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Isabel’s afternoon roundup
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Click here if you need some background. Rich told subscribers earlier today that he’s having surgery tomorrow morning to remove his tumor. His prognosis is good, but he’ll be in the hospital for a few days, so i’ll be in charge…  * ABC Chicago | Cook County medical debt relief program expands to Illinois: More people in Illinois can get help with their medical bills as a Cook County program is expanding statewide. Governor JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle made the announcement on Thursday. […] The governor says 1.5 million Illinoisans have now had $2.4 billion dollars in medical debt erased. Pritzker says the cost of the program is $1 for every $100 of debt canceled. * Press release | Partial win for customers in Nicor settlement: The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved a settlement in the Nicor rate case Thursday. All parties to the case either signed on to the settlement, did not object, or some of both. Illinois PIRG signed on to portions and did not object to the rest. […] Authorizing Nicor to raise rates by $81.6 million. This is a nearly 2/3 reduction from the $220.8 million Nicor proposed. After this, Nicor rates will have increased 150% in the past decade, more than any other major utility in Illinois. * Block Club | Improving Lake Shore Drive, Blue And Red Lines Among Top Priorities For Regional Planning Agency: But Wednesday’s votes were planning milestones, not a green light to start construction on any project. The plans will guide regional transportation decisions, while individual projects must still move through the appropriate funding, design and approval processes with the state and federal governments. * Crain’s | Justin Ishbia warns Chicago against the ‘cost of doing nothing’ amid Railyards backlash: Speaking for the first time in a public forum since unveiling his plans for an 80-plus acre riverfront campus south of Roosevelt Road known as The Railyards, Ishbia nodded to intense local pushback to Amtrak in Bridgeport while arguing his vision is a growth opportunity that the city cannot afford to miss. “There’s a cost of doing nothing, and unfortunately, (in) Chicago we’ve done nothing too often recently,” Ishbia said on stage this morning during a Crain’s event at Allium Events in the Fulton Market District. Referencing the failed effort a decade ago to create the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on the lakefront and a stymied Chicago Bears push in 2024 for a new downtown stadium, Ishbia warned against vitriolic resistance to “big bets” on the city and encouraged people to consider the value of reinvesting in local rail infrastructure. * Block Club | Chicago Mother Sues ICE Contractor That Jailed Her And Her Baby In A Hotel Room: The lawsuit was filed on September 29, more than a year after an investigation by Injustice Watch and The Intercept revealed MVM Inc. had confined Valentina Galvis, an asylum-seeker from Colombia, and her then seven-month-old infant, a U.S. citizen, in a room at the Sonesta Chicago O’Hare Airport Rosemont last summer. In that reporting, Galvis had described her captivity in stark terms, detailing how she and her son were locked in a room with no way to communicate with the outside world and no idea when, if ever, they would be set free. Galvis is seeking monetary damages for the alleged harm and injury she and her child suffered as a result of the detention following their arrest by ICE at a Chicago immigration court in June 2025. Galvis named the Sonesta International Hotels Corporation and affiliated companies that own and operate the hotel as defendants in the complaint. * Daily Herald | U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi says he and family were at temple when Palatine man tried to carry out mass shooting: U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he and his family were at the Aurora Hindu temple Sunday when authorities allege a 19-year-old Palatine man attempted to carry out a mass shooting there. “I am horrified that a white supremacist attempted to carry out a mass shooting targeting Indian Americans at the Hindu temple in Aurora where my family worships,” the Schaumburg Democrat said in a statement Thursday. * ABC Chicago | Palatine police reveal more details about thwarted alleged mass shooting plot in Aurora: Investigators said the suspect had allegedly planned on carrying the attack last Sunday. Palatine police revealing Thursday that they recovered surveillance video of the suspect driving a red Acura and entering the parking lot of a Hindu temple in Aurora. At his Palatine condo, investigators said they found an AR-style rifle with no serial number, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a tactical vest, gas can, and items with Nazi symbolism. * Pioneer Press | All defendants in former D65 Superintendent Horton case have pleaded guilty, averting trial: The remaining defendants embroiled in a kickback scheme orchestrated by former Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges Tuesday, ending what was likely to be a high-profile criminal trial just days before it was set to begin. * Tribune | Evanston budget proposes 9% property tax increase, 25% water fee hike, other increases: But Council members pushed back on the proposed tax increases, telling staff that the city needs to take a harder look at reducing expenses before asking for more money from local residents, even if that means cutting personnel. The draft budget is slated for final City Council approval prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Evanston’s 2027 fiscal year runs from Jan. 1, 2027 to Dec. 31, 2027. * Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora City Council delays decision on ending fiber network agreement: The Aurora City Council was set to vote on ending the city’s contract with the controversial organization that manages its fiber network Tuesday night, but aldermen decided to return the measure to committee, citing unanswered questions and cost concerns. The measure before the council Tuesday proposed terminating a 2012 agreement between the city and the city-connected organization that manages its 60-mile fiber-optic network, OnLight Aurora. * Muddy River News | U.S. Rep. Mary Miller warns that “Islam is inside the gate”: To a crowd of Hancock County GOP faithful, U.S. Representative Mary Miller (R-Ill. 15) concluded her 20 minute long remarks with her three biggeest concerns: voter apathy, election integrity and Islam. “I encourage you to inform yourself. They are not at the gate. They are inside the gate, and right now they’re trying to control the levers of power,” Miller said. * IPM News | Champaign County Board passes resolution prohibiting tax breaks for data centers: After hearing public outcry over environmental impacts, noise concerns, and other uncertainties about data centers, the Champaign County board unanimously approved a resolution on Oct. 13, prohibiting tax abatements for hyperscale data center construction. The resolution states that “The policy of Champaign County, Illinois shall be to not negotiate any property tax abatement agreement, any payment in lieu of taxes agreement, or any other concession to facilitate the development and construction of any hyperscale data center within Champaign County, Illinois.” * Muddy River News | Can the City of Quincy get sued after council rejects 36th and Payson Road solar project?: The Quincy City Council voted to reject a solar project near 36th and Payson Road Tuesday night. City Corporation Counsel Bruce Alford said afterwards that Alderwoman Laura McReynolds (R-Ward 5) made a convincing argument for grounds for rejection, should there be a legal challenge. “I have nothing personally against solar,” McReynolds said. “This site would have undue detrimental effect on the surrounding neighborhood.” * STLPR | Granite City steelworkers want long-term commitment in nationwide contract negotiations: Steelworkers at Granite City Works say they are nearing a contract with U.S. Steel as part of nationwide union negotiations. The negotiation comes seven months after the plant began producing steel at one of its two blast furnaces after sitting idle for more than two years. The mill was slated to further wind down steel processing at the end of last year before U.S. Steel was bought by Japanese corporation Nippon Steel. * WCBU | Peoria County zoning board recommends wind farm denial, forwards application with possible conditions: Following 15 days of testimony, the Peoria County Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday recommended denial of an application to pursue development of a large-scale wind farm in the county’s northwest corner. Repsol Renewables is looking to build the Four Creeks Wind Project with 113 turbines stretching from Brimfield and Princeville to the Knox and Stark county lines. The project estimated at $1.5 billion would cover more than 27,000 acres, with the turbines having a maximum height of 660 feet and capacity to generate up to 663 megawatts of wind energy. * NPR Illinois | NPR Illinois to relocate on the UIS campus in 2027: “ The University plans to permanently close the WUIS building on July 30, 2027, due to failing infrastructure related to HVAC and plumbing. Given the University’s current financial deficit and the extensive cost of addressing these issues, the University has decided not to make the repairs the building would require and instead engage a licensed demolition contractor to remove it in compliance with all applicable regulations.” * Tribune | Average long-term US mortgage rate holds at 7.4%, remaining at highest level in nearly 3 years: Rates on home loans are influenced by inflation, Federal Reserve policy and bond-market investors’ expectations for the economy, among other factors. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. Mortgage rates have been climbing since late February, when the U.S. war with Iran began, pushing up the price of oil and driving inflation higher. The run-up in rates also reflects heightened bond market volatility, which has pushed up yields on U.S. Treasurys. * Semafor | Volta’s $5 billion debt deal is a pulse check on the AI-financing boom: The deal includes an unusual provision to overcome that skittishness: The interest rate charged to Volta will decrease if Anthropic can get an investment-grade credit rating, some of the people said. The Financial Times reported last month that Anthropic’s and OpenAI’s IPO advisers were lobbying credit-rating agencies for blue-chip status, which would be almost unheard-of for companies as unprofitable as both AI labs are. * AP | Frustrated with Trump, voters overwhelmingly want change in Washington, an AP-NORC poll finds: The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted less than four weeks before Election Day, finds that registered voters who identify as Democrats are more enthusiastic than Republican voters about casting a ballot. More voters want Democrats to win control of Congress and have a more negative view of Republicans. The Democratic advantage is small in some cases, but, taken together, the findings paint a challenging picture for Republicans, who are clinging to control of Congress under the weight of an unpopular war with Iran and surging prices at home.
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Illinois elections board reports no suspicious mail as feds investigate nationwide
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* A “suspicious envelope” also turned up at the Cook County Building, but no word yet on whether it’s connected.. CBS Chicago…
Matt Dietrich at the Illinois State Board of Elections tells me they “thankfully” haven’t received any suspicious mail. …Adding… Cook County update…
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Today’s quotable
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Gov. JB Pritzker press conference after the debate…
Please pardon any transcription errors.
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Showcasing The Retailers Who Make Illinois Work
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Advertising Department [The following is a paid advertisement.] For more than 14 years, Vanessa Rodriguez, owner of BabyDolls Boutique in Chicago, has built her business around making customers feel celebrated. From handmade, one-of-a-kind baby and mommy pieces to Vanessa’s own exclusive designs, BabyDolls Boutique is the place to buy a gift or treat yourself in Lakeview. Retail provides one out of every five Illinois jobs, generates the second largest amount of tax revenue for the state, and is the largest source of revenue for local governments. But retail is also so much more, with retailers serving as the trusted contributors to life’s moments, big and small. We Are Retail and IRMA are dedicated to sharing the stories of retailers like Vanessa in Lakeview who serve their communities with dedication and pride. Please visit https://WeAreRetail.IRMA.org/.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller * ICYMI: Illinois comptroller race: Margaret Croke, Bryan Drew vie for open seat as Democrats seek statewide sweep. Tribune…
- Croke has had a financial advantage over her Republican opponent. She spent close to $2 million in the first three months of the year, when she had to outspend her primary rivals to win the nomination, and reported about $149,780 in her campaign fund at the end of March, Illinois State Board of Elections records show. At the end of June, she had a little more than $108,500 on hand, while Drew reported just over $54,000. - Drew, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, acknowledged earlier this year that the office under Mendoza has paid the state’s bills on time. But he said someone with differing viewpoints on public finance should hold the job for purposes of “checks and balances,” since Democrats control every constitutional office. * At 10 am, Gov. JB Pritzker will make an announcement about medical debt relief for Illinoisans. Click here to watch. * Press release | Get Covered Illinois Offers Special Enrollment Period for 9,300 Illinoisans Who Were Kicked Off Medicaid: Due to President Trump’s Budget Bill (H.R. 1), thousands of lawfully present immigrants in Illinois lost Medicaid coverage, effective October 1, 2026. Get Covered Illinois is offering an immediate path to health insurance through a special enrollment period running through December 31, 2026, with premium tax credits available to eligible customers. This impacted group will no longer be eligible to receive premium tax credits on January 1, 2027, as a result of H.R. 1. * Sun-Times | Judge halts South Side plant operations over city, state’s foul odor lawsuit: In a statement Wednesday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the plant shouldn’t reopen until it “addresses the odors and air pollution and comes into compliance with Illinois’ environmental laws.” The legal order bars the plant from operating until at least January 14, when a hearing is scheduled for Raoul and the city’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Operations would be halted until a final order is issued. * Center Square | Rep: Bears ‘can pick what they want’ in stadium bill: Buckner said after an Illinois House Executive Committee hearing in Chicago on Tuesday that it’s not really important who would own a new stadium, but the Bears need control over things like naming rights and concessions. “It’s up to them. They can pick what they want, but we want to make sure we give them the options here in this state,” Buckner said. * Sun-Times | Johnson’s veto of bid to curtail his borrowing power survives override try — by one vote: Retiring Ald. Marty Quinn (13th), who championed the reform, fell one vote short of the 34 votes he needed to thwart the mayor’s veto. The final vote was 33 to 17, allowing Johnson to avoid what would have been a humiliating defeat by the slimmest of margins. “There’s no secret that there are a number of members of City Council still adjusting to a progressive agenda,” the mayor said at his post-Council meeting news conference. * Tribune | CPS watchdog says ‘no actionable finding’ of misconduct by candidate for school board president: The inspector general has not released a full summary of the findings yet. Wagenknecht declined comment Wednesday. […] The woman responded to the end of the CPS probe by calling for an independent investigation. “I was really disappointed,” she told the Tribune in a phone interview. “I just felt really disempowered. … Nothing was acknowledged, no matter what the documentation was, no matter my own experience.” * Sun-Times | 4 takeaways from CPS School Board president forum: Jessica Biggs, Hilario Dominguez and Victor Henderson took questions on potential midyear budget cuts, school closings, school ratings and controversies that each candidate face. The forum was hosted by WBEZ, the Sun-Times and Chalkbeat and featured questions from CPS students. * Crain’s | City Council deals Johnson another blow in battle for control of CHA: * Block Club | City OKs Largest Settlement In History To Men Who Say They Were Framed By Disgraced Cop: The men have collectively served more than 380 years in prison, the city said. All of their sentences have been vacated and the charges dropped, with all but two of the plaintiffs having received formal certificates of innocence, according to Jessica Felker, deputy corporation counsel for the city, in remarks to alderpeople earlier this month. With the City Council approval this week, Chicago taxpayers will pay out $260,814,000 to the men — and their law firm, Loevy & Loevy — over two years and in four installments beginning in April. The settlement is the largest in city history, officials have said. * Crain’s | Google’s big Loop bet comes with a warning: It can’t revive downtown alone: Google will eventually move its entire Chicago workforce of more than 2,500 out of Fulton Market and into the Thompson Center to help revive the Loop. But the tech giant is stressing it will need help creating a ripple effect downtown. Speaking for the first time in a public forum about the company’s ongoing revamp of the 17-story building into its new Chicago home, top local Google execs today said the project can help draw workers and visitors back to the central business district — if the Chicago Transit Authority, other businesses and civic leaders do their part to make the area more inviting and accessible. * Sun-Times | Public gets first peek at Metra’s future battery-powered trains, a North American first: “It just feels like you’re stepping into the future,” says Josh Dohrmann, 30, a Metra user who took the 1-hour-45-minute ride down from Kenosha on the UP-North line. He was one of the first members of the public to examine the train after it was unveiled last week at a transit expo at McCormick Place. * Daily Herald | 8th Congressional rivals Bean and Davis disagree on best path forward for health care: Melissa Bean, a Barrington Democrat who served three terms in the U.S. House from 2005 to 2011, is running against Jennifer Davis, a Republican business owner from Huntley, in the Nov. 3 election. The winner will succeed U.S. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who chose not to run for reelection and instead made an unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate seat this year. The 8th District includes portions of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties. * Daily Herald | Elk Grove Village using data center windfall to give residents $200 gift cards: On Tuesday night, the mayor of Elk Grove Village — home to 20 of the computer storage sites — rattled off his latest boosterism: He led state legislators — who are mulling over regulations on the industry — on a data center tour; hosted a delegation from Osceola County, Florida considering a sprawling redevelopment; penned an Op-Ed in the Chicago Tribune; and gave an interview on WGN radio. * Daily Herald | Palatine man accused of planning attack on Hindu house of worship: Investigators recovered a rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a body armor vest and a patch displaying white supremacist imagery from Paporakis’ home, police said. Police believe Paporakis may have been intending to carry out the attack Sunday. * WBCU | Tazewell County Board is next stop for proposed data center moratorium: A proposed nine-month moratorium on data center applications in Tazewell County is headed to the county board. The county’s land use committee on Tuesday unanimously recommended approval of the moratorium and sent the matter to the Tazewell County Board for a final vote at its Oct. 28 meeting. Last week, the county’s Zoning Board of Appeals also unanimously recommended approving the moratorium. * WAND | Massey Community Action Network hosts first community meeting in Springfield: Founding member Joann Johnson explained what this organization is all about. “We are passionate individuals who want to see those 26 calls to action that were developed through the work of the Massey Commission actually come to fruition,” Johnson said. “We want to see those things implemented.” This first meeting had one purpose: show the community that the organization still cares. Johnson said she wants people in the community to look to them as a resource. * WCIA | Springfield Fire Department holds live fire training in former UIS apartment buildings: Three former apartment buildings on the UIS campus will serve one last purpose before they are gone for good: training firefighters for emergencies. The Springfield Fire Department will perform three controlled burns at the apartment buildings at the Sunflower Court family housing complex. The training is something officials described as extra valuable, given how rare live fire training is. * Heartland NEws | Crab Orchard Golf Club announces plans to close golf course in March: Crab Orchard Golf Club announced it will close its golf course on March 1, 2027. In a social media post, they said they are closing due to health challenges in their family and the rising costs of chemicals, equipment, fuel, labor, insurance premiums and property taxes. They said they did not want to increase fees for guests. * CBS Chicago | Snake Road in Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest is only known road in U.S. to close for reptile migration: “This road is going in between their summer foraging areas in the swamp, and their fall hibernation areas in the bluffs,” Ballard explained. “And they have to cross this road to get from one to the other.” So every spring and every fall, Snake Road closes to cars. * WCIA | Mahjong madness takes over Central Illinois: They say what’s old is new again, and that’s especially true for one activity with roots dating back to the 1800s. Mahjong — a tile-based strategy game — is resurging all across the country. In Central Illinois, area businesses and passionate teachers are introducing it to a new generation. […] “I started teaching in July after putting a post on my Facebook feed that said, ‘Hey guys, I’ve just learned how to play this amazing game. If anyone wants to learn, I’m happy to teach you.’ That just exploded,” she added. In the last three months, she has taught more than 400 people how to play. * Huffpost | Inflation Worsened Last Month To 3.7% In Sign That Prices Remain High As Midterms Near: The figures underscore the lingering impact of the Iran war on gas prices and the stubborn persistence of inflation, which fell sharply from a 9.1% peak in 2022 but this year has ticked higher since the war began in late February. The rise isn’t all linked to gas prices, as surging investment in data centers and AI has also pushed up prices for computer chips and the consumer electronics that also use them. Elevated inflation has posed political problems for Republicans in Congress and is a challenge for the Federal Reserve, which is required by Congress to seek stable prices. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6% in September from a year ago, up from 2.4% the previous month. And they climbed 0.3% from August to September, an elevated pace that, if it continued for a year, would run well above the Fed’s 2% target. * WSJ | Justice Department Threatens Probe of American Bar Association on Law School Rules: The Justice Department has warned the American Bar Association it may face an antitrust investigation if it fails to change rules that limit the role part-time professors play in teaching law students. The department delivered the message in a new letter to the ABA’s accreditation council, whose quality standards cover most law schools. The Oct. 7 letter—signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal—said adjunct professors are cheaper and often have more real-world experience. Limiting how much they can teach hurts education and puts upward pressure on tuition costs, Woodward said.
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Good morning!
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
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Selected press releases (live updates)
Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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