* Sun-Times…

The governor also acknowledged the Illinois State Police is on alert for synagogues and gathering places for Jewish people across the state. He said there is no immediate threat that the FBI or law enforcement has detected.

“But they are remaining vigilant, as should all of you,” Pritzker said.

* WBBM Radio…

As the backer of the new state law penalizing book bans in Illinois, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias says he is getting death threats just like some library officials have.

Giannoulias says it’s abhorrent that people are making threats against libraries because they have books on their shelves that some find objectionable. The new law he proposed withholds state grants to libraries that agree to ban books.

Now, he’s getting threats, too, Giannoulias said at a Union League Club of Chicago luncheon Tuesday.

* Click here to check out the replies…

If you dare, check out the extreme vitriol in comments from both the far left and far right https://t.co/oSnwZxdRf3

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) October 11, 2023

* Bailey supported Donald Trump’s preferred candidate Jim Jordan…

Not surprised that establishment lapdog and career politician, @RepBost, betrayed Southern Illinois and President @realDonaldTrump and voted for establishment candidate, Steve Scalise for speaker. We deserve better. #twill

— Darren Bailey (@DarrenBaileyIL) October 11, 2023

* During last night’s University of Chicago Institute of Politics event, Gov. Pritzker was asked by the moderator: “There’s a sense that blue states are getting more and more progressive and red states are shifting in the other direction, getting more and more deeply conservative. Do you feel like we are at a point now where we are in essence living in two different Americas?”…

The great sort, as we’ve seen. Look, I do think that there are people who are choosing to leave places like Texas and Florida, which are taking away peoples’ rights. I mean, if you’re a parent of a transgender child, why would you stay in Texas? Why would you stay in Florida? If you’re a woman who’s seeking to exercise her reproductive health rights, why would you stay in Texas or Florida? And we can name lots of other states like that right now. Missouri or Iowa. The fact is that I do think it’s important for us to make the case to people that they should move to our state. But here’s what I would say to you. When you say, well, the red states are moving red and the blue states are moving bluer. I mean, does anybody think Georgia is getting redder? I don’t think so. Does anybody think Texas is getting redder? I don’t think so. And in fact, those two are great examples of a real shift that’s happening in the South, where if we can protect voting rights in those states, and many other Southern states have excluded people of color or tried their best to do that. And there have been case after case after case that’s been brought to protect their rights. And the more we do that, the more we’re going to see people step up and go vote. And believe me when I tell you that across the South that there are an awful lot of Democrats who, if they show up at the polls, we will win.

Please pardon all transcription errors.

* There’s a tendency among some in the Washington, DC press corps to blame Democrats for Republicans moving so far to the right, as if Republican voters and the people they elect have no personal agency. The Washington Post followed in that tradition over the weekend with an Illinois-related piece…

Illinois Democrats drew new maps. The changes pushed the GOP to the right.

The governor was asked about that as well last night…

I want to have you pay attention to one really important thing. We did not create the problem that Republicans are having now. They are extremists. Mary Miller, who is a member of that crazy caucus, and is a Representative here, US representative here in Illinois, legitimately beat another congressperson to win the seat. He didn’t run as good a campaign. Donald Trump was very popular in the area and chose to endorse her over the other Republican in that primary. That you know, that challenge is happening with Republicans all over the country. And they’re the ones who have this problem. I mean, they, like I said, there’s a fever in the Republican Party and primaries, you’re seeing it. There’s a race going on in Southern Illinois right now between incumbent Republican Mike Bost and his Republican opponent Darren Bailey. And I think one might say that what is going on here, this is the Republicans eating each other alive. So, that article, I want you to look at the chart that’s in the middle of that article. That chart shows the states that that they said were gerrymandered. You know, how many of them were Republican gerrymanders versus Democratic gerrymanders? It was like three to one Republicans over Democrats. So this is a national problem. If you’re going to solve redistricting, and the problem of redistricting, you have to do it at the national level. It cannot be done state by state because we would be unilaterally disarming.

The chart…

Deputy Gov. Andy Manar also commented on the WaPo piece…

And the idea that congressional districts in rural America should be molded around the (mostly Republican) incumbents that occupy them to save Republican Party from itself is so DC.

Your thoughts?

* Maybe now Bloomberg will stop its incessant claims about how Johnson had proposed a tax on electronic trades. Tribune…

But the vast majority of Johnson’s economic agenda that he laid out during his campaign and entailed a bundle of new taxes was not included in next year’s budget proposal. Those campaign plans, which were met with trepidation from the business class, included reinstating a $4-per-employee corporate head tax on large companies, boosting the jet fuel levy, instituting a charge on securities trades and increasing the hotel tax. […]

Closing the gap will entail Johnson taking a record $434 million from tax-increment financing funds, $39 million more than last year while $50 million more will come from the previous year’s surplus. Taking money from TIFs is a tactic previous mayors have used that has been controversial because it is a one-time fix.

The administration is also counting on an additional $112.6 million in “operational efficiencies within our departments as we look towards service deliveries without service cuts,” his budget director Annette Guzman told reporters in a Tuesday briefing. Another $89.2 million will be saved via bond refinancing, and $41.5 million will be trimmed from personnel expenses on health care management.

In an unexpected prediction, the city also is projecting $186.8 million more in revenue, mostly from local taxes, than it previously indicated while another $35 million in funds will come from revenue enforcement collections.

* Center Square gonna Center Square…

Police union president: Chicago crime ‘getting worse, not better’ […]

Catanzara said numbers may show crime is down in some areas, but perception is everything.

“We are taking suggestions and recommendations on what should be done because it is getting worse, not better,” Catanzara said. “Violent crime may be down, but the feeling of being less safe in this city is prevalent.”

* Tim Mapes has been reaching out to old friends and acquaintances asking them to send character letters to his judge ahead of his sentencing hearing. Click here to read it.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Sun-Times | Illinois Senator Invites South Siders To Auburn Gresham Town Hall To Discuss Migrant Crisis: Preston will host the town hall 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Auburn Gresham’s Healthy Lifestyle Hub, 839 W. 79th St. Neighbors can share their feedback and learn more about “this predominant issue,” Preston’s office said in a news release.

* Block Club | Man Charged With Shooting Migrants Outside Police Station: Anthony Evans, 25, was arrested at the scene and charged with eight felony counts, including two for aggravated battery and two for aggravated DUI, police said.

* Sun-Times | Mayor Brandon Johnson gives budget address — here’s what to know on how he’ll spend on migrants, crime, mental health: The $16.6 billion 2024 city budget Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled Wednesday will “begin the critical investments necessary” to deliver on his campaign slogan to “build a better, stronger Chicago.” Supporters also must wait to shift the tax burden to businesses and wealthy Chicagoans.

* Scott Holland | Walgreens debit card receipt at center of larger legal question: When is a crime a crime: When a law is broken? When the act is proven? When there is a victim? These and other big picture questions loom over a case heading to the Illinois Supreme Court. The litigation in question exemplifies how one person’s concerns can balloon until they influence or alter statewide policy.

* Crain’s | NASCAR, city still negotiating second street race deal: Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a new and improved deal with NASCAR last week to host the second Street Race event in downtown Chicago next July, but neither party has signed an agreement yet. The city would have gone public once it finalized negotiations, but NASCAR wanted to announce its racing schedule, according to a city official. The news came on the heels of an economic impact report on the event, conducted by the Sports Industry Research Center at Temple University and commissioned by the city’s tourism bureau, that found the race generated $108.9 million for the city. That’s about one-fourth of a Lollapalooza and below NASCAR’s own projected economic impact of $113.8 million.

* WCIA | Springfield Fire Dept. welcomes first Black female firefighter: When Springfield Fire Chief Ed Canny told Jackson, she didn’t believe it. Once it settled in, she thought about why it could be the case. Jackson said that barriers don’t exist within the department itself, and that it’s the perception built over years.

* Sun-Times | South Side cancer rates are among Chicago’s highest. The community needs more care options.: UChicago Medicine recently announced an $815 million project to build a state-of-the-art cancer facility. South Siders need more health care institutions to pay attention to Black patients’ needs.

* WJOL | Will County EMA Director Appointed to Lead State Advisory Committee: Allison Anderson, Will County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director, has been appointed Co-Chair of the State of Illinois Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Emergency Management Committee. In her role, she will be collaborating with experts to shape emergency preparedness strategies at the state and local level.

* WREX | Stateline Judge Joe McGraw Will Run For Illinois’ 17th Congressional District: In a statement to 13 WREX he said, “I’ve dedicated my life to law and order and serving the people of Illinois. I can no longer sit by and watch our country and our state go in the wrong direction. There’s something wrong when big-city liberals would rather demonize honest cops than crack down on criminals, when politicians in Washington care more about illegal immigrants than the safety and security of our own citizens, and when the exporting of good manufacturing jobs, combined with record inflation, crushes families’ economic viability. Eric Sorensen is part of the problem; he votes with Biden’s failed agenda nearly 100% of the time. In Congress, I’ll fight for our hardworking families and stand up to the out-of-touch Biden agenda.”

* Crain’s | Lori Lightfoot joins board of national LGBTQ PAC: The Washington, D.C.,-based group works to put more LGBTQ-identifying people in public leadership roles. According to the organization’s website, the board of directors oversees operations and guides its mission.

* Bloomberg | Walgreens names health care vet as next CEO: Tim Wentworth, the former CEO of pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts who led its 2018 merger with Cigna Group, succeeds Rosalind Brewer, a longtime retail executive whose 2 1/2-year tenure saw the shares lose half their value. Alongside restocking a depleted C-suite, Wentworth will take on managing initiatives such as Walgreens’ move to open hundreds of doctors’ offices in its stores. The appointment will take effect Oct. 23, when Wentworth will also join the company’s board.

* WMBD | Central Illinois Ameren linemen to compete in international competition: “The rodeo is all about our lineworkers competing to the best of their abilities in a safe manner,” said Craig Gilson, vice president of electric operations for Ameren Illinois. “It also gives family members an up-close look at what it takes to do this type of work on an everyday basis.”

* SJ-R | City gets sizable federal grant to plant trees in wake of storm; SPD promotes three: The city of Springfield won a federal grant of nearly $890,000 from the U.S. Forest Service to plant 1,000 trees and to hire a community outreach arborist and three student-worker arborists during the summer months, all over a five-year period. […] City arborist Jeff Reim told The State Journal-Register in July that 300 or more trees on city property alone were damaged by the June 29 derecho. In terms of tree damage alone, Reim believed the storms were worse than 2006, when a pair of tornadoes ripped through the capital city.

* Norman Reports | Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter. The Effects Have Been Negligible: Last April, the company gave NPR a reason to quit — it labeled the network “U.S. state-affiliated media,” a designation that was at odds with Twitter’s own definition of the term. NPR stopped posting from its account on April 4. A week later, it posted its last update — a series of tweets directing users to NPR’s newsletters, app, and other social media accounts. Many member stations across the country, including KUOW in Seattle, LAist in Los Angeles, and Minnesota Public Radio, followed suit.