* ICYMI: Gov. JB Pritzker reports $9.4 million income on 2025 tax returns. Sun-Times…

- The billionaire governor reported $9.4 million in 2025 income along with first lady MK Pritzker, according to portions of their joint state and federal tax returns released Thursday by Pritzker’s campaign.
- The Pritzkers paid about $5.1 million in federal taxes and more than $962,000 to the state of Illinois — both significant overpayments, with differences set to be applied to next year’s tax bills.
- Pritzker put his investments in a blind trust when he took office in 2019 to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Those trusts paid $50.4 million in federal taxes and $8.8 million to the state last year, according to Pritzker’s campaign, which noted the couple made $1.9 million in personal charitable donations.

* Related stories…

• CNI: Pritzker reports more than $9M in income on 2025 tax returns, not including blind trust
• Tribune: Gov. Pritzker tax returns show $8.5 million income for 2025, no blackjack windfall; trust records still secret

* Gov. JB Pritzker has no public events scheduled today.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Sexual harassment scandal shapes southwest suburban Illinois House race: Shanahan and her campaign have accused Dixon Heitman of “staying silent” on Benton’s conduct toward a young staffer who later described a litany of disturbing interactions with the ex-lawmaker. A former legislative inspector general determined Benton’s behavior broke state law. […] Dixon Heitman declined interview requests, responding via email to a Sun-Times reporter only after a spokesman from Welch’s office called to ask what sort of questions she’d be asked.

* CNI | ‘Partial win for customers’: ICC approves $82 million rate hike for Nicor: The rate increase is expected to add around $2 a month to residential customers’ bills beginning in November. “A settlement is a compromise, so we’re not thrilled about every element, but we are pleased the Commission approved it,” Illinois PIRG Director Abe Scarr said in a statement. “We are excited that the settlement sets a lower, $15, monthly fixed charge. Lower fixed charges reward energy efficiency and conservation and give customers more control over their bill.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Reuters | On the campaign trail, JB Pritzker courts farmers like he’s running for president: Pritzker refused to be drawn in on whether he plans to run for president in 2028, saying Democrats need to focus on winning in the midterms first. “Anybody that’s focused on anything beyond November 3rd, as far as I’m concerned, is getting it wrong,” he said in an interview. This month, Pritzker toured Halpin Farms, a family grain and cattle operation about 70 miles (113 km) southwest of Chicago, promoting a pilot program of low-interest state loans to build grain silos. He talked about how agriculture remained a critical industry in Illinois, even as he looks to quantum computing and advanced manufacturing to drive economic growth in the state.

* CNI | Illinois medical debt relief program surpasses $1B goal in two years: At its launch, the Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program aimed to eliminate $1 billion in debt. The state has surpassed that goal by $400 million, spending less than $10 million in state dollars to achieve these results. That means that every state dollar invested in the program wiped out over $100 in debt. That was possible due to the state’s partnership with Undue Medical Debt — a nonprofit that works with local governments and healthcare providers to purchase and eliminate qualifying medical debt owed by low-income residents.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | A Chicago billionaire is now a chief foe to both Mayor Johnson and CTU. Just who is Michael Sacks?: For years, Sacks has been a behind-the-scenes fixture in Chicago politics. Now he’s putting his money behind frontrunner mayoral candidate Alexi Giannoulias, as well as anti-Chicago Teachers Union school board candidates in the Nov. 3 election.

* ABC Chicago | US Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García reflects on 4 decades in Chicago politics as retirement nears: When asked how he feels as he prepares to end his tenure, he said, “I feel quite blessed. I feel like we’ve accomplished a variety of things to advance the community, to change politics.” García entered the City Council in 1986 during the administration of Mayor Harold Washington, becoming a progressive ally. “As a veteran of Chicago politics, I can claim that we helped dismantle the machine in the city of Chicago,” he said.

* Crain’s | American Airlines turns to a Chicago insider to take on United at O’Hare: American Airlines hired Margaret Mueller, former CEO of the Executives’ Club of Chicago, as its new commercial leader in Chicago. Mueller will become vice president and managing partner for Chicago, a new role for the airline, on Nov. 30. Her job will be to help American, the second-largest carrier at O’Hare, “to reinvigorate and re-strengthen the relationships with the business community,” she says.

* Tribune | In Southwest Side school board race, a teenager takes on a Chicago police detective: It’s a quixotic campaign in an uncontested Southwest Side district, and the odds, Angeles acknowledged, are slim. But he said he firmly believes students should have a place on the governing body overseeing the nation’s third-largest school district — and voters should have more than one choice. “My goal is to win. I want to win. But I feel like it’s bigger than this,” said Angeles, running in District 8B, which stretches southwest from the Loop to Chicago Lawn. The teen faces an improbable, if not impossible, path to victory. As a write-in candidate, he must not only win voters’ support and but also persuade them to remember and write his full name on the November ballot. But Angeles, ever-optimistic, isn’t deterred by his odds.

* Tribune | Savannah Bananas coming to Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2027 — and tour bringing ‘360’ game to Notre Dame Stadium: Now the barnstorming tour of rollicking baseball entertainment is upping its game: Banana Ball is headed to Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2027 for the first baseball games to be played at the 102-year-old stadium. The Bananas will take on the Party Animals on July 10-11 at the home of the Chicago Bears. Banana Ball made its Chicago debut in 2025 with two games at the home of the White Sox, then visited the Friendly Confines for three games last summer.

* Sun-Times | A ‘historically’ strong El Niño is expected to make for a milder Chicago winter: “It’s probably just going to feel like any other warmer winter, especially for the latter half of the winter when the effect seems to be maximized,” said Kevin Doom, a meteorologist with the weather service. “That doesn’t mean every day will be above average though. We’ll still see periods of harsh cold and wintry precipitation events.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* CBS Chicago | Illinois leaders holding conference to condemn Palatine mass shooting plot at Hindu Temple: Members of Congress will join local officials and civil rights advocates to condemn a mass shooting plot at a Hindu temple in Palatine, Illinois.

* Evanston Roundtable | Mayor’s race money: Tens of thousands already banked ahead of candidate filing: Mayoral candidates Jane Grover, Stephanie Mendoza and Jeff Boarini have already banked over $10,000 each for this spring’s special election, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections, taking early leads in the race’s fundraising total over smaller totals collected by their opponents.

* Daily Herald | District 128 superintendent released after 15 months for shift in ‘leadership direction’: In a message to the community, school board President Mithilesh Kotwal said the board at a special meeting Thursday voted to exercise a contract option to conclude Schaffer’s service “without cause” as the district shifts “strategic leadership direction.” The board determined a leadership change is necessary, Kotwal wrote, but no explanation or clarification was provided. “The board recognizes that decisions about leadership are among its most consequential responsibilities,” he said. “We do not take them lightly or without careful consideration of what is best for our students, staff, and community.”

* Crain’s | Rush-Endeavor merger faces a test over scale and insurer leverage: But a predecessor to Endeavor already tried a comparable combination with Advocate Health Care and lost after a fight with federal regulators and Illinois. And this time a new state law will give the attorney general earlier notice. The Federal Trade Commission will lead the federal review. In Illinois, the attorney general and the Health Facilities & Services Review Board will weigh in. The attorney general has a larger role in overseeing healthcare mergers following a bill passed this year mandating earlier notification on mergers and acquisitions.

*** Downstate ***

* WSIU | Local lawmakers react to IDHS decision to preserve 25 psychiatric beds at Choate: Two Southern Illinois lawmakers say the state’s decision to keep some psychiatric beds at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center falls short of what the region needs. State Senators Terri Bryant of Murphysboro and Paul Jacobs of Pomona responded to an announcement from the Illinois Department of Human Services that 25 inpatient psychiatric beds will remain at the Anna facility. In a joint statement, the senators welcomed the decision to preserve mental health services at Choate but argued that retaining only 25 of the facility’s 75 psychiatric beds is inadequate. They pointed to a study by SIU Medicine that recommended expanding psychiatric services at the center rather than reducing them.

* WGLT | McLean County Board extends disaster declaration, approves no-interest loan for tax error: The McLean County Board voted Thursday to extend a disaster declaration for the county through Nov. 13. The move gives more time for residents to report damage as the county appeals the recent rejection of a federal disaster request. Speaking after the meeting, board chair Elizabeth Johnston said cleanup is still going on from the Aug. 13-14 storms, and new information will become part of the appeal process. “We still have residents that are cleaning up. And it is important that as they go through the cleanup process they may be uncovering additional damage, or there may be damage that occurs in the process of fixing things that were broken. And so the continued declaration gives them protection,” she said.

* STLPR | Granite City area getting $20 million in electrical upgrades for severe weather: The Granite City area is getting $20 million in electrical infrastructure upgrades. Ameren Illinois started construction last month on multiple projects aimed at reducing outages and strengthening the electrical grid during severe weather. Projects include a new switching station near the Granite City Works steel plant, upgrades to two substations and a new power line.

* WCIA | ‘It’s been ups and downs in the process’: union members weigh in on contract negotiations with Urbana Library board: Union members with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have filed paperwork requesting a hearing after their attempts to reach a contract agreement have come up short. At the center of the matter is wage increases. Union officials say it’s been nearly 500 days since they formed their union, looking for a contract. They also say the library board has refused to bargain in good faith.

*** National ***

* AP News | States sue AI giant OpenAI, saying its popular chatbot is hurting children and deceiving adults: The wave of lawsuits is the latest filed by states under their consumer protection laws, accusing tech giants that offer AI chatbots and social media platforms of harming children. The states that filed separate lawsuits Wednesday in state courts are Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia. The states say that the risks and harms — to teenagers and to the broader public from rogue agents — were foreseeable, but that OpenAI has misled people into thinking that ChatGPT undergoes adequate safety testing while the company undermines safety in the pursuit of profit.