Erin Allen: Good morning. It's Thursday. I'm Erin Allen and this is The Rundown. 

All right y'all, it's cold outside. I know. The days are shorter. We just saw the earliest sunset yet this year, and it's only gonna get colder. Have you seen the weather forecast for next week? Oh, and I know it's tempting to curl up in a ball watch Atlanta and fall asleep to dreams of summertime Chi, but experts advised when the exact opposite if you want to keep your spirits up this year. According to BlockClub Chicago, hunkering down may seem comforting in the moment, but they spoke to Dr. Mike Ziffra at Northwestern who said this actually can increase the winter blues. Instead, go ahead, bundle up and step outside for a brisk walk, doesn't have to be long, 20 to 30 minutes. For instance, if you know it will take five minutes to drive to your doctor's appointment, but 15 minutes to walk, maybe opt for the walk and bring a friend, your child, your partner along with for a little socializing. Feed two birds with one stone as I like to say. No matter what you do it's important to get your heart rate up and stay consistent with your daily routine and diet especially through the holidays when alcohol and sugary foods can throw you off balance, you know. Good luck out there y'all. 

If you're renting a home in Chicago, but you've been looking to buy, it turns out that purchasing that starter home has been even harder than if you were buying for the second or third time. Axios is reporting that Chicago renters earned less than 70% of the income they would need to afford their first home per October figures from the real estate website Point2 Homes. They defined starter homes as properties valued in the lower one third of all available homes on the market. Renters in Chicago earned an average household income of about $44,000, while the income needed to cover a mortgage was closer to $64,000. For reference this past September, a typical Chicago starter home cost almost $205,000 according to Point2 Homes. I mean, it's like literally can we live?

According to a recent survey by a group of universities including Northwestern nearly 50% of US adults say they'd had COVID-19 at least once and about 35% say they've tested positive more than once. Federal lawmakers spent some time yesterday reflecting on pandemic numbers like these. As a part of that overall conversation. Illinois' former public health director told them that required paid time off is a good policy, especially during a pandemic. My colleague Alex Degman has more.

Alex Degman: A House panel and COVID-19 approved a report detailing the government successes and failures during the pandemic. It also makes 30 recommendations to better prepare for the next public health crisis. Among those tips, universal paid sick leave. Former Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike said some people, particularly low wage and hourly workers, could not afford to call in sick.

Ngozi Ezike: An effort to try not to spread it might result in them becoming homeless - not be able to put food on the table for their children.

Erin Allen: The report also recommends better protection against unemployment fraud, and doing more to combat disinformation among other suggestions. 

For those who have been waiting for almost 10 years construction on the Jane Byrne interchange is mostly done and remaining ramp closures are set to reopen this week. My colleague Mawa Iqbal has more.

Mawa Iqbal: The junction that connects the Dan Ryan Kennedy and Eisenhower expressways has been under reconstruction since 2013. Key improvements include wider ramps, new LED lighting and additional traffic leads. The interchange gets nearly 400,000 vehicles a day, which Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says caused traffic congestion.

JB Pritzker: Illinois is the transportation distribution and logistics hub of the nation. And where there's a bottleneck, we have to fix it. So we got to work.

Erin Allen: Pritzker says drivers will save 5 million hours per year previously spent sitting in traffic, and the final price tag for this is $806 million. And before we get to weather, a few quick hits. After talking about the plan for decades, the Chicago city council has approved a major funding plan to extend the CTA Red Line southbound to 130th Street. Chicago's public transportation department, and not just police officers, will now be able to enforce laws that prohibit cars from blocking bike lanes in the city. The ordinance passed yesterday and was prompted by the death of a three year old child whose parent was hit while biking with a toddler. 

And Chicago Public Schools is now set to receive $8 million from a special taxing district to help if controversial efforts to open a new high school on the Near South Side. City council members approved the funding yesterday but the plan has received pushback from community members who fear the new school could hurt several other under enrolled high schools in the area. The GSA India @75 Expo kicks off today in Naperville. The expo will showcase India's arts and culture along with contributions to cinema information technology and energy. Highlights include a food festival, bazaar and a trade show. 

As for weather, rain and some snow this morning, high in the mid to upper 30s. Remaining cloudy this afternoon and evening. Low tonight around 30 degrees. And that's it for The Rundown today. Thank you for listening. I'm Erin Allen and I'll talk to you early tomorrow morning.

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