* ICYMI: Report: Peoples Gas customers face onslaught of record-breaking rate hikes under disputed pipe-replacement program. Citizens Utility Board…

- A controversial proposal by Peoples Gas to continue overhauling its network of underground pipes would leave Chicagoans inundated by recurring rounds of record-breaking rate hikes over the next 15 years, a landmark report released Tuesday found.
- Peoples customers would continue to incur charges associated with the pipe-replacement program for another 75 years – or more than six decades after the utility currently estimates it will finish revamping its system of gas mains.
- The report finds that the pipe project could inflict unprecedented costs on consumers, beyond the rapid increase in heating bills they have already experienced over the last decade.

* Related stories…

∙ NBC Chicago: Chicago gas bills could double if Peoples Gas continues pipeline project, report finds
∙ Tribune: Peoples Gas pipeline program will cost another $12.8 billion to complete, report says, socking Chicago customers with 7% annual rate increases through 2040

At 10 am Governor Pritzker will announce a new Help Stop Hate initiative. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Nieman Lab | In 2020, talk of “defunding the crime beat.” Where are we four years later? : The news industry has not, I think it’s fair to say, abolished the crime beat. Many newsrooms continue to publish unverified information from law enforcement in crime logs and the short, often single-source breaking news stories known as crime briefs. (Some legacy newspapers and local TV stations, in particular, seem to have a hard time kicking old habits.)

* Bloomberg Law | Durkin Brothers Wend Through Illinois Legal, Political Worlds: Many brothers attend law school and launch legal careers in the same state, but few have attained the public successes Jim and Thomas Durkin have. Sixty-three-year-old Jim, seven years younger than Tom, was appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives about five years after graduating from law school and became House Republican leader 18 years later.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WGN | Illinois lawmakers scrutinize prescription drug pricing at hearing:
“It’s price gouging plain and simple and it has to stop,” 4th District Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D) said. While Democrats point to the “Inflation Reduction Act” as one way they’ve lowered the cost on some of the most essential drugs, it is still a long road ahead for many Americans.

* Daily Herald | Fiscal issues foremost for Villa, Brown in 25th District senate contest: Honoring pension obligations and fully funding schools are among the biggest challenges facing the Illinois General Assembly, state Sen. Karina Villa said during a Daily Herald endorsement interview. State legislators have to consider “how to bring in more money” to solve funding issues, according to the West Chicago Democrat, who is running for a second term representing the 25th District.

* WMBD | State House race for 105th District: The race is between Republican incumbent Dennis Tipsword and Democratic candidate Morgan Phillips. “I decided that we had to be transparent,” said Tipsword. “We had to be open and available and try to get out and talk to our constituents on a timely matter when they needed it. I think over the last two years we have done a really good job of that. There’s always work to be done to try to make it a little quicker and a little better. But we have practices in place now.”

* Advantage | Illinois AI law could have a far-reaching impact on business hiring: Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the Illinois Human Rights Act will be amended to prevent employers from using AI in a discriminatory manner, including using an individual’s ZIP code as a proxy identifier for characteristics. The law also requires notice to be sent when AI is being used in processes related to recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge or conditions of employment.

*** Statewide ***

* News-Gazette | After a slow start, sports gambling in Illinois has taken off:
The Illinois State Lottery is the state’s largest contributor when it comes to gambling tax revenue, with video machines coming in a close second. But revenues generated from sports gambling, legal just since March 2020, are growing at a staggering rate. Total sports gambling revenues just jumped from $380 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year to $1.1 billion in FY 2023-24.

* WCIA | Illinois voters to consider advisory question on IVF coverage on November ballot: If you haven’t cast your ballot yet, you’ll see three advisory questions. One of them focuses on reproductive health care, asking voters if insurance plans should cover in vitro fertilization, or IVF, without limits on the number of treatments. “This wonderful science is out there for the taking and we should make it available to everybody because if you want a family, if you want children, you should be able to have one, not just because my plastic card looks different than your plastic card,” Rachel D’Onofrio, who has gone through IVF treatment, said.

*** Chicago ***

* WGN | Calls go unanswered amid continued decline in Chicago police ranks: The number of police officers is at or near record lows and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign pledge to add 200 more detectives is unfulfilled, despite his claims to the contrary, according to a WGN Investigates analysis of police staffing numbers. As of September, Chicago had 1,662 fewer officers than it did in 2018, a decline of nearly 13 percent.

* Chalkbeat | What’s at the heart of the turmoil at Chicago Public Schools? Money.: In many ways, the conflict can be traced back to pivotal decisions made five years ago. The district agreed to an ambitious new teachers union contract after a bruising 2019 strike that followed years of struggles to balance the budget. The Chicago Teachers Union successfully made the case that more staff earning higher salaries would help students in schools that lacked the resources to meet their needs.

* Crain’s | UChicago researchers may have found ‘functional cure’ for Type 1 diabetes: There’s a catch-22 problem in treating Type 1 diabetes — the “standard of care” anti-rejection medicine used to try to cure diabetes is actually known to cause the same disease. UChicago Medicine researchers are hoping they’ve solved it with a new treatment. Medical researchers at UChicago have successfully transplanted pancreatic islets into three patients with Type 1 diabetes, with two achieving insulin independence and a third already decreasing insulin use by 60%.

* Block Club | O’Hare Awarded $20 Million From Federal Government For Terminal 5 Overhaul: The new funds will be used to improve O’Hare’s Terminal 5. The airport has now received a total of $110 million from the federal legislation since it was signed into law in 2021. Terminal 5 includes the highest number of airlines of any terminal at the airport. Air France, American Airlines, British Airways and Air India are just four of the nearly 40 airlines that are based in Terminal 5, according to the National Airport Database.

Happy Halloween! On this edition of the #WeirdWonderful6thDistrict, we’re highlighting the fascinatingly creepy Museum of Surgical Science. If you haven’t stopped by this Gold Coast gem, it is well worth it on a dark and rainy fall afternoon. pic.twitter.com/lWCEu2TfzR

— Senator Sara Feigenholtz (@SenatorSara6) October 29, 2024

* Sun-Times | White Sox to hire Will Venable as next manager: Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, is a Princeton grad who played nine seasons in the majors and was named a special assistant to Cubs president Theo Epstein in 2017. He was the Cubs’ first-base coach in 2018-19 and third-base coach in 2020.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | With eye on homeless people, Mundelein bans public camping: Violators will face fines ranging from $75 for a first offense to $750, as well as potential jail time. This summer, the Supreme Court found municipalities do not violate the Eighth Amendment’s “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibition by enforcing laws that ban homeless people from camping in public places. […] The ordinance applies to all public property in town. Officials will work with Mundelein Park & Recreation District officials to ensure its properties are included, Police Chief Jason Seeley said in a memo.

* Tribune | In ‘weird’ Cook County state’s attorney’s race, O’Neill Burke — who progressives called a ‘de facto’ Republican — looking to defeat GOPer Fioretti: The Democratic nominee, Eileen O’Neill Burke, prevailed in the primary while pushing back against claims she’s a de facto Republican, while the Republican nominee, Bob Fioretti, was until recently a longtime Democrat who is being backed in the general election by progressive icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson. And after running a robust campaign to defeat the Cook County Democratic Party’s favored candidate in March, O’Neill Burke has made a concerted effort since to largely lay low while Fioretti is trying — and mostly failing — to raise enough money to make the race competitive.

* Daily Herald | Feed producer, Mount Prospect reach interim deal on odor monitoring; parties head for trial: Details of the confidential agreement were summarized in a joint statement on Tuesday from the village, the manufacturer at 431 Lakeview Court and the City of Des Plaines, which is a party to the litigation. Under the agreement, Prestige agreed to random odor testing. If odors exceed certain monitoring standards, Prestige will temporarily halt its operations on the following shift.

* Daily Herald | Safety gates at fatal Barrington crossing on steady but slow track: A Barrington official said the village remains committed to installing pedestrian safety gates at its downtown and Hillside Avenue railroad crossings. However, the village has to follow an administrative process before construction can begin, said Deputy Village Manager Marie Hansen.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’; Early voting turns violent in Champaign Co.: Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons said it started when a man went to vote wearing a hat supporting former President Donald Trump. […] “He was saying he was being denied his right to vote,” Pritchard said. “All they had asked is that he remove his hat. [The election judges] said they were shaken up at the time, the other voters in line were shaken up.”

* WGEM | Gov. Pritzker, Illinois leaders celebrate expansion of Voortman Steel Machinery in state: The Governor‘s Office said Voortman purchased a 27-acre property and will build a 100,000 square-foot building. Voortman plans to invest $51.4 million in the project. Pritzker said it’s possible thanks to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development through its Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit program.

* WICS | New juvenile center wants to engage with Lincoln community: The facility comes as a result of a plan put in place by Governor JB Pritzker in 2020 that focuses on reducing the harm of incarceration of youth. Robert Vickery, the acting director of the Illinois Department of Juvenil Justice says, “At all of our locations,we really emphasize building collaborative relationships with non-profits, with faith-based groups, with higher education, like community colleges, folks that have an interest in serving our kids.”

*** National ***

* Rolling Stone | Musk says Trump win would result in hardship for some Americans: When asked about “tackling the nation’s debt,” he mentioned changing the tax code, and then went on to say there would be some financial difficulty imposed on some Americans. “Most importantly, we have to reduce spending to live within our means,” he said, adding that these efforts will “involve some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity.”

* WaPo | She said she had a miscarriage — then got arrested under an abortion law: Earlier that month, Frazier had shared a Facebook post about the son she lost. She had apologized to Abel, saying she was “so scarred n afraid” and “didn’t know what to do,” court records show. “Why would you be sorry?” asked Jacqueline “Jac” Mitcham, the 31-year-old deputy on Frazier’s doorstep, according to body-camera footage obtained by The Washington Post. “Why would you be sorry, Patience?”