Get the latest news from around Illinois.
State Journal-Register: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan resigns
Michael Madigan, the Chicago Democrat who helped to craft the 1970 Illinois Constitution, spent 50 years in the Illinois House and was the chamber’s speaker for 36 of the past 38 years, said Thursday that he will resign his 22nd District seat immediately.
Madigan, 78, suspended his campaign for another two-year term as speaker in January while under investigation in an ongoing federal bribery probe involving Commonwealth Edison.
Crain's Chicago Business: Let's let the end of the Madigan era be the end of the boss-man era, too
The Center Square: Pritzker labels private school scholarship program 'corporate loophole'
Groups impacted by what the governor calls “corporate loopholes” are speaking out against the proposals to end the programs.
To balance his proposed budget, Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants lawmakers to modify several programs.
The Center Square: Ag, trucking industries say Pritzker's proposed tax on biofuel will hurt farmers, consumers
Some are taking issue with Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal which would bring an end to the sales tax exemption for biodiesel fuel in Illinois.
Pritzker said accelerating the expiration of the sales tax exemption for biodiesel will increase the state general funds revenues by an estimated $107 million dollars.
Chicago Sun-Times: Lightfoot accused of abandoning the police reform she championed by derailing City Council showdown on civilian police review
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was accused Friday of abandoning the police reform she championed by derailing — yet again — a City Council showdown on the issue of civilian police review.
Earlier this week, the chairman of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee postponed Friday’s meeting to give the mayor time to introduce a substitute ordinance that, among other things, would empower the mayor to break disputes whenever she and the commission disagree on proposed changes to police policy.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot defends spending $281.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief money on police payroll, says criticism is ‘just dumb’
Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended Friday the city’s decision to use $281.5 million in federal CARES Act money on Chicago police payroll costs, saying criticism from progressive aldermen and community groups on the issue is “just dumb.”
“We saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by saying ‘yes’ to the federal government. Should we have said ‘no’? ‘No, no, no federal government, we’ll incur this expense, we’ll put this burden entirely on city of Chicago taxpayers and you can take your money elsewhere.’” Lightfoot said. “That would be foolish and of course we didn’t do that.”
NPR Illinois: ISBE Seeks To Waive State Assessments, Address Drop In Public School Enrollment During Pandemic
For the second year in a row, the Illinois State Board of Education is seeking a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education for standardized tests normally given during schools’ spring semester.
Earlier this month, State Superintendent Carmen Ayala sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education asking for the waiver on assessments, noting that more than a million Illinois students are still receiving their education completely through remote learning.
Chicago Sun-Times: Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson got secret deal from Bridgeport bank shut down for ‘massive fraud’
Shortly after his election to the Chicago City Council in April 2015, Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th) bought a $340,000 summer home in Michigan with a secret loan from a small Bridgeport bank that federal regulators later shut down for “massive fraud,” the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Washington Federal Bank for Savings never publicly recorded the loan, for which federal authorities have found that Thompson never made any payments on the principal or interest, according to sources familiar with an ongoing criminal investigation into the bank’s failure.
The Center Square: New legislation would loosen restrictions on craft breweries in Illinois
New legislation is being filed in the Illinois legislature Friday that sponsors say will help craft breweries stay afloat amid devastating economic losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Brewers Economic Equity and Relief (BEER) Act would allow permanent delivery, direct-to-consumer shipping and self-distribution privileges for the state’s nearly 300 craft breweries.
Crain's Chicago Business: When it comes to pensions, we have crises of leadership on more than one front
The Center Square: Pritzker expected to sign police reform bill as he includes elements in his proposed budget
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget proposal is the latest indication he plans to sign a controversial bill to make sweeping changes to the state’s criminal justice system.
State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, said the governor’s proposed budget includes a package of bills the Black Caucus agenda passed last month in the final hours of the previous General Assembly.
WBEZ: Racial Equity Group Slams TIFs And Tax Subsidies For Lincoln Yards And The 78
A group focused on racial equity says Chicago should rethink $2.4 billion in taxpayer subsidies approved for two massive new neighborhoods, Lincoln Yards and The 78.
In a report released this week, Chicago United for Equity (CUE) called the controversial tax increment finance districts, or TIFs, set up for the two megadevelopments a “bad deal for Chicago” that will end up disproportionately burdening communities of color.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen call for superintendent’s firing, hearings after inspector general blasts CPD response to riots
Critics of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Police Supt. David Brown on Thursday agreed with the findings of a new report that says the police department was “outflanked” and “underprepared” for last summer’s riots — with one alderman saying Brown should be fired.
Some aldermen also said the mayor should have asked for help from the National Guard earlier and used those troops to protect businesses from looting in the city’s neighborhoods. They want hearings into the failures detailed in Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s report.
State Journal-Register: Utility bills in some small Illinois towns skyrocket because of Texas cold
While Illinois is accustomed to temperatures well below freezing for extended periods of time, the area of the country that supplies natural gas for many central Illinois towns is not and it’s leading to massive price increases on utility bills.
Some schools in central Illinois have been closed all week — first for heavy snow and cold, then because the schools couldn’t afford to properly heat buildings.
Chicago Tribune: Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she has ‘1,000% confidence’ in Chicago police Superintendent David Brown after scathing watchdog report on George Floyd protests
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday she has “1,000% confidence” in Chicago police Superintendent David Brown despite a scathing inspector general report this week that faulted his department’s handling of last spring’s protests and looting that beset the nation and city after George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis.
Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s lengthy findings released Thursday listed a litany of shortcomings and inconsistencies at the Chicago Police Department’s command level that manifested themselves in chaos on the street when Floyd’s death sparked national unrest. Ferguson’s report said, among other things, that the city’s response last spring was plagued by “confusion and lack of coordination” that risked the safety of both police and citizens.