* A quick weather update…

10:25 am — One model's forecast through this afternoon. The snow will struggle with northward progress, due to drier northeast winds feeding into it. #ILwx pic.twitter.com/A4Sp7hIgEz

— NWS Lincoln IL (@NWSLincolnIL) January 5, 2025

Snow update at 10:50 a.m. on Sunday in Springfield pic.twitter.com/DTK4H33kXe

— WICS ABC 20 (@wics_abc20) January 5, 2025

* Cook County Record…

Trial lawyer and former Democratic Illinois state representative Scott Drury appears to have reached a deal to end a 10-year-long lawsuit against political commentator Dan Proft and one of Proft’s political action committees over election year political ads which criticized Drury over a state education funding law, but which Drury said were untruthful. […]

In early December, Drury and Proft signed a settlement agreement, appearing to officially end the litigation Drury first launched in 2014, accusing Proft and Liberty Principles PAC of defamation.

Terms of the settlement remain confidential. Proft and his attorney, Jeffrey Schwab, of the Liberty Justice Center, declined to comment on the terms of the settlement, saying the deal forbids disclosure.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Illinois lawmakers established the Warehouse Safety Standards Task Force in January 2023 to study warehouse safety in response to the Edwardsville tornado, and it issued its final report last month.

Among its recommendations was that building codes be amended to require tornado shelters in warehouses. The International Building Code became Illinois’ statewide building code on Jan. 1 after being approved by the legislature in 2023. The task force recommended shelters be added to that code. […]

Illinois saw a record of 142 tornadoes in 2024, according to the National Weather Service. The state has averaged 60 tornadoes each year over the last 10 years. But the number of tornadoes in the state could be increasing as technology to detect them improves, according to data compiled by The New York Times. Most Illinois counties saw an increase in tornadoes in the 20 years from 2002 to 2022compared to the previous 20 years.

Most tornadoes are not as powerful as the Edwardsville tornado, Marc Levitan from the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Project told the task force, but warehouses are more vulnerable because they’re tall and supported by heavy walls that rely on the roof for stability.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Subscribers know much more…

New: More changes to @HouseDemsIL staff. Three top staffers — legislative director Kylie Kelly, chief counsel Kendra Piercy and spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll — have resigned. It comes just days after Chief of Staff Tiffany Moy’s departure was announced. #twill https://t.co/O5dHP9sNQ2 pic.twitter.com/As5oFWVWp4

— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) January 5, 2025

* WCIA | Lame duck session gives lawmakers one last chance to pass 2024 proposals: On Friday, Senator Bill Cunningham filed a new group of clean energy policies. The bill would create some avenues to improve clean energy storage, while also helping build out the grid. “There’s a couple of flashing warning lights on the dashboard right now that we have to take action on, and incentivizing the use of battery storage for energy can be a really big part of that,” Cunningham (D-Chicago) said.

* Tribune | Pritzker EPA vows to step in as Trump calls for massive cuts to environmental protection: Jen Walling, executive director of the nonprofit Illinois Environmental Council, worries state lawmakers won’t have the political will to respond to Trump’s expected cuts to the U.S. EPA. Unlike other state agencies funded with general tax collections, the Illinois EPA’s budget depends solely on federal grants and permit fees. “No matter how exceptional [James Jennings] may be, he’s going to be faced with decisions that already were made for him during the past decade,” Walling said.

* WAND | Hemp regulation top priority for Illinois lawmakers during lame duck session: Intoxicating hemp would only be allowed to be sold to customers 21 and older at licensed dispensaries. Over 9,000 cases of Delta-8 poisoning have been reported nationwide, and nearly half of those cases involved children. Three elementary school-aged children in Chicago were hospitalized in early December after becoming severely ill from eating gummy edibles.

* WGEM | Moore heading to Springfield a few days early: Fresh off his November win in the race to replace retiring state Rep. Randy Frese, Kyle Moore began his term a few days early. Moore was selected Friday by the GOP party chairs from the counties in Illinois’ 99th House District to replace Frese, who resignation was effective at noon on Thursday. Appellate Judge Amy Lannerd swore in Moore afterward in a ceremony at the Adams County Courthouse.

* 25News Now | Illinois bill could place foster kids with families, financially support families providing care: This bill prioritizes relatives as legal guardians for kids in foster care and could require the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services [DCFS] to focus on those placements first. It could allow DCFS to pursue access to federal funds to give to the relatives taking those children in, as well as doing background checks.

* Scott T Holland | Push to tweak foster care system will also require cash infusion: Under current state law, the Department of Children and Family Services pays foster parents who complete specific education and pass home inspections. Those and other standards are important for making sure DCFS wards are in better situations than their actual homes and verifying the people who provide foster care aren’t just in it for the checks. However, the rules apply to any foster family, even those taking in a relative. The CNI story said nearly 10,000 kids under DCFS care live with family members, but more than 60% of those homes aren’t qualified for monthly payments, yearly clothing vouchers or participating in support groups.

* WIFR | IDPH announces new public health laws starting with the new year: One of the key changes in the new year is more public health intervention based on results of testing blood lead levels in children. Illinois law says children living in a high-risk ZIP code are automatically tested at 12, 24 and 36-months-old, and children under 6-years-old are required to be assessed by a pediatrician for lead exposure. Under the new law, public health intervention is required for any test result higher than 3.5 µg/dL. Interventions include a home inspection to determine the source of the lead and remove it. A public health nurse will also come to the home to educate the family on how to protect children from lead.

*** Madigan Trial ***

* Center Square | Jury to return for Madigan corruption trial and continued Illinois appeals court judge testimony: urors are scheduled to return from an 18-day holiday break on Monday at the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and codefendant Michael McClain in Chicago. Judge John Robert Blakey held a charge conference for attorneys on Jan. 2, when prosecutors and the defense teams discussed terminology used in the indictment.

* WBEZ | Madigan trial set to resume next week, but judge and lawyers still struggling with definition of ‘corruption’: What does the word “corruptly” mean? U.S. Supreme Court justices zeroed in on that very question when they heard oral arguments last April in the corruption case against former Portage, Indiana, Mayor James Snyder — the same case that triggered a six-month delay in Madigan’s trial. The justices grilled a government lawyer for a clearer definition of the term, with Justice Neil Gorsuch even asking at one point, “Is it a sin? Are we now talking about … a venial sin? Or does it have to be a mortal one?”

*** Statewide ***

* Shaw Local | Fight like a girl: Girls wrestling continues to grow throughout Illinois: With more girls and teams competing than ever, expect to see even further success. “I think everyone has been wrestling pretty good,” Morris coach Lenny Tryner said at the Reindeer Rumble. “We had about 600 matches with (27) teams so that’s really impressive. … We’ve had a lot of bigger teams, and we’re one of the bigger tournaments in the area, so that’s really good.”

*** Chicago ***

* Sun-Times | CPS CEO says contract talks with the teachers union have not stalled: ‘In fact, it’s just the opposite’: “The urgency has never been higher,” Martinez said, who, due to a provision in his contract, will stay at the helm of the school district for six months. “There is no evidence at all (that progress has stalled). In fact, it’s just the opposite.” The back and forth Friday underscored the highly unusual situation the district is in as it tries to settle a contract with the union and avoid a strike. Just days after Martinez was terminated, some school board members showed up at contract negotiations, hoping to move forward on making a contract deal.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Here are the remaining sticking points in contract talks between CPS and CTU: The union and the district provided separate bargaining updates late Friday afternoon suggesting they are making some progress — and both sides said they agreed to pause a neutral fact-finding process that started in October. The district and union both said they have reached tentative agreements to expand the number of Sustainable Community Schools to 70 over the next four years, hire more English learner teachers and other staff, and jointly look for ways to offer housing help to homeless students.

* WTTW | Shootings, Homicides in Chicago Fall to Lowest Levels Since 2019: Police: Homicides citywide decreased 8% for 2024 compared to the previous year, while shootings fell 7% and the number of shooting victims fell 4%, Chicago Police Department figures show. “This year, the Chicago Police Department continued to drive down violent crime while focusing on the victims affected by the trauma of these crimes,” Superintendent Larry Snelling said in a statement. “The efforts we made set the foundation for strengthened public safety for years to come.”

* Mother Jones | Chicago’s Municipal Buildings Are Now Powered Largely by the Sun: It takes approximately 700,000 megawatt hours of electricity to power Chicago’s more than 400 municipal buildings every year. As of January 1, every single one of them—including 98 fire stations, two international airports, and two of the largest water treatment plants on the planet—is running on renewable energy, thanks largely to Illinois’ newest and largest solar farm. The move is projected to cut the carbon footprint of the country’s third-largest city by approximately 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year—the equivalent of taking 62,000 cars off the road, according to the city.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Lake County News-Sun | Waukegan officials hail effectiveness of pilot police/social worker program; ‘They find people in crisis and help with solutions’: Not long ago, the Waukegan Fire Department received a call about an unresponsive woman. When the paramedics arrived, she was dead of natural causes and her adult son needed help. Though there was no evidence of a crime, police assistance was needed. It came from the Community Assistance Group formed just over a year ago, where some police calls are made by two-person teams like the one consisting of Officer Neil Wolfe and social worker Julieta Alvarez.

* Daily Southtown | State police honor Orland Park Trooper Clay Carns in funeral procession: Illinois State Police honored and helped lay to rest one of their own in Orland Park Friday morning. Hundreds attended the private funeral service of State Trooper Clay Carns at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park as well as the previous night’s visitation. A procession followed from the church to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip for Carns’ internment. “Today, and every day going forward, we honor Illinois State Police Trooper Clay Carns for his sacrifice, and the sacrifice made by his family,” State Police Director Brendan Kelly said in a news release Friday. ​

* Daily Herald | What’s the role of local police in feds’ mass deportations?: It’s “a common question we’ve answered plenty of times — a state law, the TRUST Act, prohibits local law enforcement from assisting ICE,” Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain explained. Likewise, “under both current Cook County ordinance and state law, the sheriff’s office is limited in its ability to perform federal duties,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s spokesman Matt Walberg said.

* Daily Herald | ‘Prepared for the worst’: Suburban immigrants brace for mass deportations: Blanca Ramirez, an Immigrant Solidarity DuPage organizer, said there is a lot of fear in the community, especially among families who’ve been in the United States for many years. “They’re worried, they’re anxious. They don’t know what’s going to happen,” added Dulce Ortiz, executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center in Waukegan.

* Daily Herald | Elmhurst Hospital plans $100M project focused on cancer center, observation beds, more ORs: Endeavor Health has proposed a $100.8 million project to expand Elmhurst Hospital’s cancer center, add more surgical space and create a dedicated observation unit for patients requiring short-term monitoring. The plan involves a two-story expansion of the cancer center building and renovation of hospital spaces. The observation unit would contain 16 beds. The hospital also would add three new operating rooms with support facilities, plus four more labor and delivery rooms, according to an Endeavor Health spokesman.

* Tribune | River Forest family help plan funeral for longtime friend Jimmy Carter: Rick Jasculca has done work, off and on, for Jimmy Carter for nearly 50 years. And in the wake of the former president’s Dec. 29 death at age 100, Jasculca, a 77-year-old River Forest resident, had one more assignment. Jasculca and three of his four children helped to plan the state funeral for Carter. “He and Rosalynn were such an important part not only of my life, but our family’s life,” said Jasculca, a cofounder of the prominent Chicago strategic communications firm Jasculca Terman. “Three of my four kids, on a regular basis, did his Carter Center trips.”

*** Downstate ***

* Tribune | America’s oldest Black town is in Illinois — and it’s dying. But the fight has begun to save it: You may never have heard of Brooklyn, Illinois. You might not be aware it’s one of the country’s first Black settlements, or that it’s thought to be the first majority-Black town in America to incorporate and the oldest such town still in existence today. You also probably don’t know that it’s dying. Established in the early 1830s as a refuge for free and enslaved Black people and incorporated in 1873, Brooklyn is nestled on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis. It was once a key outpost on the Underground Railroad and, later, a welcoming beacon for those fleeing the Jim Crow South.

* WCIA | Snow emergency declared in multiple Central IL cities, counties: On Saturday, the City of Springfield’s Office of Public Works declared a snow emergency for designated snow routes starting at 11 p.m. and ending at 11 p.m. on Monday. They are anticipating snowfall to exceed 6 inches.

*** National ***

* Crain’s | Jonathan Jackson mulling run for DNC chair: report: The son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson who is just ending his freshman term in the House told the outlet he was encouraged to run by fellow progressive members of the party within and without Congress, including California Rep. Ro Khanna, over the holiday break. Jackson said he could present his candidacy as a more progressive option for the committee. “There’s a new generation that wants to be heard,” he told Axios, adding that he will decide on whether or not to run by the end of this weekend.

* Crain’s | Rivian production falls 27% on parts shortage, but deliveries tick up: The EV startup reported a 27% drop in fourth-quarter production, building 12,727 vehicles compared with 17,541 in the year-earlier period, Rivian said Jan. 3. Deliveries rose 1.5% to 14,183 vehicles. Rivian doesn’t break out sales and production by model. The R1T starts at $71,700 with shipping, and the R1S starts at $77,700 with shipping.

* The Guardian | US newspapers are deleting old crime stories, offering subjects a ‘clean slate’: “In the old days, you put a story in the newspaper and it quickly, if not immediately, receded into memory,” said Chris Quinn, editor of Cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer newspaper. “But because of our [search engine] power, anything we write now about somebody is always front and center.” Quinn pioneered a “right-to-be-forgotten” experiment in 2018, motivated by the many inquiries he would receive from subjects describing the harms of past crime coverage and pleading for deletion. “People would say: ‘Your story is wrecking my life. I made a mistake, but … I’ve changed my life.’”

* NBC Chicago | Indiana deploys National Guard amid winter storm: According to a press release, more than 120 National Guardsmen will deploy beginning Sunday to help assist stranded motorists and respond to winter emergencies across the state. Holcomb’s office says the members of the Guard will remain active through at least Tuesday to help respond to the storm.

* The American Prospect | Jimmy Carter’s Economic Legacy: Carter’s legacy demands a more critical examination. His presidency, long dismissed as inconsequential, was in fact a pivotal turning point in American history, particularly for economic management. It marked the beginning of a fundamental shift away from the New Deal liberalism that had defined Democratic economic policy for decades, and toward the market-oriented framework that would come to characterize neoliberalism. This transformation not only laid the foundation for many of the challenges that continue to plague American politics but also reshaped the Democratic Party itself. Carter’s presidency, therefore, is not just a historical curiosity; it is a key moment in understanding the economic and political trajectory of the United States today.

* Sun-Times | When Facebook decides you are not a real person: “It’s traumatic; I’m grieving,” Feder said. “The fact that they could just take it away, just like that, without any human intervention, is just appalling to me.” The incident might not be worth airing in public, were it not a glimpse of the world we are all hurtling toward. Someday, we will not just get booted off of social media but admitted to — or rejected from — college without human eyes ever weighing credentials or reading essays. Medical procedures will be permitted, or denied, without an actual doctor glancing at a file.

* NPR | How influencers are impacting journalism: Summer Harlow is associate director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at UT Austin. She created a class for, what she calls, newsfluencers. “Content Creators and Journalists: Redefining News and Credibility” attempts to provide such influencers the tools to ensure accuracy and to build trust in their work.