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Friday, Oct 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

If she don’t love me
What can I do?
Just put on my best pair of shoes
Because, oh, I’m me

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Friday, Oct 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

Billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker is carrying another massive financial advantage into the home stretch of his reelection rematch against Republican challenger Darren Bailey.

The self-funded Democratic incumbent reported nearly $23.8 million in campaign expenses from July through September, compared to about $941,000 shelled out by his Republican challenger’s political committee, according to quarterly finance reports filed this week with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

The 25-to-1 campaign cash disparity underscores the hurdles facing Bailey and a weakened Illinois Republican Party seeking to deny Pritzker a third term. […]

Bailey’s campaign raised $1.2 million and entered October with about $482,000 in the bank.

* Tribune…

Food delivery robots have become a constant in some parts of Chicago, where they are frequently seen wobbling down sidewalks with takeout orders. But two recently filed lawsuits allege that the robots are also collecting information on their travels.

Class-action lawsuits filed last week against food delivery robot companies Coco and Serve allege that the robot services scan the faces and hands of customers without their consent, using the biometric data to train the companies’ own AI models, and sharing the data with third parties. Both Serve and Coco Robotics deny the claims. […]

According to the complaints filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the extraction of biometric data from both users of the food delivery services and people the robots encounter on their path violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Enacted by the Illinois General Assembly in 2008, the act defines a biometric identifier as a retina or iris scan, a fingerprint, voiceprint, or a scan of hand or face geometry. The act requires that third parties inform individuals that they are being recorded and allow them to decide whether their biometric identifiers should be recorded, transmitted and used.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois Commerce Commission approves $81M Nicor rate hike: The rate increase, the result of a settlement agreement, is 63% less than the $220.8 million hike Nior proposed earlier last spring year. But the increase is $39 million short of the reduction consumer advocates were pushing for, claiming Nicor was attempting to line shareholder pockets at the expense of homeowners. The agreement will bump up gas bills around an average of $26 per year for the company’s residential 2.3 million customers. The agreement ensures residential monthly fixed charges are reduced from $21.30 to $15.

* Intelligencer | Marsie Geldert-Murphey outlines priorities in 56th District State Senate race: “We get it wrong when we focus on only one or two things. We do need property tax reform, but we also need to grow the tax base. … We need to grow a bigger pie instead of simply slicing the existing one differently. If we take something away, someone has to pay — schools, first responders, police, fire, parks, roads or infrastructure. Let’s grow a bigger pie, provide relief and create a greater tax base to draw from so we can improve quality of life for everyone.”

* Daily Southtown | Former Rep. Frances Hurley faces Republican Christine McGovern for 18th Senate: Republican Christine McGovern and former 35th District Rep. Frances Hurley face each other in a race to replace for former Sen. Bill Cunningham in the 18th District. Hurley, a Democrat, was the 35th District state representative for the from 2013 to 2023 before stepping down to serve on the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Hurley is endorsed the Illinois Nurses Association, Sheriffs of Illinois PAC and Illinois American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization, according to her campaign’s website.

*** Chicago ***

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson fundraising trails challengers, campaign report shows: Johnson raised $123,000 during the third quarter, which began on July 1 and ended Sept. 30, according to state campaign finance reports that were due Thursday night. That leaves him with $379,500 in his campaign coffers as of the end of last month, after he spent $374,800. […] The largest haul among mayoral hopefuls by far was Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’s $3 million raised in the last quarter, bringing his total cash on hand to $19.2 million after he spent $5.7 million.

* Tribune | How do the candidates for president of Chicago’s school board plan to boost student achievement?: As the Chicago school board elections creep closer and the city prepares to vote for its first fully elected school board on Nov. 3, the candidates for president — Hilario Dominguez, Jessica Biggs and Victor Henderson — have been vocal about how best to improve Chicago Public Schools. One issue in particular is student success: For younger kids, it’s boosting math and reading proficiency; for older kids, it’s raising high school graduation rates. The candidates agree that improved academic outcomes should be among the district’s top priorities. However, their paths to achieve those goals diverge.

* WTTW | Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, on Chicago Investments, Competitive Cities and a Corporate Head Tax: A 2020 investigation from WBEZ and City Bureau found that many banks disproportionately issued mortgage loans to majority-white neighborhoods, calling the practice “modern-day redlining.” Of the $7.5 billion JPMorgan Chase lent between 2012-2018, nearly 80% went to white neighborhoods while less than 2% went to majority-Black neighborhoods. “Those numbers are almost never right,” Dimon said. “Because they come with simplistic things, and different time scales. If we do something we’re not doing right, we look at it, admit it, fix it… All of our programs are meant to actually help people and citizens of America.” “We do a tremendous amount for the Black community — if you don’t believe me, call them all up. And we do it in veterans, and disabled. And in mortgages. We’re the largest affordable housing in this city, which probably benefits the Black community and all minorities quite a bit.”

* Block Club | Milly’s Pizza In The Pan Owner Opening Jake’s Place, A Thin-Crust Spot, In North Center: The pizza at Jake’s Place will be “the exact opposite of what we make at Milly’s” with a crust that’s crispy and “as thin as a cracker,” Maleski said. “I really want to challenge myself to see if I can hold my own with some of the best thin-crust pizza places in the city,” he said. “I want to keep growing as a pizza maker.” [From Isabel: Milly’s is top tier]

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Lake County News-Sun | Lake County treasurer race pits anti-Trump Republican, Democratic politican veteran: Democrat Holly Kim has been the Lake County treasurer since winning in 2018, part of a broader blue shift for Lake County in the last few decades. Kim unsuccessfully campaigned during the spring primary for Illinois comptroller. It’s likely an uphill battle for Peñaherrera; Hart’s political career and position on the County Board would give any candidate a solid foothold, and that is especially the case in a county that has seen countywide positions go to Democrats by steadily increasing margins during both midterm and general election seasons.

* Evanston Roundtable | Officials search for how to address vacant NU properties: At the meeting, Klein read from an email sent by Dave Davis, the university’s senior executive director for neighborhood and community relations, in response to the commission’s survey of the properties. But the citizens group — established by city code to promote an effective preservation program — is awaiting word from Northwestern about the vacancy status of several buildings, noted Carl Klein, commission chair, during brief discussion of the issue near the end of Wednesday’s regular meeting.

* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora eyes wage increases for unionized employees over next two years: The Aurora City Council Finance Committee on Thursday recommended approval of a measure that would give a group of unionized city of Aurora employees a 7% total wage increase over the next two years, if given final approved by the City Council. That’s a 4% increase for the 2025 pay period and a 3% raise for the 2026 pay period, said Michele Clark, Aurora’s chief human resources officer.

*** Downstate ***

* WGLT | One Earth Energy scales back carbon capture proposal in eastern McLean County: Steve Kelly, CEO of One Earth Energy, told attendees that after hearing comments at its previous meeting Sept. 16, his company has lowered the number of injection sites from three wells to one. He said the company would extend a five-mile pipeline west of the plant to the well. Among additional features, Kelly noted the new pipeline design shrinks the pipeline down from 16 inches to 8 inches in diameter.

* PJ Star | As Illinois phases out coal-fired plants, this operation is exempt: While Illinois is planning to eventually phase out coal-fired power plants across the state, the plant at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is exempt because of its small capacity. The Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which was passed in 2021, mandates the closure of large coal-fired commercial electric generating units with a capacity greater than 25 megawatts by January 2045. The SIUC Power Plant operates on a 3-megawatt generator.

* WCIA | Appellate court dismisses latest appeal from Sean Grayson’s lawyers; conviction upheld: Grayson’s attorneys filed a motion on Sept. 10 that asked an appellate court to vacate his conviction on a charge of second-degree murder. The motion came less than three weeks after the former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy died of cancer. Records from the Fourt District Appellate Court shows the state filed a motion to dismiss in response. David J. Robinson, chief deputy director of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, cited the facts that no appeals had been filed since May of 2026, and the fact that Grayson was dead.

* WGLT | Penalties in Bloomington’s draft data center regulations follow current city zoning rules: While the public reviews Bloomington’s draft regulations for data centers, there have been questions over what penalties a developer or operator would face if they didn’t comply with the city’s requirements after the data center is up and running. The proposed regulations separate data center projects into three categories: accessory, commercial and hyperscale.

*** National ***

* Axios | Trump’s MAGA allies openly discuss martial law: MAGA activists are pushing for President Trump to resort to extraordinary measures — including martial law — if they believe the midterm elections are “rigged.” […] On a Sept. 30 video call for MAGA election activists streamed on Rumble, speakers warned of widespread election security breaches they believe will occur in November — and urgently pushed for remedies.

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Krishnamoorthi calls for FBI hate crime probe after attempted mass shooting at Aurora temple

Friday, Oct 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* The Sun-Times…

In a manifesto, Alexandros Paporakis identified as “a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day,” according to court records.

Prosecutors say Paporakis, 19, spent two years planning a mass shooting and had been targeting a Hindu worship center in Aurora for two months.

But Sunday, when the day came to carry out the attack, Paporakis’ AR-style rifle jammed as Paporakis tried to shoot a man from a car, prosecutors said in a proffer.

Paporakis sent messages to a co-worker at a Taco Bell in Arlington Heights, saying the man was “certainly saved by his God today,” prosecutors said.

That co-worker and another employee called 911, and Paporakis was found in the parking lot of a Palatine apartment complex, prosecutors said. A search of Paporakis’ apartment uncovered a rifle, bullet magazines, 300 rounds of ammunition and a gas can, as well as Nazi ephemera, they said.

* US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and his family were at the temple Sunday. He joined other officials today to condemn the attempted attack. From his remarks…

Sunday, October 11th, was a beautiful fall day. It also happened to be the start of Navaratri, one of the most important holidays in the Hindu religion. Countless families visited the Balaji Temple in Aurora, Illinois, to celebrate the start of this festival. Included among those families was my own. My 80-year-old mother and 87-year-old father were singing Hindu bhajans and prayers. And myself and others were in attendance to watch them and to celebrate.

Little did we know that a 19-year-old shooter was in the parking lot with an AR-15 style weapon, as well as 300 rounds of ammunition in his car, waiting to commit a massacre, he took one shot at a passerby, and according to the police, his gun jammed. He then left the scene, returned home, and researched on the internet how to un-jam his weapon. He called a coworker to tell him what had happened, and that he was planning to go back to the temple to finish the job. The coworker then informed the police, and thanks to their speedy action on the part of the Palatine Police Department and the Mount Prospect Police Department, the shooter was arrested.

The shooter hated Indians, but his hate did not discriminate. According to court documents, the manifesto that he wrote described Indians, Jews, Black people, and other minorities as “subhuman.” He called himself “a sociopathic white supremacist neo-Nazi filled with hatred.” Hate toward minorities is not new in America. However, the explosive growth in hate toward Indian Americans is astonishing. According to a recent report, 50% of South Asian adults now report that they have actually experienced a race-related discriminatory action. This is not confined to in-person encounters. We see it on the internet and social media.

In fact, Bo French, a Republican statewide candidate for railroad commissioner in Texas, recently tweeted a photo of students of South Asian descent, mainly Indians and Pakistani kids, watching a Texas Longhorns football game, and said, “Foreigners were displacing Americans.” Of course, the vast majority of the people in that photo were people born in Texas. But his problem was not with their immigration status; it was the color of their skin.

I myself have been, I myself have experienced this too. A Florida elected official two weeks ago called for me to be deported, and said, “Take your curry and go home.” Our own government, the Trump administration, recently put out a tweet of a gentleman they called Mr. Singh, and said to Mr. Singh, who was wearing a turban, clearly a Sikh American, “deport yourself, or find out the consequences.” One week later, predictably, a man named Mr. Singh, a truck driver of Sikh descent, was stabbed 17 times at a truck stop in Wyoming.

So where do we go from here? I look back on Sunday. I don’t know how the shooter’s gun jammed. I don’t know how my family and others escaped. I don’t know how I happened to be there, but I believe that one purpose was so I could be here. I could speak out about hate, and that has become one of my life’s visions. So, what do we do about this?

First, babies are not born to hate. Children are not born to hate. They are taught to hate. This shooter was radicalized by his environment. He was radicalized by social. Social media, until he told a coworker, he “could not wait to kill Indians.”

Secondly, the anti-Indian hatred online and on social media has got to stop. According to a recent report, anti-South Asian social media posts have skyrocketed. They’ve they’ve grown by more than 240 percent. Big tech profits off this hate. Big tech will not police itself. We must police big tech. We must close the loopholes that allow them to be protected from the consequences of their actions. Third, public officials of all stripes must condemn this hate.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s directed at Indians or Muslims or Jews, or Sikhs, or Hindus. It doesn’t matter if it’s directed at blacks or Latinos or gays or women. We must stand in solidarity and speak with one voice. We must hate hate. Instead, unfortunately, we see silence from too many people, and worse, we see people fanning the flames. MAGA social influencers recently held a podcast, and the and the title of the podcast is “What to Do About the Quote Indian Question.” If that sounds Eerily similar to the “Jewish question,” it is the natural consequence of hateful rhetoric directed toward anybody is violence.

Fourth, I will be calling upon the FBI to investigate this shooting, this alleged mass shooting, as a hate crime. However, the FBI needs to do much more. They must finally measure. They must disaggregate the data and measure the hate directed toward individual subgroups, including Indians. They must also direct resources away from what I believe to be fruitless exercises, such as “uncovering election fraud,” toward the threat that exists in the homeland, and that is domestic violent extremism. Domestic violent extremism is on the rise, and I call upon Director Kash Patel. You must protect the American people against this domestic violent extremism directed toward numerous communities, including Indians, but not limited to them.

Finally, to Indians and Hindus, I say happy Navarati. I also say to you and to everybody else, whether you’re a Muslim, a Sikh, a Jew, a Christian of Indian descent, or any descent, be yourselves. Practice your beliefs. Practice your religion as you see fit. Because the attackers want us to change who we are and to change our behavior, but to do so would only be yielding to them and yielding to fear, and we will not do that.

* More…

Press release |Senator Seth Lewis Responds to Alleged Mass Shooting Attempt at Aurora Hindu Temple:

* ABC Chicago | Leaders call for federal charges in alleged shooting plot against Hindu temple in Aurora: More than a dozen local leaders hold a “stand against hate” rally Friday in the arrest of a man accused of plotting a mass shooting. The suspect in the plot, Alexandros Paporakis is from Palatine. Police said his focus was allegedly on a Hindu temple in Aurora.

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Pritzker optimistic on Bears, data center deals this fall, housing likely waits until January

Friday, Oct 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

* Tribune…

Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday cast doubt on his ambitious housing program passing in the short fall legislative session but indicated optimism about legislation to regulate data centers and support a new Bears stadium to be located in the suburbs or even stay in Chicago. […]

The governor’s housing package, which he’s called BUILD, or Building Up Illinois Developments, would broadly allow multifamily homes on many lots zoned for single-family residences. It stalled in the spring amid pushback from city and village leaders deeply concerned about four-flats or accessory dwelling units going up on quiet cul-de-sacs.

“I don’t know that we’ll see that,” Pritzker said, when asked whether the proposal could be considered during the veto session. “I do believe that you’re going to see that in the coming full session, starting in January.” […]

On data center regulation, Pritzker said disagreements remain over legislation under consideration but said he hoped such a bill could pass in the veto session.

* Pritzker’s full comments on data center regulation legislation…

Isabel: You said this week that you believe in November legislators will get something done to keep the Bears in Illinois. Do you believe a data center regulation bill will get done as well during veto?

Pritzker: That is certainly something I was disappointed we couldn’t get it done last spring through the legislature. It’s something that I believe in. There’s been a lot of negotiation and discussion over the summer and here in the early fall to make sure there is a bill for the November veto session.

Isabel: Are there any hangups that are still being worked out yet, or do you think it’s pretty much ready to go?

Pritzker: There’s still some items that are part of the bill that there’s disagreement about. I think in the end, as often happens with these complex pieces of legislation, there will be disagreement even up to the end. But I think there will be a common understanding that we need to get it done. And as I’ve said, we shouldn’t build new data centers in Illinois if we don’t have those data center companies bringing their own clean energy, helping our communities to keep their bills down.

Please pardon any transcription errors.

* The governor was also asked about legislation to keep the Bears in Illinois…

Reporter: Is this just a sort of an election, pre-election sort of promise? To say we’re going to have something in December in the city or Arlington Heights, and then the Bears are like, ‘no, no, no, we’re not talking about the city.’ Why are you bringing up the city again?

Pritzker: No, the legislation that is being discussed now would give the option for the possibility that there would be a stadium built in the city or in Arlington Heights, and that’s a decision that the Bears get to make. They’re a private company, and that way they have the option. We want to keep them in the state of Illinois. If we give them those two options, I think that would be satisfactory.

Reporter: Any new site in the city that’s being talked about?

Pritzker: I don’t get to pick the site. I mean, we already know, I think what the site would be in Arlington Heights because the Bears already own a site there. But you’ve seen there are lots of things that have been proposed for the city. And again, I know that people in the city, developers, mayor, others have ideas about where it could be, and they are having conversations with the Bears. In the end, this is up to the Bears where they want to put.

Reporter: Any meeting since that October 1 meeting with Mr. Goodell? Have you had any post meeting even by phone?

Pritzker: Not comprehensive. I would call them executive meetings. The way that one was, lots of conversation.

Thoughts?

* More…

Crain’s | Pritzker: Chicago’s in the mix as Bears stadium deal takes shape in Springfield:

* NBC Chicago | Pritzker expresses confidence Bears’ stadium will be built in Illinois: The upcoming veto session in Springfield will take place after the election and will end on December 3, and the expectation is that a deal for a Bears stadium project in Illinois would have to come together before the end of that session in order to prevent the team from departing to Indiana. Ernie Rose, who represents Touchdown Arlington, a grassroots group of business owners interested in bringing the Bears to Arlington Heights, says the inclusion of language that could open the door for Chicago as a Bears stadium option could be crucial in attracting support of skeptical lawmakers who didn’t want to pave the way for the team to move only to the suburbs.

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Isabel’s morning briefing

Friday, Oct 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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

* 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.

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Good morning!

Friday, Oct 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

*Bôa…

* This is an open thread…

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Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition

Friday, Oct 16, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller

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