* ICYMI: Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia won’t seek reelection, leaves seat for chief of staff in move panned as ‘coronation’. Sun-Times…

- U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia will not seek reelection — leaving in place a succession plan for his chief of staff, Patty Garcia.
- Two sources confirmed Garcia’s plan to step down. Garcia is expected to pull his petitions.
- Patty Garcia, no relation to the congressman, became his chief of staff in 2023 after serving as his district director since 2019.

* Related stories…

• NBC Chicago: US Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García will not run for reelection: Report
• Politico: Chuy García is suddenly on retirement watch
• Tribune: US Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García not running for reelection, source says, as last candidates file for 2026 campaigns

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Illinois sues over rule change in forgiving federal public service student loans: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 21 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over changes to the way public servants have their student loans forgiven. The U.S. Education Department issued a new rule Friday threatening to deem employers, including state governments, as having “substantial illegal purpose,” and revoking them from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. According to the lawsuit, the Trump administration is going after its usual targets in organizations that “support for immigrants, gender affirming care, DEI initiatives, and political protest.” The loan forgiveness program would wipe out student loans for anyone working an eligible job in public service after they had made 120 monthly loan payments at said job, which would take 10 years.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Johnson scores win in legal battle with Trump over frozen federal funds: In a ruling handed down Friday, a federal judge granted the city’s motion for a preliminary injunction challenging the decision by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to terminate a program created to reimburse cities for costs tied to the care and feeding of migrants.

* WGLT | Bloomington Township considers emergency relief for those facing SNAP cuts: Township supervisor Deb Skillrud said the program would provide temporary help to hundreds of families,who would be able to get between $200 and $500 per month — depending on the number of family members — for as long as funding is available. “We have a reserve that could help in some capacity, certainly not as great as the federal government could, but we want to do what we can to help those residents of the City of Bloomington get a little relief,” Skillrud said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.

*** Statewide ***

* ABC Chicago | IL Speaker Welch talks immigration, transit bills on way to Gov. Pritzker: On the transportation bill that funds public transit, Welch said, “I think it is going to be transformative. I think what you are going to see is reliability is going to be improved safety is going to be improved and because of that, you are going to see so many more passengers are going to be coming back to riding our transit system. There’s going to be better coordination, better collaboration.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* NBC | SNAP contingency fund ‘isn’t enough,’ says Illinois Gov. Pritzker: NBC News Correspondent Maggie Vespa joins Meet the Press NOW fresh off her interview with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) where he reacts to the Trump administration’s decision to tap into contingency funds to partially pay for SNAP benefits after two court rulings order the administration to keep the program funded.

* Capitol News Illinois | Bill to regulate homeowners’ insurance rates fails on final day of veto session: The amendments passed through the Senate on Thursday afternoon on a vote of 41-15. But a subsequent vote in the House to concur with those amendments fell four votes short of the 60 needed for passage. Six House Democrats were recorded as voting “present.” […] Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Frankfort, the chief sponsor of the insurance bill, said he plans to reintroduce the bill in the 2026 session. He attributed its defeat in the veto session to last-minute lobbying by the insurance industry.

* Tribune | Hundreds gather in rural Illinois to remember lives of Darren Bailey’s son, family killed in helicopter crash: A former Illinois state senator and state representative from rural Clay County, near Louisville and Flora, Darren Bailey was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022 before losing by about 13 percentage points to Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. Bailey’s rural, evangelical Christian-rooted campaign and his allegiance to President Donald Trump clashed with Chicago and suburban voters, as Trump lost blue-leaning Illinois in three straight presidential elections. But Pritzker and his wife, MK, attended the Bailey family’s wake in Clay County on Sunday, according to both the Bailey and Pritzker campaigns. One of Bailey’s rivals for the GOP nominee for governor, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, attended the Monday services.

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | Chicago Restaurants Offering Free, Discounted Meals During SNAP Freeze: CheSa’s Bistro and Bar, 3235 W. Addison St., will provide free meals 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays. Kale My Name, 3300 W. Montrose Ave., is offering free full meals to anyone in need 3-5 p.m. daily. Lou Malnati’s is giving out $10 coupons through Nov. 16 to people who are food insecure through a joint program with the Lawndale Community Church, according to a news release.

* NBC Chicago | Former DCASE commissioner resigned after HR investigation, harassment allegations: Through a Freedom of Information Act request, NBC 5 Investigates uncovered allegations of sexual harassment, harassment based on age, race and ethnicity, and more. Clinée Hedspeth’s year and a half as the leader of Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, or DCASE, was marked by turmoil. Public records show during her tenure, 29 employees left the department, including seven deputy commissioners. In April, NBC Chicago reported on the letter from more than 100 local artists concerned about her leadership. Heavily redacted documents show in September, the Chicago Department of Human Resources, or DHR, found Hedspeth violated the city’s Equal Employment Opportunity Policy. She resigned Oct. 6, less than two weeks later.

* Sun-Times | CTA logs 14,000 smoking complaints in 14 months: The Red Line, the busiest CTA line, leads the system in smoking complaints. There were nearly 5,500 complaints about smoking by email and chatbot over the same period, according to the data. In that same period, Blue Line riders filed nearly 3,500 smoking complaints while Green Line riders filed nearly 1,800 . Riders filed the most smoking complaints at the peak of afternoon commuting hours between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to an hourly analysis conducted by the Sun-Times.

* Crain’s | As Kanye West’s real estate empire crumbles, he’s behind on taxes for his childhood home: The amount owed to Cook County on the modest house on South Shore Drive is minute by comparison to the reported $78 million combined value of Ye’s lavish properties, several of which reportedly are lying in ruin. Even so, it suggests the South Shore property, which Ye bought to save from demolition, may be receiving as little attention as those. The Cook County Treasurer’s records show the property tax bill of about $1,514 that was due March 4 has not been paid. The second installment bill, which would have been a slightly higher amount and would have been due Aug. 1, has not been mailed because of a county-wide delay that Cook County officials blame on a difficult technology transition.

* WBEZ | Sanders BBQ has gone from Beverly destination to national stunner in just 17 months. Next stop: Hyde Park: Lines snaking down 99th Street have been a fixture for months at this counter-service barbecue joint, where unctuous oxtails exhale aromas of hardwood smoke and peppered, toothsome brisket gives at the mere sight of a fork. Wait times have no doubt climbed since September, when The New York Times named Sanders BBQ one of the 50 best restaurants in the country, alongside Mexican fine-dining restaurant Cariño.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Parks activist who defeated Lucas museum among latest Cook County candidates to file Monday: Juanita Irizarry, who headed the parks advocacy group from 2015 to 2023, was among the final candidates to submit nominating petitions at the Cook County Clerk’s office Monday for the March 17, 2026, primary election. Irizarry, of Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, is set to face incumbent Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas, of Chicago’s McKinley Park, in the Democratic primary for the board’s 1st District — an area that covers much of the Northwest suburbs. The three-member quasi-judicial panel reviews appeals brought by property owners who receive higher valuations set by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi.

* Daily Herald | Five contested Lake County Board primary races emerge from candidate filing week: Five contested primaries for Lake County Board are currently expected to appear on March 17 primary ballots — four for Democrats and one between Republicans. There also is a contested Democratic primary for Ward 3 of the North Shore Water Reclamation District between Beverly Sugar Young and Jose A. Guzman.

* Daily Herald | Palatine council hears proposal for welcoming ordinance, chief explains officer’s encounter with ICE: Resident Justin O’Rourke proposed an ordinance that would prevent village property and resources from being used for federal immigration enforcement. It would also prevent collecting, reporting and sharing information regarding immigration status with federal agencies unless required by law.

* Sun-Times | Broadview village board meeting cut short as anti-ICE protesters confront mayor: Broadview public works director Matthew Ames defended Thompson and Broadview police while calling some protesters “agitators.” Another speaker said protesters were “against America.” Some protesters heckled or made comments under their breath, and tensions rose in the room at times. After public comment ended, Thompson addressed some of the commenters’ concerns, saying the aid tent had become unruly and protesters had stocked it with furniture and propane tanks. While pictures of the tent were shown on a projector, protesters shouted that the tent held bottles of water and lawn chairs.

* Daily Herald | ‘Built with love’: New school building for blind, deaf students takes flight: From a sensory “egg chair,” to a tactile clue that lets blind students identify their classrooms, to separate floors for learning and living, the Philip J. Rock Center and School has arrived. State leaders, advocates and students celebrated the opening of a new facility in Glen Ellyn for children who are both deaf and blind or have a combination of visual and auditory impairments on Monday.

* Daily Southtown | Work on Amazon tax incentives fuel raises for Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa, staff: Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa’s salary is set to steadily increase over the next four years, along with the salaries of several Markham employees, at least partially due to their work on a tax increment financing district involving the town’s Amazon facility. Agpawa’s 2025 salary, is slated to reach $191,227 by Markham’s 2028 fiscal year, which begins in May 2027. The Markham city treasurer and city clerk’s salaries will increase from $45,000 in the 2025 fiscal year to $49,173 in 2028. These salaries started at $32,000 in 2021 and steadily increased over four years under a 2020 ordinance.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | Trial for EMTs charged in Earl Moore Jr.’s death delayed to May 11: The trial for two emergency medical technicians charged in the death of Earl Moore Jr. has been rescheduled to May 11. Originally set to begin on Dec. 1, the trial’s postponement was announced without further details on the reasons for the delay.

* IPM News | Conservation land trust in Coles County to expand: In a news release, Grand Prairie Friends announced the purchase of Warbler Bend, which includes 110 acres along the Embarras River in Coles County. This purchase expands the conservation land trust’s existing Warbler Ridge Conservation Area, now totaling almost 1,400 acres. Warbler Bend is GPF’s second property north of Highway 130, joining Warbler Bluff, located on Harrison St. Road.

* WSIL | SIU’s Carbondale iron pour event offers hands-on art experience: The Southern Illinois University Sculpture Program is hosting its annual Fall Iron Pour Event on November 8, 2025, at the Art Foundry in Carbondale. The event will run from noon to 5 p.m., offering attendees a unique opportunity to witness the iron casting process. Visitors can watch as molten metal is poured into molds and transformed into artworks.

* BND | With downtown partnership, Belleville’s underground art venue gets new life: The DIY community space that once brought underground artists to a former Belleville convent was shuttered last year after city zoning officials accused proprietors of using the space as an unauthorized music venue. But as of Halloween this year, the retreat for independent artists has returned. The proprietors hope to partner with local businesses to bring underground and unique talent to Belleville.

*** National ***

* AP | Stability AI largely wins UK court battle against Getty Images over copyright and trademark: According to a judge’s ruling released Tuesday, Getty narrowly won its argument that Stability had infringed its trademark, but lost its claim for secondary infringement of copyright. Both sides claimed victory. “This is a significant win for intellectual property owners,” Getty Images said in a statement.

* LA Times | Airport delays worsen in Southern California, with growing fears of holiday travel meltdown: Airport interruptions have been largely sporadic. But this weekend was the worst for air traffic control staffing since the shutdown began last month. The Federal Aviation Administration reported Friday that a “surge in callouts” among air traffic controllers had left at least half of the 30 busiest airports across the country understaffed, leading to widespread delays.