Metra ponders amputation / Mayoral collision course / '3,000 people did not die'

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Metra ponders amputation. The board of the Chicago area’s commuter rail service says that, without more funding, it may close stations and cut entire lines of service. But it voted not to increase fares.
■ From 2014: A state task force recommended eliminating the Regional Transportation Authority and merging the agencies it oversees—Metra, the CTA and Pace—into one entity. (Photo: Daniel X. O’Neil.)
■ U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is pushing a law to require all new school buses include seatbelts.

‘Motorists can heave a sigh of relief.’ A Tribune editorial celebrates a decision to shut down Chicago’s notorious Lincoln Towing company.
■ But the company’s not dead yet.
■ A 1972 song explains why they’re known as the Lincoln Park Pirates.

They’ll be back. Organizers of two massive Women’s Marches on Chicago are planning another rally Oct. 13 to get out the vote. (January 2017 photo: bradhoc.)
■ Vox runs down what to watch for tonight in the year’s final state primary—in New York.

Mayoral collision course. The Sun-Times’ Mark Brown says the race to succeed Mayor Emanuel could pit Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle against her floor leader, “Chuy” Garcia …
■ … whose candidacy became more likely with the decision by another Latino politician, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, not to run.
■ A Sun-Times scoresheet lists more than 30 people running, considering running or otherwise potentially candidates for mayor.

‘3,000 people did not die.’ Without evidence, President Trump on Twitter has rejected the widely accepted estimate of deaths in last year’s Hurricane Maria.
■ By The Washington Post’s count, Trump has made more than 5,000 false or misleading claims since becoming president.
■ Updating coverage: Florence reaches the Carolinas.
■ Trump’s man in charge of Florence response, FEMA boss Brock Long, is under investigation for misuse of government vehicles.
■ Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has lost a lawsuit brought by Illinois and 18 other states that accused the department of dragging its feet to enforce Obama-era rules aimed at protecting students from shady loans to attend shifty colleges.

Willie Nelson’s not for you. His conservative fans are dismayed he’s going to play a fundraiser for Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who’s running to replace Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
■ Stephen Colbert, on whose Late Show O’Rourke was a guest last night, mocked Cruz for buying ads on the show.

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