* A jury has found former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson guilty of second degree murder for the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey. WICS…

BREAKING: Sean Grayson has been found guilty of second-degree murder.

— WICS ABC 20 (@wics_abc20) October 29, 2025

From the SJ-R…

First-degree murder occurs when a person “intends to kill or do great bodily harm” to another, or “knows that such acts will cause death” to the person. It also occurs when the person knows such acts will “create a strong probability of death or great bodily harm” to the other.

In comparison, second-degree murder occurs when a person kills another while “acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation.” In this case, the person must have negligently or accidentally caused the murder, or believed the killing would be justified or exonerated under Illinois law. […]

First-degree murder is the highest class felony in Illinois (occasionally referred to as “Class M”) and carries a prison sentence of 20-60 years.

Second-degree murder is a Class 1 felony and carries a prison sentence of 4-20 years or probation.

…Adding… Sen. Doris Turner…

State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) released the following statement in response to a jury finding Sean Grayson guilty in the murder of Sonya Massey:

“While nothing will bring Sonya back, justice has been served. Today’s verdict shows that no one is above the law.

“I stand with the Massey family and my community as we continue to mourn the unjust loss of Sonya. Since Sonya’s murder, I’ve been committed to – and will continue to – put in the work to make necessary changes to ensure our community has trust in those who have taken the oath to protect and serve.”

…Adding… Civil rights and personal injury attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci…

The death of Sonya Massey led to significant reforms in Illinois, including the passage of the Sonya Massey Law to improve police hiring practices and a $10 million civil settlement for her family.

“While we believe Grayson’s actions deserved a first-degree conviction, today’s verdict is still a measure of justice for Sonya Massey. Accountability has begun, and we now hope the court will impose a meaningful sentence that reflects the severity of these crimes and the life that was lost. We will continue to fight for Sonya’s family and for reforms that protect everyone from unlawful use of force.

“The family extends deep gratitude to Sangamon County State’s Attorney John C. Milhiser and his entire office. They handled the case with professionalism, transparency and compassion. Prosecuting a police officer is never easy, but this team did it with courage and integrity.”

* An update on the Illinois National Guard case from Jon Seidel…

NEW: SCOTUS appears unlikely to rule on National Guard deployment in Illinois until after Nov. 17 .

That means deployment will likely remain BLOCKED in Illinois in the meantime. https://t.co/B18apvFsed

— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) October 29, 2025

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* Reuters this morning…

China’s state-owned COFCO bought three U.S. soybean cargoes, two trade sources said, the country’s first purchases from this year’s U.S. harvest, shortly before a summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

As the two nations battle over trade tariffs, the lack of Chinese buying has cost U.S. farmers billions of dollars in lost sales, after they largely supported Trump in his campaigns for president.

Although COFCO’s deal for December-January shipment of about 180,000 metric tons of soybeans was China’s first such buy in months, traders do not expect a significant resumption in demand for U.S. cargoes after recent large South American purchases. […]

The lack of Chinese demand this season has hurt U.S. farmers financially as they have nearly finished harvesting a large crop while their top export market has remained absent. They are also grappling with steep costs for fertilizer, seeds, labour and equipment.

* Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello put the China purchase in perspective during a press conference earlier today…

Costello: A small announcement today, and it’s an elephant in the room, the announcement of China buying a couple of cargo loads of soybeans.

And I want to put this in perspective. This represents 1/10 of 1 percent of the soybeans planted in the United States. It represents less than 1 percent of the soybeans planted in the state of Illinois. So I’m going to make an analogy for you. To me, from a trade aspect, this is similar to an arsonist coming in, setting your house on fire in the middle of the night, coming back in the morning, using your garden hose to hook up to your spigot to put water on what’s almost a foundation left.

These trade policies have wreaked economic havoc and instability in our ag communities. Farmers deserve better than what they’re receiving from our federal government.

According to the Illinois Soybean Association, “60 percent of the soybeans grown in Illinois find their way to international markets.” In 2023, Illinois exported $4.5 billion worth of soybeans.

* Gov. Pritzker signed an executive order declaring an agricultural trade crisis. Press release…

Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2025–07 declaring an Agricultural Export Crisis in response to the damaging impacts of Trump’s tariffs and trade policies that are hurting Illinois’ $26.4 billion agricultural sector, farmers, and rural communities. Through the executive order, Governor Pritzker is directing state agencies to take immediate action to enhance domestic markets for agricultural commodities and continue investment in mental health support for farm families. ​ […]

As part of the Executive Order, Gov. Pritzker has directed state agencies to assess the following:

- Boost Domestic Markets: The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will coordinate efforts to promote, develop, and expand domestic markets for agricultural commodities.
- Support Illinois Farm Families: IDOA will continue to invest in the Farm Family Resource Initiative, providing mental health resources, the 833-FARM – SOS helpline, and no-cost counseling for farm families, helping rural communities navigate this unprecedented economic stability.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Block Club | Illinois Lawmakers Propose Bills That Would Protect Immigrants At Schools, Hospitals And Courthouses: Proposed bills — some yet to be introduced to the state legislature — would ban immigration agents from making civil arrests at courthouses statewide, ask federal agents to comply with health centers’ rules to protect patients’ privacy and increase protections for immigrants, among other things, advocates said.

* Crain’s | Pritzker says House transit-funding bill is a non-starter: Pritzker’s opposition makes it unlikely the Legislature will produce a transit bill by the time the veto session ends tomorrow. It’s just the latest twist in the transit saga in Springfield, where legislators have been unable to overhaul the oversight of Chicago-area mass transit agencies and come up with a way to replace hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic-era support for public transit that is coming to an end.

* First Alert 4 | Teacher’s Union heads to capital, pushes lawmakers for promised funding that’s gone undelivered: Dozens of members from the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and Southwest Area Council (SWAC) were on the bus headed to Springfield, Il. They say the plan is to push lawmakers for a significant increase in funding for K-12 education, even if it means raising taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.

*** Chicago ***

* AP | Border Patrol’s Bovino due in court for first check-in on Chicago immigration crackdown: In an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News, Bovino defended federal agents’ actions and said he was eager to talk with the judge. “If she wants to meet with me every day, then she’s going to see, she’s going to have a very good first-hand look at just how bad things really are on the streets of Chicago,” Bovino said. “I look forward to meeting with that judge to show her exactly what’s happening and the extreme amount of violence perpetrated against law enforcement here.”

* WTTW | Chicago Leaders Applaud Glock’s Reported Decision to Phase Out Pistols That Easily Convert to Automatic Weapons: Glock is expected to launch new products purportedly designed to prevent semi-automatic conversion, a move that came after Chicago officials alleged in court that the company knowingly manufactures products that can be illegally converted into semi-automatic weapons using an item known as a “switch.”

* WGN | Little Village council demands action against federal agents using CPS parking lots for staging: About two weeks ago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) put up signs saying the parking lot is only for the use of authorized vehicles. But nothing has been put up in relation to the executive order issued by the mayor earlier this month, prohibiting ICE and others from using any city property or facilities. There are similar allegations that immigration officials in recent days have staged themselves adjacent to Farragut High School, located at 2345 South Christiana Avenue.

* Chicago Mag | Monument Man: Dajnowski has been taking care of local public art for nearly 35 years, first as an employee of and now as a contractor for the Chicago Park District and the Art Institute of Chicago. He’s the city’s top conservator of monuments, sculptures, and fountains — the guy you trust to preserve and clean Chicago’s finest public works. Not least the Art Institute’s iconic lions. “You can imagine what a decision that was for the institution,” says Rachel Sabino, the museum’s director of objects and textiles conservation. “There really is no one we trust more for this type of work locally than Andrzej.”

* Crain’s | A half dozen buzzy new bagel shops roll into Chicago: Call Your Mother Deli, the Washington D.C.-based bagel chain with a cult-like following, is expanding to Chicago — the latest in a wave of buzzy bagel shops setting up across the city. The pink and blue CYM brand is planting its first Midwest flag in Wicker Park at 1615 N. Damen Ave., formerly home to Dimo’s Pizza. The CYM team hopes to open the new location in spring 2026, and if it’s successful, “a few” more storefronts in the following 12 to 18 months, said Andrew Dana, the company’s co-owner and founder.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Argonne will team up with Nvidia to build one of the biggest AI supercomputers: The national laboratory outside Lemont has a long history as one of the nation’s top centers for supercomputing and recently completed one of the world’s fastest machines. That was before the explosion of widely available artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and other software, much of it running on Nvidia chips. The Department of Energy said today Argonne will partner with Nvidia and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to build two next-generation supercomputers: Solstice, which will feature 100,000 Nvidia Blackwell processors and Equinox, which will feature 10,000 Nvidia processors.

* Daily Herald | DuPage County Board criticizes ICE, but won’t ban agents from county property : DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy indicated there could be additional action in the future. “We need to do what we can actually do to support our residents,” Conroy said. Republicans board members said they support due process or fair treatment, but described the resolution as “political theater,” noting that the county has no jurisdiction over immigration.

* Daily Southtown | Six chosen to plan possible uses of Pope Leo XIV’s boyhood home: Dolton clerk Alison Key was sworn in Thursday as leader of the commission that also includes Democratic state Rep. Will Davis, village co-chaplain Deborah White, former Illinois GOP finance committee chairman Vince Kolber, and longtime residents Garrett Ghezzi and Lisa Montgomery. House said Key’s contributions as village clerk qualified her to lead the commission, which is charged with deciding next steps for the pope’s childhood home at 212 East 141st Place as well as general pope-related tourism in Dolton.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | If SNAP ends, what happens to free lunches in metro-east schools?: “We don’t anticipate that meal service at schools will be interrupted during the government shutdown,” said Alexis Bylander, director of Food Research Action Center, a national nonprofit that advocates for federal nutrition programs. Illinois State Board of Education Press Secretary Lindsay Record said as of Tuesday, there has not been any changes to federal school meal programs. She did not answer when asked if ISBE has sent guidance to districts.

* WCBU | Busy Peoria City Council gives final approval to 2-year budget: Following weeks of preparations, discussions and negotiations, the Peoria City Council on Tuesday approved a two-year spending plan in a matter of minutes. The council voted unanimously to adopt a balanced biennial budget with revenues and expenses at $300.6 million in the 2026 fiscal year and $324.3 million for 2027.

* WGLT | ISU teaching assistant on leave faces federal charges over alleged threats to President Trump: The El Paso Police Department said in a social media post that its officers coordinated with the FBI to arrest Derek Lopez, 27, of El Paso during a traffic stop shortly before 7:40 p.m. Tuesday. […] ISU Police arrested Lopez on Oct. 17 on misdemeanor criminal damage and disorderly conduct charges. Police said Lopez disrupted two informational tabling events. In videos widely shared online, a man is seen flipping a table during a confrontation with a student organization that is affiliated with Turning Point USA.

*** National ***

* NYT | In Utah, Trump’s Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape: Much about Utah’s plans remain unclear, including the details of involuntary treatment, what a proposal calls “work-conditioned housing” and whether the residents will sleep in buildings or tents. But supporters call it a model. […] Utah’s pivot is especially radical. It was once a leader in Housing First, an approach to homelessness that prioritizes permanent housing and offers treatment on a voluntary basis.

* Bloomberg | Rivian won’t tap $6.6 billion U.S. loan until new plant built, CFO says: McDonough reaffirmed Rivian’s goal of hitting a measure of operating profit by 2028 once its Illinois plant reaches full production capacity of 200,000 vehicles a year. “Ramping up the Normal facility to 200,000 would get us to Ebitda,” she said, referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.