* Inside Climate News…

On Sept. 13, Decatur, Illinois, city councilperson David Horn found out a monitoring well at a carbon capture and storage site in his community was leaking. He did not find out through an internal council meeting, nor an emergency phone call from the city manager or an alert from environmental regulators. He found out like most other people did, through an article in E&E News.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) wells are a relatively new addition to the American carbon storage gamut. The well that leaked in Decatur was located at a plant owned by Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), a massive grain processing corporation, where wells store carbon dioxide emissions from the ADM ethanol plant deep underground. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, these projects, known as Class VI wells, involve companies injecting CO2, in the form of a supercritical fluid, into bedrock for “long-term storage.”

In August, the EPA issued ADM a notice of violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. They noted that ADM “failed to meet the requirements of the Permit and the [Underground Injection Control] regulations” due to the movement of “formation fluids into unauthorized zones,” a failure to follow their emergency plan and a failure to monitor the well.

On Sept. 27, ADM notified EPA that they would be temporarily pausing CO2 injections after discovering a potential brine fluid leak in their second monitoring well. [….]

In Decatur, Horn and other residents have questions about their right to know when things are going wrong.

“Between the CO2 leak that was detected by ADM in March and this fluid anomaly that has been detected in another monitoring well, combined with a lack of timely reporting, this raises questions about whether carbon sequestration is ready to be scaled up at a level that it is being proposed to be scaled up here in Central Illinois,” Horn said. “What is the mitigation strategy? We should probably have answers to that question before we embark on this scaling up of this relatively new technology and make sure that our critical assets are protected.”

* AP…

A federal report on a tanker-truck crash a year ago in central Illinois that spilled a toxic chemical and killed five people includes an interview with a 17-year-old Ohio girl who concedes that the truck was forced off the road when she passed it with the minivan she was driving.

The tanker slowed and pulled to the right to allow the minivan to get back in the right-hand lane and avoid a head-on collision with oncoming traffic on the two-lane U.S. 40 in Teutopolis on Sept. 29, 2023, according to dash-cam video from the truck also released late Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

“Oh, (expletive). Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Yep, totally my bad. Wow. Holy (expletive),” the girl said while watching the video from the ill-fated truck during an Oct. 4, 2023, Illinois State Police interview. […]

Five people died as a result, including three family members who were near the road when the incident occurred. About 500 people were evacuated for hours after the accident to spare them exposure to the hazardous plume from the chemical used by farmers to add nitrogen fertilizer to the soil and in large buildings as a refrigerant. […]

She said that before the family’s return trip to Ohio, when her mother was reading aloud news accounts of the crash, she had no idea it had happened.

* Sierra Club Illinois…

Today, Sierra Club Illinois announced its endorsements in the November general election for Illinois General Assembly. Sierra Club’s full list of current general election endorsements can be found here, and more may be added soon.

“Thanks to champions in the Illinois House and Senate, the Prairie State is now on the path to a 100% clean energy future, and we are seeing good jobs created across our state as workers build these new technologies,” said Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin. “We are proud to recommend these leaders who will keep us on course for our clean energy goals, fight for environmental justice, provide clean and equitable transportation for all, hold gas companies accountable for rate hikes and indoor air pollution, and ensure every Illinoisan has access to nature and clean and safe drinking water.”

Sierra Club is running a mail and field program grounded in traditional grassroots and community organizing tactics to activate the organization’s nearly 30,000 members and supporters across the state in support of these candidates. This includes seven paid organizers working in key races, Days of Action canvassing for candidates organized by both staff and volunteers, targeted mail to swing voters in key districts, and intensive voter turnout efforts in the days before November 5th.

“We know that electing climate champions and passing strong environmental policies doesn’t happen without people.” said Sierra Club Illinois Organizing Director Caroline Wooten. “That’s why our staff and volunteers are hard at work talking to their neighbors about the importance of voting for the planet and our communities. Already, Sierra Club staff and volunteers have reached out to more than 5000 voters via door knocking, phone banking, and letter writing. We’ve had conversations with more than 1000 people, and secured more than 500 yes votes for our endorsed candidates in the first few weeks of this electoral work. In local races like these, this outreach can be the difference between getting a climate champion in office vs a climate denier. As we watch year after year, communities struggle with the impacts of extreme weather, we know that we must continue to demand climate action from all levels of government, and we need to do our part to make sure we have elected officials in office who’ll be responsive to those demands.”

* Governor Pritzker…

Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and local leaders today to announce 11 awards totaling $7.9 million through the Illinois Grocery Initiative New Stores ($6.9 million) and Equipment Upgrades Grant Programs ($1 million) to address food deserts and prevent grocery store closures in Illinois. Additionally, the Governor announced $11 million available in grant funding for the second round of the New Stores in Food Deserts Program. Grantees will be selected through a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process. […]

The New Stores in Food Deserts Program awards will support the establishment of new grocery stores in USDA-defined food deserts. These grants will fund construction and renovation costs for new stores, as well as many first-year operations costs, such as employee wages, utility costs, initial inventory of food, and more. […]

Through the Equipment Upgrades Program, grants will provide funding for energy-efficient equipment upgrades for existing grocery stores, with priority given to those located in food insecure communities across the state. This program is designed to strengthen existing grocery stores and preserve access to fresh food in food insecure communities, in an effort to stop the formation of new food deserts. […]

Launching today, the second round of the Illinois Grocery Initiative New Stores in Food Deserts Grant Program will build upon the State’s efforts to encourage the establishment of new grocery stores in USDA-defined food deserts.

Requirements for grocery locations include:

- Must be located in a food desert,
- Must earn less than 30% of revenue from alcohol and tobacco sales,
- Must accept SNAP and WIC, and
- Must contribute to diversity of fresh foods available in community.

* Sun-Times | New tech lets state police warn drivers to move over ahead of emergency scenes: “This technology integrates seamlessly with traffic apps that drivers are already using to give straightforward alerts to adjust motorist behavior — warnings that have shown to be invaluable in protecting our motorists and making our roadways safer for everyone,” Pritzker said. It’s all to prevent drivers from breaking “Scott’s Law,” which requires drivers to slow down and move over when a law enforcement or emergency responder vehicle is pulled over on the side of the road.

* WBEZ | University of Chicago says a CPS mentoring program drastically reduces arrests for violent crime: A study released today by the University of Chicago Crime Lab indicates the program, which focuses on students in danger of disconnecting from school, is having a positive impact on many of the young people who participate, including reducing the likelihood they’ll be arrested. The University of Chicago developed the program, along with Brightpoint and Youth Advocate Programs, with the goal of reducing gun violence among young people. According to the Crime Lab, participants in the program are 39 percent less likely to be arrested for a violent crime within 24 months after completion, compared to youth not offered the program.

* Block Club | Pilsen TIF Expansion Plan Delayed Again: The proposal was expected to be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting of City Council’s finance committee after being pushed back during last month’s meeting, according to a statement from Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez’s (25th) office. But the proposed ordinance was not on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting. The proposal has exposed deep divisions among neighbors, with some worrying an expanded TIF in Pilsen will lead to more gentrification and longtime families will be pushed out — while its supporters say the measure would help homeowners stay in the neighborhood.

* Block Club | United Center Campus Project Moves Forward As Owners Outline Music Hall, Apartments And Park Plans: “It’s a chance for our ownership groups to create something more than just going to the United Center for a game. It’s a chance to transform the neighborhood,” Reinsdorf told a crowd of more than 100. “It’s not an entertainment district. It’s going to be something dynamic, something in the West Side that they haven’t had in a long time.”

* Crain’s | All Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago, mapped: Michelin’s coveted stars are considered the crown jewels of the restaurant industry. Promising new restaurants vie to earn the honors while already-starred spots work tirelessly to keep their claims. Twenty Chicago restaurants earned at least one star at the Michelin awards in 2023, though the tally has since dropped to 19 with the closing of one-star Temporis.

* Borderless Mag | From The Garage To The Drive-In: Preserving Lowrider Culture In Chicago: On Pilsen’s industrial edge, about 300 people from several car clubs pull up in their lowriders to the drive-in theater, ChiTown Movies. The vibrant paint on classic Chevys, Cadillacs and Lincolns brightens the dusty, dead-end street next to the Chicago River. Some drivers activate their lowriders’ hydraulics, sending the classic cars bouncing up and down as they make an entrance. Meanwhile, friends, family, and members of the Amistad Car Club hand out goodie bags and greet guests for one of the last big Chicago lowrider meetups of the season: “Ranflas At the Drive-In.”

* Sun-Times | 76-year-old woman completes walk from Chicago to Alabama for racial equity: Zola will share Joyce and others’ stories in her one-woman show, “Late: A Love Story,” on Saturday at Theatre Y in North Lawndale. In the production, Zola advocates for racial equity by centering the lived experiences of Black Americans, while acknowledging her own missteps as a white woman, now 76.

* Daily Herald | Residents protest as Mount Prospect, feed producer near settlement: Fed up with odors from a Mount Prospect animal feed company, Prestige Feed Products’ neighbors descended upon the site this week to protest. Meanwhile, the village of Mount Prospect will be back in court Friday to discuss terms of a settlement to the litigation it’s been locked in with Prestige since last year.

* Daily Herald | Once hampered by pandemic, debt-heavy Rosemont gets credit rating upgrade: The rating increase of two notches — from ‘BBB’ to ‘A-’ — reflects “the village’s return to structural budgetary balance, supported by economic conditions and sensitive revenue performance that have improved following an abrupt decline at the height of the pandemic,” said Emma Drilias, a credit analyst at S&P Global Ratings.

* Shaw Local | Ex-McHenry County prosecutor loses law license for 1 year after ‘false statements’ about job history: A former McHenry County prosecutor fired in 2019 for embellishing information about his work history has now had his law license suspended stemming from the same “false statements,” according to the Attorney Registration and Discipline Commission. […] His fabrications during interviews for the first chair position included that he had “tried dozens of cases,” according to the ARDC’s findings. He “falsely represented that he had prosecuted significant cases, including narcotics cases, termination of parental rights cases and a DUI case that involved five deaths,” according to the ARDC report.

* SJ-R | Who is donating to which Springfield-area candidates? We break down the data: Election Day is five weeks away which means local congressional and Illinois General Assembly candidates up and down the ballot are ramping up their campaigns. Aiding in those efforts are donations to fuel candidates through the finish line on Nov. 5. Voters in Sangamon County will see four contested races — one congressional seat and three Illinois House races — that have already seen millions of contributions pour in collectively.

* Herald-Review | Neighborhood revitalization initiatives to continue in ‘lesser amount,’ Gleason says: Weeks before he introduces his 2025 city budget proposal, [Decatur] City Manager Tim Gleason acknowledged that neighborhood revitalization initiatives, such as the demolition of dilapidated homes, are likely to be reduced next year as one-time federal COVID-19 relief funds dry up. “We’re at that point now to where the community needs to realize that, while that has to continue, it is not going to continue at the pace that it has been because we don’t have that revenue stream anymore,” Gleason said.

* SJ-R | Illinois woman sentenced to probation, must pay $600K in restitution for stealing from YMCA: Lori Zeitler, 65, pleaded guilty to stealing at least $292,336.29 from the Taylorville YMCA. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of Illinois, Zeitler was responsible for $600,000 in losses. Zeitler’s theft was discovered when the YMCA switched to an internet-based accounting software, the release stated.

* WCIA | Rantoul fields used by Illini football, military may soon be up for sale: Since the team moved back to campus there has been little use for the space, and they spend about $50,000 dollars annually on upkeep. “Our goal is to be able to provide for our community,” Scott said. “And right now, we’re spending a lot of money caring for a property that isn’t being used. And we need to change that. You know this, in my opinion, it is a tremendous opportunity to improve the quality of the parks in Rantoul.”

* WaPo | Biden student loan forgiveness may proceed after small win in lawsuit: The ruling, issued late Wednesday by U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall in Georgia, stems from a lawsuit filed in September by seven Republican-led states to stop the Biden administration’s new student loan forgiveness rule. The states — Missouri, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Ohio — claim that the administration is exceeding its authority and illegally preparing to forgive loans before the rule is even in effect. They say the regulation would hurt state tax revenue and the earnings of state entities such as the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.

* The Athletic | Why NFL’s Guardian Caps are getting a thumbs down from so many players: Poll: The NFL is still collecting data on the impact of Guardian Caps, but entering the season, league officials said that the caps helped reduce concussions in preseason practices by nearly 50 percent. […] And one player specifically said he’ll never wear a Guardian Caps because he hates the look. “Thumbs down for me personally. I’m never gonna wear that,” he said, “and it’s literally just because of the fashion part. It does a good job of protecting your head, but I’m not wearing it.”

* The Atlantic | Would You Give Up Your Kidney for $50,000?: In most situations where an important good is in short supply, prices go up, spurring more production. But it’s illegal to provide compensation for kidneys in the United States. Sometimes donors can get assistance with covering lost wages or travel, but that doesn’t come close to compensating people for the time, pain, and risks associated with kidney donation. On today’s episode of Good on Paper, I’m joined by the Vox senior correspondent Dylan Matthews. Matthews himself donated a kidney to a stranger in 2016, after his research and writing on the issue led him to believe the risks were minimal and the potential benefit to a recipient was great. He’s reporting on—and arguing for the passage of—the End Kidney Deaths Act, which would provide $50,000 in fully refundable tax credits to kidney donors.

* Bloomberg | Mortgage rates near 6% are enough to start up a refinancing wave: Customers who bought homes when rates were above 7% are now in a position to save a couple hundred dollars a month with a loan closer to 6% instead. And if rates continue to decline, as economists project, they can do it all over again — and save even more.