* WTTW…

A federal judge is set to decide Thursday whether to block President Donald Trump from deploying 200 members of the Texas National Guard alongside 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to the Chicago area. […]

The hearing began Thursday morning with U.S. District Court Judge April Perry saying she has “several pages of questions” for lawyers on both sides. In her questioning, Perry appeared skeptical of the federal government’s argument that incidents of violence around protests at a Broadview ICE facility rise to the level of troop deployment. […]

National Guard troops must be deployed to Chicago because there is “a danger of a rebellion against federal authority” that impedes “the ability of federal officials to enforce federal law,” lawyers for the Trump administration told the judge. […]

But lawyers for the state and the city accused federal officials of overstating the threat and noted that the head of operations for ICE at Broadview praised efforts led by the Illinois State Police to keep protests from spiraling out of control by creating designated zones where protests are allowed and preventing demonstrators from blocking federal operations.

* The Sun-Times is covering the hearing live…

Arguments have concluded in the hearing over the state’s lawsuit against the Trump administration that seeks to block the deployment of National Guard units over Gov. JB Pritzker’s objections.

U.S. District Judge April Perry intends to reconvene in her courtroom at 4:30 p.m. with lawyers representing the state, which is seeking a temporary restraining order against the deployment, and Justice Department lawyers fighting that effort.

Before the court went into recess, Christopher Wells, the lead lawyer representing Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Pritzker administration, summarized the state’s position that President Trump was acting maliciously with his push for National Guard troops in Illinois despite the governor’s objections.

“This case is replete with evidence of bad faith, of an abandonment of public virtue, of a lack of honest devotion to the public interest and of a grave risk of usurpation or wanton tyranny,” Wells said.

* Sun-Times…

In early October, a black Chevrolet Express van without license plates on the front or the back left a gated federal immigration facility in Broadview and drove through the western suburb.

The passengers wore Army green typical of U.S. Department of Homeland Security officers. The van had an “inventory” decal on the back, but with faces shielded, no badge numbers and no visible license plates at all, the pair were virtually untraceable — the latest sign, documented by the Chicago Sun-Times, of the ways in which federal immigration agents are shielding themselves from public scrutiny.

The Sun-Times has documented four such unmarked cars on public streets without proper license plates and no other indicators that they are government vehicles, ever since an influx of federal officers sent by the Trump administration began roaming Chicago in early September. One car had no license plates at all; three had only one plate.

Illinois law requires all registered vehicles to display front and back license plates, without exception, according to the secretary of state’s office. But the greater concern here, a civil rights lawyer says, is a “severe lack of accountability.”

Rich reached out to the Secretary of State’s office for comment, but was told there would not be one.

*** More Courthouse News ***

* Block Club | Judge Rules Feds Can’t Pepper-Spray, Tear-Gas Journalists After Block Club Chicago And Others Sue: “Whatever lawlessness is occurring is not occurring by peaceful protesters” and journalists, Ellis said after reading her decision aloud. Some actions by federal agents “clearly violate the constitution,” the judge said. “Individuals are allowed to protest. They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.”

* AP | Illinois urges judge to stop National Guard deployment after Trump administration ‘plowed ahead’: [U.S. Justice Department lawyer Eric Hamilton] said some people were wearing gas masks, a suggestion they were poised for a fight, but U.S. District Judge April Perry countered it might be justified to avoid tear gas at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Broadview, outside Chicago. “I, too, would wear a gas mask,” the judge said, “not because I’m trying to be violent but because I’m trying to protect myself.”

* WGN | Judge to rule on Illinois’ attempt to block National Guard deployment: Attorneys for the state said “it’s clear this appears to be about preventing crime, any crime not just committed crime that’s unconstitutional.” During a five minute, break Mayor Brandon Johnson made a brief appearance in the courtroom and greeted Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | States Should Close “Drop-Kick” Loopholes That Allow the Wealthy to Dodge Real Estate Transfer Taxes: Thirty-three states and Washington, D.C., as well as some localities, impose a one-time transaction tax on the transfer of real estate when it’s sold. Most of these taxes apply only on direct transfers of real estate from seller to buyer. The ultrawealthy and large corporations can easily avoid such taxes by making their property sales indirect: a seller can “drop” the property into a shell company and then “kick” (sell) that company to the buyer. By skirting this tax, drop-kicks reduce state tax revenue to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, according to some estimates. Fortunately, states can easily close this drop-kick loophole through “controlling interest taxes,” which tax the sale of the shell company that’s used to avoid real estate transfer taxes.

* NYT | JB Pritzker Has Had It With Democrats Who Won’t Stand Up to Trump: “This is exactly the moment for people to stand up. And do I see enough people doing it? No, I don’t,” Mr. Pritzker said at a forum in Minnesota on Tuesday, as national guardsmen from Texas awaited deployment in Chicago. “It shouldn’t be that there are Democrats that are afraid, because you know what? We’re the targets. We need to be strong, we need to fight back.”

* WGEL | Frank Watson Records Hole-In-One At GCC: The middle threesome featured Mike Eaton, Brad Perry, and retired State Senator Frank Watson. Through 11 holes, it was a fairly typical round for this group—Perry was booming drives straight down the fairway, Eaton was his usual model of consistency, finding greens in regulation and rolling in easy pars. Watson, however, was having a bit of a rough go… until the 12th hole. Hole 12 at Greenville Country Club plays 128 yards from the tee Frank uses, a picturesque par 3. Frank teed up his hybrid, caught it flush, and absolutely crushed his tee shot. The ball never wavered, holding its line directly toward the flag. It landed just short and left of the pin—the perfect spot for this day’s pin placement.

*** Chicago ***

* Crain’s | French quantum company bringing American HQ to Chicago: Pasqal, a French startup, will set up its U.S. headquarters at the quantum park that’s being built on the sprawling former U.S. Steel South Works on the far South Side. It joins Silicon Valley startup PsiQuantum and Boulder, Colo.-based Infleqtion among the growing roster of companies that have announced plans to build quantum computers at the IQMP.

* Sun-Times | Chicago Fashion Week is back. Here are the don’t-miss events and designers to watch: Now in its second year, this year’s annual series kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday, Oct. 19, with 60-plus shows, talks and shopping markets located in venues from Hyde Park to Highland Park. All are open to the public, with some requiring registration or a paid ticket.

* The Daily Beast | Trump and White House Busted Using Red State Footage to Show ‘Chaos’ in Chicago: However, the Daily Beast can reveal that much of the footage was actually filmed in April in Florida, the state home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence—with a big giveaway being that it features palm trees, which are not known to grow in Chicago. … The governor’s spokesman, Matt Hill, told the Daily Beast: “We are proud that Chicago was just ranked the best big city in the United States. We are proud of its beautiful beaches, booming businesses, and decent people. However, we cannot claim credit for many palm trees here.”

Click here for the White House video.

* Tribune | Kristi Noem says Homeland Security ‘purchasing more buildings in Chicago’: Noem did not elaborate on where the building purchases would take place. But during the Friday visit, a video showed her speaking with ICE and federal Customs and Border Patrol agents at the Broadview facility and pointing at a nearby structure and saying, “We’re going to try to buy that building today.” “So, give you more space. Let you spread out and tell everybody and send a message: We’re not just here, we’re here to stay, and we’re expanding and we’re going to make this city safe again,” Noem said last week.

* Stop The Presses | The press steps up as Trump targets Chicago: With local news in a severe tailspin for decades, there was a real question about whether Chicago’s media would meet the moment. But they have indeed. “I think the local news has really been fantastic,” said Jennifer Schulze, a former news director for Chicago’s WGN-TV who now writes the Indistinct Chatter newsletter. And the strong reporting hasn’t come only from legacy outlets such as the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune but also from newer independent media such as Block Club Chicago, the TRiiBE, Borderless, Unraveled, and South Side Weekly.

* The Triibe | South Shore raid triggers past traumas and sparks new conversations about divisions between Black and Latino communities: Rod Johnson will never forget federal agents zip-tying his hands behind his back. The 67-year-old military veteran already suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. The night of the raid, Johnson said he was detained for two hours outside his apartment at 7500 S. South Shore Dr., where he’s lived for several years. “I’m an American citizen with no warrants,” Johnson said. He never thought the presence of federal agents in Chicago would impact him. When asked why, he said, “Because I’m a Black man.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Northwestern | Former D65 Superintendent Devon Horton federally indicted: Former Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton was federally indicted Thursday, the district announced in a message to families. The U.S. Attorney’s office filed charges against Horton for alleged actions while serving as District 65’s superintendent, Board President Sergio Hernandez and Board Vice President Nichole Pinkard wrote in the message.

* Daily Southtown | Will County puts off immigration resolution vote as leaders seek compromise: The board’s Executive Committee, which is made of board leadership and committee chairs, said Thursday the resolution needed to be reworked and postponed it indefinitely. The board will not take up the immigration resolution at its regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 16, the Executive Committee decided. Legislative Committee Chair Destinee Ortiz, a Romeoville Democrat, introduced the resolution Tuesday to declare Will County’s commitment to ensure communities can live and work without fear.

* Aurora Beacon-News | East Aurora District 131 school board members denounce board member Mayra Reyes’ comments about dual language program: Then, last month, the NAACP, Quad County Urban League and other local Black leaders voiced their concerns with the district over Reyes’ comments and called on her to resign at the district’s Sept. 15 school board meeting. Those concerns continued at Monday’s meeting, and some of the criticism again extended to the board as a whole for its handling of the situation. “Your silence tells this community that discrimination is acceptable, that it’s fine to deny opportunities for some children so that others can have an advantage, or keep an advantage,” longtime educator Cynthia Latimer, who also spoke at the previous meeting calling for Reyes’ resignation, said about the board on Monday.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Champaign Co. village dissolves police department amid backlash: After a tense back and forth meeting this week, a Champaign County village is choosing to get rid of its police department. On Monday, Thomasboro’s Board of Trustees voted to approve a contract with the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, forcing the village’s police department to dissolve. Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said the contract will start Nov. 1 and go through the end of 2026. He said they also have similar deals with Ivesdale and Philo, but residents are worried this change isn’t for the better.

* IPM News | U of I’s Soybean Innovation Lab expects $1.5M grant will help address food insecurity across Africa: Though the Soybean Innovation Lab was forced to cease operations in 30 countries, the donation allowed the lab to continue its work in Malawi in hopes of registering new soybean varieties in the country. “It was kind of a light in the end of the tunnel for us,” said Julia Paniago, product lead of the Soybean Innovation Lab.

* WGLT | ISU researcher: Mixed messages from federal government increase distrust in vaccines: Kelly Clemens, a professor in the Department of Psychology, studies people’s beliefs and attitudes toward vaccines. She said vaccines are safe and effective but that the federal government’s skeptical approach helps create “an ideal environment for a lot of the psychological barriers to vaccination” that she and others have researched. “Right now, we see medical organizations – the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association – going not completely in opposition, but making different recommendations than the CDC and ACIP, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP]. And so that creates a lot of confusion for people, and then that brings up thoughts and feelings for people. ‘Well, are vaccines safe, and are they effective? And if they are safe and effective, then why is there all of this disagreement?’” said Clemens.

*** National ***

* South Dakota Searchlight | Governor squanders his credibility on civil discourse with ‘eat a salad’ comment: But Rhoden wasn’t finished. He followed Noem onto the low road and went even lower in his attack on Pritzker. “Maybe he should clean up Chicago,” Rhoden said. “Or at least eat a salad.” […] It’s disappointing that Rhoden would write those words or allow them to be written on his behalf. It’s also hypocritical coming from a hat-wearing cowboy who’s been on a high horse lecturing South Dakotans about civility ever since he pledged, upon becoming governor, that it would be “one of the pillars of my administration.”

* AP | US opens Tesla probe after more crashes involving its so-called full self-driving technology: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing dated Tuesday that it has 58 incident reports of Tesla vehicles violating traffic safety laws while operating in full self-driving mode. In reports to regulators, many of the Tesla drivers said the cars gave them no warning about the unexpected behavior.

* The Times | ‘I’ll be around for another 60 years’: John Lennon’s lost interview from 1975: The tapes, presented in an interview with Horne on Boom Radio, reveal not just the paranoia of the American administration of the time, they also serve as a portrait of one of the world’s most famous rock stars as he tried to live something resembling a normal life at the Dakota Building in New York with Yoko Ono.