* ICYMI: Illinois community colleges see largest enrollment jump in 15 years. KHQA…

∙ Enrollment at Illinois community colleges continues to climb for the third straight year according to the Fall 2024 Illinois Community College Opening Enrollment Report.
∙ The report recorded an overall increase of 7.4%, the largest fall-to-fall enrollment growth in the last 15 years, outpacing last year’s fall enrollment increase of 5.7%.
∙ Statewide enrollment data shows 37 of 45 community colleges experienced an increase in headcount enrollment from Fall 2023 to Fall 2024.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Illinois Times | Exhibit honors Illinois sculptor Richard Hunt: The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will open “Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt” on Oct. 25, an exhibition dedicated to world-famous Chicago-based sculptor Richard Hunt, who died Dec. 18, 2023. This will be the first major show of Hunt’s work since his death. Hunt is known for his large abstract metal works utilizing welding and steel casting, often manifesting the Black experience through his work.

* Pantagraph | Illinois, Normal leaders discuss the future of rail, transportation: “I am fascinated by what I see happening here especially with Amtrak,” said U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg. “This is the first time I’ve seen a city hall above the train station.” Krishnamoorthi met with Normal Mayor Chris Koos at City Hall in uptown Normal for a roundtable in which they primarily discussed the current state of transportation and future developments locally, regionally and nationally.

*** Statehouse News ***

I asked @ChairHernandez earlier how many seats she thinks HDems can win. She said 82 was "very doable." That'd be a net gain of four seats. She specifically mentioned #IL47 (Grant), #IL52 (McLaughlin), #IL104 (Schweizer) and #IL114 (Schmidt) as possible GOP-to-Dem flips. #twill https://t.co/hYreHPIvYa

— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) October 24, 2024

* Journal-Topics | Candidates In 17th, 57th House Districts Square Off At League Forum: Four candidates running in two Illinois State House races — incumbent state representatives Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-17th) and Tracy Katz Muhl (D-57th), and their challengers Jim Geldermann (R) and Daniel Behr ® — squared off in a recent League of Women Voters candidate forum in Wilmette.[…] “As a citizen, I consent to be governed by delegating limited powers to the government,” Geldermann began his opening statements with. “I was asked to run not because I had a burning desire, but I believe as a citizen I have a duty to stand up and to serve when asked.” He said he was running against the “big crime lobby,” the “let’s keep our kids stupid lobby,” the “DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) lobby,” and the “death lobby.”

* WBEZ | How does seemingly popular legislation die at the Illinois capitol? Many ways — here’s one of them.: Illinois lawmakers introduce thousands of bills every year – and sometimes one of them seems really popular. People flood the capitol in support chanting and carrying signs, lawmakers are hashing it out with each other and meeting with constituents. It’s getting a lot of media coverage. But even if the momentum seems there, sometimes the bill just dies – for any number of reasons.

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | Doc groups target alleged center of insurers’ price-fixing ‘cartel’ in lawsuit: The American Medical Association and the Illinois State Medical Society say MultiPlan, a data analytics agency for health plans, is at the center of a price-fixing “cartel” with commercial health insurers. In a lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Chicago-based associations say New York-based MultiPlan has undercut fair payment for out-of-network health care services and eliminated market competition.

* WGEM | Gov. Pritzker celebrates expansion of ‘Reach Out and Read’ children’s literacy program: “Our program strengthens the relationships between children and their caregivers and lays the foundation for early learning,” said Reach Out and Read Illinois Medical Director Dr. Mariana Glusman. Participating pediatricians give their patients a book following their checkups starting at six months old until they’re five. Doctors give Illinois families more than 180,000 books annually according to Reach Out and Read Illinois.

* 25 News Now | Illinois residents can voice their opinion on ranked choice voting: Voters will be able to weigh in on ranked choice voting (RCV) with an advisory question on this fall’s ballot, which means the result will not be binding, A 20-member state task force is studying the issue by reviewing different voting systems and processes to see if RCV should be implemented in Illinois.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago Police Department exodus: New cops are leaving in droves, Sun-Times investigation finds: One of every six Chicago cops hired since 2016 is no longer on the payroll. About 950 of the more than 5,750 people hired in that period have left. Their average time with the department? Not even three years. Many moved to suburban police departments.

* ABC Chicago | Pending lawsuit over police overtime pay could worsen Chicago budget debt crisis: Chicago’s budget crisis may be worse than many had thought. A still-pending lawsuit over police overtime pay could put the city on the hook for $200 million. It’s a liability Chicago City Council members recently learned about as the city heads into budget season.

* Sun-Times | New CPS board president picked by mayor praises Johnson, makes clear he backs mayor’s plans: Three weeks after the entire Chicago Board of Education resigned, the board’s new president on Thursday lauded Mayor Brandon Johnson in a politically tumultuous time and indicated he’s willing to take the school district in the direction Johnson has ordered. “This is a moment in time that we can not afford to squander,” the Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson said at his first meeting as board president. “My opinion is the mayor has a clear vision for public education here in Chicago: a fully funded school district that gives every Chicagoan a world-class public school in their neighborhoods. A transformation of our public education is a critical piece for [Mayor] Johnson’s vision for transforming Chicago.

* Crain’s | True Value weighs laying off almost half its workforce as company seeks sale: As True Value tries to win approval to sell “substantially all” of its business operations to Indiana-based home improvement competitor Do It Best, the Chicago-based retailer says it could lay off a considerable portion of its workforce if the deal doesn’t come together.

* Sun-Times | Settlement reached in case involving former CPS teacher’s alleged abuse of 3 young boys: The families of three boys allegedly sexually abused by a former Chicago Public Schools teacher have settled their lawsuit against the school board for $2 million, lawyers announced Thursday. The families contended in federal court that CPS did not notify families sufficiently of sexual abuse allegations against Andrew Castro, a former gym teacher at Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School on the Northwest Side, that led to his removal in 2021. While the notification said a teacher had been removed, it did not name Castro.

* Southside Weekly | Chicago Fashion Week Threads Together Community and Culture: The inaugural Chicago Fashion Week (CFW) made a citywide impact with more than fifty events across both the North and South Sides and extending into nearby suburbs. Anchored by three pillars—history, ingenuity and commerce—CFW was designed with a clear purpose: a fashion experience created by and for the people of Chicago.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Democratic candidate for Cook circuit court clerk promises modernization, transparency; Opponent silent: Failure to modernize and lack of transparency are the biggest challenges facing the Cook County circuit court clerk’s office, according to Mariyana Spyropoulos, Democratic candidate for clerk of the Cook County circuit court. She faces Republican candidate Lupe Aguirre on Nov. 5. The Daily Herald attempted to contact Aguirre, a former Chicago police officer and attorney, through the Cook County Republican Party, but was unable to do so. Aguirre does not appear to have a campaign website.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville’s tentative 2025 budget calls for 9 new hires, including 4 for the police department:ity staff presented a $641.88 million budget for next year, 3.3% more than the city’s amended 2024 budget. It includes a $166.43 million general fund, which is 6.4% — a little more than $10 million — higher than what had been allocated this year. The tentative budget also includes a hefty $179.38 million capital improvement fund program, which council members reviewed at a workshop meeting last month.

* Crain’s | Property rights lawsuit over counties’ tax sales gets go-ahead from judge: A lawsuit that aims to halt suburban counties’ longstanding practice of seizing properties over unpaid property taxes — claiming it’s a violation of property rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution — can move forward, a judge ruled last week. At stake in the case is potentially millions of dollars in home equity that homeowners lose when Illinois counties including DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will seize their properties through the labyrinthine tax sale mechanism. For decades, property owners have been compelled by state legislation to forfeit the entire value of their property so the county can recoup a relatively small amount, the tax debt.

* Action | Accel Unveils Plans for Racino at FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing Track: Accel Entertainment unveiled plans for its racino at the horse track formerly known Fairmount Park during the Illinois Gaming Board meeting on Thursday, targeting an opening of its temporary casino before the Kentucky Derby next May. Accel reached an agreement to purchase Fairmount Holdings, which owns the FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing track in Collinsville, for $35 million in July. Accel plans to invest an additional $90 million in converting the venue into a single-site horse racing track as part of an eventual racino. It made its presentation to the IGB prior to the stage agency voting to transfer the organizational and master sports wagering licenses from Fairmount Holdings to Accel, with the sports wagering license also renewed through October 2028.

* Tribune | Cook County Board approves new health system CEO: After a monthslong search, Cook County Health found its new leader right back at home, with the current interim CEO getting elevated Thursday to the permanent job. The Cook County Board affirmed a search committee’s pick, appointing Dr. Erik Mikaitis to oversee management of Stroger and Provident hospitals, a network of more than a dozen clinics, and the county’s Medicaid managed care program, CountyCare. He inherits a proposed $5.2 billion budget for 2025 and a workforce of roughly 7,600. Though the system has faced significant financial hurdles in recent years — including high costs for providing free care — 2025 is the first year in recent history the county’s health fund does not have a projected deficit.

*** Downstate ***

* Pantagraph | Illinois Democrats rally student voters at ISU: As a mother of two daughters, state Rep. Sharon Chung said she was proud to convey the message “bans off our bodies” in voice and through the message of the T-shirt she wore. “It terrifies me. … they’re growing up in a world today where they have fewer rights than I did when I was their age,” Chung said, referring to her children.

* Rockford Register Star | Winnebago County is on a mission to replace Mental Health Board with new faces. Here’s why: County Board Member Tim Nabors, D-14, said even as a Nov. 5 referendum for renewal of a 0.5% mental health sales tax approaches, some on the County Board are working to assert greater influence by installing new board members. “The ones that are on there aren’t being given the opportunity to be reappointed,” Nabors said. “They just want them to be replaced because they don’t like not having control of the Mental Health Board.”

* Shaw Local | As ‘skills gap’ grows, teens learn about potential careers – and try out big machines – at Johnsburg High: SkillsUSA Illinois’ ‘career experience’ gave students from across northern Illinois a chance to explore future job pathways that don’t involve four-year college degrees

* News Chanel 20 | Businesses Continue to Struggle after Adams St Fire: Daisy Jane’s said being an older established business meant they were able to bounce back faster. But newer businesses like The Wakery have had to reduce their hours just to survive. “In the business world you see ups and downs all the time. So the key thing is that I chose not to just close my doors and not call it quitsI know that we make income through our events I know we make income through rentals and I can pay my bills through that, so we’re going to focus on that until we get our feet steady again,” Elizabeth Wake, owner and founder of The Wakery, said.

* WICS | Jacksonville Education Association speaks out on violence against teachers: Issues about the treatment of teachers at Jacksonville district schools have been making headlines over the past few weeks. While there has been some friction over the district’s statements and claims from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the teacher’s union is also speaking out now. Members of the Jacksonville Education Association said they expect a certain level of respect and safety from students and parents.

* BND | Belleville high school teachers will wear panic buttons to help head off emergencies: In an effort to boost school safety, Belleville Township High School District 201 employees will soon be able to click a button on a wearable badge to request help or initiate a rapid response during an emergency. The buttons are part of the Centegix Safety Platform, which is “an alert and response system designed to reduce response times … when there is a security issue,” Superintendent Brian Mentzer said.

*** National ***

* AP | Georgia officials say they thwarted an attempt to crash a state election website: The attack was limited to that part of the state’s website, which voters use to request an absentee ballot. Users may have experienced a brief slowdown, but the site never crashed and no data was compromised, said Gabriel Sterling, a top official at the agency. He said it was not clear where the attack originated. There has been no public indication that similar systems in any other state were subject to the same kind of attack.

Randy Johnson explains how he'd go about pitching to Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge pic.twitter.com/Sh4ds5nRng

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 24, 2024