* Politico…

Rep. Chuy García has denied purposely clearing a path for his chief of staff to take his seat without facing a primary, but a document filed with Illinois elections officials shows he was the first to sign her nominating petitions, days before he announced his retirement.

García said Tuesday in a note to Democratic colleagues obtained by POLITICO that he “did not circulate petitions for any Congressional campaign except my own.” But that obscures his apparent knowledge of the effort by his top aide, Patty Garcia, to get on the ballot.

A petition signature page submitted by Patty Garcia to the Illinois Board of Elections shows the representative and his closest allies, whom Chuy García has also helped get elected over the years, signed their names. They include Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya, Illinois state Sen. Celina Villanueva, state Reps. Aaron Ortiz and Norma Hernandez, and Chicago City Council members Jeylú Gutiérrez and Michael Rodriguez.

NBC…

On a 236-183 vote, the House passed a resolution authored by a fellow Democrat, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, disapproving of Garcia’s actions this fall, which set up his chief of staff as the sole Democrat on the primary ballot to replace him in a deep-blue district. Twenty-three Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in voting yes on the resolution.

* WCIA…

On Monday, the newly launched Women’s Professional Baseball League announced that its first season will be played in Springfield.

While the teams are from New York, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco, all of the games will be played in the capital city.

“Springfield had women’s baseball in the 1800s. 1875, we had the Blonds and Brunettes play. Over 150 years later this will be full circle. It’s amazing. This partnership will bring national attention to our community and economic benefits to our community,” Buscher said. […]

The league will throw its first pitch in August but the draft for the league is coming up Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. You can watch the draft on the PWBL’s Facebook, TikTok and Instagram pages.

Very cool!

*** Catching up with the congressionals ***

* Press Release | Rep. Susie Lee Endorses Sanjyot Dunung for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District: - Today, Representative Susie Lee of Nevada’s 3rd District formally endorsed Sanjyot Dunung, Congressional candidate for Illinois’ 8th District. Rep. Lee, known for her pragmatic and bipartisan approach, supports Dunung’s vision for responsible, commonsense change and passion to collaborate across party lines to create innovative solutions that will improve affordability and increase economic opportunities for all Americans.

* WICS | Candidates for 15th Congressional District engage with community at Springfield forum: Capital City Illinois and Jacksonville Indivisible hosted a community forum Sunday afternoon in Springfield for candidates running for the 15th Congressional District U.S. House of Representatives. Four of the five Democratic candidates took part in the forum. Organizers say they invited everyone on the ballot, including the three Republicans in the race, among them incumbent Mary Miller.

*** Chicago ***

* Bond Buyer | Chicago mayor seeks approval of new money, refunding debt: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson asked the City Council to approve $1.8 billion in new money general obligation bonds, with $1.3 billion used for future infrastructure projects under the city’s capital improvement program.

* Sun-Times | Ald. Bennett Lawson tells Mayor Johnson he’s out as acting Zoning Chair if his job isn’t made permanent: Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th), the city’s acting Zoning Committee chair, said Tuesday he has given Mayor Brandon Johnson a year-end ultimatum: Make his committee post permanent with control over his own staff, or he’s done with the time-consuming job. Lawson disclosed the Dec. 31 deadline he gave the mayor minutes after two of his allies in the City Council’s pro-business “Common Sense Caucus” tried and failed to seize control over the issue themselves — by handing Lawson the permanent job. The surprise maneuver by Alderpersons Anthony Beale (9th) and Ray Lopez (15th) was thwarted when their motion to suspend the rules for immediate consideration of their resolution attracted just 18 votes. That was eight votes short of the 26 that Beale says he needed, and 16 votes short of the two-thirds vote that the mayor claimed was required.

* Fox Chicago | Chicago police-involved shooting reported on South Side, COPA investigating: The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) said it is responding to an officer-involved shooting in the 5600 block of South Michigan Ave., in the Washington Park neighborhood. No details have been released about what led to the shooting, whether anyone was injured, or if any officers were hurt.

* Block Club | City Plans On Closing North Park Homeless Encampment Next Year: While an exact date for the encampment closure has not been given, officials with the Mayor’s Office, the Park District and the city’s Department of Family and Support Services said any residents remaining in Legion Park after the closure will have to relocate. The Oct. 23 letter was emailed to Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th), whose ward includes the Legion Park and the Eugene Field Park homeless encampments, and was shared with constituents from the 39th Ward. Lucia, a member of advocacy group Parks for All who asked not to share her last name due to fear of retaliation from neighbors, said Legion Park residents were “the last to know” about the closure.

* Chicago Reader | How immigrants shaped Chicago’s bar scene: One of the reasons so many taverns were owned by immigrants, Garibay said, was that liquor licenses were easier to obtain in Chicago compared to other cities. “You can just find four walls and do your thing,” Garibay said. European immigrants in need of work often obtained a tavern license to provide for themselves and their families. Incidentally, they also found new communities. “Human beings naturally gravitate and want to be with people who are like them,” Garibay said. “They’re coming straight from different parts of Europe or different parts of the world.”

* WTTW | Chicago Fire FC Has Committed to a Bird-Friendly Stadium. Will It Spark a Trend?: “When they (the Fire) set that example, when they chose to do the right thing,” [Audrey Vicks of Bird Friendly Chicago] said, “it makes a stronger case. And now when the commissioners see that developments are able to choose bird-friendly and it’s not going to cost them a fortune and it’s not going to derail their project, they are now holding these developers to a higher standard.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Broadview ICE facility population dwindles as feds shift focus from Chicago: It also happened to be the first hearing since attorneys with the MacArthur Justice Center and Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU toured the facility Thursday with U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally. Few details of the visit were shared during Tuesday’s hearing, but attorney Jonathan Manes said “maybe 20” detainees were present at the time. “Everybody who had been there overnight was no longer there,” Manes said.

* Daily Herald | Palatine passes resolution answering residents’ concerns about federal immigration enforcement: The resolution follows weeks of residents voicing concerns about police actions and involvement with federal immigration enforcement activities. “This isn’t the finish line. This is the starting line,” Mayor Jim Schwantz assured the crowd in the council chambers. “We’re going to continue to build on this going forward.” In addition to the resolution, Village Manager Reid Ottesen announced several steps the village is taking to rebuild trust with its immigrant community.

* Daily Herald | Marklund sues state over denial of community-based housing proposal: The Marklund organization is asking a Kane County judge to overturn the state’s decision preventing it from building a cluster of community homes in Elgin for adults with disabilities. It claims the decision by the Department of Human Services was arbitrary, illogical and implausible, and that a state administrative law judge erred when she agreed with DHS.

* Tribune | Tie vote, trustee resignation prevent Evanston D65 from closing schools; new vote Thursday: After months of public meetings in which Evanston/Skokie School District 65 administrators braced the community to prepare for up to four school closures at the end of the school year, the Board of Education found itself at an impasse at its meeting on Monday. The resignation of Board Member Omar Salem earlier in November left the Board with six members, resulting in 3-3 tied votes and no action on closing schools.

* Tribune | La Grange Park convinces IDOT to reduce speed limit along LaGrange Road: La Grange Park’s Take Five campaign finally paid off when the Illinois Department of Transportation agreed to lower the speed limit from 30 to 25 mph on LaGrange Road, the village’s most heavily traveled roadway. “I’m just as excited as heck that we got this pushed through,” village President James Discipio said. “It’s a great milestone for La Grange Park.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Clinton Police Dept. renews investment in Safe Passage program: Clinton Police Chief Ben Lowers said it allows people who struggle with substance use disorder to get connected to resources that can help. Lowers said you can surrender drugs at the department, do an intake screening and then be given help to fight to get back on track. “There’s factors that go into that, that we navigate through the screening process, but, assured that someone who’s ready and willing to accept some help for addiction, substance abuse disorders, substance abuse treatment — we’re going to do everything that we can to guide you in the right direction and get you on that path,” Lowers said. “And we’re going to support you every step of the way.”

* KSDK | Water restrictions hit Illinois city amid ongoing drought: “Stage 1 Rationing is the precursor to the actual beginning of water rationing, which may be necessary if drought conditions persist for an extended period of time,” the city said in a social media post. “Thank you for your assistance conserving water!” Decatur and surrounding communities are currently facing severe drought, with nearby Platt, Champaign, and Douglas counties all facing extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that over 5 million Illinois residents are in areas of drought.

* WSIL | Murphysboro mayor assures residents about water safety: The Illinois EPA required the city to document and categorize over 5,000 water service taps as “lead galvanized,” “unknown,” or “non-lead,” Stephens said. The city missed the deadline by a few days, necessitating the notice. “I have confidence that the City of Murphysboro provides quality water to our residents,” Stephens said. He added that the water department has been recognized for high standards in conjunction with the Kinkaid Reeds Creek Conservancy District.

* WJBD | Salem Grade School Board approves tax levy, does not approve TIF #4 agreement: The Salem Grade School Board of Education approved a 3.7% tax levy at the regular school board meeting on Monday. The levy is expected to bring an additional $104,112 to the district. The levy is low enough not to require a Truth in Taxation hearing, and superintendent Dr. Leslie Foppe noted that because of an increase in equalized assessed value, the overall tax rate will still decrease.

*** National ***

* CNN | Federal court bars Texas from using new Republican-friendly US House map in midterms: If the ruling stands, Republicans could end up on the losing end of the mid-decade redistricting fight they started. The new Texas map aimed to help Republicans flip five Democratic House seats next year, and it kicked off a rush of redistricting efforts from both parties across the country. The Justice Department has joined a similar challenge to the new Democratic-drawn map in California enacted in direct response to Texas aiming to flip five Republican-held seats.

* Chalkbeat | K-12 moving to Labor as Trump administration accelerates bid to dismantle Education Department: The Education Department announced the changes Tuesday, part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing effort to significantly reduce the department. Both the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education will be moved to the Department of Labor, which oversees workforce development programs and protects workers’ rights, among other responsibilities.