* ICYMI: Texas National Guard troops now protecting federal property in Chicago area, official says. AP…

-An “element” of 200 Texas Guard troops were working in the Chicago area, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command.
- The troops are in the city to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, Northern Command said online.
- The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, had arrived Tuesday at a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, 55 miles (89 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been activated for 60 days.

* Related stories…

• Reuters: National Guard poised to enter Chicago as Trump calls for jailing Democratic leaders
• The Hill: Almost 6 in 10 say armed troops should only be sent to face external threats: Poll
• Shaw Local: Security increased around National Guard base in Elwood as activity draws public’s attention

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Sponsored by Ameren Illinois

The summer of 2025 has been a tough one for residents and businesses in the Ameren Illinois service territory. Supply constraints, extreme hot and humid conditions, and increased energy usage have led to a significant spike in electricity prices and higher-than-normal monthly bills for residential, commercial and industrial energy users. We appreciate and thank legislators, regulators and stakeholders who are working hard to address the energy challenge in Illinois. Energy policy is complex, and we’re encouraged that there are some creative ideas being proposed and a willingness to work together to find answers.   

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If you know of someone who is struggling to pay their energy bill, please encourage them to visit www.AmerenIllinois.com/PathToSavings for information on available financial assistance and energy saving programs. 

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* At 11 am, Governor JB Pritzker will hold a press conference to discuss Illinois’ role in quantum technology research. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Chicago Reader | Illinois rideshare drivers organize for labor rights: Over the past decade, rideshare apps have failed to respond to issues of driver safety, shrinking pay, secrecy around fare breakdowns, account deactivations, and a work experience where there’s no one employees can reliably contact when they need help. In response, drivers across the country are battling Uber and Lyft state by state, urging local governments to regulate the rideshare industry. In Illinois, it’s illegal for the 85,000 drivers in Chicago and the 100,000 across the state to unionize. But that is not stopping thousands of drivers with the Illinois Drivers Alliance from fighting for fair working conditions.

* Sun-Times | Students for profit? University of Illinois campuses pay company per online student: The University of Illinois Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Illinois Springfield are paying a for-profit company for each student it recruits to online programs — a practice that would be illegal if done by the universities’ admissions offices, and one that has been banned by another state, a WBEZ investigation has found.

* NPR | At the Supreme Court, the case of the candidate who sued, even though he won: At the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, conservative and liberal justices alike appeared to have little use for either side in a case that tests Illinois voting regulations. The often fractious justices teamed up to have a bit of fun at the expense of two seasoned advocates. At issue was a suit by Rep. Michael Bost, R-Ill., challenging the constitutionality of an Illinois regulation that allows ballots mailed in by Election Day to be counted for up to 14 days after polls close. The lower courts ruled against Bost after finding that he failed to show he was individually harmed by the ballot regulation since he won.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Center Square | IL House GOP leader: Pritzker ‘deliberately lied’ to score political hit: Pritzker said he called state GOP legislative leaders and asked them to speak out about social media influencers he said were embedded with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in Chicago. […] McCombie, R-Savanna, said she has consistently and publicly denounced political violence at events, on her platforms and directly to the governor himself. “In the video now circulating, he admits that he asked me to ‘post something’, something I had already done repeatedly,” McCombie said in a statement to The Center Square.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago Public Schools creates command center to monitor ICE activity: Chicago Public Schools has set up a command center to help schools navigate ICE activity near them as the school district faces increased pressure to do more to help schools and families navigate the situation. Chicago schools were in the crosshairs of activity over the last week. Rapid response and teachers in Albany Park say ICE agents were out in force around schools last Wednesday, prompting school staff and residents to take to the streets to get scared students home safely.

* WTTW | 521 Chicago Police Officers Still Using Gun Federal Judge Says Should be Banned, CPD Says: U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer said in a written order issued Sept. 30 that she agreed with leaders of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 that officers who have an alternative service weapon that “meets appropriate standards should be required immediately to use that alternative weapon.” CPD Range Master Sgt. Wasim Said told Pallmeyer that 521 officers were still carrying the Sig Sauer P320, a popular weapon with police officers and members of the military that has been the subject of dozens of complaints that it can fire without the trigger being pulled, in an affidavit filed with the court Tuesday.

* Daily Herald | ‘The situation appears to be deteriorating:’ O’Hare is back to normal but for how long amid shutdown?: “Normal operations continue Wednesday at both O’Hare and Midway International Airports,” the Chicago Department of Aviation stated. “While several dozen delays have been reported over the past 24 hours, more than 3,100 aircraft took off or landed safely at Chicago’s airports on Tuesday, which is consistent with regular daily activity. “The CDA remains in regular communication with officials from the FAA regarding potential impacts of the federal government shutdown. As of noon Wednesday, there are no operational disruptions at either airport.”

* Sun-Times | Federal workers in Chicago ‘emotionally exhausted’ from government shutdown, year of uncertainty: A life scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pasqua is still working despite the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to pass a funding bill. His department within the EPA Region 5, which covers Illinois and five other Midwest states, was fortunate to have carryover funds from the previous budget to continue operating. But Pasqua said he’s unsure if the carryover funding “means we’re going to get paid.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Preckwinkle unveils $10 billion budget for Cook County, warns of future ‘turmoil’ from federal cuts: “We’re in a good place at the moment, but there’s a lot of turbulence in front of us,” Preckwinkle told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “We’re headed into pretty tough waters here, turmoil. … We’re going to be in a very difficult place as the federal government reduces its support for health care.” Each year, health care makes up roughly half of the county’s budget. For 2026, Preckwinkle projects $5.2 billion will go toward health care, the most of which goes toward Cook County’s Medicaid insurance plan, CountyCare. But federal funding cuts to Medicaid threaten the county’s stable budget for health care, Preckwinkle said. In response, the budget includes a 10% reduction in expenses to “maintain operations with reduced Medicaid resources.”

* Shaw Local | Over 450 pages of emails unsealed in public records destruction case against retired DeKalb County exec: But hundreds of records, containing 466 pages of emails that Hanson received or sent between 2019 and 2021, were unsealed to the public on Sept. 25, according to the filing. A Shaw Local News Network review of all 466 pages connected to the indictment found that most of the emails appear largely procedural in nature

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect’s e-bike ordinance sails through village board: Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are allowed on roadways, bike lanes and shared-use paths. Class 3 e-bikes are permitted on roadways and bike lanes. E-bikes are banned from sidewalks, except unless directed by a village bikeway sign or to access the pedestrian signal push button at signalized intersections. They’re also banned in parking decks except when using the entrance to gain access to a bike rack. Operators of Class 2 and 3 e-bikes must be 16 or older or accompanied by a parent.

*** Downstate ***

* NBC CHicago | Illinois school district superintendent allegedly shared student vaccine records: KWQC, the NBC affiliate in the Quad Cities, reported Timothy Farquer, the superintendent of the Mercer County School District, was charged with felony official misconduct as well as unauthorized access to medical records and computer tampering, both misdemeanors. […] Prosecutors alleged Farquer accessed student vaccine records, put them into a database and shared them, violating student privacy, according to court documents filed Sept. 25. Authorities haven’t said who Farquer shared the records with or provided a reason as to why he accessed them. The Mercer County School is based in Aledo, approximately 30 miles south of Moline.

* WCIA | UIPD drone program gives officers birds-eye view of emergencies during Illini football games: UIPD Special Events Captain Joe McCullough said the drones create a quicker response time for officers since the machines can fly over large crowds and give them a birds-eye view of emergencies as they’re breaking out. “Could be a medical issue, an altercation, a missing child; it allows us to get there as fast as we can,” McCullough said. “That drone can just fly straight there and sometimes in just seconds give us a view in real time of what’s going on.”

* WCIA | Central IL students learn about government with state senator: Students across Central Illinois got a taste of being a state lawmaker at University of Illinois Springfield’s campus on Tuesday. Around 80 students participated in the program organized by Senator Steve McClure (R-Springfield). They heard from several speakers and then simulated the legislative process.

* WSIL | Carbondale’s SIH offers new robotic lung cancer detection: SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale recently performed the first Ion® robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive lung biopsy procedure that enhances precision and safety while enabling earlier detection of lung cancer. “Early detection means early survival,” said Gurpreet Bambra, MD, an SIH pulmonologist. “Ion helps us find and diagnose disease much sooner, when treatment is most effective,” Bambra said.

* WGLT | Van Leer Memorial Bell Tower in Normal plays music after decades of silence: The Van Leer Memorial Bell Tower was built at the request of Margaret Van Leer in honor of Bird, who passed away in 1933 from pneumonia. The tower was completed in 1940 and rises 110 feet. A spiral staircase of 100 steps leads to the top. At the time, the tower cost $40,000 to build — equivalent to $1 million today. It is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as the only privately-owned bell tower in the United States.

*** National ***

* UnHerd | Bluesky civil war shows free speech is harder than it looks: Last week, a joke familiar from X circulated on rival platform Bluesky: “(bluesky user bursts into Waffle House) OH SO YOU HATE PANCAKES??” It was obviously a jab at the moral intensity that now seems to define the site, and indeed much of the rest of the social media landscape. On most platforms such a joke might go viral for a day then fade. On Bluesky, it metastasised into something resembling a crisis.

* The Hill | Almost 6 in 10 say armed troops should only be sent to face external threats: Poll: Nearly 60 percent of Americans say the U.S. government should only deploy the military when faced with external threats, according to a new survey. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, released Wednesday, found that 58 percent of respondents said they believe the military should only be utilized for external threats, while 25 percent said they think the military can be used for other purposes and another 18 percent were unsure.

* AP | Man charged with sparking the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history: Investigators said Wednesday that Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver on New Year’s Eve, 2024. After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, he parked and walked up a trail. He took videos at a nearby hilltop area and listened to a rap song with a music video showing objects being lit on fire, prosecutors said. Shortly after midnight, he lit the fire, they alleged. He fled the scene after starting the fire but returned to the trail to watch it burn, acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.

* 404 Media | Libraries Can’t Get Their Loaned Books Back Because of Trump’s Tariffs: “There are libraries that have our books that we’ve lent to them before all of this happened, and now they can’t ship them back to us because their carrier either is flat out refusing to ship anything to the U.S., or they’re citing not being able to handle the tariff situation,” Jessica Bower Relevo, associate director of resource sharing and reserves at Yale University Library, told me.