* Tribune…

Northwestern University President Michael Schill will resign after a three-year tenure, including five months of an unprecedented $790 million federal funding freeze, the school announced Thursday.

Northwestern was never formally notified of the pause of research funds in April, which came amid several federal investigations into allegations of antisemitism.

The school, along with Schill, had already been subject to significant Republican scrutiny. The president was grilled for hours before a congressional committee in 2024 on the environment on campus for Jewish students. […]

In a message to the Northwestern community Thursday morning, Schill acknowledged the “difficult problems” at the federal level. He said he would remain in the role until the naming of an interim president.

* The US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is asking to take part in oral arguments against Illinois’ assault weapons ban…

FPC LEGAL UPDATE: Following its amicus brief in support of us, the federal government has asked the Seventh Circuit for approval to participate in oral arguments in our lawsuit challenging Illinois' "assault weapon" and magazine bans: https://t.co/8OEtH2Xqsx pic.twitter.com/WKmIHNiKhK

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) September 3, 2025

* WGLT…

State Farm has informed employees of a new voluntary exit program.

In an email obtained by WGLT, the Bloomington-based insurer says “if and when” changes are needed, the company will start with voluntary staff reductions whenever possible, but did not rule out the possibility of layoffs.

A State Farm spokesperson said the move is intended to give employees more choice when business areas need to make staffing adjustments. […]

The company is not saying when staff changes may be coming and how many jobs could be eliminated.

* New York Times…

The list price for new tractors rose at least 60 percent over the last eight years, according to the University of Illinois Extension, with some models more than doubling in price, costing at least $250,000 more than they used to.

That’s bad news for companies like John Deere, the leading supplier of agricultural machinery in the United States. The company reported a record profit two years ago, but President Trump’s tariffs and trade policies are making the market more challenging and unpredictable for the business and its customers.

One of the country’s largest manufacturers is worse off now than it was six months ago. Last month, John Deere said net income in its most recent quarter was down 29 percent from a year earlier. Higher tariffs, primarily on steel but also on aluminum, have cost the company $300 million so far, with nearly another $300 million expected by the end of the year. This summer the company laid off 238 employees across factories in Illinois and Iowa.

* Mexican Independence Day parade organizers have said they’ll be taking additional precautions this weekend amid the threat of immigration raids. Governor JB Pritzker…

Gov. JB Pritzker's response today on if people should celebrate:

“I’m telling people to know your rights, be extra careful, and know that there is the possibility that ICE will be on the ground and causing some mayhem. Don't play into their hand.” https://t.co/V2KUkRRS9U

— Ben Szalinski (@BenSzalinski) September 4, 2025

*** Statehouse News ***

* Daily Herald | Rojo drops out of House 52nd Dem race, endorses Chan Ding: Jesse Rojo, U.S. Army veteran and policy advocate, announced Wednesday he’s exiting the Democratic primary race for state Rep. Martin McLaughlin’s 52nd District seat, endorsing recently reelected Barrington Area Unit District 220 school board member Erin Chan Ding. Rojo’s withdrawal leaves Chan Ding and Maria Peterson, vice chair of the Lake County Zoning Board of Appeals, as the two remaining Democratic candidates. “The decision to end my campaign was not an easy one,” said Rojo, who recently ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Barrington village board. “I came to realize that now is simply not the right time for me to run. My focus must remain on my professional obligations and, most importantly, on my family.”

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | Immigration crackdown deals a blow to Chicago’s Latino business corridors: Since President Donald Trump started his second term in January, his immigration enforcement orders have been a different story. They have contributed to a grim first: The store’s sales are down 20% this year, says Mike Moreno Jr., 34, who runs the business with his parents. “It was said, and we said, the liquor industry was recession-proof,” Moreno says. But this is a perfect storm, he adds, citing concerns over high-profile immigration enforcement, inflation, tariffs and worries that a recession looms.

* Tribune | Facing fiscal cliff, CTA will hold September town halls on budget: During the town halls, the CTA said, agency leaders will discuss the funding situation and CTA riders will have the opportunity to weigh in. The CTA said it would release its budget plans next month. The Chicago region’s transit agencies face a budget deficit in the hundreds of millions of dollars next year as federal pandemic aid runs out. The CTA was previously expected to run out of money some months before Metra and suburban bus agency Pace.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Youth prison worker accused of sexually-oriented official misconduct: A worker at the state youth detention center in St. Charles has been accused of official misconduct over allegations she had sexually-oriented interactions with a teenage detainee. Bryana E. Phelan, 31, of the 1500 block of West 80th Street in Chicago, faces 15 felony counts, according to a news release from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office. […] The complaint accuses Phelan of having multiple phone conversations with a 17-year-old boy and driving him around the facility in a state vehicle for personal reasons.

* Aurora Beacon News | Aurora fiber network nearly $1 million in debt, Mayor John Laesch says: During a presentation at a City Council Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, Laesch said the organization is currently operating at a $27,000 monthly deficit and has the resources to make it roughly to the end of the month. He has replaced the organization’s executive director, Charles Baker, with a volunteer as a cost-saving measure, and has made other cuts, he said at the meeting. Baker told The Beacon-News that he believes his firing was unlawful and unjust. He and other former leadership at OnLight Aurora say this is an overreach by Laesch, and that he is doing this to go after those associated with the previous administration, which the current mayor has heavily criticized.

*** Downstate ***

* NPR Illinois | SIU Carbondale enrollment holds steady while Edwardsville campus sees an increase: SIU Carbondale reports overall enrollment on the 10th day of class for fall 2025 remained nearly flat at 11,785 – only five fewer students than last year – which saw a record percentage enrollment growth. This figure reflects increases among several demographics, including new students from the Southern Illinois region (6%), new students from states bordering Illinois (16%) and online students (23% growth overall, 161% in graduate programs).

* STL PR | Bucking national trend, SIUE reports increased fall semester enrollment: A total of 12,813 students are enrolled at SIUE, which accounts for a 7.7% increase since last fall, according to university figures released on Wednesday. “The numbers tell us that the value proposition of a high quality, affordable college degree still has meaning for students,” said SIUE Chancellor James Minor in a statement. “We now have the extraordinary opportunity to serve them.”

* WCIA | ADM worker files lawsuit, claims company responsible for 2023 explosion: Just weeks before the two-year anniversary of the event, Ogilvie and Shay filed suit against ADM, saying the company had ignored federal safety regulations concerning hazardous materials, leading to the blast. […] “ADM used hexane gas in a device called an extractor, located within the East Plant, to process flaked soybeans into a mixture of oil and hexane called miscella,” Williams wrote. “On the date of the explosion, ADM then conducted further processes to recapture most of the hexane from the miscella mixture in order to reuse said hexane gas in its cyclical soybean oil extraction process.”

* WCIA | Champaign church changing security policies: Some Catholic churches in Central Illinois are changing their security policies after a shooting at a school mass in Minneapolis last week killed two children and hurt 21 others. St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Church in Champaign is locking its doors during weekend mass services, after already locking school mass doors for years. “I said you know what, you don’t know when it’s going to be your turn,” Pastor Father John Zilimu said.

* PJ Star | Constant crisis or signs of hope? Longtime Peoria nonprofit PCCEO at a crossroads: Denise Moore had been warned during her interview to be the next CEO of the Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity that the state of the nonprofit was bad. The reality of the organization, as she said she would quickly come to learn, was “so much worse.” Moore resigned from her role as CEO of the PCCEO on Aug. 26, citing a family health crisis and disfunction at the longtime Peoria agency. She spoke with the Journal Star and offered perhaps the deepest account yet of the steep troubles plaguing an organization that has spent multiple years in a state of disarray.

* WCIA | Champaign’s Black Dog donates food to soup kitchen after fire: As the restaurant moved food they already prepared to their Urbana location, they decided to donate the rest to the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, where it made a big difference. “All of our main entree today, is from Black Dog. And if that goes all the way and we think it will, it will feed somewhere up in excess of 400 people,” soup kitchen cook Tom Scott said.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | Trump Sued Over Washington National Guard Troop Deployment: The city contends that the mobilization of more than 2,200 troops since mid-August violates US laws meant to bar the US military from carrying out domestic law enforcement activities — a dynamic that DC officials described as an involuntary occupation. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday, also alleges Trump illegally called in National Guard units from other states.

* Frank Cerabino | DeSantis betrayed Florida’s chemtrail conspiracy theorists by feeding into it: Twisting the benign common appearance of water vapor trails from aircraft into a nefarious weather modification plot used to be the sole province of America’s fringiest crackpots. People such as Alex Jones at Infowars have been claiming for years that Americans are under air attack from secret forces who poison the skies. Now, those fringe views have taken center stage in Florida, thanks to Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-led legislature.

* NBC | In rare interviews, federal judges criticize Supreme Court’s handling of Trump cases: Some judges believe the Supreme Court, and in particular Chief Justice John Roberts, could be doing more to defend the integrity of their work as President Donald Trump and his allies harshly criticize those who rule against him and as violent threats against judges are on the rise. […] Ten of the 12 judges who spoke to NBC News said the Supreme Court should better explain those rulings, noting that the terse decisions leave lower court judges with little guidance for how to proceed. But they also have a new and concerning effect, the judges said, validating the Trump administration’s criticisms. A short rebuttal from the Supreme Court, they argue, makes it seem like they did shoddy work and are biased against Trump.

* The Guardian | Texas bill allowing residents to sue out-of-state abortion pill providers reaches governor: If the measure becomes law, it is nearly certain to spark legal challenges from abortion rights supporters. Under the measure, Texas residents could sue those who manufacture, transport or provide abortion-inducing drugs to anyone in Texas for up to $100,000. Women who receive the pills for their own use would not be liable. Under the bill, providers could be ordered to pay $100,000. But only the pregnant woman, the man who impregnated her or other close relatives could collect the entire amount. Anyone else who sued could receive only $10,000, with the remaining $90,000 going to charity.