Stratton, a former state representative, has served as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s second in command since taking office in 2019.

Her opponent is Don Tracy, former chair of the state Republican Party and the Illinois Gaming Board under former Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Stratton promised to counter President Donald Trump's policies if elected, saying voters from all political sides are worried about corruption in the nation’s top office.

“I'm hearing from not just Democrats, but independents and Republicans that they are very concerned with what's happening,” Stratton said. “I always say this is the most corrupt president that we've had in history. And people are worried about seeing a president who now has made about $2 billion dollars since he's been in office this second term.”

Stratton said she’s also focused on serving all Illinoisans, not just on partisan terms.

As for the filibuster, a procedure that is often used in the Senate to block or delay votes on major legislation by allowing unlimited debate that requires a supermajority vote to conclude, Stratton said she wants to see Democrats eliminate it if they take power in the coming election.

“I think about all of the progress that has been stalled and halted because of the filibuster,” Stratton said. “What about reproductive freedom? And gun violence, you know, like really pushing for a federal assault weapons ban. There's so many issues that we've been able to tackle here in Illinois and get done that has been held up.”

She said while she’s supportive of cutting away at waste and fraud within federal spending, it needs to be done more carefully, again noting the current president and Congress have pushed through less careful measures.

“I've always said, of course, if there are any specific instances of fraud, we certainly should root it out,” Stratton said. “But that's not what's happening here. This is a president that just wants to enrich himself and a Congress that is supporting him and doing that. And that's not what the people of Illinois are looking for.”

Asked her stance on the Democratic Socialist wing of the party, and more radical figures influencing politics today like online socialist commentator Hasan Piker, Stratton said she doesn’t hear Illinoisans worried either way about the progressive wing.

“I certainly don't agree with everything that [Piker] has said and I found some of the things he said quite offensive, but I would disagree with the categorization that a lot of people are talking about it,” Stratton said. “What I hear people talking about is how are you going to make my life more affordable? How are you going to make sure we protect our democracy and our rights?”

In a recent New York Times-Siena poll conducted in battleground states for this November, respondents overwhelmingly said they didn’t know who Piker was, despite him campaigning for candidates in many of the states polled and appearing in attack ads in places like Michigan.

Stratton’s opponent has been critical of her not accepting any debate invitations from various organizations and media outlets, but Stratton has since agreed to appear for a televised debate on Chicago’s WTTW Channel 11 on Oct. 20.

Tracy told The Center Square his Democratic opponent is afraid of engaging with him because it’ll draw attention to her platform of “open borders, open jails and open checkbooks.”

Early voting began Thursday in most jurisdictions, excluding Chicago, which will open early in-person voting Oct. 1.

Greg Bishop contributed to this story

Boch said the surveillance video made the circumstances particularly clear to him.

“The thug thought he was going to win the confrontation, and he thought wrong, because of course the victim, he had a gun too, and he got a vote in the matter,” Boch said.

“Instead of being a victim, the concealed-carry holder ended up just being a witness and survived it uninjured,” he said.

Orland Park police said a citizen was pumping gas at a Shell station in the 15100 block of Harlem Avenue around 9 a.m. Tuesday when an individual attempted an armed robbery. The CCL holder fired a handgun, striking the suspect. The citizen was not injured and cooperated with investigators.

The suspect was taken to a hospital.

Boch said the incident demonstrates why he believes concealed carry can provide an option for people confronted by an armed attacker.

“It means they're not a defenseless victim and the bad guys don't get a run rough shot over them without fear of meaningful resistance,” Boch said.

“The gun obviously provided the good guy in this case, meaningful resistance against a criminal attack,” he said.

Illinois law permits deadly force when a person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another person, or the commission of a forcible felony.

Boch said understanding those legal requirements is an important part of concealed-carry training.

“Basically, if you have a reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury at that particular moment, you can use lethal force to protect yourself or another innocent,” he said.

Whether deadly force is legally justified depends on the circumstances of each case. The Orland Park investigation remains ongoing.

Boch said Illinois’ concealed-carry training framework addresses the use of force but said the quality of instruction can vary.

“Officially, yes, it does,” Boch said when asked whether the framework prepares license holders for armed attacks. “In the real world, it depends on how good your instructor or instructors are that are delivering the material.”

He also warned Illinois gun owners about misconceptions surrounding self-defense law.

“There are a lot of misconceptions by people who aren't educated in what the law is,” Boch said.

Boch said the surveillance video also appeared to show the CCL holder paying attention to his surroundings before the confrontation escalated.

“To the good guy's credit, he was paying attention to his surroundings,” Boch said.

“Crime happens everywhere,” Boch added. “It doesn't matter how nice your neighborhood is or, you know, how you perceive it. It's everywhere.”

The incident has renewed discussion about concealed carry and self-defense in Illinois as police continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez said in a social media post it is disappointing that the Supreme Court decided to capitulate and enable an authoritarian.

Republican Congresswoman Mary Miller said the court delivered a major win for election integrity.

Andrew Rice contributed to this story

CHICAGO PARKING METERS VOTE DELAYED

The Chicago City Council has pushed back a potential vote on an agreement allowing the sale of the city’s parking meter system between two private entities, Chicago Parking Meters LLC and New York-based Stonepeak.

Negotiated terms include the city receiving a $75 million fee from Stonepeak and a 5% share of annual profits.

Aldermen did not vote at a brief meeting on Friday but did schedule another meeting for Tuesday.

Sean Reed contributed to this story

ILLINOIS TECH GRADE RISES

Illinois has improved from a B+ to an A- in The Center for Digital Government’s 2026 Digital States Survey.

Iowa and Missouri both got A’s in the biennial report, while Indiana and Wisconsin received A- grades. Kentucky was given a B+.

The survey evaluates how state governments leverage technology to improve constituent engagement, increase efficiency, streamline operations and enhance service delivery.

EFFINGHAM MAN GETS 38 YEARS FOR PRODUCING CHILD SEX ABUSE MATERIAL

An Effingham man has been sentenced to 38 years in prison for producing child sex abuse material.

According to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, Landin Miller, 24, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to two counts of video production of child sexual abuse material and two counts of still shot production of child sexual abuse material.

Child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE SAMPLING KITS OFFERED

Beginning with the fall 2026 deer hunting season, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources says it will offer voluntary mail-in sampling kits to hunters who want to collect lymph node samples from harvested deer for chronic wasting disease testing.

Hunters can request kits online or by contacting a local district wildlife biologist. CWD is a fatal disease of the central nervous system that affects deer and elk.

After Johnson and three aldermen proposed a one-year pause on new data center development or expansion, the mayor said a corporate-aligned member of city council sent the ordinance to the rules committee instead of having it discussed by a joint committee of zoning and environment.

“I remain committed to instituting this moratorium so that we can set strong standards to protect our communities and the environment,” Johnson said.

Brad Tietz, director of state government affairs - Midwest for the Data Center Coalition, said Chicago will never be a significant hub for large-scale data center development.

“So it's a bit perplexing to us as to why you would shut the door for a year and send the signal to this industry that creates significant property taxes,” Tietz told The Center Square.

Johnson’s office has projected a budget deficit of $882.4 million for 2027.

Tietz said, in suburban Elk Grove Village, data centers generate four to six times more property tax revenue than traditional properties.

Tietz said a moratorium would also prevent long-term construction opportunities for union workers.

“The mayor claims to care about union work. He's impacting it with this. And on the clean energy side, 84% of the renewable purchases done nationally in the first half of 2025 were done by the data center industries,” Tietz said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he does not want to stop data centers from being built, but he is not opposed to local moves like Johnson is proposing for Chicago.

“They have the ability to do that, and they should if they don't want one in their communities. There are places that want them,” Pritzker said in Monee on Thursday.

When asked if his administration had assessed the risk of potential litigation against a moratorium, Johnson said his team is constantly assessing how policy it puts forward can withstand any legal challenges.

Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson said taxable income is leaving Illinois along with people and businesses.

“Florida is the number one recipient. It's over $2 billion of taxable income that has left Illinois just for Florida alone,” Wilson told The Center Square.

Two billboards on Interstate 55 in Chicago thank Gov. J.B. Pritzker for the jobs and name Pritzker runner-up Florida Economic Developer of the Year.

“My hope is that the governor of Illinois gives us a call and says, ‘Hey, we see that Florida is number one or number two in all of these important performance metrics, and we'd like to have a conversation about how Illinois can be like Florida,’” Wilson said.

The billboards on the Stevenson Expressway follow the Free Enterprise Florida campaign launch in New York’s Times Square last month.

The chamber says Florida ranks No. 1 for business relocations while Illinois ranks 48th, and Florida ranks first for business startups while Illinois is sixth.

The campaign also highlights the difference between the two states in taxable income migration.

The Florida chamber says Florida ranks No. 1, with $20.6 billion in net income moving into the state. Illinois ranks No. 49, with a $5.9 billion net loss.

An Illinois Chamber of Commerce spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Wilson said Florida has almost twice the population of Illinois but a smaller state budget and no personal income tax.

“In Florida, the average state budget is about $5,000 a person. But when you live in Illinois, it's over $10,000 a person, so think of the taxes that you all pay there,” Wilson said.

Florida has one of the nation’s lowest debts per capita.

“We have under $1,000 per person of debt. Illinois has three or four times the level of debt per person than Florida has,” Wilson said.

A recent Reason Foundation report said Illinois has a debt ratio of 276%, higher than any other state.

Wilson said Illinois can solve its problems by pushing policies similar to those in states like Florida.

“We've lowered taxes over 50 times in 15 years,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the Florida chamber receives no state taxpayer dollars and is entirely funded by the private sector.

The Illinois chamber also does not accept state taxpayer money. The state budget, however, does include appropriations for numerous community and neighborhood chambers of commerce.

The state’s agreement with Voortman includes an estimated tax credit of $1.8 million and a target of 51 new jobs to be created.

COOK COUNTY JUDGE ASSIGNED TO STATE APPEALS COURT

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the assignment of Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas More Donnelly to the First District Appellate Court, effective Oct. 16.

Donnelly has served as a circuit judge since 2021 and previously served as an associate judge in Cook County for 19 years.

MAN GETS 25-YEAR SENTENCE FOR SEX TRAFFICKING A MINOR

A Park Forest man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sex trafficking and abusing a 16-year-old girl.

Prosecutors said Ruben Carter, 39, caused the girl to engage in commercial sex acts over a four-month period in 2019, beat the girl and threatened to kill her if she did not comply with his demands.

Carter pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of sex trafficking a minor.

METRO EAST CRIME SUPPRESSION DETAIL NETS ARRESTS

Illinois State Police say a recent Metro East violent crime suppression detail netted nine arrests, plus the recovery of four firearms and one stolen vehicle.

ISP conducted the operations Tuesday and Wednesday in Madison and St. Clair counties, with a focus on East St. Louis and neighboring Metro East communities.

NEW I-CASH AUCTION OPENS ON FRIDAY

A 1926 British Sovereign gold coin bearing the image of King George V, three Egyptian leather jewelry boxes, and baseball cards of Chicago legends Ryne Sandberg and Frank Thomas are among the treasures available at the state’s online I-CASH auction from Friday until Oct. 4.

A total of 100 lots will be auctioned from the catalog on the HiBid website. The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office is the custodian of unclaimed property, including lost bank accounts, insurance policy proceeds, unpaid rebate cards and the contents of safe deposit boxes.

By Jerry Nowicki
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com

 Early voting is open in Illinois and election authorities can begin mailing ballots to voters. 

Capitol News Illinois is once again launching its Election Guide that includes resources to help Illinoisans learn how, when and where to vote, how to register and what statewide races are on the ballot.  

View the Election Guide

This year’s guide will also contain a rundown and link to our coverage of all Illinois’ statewide races, from U.S. Senate to governor, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer and secretary of state. We’re in the process of booking the candidates for interviews in all those races and will update the guide with coverage as the races progress.  

The guide contains a lookup tool to help get in touch with your local election authority. It also includes instructions on how to register to vote, either online at ova.elections.il.gov through Oct. 18 or in person through Oct. 6, after which time a grace period begins. Illinoisans can also register on Election Day. More information is available in the guide. 

For early voting, the Illinois State Board of Elections maintains a list of nearly all locations and their hours. For the Nov. 3 general election, early voting for most Illinoisans began Thursday. 

While most can vote at their local election authority’s office, the rules are different in Chicago, where early voting begins on Sept. 24 at two downtown locations, a supersite at 137 S. State St. and the Board of Elections Office at 69 W. Washington St. Voting will be available at more locations beginning Oct. 19.  Visit the county clerk’s office for specific early voting locations and times outside of Chicago, as they’re available. 

Visit capitolnewsillinois.com/election-guide for more. 

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. 

On Sept. 24, the state high court unanimously ruled Uber can't send to arbitration the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of Mark Geller, who died in a 2022 crash.

According to court documents and published reports, Geller was a passenger in a vehicle owned and driven by Ejaz Rathore, which Geller had hired through the Uber rideshare app.

During that ride, however, Rathore lost control of the vehicle on the Stevenson Expressway, killing both himself and Geller.

Geller's wife, Gloria Sheridan Geller then filed suit against Uber and Rathore's estate, claiming wrongful death against Uber and negligence against Rathore.

Uber responded in court by seeking to dismiss the lawsuit. The company claimed Sheridan Geller's claims couldn't be lodged in court, because both she and her husband had signed Uber's user agreement, which includes language requiring them to take their claims for injury to arbitration, rather than in court through a lawsuit.

Businesses typically favor arbitration, as it represents a more straightforward, predictable and less costly approach to dispute resolution, as compared to the much larger costs racked up through years of proceedings and attorney fees that can be capped off by a potentially massive verdict delivered by a jury.

In recent years particularly, businesses, like Uber, have included clauses in user agreements requiring customers to agree to submit their legal claims to arbitration, rather than lawsuits, as a condition of service.

However, trial lawyers have fought the entire time to find ways to sidestep or overthrow such arbitration requirements, as they prefer to send the cases in court as lawsuits that can potentially be converted into large payouts worth millions of dollars at a time.

In this case, a Cook County judge noted the Gellers had each agreed to the arbitration requirement when they signed up to use the Uber app.

However, while the judge said Uber could have used Mark Geller's agreement to block a lawsuit, they can't use Sheridan Geller's arbitration agreement to block her lawsuit over her claims as Mark Geller's surviving spouse.

That decision was reversed on appeal by the Illinois First District Appellate Court.

But on appeal to the state's highest court, the Illinois Supreme Court said the Cook County court got the case right, and Uber can be sued.

The decision was authored by Justice David K. Overstreet, with concurrence from all of the court's six other justices.

In this case, Overstreet said, Uber cannot show Sheridan Geller agreed to delegate her rights to sue over to an arbitrator.

"Because Sheridan’s agreement applies only to disputes arising from her own use of Uber’s services and because the estate’s wrongful death claims arise solely from Mark’s use and accrued only upon his death, no clear and unmistakable evidence exists to conclude that the parties agreed to delegate arbitrability of these claims to an arbitrator," Overstreet wrote.

"Thus, the circuit court properly addressed arbitrability and properly found that, based on the language of Sheridan’s terms-of-use agreement, Sheridan did not consent to submit the merits of the dispute to the arbitrator."

Sheridan Geller was represented in the case by attorney Charles Haskins, of the Clifford Law Offices, of Chicago.

Following the Illinois Supreme Court's ruling, Haskins and Clifford Law released a statement praising the decision.

“We are extremely grateful that the state’s highest court determined simply signing up for an application like Uber does not compel any controversy imaginable to arbitration, only ones where the parties agreed to arbitrate,” Haskins said. “This decision has significance to all consumers in Illinois, and around the country, given the prevalence of mobile applications and the Terms of Use that accompany them. The unfettered use of mandatory arbitration clauses by large corporations who use it as a device to avoid full justice was clarified in this important decision. Arbitration is a matter of consent of the parties, not coercion.”

One witness said the Illinois law banning Flock's use in federal immigration cases may be moot as the issue is more wide-ranging and bipartisan.

During the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing Wednesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers questioned experts on the uses and misuses of ALPR cameras across the country.

Attempting to discuss the use of such cameras in connection to immigration enforcement, Durbin questioned Chad Marlow, policy counsel for the ACLU, on if other states have laws similar to the one passed in Illinois, which bans the sharing of Flock camera-collected data for immigration enforcement purposes.

Marlow said while the law may be a good faith effort, it may be moot.

“The news I have to share is the value of those laws is limited. If the federal government, you give an example of ICE, were to show up with a judicial warrant or an administrative subpoena for that data, it would not matter much what Illinois law said about it,” Marlow said.

He noted that the Illinois law could also be bypassed if just one officer with access to data that federal agents seek were to conduct a search on their behalf.

Marlow said the extent of the searches and surveillance that can be conducted through the cameras is also more extensive than just immigration issues.

“Looking at it in the immigration context is horrifying, but they've done the same to people who go to gun ranges. This really is non-partisan. It is come up with the group you want to target, and with this level of technology targeting them is fairly easy,” Marlow said.

Earlier in the hearing, Chair of the subcommittee, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., explained that no executives from companies creating the cameras, like Flock Safety, Axon Enterprise and Motorola Solutions, had agreed to testify before the committee.

Hawley said he received a letter from Flock Safety’s CEO Garrett Langley in response to his invitation to testify.

“Flock acknowledged that it conducts very little oversight of client searches and instead relies on its clients to police themselves,” Hawley said. “Flock also admitted in their letter that it is possible to search for humans in images. That is a direct quote.”

Durbin went on to ask others about the extent to which the cameras only record license plates, as previously suggested by ALPR manufacturers like Flock, Axon and Motorola.

Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Ross Teeple said his “breaking point” in using the cameras came after Flock couldn’t answer questions about their capabilities brought to him by concerned constituents.

“They were asking very specific questions and I started asking Flock the company questions and they were not getting answers,” Teeple said. “I think it's remarkable that Chairman Hawley got them to admit that they now can track a person because what I received from a Flock representative was I was told our cameras don't take a high enough resolution picture to be able to recognize a person.”

In Illinois, increased concerns about Flock cameras have been raised by residents in a bipartisan manner.

Republican Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey has pledged to outright ban Flock cameras statewide if elected, noting he doesn’t want to live in a “surveillance state.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker hasn’t commented in detail regarding his stance on the cameras’ use by local and state law enforcement, aside from the ban he signed into law on out of state and federal access to data collected.

Dagoberto Diaz, 48, a teacher at Carl Sandburg Middle School and girls volleyball coach at Mundelein High School, was released Wednesday after being charged with unauthorized video recording of a juvenile.

A Lake County judge said Diaz could not be detained under provisions of the SAFE-T Act.

State Sen. Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills, said the case is alarming to her as a mom and former Cook County prosecutor.

“I believe any crime involving the abuse or exploitation of a child should be a detainable offense under the SAFE-T Act,” Hills told The Center Square.

Hills said protecting children must be the priority.

“Allowing someone that has exploited or abused a child to be let out back on the streets is just unacceptable,” Hills said.

September 18 was the three-year anniversary of the SAFE-T Act’s provision to eliminate cash bail in Illinois and reform pretrial detention procedures.

Following the allegations in Mundelein, Hills renewed her push for legislation that requires people convicted of sexually motivated and unauthorized recordings of minors to register as sex offenders.

Hills said Diaz would not currently have to register as a sex offender if convicted.

“And he could go on without the public knowing what he has been charged and convicted of,” Hills said.

Hills said Senate Bill 2381 would close a loophole in state law.

“My original bill, 2381, was filed based on a similar situation where a teacher in Chicago was videotaping children in the bathroom, including a child with disabilities, and using that for sexual purposes,” Hills said.

Hills said the individual did not have to register as a sex offender and then went to another school and hurt more children.

Hills is facing a campaign challenge for her state Senate seat from state Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine. Syed’s campaign did not immediately respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.

When asked about the taxpayer cost of child sex abuse investigations, prosecutions and court proceedings, Hills said she did not have an exact number, but “it’s a large amount.”

Hills said the cost of the trauma to children and families never goes away.