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* ICYMI: House passes energy bill amid debate over costs to consumers. Capitol News Illinois…
* More veto session stories…
• WAND: Senate Democrats pass bill to automatically seal nonviolent felony records, send Clean Slate Act to House
• WAND: House Democrats present Chicago transit funding plan, but Pritzker opposes proposed taxes
• WAND: Senate Democrats pass bill to automatically seal nonviolent felony records, send Clean Slate Act to House
• Center Square: Tax proposals draw questions from Pritzker and GOP state rep
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.
* Gov. JB Pritzker will hold a 9:30 am press conference highlighting the “worst of the worst” Trump administration actions affecting Illinoisans amid federal deployments. At 1:30 pm, he’ll announce the next round of Regional Site Readiness Program grants. Watch live here.
* Crain’s | As SNAP shutdown looms, Illinois will provide $20M for food: Illinois plans to provide $20 million to food banks across the state as federal supplemental nutrition assistance funds are set to end Oct. 31 because of the government shutdown. Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to sign an executive order tomorrow to mobilize state resources and work with food banks and food pantries, grocers, universities and other community organizations to help limit the impact of the end of SNAP benefits, which help low-income residents purchase food.
* Sun-Times | Gov. Pritzker asks Noem to pause ICE enforcement for Halloween: ‘Please let children be children’: Gov. JB Pritzker is asking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and top ICE officials to suspend immigration enforcement operations throughout Chicago for three days so children can safely celebrate Halloween. The request, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, comes four days after ICE agents fired tear gas in the Old Irving Park neighborhood as families and children walked to a Halloween parade. And it came a day after U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis told Border Patrol commander-in-chief Gregory Bovino on the stand that a “sense of safety was shattered” for children who witnessed the deployment.
* Chalkbeat Chicago | Teachers union pushes Illinois lawmakers for more school funding: Davis Gates said lawmakers and Gov. JB Pritzker should do more than hold press conferences denouncing President Donald Trump’s policies and she repeated the union’s push to “tax the rich.” “We’re going to spend a lot of time in Springfield creating the lesson plans, the pathways for elected officials to honor the working people, the public servants, and the educators of the state of Illinois,” Davis Gates told a crowd of union members outside the capitol building.
* Crain’s | Lollapalooza ‘at risk’ if state entertainment tax is approved, organizer says: “Events like Lollapalooza and Sueños fuel Illinois’ economy, creating jobs and boosting local businesses,” a spokesperson for the concert organizer said in a statement. “A new statewide event tax and higher amusement tax would drive up ticket prices, putting these events at risk and adding a nearly 20% total tax burden on fans in a city that already has the highest amusement tax in the nation.”
* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson tries to beat state to taxing hemp with plan that adds age limit: Johnson argued that Chicago “did not get its fair share” of revenue when the state legalized the sale of marijuana in 2019. This time, the mayor, who has aired his frustrated belief that Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly boxed him out of securing new tax revenue, is trying to beat Springfield to the punch. “I don’t want what happened to the city of Chicago during the cannabis debate to happen around hemp,” Johnson said.
* Tribune | Illinois officials should investigate, charge federal immigration agents for state violations, group says: In letters sent this week to Gov. JB Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, all three of whom are Democrats, and Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling, the Free Speech for People campaign contends “federal agents have repeatedly committed criminal acts that are not immunized by federal law.” “We applaud you for establishing the Illinois Accountability Commission and empowering it to refer” violations to agencies empowered to investigate and enforce such laws, the group’s letter to Pritzker says about the governor’s creation of the new panel last week. “Although the executive order establishing the commission requires it to create an initial status report by Jan. 16, we encourage the commission to immediately refer serious incidents for further investigation by relevant law enforcement officers.”
* WCIA | Governor Pritzker signs new executive order to assist struggling farmers: Pritzker’s new executive order does two things. First, it orders the state to identify and promote domestic markets for Illinois Ag products. It also orders the Department of Agriculture to invest further into the Farm Family Resource Initiative that provides access to mental health resources for farmers. Neither effort will put money in farmer’s pockets right away but Pritzker hopes it is enough to hold them over until trade policy stabilizes.
* WCIA | Darren Bailey announces funeral arrangements for family members killed in Montana helicopter crash: A visitation will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2 at Oil Belt Christian Service Camp in Flora. A Celebration of Life for the Bailey family will start at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 3, also at Oil Belt. Private burial will take place in Oskaloosa Cemetery.
* Sun-Times | Trump taps big City Hall contractors for ICE operation Brandon Johnson opposes: Ald. Rossana Rodriguez (33rd) is calling for a city review to determine whether Chicago taxpayer dollars should be going to firms working with the Department of Homeland Security and its on-the-ground agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. “We do have to take this seriously and make sure that we are not collaborating by hiring or benefiting companies that are acting against us,” says Rodriguez, who was born in Puerto Rico and represents one of the city’s most diverse wards.
* Tribune | Former aide admits helping Ald. Carrie Austin get home improvement perks from developers: Chester Wilson, 59, pleaded guilty only to one misdemeanor count involving the unrelated theft of “SNAP” state food subsidies, for which he faces up to a year behind bars. But in his plea agreement with prosecutors, Wilson, who served as Austin’s chief of staff admitted that for a three-year period beginning in 2016, he helped facilitate benefits from three people seeking to influence Austin in her official capacity.
* Crain’s | Bears offer $25M to benefit Chicago as team pushes bill for Arlington Heights move: Team officials and their lobbyists are circulating a letter among the Chicago delegation that was previously sent to Rep. Kam Buckner and Sen. Bill Cunningham. The letter commits $25 million to benefit the city and Chicago Park District if the Bears move to Arlington Heights. Buckner has been among the most vocal critics of the Bears’ potential move, introducing a bill this month that would require extensive public review of stadium deals and potentially force a team to repay subsidies if it relocates before the contract ends.
* Tribune | Grant Park Music Festival president Paul Winberg steps down: The Grant Park Music Festival announced Wednesday that its president, Paul Winberg, will step down in the spring of 2026. Winberg has served as president and CEO since 2011. The festival, which puts on Chicago’s free outdoor classical music series every summer at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, said in the announcement that its board of directors has begun a national search for his replacement.
* Daily Southtown | Immigration enforcement officers arrest at least 7 people in Crete, Chicago Heights: ICE officers detained at least three people, including two customers and one employee, in the parking lot outside of Heights Fresh Market on Chicago Road at about 11 a.m. Monday, according to a store manager, who cited store footage. Yadira Banuelos, a store employee, said officers arrested her coworker as he arrived for his shift Monday. Another man who regularly sold Sabritsa chips outside the store was detained then released, according to a statement the market, posted on Facebook at 11:17 a.m. Tuesday.
* Daily Herald | Batavia moves toward ban on ICE using city property: And while some aldermen were passionate about the idea, some questioned whether the city could actually enforce a ban. Alderman Christopher Solfa also questioned the need for an ordinance, saying it would just be a symbolic gesture. He noted that Batavia already complies with the Illinois TRUST Act, which prohibits local police and governments from aiding immigration agents in civil cases, including use of city property.
* Daily Herald | ‘More challenging’: Naperville budget plan includes fewer new programs: During preparations for the upcoming fiscal year, city departments were told to hold the line on operating budgets because of budgetary pressure from increased personnel and health insurance costs. Officials expect to see an 18.5% spike in health insurance premiums. “To be clear, this was a more challenging budget year than we’ve seen in recent memory,” Finance Director Ray Munch said during the second of three city council budget workshops. Among the few new budget requests? An estimated $150,000 that would allow Naperville police to pilot a “Drone as a First Responder” program.
* Shaw Local | DeKalb County administrator issued rodeo permit to man who pleaded guilty to animal abuse: Records: “I permitted an event to an animal abuser. I did,” interim DeKalb County Administrator Derek Hiland said of an Aug. 2 rodeo in Kirkland. It’s the third time that Hiland signed off on a rodeo permit for Cristofer Perez, and the second time that footage of the event is being investigated by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.
* Daily Southtown | Dolton board prematurely settled sexual assault lawsuit, attorney says: Attorney Eric White, who is representing the plaintiffs said Wednesday the village mischaracterized the status of the lawsuit that is still pending. The plaintiffs include a former village and Thornton Township employee who claims Holmes drugged and sexually assaulted her on a 2023 work trip to Las Vegas, The village declined to provide details of the settlement agreements after they were approved Oct. 6, saying they had not yet been finalized or signed. The lawsuit names Holmes, the village, Thornton Township, and former Dolton Mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard as defendants.
* WCIA | Massey family reacts to Sean Grayson verdict: After nearly a week of hearing testimony and 11 hours of deliberations across two days, the jury convicted Grayson of second-degree murder and acquitted him of first-degree murder. Emotions were high as the Massey family spoke, saying that they are not happy with Grayson being convicted of only second-degree murder, not first-degree murder. The next steps they want include Grayson receiving the maximum sentence — 20 years in prison.
* WCIA | Watseka police officers on leave since July; State Police investigating: Multiple officers with the Watseka Police Department are being investigated by the Illinois State Police, officials confirmed with WCIA on Wednesday. Watseka Police Chief Eric Starkey was unable to confirm the identities of the officers under investigation, or how many are being investigated. But, Starkey was able to share that the officers under investigation have been on leave since July.
* Rockford Register Star | Rockford considering use of cannabis funds to close deficit despite pleas to keep promise: The city could rescind its policy restricting recreational cannabis sales tax funding to aiding communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana laws and instead tap the funds to help close a projected $3.7 million 2026 general fund deficit. Rockford has $2.6 million in marijuana sales taxes on hand. Combined with the estimated $850,000 it expects to generate next year, it could be spent to avoid a property tax increase or cuts in city services, city officials said.
* WGEM | Pike County Board debates cuts for fiscal year budget: County Chairman Rita Hoskin confirmed the total deficit was $1.8 million. When the floor opened for discussion, Vice-Chairman Tom Lewis questioned a $350,000 proposed cut to the ambulance department. “If you take $350,000 out of [the ambulance department] budget, [the department] will be broke if an incident that causes us to lose the other $250,000 we might have had saved,” Lewis said.
* WGLT | McLean County rebuts agreement default allegations from Bloomington and Normal: County administrator Cassy Taylor also rebutted the town’s allegations point by point in the letter dated Oct. 24, a few days ahead of the Oct. 27 deadline to respond to the notice. The dispute centers on the accumulation of more than $21 million in the County Mental Health and Public Safety Fund [MHPSF]. That money is supposed to fund new public safety information system technology, behavioral health services in the jail and community, and bond debt incurred to pay for renovation and expansion of the McLean County jail.
* WCIA | IL Extension gets $40k to improve, protect Coles Co. water months after Mattoon algae bloom: One part of the initiative, the Watershed Stewards program, will launch in Coles County in 2026. It’ll be led by Extension Program Coordinator Jenny Lee. Anyone can attend the program to learn how to protect local lakes, a spokesperson with Extension said in a release. In the second part of the initiative, participants will have the opportunity to install native plants under native trees. This will help slow stormwater runoff, benefit pollinators and keep excess nutrients from entering local waterways, according to Extension officials. They attributed the “soft landings” concept to Heather Holm and Leslie Pilgrim.
* NOTUS | USDA Quietly Deletes Its Contingency Plan for Funding SNAP: The U.S. Department of Agriculture had a plan to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program running during a government shutdown by using contingency funds — but the document laying out that plan has now disappeared from the agency’s website. “Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown,” the plan that was removed, dated Sept. 30, stated.
* Semafor | British newspaper spoke to the wrong de Blasio, not an ‘imposter’: “I’m Bill DeBlasio. I’ve always been Bill DeBlasio,” DeBlasio said in an interview conducted Wednesday evening through his Ring doorbell in Huntington Station, Long Island, from his current location in Florida. “I never once said I was the mayor. He never addressed me as the mayor,” DeBlasio told Semafor Wednesday evening. “So I just gave him my opinion.”
* WaPo | We checked DHS’s videos of chaos and protests. Here’s what they leave out.: Some videos that purported to show the fiery chaos of Trump-targeted cities included footage from completely different states. One that claimed to show dramatic examples of past administrations’ failures instead featured border crossings and smuggling boats recorded during Trump’s first term.
posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Oct 30, 25 @ 7:54 am
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“she repeated the union’s push to “tax the rich.””
And so it begins. Unserious people with serious influence demanding things that will harm the tenuous finances of the state. This is reasons alone for why I hope JB sticks around for a 3rd term. I fear elected officials more reliant on union donations will not have the spine to dismiss this tripe.
Comment by Ducky Thursday, Oct 30, 25 @ 9:04 am
Rock Island or Cook counties would have been a much better choice than Peoria County to move the Grayson trial. Or directly to the ILSC.
Peoria is still too close to Springfield plus too much common ownership of media between the two markets (Nexstar, Rincon formerly Sinclair, plus Gray now buying out WAND).
Quad Cities would have been better plus still reasonably close to Springfield. And more likelihood of a first degree murder charge if tried in Rock Island County.
Maybe the Massey family could consider having the Grayson case reheard in Rock Island or Cook?
Comment by Leatherneck Thursday, Oct 30, 25 @ 9:35 am
==Or directly to the ILSC.==
The Supreme Court doesn’t hold criminal trials.
==Maybe the Massey family could consider having the Grayson case reheard in Rock Island or Cook?==
You don’t get a do over.
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Oct 30, 25 @ 10:01 am
== clean slate act ==
I don’t care if it was negotiated with law enforcement: it should not be automatic. Petitions should be judged on an individual basis.
It’s the wrong fix for the problem of courts being overwhelmed by petitions. If the courts are overwhelmed, fix or expand the courts.
Comment by RNUG Thursday, Oct 30, 25 @ 10:06 am
Who would have thought we would need JB to save Illinois from the squad mentality of taxing folks to the point everyone who can leave the State decides to do so- The Buckner Delgado proposals all done at the behest of Mayor Gates are beyond ridiculous
Comment by Sue Thursday, Oct 30, 25 @ 10:10 am
-Who would have thought we would need JB to save Illinois-
CTU will outlast JB. They have more staying power and that provision in the Illinois state constitution concerning pensions which isn’t going to be changed anytime soon. CTU is providing a first class lesson in rent-seeking.
Comment by Steve Thursday, Oct 30, 25 @ 10:24 am