* Lake County News Sun…

With less than three weeks until the Nov. 3 general election, Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega and State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart want people to know the proper and improper ways to encourage voting. […]

“It’s always a good idea to let the people know the do’s and don’ts when it comes to election law,” Vega said. “It’s always a good idea to get people out to vote, but we want them to limit their operation within the scope of the law.” […]

Vega said during the 2025 municipal elections there were multiple reports of incidents in the Waukegan and Round Lake areas offering incentives which were unlawful. He did not know if people making the offers knew they were wrong.

Encouraging people to vote their conscience is appropriate and welcome. But, in some situations, Vega said restaurants or bars offered a free drink, meal or discount upon the presentation of an “I voted” sticker, or a receipt showing an individual cast their ballot. […]

Though Rinehart said in a text Tuesday that no irregularities have been reported to date this election cycle, he and Vega thought the time was right to give voters and people engaged with campaigns a reminder of actions which could be deemed improper.

* Click here if you need some background. Rich told subscribers earlier today that he’s having surgery tomorrow morning to remove his tumor. His prognosis is good, but he’ll be in the hospital for a few days, so i’ll be in charge…

*** Statehouse News ***

* ABC Chicago | Cook County medical debt relief program expands to Illinois: More people in Illinois can get help with their medical bills as a Cook County program is expanding statewide. Governor JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle made the announcement on Thursday. […] The governor says 1.5 million Illinoisans have now had $2.4 billion dollars in medical debt erased. Pritzker says the cost of the program is $1 for every $100 of debt canceled.

* Press release | Partial win for customers in Nicor settlement: The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved a settlement in the Nicor rate case Thursday. All parties to the case either signed on to the settlement, did not object, or some of both. Illinois PIRG signed on to portions and did not object to the rest. […] Authorizing Nicor to raise rates by $81.6 million. This is a nearly 2/3 reduction from the $220.8 million Nicor proposed. After this, Nicor rates will have increased 150% in the past decade, more than any other major utility in Illinois.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Improving Lake Shore Drive, Blue And Red Lines Among Top Priorities For Regional Planning Agency: But Wednesday’s votes were planning milestones, not a green light to start construction on any project. The plans will guide regional transportation decisions, while individual projects must still move through the appropriate funding, design and approval processes with the state and federal governments.

* Crain’s | Justin Ishbia warns Chicago against the ‘cost of doing nothing’ amid Railyards backlash: Speaking for the first time in a public forum since unveiling his plans for an 80-plus acre riverfront campus south of Roosevelt Road known as The Railyards, Ishbia nodded to intense local pushback to Amtrak in Bridgeport while arguing his vision is a growth opportunity that the city cannot afford to miss. “There’s a cost of doing nothing, and unfortunately, (in) Chicago we’ve done nothing too often recently,” Ishbia said on stage this morning during a Crain’s event at Allium Events in the Fulton Market District. Referencing the failed effort a decade ago to create the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on the lakefront and a stymied Chicago Bears push in 2024 for a new downtown stadium, Ishbia warned against vitriolic resistance to “big bets” on the city and encouraged people to consider the value of reinvesting in local rail infrastructure.

* Block Club | Chicago Mother Sues ICE Contractor That Jailed Her And Her Baby In A Hotel Room: The lawsuit was filed on September 29, more than a year after an investigation by Injustice Watch and The Intercept revealed MVM Inc. had confined Valentina Galvis, an asylum-seeker from Colombia, and her then seven-month-old infant, a U.S. citizen, in a room at the Sonesta Chicago O’Hare Airport Rosemont last summer. In that reporting, Galvis had described her captivity in stark terms, detailing how she and her son were locked in a room with no way to communicate with the outside world and no idea when, if ever, they would be set free. Galvis is seeking monetary damages for the alleged harm and injury she and her child suffered as a result of the detention following their arrest by ICE at a Chicago immigration court in June 2025. Galvis named the Sonesta International Hotels Corporation and affiliated companies that own and operate the hotel as defendants in the complaint.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi says he and family were at temple when Palatine man tried to carry out mass shooting: U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he and his family were at the Aurora Hindu temple Sunday when authorities allege a 19-year-old Palatine man attempted to carry out a mass shooting there. “I am horrified that a white supremacist attempted to carry out a mass shooting targeting Indian Americans at the Hindu temple in Aurora where my family worships,” the Schaumburg Democrat said in a statement Thursday.

* ABC Chicago | Palatine police reveal more details about thwarted alleged mass shooting plot in Aurora: Investigators said the suspect had allegedly planned on carrying the attack last Sunday. Palatine police revealing Thursday that they recovered surveillance video of the suspect driving a red Acura and entering the parking lot of a Hindu temple in Aurora. At his Palatine condo, investigators said they found an AR-style rifle with no serial number, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a tactical vest, gas can, and items with Nazi symbolism.

* Pioneer Press | All defendants in former D65 Superintendent Horton case have pleaded guilty, averting trial: The remaining defendants embroiled in a kickback scheme orchestrated by former Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges Tuesday, ending what was likely to be a high-profile criminal trial just days before it was set to begin.

* Tribune | Evanston budget proposes 9% property tax increase, 25% water fee hike, other increases: But Council members pushed back on the proposed tax increases, telling staff that the city needs to take a harder look at reducing expenses before asking for more money from local residents, even if that means cutting personnel. The draft budget is slated for final City Council approval prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Evanston’s 2027 fiscal year runs from Jan. 1, 2027 to Dec. 31, 2027.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora City Council delays decision on ending fiber network agreement: The Aurora City Council was set to vote on ending the city’s contract with the controversial organization that manages its fiber network Tuesday night, but aldermen decided to return the measure to committee, citing unanswered questions and cost concerns. The measure before the council Tuesday proposed terminating a 2012 agreement between the city and the city-connected organization that manages its 60-mile fiber-optic network, OnLight Aurora.

*** Downstate ***

* Muddy River News | U.S. Rep. Mary Miller warns that “Islam is inside the gate”: To a crowd of Hancock County GOP faithful, U.S. Representative Mary Miller (R-Ill. 15) concluded her 20 minute long remarks with her three biggeest concerns: voter apathy, election integrity and Islam. “I encourage you to inform yourself. They are not at the gate. They are inside the gate, and right now they’re trying to control the levers of power,” Miller said.

* IPM News | Champaign County Board passes resolution prohibiting tax breaks for data centers: After hearing public outcry over environmental impacts, noise concerns, and other uncertainties about data centers, the Champaign County board unanimously approved a resolution on Oct. 13, prohibiting tax abatements for hyperscale data center construction. The resolution states that “The policy of Champaign County, Illinois shall be to not negotiate any property tax abatement agreement, any payment in lieu of taxes agreement, or any other concession to facilitate the development and construction of any hyperscale data center within Champaign County, Illinois.”

* Muddy River News | Can the City of Quincy get sued after council rejects 36th and Payson Road solar project?: The Quincy City Council voted to reject a solar project near 36th and Payson Road Tuesday night. City Corporation Counsel Bruce Alford said afterwards that Alderwoman Laura McReynolds (R-Ward 5) made a convincing argument for grounds for rejection, should there be a legal challenge. “I have nothing personally against solar,” McReynolds said. “This site would have undue detrimental effect on the surrounding neighborhood.”

* STLPR | Granite City steelworkers want long-term commitment in nationwide contract negotiations: Steelworkers at Granite City Works say they are nearing a contract with U.S. Steel as part of nationwide union negotiations. The negotiation comes seven months after the plant began producing steel at one of its two blast furnaces after sitting idle for more than two years. The mill was slated to further wind down steel processing at the end of last year before U.S. Steel was bought by Japanese corporation Nippon Steel.

* WCBU | Peoria County zoning board recommends wind farm denial, forwards application with possible conditions: Following 15 days of testimony, the Peoria County Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday recommended denial of an application to pursue development of a large-scale wind farm in the county’s northwest corner. Repsol Renewables is looking to build the Four Creeks Wind Project with 113 turbines stretching from Brimfield and Princeville to the Knox and Stark county lines. The project estimated at $1.5 billion would cover more than 27,000 acres, with the turbines having a maximum height of 660 feet and capacity to generate up to 663 megawatts of wind energy.

* NPR Illinois | NPR Illinois to relocate on the UIS campus in 2027: “ The University plans to permanently close the WUIS building on July 30, 2027, due to failing infrastructure related to HVAC and plumbing. Given the University’s current financial deficit and the extensive cost of addressing these issues, the University has decided not to make the repairs the building would require and instead engage a licensed demolition contractor to remove it in compliance with all applicable regulations.”

*** National ***

* Tribune | Average long-term US mortgage rate holds at 7.4%, remaining at highest level in nearly 3 years: Rates on home loans are influenced by inflation, Federal Reserve policy and bond-market investors’ expectations for the economy, among other factors. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. Mortgage rates have been climbing since late February, when the U.S. war with Iran began, pushing up the price of oil and driving inflation higher. The run-up in rates also reflects heightened bond market volatility, which has pushed up yields on U.S. Treasurys.

* Semafor | Volta’s $5 billion debt deal is a pulse check on the AI-financing boom: The deal includes an unusual provision to overcome that skittishness: The interest rate charged to Volta will decrease if Anthropic can get an investment-grade credit rating, some of the people said. The Financial Times reported last month that Anthropic’s and OpenAI’s IPO advisers were lobbying credit-rating agencies for blue-chip status, which would be almost unheard-of for companies as unprofitable as both AI labs are.

* AP | Frustrated with Trump, voters overwhelmingly want change in Washington, an AP-NORC poll finds: The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted less than four weeks before Election Day, finds that registered voters who identify as Democrats are more enthusiastic than Republican voters about casting a ballot. More voters want Democrats to win control of Congress and have a more negative view of Republicans. The Democratic advantage is small in some cases, but, taken together, the findings paint a challenging picture for Republicans, who are clinging to control of Congress under the weight of an unpopular war with Iran and surging prices at home.