* ICYMI: Illinois Democrats applaud as GOP-led Indiana Senate rebuffs President Trump’s push for new redistricting map. Tribune…

-The heavily Republican-led Indiana Senate on Thursday rejected a mid-decade redistricting plan aimed at giving the state two additional GOP U.S. House members.
- Led by Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois Democrats had been awaiting the outcome of the Indiana vote, warning that Illinois was ready to respond by redrawing its own boundaries to try to squeeze out at least one additional Democratic U.S. House district if Indiana Republicans had approved the new map.
-For now, it appears Illinois will stand down in that effort. “Our neighbors in Indiana have stood up to Trump’s threats and political pressure, instead choosing to do what’s right for their constituents and our democracy,” Pritzker said in a statement on X. “Illinois will remain vigilant against his map rigging — our efforts to respond and stop his campaign are being heard.”

More on this in a bit!

*** Isabel’s Top Picks ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Sen. Emil Jones III to enter deferred prosecution agreement after bribery mistrial: On Thursday, Jones told Capitol News Illinois that he wished the deferred prosecution agreement could’ve been executed earlier this year but was glad to put the case behind him. “Just happy that I’m able to move on, have a fair election,” he said. “Looking forward to getting back to serving the people. Sitting on some committees, passing some bills that’ll benefit my district.”

* CNI | New laws: Gun storage, police background check changes take effect in 2026: Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 8, known as the Safe Gun Storage Act, in late July, which prohibits gun owners from storing their weapons in an unsecured way at any location where they know that the gun could be accessed by a minor, a person at risk of harming themselves or others, or by a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm. Under the law, gun owners will be required to keep them in a locked container so that they are inaccessible or unusable by anyone other than the owner. Owners who violate the law could be subject to fines as high as $10,000.

*** Statehouse News ***

* CBS Chicago | Advocates, opponents seek to sway Gov. JB Pritzker on medical aid in dying legislation passed by Illinois General Assembly: Outside the governor’s Chicago office on Thursday, many disability advocates, religious leaders, lawmakers, and doctors have called on Pritzker to veto the bill that would legalize what they call state-sanctioned suicide “The question becomes where do you draw the line in the medical ethics dilemmas?” one physician who identified himself as Dr. Pete said. “We don’t need to go to this crossing of a red line of actually providing a means to directly end life.”

* WAND | Bill on Pritzker’s desk could raise minimum detainment age for minors, create juvenile justice task force: A bill on Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk would change the detainment age from 10 to 12 years old in 2026 and then to 13 years old in 2027. There would be a carveout for intense crimes like murder, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated vehicular hijacking. “The bill allows for a year to develop the final planning for implementation, building on the great work that has already been done throughout the years by the Juvenile Justice Commission,” said Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago). “Most importantly, this planning phase will create accountability to address service shortfalls throughout the state where identified.”

*** Chicago ***

* NYT | ICE Tells Watchdog It Has No Videos to Release of Chicago Operations: Immigration and Customs Enforcement told a nonprofit watchdog this week that it had found “no records” of body camera footage produced during its sweeping immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, raising concerns that it was skirting laws intended to ensure transparency and accountability. The assertion, contained in a response to a public information request from the Freedom of the Press Foundation, contradicted the Trump administration’s sworn court testimony and the fact that it had previously submitted video footage to a judge. The response also raised questions about whether the administration is fully complying with a court order that required the use of body cameras in the monthslong operation, which has included a string of allegations of excessive force.

* WBEZ | As move-out date arrives at Chicago building raided by feds, one resident looks back — and ahead: One day in 2024, in the lobby, Hightower ran into a wheelchair-bound neighbor, who asked for a slice of bread. “Most people ask you for money, so I’m like, ‘What’s wrong?’ ” he remembers asking the neighbor. “He told me, ‘I’ve been stuck in this lobby for two days because the elevator broke down.’ That hurt me. I wanted to carry him upstairs so bad, but I’m dealing with the surgeries and everything.”

* ABC Chicago | New policies cause worry among refugees, asylum seekers in Chicago area: ‘What will happen?’: Hamidi says he has done nothing but work since coming to Chicago. Last year, he opened his own restaurant on Devon Avenue on the city’s Northwest Side. “We had a plan to earlier to bring our family, but unfortunately anytime we see something improving big incidents happen,” Hamidi said.

* Tribune | ‘No space for us’: Parents claim overcrowding at Haugan Elementary but CPS disagrees and denies expansion: Desks, tables and play areas for children were packed tightly near the printing area. Boxes and bins of nameless items on shelves swallowed her in, she said. What was once a library had been converted into a very tight multipurpose room including a makeshift office space for counselors, teachers and the school’s dean. Students and parents also meet there for student counseling sessions or parent conferences, when necessary. Gomez found the crowding so concerning that she wrote it down in her personal journal so she’d never forget, she said. “There’s no space for us. … There’s no space for them to play,” Gomez wrote in Spanish in her notebook.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Daily Herald | Elgin police rebut DHS account of violence by protesters during immigration enforcement: DHS says ICE officers pursued Luis Jesus Acosta Gutierrez, “an illegal alien from Venezuela and suspected member of Tren de Aragua,” into the complex after he rammed an ICE officer’s vehicle into a tree during an attempted vehicle stop. The DHS release says “a large crowd of agitators formed and began throwing rocks and bottles at law enforcement officers” and that the “local police department refused to protect ICE law enforcement officers.” Elgin police disputed that account, saying that they received five calls from subjects who identified themselves as federal agents and that “none of those agents reported rocks or bottles being thrown at them when making their calls.”

* Crain’s | Cook County property tax incentives need a refresh: study: Property tax sweeteners are pivotal tools for promoting economic development across the Chicago area, but they need to be more flexible, accessible and equitable, according to a new study. In a report that could lay the groundwork for big changes to Cook County’s incentive programs, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning recommended 30 steps county officials could take over the next two years to improve the efficacy of its property tax incentive system.

* Daily Southtown | Homer Glen OKs license plate cameras, despite referendum vote against plan: The Homer Glen Village Board voted 5-1 Wednesday to approve 12 license plate reader cameras at key access points throughout town. The Flock camera system will cost $57,150 plus an annual subscription of $49,500, officials said. The cameras are used by police to locate cars that have been involved in criminal activity. They can also locate missing persons. The Flock cameras read a vehicle’s license plate number and state information as well as its make, model and color. The cameras are not used for traffic tickets such as speeding or red-light violations, officials said.

* Patch | Arlington Heights Creates Immigration Resources Webpage: In sync with a recently passed ordinance that restricts the conduct of civil immigration enforcement operations on Village property, Arlington Heights has launched a new webpage dedicated to immigration resources. Officials said the intent of the webpage is to provide useful information for community members, along with any updates to the Village’s policies related to federal civil immigration enforcement activity.

*** Downstate ***

* KWQC | Western Illinois University to sell Quad Cities Campus building: The university’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the sale during a meeting on Wednesday, according to a media release. WIU President Kristi Mindrup said the revenue from selling the building would allow the university to support students and programs. The university has consolidated on-campus academics into Riverfront Hall at 34th Street and River Drive to respond to student needs and growing demand for online and flexible learning, officials said.

* Vermillion County Watchdogs | IDOT: CRIS Mass Transit Has Severe Financial And Governance Deficiencies: In the letter: The audit revealed severe deficiencies in financial management, internal controls, and governance, including: For three consecutive years, only 46% of expenditures contain supporting documentation, Ineligible items charged to grants, Violations of the Open Meetings Act, Insufficient payroll documentation Significant reliance on credit.

* JP Star | Plans revealed for new Par-A-Dice Casino replacement in East Peoria: oyd Gaming will attempt to build its new $160 million casino, a replacement for the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino, in East Peoria, settling months of speculation while also raising new questions. Officials from Boyd Gaming unveiled their plans to build a new casino in East Peoria to the Illinois Gaming Board on Thursday morning. The gaming board will not make any determination about Boyd Gaming’s plan until February.

* WCIA | U of I community spreads holiday cheer with ‘Dial-A-Carol’ tradition: Thursday marked the start of Dial-A-Carol at the University of Illinois. Dial-A-Carol is a University Housing tradition that goes all the way back to 1960. During finals week, student volunteers will take the time to sing holiday songs to anyone around the world who calls, for 24 hours a day, from Dec. 11-17.

*** National ***

* AFL-CIO | Labor Movement Delivers Bipartisan Victory as House Passes Bill to Restore Federal Workers’ Union Rights: A bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives voted to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) today, a bill that would restore collective bargaining rights to 1 million federal workers by reversing President Trump’s March executive order. Following that order, the Trump administration has escalated its attacks, stripping away even more collective bargaining rights by unilaterally canceling union contracts for 700,000 federal workers.

* Crain’s | NASCAR settles antitrust suit with Michael Jordan’s racing team: According to published reports, attorneys for the teams told a federal judge today that the parties had “positively settled” the case, though terms were not disclosed. The agreement halts a jury trial that was in its second week and had already included testimony from Jordan, 23XI co-owner and driver Denny Hamlin and senior NASCAR executives including CEO Jim France. The dispute centered on NASCAR’s charter system, which functions much like franchise rights in other sports by guaranteeing teams entry into Cup Series races and a share of purse revenue.

* Pew | Teens, Social Media and AI Chatbots 2025: Even as teens express mixed feelings about social media’s impact, these sites remain a key part of their lives, with some using them “almost constantly.” Now, AI chatbots, like ChatGPT and Character.ai, are getting teens’ attention. Roughly two-thirds report using chatbots, including about three-in-ten who do so daily, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of 1,458 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17.

* Semafor | Washington Post’s AI-generated podcasts rife with errors, fictional quotes: Earlier this week, the Post announced that it was rolling out personalized AI-generated podcasts for users of the paper’s mobile app. In a release, the paper said users will be able to choose preferred topics and AI hosts, and could “shape their own briefing, select their topics, set their lengths, pick their hosts and soon even ask questions using our Ask The Post AI technology.” But less than 48 hours since the product was released, people within the Post have flagged what four sources described as multiple mistakes in personalized podcasts. The errors have ranged from relatively minor pronunciation gaffes to significant changes to story content, like misattributing or inventing quotes and inserting commentary, such as interpreting a source’s quotes as the paper’s position on an issue.