* ICYMI: ICE officer said his injuries were ‘nothing major’ after deadly shooting near Chicago, video shows. Sun-Times…

- Video obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows the blue jeans of the other federal agent were left bloodied and torn, and he told local police that he was “dragged a little bit.”
- Shortly after the shooting, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported the agent “sustained multiple injuries” and was “seriously injured” when he was “dragged a significant distance” by Villegas González’s car as he fled a traffic stop. DHS officials said the agent had opened fire, fearing for his life.
- The videos raise new questions about the narrative put forth by DHS, which is leading an ongoing deportation campaign in the Chicago area that has stoked fears and sparked protests.

* Related stories…

• Sun-Times: Protesters demonstrate at Broadview ICE facility in spite of more pepper balls, rubber rounds
• ABC Chicago: Federal agents fire pepper balls at protesters as buses transport people at Broadview ICE facility
• CBS Chicago: Fence goes up outside ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois
• NYT: How an Attempted ICE Arrest Turned Deadly

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Sponsored by Ameren Illinois

The summer of 2025 has been a tough one for residents and businesses in the Ameren Illinois service territory. Supply constraints, extreme hot and humid conditions, and increased energy usage have led to a significant spike in electricity prices and higher-than-normal monthly bills for residential, commercial and industrial energy users. We appreciate and thank legislators, regulators and stakeholders who are working hard to address the energy challenge in Illinois. Energy policy is complex, and we’re encouraged that there are some creative ideas being proposed and a willingness to work together to find answers.   

While Ameren Illinois cannot control the price or availability of energy, we can ensure that the system that delivers energy to homes and businesses — electric poles, wires, and technology; and natural gas distribution pipelines and storage fields — is equipped to operate at peak performance to withstand severe weather events, facilitate business expansions that grow local communities, and enable the transition to renewable generation.

We have an opportunity to build an energy system that is smarter, cleaner, reliable, resilient, and affordable for Illinois families and businesses. As discussions on short- and long-term legislative solutions occur this fall, we will continue to advocate for our 1.2 million customers.   

If you know of someone who is struggling to pay their energy bill, please encourage them to visit www.AmerenIllinois.com/PathToSavings for information on available financial assistance and energy saving programs. 

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* Governor Pritzker will speak at Morris Municipal Airport at 11 am and cut the ribbon on a new health and wellness center at Joliet Junior College at 1 pm. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois committee recommends state part ways with feds on COVID-19 vaccines: The Illinois Department of Public Health Immunization Advisory Committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend updated COVID-19 vaccines for all Illinois residents ages 18 and older. And they voted to recommend the shots for all children ages 6 to 23 months old. The committee also recommended vaccines for children between the ages of 2 and 17 if they are in higher risk groups, or if their parents want them to have the shot. The recommendations aren’t final for Illinois, but the state health department will consider the committee’s votes when releasing its official recommendations for Illinois later this week, said Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the state health department.

* Sun-Times | Trump’s civil rights boss challenged by appeals court weighing Illinois assault weapons ban: But Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon also found herself being questioned by Judge Frank Easterbrook, who’d joined the 2023 decision that’s helped keep the law in place. On Monday, he asked Dhillon whether a lower court judge’s fact-finding affected her view. When she said it didn’t, Easterbrook retorted, “You don’t think the facts matter.” “Facts, of course, do matter,” she told him.

* NBC Chicago | Durbin’s abortion stance sparks backlash ahead of Archdiocese award: When asked to respond to Paprocki’s comments, Durbin said he does not have much communication with the Springfield bishop. Durbin said he and his family have been actively involved at their Chicago parish for almost 20 years. “My personal feelings on the subject (of abortion) are one thing, and I would discourage any woman in my family from considering that option, but they have to make the ultimate decision. When it comes to public policy, the opportunity for that decision should always be there,” Durbin added.

*** Statewide ***

* WICS | UIUC’s high enrollment of international students bucks national trend: Aisha Price, Recruitment Section Manager at IDOT, said, “Once they receive their Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering, they can actually work at IDOT full time, as a Civil Engineer Intern.”The program also allows interns to earn service time toward state employee benefits. Officials hope this will encourage more engineers to remain with IDOT after completing their internships. Candidates interested in the program can apply now.

* Tribune | Illinois superintendent salaries often don’t reflect the district’s size, wealth or student performance: A Tribune analysis of 2024 salaries found that at least 18 suburban superintendents in Illinois received higher compensation than Martinez despite overseeing significantly smaller districts. Collectively, these 18 superintendents oversee 117 schools serving 76,000 students — roughly 600 fewer schools and 230,000 fewer students than Martinez.

* ABC Chicago | Illinois could be facing ‘tick invasion,’ experts warn of possible increase in diseases: “We’re sort of on the edge of an invasion,” Northwest Mosquito Abatement District Medical Entomologist Patrick Irwin said. Irwin said of the nearly 250 square miles that he covers, almost half of the ticks they surveillance were positive for Lyme disease. “When we looked at the number of ticks that we got, you know, four years ago, it was very small compared to what we’re seeing now,” Irwin said. A new study out of the University of Illinois shows multiple counties recording three different types of ticks: the lone star tick, the dog tick and the black legged tick.

* WCIA | Dept. of Agriculture looking for help in stopping the spread of an invasive species in Illinois: The spotted lanternfly is native to China — but has been introduced across the United States. Experts say it first popped up in Illinois in 2023 — and still remains. The department said sightings have been on the rise in Cook County — feeding mostly on grapevines.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Stateline | Illinois declined to give sensitive voter data to the DOJ. Some GOP states are doing the same.: It’s a similar response to the one given in deep blue Illinois, where the Illinois State Elections Board, not the secretary of state, oversees elections. “We take Illinoisans’ privacy very seriously; data breaches and hacking are unfortunately common, and the disclosure of sensitive information contrary to state law would expose our residents to undue risk,” ISBE general counsel Marni Malowitz wrote the DOJ on Sept. 2.

* Center Square | Illinois library staff to be trained with overdose antidotes under new law: House Bill 1910 would require all Illinois public libraries to keep a supply of opioid antagonists, such as naloxone, a nasal spray that can reverse an overdose. The law also mandates at least one staff member on duty at all times be trained to administer it. “Jordan Henry, a local high school senior, was inspired by her volunteer work in the Chicago area suburbs, where she sought to change the treatment model for substance use disorder from a ‘punishment’ model to a ‘care’ model,” stated the bill’s sponsor state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, on social media, noting she worked with Henry to create the law.

* Tribune | First Lady MK Pritzker to discuss architecture, history of Governor’s Mansion in Oak Park: Gert Johnson, co-chair of the association’s development committee, had found a copy of the book at the Oak Park Public Library and was captivated by it. “I was amazed at it. I found it so beautiful,” she recalled. She recommended that they invite Pritzker to talk about the book. Pritzker’s lecture was chosen as a prelude to the 2025-26 Monday Afternoon Education Series, which begins in October.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Millions in loans to replace lead pipes pumping water into Chicago homes remain unspent: Since 2023, the city has drawn $70 million to $90 million of an approximately $325 million federal loan for lead service line replacements that expires next year, White said, adding that the city expects to spend much more quickly in 2026. “We just found out we’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars sitting somewhere with nobody doing anything,” 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez said Monday.

* Tribune | Chicago defends slow pace of notification letters for toxic lead water pipes: The city has mailed out fewer than a tenth of the letters it was required to send by a federal notification deadline in November 2024, acknowledged Patrick Schwer, director of water quality surveillance. But he defended the decision as a practical move to spend more money on fixing pipes. “Spending $10 million just to send a bunch of letters that people throw in their trash seems like a waste of money, especially when that money should be spent on replacing actual lead service lines,” he said.

* Crain’s | How Illinois’ privacy law is costing Chicago billions in data-center deals: Developers and data center operators say that means tackling BIPA, but privacy advocates say the law isn’t the problem. “BIPA has been attacked for all kinds of reasons,” says Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the ACLU of Illinois. “Long-term opponents have found a new coercive argument to weaken BIPA, which is, ‘oh, you’ll lose out on all these data centers.’”

* Tribune | Developer proposes 56-story residential tower for the Magnificent Mile: AMLI still needs to win approvals from city planners, City Council and Streeterville residents before it can break ground. It would be the first new skyscraper built in years on the Magnificent Mile, and could provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the well-known shopping district, which has suffered from a high retail vacancy rate. “A new beautiful building like this will further reinforce the reputation of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile as a tremendous street in the retail world,” said John Vance, a principal of Stone Real Estate.

* Tribune | Rivian off-road course draws thousands of joyriders along Michigan Avenue: “The Electric Joyride allowed us to showcase the capabilities of our all-electric R1S SUV and R1T truck by building an off-road course in the middle of Chicago,” said Rivian spokesperson Kelli Felker. “All EVs are fast on the road, but our vehicles shine both on- and off-road, which sets us apart from the rest.” None of the test drives ventured into the real obstacle course — the actual potholed and traffic-jammed streets of Chicago — but Rivian used the faux Baja terrain to provide an experience of how the quad-motor R1S SUV or R1T truck can do in rugged backcountry.

* ABC Chicago | Chicago house music DJ Ron Carroll dies of heart attack: Ron Carroll was called the “Minister of House Music.”He was also a vocalist and producer. Carroll died of a heart attack on Monday morning. Carroll’s fans say his legacy will live on through the music he created and the community he loved.

* The Athletic | Is this what happiness feels like? Bears and their fans break out of funk: When Ben Johnson was hired, there was a prevailing notion that everything was about to change for the Bears. But, in typical fashion, it all looked so familiar … through two weeks. That’s why Sunday’s 31-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field felt so glorious to the fans, players, coaches, front office executives and all of their families. It felt like there were four times as many guests in the bowels of the stadium after the game. A lot of basking in reflected glory was going on, and why not?

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Center Square | White House does not expect arrests of sanctuary mayors and governors: At a press briefing Monday, Leavitt was asked specifically about Evanston Mayor and former state Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, and other elected officials involved in protests and riots against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Unless they commit a crime, I don’t see them being arrested, but if they are violating federal law, if they are violating state law, then, of course, they should be arrested by state and local law enforcement. If they are violating federal law, then they can expect the consequences of that behavior,” Leavitt said.

* Shaw Local | DeKalb County officials largely silent so far on Hanson public records indictment: Current and former DeKalb County officials don’t have much to say yet about the indictment of former DeKalb County Administrator Gary Hanson, accused of illegally destroying public records.

* NBC Chicago | Delayed Cook County property tax bills frustrate residents amid tech issues: The delay stems from a years-long technology upgrade that county officials say is more complex than anticipated, and residents are growing increasingly frustrated. NBC 5 Responds has heard from dozens of taxpayers, including Colette, who wrote: “Why are second installments late every year? It’s a pain in the neck. Playing with my mortgage company, playing with my escrow account, it’s nuts.”

* Shaw Local | Kane County Board member clarifies comments about LGBTQ+ community, shootings: After Young recited the details of recent shootings that apparently involved transgender people, he said: “The Democratic Party embraces this LGBTQ+ group, including a lot of people here on this Kane County Board. They embrace the culture of death. They embrace evil. I want to know when – when – will this group, this evil group, be denounced by any leader of the Democratic Party.”

* Crain’s | Capital One cutting nearly 400 jobs in latest layoffs tied to Discover acquisition: The round of cuts includes 200 employees who work at the former Discover headquarters in Riverwoods, 18 Illinois residents who work remotely, and 165 are non-Illinois residents who report to managers at Riverwoods.

* Daily Herald | Fiery maples and golden ginkgos are some of the fall color showstoppers at Morton Arboretum: “We were seeing some trees that are known to be drought sensitive — Lindens is one that is in a lot of neighborhoods, as well as here at the arboretum, we have a tree called Katsura — and those trees were definitely shedding some leaves early,” Christy Rollinson, the arboretum’s senior scientist in forest ecology, said. Rollinson still expects the peak for colors at the arboretum to be in mid-October, though, when a lot of their maple trees turn. The Illinois Office of Tourism agrees, projecting peak time in Northern Illinois around Oct. 15 on its website.

*** Downstate ***

* Press Release | Ebert Fest: But, as is often said, all good things must come to an end–or, in this case, a new beginning. Thus, we write to share the bittersweet news that 2025 marked the festival’s last year in Champaign-Urbana. We understand that for all of us this marks a big change. Like you, we will miss the excitement of Ebertfest in our community–and Roger’s hometown–and the way it has brought together actors, directors, producers, critics, and the audience in dialogue about film and its importance in our society.

* WCIA | Tilton approves pause on solar projects: During the village board’s meeting on Thursday, Sept. 18, the board narrowly passed an ordinance for a moratorium on commercial solar developments. Three board members voted in favor of the moratorium, while two voted against it. Mayor Bill Wear said the moratorium will give Earthrise Energy the time to apply for a special use permit — while also allowing the village time to figure out the requirements of the permit, like zoning rules and how the project might be decommissioned in the future.

* WCIA | City of Monticello considering ban on THC products: The Monticello City Council is working with the Piatt County Mental Health Center and Piatt County Board to restrict the sale of these items in both the city and the county. The Monticello City Council’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the City of Monticello Livingston Center.

* WMBD | AI metal detector prices unveiled at Peoria Public School Board of Education meeting: The cheapest company, Opengate, costs $173,650, and the schools will then own the metal detectors. In the middle is Evolv, which will cost the board $487,790 for a four-year lease. The third option is Xtract One, which would cost $1,096,000 for a five-year loan.

* WGLT | Bloomington council OKs local grocery tax, increases video gaming licenses: A divided city council voted in favor of the city administration’s recommendation to implement a 1% municipal grocery service tax during Monday’s regular meeting at the McLean County Government Center. “I get nobody likes taxes and any tax, you could argue, is too much,” said City Manager Jeff Jurgens, noting the projected $3 million in revenue from the grocery tax is critical to offsetting the city’s operating deficit originally estimated at around $7.25 million — although revised estimates have lowered that figure to $1.5 million.

* STLPR | ‘Right thing to do’: Steelworkers rally in Granite City for long-term commitments: “We want job security with long-term commitments,” said Jason Chism, a subdistrict director with the United Steelworkers. “The biggest message of all: Let’s get back to making American-made steel here in Granite City, Illinois.” While newly acquired U.S. Steel’s reversal on Friday of its decision to quit processing steel at the mill later this fall served as a short-term win for the steelworkers and the community, the union and its supporters want to build off any momentum they’ve gained and garner the attention of White House.

* Muddy River News | Helsabeck resigns as Quincy Public Library director: Library Board President Jon Hoover would not discuss the decision on the record following the meeting but issued a statement on behalf of the board following the meeting: “In recent months, the Board and Kathleen have engaged in discussions concerning the future direction of the Library. Kathleen’s decision to resign resulted from those discussions as well as her career interests. The Board of Directors’ acceptance of her resignation is not due to any misconduct or performance deficiencies on Kathleen’s part, but rather an acknowledgment that now is an appropriate time to transition.”

* WICS | Drone aids in arrest of burglary suspects at Viper Mine in Williamsville: The drone pilot identified a second suspect, Daniel Gregg Jr., 53, also of Springfield, hiding in a nearby tree line. Deputies, guided by the drone, apprehended Gregg, who had sustained lacerations to his arm. A tourniquet was applied until EMS arrived. Inside the building, deputies found numerous burglary tools and noted extensive damage to the electrical wiring and plumbing system. A Viper Mine employee estimated repair costs at approximately $80,000. Genovese and Gregg were booked on charges of Burglary, Criminal Damage to Property over $10,000, and Possession of Burglary Tools. This incident marks the second successful use of the Sheriff’s Office drone program, following a successful search for a missing person on September 12, 2025.

* NPR Illinois | UIS breaks ground on new Library Commons: The Library Commons is a publicly funded project made possible by a $42.5 million investment from the State of Illinois. The three-story, 52,000-square-foot building will be located between the Student Union and the Health Sciences Building on the UIS quad. The new facility will combine the library, advising and academic support, career development and tech support services into one accessible, student-centered space.

*** National ***

* AP News | Trump makes unfounded claims about Tylenol and repeats discredited link between vaccines and autism: Medical experts said Trump’s remarks were irresponsible. New York University bioethicist Art Caplan said it was “the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority.”

* NYT | Defense Department Delays Cleanup of ‘Forever Chemicals’ Nationwide: The Pentagon’s new timeline would delay cleanup around military sites by nearly a decade in some cases, according to the latest list, which is dated in March and was posted publicly in recent weeks without an announcement. The delays vary by site. They add up to a significant revision from the Pentagon’s earlier cleanup timetable, which had been released three months earlier, in December 2024, in the final days of the Biden administration.

* AP | Supreme Court will weigh expanding Trump’s power to shape agencies by overturning 90-year-old ruling: The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider expanding President Donald Trump’s power to shape independent agencies by overturning a nearly century-old decision limiting when presidents can fire board members. In a 6-3 decision, the high court also allowed the Republican president to carry out the firing of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, while the case plays out.

* CBS | Amazon faces trial this week over whether it duped people into enrolling in Prime membership: When it announced legal action against Amazon two years ago, the FTC said consumers who used Amazon to make purchases were presented with numerous options to subscribe to Prime, but that it was less clear how to buy an item without signing up for a membership. In some cases, the button for Amazon users to complete their purchase did not clearly indicate that they were also agreeing to enroll in Prime, according to regulators.