* CSPAN…

President Trump on deploying the National Guard to Chicago: "Well, we're going in. I didn't say when. We're going in." pic.twitter.com/2aftAQqz0s

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 2, 2025

* Daily Herald…

Elizabeth Bauer will seek the Republican nomination for the 53rd District seat in March 2026. The post is now held by first-term state Rep. Nicolle Grasse, an Arlington Heights Democrat.

Grasse was appointed to the seat in June 2024, after Democratic state Rep. Mark Walker, also of Arlington Heights, was appointed to an open state Senate seat. Grasse won a two-year term in November.

In her campaign announcement, Bauer, an actuary, said Illinois is dangerously dependent on revenue from gambling and cannabis sales. She called it “a clear and present danger” for current and future residents.

Bauer also criticized the amount of public funds being spent on medical expenses for immigrants here illegally and a proposal to cap prescription drug prices, among other pieces of legislation.

The 53rd House District leans heavily Democratic; Rep. Grasse won by 16 points in 2024. The last Republican to win the district was Leslie Munger in 2016, when she ran against Susana Mendoza for Comptroller.

* Wirepoints Executive Editor Mark Glennon…

We expect Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski will soon officially announce his run for governor of Illinois.

Nonprofit organizations like Wirepoints are subject to restrictions on political activity. To ensure we have no risk of noncompliance with those restrictions, Ted is resigning his position as president and already stopped publishing columns here. Our research director, John Klingner, is also leaving to join Ted’s campaign.

Because I want to write without restriction about Ted’s race and other races in the coming election, I, too, am resigning as executive editor and soon will begin writing on other platforms such as Substack and as a guest columnist for other publications. However, Wirepoints’ news aggregation service will continue and will be free to link to those articles, just as we link now to many third party authors and publications, so I anticipate that they will appear here as such. I will continue to contribute time on other matters and may occasionally contribute Wirepoints Original columns but only on matters of general interest.

*** Statewide ***

* CBS Chicago | Parents of Illinois boy with autism worry U.S. Department of Education cuts will impact school investigation: But then came an incident caught on grainy video in April. A substitute teacher at Garrison dragged Xander down a hallway by his ankle. The Reeds considered making a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The Chicago branch was located inside the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building downtown, until it was shut down a few months ago.

* Sports Betting Dime | DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars Implement Illinois Sports Betting Fees: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Sportsbook began charging Illinois customers a per-bet fee of either $0.25 or $0.50 on Monday, Sept. 1. FanDuel currently charges users $0.50 per bet, Caesars Sportsbook charges users a fee of $0.25 per bet, while DraftKings charges users either $0.25 or $0.50 per bet. The companies announced the new fees earlier this summer in response to the state instituting its own plan to charge licensed Illinois sports betting operators a fee for every bet they accept.

*** Statehouse News ***

* NBC Chicago | Pritzker opens up about weight loss ahead of possible White House bid: Weighing heavily on his mind is the knowledge that his father, Donald Pritzker, died of a heart attack at age 39 in 1972. Pritzker was only 7 years old. “Whenever I go to the doctor, it’s part of my record. They’re always advising me, like, here are things that you need to be concerned about and that you’re at a higher risk, let’s say, because you have a family member who died of a heart attack young. So, that does drive me,” Pritzker said. “When you’re in the public eye, people want to know. And I don’t want to be too rude to you. But at the same time, are you taking also one of the drugs to help lose some weight?” Ahern asked. “I’m not going to answer that question partly because I think there are a lot of people who are on those PLP1s, and it’s kind of none of anybody’s business. Sometimes people are doing it because they have a health problem, like a genuine medical problem, diabetes or something else. And those are amazing drugs,” Pritzker said.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Chicago Spent $231.2M to Resolve Police Misconduct Lawsuits in 7 Months, Nearly Triple Year’s Budget: Records: Even as the financial toll of decades of police misconduct is likely to grow in the coming months, Chicago exhausted its annual budget of $82.2 million months ago and had spent nearly triple that amount by July 31, according to WTTW News’ analysis of reports released by the Chicago Department of Law. Chicago taxpayers spent a total of $107.5 million to resolve police misconduct lawsuits in 2024, 43% more than in 2023, according to the analysis.

* Tribune |: Interim Chicago Housing Authority CEO Angela Hurlock stepped down from her role Tuesday as the agency also delayed a vote on the appointment of former Ald. Walter Burnett as her permanent replacement, the agency’s board announced in a special meeting. The moves came after a warning last week from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development not to appoint Burnett before it could review his potential conflicts of interest, the board said Tuesday. Interim Board Chair Matthew Brewer will now serve as operating chairman of the housing authority, a role that enables him to perform the same duties as CEO. He said he hopes the issue with HUD is resolved by CHA’s Sept. 16 board meeting so that the vote on Burnett can take place. The agency was slated to have a new chief officer by July 1, Brewer said.

* Tribune | On the clock: A day in the life of two Chicago line cooks: The servers working the lunch service appeared with tickets in spurts. While the board was slow, Kincaid sliced fennel, his left hand moving machine-like. He joked with the person working saute behind him. “I’m closer to the people I work with than I am to most of my family,” Kincaid said. He has worked at Le Bouchon, on and off, for three years. Not a lifetime. Yet it has been more than enough time for his co-workers to see Kincaid at his worst and best, his drunkest and most sober moments, forcing down deepest frustration and cracking his funniest jokes. Three years, on and off, is hours and hours spent in too-close proximity, privy to one another’s mistakes, triumphs and growth.

* Crain’s | Chicago auto museum to auction final 300 cars from late real estate magnate’s collection: Klairmont, the founder of Chicago’s Imperial Realty, died four years ago at the age of 94. He had been downsizing his auto holdings by then, but now the last of his collection, some 300 cars and 1,000 pieces of auto-related art remaining at his 88,000-square foot museum in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, is due to be auctioned Sept. 19 to Sept. 21 on site at the museum by Mecum Auctions.

* Block Club | Lost Something In Lake Michigan? This Chicago Scuba Diver Will Find It For You: Yamada — who scours the lake on a boat with no name — has become a folk hero in flippers for boaters paying him to plunge into Lake Michigan and return with whatever they have lost. The scuba-diver-for-hire takes pride in finding a needle in a haystack — or a wedding ring underwater. That’s how Cubs World Series champion Anthony Rizzo got his back. “Rizzo had lost weight and washed his hands in his boat. He shook them dry, and the ring flew off,” Yamada said. “Somebody gave him my number.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | Naperville Park District Finance Committee considers referendum for financing projects: The Naperville Park District Finance Committee weighed its financing options at a Thursday meeting as the district prepares for a possible referendum that could appear on the ballot in 2026. It is one of the latest steps the district has taken in response to an assessment completed in 2024 regarding the district’s indoor recreational needs. The assessment, which resulted in a 266-page report, offered a range of takeaways, from the demand for more aquatic facilities to the need for more enhanced seniors’ programs.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Oswego Village Board to consider extending grocery tax: “It is estimated that approximately 50% of groceries sold in Oswego are for non-residents. This keeps the pressure off homeowners and renters and provides at a minimum $500,000 per year of non-resident grocery tax revenue,” Lamberg said. The Oswego Village Board further has to decide whether the revenues from a potential local grocery tax would remain in the village’s general fund or to direct some or all of the revenue to the Water and Sewer Fund, officials said.

* Daily Herald | ‘We showed an entire nation what our community was made of’: How Fox Lake faced existential crisis: So it was in early September, 10 years ago. But instead of dealing with a local merchant or resident problem, Schmit faced banks of microphones and a sea of cameras as the little town on the Chain O’ Lakes became national news. He was asked to explain how the community was dealing with the fatal shooting of Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a 30-year police veteran, and the search for three men initially suspected of killing him. “They followed me to church, they followed me to lunch,” Schmit recalled recently in front of village hall, where some of the news conferences were held. “It was surreal, all the media in town.”

* Daily Herald | Crystal Lake man’s sentencing for $8M Ponzi scheme delayed again as he aims to take back McHenry County plea: Hanke, the sole member of his company, IOLO Capital, was arraigned last year on charges of security fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and filing a false bankruptcy declaration. He initially pleaded not guilty. Hanke was scheduled for sentencing Sept. 4 after it was postponed twice. Hanke’s attorney, Michael Schneider, submitted a third continuance request last week, asking for the sentencing to take place after Nov. 28, citing Hanke’s ongoing health issues.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora looks to Boys and Girls Clubs for after-school, summer programs: At one time, Aurora ran its own youth services in-house, but starting in 2010 after-school and summer programs were taken over by an outside organization, called Cities in Schools, according to Aurora Youth Services Manager Simon Rodriguez. That organization closed earlier this year, he said, so city staff are recommending the local Boys and Girls Clubs take over running those programs. Rodriguez and representatives from the Boys and Girls Clubs recently presented the proposal to the Aurora City Council’s Public Health, Safety and Transportation Committee, which voted to recommend the agreement for approval. Now, the recommendation is set to go before the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday evening before heading to City Council for final approval.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | East St. Louis schools change bus routes, drivers say problems persist: East St. Louis School District 189 is changing its bus routes weeks after drivers warned unresolved issues with Illinois Central School Bus — the company the district contracts with to transport its students — would backfire. Citing an ongoing shortage of drivers and low ridership, the district eliminated seven bus routes and assigned students to alternative routes starting Tuesday. In a Facebook post announcing the change, the district said some bus routes may have more students and delays during the transition. […] The demonstrators alleged leadership at Illinois Central’s Caseyville site do not pay fairly, refuse to take grievances and have breached their union contract in other ways. They also spoke of high turnover, and how this results in students spending more time on buses.

* WGLT | ACLU of Illinois sounds off on civil liberties in Bloomington and beyond: The American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] of Illinois is responding to multiple civil liberties issues across the state, including the possibility of a camera company illegally sharing its data with federal immigration enforcement. […] BPD has defended its use of the cameras, saying the ALPR technology is used “conservatively” compared with other departments. In 2024, BPD officers were able to use the cameras to locate the suspect of a shooting in less than one hour, though no BPD spokesperson would comment on the case.

* Banking Dive | Illinois credit union to buy bank: Decatur, Illinois-based Land of Lincoln Credit Union will purchase in-state bank peer Williamsville State Bank and Trust in an all-cash transaction, the two said Friday. The proposed transaction is set to close in the first half of 2026, contingent upon regulator and shareholder approval. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction will grow Land of Lincoln to $576 million in assets and 18 branches, up from $478 million in assets and 15 branches.

* Herald-Review | ‘Decatur Moves’ microtransit service to launch Sept. 8: Designed as a “first mile, last mile” solution, the service uses smaller branded vehicles to connect riders to their destinations or to fixed-route buses, filling gaps in the existing public transit system. City officials liken it to ride-hailing services such as Uber or Lyft but with set fares and broader public access. “This is truly a ride-share service designed for all walks of life,” said Lacie Elzy, economic and community development director for Decatur. “Whether you live in downtown Decatur, a nearby neighborhood, or one of our rural communities, Decatur Moves connects you to work, school, medical appointments, shopping and more.”

* Bloomberg Law | Logging Project in Illinois National Forest Temporarily Blocked: A commercial logging project in the Shawnee National Forest was temporarily halted amid environmental litigation after a federal judge ruled the 69 acres set to be cut would be permanently harmed save court intervention. The US Forest Service is barred from implementing the McCormick Oak-Hickory Restoration Project as Friends of Bell Smith Springs and the Regional Association of Concerned Environmentalists bring claims that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting a study of the project’s impacts before authorizing it, the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois said.

* WSIL | 30th Annual Cache River Days Set for Sept. 4–7 in Ullin: One of southern Illinois’ most beloved small-town festivals is back for its 30th year as the Cache River Days celebration returns to Ullin, Thursday, Sept. 4 through Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Centered at Ullin Ball Park (611 Ullin Ave.), the four-day event will bring together families, friends, and neighbors for a weekend full of food, fun, and community pride. This year’s theme: “Where the River Runs, Memories Begin.”

*** National ***

* Idaho Capital Sun | Idaho’s parental consent law impedes 988 suicide crisis hotline access for some youth: More than 1,500 Idahoans between the ages of 5 and 17 contacted the hotline between when the parental consent law went into effect on July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, according to data provided by the Idaho Crisis and Suicide Hotline. Some of those young people can’t move forward in their call without a parent giving permission. Sometimes, a parent or guardian can get on the phone, according to Idaho 988 Director Lee Flinn, “but in most situations, the minor hangs up because they tell us they feel like they can’t do that.”

* WaPo | At an ICE career expo, thousands line up to ‘defend the homeland’: Reports of rough tactics don’t bother Aaron Ely, either. A former bantamweight MMA fighter who went by the ring name “The Cyborg,” Ely settled on an IT career after his hip gave out. He limped into the hiring expo last week hoping ICE could use his computer expertise. He said he felt he was no longer able to advance in the private sector because the market is crowded with candidates from India willing to do the work for less. “I keep seeing these memes where Indians are bragging about taking our tech jobs,” said Ely, 36. “So I said, ‘Oh yeah? Well I’m going to work with these guys that are going to arrest you, slam your face on the pavement and send you home.’”

* CBS | School lunch costs are rising alongside food inflation, a new report shows: Depending on the items you choose, your child’s lunch sandwich could cost more this school year than it did in 2024. That’s according to a new report from Deloitte that shows the overall cost of homemade lunches is on the rise. The average cost for a packed lunch is now $6.15, according to Deloitte, up nearly 3% from $5.99 last year. Just under half of the parents polled by the survey said they expect their child’s lunch to cost more this September than it did in 2024.

* AP | Pope Leo meets LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate and vows continuity with Pope Francis’ legacy of welcome: The Rev. James Martin, a New York-based Jesuit author and editor, said Leo told him he intended to continue Pope Francis’ policy of LGBTQ+ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy. “I heard the same message from Pope Leo that I heard from Pope Francis, which is the desire to welcome all people, including LGBTQ people,” Martin told The Associated Press after the audience. “It was wonderful. It was very consoling and very encouraging and frankly a lot of fun.” The meeting, which lasted about half an hour, was officially announced by the Vatican in a sign that Leo wanted it made public. It came just days before LGBTQ+ Catholics participate in a Holy Year pilgrimage to the Vatican in another sign of welcome.