* Here it is…

* Tribune | Gov. J.B. Pritzker aims to get assault weapon ban proposal ‘done in the first half of the year’: “I favor the legislation that he’s put forward,” Pritzker said of Morgan’s bill, while the governor added the caveat that “the legislative process can be a grinding one that requires a lengthier look at each piece” of a proposal. Lawmakers could take up the plan as early as next month during the lame-duck session, when legislators return to Springfield for their final session days before the newly elected General Assembly is seated Jan. 11.

* Dispatch Argus | What two Illinois GOP lawmakers’ post-election resignations mean: In Butler’s case, one replacement will serve the final days of his current term and another will serve the entirety of the new two-year term that begins Jan. 11. That latter choice will largely be left up to Sangamon County Republican Party chair Diane Barghouti Hardwick, who has more than 90% of the weighted vote needed to appoint.

* WGLT | Union pickets over ‘crisis’ staffing shortage at Pontiac prison: Officers at the Pontiac Correctional Center staged a picket Wednesday to call attention to what they say is a dire lack of security at the maximum-security prison. A corrections sergeant was stabbed in the neck last month by an inmate at Pontiac. A second officer also was injured in the attack.

* Brian Costin and Joe Sosnowski | New legislation would end the Illinois corporate welfare civil war: Under this legislation, Illinois lawmakers and businesses would both refocus their energies on the state’s economic, education, law enforcement and infrastructure policies to put the state’s economy to work for everyone, not just the privileged few. Anti-poaching legislation will make Illinois’ economy as competitive as any state in the country, all year round.

* Tribune | Illinois comes in 16th in annual ranking of states’ energy efficiency, behind California, Massachusetts and Minnesota: Illinois got credit for its ambitious climate bill, passed in 2021, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the nonprofit research organization that publishes the report containing the ranking. But the state underperformed in areas such as vehicle emissions standards and building code compliance studies.

* Crain’s | Who has final say over election rules? Illinois files a brief with Supreme Court.: Illinois is taking the lead among a coalition of blue states arguing against the theory, which arises out of a North Carolina redistricting dispute in the case of Moore v. Harper. Earlier this year, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the redrawn congressional district map approved by the state’s Republican-led state legislature, citing it as gerrymandered and, therefore, unconstitutional.

* Crain’s | Key city, state pension funds say they have no crypto exposure: Representatives of key retirement funds that cover teachers in Chicago, the suburbs and downstate say the financial collapse of the FTX exchange and other setbacks do not directly impact them because they did not invest in such assets. City of Chicago officials report the same for its four retirement systems.

* ABC 20 | Memorial Health seeing increase in flu: The hospitals collectively have seen 104 patients hospitalized with influenza, compared to four at this time last year. “This year’s strains of influenza are proving to be highly contagious,” said Raj Govindaiah, MD, Memorial Health senior vice president and chief physician executive. “We don’t like to see this kind of increase this early in the flu season. We strongly encourage people to be proactive about protecting themselves and others from contracting the flu right now. People who are young, elderly and immunocompromised are especially at risk for dangerous complications.”

* ABC 7 | Chicago police officer relieved of police powers after Florida arrest pending investigation: A Chicago police officer has been relieved of his police powers after being arrested in Florida, CPD confirmed. Henry Capouch was charged with simple battery and disorderly conduct after what the police department called an “incident” in Florida.

* Chicago Reporter | Culture Is Key In Treating Mental Health Concerns: Due to higher rates of deaths, unemployment, college dropout, homelessness, and access to quality health care, the community is more prone to developing symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Systemic barriers to mental health support have worsened for the community — at a time when getting timely help has never been more critical.

* Tribune | Chicago attracting a healthy amount of investment, but all neighborhoods aren’t equal: Together, public and mission-driven investors poured $9 billion into Chicago neighborhoods over the decade, compared with nearly $200 billion spent by private investors on the city’s single-family homes and in the nonresidential sector. But if public and mission-driven investors can show new business and homes can thrive, it may convince private investors to set aside more funds for deprived areas.

* WSIL | New 730 area code coming to southern Illinois: The new 730 area code will “overlay” the existing 618 area code to “address the depletion of prefixes available for assignment within the region.” The first prefix in the new area code will not be introduced until after July 7, 2023.

* Crain’s | Carol Ross Barney wins one of architecture’s top prizes: The American Institute of Architects has given its Gold Medal award to Carol Ross Barney. One of the industry’s top prizes, the award puts Barney, 73, in the company of past winners including Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Frank Gehry and Santiago Calatrava. In fact, Mies van der Rohe was the last winner from Chicago, in 1960.

* Crain’s | The biggest brand fails of 2022: This past year saw plenty of mistakes from brands—Ad Age even keeps track of such flubs in a weekly Marketing Winners and Losers column—but some fails were worse than others. As consumers increasingly pay attention and become more willing to cry foul on social media, marketers are constantly under the microscope of public opinion. Below, we track some of the biggest bungles of the year.

* Time Out | Check out the inaugural lineup for The Salt Shed’s new indoor venue: The venue’s initial lineup kicks off on February 17 with a performance from Scandi-pop artist Tove Lo and “Mine” singer Slayyyter. Other notable shows this season include a performance from punk icon Iggy Pop (March 10), the first Bikini Kill appearance in Chicago since the group reunited in 2019 (April 22) and the Flaming Lips celebrating the 20th anniversary of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (May 5). More concerts are expected to be announced in the coming months.