Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Across the region, video gambling devices are allowed in more than 200 communities and banned in more than 60. We examine this boon.
🗞️ Plus: Multimillion-dollar momentum builds in Bronzeville, a local man prepares for his 48th Chicago Marathon and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Bears beat the Jets, 23-12; the Stars fell to the Summit, 3-0.
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny with a high near 66.
📧 Subscribe: Get our morning newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Video gambling saturates Chicago area
Reporting by Robert Herguth
Big bet: Not even 20 years ago, video gambling was illegal in Illinois. Today, nearly 80% of Chicago’s six-county metropolitan area has legalized video gambling, a level of saturation that means more than 200 municipalities now allow it to varying degrees, while more than 60 communities ban the machines.
Key context: Video gambling terminals were legalized in Chicago last year against objections from Mayor Brandon Johnson and the developers of the Bally’s Chicago casino, who feared the gambling devices would cannibalize the local market. The machines have yet to go live within the city, a City Hall spokesman said.
Where you’ll find it: Wealthy suburbs generally outlaw video gambling — North Shore communities of Evanston, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Wilmette and Winnetka all have prohibitions. Lower-income south suburbs generally allow it.
At issue: Beyond gambling addiction, the vastness of video gambling also has the potential to normalize gambling for children, who are exposed to marketing. Studies show many who gamble are those who can least afford it. And video gambling is fueling a crime wave of after-hours burglaries at establishments with the machines. A trade group representing the video gambling industry didn’t return calls from the Sun-Times.
HEALTH 🩺
16 died from heat this summer in Chicago area
Reporting by Elvia Malagón and Cam Rodriguez
Heat casualties: More people — 16 — died from the heat in Cook County this summer than in any previous year in the last decade, according to our analysis of county data.
Questions remain: Experts say heat-related deaths should be preventable and those who died from the heat this summer leave behind questions about what individuals and Chicago officials can do to adapt to and mitigate future stretches of extreme heat.
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS ✶
Multimillion-dollar momentum builds in Bronzeville
Reporting by Erica Thompson
Community cares: A network of eight community leaders says it has raised $75 million to help build or redevelop nine Bronzeville cultural sites and solidify the neighborhood as a national destination for the arts.
Among the sites: The National Museum of Gospel Music, Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley House, and a recreational Bronzeville Trail. Other sites include a food hub called Bronzeville Cookin’, the Muddy Waters MOJO Museum and more.
Key context: The Bronzeville Legacy Collective, the group behind the effort, is trying to raise more amid cuts to federal arts funding. Ultimately, the collective hopes to raise $250 million, including $100 million for the Bronzeville Trail to be constructed from 40th and Federal streets to 41st Street and Lake Park Avenue.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Palestine Fest: The fourth annual festival brought together a peaceful crowd celebrating Palestinian culture in Bridgeview. It also drew the attention of a small group of far-right protesters, who clashed with a much larger crowd of counter-protesters outside a gas station near the stadium.
- Woman charged in girl’s death: Shavon Gayden faces first-degree murder charges after allegedly stabbing a 7-year-old girl as the child was walking on a sidewalk in Chatham on Saturday.
- Mental health response expands: Starting Monday, the city’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement team will extend to night hours, responding to 911 calls involving mental health crises and socio-emotional distress.
- End ‘sickening’ smell: State and city officials are asking a Cook County Circuit Court judge to halt operations at Pullman Innovations, which has been the source of hundreds of nuisance complaints over putrid odors.
- Cost of car work rises: Chicago drivers are paying more for routine oil changes as rising motor oil costs put pressure on local auto repair shops amid supply disruptions linked to the Iran war.
- Christmas tree search: The city is looking for its next official Christmas tree, a local Norway spruce or fir for downtown. Submissions are open through Oct. 23.
- The Chicks review: For their two-night stint in Chicago, the trio commemorated the 20th anniversary of “Taking the Long Way,” the album that put them back on the map after their tumultuous cancellation.
- Local finalists: The Chicago Review of Books announced the finalists for its 2026 CHIRBy Awards, honoring writers who live in the area or whose work has a strong Chicago connection.
ELECTIONS ☑️
What to know about the race for Illinois governor
Reporting by Mitchell Armentrout
The matchup: Incumbent Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, seeking a rare third term as Illinois governor, is squaring off with Republican nominee Darren Bailey and independent candidate Collin Corbett in the Nov. 3 general election.
Key context: Pritzker was first elected in 2018, and this year’s contest presents a rematch of his 2022 reelection victory — when he beat Bailey by nearly 13 percentage points.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Video gambling debate: The Sun-Times’ Robert Herguth joins the show to discuss his story and both sides of the video gambling debate.
- Election education: Liana Keesing of the Transparent Election Initiative stops by to explain the corporate powers reset and what it could mean for Illinois elections.
- Cynthia Pelayo: The local horror novelist and poet stops by to talk about her new collection, “Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror.”
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Respiratory Illness Season: A health expert joins the show to discuss safety during the months when respiratory illnesses thrive — and take listeners’ calls.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 1D: “___ Patrol” (song by Chicago band Naked Raygun)
NU RYAN FIELD 🏈
- Brand NU stadium: On Friday, Northwestern University christened its newly rebuilt Ryan Field with a 34-13 victory over Penn State to the joy of fans who packed the $875 million, 35,000-seat stadium.
- Residents react: Many neighbors of the Evanston stadium welcomed the Wildcats’ new home, but remained apprehensive of the non-football events the school hopes to hold in the stadium, like concerts.
- First official look: The Sun-Times was there to capture the new era for Northwestern sports.
WATCH: NU RYAN FIELD ▶️
PRESS BOX 🏈⚾🏀
- Bears analysis: Coach Ben Johnson’s crew is quietly and patiently piecing together an overwhelming offense, writes Jason Lieser. Steve Greenberg graded the team’s performances on Sunday.
- Pitchers at the ready: After the Sox secured victory on Saturday, they face Cleveland again Monday, where they’re taking an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to pitching.
- Cubs’ to-do list: These are the four offseason questions facing Jed Hoyer and the Cubs, who have pitching at the top of their lengthy to-do list.
- Money matters: Here’s how the NHL’s salary boom affects the Blackhawks’ negotiations with 2027 restricted free agents.
- High school football: Bolingbrook returns to the top 10 and Lyons is back in Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 8.
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Man to run his 48th Chicago Marathon in old gym shorts
Reporting by Mitch Dudek
This will be the 48th Chicago Marathon that Henry Kozlowski runs in his high school gym shorts.
The cotton shorts, issued by Lane Technical High School, as it was then named, in 1966, or possibly 1967, come out of the closet once a year.
Why his high school gym shorts? They’re just the shorts he had, and he wore them, Kozlowski, 76, told the Sun-Times.
He’s one of two runners who have finished every Chicago marathon since the race started in 1977. He hopes to complete this year’s race in under eight hours.
“[The shorts are] a little snug, not as comfy as they were when I was in high school, but they still work,” said Kozlowski, who hopes to finish 50 marathons before hanging them up for good.
“They’ll wear out the same time I do,” he said. “Maybe I’ll have them bronzed.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Have you ever run the Chicago Marathon before? What tips do you have for a first-time marathoner?
Reply to this question via email (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Michael Lansu
Copy edited by: Satchel Price