* ICYMI: Legislative watchdog Mike McCuskey resigning in wake of complaints over handling of Benton harassment case. Sun-Times…

- Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey will step down later this month while the bipartisan Legislative Ethics Commission that oversees the office seeks his replacement, officials announced Tuesday.
- McCuskey is resigning in the wake of complaints over his handling of sexual harassment investigations that have roiled Springfield, including accusations from one complainant that the former judge didn’t take notes or record their interview.
- State Rep. Jeff Keicher, the Sycamore Republican who chairs the Ethics Commission, said they were committed to filling McCuskey’s position “in a timely manner.” They’re seeking applications through Oct. 31.

* Related stories…

• Tribune: Illinois’ top legislative ethics watchdog resigning following investigation into Springfield sexual harassment
• CNI: Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey resigns amid criticism

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

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Gov. Pritzker launches congressional PAC and heads to Texas to rally Democrats as GOP holds Dallas convention: As Republicans convene a rare midterm national convention in Dallas on Wednesday as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to turn out presidential-year voters, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker is heading to rally Texas Democrats while he launches a new federal political action committee to fund potential pickup targets.

* Block Club | Chicago Named The Most ‘Climate Resilient’ City On Earth: Chicago’s rank as the most “climate resilient” location was guided by the combination of its low physical exposure to a bevy of climate risks — inland flooding, coastal flooding, heat stress, drought, wildfires and hurricane winds — and the city’s high adaptation to those risks, including via infrastructure, early warning systems and policy responses. “Chicago is the most resilient major city in this analysis, benefiting from low coastal and tropical hazard exposure combined with robust urban infrastructure,” the report found.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Democratic Party of Illinois | Darren Bailey Heading to Texas to Cozy Up to Donald Trump: This week, as Donald Trump and his MAGA entourage descend on Texas, Darren Bailey and his running mate announced they’ll be joining them. In response, Democratic Party of Illinois spokeswoman Gwen Pepin released the following statement: “Darren Bailey is once again proving that he’s in the pocket of Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda. Instead of standing up to Trump – whose tariffs and war in Iran have driven up costs, who sent masked agents into our streets a year ago, and who has attacked our rights at every turn – Bailey is running straight into his arms. “Will Darren Bailey return from Texas with answers as to why Trump’s corruption and failed agenda has made life harder for Illinoisans, or will he continue pledging his loyalty to his president?”

* Capitol News Illinois | ‘Ready for the Fight’: Why JB Pritzker is taking his slogan national with PAC targeting MAGA: “They may be in districts that are R+5 or R+7, where perhaps because of the national mood and the desire for change will lead to a Democrat getting elected in a district that you might not have otherwise expected,” Pritzker said, referring to Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index. “So that’s where we’re focusing our resources.”

* Sun-Times | Independent governor candidate Collin Corbett aims to give voters ‘a home again’ in polarized Illinois: As a political consultant, Corbett knows the odds are stacked against an independent, though he says his polling shows he’d do better in a head-to-head matchup with Pritzker than Bailey would. Corbett says his campaign is more about building a bridge away from two-party tribalism. “There is a lot of hope for our movement beyond my run for governor, a lot of hope that we can create a space where people can lead in their communities, even if that’s somebody who isn’t on the far end of the spectrum on either the right or the left,” he said. “We need that because there’s a lot of really good people who want to step up and lead in the state.”

* The County Chronicle | Rep. Miller spars with Farm Bureau over endorsement snub: The Farm Bureau, and several local farmers, told The County Chronicle that legislator endorsements are not made by the Bureau’s state office in Bloomington. Farmer representatives within Miller’s own district made that determination. One farmer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Miller missed a lot of votes. “It didn’t come out of Bloomington,” he said. “That should tell Chris Miller something.” He added that the criticisms leveled by Miller, linking legislators that IFB endorsed to IFB policy, can all be disputed. “I’m pretty sure we never said farmers should stop driving pickup trucks.” Another farmer suggested that Miller “should do your job.”

* WSIU | New Illinois law targets tech harassment, expands remote court access for survivors: “Tracking devices, electronic communication, sharing private information, and even AI images that can be put out there on the internet for everyone to see,” Odom said. “IDVA being modernized actually takes those things into account. It updates the definition of domestic violence.” The law expands the legal definition of harassment to include digital tracking and nonconsensual online content sharing, while requiring offenders to remove prohibited material.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | With Ald. Rodriguez not seeking re-election, Johnson loses key City Council ally: Ald. Mike Rodriguez (22nd), the Workforce Development Committee chair who helped Johnson deliver two of the proudest accomplishments on his progressive to-do list, has decided not to seek re-election. “My daughter’s entering high school. I’ve got four years left with that beautiful baby. I’ve got an ailing father. I’ve got a chess champion son… It’s the right time for me” to step back, said Rodriguez, who all but endorsed 10th police district council member Elianne Bahena as his replacement.

* Press Release | Wilson Takes Aim at Giannoulias, Johnson in New TV Ad: Dr. Willie Wilson is debuting a new television and digital ad that takes aim at both Mayor Brandon Johnson and fellow candidate Alexi Giannoulias, among others, for their role in the city’s long history of corruption, self-dealing and insider politics. The ad targets Mayor Johnson for his record of selling out to special interests and putting their concerns over the needs of Chicago taxpayers. Meanwhile it highlights Giannoulias’ decision to seek two different elected positions at the same time, disingenuously advancing his own political agenda rather than serving the people of Illinois in his role as Secretary of State. The ad is available here and began running on local television networks and digital platforms today.

* Tribune | Residents and elected leaders protest proposal to move the Chicago White Sox: Hundreds of residents from Bridgeport, Chinatown and Armour Square gathered at Rate Field Tuesday morning to protest plans by Amtrak and billionaire Justin Ishbia to establish a giant railroad maintenance facility nearby and possibly move the White Sox out of the team’s longtime home on the South Side. Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, said residents were blindsided by the proposal, announced in August, and don’t want to lose the White Sox or see the railroad move into Bridgeport. “We’re obviously seriously alarmed, that yard is going to be right over your shoulder,” Lee told the crowd at 35th Street and Shields Avenue. “Our community feels pretty disrespected. If it’s approved, it would drive a knife through the heart of this community.”

* Chicago City Wire | If Bridgeport stops the Amtrak facility, the rail yard doesn’t go away. It goes back to Union Pacific: Largely missing from the debate is the question of what happens to the 60 acres of elevated railroad land between 25th Place and 35th Street if they succeed. The answer is that it stays what it has been since 1880: a freight yard owned by a railroad, on an active main line, that the City of Chicago has no legal authority to zone. Stopping Amtrak does not return the yard to the neighborhood. It returns it to Union Pacific, which is in the middle of an $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern, and which decided on its own in 2019 to idle the property for reasons that had nothing to do with Bridgeport.

* Chicago Mag | Why Does Chicago Hate Food Carts?: New York has 6,880 licensed street food vendors (a number that includes food trucks) and is adding 11,000 more licenses over the next five years. By contrast, Chicago has an estimated 3,000 food cart vendors, and only 12 are licensed. […] And yet the city, which didn’t legalize these carts until 2015, seems intent on making it near impossible to actually operate one. Among the rules and regulations? The food must be prepped in a licensed retail food establishment. That means you’ll have to fork out a few hundred bucks — $330 for two years — for a shared kitchen license. That’s on top of the $100 for the two-year vendor license. The food must also be prepackaged and sealed before being sold. Want to operate out of a desirable area like the Mag Mile? Forget it. Carts are prohibited there. You aren’t even allowed to stay in one location for too long. Violate any of these rules and you risk being ticketed, arrested, and sent to court and seeing your inventory and equipment confiscated.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WGN | Clash over credit cards continues in Calumet City: Records show [Mayor Thaddeus Jones] charged tens of thousands of dollars over a two-year span on Uber rides, gas, travel, meals and more. The mayor denies he misused any taxpayer money. He recently turned over more than 1,000 pages of documents to back up his claim. […] WGN Investigates found charges to the mayor’s city credit card in 2024 and 2025 totaled more than $35,000 at restaurants and $46,000 for travel for himself and others. […] On a monthly statement from last year, it shows airline tickets to Florida for two of Jones’ family members were charged to the credit card.

* Press release | ICJC Applauds Lake County for Taking Action on Data Centers: In response to the Lake County Board unanimously approving a temporary data center moratorium today, the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition released the following statement: “The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition applauds the Lake County Board and community advocates for standing up against unchecked data center expansion,” said Mayra Mendez, Executive Director of Clean Power Lake County and member of the ICJC. “Lake County joins a growing number of municipalities across Illinois that have taken action to hold data centers accountable or ban them entirely. This patchwork of local actions makes it all the more clear that we need leadership from the General Assembly to enact the strongest comprehensive protections on data centers in the nation. That’s why the ICJC proposed the POWER Act (SB4016/HB5513), which will keep data centers from driving up utility bills, protect our water and communities, and end backroom deals.”

* Daily Herald | To boost housing supply, Lake County could ease rules for accessory dwelling units: In partnership with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the county has been coordinating Housing Lake, a regional initiative to evaluate needs and identify strategies to address scarcity, development costs and limited diversity in housing options. Besides those broad targets, county planners say they have received interest from residents looking to build accessory dwelling units (ADU) on their properties.

* Daily Herald | Bartlett assistant village administrator steps down after employee complaint: According to documents obtained by the Daily Herald, Skrycki was facing an employee complaint when he attended a June 11 meeting with Village Administrator Paula Schumacher. Police Chief Ryan Conway also attended to take notes.

* Daily Herald | Geneva one of many high school football programs relying on drone technology: “It gives you a nice view of what your kids are doing, and how to correct them for Friday night, in practice,” he said. Video gathered by the Geneva football program’s own drone, used for Tuesday and Wednesday practices, accompanies what’s gained from the end zone camera used during games, secured high on a pole behind the uprights. Geneva uses its drone mainly for filming segments of its run game, pass game, third-down plays, two-minute drill and sometimes for 1-on-1 drills, Thorgesen said.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | Normal Town Council begins process for new TIF, approves $1.2 million bridge replacement: The TIF under consideration includes the area immediately south of Interstate 55 and along the West Raab Road corridor. The Business 51 and West Raab Road TIF Redevelopment Project Area would include about 215 acres and 94 parcels of property of varying zoning uses. The public hearing was set for Nov. 2. The plan could be adopted as soon as early 2027.

* WMBD | Peoria Main Street TIF district passes despite opposition from streets main council member: Alex Carmona, a 2nd District councilman, was the sole no vote on the TIF that aims to fill Main Street’s vacant buildings and invest in public infrastructure. The measure passed on a 9-1 vote. 5th District Councilman Dennis Cyr is on medical leave and therefore wasn’t there to vote. Carmona has consistently voted against TIF’s or similar measures that could give public money to private developers. Since joining the council, Carmona said the city has approved too many TIFs and sales tax increases in specific areas like Glen Hollow and Westlake shopping centers.

* Muddy River News | Behavioral health care providers rebrand to Centerstone: Behavioral health care providers in Quincy and Hannibal under the Centerstone umbrella have begun doing business as Centerstone. This rebranding means Burrell Behavioral Health, Preferred Family Healthcare and Clarity Healthcare offices and clinics in Hannibal, Quincy and surrounding communities will be rebranded as Centerstone. The shift addresses a core challenge: as demand for behavioral health services grows, fragmented branding can confuse the community and limit awareness of available care.

* WCIA | City of Springfield launches BEACON Project to improve response efforts: The City of Springfield is launching its BEACON Project (Bridging Emergency and Community Outreach Network) in an effort to improve emergency response efforts and connect with residents. An event was held at Springfield Fire Department Station 6 Tuesday morning, with city officials, fire personnel and BEACON team members in attendance. The project marks a new approach to responding to mental health, substance abuse and opioid-related emergencies in the community.