* ICYMI: New federal rules could put formerly unhoused people back out on the streets across Illinois. Illinois Answers Project…

- The Department of Housing and Urban Development late Thursday published new rules which shifts its priorities away from housing-first policies which, advocates say, have been a bipartisan standard for over a decade.
- The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates more than 8,500 permanent-supportive housing beds throughout the state are funded by federal money.
- The new HUD policy will cap what’s spent of the $182 million funneled to Illinois through what is called its Continuum of Care program. Chicago and Cook County get the bulk of that money — nearly $140 million.
- Right now, program administrators estimate they’re spending at least 80% of that money to provide permanent housing for people with disabilities who had been on the streets. By January, HUD will require that percentage drop to no more than a third.

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*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois lawmakers urged to ‘step up’ and ‘fight like hell’ as EPA moves to cut wetlands protections: Advocacy groups in the state — including the Illinois Environmental Council, Environment Illinois and Prairie Rivers Network — are renewing calls for Gov. JB Pritzker to support a comprehensive statewide wetlands protection program. Just last month, a coalition of environmental and community groups sent a petition to the governor’s office with more than 6,500 signatures from Illinoisans demanding the same.

* WAND | IDOC to file permanent mail scanning rule early next month, face legislative review Dec. 17: IDOC implemented the mail scanning emergency rule on Aug. 14 to prevent drugs from entering facilities. However, the agency did not start scanning mail for prisoners until the end of September. Director Latoya Hughes highlighted the main cause for the delay last month. “The network is still being built out,” Hughes said. “We have begun scanning, but there are some locations within facilities where we still need to build up the network strength. That process is continuing.”

*** Statewide ***

* Sun-Times | Digital driver’s licenses, IDs available to Illinois residents starting Wednesday: “This is modernization that makes sense: innovation that protects your privacy, saves time and makes your life easier,” Giannoulias said during a flashy announcement that was kicked off with a video touting the new IDs. Under the law passed last year by the Illinois General Assembly authorizing digital IDs, residents will continue to be required to have physical IDs. Mobile ones can serve as identification, but businesses aren’t required to accept them.

* Press release | Gov. Pat Quinn: This Wednesday, November 19, at 1:30 PM in the State Capitol Pressroom in Springfield former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn will launch a statewide taxpayer campaign to win passage of the Illinois Property Tax Relief Amendment. The proposed constitutional amendment will give Illinois voters at the November 2026 election a binding referendum opportunity to enact a 3% income tax surcharge only on millionaires in order to fund billions of dollars of property tax relief for Illinois families and businesses. […] At the press conference, Quinn will release a legislative district-by-district analysis of the 2024 referendum results showing resounding voter support across the state for using the millionaire surcharge amendment to reform the Illinois property tax system.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Alderpeople Weigh in on the Path Forward for Budget Negotiations After Johnson’s Plan Fails to Advance: La Spata was one of the 18 alderpeople who voted to delay a vote on Johnson’s revenue ordinances, arguing that he and his colleagues needed more time to assess every option. “There’s questions about how do we find in a way that is progressive, that, as Ald. Hall called for, asks those who can pay more and pay their fair share to pay their fair share, but also do it in ways that continues to grow our economy rather than deter economic growth,” La Spata said. “That’s a needle that we can thread, and I know that we can thread, but it deserves more time and deliberation. If we knew that the votes weren’t there for the revenue package, we should’ve taken the time to get to a place that everyone can agree on.”

* Politico earlier this week…

The Black Voters Matter Fund, a national progressive organizing group, is making a seven-figure spend in support of Johnson’s budget. The group will focus its advertising primarily on digital platforms, according to a person familiar with the ad buy.

Ald. Andre Vasquez was targeted by an ad from the organization. His response…

Click here to see the ad.

* WBEZ | Chicago’s top cop pledges to address rise in officers pointing their guns at people: They expressed concern about the rising number of use-of-force incidents involving CPD personnel since 2022. The team also pointed out that CPD’s crisis intervention program is understaffed, making it difficult for Chicago police districts to respond to calls involving individuals experiencing mental health emergencies. The independent monitors’ latest numbers show that CPD is in partial compliance with 94% of the areas of the federal consent decree and in full compliance with 23%, up from the 16% reported earlier this year.

* Block Club | Little Village’s 26th Street Slowly Comes Back To Life After Months Of Immigration Raids: Foot traffic at Ceasar’s Music, 3407 W. 26th St., started improving Friday, the day after Bovino was confirmed to have left Chicago, shop manager Ceasar Miranda said. Business at the local music shop declined by a third since the summer due to fears of immigration raids, Miranda said. He’s now hopeful the music has come back.

* WBEZ | CPS blasts longtime charter operator for alleged financial ‘negligence’: Chicago Public Schools officials told a longtime charter school operator that its privately run but publicly financed network is on the brink of financial collapse and the district will not fund its $5 million bailout request, according to documents obtained by WBEZ. Last week, CPS sent a letter to the ASPIRA charter school network saying a months-long district investigation found “a failure of governance” and “a lack of financial proficiency necessary to successfully run a school.” Asked about the scathing report, the CEO of ASPIRA, Edgar Lopez, blamed CPS funding and enrollment policies. He says he does not have enough money to make payroll next week.

* Tribune | Michelin announces 2025 awards, and Chicago has new one-star and two-star restaurants: The Michelin Guide Northeast ceremony in Philadelphia on Tuesday night saw Chicago add a new one-star restaurant, Feld, and a two-star restaurant, Kasama, to its repertoire. The ceremony featured restaurants from Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston. Feld’s first Michelin star might not be a surprise for those who have experienced the 27-course tasting menu at the Ukrainian Village restaurant. In the Michelin guide, Feld is cast as a farm-focused experience worthy of a star.

* Tribune | Review: Patti Smith’s ‘Horses,’ live and powerful at 50: Her famously raven hair is now a frizzy flood of white. Her voice is still scratchy and bellowing and strong. Her stage uniform hasn’t changed much: white shirt, black jeans, dark coat, dark boots. A half century ago, in the cryptic liner notes for “Horses,” Smith called for “new risks etched forever in a cold system of wax,” and added: “As for me, I am totally ready to go.” All these years later, she also sounds just as ready to go, as if she never tired of the challenge she built for herself. She seems eager to suggest new depths in “Horses,” particularly showing it off as a door from the last gasp of ‘60s psychedelia to early literary punk.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Naperville Sun | Experts explain impact of data centers, as Naperville weighs a proposal: “There’s no set of criteria of what is mandated in each municipality,” said Anna Markowski, Midwest director of climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It’s different in ComEd territory. It’s going to be different in Naperville. … The utilities are doing the best they can to make sure that these loads are brought on in a way that’s responsible.”

* 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 | Arlington Heights says no to immigration agents using public spaces: The 8-0 vote late Monday came at the end of a debate lasting almost two hours in front of a packed village boardroom of residents opposed to the presence of federal agents in town in recent months. “What our neighbors and residents have experienced, it is not safety. It is fear,” said Trustee Carina Santa Maria, who proposed the ordinance. “If we see this happening and choose not to act, then what is our role? We are elected to protect our neighbors — all of them — to create conditions for safety and stability, to take a stand when something is wrong.”

* Daily Herald | Proposed e-bike regulations progressing in Des Plaines: Among other restrictions, Des Plaines’ proposal would prohibit anyone under 16 years old from operating an e-bike or similar vehicle on public streets and public sidewalks and in public parking lots. […] Fourth Ward Alderman Dick Sayad suggested parents review the pending regulations with kids who have e-bikes or e-scooters. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Sayad said.

*** Downstate ***

* STLPR | Some Metro East towns get windfall that may be from a new online sales tax: At the start of the year, the state began taxing online retail sales when a product is shipped in from out of state. The result: extra tax revenue for local towns and counties over the first six months of 2025, according to state data compiled by the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois. “It’s a good change from a local government (perspective), as it’s generating additional local revenue,” said Maurice Scholten, the nonpartisan advocacy group’s president. “It does add an additional layer of complexity to our overly complicated sales tax structure. So, I guess there’s good and bad.”

* WCIA | Vermilion Co. Electoral Board removes Sheriff candidate from ballot: In a press release on Tuesday, Vermilion County Clerk and Electoral Board Chair Robyn Heffern said a hearing was held on Monday at 9 a.m. regarding the objection of nominations papers filed by Jerry Harker against the candidacy of Hugh Sands for the office of Sheriff. The Vermilion County Clerk said pursuant to 55 ILCS 5/3-6001.5, any person seeking the office of Sheriff is required to have successfully completed the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Officers Training Course.

* WCIA | Sen. Doris Turner providing community help through turkey donation in Springfield: On Tuesday in Springfield at St. John’s Breadline, 50 turkeys were given out to senior citizens and others in need. This is the turkey giveaway’s second year, with the goal of giving families a good meal this holiday season. “My hope is that, you know, I don’t know how far a 12-pound turkey goes, but it can at least serve four-to-five people a piece,” said Laura Mentzer, President of the Illinois Life & Health Insurance Council. “So, the hope is that we have at least 100 or so folks that will be able to avail themselves of that.”

*** National ***

* AP | Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case, won’t have to break off WhatsApp, Instagram: U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued his ruling Tuesday after the historic antitrust trial wrapped up in late May. His decision runs in sharp contrast to two separate rulings that branded Google an illegal monopoly in both search and online advertising, dealing regulatory blows to the tech industry that for years enjoyed nearly unbridled growth. The Federal Trade Commission “continues to insist that Meta competes with the same old rivals it has for the last decade, that the company holds a monopoly among that small set, and that it maintained that monopoly through anticompetitive acquisitions,” Boasberg wrote in his ruling. “Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now. The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so.”

* NYT | Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.: Iowa City eliminated bus fares in August 2023 with a goal of lowering emissions from cars and encouraging people to take public transit. The two-year pilot program proved so popular that the City Council voted this summer to extend it another year, paying for it with a 1 percent increase in utility taxes and by doubling most public parking rates to $2 from $1.