* 25News Now…

Liberty Steel & Wire hopes to move their headquarters from the Lone Star State to Peoria County, but they want state financial incentives to do it.

Working with state lawmakers, the governor’s office, and state agencies, the company helped get legislation passed that will give them guidelines for the next steps on the process. […]

Liberty Steel said they need financial help because higher interest rates have slowed the construction industry. They dropped their prices, with significant investments already made in this area, part of why they are waiting to see what Illinois can offer.

The next step is for Liberty Steel and the state to sign a contract, with conditions like retaining jobs, and making investments in their local, Bartonville facility.

* The Governor’s office is hiring a new press secretary…

And only 37.5 hours a week! In theory.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Ex-GOP nominee for AG Tom DeVore temporarily loses law license over inappropriate client relationship: In mounting a defense to the ARDC’s case, DeVore claimed that his work as Riley’s attorney in her effort to get her salon reopened had ended by the time their romantic involvement began in late May or June 2020. The ARDC disputed DeVore’s timeline, pointing to continued attorney behavior in that case. But beyond that, DeVore went on to represent Riley in three other legal matters — including her divorce — that summer. That “demonstrated an unbroken continuation of his attorney-client relationship” with Craig, the ARDC ruled. The disciplinary panel began looking into DeVore’s behavior in 2021, and during that initial investigation, Craig said she was not a client when their sexual relationship began. She repeated that claim on social media while DeVore was running for attorney general in 2022.

* Center Square | IL governor on photo with wanted suspect: ‘No way to vet everybody’: “There’s no way, by the way, when you take a picture to vet everybody. Do you know how many pictures I took out there with people who were sitting in the audience? I do it all the time,” Pritzker said. Pritzker was told that McMiller had warrants in four states at the time the picture was taken. “That isn’t something that our [Executive Protection Unit] can know, and, honestly, we were invited into that environment. We know that people who are involved in community violence intervention are people who had a previous life of crime. Certainly, nobody knew that this person had warrants in other states if they were active at the time,” Pritzker said.

* WTVO | Illinois House Minority Leader: Pritzker’s budget executive order is way to raise taxes: McCombie said SNAP shortfalls could be corrected by correcting what she characterizes as a spending problem. “His own [SNAP] error rate since 2017 has gone up from 5.73 to 11.56%,” she said. “If he could go back down below that 6%, this is no anticipated cost to the state of Illinois. Do that.”

* Paulick Report | Late Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar’s Racing, Breeding Stock To Be Dispersed Oct. 11-12 In Indiana: Horses of racing age and breeding stock owned by the late Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar will be dispersed in Indiana Oct. 11-12. Six yearlings bred by Edgar and consigned by Breakway Farm, agent, will be in the main body of the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Yearling Sale at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Oct. 11, with 13 horses of racing age to be offered in a paddock sale that follows, according to Brandi Steele, who formerly trained for Edgar and more recently boarded his mares.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson uses new Council committee chair line-up to appease critics and shore up progressive support: Replacing Burnett as chair of the powerful Zoning Committee is Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), who worked closely with the mayor in crafting a groundbreaking ordinance relaxing parking requirements for so-called transit-oriented developments. An avid cyclist, La Spata has also led the push for more protected bike lanes, and tried and failed to convince colleagues to reduce the default speed limit on Chicago streets to 25 mph.

* Tribune | Aldermen to consider plan to protect affordable housing around Obama center: Spurred by rising property values and rents in the neighborhood since the OPC was announced, organizers successfully passed a pilot program in the Woodlawn neighborhood to maintain affordable housing and give current renters the chance to buy homes that went up for sale. But a similar program just south of the presidential center site in Jackson Park has lagged. On Wednesday, after months of stop-and-start meetings with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration, advocates are rolling out a proposal in the City Council Housing Committee that they hope will pass the full City Council before aldermen are mired in budget talks. But their proposal was quickly met with pushback from other neighborhood groups, including business interests.

* WTTW | Chicago’s Latino Communities See Surge in Grassroots Activism as Immigration Operations Continue: Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reports more than 2 million people have left the country since Jan. 20. The agency said it is on pace to deport nearly 600,000 people by the end of President Donald Trump’s first year back in office. In response, organizations across Chicago have staged protests — including outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview — and launched resistance campaigns. Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, which operates in one of Chicago’s most densely populated Latino communities, said he and others have begun handing out whistles so residents can alert each other of ICE sightings.

* WTTW | Feds Accuse Chicago Police Officer of Straw Purchasing Firearms That Were Smuggled to Mexico: According to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday, Officer Kevin Rodriguez has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and straw purchasing firearms as part of the alleged scheme. A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department on Wednesday said Rodriguez was immediately placed into no-pay status following the federal indictment and has been relieved of his police powers since July 3.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago’s search for new schools chief narrows, source says interim CEO plans to apply: One of those soon-to-be applicants is the district’s interim CEO, Macquline King, according to a CPS official with knowledge of her plans who requested anonymity to discuss them openly. When asked earlier about her interest in the permanent job, the former CPS teacher and principal said she had not decided but was focused on her interim responsibilities. She declined to comment for this story.

* Crain’s | Cubs push back against claims of illegal biometric data collection at Wrigley: “The Cubs do not use this technology and these allegations are false,” Jennifer Martinez-Roth, senior director of communications for the Cubs, said in a written statement. “We will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims.”The lawsuits, filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claim the team violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, by using facial recognition technology for security at games without receiving proper consent from attendees.

* Crain’s | Illinois has a new top school in the latest U.S. News rankings: The latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings are out, and Chicago has a new top-ranked school. The University of Chicago has returned as the highest-ranked Illinois school after being dethroned for two years by Northwestern University. The Hyde Park-based school landed at No. 6 this year, up from No. 11 last year.

* WBEZ | For Jeff Tweedy, a new triple album proves there’s forever ‘a new song to sing’: Looking back at his childhood, a key moment emerges for Jeff Tweedy: the day his mother taught him how to play solitaire after sensing he spent too much time alone. “That explains a lot,” he said recently, laughing. To this day, at 58, the Chicago singer-songwriter and Wilco frontman says that his 30-year catalog of songs required a “sacrifice.” For him, it was “being conditioned to endure solitude and accept that that’s part of what it takes to do the thing that you want to do.”

* ABC Chicago | Mold count breaks record in Chicago, Loyola allergist says: On Tuesday, the area recorded a “very high” count of 82,121, breaking the 2014 record. On August 20, 2014, the area recorded 82,000. On Wednesday, Loyola reported the mold count was still “high.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Oath Keepers founder, Jan. 6 planner speaks at Elgin church after 3 other venues cancel amid outcry: The Three Headed Eagle Alliance was able to have Rhodes give his speech at Greater Grace Community Church in Elgin, a nondenominational evangelical church on the city’s west side. Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy in the planning of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. His sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump.

* Daily Herald | Suburban private schools were told they earned Blue Ribbon awards. Then the Department of Education axed the program: In its Aug. 29 announcement, the Department of Education said “the important work of identifying blue ribbon schools is done at the state level.” “State leaders are best positioned to recognize excellence in local schools based on educational achievements that align with their communities’ priorities for academic accomplishment and improvement,” the letter reads. “Awards conceived by those closest to the communities and families served by local schools will do more to encourage meaningful reforms than a one-size-fits-all standard established by a distant bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.”

* Naperville Sun | Naperville seeks clean energy bids as it awaits IMEA contract response: The request for proposals (RFP)comes about a month after the council voted to allow city staff to negotiate with IMEA on a number of key contract points, many of which revolve around lowering Naperville’s carbon footprint. One of the provisions would allow the city to seek bids for non-fossil fuel energy options. Naperville’s contract with its longtime power supplier IMEA expires in 2035, but the agency wants to extend its contract with the city and other municipalities until 2055. Critics say IMEA is too reliant on electricity produced by coal.

* Daily Herald | Aurora considers moratorium on new data centers: At a special meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, the city council will discuss enacting a 180-day moratorium, according to a news release. According to the release, residents have complained about “environmental issues” at existing data centers, including emissions, noise from normal and emergency operations, and vibrations from emergency operations. City code classifies data centers as a type of warehouse, according to the release.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora mayor names new interim head of HR, among other positions: Michele Clark, who has served as the city’s director of equity, diversity and inclusion for the past four years, was appointed to be the interim chief human resources officer, the city announced in a news release Monday evening. City officials said in the release that Clark has an impressive level of experience in HR that helped her rise above a group of other highly-qualified candidates.

* WGN | District 160 in Country Club Hills faces scrutiny over questionable spending, new hires: Tuesday night brought another switch-up on the school board, following the installation of two new interim superintendents in September, employed on a part-time basis, who WGN has learned will be paid $1,200 a day, each. Board member Barbara Swain takes over as secretary, replacing Jacqueline Doss, who has missed several of the last meetings. WGN has previously reported on the district’s woes, covering stories of questionable spending, the unapproved sale of a district-owned Ford F-150 to Doss, and $866,000 spent on one credit card in the district’s name between January 2023 and June 2025.

* WTTW | Northwestern University Lab Helps Shape the Future of Medical Monitoring: rom flexible electronic monitors the size of a Band-Aid to tiny pacemakers that dissolve harmlessly in the body when no longer needed — the work of the Querrey Simpson Institute of Bioelectronics at Northwestern University at times seems truly miraculous. What makes such breakthroughs possible is a new generation of flexible and at times dissolvable electronics pioneered by professor John Rogers and his team.

* Daily Southtown | Oak Lawn OKs downtown lighting upgrades, work for Polaris flood control project: While Oak Lawn officials in June said they expected the project to cost $13 million, with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago paying up to $6.5 million and the village covering the rest, the lowest bid from Acura was $14,996,055. The highest bid received was from V3 Construction Group, at $18.7 million, officials said.

*** Downstate ***

* WAND | Sherman residents and leaders fed up with damage caused by utility provider: It has been months since Comcast subcontractors started work in the Village of Sherman, according to Mayor Trevor Clatfelter. He heard so many complaints from community members about their work that he completed a stop-work order and delivered it to the Comcast teams. “They are disregarding every rule and regulation that I’ve seen in place,” Clatfelter said. “They have cut cable lines, they have damaged sewer lines, they have backed up raw sewage into people’s houses, they are not fixing sidewalks.”

* WAND | Decatur city manager says councilmember breached employment agreement: Outgoing Decatur City Manager Tim Gleason said the actions of one member of the Decatur City Council represented a breach of his employment agreement. Gleason made the reference to Decatur City Council in his letter of resignation on Sept. 12. WAND News obtained the letter through a Freedom of Information Act request. “Regrettably, ongoing actions by one council member have undermined the professional standards and mutual trust necessary to fulfil my role effectively,” Gleason wrote.

* WTVO | Tourism boom in Stateline generates over $500M for Rockford: “We look at demand generators like our sports facilities, our concert venues, our big museums. Visitors who didn’t live here supported our economy by spending their money,” shared CEO and President of Go Rockford, John Groh. Rockford and Winnebago County visitors spent millions in funding, boasting over 4,000 jobs and millions of dollars in direct income and taxes.

* WTVO | New bus service from Rockford airport to O’Hare starts next month: This new “American Airlines Landline” service aims to combine the convenience of passing through security in Rockford with the extensive travel options available at O’Hare. Travelers can enjoy a more streamlined experience, especially beneficial for families and those with special needs.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | Rivian faces auto safety probe over its electric delivery vans: U.S. auto safety regulators opened an investigation into Rivian Automotive Inc. over issues with the seat belts in its electric delivery vans that could introduce additional risk in the event of a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it’s aware of six reports of potential failures with the seat belt anchorage system for the driver’s seat in Rivian’s vans. In multiple instances, the steel braided cable connecting the belt to the seat frame has frayed or broken, “leaving the occupants unrestrained in the event of a collision,” the agency said in a document posted to its website.

* CNN | Hunger Researchers Put On Leave After Trump Administration Cancels Food Insecurity Report: Days after announcing it was ending the government’s annual food insecurity report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture placed about a dozen researchers, supervisors and administrators on paid administrative leave on Monday. The employees, who include top officials with the USDA’s Economic Research Service, which produces the longstanding report, were told the reason was “unauthorized disclosure,” said Laura Dodson, vice president of American Federation of Government Employees’ Local 3403, which represents five of the workers.

* WaPo | What researchers suspect may be fueling cancer among millennials: Last year, researchers released findings from a 150,000-person study at the annual American Association for Cancer Research meeting that took the cancer community by surprise. They found that millennials — born between 1981 and 1996 — appear to be aging biologically faster than previous generations, based on biomarkers in blood that indicate the health of various organs. That acceleration was associated with a significantly increased risk — up to 42 percent — for certain cancers, especially those of the lung, gastrointestinal tract and uterus.