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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Thursday, Oct 2, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller
Illinois recipients were awarded 33 grants. Dollar figures are not yet available. * Sun-Times…
* WGLT | Illinois Grain Tour examines state of soybean industry amid international trade war: Jerry Costello, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, said the trade war was an impossible topic to ignore during the tour. “It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room — especially having buyers from China that are here,” Costello said. “China, last year, bought $1.4 billion worth of soybean off the state of Illinois alone. They have yet to take one single soybean delivery from the U.S. — let alone the state of Illinois — as we sit here today nine months into the year.” * IPM Newsroom | Central Illinois farmers face severe drought with low yields for harvest season: Rainfall has been below average in recent months, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford. There was plenty of rain in July, which was great for corn. But soybeans depend on rainfall in August, which was a very dry month. […] In mid-September, Ford noted that 2025 had been the 12th driest on record in Champaign County and had been the driest year to date in Champaign-Urbana since 1988. * Crain’s | Soaring downtown office vacancy still hasn’t peaked: The office vacancy rate in the central business district jumped to an all-time high of 28% over the past three months from 27% midway through the year, according to data from real estate services firm CBRE. The share of available workspace has now more than doubled from 13.8% at the beginning of the public health crisis and has hit new record highs for 13 consecutive quarters. * Sun-Times | FAA imposes sweeping drone restrictions over Chicago as feds step up immigration arrests: The Federal Aviation Administration set sweeping restrictions against private drone use Wednesday at the request of DHS, an FAA spokesperson said in a statement. An FAA alert on the restriction says the restrictions are for “special security reasons” without further explanation. The restricted flying zone, which expires Oct. 12, covers a 15-nautical-mile radius emanating from downtown Chicago, reaching as far north as suburban Winnetka, west beyond Interstate 294, and as far south as Dolton. * ProPublica | Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but Avoids Prison: A former Chicago police officer facing trial for perjury and forgery has admitted he lied under oath dozens of times when he used an audacious alibi to get out of numerous speeding tickets and other traffic violations. Over more than a decade, he repeatedly blamed an ex-girlfriend for stealing his car and racking up the tickets — and each time, the story was bogus. […] Kriv’s plea deal was filed in Cook County court on Sept. 24, about a week before his case was scheduled to go to trial. Prosecutors for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office told ProPublica this week that Kriv had 56 of his own traffic tickets dismissed after providing false testimony to judges. That’s more than the 44 tickets that prosecutors had previously indicated in court records. The fines for those tickets would have been $4,515, the amount he was ordered to pay in restitution. * WBEZ | A new John Candy documentary offers a deeper understanding of the comedian and his Second City influence: The historic Chicago Theatre is a fitting location to celebrate Candy, a Canadian native and alum of The Second City Toronto, who also brought improvised shows to Chicago. […] “He packed a lot of life into his years and made a difference,” said Kelly Leonard, vice president of creative strategy, innovation and business development at The Second City. “The film and the reaction to the film show that this guy was beloved, and still can make us laugh and will for decades. I put him up there with W.C. Fields, Abbott and Costello and the Marx Brothers.” * Block Club | Chicago Could Break Heat Records This Weekend As 80s, 90s Expected: Friday is expected to hit 84 degrees and be sunny, according to the National Weather Service, while AccuWeather is predicting a high of 89 degrees. That’s significantly warmer than the high 60s that are average for Chicago at this time of year, said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Pydynowski. * WTTW | CTA Brings Out 1920s Vintage Railcars to Celebrate Transit Agency’s 78th Anniversary: The Chicago Transit Authority brought out the oldest trains in its vintage fleet to celebrate the agency’s 78th anniversary. The CTA, created by state legislation, began operating on Oct. 1, 1947, after it acquired the properties of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the Chicago Surface Lines, according to the agency’s website. * Aurora Beacon-News | Pierog gives financial outlook for county during State of Kane County address: Kane County is currently facing a budget shortfall in its general fund for the fiscal year beginning Dec. 1, according to past reporting. Since 2023, the county has dealt with gaps in its annual budgets by dipping into its cash reserves, according to past reporting. Last year the county balanced its budget with roughly $27 million in reserve funds. Per the county’s most recent audit, the general fund’s cash balance was around $55.6 million as of Nov. 30, 2024. The county aims to keep at least three months’ worth of operating expenses in cash reserves, which would amount to about $34.7 million. * Daily Herald | Legionnaires’ disease investigation tied to Bloomingdale nursing facility: Public health authorities are investigating a cluster of two cases of Legionnaires’ disease in individuals who were at or near the Alden Valley Ridge Rehabilitation and Health Center, a skilled nursing facility in Bloomingdale. Both have recovered from their illnesses, the DuPage County Health Department announced Thursday. * Oak Park Journal | River Forest public works union settles contract: After working for five months without an agreement, River Forest public works employees have a new three-year contract with the village. Although negotiations with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 took longer than recent bargaining sessions with the unions representing employees in the River Forest Police and Fire departments, agreement between the village and the public works union was reached more quickly this time than the previous contract negotiations, when employees worked for over a year and half without a contract. The new three-year contract was approved unanimously by the five trustees present at the Sept. 22 village board meeting. Trustee Lisa Gillis did not attend. * NPR Illinois | No criminal charges will be filed in Chatham YNOT crash: Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser announced Thursday that evidence from deadly crash at an after-school camp in Chatham this spring does not support filing criminal charges. […] “The evidence from the Illinois State Police investigation indicates that it was most likely a medical episode (seizure) that caused the driver of the Jeep to veer off the road and into the YNOT building,” said a statement from Milhiser’s office. * Illinois Times | Frank talk about police misconduct: Last September, Farley had just opened her new business and was riding with her then-boyfriend, Trevor Hopkins, on his Kawasaki motorcycle when the two collided with a car driven by newly retired Springfield police sergeant Michael Egan. […] The SPD underwent an internal investigation and four officers were found guilty of wrongdoings at the scene. One of them received a six-day suspension and retraining was all for the rest of them,” Farley said. “I do not believe the punishment was severe enough for the failure they provided me as a Springfield resident.” Farley said there was not enough accountability for, or amongst, police. * WSIL | New fire station for Gorham thanks to $350K grant: “We cannot thank the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal enough for providing the opportunity and funding to make a new fire house in Gorham a reality,” said Village of Gorham Fire Chief Ron Guetersloh. The program awards grants of up to $350,000 through a competitive process, offering financial support to fire departments, fire protection districts, and township fire departments across the state. * WCIA | ‘They could still be alive’: After losing her sons, Tuscola mother creates transitional home for men experiencing drug addictions: September is National Recovery Month, and Scribner is expanding her mission in the Tuscola community. After purchasing land, she’s recently established “PJ’s Place,” a transitional home for men recovering from substance use disorders. Once it’s fully renovated, eight men will temporarily live there 24/7 as they adjust back to a “new normal.” “You can have the best day of your life, and then when you go to bed and think about things, you get depressed. When you’re struggling with substance use, that’s how you self-medicate, and I want it to be a controlled environment,” Scribner said. * 404 Media | Earth Is Getting Darker, Literally, and Scientists Are Trying To Find Out Why: It’s not the vibes; Earth is literally getting darker. Scientists have discovered that our planet has been reflecting less light in both hemispheres, with a more pronounced darkening in the Northern hemisphere, according to a study published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The new trend upends longstanding symmetry in the surface albedo, or reflectivity, of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. In other words, clouds circulate in a way that equalizes hemispheric differences, such as the uneven distribution of land, so that the albedos roughly match—though nobody knows why. * Crain’s | Rivian reports 32% sales surge on expiring EV tax credit, but cuts 2025 delivery outlook: Rivian Automotive reported a 32 percent surge in third-quarter deliveries compared with a year earlier to 13,201 vehicles as U.S. buyers took advantage of the expiring federal EV tax credit. But the Irvine, Calif., automaker cut the high end of its 2025 delivery outlook. Rivian adjusted the full-year forecast to between 41,500 and 43,500 vehicles from 40,000 to 46,000 previously. * NPR | Air traffic controllers helped end the last government shutdown, and may again: “You have the reality of human beings, many of [whom] are living paycheck to paycheck,” said Dennis Tajer, a longtime pilot for American Airlines and a spokesman for the union that represents its 16,000 pilots. “It doesn’t take long before the system slows down. The safety margin is always protected. But what happens is we meter the amount of aircraft that the system can hold.” That’s what happened on Jan. 25, 2019, when a shortage of air traffic controllers forced the FAA to limit traffic at LaGuardia Airport in New York, along with other major airports from Newark, N.J., to Orlando, Fla.
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- Glock21 - Thursday, Oct 2, 25 @ 2:50 pm:
The regime is openly waging a war on “blue” states, cities and campuses it has declared the “enemy.” They’ll continue to sanction us economically and use federal forces to destroy us as promised.
We can’t keep funding our own police state. Duckworth and Durbin need to stop negotiating to end the shutdown.
- Banish Misfortune - Thursday, Oct 2, 25 @ 3:33 pm:
I feel like we’re at the “break glass moment “, except the glass has already been broken and we discovered that there was nothing there.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Oct 2, 25 @ 3:44 pm:
==The regime is openly waging a war on “blue” states,==
The President has come out and said he “hates” Democrats. He’s behaving accordingly. He’s not much of a President when he behaves this way. Not sure why I expected anything different though. There will be innumerable damage done by him that will take years to fix (if it is even fixable).
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Oct 2, 25 @ 4:25 pm:
They really are running the Government like a business. Shame they never specified whether they were going to run it like an ethical and law abiding business with a clear commitment to the mission and values statement of the company, instead of as one dude’s or a dude’s family’s opportunity to get richer at the expense of everyone else.