* ICYMI: Nuclear power, battery storage funding at center of energy policy debate. Capitol News Illinois…

- After twice failing to pass an energy reform package this year, lawmakers and renewable energy advocates are aiming to reach a deal in time for a brief legislative session in October.
- “This is still a work in progress,” Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Caledonia, said at a Thursday subject matter hearing on the bill. “Should the bills come back before the Senate, we will have another subject matter on the legislation or we could craft a different proposal in another bill.”
- Stadelman, who chairs the Senate Energy and Public Utilities, noted at the end of that hearing a final package could come “this fall or next spring.” He also said the committee will hold another hearing in early October.

* Related stories…

• CNI: As Illinois energy bill continues to take shape, a key Senate architect plans to retire
• WMBD: Illinois lawmakers reveal their solutions to the energy crisis
• IPM News: Local lawmakers addressed rising energy costs and social service cuts at a joint town hall in Champaign

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. 

* Sun-Times | Protesters clash with agents at Broadview ICE facility as official denies its closure: In a statement to the Sun-Times on Sunday afternoon, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Broadview facility wouldn’t be closing, but she didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether operations there would be changing in response to the protests. McLaughlin also confirmed 16 protesters in total had been arrested at the Broadview facility this month. A state official told the Sun-Times that Broadview police and Cook County sheriff’s haven’t asked the Illinois State Police for help despite DHS claims to the contrary. Matt Hill, a spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker denied the state has received multiple calls for assistance and said the Trump administration shouldn’t be trusted “given their record of lies, lack of transparency, and failure to coordinate with the state and local law enforcement.”

* Tribune | Brace for impact: Tax hikes loom for South, West side homeowners: Thomas saw a nearly 60% increase in his assessment, but it could have been a lot worse, given what’s happening to many of his neighbors. More than 37,000 residential properties on the South and West sides saw their tax assessments more than double between 2023 and 2024. In parts of Englewood, Roseland and just east of Thomas in North Lawndale, the median homeowner saw their valuation increase between 119% and 160% — far more sharply than anywhere else in the city, according to the Illinois Answers and Tribune analysis.

* WJBD | State Representative Blaine Wilhour running for another term: 110th District State Representative Blaine Wilhour will be running for re-election next year. Wilhour made the announcement while participating in the Marion County Republican Party’s petition signing event in Salem Wednesday afternoon.

* Press release | AG Raoul wins court order protecting SNAP recipients’ sensitive information: In a lawsuit brought by Raoul and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general and the state of Kentucky, the District Court for the Northern District of California ordered a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from enforcing its demands that states turn over the personal information of all SNAP applicants and recipients. “I join others in our coalition in applauding the court in this decision, which ensures SNAP recipients can receive the benefits they rely on without the concern of their private personal information being involuntarily shared outside the program,” Raoul said. “SNAP provides access to food for millions of Illinois families while also supporting thousands of local grocers, farmers’ markets, and other merchants who are critical to states’ economies, and I will continue to protect their privacy.”

* Democrat Nick Uniejewski is running against Sen. Sara Feigenholtz in the 6th District. Press release…

Carbondale City Councilmember Clare Killman announced her endorsement of Nick Uniejewski for State Senate in Illinois’ 6th District, citing his record of coalition building, leadership, and bold policy ideas as what Illinois needs right now—especially on housing.

“Nick Uniejewski is already doing the work of a state leader,” said Killman. “He doesn’t just talk policy; he brings people together to make it happen. On housing especially, Nick understands the only way to win real change is through collaboration, and that’s exactly the kind of coalition builder we need in Springfield.”

* Tribune | A culture at risk: Chicago’s street vendors quietly disappear from familiar corners during ICE surge: On Sept. 7, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a flower peddler with no known criminal record. Concerned bystanders recorded his arrest and the video went viral. He was deported a few days later. Five days later, images of federal immigration agents arresting two palateros selling popsicles in Mount Prospect circulated on Facebook, garnering hundreds of comments. Many of them said they had bought a popsicle from the vendors a day ago, or that buying from those paleteros had been a long-standing tradition for families in that neighborhood.

* An update on Paul Vallas’s lawsuit alleging a consultant defrauded his failed mayoral bid in Chicago. People’s Fabric…

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools rebuffs Trump administration’s threat to cut magnet school funding over diversity efforts: A letter sent by CPS’ Acting General Counsel Elizabeth K. Barton called the department’s demands outlined in a letter the Trump administration sent Tuesday as “unreasonable and untenable” and requested 30 days to respond. Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary of civil rights in the U.S. Department of Education, said his office found CPS violated anti-discrimination laws and would lose grant dollars through the Magnet School Assistance Program. But Barton wrote back that the district’s “policies and practices are prescribed by state and local law, and CPS remains in compliance with those laws.”

* Crain’s | Inside the UIC medical simulation preparing students for health care realities: Actors behind two-way mirrors voice the patient’s symptoms, complaints and reactions, as students take turns with exams and consulting with colleagues, or with actors playing doctors or nurses in on the consultations. The institute has five bays with mannequins, as well as more available in simulated operating rooms.

* Tribune | ‘This guy was scary’: Ex-Chicago cop, Outfit hitman Steve Mandell dies in prison: While never one of Chicago’s more high-profile mob figures, Mandell, who once went by the name Steven Manning, has a story that’s unique even in the city’s heavily chronicled underworld. Not only was he the first former law enforcement officer to ever be sentenced to Illinois’ Death Row, he later became a celebrated exoneree and won a landmark $6.5 million judgment against the FBI for framing him — only to have the judge reverse the jury’s award.

* Tribune | Fifty years ago, Richard J. Daley sought an early remap of congressional districts – and lost: In 1975, the next scheduled reassessment of Illinois’ congressional districts was still five years away. But Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley didn’t want to wait. The way the mayor saw it, the existing map was harming his beloved Chicago and keeping his political organization from expanding its influence into the suburbs. So he had a friendly state legislator propose a new map, years before the next federal census would normally trigger the process.

* Block Club | Swimmers Return To Chicago River For 1st Time In A Century, Marking Waterway’s Dramatic Transformation: But today, the Chicago River is cleaner than it was decades ago, and Sunday marked the first time an open-water swim has been held in the river since 1926. Organized by nonprofit A Long Swim, the event celebrated the city’s progress toward cleaning the river while raising money for ALS research and youth swim education programs. For Olivia Smoliga, a two-time Olympian from suburban Glenview, the opportunity was too historic to pass up. After finishing her one-mile race in first place, she felt ecstatic to be part of history.

* Tribune | Oath Keepers’ founder convicted as part of Jan. 6 riot to speak to GOP-tied group, creating conflict in Geneva: Rhodes’ event is part of a series of talks, titled “Pints & Politics,” sponsored by the Geneva-based Three Headed Eagle Alliance, a group headed by a member of the Illinois GOP State Central Committee. […] While Rhodes indeed did not enter the U.S. Capitol with the mob of Trump supporters who sought to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, a federal jury convicted the Army veteran and Yale Law School graduate of seditious conspiracy and other crimes for his role in fomenting and preparing for the violence in Washington.

* Daily Herald | Schools, advocates work to reassure parents, students amid growing fears over ICE raids: At West Chicago Elementary District 33, school principals reported buses were running half full on Tuesday, Superintendent Kristina Davis said. “And we had between 15% to 25% absenteeism, which is very much out of the normal for us,” Davis said. “My understanding from the principals was that the primary reason for many was fear of leaving their homes.”

* Daily Southtown | Will County OKs addiction recovery center at horse farm in Crete Township: The program will serve up to 14 men. The foundation intends to keep one single bedroom unoccupied to offer a short-term refuge for anyone who may come to them in crisis, documents indicated. There is no set departure date unlike most recovery programs, but many men are anticipated to stay at the facility and work the farm for anywhere from six to 18 months, attorney Nathaniel Washburn said. The longest a person stayed at a similar recovery facility was 20 months, he said. “Everybody’s recovery journey is different,” he said.

* WGLT | Bloomington and Normal claim McLean County has defaulted on shared sales tax agreement: Now, according to documents WGLT obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the town and city have formally accused the county of defaulting on the decade-old intergovernmental agreement on use of the shared revenue. “Given the historical lack of transparency and critical concerns, which are only exacerbated by recent reports and information now coming to light, the City and Town have exhausted efforts to address these concerns. The Town and City have a strong interest in ensuring the Pledged Revenue is used effectively and appropriately as intended by the IGA and therefore must insist the County cure these defaults without further delay,” wrote Bloomington City Managers Jeff Jurgens and Normal City Manager Pam Reece on Sept. 11 in the notice of default.

* WGLT | Bloomington to consider adding local grocery tax and more gambling licenses: However, Bloomington also has been laboring under a structural deficit, and the city now says such a tax would prevent the loss of $1.5 million in revenue it gets from the state version of the tax. “We know no one likes taxes, and we do not make this recommendation lightly. But maintaining this modest 1% tax allows us to protect services and move forward with investments that strengthen our entire community,” City Manager Jeff Jurgens said in a statement. “Without this revenue, we would be looking at deeper cuts to services and no ability to address major projects.”

* WCIA | Urbana’s Sola Gratia planting roots, growing for the future: More than 80 volunteers planted over 400 fruit and nut trees in Urbana over the weekend. The project took place at Sola Gratia farm on Saturday. Organizers said it was for their edible windbreak project — which they hope will serve multiple different purposes. Sola Gratia plans for the trees to protect crops from the wind, produce food for multiple generations, serve as a wildlife habitat, aid with soil and water conservation, and help to absorb carbon.

* IPM Newsroom | ‘Quite remarkable’: The Farm Aid benefit concert, which started in Champaign, celebrates 40 years: The first show included performances from Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Loretta Lyn and many more. Jennifer Fahy, the current Farm Aid co-executive director, said the three had no idea they were founding a legacy. “Willie was very aware of [the farm crisis] from his background, growing up in agricultural areas of Texas, and also from traveling the country, as he does to this day, even at the age of 92,” Fahy said.

* BND | Southern IL road closes to allow 20-plus snake species to cross: The snakes spend the winter in limestone cliffs that overlook the road, and many of them summer in LaRue Swamp across the road. Some likely go farther, possibly down to a nearby river, Vukovich said, but more research is needed to know exactly how far and where the snakes are traveling.

* NBC | Pentagon places further restrictions on journalists’ access: Journalists who cover the Defense Department at the Pentagon can no longer gather or report information, even if it is unclassified, unless it’s been authorized for release by the government, defense officials announced Friday. Reporters who don’t sign a statement agreeing to the new rules will have their press credentials revoked, officials said.

* AP | Kennedy’s vaccine advisers change COVID shot guidance, calling them an individual choice: In a series of votes Friday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step of not recommending them even for high-risk populations like seniors. Instead they decided people could make individual decisions after talking with a doctor, nurse or pharmacist. The panel also urged the CDC to adopt stronger language around claims of vaccine risks, despite pushback from outside medical groups who said the shots had a proven safety record from the billions of doses administered worldwide.