* ICYMI: Appeals court upholds ban on concealed weapons on CTA, Metra. Sun-Times…

- The appellate court decision released Tuesday reverses the ruling of a federal judge downstate, who found the law banning concealed firearms on public transit systems was unconstitutional under current U.S. Supreme Court standards.
- “[The Second Amendment] does not bar the people’s representatives from enacting laws — consistent with our nation’s historical tradition of regulation — that ensure public transportation systems remain free from accessible firearms,” the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its ruling.
- Four concealed carry permit holders sued over the law in 2022, claiming it prevented them from carrying weapons for self-defense when traveling via the Chicago Transit Authority and Metra.

* Related stories…

• Legal Newsline: IL can ban concealed carry on trains, buses: Appeals court
• Bloomberg Law: Illinois Public Transit Gun Ban Upheld by Seventh Circuit

* Governor JB Pritzker will visit the Metropolitan Peace Academy at 3 pm to meet with community violence intervention leaders preparing to respond to potential federal deployments. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | As Trump declares ‘we’re going in,’ Pritzker says ‘terror and cruelty is the point’: Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday he expects Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to employ the same aggressive strategies they used in Los Angeles earlier this summer after President Donald Trump said he will deploy the National Guard to Chicago. The information, Pritzker said, was not directly communicated to him, but rather gleaned from anonymous sources in the federal government, military and “well-sourced” news reports. He said he’s been told members of the Texas National Guard are being readied for deployment to Chicago and many of the same federal ICE and Homeland Security groups that worked in L.A. are being relocated to Chicago.

* Subscribers know more. WTTW | Feds File Lawsuit Targeting Illinois Law That Provides Financial Aid to Undocumented Students: The Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the state itself arguing that by providing in-state tuition and scholarships to undocumented students, they are unconstitutionally discriminating against U.S. citizens. “Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “This Department of Justice has already filed multiple lawsuits to prevent U.S. students from being treated like second-class citizens — Illinois now joins the list of states where we are relentlessly fighting to vindicate federal law.”

* WCIA | Champaign County advocates voice concerns about SNAP cuts: Food security advocates in Champaign County are concerned about the impacts of recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. On Monday, the first of about $300 billion was stripped from the program after the “Big, Beautiful Bill” was passed in July. Champaign County Health Care Consumer’s Adani Sanchez said there’s a chance the lack of funding could get picked up by the states, and, right now, the program is still working off last year’s money.

*** Statewide ***

* CBS Chicago | Illinois Climate Education Hub gives teachers head start on climate curriculum: Ahead of that, the Illinois Climate Education Hub is launching later this week. It is a platform to help teachers implement the required learning next year, but some teachers are already getting a head start. “It’s super exciting to really expand climate learning in Illinois,” said Katie Nahrwold of the nonprofit Subject to Climate, state lead for the Illinois Climate Education Hub. “All of the lessons and resources are aligned to Illinois state standards.” With no state learning program in place, and no money set aside for one, the Illinois Climate Education hub is made possible through a nonprofit — and aims to fill those gaps.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Republican Robert Vrankovich announced a bid for retiring Rep. Amy Grant’s seat.…

Robert Vrankovich, husband, father, successful entrepreneur, and longtime community leader, today announced his campaign for State Representative in the 47th Legislative District.

“Illinois is my home, and I will help reverse the course Springfield has set,” Vrankovich said. “It’s time to cut taxes and costs, make our communities safer, and turn Illinois into a business-friendly state where families can thrive.”

“Representative Amy Grant has always represented the interests of our community. I am grateful for her years of dedicated service and look forward to continuing to protect the quality of life and shared values that make our neighborhoods such a great place to live and raise a family.”

A proven entrepreneur, Vrankovich was the genesis of a start-up propane company 25 years ago, starting with zero customers and building it into a national operation generating more than $110 million annually. Having grown his business from the ground up, he knows firsthand how harmful policies from Springfield can stifle growth, drive up costs, and make life unaffordable for working families.

“Springfield is making life unaffordable for families across Illinois,” Vrankovich explained. “The endless taxes and runaway spending are driving families and businesses out of our state. We should be making it easier to start and grow a business in Illinois, but instead, they’ve created one of the most hostile environments for job creators in the country. I’m running to change that.”

* WGN | North suburban mother of 11 recovering after attack from serial woman puncher: The attacker, WGN-TV was told, watched as she lay on the ground bleeding before a good Samaritan, who turned out to be state senator Willie Preston, stepped in, took off his shirt and tried to stop the bleeding.

* Daily Herald | Elburn trustee is latest to announce bid for Illinois Senate seat DeWitte is leaving: Elburn Trustee Chris Hansen announced he will seek the Republican Party nomination in the 2026 primary election for the state Senate 33rd District, according to a news release. […] Hansen will vie with Blackberry Township resident Jessica Breugelmans and Cody Holt of Elgin for the GOP nomination.

* Daily Herald | Wilmette’s Dabrowski preparing gubernatorial campaign: In recent weeks, Dabrowski, a Republican from Wilmette, formally created a campaign committee and filed paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections indicating that he’ll self-fund the organization. He also lent the campaign $250,000 and then an additional $100, state records filed Tuesday indicate. Also Tuesday, the Wirepoints nonprofit research and media company announced Dabrowski has resigned as its president and no longer will write columns for the organization. Wirepoints research director John Klingner resigned to join Dabrowski’s campaign, too, the company revealed. Wirepoints founder and executive editor Mark Glennon also resigned.

* Tribune | Gov. JB Pritzker appoints two members, including a downstate ally, to controversial parole board: Pritzker on Friday appointed two new members to the state parole and release board, including Timothy Nugent, who as mayor of Manteno helped Pritzker two years ago secure the construction of a Chinese-owned electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant despite complaints from residents and Republicans. Pritzker appointed Nugent and Tracy Buckley, a contractor for the review board, as board members, pending Senate approval. Buckley previously served as the board’s chief of operations and as an administrator, the governor’s office said.

* Patch | First Assistant Deputy Gov. Ryan Croke Honored with 2025 IARF Champion Award: Illinois First Assistant Deputy Governor Ryan Croke has been named a 2025 IARF Champion Award recipient, recognized for his decades-long commitment to advancing human services and supporting Illinois’ intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) system. The award was presented at IARF’s annual Educational Conference & Expo in Bloomington-Normal last week. IARF President Josh Evans noted Croke’s role in helping secure wage increases for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs).

* Legal Newsline | IL A/G Raoul wrongly teaming with private lawyers to extract bucks: Lawsuit: Companies that say they offer consumers choice on their electric bills have accused Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul of unconstitutionally teaming up with Chicago-based plaintiffs’ law firms in a bid to use the power of the state to extract big settlements from the companies, generating big fees for the lawyers and millions of dollars to help Raoul finance his office’s politically-driven court actions opposing policies and goals of the administration of President Donald Trump.

* The Caucus Blog | House Republican licensing reforms aim to get Illinois working: In 2024, several Republican legislators introduced a plan and legislative package aimed at improving the licensing process and ultimately keeping healthcare providers practicing here in Illinois. The proposed measures would require IDFPR to accept online payments, lower costs, allow for reciprocity, and expedite licenses for critical shortage occupations, especially in healthcare.

*** Chicago ***

* WBEZ | Chicago sees its fewest summer murders since 1965: Murders in June, July and August totaled 123, the lowest number for those months since 1965, when the Chicago Police Department reported 117 victims, according to city data and historical CPD data obtained by WBEZ using the Illinois open records law. Overall violent crime numbers, meanwhile, have dropped more than two-thirds since peaking in 1991, a WBEZ review of CPD annual reports has found.

* Tribune | CPS prepares students, parents amid National Guard threat: In the midst of the uncertainty, Chicago Public Schools has reiterated to parents and students that school is a safe place to be in a letter sent out Thursday. No families in the district are required to share their immigration status with CPS, and the district is committed to not working with or sharing student records with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, also known as ICE. The concerns come after repeated remarks from Trump indicating his intent to send troops to Chicago to curb perceived violence in the city, despite a drop in crime rates in the last year. The threat was made seemingly more real last week when the Trump Administration asked to use the Great Lakes Naval Base in North Chicago ahead of a potential “immigration operation.”

* NBC Chicago | Pritzker ‘deeply concerned’ about ICE targeting Mexican Independence Day events: The governor warned that “unidentifiable agents in unmarked vehicles with masks are planning to raid Latino communities and say they’re targeting violent criminals,” while noting that timing of such a deployment could be intentional. “We have reason to believe that Stephen Miller chose the month of September to come to Chicago because of celebrations around Mexican Independence Day that happen here every year,” Pritzker said. “It breaks my heart to report that we have been told ICE will try and disrupt community picnics and peaceful parades. Let’s be clear: the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here.”

* NBC Chicago | Texas border patrol chief expected to lead increased immigration efforts in Chicago: Gregory Bovino, who most recently led immigration enforcement efforts in Los Angeles – which at times have devolved into violent clashes between authorities and protesters – has been tapped to lead the efforts in Illinois. […] In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Illinois State Police would not provide specifics about the conversation, only saying: “Consistent with normal law enforcement protocol, ISP continues to communicate with a variety of federal agencies, including border patrol, to ensure the safety of officers and the public. ISP operates within the requirements of the TRUST act and is not involved in immigration enforcement.”

* Tribune | Should retired police be able to sell marijuana? Alderman says no, blocks dispensary: Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, came out in opposition late last month to the proposal by the Kaneh Group, which includes 10 former Chicago cops as members. The progressive alderman said he supports opening a dispensary in the ward, but decided to halt the bid after resident pushback emphasized “a fundamental justice concern” with the retired police ownership. “I have questions and concerns about people who were paid to arrest people who might still be in jail for selling cannabis, selling cannabis,” Vasquez told the Tribune. “There’s just something fundamentally unfair and unjust about it.”

* Tribune | ‘The guy behind the guy’: Gang lifer takes stand in federal RICO trial against reputed Wicked Town boss, associate: Deshawn Morgan was immersed in Chicago’s West Side gang culture before he was even out of grade school, dealing drugs at age 12 and rising in the ranks of the Mafia Insane Vice Lords. Along the way, Morgan told a federal jury last week, he befriended key players in the complex hierarchy of gang factions in the city’s Austin and West Lawndale neighborhoods. His testimony provided a rare glimpse at the kind of gang conflicts that often drive Chicago violence.

* Forbes | Chicago’s Hot Dog King Dick Portillo On Selling Out And Moving On: It’s been 11 years since Richard “Dick” Portillo sold Portillo’s, the restaurant chain offering up Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches that he founded in 1963. Sitting in the living room of his 9,000-square-foot home in the Chicago suburbs—a short drive away from the location of the original Portillo’s he opened more than 60 years ago—the 85-year-old former Marine is feeling nostalgic. “I’m sorry I sold. I didn’t owe 10 cents to anybody,” he says. But ultimately, he knew it was the right decision to make. “There were 24 private equity groups that were interested in buying Portillo’s. The timing was right.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Clarendon Hills village manager’s status in question: The employment status of Clarendon Hills village manager Zach Creer appears to be in question. He has not responded to phone calls or emails over the past couple of weeks, and the word from Village Hall is simply that Creer is “out of the office.” Multiple calls to his cell phone went unanswered; however, he did confirm via text that it was the correct number.

* Shaw Local | State inspectors to assess Will County storm damages Wednesday, Thursday: Residents in Will County are advised by police to be aware that storm damage assessments taking place in their communities this week. One team will start in the north -Plainfield, Crest Hill, Joliet, Romeoville - another team will start on the east side of the county - Crete, University Park, Frankfort, Mokena, Lockport).

* Naperville Sun | Naperville makes more ranking lists, including one for most ‘underrated’ cities in Illinois: Most recently, Naperville was named one of WorldAtlas’ seven Most Underrated Cities In Illinois. The publication did not provide a methodology for its determination, but cited the city’s shops, riverwalk and outdoor areas were among the factors that make the city so desirable. DuPage Children’s Museum, Naper Settlement and the city’s 72-bell Millennium Carillon were contributing factors. The other six cities to make the list were Champaign, Evanston, Frankfort, Grafton, Peoria and Schaumburg.

* 21st Show | Why is a New Yorker singing about Aurora, Illinois?: Cassandra Jenkins is an artist and musician, living in New York City. But one of our producers stumbled upon her track titled, “Aurora, I-L.” As in Aurora, Illinois. He wondered about the origin of the song and what it means.

*** Downstate ***

* WIFR | Tornado siren repairs underway in Winnebago County, sheriff says: As of Sept. 2, nearly 60 out of the 79 tornado sirens in Winnebago County are working, according to Sheriff Gary Caruana. This is a difference from July when 26 of county-wide sirens were reported as not working.

* WMBD | Shoppers react to proposed sales tax in Glen Hollow: City Council on Aug. 26 approved a public hearing on whether to turn Glen Hollow into a business development district. This change would allow the property owners to levy a 1% sales tax on all purchases. Shoppers at the strip had no idea this proposal was made. Brandon Houseworth, who’s shopped at Glen Hollow for eight years, said this could make more people go online to get their goods.

* WCBU | ICC seeks community input on search for next president: The college’s board of trustees has hired RH Perry & Associates to lead the search, and consultants will be conducting a pre-search study to gather feedback from students, employees, and other community members. ICC has scheduled three in-person open focus group sessions for Thursday (at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., and 2 p.m.), as well as a virtual Zoom meeting. Additionally, the college has set up an on-line survey to gather perspectives toward shaping an “executive search profile.”

* WCIA | Long stretch of dry weather creating field fire risk in Central Illinois: “We thought we had a bumper crop going into the beginning of August, because we had timely rains, the heat kind of hurt and then it turned off dry,” Lucas Roney said. Duane Hopkins has been a firefighter in Arthur for 40 years, and has sold seed with Prairie Green Seed for 30. He helped nearby farmers with the harvest this past weekend — and noticed the impact of the recent weather. “The crop has dried down exceptionally fast, and creates a tinder box per se, it doesn’t take much to get a fire started,” Hopkins said.

* WIFR | Town of Beloit votes to end firefighting contract with South Beloit: Prior to the meeting, a memo from Town Administrator Tim Wellnitz and Fire Chief Daniel Pease shared the Town of Beloit lost out on a FEMA SAFER grant. That funding would have hired nine new firefighters for a three-year period. Without it, the leaders argue TOB can’t meet the staffing required to fill the SB station. Just before Tuesday’s vote, Board Supervisor John Pelock described the arrangement as a failed experiment.

* Pantagraph | Bloomington enacts treatment to improve water taste, odor: The city said in a Tuesday news release that its most recent water quality test showed “a notable increase in taste and odor compounds.” Levels had been steady at about 4-5 nanograms per liter for the past month, the city said, but that number has risen recently to 9-10 ng/L. The city said this is likely due to dry conditions in the area, noting that a “significant lack of rainfall” has dropped the water level in Lake Bloomington, where the city sources its water, by more than a foot.

* WGLT | District 87 considers easing graduation requirements for students new to the country: District 87 is considering an alternate graduation timeline for Bloomington High School students new to the United States. About 15 to 20 students at Bloomington High School fall into the “newcomer” category of students new to the country when they enrolled in high school. These students start school later than their peers, but current District 87 expectations maintain they still must earn 23.5 credit hours to graduate. An alternate graduation pathway would allow these students to instead earn 16 credits, which is the amount mandated by the State of Illinois.

* News-Gazette | Black Dog Champaign closed indefinitely after smoker causes fire: Kelsey Jamerson, Black Dog’s kitchen line manager, said she saw smoke from outside, which prompted her to pull the fire alarm and escort customers out of the building. She watched from the sidewalk as firefighters put out the blaze. “I’m just praying (the food and electric) is fine,” she said. Heller said “it’s undetermined whether one or two of the smokers are still working, so we won’t know anything for probably a day or two.”

* Herald Whig | Adams County Bicentennial finale goes country: All Beach Boys tickets already sold will be honored for the performance by Gretchen Wilson and Montgomery Gentry. Tickets remain available online at AdamsCo200.org and at all Liberty Bank locations, Quincy Hy-Vee stores, First Bankers Trust at 12th and Broadway in Quincy and in Mendon and Farm and Home Supply in Quincy.

*** National ***

* The Bond Buyer | A $165 billion bond authorization reflects data center subsidy boom: A New Mexico county last week advanced a massive data center project that calls for an eye-popping $165 billion of taxable industrial revenue bonds as a way to access tax breaks, one of the latest local governments to offer generous incentives to tech companies racing to build the facilities across the country.

* WaPo | A red state community bet on carbon capture. Trump is blocking it.: The Heidelberg plant in the town of Mitchell was meant to be a model for the world, a place where the United States could take the lead in cutting carbon dioxide emissions from cement manufacturing — an increasingly urgent goal for construction projects. Yet the administration’s cancellation of the $500 million grant for machinery to trap and bury the plant’s greenhouse gas left the staunchly Republican community stunned and cement industry officials questioning if the U.S. will be equipped to keep up with a fast-evolving global marketplace.