* Crain’s…

Digital Realty Trust is buying the shuttered Hawthorne Race Course property, setting up a likely heated showdown between the nation’s largest data center operator and local officials determined to prevent the historic horse track from being transformed into a facility for computer servers.

The Austin, Texas-based company is behind the venture set to complete a court-approved $90 million purchase early next month of the 108-acre property at 3501 S. Laramie Ave. in the towns of Cicero and Stickney, according to sources familiar with the matter. The pending sale is part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding for Hawthorne, whose ownership turned to the court system earlier this year to reorganize and try to revive its struggling business. […]

Stickney Mayor Mitch Milenkovic declared his unequivocal opposition yesterday, issuing a statement that decried data centers “without proper regulations and restrictions” as a strain on residents’ utility bills and a noise nuisance.

“If a data center project for Hawthorne Race Course lands before the board of trustees, I will vote no,” Milenkovic said in the statement, noting the village of Stickney board approved a moratorium earlier this month on any zoning relief, licensing, development and permit approval for data centers within the municipality.

* Evanston Roundtable…

On data centers, [Sen. Ram Villivalam] said they’re an issue for “every district in the state,” and highlighted that he and [Rep. Robyn Gabel] co-sponsored the “POWER Act” bill, aimed to regulate their development and power usage, as the energy-intensive sites have been blamed for rising electricity costs for Illinois residents. The bill failed to pass in the spring session, but Gabel said that initial version was “filed as a starting point” to start deliberations towards a final version, which she expects to return before the end of the term.

“We have a group working, the House, the Senate and the governor’s office, on a bill that we are hoping to have ready by November,” Gabel said, referring to the legislature’s brief veto session held at the end of each year. “That is our goal. If we can’t get enough support for November, we will do it next early next year.”

* Governor JB Pritzker signed a bunch of bills into law today. Click here for the full list.

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* Jimmy Reimer’s band is playing the state fair tonight…

*** Statewide ***

* Fox News | Harvard, NYU among 30 universities hit with Pentagon foreign-tie audit deadline: According to a U.S. official, the schools subjected to the audit are: Georgetown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, San Diego, University of Texas at Austin, Emory University, Harvard University, Oklahoma State University, Penn State University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Cincinnati, University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Bryant University, Cornell University, Drake University, Duke University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah (Oklahoma), Portland State University, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Stony Brook University, University of Delaware and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Cook County Record | Judge: Feds can challenge IL laws teeing up lawsuits vs ICE agents: On Aug. 19, U.S. District Judge David Dugan denied the state of Illinois’ motion to dismiss the challenge brought by the federal Justice Department, under President Donald Trump, against the Illinois laws seeking to limit immigration enforcement actions in the state. In the decision, Dugan specifically rejected assertions from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul that the laws don’t actually pose a “credible threat” to federal authority or to federal agents themselves, even though the laws empower both state officers and trial lawyers to enforce the laws through lawsuits and other actions.

* Press release | AG Raoul blocks Trump administration’s unlawful demand of CDL drivers’ personal information: U.S. District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order that blocks the Trump administration from demanding the production of a database of state-owned records containing the sensitive personal information of 17 million drivers and from terminating more than $10 million in federal funding to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) if it refuses to produce the database.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Chicago’s Democratic Socialists Back 2 City Council Challengers, While Declining to Endorse 2 Incumbents: Chicago DSA backed four current members of the Chicago City Council, who are running for new four-year terms: Alds. Byron Sigcho Lopez (25th Ward), Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd Ward), Anthony Quezada (35th Ward) and Angela Clay (46th Ward). Quezada was appointed to replace former Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who stepped down to become the superintendent of the Chicago Park District, and is seeking his first full term on the City Council. However, the group narrowly declined to endorse Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward) because he would not tell the group he considers himself an anti-Zionist, sources told WTTW News.

* Sun-Times | After their dad was deported, family works to keep his Humboldt Park sandwich shop and legacy alive: Asif Amin Cheema was deported to his native Pakistan in January after 30 years in the United States, where he raised his five kids. In the months since, the Amins have tried to keep his Best Sub #2 sandwich shop afloat while adjusting to a busier — and harder — life.

* Tribune | Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson buys $5.2M Loop condo: In the Loop, Wilson’s condo had not been on the market and sold privately, so specific details about it are not publicly available. However, Cook County’s assessor values the condo at $4.615 million. A separate parking space included in the $5.2 million purchase price is assessed at $47,400. “I’ve been leasing it for the last three, four, five years and that was a waste of money,” Wilson told Elite Street. “It’s an investment, you know. If I wasn’t running for mayor, you wouldn’t be calling me.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | ‘They want to work’: Suburbanites with disabilities find opportunity at Carol Stream expo: Hundreds of suburbanites took in the exhibits at the event organized by state Sen. Seth Lewis of Bartlett. It was the second expo Lewis sponsored after supporting the Dignity of Pay Act, which the Illinois General Assembly passed in November 2024. The first in 2025 was such a success it prompted the Bartlett Republican to stage another.

* Evanston Now | Judge lets Albany Care accept patients, for now: A Cook County Circuit Court judge granted Albany Care’s request for an injunction to let it accept new patients while the Illinois Department of Public Health attempts to shut it down. Associate Judge Myron F. Mackoff said “IDPH does not have the statutory authority to enter an indefinite” restriction of the license the mental health rehabilitation center on Maple Avenue in Evanston.

* Daily Herald | Amid rise in antisemitism, he’s bridging gap between first responders, Jewish communities: “Now, most congregations have security at least every week for Shabbat, if not security posted at the doors whenever the synagogue is open, if not having security on site at all times,” Glickman told us this week. […] Glickman last week spoke to law enforcement leaders from across the region at the Midwest Security & Police Conference/Expo in Tinley Park, and this week addressed a smaller group of first responders at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy in Glenview.

* NBC Chicago | Tornado sirens ‘accidentally’ activated in multiple Chicago suburbs—again: Reports of sirens going off in DuPage County began hitting social media just before 10 a.m. Some police departments and villages acknowledged the sirens went off despite no severe weather. “The severe weather warning sent at approximately 9:55 a.m. today through DU-COMM was issued in error and was a false alarm,” the Village of Oak Brook said in a Facebook post at 10:05 a.m. The village went on to say that residents should remain “weather-aware,” as the entire Chicago are is under a “slight” risk of severe weather Friday afternoon and evening, which ranks as level two.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | ‘At least’ $17 million in damage at OSF St. Joseph after microburst, flooding: Derrick Frazier, who has held the position since June, said 11 spots on the roof were damaged. That let water into the Bloomington hospital, and patients had to be moved to another area. Frazier commended the quick action of hospital staff. “It was as if we didn’t have a roof, how everybody was getting wet,” he said. “They were moving the patients from one side of the hospital to the other to get them into safety. So I commend the team for all of the hard work that they did.”

* WCBU | Chillicothe notifies residents of elevated contaminants in water supply: Several residents brought their concerns about the contamination and the manner of the notification to the attention of Public Works Superintendent Shawn Sutherland at this week’s department committee meeting. Sutherland indicated there’s nothing in the notice that says the drinking water is unsafe, and that use of a filtration system is recommended. Multiple attempts by WCBU to contact Sutherland for additional comments were unsuccessful.

* WCIA | U of I colleges establish new partnership on campus horse farm: Two colleges at the University of Illinois are partnering to streamline operations at the university’s horse farm while ensuring both have access to the herd for teaching and learning. The Colleges of ACES and Veterinary Medicine announced that they’ve formalized a new memorandum of understanding concerning the horse farm. Their two herds will be consolidated at the St. Mary’s Road farm, while the College of Veterinary Medicine will assume day-to-day management of all horses and related facilities.

* Heartland News | Carbondale partners with SIU to close Illinois Avenue for Homecoming Block Party: The third annual SIU Homecoming Music Street Festival will return to downtown Carbondale on Friday, Oct. 16, featuring a street closure, local vendors, and a lineup of nationally touring musical acts. Alternative rock band Spin Doctors, known for their 1990s multi-platinum hits “Two Princes” and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” will headline the festival’s main stage. The Grammy-nominated blues and Southern rock group North Mississippi Allstars will perform as the opening act.

*** National ***

* Wisconsin Public Radio | Report: Care at Wisconsin hospitals more expensive than in Illinois: Wisconsin hospitals charge nearly 26 percent more for inpatient services than similar health systems in Illinois. That’s the finding of a new report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy. The study uses pricing data reported by commercial health insurance companies and hospitals, which is required under a federal hospital price transparency rule that went into effect in 2021.

* Indiana Capital Chronicle | Planned Parenthood can refer Indiana abortion patients out-of-state, federal appeals court rules: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Appeals Court for the Seventh District found Tuesday that providing factual information on abortions, as well as referrals for the procedure, is speech protected by the First Amendment — and that the state’s arguments aren’t strong enough to overcome that. “Young people should not have to navigate a complicated and deeply personal health care decision without clear, honest information,” said Rebecca Gibron, the CEO and president of Planned Parenthood’s Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana and Kentucky chapter.

* WTTW | Class Action Lawsuit Targets Indiana Power Authority Amid Ongoing Outages From Damaging Storms: Thousands of Northwest Indiana residents affected by this month’s damaging downpours and ongoing power outages have joined a class action lawsuit targeting the state’s largest power utility, claiming it neglected “foreseeable and preventable” issues prior to the storms. The lawsuit, filed by attorney Kenneth J. Allen’s law group, seeks to hold Northern Indiana Public Service Co., known as NIPSCO, to account for what he called “unnecessary outages … that could and should have been prevented.”