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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Oct 31, 2025 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Lawmakers approve $1.5B transit funding package without statewide tax increases. Capitol News Illinois…
- The plan goes to the governor’s desk without any of the controversial statewide taxes on package deliveries, streaming or event tickets that were part of previous bills. The House two days earlier had introduced a measure that taxed entertainment and billionaires’ investments. - The bulk of the funding, $860 million, would come through redirecting sales tax revenue charged on motor fuel purchases to public transportation operations. Another estimated $200 million would come from interest growing in the Road Fund. * Crain’s | Senate OKs energy bill that includes billions for battery storage and nixes nuke ban: The Illinois House passed the legislation yesterday. It now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker, who called it “an important step that will help lower utility bills and make our electrical grid stronger.”“This legislation takes two routes toward affordability,” the governor said in a statement. “First, it will accelerate clean-energy projects with new grid-scale batteries and other clean-energy technology to increase the available electricity supply. Second, it will require utility companies to help their consumers to lower their utility bills and access energy efficient resources.” * Tribune | Illinois lawmakers pass bill to tackle constitutional violations in immigration raids, ban courthouse arrests: The legislation came in response to what one of the bill’s sponsors, Democratic state Sen. Celina Villanueva of Chicago, described as “the reality of the pain and the cruelty and the inhumanity that’s being inflicted on my community, on my district, on the communities in this state — that are also American — for the simple fact of looking the way that I do.” “I’m going to fight back,” she said on the Senate floor late Thursday, shortly before the bill passed 40-18. The Illinois House passed the legislation 75-32 a little more than an hour later. * Daily Herald | ‘Progress, not just achievement’: State emphasizes growth over proficiency in new Illinois Report Card data: When looking at student learning, proficiency and growth, each tell an important part of the story, officials say. Proficiency shows what a student knows and can do at a single point in time. It’s a snapshot of performance measured against the state’s learning standards. Growth shows how much a student has learned in comparison with peers who started at the same level. * WCIA | Illinois Sen. passes Clean Slate Act to seal criminal records for crimes not considered serious: “The Clean Slate Act is about creating pathways to opportunity for people who have earned a second chance,” State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) said in a release. “By automating the sealing process for eligible records, we’re removing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles that keep people from finding employment, securing housing, and fully reintegrating into their communities. At the same time, we’ve been deliberate in maintaining strong public safety protections and ensuring law enforcement has the access they need.” * Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago school board approves controversial $175 million pension payment to the city: The Chicago school board voted Thursday to make a pension reimbursement to the city after 18 months of controversy and leadership turmoil stemming from the payment. But there is one catch. The board voted unanimously to authorize the $175 million payment to the city to support a municipal pension fund that covers city workers and some non-teaching district staff — but only if the entire $552.4 million tax surplus boost for Chicago Public Schools that Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed comes through. * Tribune | Thousands Of City Buildings Are Overdue For Fire Code Inspections, Watchdog Report Says: The report found that only 17 percent of buildings are up to date on fire code inspections. Fire Department leaders say the Fire Prevention Bureau is understaffed and under-resourced due to city budget cuts. * Sun-Times | Chicago Sun-Times demands DHS remove social posts using its photos without permission: A letter sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday says the government used three Sun-Times photos without permission to promote its immigration enforcement campaign. The newspaper threatened to file an intellectual property right infringement lawsuit if the posts aren’t taken down. * Block Club Chicago | Pilsen’s Massive Ofrenda Returns For Día De Los Muertos: This year, Hernandez’s ofrenda, 1340 W. 19th St., features about 400 photos of people that were shared by Pilsen neighbors. To the side, Hernandez built a smaller altar dedicated to about 40 pets, including cats and dogs, who also deserve to be honored because “they are family,” she said. * The Record | ICE activity confirmed in Wilmette. Number of arrests remains unclear: Resident Chad Boomgaarden told The Record that he spoke with at least one border patrol agent around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday in an alley between Park and Prairie avenues near his home. Boomgaarden, who shared photos supporting the encounter, said he inquired about federal jurisdiction on and near private property, among other topics. He was walking his dog and was not pleased to see men in “face masks, camo, tactical gear and long rifle weapons” just feet from his backyard. * Daily Herald | DuPage County Board members balk at clerk’s request for more funding: The two-term clerk, who is up for re-election next year, obliged and showed up at a finance committee meeting this week. Her message, however, was not welcomed by board members “We simply cannot finish fiscal year 2025 on the funds allocated, which were considerably less than our request last year,” DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek told board members Tuesday. “We absolutely will not be able to fund 2026 on the proposed amount budgeted for our office.” * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora again pushes back purchase of police equipment: One of Lawrence’s concerns was that the device would be used to surveil residents’ cell phones, in particular by seeing whose cell phones are within a certain area, without needing a warrant. But Aurora Police Det. Darrell Moore told The Beacon-News that the device, called a “drive test scanner,” is not able to do that. * Daily Herald | Cook County to hold hearing on improving rush-hour congestion on Quentin Road in Palatine: Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways met with residents this week to explain why a combination of factors led to their preferred solution being the addition of just a turn lane and a traffic signal. What the residents of the two Dunhaven Woods subdivisions want — and the village has also endorsed four times since 1996 — is a continuation of Quentin Road’s four-lane configuration that exists north and south of them as well as a turn lane. * WMBD | On the Record: Special education cuts haven’t affected Central Illinois, yet: Those layoffs, the continued government shutdown, and further budget cuts to the Department of Education, have made Peoria County and McLean County regional superintendents anxious. “The concern is that special ed funding in particular for students is a large portion of a lot of our district’s budgets,” Peoria County Regional Superintendent George McKenna said. * WSIL | Fulton County Transit expands services to Calvert City residents: “The expansion of Fulton County Transit Authority into Calvert City ensures that our residents have access to essential services and the freedom to travel where they need to go,” said Calvert City Mayor Gene Colburn. FCTA offers same-day “Demand Response” trips within Region 1, available Monday through Friday. Medical trips can be scheduled in advance to cities like Louisville and Nashville. * WGLT | Demand softens but prices remain high across Bloomington-Normal housing market: It cost around $213,859 on average to buy an existing home in 2021. Now, it’s $287,107. That’s a 34% increase in just five years. “What we are seeing is, with fewer houses available, a lot of buyers right now are getting discouraged and exiting the market,” said Dawn Peters, a Realtor with Keller Williams. “And so the demand is softening a little bit while the supply still remains low. Prices are still holding because of that.” * NYT | Big Tech’s A.I. Spending Is Accelerating (Again): Last week, the Bank of England wrote that while the building of data centers, which provide computing power for A.I., had so far largely come from the cash produced by the biggest companies, it would increasingly involve more debt. If A.I. underwhelms — or the systems ultimately require far less computing — there could be growing risk. “This is a fast-evolving topic, and the future is highly uncertain,” the bank wrote. * Reuters | Daylight saving time bill stalls again in US Senate: he U.S. Senate briefly took up a long-stalled effort on Tuesday to make daylight saving time permanent and end the twice-yearly practice of switching clocks, but again failed to reach consensus. […] Cotton said that the bill’s proponents are pushing Congress to repeat a prior mistake that would create absurdly late winter sunrises and force children to go to school in darkness in much of the country.
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- Benniefly2 - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 8:16 am:
45 cent per toll increase is close to a $500 a year tax increase on my existing commute from the west suburbs to my northwest suburban office, not including any other ancillary trips non-work related trips that may be necessary during a given year. Note: It would cost me more to take public transportation back and forth and it would be a 2+hour journey with multiple transfers each way to get from my suburb to the Des Plaines/Rosemont area. I basically am going to have to start clogging up local roads and using the tollway considerably less. I am pretty sure that I am not alone in that.
If the IL GOP could find some non-MAGA types to run next year in DuPage, Kane, and Lake, I think they would fair very well. Unfortunately, they will likely double down on the Ives types and squander a huge opportunity to break the supermajority.
- City Zen - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 8:30 am:
==$860 million, would come through redirecting sales tax revenue charged on motor fuel purchases to public transportation operations==
How it always should be. The funding for transportation has always been there, it’s up to the legislature to prioritize where it goes. If that’s publi trans, so be it.
- Chooch - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 8:40 am:
What happened to the lock box amendment? I thought that was supposed to prevent the sweeping of funds
- Elmer Keith - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 8:59 am:
Senate President Don Harmon: “This law will be challenged. We know that it will. But that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do.”
This is the same attitude Harmon projected after Pritzker signed the PICA “assault weapon” ban: “We’ll see you in court” (directed to ISRA). Harmon is making more “work” for his lawyer cronies again.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:05 am:
Congrats on the hard work and determination to pass the transit legislation. It’s tiresome listening to the ILGOP oppose so much. They get paid for this.
- Steve Polite - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:18 am:
“Cotton said that the bill’s proponents are pushing Congress to repeat a prior mistake that would create absurdly late winter sunrises and force children to go to school in darkness in much of the country.”
I agree with Cotton. To eliminate the time changes and keep sunrise at a reasonable time in the mornings for children in the winter, Standard Time should be adopted year round. After all, it was the “standard time” before daylight saving time was adopted by the U.S. in 1918.
- Steve - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:22 am:
-It’s tiresome listening to the ILGOP oppose so much-
Imagine thinking the GOP has a voice in Springfield to pass laws.
- Siualum - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:28 am:
- Imagine thinking…-
Perhaps if the GOP had or promoted good government policies, they might do better at the ballot box.
- DS - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:30 am:
Congress could set the clocks a half hour ahead of what currently CST and leave it there permanently.
- Oklahoma - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:44 am:
sure, with everything else going on, let’s talk daylight savings.
Cotton’s argument is ridiculous when you step back and think about our place in the world.
The Time is the Time.
When you choose to start school days is completely up to you.
Start at 9. who cares. Do longer days in the fall and spring and shorter in the winter. Who cares. These are manageable scheduling things that are a whole lot easier now in this advanced society.
- The Morrison Files - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:49 am:
I have reports, from very serious sources, that Mr. Kevin Morrison wasn’t at a single budget hearing this week. Can ya’ll believe this?
Not a single budget hearing. Capfax squad rise up. We gota get Mr. kevin Morrison back to work.
- JS Mill - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 9:54 am:
=Imagine thinking the GOP has a voice in Springfield to pass laws.=
Lol. Their voice is almost always the same. Save the time and skip the conversation. That is what the GOP is doing at the federal level.
- Excitable Boy - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:05 am:
- Imagine thinking the GOP has a voice in Springfield to pass laws. -
By all means, let them keep doing what they’re doing. It seems to be working well for them.
- Roadiepig - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:12 am:
As for the daylight savings time argument that it would require children to go to school in the dark? With all the health issues switching time causes, would it not be simpler for the school district to adjust the start times instead? I know parents will say it messes up their schedules, but it would affect far less people than making everybody’s body circadian rhythms adjust to different sleep times twice a year.
- H-W - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:15 am:
Re: WCIA Clean Slate Act
=== create the Illinois Clean State Task Force to monitor the development of processes for sealing criminal records without petition ===
Well done, legislature. Very appropriate.
- Excitable Boy - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:23 am:
- Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, the Senate Republican’s transit leader, spoke in support of using interest from the road fund to pay for public transportation. -
Steve, if you bothered to actually read things you’d see that the republicans did have a hand in crafting the transit bill. Maybe if more of them spent their time coming up with ideas instead of demonizing trans people and immigrants they could get a few more things done.
- Steve - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:29 am:
-That is what the GOP is doing at the federal level.-
Jedi mind tricks.
- StarLineChicago - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:38 am:
=== What happened to the lock box amendment? I thought that was supposed to prevent the sweeping of funds ===
Transit is an acceptable use for transportation funds.
- Chooch - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:55 am:
StarLineChicago- why call it the road fund then?
- JJ - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 10:58 am:
===why call it the road fund then?===
The actual text of the amendment calls it “Transportation Funds”. It’s just the politicians trying to call it road funds.
- Amalia - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 11:26 am:
I do not mind paying more in tolls or a sales tax that applies across the board. But a moratorium on fare increases? why? everyone should share in the pain. the CTA fares are too low.
- Red headed step child - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 11:34 am:
Im sorry but you all got scammed. Tolls are property of the toll authority, which is bot a state body. They cant use toll $ to fund non tollway projects…you for scammed bigtine, just a backdoor approach to padding the folkways funds…lol
- From DaZoo - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 11:42 am:
===The actual text of the amendment calls it “Transportation Funds”. It’s just the politicians trying to call it road funds.===
The lockbox amendment talks about transportation related expenses. It’s quite broad.
This amendment to SB2111 actually does refer to transfers from the Road Fund. It is an actual named fund in legislation. It’s uses for non-transportation related expenses is what lead to the lockbox (constitution) amendment.
Also, this is the first time funds from the Road Fund were used to replace GRF funding of transit.
Also, the estimate of $200M is a bit low. The bill’s text also talks about 1/12 of bond service repayments to come from Road Fund as well.
- Norseman - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 11:46 am:
Wilmette’s getting ready it’s neighborhood watch group. Good on them.
- Steve - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 11:57 am:
- if you bothered to actually read things you’d see that the republicans did have a hand in crafting the transit bill-
How powerful they must be in Illinois.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 1:12 pm:
===Transit is an acceptable use for transportation funds. ===
Transit is transportation. And it even says so in the constitution.
- JJ - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 1:24 pm:
@dazoo
I was referring to the constitutional amendment.
- From DaZoo - Friday, Oct 31, 25 @ 2:05 pm:
@JJ — Thanks for clarification.
Rereading my comment, I meant to say “it isn’t the first time” for Road Fund funding of transit.
And perhaps for others clarification, there are multiple named funds in Illinois that are intended to be used for “transportation” (e.g. Road Fund, MFT Fund, etc.). That’s why the constitution language needs to be broad, yet any legislation needs fiscal specifics.