🎶 Happy Friday! On this day in 1976, Chicago topped the charts with "If You Leave Me Now." Oh, Peter, you get us every time.

🌫️ Today's weather: Patchy fog then sunny with a high of 71.

🎂 Happy birthday to our members Stephanie Keough and Christine Hill!

Situational awareness: All elevated Loop "L" stations will be closed this weekend for construction. They will reopen at 4am Monday.

Today’s newsletter is 1,125 words — a 4-minute read.

Gov. JB Pritzker is pouring millions into his reelection campaign while spending big to support Democrats across the country.

Why it matters: Pritzker is flexing his financial and political clout beyond his own reelection campaign, reinforcing his influence within the national Democratic Party as speculation continues about a potential 2028 presidential run.

By the numbers: Pritzker's campaign spent nearly $23.8 million from July through September, according to its latest campaign finance filings.

• More than $12.4 million went toward television advertising.
• The campaign entered October with roughly $44.4 million in cash on hand, thanks in part to a $65 million personal contribution from Pritzker in August.

Zoom in: Pritzker's campaign transferred $3.55 million to the Democratic Party of Illinois during the third quarter.

• The state party, meanwhile, also sent $400,000 to Indiana Democrats and $287,500 to California Democrats.

Zoom out: Separately from his gubernatorial campaign, Pritzker has personally contributed to national Democratic political organizations during the 2025-26 election cycle.

Flashback: Pritzker, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $4.2 billion, contributed about $145 million of his own money to his 2022 reelection campaign against Darren Bailey.

• So far this cycle, he's contributed $90.5 million, about $54.5 million less.

The other side: Bailey's campaign spent roughly $941,000 during the third quarter and raised about $1.2 million.

• Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein, who contributed more than $12 million directly to Bailey's 2022 campaign, has given him just $6,900 this cycle.
• Bailey entered October with less than $500,000 in cash on hand.

Of note: Pritzker isn't the only one in his family spending big on politics. His wife, MK Pritzker, announced Wednesday that she's contributing $500,000 to support Democrat Amy Acton's campaign for Ohio governor.

Go deeper

Caleb Williams and the Bears gutted out a 30-24 win over the Patriots last night at Soldier Field.

State of play: Williams threw for more than 300 yards for the second straight game, a career first and the first time a Bears quarterback has accomplished the feat since Mitch Trubisky in 2018.

• A late fourth-quarter drive set up Cairo Santos for a career-long 58-yard field goal to seal the win.

Yes, but: The defense surrendered an inexplicable last-second touchdown before halftime, and tight end Cole Kmet was carted off the field late in the game with an injury.

The big picture: The Bears are 5-2 and play the Seahawks next.

Your turn: Another thrilling Bears win means another chance to show off your caption-writing skills!

📬 Reply to this email with your best caption and we'll shout out the winner Monday.

McDonald's ranks near the bottom of a new report evaluating plant-based menu options at major U.S. burger chains.

Driving the news: Animal welfare group Mercy For Animals released its "Patty Battles" report this month, placing the Chicago-based fast-food giant in the lowest tier for veggie-friendly offerings.

Zoom in: The two chains that scored the highest are Bareburger and BurgerFi. The closest Chicago BurgerFi is in Glenview, while Eater reported Bareburger closed in 2018.

• Some of the chains that ranked in the second-highest level do have Chicago-area locations, including Burger King, White Castle, Fatburger and Red Robin.
• McDonald's and 12 others rank in the bottom tier, with nine points or less on the group's scale. Wendy's and DQ also fall into this category.

The fine print: Mercy For Animals awarded points to chains based on the number of plant-based burgers, sides and desserts they served.

• The report also considered menu presentation and price.

Yes, but: Veggie options sometimes appear on the menu at the "international McDonald's" in the West Loop, such as the popular McAloo Tikki Burger from India.

Of note: Axios reached out to McDonald's for comment but didn't get a response.

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🚖 Cab riders will face new surcharges as gas prices continue to rise. Taxi drivers can charge $1, $2 or $3 based on the overall fare. (Sun-Times)

😷 DuPage County health officials have confirmed the county's first measles case of 2026. The patient recently traveled internationally, and officials warn of possible exposure at O'Hare's Terminal 5 on Oct. 15. (ABC 7)

🎶 DJ Sam Chatman, known as the "Godfather of Steppin'," died yesterday at the age of 85. He's credited with coining the term "steppin'" to describe the Chicago-born dance style in the 1960s.

👋 Hey, it's Monica.

Growing up in Chicago, I never heard the terms "tavern" or "deep dish" pizza. We just called it thin or thick crust.

Yes, but: A lot's changed since then. Pizza styles have grown increasingly specific and some standard-bearers — like Lou Malnati's — have been acquired by private equity.

• That led one reader to recently tell us that she's given up on Malnati's newly skimpy pies.

Driving the news: I wondered if she was right and whether a nationally shipped pie could restore Chicago's deep-dish reputation and show the world what we're made of.

• Apparently, dough, sauce and cheese.

Enter Rupiani's, a River North-based business that reached out to tell me they'd perfected the shippable "deep dish pizza."

• I cooked up both.

The verdict: Private equity Malnati's ($19.45) does seem skimpier than the pie of my youth, but I still love the buttery crust, layer of fennel sausage and yeasty aroma.

• Rupiani's (3 for $165) delivers a totally different experience, with gobs of cheese and a lovely sweetish sauce but an unpleasantly thick crust. With no top crust, it falls mysteriously between stuffed and deep dish.

The bottom line: Rupiani's is tasty but unlike any Chicago pizza I'd ever tried.

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👋 Hey, it's Justin!

This week's Kaufmann quiz celebrates our ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit.

The quiz: Local inventions.

• Last week's architecture quiz was a smash success. Congrats to Matt A., Michael L., Robert I., Alan F., Fred S., Janet V., Louis G. and Frederick N.!

Play this week's quiz!

Edited by Larry Graham.

🎤 Carrie thinks you should check out the 2026 Chicago Made Music Showcase Finale tomorrow. Finalists are competing for a chance to perform at and a $10,000 grand prize!

🏈 Justin loves that the Bears keep showing up in prime-time games. What a turnaround.

🎤 Monica is excited to attend her first "Welcome to the Show" with Derek Bish on Monday at Three Top Lounge. Guests include Maria Pappas, Alex Kotlowitz and Andrew Sa.

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