🏗️ It's Wednesday! On this day in 2004, demolition began on the old Sun-Times building on the Chicago River. It would be replaced by Trump Tower.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 73 and a low of 58.

Situational awareness: Pink and Green Line disruptions in the Loop will continue beyond this morning as construction on the Lake Street Bridge has been extended through "the end of the week."

Today’s newsletter is 1,124 words — a 4-minute read.

Evanston/Skokie District 65 needs to cut $20 million by 2028 and district leaders are pushing to do that by closing schools and cutting after-school care.

Why it matters: Closing a school removes a community anchor and forces families to rebuild, and ending the childcare program disrupts working families. But district leaders argue that decades of unbalanced budgets have backed them into a corner.

The latest: At a school board meeting Monday night, several parents and community members spoke out against the plan. Some pointed out that the original fiscal projection presented this month was miscalculated by about $17 million.

• Officials double-counted capital expenses, D65 CFO Eric Miller said at the meeting, but the plan remains the same.

What's inside: D65's plan would close two schools, Dewey and Lincolnwood, cut the School Age Childcare program and eliminate roughly 200 positions.

By the numbers: Enrollment declined 26% from 2017 to 2026.

• Officials estimate district expenses will grow 5.8% annually, while revenues will grow 2.9%.

What they're saying: Quinn Egan, a fourth-grader at Lincolnwood who used to attend Kingsley, stood at the podium to share what it's like to change schools. "

• When my class heard the news of the new proposal this year on picture day, lots of us cried. Please don't do this to me and my classmates again," Egan said to the school board.

Context: Kingsley and Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies both closed at the end of the last school year.

The other side: The school board members "are trying very hard to step up and do what needs to be done, so we're not sitting here again a year from now, or two years from now, or three years from now, or five years from now, that we get the deficit solved," Eric Witherspoon, D65 interim superintendent, said Monday.

What's next: The District 65 School Board is expected to vote on the proposed financial plan on Nov. 9.

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Voters in 11 Illinois counties will decide next week whether to explore separating from Cook County and forming a new state.

Why it matters: The movement to split Illinois in two continues to gain traction, fueled by longstanding political and cultural divisions between Chicago and downstate communities.

By the numbers: Voters in 33 of Illinois' 102 counties have already approved similar nonbinding referendums.

• If all 11 counties approve the measures on Nov. 3, that number would climb to 44, or 43% of Illinois counties.

State of play: Eleven of the latest referendums are being organized by Illinois Separation, a group that argues downstate communities have little say in policies largely shaped by Chicago and Cook County.

Zoom out: As Axios previously reported, the movement has also attracted interest in Chicago's suburbs, where another organization, New Illinois, has held meetings promoting a potential split.

The intrigue: Indiana lawmakers seized on the downstate discontent, offering to welcome Illinois counties that want to leave the state.

• Last year, Indiana established a commission to explore redrawing the state's boundaries, although Illinois has declined to participate.

Yes, but: The referendums are advisory and wouldn't actually divide Illinois. Any boundary changes would require approval from the Illinois General Assembly and then Congress.

What's next: Voters will weigh in Nov. 3, potentially expanding the number of counties formally expressing support for exploring separation.

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A new monument in the Illinois Medical District honors essential workers, first responders and victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it matters: Located in the center of the IMD on Chicago's Near West Side, the memorial anchors a public park that invites health care workers, patients and community members to rest and reflect.

Zoom in: The sculpture by Casey Schachner transforms the coronavirus into a dandelion puff, changing the symbol of illness into hope and rebirth. The "spikes" on the virus feature LED lights that illuminate the memorial.

State of play: The monument anchors a park bounded by Damen Avenue, Polk Street and Ogden Avenue, which will include green space, a fitness track, a healing garden and a play area.

What they're saying: "This statue stands as a beacon, lighting up this park, honoring those we lost, and reminding generations to come of the courage, the resilience, and the profound love that our healthcare heroes demonstrated," state Sen. Lakesia Collins, whose 5th District includes the IMD, said.

What's next

🚆 Metra BNSF trains faced extensive delays yesterday after a freight train was robbed and looted along the same tracks. (NBC 5)

🎢 Six Flags Great America will add seat belts to the Raging Bull roller coaster. The announcement comes a couple of weeks after a man was fatally ejected from a ride at Six Flags Over Georgia. (WGN-TV)

🏈 Last week's Bears-Patriots game was the most-watched Week 7 matchup in Thursday Night Football history and the second most-watched TNF game ever on Amazon Prime Video. (Bears Wire)

We are getting close to the end of our voyage to name the spookiest spot in Chicago, just in time for Halloween.

State of play: Yesterday's matchups were tough. We said goodbye to one of our projected frontrunners as the Congress Plaza Hotel got rolled by Graceland Cemetery.

• Also, the Old Joliet Prison made quick work of the Drake.

Vote here! Polls close at 4pm.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, removing the usual school-hour trick-or-treating prohibition zone.

That got us wondering: What time should Chicago kids start trick-or-treating when Halloween lands on a weekend?

State of play: Unlike many suburbs, Chicago offers no official trick-or-treating hours. It's largely up to individual families and neighborhoods.

Our questions: Should Chicago establish official trick-or-treating hours, or is it better to leave things the way they are?

• And if we do create hours, what should they be?

Take the poll here!

Edited by Larry Graham.

🏆 Monica was surprised and thrilled to win a regional Emmy Award on Saturday for the "Chicago Stories: Iconic Foods" documentary she co-wrote with Dan Andries.

🏀 Carrie cannot believe that the WNBA Finals Game 6 is at 11:30am tomorrow! A weekday morning?! Level Sporting Club and Babe's Sports Bar have you covered.

🎥 Justin loved "You Can See Everything." He wants to talk about it.

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