* ICYMI: Illinois AG Raoul warns Mayor Johnson to reconsider police reform budget cuts or risk being held in contempt. Sun-Times…

In a letter to Johnson dated Tuesday and obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, Raoul expressed “grave concern” about cuts targeting CPD units responsible for implementing sweeping changes mandated in a federal consent decree.

Raoul bluntly told Johnson, “I strongly urge you to reconsider these proposed cuts.”

“Under the consent decree, the City must provide the `necessary and reasonable financial resources’ required to fulfill those obligations. Cutting much-needed resources from the unit within CPD responsible for developing and implementing the policies, training, and oversight required by the consent decree is directly contrary to that obligation,” that attorney general wrote. […]

Johnson’s proposed $17.3 billion budget includes a 45% cut — from $6.7 million to $3.7 million — to CPD’s Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, which is charged with implementing the consent decree. The office’s staff would be cut from 65 budgeted employees to 28.

Click here to read the letter.

* At 4 pm Governor Pritzker will tour the Wedge Innovation Center in Alton. Click here to watch.

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Aldermen struggle with Johnson’s ‘rudderless’ lobbying office amid budget negotiations: Johnson’s deputy IGA director who handles state government, Mike Ciaccio, is quitting at the end of this month, three sources confirmed to the Tribune, making it even tougher for the mayor to make inroads with the General Assembly.

* Rock River Current | Hard Rock Casino Rockford Holds No. 2 Spot For State’s Biggest-Drawing Casinos: Hard Rock jumped from ninth to second among total revenue and admissions to the state’s 15 casinos in September. It held that ranking last month, according to figures released Tuesday by the Illinois Gaming Board. Hard Rock had 122,621 admissions to the casino at 7801 E. State St. in October. It had 157,154 during its debut month.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Tribune | Lawmakers confront costly choices as state workers rally for better pension benefits: At issue are concerns over reforms made to Illinois’ beleaguered pension system in 2011. Workers hired after that date were placed into a “Tier 2” system that offered reduced benefits. The overall goal of creating the “Tier 2” plan was to shrink a pension debt that now runs to $141 billion. But at some point, benefits paid out under the system won’t equal to what Social Security would provide to those employees, a violation of a federal “safe harbor” law. That would require the state to pay large sums in Social Security taxes instead of operating its own pension system which, while still costly, allows the state more flexibility.

*** Statewide ***

* Crain’s | Intersect Illinois says new corporate projects rose 15% last year: he state tallied 440 projects in the fiscal year ended June 30, up from 382 a year before, says Intersect Illinois, the state’s public-private partnership for economic development. The biggest project announced last fiscal year was Gotion’s planned $2 billion battery-assembly plant in Manteno, one of the most significant economic development deals in state history.

* WGLT | Illinois Farm Bureau challenging expulsion from national federation: The Illinois Farm Bureau and Country Financial have the same individuals on both boards of directors, though they have different fiduciary duties. There are three other states where Country does business where farm clients are required to be members of their state farm bureau, but none except Illinois where non-farm clients had to buy a farm bureau membership as well. In January, Illinois will have the same alignment as the other three states.

* Holland & Knight | Illinois Dental Practices Face New Third-Party Financing Guardrails in 2025: In August, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 4891 that amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act to include significant guardrails for dental practices looking to offer third-party financing in dental offices in 2025. Notably, these restrictions do not apply to financing and other discount programs offered by dental practices themselves, but likely require dental practices with current third-party financing programs to make significant adjustments. It remains to be seen whether the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) will promulgate regulations to further implement this law.

*** Chicago ***

* CBS Chicago | Developer hopes to refresh and revitalize commercial corridor in Chicago’s West Pullman community: CBS News Chicago reported Tuesday night on an Aldi that abruptly closed in the West Pullman neighborhood this past weekend—leaving residents with one less option for their shopping. But new investment is coming to the community—$200 million, to be exact. For years, businesses big and small have come and gone in the West Pullman neighborhood. But the nonprofit Far South Community Development Corporation is working to create everlasting change—and has a vision specifically for the commercial corridor at 115th and Halsted streets.

* NBC Chicago | Investigation finds uninsured school bus company was transporting Chicago students: In 2017, the company was barred from doing business with Chicago Public Schools due to numerous failed state safety inspections, a lack of “cross arms and emergency door handles” and “cracked windshields and shredded tires” on several of their buses, NBC 5 Responds found. We also found several other school districts were still using Culvers to transport children, including the De La Salle Institute and Akiba Schechter Jewish Day School.

* Sun-Times | Google paying to move CTA Clark/Lake entrance in Thompson Center to Clark Street: The station entrance within the Thompson Center on Lake Steet will move next year to the northeast corner of the building on Clark Street, according to the CTA. The Thompson Center is under construction to become Google’s new Chicago headquarters. The CTA shared sleek conceptual renderings of proposed station makeover after the transit agency’s board voted Wednesday to amend its 1984 easement agreement with the building’s owner. Google purchased the building from the state for $105 million in 2022.

* CBS Chicago | Crowds line up for hours in Chicago for tacos from Michelin-starred Mexico City stand: That taste of Mexico from El Califa de León has come to Chicago—and people were willing to sacrifice their whole day to enjoy what some say are among the best tacos in the world. The line wrapped around several city blocks and wound around corners. Some got comfortable in chairs as they waited in line, while others relaxed with shots of tequila.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* WGN | Outgoing Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx reflects upon successes, challenges during 8 years in office: During the interview, Foxx discussed the recent presidential election and said she believes, with the election of Donald Trump, that Illinois could see a huge decrease in federal funds. Foxx also said she is rooting for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and added that his decision to get rid of ShotSpotter may not have been such a bad idea as it could encourage folks to trust their police department and make a call when they hear shots being fired.

* Daily Herald | 40% drop in Metra trains could come in 2027, leaders warn: “The number we are throwing around mathematically is a 40% reduction of service to meet the budget hole in 2027,” Executive Director Jim Derwinski told board directors at a meeting. His remarks came after directors asked if the commuter railroad was readying for 2026, the year federal pandemic aid runs out for Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority.

* Daily Southtown | Clerk Nyota Figgs challenges Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones’ filing for reelection: City Clerk Nyota Figgs alleges the mayor is ineligible to run for reelection due to a 2021 referendum passed to prevent municipal office holders from also serving as a state legislator, and claiming Jones’ primary residence is not in Calumet City. Jones has been state representative since 2011. Figgs, who is running for reelection as clerk, said she believes Jones’ role in state government has created barriers to holding him accountable at the municipal level since his elected as mayor in 2021. The referendum brought similar challenges to Jones’ candidacy during that first bid, but the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Jones’ spot on the ballot was secure.

* Daily Herald | Board, council races starting to take shape in Northwest suburbs: A crowded race is forming in Arlington Heights, where officials face the prospect of the Chicago Bears either building a new stadium or proposing some other redevelopment plan for the former Arlington Park property. Six candidates so far have filed paperwork for four available four-year seats on the village board.

* NBC Chicago | Dolton mayor complains to police after signs bearing her image are removed: Bodycam footage from an officer called to the scene shows Henyard asking workers removing the banners who gave them orders to complete the work. Henyard said she was going to press charges against the workers and the village manager for taking down government property in the footage. The video shows workers give the banners to members of Henyard’s team a short time later.

* WGN | Inside the awe-inspiring ‘Aurora’ supercomputer at Argonne National Lab: The Aurora is not Argonne’s first supercomputer, but it’s the most powerful. In all, there are 160 racks, each eight feet tall, arranged in eight rows, all connected by 300 miles of cable. That’s enough to stretch from Chicago to St. Louis. “It’s really the number of operations that the system can do,” he said. The aurora is capable of a quintillion calculations per second,” Papka said. “That’s a 10 with 18zeros after it, or a million trillions.”

* NBC Chicago | Far-right influencer Nick Fuentes accused of spraying, pushing Berwyn woman down stairs: In a statement to the Sun-Times, Fuentes said, “Don’t show up at somebody’s front door looking to cause problems.” He did not give an account of the incident. Rose said her address has leaked. Rose believes supporters of Fuentes have swatted — an act where one tells an emergency service to go to a person’s address — her home a few times, and she believes they’re behind multiple Domino’s Pizza orders that have come to her vegan household.

*** Downstate ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Carbondale faces legal battle over protest restrictions outside abortion clinics: The Supreme Court is scheduled to decide on Friday whether it will take up the case, Coalition Life v. City of Carbondale. It had been scheduled for last week’s conference, but it was postponed. Brian Westbrook, founder and executive director of Coalition Life, which sends volunteers and paid staff to Carbondale’s clinics, said the restrictions made it nearly impossible to get the attention of people entering the clinics.

* WCIA | Family, neighbors say Mattoon murder-suicide ‘could’ve been avoided’: Ramirez said Seeley needed serious help with the abusive relationship, and that she did not receive it. “They did not offer her an OP (order of protection),” Ramirez said. “They did not offer any kind of domestic violence counseling, and they said, ‘It’s a civil suit, you’re on your own.’” Tuesday, Ramirez and Seeley’s family were setting up funeral arrangements and collecting items from her office, all while thinking, “what if Seeley had gotten the help she needed?”

* WCBU | Pekin establishes a 1% grocery sales tax to replace lost revenue from the repeal of state tax: The Pekin City Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday for the city to establish its own 1% grocery sales tax so it can recoup the $1.5 to $1.7 million annually the city would have lost because of the state grocery sales tax’s elimination. […] “We all know the legislation was nothing more than a political move,” said council member Karen Hohimer. “Our grocery sales tax won’t be just paid by Pekin residents. Anyone who comes through town and buys groceries will pay it too.”

* WGLT | Erik Rankin named next executive director at Illinois Prairie Community Foundation: The Illinois Prairie Community Foundation [IPCF], a public charity that awards grants in McLean, DeWitt, Livingston and Logan counties, has named its next executive director. Erik Rankin of Bloomington will replace current executive director Greg Meyer, who is retiring at the end of the year. “As a McLean County native, Rankin has a strong passion for his community and brings more than two decades of varied experiences in leadership roles and relationship-building within nonprofit, education and governmental organizations,” said IPCF board president Laura Kowalczyk.

* PJ Star | Comedian who slammed Peoria won’t make any Illinois stops on upcoming tour: Gillis performed two shows in Peoria on Jan. 12, coinciding with a wave of cold weather and nearly 10 inches of snow in Illinois. On an episode of “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” which Gillis co-hosts with comic Matt McCusker, Gillis slammed Peoria’s weather, saying he had to arrive a day early because of it and had nothing to do.”I was in Peoria, Illinois, new No. 1 on the power rankings of (expletive) town in the entire country,” he said. “Peoria, Illinois was… that was hell, dude. Just me and the bums were the only ones outside walking around. Minus 4 in Peoria sucks.”

* Rockford Register Star | Is the party over? Rockford could crack down on VRBO, Airbnb properties, rentals: City officials estimate that there are as many as 250 such properties in Rockford. Most are well cared for and fly under the radar. But too many have attracted disruptive parties, weddings, loud music, excessive street parking, criminal activity and even shootings, Legal Director Nicholas Meyer said.

*** National ***

* WaPo | Trump aides explore plans to boost Musk effort by wresting control from Congress: If the White House were to simply assert more power without Congress first changing the law, it could trigger a constitutional showdown over a bedrock aspect of the federal government, the power of the purse. Some legal experts say that the courts would probably strike down any attempt to unilaterally rewrite federal spending laws, but some Trump allies are optimistic the Supreme Court, which now has a significant conservative majority, might rule in their favor. Trump’s former budget director, Russell Vought, blasted the 1974 law the day before Trump’s first term ended, saying it promoted “the very opposite of what good government should be,” and he said last year on Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon’s podcast that he thought the law was unconstitutional. Vought is widely expected to return to the administration in a senior role.

* Sun-Times | Pritzker, Colorado governor launch coalition to fight ‘threats of autocracy’: The goal of Governors Safeguarding Democracy, or GSD, is to protect state-level institutions of democracy — and to use their collective legislative, budgetary, executive and administrative powers. Pritzker said it will “catalyze collaboration across state lines.” “It’s built off a model that all of us governors have already successfully pioneered through the Reproductive Freedom Alliance,” Pritzker said. “And together, what we’re doing is pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy and fortifying the institutions of democracy that our country and our states depend on.”

* Axios | Senate Democrats are stressed about Dick Durbin: Democrats tell Axios they’re nervous about whether Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), 79, has the fire to fight Trump nominees as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Schumer’s options include jamming up GOP attempts to adjourn the chamber for Trump to make recess appointments, sources tell us.