* Greg Hinz…

The spotlight will be on Springfield this week as the Legislature returns for its pre-inaugural lame-duck session with a pair of key business-related measures now reportedly on a fast track.

The first is the proposed package of electric vehicle incentives, including a huge “deal-closing fund,” that Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants. Team Pritzker hopes that will be enough to convince Stellantis and partners to invest in converting the soon-to-be-shuttered Belvidere assembly plant to EV production.

As of Monday, multiple capitol sources said the measure appears to be in good shape, with lawmakers fine-tuning what type of oversight they’d have on the fund, which could hit $1 billion. Sources say the governor and aides have been regularly meeting with Stellantis and that Pritzker recently sat down with the local United Auto Workers union.

Also percolating: a measure that would give workers statewide seven paid days off a year for sick leave, family emergencies, etc. Business groups supported the measure because, as originally drafted, it would have preempted even stronger requirements elsewhere, like in Chicago, which could raise its current five-day mandate. But the latest word is the preemption clause is out at the request of organized labor but over the opposition of business.

Labor unions, progressives and Chicago’s mayor killed that paid sick leave bill last year because of the preemption clause.

* Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) announced a couple of weeks ago that she wants to be appointed to the seat once held by the late Sen. Scott Bennett…

Three applicants have made their interest in the seat public — state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, City of Champaign Township Supervisor Andy Quarnstrom and Cindy Cunningham, who ran unsuccessfully for the Illinois House seat currently held by state Rep. Mike Marron, R-Fithian.

Ammons and her supporters, including Cunningham Township Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth, argue Ammons is the vastly superior choice. But while she has strong supporters in the local Democratic Party, she also has virulent critics.

Commenting on The News-Gazette’s Facebook page, former Champaign City Council member Clarissa Fourman said of Ammons’ interest, “No. Just NO.”

Champaign County has the weighted vote…

The decision over who replaces Bennett falls to the Democratic Party Chairs of Champaign and Vermillion County, but Champaign’s Democratic Party will ultimately have way more weight in the decision. […]

If Ammons is chosen, then the Champaign Democratic Party would also need to appoint a replacement to her seat in the House of Representatives, but the 30-day counter would start over.

Rep. Ammons has plastered her Instagram account with testimonials…

*** UPDATE *** The county party chair with the weighted vote, Mike Ingram, has tossed his hat into the race and turned the reins over to his vice chair…

I have decided to submit my name for the vacancy in the Illinois 52nd Senate District.

The decision was clearly not an easy one to make. But I’m confident in my vice chair and the advisory committee we’ve convened. I will recuse myself from the process and let my vice chair run the process. She has a wealth of experience and has been an active supporter of other candidates who have submitted their names. I am confident that she will do a wonderful job.

I want to be the senator from the 52nd State Senate District, and I will be doing everything I can to convince both chairs that I would be a good choice: with knowledge of both counties, a desire to honor Scott’s legacy, and a track record of winning elections and delivering on campaign promises. Whoever is chosen will have my support.

…Adding… With a hat tip to a commenter, here’s the list of applicants…

Andrew Quarnstrom
Carol Ammons
Cristina M Manuel
Cynthia Cunningham
David Palmer
Gianina Baker
Kyle Patterson
Matthew Sullard
Mickensy Ellis-White
Mike Ingram
Paul Faraci

* New member…

Rep. Huffman will serve until Jan. 11. The two-year term former Rep. Butler was elected to in November, which begins that day, is expected to be filled by Saputo’s owner Mike Coffey. #twill https://t.co/0kl9TltMUF

— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) January 3, 2023

* Put this into the category of “Some folks will complain about anything”…

Illinois is set to receive $354.6 million in federal funding for four state programs to help small businesses, the U.S. Treasury announced.

The money will help Illinois small businesses attract more capital investment and expand or launch business operations, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration said in a statement.

Todd Maisch, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, welcomes the funding but has reservations about the Pritzker administration’s overall commitment to small business.

“If the governor renews his effort to bring back the graduated income tax or steps up the timetable for increasing the minimum wage, he will completely erase $350 million and probably increase costs to small businesses by at least a billion dollars,” Maisch told The Center Square.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* WTTW | A Pregnant Mom Crossed the Rio Grande to Give Her Child a Better Life. Now Her Daughter, Delia Ramirez, Will Be a U.S. Congresswoman: “I am the wife of a DACA recipient. I am the daughter of Guatemalan working immigrants. I know firsthand the challenges and constant fear our families live every single day,” Ramirez tells reporters. “We have to end this.”

* Sun-Times | Illinois needs better rules for selling off unneeded land: The Damen Silos property, which is right on the river, should have been part of a master plan focused on helping to redevelop the land along the Chicago River in a way most beneficial to city residents.

* Sun-Times | Durbin pushing through historic diversity on federal bench: “I’m pretty proud of what we’ve been able to achieve,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who starts a second term as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the new 118th Congress kicks off on Tuesday.

* CBS Chicago | New coronavirus strain causes ‘double-whammy’ of concern for Chicago epidemiologist: All eyes are on the northeastern part of the country, where the new strain already accounts for the majority of new cases. The number of cases in the Chicago region have double in the last week. The name XBB.1.5 may be new, but this coronavirus variant spreads in a familiar way.

* SJ-R | Illinois State Museum director gets call from Route 66 centennial commission: Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, the director of the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, has been appointed by President Joe Biden to the Route 66 Centennial Commission.

* Sun-Times | Madigan’s downfall sparks new career for former aide: Selling weed in Michigan: Last summer, Noonan began what he hopes will be a mellower, second career as an owner of an organic marijuana farm and certified “ganjier” in this small city in southwest Michigan. Noonan, 54, says he’s done with politics in Illinois and is dedicating himself to fighting for “the craft weed revolution” in his new home on the other side of Lake Michigan.

* SJ-R | Sheriff’s deputy from Athens will fill out Butler’s term in 87th ending Jan. 11: Jason Huffman, a Menard County sheriff’s deputy and a police officer in Sherman, was sworn in Monday to serve the remainder of state Rep. Tim Butler’s term in the 87th District in the Illinois legislature.

* Crain’s | Bears interview Big Ten commish Kevin Warren for top job: report: The Chicago Bears have interviewed Big Ten conference Commissioner Kevin Warren, who is considered a finalist for the team’s soon-to-be vacant president and CEO position, the Chicago Sun-Times reports, citing an unnamed source.

* Tribune | Inflation won’t stop 2023 auto sales growth amid chip recovery: Two years of semiconductor shortages and supply problems have kept vehicle production low and inventories lean. With factories picking up pace again, consumers will buy more vehicles this year even if automakers have to help them manage rising interest rates by cutting today’s lofty prices.

* Crain’s | ‘Battery Belt’ will be a new kind of job magnet: In 2022 we saw industrial policy passed by Congress intersect with investment plans from major manufacturers and startups, all emphasizing the future need for batteries for energy storage.

* Sun-Times | Howard Brown Health workers begin three-day strike: Workers on a three-day strike demonstrated outside a Howard Brown Health center Tuesday to denounce the organization’s decision to layoff a group of 61 union workers in the midst of contract negotiations.

* Crain’s | Chicago’s most famous chef was also a lousy businessman: In a new documentary film about Chicago’s Charlie Trotter, the superstar chef declares in archival footage, “Basically, I hate people.” A constantly frustrated perfectionist in the kitchen, he was talking about customers, employees and suppliers.

* Tribune | Lawmakers in New York get pay raise making them nation’s best-paid: Just in time for the New Year, New York lawmakers have become the highest paid state legislators in the nation under a bill signed Saturday. Members of both houses are getting a pay raise of $32,000, for a base salary of $142,000, under a bill Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a day before her inauguration Sunday. That’s a 29% raise over their previous salary of $110,000.

* SLPR | Latex gloves are no longer allowed in Illinois food service, next is health care in 2024: The Illinois General Assembly passed the Latex Glove Ban Act this year, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law in June. The goal of the new law is to protect workers and customers who may be allergic to latex.

* Crain’s | Exelon to stay based in Chicago: Calvin Butler, who with the new year takes the reins as CEO of the giant utility holding company, is moving back to Chicago, and the company “is and will remain” headquartered here, a spokeswoman said this morning.

* WTTW | ‘Surviving R.Kelly’: Final Installment Examines Trial and More Details: “Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter” is a two-part look at the legal fallout Kelly has faced. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in June following his 2021 conviction on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges, stemming from his efforts over decades to use his fame as a top-selling recording artist and songwriter to ensnare victims he sexually abused.

* Crain’s | Developers pitch $1.2 billion of LaSalle Street residential conversions: Some of Chicago’s best-known developers are collectively pitching more than $1.2 billion-worth of projects to turn outdated office buildings on and near LaSalle Street into places to live, a key step toward what could be a historic transformation of the vacancy-ridden Loop thoroughfare.

* WSIL | Walker’s Bluff announces closure of their General Store: They stated in a Facebook post they are transitioning into the Walker’s Bluff Casino and Resort and appreciate everyone’s past business and future support.

* Relix | LP Giobbi Remixes Jerry Garcia: “I Wanted to Show This Beautiful World to My Community”: LP Giobbi has toured the globe over the past few years, earning plaudits as a DJ, producer, entrepreneur and co-founder of the nonprofit organization Femme House, which addresses the lack of equity for women in electronic music.