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* CNN…
US Steel is shuttering production at a mill in November, but its hundreds of workers will keep their jobs – for now – thanks to an agreement the company reached with the Trump administration.
US Steel will stop producing steel at its Granite City, Illinois, mill at the end of October, but the 800 workers at the plant will stay on the job, maintaining equipment, until at least 2027. That’s due to the structure of the deal the company reached with President Donald Trump to allow its purchase by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel. The agreement included various job protections and production guarantees.
“US Steel will optimize its footprint by focusing on producing and processing steel slabs at the Mon Valley (Pennsylvania) Works and Gary (Indiana) Works, and reducing slab consumption at Granite City Works,” the company said in a statement to CNN Monday. “As a result of this decision, US Steel will not lay off any Granite City Works employees nor adjust their pay rate.”
* WGLT…
The McLean County Sheriff’s department is fessing up to an error that allowed federal immigration agencies to search its database of Flock Safety license plate reading cameras for more than four months this year. […]
Flock Safety let the sheriff’s department know an audit showed other agencies were using its camera images for immigration purposes. That is against Illinois law.
“Within a few hours, we had everyone shut off outside the state of Illinois,” said [Sheriff Matt Lane].
He said the original department policy was to have a relatively open door on the data, but agencies had to attest that they were following Illinois law in not using the data for immigration purposes.
So, the agencies were signing off on that requirement electronically, and then going ahead and using it on immigration?
“Yes,” said Lane. “When we did this policy, it was before January. We didn’t have an immigration push. It wasn’t on the forefront. And now it is.”
* Press release…
State Representatives who touch Congressman Danny Davis’ 7th Congressional District are strengthening the call for Welch to represent them and their constituents, shaping and building the state party.House Representative and Committeewoman Theresa Mah, State Representative Michael Crawford, State Representative Lisa Davis, and State Representative Yolonda Morris all endorse Speaker Welch. […]
Welch has opened the political committee Team Welch for 7th District State Central Commiteeperson; and has already collected and verified the required signatures for filing.
* Windy City Times | Sara Feigenholtz seeks reelection, citing LGBTQ+ record and decades of service: While Uniejewski is making the case for new leadership, Feigenholtz points to her long record of championing LGBTQ+ rights, health care access and neighborhood priorities as reasons voters should keep her in office. “I love this neighborhood, I love this community, and I think that no matter how long I serve, I still jump out of bed every day very, very excited to puzzle through some of the problems that we have here,” Feigenholtz told Windy City Times. “I’ve always had a very close connection to the community, and it’s only gotten deeper over time.”
* Tribune | President Donald Trump seems to pump brakes on deploying National Guard troops to Chicago: “We’re going to be announcing another city that we’re going to very shortly, working it out with the governor of a certain state who would love us to be there, and the mayor of a certain city in the same state that would love us to be there,” Trump told reporters Tuesday night in touting the results of his federalization of law enforcement and National Guard assets in Washington, D.C., by dining out at a restaurant.
* Facilities Dive | University of Illinois-Chicago tackles deferred maintenance at no upfront cost: The $30 million energy conservation project at UIC, the second public university in the University of Illinois system and the largest university in the Chicago area, includes the installation of 24 energy efficient air handling units and implementation of heating and cooling smart controls in an administrative building and a science building. The initiative is expected to generate approximately $1 million in yearly energy and operational savings and reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions by 2,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
* Crain’s | Potbelly to be acquired by convenience store chain in $566M deal: Potbelly, the Chicago-based sandwich chain, is set to be acquired by convenience store operator RaceTrac in a deal valued around $566 million. Under the agreement, announced yesterday, RaceTrac will pay $17.12 a share in cash for Potbelly, according to a news release. The transaction will be carried out through a tender offer for all outstanding shares.
* Block Club | Lincoln Park’s Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool Reopens After Years Of Renovation: Designed by Alfred Caldwell, the famed architect behind Promontory Point and Riis Park, the Lily Pool was part of a Victorian garden built in 1889 that was home to tropical lilies and other aquatic plants. When that garden fell into disrepair, Caldwell, who was appointed as the Park District’s principal designer in the 1930s, designed what was formerly known as the Lincoln Park Rookery.
* Daily Herald | Wauconda cancels Mexican Independence Day festival as other suburbs plan to stay the course: In a Sept. 5 Wauconda police Facebook post, police, church and village officials said the determination was made based on the “recent climate and concerns in our area related to immigration.” “We know how meaningful this event is for our community and the choice was not made lightly by the committee,” the post reads. “Our goal is always to ensure that everyone feels safe, respected and welcome in Wauconda.”
* Daily Herald | Batavia’s new energy policy ‘a work in progress’ say mayor: The Municipal Electric Utility Energy Policy, which will be reviewed on a schedule yet to be determined, sets sustainability goals and guides future infrastructure upgrades, energy procurement and other electric facility-related investments. Addressing doubts posed by council members during recent discussions over the attainability of some of the goals, Mayor Jeff Shielke admitted the approved policy is not “real strong,” but said it points the council in the right direction.
* NBC Chicago | Suburban business among several targeted in multistate vaping raids by ATF, FDA: Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. traveled to Illinois Wednesday to announce the results of the raids, highlighting a company in northwest suburban Bensenville, which saw more than 600,000 units of allegedly illegal products seized in what was considered to be the largest of the reported raids. The so-called “seizure operation,” a joint effort from the ATF and FDA, targeted five distributors and nine retailers across six states.
* IPM | International student enrollment increases at University of Illinois despite Trump policies: The System announced Wednesday that international student enrollment increased 5.9% across the Springfield, Urbana-Champaign and Chicago universities. That bucks the trend seen elsewhere across the country. U of I System President Tim Killeen said in an interview with The 21st Show that the most significant issue affecting international students at the three locations is visa delays.
* SJ-R | UIS sees freshman enrollment jump, but international numbers dip: The University of Illinois Springfield has seen a 19.1% increase in first-year student enrollment this fall, with 312 freshmen compared to last year’s 262. “We are pleased to see more first-year students choosing UIS to begin their college journey,” Janet L. Gooch, UIS chancellor, said in the announcement. “Through new scholarships like the Prairie Promise Program, innovative academic programs and hands-on experiences such as internships, UIS is opening doors and preparing students for successful careers.”
* WGLT | Illinois Wesleyan reports biggest incoming class in 15 years: Nearly 600 new students have begun classes at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. The small liberal arts college says it’s the biggest incoming class since 2010, with 544 freshmen and 51 new transfer students enrolled. The large new class also tips total enrollment above 1,600 for the first time since 2021.
* BND | Private water providers expand, raise prices in metro-east. Some are pushing back: As some towns like Madison debate the advantages and disadvantages of keeping water systems locally owned or selling to the publicly traded subsidiary of American Water, there are others that are taking a different approach. A consortium of smaller water districts in Madison and Jersey counties are pooling their resources to take advantage of the available groundwater — and eventually separate their system completely from Illinois American Water in the hopes of maintaining local control.
* BND | 20 days into school year, Cahokia teachers are still without a contract: A crowd of members from the Cahokia Federation of Teachers Local 1272, wearing blue union shirts and holding signs, gathered at Monday evening’s school board meeting to draw attention to the delay. Many chanted outside the Board of Education building after security denied them entry because the boardroom neared capacity. Superintendent Curtis McCall Jr. said much of the delay comes from sifting through policies and procedures that, for more than 50 years, had not seen significant changes in terms of what’s in the best interest of students. When asked, he said he was unable to provide a specific problematic policy as an example.
* WCIA | Illini fans react to U of I stadium’s new name after multi-million-dollar donation: A multi-million-dollar donation is bringing change to one historic University of Illinois landmark over the course of several years. Larry Gies — a U of I alumnus — is donating $100 million to the athletic department, and now the football stadium has a new name: Gies Memorial Stadium. Larry Gies said it’s in honor of his father Larry Gies senior, who is a U.S. army veteran. Gies and the athletic department said that adding the name still keeps its purpose of honoring those who served, but fans are split on whether or not they agree.
* WaPo | National Guard documents show public ‘fear,’ veterans’ ‘shame’ over D.C. presence: Friday’s assessment highlights “Mentions of Fatigue, confusion, and demoralization — ‘just gardening,’ unclear mission, wedge between citizens and the military.”
* NYT | Nick Fuentes: A White Nationalist Problem for the Right: “Fuentes represents the cutting edge of a right-wing racism that has surged over the past decade during the rise of Trump,” said Matt Dallek, a political historian and expert on right-wing movements at George Washington University. “And it’s clear that he’s becoming more prominent because these bigger influencers are now fighting with him.”
posted by Isabel Miller
Wednesday, Sep 10, 25 @ 2:35 pm
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Since I first read”US Steel will not lay off any Granite City Works employees nor adjust their pay rate,” I’ve wondered about the exact language of the deal. Could they reduce everyone’s hours to one hour per week or even per month at their current hourly rate without actually laying them off, just hoping they will all quit? “Pay rate” seems like weasle language here. Hope I’m wrong.
Comment by Lagartha's Shield Wednesday, Sep 10, 25 @ 3:01 pm
Re: The McLean County Sheriff’s Office
Sounds like Rich was right a week or so ago, about this possibly being a less significant issue. Fix the problem, prevent future transgressions, move on.
Comment by H-W Wednesday, Sep 10, 25 @ 3:03 pm
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He said the original department policy was to have a relatively open door on the data, but agencies had to attest that they were following Illinois law in not using the data for immigration purposes.
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The police/sheriff should never have been the ones determining who has access.
The state law is irrelevant for anyone not operating in the state. This situation shows the fallacy of letting individual departments make these decisions on access.
That law defines the responsibility of the state departments using it. That means these departments are responsible when the law is broken. It doesn’t matter if they let someone else have access, they are in control of the access and are responsible for its use.
Start enforcing the law today, and we won’t have to wait for the next inevitable story about these cameras being misused.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Sep 10, 25 @ 3:09 pm
Loosely related, but I have wondered about the ramifications of the Lake County Sheriff’s office’s posting of images of every inmate at the Lake County Jail. This makes images available to anyone, including of course ICE/DHS. Previously, the locate an inmate inquiry would only return information that matched the partial or full name input. Now the inquiry returns a PDF with full information on every current inmate, including a photo.
Comment by stateandlake Wednesday, Sep 10, 25 @ 3:57 pm