* Overdrive Online…

The state of Illinois has paused issuance and renewal of non-domiciled CDLs for non-citizen drivers with temporary work authorization there, according to a Freedom of Information Act request for documents from the Secretary of State’s office, which handles Illinois licensing.

On September 26, the day that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued its Interim Final Rule ordering all states to pause non-domiciled CDL issuance pending internal reviews, an email obtained by Overdrive was sent from Driver Services Director Kevin Deusterhaus, outlining a series of changes for all personnel across the state. […]

The state disabled its online license/ID duplicate application and promised personnel a new “download” of a programming change that would result in a more automated way to prevent issuance to non-domiciled applicants. […]

Among states that shared data with Overdrive ahead of the July report documenting a sharp rise in non-domiciled CDL issuance around the nation, Illinois showed the largest increase in the percentage of total CDLs issued, with more than 40% of all CDLs in the state this year through April noted as non-domiciled. […]

The Illinois Secretary of State media liaison did not respond to Overdrive requests for comment on what the state is finding about its own non-domiciled CDL program, likewise queries as to its efforts to stand up a revised program for applicants consistent with FMCSA’s new regulation. Under the terms of the new rule, some employment-based visa holders from outside the country remain eligible for non-domiciled CDLs, though the U.S. Department of State issued a pause on visas for truck drivers the month prior to FMCSA’s rule change.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, did not submit petitions for the 7th Congressional District Democratic State Central committeeman post being vacated by [retiring Rep. Danny Davis]. His decision averts a showdown with House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, who is seeking the party post.

The Democratic State Central Committee is the governing body of the state’s Democratic Party. It consists of two people from each of the state’s congressional districts. Members of the committee elect the state party chair, for instance.

Harmon told Capitol News Illinois last week that he was “looking at the race” but was waiting to see “how the field shapes up” before deciding whether to file.

More from the The Sun-Times…

“The Senate is combating grave dangers in our nation,” Harmon said through a spokesperson. “I’m comfortable that the slate of central committee candidates across the state can handle the politics and confident that [Illinois Democratic Party Chair] Lisa Hernandez will continue to lead a vibrant statewide Democratic Party.” […]

The other contest includes incumbent West Side Ald. Emma Mitts (37th); state Sen. Lakesia Collins, D-Chicago; City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin; and former Maywood liquor commissioner Mary “May” Larry. […]

Welch entered October with $101,000 in his committeeperson campaign fund, state election board records show.

Collins, with the backing of powerful labor groups, had more than $240,000 in her state campaign fund, while Mitts had more than $23,000. Conyears-Ervin had about $7,300 in a state fund but more than $225,000 in her federal campaign fund.

*** Statewide ***

* WGLT | Experts consider benefits and risks as Illinois restricts use of AI in therapy practices: Other than chatbots not being required to follow HIPAA compliance, a big risk for AI users is that they could be using AI chatbots as a replacement for real connection, which Lannin said could make someone feel more lonely in the long-term. Lannin said talking to a human versus an AI chatbot when needing connection can be compared to drinking orange juice versus Diet Coke when needing energy. Both drinks are sweet, but orange juice has better nutritional value.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Daily Herald | ‘Nothing underhanded’: Moylan defends move to end reelection bid, set up staffer as replacement: Democratic state Rep. Marty Moylan of Des Plaines said a recent series of significant health battles is behind his decision to end his campaign for an eighth term in Springfield in favor of his chief of staff, Justin Cochran. The former Des Plaines mayor and alderman said he considers himself in recovery mode but is weighing his ability to complete his current term representing the state House’s 55th District. “There was nothing underhanded,” Moylan said of his decision to pull out of the race after filing last week to run for reelection. “Anyone who wants to run can get their petitions together and run. I wanted to see the transit bill done and move on. I’ll be 75 in a month. It’s time to move on.”

* Tribune | State Sen. Willie Preston’s past Trump praise draws notice in Democratic fight for Illinois congressional seat: Just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Preston posted a series of Facebook messages praising President Donald Trump and ridiculing Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. The posts, some laced with mild profanity, were written by Preston before he held public office as a Democrat in the state legislature. […] In another on the same day, in response to a question about who he would vote for, Preston answered, “Trump,” and attached a photo showing the Republican president’s name checked on a digital ballot. […] “No, no, no. No, no, no, no,” Preston said when asked whether he actually voted for Trump, given his 2020 Facebook post claiming he did. “That’s totally false.”

* Tribune | Transit reform measure shifts CTA control from Chicago mayor. Lawmaker says that’s an ‘asset.’: “I mean, I’m not a fascist. I don’t know what to tell you,” Johnson said when asked to react to losing majority control of the CTA board. “The most important thing is they have a system that’s funded. … I don’t sit around counting the status of how much power is concentrated in one seat.” As lawmakers worked to avert the transit “fiscal cliff” — a financial crisis that loomed next year as the CTA, Metra and Pace started running out of federal pandemic aid — a mantra of “no funding without reform” emerged in Springfield from lawmakers and advocates who felt they were long overdue to address perceived inefficiencies within the existing system.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | ‘I couldn’t even believe I was living that’: witnesses say immigration agents pointed guns, lobbed tear gas, drove ‘tank’ down city street: Over more than two hours of testimony so far, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis heard from more than a half dozen witnesses who say immigration agents pointed guns at citizens, shot pepper spray balls at reporters, and threatened to arrest protesters who were doing nothing more than recording the agents’ activities on the street. One witness, 12th Ward Ald. Julia Ramirez, testified she went to the scene where an agent had shot a woman in Brighton Park on Oct. 4 and was stunned to see immigration agents rolling what looked like a tank down Kedzie Avenue. Perched on top of the armored vehicle, an agent was pointing a gun at the crowd, she said.

* WTTW | Chicago Police Department Overspent Its Budget By $501M Over 5 Years: Data: The only year that CPD did not overspend its budget was 2020, when with department operations upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, CPD ended the year nearly $128.5 million under budget, according to the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports from 2019 to 2024. Allowing CPD to spend unlimited sums of taxpayer money is a “crazy way to run a city,” said Justin Marlowe, a professor in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and the director of the Center for Municipal Finance.

* Block Club | Librarians, Aldermen Push Back Against Proposed Library Cuts: That comes on top of a proposed 50 percent reduction in the library’s collections budget, which is set to go from $10 million in 2025 to $5 million in 2026. Those funds are used every year to buy books and pay for subscriptions and other library assets. The proposed 2026 library budget would decline by about $2 million from last year, from $109.34 million in revised 2025 appropriations to $107.23 million, according to the financial analysis office.

* Tribune | Chicago Aviation official pocketed over $250,000 from sham O’Hare snow removal deal: feds: A top Chicago Department of Aviation official was federally indicted this week in an alleged sham contracting scheme for snow removal at O’Hare International Airport. Eric Sanders, 54, was charged with four counts of fraud and one count each of conspiracy to commit fraud and tax evasion, according to a copy of the complaint filed Monday in the U.S. Northern District of Illinois. He is accused of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a snow removal company from 2016 to 2023, with the help of his father, his girlfriend and her son.

* Block Club | Amid SNAP Cuts, Englewood Activist Launches ‘Tiny Kitchen Project’ To Feed Neighbors In Need: With the future of federal food assistance benefits still uncertain, rabbi and Mothers Against Senseless Killings founder Tamar Manasseh has launched the Tiny Kitchen Project to help keep schoolchildren and families fed in Englewood. Dozens of neighbors have signed on to help so far, Manasseh told Block Club. They’ll be cooking meals in their kitchens and bringing them to the MASK Peace Academy, 7500 S. Stewart Ave., where the meals will be distributed to over 100 children and families five days a week. The only ask, she said, is that recipients clean the food containers and bring them to use for the next day’s meal.

* Crain’s | GoHealth plans to cut nearly 500 more jobs: Online health-insurance broker GoHealth is laying off nearly 500 workers, the second mass layoff for the Chicago-based company in three years. The company’s plans to lay off 487 workers, were disclosed in a WARN filing with the state of Illinois and discussed by laid-off employees on LinkedIn. GoHealth said the layoffs involve employees at the company’s headquarters as well as remote workers around the country. “This decision was made due to Medicare Advantage market dynamics,” the company said in a statement.

* Sun-Times | ‘Queen of the Blues’ Koko Taylor’s prized possessions — including a Grammy — sold at Chicago flea market: How the possessions of a Grammy-winning icon ended up in a flea market on the South Side of Chicago and not in a protected archive at a university or museum was at first unclear to Louis and others. The saga began four months ago when Luis Gonzaga, a Chicago-based junk dealer, purchased, sight unseen, the contents of a storage locker in Orland Park via an online auction. In the storage industry, it is common practice for storage lockers to be liquidated following months of delinquency. Gonzaga, who has been purchasing storage lockers for six years, said he did not know about Taylor’s link to his winning bid until customers started asking him about the items.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Pope Leo XIV calls on Trump Administration to allow detainees in Broadview to receive communion: In answer to a direct question about the west suburban facility Tuesday, the Chicago-born Pope told the reporters that the spiritual rights of detainees need to be considered. “I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people,” he said. “Many times they’ve been separated from their families for a good amount of time; no one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”

* Daily Herald | Two Prospect Heights police officers fired after complaint of noncriminal off-duty conduct: The fired officers are Sgt. Michael Smith and Officer Sofia Tirovolas. The police department hired Smith in 2012 and Tirovolas in 2022, according to information previously posted by the city. Prospect Heights officials said they were unable to provide further details about the complaint at this stage of the grievance process.

* Shaw Local | Joliet police lieutenant remains on leave, inspector general investigation ongoing: Lt. Jeremy Harrison has been on leave since July 29 and city officials won’t comment on the investigation because it is still ongoing as of Tuesday. City officials have not yet revealed the nature of the investigation that is being handled by Joliet Inspector General Stephen DiNolfo.

* Daily Southtown | Harvey 2023 collection rate means $24.15 million in unpaid taxes, Cook County treasurer’s report finds: The study, released Wednesday, revisits collection rates one year after bills were sent out, incorporating late payments. On the whole, that rate — a measure of property taxes actually paid compared to what was billed — has largely rebounded from when bills were first sent out, making up what was formerly a significant shortfall. However, the report said, collection rates for many south suburban communities remain “perilously low.” Of these, the most glaring is Harvey, which billed $57.9 million in taxes in 2023 and has collected only $33.75 million, a collection rate of 58.29%. That equates to $24.15 million in unpaid taxes. The only two municipalities with lower collection rates are Ford Heights at 39.08% and Robbins at 57.44%, both much smaller communities.

*** Downstate ***

* Press release | Gov. Pritzker Celebrates Grand Opening of Affordable Housing in Madison County: Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today joined local officials, community members, and construction and labor representatives to celebrate the grand opening of the Community of Sunnybrook (Sunnybrook), a $20 million housing development offering 40 new rental homes for Madison County working families. Sunnybrook is an investment in accessibility—to housing, employment, and education—and part of a larger revitalization effort across Madison County.

* WSIU | New Carbondale police chief meets with community: Stacye Saunders was one of the community members present to meet with the new chief. She’s the Family Resource Center coordinator with Carbondale Middle School said she liked what she heard from the chief. Working with adolescents is a priority for her. She hopes to see more collaboration to support the youth in the community. And from what she’s heard, Chief Copeland has been clear about what he hopes to accomplish. Copeland says getting it’s a priority of his to get himself and his officers out of the cars and into the streets working with residents.

* Journal Courier | Mobile justice vans bringing free legal aid to west-central Illinois: Land of Lincoln Legal Aid offers free civil legal assistance to lower-income residents. That can include anything from clearing criminal records to defending against an eviction. For years it has served those in 65 counties in central and southern Illinois through its offices in Springfield, Quincy and Alton. Earlier this year, the non-profit started using two “mobile justice vans” to visits areas that might not have easy access to one of its offices.

* WPSD | Carbondale councilman flips the bird: ‘I wish I would have handled it differently’: “I wish I would have handled it differently,” Loos said. “I think it was something where being upset with the folks there was fully justified, but you’ve got to also be reasonable about the way you handle it when you get upset, and that was unreasonable.” He added that the gesture was fueled by the parting expletive from an audience member, which crossed beyond what had previously happened at meetings. “I’m used to being heckled,” Loos said. “I’m used to people being upset and walking out. What I’m not used to is someone looking me right in the eye and saying that.”

* WJBD | Marion County and City of Centralia work together on saving dog and puppies: Marion County and the City of Centralia were able to work together to help a mother dog and 12 puppies that were found abandoned on the north side of Foundation Park on Monday. […] Right now, Marion County has no animal control facility and Centralia no animal control officer. The two are currently talking about further cooperation.

*** National ***

* WIRED | FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves: Criminals posing as US immigration officers have carried out robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults in several states, warns a law enforcement bulletin issued last month by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bureau urges agencies to ensure officers clearly identify themselves and to cooperate when civilians ask to verify an officer’s identity—including by allowing calls to a local police precinct. “Ensure law enforcement personnel adequality [sic] identify themselves during operations and cooperate with individuals who request further verification,” it says.