* Capitol News Illinois…

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order late Monday blocking the Trump administration from implementing new rules that would have allowed the Postal Service to block certain people from casting mail-in ballots in the upcoming midterm elections.

In a 7-2 ruling, the justices let stand a lower court order blocking the Postal Service from implementing the rules, saying the government was “unlikely to succeed on the merits” of its appeal.

“The court’s decision is a victory for voters, for democracy, and for the rule of law in this country,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement. “I am pleased that the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decisions to stop this un-American rule from taking effect and creating chaos before the midterm election.”

The rules in question would have given the Postal Service broad authority to regulate balloting by mail nationwide. They would have required all mail ballot envelopes to conform with uniform standards. They also would have prohibited mail carriers from transmitting ballots to or from any person not listed on a federally approved list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote.

Raoul was among a coalition of Democratic attorneys general who filed a lawsuit challenging the rules. In August, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction blocking the rules, but the Supreme Court overturned that injunction on procedural grounds because the Postal Service had not yet finalized the rules.

* Click here for some background. Rep. Katie Stuart…

State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, released the following statement supporting The Alestle, the student newspaper at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and its student journalists:

“Over the last few months, tensions have risen between student journalists and their institution’s administration over disagreements on what topic can or cannot be approached in The Alestle— a student-run newspaper that is operated by funds generated from student fees. Student journalists’ work is crucial when analyzing a university’s function or understanding the youth’s perspective of a current event.

“Everyone in the United States is covered by the First Amendment, offering us the freedoms of speech and press. In Illinois, we have additional protections specifically for our student journalists. The College Campus Press Act states that campus media is not subject to prior review by public officials of those institutions. I supported an effort this spring to strengthen these protections, and House Bill 4420 will go into effect on January 1. The only exception would be if the content is unconstitutional or harmful, and neither is the case for the student journalists of The Alestle.

“I stand with the students and staff behind The Alestle in their commitment to free press and free speech, and refusing to be silenced. I sincerely hope they are allowed to return to their high-quality and extremely important journalistic duties, without unjust institutional oversight and censoring.”

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Sweeteners negotiated for Chicago parking meter deal, aldermen say: A group of aldermen announced Tuesday that they have agreed with Stonepeak Partners on a pact under which the city would receive a $75 million lump payout and get 5% of the system’s future profits, which the aldermen estimated would be worth around $376.2 million over the remainder of the 75-year lease.

* WTTW | Deal Reached to Sell Chicago Parking Meters to Investment Firm, Alderpeople Say: The deal requires Stonepeak to sell Omni Air International, which has a contract with the Trump administration to carry out deportations, according to the City Council members. More than a dozen progressive members of the City Council said they would not allow the sale of the city’s meters unless the firm sold Omni Air.

* Block Club | Park District Adds Homeless Specialist, More Surveillance As It Struggles To Address Encampments: Officials said last week that Dannette Salaam was hired for the newly created position, which will work with other agencies and the district’s front-line staff to provide and expand housing and support services, including psychiatry and harm reduction. She already has met with more than 60 residents at the dozens of encampments in parks around the city and participated in 13 cleanups. Her duties also include responding to concerns of community members.

* Sun-Times | Larry Snelling now earning $190,000 yearly pension after retiring as Chicago’s top cop: Former Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling is set to receive an almost $190,000 yearly pension, records show. The Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago approved $15,744.73 in monthly payments to Snelling at a meeting last month, according to the records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. […] Former Patrol Chief Fred Waller, who served as a key civilian aide to Snelling, is now serving as acting police superintendent for a second time amid a nationwide search for Snelling’s permanent replacement. Between his pension and city salary, Waller was earning $374,695.32 annually as of late June, records show. In comparison, Mayor Brandon Johnson makes $221,052 a year from his salary.

* Block Club | Who Owns The Word ‘Dope’? Dilla Fighting $20K Legal Battle Over Slogan: A year after urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas applied to trademark his slogan “Everything Dope About America Comes From Chicago,” Swedish ski apparel brand Dope Snow is claiming his brand infringes on their mark.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Elgin council seeks 1-year moratorium on data center development: The council’s preliminary vote on the proposed moratorium was unanimous. Members will take a final vote at a future city council meeting. Last week, [Council member Tish Powell] said that while she wasn’t against data centers, “I have some serious concerns.” […] But she said the council has a duty not to be short-sighted about the consequences of data centers. It should consider “not only the immediate investment but the long-term impacts on our residents, our infrastructure, environment and on our community,” Powell said.

* Daily Herald | Clearbrook wants to build group home on vacant land in Lake Barrington: The proposed facility would have four bedrooms for up to four residents, Village Administrator Sharon L. Peterson said. Staff would be available around the clock. Sixty such group homes operate in northeastern Illinois, Peterson said in a recent letter to Lake Barrington residents about the project. The need for facilities like this and the daily living services they offer is growing, she said. […] Village officials have received a few inquiries from residents about the project, Peterson said, but nothing she characterized as opposition.

*** Downstate ***

* Rockford News First | Mary McNamara Bernsten wants to become Rockford’s next mayor: McNamara Bernsten is currently the executive director for the Rockford Area Arts Council. Her father, John McNamara, served as Rockford mayor from 1981-1989 and her brother, Tom McNamara, served from 2017-2026. McNamara Bernsten is the latest candidate to announce a campaign to lead the Forest City.

* WAND | Decatur holds community forum on data centers following CVAC report: The listening session at the Decatur Public Library allowed public feedback on last month’s Citizens Voluntary Advisory Committee on Data Centers (CVAC) report, which examined infrastructure demands. “Citizen engagement is critical to good governance and the better decisions that we’re gonna make,” said Councilman David Horn.

* WCIA | Rantoul Police launch online safety portal to assist residents needing additional support: Parents, guardians and caregivers can provide information about a child or adult with cognitive or developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, memory impairments, communication challenges, or conditions that affect how they respond or communicate. The department said families can submit information like known triggers or sensitivities, calming techniques and emergency contacts.

* WAND | Urbana approves 2 agreements to help residents with rent: The Urbana City Council approved two agreements Monday evening to help residents with their rent. The first would direct HOME program funds to Courage Connection, an organization providing services to domestic violence survivors. “They were one of the organizations that essentially applied. And we know the work that they do, and as far as we were concerned, we wanted to ensure that we provided the resources needed to do that work,” said Urbana Mayor DeShawn Williams.

* WGLT | Girls flag football a welcome addition at Bloomington-Normal schools: “We were hoping if we had 20 on the varsity and 20 on the JV roster, that would be great,” Schweinberg said. “We ended up having close to 70 girls trying out, so we tried to keep as many as we could to make them part of this inaugural season.” NCHS is among four Intercity schools fielding a girls flag football team for the first time, joining University High, Normal West and Bloomington. While some schools in Illinois debuted the sport last year, Bloomington-Normal schools hit the field this season.

* WCIA | Retired astronaut Mike Hopkins named U of I Homecoming parade grand marshal: The university announced Monday morning that U.S. Space Force colonel and retired astronaut Mike Hopkins will serve as this year’s grand marshal. Hopkins, who served as captain of the Fighting Illini football team in 1991, will also attend that weekend’s game against Purdue. “The U of I gave me opportunities that changed my life and helped launch a journey that took me from Champaign-Urbana to space,” Hopkins said. “It is a privilege to come home and serve as grand marshal for the 2026 Homecoming Parade.”

*** National ***

* AP | 5 major sports leagues and players associations ask for protections from sports bettors’ threats: Five men’s professional sports leagues and their players associations have aligned forces to ask for protections for players and staff who face threats and harassment from sports bettors. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter sent Tuesday to gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia. In the letter, the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, Major League Soccer and the NHL and the leagues’ players associations asked that rules be established to permanently revoke betting privileges for anyone found to have threatened or “abusively harassed” any professional or amateur athlete, coach, official or team personnel.”

* WIRED | A US Census Report on Noncitizen Voting Used Bad Data to Reach Faulty Conclusions: The report, titled “Noncitizen Voting in the 2020 Election: A Beginning Analysis,” claims that an analysis of over 128 million voter records from the 2020 election identified 24,000 people tied to administrative records indicating noncitizen status. The numbers range from 4,300 in California to fewer than 15 in Wyoming—not nearly enough to have affected the outcome of the presidential race. But even these figures seem extremely questionable, and experts and Census Bureau employees who spoke to WIRED allege it is much likelier that they represent basic analytical errors than actual instances of noncitizen voting.