* People Who Play by the Rules PAC ended the year with -$1.2 million…

* Here’s your roundup…

* Crain’s | Illinois AG opens new front in Illinois’ gun wars: In an amicus brief filed today on behalf of attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia, Raoul strongly defends a New York state statute that allows some gun dealers and makers to be sued for negligence if they fail to take “reasonable” steps to prevent guns’ misuse.

* Daily Herald | County board members assail DuPage sheriff over weapons ban remarks: Committee members echoed calls for Mendrick to retract his statement, with some suggesting the board should censure the sheriff if he does not. It was unclear Tuesday if the board has the authority to censure a sheriff. Committee members asked a representative from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office to research the matter.

* The Southern | Legislators focus on gun law during town hall meeting in Marion: Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich asked the crowd if they believed in the Second Amendment, which was answered with loud cheers. “We’re targeting the wrong people with this legislation,” Diederich said, adding that the police have no business getting behind an unconstitutional law.

* Sun-Times | State’s assault weapons ban challenged by two lawsuits — with others on the way: A suit filed Jan. 13 in southern Illinois marked the beginning of the legal battle to overturn the law Gov. J.B Pritzker has called “one of the strongest assault weapons bans in the nation.” Another complaint was filed Tuesday by former Republican Illinois attorney general candidate Tom DeVore.

* Block Club | Chicagoans Are Worried About Gun Violence. How Are Mayoral Candidates Responding?: With Chicago’s mayoral election less than two months away, Williams is worried that no one among the slate of candidates has a feasible plan to quell the violence hurting the people she cares about. Eight candidates are running against incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot on February 28. If none receives over half of the votes, the top two candidates will face off in a runoff election on April 4. Williams is disappointed, she said, that she hasn’t seen the candidates talk in any depth about the underlying causes of gun violence.

* Press Release | Didech Appointed Chairman of House Gaming Committee: Today, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced that State Rep. Daniel Didech (D-Buffalo Grove) will be appointed to serve as Chairman of the House Gaming Committee for the 103rd General Assembly. The Gaming Committee will exercise oversight and consider legislation that impacts Illinois’ casinos, racetracks, lottery, sports betting, and video gaming establishments.

* WCIA | Giannoulias releases final transition report: Some of his goals his transition team highlighted include expanding library access, release public education campaigns about fraud prevention, improving marketing for the organ donation program, and shorten wait times at Secretary of State facilities.

* Tribune | State police execute search warrant at Waukegan City Hall: Kirkwood was indicted by a Lake County grand jury in July on 26 counts of forgery, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of official misconduct — all Class 3 felonies — and one count of theft by deception, a Class 1 felony.

* Sun-Times | Striking UIC faculty pickets, rallies with local, national leaders: ‘Without you, this place would not run’: The union is demanding higher minimum salaries, bigger pay raises that match inflation, mental health support for students, better job security for non-tenure track faculty, learning disability assessments for students and more.

* WSJ | Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Faces Tough Re-Election Bid: Ms. Lightfoot, a 60-year-old former federal prosecutor, was the first Black woman and first gay person elected mayor of the nation’s third-largest city, winning every city ward in a 2019 runoff against Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Now, early polls show the mayor as an underdog in the Feb. 28 election, with the top two vote-getters expected to face off in an April runoff if no candidate wins a majority in the first round.

* Sun-Times | Chuy Garcia outlines ‘Women’s Agenda’: On Tuesday, Garcia outlined a “Women’s Agenda” that includes everything from free City Colleges tuition and student loan forgiveness for “women, immigrants, trades, veterans and adult learners” to advocating for “legislative solutions” that, he claims, would “make child care universal and affordable.”

* Pew | More States Are Doing What They Can to Cap Insulin Costs: In response to the steep rise in out-of-pocket costs for insulin over the past two decades — enough to compel many diabetic patients, like Hunt, to ration their use of the medicine — nearly two dozen states have passed measures in the past few years capping the out-of-pocket costs for some patients.

* Crain’s | U of I uses money from COVID-test spinout to fund DPI talent effort: Here’s one good thing that came out the pandemic: The University of Illinois is using $3.5 million from its COVID-testing spinout to fund tech-education efforts at the Discovery Partners Institute. U of I is using funds from Shield T3, the company that’s commercializing the saliva-based test developed by the university’s researchers to screen students on campus for COVID-19, to seed an endowment that it hopes to grow to $50 million with additional donations.

* CBS Chicago | CPS teachers say disinfecting wipes were removed with no notice over safety concerns: As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported Tuesday, teachers are upset because CPS never flagged teachers, or parents, to inform them that there were concerns about the wipes.

* Daily Herald | LGBTQ advocates blast upcoming conservative gathering at city-owned Des Plaines Theatre: Awake Illinois’ website describes the event as “a diverse group of advocates (gathering) together to transform the conversation on issues affecting children.” Speakers are set to include Jaimee Michell, founder of a group called Gays Against Groomers; Stephanie Trussell, recent Republican candidate for lieutenant governor; Shannon Adcock, founder of Awake Illinois and a leader of Moms for Liberty DuPage; and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Dubiel.

* Sun-Times | City sells bonds to the masses: It’s a program that sounds tailor-made for die-hard city boosters. No longer do you have to just lobby for or cheer on municipal efforts to rehab dumpy buildings, increase supportive housing or bring something productive to vacant lots. Now you can earn a return from presumably good works, maybe in your neighborhood.

* Jstor | When Uptown Chicago was “Hillbilly Heaven”: After World War II, Guy writes, tens of thousands of white Appalachians moved to Midwestern cities. In Chicago, they generally settled in Uptown. Soon, this became a neighborhood of rundown housing and honky-tonk bars known either affectionately as “Hillbilly Heaven” or disparagingly as the “Hillbilly Ghetto.”

* Commercial-News | Bennett’s socks drive ‘most successful’: For seven years, the late state Sen. Scott Bennett hosted a Warm Socks Drive in the Danville community during the winter. The donations are given to Danville Rescue Mission, Fair Hope Children’s Ministry and Crosspoint at the Y Homeless Program.