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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Oct 1, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois housing nonprofit sues Trump, HUD after being branded a ‘radical left NGO’. Crain’s…
- The lawsuit follows Trump’s move last week to claw back $810 million in funding already approved by Congress, a maneuver known as a pocket rescission. The cuts included $56.1 million in housing counseling funds, according to a news release from the plaintiffs. - Sharon Legenza, executive director of Housing Action Illinois, said in a statement that if the funds are withheld, local housing counseling agencies won’t be able to provide financial literacy, rental and homeownership education to families seeking guidance. * Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today. * Sun-Times | ‘Broadview Six’ judge set to hear high-stakes arguments over feds’ apparent misconduct: Mecklenburg is accused of three types of misconduct: speaking with grand jurors outside the grand jury room, putting her own credibility on the line to secure charges and excusing grand jurors who disagreed with the case — a claim she’s denied. Meanwhile, Boutros’ office has also been accused of a cover-up. That’s because Mecklenburg’s alleged misconduct was redacted out of transcripts given to Perry earlier this year by the feds. The redactions were made after Mecklenburg left the case. * Sun-Times | White Sox complete wild-card series sweep over Astros, setting up ALDS matchup with Guardians: But for the second-straight evening, an early Sox lead didn’t equate to a killshot. After his own first inning hit the rocks early in Game 1, Astros reliever AJ Blubaugh came on and stopped the bleeding by getting Antonacci to ground out with the bases loaded. His efforts, and three gutty–and initially scoreless–innings from Peter Lambert pitching on two days rest, set the stage for the Astros to walk down the early deficit with three solo shots off Sox starter Sean Burke in his four innings of work. * WBEZ | Doctors and advocates are pushing a plan to charge weapons manufacturers for the cost of gun crimes.: A group of doctors and anti-gun activists wants Illinois to pass a law that would charge gun manufacturers for the financial cost of gun crimes. Meanwhile, a Cook County ban on assault weapons is scheduled for argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in December. It got Say More thinking: what do listeners think should change about Illinois’ – or America’s – gun laws? Have we given up on meaningful gun safety, or is it that we’ve embraced its centrality to our Constitutional freedoms? Listeners, experts and advocates on both sides weigh in. * Sun-Times | What to know about Illinois legislative races ahead of the Nov. 3 election: Among the most interesting races, Rep. Nabeela Syed, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent state Sen. Darby Hills, a Republican appointed to the seat, for the 26th District senate seat. The northwest suburban district includes parts of Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties. […] In September alone, the state Democratic Party and a committee led by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon — with the aim of bolstering Democrats’ majority — contributed almost $1 million to Syed. Republican political committees contributed almost $80,000 to Hills in September after giving her more than $300,000 in August. * DeKalb County Journal | Bishop pouring personal fortune into challenge to 76th House incumbent Briel: As growing political and economic headwinds buffet the GOP, Republicans are attacking incumbent State Rep. Amy Briel, D-76th District, for alleged improprieties with a former campaign and House office staff member. […] Bishop, who loaned her campaign $75,000 on March 26, had $78,044 on hand to start July. She is clearly doubling down – and more – on 2024, when she made four loans to her campaign totaling $150,000. Between July 30 and Sept. 28, she has made five more loans totaling $375,000, bringing her campaign debt to $600,000. * Center Square | Illinois GOP aims to support entire ballot, stray from national party: Mark Cavers, political director of the House Republican Organization, explained that in races for incumbents like Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-St. Charles, or Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, they’re spending on ads because they have opponents and are trying to keep their races local while their opponents try to tie them to the national party. * Sun-Times | What to know about the race for Illinois governor: Incumbent Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, seeking a rare third term as Illinois governor, squares off with Republican nominee Darren Bailey and independent candidate Collin Corbett. Why does this sound familiar? Pritzker was first elected in 2018, and this year’s contest presents a rematch of his 2022 reelection victory when he beat Bailey by nearly 13 percentage points. * Sun-Times | What to know about the U.S. Senate race to replace Sen. Dick Durbin: Republicans haven’t won a statewide seat in Illinois in 12 years, when Pritzker unseated GOP former Gov. Bruce Rauner, a close ally of Tracy. But Tracy says he’s running to give a voice to the millions of Republicans in the state. * Tribune | At City Club, Mayor Brandon Johnson asks why rich put profits over ‘the lives of my neighbors’: Addressing a room of political, labor and business leaders, Johnson made the case for pinning his rocky first term on unnamed class enemies and the political establishment. The mayor appeared to foreshadow his upcoming budget proposal, due by mid-October, by arguing the wealthy and corporations must do more to fund the city’s anti-violence efforts. Johnson teased an expansion of the city’s youth jobs program, Chicago Youth Works, to a year-round program. He also pledged to open more public mental health clinics should he get another term — a promise he also made in 2023, though the city has only reopened three of 12 shuttered clinics. * Crain’s | Mayor casts re-election fight as ‘billionaires versus the Brandon Johnson coalition’: Johnson accused the City Council coalition that approved the 2026 budget over his objection of putting corporate profits ahead of working people. But his sharpest attack was the claim that those seeking to defeat him are pursuing policies that would drive violent crime back up. “Violent crime has declined every year of my tenure, and we are reaping these steep declines because of intentional investment in the most marginalized neighborhoods in our city,” the mayor said. “That is why I won’t stop building, no matter how many converging forces try to bully us into austerity politics, because they think it’s more important to preserve corporate profit margins than it is to preserve the lives of my neighbors.” * NBC Chicago | Another Chicago area hospital to close pregnancy, labor and delivery unit: Roseland Hospital, a community safety net hospital on Chicago’s South Side, will stop providing labor and delivery services for pregnant women, NBC 5 has learned. The change will be effective October 31, according to a report obtained by NBC 5 that was circulated by hospital administrators outlining the severe financial pressures the hospital faces. Officials say they can no longer afford to keep a full maternal unit operating. * Block Club | CPS Expedites Payments For Sports Referees After Games Canceled Over Missed Pay: CPS said its Office of Sports Administration submitted payment requests Sept. 24 for 1,100 officials, but 70 were inadvertently missed. The referees, who work as independent contractors for the Chicago Public League, are paid through Arbiter, a sports management software company used by the district. The district said it worked with the vendor that manages referee payments Wednesday to ensure affected officials received compensation and that no additional games will be canceled. All CPS games remain scheduled through Saturday, according to the district. * WTTW | Speed and Enforcement Are Top Issues Raised at Chicago Park District’s First Town Hall on Motorized Devices: Consensus at the sparsely attended meeting was that the Park District needs to enact tougher limits than the state, particularly regarding speed. “It’s too fast,” Scott Anselmo, a Ukrainian Village resident, said of the 28-mile-per-hour threshold. In a sentiment that was echoed by others, Anselmo added that experienced cyclists on conventional bikes might be able to reach 20 to 25 miles per hour with serious exertion, but motorized devices hit even higher speeds “effortlessly.” * Sun-Times | Bears surprise North Lawndale College Prep girls flag football team with equipment, gear: The Bears and the McCaskey Foundation also made a $1,000 donation to the Lady Phoenix program. The Bears and the Chicago Public League launched a pilot program in 2021 featuring nearly two-dozen teams from the city. After a couple of years of moderate expansion, the Illinois High School Association officially sanctioned it in 2024. * Daily Herald | Kane County Board chair censured for sharing confidential information: * Daily Herald | Like mayor, Elk Grove Village trustees will now get raises based on longevity: Elk Grove Village’s mayor and trustees are in line for raises — some, more than others — following local elections next year. Mayor Craig Johnson, one of the longest-tenured elected officials in the suburbs, is due to receive a 21% raise, from $40,000 to $48,545, under a new pay scale he and village trustees recently approved. The current pay schedule has gone unchanged since 2008, when village board members agreed to replace a blanket annual salary for the mayor with a sliding scale based on longevity. * Naperville Sun | Naperville council directs staff to look at two electricity options: Since April, the council has been evaluating its choices for when its contract with the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) ends in in 2035. While not yet committing to any one plan, a majority of the council indicated it would prefer to pursue a new joint action agency or to purchase power from the wholesale energy market without owning energy-generating infrastructure. * NBC Chicago | Joliet’s St. Joseph hospital to shutter maternal care unit: The hospital’s parent for-profit owner Prime Healthcare has blamed the closure on overall financial difficulties and what they say is a declining birthrate in Will County. Prime will also end maternal care at Resurrection Hospital in Chicago as well as Mercy Medical Center in suburban Aurora. The company also announced that it would expand maternal care at two other area hospitals, including St. Mary of Nazareth in Chicago and Olympia Fields hospital in suburban Olympia Fields. * SJ-R | New owner has big plans for historic Springfield building: Anthony Beltramea had interest in the Virgil Hickcox Building before the February fire and now has plans to bring new life into the 1830s building which has ties to Abraham Lincoln and was home of the iconic Norb Andy’s Tabarin. […] If not a bed and breakfast? Then apartments, or offices as the building originally intended, he said with excitement sitting on the porch. The sky is the limit with this building he expressed as well as interest in hearing from locals about the history of the home through photographs and memories. * WGLT | Head Start under threat, again, as demand remains high in Bloomington-Normal: Over the course of the last two years, many federal budget cuts have been made across the board. These include cuts to education, health care and social services and they have ranged in impact. A new proposal takes aim at the Head Start early childhood program. The federally funded Head Start program has provided free early childhood education, health, nutrition and family support services to low-income children and their families for more than six decades. The “federally funded” part is again under threat, as proposed changes to the program focus on shifting responsibility to the individual states. This comes after the Trump administration’s previous efforts to zero out Head Start as a line item in the federal budget. The current move is more death by deregulation, according to experts who run Head Start programs in Bloomington-Normal. * WCIA | ‘Entrepreneurship is for everyone’: U of I launches new minor: WCIA 3’s Amanda Brennan spoke with the Senior Director of Entrepreneurship at the Gies College of Business, Stephanie Larson, to learn more details about the entrepreneurship minor. […] “We really wanted to open up access to provide the opportunity for more students on campus to learn that entrepreneurial mindset. And, with this being open to all students across campus, all undergraduate students, this was a great way to do that,” Larson explained. * WCBU | ‘War on 74′ rivalry becomes official competition with Country Financial backing: The “War on 74” rivalry between Illinois State University and Bradley University is now official, with Country Financial’s backing. Country Financial announced Wednesday the “War on 74 series will conclude each year with a traveling Rivalry Series trophy presented to the school that accumulates the most points throughout the year in competitions against their rival. * AP | Americans’ view of the economy sinks to the lowest level since 2014, Conference Board survey says: The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index tumbled 6.7 points to 81.9 in September, down from 88.6 in August. That’s the lowest reading in the board’s survey since April 2014 and below the lowest level reached during the pandemic. Respondents’ views of their present situation fell by 7.9 points to 109.3. Their short-term outlook also slid, falling 5.9 points to 63.6.
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- yinn - Thursday, Oct 1, 26 @ 8:38 am:
This week, Laura Jackson, who has accused Briel of sexual harassment and other abuse, sent out a three-page letter laying out those accusations. (The letter includes three photos of Jackson, so it’s not as long as it might sound.)
If you’ve seen Jackson’s video interview, you already know what’s in it, except now she is saying two other former Briel campaign staff members have publicly confirmed some of her accounts of Briel’s behavior (which I haven’t come across).