* Here’s a quick roundup to start your day…

* WAND | Sen. John Curran selected as new Illinois Senate Republican leader: Outgoing leader, Senator Dan McConchie released a statement wishing Curran the best. In his own statement, Curran said that the caucus stands ready, “with our focus directed toward the future, on developing solutions that will address the critical issues facing our state.”

* CBS Chicago | Rep. Tony McCombie elected new Illinois House Republican leader: McCombie was elected to the Illinois state House in 2016, representing a Western Illinois district. She previously served as the mayor of the Mississippi River town of Savanna, where the Illinois General Assembly said she was known for balanced budgets and her solid administrative background.

* Tribune | Mazzochi [partially] prevails in suit against DuPage Clerk Kaczmarek over 45th District mail ballots: In an order entered Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 15) in Wheaton, Judge James Orel of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Kaczmarek “from using any signature on a Vote by Mail application in connection with validating signatures on the Vote by Mail ballot.”

* WBEZ | Republican challenger concedes to Illinois Democrat accused of domestic violence: Democrat Michael Hastings could claim a narrow reelection win in a state Senate race in the south suburbs after officials reported updated vote totals Tuesday, overcoming accusations of domestic violence to edge Republican challenger Patrick Sheehan. In a statement, Sheehan said he had conceded the race. The concession came hours after Will County officials released the results of their tabulation of hundreds of ballots from the Nov. 8 election.

* Jim Nowlan | Here’s my advice for making the Illinois Republican Party relevant again: What to do? Contrary to the adage of late U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill that all politics is local, American politics today have largely been nationalized by social media, Trump and the decline of local and state party organizations. Yet each state has its own issues, and Illinois is struggling with population loss, as well as job growth that has been slower than nationwide. Thus, the Illinois Republican Party needs to have a constructive, appealing program in place as the Trump phenomenon fades away.

* Illinois Newsroom | State Rep. Chris Miller reflects on January 6, analyzes midterm elections in IPM interview:“Well, I think the first thing that we have to, you know, (do is) admit that our projections, and our predictions were off. Actually, by a lot. But, you know, I think…you always have to look for the silver lining in some of these things. And I know that it’s pretty clear that Republicans made inroads in suburban women to Latinos and many other groups. And, you know, and it wasn’t that long ago, where Florida was kind of looked at as a swing state,” Miller said.

* WJBC | Illinois Senators are on the move during Capitol construction: The renovation of the north wing of the state Capitol has pushed out the senators. Tuesday marked not only the start of the 2022 veto session; it was also the first day of a nearly 2 ½ -year stay in the adjacent Howlett Building. A deteriorating auditorium received a massive facelift to function as the temporary Senate chamber.

* SJ-R | Illinois Native Americans to gather at Old State Capitol, demand inclusion: Johnson said the lack of representation on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Inclusive American History Commission, a 22-person group chosen to assist ISBE in revising its curriculum to be more inclusive of all cultures, is telling of how native people are ignored.

* NBC 5 | How a Strange Deal Struck in Springfield a Decade Ago Now Prevents Illinois Communities From Banning Assault Weapons: “I was very disappointed,” former Gov. Pat Quinn said of those days more than nine years ago. “Some of the Democrats who I thought would vote yes on the legislation all of a sudden were saying, ‘People in my district aren’t for it.” Quinn said he was astounded that the proposed statewide ban fell two votes short, despite the presence of Sandy Hook families he had taken to the Capitol to tell their personal stories.

* Tribune | Federal jury finds reputed Wicked Town gang leader, top associate guilty of racketeering and murder: After a seven-week trial, the jury of six men and six women deliberated for about 18 hours over three days before finding Donald Lee, 40, and Torance Benson, 30, guilty on all charges against them. Lee faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, while Benson is eligible for up to life behind bars.

* WPSD | Illinois voters approve collective bargaining amendment: Unions groups said its approval could signal a new chapter in the struggle over workers’ rights as U.S. union ranks have grown. They view it as a way to ensure that workers will always be able to use their collective clout to secure better pay, hours and working conditions.

* Tribune | Man sold fentanyl and heroin to veterans at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, complaint alleges: Richard Husband was accused of distributing a fentanyl and heroin combination nicknamed “gray death” due to the drugs’ strength and the number of overdoses that have occurred, according to the complaint.

* Tribune | Republican concedes race for Cook County Board, leaving the party with one seat after narrow defeat in Northwest Side, suburban district: Despite their bid to reverse it, local Republicans fell further into “super-duper” minority status in Cook County government Monday as the sole GOP candidate still in the running to serve on the County Board admitted defeat. His loss flips a seat that had been red for a quarter century to blue, and leaves the head of the Cook County GOP as the sole Republican on the board.

* Politico | Unbowed by midterms fiasco, Trump tries for president again: It is an extraordinary — although long anticipated — move for Trump, one certain to reshape his party’s trajectory, raise complicated legal questions and alter the presidency for the man who defeated him, Joe Biden. He explicitly discussed his campaign as an effort to restore the presidency he had.

* Sun-Times | Jewish graves desecrated with swastikas spark anger, tears — and pity for one with ‘this much hate in their heart’: Alan Friedlander said he recognized the family names on some of the defaced headstones. “The point that struck me was that if they knew the person who did this, they would have tried to help them,” he said after checking on his parents’ graves. “There’s a lot of anger, a little bit of worry, but mostly feeling sorry for how dark that person’s heart has to be to do that.”

* Sun-Times | Field Museum employees seeking to unionize ask head of museum for recognition: “We are standing together in one voice saying that we want to form our union,” a museum employee said Tuesday after delivering a letter to the head of the museum.

More to come!