* ICYMI: Chicago spent almost $1M on Brighton Park migrant base camp.Sun-Times …

- Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office says the $985,621.21 of taxpayer money didn’t go to waste because the land at 38th Street and California Avenue “has been assessed and further prepared for future use.”
- Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Johnson’s deputy chief-of-staff, said the city wouldn’t be reimbursed by the state.

* Related stories…

∙ ABC Chicago: Chicago spent nearly $1M on failed Brighton Park migrant base camp, records show
∙ Block Club: City Paying Well More Than Typical Rent For Migrant Shelter Buildings — And Keeping Details Secret

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Illinois Answers | Illinois Taxpayers Shell Out Hundreds of Millions as Prison Reform Lawsuits Grind On: Progress has been slow as the bill to taxpayers keeps rising. Court-ordered audits show the IDOC continues to fail to provide basic care to inmates — a point underscored by the Illinois Answers Project in interviews with more than a dozen people who are incarcerated. The state has paid more than $13 million in legal fees and fines so far as part of the settlements and faces an ultimate tab of hundreds of millions of dollars to fulfill settlement requirements. Separately, a report published earlier this year estimates the state has a multibillion dollar backlog in maintenance expenses to repair its dilapidated prisons, some of which date to the 19th century.

* Post-Tribune | Supreme Court agrees to review former Portage Mayor James Snyder’s public corruption case: Snyder was elected mayor in 2011 and reelected in 2015. He resigned in February 2019 after his first conviction on the IRS and garbage truck charges; in a second trial a jury confirmed the guilty verdict in the garbage truck case. Snyder was indicted in November 2016, on the same day former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, who is serving a 12-year sentence in federal prison, was indicted on public corruption charges. Federal attorneys argued in a November filing that Snyder does not deserve to have his conviction on a public corruption charge involving garbage truck contracts reviewed because earlier court rulings in the case indicate Snyder received a bribe of $13,000 in regard to a contract for garbage trucks.

* WTTW | Sponsor of State Law Targeting Crisis Pregnancy Centers in ‘Shock and Dismay’ After AG Backs Off Legal Fight:“If the attorney general wasn’t prepared to defend the law — even a little bit — it never should have been introduced,” said Lisa Battisfore, president of Reproductive Transparency Now.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* The Southern | Williamson County commissioners talk Paid Leave Act, plan to adopt policy Dec. 15: “It’s going to be a bookkeeping nightmare,” was the consensus of the County Commissioners as they discussed the policy to be adopted by the county that would keep them within the new Paid Leave for All Workers Act. They discussed how the first 40 hours could be pulled from sick time, would need to be used within the year and would not require a doctor’s note. The decision to accrue sick leave or give it out as a lump sum at the beginning of the year was not determined during the meeting.

* Daily Herald | Suburbs scramble to exempt public safety employees from state’s on-demand paid-leave law: The announcement was publicly applauded by a number of legislators and civic leaders. While their comments focused on the benefit to those employees receiving this right for the first time, they didn’t reflect the specific concern suburban municipalities and fire protection districts have been trying to address this fall.

* Chalkbeat | Illinois’ education budget might be tighter over the next several years, say officials: That’s because local revenue projections are modest and federal COVID relief dollars are set to run out, state finance and budget officials told board members. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget has predicted the Illinois State Board of Education can expect to receive an additional $425 million in revenue next year.

* Illinois Times | Elimination of cash bail seems to be working: “It’s a fairly orderly process,” Matthew McLoughlin, campaign coordinator of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, told Illinois Times, adding that naysayers so far have been proven wrong. “The courts have slowed the process down. “The big thing here is the dramatic pronouncements made last year of chaos in our communities have turned out to be patently false. We’re thrilled with the implementation of the law.”

* Crain’s | Johnson says city close to clearing migrants from police districts: As of Wednesday morning, city officials reported 354 asylum seekers were living in police district stations, with another 221 living at O’Hare International Airport. By Wednesday afternoon, Johnson said that number was reduced and that all but one of the city’s 22 police districts had been cleared of migrants.

* Tribune | Oak Park, which has been providing shelter for migrants, will require them to move out of hotel, YMCA by Jan. 31: The approximately 160 people at The Carleton of Oak Park hotel and the West Cook YMCA are to be notified of the eviction date this week. They will be asked to work with a case manager or village staff to find new shelter and possibly move them to another city or state if they have stable housing there, according to a memo from the village Emergency Operations Center. For anyone who can’t find shelter, the village will help relocate them to the Chicago shelter program, the memo states.

* Crain’s | Prosecution begins closing arguments in Ed Burke trial: After the media frenzy surrounding the testimony of FBI mole Danny Solis on Tuesday, the crowd inside the 25th-floor courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building had simmered down by the time Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur addressed the jury Wednesday afternoon. Understated and methodical, MacArthur laid out the 19-count federal indictment that named Burke as well as his chief of staff Peter Andrews and local developer Charles Cui.

* Block Club | MAT Asphalt Agrees To $1.2 Million Class-Action Settlement With McKinley Park Neighbors: The settlement, agreed upon in early November, applies to any resident who lives within a half-mile radius of MAT Asphalt, 2055 W. Pershing Road. The facility is situated across the street from McKinley Park and makes hot-mix asphalt, among other industrial products. […] With the settlement agreement, lawyers from the Detroit-based law office of Liddle Sheets Coulson P.C. are now requesting that neighbors interested in the payout file a claim form to receive compensation from the settlement fund. The form must be postmarked by Jan. 22.

* Sun-Times | Judge vacates murder conviction of Chicago man wrongfully imprisoned for 35 years: Beals was convicted in the 1988 murder of 6-year-old Demetrius Campbell in Englewood. At the time, Beals, a 22-year-old student at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, was home in Chicago during Thanksgiving break. He was approached by a drug dealer and they argued, according to news accounts at the time. Attorneys say Beals got in his car and drove off. Bullets fired in Beals’ direction hit two bystanders, the boy and his mother, Valerie Campbell. Despite three witnesses describing a different offender, Beals was convicted, namely on Campbell’s testimony. She said she saw Beals in the argument and believed he fired the shots. Beals maintained his innocence.

* Sun-Times | Heartland Alliance cuts 65 jobs and shuts affordable housing division: Ed Stellon, the group’s chief external affairs officer, said the nonprofit is “managing a very severe cash flow challenge.” He said the layoffs were among 125 workers who got temporary furloughs in recent months. “It’s just a terrible situation for them,” Stellon said.

* NBC Chicago | Illinois’ New Laws: Transit bill includes reduced fares, requires zero-emission buses: The legislation will provide free fare cards for victims of domestic violence, with state agencies partnering with The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, according to the language of the bill. The legislation also included several provisions aimed at younger Illinois residents. Both PACE and Metra will be required to offer youth job opportunities and internship programs as part of the bill, and participants in the “One Summer Chicago” program, which provides employment opportunities for Chicago residents age 14-to-24, will also receive reduced-fares on transit.

* WAND | Illinois lawmakers, industry experts discuss future broadband expansion: Roughly 234,000 Illinoisans are unserved and lack access to basic broadband service. However, about 132,000 people live in underserved locations across the state. “How are we going to reach 100% coverage for all Illinoisans? That’s a really big hurdle,” said Greg Claus with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “This is the first time a grant program has been set up to connect all homes and businesses.”

* Sun-Times | CTA boss says Yellow Line crash conditions are isolated, not systemwide: Brushing aside criticism that he has remained silent since the crash, CTA President Dorval Carter said National Transportation Safety Board rules prohibit him from commenting on the investigation. But he tried to allay speculation about a potential design flaw.

* Our Quad Cities | Pat O’Brien, Moline 6th ward alderman, dies: Pat O’Brien was a longtime resident of Moline. He served eight years as the 2nd Ward Alderman for the city until 2005. In 2021, he was elected as the 6th Ward Alderman. Pat was also the former President of the Council on Community Services and also served as President of the Moline Preservation society. His co-workers and friends describe him as selfless.

* WREX | Illinois Comptroller Mendoza shares safe holiday shopping tips: In a recent release to Illinois residents, Comptroller Susana Mendoza encourages safe shopping for the holidays. Providing tips to the public, the state leader charged with fiscal control calls for consumer caution. “That perfect present you picked out for a loved one may end up costing you dearly if you aren’t careful,” states Mendoza.

* Tribune | Anti-Cruelty Society sees uptick in adoptions after waiving fees for December to reduce overcrowding: Pistachio is one of 158 animals that has been adopted from the Anti-Cruelty Society animal shelter since it waived adoption fees for the month of December in its “Home for Howlidays” promotion to encourage and remove one financial barrier to adoption. The large-scale promotion aims to combat overcrowding at the shelter, which has seen in the past two years animals, particularly big dogs, linger at the shelter.