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* Tribune…

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating a piece of mail sent to state Rep. Barbara Hernandez’s office in downtown Aurora after one of the office’s staff members, who opened the letter, fell ill and was taken to the hospital.

At around 1 p.m. on Monday, the Aurora fire and police departments responded to 1 E. Benton St., which holds a number of offices including Hernandez’s, after an employee reported feeling sick after opening the mail, according to a news release sent by the Aurora Police Department on Monday.

The building was evacuated “out of an abundance of caution,” but it was unclear whether or not the letter contributed to the employee’s condition, officials said in the release.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service was also at the scene on Monday along with the FBI and the Illinois State Police, according to U.S. Postal Inspection Service spokesperson Spencer Block. He said in an email on Tuesday that inspectors have the letter, which was reported to emit a suspicious odor, and that the investigation is ongoing.

* Crain’s…

Walgreens Boots Alliance is reportedly considering selling itself to a private-equity firm that would take the struggling pharmacy chain off the public market.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Sycamore Partners has been discussing a possible deal with Deerfield-based Walgreens, which could be completed early next year, according to the Journal. Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, later reported the possible deal, adding that discussions could fall through without a deal materializing.

New York-based Sycamore, which specializes in retail and consumer investments, would likely sell off pieces of Walgreens’ massive business or “work with partners,” the WSJ reports.

Walgreens shares spiked 21% today on the news. The WSJ did not report a potential sale price, but Walgreens’ market cap was up to about $9 billion today from $7.4 billion yesterday.

*** Madigan Trial ***

* Tribune | ‘What is the story on this?’: Jury in Madigan corruption trial hears more on alleged Chinatown land transfer scheme: In the final days of the spring 2018 legislative session, then-Illinois state Rep. Avery Bourne had a lobbyist approach her with a slightly cryptic request to add an amendment to the otherwise ordinary land transfer bill she was sponsoring. The amendment would have included the transfer of a state-owned parcel of land in Chinatown to the city, so it could be developed into a mixed-use high-rise. After being handed the draft language, Bourne, a downstate Republican, scribbled some notes, including “Have you spoken to the department?” and “What is the story on this?”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Crain’s | Welch, Harmon tell Bears, Sox to look elsewhere as tough budget year looms: “I don’t know anyone who wants us to give billionaires a tax-funded stadium,” Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said this morning during Crain’s Chicago Business Power Breakfast. “People are talking about groceries and rent. For us to give billionaires taxpayer money to fund a stadium would be the last things voters want us to do.” Senate President Don Harmon added, “There is absolutely no appetite in Springfield to spend taxpayer dollars to subsidize billionaire sports franchises—plural. If this investment should be made, it should be made privately. Both the White Sox and the Bears are playing at perfectly serviceable facilities that the taxpayers have paid a large chunk for, and we haven’t even paid them off yet.”

*** Statewide ***

* Chicago Reader | Illinois is a haven for reproductive rights: The Reproductive Health Act stipulates that state-regulated insurance policies that provide pregnancy care must also cover pregnancy termination, both pharmaceutical and surgical. There’s nothing in the Reproductive Health Act that would force the individual plaintiffs in this case, or anyone else, to have an abortion. Theirs is a more subtle complaint: they may never have to personally experience an unwanted pregnancy and childbirth (most of them are men), but they are all suffering pangs of conscience.

* Capitol News Illinois | As budget tightens, report finds Illinois better prepared for recession than in recent past: No state is immune from the negative effects of an economic downturn, but Illinois is more prepared today than it was for the Great Recession of 2007-2009 or the COVID-19 recession of 2020, according to a new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Project for Middle Class Renewal.

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $68.5 million property tax increase squeaks through Finance Committee: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to balance his revamped $17.3 billion budget with a $68.5 million property tax increase — and by raising taxes on everything from cloud computing, streaming services and parking to downtown congestion and plastic bags — squeaked through a City Council committee Tuesday. The Finance Committee’s 14-12 vote sets the stage for the marathon budget stalemate to potentially end Friday, averting what might have been Chicago’s first budget shutdown.

* WBBM | Chicago union workers rally against hotel tax funding possible new sports stadiums: They’re calling for the elimination of the tax, with the money instead going towards the paychecks of Chicago hotel room attendants. “That would mean an extra $14,000 per year for me and my family,” said Blackstone Hotel room attendant Latonia Marshall. “I would be able to help my son through college. I would be able to keep up with the rising property tax.”

* Crain’s | Walgreens sale would end century-plus saga for one of Chicago’s most iconic brands: The potential sale of Walgreens to a private-equity investor would bring an end to one of the Chicago business community’s most enduring success stories. Not that the Walgreens brand would disappear. It’s likely the name will endure well beyond a potential sale to Sycamore Partners — or any other private investor, for that matter. But such a deal would end local control of a Chicago institution — one that has been an independent entity since Charles Walgreen Sr. purchased the Chicago drugstore where he worked as a pharmacist, and which now stands as the Chicago area’s largest publicly traded company.

* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson says top adviser voting in Texas is ‘personal matter’: During his first remarks to reporters since the Tribune reported last week that Jason Lee voted in the November presidential election in person on Election Day in Houston, Johnson said “this is a matter that is being looked into” but did not elaborate on what he meant. Asked who is investigating Lee’s voting and residency history, Johnson said, “As I understand, this will be the responsibility of the state of Texas to make some level of determination.”

* Chicago Mag | Steve Newcomb: The Highway Hero: It was just before 2 a.m., and Illinois Department of Transportation minuteman Steve Newcomb was driving his tow truck along the Kennedy Expressway, a few hours into his shift patrolling the area’s highways. During his five years in this role, the Plainfield resident has helped motorists with all manner of breakdowns and mishaps. On this particular morning in March of this year, he spotted a car with its hood in flames under the overpass at Addison Street. His first instinct was to push the car out of the way so the fire wouldn’t damage the structure. “If it gets too hot, the beams get compromised or the electric can burn up,” he explains.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Southtown | Homer Glen Electoral Board removes candidate, finding nickname was a slogan: The Homer Glen Electoral Board ruled Monday village trustee candidate Heidi “Hadley” Pacella would not appear on the ballot because her name on her nominating petitions amounted to a political slogan. Pericles Abbasi, an attorney for Craig Carlson who objected to 14 petitions, said Pacella using “Hadley” in her nominating petitions runs afoul of state election code, which bars political slogans in candidates’ names.

* Tribune | Wind Creek opening boosts Illinois casino revenue in November as Bally’s Chicago numbers drop: Wind Creek Chicago Southland generated some big numbers during its first three weeks of operations in November, boosting statewide casino revenue to its best month of the year. The new south suburban casino, which opened Nov. 11 to large crowds, ranked fifth last month among the state’s 16 casinos with nearly $10.2 million in adjusted gross receipts, and drew more than 141,500 visitors, second only to perennial leader Rivers Casino Des Plaines.

* Sun-Times | Labor department investigating HelloFresh for child labor violations at Aurora facility: An Aurora facility for meal-kit delivery service Factor75, owned by HelloFresh, is under federal investigation for allegedly working with underage migrants, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed. Cristobal Cavazos, an activist with the suburban group Immigrant Solidarity DuPage who helped report the alleged violations to federal authorities, told ABC News that several teenagers, some of whom immigrated from Guatemala, were working nights at the facility run by Midway Staffing, a Hillside, IL-based temporary staffing agency.

* Tribune | Shuttered Catholic Charities food pantry makes ‘serendipitous’ freezer donation to Maine Township: Maine Township Supervisor Karen Dimond told Pioneer Press the food pantry received two large freezers in November, which are approximately 6 feet tall and roughly 4 feet wide, after Catholic Charities – a nonprofit community organization – closed a facility at 1717 Rand Road in October. “It was sort of serendipitous,” she said. “We did get freezers and some other furniture from Catholic Charities. They were very generous in getting those to us and we are able to use them.”

* Animal Legal Defense Fund | Evanston, Illinois Passes Ordinance Prohibiting Cat Declawing: This week, the Evanston City Council passed an ordinance to prohibit the declawing of cats. Cat declawing is an invasive surgical operation that is akin to cutting off the last knuckle of a human finger. Declawing can cause lifelong medical issues for cats, including permanent disability, nerve damage, chronic back pain, and lameness. “We are grateful to the Evanston City Council for prohibiting cruel cat declaw surgery, which causes chronic injury and pain,” said Animal Legal Defense Fund Strategic Legislative Affairs Manager Alicia Prygoski. “Cats need their claws to carry out many different natural behaviors and their health should not be jeopardized for the convenience of their owners.”

* Patch | Lake Forest Space Pioneer Jim Lovell Honored By Illinois Senate With Statewide Recognition: The Illinois State Senate has declared Dec. 21, 2024, as Captain James A. Lovell Day in honor of the Lake Forest resident and oldest living NASA astronaut. Senate Resolution 1280, recognizing Lovell for his leadership and his decades of service to the nation, was adopted Nov. 21 and sponsored by Sen. Julie Morrison, a Lake Forest Democrat, with chief co-sponsor Sen. Steve McClure, a Litchfield Republican.

*** Downstate ***

* KSDK | An Illinois mayoral candidate didn’t staple her documents together; now she can’t run: Mayor Parkinson declined to answer questions about Millas’ involvement in mounting the objection, other than to redirect questions to her. Neither Millas nor her mother offered any explanation for their interest in the race, nor did they describe how they became aware of the absence of a staple in the nominating papers.

* WSIL | Locals react to Little Grassy Lake being drain due to safety concern for local communities: Soon the Little Grassy Lake will be looking different. It will have a lot less water than it has now. Officials with the National Wildlife Refuge say it’s to protect nearby communities. Justin Sexton is the manager at the Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge. He says the spillway on Little Grassy Lake was originally built in 1942, and it has reached its life expectancy. He says it could fail during an extreme weather event.

*** National ***

* WCIA | AT&T to ditch old copper phone lines for most: How will you be impacted?: If you’re still using a landline phone, a change by AT&T may soon impact you. During its recent Analyst & Investor Day, AT&T announced it is “actively working to exit its legacy copper network operations across the large majority of its wireline footprint by the end of 2029.” The company cited its ongoing fiber expansion, saying it “will greatly increase [AT&T’s] opportunity to serve customers how they want to be served.”

* AP | US wildlife officials plan to label monarch butterflies as threatened species: U.S. wildlife officials announced a decision Tuesday to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies after years of warnings from environmentalists that populations are shrinking and the beloved pollinator may not survive climate change. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to add the butterfly to the threatened species list by the end of next year following an extensive public comment period.

* The Atlantic | The ‘Mainstream Media’ Has Already Lost: Nothing symbolizes the changed media landscape of this past election more than Rogan’s casual brush-off. Within a week, his interview with Trump racked up more than 40 million views on YouTube alone, and millions more on other platforms. No single event, apart from the Harris-Trump debate, had a bigger audience this election cycle. By comparison, Harris’s contentious interview with Bret Baier on Fox News, the most popular of the cable networks, drew 8 million viewers to the live broadcast, and another 6.5 million on YouTube.