Illinois Quick Hits: Chicago debt measure fails to override Johnson veto
(The Center Square) – By one vote, the Chicago City Council failed to override Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of an ordinance that would have required a three-fifths vote instead of a simple majority to approve new city borrowing.
The council voted 33-17 on Wednesday in favor of Alderman Marty Quinn’s proposal, but one more vote was needed to overcome the veto.
Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski told The Center Square that the city’s $830 bond authorization earlier this year would cost taxpayers nearly $2 billion.
Sean Reed contributed to this story
State health plan rates to rise by an average of 14%
The Illinois Department of Insurance has released 2027 Plan Year rates for the Get Covered Illinois Marketplace, with five health insurance issuers to choose from.
The statewide weighted average rate increase for individual plans is 14.1%, down from an average increase of 28.8% last year.
According to Get Covered Illinois, 466,371 Illinoisans enrolled in marketplace plans during plan year 2026 and about 85% percent received premium tax credits.
McKendree alum admits to threatening students
Sentencing is scheduled on December 10, 2027 for a former McKendree University student who admitted sending threats to injure and kill students at the Lebanon, Illinois school.
Court documents show Rustin A. Berkshire, 40, of Vincennes, Indiana stated that he wanted to hurt students in a mass shooting.
Berkshire pleaded guilty to interstate communication with a threat to injure and also to a cyberstalking charge related to harassing and threatening correspondence with a victim from September 2018 to September 2025.
CWB: Anti-violence worker detained for alleged carjacking
Prosecutors say a man accused of attacking a Lyft driver and trying to carjack her was captured on surveillance video flashing gang signs before entering a Chicago CRED anti-violence center on the morning of the alleged crime.
CWB Chicago reports that Angalwon Gilmore, 28, was detained on charges of attempted vehicular hijacking, robbery, and aggravated battery in connection with the incident on July 20.
CWB said a police arrest report listed Gilmore’s employer as Chicago CRED, an organization, which works with people at elevated risk of involvement in gun violence.
Pritzker tied for 8th in Democratic presidential poll
According to The Center Square’s latest poll, former Vice President Kamala Harris remains the top choice for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination among 29% of Democratic and left-leaning independent voters surveyed.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom finished second in the poll at 14%, followed by “not sure” at 12%.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, at 3%, tied for eighth place with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and New Jersey U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
The poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from Oct. 5-7 and surveyed registered voters nationally via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The margin of error was +/- 1.95%.
Morgan Sweeney contributed to this story.
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
