* WBEZ…

An Illinois judge cleared the way Wednesday for a broader legal challenge to how state prison officials have been calculating sentence reductions, potentially affecting hundreds of incarcerated people who say they should have been released from prison already because they participated in rehabilitative programs.

The ruling gives the go-ahead to a statewide lawsuit against Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Latoya Hughes, expanding what started as one prisoner’s complaint filed without the help of an attorney. The lawsuit challenges the way the prison system has implemented a change in law meant to give people more time off their sentences for participating in work and education programs. That change went into effect in January. […]

A WBEZ and Open Campus investigation in April found that poor recordkeeping and inconsistent implementation of the law has especially harmed people who have been incarcerated since the 1990s. Many of IDOC’s records only go back to 2010, when the corrections department switched to a new digital information system.

The investigation also found uneven application of the law; in one case, officials accepted trust fund records as proof of program participation for Richard McConnell and released him from prison in April but denied similar documentation from others. By June, some incarcerated individuals resorted to hunger strikes to force prison officials to review their cases.

* Illinois Department of Employment Security…

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that nonfarm payrolls were down -2,400 while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent in September, based on preliminary data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and released by IDES. The September monthly change in payrolls was revised from the preliminary report, from +7,100 to -15,800, while the revised unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, unchanged from the preliminary September unemployment rate. The October payroll jobs estimate and unemployment rate reflect activity for the week including the 12th.

In October, the industry sectors with the largest over-the-month job losses included: Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-1,900), Other Services (-1,000), Information (-300), and Professional and Business Services (-300). The industry sectors with monthly payroll job increases included: Leisure and Hospitality (+1,400), Manufacturing (+100), and Private Education and Health Services (+100). […]

The state’s unemployment rate was +1.2 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for October. The national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in October, unchanged from the previous month. The Illinois unemployment rate was up +0.5 percentage point from a year ago when it was 4.8 percent.

Compared to a year ago, total nonfarm payroll jobs increased by +40,500 jobs. The industry groups with the largest jobs increases included: Private Education and Health Services (+30,400), Government (+22,300), and Other Services (+9,200). The industry groups with the largest jobs decreases included: Professional and Business Services (-18,400), Financial Activities (-8,000), and Information (-1,600). In October, total nonfarm payrolls were up +0.7 percent over-the-year in Illinois and up +1.4 percent in the nation.

The number of unemployed workers was 346,400, up +0.8 percent from the prior month, and up +12.5 percent over the same month one year ago. The labor force was up +0.1 percent over-the-month and up +1.1 percent over-the-year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.

* Governor JB Pritzker…

Governor JB Pritzker, Wiegel Tool Works, Inc. and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced a Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) agreement for Wiegel’s $5.5 million investment to incorporate groundbreaking technology to supply the electric vehicle (EV) and renewable energy markets. The investment will enable Wiegel to expand its Wood Dale headquarters and purchase state-of-the-art machinery and equipment to produce products that will help meet Illinois’ clean energy goals. ​ […]

REV incentives will expedite Wiegel’s business plan to produce more products critical for the renewable energy sector, including E-mobility, EV chargers, aviation, agriculture, and battery storage systems. This investment will also support the creation of new good-paying job opportunities and the expansion of Wiegel’s Wood Dale headquarters.

Through its investment, the company will construct an addition bridging two existing facilities to expand the Wood Dale manufacturing facility’s total square footage and increase its manufacturing capacity and efficiency. Wiegel will purchase a key piece of machinery that will enable the company to produce copper busbars for the EV market. […]

With its commitment to investing $5.5 million, retaining and strengthening its workforce of 105 team members, and creating 11 more jobs over four years, Wiegel will receive Reimagining Energy and Vehicles (REV) incentives from DCEO. REV provides competitive incentives for manufacturers across EV and renewables sectors to expand in or move to Illinois. A link to the executed REV agreement can be found here.

* WSIL…

The Illinois Farm Bureau is suing after being expelled from membership in the American Farm Bureau Federation. […]

Larry Miller has been farming in Franklin County for 52 years. He says it’s a craft he passed down to his son. […]

“I want the Farm Bureau to be a voice for me in Springfield and Washington. And this fight is creating some real questions about that,” Miller said. […]

On Thursday the Illinois Farmer Bureau hosted a meeting with leaders of the Illinois County Bureaus. The Bureau president from Franklin County Leon McClerren believes farmers won’t feel an impact locally.

*** Statewide ***

* NBC Chicago | Real ID deadline is coming soon. Here’s what you should know for Illinois: Beginning on May 7, 2025, Real ID-compliant identification will be required for residents who plan to fly domestically. “For Illinois residents who fly domestically, effective May 7, 2025, the federal government will require you to use a valid U.S. passport or obtain a REAL ID from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. If you have a valid U.S. passport or passport card, military ID or other federally approved identification, you may continue to use it as your form of identification after May 7, 2025,” the Illinois Secretary of State’s office said.

* Press Release | IDNR awards historic sites field trip grants to schools: More than $4,376 in donated funds were awarded for 12 field trip grants. Grantees represent six Illinois counties. “This program allows students to visit state historic sites throughout the state to see first-hand what they’ve been learning about in the classroom and to visit a place where notable historic events happened,” said IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie. “Students need the opportunity to experience Illinois’ historical resources in person. We’re pleased to be able to enhance classroom learning with these grants.”

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Mayor’s Plan To Cut Police Therapist Positions Raising Alarms: ‘It’s Bewildering’: Under the mayor’s draft 2025 budget, 22 positions for clinical therapists within the police department would be eliminated — handcuffing an effort to have one counselor for each of the city’s police districts. […] Between 2016 and 2023, 31 department employees died by suicide, including seven in 2022 alone, according to the Sun-Times. That included three officer suicides within a month, reigniting a push to expand mental health services as a short-staffed force worked through cancelled days off.

* Tribune | Potential settlement reached in first suit alleging phony arrests by corrupt ex-Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts: Ben Baker sued Watts and the city in 2016, alleging Watts and his team pinned bogus cases on him — and in one instance, his partner, Clarissa Glenn — in retaliation for refusing to pay Watts a $1,000 bribe. Baker spent about 10 years in prison before his conviction was thrown out. Attorneys for the city reached a deal to settle with Baker and Glenn last month that is pending approval by the City Council, according to court records. The agreed-on payout has not been disclosed, but only payouts above $100,000 must be approved by aldermen.

* Sun-Times | Chicago police officer found not guilty of lying about gun arrest — but still faces firing: A Chicago police officer was acquitted this week of writing a bogus report and providing false testimony about a gun arrest, but he still faces dismissal for allegedly stealing cash and drugs and lying about other firearm seizures. Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski found Officer Daniel Fair not guilty Thursday of felony charges of official misconduct and obstruction of justice during a bench trial.

* Tribune | Long-lost mother and son find healing and sweet reunion at South Shore bakery: Lindsey wanted him to enjoy within reason, perhaps a subconscious motherly instinct. She’d given her only son up for adoption and forgone any contact after giving birth to him at 17. […] “Disbelief,” Hunter said when asked how he felt upon learning his mother was his neighborhood baker. “You mean my mother is this outstanding figure in the community, owning a business?”

* Daily Southtown | A year after $1.2 million project, nature rebounding at Chicago’s Powderhorn preserve: Fisher said the fish are a sign that, after a year, the drainage system is making good on its promise to encourage fish movement from Lake Michigan and Wolf Lake to Powderhorn’s recovering hemi-marsh, where fry can mature among plants that provide refuge from predators. The idea is to support a wider diversity of species and provide food for birds and other wildlife.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Fritz Kaegi OK’d tax breaks for ‘low-income’ seniors, now demands proof they qualify amid Sun-Times probe: Perched on a bluff along Lake Michigan’s shoreline in Winnetka is a brick-and-stone mansion that has six bedrooms, six bathrooms and a swimming pool. It’s owned by Jill Fitzgerald, an 84-year-old widow whose family made a fortune distributing produce to Chicago restaurants. The mansion is worth $7.1 million, according to Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi. Yet Fitzgerald has gotten massive tax breaks under Illinois’ low-income senior citizens assessment freeze, a program that allows people 65 and older with a household income of no more than $65,000 to get tax relief on their primary residence.

* Sun-Times | Judge in Highland Park massacre case to rule on suspect’s attempt to bar hours of interrogation from trial: The lawyers contend that police violated the constitutional rights of Robert Crimo III by not giving him complete details about a lawyer who came to the police station that day to consult with him. Judge Victoria Rossetti said she would issue a written ruling on that motion and another one made by prosecutors. The next court hearing is Dec. 18.

* Tribune | One year after Yellow Line crash, effects linger for riders, Skokie and CTA: As the NTSB has continued to investigate, the effects of the collision have lingered. The Yellow Line, also known as the Skokie Swift, was closed for seven weeks after the crash as the CTA worked to ensure the safety of the trains that carry commuters between the Rogers Park neighborhood and Skokie. Though trains resumed running in early January, they have remained limited to the CTA-mandated maximum speed of 35 mph for the line, down from 55 mph before the crash. And Yellow Line riders have had to contend with closures since then. On a recent weekend, train service was shut down each day along the length of the line and replaced with shuttle buses, while the CTA power-washed the rails to clean them of debris like leaf residue. The CTA committed to expanded cleaning of the rails after the crash.

* Daily Herald | Lake County sees a mix of incumbent leaders seeking reelection and those voluntarily ending their runs: As of Tuesday afternoon, challengers in municipal races filed to face incumbent village presidents, commonly referred to as mayors, in Gurnee, Libertyville and Round Lake Beach, but incumbent mayors in Fox Lake, Hawthorn Woods, Wauconda, Lake Zurich, Barrington Hills, Long Grove and Deer Park so far are unopposed.

* News-Sun | Waukegan D60 joining suit to recover insulin charges; ‘No rhyme or reason for these increases other than price-gouging’: As an employer providing health insurance to its workers who choose to have it, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 is faced with paying much of the ballooning cost of insulin for those who need the diabetes medication for themselves or family members. William Shinoff, an attorney with the California-based Frantz Law Group representing the district, said the amount the three primary manufacturers of insulin charge has escalated more than 550% in the past 11 years. He believes it is illegal.

* Sun-Times | Tearing down Elgin building designed by Marina City architect is a bitter pill to swallow: Built in 1967, the five-story building has been closed since July 2002. An Illinois Department of Human Services spokesperson said the building was shuttered due to the dangers of asbestos and “multiple” structural hazards. “At this time, the building is on a list for possible demolition,” the spokesperson said. “However, at this time IDHS does not have a timeline for when the potential demolition might occur.”

* Evanston Now | Skokie far outpaces Evanston in new housing: Overall, Evanston’s neighbor to the west has approved 1,553 new housing units in that time, while the current Evanston City Council has approved just 627. In both communities the bulk of the approvals have come within the past 12 months, and most of the approved developments have yet to begin construction.

*** Downstate ***

* WTVO | Illinois awarded $95M to electrify freight operations at its ports: The money will fund zero-emission locomotives, skid steers, and forklifts, as well as electric vehicle chargers, hydrogen dispensers, solar power, and on-site battery storage. In addition, the grant will support the purchase of a battery electric passenger ferry in the Quad Cities.

* BND | Some small metro-east villages lack their own police. Can St. Clair County find a fix?: Now, St. Clair County has drafted a budget for 2025 that includes a possible solution to the public safety issue affecting thousands of people along the eastern edge of the county from Marissa to Summerfield. County Board Chairman Mark Kern said the 2025 budget proposal sets aside $300,000 for a pilot program to offer money to the towns to help them hire an officer.

* Press Release | Learn about hunger and homelessness in Illinois at SIU event: CARBONDALE, Ill. — In conjunction with Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s recognition of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week 2024, Ericka Potter, a first-generation college student who serves as homeless youth supervisor for Youth Services Network, will speak Monday, Nov. 18. Her free, public keynote presentation is set for 4-6 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom B.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | ‘Rates will be a lot lower’ in 12-18 months, Goolsbee says: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Austan Goolsbee said as long as inflation continues down toward the central bank’s 2% goal, interest rates will be “a lot” lower over the next 12-18 months. But Goolsbee agreed with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, noting policymakers are not in a hurry to lower borrowing costs. “As long we keep making progress toward the 2% inflation goal, over the next 12 to 18 months rates will be a lot lower than where they are now,” Goolsbee said on CNBC Friday.

* KSDK | She’s qualified to be a nurse, Missouri needs nurses, but won’t give her a license: Alondra Orozco, a recent nursing school graduate, has spent years working toward her dream of becoming a registered nurse — but her immigration status is blocking her from reinforcing the depleted ranks of Missouri’s nursing workforce — even though federal law allows states to issue professional licenses to non-citizens. […] “I’ve given them everything. I have everything that they need for a nurse to work in Missouri, and they still don’t want me,” Orozco said, tears welling in her eyes as she contemplated the possibility that she would have to decide between moving away from her family or remaining in her chosen field.

* Axios | Rahm Emanuel weighs bid for DNC chair: David Axelrod, who steered Barack Obama’s campaigns and is a friend of Emanuel, floated earlier this week that the combative and energetic Emanuel would be an ideal leader for a deflated party. “If they said, ‘Well, what should we do? Who should lead the party?’ I would take Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, and I would bring him back from Japan and I would appoint him chairman of the Democratic National Committee,” Axelrod said on his podcast, “Hacks on Tap.”