* ICYMI: Hemp regulation bill stalls amid Democratic infighting. Capitol News Illinois…

- “I was tremendously disappointed,” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday, after it became clear the bill would not be called for a vote in the House. “This is a demonstration, from my perspective, of the power of special interests and the money that they spread around to thwart health and safety of the public.”
- Pritzker also called Democratic House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s decision not to call the bill “irresponsible.”
- Welch’s spokesperson noted that he is a cosponsor of the bill and would continue working to pass it in the new legislative session that begins Wednesday.

* Related stories…

∙ WTTW: Pritzker, Johnson Clash Over Hemp Regulation as Bill Stalls in Springfield
∙ Crain’s: Johnson defends Springfield relationships, handling of CPS
∙ Tribune: Feud over hemp bill dominates final days of Illinois legislative session

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Sun-Times | Citizens Utility Board vows to fight Nicor’s $309 million rate hike request: The Citizens Utility Board calls the proposal a “money-grab.” If approved, the hike would be a state record, consumer advocates say. A typical monthly bill would rise by about $7.50. Nicor serves more than 2 million customers in northern Illinois and the suburbs.

* Journal Gazette | Pritzker: Illinois ‘fighting like heck’ to support Rivian, Stellantis amid EV uncertainty: “I feel like Rivian is very much on its feet and doing well,” said Pritzker, who visited the Normal plant in May to announce $827 million in tax incentives to support the company’s expansion. “And I don’t want the federal government to interfere with the success of any business in Illinois.”

*** Statehouse News ***

* Sun-Times | State lawmakers send Karina’s Bill to Gov. Pritzker’s desk to address domestic violence: Karina’s Bill passed the Illinois House by a vote of 80-33 in the waning hours of the General Assembly’s lame duck session, advancing the measure that would require police to confiscate guns within 96 hours of a judge’s order from people whose FOID cards have been revoked due to emergency restraining orders. “Our hope is that this important change will give strength to survivors everywhere and help ensure no family ever has to experience this type of tragedy again,” Manny Alvarez, Gonzalez’s son, said in a statement after being invited to the House floor by state Rep. Edgar Gonzalez, D-Chicago, to urge an “aye” vote.

* Sun-Times | Lawmakers pass nursing home retaliation bill as lame-duck session wraps up in Springfield: Illinois lawmakers passed a measure making it easier for nursing home residents to sue facility owners over claims of retaliation, following more than a year of legislative efforts that advocates had claimed were stalled by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon at the behest of the nursing home industry. A compromise bill cleared the Illinois House 89-16 late Monday, following a 48-2 Senate vote on Sunday, paving the way for more civil suits against nursing homes accused of punishing residents or employees for reporting complaints about facilities — an issue that advocates say is widespread.

* WAND | Plan improving Illinois drinking water quality heads to Pritzker’s desk: The Illinois House unanimously voted Monday night to require the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to conduct statewide samplings of certain community water supplies to assess the levels of dangerous chemicals. Sponsors and advocates said the state should test and create action plans to address these harmful contaminants in drinking water.

* WIFR | Bill that returns Shabbona Lake land to Potawatomi Nation heads to Illinois governor’s desk: Senate Bill 867, which was passed by senators last May, essentially honors an agreement made in 1829 between the federal government and the Potawatomi Nation. The land, which includes Shabbona Lake and State Park, was gifted to the tribe but illegally sold years later. The state of Illinois purchased the land in the 1970s.

*** Chicago ***

* Chalkbeat Chicago | The mayor’s on ‘union leave’ from CPS despite leaving CTU. Does that undermine contract talks?: Mayor Brandon Johnson taught for four years at Chicago Public Schools before going on leave in 2011 to work for the Chicago Teachers Union and ultimately launch a career in politics. But even though he no longer works for the union, Johnson remains on “union leave” from the school district. That means, after all these years, he could return to the classroom — and earn a six-figure salary as if he never left.

* Block Club | Chicago ‘Should Explore’ Congestion Tax To Reduce Traffic, Mayor Says: During a brief interview with Block Club on Tuesday afternoon, Johnson also defended his handling of the protracted and often bitter 2025 budget process while looking ahead to what he hopes to accomplish this year — if he can find the necessary backing from an increasingly defiant City Council.

* Block Club | ‘Stomach Flu’ Hitting Chicago Harder Than Usual As Norovirus Cases Surge Nationally: Rates of norovirus infection – often referred to as the stomach flu – have been noticeably higher this winter than in previous years, said Dr. Alfredo Mena Lora, Saint Anthony Hospital’s director of infectious disease. The virus has surged across the United States, with 91 individual outbreaks recorded in the first week of December, the highest spike in cases since at least 2012, according to the CDC.

* Rick Morrissey | Raise your hand if you’re bone-tired of the Chicago Bears: Bears general manager Ryan Poles stood at a lectern Tuesday at Halas Hall and did what too many other team officials have done the past four decades: He tried to explain where a season went awry and how the Bears were going to get it right this time. I’m exhausted by my belief that they won’t, that they’ll pick the wrong coach and that we’ll be doing this all over again in two or three years.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Sun-Times | Bald eagle’s death from bird flu in Chicago suburb part of spike in cases in Illinois: The increase in cases in the state comes as a Louisiana man with underlying health conditions died from the disease on Monday. Experts stress the disease should not be of huge concern to the general public, but say those who come into contact with wild birds or other animals like cattle should take precautions.

* Daily Herald | Ahoy, suburbs: Chicago Boat Show sails into Rosemont after 93 years in city: The Midwest recreational boating industry’s largest and longest-running annual boating event opens Wednesday afternoon for a five-day tour of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont — regarded by organizers as geographically closer to boat dealers and their core customers who live in the suburbs.

* Daily Herald | Mount Prospect resident critical over handling of attack by teenagers on men using an LGBTQ dating app: A Mount Prospect resident called the village’s delay in sharing information about an attack by mobs of teens on two men over the summer a betrayal of the community. […] “The gay community was not protected,” said resident Carole Martz, who delivered her remarks at Tuesday’s village board meeting.

* Crain’s | Developer plans 31-story tower in downtown Evanston: A 31-story apartment tower proposed in downtown Evanston would be the suburb’s tallest building and a pivot from a previous plan to build offices. Chicago-based Vermilion Development has submitted a zoning analysis application for a 447-unit, 330-foot-tall building at 605 Davis St., with ground-floor retail space, according to a report from the city manager.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | Sangamon County Lifts Winter Weather Emergency: This declaration applies only to county highways. Road crews made significant progress clearing the roads this morning. Drivers should still proceed with caution, maintain reduced speeds, and give plows and first responders the space they need to continue their work safely.

* WICS | Chuck Redpath nominated and confirmed as new Springfield City Clerk: Tonight’s Springfield City Council special meeting ran for two hours and ended with the confirmation of Chuck Redpath as the new city clerk. Redpath’s nomination comes just six days after the former city clerk, Frank Lesko, resigned after winning the Sangamon County Recorder’s office.

* WCIA | Decatur eyes potential new casino, horse race track; Springfield officials to decide next steps: Right now, details are limited and a lot of plans have to do with decisions being made in the capitol. Tim Gleason, Decatur’s City Manager, said he’s familiar with plans for a “racino.” “The City awaits to discuss potential next steps after necessary action is taken in Springfield,” he added.

* WCIA | Is Bird Flu headed to Central Illinois?: Douglas Kasper, an infectious disease doctor at OSF said people shouldn’t be too worried. […] “There’s testing, there’s monitoring, there’s isolation, there’s a variety of things that’s recommended for the animal populations. And anyone that’s working with those populations is getting special instructions,” Kasper said.

* WCIA | UIS to start another Cannabis education class: “They were needing to stand up a workforce, but there was very little in the way of credentials to for someone to be able to pursue legitimate credentials and put that on their resume and say, hey, look, I’ve had this this kind of training. I’m ready to be a successful employee,” Dr. Robert Kerr with the University of Illinois said.

* Rockford Register Star | Back-to-back bowl wins and a win over CFP semifinalist Notre Dame puts NIU in spotlight: For years, NIU hung its hat on beating Alabama in 2003. No one seems to remember that win having more to do with the Crimson Tide being ordinary—4-9 that year, 2-6 in the SEC—than about the Huskies being extraordinary. Yes, NIU won all three of its games against the SEC, Big 12, and ACC, but only Maryland (10-3) lived up to its pedigree, with Iowa State (2-10) collapsing even worse than Alabama. That pales in comparison to this year. A 16-14 win at No. 5 Notre Dame in the second week of the season was truly history-making. Not just for NIU. For its entire conference. The Mid-American Conference had been 0-51 lifetime against top-five teams before NIU rolled into South Bend.

*** National ***

* 404 Media | Researcher Turns Insecure License Plate Cameras Into Open Source Surveillance Tool: Will Freeman, the creator of DeFlock, an open-source map of ALPRs in the United States, said that people in the DeFlock community have found many ALPRs that are streaming to the open internet. Freeman built a proof of concept script that takes data from unencrypted Motorola ALPR streams, decodes that data, and adds timestamped information about specific car movements into a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet he sent me shows a car’s make, model, color, and license plate number associated with the specific time that they drove past an unencrypted ALPR near Chicago. So far, roughly 170 unencrypted ALPR streams have been found.

* The Atlantic | The Truth About NIMBYs: On today’s episode of Good on Paper, I talk with the political scientist David Broockman about the limits of using self-interest as a lens for understanding people’s opposition to new development. His research, with the scholars Chris Elmendorf and Josh Kalla, points to symbolic-politics theory, a framework that de-emphasizes personal impacts and financial self-interest and instead looks at how people feel about symbols such as cities, developers, and affordable housing.