Welcome back! We hope you are adjusting to the darker evenings after daylight savings time ended Sunday. There was a lot happening this week, so let’s review.

Now in its fifth week, the federal government shutdown is officially the longest on record . The effects of the shutdown are being felt acutely in the transportation sector. This week, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered flight reductions at the 40 busiest airports in the U.S. — including Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare international airports — with the aim of cutting service by 10%. SNAP benefits are also in limbo for almost 2 million Illinoisans . On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the food program for the month of November, and while an appeals court upheld that ruling, l

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