* ICYMI: SNAP benefits slated to be cut off on November 1. WSIU…

- Federal officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have informed all states that it will not fund November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP — benefits if the federal government shutdown continues.
- As a result, SNAP customers will not have access to any new food benefits starting on November 1, unless the government is re-opened.
- SNAP is a 100 percent federally funded benefit and the federal government withholding payments to the state would impact all 1.9 million recipients in Illinois. The state administers more than $350 million in SNAP benefits each month, funding that feeds families in every corner of the State.

* Related stories…

• SJ-R: Illinoisans could stop receiving SNAP benefits in November
• USA Today: SNAP benefits face ‘insufficient funds’ in November if shutdown continues, USDA warns
• NPR: At least 27 states turned over sensitive data about food stamp recipients to USDA

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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.   

While Ameren Illinois cannot control the price or availability of energy, we can ensure that the system that delivers energy to homes and businesses — electric poles, wires, and technology; and natural gas distribution pipelines and storage fields — is equipped to operate at peak performance to withstand severe weather events, facilitate business expansions that grow local communities, and enable the transition to renewable generation.

We have an opportunity to build an energy system that is smarter, cleaner, reliable, resilient, and affordable for Illinois families and businesses. As discussions on short- and long-term legislative solutions occur this fall, we will continue to advocate for our 1.2 million customers.   

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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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* STLPR | Judges recommend state regulators cut Ameren Illinois’ rate hike request by $44M: The final decision will be left to the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is expected to make a ruling by Dec. 1 in the case. However, consumer advocates are celebrating the judge’s recommendation and hoping the commission cuts the request even further. “For the sake of Ameren’s customers, who have suffered through one gas rate hike after another, we urge the Illinois Commerce Commission to go far beyond the proposed order — and slash Ameren’s money grab,” said Jim Chilsen with the Citizens Utility Board on a call with reporters on Thursday.

* Tribune | ‘Political opposition is not rebellion’: Chicago appeals court leaves judge’s order barring National Guard deployment intact: In its 18-page ruling, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the findings by U.S. District Judge April Perry were not “clearly erroneous” and that “the facts do not justify” President Donald Trump’s actions in Illinois. The three-judge appellate panel unanimously agreed with Perry that even giving the president “great deference” when it comes to his power to call up the military, there was no evidence that he needed troops to help enforce immigration law or quell any kind of organized rebellion.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Illinois releases draft numeracy plan to improve math education: The first draft of the “Comprehensive Numeracy Plan,” unveiled during an Illinois State Board of Education meeting Wednesday, comes as Illinois students’ math scores continue to lag behind where they were five years ago before COVID-19 shuttered schools and disrupted learning. The draft plan outlines evidence-based practices for improving numeracy and the intent is to give districts resources to plan strategically, but schools are not mandated to follow it.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Subscribers know more. Crain’s | Illinois lawmakers weigh hospital protections as ICE enforcement intensifies: It is unclear what steps a hospital or health care facility can take if Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents arrive with the intention of arresting or detaining a patient, although providers are already blocked from providing patient information to agents by federal HIPAA regulations. A proposed bill being discussed in Springfield this week could provide some protection and policy direction to hospitals if ICE shows up, state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, told Crain’s.

* WJOL | Legislators pass weight exemption for ‘greener’ vehicles: State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, defended House Bill 2394 on the Senate floor Wednesday. “We’re trying to balance infrastructure transportation with trying to use alternative methods that can lower carbon emissions. This is one way that one of the manufacturing businesses in my district has decided to help and have a greener footprint, so that’s what we’re doing,” Loughran Cappel said.

* CNI | Former military leaders decry National Guard deployment in Illinois: During a Thursday news conference, several speakers pointed to troop deployments in Memphis, Los Angeles and other cities. “Today we have to draw a line in the sand, respectfully, firmly and without equivocation,” Janessa Goldbeck, a retired Marine and head of the Vet Voice Foundation, said. “This is not normal, this is not American, and this is not what the military is for.”

* WMBD | Discover Peoria CEO worries over a decrease in tourism at Springfield committee: According to Dalfonso, the U.S. is predicted to have 6.3% drop in international tourism. Most of that drop is due to Canadian travelers not traveling to the U.S., according to Dalfonso. Federal government changes on international travel, including an increased wait time on visas, have negatively impacted tourism across the country, according to Dalfonso.

* WAND | Lawmakers hear about impact of tariffs on Illinois manufacturing, tourism: The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association told lawmakers Thursday that this industry is split on tariffs since it is a complex issue. IMA President and CEO Mark Denzler said tariffs can be an effective tool if countries are cheating or gaming the system by failing to follow trade agreements. However, manufacturers also need stability and predictability.

* BND | Illinois Rep. Charlie Meier faces fines for blocking Facebook comments: Poettker was represented by Bond County attorney Tom DeVore, who declined to comment because his law license was suspended for 60 days by the Illinois Supreme Court. DeVore, who previously ran as a Republican for Illinois attorney general and has filed lawsuits against Gov. JB Pritzker over executive orders issued regarding the COVID pandemic, began serving his suspension on Oct. 10.

* Chicagoland Journal | Chicago Political Trailblazer Emil Jones Jr. Celebrates 90th Birthday: Political leaders across Illinois and the nation are celebrating the 90th birthday of Emil Jones Jr., the longtime Illinois Senate President whose influence helped shape a generation of leaders — including former President Barack Obama, who once called him his “political godfather.”

*** Chicago ***

* NOTUS | Democrats Lay Out ‘Damning’ Examples of ICE’s Tactics in Chicago: “The federal government has effectively invaded an American city, as gunmen atop armored vehicles train their sights on civilians, agents rappel from Black Hawk helicopters onto an apartment complex rooftop, and officers routinely shoot at and deploy chemical agents against civilians,” Reps. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the committee, and Chuy Garcia, who represents the Chicagoland area, wrote in the letter. The five-page letter from Judiciary Democrats says not only has the Trump administration gone against the wishes of local authorities with its deployment of National Guard troops into Chicago but have taken things a step further by using violent tactics against protesters and journalists.

* WTTW | Chicago to Pay $35.6M to Settle 6 Police Misconduct Cases: Nine months into the year, Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $266.8 million to resolve nearly two and a half dozen lawsuits, exceeding the city’s annual budget to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct by nearly $185 million, city records show. It is unclear how the city will find the money to make the payments approved Thursday by the City Council, since it has already exhausted the $82 million officials set aside to cover police misconduct settlements and judgments in 2025.

* ABC Chicago | Federal agents take people into custody at Back of the Yards flea market, protesters detained nearby: Witnesses say as many as 30 federal officers swarmed a flea market, taking multiple people into custody who tried to run away … while leaving fear and uncertainty with the vendors left behind.”Federal agents detained several people at a Swap-O-Rama flea market located near 41st Street and South Ashland Avenue in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

* Sun-Times | Chicago Housing Authority contractor accused of ‘intimidating’ staff: After being confronted about her “exorbitant proposals,” the contractor turned hostile toward staff at the housing authority, threatening to complain to the CHA’s chief executive or the board, the I.G. said. WBEZ has learned the vendor at the center of the I.G.’s investigation was Angela Parker — the sister of longtime CHA Commissioner Debra Parker. The station reported last week that the CHA has paid a combined $22 million to Angela Parker’s cleaning and construction firm and two companies who also have close ties to Debra Parker. Those other companies who do business with the CHA are owned by Debra Parker’s boyfriend and the commissioner’s daughter.

* NBC Chicago | New data show pedestrian traffic in the Loop surpasses pre-pandemic numbers: The Chicago Loop Alliance said it’s seeing a positive trend in visitors, tourism, and money spent in the Central Business District despite the national conversation around crime in the city. “The rhetoric is not true about Chicago and the things that we see with our own eyes as Chicagoans on a daily basis are real like statistically proven to be more accurate and positive than what the media is portraying nationally and what the administration is portraying nationally,” Ariella Gibson of the Chicago Loop Alliance said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights board rejects ban on sleeping in public places: “Anything that targets and creates consequences for someone based on housing status has been and will be perceived as criminalization of homelessness,” said Trustee Bill Manganaro, one of five board members who opposed the new rules Wednesday night. “Arlington Heights is moving into a leadership position in terms of visibility, certainly in the Northwest suburbs and throughout Chicagoland, and the Bears are making it more national with every time they talk about moving here. What we do here about this issue will survive any of our terms on this board.”

* Sun-Times | ICE arrests Hanover Park officer who allegedly overstayed visa, but village says cop had valid work permit: Radule Bojovic, a native of Montenegro, was “encountered during a targeted enforcement action,” according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He remained in immigration detention as of late Thursday in the Clay County Justice Center in Indiana, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detainee locator. According to the Village of Hanover Park, Bojovic presented a valid and recently renewed work authorization card when he was hired back in January. The department also conducted a full background check with Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

* Oak Park Journal | Oak Park changes enforcement of gas leaf blower ban over ICE activity: Oak Park leaders considered scrapping an ordinance that a trustee said sits at a bone of contention between two of the village’s progressive values — prioritizing environmental sustainability and being welcoming to immigrants. Oak Park village trustees questioned the appropriateness of the village’s ban on gas powered leaf blowers in response to the widespread fear that’s taken hold of the local Hispanic community as result of intense federal immigration enforcement seen throughout Chicagoland in recent months. The federal government says it’s arrested more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants in its so-called Operation Midway Blitz, which has also led to chaotic scenes across the region and allegations that federal agents are illegally violating residents’ rights and racially profiling Latino people.

* Elgin Courier-News | Elgin police officer put on leave after Facebook post about ICE immigration efforts: Officer Jason Lentz’s page is no longer available online but it featured an “I Stand With ICE” emblem next to his name when he posted this on Oct. 5: “If I were from ICE, I wouldn’t check La Movida at 840 N State St in Elgin looking for undocumented. There is definitely none there! Also wouldn’t check the flea market where the Milk Pail used to be at 14N630 Rt 25 in West Dundee; no way they’d find anyone there. And I wouldn’t check out The Elgin Mall in East Dundee, located at 535 Dundee Ave — I guarantee there’s no undocumented there either!” […] It is the second time Lentz has been linked to a questionable social media post. The first was in 2014 when he wrote, ““Hmmm…innocent victim my ass. Did society a favor,” in reference to an unarmed Black man who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, triggering riots and civil unrest.

* Daily Herald | ‘Deeply disturbed’: Lawmakers demand answers about ICE actions in Hoffman Estates: The video, taken from the window of a house Friday, Oct. 10, shows officers pulling over a sedan on a residential street and dragging the 18-year-old from the passenger side of the vehicle. As she screams in protest, she is forced to the ground then placed into one of the agent’s vehicles. A Hoffman Estates patrol vehicle appears briefly in the video and pulls away as the scene plays out. ICE agents later stopped in the parking lot of the Hoffman Estates Police Department, where a crowd that included Illinois Rep. Fred Crespo and his attorney daughter Jennifer Crespo gathered.

* Daily Herald | Preckwinkle bans ICE operations on Cook County property: The order will prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using county sites for any enforcement actions, including staging for and debriefing from operations, according to a statement from Preckwinkle’s office. “It is critical that the government’s interactions with the public adhere to our nation’s laws and values,” Preckwinkle said in the statement. “Yet, ICE’s increasingly aggressive, inhumane and unlawful actions continue undermining the safety and stability of our communities.”

* ABC Chicago | Harvey requests to be declared ‘financially distressed’ under state law during special meeting: The designation was approved, and they city will request for the state to take control of the city’s finances. After the contentious meeting with the south suburb taking the step to declare itself a distressed city, they are preparing for all the political fallout that entails. Harvey citizens filled a local church to witness a hastily-called city council meeting, where the mayor sought to pass an ordinance that opens the door to the state helping to bail out a city that is $164 million in debt with little ability to pay its bills.

* Daily Southtown | Tinley Park District 146 approves teacher contract with 6% salary increase over 5 years: The board voted 7-0 in favor of the contract after it was approved by 72% of union membership. In a news release issued Tuesday, District 146 board President Julie Berry said with contract negotiations behind them, district leaders are “moving forward with optimism.” “While negotiations can be challenging, they reflect the deep commitment we all share to our schools, our students, and our community,” Berry said. “Together, we look ahead with continued dedication to providing the highest quality education and environment for the students of District 146.”

* Naperville Sun | Naperville data center vote delayed after opponents flood commission meeting: Residents remained negative to the development even with Karis Critical Member announcing ​that plans had been scaled back to just one 211,000-square-foot, 36-meg​awatt data center ​b​eing built on the 40-acre property, rather than the two initially requested. “This is an opportunity to find investment in the (Interstate 88) corridor that has been lacking,” Karis attorney Russ Whitaker said at the Wednesday night meeting.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Stalled Route 66 Bike Trail project back on track with nearly $2 million state grant: This trail project extends the trail along a 9-mile stretch within the county near Towanda, heading north to the Livingston County line near Chenoa. The nearly $1.9 million award, which the McLean County Board announced during its meeting on Thursday, comes from the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] Local Project Funding Grant Program.

* WAND | Macon County State’s Attorney adds domestic violence investigator to strengthen victim support: State’s Attorney Diane Couri has hired longtime law enforcement officer Shannon Gutierrez Seal as a part-time domestic violence investigator. It’s a move Couri said that is already changing lives across the community. The idea came after noticing the widespread problem in Macon County. Couri said the majority of arrests right now are domestic violence, domestic battery, violation of an order of protection, and domestic-related arrests.

* Illinois Times | Peoria rally planned for first day of trial: The rally, which organizer Chama St. Louis-Boone said will be peaceful and is designed to “support the Massey family” and call for “accountability of police,” will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a blocked-off section of Main Street between Adams and Jefferson streets. Sontae Massey, a cousin of the late Sonya Massey, said, “Peoria is set to be ground-zero, for lack of a better term, as to what we will accept in regard to how policing and police killings are judged from this moment on.”

*** National ***

* NYT | Trump Refiles His $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against The New York Times: A federal judge had previously dismissed the complaint as unnecessarily lengthy and digressive. The president claims that The Times sought to defame him during the 2024 election.

* 404 Media | Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors: “We welcome new ways for people to gain knowledge. However, AI chatbots, search engines, and social platforms that use Wikipedia content must encourage more visitors to Wikipedia, so that the free knowledge that so many people and platforms depend on can continue to flow. Sustainably,” the Foundation’s Senior Director of Product Marshall Miller said in a blog post. “With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”