* Crain’s…

Hopewell is among dozens of craft breweries — and other beverage companies — preparing for a ban on beverages made from hemp-derived THC. The ban is part of an Illinois law that takes effect Nov. 12, stating that any consumable or topical product containing more than 0.4 mg of THC can no longer be sold anywhere besides a dispensary. […]

Last year, federal lawmakers stepped in. The deal to end the record-long federal government shutdown last fall also included a provision that essentially altered the definition of hemp. The legislation, which looks at total THC content instead of just the intoxicating delta-9, was originally set to take effect this month.

Illinois’ law was fashioned in accordance with the new national rule.

However, Congress delayed the implementation by a month, meaning it is now set to take effect Dec. 11. Illinois did not follow suit.

* Axios…

THC beverages are emerging as a fourth adult beverage category, alongside beer, wine and spirits,” Ben Kovler, chairman of Chicago-based RYTHM Inc., said in a statement.

Kovler said the industry’s future depends on a regulatory framework that protects consumers while allowing businesses to operate. […]

Illinois lawmakers say the legislation is about consumer protection and creating a level playing field for licensed cannabis businesses.

“This bill accomplishes two important goals at once: it gets unregulated intoxicating hemp products off the streets and out of the hands of kids, and it also helps legitimate cannabis businesses compete,” state Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago) said when the law was signed.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | Jessica Biggs on Being Elected CPS Board President, Vision for the District: “I am really excited to get into a room with my new colleagues and to support all of them,” Biggs said. “I think there is a lot of common interest, and I will continue to lean heavily on my experience from leading on our search, where it was really intentional systems and structures that helped to bring the board together.”

* Block Club | Edgewater Neighbors Appeal Judge’s Broadway Upzoning Ruling: In March, the city asked the court to dismiss the case, which Cohen ultimately did. The judge ruled that the Edgewater neighbors and property owners who brought the lawsuit failed to show how they were prejudiced or deprived of their “constitutionally protectable property interests.” In an appeal brief filed Friday, the neighbors said Cohen “ignored 60 years of Illinois zoning law” by dismissing their case and saying they had no standing to challenge the zoning rights of neighboring properties.

* The Real Deal | Lender sues to foreclose on $236M loan tied to 35 West Wacker: The suit comes five months after CommunityAmerica tried to sell the debt. In June, it put the Wacker loan on the block with eight other loans it took on from Unify, a $409 million package marketed by Chicago-based Clark Street Capital. The Wacker loan made up more than half of the pool. Trade publication Commercial Mortgage Alert described the loan as performing and the 1.1 million-square-foot tower as more than 90 percent occupied.

* Tribune | Today in Chicago History: Northwest (later Kennedy) Expressway opens to connect Loop to O’Hare airport: 1960: The eight-lane Northwest Expressway opened. It was renamed the Kennedy Expressway in 1963. “Chicago has been stifled by bottlenecks, the worst in the nation,” said Gov. William Stratton at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Those bottlenecks are now broken with the completion of the Congress and the Northwest expressways.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Evanston Roundtable | District 65 now says financial projection off by $27.35 million, school closure savings less than previously forecasted: Evanston/Skokie School District 65 has revised its financial projections — upping the estimated $17 million error disclosed last week to $27.35 million, according to slides that administrators showed parents Tuesday. The slides also show that the district did not include payments on the lease certificates used to build Foster Elementary School in its financial projections. In addition, the slides, which were reviewed by the RoundTable, showed that the district has revised projected savings from the proposed closure of Lincolnwood and Dewey elementary schools to $2.3 million, down from $2.9 million presented at the Oct. 26 board meeting.

* Daily Herald | Plan to build new Lurie children’s hospital in Downers Grove approved by state board: The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted unanimously Thursday to allow Lurie to proceed with building the facility — the last approval needed for the project. The $480 million hospital is planned to have 48 beds, six operating rooms, an emergency department and space for outpatient care. It will be located near the intersection of I-355 and Butterfield Road and could open in 2030.

* Daily Southtown | Orland Park working to fix AI-powered call system, embraces new platform: The Village Board also approved a $43,200 contract this week to use Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence system for data storage. Mayor Jim Dodge announced the launch of chatbot Humphrey, named for the village’s first mayor, in August, saying he would embrace AI’s potential to “keep up a high level of service for affordable costs.” But Orland Park residents Karen Drake and Pam Stepansky last month said they both experienced similar challenges when trying to reach village staff. “I called four times,” Stepansky said at an Oct. 5 Village Board meeting. “Never could be connected to a person at all … So maybe we should be able to talk to people at the village if there’s a question or a comment.”

*** Downstate ***

* WCIA | Rantoul Mayor provides statement on Village Administrator’s dismissal: WCIA reported earlier this week that Scott Eisenhauer said he was dismissed “without reason or explanation given.” Two days after the story broke, Village President Samuel Hall released a statement to address the dismissal. Hall did not provide an explanation for his decision, saying it was “out of respect for the confidentiality of personnel matters.” He also said the decision was not easy nor made lightly.

* Illinois Times | Activists call for police accountability at heated city council meeting: A relatively quiet Springfield City Council meeting turned explosive at its conclusion when activists loudly protested their colleague not being called upon for public comment. Tiara Standage, president of the People United for Reform, Power, Liberation, and Equity (Purple) Coalition and a community activist for police accountability, said she signed up online to speak at the Nov. 4 City Council. When she received no confirmation, she called the City Clerk’s Office to be added to the list as a speaker. When local activist Ken Pacha completed his remarks during the public comment period at the end of the meeting, Mayor Misty Buscher immediately called for the meeting’s adjournment as Standage pleaded with the council that she had signed up to speak.

* WCBU | Union for Peoria school bus drivers raises concerns about ICE activity: The union representing Peoria Public Schools bus drivers and monitors is raising concerns about how recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] activity has impacted attendance. A statement released by AFSCME Local 3716 says the labor organization “unequivocally condemns these operations” reported on Peoria’s South Side. “So I’m perfectly clear on this, they have not boarded any busses, nor have they pulled any busses over,” spokesperson Rolf Sivertsen said on behalf of Local 3716. “But we’ve been told by parents, the union members have, that [agents] have been surveilling bus stops. And we certainly have experienced a drop in attendance for bus riders because the kids are afraid to come to school.”