* Tribune…

A Cook County judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by Chicago mayoral candidate William J. Quinlan that sought to force three rivals to choose between seeking reelection this fall and running for mayor early next year.

Quinlan had sued Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, all Democrats. All three are on the Nov. 3 ballot for new terms in their current offices, and Giannoulias and Quigley have formally announced their plans to run for Chicago mayor; Pappas has repeatedly said she intends to run for mayor.

Circuit Judge Eve M. Reilly’s decision centered largely on whether the case was “ripe” for consideration, as she noted none of the three have filed nominating petitions and that “people change their minds.” Beginning Monday, candidates will have a week to file for city elections, including mayor. The city election is Feb. 23, 2027, with a runoff on April 6

A lawyer, Quinlan said after the ruling that he planned to appeal Reilly’s ruling.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Drinks and interruptions: Pritzker, Bailey meet in only governor debate of election cycle: “The very question from Jackson County schools suggests that we’re not up to par like JB just said that we were,” Bailey said in reference to a southern Illinois reporter’s question. “The point’s made clear: Evidence-Based Funding is not working because Evidence-Based Funding suggests that more money is the answer.” “More money is not always the problem,” he said, instead suggesting the state should reduce unfunded mandates. He also pledged to replace the entire State Board of Education if he’s elected. Pritzker wouldn’t commit to meeting Chicago Public Schools’ demand more funding during this fall’s veto session.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | CPD reaches milestone in consent-decree compliance amid changes in leadership: As of June 30, the city achieved preliminary compliance in 99% of monitorable consent decree obligations, meaning the police department has established specific policies to reach reform goals. Secondary compliance — when training on those policies is implemented — has been reached in 78% of the consent decree’s requirements. The latest report card from the monitoring team covers the last full month of former CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling’s tenure. The search for the next permanent head of the police department is expected to last several more months, though three finalists for the job are set to be revealed next month by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.

* WTTW | CPD Now in Full Compliance With 32% of Consent Decree, But Snelling’s Retirement Poses ‘Test’: Monitors: The Chicago Police Department had fully complied with 32% of the court order that requires CPD to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights by the end of June, according to the court-appointed monitoring team charged with keeping track of reform efforts. The retirement of Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling poses “a test for the CPD to show that its reforms are now built into how it operates,” said Maggie Hickey, the attorney who leads the monitoring team that reports to U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer.

* WTTW | City Council Fails to Override Mayor’s Veto of Plan to Require 30 City Council Votes to Take on New Debt: The Chicago City Council failed Wednesday to override Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of a measure that would have required at least 30 alderpeople to vote to approve any plan to borrow more money in an attempt to make it harder for the city to take on additional debt. The effort to override Johnson’s veto failed by just one vote. The Chicago City Council voted 32-15 on Sept. 30 to require new borrowing to be approved by a three-fifths vote of the City Council, rather than a simple majority of 26 votes.

* Crain’s | Johnson survives City Council veto override attempt by a single vote: he razor-thin vote followed a tense debate as supporters of Johnson said the higher threshold was simply a move to politically weaken the mayor while opponents claimed the higher-threshold was needed in city already drowning in debt. The ordinance was approved at the last City Council meeting with 32 votes. Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, left the room at the time in order to avoid casting a vote, but joined the majority today to become the 33rd vote, one shy of the threshold.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Tribune | Endeavor Health and Rush University System for Health announce plans to merge: The merger would allow Rush — which has three hospitals in Chicago, Aurora and Oak Park — to reach more patients in additional geographic areas, said Rush President and CEO Dr. Omar Lateef. He said he expects the merger would “dramatically improve care across the state of Illinois.” It would also allow the nine-hospital Endeavor system to take advantage of Rush University Medical Center’s strong reputation as a premier academic medical institution. Rush University Medical Center tied with Northwestern Memorial Hospital for best hospital in the state this year in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings.

* Shaw Local | Kane GOP sued in $50K+ defamation claim: A Dundee Township Republican precinct committeeperson has sued the Kane County Republican Central Committee, alleging the party damaged her reputation by falsely accusing her of forgery. Pam Carr Hagerman’s lawsuit, filed Sept. 23 in Kane County Circuit Court, seeks more than $50,000 in damages and a jury trial, records show. […] Hagerman’s lawsuit says Lerario’s letter was reviewed, edited and approved. Under Kane GOP rules, Lerario could not endorse her as chairman but could as an individual, the lawsuit states. It says Hagerman had his permission to put his digital signature on the letter, a signature previously provided for other official communications from the chairman.

* Daily Herald | Rosemont inks $1.4 million deal to lure corporate headquarters from Westchester: A company will get $1.4 million to move its corporate headquarters from Westchester to Rosemont, under an economic incentive deal approved by the latter village’s board. RB Global plans to bring 300 employees, along with other remote workers, to its new 40,000-square-foot office space at 9377 W. Higgins Road by 2027, officials said. The asset manager and auctioneer of vehicles and heavy equipment is moving from the Westbrook Corporate Center at Cermak and Wolf roads to the Riverway office complex at Higgins and River roads.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Controlled burns planned at forest preserves throughout Kane County: The Forest Preserve District of Kane County has announced a number of prescribed burns will take place this fall at forest preserves in the district. Each spring and fall, the district conducts prescribed burns across prairies, woodlands and wetlands in an effort to restore and maintain the ecological health of a site, according to a press release from the district.

* Forest Park Review | Maxham resigns as commissioner, pulls out of mayoral race: Earlier that day, Maxham posted on her Facebook page that she resigned as commissioner of accounts and finance and would no longer pursue running for Forest Park mayor in the April 6 election. “Deeply personal family matters demand my full attention and, after careful reflection and discussion with my family, we have agreed that stepping back from public life is the right decision at this time,” Maxham wrote on Facebook. “Serving the residents of Forest Park has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and there are not enough words to express thanks for everyone who has supported me. I ask for privacy during this time.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Champaign County working to ban NDAs, tax incentives for data centers: The Champaign County Board met on Tuesday to vote on ordinances they want to pass. Any data center developer wanting to add a center in the county knows they will not be tax-exempt. The board also wants to ban non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) when it comes to proposals or negotiations. They say transparency is key for the community they serve.

* Illinois Times | Sangamon County approves contract with Mental Health Board: The Sangamon County Board approved an intergovernmental agreement Oct. 13 to provide administrative support for the newly formed Sangamon County Mental Health Board. The Mental Health Board, which is funded by a limited 0.5% sales tax levy (groceries, medication and services are excluded) approved by primary voters in March, will pay the county just more than $12,6oo for administrative services through the rest of the county’s fiscal year, which ends Nov. 30.

* WCIA | Village of Buckley breaks ground on new sewer system to improve water quality: Back in April, the village came up short of the $21 million to get the sewer system built. But now after getting the money, they are starting the process. The funds come from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Mayor Scott Shockley said the EPA works to bring smaller towns funding for sewers. He said that half of the village’s sewage dumps out into creeks in town, making them dirty — something he wants to get cleaned up.

* IPM Newsroom | University of Illinois tenured faculty restart unionization process in midst of Trump policy changes: The pressure coming from the Trump administration is an important case for unionization, but the energy and “motivation for a campaign had been building up for a long time”, according to Barnes. She said she was part of an earlier push to unionize all U of I faculty in 2014 and that effort resulted in a new union of some faculty members, the Non-Tenure Faculty Coalition. Barnes has helped facilitate talks with faculty from departments across the university, asking them to sign cards that say if a union exists for them, they will join it. She said that if over 50 percent of faculty sign those cards, that will create the union. Barnes also said the goal is to get over 50 percent of tenured and tenure-track faculty to sign the cards by early next year.

*** National ***

* Politico | ‘It’s time to get a vaccine in place’: RFK Jr.’s views helped stall bird flu plan: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine views were a major factor in shelving an Agriculture Department avian flu response plan, according to five people with direct knowledge of the matter, a pause that’s alarming lawmakers as wild birds begin migrating for the winter. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rolled out a $1 billion five-point plan in February 2025 to tackle a record-breaking spread of avian influenza. The disease has roiled the poultry industry since 2022, killing about 200 million birds and contributing to record-high egg prices last year.

* WIRED | Far-Right Election Groups Are Now Targeting Nursing Homes: Mitchell’s group has been urging followers to download a toolkit from the Election Integrity Network website and email and call nursing homes in their area. The group has also created multiple images for followers to share on social media which reinforce the idea of widespread voter fraud at nursing homes. In one campaign, the network shared a series of posts that mapped residential care facilities in competitive congressional districts in states including Arizona, California, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The posts identified “vulnerable residents” who “may become targets for political predators seeking easy access to ballots.”