* The Chicago Tribune…

The now-retired prosecutor at the center of the “Broadview Six” scandal penned a fiery resignation letter to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros this week saying he “personally directed” her to seek felony charges rather than misdemeanors and then “publicly vilified” her in court by blaming her for the way the case melted down.

The three-page letter written by Sheri Mecklenburg, obtained Friday by the Tribune, accused Boutros’ office of placing her on leave and keeping her in the dark about its responses to the growing controversy, including an announcement that it was investigating all of her previous actions before grand juries dating back 20 years.

Mecklenburg also said Boutros failed to notify her about the May 21 court hearing where all charges were dismissed, which she said she “had the indignity of learning about after-the-fact from the media.” […]

“Since I was not present, I was a convenient target to be scapegoated and publicly vilified,” Mecklenburg wrote in the letter, which is dated Thursday and addressed directly to Boutros with “My forced retirement” as the subject line. “You recklessly agreed in court that I had committed misconduct without even asking for my account, fully reviewing the record or briefing the law.”

* Press release…

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy today released his 5th campaign ad, The Extreme Team, a 30-second spot that exposes the radical alliances and extreme agenda of Democrat Socialist Juliana Stratton.

The ad highlights Stratton’s ties to extreme voices on the left, including Michigan US Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who she fundraised with to bankroll their shared radical priorities: a massive government takeover, and socialist policies that would crush the American economy.

“Juliana Stratton wants voters to believe her Illinois record of higher taxes, bigger government, pro criminal legislation and radical alliances is somehow a good model for the entire country,” said Don Tracy. “It’s not. It’s a red flag. I understand the frustration with politics today, but we can’t just give up and surrender Illinois and our country to socialism.

Throughout her campaign, Stratton has pointed to propagandized talking points about her record under the Pritzker-Stratton administration as the model she would take to Washington. She fails to mention that her complete record includes the nation’s highest property taxes, over 55 tax and fee increases totaling in the billions, multiple big name corporate headquarters out migration, and energy policies that could lead to brownouts or blackouts and higher prices.

“We cannot allow an extreme team of Democrat socialists to dismantle the country we love. The voters need to know the truth about Stratton’s radical allies and extreme agenda.”

The spot…

*** Statehouse News ***

* WGN | Ford Heights Village Hall raided as part of Illinois Attorney General investigation: The previous mayor, Charles Griffin, was convicted of stealing from the village back in 2024. […] WGN-TV was able to reach current mayor Freddie Wilson by phone, who said he was surprised to see the police cars when he pulled up. He also said he doesn’t know what the investigation is about.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Chicago police search Glenwood business tied to owners of South Chicago Chapel: Chicago police did not say what was found inside the business but officers were seen carrying out several boxes. The couple is under investigation after 56 bodies were discovered in various stages of decomposition last month at South Chicago Chapel on the city’s Far South Side. The state shut down the funeral home on Aug. 6 after receiving a tip that the Morgans were improperly storing bodies.

* Greg Hinz | Johnson comms chief targeted Michael Sacks in a video. Violent, antisemitic comments followed — and they’re still there. : Others urge more direct action. “Luigi, where are you?” asks one commenter, referring to Luigi Mangione, who killed a health-insurance executive in Manhattan in 2024. “Get a Luigi,” agrees another. “Get the addresses of all his (Sacks’) properties in Chicago,” advises another, a suggestion that would include Sacks’ home, where his wife and children live. “List his address. We can run his ass out of Illinois.” And finally: “He should be scared.” […] Cohen says she opposes threats of violence — including those aimed at her personally — but does not attempt to monitor or selectively delete comments across her various social-media accounts.

* Sun-Times | Chicago cop with UFC aspirations faces firing for sexually assaulting teenage girlfriend: It soon turned abusive and ended when police had to rescue the woman from Rodriguez’s home in August 2019 after she was held against her will, COPA said. She was 19 at the time. COPA called for Rodriguez’s firing, finding his actions “egregious.” The oversight also found his version of events wasn’t credible.

* Sun-Times | Ald. Curtis calls for accountability after security vehicle strikes teen at Ford City Mall: The victims — who spoke to the Sun-Times on condition of anonymity — had been riding Lime e-scooters on a sidewalk near the property around 11 p.m. when a white SUV approached them before a man exited and reached for something from the backseat. One of the riders, a 28-year-old man, tried to talk to the security guard, who, without speaking, allegedly struck him with a metal object. The 18-year-old and 28-year-old then fled, with the unidentified security guard following in his vehicle, eventually catching up to them and striking the teen with the car near a gym operating on the mall’s campus. Paramedics treated both at the scene for injuries, according to Chicago police, who said the incident remains under investigation. No arrests have been made.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Pioneer Press | Skokie calls for review of Flock cameras following national surge of misuse: In Skokie, local residents turned out in high numbers at the village’s Sept. 8 Board meeting to voice their opposition to the technology and question how local law enforcement officers are using these cameras. “[The fact] that I am even standing here honestly and discussing the idea of us living in a surveillance state, me, my children, I just can’t believe it,” said Skokie resident Julian Van Ostrand to the Board.

* Crain’s | Illinois biopharma loses another HQ as Danish drugmaker leaves Deerfield for Boston: A Lundbeck spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that the company has about 120 Illinois employees, the vast majority of whom will continue in their current roles “through remote and hybrid ways of working.” Once its transition to Boston is complete it will not maintain any office space in Deerfield. It said the move will take place over the course of the next year.

* Elgin Courier-News | Elgin’s first solar farm now operating at Bowes and Nolan roads: “This is the first site we are both developing and operating. We’re really excited about the project,” said Kiera Gavin, director of development for Cultivate Power, based in Chicago. The solar development company’s been active in the state for four years. It’s been involved in close to 30 projects, said Noah Hyte, co-founder and managing director. Bowes Road solar farm produces 11.2 megawatts of power to 500 commercial and residential customers. A solar farm captures sunlight, converts it to power and distributes the energy to the grid.

* Daily Herald | ‘Designed for the future’: Elgin Community College celebrates opening of new Manufacturing and Technology Center: “We knew that we needed to create a facility that could grow with our region, respond to changes in technology and industry, and prepare students not only for the jobs of today, but for the careers that are going to emerge in the years that come,” she said. “The MTC is a building that is designed for the future, and its impact has already begun.”

* Daily Herald | ‘Very ambitious and really special’: ‘Illumination’ at The Morton Arboretum getting new northern lights-inspired display: Scott said the special display is part of a refresh for “Illumination.” She had the opportunity to see it live at a recent preview event. “It was breathtaking. It was exactly what we wanted it to be,” she said. “So many of the things we do for ‘Illumination’ are new concepts, and they are risks. It’s really exciting and so wonderful when it all comes together, and it is as beautiful as you had imagined and hoped that it would be.”

* Tribune | Northwestern’s Ryan Field will offer Michelin Star food options when it opens in October: Eight days before the grand opening of Northwestern University’s new Ryan Field in Evanston, officials for the Big Ten football stadium are unveiling the culinary lineup available for fans, featuring some of the Chicago area’s biggest names in food. Those include a James Beard award-winning chef, a Michelin star chef and the fare of rotating celebrated chefs from some of the city’s most popular foodie restaurants, starting at the first game Oct. 2.

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Mahomet-Seymour teachers, district reach tentative agreement on new contract: The school district provided an update on negotiations via Facebook Friday morning. Details of the agreement are not available, with the district saying they will share the terms once the approval processes are completed by the Board of Education and the Mahomet-Seymour Education Association. “Both parties appreciate the many hours of thoughtful discussion and hard work devoted to reaching an agreement that supports our schools, students, staff and community,” the district wrote.

* Heartland News | Heartland farmers face rising diesel costs during harvest: Farmers are bringing corn in by the truckload this harvest season, dropping loads off at local grain elevators. “We basically are spending double what we spent last year, plus we have a bigger crop; therefore, the trucks are going off. So the cost of harvest is extremely higher than it was last year,” said Leon McClerren, a farmer in Franklin County, Illinois.

* Capitol News Illinois | 25 years ablaze: SIU’s ‘Fire Dawgs’ inspires land management careers: Now in its 25th year, Fire Dawgs at SIU Carbondale has become an important part of both student learning and land management in the region. Just over 1,000 students have gone through the program, many going on to land jobs with the U.S. Forest Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and in other government agencies and nonprofit organizations focused on land management. The program started in 2001, when Ruffner and a graduate student, Beth Davis, wanted students to get more than just classroom experience. They wanted them to actually work with fire in real situations. Over time, it has grown into one of the few programs like it in the Midwest.

* STLPR | St. Louis-area kids are getting the chance to be entrepreneurs in their own marketplace: Jessica’s business was on full display alongside dozens of other talented and ambitious young entrepreneurs’ at a recent Kids Markets held at Eckert’s Farm in Belleville. The international nonprofit initiative funded by grants and donations teaches young entrepreneurs the ins and outs of running a business in real time.

*** National ***

* SCOTUS blog | Supreme Court clears way for Trump administration to use modified voter verification database: The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to move forward with its plan to use a modified centralized database to verify voters’ citizenship. In a seven-page opinion issued just 39 days before the Nov. 3, 2026, election, the justices paused a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that had blocked the government from doing so on the ground that it violated (among other things) federal privacy laws. The unsigned opinion for the majority indicated that the lower court’s order “inhibits the Federal Government’s efforts to assist state and local agencies in the proper administration of the midterm elections.”