President Biden is expected to visit the Belvidere Assembly Plant today to celebrate its planned reopening as part of a new labor contract.

Why it matters: The recent UAW strike deal brought workers better pay and conditions, but it also includes a major reinvestment in the idled Belvidere plant that once defined the northern Illinois town.

What's happening: In an unusual move, UAW workers negotiated with Stellantis to revitalize the plant just outside Rockford.

• The Sun-Times reports that Gov. JB Pritzker and the White House pushed Stellantis to revive the facility, which was idled earlier this year.

The big picture: The plan is a win for Pritzker, who's been working to sell Illinois as a hub for EV production.

What they're saying: "We figured it was a shot in the dark," UAW Belvidere president Matt Frantzen tells Axios. "Everything we ended up with here in Belvidere is definitely more than the membership could have even asked for."

Details: Stellantis plans to invest $5 billion to turn the plant into a new parts distribution center, which will include the assembly plant and a new battery facility for electric vehicle manufacturing.

• The new contract could bring more than 3,000 jobs to Belvidere, which is more than the 1,300 lost when the plant was idled in February. It also would absorb a facility in Naperville and let workers transfer.

Context: The idling of the plant, which used to make the Jeep Cherokee, left the town with less of a sense of community, Frantzen says.

• "I've got second-, third-generation members here that this is all they've known," Frantzen tells Axios. "You know, their schooling, their upbringing, everything revolved around this plant.
• "It is why our wants and needs in Belvidere were different from, I think, the rest of the UAW members across the big three."

What we're watching: Stellantis hasn't yet announced which models will be made at the Belvidere plant. (Frantzen believes it will be a truck.)

• It's also unclear how much the state will kick in for the project, which could take up to five years to complete.

What's next: The new contract still has to be ratified by the union.

Chicago workers could be guaranteed a minimum of 10 days off a year if the City Council passes one of the most expansive leave policies in the nation.

Why it matters: The law could attract workers to the city but scare away businesses concerned about operating costs.

Driving the news: The Chicago City Council is expected to vote on the measure today after weeks of delays to reach a compromise.

How it works: If passed, all Chicago workers would be guaranteed at least five sick days and five "vacation" days each year, starting Dec. 31.

• Businesses with more than 100 employees would have to pay exiting workers for unused leave. Smaller businesses would have more limited responsibilities.
• Businesses that violate the law could also be sued by employees one year after the law goes into effect.

Context: The ordinance comes on the heels of other labor-friendly legislation advanced by Mayor Brandon Johnson, particularly One Fair Wage, which over five years will eliminate the difference between the regular and the tipped minimum wage.

What they're saying: "We worked collaboratively to find compromises, and we ended up with the most progressive paid time off policy in the country," Johnson said in a statement yesterday.

The other side: A coalition of major Chicago business groups oppose it, saying it "cements Chicago as a hostile place to do business," at a time when employers are still recovering from the pandemic and some are bracing for new costs driven by One Fair Wage.

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🪧 SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios have reached a tentative deal on a new contract to end the 118-day strike. (Deadline)

💰 A new survey says working in-person costs employees $51 a day over remote work. (Sun-Times)

🏈 The Bears will play without quarterback Justin Fields in tonight's matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Tyson Bagent will start his fourth game. (Tribune)

Nearly 475,500 veterans live in Illinois, according to 2022 census data.

• That's 4.8% of the state's population of civilians age 18 and older.

The intrigue: That percentage is well below the 6.2% national average, and lower than our neighboring states of Wisconsin, Missouri and Indiana.

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👋 Hey, it's Monica.

When I heard that Chinatown Square's Ken Kee was offering a new Hong Kong Afternoon Tea service, I grabbed my mom and son to give it a try.

• I love Hong Kong's funky Canto-Anglo dishes, and this sounded like a comforting treat on a cold, rainy day.

Details: Diners get a hot drink — with choices including strong milky Hong Kong tea, lemon tea or Hong Kong tea blended with coffee — and a select tea dish for $10.

The dishes include an egg tart with peach jelly, fried toast filled with Ovaltine chocolate spread, noodle soup, and chicken wings with fries.

• But I went for the "highly recommended" toasted pineapple bun with a slab of chilled truffle butter.

The verdict: Pineapple buns (resembling Mexican conchas) with butter are a Hong Kong staple, but truffle butter takes it to a whole new level.

• My brain didn't know if it should expect sweet or savory, but ultimately I got both in this decadent combo I haven't found anywhere else in the city.

If you go: The special is offered from 2-5pm Monday-Friday.

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