Erin Allen: Good Morning, welcome to Friday. I'm Erin Allen and this is The Rundown. 

Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us and I hope your travel plans, if you have them, are together because the extended turkey day travel period starts today and doesn't stop until November 27. And y'all, we out here. The Transportation Security Administration expects airport security checkpoints to be busier than they were last year and possibly close to pre pandemic levels. TSA Midwest spokesperson Jessica Mayle says Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday will be especially busy at the airport, both nationwide and in Chicago. Mayle says checkpoints move quicker if passengers pack smart. That's you, pack smart. And if you're traveling with Thanksgiving fixings, gravy and cranberry sauce are considered liquid, so put them in your checked bags. Or maybe risk it and buy them after you land? Up to you. 

And the holiday season is also the start of flu season. This year some health care professionals are especially concerned about what they're calling a triple-demic. Dr. Larry Kociolek of Lurie Children's Hospital is joining public health officials to warn folks about COVID, RSV and the flu. There's no vaccine for RSV, but they're urging folks to get vaccinated against COVID 19 and the flu ahead of the holiday season. Illinois Health officials say we should really be concerned about children because of their lack of immunity and they expect infection rates to rise which will put a big strain on hospitals. 

Cook County Commissioners approved a budget of more than $8 billion yesterday for 2023 with no new taxes, but they're concerned about spending tied to the sheriff's office. My colleague Kristen Schorsch has more on that.

Kristen Schorsch: Commissioners oversee a vast court and jail system. But they've overwhelmingly supported redirecting money away from policing after George Floyd's murder. During a board meeting, Commissioner Brandon Johnson voted against hiring to social workers who would handle 911 calls during a mental health crisis. He supports the effort but doesn't want the funding to flow through the sheriff's office.

Brandon Johnson: I'm having a tough time supporting a measure that is going to continue to use the approach that for many folks in my community, they don't, they don't really trust.

Erin Allen: Other commissioners vowed to find another funding source but they also stressed that they wanted to go ahead and get the program up and running. 

The Illinois State Board of Education voted yesterday to close the downtown campus of the once heralded Urban Prep Charter School in Chicago. The board said the all boys school, focused on black teens, has failed for years to meet its enrollment targets. The Downtown Campus only has 51 students. It'll close at the end of the school year and students can enroll in Urban Prep's other two campuses. Those were recently taken over by the Chicago Board of Education after they were cited for mismanagement and financial turmoil. 

So you're using the internet to listen to this podcast right now. But you may be taking for granted that Internet access is not actually so accessible. My colleague Adora Namigadde says churches across Illinois are working on an effort to address this.

Adora Namigadde: Comcast donated 200 laptop computers to pastors to promote the federal Affordable Connectivity Program. It can cover up to $30 per month of eligible households internet costs. Pastor Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church in Chicago says it's crucial for people in poorer congregations to take advantage of programs like this.

Ira Acree: And it may not sound like a whole lot of money to some people but for the working poor when you can put $400 a year back in their pocket, that takes care of some important bills.

Erin Allen: A study from earlier this year revealed a deep disparities in Internet access across Chicago's neighborhoods. 

And a few quick hits before we get to weather. Former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says he will not be running for mayor next year. And if you're into records, the bad news is Dave's Records and Lincoln Park is closing after 20 years, since the building that houses the store is slated to be demolished, according to Block Club Chicago. The good news is they've got some Buy One Get One sales on records up until next month. And construction at the Obama Center has resumed after having halted because a noose was found on site, but the investigation into who is responsible for the noose is ongoing. 

Outside today, a little cooler than yesterday high in the upper 20s. A bit of snow this morning and then cloudy skies through the afternoon. Tonight some clouds low around 20. And that's it for this morning, this afternoon: a very special and hilarious Chicago and dropped by Navy Pier and sat down with little old me.

Hannibal Buress: Hey wassup, it's Hannibal Burris, Eshu Tune, and I make music.

Erin Allen: That was Eshu Tune, his music making moniker, because in case you haven't heard Hannibal Burres got a new single out. I'll talk to him about that and how he's been making music for a while now. That's coming up this afternoon on The Rundown. I'm Erin Allen, talk to you then.

WBEZ transcripts are generated by an automatic speech recognition service. We do our best to edit for misspellings and typos, but mistakes do come through.