* Block Club Chicago…

More than two years ago, West Ridge’s state senator helped secure $5 million in funding to add an ambulance to the local fire station.

But the ambulance never arrived.

Frustrated by the delay, neighbors are calling on city officials to use the funds and expand first responder services on the Far North Side.

Currently, the Engine 71 fire station has no space to house an ambulance unit. Ellen Doppelt, executive director of the neighborhood development council, has been advocating for the renovation of the firehouse since 2021. State funding for the project was secured by state Sen. Ram Villivalam the following year, but the city has yet to use the funds.

* Pretty neat…

You can see the waves on the digital seismograph at Waubonsee community college in Sugar Grove IL from the 7.0 earthquake in California earlier today. pic.twitter.com/6FdoRvYBbJ

— Bob Waszak (@nilwxreports) December 5, 2024

*** Statehouse News ***

* Press Release | Gov. Pritzker Accepts International Award for Illinois’ Leadership in Innovation: Illinois was one of just 35 organizations worldwide to receive the Startup Ecosystem Star Award. Additionally, Illinois was the only U.S. entity to receive favorable results across all award categories, not only “Outstanding Investment Boost”

*** Statewide ***

* ABC Chicago I-Team | Drug Lab Scandal: After investigating for months, the ABC7 I-Team exposes a statewide scandal at a forensic testing lab. The I-Team has uncovered hundreds of potentially wrongful convictions, testing troubles, and claims of a cover-up. Chuck Goudie and the I-Team investigate, Thursday at 10 p.m.

* NPR Illinois | Illinois’ deceitful path to statehood: Illinois celebrated its 206th birthday this week. When it became a state in 1818, it faced obstacles. Among them, the state lacked the population that was needed. But those determined to become part of the union found a way. “We cooked the books,” said author Tara McClellan McAndrew.

* KFVS | Illinois pork producers group says they suffer because of a California law: Illinois pork farmers say a California law that went into effect in 2023 is hurting business in the Midwest, and are hoping a new national farm bill could help. Proposition 12 went into effect in California in 2023, requiring pregnant pigs to have 24 square feet to themselves per female, and banning all sales from companies that don’t comply with those regulations across the U.S.

*** Chicago ***

* Fox Chicago | Illinois Labor Department files bankruptcy claims against Foxtrot, Dom’s Kitchen to recover unpaid wages: The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) is working to recover more than $3.8 million in unpaid wages and benefits for over 350 employees left jobless after their employers abruptly shut down earlier this year. On Oct. 30, IDOL, through the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, filed federal bankruptcy claims against Outfox Hospitality, LLC; Dom’s Kitchen and Market, LLC; and Foxtrot Market.

* NBC | Beware the fake George McCaskey account on Twitter: The issue came to a head this morning when fake George tweeted the team isn’t for sale. That came in response to a suggestion that Jeff Bezos will buy the Bears. This never happened before Twitter started selling blue check marks. Now that anyone can pay for an account, anyone can set up a phony account that might seem legitimate.

* Tribune | ‘I can smell a sale’: How notable Chicagoans shop for the holidays: Pappas, who has served as Cook County treasurer since 1998, usually finishes her holiday shopping in June. “I can smell a sale,” she said. […] Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, to whom Pappas gave one of her own jackets. (Pappas is known for collecting eclectic jackets that she features in her annual jacket calendar.) Also, Romanian monks she befriended while on a trip to discuss the country’s property tax system with officials there. “The monk in Bucharest wanted a pair of Cole Haans. So I bought the Cole Haans on sale,” she said.

* Sun-Times | Former White Sox star Bill Melton dies: “Bill and I shared many nights in studio talking baseball,” said Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who worked alongside Melton on TV. “He really knew how to light up a room. I loved his humor and stories. When he dropped ‘Laddy’ on you you knew something funny was coming. God Bless, Rest in peace Bill.”

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Harvey settles FOIA lawsuit after denying police body-worn footage request related to arrest: Harvey paid $3,750 to settle a lawsuit alleging the city violated the Freedom of Information Act by denying a Harvey man’s request for body-worn camera footage related to his arrest, according to the settlement agreement. City Council members approved the payment to Brandon Collymore at a council meeting Sept. 9, which was set to be paid within 45 days. Part of the agreement also called for the city to give Collymore a copy of the body-worn camera footage. The Daily Southtown requested a copy of the settlement through FOIA after the meeting but did not receive it for more than two months.

* CBS Chicago | Store owners say new State’s Attorney O’Neill Burke’s tightening of felony retail theft rules is much welcome: “It’s going to help all business,” said Dave Garfield of Garfield’s Beverage Warehouse, which has locations in Old Town, Wicker Park/Bucktown, and several suburbs. “Certain products, we only put so much on the shelf—because we know they’re specifically targeted.”

* Tribune | Future of Northbrook’s Metra station coffee shop cast into doubt: After 30 years, the tiny coffee shop inside Northbrook’s Metra train station faces an unclear future, with commuters waiting to see whether they’ll still be able to get their morning java. The Village Board voted unanimously at its Nov. 12 meeting to grant the Grind Cafe a six-month extension of its lease at the current rent of $275 a month, but to end that lease after six months and issue a request for proposals, or RFP, from would-be tenants.

*** Downstate ***

* WTTW | Why There is a Movement in Some Downstate Counties to Split From Illinois: Some supporters said they disagree with a 1960s U.S. Supreme Court decision, Reynolds v. Sims, which established what’s referred to as “one person, one vote.” “Three wolves and a lamb aren’t supposed to decide what they’re having for dinner that night,” [Loret Newlin, advocate for the Illinois Separation Referendum] said. “Because the lamb is going to lose every time.”

* WICS | New details about Boys and Girls Club lost grant: The Illinois State Board of Education said the grant is supposed to be used to fund *new* afterschool programs, and not permanent funding for ongoing programs like the ones The Boys and Girls Club provides. The Boys and Girls Club of Central Illinois was awarded the 5-year grant in 2015. ISBE continued the grant in 2020 for another 5 years. Now ISBE said they can’t have it anymore.

* WCIA | ‘It’s priceless’: Champaign’s Pregnancy Resource Center and other organizations to receive Toys for Tots items: On Thursday, WCIA is bundling up in the back parking lot to collect toys for children across Champaign County. Trucks, dolls, Legos, and games will be distributed to families with kids of all ages, and some non-profits will also benefit. Eight groups in Champaign County will get some of the toys. One of those organizations is the Pregnancy Resource Center located behind the Salvation Army on Market Street.

* WMBD | Finding more affordable housing is a route to help the unhoused in Peoria: Affordable housing has been at the forefront of issues for many in Central Illinois after some municipalities, including Peoria, made public camping illegal. The moves have put the spotlight on the homeless crisis that is plaguing the area. But looking beyond that, there’s a much bigger issue, said Kate Green, who heads Home For All Continuum of Care. The goal, she said, is to get beyond the noise that has occurred in the past few months and focus on the real issue of the people who are living on the streets, in shelters or even staying on someone’s couch.

* WIFR | Household Hazardous Waste site opens in Rockford for Illinois residents: Illinois residents can dispose of common household hazardous waste items like aerosols, corrosives, oxidizers, solvents, oil-based paints, waste oil, pesticides, fertilizers, batteries (no alkaline), and fluorescent lamps. Items can be dropped off for free. “Worst thing people can do it either pour them down the storm sewer or the sanitary sewer,” says Robert Wilhelmi, Brownfields Redevelopment Specialist. “So, ultimately the best thing and most responsible thing for residents to do is bring them down here where products can be safely disposed of or recycled.”

* Illinois Times | Viper Mine announces closure: Operations at the Viper Mine in Elkhart are shutting down after the city of Springfield chose a cheaper coal supplier for its electrical power plant. The mine, which at its peak employed about 300 miners, now is down to a skeleton crew responsible for dismantling equipment, Jim Smith, president of Knight Hawk Coal, told Illinois Times.

*** National ***

* NYT | How One of the World’s Richest Men Is Avoiding $8 Billion in Taxes: It is just one sign of how the estate tax — imposed solely on a sliver of the country’s multimillionaires — has been eviscerated. Revenue from the tax has barely changed since 2000, even as the wealth of the richest Americans has roughly quadrupled. If the estate tax had simply kept pace, it would have raised around $120 billion last year. Instead it brought in about a quarter of that.

* Axios | Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield calls off surgery anesthesia cap: A major health insurance company is backing off of a controversial plan to limit coverage of anesthesia in at least one state, according to Connecticut’s comptroller. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield recently decided to “no longer pay for anesthesia care if the surgery or procedure goes beyond an arbitrary time limit, regardless of how long the surgical procedure takes,” according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, which opposed the decision.

* CNN | California suspends distribution of Raw Farm raw milk products after bird flu detection: “All Raw Farm operations are currently under quarantine, from herds to bottled product, which means that all raw milk product distribution is suspended,” Steve Lyle, director of public affairs for the agency, said in a statement on Monday. “CDFA dairy inspectors sampled milk from bottled products and bulk milk storage at Raw Farm’s bottling facility on Wednesday, Nov 27, and laboratory test results made known on November 28 showed the presence of the bird flu virus. All milk tested by CDFA remained at the Raw Farm plant and was not released to consumers.”