* Are y’all into the Christmas spirit yet?…

* On to our morning roundup…

* Tribune | Illinois’ gun debate: Legislation, litigation and emotion fuel one of the state’s most polarizing conflicts: On Thursday, Democratic state Rep. Bob Morgan, who was marching in the Highland Park parade when a mass shooter opened fire in July,, filed legislation that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and eliminate the ability for most people under 21 to get a gun permit in Illinois. It was the first step in what could be a long debate, if history serves as a guide, that could stretch well into next year, when Syed will be seated.

* Crain’s | With SAFE-T Act amended, Dems turn to gun legislation: Liberal as the proposed bill is, though, the General Assembly has balked at such measures in the past. Votes could come in the January lame duck session, but more likely in the spring when Democrats will have larger majorities.

* Tribune | Confronted by GOP critics and confused constituents, Democrats made fixes to their sweeping criminal justice law: “We actually moved from saying … throw out the SAFE-T Act totally to, ‘Let’s work on it and make it better.’ And that’s actually progress,” said Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat who backs the law. While some prosecutors took part in crafting the amendment, a lawsuit challenging the law brought by more than half of the state’s 102 county prosecutors is still pending, with a decision possible later this month.

* Herald and Review | With SAFE-T Act changes, prosecutors take ‘two-pronged’ approach: In general, state’s attorneys across Illinois have, at the very least, expressed concerns over some of the SAFE-T Act’s provisions. Many have gone further, with more than 60 — including some Democrats — having filed lawsuits against Pritzker and top Democrats. They argue that the process by which the law was passed violated the state constitution.

* SJ-R | Beyond the SAFE-T Act: These bills passed during the Illinois General Assembly veto session: In total, 12 bills passed both chambers ranging from the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund to more local interests with the Springfield High-Speed Rail Corridor Improvement Project. The bills will be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk within the next 30 days who will then have 60 days to sign.

* Greg Hinz | Garcia faces crypto questions in mayoral race: Those congressional races now are history. But not the race for mayor of Chicago, where U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is running for a new job and has $200,000 in crypto baggage to explain… How and why did a PAC heavily funded by Bankman-Fried—he gave Protect the Future PAC at least $27 million before his company hit the rocks—come to spend $199,853 on ads and mailers this spring urging a vote for Garcia in a Democratic congressional primary race in which he was unopposed? Are Chicago voters really expected to believe that the money sort of fell off a truck and had absolutely nothing to do with Garcia’s service on the House Financial Services Committee, which regulates crypto?

* Sun-Times | Illinois keeping the spotlight on uplifting the wrongfully convicted: Wrongful convictions and exonerations of men and women who spent years wasting away in prison have made countless headlines in Illinois over the years…Recently, more than 20 cases handled by former Chicago Police Det. Reynaldo Guevara have been overturned, based on allegations of abuse and his refusal to answer questions on the stand about past trials.

* Sun-Times | CTA employee charged with stealing over $350,000 from the agency’s pension fund : Ayanna Nesbitt worked as a retirement clerk handling pension payments for the CTA. She allegedly created and approved fraudulent requests for death benefit payments and refunds on pension contributions, according to the federal charges. She then wired the money into bank accounts she either controlled or that were held by her family members, then used the funds for personal expenses for herself and others, according to the charges.

* WMBD | Illinois representatives, organizations fight for harm reduction resources: Illinois lawmakers and community organizations are pushing for more help in the fight against the opioid epidemic. State leaders said it’s an uphill battle but the status quo isn’t working. They’re advocating for more resources such as de-criminalization legislation of drugs and more harm reduction support.

* WJBC | Losing candidate for governor last month is preparing for whatever is next: In his election night concession speech, Bailey said his movement and message will continue, but, on the cusp of being out of office after a four-year run in the legislature, he said he did not know what platform would carry his message.

* Sun-Times | Secretary of State Jesse White honored for decades of community service: “He may be sunsetting his political career, but he thankfully will be continuing his humanitarian work,” Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) said during a sendoff Saturday at White’s namesake community center on the Near North Side.

* Crain’s | Pritzker pins electric vehicle hopes on subsidies: Compounding those disappointments is concern about the fate of existing Illinois auto plants in an all-electric future. Ford’s assembly plant on Torrence Avenue in Chicago and Stellantis’ Belvidere factory have anchored auto production in Illinois for generations, supporting thousands of well-paid jobs that send economic ripple effects across their communities. Yet neither company has committed to converting its Illinois plant to electric vehicle production. In an ominous sign for Ford’s Chicago plant, industry insiders expect an Ontario factory to make the initial electric versions of the Explorer SUV, a mainstay of Torrence Avenue.

* Anthony Moser | Gov. Pritzker, don’t sell the Damen Silos on the Chicago River to a polluter: As things stand, Illinois is getting ready to sell the Damen Silos, an abandoned industrial site on the Chicago River, to Michael Tadin Jr., the owner of a controversial asphalt plant that has plagued its neighbors since it started operating.

* WSIU | Cannabis education programs are sprouting up at Illinois colleges: There are currently nine Illinois junior colleges offering certificate or degree-bearing cannabis education programs, according to Matt Berry, chief of staff for the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) in Springfield. Courses can cover everything from plant cultivation to retail management aspects of the burgeoning cannabis industry, which accounted for $445.3 million in tax revenue for Illinois in 2021. Other higher learning institutions, such as Illinois Central College (ICC) in Illinois, offer free, non-credit bearing continuing education courses in cannabis education in partnership with local dispensaries.

* KWQC | 90-year-old Geneseo resident set to graduate from Northern Illinois University: 90-year old Joyce Viola DeFauw grew up a farmer’s kid in Geneseo, Illinois. At that time education looked much different than it does in 2022. “I went to a one-room country school, they’re were probably eight to thirteen of us at the most,” DeFauw said. “I was always in the class myself … The older grades would help the teacher with the younger grades.”

* Harvest Public Media | Bobcats made a big comeback in the Midwest. But not everyone is happy they can be hunted again: For 44 years, Illinois banned bobcat hunting. That changed in 2016, when the state started a lottery for permits to hunt the predators. And every year since Illinois has hosted a bobcat hunting season. So far, the state has hosted six hunting seasons and hunters have nabbed more than 1,600 bobcats. Stan McTaggart with Illinois Department of Natural Resources says that the lottery for hunting permits limits the numbers that get killed.

* The Southern | Three candidates file petitions to run for mayor of Carbondale: Three candidates filed nominating petitions to run for mayor of Carbondale in the spring Consolidated Election. They are city council member Carolin Harvey, who has been acting as interim mayor, Nathan Colombo and Harold J. Visser.

* Sun-Times | Illinois COVID-19 hospitalizations near 10-month high: Hospitals across the state were treating 1,509 COVID patients Thursday night, the highest number seen since Aug. 15 — and a figure that’s poised to hit a nearly 10-month high by next week. Admissions have jumped more than 26% in the last week alone, putting them on pace to hit numbers not seen since mid-February, when Illinois was on the way down from its worst surge of the pandemic.