It was a big week for political news. The Cook County budget plan was released with county board president Toni Preckwinkle pointing to her tenure to support her run for Chicago mayor.

Reporting in the Chicago Tribune shed light on the finances of the two very rich men running for governor of Illinois.

And those candidates — Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and his Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker — met in Quincy, Illinois Thursday night for their third and final debate before the November 6th election. During the debate, Rauner apologized for the 14 legionnaires deaths at the Quincy veterans home that happened on his watch for the first time.

“To the families here tonight and the families across Illinois who lost loved ones, I am sorry for your loss. It is deeply painful, and I pledge to you that we will continue to do everything we can to keep our veterans safe,” he said. 

In our Friday News Roundup, we break down those stories and give you the latest on a potential bankruptcy filing by Hoffman Estates-based Sears, the fallout from the murder trial of Jason Van Dyke and why it’s so hard to get information through the state of Illinois’s Freedom Of Information Act.

GUESTS: Mick Dumke, reporter and columnist ProPublica Illinois

Monica Davey, Chicago bureau chief for the New York Times

Heather Cherone, managing editor and city hall reporter at the Daily Line

LEARN MORE: Rauner And Pritzker Want To Keep Their Offshore Money A Secret. Here’s What We Know. (Chicago Tribune 10/10/18)

Citizens Count On The Illinois Freedom Of Information Act But Keeping Getting Shut Out (ProPublica 10/11/18)

McDonald Cover-up? How The Van Dyke Verdict May Affect Police Conspiracy Trial (WTTW 10/11/18)

Sears Reportedly Eyeing Bankruptcy Just After Reopening Scaled-Down Oak Brook Store (Chicago Tribune 10/11/18)