🗳️ Buckle up, it’s election week

Illinois’ New Hate Crime Hotline

With hate crimes on the rise across the country and in Illinois, victims and witnesses can anonymously report them to the state via a new website or hotline. [Windy City Times]

Cubs Reach Settlement Over Accessibility

The Cubs will have to improve accessibility and sightlines at Wrigley Field after settling a two-year-old lawsuit with the Justice Department last week. The team also agreed to have their progress monitored under a consent decree. [Tribune 🔒]

Giant South Side Hole Here Until December

Washington Park residents will have to deal with the hole for another month as ComEd continues to work on filling the eyesore. The utility giant first dug up the hole in the spring to fix an underground cable and then left it unattended for much of the summer. [Block Club]

Voting While Unhoused in Chicago

Documentation is one of the biggest challenges to voting while unhoused. New voters need two forms of identification to vote. One local advocate suggests unhoused voters get a free ID and ask a provider to write a letter permitting them to use their address. [City Bureau]

Prohibition-Era Law Persists in This Neighborhood

A small pocket of Ravenswood and Lincoln Square had already restricted the sale of alcohol before Prohibition began in 1920. The law still bans businesses from selling alcohol in that precinct. But a ballot measure could change that. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

A lot of eyes are on the presidential race, but City Cast Chicago is here to remind you about the other races on your ballot.

School Board Races

Chicagoans get to vote for the city’s first elected school board this fall. One person will be elected from each of the 10 districts. Some of the races have gotten crowded — and expensive.

• A rapper, education consultant, pastor, and public servant are all vying to represent District 10, which spans from South Loop to the Indiana border.
• Covering North Side neighborhoods, District 4 has six candidates in the running, one of whom has been accused of being too much of an insider while another has said he is in favor of school closings.

Something else to note: Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint another 11 members. The city will vote for a fully elected school board in 2026.

Congressional Races

Illinois is a blue state: 14 of our 17 representatives are Democrats. But there are a couple of races to watch — especially as Republicans try to hold on to their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

• Retired Rockford judge and GOP challenger Joe McGraw wants to take the 17th District from first-term incumbent Rep. Eric Sorensen. It’s possible — races have been tight in the northern Illinois district.
• Down in Springfield, freshman incumbent Nikki Budzinski is facing off against Republican challenger and veteran Joshua Loyd. Will the 13th District flip back to red?

Cook County State’s Attorney

After a narrow primary in the spring, voters will decide who will replace Kim Foxx as the county’s next top prosecutor. Former state appellate justice Eileen O’Neill Burke is running on the Democratic ticket, though some progressives think she is too right-leaning. Ex-Ald. Bob Fioretti, the GOP candidate and a former Democrat, is backed by Rev. Jesse Jackson. Andrew Kopinski is running as a Libertarian.

Advisory Questions & Referenda

Illinois voters will all see three advisory questions on ballots. These are non-binding, kind of like voter surveys. Voters will be asked if high earners should be taxed more for property tax relief, if insurance plans should cover IVF, and if candidates should face penalties for interfering with election workers.

Chicago voters might see some referendum questions, too. Depending on where you live in the city, you might also be asked to weigh in on a binding referendum about a free mental health program on the South Side or a nonbinding referendum like the South Shore community benefits agreement or a North Side liquor ban.