* Gov. JB Pritzker’s final two ads of the campaign cycle…

Today, JB for Governor released the final two ads of the cycle named “Belong” and “Everywhere.” These ads highlight how Governor Pritzker turned around Illinois’ finances and lowered costs for working families. They underscore his commitment to fighting for families in every corner of the state.

“Belong” is a 60-second ad featuring Gov. Pritzker and Illinoisians from across the state who have benefited from his work to get the state’s fiscal house in order, lower costs, and protect communities from Donald Trump. The ad highlights his work to make life more affordable for Illinoisians, including eliminating the state grocery tax, creating the state’s child tax credit, raising the minimum wage to $15, and protecting abortion rights. “Belong” will air on broadcast in the Chicago area as well as digital platforms.

“Everywhere” is a 30-second ad featuring Gov. Pritzker and residents throughout Illinois. In the ad, Gov. Pritzker reflects on his years leading the state and shares what he loves about the state. “Everywhere” will air on broadcast downstate as well as digital platforms.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WCIA | Carol Ammons files motion to dismiss federal indictment: Ammons filed the motion through her attorneys on Friday. Facing eight counts of wire fraud, one of making a false statement and one of conspiracy to obstruct justice, she argued that each count against her should be dismissed for different reasons. “The wire fraud counts fail to specify the Illinois conflict of interest law at issue and fail to allege that Rep. Ammons engaged in deception or had the victims’ money or property as an object of the scheme to defraud,” the motion reads. “The indictment frames the failure to disclose a conflict of interest and a kickback scheme — both intangible-rights theories — as property fraud. In so doing, the government fails to allege two essential elements — deception and deprivation of property.”

* WSIU | Two southern Illinois lawmakers co-sponsor a package of bills aimed at addressing issues at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center: 118th District State Representative Scott Doody is backing a package of bills aimed at addressing delays in mental health treatment for criminal defendants found unfit to stand trial and preserving services at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna. Doody and Representative Charlie Meier from Okawville are sponsoring legislation that would require the Illinois Department of Human Services to place defendants in appropriate treatment facilities within 30 days of a court order. The measure would also require periodic reviews of a defendant’s psychiatric status and treatment.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | What does an elected school board mean for Chicago? More politics, experts say: Outside Chicago, every Illinois school district has an elected board, and those races typically fly under the radar. But the Chicago Board of Education oversees a $10 billion budget, larger than many big cities, along with aging buildings, ballooning debt and shrinking enrollment. Those stakes have only sharpened the fight. A 21-seat board, larger than any other major school district, also gives outside groups and political alliances more footholds to influence district decisions and makes consensus harder to reach, according to Collins. “Any time there’s a district of that size and with that amount of resources … you’re going to get a lot of contentious action,” Collins said.

* A good thread from the Tribune’s Alice Yin on Susana Mendoza’s City Club speech today…

Illinois comptroller Susana Mendoza speaks at City Club: “Chicago is facing a financial crisis, a public safety crisis, and a crisis of confidence in the direction of City Hall.”

She has left sporks on the tables, another reference to her line on not being born w silver spoon: https://t.co/TckkhsomMG

— Alice Yin (@byaliceyin) October 28, 2026

* Sun-Times | Bridgeport Bears? Chicago firm releases plans for glitzy new domed stadium at Sox park site: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill posted the renderings to their Instagram page Wednesday, saying the plan would create a new home for the Bears in Bridgeport, with a mixed-use district that would bring together housing, entertainment, hospitality, parks and public recreation. The firm noted that the transportation infrastructure is already in place at the site, with access to the CTA, Metra and the Dan Ryan Expressway.

* Tribune | Chicago police brass are mum on new gunshot detection tool as aldermen push for answers: Interim police Superintendent Fred Waller acknowledged a gunshot detection pilot program could launch across a third of the city in as little as a week. But as aldermen pressed for answers about which company will provide the technology and how it will operate during the Police Department’s annual budget hearing, the top cop had little more to say. When probed, he called the technology a “valuable tool,” while steering questions about specifics to subordinates who ultimately declined to give clear answers. But walking out of the hearing chamber during a break, Waller suggested he knew little when asked for details about the impending rollout.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WTTW | Former Aurora School Board President Charged With Fraud in $1.3M Kickback Scheme: Annette Johnson, a current member and former president of the East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education, is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly orchestrating the bribery scheme. According to a 14-page indictment, the charges stem from Johnson’s alleged efforts to steer the district toward a $2.7 million contract to purchase wearable air purifiers in September 2021.

* Tribune | Parents discovered a $17M math error in Evanston District 65 budget. It still plans to close two schools: Hundreds of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 parents and students staged a rally before the Oct. 26 school board meeting, asking the district to delay a scheduled Nov. 9 vote to shutter Dewey and Lincolnwood Elementary schools and lay off more than 200 staffers to reduce its deficit. At the very least, they want a delay until the district’s financial data can be confirmed as reliable. That’s because two parents combed through the district’s budget and found a $17 million math error that essentially doubles the amount of money the district expects to spend on their buildings over the next five years. In other words, the district expects to have more money than what its budget states.

* Daily Herald | Where’s Carl Lambrecht? Republican challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider hasn’t been active: Veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park has a Republican opponent in the contest for Illinois’ 10th District seat — but GOP nominee Carl Lambrecht hasn’t done much to build support ahead of Election Day. The 93-year-old Lambrecht, also of Highland Park, doesn’t have a campaign website, doesn’t have campaign social media pages, hasn’t promoted public appearances, hasn’t responded to media inquiries and hasn’t reported any campaign fundraising or spending to the Federal Election Commission.

* Daily Herald | Early voting up more than 30% in suburban Cook County: As of Tuesday, 139,000 voters had cast early ballots in the Cook suburbs for the Nov. 3 election, a 30.4% increase over the 106,615 at the same point four years ago. “We are absolutely thrilled to see so many voters taking advantage of Early Voting, and we hope that momentum continues up to and including Election Day,” Clerk Monica Gordon said in an announcement of the totals. Early voting is available at 56 sites in suburban Cook through Monday, Nov. 2. County voters can cast their ballots at any early voting location, regardless of where they live.

*** Downstate ***

* Heartland News | New task force in southern Ill. to review domestic violence fatalities, find gaps in systems: The First Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team will cover Jackson County and surrounding counties. The team will review fatality and near-fatality cases to identify missed warning signs, help improve communication between agencies and find ways to better protect victims. “Our mission being to end domestic and sexual violence in southern Illinois–this is one step closer. So we’re very excited to be a part of it,” said Survivor Empowerment Center CEO Angela Odom.

* 25News Now | Next step approved for Peoria passenger rail: The Peoria City Council is taking the next step necessary to eventually achieve the goal of passenger rail between the River City and Chicago. The council on Tuesday approved an agreement for a Corridor Identification and Development Program, which is Step 2 of the passenger rail project. Until this point, everything for the project has been paid for by a federal grant. The next step requires a 10% local match. Peoria’s portion is $42,455.

* Heartland News | Naturalization ceremony happening on Oct. 30 at SIU Carbondale: The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois will host a naturalization ceremony at Southern Illinois University of Carbondale on Friday. It will take place at 11 a.m. on October 30 at the Simmons Law School at SIU. The Honorable J. Phil Gilbert will preside over the ceremony.

*** National ***

* AP | Wendy’s, struggling with beef prices and growing competition, gets a buyout offer: Wendy’s shares jumped more than 14% Wednesday after noted investor Nelson Peltz made an offer to buy the chain, which has been struggling with high beef prices and aging stores. Peltz’s Trian Fund Management and several partners are offering Wendy’s $7.35 per share in cash, or a premium of nearly 19% over the stock’s closing price on Tuesday, in a deal that would take the company private.

* Nieman Lab | Meta pledges to consult publishers before finalizing its new terms: The proposed terms have drawn criticism because they would permit broad scraping of websites “associated with” business accounts, and potentially allow Meta to use that scraped content to train its AI models, with no option to opt out. Last week, Meta announced it would push back implementation of its new terms to November 20 in order to “explain to our partners and stakeholders what’s changing and what’s not — including how Meta uses web crawlers and the fact that content owners will still be able to use robots.txt to signal preferences,” a Meta spokesperson told Nieman Lab. Meta had previously revised its new terms to remove the word “train.” No version of the terms has included language about respecting robots.txt preferences.

* AP | Federal Reserve keeps rates unchanged despite elevated inflation, gives little signal of next move: “Inflation remains elevated,” the Fed said in a statement released after its two-day policy meeting. Holding off on an increase will allow “the accumulation of more information” that will help determine what policy the Fed should pursue “to ensure a timely return of inflation” to the central bank’s 2% inflation target, the statement said. The Fed, led by Chairman Kevin Warsh, raised its benchmark rate last month for the first time in three years, defying President Donald Trump’s demands for rate cuts, in an effort to get inflation back to its 2% target in a “timelier” manner. The Fed is tasked by Congress to combat inflation, and it does so by lifting rates to slow borrowing and spending and cool price increases.