* WAND…

The Catholic Conference of Illinois urges Gov. JB Pritzker to opt into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC) program. […]

If a state opts into the program, it will allow individual taxpayers to claim a federal scholarship tax credit for certain contributions up to $1,700 to scholarship granting organizations, according to the IRS website. […]

“This is a win-win for nearly all Illinois children,” CCI Executive Director Robert Gilligan said. “Eighty percent of Catholic families send their children to public schools, and this program could help fund existing shortfalls in public schools, such as transportation, tutoring assistance, educational supplies and special education services. In addition, Catholic school students could also benefit with much-needed scholarships for tuition.”

* Illinois Education Association President Karl Goeke…

“Public money should stay in public schools. The Illinois Education Association has long been opposed to voucher programs, which siphon money from already underfunded public schools and send that money to private institutions. In Illinois, 86% of the state’s 1.6 million school-aged children attend public schools. Until our state fully funds our public education system, IEA will fight any effort to divert money from them. Illinois has tried the voucher experiment, and it failed. The Invest in Kids Act diverted money away from schools where children of color live, as well as children who live in rural areas. From Rockford to Cairo and Quincy to Danville, Illinois should fund its public school system adequately and equitably and should not steer that money toward schools that have no accountability, no oversight and no concrete data to measure success. The research is clear; vouchers lead to worse academic outcomes for students. Our public schools are community centers, welcoming all students and their families. From elementary school science fairs and middle school band concerts to high school football games, our public schools are where our neighbors gather, our communities thrive and our future is shaped. We are calling on Gov. JB Pritzker to reject federal vouchers and protect public dollars for public schools.”

IEA is asking its 135,000 members to email Governor Pritzker and demand he stand with us.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Homelessness in Illinois decreased overall by 6% between 2025 and 2026, but chronic homelessness, where people have been homeless more than once in the last year and have a disabling condition, rose by 28%, according to a new state report.

Five years after Gov. JB Pritzker launched the Home Illinois Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, the Illinois Department of Human Services released a report meant to serve as a roadmap of action from fiscal year 2027 to 2029.

These funds are designated to meet four main goals: investing in housing, ensuring everyone has access to eligible benefits, ending unsheltered homelessness, and building a prevention system.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Chalkbeat | Education tax credit rules are here. Will they lure Democratic governors off the fence?: Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois previously said he’s worried about discrimination and the lack of accountability measures — concerns many critics share. A Pritzker spokesperson said Thursday the governor’s office is reviewing the rules and will “make a decision grounded in what best supports working families, students, and our public schools.”

* Center Square | $4M in taxpayer funds proposed for ballistics investigations: Along with state Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, Hirschauer cosponsored House Bills 5750 and 5751, filed by state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan. The legislation appropriates $4 million from the state’s general revenue fund for Illinois State Police to partner with the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and provide grants for NIBIN-supporting equipment.

* Daily Herald | Libraries pay more for e-books than consumers. State lawmakers are trying to change that: Legislation approved unanimously by the Illinois House in April and awaiting Senate review would prohibit libraries from being treated differently from individual consumers when purchasing digital books. Meanwhile, publishers are pushing back, saying they need to charge libraries more for e-books and digital audiobooks to stay financially sustainable.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Marimar Martinez to file federal lawsuit over shooting by Border Patrol agent: The lawsuit is expected to be filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, almost exactly a year to the day after agent Charles Exum opened fire on Martinez during a traffic altercation in the Brighton Park neighborhood, according to her attorneys, who plan to hold a news conference to show the video to the media. “The presentation will illustrate the sequence of shots and the relative positions of Exum and Marimar’s vehicle, demonstrating how the physical evidence contradicts the government’s account of events,” Martinez’s attorneys said in a news release Friday.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 911 mental health response teams see uptick, CPD help: “They told us there was no demand,” Johnson said at his City Club of Chicago address on Wednesday. “But calls increased by 51%.” Left unsaid was that the increase still netted a little over 100 emergency responses from May to August — an amount the program saw in just one month at its height in years past. It followed a nadir of calls earlier this spring, when a Tribune investigation found CARE dispatches slowed to a crawl amid a perfect storm of bureaucratic mishaps and political infighting within the Johnson administration.

* Sun-Times | Mental health response teams now have night time hours, city officials say: Starting Monday, the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program will extend its hours of operation to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and add a second shift of evening staff. “This program ensures that we no longer criminalize and traumatize individuals in crisis, but instead we offer them pathways to heal,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said at a news conference Friday at the Lawndale Mental Health Center on the Near West Side.

* Sun-Times | Mayoral candidate John Kelly vows to use lobbyist clout to block Amtrak move to Bridgeport: Kelly predicted that the insider relationships he has built as a career lobbyist would be used against him in the crowded race for mayor. “My opponents are gonna come at me and I’m sure they’ve got commercials in the can… [saying], `John’s a lobbyist.’ Sorry, lobbyists get s—t done,” Kelly said. “We’ve worked the system for 30 years and we know ins and outs better than anybody. And I don’t know why that is a negative, because I don’t believe that it is. “

* Crain’s | Chicago entrepreneurs plan $250 million deep-tech fund: Two veteran Chicago entrepreneurs plan to raise a $250 million venture capital fund focused on how deep technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics will expand human capability and extend life. Senu Ventures is headed by Jeremie Bacon, fintech entrepreneur who founded software maker Backstop Solutions, and Garry Cooper, a neuroscientist who launched Rheaply, an exchange for lab equipment. Chris Gladwin, founder of software companies Ocient and Cleversafe, will be an adviser to the fund.

* Tribune | As quantum’s presence grows on the Southeast Side, Chicago State University students eye future careers: The chance to get up close with data, experiments, and technology so early in their college careers drew both twins to CSU, especially after growing up in the city’s Austin neighborhood, John Kountz said. “It’s beautiful, because you’ve got normal kids (here) and we’ve never seen ourselves in this position, especially at our age,” John Kountz said of himself and his brother doing research in the lab. “We were like, we’re going to be 50 when we get to this level, but here we are.”

* Rick Kogan | Back home in Chicago, singer John Prine gets the celebration we’ve been waiting for: Though he lived for four decades in Nashville, this is where Prine was born and where he first picked up guitar and first wrote the songs that worked their way into local hearts and heads for keeps. His small family home in Maywood was filled with the sounds of folk and country music, brought from the family’s native Kentucky. He served as an Army mechanic in Germany, then came home to work as a mailman, composing songs on his route and tentatively walking onto stages at Chicago’s folk clubs. It’s fitting that we’re now getting several days and nights of celebration of what would have been Prine’s 80th birthday. Many of the upcoming events will benefit his family’s Hello in There Foundation.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WTTW | Daily Herald Journalists Win Union Vote to Form Daily Herald News Guild: The vote comes after journalists at the suburban newspaper announced efforts in August to form a union following the layoffs of a dozen staffers. “The union election reflects Guild members’ efforts to secure competitive wages and pay equity, transparency, a strong voice in the future of their newsroom and the ability to continue reporting on the suburban communities the paper has served for more than 150 years,” according to a news release from the Daily Herald News Guild.

* Daily Herald | ‘If not here, then where?’: Teen promoting sustainable farms to consumers: Rattin’s vehicle to spark this change is the mylocalfarmer.org website he built. The website includes interviews he’s conducted with local farmers and photos by fellow Lake Forest High student Noah Goldfayn. So far, the site profiles three farms: Wanda Farms in Harvard, Elewa Farm in Lake Forest, and Local Leaf Farm, an indoor hydroponic growing operation in downtown Highland Park.

* Daily Herald | https://apnews.com/article/wyoming-grand-teton-national-park-baseball-game-5a97d844fba76f39ff16e6f7684e0c4: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents returned to Lake County in recent days, apprehending two men in Waukegan, patrolling Gurnee Mills, and being spotted in Round Lake. Rekindling some of the fear instilled during Operation Midway Blitz a year ago, when dozens were arrested by federal immigration officers during a 70-day period. “Last year was awful to experience,” Maria-Elana Jonas, the founder and president of Waukegan-based HACES, said. “They still follow people with racial profiling. I carry my passport.”

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | City of Bloomington leaves questions unanswered about excessive overtime by retired officer: In an interview for WGLT’s Sound Ideas, Jeff Jurgens said Mayor Dan Brady heard about a June traffic stop that’s resulted in a lawsuit before there was a chance to brief him. “I’ve told the mayor that. I said in retrospect, I could have mentioned something sooner, but honestly, it was just trying to get all the information put together,” he said.

* WGLT | Draft of Bloomington data center regulations to be made public next week: City Manager Jeff Jurgens said the drafts will be available to the public on Oct. 9. The planning commission will meet at 4 p.m. on Oct. 16 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. Another meeting is planned for Nov. 16 at the same time.

* WCIA | Champaign County suspends early voting due to ‘technical issue’: The Clerk’s Office said it became aware of the issue Thursday evening. Officials didn’t explain what the issue is but said it would result in the polls at the Bennett Administrative Center closing on Friday. “We apologize for any inconvenience,” they said.

* KFVS | Rail line maintenance disrupts Carbondale-to-Champaign Amtrak service through October: Because of the shift, Amtrak passengers traveling to and from Carbondale and Champaign will be taken by bus during the weekdays. According to the city, there is not an alert about the current change while booking an Amtrak ticket online. Once your ticket is booked, an Amtrak agent will reach out to passengers via email with further information on how to modify your reservation, rebook your trip or request a full refund.

* BND | Pride Fest returns to downtown Belleville: The event is organized by Metro East Pride under the banner “Love Is Louder Than Hate.” The first Pride Fest was held on Second Street in 2008. It now spans several city blocks on either side of Public Square, with three entertainment stages and a full slate of events and displays. Its title sponsors are Meridian, Scott Credit Union and YouthCare.

*** National ***

* Yahoo Finance | 8 Things That Don’t Add Up About Anthropic’s IPO: Anthropic lost $8.06 billion from operations, up from $2.98 billion in 2024. The headline $42 billion loss exaggerates the cash burn. Yet the underlying business is still losing billions, and those losses are growing.

* AP | MLB won’t consider game at Grand Teton National Park, says was only conducting initial due diligence: “MLB has no formal plan to play a game in Grand Teton National Park,” Manfred wrote. “Our team was conducting initial due diligence on many potential sites when this story was reported and we had made no decision of the feasibility of staging a game in Grand Teton National Park. We also had not reached the stage in our due diligence in which we evaluated the environmental impact or spoke to members of the community to solicit their views — steps that would have certainly been a part of any process should it have moved forward.”

* Reuters | US job growth undershoots expectations in September, but labor market remains stable: The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday also showed the unemployment rate increased to 4.2% last month from 4.1% in August as more people entered the workforce. The sharp ‌moderation in job growth likely does not mark a sudden deterioration in labor market conditions. Economists noted that payrolls have a tendency to underperform when the Labor Day holiday falls relatively late in September, as was the case this year. There have been no signs of a broad increase in layoffs. First-time applications for unemployment benefits have been hovering at 57-year lows amid robust corporate profit growth and resilient domestic demand.