construction. This is just the latest trip that Pritzker has made to try and tout these opportunities.

*** Statewide ***

* WAND | What landlords, tenants should know about the new Illinois rental assistance program: A new Illinois rental assistance program for tenants and landlords with a pending eviction case has started taking applications and those who are eligible could receive thousands of dollars to help cover past-due rent or prevent an eviction. 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.

* Daily Herald | Are we there yet? Illinois’ drive to 1 million EVs is still in second gear: There’s a significant “meh” factor when it comes to consumer attitudes about EVs, experts said Thursday at the Chicago Automobile Trade Association’s Chicago Drives Electric media day in Oakbrook Terrace. But, there’s positive news on charging networks. And, inch by inch, battery-powered cars are gaining market share, analysts noted.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Johnson’s budget timeline delay spells difficult months ahead for Chicago’s financial conundrum: Though Johnson has downplayed the extra two weeks he’s taking to unveil his budget proposal, the domino effect of department hearings now concluding the week before Thanksgiving has aggravated aldermen across the political spectrum who worry they’ll have less time to propose their own amendments and confer with constituents and experts.

* Crain’s | Quantum-anchored South Works campus would be bigger than four Lincoln Yards campuses: The first-phase projects could include cryogenic facilities and equipment labs “as well as research and office spaces for private companies and universities to collaborate,” the application said. If the City Council signs off on the planned development in the next few months, construction on that first phase could begin early next year with the goal of being completed in the summer of 2026, according to a source familiar with the plan.

* Shaw Local | Jaquan Brisker’s hard hit sparks Chicago Bears defense to another 3-takeaway afternoon in win over Carolina: Jaylon Johnson wanted to make sure Jaquan Brisker was OK. Brisker, the Chicago Bears safety, had just demolished Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble and caused a fumble. It was the first of three Bears takeaways in a 36-10 win over the Panthers on Sunday at Soldier Field. The hard-hitting Brisker has never been afraid to take on contact if it means hitting the ball carrier. The hit looked scary for both players. It sent Tremble into the concussion protocol. Brisker, however, appeared to be OK afterward.

* Crain’s | Harry Potter concept, Spanish fashion chain coming to the Mag Mile: Warner Bros. has signed a lease for a multilevel space that includes about 10,000 square feet on the ground floor at 676 N. Michigan Ave., with plans to open a Harry Potter store like it has in New York, and separately, Barcelona-based chain Mango has a deal for an approximately 16,000-square-foot store at the base of the Ritz-Carlton Residences condominium tower at 664-670 N. Michigan Ave., according to sources familiar with the transactions.

* Crain’s | United is banking on big demand for end of Taylor Swift tour: United Airlines continues to cash in on demand for all things Taylor Swift, adding extra nonstop flights to Vancouver in early December for her Eras Tour finale. The airline is adding one daily flight from both Chicago and Denver from Dec. 5 through Dec. 9 and San Francisco from Dec. 5 through Dec. 8.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson endorses Republican Fioretti for Cook County state’s attorney: “We need Bob Fioretti as Cook County State’s Attorney. This is not about party labels. This is about electing our community’s best State’s Attorney, who will temper justice with mercy,” said the civil rights leader, who said that he has endorsed Republican candidates in the past. “We need to split our ticket this year. After we vote for Kamala Harris for President, we must cross over and vote for Fioretti for State’s Attorney,” Jackson added.

* Tribune | Stateville’s storied past recalled as state readies to demolish, rebuild century-old prison: Stateville’s famous roundhouses were once seen as just that, state of the art facilities based on ideas sketched out by Jeremy Bentham, an 18th and early 19th century English philosopher and social reformer, in his essay, “Panopticon, or The Inspection House.” “The Building circular,” Bentham wrote, “The Prisoners in their Cells, occupying the Circumference — The Officers, the Center. By Blinds, and other contrivances, the inspectors concealed from the observation of the Prisoners, hence the sentiment of a sort of invisible omnipresence.”

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois State Police investigate another Sangamon County officer-involved death: Two hours later, deputies spotted a Dodge Ram with a motorcycle in the bed, according to the news release. Deputies tried to stop the truck, but the driver continued. As the pursuit continued, tools and a tire were thrown from the truck in the deputies’ path. The vehicle traveled south on Interstate 55 through Macoupin and Montgomery counties and then into Madison County. Deputies lost sight of the vehicle, according to the news release, and were only able to follow the truck’s taillights. While following the truck, the release said they found Davenport lying next to the road and stopped the pursuit to deliver medical attention.

* WCIA | Field catches fire near Gibson City: The fire happened about three miles north of Gibson City just after noon. Firefighters from the Gibson City and Sullivant Township Fire Protection Districts responded to put out the flames and stop it from spreading further. The fire was controlled by around 1 p.m., with firefighters staying on the scene an hour after to monitor hotspots. Gibson City Fire Chief Bruce Kallal told WCIA they believe the cause of the fire was some garbage that was burning in the field. No one was hurt.

* PJ Star | Pritzker defends elimination of ‘embarrassing’ Illinois tax; Peoria worried about revenue: Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, who was in attendance for Pritzker’s appearance at the CJ Harvest grocery store in Peoria on Thursday, had said in February that ending the tax would have “unintended consequences.” “This I believe is the unintended consequences of what was deemed to be a break, something good for the residents of Illinois, without fully understanding the impact that it has on municipalities, cities across the state of Illinois like ours,” Ali said in February. “We would not have anticipated a $4 million annual loss moving forward from 2024 and really the damage it could cause to services because it would mean significant, deep cuts.”

* The Southern | Kincaid Mounds celebrates 1,000-year-old artifacts at Archaeological Field Day: The Kincaid site likely served as a trade link between native settlements in the Cumberland-Tennessee river valleys and the metropolis at Cahokia, according to Illinois.gov. Artifacts found at the Kincaid site indicate that while the mounds were built relatively shortly before the appearance of Europeans in Illinois, Native Americans had occupied the area at different periods over hundreds of years.

*** National ***

* AP | More Black and Latina women are leading unions — and transforming how they work: Women make up roughly half of U.S. labor union membership, but representation in top level union leadership positions has lagged, even in female-dominated industries and particularly for women of color. But Black and Latina women are starting to gain ground, landing top positions at some of the biggest unions in the U.S. That has translated into wins at the bargaining table that focus more attention on family-friendly benefits like parental leave and health care coverage, as well as protections against sexual harassment.

* Gizmodo | Truth Social Users Are Losing Ridiculous Sums of Money to Scams: One person who says they lost $170,000 explained they were initially scammed on a different site but met someone on Truth Social who claimed they could help get their money back. That turned out to be a scam as well. But more often, the victims are first contacted on Truth Social before being told to take the conversation somewhere else, like WhatsApp. Truth Social seems to be a target-rich environment for people who are easy to con.