Foe in race raises conflict:

The Republican running for Cook County state’s attorney says his Democratic challenger will have a conflict of interest if she is elected because she currently works for a law firm that frequently sues the county. Christopher Pfannkuche told the Chicago Tribune editorial board if Kim Foxx doesn’t recuse herself from cases involving the law firm Powers Rogers & Smith, she would further erode public trust in the prosecutor’s office. Doubts about the office emerged when outgoing State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez was criticized for taking more than a year to file charges in the fatal police shooting in 2014 of Laquan McDonald. Foxx says she won’t recuse herself from cases involving Powers Rogers & Smith, for which she has been a legal consultant since September 2015. She says she hasn’t worked on any cases involving Cook County.

Court won’t reconsider ruling:

The Illinois Supreme Court has denied a request to reconsider its ruling that a group’s initiative to change how legislative districts are drawn is ineligible for the November ballot. The court issued the ruling Tuesday on a 4-3 vote. The Independent Maps coalition had collected about 563,000 signatures to ask voters whether legislative mapmaking power should be in the hands of an independent commission instead of lawmakers. The court ruled last month that the group’s proposal was unconstitutional. It’s the second failed attempt to overhaul redistricting by petition in two years. Independent Maps Chair Dennis FitzSimons said in a statement that “Illinois voters have been denied their right to vote on a constitutional amendment to remove politics” from the mapmaking process. The court rarely grants rehearings.

Fundraiser tops $250,000:

What began as a small effort to help out an 89-year-old Chicago man who was spotted pushing a paleta cart and selling the frozen treats to help pay bills has brought in more than $250,000 in just four days. Joel Cervantes Macias launched the online fundraiser on GoFundMe for “Fidencio the paleta man” Friday with a goal of $3,000. A paleta is Mexican treat similar to a Popsicle. The fundraising page shows more than a quarter-million dollars raised from more than 11,000 people as of early Tuesday morning. Fidencio Sanchez told the Chicago Tribune through a translator Monday the money means his paleta-selling days may be over and that he “will be able to rest more at home.”