* ICYMI: Jim Edgar, Illinois’ 1990s-era moderate GOP governor, dies at 79. Capitol News Illinois…

Jim Edgar, Illinois’ 38th governor who served from 1991 to 1999, died Sunday after disclosing an aggressive cancer diagnosis earlier this year. He was 79.

Though he’d been out of power for 26 years — more time than the two decades he spent in office as an elected official — the former governor was still active in Illinois political circles until the end of his life, heading a bipartisan program to develop up-and-coming leaders from across Illinois.

In a statement Sunday, Edgar’s family confirmed he’d died “from complications related to treatment for pancreatic cancer,” a diagnosis he’d made public in February.

“We are deeply grateful for the love, support and kindness so many have shown to Jim and our family over these last several months,” the statement said.

• Sun-Times: Jim Edgar, former Illinois governor, dies at 79
• ABC Chicago: Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar dies at 79
• Daily Herald: ‘A major loss for the land of Lincoln’: Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar dies at age 79
• WGN: From the archives: Bob Collins talks with Gov. Jim Edgar

* Governor JB Pritzker will hold a roundtable at Harold Washington College at 9:45 am to discuss how federal deployments are affecting students. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* WWQC | Rock Island County Board member Porter McNeil dies at 65: A Rock Island County Board member passed away after a four-year battle with cancer Friday afternoon. Porter McNeil served as a member of the Rock Island County Board since 2021, he was active in helping to drive community economic efforts, as well as by volunteering with numerous local community organizations, those who knew McNeil said.

* Daily Herald | New state program widens higher education access to Illinois students: Gov. JB Pritzker, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois Community College Board, and Illinois Student Assistance Commission recently launched the One Click College Admit program for Illinois public universities and community colleges. The program will allow Illinois high school seniors and community college transfer students to be accepted into the state’s public universities.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | In announcing bid for governor, Republican Ted Dabrowski leaves more questions than answers: And while Dabrowski introduced his newly minted running mate, emergency room Dr. Carrie Mendoza, neither he nor his campaign team made her available to answer questions about her background opposing transgender-affirming care procedures, in which she likened the “orthodoxy” behind them to sterilizations and mutations conducted in Nazi Germany. Dabrowski did allow his mother, Blanca, to speak, and she said her son would “bring Illinois back into the glory of the ’60s” but did not elaborate.

* Aurora Beacon News | As federal immigration enforcement ramps up in Chicago area, Aurora state Rep. Hernandez holds ‘Know Your Rights’ session for businesses:
Just days after President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security announced a surge of immigration law enforcement in Chicago, dubbing it “Operation Midway Blitz,” state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, is saying that all suburbs should prepare in case federal law enforcement activity extends into their towns. On Thursday, Hernandez hosted an informational session with a representative from the Illinois Coalition on Immigrant and Refugee Rights and several Aurora aldermen meant to address what local businesses can do if federal agents arrive at their workplaces. The training addressed topics like distinguishing between federal and local law enforcement badges, how individuals can respond to federal law enforcement agents’ presence in both public and private business spaces and what to do if apprehended by federal agents.

* Sun-Times | Gov. JB Pritzker signs executive order to protect COVID-19 vaccine access under RFK Jr.: Soon, with consultation from the state’s Immunization Advisory Committee, Pritzker’s order could make it easier for people to get the shot outside the FDA’s limited recommendations. “This is about making sure no family in Illinois is left wondering if they can protect themselves against preventable serious illness,” Pritzker said in a statement. “When the federal government abandons its responsibility, Illinois will step up. We will follow the science, listen to medical experts, and do everything in our power to enable families to receive the care they need.”

*** Chicago ***

* In These Times | ICE Abducts Man Suing Off-Duty Police for Abusing Day Laborers: Gimenez, who is in his late 30s and is from Venezuela, is one of five migrant day laborers involved in a federal lawsuit claiming that, among many other things, they ​“endured physical violence at the hands of off-duty Chicago Police Department officers” who were working as security officers for Home Depot, according to the complaint. The lawsuit also alleges ​“a conspiracy to criminalize day laborers’ attempts to find work in Chicago.” Speakers at a Saturday morning news conference organized by workers’ advocates said they believe he was intentionally targeted because he is a plaintiff in that suit. (An ICE spokesperson, after In These Times and Workday requested comments about the abduction, defended the arrest but would not say where Gimenez was taken or being held.)

* Tribune | Outside ICE facility, friends of detained day laborer call for his release: Willian Giménez González, who came to Chicago from Venezuela in 2023, was with his wife when he was detained Friday, attorney Kevin Herrera said in Broadview. Neither Herrera nor Giménez González’s wife have heard from him since, Herrera said, and they do not know where he is. “These are trying times for the legal system and the rights it protects,” Herrera said. “But the community assembled here knows that people hold the powerful to account. We will fight for Willian, and we will see to it that he is free to be with us in Chicago and to contribute to the city in all of the ways he has since he arrived. That’s a promise.”

* ABC Chicago | Dead rat, ‘derogatory’ handwritten note found at alderman’s office, Chicago police say: In a statement on Facebook, Alderman Vasquez said, “Tonight, the Chicago Police Department alerted us of an incident at the 40th Ward Office. A dead rat was left in front of our office, along with a threatening note taped to the door that, among other things, referred to undocumented immigrants as vermin. In this current political climate, we take these threats seriously, and are working with the Chicago Police Department to investigate. In the meantime, the 40th Ward Office will remain open. We are and will always be steadfast in our commitment to serving 40th Ward neighbors and supporting the rights of the immigrant community.”

* Crain’s | As Trump steps up Fed attacks, Chicago finance execs weigh in: With the U.S. Federal Reserve expected to make its first interest rate cut of the year this week, Chicago finance executives are voicing confidence in Chairman Jerome Powell in the face of fresh attacks from President Donald Trump on the independence of the central bank. “I think people feel like Chairman Powell is an honest broker and this number is legitimate,” John Rogers, founder, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Ariel Investments, told Crain’s in an interview on the expected rate cuts.

* Block Club | Little Village’s Mexican Independence Day Parade Sees Thousands Take A Stand Against ICE: Thousands of revelers packed the sidewalks for the 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade, waving flags and blowing plastic horns. In stark contrast to the muffled turnout for Saturday night’s typically raucous car caravan celebrations, Sunday’s parade didn’t disappoint with a crowd only slightly smaller than typical, multiple parade-goers said. “I think people just feel more comfortable going out during the day when they’re surrounded by people in the community,” said Damaris, who attended both Saturday and Sunday’s celebrations. “I have family members afraid to go out at night — afraid of the police, so it makes sense that there weren’t as many people out [Saturday]. We really have to just keep checking on each other.”

* Tribune | Chicago Bears defense has no answers for Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions in ‘ugly, ugly, ugly loss’: The Bears gave up 50 points for the first time since 2014. The Lions ran circles around them. There wasn’t a whole lot to say, especially for the Bears who were trying to defend Goff, St. Brown and the Lions. “You go back to work,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “Second game of the season, man, obviously it was an ugly, ugly, ugly loss.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Unraveled Press | What happened to Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez: As Villegas-Gonzalez drives away from the agents—not toward them, as DHS claimed—the agent on the passenger side aims his weapon at the back of Villegas-Gonzalez’s car. Two gunshots can be heard in a separate security video. The second agent is not visible during the shooting, and it remains unclear which agent fired their weapon.

* Tribune | Outside hotels and a naval base, suburban Chicago protests immigration ‘blitz’: More rallies have been scheduled in Broadview and in other communities in the coming days, as suburbs that were once Republican strongholds have turned reliably Democrat-blue in the past decade. The demonstrations reflect both the disdain for Trump among an increasingly less conservative electorate and a significant suburban immigrant population that surpasses that of the city itself. “It’s been historic,” said Cristobal Cavazos, co-founder of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage and Casa DuPage Workers Center. “I’m just so proud of our level of activity. When I first got into activism, the suburbs were seen as a land of conservative white folks. But that’s changing.”

* Daily Southtown | Blue Island officials seek assurance about controversial license plate cameras: A little over a month after two suburbs moved to deactivate cameras that read license plates due to privacy concerns, Blue Island officials discussed Thursday whether to approve a contract reauthorizing eight of the city’s 14 license plate cameras. Blue Island police Chief Jason Slattery told the City Council it has a month to decide. The city entered a contract with Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company that manufactures the automated cameras, to install eight cameras in 2021. Six cameras were added later, he said.

* Daily Herald | ‘More than a dozen meetings and … a dozen months’: How the Bears stadium approval process might look: Mayor Jim Tinaglia said he is talking at least a half hour every week with team President/CEO Kevin Warren on Zoom — while their respective staff of planners, engineers, lawyers and consultants have meetings of their own — to determine the precise location of the team’s domed stadium on the sprawling site, as well as other aspects of what would be one of the largest redevelopment projects in Illinois history. “We’ve been in this roller coaster ride of, ‘Are we out in Arlington Heights or are we down in Chicago?’ And now we’re back in Arlington Heights, and all indicators are that they are 1,000% focused on only Arlington Heights,” Tinaglia said. “So we’re looking at it with that level of sincerity that we think everybody is on the same page.”

* Daily Herald | Lake in the Hills raises cannabis dispensary tax to maximum allowed: Lake in the Hills has raised its local cannabis dispensary tax from 2% to 3%, the most allowed under state law. Village officials said Lake in the Hills was the only municipality in McHenry County with a population over 5,000 and allows dispensaries that didn’t have the maximum tax on the books. In addition, McHenry County has a 3% county sales tax on marijuana.

* AP | Chicago suburb where Pope Leo XIV grew up celebrates his 70th birthday with gospel music, balloons:
“It’s a good time for the community to come together,” said Village President Jason House. “It shows that great people come out of the village of Dolton.” The village purchased the house in July in hopes of boosting tourism and claiming a piece of papal history of the first American pope. They’re also trying to drum up a positive message about the community where there’s been political turmoil in recent years, including misspending allegations surrounding a previous mayor. Village officials said they tried to contact the pope but did not hear back.

*** Downstate ***

* Tribune | In central Illinois, carbon capture project’s proximity to Mahomet Aquifer raises fears: Scientists say that the project is unlikely to contaminate groundwater, since the CO2 is stored hundreds of feet below the aquifer. But failures in carbon sequestration technology aren’t impossible, and they’ve happened before in Illinois, most recently at ethanol company Archer Daniels Midland’s carbon injection site in Decatur last year. “In the case with ADM, they did not necessarily come forth right away and admit they had leaks,” said Brent Lage, a grain farmer who lives near Lasser on the outskirts of Gibson City. “That’s definitely a concern for me, as well as with this One Earth project.”

* WJBD | Odin School Board Puts Off School Consolidation Study Until State Funding Available: The Odin School Board, on Thursday night, decided to wait for state funding to be available for a consolidation study with the Sandoval and Patoka School Districts. Superintendent Quinton Marcum believes state money will become available in next year’s budget, but the state is not funding any consolidation studies this year. The board rejected a proposal for the three districts to pay between $6,600 to $8,800 each for the study.

* WGLT | State grant to help pay for sewer study in Colonial Meadows subdivision: The $30,000 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Unsewered Community Grant partially offsets the $50,000 cost of work by the Farnsworth Group to prepare a formal sewer planning study and survey of the best location to run the sewer and connect to the existing city sewer on Oakland Avenue.

* WAND | Visitors get taste of Springfield through new festival: Saturday marked Springfield’s first 217 Foodie Festival at The Railyard on 66. Many visitors compared the event to the Taste of Chicago, but organizers were going for the taste of Springfield. “We have a good community that is always wanting to find something new to do,” said Festival Co-Organizer Nicole Shomidie-Copp. “A lot of people were missing the ethnic festival, so we decided to try and recreate that kind of environment and bring that to the community with different ethnic vendors and regular vendors that are on site.”

*** National ***

* Stateline | DOJ is sharing state voter roll lists with Homeland Security: The Justice Department said in its own statement that state voter roll data provided in response to requests from the department’s Civil Rights Division is “being screened for ineligible voter entries.” Noncitizen voting is extremely rare. One study of the 2016 election placed the prevalence of noncitizen voting at 0.0001% of votes cast. The data sharing marks a next step in President Donald Trump’s efforts to exert more federal influence over state-administered elections. Trump signed an executive order earlier this year that sought to require individuals to provide proof-of-citizenship documents to register to vote, a rule quickly blocked in federal court. He has also threatened to sign another executive order attempting to restrict mail ballots.

* NYT | China’s Snub of U.S. Soybeans Is a Crisis for American Farmers: For the first time in the history of their 76-year-old operation, their biggest customer — China — had stopped buying soybeans. Their 2,300-acre soybean farm is projected to lose $400,000 in 2025. Soybeans that would normally be harvested and exported to Asia are now set to pile up in large steel bins. Since President Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in February, Beijing has retaliated by halting all purchases of American soybeans.