* Speaker Welch’s statement on conclusion of the 102nd General Assembly…

“The 102nd General Assembly, my first as the Speaker of the House, was truly historic.

“We’ve taken significant steps to get our fiscal house in order by balancing budgets, eliminating the nearly $17 billion in unpaid bills we inherited, replenishing our rainy-day fund, and earning our state six credit upgrades. We’ve put Illinois on the path to 100% clean energy and provided record-level investments for our communities to combat the root causes of violence. We’ve protected the right to vote, stood up against antisemitism and racism, and navigated through a once-in-a-century global health pandemic. Tonight, I’m proud to cap off these monumental and consequential two years by protecting reproductive health care and approving one of the nation’s strongest assault weapons bans.

“I want to thank my leadership team, the entire Democratic Caucus, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and all of our talented staff. I’d also like to extend gratitude to Senate President Don Harmon, our counterparts in the Senate, and Governor JB Pritzker.

“Over the past two years, we’ve risen to meet the challenges of this moment, and we’ve moved Illinois forward together. I look forward to building on that progress in the 103rd General Assembly.”

* Here’s your morning briefing..

* Sun-Times | Assault weapon sales now illegal in Illinois: ‘This will save lives,’ Pritzker says after signing bill into law: “We have done this for Highland Park’s Kevin and Irina McCarthy, Jacquelyn Sundheim, Katherine Goldstein, Eduardo Uvaldo, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza and Stephen Straus. For Benito Juarez High School’s Brandon Perez and Nathan Billegas, just 15 and 14.”

* WBEZ | Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signs assault weapons ban as lawmakers shore up abortion rights: Illinois Democrats put the finishing touch on a hectic lame-duck legislative session Tuesday by handing themselves and Gov. JB Pritzker headline-grabbing victories on gun-control and abortion rights while steamrolling vastly outnumbered Republicans in the process.

* AP | Illinois lawmakers approve broadened abortion, gender protections for patients and providers: The bill, which Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s is expected to sign, would shield reproductive and gender-affirming health care patients and providers from legal action originating across state lines and widen access to reproductive care.

* Daily Herald | Resistance to state money for Bears’ redevelopment of Arlington Park added to legislation: Inserted into a bill creating a $400 million large business attraction fund was language barring “economic incentives to a professional sports organization that moves its operations from one location in the state to another location in the state.”

* Tribune | As bombshell trial nears, new details emerge in alleged plot by ComEd to influence Michael Madigan: A ComEd lawyer is expected to testify that the man accused of orchestrating the scheme, ex-lobbyist Michael McClain, had such a longstanding and close relationship with Madigan that he was sometimes referred to within ComEd as a “double agent.”

* Crain’s | Bill creating $400M EV deal-closing fund is now headed to Pritzker’s desk: Following an 86-23-19 vote in the House earlier in the day, the Senate late Tuesday passed legislation that would create a deal-closing fund like those that exist in other states, one that would allow the governor to dip into a kitty initially stocked with $400 million to bring prospective economic development deals over the finish line. The Senate vote was 40-15.

* Center Square | Outgoing Illinois House Minority Leader resigns amid accusations of being too far to the left: After 24 years in the legislature, Durkin said it is time to leave, claiming the Republican Party in Illinois has lost its way. “We’re not, nor should we be a party that subscribes to extremists, and that if you do not pass the purity test for Republicans, you’re not worthy of running for office. I don’t believe in that,” Durkin said.

* 20 years after commuting 167 Illinois death sentence, ex-Gov George Ryan has no regrets: “My concern basically was if I had left office and didn’t do anything about it and woke up one morning and found some innocent person had died, I would have to live with that the rest of my life,” Ryan said.

* Sun-Times | New website tracks and shares COVID-19 levels in Illinois wastewater to help residents ‘make informed decisions’: The site offers snapshots of COVID-19 transmission in communities around 75 wastewater treatment facilities in Illinois.

* Politico | ‘We want people to be uncomfortable’: The conservative plan to target pharmacies that dispense abortion pills: Anti-abortion advocates are organizing pickets outside CVS and Walgreens in early February in at least eight cities, including Washington, D.C., in response to the companies’ plans to take advantage of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision last week allowing retail pharmacies to stock and dispense abortion pills in states where they’re legal.

* Sun-Times | Lightfoot’s ‘No. 1 cheerleader’ in City Council rethinking support over mayor’s failure to call after he accidentally shot himself: Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) said his second thoughts stem from Lightfoot’s “coldness” toward him, including her not contacting him after a shooting accident last fall.

* WGN | When will egg prices come down?: Right now, retailers are trying to replenish inventory to normal operating levels, and it could be several months before eggs are at the price point that shoppers are used to paying. Even those prices won’t be what they once were, as inflation continues to affect the cost of food across the board.

* The Beacon-News | Restoration complete, head and tail from replica Viking ship that starred at Chicago World’s Fair set to go on display: Originally built in 1892 in Norway as a replica of the ancient Viking ship Gokstad, the craft sailed to Chicago undergoing what the Friends of the Viking Ship group said was “an incredibly long and dangerous non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to become one of the greatest attractions” at the World’s Fair and later finding a home after many years in Geneva’s Good Templar Park in 1996.

* WTTW | It’s Triplets! Lincoln Park Zoo Welcomes Three Lion Cubs: The new arrivals all appear healthy and, in a good sign, all began nursing within their first hours, according to the zoo. There’s no word yet on the cubs’ sex or names. The cubs and Zari will be kept behind the scenes in the cubs’ first weeks.