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Northwest Herald: State Rep. Jack Franks set to withdraw from Illinois House race to make way for replacement
State Rep. Jack Franks officially will file to withdraw from the 63rd Illinois House race in the next several weeks, Democratic officials said, starting a tight timetable in motion for the Democratic Party of McHenry County to appoint a replacement.
The party in late May caucused in Franks, D-Marengo, to run forMcHenry County Board chairman against Republican candidate and County Board member Michael Walkup, R-Crystal Lake. Franks said in his announcement that he would withdraw from the race for the seat that he has held for nine two-year terms.
Although the party already has a candidate in mind, it wants to open the field to other interested applicants, McHenry County Democratic Party Chairman Michael Bissett said. Once Franks withdraws, the party has eight days to meet and pick a replacement, and three days from the selection to file the required paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Chicago Tribune: Lucas museum in Chicago: A sale Rahm Emanuel couldn't close
During his decades in politics, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has shown strength in a number of roles.
Backroom deal cutter? Check.
Prolific campaign fundraiser? Definitely.
Bulldozing mayor who gets his way? Most of the time.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago-area black population drops as residents leave for South, suburbs
Cook County in 2015 recorded the largest black population of any county in the U.S., a title it has held for several years, but its lead grows shakier as more African-Americans are opting to move to outlying suburbs or warm-weather states, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.
Between 2014 and 2015, more than 9,000 black residents left Cook County, and since 2010, the Chicago area, which for the census includes parts of Indiana and Wisconsin, has lost more than 35,000 black residents. The exodus is greater than in any other metropolitan area in the country.
“I have very little desire to return to the city,” said Roosevelt Johnson, 47, who moved to Lake County 10 years ago when he first saw the writing on the wall: limited services on the South Side, where he grew up, and unaffordable housing on the North Side, where he later moved. “It became a rat race of having to try to get from Point A to Point B with raising our family. Making sure everyone is in the place they need to be, despite escalating costs. It became too much for us to handle.”
Chicago Tribune: OSI buys former Tyson Foods plant on South Side for $7.4M
OSI Group, an Aurora-based processed food company, bought the former Tyson Foods plant in Chicago earlier this month for $7.4 million, according to documents filed with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.
In November, Tyson Foods said 480 jobs would be lost when it shut down the facility at 4201 S. Ashland Ave. by October 1 of this year. It’s unclear whether the plant’s already been closed and, if so, how many jobs could be restored at the plant under the change in ownership. A Tyson spokeswoman said Friday she couldn’t immediately say whether the facility had been closed; an OSI spokeswoman couldn’t be reached for comment.
In a brief announcement on its website June 8, OSI said the 200,000-square-foot facility in the Back of the Yards neighborhood is close to OSI’s other Chicago facilities and would “provide the infrastructure to support continued business growth.”
Sun-Times: The CHA’s great upheaval — a Sun-Times/BGA special report
In 1999, Mayor Richard M. Daley boldly promised to transform public housing in Chicago — in part by tearing down the high-rise housing projects that lined the city’s expressways and surrounded the Loop.
Today, nearly every Chicago neighborhood — and almost every suburb — has felt the impact of the Chicago Housing Authority’s “Plan for Transformation,” a Chicago Sun-Times and Better Government Association analysis has found.
BND: Rauner signs ID law making Illinois comply with federal law
Illinois will follow stricter federal standards for state-issued ID’s under a proposal signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Bill sponsor Sen. Terry Link says the measure ensures Illinois complies with the REAL ID Act and it will help residents avoid security problems at airports and federal buildings.
Illinois officials were notified in January they had two years to comply with the act 2005 law. It sets minimum standards for licenses in response to security concerns following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Enforcement has been delayed.
BND: Will your school open on time?
Whether schools in the metro-east open in August depends largely on two factors: The state passing a budget, which will allow districts to get their money; and what actions the school boards have taken to save or borrow money over the last few years.
Even districts that say they will open on planned start dates are concerned about how long they can stay open.
“I still, in my mind, cannot believe that either side would not let schools open over this fight,” said Art Ryan, superintendent of Cahokia District 187.
He’s not the only hopeful one.