* ICYMI: Lawmakers return to Springfield as projected budget deficit looms. Capitol News Illinois…

Illinois lawmakers returned to Springfield Tuesday for the first time since May following news earlier this month that they’re facing a projected $3.2 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The news didn’t surprise Republicans, who condemned “drunken spending” policies, but the Senate’s top Democratic budget leader defended the state’s spending priorities and cautioned next year’s budget is still more than six months away from passage.

“This was not unexpected and certainly there’s a long time between now and the end of the fiscal year and we’ll be prepared,” Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, said.

The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget released a report on Nov. 1 projecting the state will face a $3.2 billion deficit for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. The annual report from the governor’s budget office typically sets a benchmark for state lawmakers as they begin budget talks early in the year.

* Related stories…

∙ Tribune: With state facing $3B deficit, GOP senators call on Gov. JB Pritzker to promise no tax hikes
∙ WTTW: Illinois House Speaker on Protecting Reproductive Rights, Balancing the State Budget
∙ 21st Show: Illinois House Speaker reflects on election results, looks to the future of state government under Trump administration

* At 11 am Governor Pritzker will give remarks at the Willard Ice Building 40th Anniversary Celebration. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Pritzker, Colo. Gov. Polis launch governors’ coalition to protect against ‘threats of autocracy’ under Trump: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis have formed a coalition of governors to fight against “increasing threats of autocracy” and strengthen democracy during a second Donald Trump presidency. The goal of Governors Safeguarding Democracy, or GSD, is to protect state-level institutions of democracy — and to utilize their collective legislative, budgetary, executive and administrative powers. Pritzker said it will “catalyze collaboration across state lines.”

* Capitol News Illinois | Amid flurry of gun ban challenges, federal appeals court considers Cook County assault weapon law: A panel of federal judges is weighing whether to overturn a Cook County ban on semiautomatic weapons in a case that could upend other local bans and call into question the statewide prohibition on the controversial class of firearms. But the appeal under consideration at the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals faces potentially long odds of success. The constitutionality of local bans on “assault weapons,” the phrase used in such laws, has been upheld by the 7th Circuit three times in the past 10 years, including once in 2023

* WCIA | IDOA pitches new hemp regulations to lawmakers: The new rules center around testing and licensing, specifically for hemp at academic institutions. “For the universities that get this license, they wouldn’t have to comply with all the various testing requirements,” Sam McGee, a counsel for IDOA, said. “They would just have a little bit easier of a testing requirement and they could do research.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Capitol Briefs: Former Gov. Quinn pushes for ‘millionaire tax’ amendment; Underground Railroad task force issues findings: A task force created by a 2023 law to explore ways chronicle Illinois’ Underground Railroad history announced its findings on Tuesday, recommending the state create a commission that would organize historical sites and stories about the network. “Too many in Illinois believe we need to travel to the East Coast to visit locations on the Underground Railroad, unaware of the enormous activity that took place in their own backyards here,” task force member and Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman said.

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Attorney General Kwame Raoul launches unit to investigate innocence claims: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is launching a unit to investigate cases in which new evidence could prove the innocence of people convicted of serious crimes. “Wrongful convictions destroy lives. Wrongful convictions diminish faith in our criminal justice system,” Raoul said Tuesday at a downtown news conference, flanked by state’s attorneys and members of the new unit. “They put victims and public safety at risk by allowing the true perpetrators to escape unpunished.”

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Embattled CPS CEO criticized in meeting with mayor as Johnson administration continues moving to fire him: Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez got chewed out this week by allies of Mayor Brandon Johnson over impending charter school closures, in a contentious City Hall meeting that could spell the next step in Johnson’s monthslong push to oust the embattled schools chief. The Monday meeting, which the mayor attended, featured a presentation by Martinez over the looming closures of seven Acero charter schools, according to attendees. It took a hostile turn when several progressive aldermen began grilling Martinez on the slideshow.

* ABC Chicago | ‘Collaborator in chief’: Chicago mayor willing to negotiate with aldermen working to defeat tax hike: Aldermanic sources said, at this point, behind-the-scenes budget negotiations could result in the property tax hike being reduced to $135 million, or maybe even $100 million. The mayor would not confirm any figures, but said he’s willing to work with the Council.

* WTTW | Chicago Will Remain a Sanctuary City, Despite Donald Trump’s Threats, Mayor Brandon Johnson Says: In his first remarks on the outcome of the presidential race, Johnson said Chicago will not allow Chicago Police officers to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deport Chicagoans. That assistance is now prohibited by city ordinance. “We will not bend or break,” Johnson said. “Our values will remain strong and firm. We will face likely hurdles in our work over the next four years but we will not be stopped and we will not go back.”

* Tribune | With CPD a possible target for personnel cuts in budget plan, consent decree monitor raises alarm: “Cutting these positions permanently could be a devastating blow to the future of CPD reforms,” Maggie Hickey, head of the independent monitoring team, told U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer during a consent decree status hearing Tuesday. “The proposed budget cuts would be a step backward for the CPD reform process at a pivotal point,” Hickey said, “just when progress is starting to be felt.”

* Crain’s | Outrage over delivery fees has waned, but lawsuit against Grubhub lives on: Grubhub co-founder Matt Maloney, who stepped down as CEO nearly three years ago, says he’s about to be deposed in a lawsuit filed against food-delivery app companies by the City of Chicago when Lori Lightfoot was mayor. The suit was filed in late 2021, during the peak of both the COVID-19 pandemic and restaurants’ outrage over delivery fees and other charges that often totaled 30% or more of the retail price of the food.

* WBEZ | Five of the best Amtrak adventures from Chicago for train lovers: I’m a bit of a rail fan myself, and I’ve taken multi-day trips from Chicago to California and Florida, along with multiple shorter Amtrak trips across the country. (I’m currently on the inaugural run of the Floridian, the first train to connect Chicago and Florida since 1979.) It’s a fantastic way to see the country, and the routes from Chicago are some of the most scenic train trips you can take in the U.S.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | State tells Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard her pick for cop chief not cleared for duty: A state agency has told Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard her temporary choice for police chief is “not authorized to exercise law enforcement authority” and urged her to remove him from public service. Tiffany Henyard, at a Nov. 6 Village Board meeting, named Ronnie Burge Sr. to a temporary 30-day posting as chief, after trustees voted against the appointment. A Nov. 8 letter from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board states Burge “has been wearing a Dolton Police Department uniform and carrying a firearm publicly for the last few weeks,” even though he’s not authorized to do so.

* Daily Herald | Mayoral races heating up in Lisle, West Chicago: Incumbent Mayor Chris Pecak is expected to face at least one opponent: Mary Jo Mullen, a current village trustee. Mullen is campaigning under the banner “Lisle Forward” with a slate of village board candidates. “I’m running for mayor because I think Lisle really needs change,” said Mullen, who served as Lisle Township supervisor before being elected to the village board in 2021. “We’ve been making progress around development and economic development very, very slowly.”

* Tribune | Evanston/Skokie School D65 was asked to consider pausing school in historically Black area: memo: With the district’s deficit standing at more than $10 million, the best financial course of action would be to pause construction on Foster School, Robert Grossi, the financial consultant, suggested in the memo, while also acknowledging the historic significance of the district’s desire to provide a neighborhood school for 5th Ward children. Many in the community have voiced support for building Foster School, however, and some public commenters at an Oct. 15 special Board meeting saw the building of the school as necessary to further racial equity in Evanston.

* Tribune | Berwyn woman says far-right streamer Nick Fuentes allegedly assaulted her: Marla Rose, 57, a self-described progressive, said she approached Fuentes’ home Sunday after friends who knew she lived in Berwyn encouraged her to go see if rumors of prank deliveries to his home were true. Fuentes’ home address had been leaked online in response to his posts on social media where he boasted, “Your body, my choice. Forever” last week in an apparent reference to abortion rights after Donald Trump won the presidential election. […] She said Fuentes opened the door before she could ring the doorbell. “In that same movement, he pepper-sprayed me in the face … screamed an expletive at me,” Rose said.

* NBC Chicago | Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train returning to the Chicago area later this month: Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train will tour Canada and the U.S. from, Nov. 21 through Dec. 20, raising donations for food banks across the company’s network, according to a news release. As it treks across the nation, the holiday train will make not just one — but three stops in the Chicago suburbs. Last holiday season, the train held events in Gurnee and Pingree Grove. This time around, a stop in Franklin Park will be added to its itinerary.

*** Downstate ***

* Rockford Register Star | New technology could help reduce the need for high-speed vehicle pursuits in Rockford: The Rockford Police Department would like to tap a $125,888 Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity grant to purchase vehicle-mounted and handheld StarChase systems that can fire GPS tags at fleeing vehicles. The fleeing vehicle can then be tracked electronically rather than being followed in a high-speed pursuit.

* WCIA | Rock Springs Nature Center in Decatur receiving $900K upgrade: Rock Springs Nature Center is receiving a new indoor-outdoor classroom that will change the way they host people and events thanks to an almost $900,000 grant. The new space in Decatur will let classes in the center move from inside to outside with ease. The people at the center are excited about adding these new options to their curriculum. The Macon County Conservation District applied for the money last summer and got it from the Park and Recreational Facility Construction Act Program earlier this year.

*** National ***

* Crain’s | Rivian announces formal launch of $5.8 billion joint venture with Volkswagen: The automakers announced the deal in June. Since then, the size of VW Group’s investment in Rivian and the joint venture has risen from the initial estimate of $5 billion. Rivian is bringing its technology to the table and Volkswagen Group is bringing its global scale, executives said. “The partnership with Rivian is the next logical step in our software strategy,” said Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group. “With its implementation, we will strengthen our global competitive and technological position.”