* Here you go…

* Daily Herald | Who decides on making Route 53 extension land a state park? Enter Pritzker, and road bumps: After decades of agitation, a task force is poised to vote on whether to convert $54.3 million of Lake County land purchased for a highway into a greenway and possible state park. It took 48 years for the Illinois Department of Transportation to amass 1,100 acres for a Route 53 extension from Cook County into Lake County intended to relieve traffic. But in 2019, with Lake residents divided on building the $2.7 billion road, its last sponsor, the Illinois tollway, marooned the project shortly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker took office.

* Daily Herald | Muslim Civic Coalition marks historic firsts: The celebration recognized the election of 23-year-old Palatine native Nabeela Syed, the first Indian American woman and, along with state Rep.-elect Abdelnasser Rashid of Justice, one of the first Muslims, to the General Assembly. Syed will represent the 51st state House District. Rashid is the first Palestinian American to be elected to the state legislature, representing the 21st House District.

* Sun-Times | Candidates for Chicago’s new police district councils split between staunch defenders of police and those who favor defunding: There are many factors driving the 122 candidates’ desire to become part of the grand experiment of civilian oversight at the grassroots level. Two major camps have emerged: Police supporters determined to take the shackles off officers and those who believe CPD has victimized communities of color and don’t trust police.

* Belleville News Democrat | COVID-19 cases spike in St. Clair County, across Illinois. Here’s the latest data: More than 60 Illinois counties are at elevated COVID-19 community levels, according to the latest update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal agency rated 51 counties at a medium level and 12 counties at a high level. Medium level counties include St. Clair, Monroe, Clinton, Washington, Marion and others. Randolph County is at a high COVID-19 community level, along with Pike, Williamson, Johnson and others.

* WBEZ | Thanks to the ‘tripledemic,’ it can be hard to find kids’ fever-reducing medicines: If you stroll the cold and flu medicine aisle these days, you might notice shelves that are bare, or nearly so. Some medicines that can be particularly hard to find are fever reducers for kids, like children’s Tylenol, Motrin or Advil. Drug manufacturers point to a big spike in demand. That’s not surprising, given the surge in three respiratory viruses right now: COVID, RSV and influenza, what has been termed a “tripledemic.”

* Law Street Media | CVS Sued Over ‘Fraudulent’ Donations to American Diabetes Association: A consumer filed a class-action complaint in the Eastern District of New York against CVS Health Corporation for a purportedly deceptive charity campaign it held last year, which the plaintiff asserts was more like a reimbursement to CVS than a charitable donation. According to the complaint, prior to the completion of a customer’s transaction, the checkout screen would prompt the customer with several boxes of pre-selected amounts (and an opt out option) to donate to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The plaintiff alleges that CVS did not merely collect the customer’s donations and forward them to the ADA, but instead, counted the donations toward a legally binding obligation of $10 million that CVS had made to the ADA.

* Daily Herald | Lawmakers hope to rename Fermilab research center after noted physicist: Federal lawmakers from Illinois have introduced legislation to rename Fermilab’s Integrated Engineering Research Center after the late Helen Edwards, a particle physicist who worked at the Batavia facility for 40 years.

* Sun-Times | All aboard the Christmas tree ship: A special Christmas delivery aboard an icebreaker ship arrived Thursday at Navy Pier not from the North Pole but from northern Michigan. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw, also known as the “Christmas Ship,” docked with 1,200 trees onboard from Cheboygan, Michigan.

* Crain’s | The wild ride for weed companies isn’t over: Marijuana companies have experienced far more harsh than mellow this year. Weed stocks dropped twice as fast as the overall market. Sales growth has slowed as customers feel the pinch of inflation. New markets in Illinois, New Jersey and New York are opening more slowly than expected. The cost of borrowing is up 50% because of rising interest rates.

* Pantagraph | How can Peoria’s airport be called ‘international’?: As Gene Olson, the Peoria airport director, explained it to the Peoria Journal-Star: It an extension of an international port of entry that has existed in Peoria since 1856. Peoria’s long history as a distilling hub (Hiram Walker, Pabst Blue Ribbon, etc.) necessitated the establishment of such back then. And Peoria has clung to its distinction ever since. Downing, by the way, was a four-star Army general who died in 2007 at age 67.

* WGIL | Hunters encouraged to donate harvested deer to Hunters Feeding Illinois: As the price of food skyrockets, Illinois is encouraging hunters to donate their deer to feed the hungry. “Hunters have big hearts,” said Pam Smyers, owner of Henry County meat processor Woodhull Lockers.

* Tribune | He was part of the original Jesse White Tumblers. Now 60, he’s a life coach in Roseland, seeking to forge paths for others.: Jelks works as a case manager and recruiter, getting young men off the streets and into CRED Chicago’s violence prevention program. Blackmon’s own career as a guide and an educator has been full of twists and turns. And the influence of one particular teacher in his life can be traced back to some of his earliest years.

* Axios | Walter Burnett takes over as Chicago’s longest-serving alderperson: Burke is the latest veteran alderperson to bow out, creating a brain drain of experience and political knowledge. Burke frequently started meetings by regaling his colleagues with stories of Chicago’s political past. Now, only 9 alders in the next council are expected to remain from the days of Mayor Richard M. Daley, who retired in 2011.

* Tribune | Chicago Red Stars will be put up for sale in the latest fallout from the incendiary Yates report: “For the last 15 years, my family and I have proudly poured our hearts, time, resources and efforts into founding the NWSL and transforming the Chicago Red Stars into one of the top women’s soccer clubs in the world. It is clear now that we needed to provide greater support for our players and we deeply regret that we didn’t do more sooner.“

* Sun-Times | Battle over Ryan Field in Evanston could be a seminar for the Bears: “We’re not opposed to redeveloping Ryan Field. What we’re opposed to is just completely upending the zoning code that has protected our community for years,” he said. DeCarlo said the university is proposing “a tax-exempt booze-and-entertainment center” that will upset the quality of life in north Evanston and south Wilmette. This part of the North Shore welcomes the football scene because the interruptions are infrequent and mostly fun. Local lore has it that the main exception is when Buckeye Nation descends and threatens the social order.

* Belleville News Democrat | Judge rejects four requests to dismiss citizens’ lawsuit over Cahokia Heights flooding issues: A federal judge has denied four motions to dismiss a 2021 lawsuit brought by residents in Cahokia Heights that alleges the local government mismanaged the sewer utility, failing to ensure basic sewage and stormwater services causing repeated flooding.

* Daily Herald | Justices spar in latest clash of religion and gay rights: The Supreme Court ’s conservative majority sounded sympathetic Monday to a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that’s the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest court. The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their faith. Her opponents, meanwhile, say that if she wins, a range of businesses will be able to discriminate, refusing to serve Black customers, Jewish or Muslim people, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants, among others.

* As of 12:30 today, our LSSI fundraiser had reached $19,743. While needs vary for each child, $25 is the average cost of a Christmas gift. A big thank you to all who have donated. Let’s keep this going!