* Center Square…

More than 1.4 million Illinois voters have cast their ballot with one week left before election day.

More than 8 million registered voters are in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich said so far, more than 1 of every 8 voters has cast their ballot. […]

Last week, data from the state elections board showed more than 740,000 registered Illinois voters have already cast a ballot.

Voter turnout for the previous general election in 2020 was 73%, the highest since 1992.

* Illinois Department of Human Services…

Today, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced the expansion of beds for mental health services in the civil units at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center, in Anna, Illinois. IDHS plans to launch the expansion at Choate on November 1, 2024. There are currently beds for 50 patients at the State-Operated Psychiatric Hospital on the Choate campus, up to 25 additional beds will be added over the course of the next several months.

This is a critical next step for the three-year transformation initiative, announced by Governor Pritzker and IDHS in March 2023, which aims to repurpose portions of the Choate campus and to reshape the way the State approaches care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). […]

The decision to expand beds for mental health services is informed by recommendations from Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine and was made in close collaboration with IDHS’s Division of Mental Health and Division of Developmental Disabilities. […]

Staffing ratios have improved over the past year, as the number of staff at Choate has remained consistent even as the number of residents in the developmental center has decreased as they transition to the community and living arrangements of their and their guardians’ choice.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Crain’s | Telling the “Why Illinois” story on the global stage: With Illinois now on stronger financial footing, the state is able to prioritize economic growth and development in ways that it couldn’t before — and telling the “Why Illinois” story on the global stage is a key component of that strategy. The Gubernatorial Trade Mission to Japan this October is one such example, in addition to recent trips to Canada and the United Kingdom. John Atkinson, Chairman of Intersect Illinois, outlines how the state is building connections and driving increased investment through these delegations.

* IPM | Illinois is the nation’s pumpkin producer. Here’s why: Mohammed Babadoost, a plant pathology professor at the College of Aces, said the significance of pumpkins in Illinois is measurable. “We grow almost all, at least 90% of canned pumpkins, meaning that if Illinois fails in pumpkin production there would be no pumpkin pie,” Babadoost said. Other states, such as Indiana, Ohio, New York and California, produce seasonal pumpkins for decoration, but not for processing, he said.

*** Madigan Trial ***

* Tribune | ComEd’s former top lawyer takes stand in Madigan corruption trial after state Rep. Bob Rita’s testimony derailed: In 2011, as Thomas O’Neill was in Springfield pushing for legislation on behalf of utility giant ComEd, he heard one question over and over: What did Michael Madigan think of the bill? “Everyone – I think without fail, but most everyone – was interested in where the speaker stood on this,” O’Neill, formerly ComEd’s general counsel, testified Monday in Madigan’s corruption trial. “House, Senate, Rs, Ds.”

* WTTW | Ex-ComEd Lawyer Tells Jurors Madigan’s Support Was Critical for Legislative Success in Speaker’s Ongoing Corruption Trial: O’Neill testified that while working on that bill, both Hooker and McClain told him that they had a relationship with Madigan and that, if they could secure the necessary legislative votes for Smart Grid, then “the speaker will run this bill.” Jurors saw a December 2010 email from then-ComEd CEO Frank Clark who wrote that Madigan had informed Hooker “to put the formula rate proposal in bill format, (and) that he would take it up in January.

* Center Square | Prosecutors lay foundation in Madigan corruption trial: Prosecutors spent several hours with O’Neill on the stand as they worked to establish a foundation for their case against Madigan. O’Neill also testified that a representative from the speaker’s office clarified that any utility legislation would carry an expiration date or sunset clause when it would automatically end.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Pepsi closes only Chicago plant without warning employees, union alleges: Pepsi shuttered its South Side plant without notice Monday morning and laid off at least 79 employees. Workers showed up at the plant as usual early Monday only to learn they had been let go and the facility would be closed, according to their union, Teamsters Local 727. They were sent home at 5:45 a.m., and deliveries to the plant at 650 W. 51st St. were being rerouted shortly after, according to a union spokesperson.

* WTTW | Pay $4M to Family of Man Who Spent 33 Years in Prison After Being Wrongfully Convicted, City Lawyers Recommend: Lee Harris was 36 when he was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to 90 years in prison for murdering 24-year-old Dana Feitler, who was forced to withdraw $400 from an ATM after being kidnapped from the lobby of her apartment building in the city’s most affluent neighborhood. Eight months after Harris was exonerated in March 2023, he died of natural causes, records show.

* Sun-Times | Pilsen ’serial polluter,’ shouldn’t get new permit for shredding metal, residents say: “Sims has been in violation, not once or twice but many, many, many times,” Theresa McNamara, chairwoman of the Southwest Environmental Alliance, told the Sun-Times. “This is what the mayor needs to look at. He needs to see that this is a serial polluter.” Under an agreement with the state, Sims is building new equipment to contain emissions from the site. “They should not get a permit [from the city] until they put in the equipment,” McNamara added. “We need the mayor to stop giving Sims special treatment by overlooking their history in our community.”

* Crain’s | Quantum park adds two more U of I leaders to senior team: Two more senior University of Illinois staffers have signed on to help turn the quantum-computing park on the South Side into reality. Laura Appenzeller, executive director of the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign, will be an associate director and chief operating officer. Brian DeMarco, a physics professor and quantum technology researcher in Urbana, will be associate director and chief technology officer. They’ll also continue to serve in their campus roles.

* Crain’s | Chicago’s oldest steakhouse isn’t shying away from change anymore: Founded in 1941, Gene & Georgetti is Chicago’s oldest steakhouse. The restaurant has been resistant to change for most of its existence. The decor went untouched for decades. The owners repeatedly turned down proposals to expand because they did not want to dilute the brand. […] Michelle Durpetti said she consulted with her father on her vision for the future of the restaurant. “I sat down with my parents and said, ‘Look, if it’s my turn . . . I’d like to make a few modifications to how we do things,’ ” she told Manilow. “If I was going to do it, and I was going to give it 100% and put my heart and soul into it, I had to believe in what I was doing.”

Must watch breakdown of every angle of the Hail Mary from ESPN.

Mike Greenberg on Matt Eberflus comments postgame:

“that’s one of the five dumbest things I’ve heard a human being say in any context.” #DaBears #Bears #ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/qAvJ350TNR

— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) October 28, 2024

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Flossmoor settles lawsuit with fired police Chief Jerel Jones, who alleged racial discrimination: The village agreed to pay Jones nearly $60,000 “to avoid the cost and distraction of prolonged litigation,” Mayor Michelle Nelson said in a statement Friday. “Our priority has always been to serve the best interests of our community, and we believe that this resolution will allow us to focus our resources on continuing to provide high-quality services and fostering a positive and inclusive environment for all residents,” Nelson said. “I look forward to continuing to work together, with residents and staff, toward our shared goals.”

* News-Sun | Lake County state’s attorney candidates trade accusations as election nears: Incumbent Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart will be seeking a second term in office on Nov. 5, with a challenge coming from Republican candidate Mary Cole. […] Their responses occasionally sparked some sharp remarks, with Cole alleging that crime is up due to Rinehart’s policies. Rinehart said Cole was running “the most dishonest and cynical campaign imaginable.”

*** Downstate ***

* Fox 2 Now | Illinois Eaton workers strike enters week two, demand fair wages: The International Association of Machinists local 660 is going on strike against Eaton and it’s B-line business. Workers at the Eaton facility here in Troy as well as the location in Highland are taking part in the walkout. There are a total of about 400 workers walking the picket lines.

* WSIL | Free aviation program coming to Cairo: A local organization is bringing the new program to Cairo to educate and help prepare students for a career in aviation. The Harold S Jones Fine Arts Center is introducing their Aviation Industry Workshop. This workshop is designed to introduce high school students to jobs in the airline industry, which includes pilots for helicopters, aircrafts, drones, also jobs for flight attendants, aircraft and airport maintenance and more.

* SJ-R | Springfield could set record high temperature on Tuesday: A high of 83 degrees is predicted for Tuesday, but if temperatures reach 84 degrees in Springfield, it’d be a new record high for Oct. 29. Daryl Onton, a meteorologist at the NWS in Lincoln, said there is a strong chance of Springfield breaking that record.

*** National ***

* The Atlantic | A Touch Revolution Could Transform Pitching: Mariano Rivera was never secretive about the grip on his signature pitch. He’d show it to teammates, coaches, even reporters. He placed his index and middle fingers together along the seams. He pulled down with his middle finger upon release. The ball would whiz arrow-straight before veering sharply a few inches from where the hitter expected it. When teaching pitchers how it should feel coming out of their hand, however, Rivera could be frustratingly vague. Put pressure on the middle finger, he would say. This can be a moneymaker for you.

* AP | Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said: Tech behemoth OpenAI has touted its artificial intelligence-powered transcription tool Whisper as having near “human level robustness and accuracy.” But Whisper has a major flaw: It is prone to making up chunks of text or even entire sentences, according to interviews with more than a dozen software engineers, developers and academic researchers. Those experts said some of the invented text — known in the industry as hallucinations — can include racial commentary, violent rhetoric and even imagined medical treatments.