* ICYMI: An Illinois Senate candidate denies falsifying concealed carry certificates. Rockford Register Star…

-Republican candidate Juan J. Reyes filed nominating petition paperwork in an effort to win state Sen. Steve Stadelman’s seat in the 34th District.
- AG Kwame Raoul issued a news release on Friday, days ahead of an election filing deadline, announcing that Reyes was facing charges in Ogle County of forgery, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
- Illinois State Police officials accuse Reyes of falsifying certificates by claiming applicants had completed the required 16 hours of training when they had not.
-Reyes pleaded not guilty to the charges.

* We’ve reached our fundraising goal to give Christmas presents to foster kids!

* Isabel’s top picks…

* Tribune | Chicago hears from Cincinnati and Newark officials on how to speed up replacement of toxic lead pipes: Newark agreed to pay to replace about 23,000 lead service lines rather than requiring property owners to contribute or making them fill out paperwork proving they couldn’t afford the work, said Kareem Adeem, director of the city’s water and sewer department. Frustrated by futile attempts to reach absentee landlords, city officials began allowing renters to grant permission to remove lead pipes connecting homes to municipal water mains.

* The Tennessean | This is why Nashville mayor Freddie O’Connell met with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf: O’Connell said during a press briefing Friday that he had no plans to try to woo anyone when it came to the Stars, and that any meetings during the Winter Meetings would be “informal.”"It would be … just the basis of introducing him to the city more so than saying, ‘Hey, come support the Stars being a thing.’ We’re not even close to that,’” he said.

* Here’s the rest of your morning roundup…

* Daily-Journal | End of an era as Wheeler will not seek new chairman term: Wheeler declined to comment on his decision. He only said that he will fulfill the remainder of his four-year term which ends Nov. 30, 2024. He’s been county board chairman since 2016 and a board member since 2012.

* WMBD | Several state lawmakers won’t have primary challenges in March: Eleven statehouse races touching central Illinois counties won’t have March 19, 2024, primary challenges and, of those, only two are shaping up to be contested in the general election on Nov. 5.

* Daily-Journal | Crowded field in 79th District Democratic primary race: Five people filed to run in the Democratic primary next March for the 79th District in Illinois House of Representatives, currently held by Republican Jackie Haas of Bourbonnais. Haas filed paperwork last week seeking a third term. Four of the five Democrats running are from Kankakee County.

* WLPO | Race To Replace Yednock Features Primary Races On Both Sides Of Aisle: Five candidates turned in paperwork to replace Democrat State Representative Lance Yednock in the 76th District. Democrats vying for the seat are: Amy Briel of Ottawa and Cohen Barnes and Carolyn Zasada both of DeKalb. Republicans going after the House seat are Crystal Loughran of Peru and Liz Bishop of La Salle.

* Rob Kelter | Illinois Commerce Commission rejects ‘business as usual’ in utilities’ rate hike requests: In its decisions the commission took bold steps to transition the state from natural gas to renewable energy. It’s only a start, but in the nearly three decades I’ve been litigating cases before the ICC, I’ve never seen the commission tell the utilities that they have to change the way they serve their customers.

* WICS | Cannabis revenues continue to climb in Illinois: The Illinois Department of Revenue has recently reported that cannabis sales generated $452 million in tax revenue for the state from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

* WBEZ | Who should decide the fate of Chicago’s most serious police misconduct cases?: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is asking a City Council committee on Thursday to reject an arbitrator’s ruling that would allow the union for the city’s rank-and-file cops to contest the most serious police discipline cases behind closed doors.

* WTTW | CPS Board to Vote on Charter Renewal for Urban Prep Academies Despite Ongoing Litigation: The Chicago Board of Education this month is expected to renew the campus agreement for Urban Prep charter schools located in Bronzeville and Englewood after a judge ruled that CPS violated its moratorium on school closures by attempting to take control of the schools.

* Sun-Times | Johnson urged to ‘find solutions that work for the airlines’ to salvage O’Hare expansion: Days after announcing his departure from the job growth agency known as World Business Chicago, Michael Fassnacht urged City Hall and the two major carriers to work out their differences on a massive project that started at $8.7 billion but has ballooned to $12.1 billion.

* Tribune | Bally’s Chicago revenues flat for November at $7.6 million: The Chicago casino ranked fourth in revenue and second in admissions in November among the state’s 15 casinos, according to Gaming Board data. Rivers Casino Des Plaines led the way with $43.5 million in adjusted gross receipts and 249,000 admissions.

* Tribune | Chicago Bears reportedly mulling Soldier Field parking area as new stadium site as talks resume with schools over Arlington Heights location: The Bears are doing due diligence on the viability of the south parking lot at Soldier Field as the location for their next stadium, according to unnamed sources cited by The Parkins & Spiegel Show on WSCR-AM 670 The Score. The Bears reportedly are using the same surveying firm, Compass Surveying Ltd. in Aurora, that they used for Arlington Heights and other potential locations.

* Tribune | Kennedy Expressway lanes to reopen, as first year of construction project ends: The reopening marks the end of the first year of a three-year, $150 million rehab of the highway from the I-94 split south to downtown. But it will only be a temporary respite for the estimated 275,000 drivers who use the expressway daily. Work is expected to pick back up again in the spring on the next phase of the project, in the reversible express lanes in the center of the highway.

* Vera | Impact Over Orthodoxy: Two weeks ago, Jennifer Doleac, an economist and Arnold Ventures’s new executive vice president in charge of its criminal justice portfolio, took to X (formerly Twitter) to openly disparage recent Vera research on college-in-prison programs in New York State. The Vera study she attacked found that incarcerated students who enroll in college are 66 percent less likely to be reconvicted of a new offense following release. Her characterization was surprisingly blithe: “This is research malpractice, y’all.” Rendered so cavalierly by a powerful and putative ally at one of Vera’s closest and deepest philanthropic partners, this mischaracterization necessitates a thoughtful response.

* Tribune | McDonald’s will open first CosMc’s spinoff in suburban Bolingbrook this week: CosMc’s, named after a McDonald’s character from the 1980s whom CEO Chris Kempczinski described as “part alien, part surfer, part robot,” will be a 10-store, small-format pilot concept focused around specialty beverages and coffees. A CosMc’s in Bolingbrook will mark a soft opening Friday, the company said. The remaining stores will open in Texas by the end of 2024.