* ICYMI: Chicago finds the Brighton Park migrant tent site safe for temporary residential use despite contaminants. Sun-Times…

-Arsenic, mercury, lead, manganese and a chemical used in PVC were among the heavy metals and toxic contaminants discovered in the soil.
-“The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will have to review it,” said Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “We will not utilize that site if IEPA does not sign off.”
- The city claims as long as contaminated soil is removed and a stone barrier of at least six inches covers the entire nine-acre site the camp will be safe.

* Related stories…

∙ WTTW: Land Set to Become Base Camp Safe for Migrants After Removal of Polluted Soil, Addition of Stone Barrier, City Says
∙ ABC Chicago: Brighton Park migrant camp site environmental report shows soil was contaminated
∙ Block Club: Brighton Park Tent Encampment Deemed Safe — Despite Mercury, Arsenic Contamination, Mayor’s Office Says

* Isabel’s top picks…

* WGLT | Report finds Logan, Pontiac and Stateville prisons nearly inoperable: The final report from a consulting firm hired by the state has found three of Illinois’ 27 prison facilities, including the Pontiac and Logan correctional centers, approaching “inoperable,” and a list of more than $2.5 billion in overdue repairs in aging institutions across the state. CGL Companies warns in the report initially released in May that the existing price tag of “deferred maintenance” at Illinois prisons could double in five years if unaddressed. Significant deterioration was reported at all prisons, with only three of 27 prisons ranked in the “fully operational range,” and the remainder in the “impaired operation range.” Pontiac, Logan and Joliet’s Stateville were categorized as nearly inoperable.

* Tribune | Volunteer networks step up to provide health needs to migrants at police stations: Mutual aid networks and free and charitable organizations have stepped up to provide health needs to migrants who are sleeping on the floor at police stations and waiting for space in one of the 26 brick-and-mortar shelters around the city. But it is not uncommon for migrants to turn — or, in some cases, return — to police stations looking for basic medical resources, as necessities in shelters can be sparse or nonexistent. It’s not dissimilar from what migrants faced in their countries of origin.

* ABC Chicago | Brighton Park migrant camp plans need IEPA approval for construction to move forward, state says: The state is funding the project, but Gov. JB Pritzker’s Office said they will not move forward unless the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency signs off the report. New video shows construction still underway at 38th and California on Sunday.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Tribune | State, food bank step in to keep migrants fed during December amid city contract delay: The city in mid-October solicited bids for a new food vendor contract that was to begin Friday, but last week the Johnson administration pushed that start date back a month and a half to Jan. 15, according to city records. The delay raised questions about whether migrants would be fed throughout December. The new deadline for food vendors to submit proposals was noon Friday.

* Sen. Robert Peters | Chicago must remain a sanctuary city because ‘that is who we are’: Chicagoans do not subscribe to Trump’s “build the wall” politics. We rejected his xenophobia in 2016 and 2020, and we need to reject it now as we approach the 2024 presidential election and the Democratic National Convention that will be held in Chicago in August. The convention is a once-in-a-generation moment for the city to shine. Instead, some of our city’s leaders are flirting with embarrassing us on the world stage and causing deep fissures within the Democratic Party, which needs to be unified to prevent Trump from becoming president for a second time.

* Daily Herald | A return to tradition: Why Illinois’ primary election is moving back to March in 2024: State Rep. Maurice West, a Rockford Democrat, sponsored the 2021 legislation that set the date for the 2022 primary. At the time, he said the state’s traditional, seven-month gap between primary and general elections was “long and risky, negatively affecting public policymaking.” West deliberately proposed a one-time change “just to see how it works.” If success is measured by voter turnout, the change was a failure.

* Tribune | Amid drug abuse crisis, state mounts effort to recruit and train more counselors: The state is spending $3 million in an effort to recruit and retain more substance abuse counselors amid a surge in drug abuse and overdoses that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. […] The state money will go toward expanding a program to recruit potential CADCs to help them with tuition payments, scholarships, internship stipends and other payments related to the training needed to get certified. The program also offers assistance with job placement, continuing education and credential renewal opportunities for existing CADCs.

* WTAX | New leader for IL Chamber: The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has a new president and CEO. Lou Sandoval’s career has taken him from the biotech industry through marine sales through business consulting, and he says that’s prepared him for his new position.

* Brownfield | Outgoing Illinois Farm Bureau president reflects on decade of service: Illinois Farm Bureau president Rich Guebert has spent the last 10 years representing Illinois farmers on a state, national, and global stage. Throughout his term, he’s met with two sitting Presidents, two Secretaries of Agriculture, and the Speaker of the U.S. House. “I’m going to be forever grateful that I can tell agriculture’s story to those folks with influence,” he says. “And drive policy, that’s not only important to our members here in Illinois, but farmers and ranchers all across the United States.”

* State Week | Pritzker and the state’s economy: Gov. J.B. Pritzker talked about the state’s business climate and more during a Crain’s Chicago Business luncheon. The governor touted recent announcements of jobs being added, especially at new manufacturing sites. We’ll talk about Pritzker’s economic record.

* Capitol News Illinois | Supreme Court rules teen bicyclist is covered by father’s auto insurance policy: The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that automobile insurance policies must cover people against uninsured motorists and hit-and-run accidents, even if the person covered by the policy is not in a vehicle at the time of the accident.

* Daily Herald | Illinois judges reflect on the legacy of pioneering Supreme Court jurist Sandra Day O’Connor: The death of trailblazing jurist Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, prompted expressions of praise and gratitude from the women she inspired to pursue careers in the judiciary. Among them was Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary K. O’Brien, a longtime O’Connor admirer who says the late Supreme Court justice “always sought to hear the other side, to find common ground, to listen.”

* Crain’s | For Illinois’ cannabis industry, the roller-coaster ride continues: After years of delay, new license holders are entering the market at a healthy clip, which is helping diversify ownership in the industry and bring down Illinois’ notoriously high prices. There are 173 pot shops in Illinois, up from 113 a year ago. State regulators think 190 could be open by the end of the year.

* ABC Chicago | Father of 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in unincorp. Plainfield stabbing speaks with ABC7: Odai recalled the moment he got that call from the Will County sheriff. “I’m confused. He told me, ‘Wadee killed,’” Odai said. “I said, ‘No, Wadee is still a kid.’ He said, ‘No, somebody killed him.’”

* WaPo | Factory reopening could save this town, but many still bash the economy: Closed factories almost never reopen. So when Jason Vassar heard last month that his shuttered auto factory plans to restart, he considered it a “blessing.” The Stellantis plant that laid him off in March had agreed to resume production and rehire its workers to help end a nationwide strike against the company. It even pledged to build a $3.2 billion battery factory next door, encouraged by the prospect of federal manufacturing subsidies from the Biden administration.

* NYT | What to Know About the Purdue Pharma Case Before the Supreme Court: At issue is whether a bankruptcy plan can be engineered to give legal immunity to a third party — in this case, members of the Sackler family, who once controlled Purdue Pharma — even though they themselves have not declared bankruptcy. If the court approves the deal, that could affirm a litigation tactic that has become increasingly popular in resolving lawsuits in which many people claim similar injuries from the same entity, be it a drug or consumer product. By turning to the bankruptcy courts as a tool to resolve those claims, businesses aim to free themselves from civil liability and prevent future lawsuits.