* This is what happens when your party’s top candidates and former President warn gullible hyperpartisans about voting by mail. It obviously wouldn’t have won the race for Bailey, but it would’ve taken some pressure off whatever election day workers he had…

Democrats locally and nationally have a big advantage in early voting. In Champaign County, for example, more Democrats voted early or voted by mail than on Election Day. Gov. J.B. Pritzker got 10,907 votes by mail in Champaign County; 11,016 in-person early votes; and 18,088 Election Day votes.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey got 17,154 Election Day votes and 6,611 in-person early votes but just 2,296 votes by mail — about one-fifth Pritzker’s total.

* Sun-Times…

More than 130 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals are urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker to save Illinoisans’ lives by speeding up the state’s transition to electric trucks that will reduce the amount of diesel fuel air pollution.

In a letter to the governor this week, the health professionals asked Pritzker to sign a pact with a group of other states that are setting goals for phasing out diesel fuel engines with near-term targets as early as 2030.

“Emissions from diesel truck engines are particularly harmful for the health of communities,” the doctors wrote in their letter. “This is especially true in lower-income communities and communities of color, which too often bear disproportionate health burdens due to increased pollution exposures from freeways, railyards, warehouses and other freight hubs.”

Pritzker has declined to sign on and, earlier this year, cited concerns about the impact on businesses. Pritzker didn’t provide a direct answer to the request in a statement from a spokesman this week and, instead, pointed to an electric vehicle rebate program now being offered.

Across Illinois, fine particle pollution from trucks will cause more than 400 early deaths, nearly 200 heart attacks and thousands of respiratory illnesses in 2023, a report released last May found.

* Scott Holland…

Seldom have I seen in the state political sphere such an instant outpouring of raw emotion than following the untimely death of state Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, who succumbed to complications from a large brain tumor Friday. Reading through the statements Rich Miller compiled at his Capitol Fax blog (CapitolFax.com), as well as his Twitter posts and reader comments, was a moving, wrenching way to begin processing the loss of a 45-year-old husband and father who clearly leaves a gaping hole in his home, community and the Statehouse.

It really felt unprecedented. There was an even larger outpouring when Judy Baar Topinka passed, but she was widely known.

* Lightfoot campaign press release…

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy on Tuesday released the following statement in response to the news that cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on criminal charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations and more:

“The federal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried raise serious questions about his bankrolling of Chuy Garcia’s campaign to the tune of nearly $200,000. What were Bankman-Fried’s motives for spending so much on Rep. Garcia’s reelection, and what did Garcia promise in return – particularly when he was running unopposed at the time? Further, a June 2022 Sun-Times article reported that Rep. Garcia said he’d had a direct conversation with Mr. Bankman-Fried prior to Bankman-Fried’s decision to make his campaign a beneficiary of his wealth. What was said in that conversation that gave Mr. Bankman-Fried the impression that Garcia was such a worthwhile investment for him?”

“Samuel Bankman-Fried has done real harm, and the implications of his donations must be taken seriously. Voters deserve to know the facts when making important decisions about who they can trust. Unfortunately it seems that Chuy Garcia will bring back the old way of doing Chicago-style politics – and we can’t afford that in City Hall.”

US Rep. Garcia got $2,900 in direct contributions from Bankman-Fried, plus this…

The PAC spent $151,420 for direct mail pieces to support Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Ill., even though he is running unopposed in the Democratic primary — and the little known Republican on the ballot in the safe Democratic district is not raising or spending money. That a PAC jumps in a race where a candidate has, for practical purposes, zero real opposition is highly unusual.

Garcia told the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday that Bankman-Fried phoned him about a week-and-a-half ago to discuss one of his issues, pandemic preparedness. Garcia is a member of the Financial Services Committee, which regulates parts of the digital assets industry.

We may never know the extent of SBF’s spending because he gave a lot of cash through dark money groups, including apparently to Republicans.

Either way, I’m guessing the mayor believes the new poll.

* Sun-Times op-ed…

I recently read a story by Sun-Times reporters Nader Issa and Fran Spielman on how the city, under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, is shifting educational expenses the city once covered back to the Chicago Public Schools.

The reason? Starting in 2025, CPS will be governed by an elected school board, not one appointed by the office of the mayor. No oversight, no money. So the financially strapped CPS could soon face a budget deficit of $600 million, with future “school closings and mass layoffs” possible. […]

The governor and legislators need to come up with a long-term funding plan for CPS for the city’s sake. No slap-dash, one-time fixes.

A mayor has deliberately yanked money from her city’s schools after the General Assembly approved an elected school board and now it’s the legislature’s job to fix it? Maybe Rep. Cassidy can come up with a bill /s

* Speaking of Lightfoot…

Today, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot’s re-election campaign released its third TV ad, “Sacrifices.” In the ad, Mayor Lightfoot describes the impact her parents’ grit had on her and the sacrifices they endured so she and her siblings could lead better lives and how that motivates her every day.

“Sacrifices” also highlights how that motivation guides Mayor Lightfoot to fight for all families in Chicago emphasizing her administration’s key initiative, INVEST South/West. With these historic investments totaling more than $2 billion, progress is happening across the city, as the initiative has begun to pay off.

“Sacrifices” will run on TV and across digital platforms beginning today.

Watch “Sacrifices”

“Sacrifices” Full Transcript

Mayor Lightfoot: [to camera] I’m the youngest of four kids. Both my parents were born in the segregated South. I wouldn’t be sitting here, but for the sacrifices that my parents made for me, and particularly my mom.

Mayor Lightfoot: [announcing to a crowd] My mother.

Mayor Lightfoot: [to camera] My parents sacrificed everything to make sure that my brothers and sister and I could have a better life, a life that they could never have imagined. As mayor, I’m doing everything I can to widen and open up opportunities for those families who are growing up like the ones like mine.

“Widen and open up opportunities” except for cutting K-12 spending.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WBEZ | CPS spent $308 million on school technology since 2020. Now what?: After months of questioning by Chalkbeat and WBEZ and several inaccurate estimates, officials said last week that they bought nearly 311,000 laptops and tablets. More than 41,000 of the devices are sitting in a warehouse or yet to be shipped by a manufacturer, according to CPS.

* Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Announces Sean M. Smoot as Chairman of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board:
“Throughout his career, Sean Smoot has prioritized making Illinois safer, sometimes in extraordinarily difficult circumstances,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I can think of no one who is more qualified for this position, and I wish him the very best of luck as he begins his term.” “Sean Smoot is dedicated and has a wealth of experience as well as a collaborative spirit,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “I congratulate Sean and look forward to the continued excellence he will bring to this new role.”

* Axios | Illinois lags in energy efficiency despite new law: Illinois ranked 16th best this year, slipping from 15th and 11th in two previous years. Why it matters: Policies can drive real change, and Gov. JB Pritzker has vowed to make the state a climate leader. Highs and lows: Top scores went to California and Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Maine; Kansas and Wyoming ranked worst.

* Daily Herald | Travel is spiking as gas prices keep dipping, AAA forecasts: “If this trend continues, many states could see their average prices fall below $3 a gallon by early next year.” Gas price averages were $3.55 a gallon in the Chicago region Monday compared to $4.41 a month ago.

* ProPublica | Ken Griffin Spent $54 Million Fighting a Tax Increase for the Rich. Secret IRS Data Shows It Paid Off for Him.: For billionaire Ken Griffin, it was well worth spending $54 million to ensure he and other rich Illinoisans wouldn’t have to pay more tax. By the time Illinois voters streamed into voting booths on Election Day in 2020, Griffin, then Illinois’ wealthiest resident, had made sure they’d heard plenty about why they should not vote to raise taxes on him and the state’s other rich people. His tens of millions paid for an unrelenting stream of ads and flyers against an initiative on that year’s ballot, which would have allowed Illinois lawmakers to join 32 other states in setting higher tax rates for the wealthy than for everyone else.

* Illinois Answers Project | Pritzker will sign into law measure to prohibit state investments in Russian companies : State pension funds would have to pull millions of dollars in investments from Russian stocks and bonds under a measure the Illinois General Assembly has approved and that the governor is expected to sign into law. The measure unanimously passed the House in April of this year following the attack in February by Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the turnaround for the Senate to consider it was too quick for it to be made into law by the end of regular session, according to some lawmakers.

* NYT | Republicans Are Breaking With the N.R.A., and It’s Because of Us: Her polling picked up an even more decisive change just recently. “We’ve broadened out the villain,” she said. For decades, Americans saw the N.R.A. as the impediment to gun legislation. But rage is refocusing on Congress, increasingly seen as the N.R.A.’s collaborators: “politicians who actually fail to do anything again and again,” she said, “and have failed to stand up to the N.R.A. And that’s what people actually want — are politicians with a backbone.” It’s why Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa — an N.R.A. darling who ran for office by firing a handgun in a major ad campaign — broke with the organization leading up to the June vote. She said her phone lines were swamped, six to one in favor of the gun safety bill, urgently repeating: “Please do something.”

* CNBC | Consumer prices rose less than expected in November, up 7.1% from a year ago: Stocks initially roared higher following the report, with futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 800 points initially before easing a bit. However, the rally lost much of its steam through the session, and the Dow was up just 50 points or so near 2:30 p.m. ET. “Cooling inflation will boost the markets and take pressure off the Fed for raising rates, but most importantly this spells real relief starting for Americans whose finances have been punished by higher prices,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union. “This is especially true for lower-income Americans who are disproportionately hurt by inflation.

* Crain’s | Paul Vallas’ anti-crime program takes a turn to the political right: Also on Vallas’ list is reviving the Chicago Transit Authority’s police transit unit and giving it full legal authority to make arrests. “Commuters should be as safe on the CTA as they are in our city’s airports,” he said. “Public transportation in Chicago under my administration will be synonymous with safe passage.” Vallas said he’d get some of the money to hire a force of 600 to 700 officers by replacing private security guards that the CTA recently hired. “This new unit would ensure that all stations and platforms have a police presence,” he said. The promise to enact and enforce, “a robust public nuisance ordinance” aimed at those “who disturb the public peace and threaten to do harm to witnesses, victims and communities” is a bit of a blast from the past—it sounds much like the controversial “broken windows” strategy employed by former New York City Mayor Rudi Giuliani.

* WBEZ | Delaying access to Chicago police radio calls threatens public safety, media coalition says: The city’s new system prevents news reporters and the public from getting instant access to police scanners that broadcast information about crimes and emergencies — access that had been available for decades.

* Sun-Times | Chicago Plan Commission endorses Bally’s casino plan: The city’s planning agency Monday approved zoning for the proposed Bally’s casino at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street, a step in the $1.7 billion project’s journey through government approvals. The approval came despite a last-minute objection from a key alderperson. The Chicago Plan Commission endorsed the Bally’s proposal embraced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, which includes a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater and event center and a riverwalk. The casino would get 4,000 gaming positions.

* Crain’s | Local activist takes her fight for an assault weapons ban to the national stage: The current Senate bill, S.736, passed the House at the end of July but expires at the end of the year with congressional turnover. It needs 60 votes to pass and has the support of President Joe Biden. While both Illinois senators, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, already are co-sponsors, two new ones, Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., are helping further the cause, Brandtner says: “We have time and we have momentum.”

* Tribune | Chicago homicides in 2022: 661 people have been slain. Here’s how that compares with previous years.: The number of people slain so far in 2022: 661. That’s 110 fewer people killed when compared with this same date in 2021.

* Crain’s | Sears Hometown files for bankruptcy: The retailer listed assets of no more than $50 million and liabilities of at least $50 million in its bankruptcy court petition, filed in Delaware. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to continue operating while working on a plan to repay creditors.

* Crain’s | Belvidere Jeep plant to be ‘idle, not closed,’ Stellantis exec says: The Illinois plant that builds the Jeep Cherokee is being shut down in early 2023, but Stellantis North America COO Mark Stewart on Monday said the factory still could have a future. Stewart, during an event at a Detroit-area plant, said the automaker is “continuing to look at what we can do to repurpose that facility — but it’s idle, not closed.”

* Daily Herald | Landmark Illinois compiling list of most endangered historic places: Landmarks Illinois is accepting nominations for the 2023 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois, which calls attention to historic and culturally significant sites across the state that are threatened with deterioration, demolition or inappropriate development.

* Tribune | Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters leaves Illinois to be the new head coach at Purdue: Walters, 36, becomes the fourth-youngest coach in the Bowl Subdivision behind Kenny Dillingham (32, Arizona State), Kane Wommack (35, South Alabama) and Dan Lanning (36, Oregon). Walters replaces Jeff Brohm, who left to become the new head coach at Louisville.

* The Guardian | Ninety-year-old woman is oldest person to graduate from Illinois university: Joyce DeFauw of Illinois has given a whole new meaning to the term super senior, used for students who take longer than the usual four years to get their undergraduate degrees. On Sunday, the 90-year-old received a bachelor’s of general studies from Northern Illinois University more than seven decades after she first stepped on campus, becoming what officials believe to be the eldest person to ever graduate from the school.