The showdown on the East Moline city budget won’t take place Dec. 21 as some may have originally thought.
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The Center Square: Report shows small businesses struggling to survive during pandemic
A new report paints a bleak picture of the state of small businesses in Illinois and the rest of the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released its fourth-quarter Small Business Index Report, and 74 percent of small business owners say they need further government assistance to weather the storm. Furthermore, only 40% of all small business owners believe their business can continue to operate indefinitely without having to shut down permanently.
Better Government Association: Chicago Public Schools Watchdog to Investigate Emergency Computer Deal With Lightfoot Donor
The Chicago Public Schools’ in-house watchdog is reviewing a $1.6 million deal to buy used computers from a campaign donor to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who personally vouched for the company’s CEO as he sought to provide devices to the district last spring.
The district’s Office of Inspector General opened the investigation after a report by Chalkbeat Chicago and the Better Government Association this week raised questions about the purchase.
WTTW: Lightfoot Knew Woman Had Been Handcuffed While Naked During Mistaken Police Raid in November 2019
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday acknowledged that she has known since November 2019 that Chicago police officers handcuffed a naked woman during a mistaken raid of her home in February 2019.
Lightfoot told reporters Wednesday that the first she learned about the raid was Tuesday morning, after CBS2-TV aired video of the raid on Monday night, creating a national firestorm. During the raid, Anjanette Young, a social worker, tells seven male police officers 43 times that they are in the wrong home and begged them to let her get dressed.
Chicago Tribune: After errant raid of social worker’s home, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says city will not block residents’ access to their own police records
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday said the city will no longer withhold video from residents seeking police records of their own incidents after being criticized for the city’s handling of a wrongful raid on social worker Anjanette Young’s home.
Lightfoot made the promise a day after denying that her administration withheld footage from Young of a February 2019 raid where Young was handcuffed naked by officers who had wrongly entered her home.
The Center Square: Unemployment claims increase in Illinois as rate drops in other states
Unemployment claims declined in most states while initial benefit claims increased again in Illinois.
The numbers of fraudulent claims affecting elected officials also increased.
Associated Press: Chicago inspector: Police misconduct cases improperly closed
Chicago’s inspector general said Thursday that most police misconduct investigations were closed for lacking sworn testimony even when other suitable evidence, like 911 audio, was available.
Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s 62-page report found investigations conducted in 2017 and 2018 by the Chicago Police Department and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability often ended prematurely and improperly for lacking signed affidavits even “when there was objective, verifiable evidence” that could be used instead.
Crain's Chicago Business: Court denies CTU's latest effort to block Chicago school reopening
Chicago Tribune: 9 Chicago businesses cited for COVID-19 violations, including 5 for allowing indoor dining or drinking
Chicago’s Department of Business and Consumer Protection fined nine businesses for COVID-19 violations last weekend. The citations are part of the department’s continued efforts to enforce the city’s ever-changing safety guidelines, which since Oct. 30 have included a shutdown of indoor dining, officials said.
Ten locations in the Wrigleyville entertainment district that were open and operating for outdoor dining were also investigated Saturday night, and all of them were in compliance with safety guidelines. In total, 118 investigations were conducted citywide Dec. 10 to 13.
Capitol News Illinois: Illinois, other states file lawsuit against Google, seek to join DOJ case
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 37 other attorneys general Thursday in filing a lawsuit against Google LLC, alleging the company illegally holds monopoly power.
The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and accuses Google of engaging in anticompetitive practices that led to customers having less choice, less online privacy and less protection for their private information. Alongside Illinois, 34 other states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico are named as plaintiffs in the filing.
Quad City Times: With a projected $1 million deficit, budget decisions loom for East Moline
What will take place is just the beginning of some cutbacks, city administrator Doug Maxeiner explained. But more will be coming in the weeks ahead.
Belleville News-Democrat: New Madison County state’s attorney won’t prosecute violations of COVID restrictions
Madison County’s new state’s attorney said his office won’t prosecute violations of state COVID-19 restrictions, arguing that they’re not “criminally enforceable.”
State’s Attorney Tom Haine released a two-page legal opinion analyzing the enforceability of executive orders issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and an emergency rule from the Illinois Department of Public Health related to the coronavirus.