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Sunday is an Air Pollution Action Day in Illinois. Here's what that means

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Sunday is an Air Pollution Action Day in Illinois. Here's what that means


Sunday has been declared an Air Pollution Action Day in several Chicago-area counties, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said, citing elevated ozone levels.

In Illinois, an Air Pollution Action Day is issued when air quality is forecasted to be at or above the Orange or “Unhealthy/Sensitive Groups” category for two or more consecutive days. Similarly, an Air Quality Alert was set to go into effect for McHenry, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Cook and Will counties starting at midnight Saturday through midnight Sunday.

Individuals with pulmonary illnesses and other risk factors such as asthma, children and teens, older adults, and individuals who are routinely active outdoors for six or more hours per day should reduce exposure outdoors during the alert, according to officials.

Those who worry about being affected should look out for the following symptoms: wheezing, coughing, a fast
heartbeat, fatigue, chest pain and shortness of breath. If symptoms worsen, you should call your doctor or 911.

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Humidity and heat was set to build in the Chicago area beginning Saturday, causing heat index values to potentially reach 110 degrees on Monday and Tuesday.

People are urged to take the following steps to reduce their contributions to air pollution, especially on action days, according to the state EPA.

  • Limit Driving – combine errands, walk, or bike if possible.
  • If driving, avoid idling, consolidate errands, and keep your vehicle and other engines
    properly tuned.
  • Conserve energy to reduce energy demands.
  • Use environmentally friendly household and cleaning products.
  • Avoid using gasoline-powered equipment like lawnmowers and leaf blowers.
  • Notify colleagues, friends, and family to help protect their health and encourage actions.



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Illinois

Illinois faces SIU-Edwardsville following Riley’s 31-point game

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Illinois faces SIU-Edwardsville following Riley’s 31-point game


Associated Press

SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (1-1) at Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0)

Champaign, Illinois; Friday, 8 p.m. EST

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BOTTOM LINE: Illinois hosts SIU-Edwardsville after Will Riley scored 31 points in Illinois’ 112-67 win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

Illinois finished 29-9 overall with a 15-3 record at home during the 2023-24 season. The Fighting Illini averaged 83.4 points per game while allowing opponents to score 73.3 last season.

SIU-Edwardsville went 17-16 overall a season ago while going 2-13 on the road. The Cougars shot 42.4% from the field and 33.2% from 3-point range last season.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Johnson and Hampton lead Northern Illinois over MAC leader Western Michigan

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Johnson and Hampton lead Northern Illinois over MAC leader Western Michigan



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KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Telly Johnson Jr. ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns and Northern Illinois beat Mid-American Conference leader Western Michigan 42-28 on Wednesday night.

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Western Michigan (5-4, 4-1) ended its three-game home winning streak and hasn’t started 5-0 in conference play since its undefeated 2016 season. The Broncos dropped into a four-way tie atop the league standings.

Northern Illinois (5-4, 2-3) has won three straight in the series.

Johnson scored on a 6-yard run and his 26-yard touchdown stretched the Northern Illinois lead to 42-21 late in the third quarter.

Ethan Hampton completed 13 of 16 passes for 156 yards with two touchdowns for Northern Illinois (5-4, 2-3). Gavin Williams also had a touchdown run and catch for the Huskies. Cam Thompson scored on a 91-yard kickoff return.

Hayden Wolff was 14-of-27 passing for 179 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Broncos. Jaden Nixon ran for 95 yards and two scores.

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Wolff threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mareyohn Hrabowski with 11:49 left to cap the scoring. The Huskies answered with a 12-play, 42-yard drive that ate 7:24 off the clock, but Kanon Woodill missed a 43-yard field goal.

The Western Michigan offense entered averaging a conference-best 44.8 points per game while the Northern Illinois defense leads the league allowing 17 points.



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Early results show Democrats likely to maintain supermajorities in Illinois General Assembly | Capitol News Illinois

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Early results show Democrats likely to maintain supermajorities in Illinois General Assembly | Capitol News Illinois


Preliminary, unofficial election results show no seats in the state House or Senate have changed party hands, although a few races remained too close to call according to the Associated Press.

That means Democrats will maintain supermajorities in each chamber of the General Assembly even as President Donald Trump appears to have vastly outperformed his previous two showings in the state in 2016 and 2020.

The AP called the presidential race for Trump early Wednesday, and with an estimated 93% of votes counted, he trailed Vice President Kamala Harris in Illinois by about eight percentage points. If the total holds, it’s about half of the margin of victory enjoyed by Democrats in the state in each of the past four presidential cycles.

Illinois’ representation in Congress also appears unlikely to change. Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen withstood a challenge in the 17th Congressional District of northwest Illinois, beating Republican challenger Joe McGraw, 54% to 46%, meaning Democrats will keep their 14-3 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.

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“Now, it’s about coming together to do what’s best for all of us and I am proud to be the good neighbor to represent you,” Sorensen said in a statement late Tuesday night. “We have a lot of challenges and hard work ahead of us, but I can tell you the sun will rise tomorrow morning and our forecast is bright.”

And in Cook County, early returns showed Democrats poised to sweep all county-level offices that were up for election, including state’s attorney, while voters in Chicago cast ballots in their first-ever elections for local school board seats.

 

General Assembly

As of early Wednesday, unofficial results showed Democrats were poised to likely keep their 78-40 supermajority in the Illinois House and their 40-19 control of the Senate, although a few races proved to be highly competitive.

That was true in the 52nd House district, where incumbent Republican Rep. Martin McLaughlin, of Barrington Hills, was leading Democratic challenger Maria Peterson, 51% to 49%, a margin of fewer than 1,000 votes.

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And in the 47th House District, incumbent Republican Rep. Amy Grant, of Wheaton, was leading Democrat Jackie Williamson, 50.4% to 49.6%, a margin of just 500 votes.

Another uncalled race is in the 76th District that includes parts of DeKalb, LaSalle and Bureau counties. Democrat Amy Briel led Republican Liz Bishop by less than 700 votes in the race to succeed retiring Democrat Lance Yednock.

The race was also too close to call for a pair of incumbents – 91st District Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, and 104th District Rep. Brandun Schweizer, R-Danville, in two central Illinois races. As of Wednesday morning, the AP hadn’t tallied all the votes in Champaign or McLean counties. A Capitol News Illinois analysis 91st District data showed Chung handily winning that race by about 3,500 votes, while Schweizer had a lead of 771 votes in the 104th District with some mail votes outstanding.

In the 112th District in the Metro East area outside St. Louis, Democratic Rep. Katie Stuart, of Edwardsville, was leading Republican challenger Jay Keeven, also of Edwardsville, 54% to 46%.

That district was at the center of a debate during the spring legislative session when Democrats pushed through a bill to ban the practice of political parties “slating” candidates for a race after a primary election if no candidate from that party ran for the nomination.

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That bill passed the General Assembly in May, even though candidates from both parties, including Keeven, were already actively gathering petition signatures to fill vacant ballot positions.

The Illinois Supreme Court eventually ruled that law couldn’t go into effect in 2024, allowing Keeven to remain on the  ballot.

And in the neighboring 114th District, former Democratic Rep. LaToya Greenwood, of East St. Louis, appeared far behind in her attempt to retake the seat she lost following redistricting in 2022 to Republican Rep. Kevin Schmidt. Unofficial returns from that rematch showed Schmidt holding onto lead of less than 2,000 votes with 78% of votes counted. Although the AP had not called the race as of Wednesday, Schmidt issued a news release claiming victory.

 

Statewide and local referendums

Three statewide “advisory questions” all passed on Tuesday, although they don’t carry any legal weight.

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The first question concerned whether candidates should be subject to civil penalties if they interfere with election workers’ official duties. That passed with 88.9% of respondents voting ‘yes’ with an estimated 89% of votes counted.

The second asked voters whether Illinois should modify its constitution to allow for higher taxes on those with incomes over $1 million to pay for property tax relief programs. With an estimated 89% of votes counted, ‘yes’ had carried about 60.3% of the vote.

The third asked whether the state should require insurers that cover pregnancy benefits to also cover assisted reproductive treatments like in vitro fertilization. ‘Yes’ received 72.4% of the vote with 89% of votes counted.

Downstate, seven counties asked voters to consider whether they should explore separating from Cook County to form a new state, with all seven voting in favor of similarly phrased referendums.

This result means that 33 counties so far have voted in favor of exploring separation, just under one-third of Illinois’ 102 counties. In total, about 10.9% of Illinois’ population has voted on this issue, with every county where the question appeared on the ballot voting in favor of separation.

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Madison County, which held a referendum on Tuesday, was the closest referendum yet – passing with 56.5% of the vote. The other six counties that voted on Tuesday ranged from about 71% to 77% voting in favor.

 

Chicago-area races

Chicagoans voted – for the first time – for elected school board members. Ten seats were up for grabs this election and the fiercely fought races brought out millions of dollars in spending from candidates and political committees.

As of Wednesday morning, three races were still too close to call. Of the seven where a winner is clear, three went to candidates backed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Three seats were won by candidates endorsed by either the charter school group INCS Action, a political action committee associated with the conservative Illinois Policy Institute or both. The final candidate wasn’t endorsed by any of those groups.

Recent decisions from leaders in Chicago Public Schools have raised questions about what actions the state might have to take in response. Some state Democrats began publicly considering looking at the level of state oversight at CPS following the resignation of its entire board last month amid tensions with Mayor Brandon Johnson and the CTU.

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The election itself follows a fight among state-level Democrats earlier this year that saw competing proposals and a monthslong debate surrounding ethics rules for the reformed board and a timeline on when to hold the board’s first elections.

Other Cook County offices that were up for election were swept by Democrats, including county clerk, circuit court clerk and state’s attorney. Retired judge Eileen O’Neill Burke defeated Republican Bob Fioretti, a former Chicago alderperson, in a closely watched race to replace outgoing State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

The outgoing prosecutor drew national attention for her progressive policies and her office’s handling of the 2019 Jussie Smollett case.

 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

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