Good afternoon! My dog Princess Leia is becoming a teenager and will stay in bed until 1:30 p.m. every day unless I wake her up. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Mayor Johnson canceled a trip to the southern border as aides review sites for migrant camps

Among the locations under consideration is a private lot at 38th Street and California in the Brighton Park neighborhood, reports my colleague Fran Spielman.

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who serves as deputy chief of staff for Mayor Brandon Johnson, refused to identify other sites for fear of stirring up opposition unnecessarily.

The Johnson administration faces pressure to find shelter for migrants living in tents outside police stations as winter approaches.

And members of the City Council are questioning why the mayor’s proposed budget only sets aside $150 million for the crisis, which has so far cost the city more than $30 million a month.

Some of the mayor’s own allies are pushing him to identify a “Plan B” if more help does not come from the state and the Biden administration.

“Hope isn’t a strategy. What happens if we get midway through the year and we don’t have the funds?” said Ald. Andre Vasquez, chair of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. A judge reconsiders whether jurors will hear former Ald. Ed Burke’s comments on Jews during his trial

Federal prosecutors say they have a recording of former Ald. Edward Burke making “distasteful” comments about Jews that is also evidence of how the onetime powerhouse politician used his office to enrich himself.

But a judge overseeing Burke’s trial is reevaluating whether jurors will hear the recording because of heightened tensions created by the war between Israel and Hamas, my colleagues Jon Seidel and Mariah Woelfel report.

Prosecutors argue the recording shows how Burke leveraged his position on the City Council to get tax work for his private law firm from a Jewish developer in the renovation of the Old Main Post Office.

Burke allegedly made the comment, “Well, you know as well as I do, Jews are Jews, and they’ll deal with Jews to the exclusion of everybody else unless … unless there’s a reason for them to use a Christian.”

One of Burke’s lawyers argued that any comment “made in the past seen as even remotely derogatory toward Jews would be” even more prejudicial now, as the “current situation in Israel and Gaza has dramatically changed.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. Some good news for travelers who prefer the window seat

Chicago-based United Airlines will overhaul its boarding process to prioritize window-seat passengers ahead of their peers in economy class, according to an internal company memo.

The change, expected to take effect Oct. 26, is aimed at reducing boarding times by as much as two minutes. But it would also eliminate the awkwardness of trying to get to a window seat when other passengers are already hunkered down.

The new boarding process will still begin with a preboarding system for certain passengers, such as those with disabilities and active duty military. That group will be followed by first-class and business-class passengers.

Then passengers with window or exit row seats will board, followed by middle and aisle seats. [USA Today]

4. Chicago announced its first citywide composting program

Mayor Johnson unveiled a plan this week allowing Chicago residents to drop off food scraps at 15 locations across the city.

And that’s just the beginning of much broader composting efforts, a city official tells the Chicago Sun-Times, as the mayor’s proposed budget sets aside $6 million for composting programs.

Plans are in the works to reintroduce a backyard composting program, as well as a pumpkin composting program in November after Halloween, my colleague Phyllis Cha reports.

Residents who want to participate in the citywide composting program can find locations of the drop-off sites in the link, as well as recommendations on how to store food scraps and a list of items to avoid putting in bins. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. More than 500 unclaimed gifts have been sent to Pritzker

Gov. JB Pritzker, like other public employees, is prohibited from accepting certain items under the state’s 25-year-old Gift Ban Act, though there are exceptions.

The Associated Press reports 561 rejected gifts have been sent to the governor during his time in office so far, and they are collectively valued at nearly $17,000.

The gifts include a $950 bottle of Japanese whiskey and three bottles of tequila valued at $450.

“I don’t get to do that,” Pritzker said. “I will say I like tequila, so that’s why people will have given that to me, but there are a few other spirits that I like as well.”

Also among the gifts is an acrylic painting of Pritzker titled “2:30 p.m. Man,” a reference to the governor’s daily press conferences in the early days of the pandemic.

“Every day at 2:30, he showed up on my TV,” said SeungRi “Victoria” Park, a Chicago school teacher and artist who created the painting.

“I don’t vote for any politicians, but I like him. I wanted to paint him. He reminded me of Buddha.” [AP]

Here’s what else is happening

• At least 500 people were killed in an explosion at a Gaza hospital a day before President Joe Biden is expected to visit Israel. [New York Times]
• U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio failed to win enough support from his fellow Republicans in a first round of voting for House speaker. [AP]
• Actor John Malkovich reads bad reviews of great classical music from the time the pieces were released. [NPR]
• A Florida teacher showed a horror film based on Winnie the Pooh to a class of fourth grade students. [Variety]

Oh, and one more thing …

I know many readers enjoy the Forest Preserves of Cook County throughout the year.

The county’s forest preserves are flush with cash about a year after voters approved a property tax hike, and officials want to use that money to restore 400 acres of woodlands and floodplains, WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch reports.

Officials are also pushing to start more conservation programs, add a bike rental program and create new opportunities for small businesses to sell concessions or “recreational offerings.” [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

What’s a good book to read as the weather gets colder and Halloween approaches?

Liza writes:

“Five excellent books with Halloween and/or autumn vibes: The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik and When the Tiger Came Down The Mountain by Nghi Vo. They’re all very different from each other but I loved reading each of them.”

And Nabeela R. writes:

“Although the author ends on a hopeful note, this book gave me the shivers the whole way through — How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them by Barbara F. Walters.”

Feel free to email me and your message might be shared in the newsletter this week.