* Yep…

* Here you go…

* Sun-Times | Crossing their SAFE-T’s? State lawmakers pass criminal justice law fixes — no overhaul, but ‘good move forward’ to prosecutors: Among the most overt changes in the legislation approved by both the House and Senate is that those charged with crimes before Jan. 1 would be able to remain in the old cash bail system — or request to be moved to the new system.

* Tribune | Democratic state legislators approve changes to SAFE-T Act, GOP still blasts law as a ‘misguided, confusing scheme’ : An amendment that codifies the changes to the sweeping legislation, also known as the SAFE-T Act, passed along party lines in both chambers: 71-40 in the House and 38-17 in the Senate. The amendment now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who issued a statement late Thursday saying he was pleased with the legislators’ work.

* WTVO | Illinois Senate tweaks SAFE-T Act weeks before it becomes law: The Senate Democratic Caucus says any person charged on or after January 1st will have their pre-trial release determined under the new system. Anyone charged prior to then will remain under the current system, but they can try to have their case heard under the new rules.

* WCIA | Law enforcement, state’s attorneys, justice reform advocates agree to negotiated SAFE-T Act amendment: State’s attorneys and law enforcement were opposed to the original law while coalitions to end cash bail supported it. In the end, both groups said they are neutral to the new proposal and that they can live with the changes made to the SAFE-T Act.

* Daily Herald | Legislation would create safe spaces for using opioids: State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat, introduced the measure last year, before the country’s first injection sites opened in New York City. At a news conference Thursday in Springfield, Ford insisted that setting up safe spaces and bolstering other overdose prevention strategies would “save taxpayer dollars while saving lives.”

* Tribune | Illinois House Democrats unveil proposal to ban assault weapons, high-capacity magazines in response to Highland Park mass shooting: The legislation, filed on the final legislative session day of 2022, is a response to the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, where seven people were killed and dozens of others injured by a shooter using an assault-style rifle and high capacity magazines.

* WQAD | Illinois lawmakers advance $1.8 billion unemployment fund bailout: On the final day of their fall veto session, Illinois lawmakers on Thursday advanced a pair of bills that would infuse $1.8 billion into the state’s unemployment trust fund, which was depleted during the economic shutdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Crain’s | Bill boosting EV incentives is headed for Pritzker’s desk: Under a measure approved by the House this evening and sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both the amount and length of payroll tax credits for eligible employers will be increased, lasting as long as 30 years.

* Politico | Biden’s first state dinner brings out glamour and guests galore : Biden’s first state dinner comes nearly two years into his first term, after Covid put such pageantry on pause. The president’s selection of France as the guest is a testament to Biden and Macron’s close relationship — on full display Thursday as the two leaders referred to each other as “friend” in their chummy interactions, which included the French president frequently patting his U.S. counterpart on the back and referring to him as “Dear Joe.”

* FOX 32 | CPD whistleblower: ‘I did what was right and I got screwed.’: In his second day on the stand in a whistleblower case against CPD, Lambert choked up several times as he described his reaction to being “dumped” from his hard-won position as a detective sergeant and sent to work the midnight shift in patrol division after he refused to alter reports to list Officer Khalid Muhammad as a victim in an off-duty shooting of 18-year-old Ricardo Hayes.

* Tribune | Chicago police leaders say applications have increased in 2022 amid national cop staffing shortage: So far this year, more than 630 members of the Chicago Police Department have retired and collected their pension, according to data from the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. In 2021 that number was around 660, after about 560 left in 2020.

* Tribune | National report released 5 months after Highland Park shooting makes gun safety recommendations for Illinois: A 16-page report by Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, released Thursday, recommends barring gun permits — even with parental or guardian sponsorship — for those younger than 21,banning large-capacity magazines and strengthening the state’s red flag law.

* Sun-Times | A list of every known Illinois resident charged in the U.S. Capitol breach: About 900 people have been arrested in connection with the breach in nearly all 50 states. That includes Illinois, where at least 34 known residents face charges for their role.

* Illinois Times | Is this the best use of prime farmland?: What should be grown on central Illinois’ prime farmland, seeds or solar panels? That’s the quandary facing central Illinois and other areas of the nation that grow the majority of the country’s crops. A new solar energy installation, labeled the Double Black Diamond Solar project, is now being built and takes up more than 4,000 acres of land in Sangamon and Morgan Counties. That land, until now, has been used to grow corn and soybeans.

* Chronicle Media | Current rural health care environment ‘not sustainable’: “It’s a terrible marketing line … but a great elevator speech when trying to communicate the uniqueness of rural communities,” said Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association.

* Chicago Mag | HBO’s South Side: Finally, a Chicago sitcom that actually feels like Chicago. South Side, originally on Comedy Central and now streaming on HBO Max, is returning December 8 for its third season. (Keep an eye out for Chicago magazine’s cameo in episode 5.) Hyperspecific settings and insider references make this show a celebration of not just Chicago but Black Chicago. It’s also hysterically funny. Here’s a catch-up in case you missed the first 20 episodes. But, to paraphrase the CliffsNotes disclaimer, you are only denying yourself by not watching them.

* The Guardian | Largest LGBTQ+ health center in US midwest to lay off 15% of staff: Howard Brown Health, a nonprofit community health center in Chicago that is the largest provider of health and wellness care for the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV in the midwest, has announced it wants to lay off at least 100 employees, or about 15% of staff.

* Southern Illinoisian | Gallatin County native helps decorate the White House: York is from Equality, a small village in Gallatin County. He was selected as one of more than 150 volunteers chosen from across the nation to assist in the three-day process of decorating the White House as part of a “We the People” theme, which features 77 Christmas trees, 25 wreaths and more than 83,600 lights, according to the office of first lady Jill Biden.

* PJ Star | Illinois eighth-grader hits miraculous full-court buzzer-beater to win game: The eighth-grader from Marseilles, Illinois, sank a running left-handed buzzer-beating shot from nearly full court to lift his Milton Pope team to a 34-32 victory over Marseilles.