After reviewing the city’s tax revenue reports, Carbondale City Council members on Tuesday expressed interest in raising the city’s cannabis tax to make up for pandemic-related revenue losses.
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Chicago Tribune: Prosecutors say grand jury in ComEd bribery case not compromised by pandemic
Federal prosecutors said Friday the grand jury hearing evidence in the alleged ComEd bribery scheme involving then-House Speaker Michael Madigan was not affected by the coronavirus pandemic and that concerns aired by defense attorneys about the legitimacy of the panel were based on “mistaken conjecture.”
Lawyers for the four defendants said in a filing last month that they had serious concerns that COVID-19 may have led to a grand jury that was not “representative of the community” as required by law.
The Center Square: Pritzker loosens some COVID-19 restrictions, but indoor dining won't return immediately
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that three regions of the state will be allowed to move out of Tier 3 mitigations in a move that will allow those regions to loosen restrictions, but the indoor dining won’t return right away, further frustrating business owners hit hard by the pandemic.
The areas going back to Tier 2 mitigations are Region 1 (northern Illinois), Region 2 (north-central Illinois) and Region 5 (southern Illinois).
Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago taxicab king no more: Empire of mogul linked to Daley son, ex-Trump fixer has crumbled
After befriending the son of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley nearly two decades ago, Symon Garber built the city’s largest fleet of taxis.
He became Chicago’s taxicab king, at one point operating 800 cabs. But today he appears to be out of business.
State Journal-Register: Here's why Springfield is collecting, but not spending pot sales tax revenue
In 2019, the Springfield City Council wasted little time cashing in on the state’s newly-signed recreational marijuana legalization legislation.
Beyond regular sales tax, municipalities with dispensaries were given the ability to tack on an additional 3% tax on sales. The council approved this measure in September of that year.
Shaw Media: How does indoor dining reopen in Illinois?
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday that three health regions in the state, Regions 1, 2 and 5 will have some COVID-19 mitigations lifted, effective immediately.
That will not, however, include lifting the ban on indoor dining, Pritzker confirmed in a news conference Friday. That will only come into play for regions that advance to Tier 1 of the state’s mitigations.
NPR Illinois: Illinois Restaurant Association Again Calls On Pritzker To Reopen Indoor Dining
Certain regions in Illinois will be allowed to transition to less restrictive COVID-19 measures beginning Friday. But that doesn’t mean restaurants and bars will be allowed to resume indoor service, despite another public call for reopening from the restaurant industry Thursday.
The Illinois Restaurant Association again asked Pritzker to alter his metrics on indoor dining, especially given the cold and difficult winter ahead for already struggling restaurants. IRA President Sam Toia cited job losses in the industry as a major pressure point, and said Illinois stands nearly alone in its restrictions on bars and restaurants.
Associated Press: Township supervisor accused of embezzling from private firm
A northern Illinois township supervisor is accused in U.S. District Court of stealing more than a million dollars over six years from the company he founded, according to documents unsealed Thursday.
Plainfield Township supervisor Anthony Fremarek is charged with wire fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Fremarek was arrested Thursday and pleaded not guilty during an appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Chicago. The judge ordered him released on a $250,000 recognizance bond. His lawyer, Vincent Pinelli, was not immediately available for comment.
Chicago Tribune: Nearly 1.6 million Illinois Facebook users to get about $350 each in privacy settlement
The check is not yet in the mail, but nearly 1.6 million Illinois Facebook users can expect to get about $350 each in a landmark privacy lawsuit.
The totals were disclosed in a California federal court Thursday during the final approval hearing for a $650 million class-action settlement over alleged violations of Illinois’ biometric privacy law.
Chicago Sun-Times: CPS, CTU ‘having better conversations’ about reopening but need an agreement ASAP, union says
The window for the Chicago Teachers Union to reach an agreement with Chicago Public Schools officials over a safe school reopening is “really getting down to the eleventh hour,” union president Jesse Sharkey said Friday, a little over a week before thousands more teachers are set to return to classrooms.
Speaking at a union protest, Sharkey said there have been “better conversations” with the district this week, but he showed frustration that the union’s “reasonable demands” are at times “falling on deaf ears.” With several times more teachers and staff set to return to schools Jan. 25 than did this week, the CTU is feeling the pressure to reach a resolution at the bargaining table.
WTTW: Police Department Disciplines Officers Who Lounged, Napped in US Rep. Rush’s Office as Looting Swept South Side
Officers who lounged, slept and snacked in the burglarized South Side office of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush in the early morning hours of June 1 as unrest swept the South and West sides of the city have been disciplined, the Chicago Police Department announced Thursday.
A group of 13 officers — which included three supervisors — were captured on video surveillance footage discovered by Rush’s staff, and turned over to the city.
Southern Illinoisan: Carbondale City Council considers raising pot tax to make up for COVID-19 tax shortages
Carbondale City Manager Gary Williams said last year that he and city staff were in the process of putting together the Fiscal Year 2021 budget when the pandemic hit and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a series of executive orders that temporarily shuttered nonessential businesses and implemented a statewide stay-home order.
Northwest Herald: Truancy cases see huge rise in McHenry County school districts, with officials blaming remote learning
Truancy cases opened for McHenry County school districts have already more than doubled so far this academic year compared to the 2018-19 school year, the last untainted by the COVID-19 pandemic, local truancy data shows.
Public education officials in the county attributed the huge rise to the remote learning situations most students in the area have been thrust into since March when concern about in-person schooling having potential to exacerbate the viral outbreak led to the closure of buildings.
Belleville News-Democrat: Proposed referendum would ask voters to approve shrinking Madison County Board
The Madison County Board will hold a special meeting Tuesday to decide whether to ask voters whether they want to shrink the size of the board, based on U.S. Census data expected to be released in the spring.
County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler called for the meeting to discuss the proposed referendum, which if approved by the board, would be placed on the April 6 ballot. The referendum asks voters “Shall the number of county board members be reduced from the current 29 members following the 2020 Decennial Census?”