* ICYMI: New General Assembly sworn in as House, Senate take different tones. Capitol News Illinois…

A new Illinois General Assembly was sworn in for the next two years on Wednesday, with the House and Senate ceremonies taking two starkly different tones.

The House inauguration ceremony, conducted in an auditorium on the University of Illinois Springfield campus, was at times boisterous, featuring speeches that were more politically divisive and sometimes led to jeering. […]

Senators from across Illinois were sworn in Wednesday in the newly renovated Senate chamber. The room had been closed for 2 ½ years while the Senate conducted business in a modified auditorium in a separate building on the capitol complex. […]

[Senate President Don Harmon’s] acceptance speech had one overarching message: be kind. He asked senators to work across the aisle, including on behalf of their constituents who didn’t vote for them.

* Related stories…

∙ Tribune: Calls for unity, naked partisanship mark inauguration ceremonies in Springfield
∙ Sun-Times: Freshly inaugurated Illinois legislators meet ‘critical moment’ after lame-duck infighting
∙ WCIA: Legislators inaugurated for 104th Illinois General Assembly

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Tribune | Illinois’ plan to transition residents from downstate developmental facility has residents waiting months to leave, report says: Equip for Equality, a federally mandated independent organization helping oversee the governor’s plan, said Wednesday in a midpoint assessment report that Choate residents who are supposed to be transitioning to more home-like settings are waiting too long to be moved or that Illinois officials are sending those residents to other large, state-run facilities.

* Tribune | Lawsuits allege negligence in mental health center suicide, another issue for embattled state agency: Anthony Stringfellow Jr., 19, died by hanging on Feb. 7, 2023, at the Madden Mental Health Center near Maywood, according to two lawsuits that between them list the Illinois Department of Human Services, the state, the facility and individual care providers as defendants. His death occurred despite guidelines intended to make hospitals treating patients with mental illness safer for those who would attempt to harm themselves. The negligence allegations are in a November 2023 complaint filed with the Illinois Court of Claims that names IDHS as a defendant and in an amended complaint filed in Cook County in June 2024 that names three doctors and a nurse as defendants.

*** Statehouse News ***

* WAND | Protections for domestic violence survivors: Pritzker plans to sign Karina’s bill: “We’ve heard from law enforcement the challenge of moving guns from a home or a person,” Pritzker said. “I think law enforcement got to a point where they felt they could effectuate the Karina’s law and it’s the right idea, the right thing to do, I will sign the bill.”

* 21st Show | Four More Years: State Rep. Kelly Cassidy discusses Illinois protections for reproductive, transgender healthcare: State Rep. Kelly Cassidy has been a member of the Illinois House since 2011. She was lead sponsor on the Reproductive Health Act, which, among other things, made abortion access a fundamental right in Illinois. Cassidy was also lead sponsor of legislation a few years ago creating legal protections for people who provide or receive reproductive and gender-affirming care. She gives her take on what protections Illinoisans have and what type of actions might be expected from the federal government in regards to this type of care.

* WCIA | ISP could be required to inform witnesses of dash cam recordings with bill on Pritzker’s desk: State Troopers may soon be required to tell witnesses they are still being recorded from dash cameras if a bill on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk is signed into law. A bill that passed both chambers of the legislature unanimously requires State Police officers to tell victims their car’s dash cameras will continue to stay on and record if they ask to turn their body cameras off.

* WAND | Pritzker on Trump’s talks of a Canadian 51st state: ‘Just a distraction’: On Truth Social, the president-elect posted an image of a map of Canada with the words “51st State” inside its borders. Pritzker says it’s just a distraction. “Donald Trump says an awful amount of things that I think are intended to distract us from other things,” Pritzker said. “I think this idea of attacking or making Canada the 51st state that’s just another one of those.”

Isabel started working for me in the summer of 2022, after the Senate chambers was closed for remodeling. She was a House page for a day when she was a kid, but I guess I never brought her across the hall to the Senate back then. Oops https://t.co/25JzW1iTeM

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) January 8, 2025

*** Statewide ***

* Tribune | Illinois casinos close out 2024 with holiday boost from new Wind Creek and Hard Rock Rockford gambling venues: The state’s 16 casinos generated $157 million in adjusted gross receipts — up 11% over December 2023 — and drew nearly 1.25 million visitors last month, according to data published Wednesday by the Illinois Gaming Board. Rivers Casino Des Plaines remained the state’s busiest casino in December with $43 million in adjusted gross receipts and 264,000 visitors, but newcomers are making their mark on the Illinois gambling landscape.

*** Chicago ***

* WGN | Mayor Johnson says his relationships in Springfield transcend politics: Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday responded to a not-so-subtle jab made by Gov. JB Pritzker a day earlier about the mayor’s relationships in Springfield, saying they go deeper than politics. “I have personal relationships with individuals who are friends of mine, which quite frankly go far deeper than a political office,” Johnson said at a press event for the opening of the new Roseland Health Hub.

* Sun-Times | Johnson running out of time for course correction with Pritzker, City Council: An already contentious relationship still can be salvaged if a mayor and governor who need each other to solve their respective budget troubles start communicating frequently and privately, instead of taking public shots at one another.

* ABC Chicago | Roseland mental health clinic reopening, CARE program expanding, Chicago mayor says: What had been a shuttered mental health clinic is reopening to provide no-cost mental health resources to the people of Roseland. Mayor Brandon Johnson joined Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige, elected officials and community leaders for the ribbon cutting for the facility that has been renamed the Roseland Health Hub.

* Tribune | Board of Ethics said it did not give Mayor Brandon Johnson an opinion about CPS leave: Despite City Hall’s claims, the Chicago Board of Ethics said it did not provide Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration with an opinion about whether he should resign from Chicago Public Schools to avoid a conflict of interest. The ethics board told the Tribune this week it has “no documents showing any written opinions” about Johnson taking a leave of absence from CPS, nor has it ever issued any written or oral opinions or guidance about CPS leaves by city officials or employees.”

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson talks class size, contract talks, school board appointments: Chalkbeat sat down with Johnson in his office on the fifth floor of City Hall for a brief interview Tuesday to discuss that and other topics like class size, migrant students, and Martinez. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | District 203 board member censured for ‘unprofessional’ conduct: The resolution outlines various instances in which Kelley Black made “false or disparaging” comments on social media about the school board, made statements harming the district’s bargaining position in ongoing negotiations or improperly used her standing as a board member with regard to her own student.

*** Downstate ***

* BND | Feds send $120M to help in metro-east recovery from July flooding: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Tuesday that St. Clair County will get $89.5 million in grant money to help in disaster recovery from the flooding caused by 8 inches of rain that fell on July 16. The agency said in a news release the money could be used to rebuild homes, develop affordable housing, help small businesses, repair roads and support projects to reduce the risks of damage from future storms.

* Herald-Whig | Quincy prepares to cut operating budget by $2 million: After receiving new personal property replacement tax projections Monday, the City Council introduced an ordinance to cut $2 million from the city’s operating budget in fiscal year 2026. Although the amount matches the 2024 property tax subsidy, highlighting another route aldermen could have taken to meet departments’ needs this year, the immediate force behind the budget cut is falling state-allocated personal property replacement tax revenue said Comptroller Sheri Ray.

* Herald-Whig | Three airlines make their case for Quincy passenger service contract: In November, the city asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to terminate the current contract with Southern Airways Express due to excessive cancellations and delays, leading to lower numbers of users flying out of Quincy. The three finalists include Cape Air, which intends to primarily fly newer Tecnam P2012 aircraft configured with nine seats, similar to the current planes used by Southern. Cape Air was Quincy’s EAS provider until 2022 when the company requested to be removed due to their own struggles meeting schedules while battling post-pandemic pilot shortages.

* SJ-R | Springfield officially appoints new director of Planning and Economic Development: Amy Rasing was approved for the position at Tuesday night’s city council meeting with a 9-0 vote. […] “Business development is something that falls into the rolls I’ve had over the years,” Rasing said. “I have partnered with businesses and helped businesses develop marketing plans. Working in a nonprofit many of you know nonprofits are looking for ways to promote themselves and promote the good things they do.”

* WCIA | Ameren IL gives tips to restore power in winter weather: The most recent snowstorm knocked out power for people across Illinois and some cities ended up with 20,000 homes in the dark. If you’re still waiting for it to be fixed… it may be a problem that you have to deal with. There’s a couple of different things to look at like your weather head and meter base. One Ameren employee said ice is his worst enemy — and it can cause a chain reaction.

* The Southern | SIU political experts: History will treat Jimmy Carter ‘kindly’: John Shaw and John Jackson of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute point toward Carter’s efforts in brokering a peace between Israel and Egypt that continues today, creating the Department of Education and Department of Energy and pioneering work regarding climate change among a list of accomplishments. Carter died Dec. 29 at 100 years old, more than a year after the death of his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Services to honor the former president will be held in Georgia and Washington, D.C., from Saturday, Jan. 4, through Thursday, Jan. 9.