Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Matt Paprocki: Crime in Chicago hurts small businesses. And closures, in turn, hurt Chicago.
Listen to the debates in Chicago’s mayoral race, and you’ll hear one issue discussed more than anything else: crime. And with good reason. As a recent Tribune editorial cited, crime is the top issue for Chicago voters ahead of Tuesday’s mayoral election.
Rising crime rates are affecting more and more Chicagoans across the city. But in addition to the heartbreaking human toll of rising crime rates, one underreported cost of the city’s crime problem is the impact it has on small businesses in the Loop and on the South Side.
Chicago Sun-TImes: Why are so many people leaving Illinois?
Kyra Jones misses the food in Uptown.
“There’s lots of great Ethiopian food, Nigerian food, Chinese food, Vietnamese food,” said Jones, 30. “I think Chicago has the best food in the United States. And not only that, but you can find good food at all price ranges.”
The Center Square: Legislation would phase out subminimum wage for tipped workers in Illinois
In an effort to attract workers to the restaurant and bar business, some Illinois lawmakers are proposing hiking the wages of tipped staff.
Legislation has been filed that would phase in a full minimum wage for service workers in addition to their tips. At least a dozen other states are considering eliminating subminimum wages. Under federal law, some workers can be paid less than the minimum wage, such as tipped workers, students and disabled workers. Illinois’ minimum wage is $13 an hour. The state’s subminimum is $7.80 an hour for workers who get tips.
Chicago Tribune: Election Day in Chicago: Everything you need to know about Tuesday’s vote for mayor, City Council and police district council
We’re just a few days before Chicago’s Feb. 28 election. Voters will be casting ballots for mayor, members of the City Council and, for the first time in city history, members of police district councils.
Early voting —both in person and by mail — has been ongoing for weeks. But if you haven’t made your choices yet, we have organized our coverage to help you make up your mind. We have scores of stories about the mayoral race and the nine candidates running for mayor, including incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot. We also have tackled the biggest of the 50 aldermanic races, as well as a primer on the police councils. What’s more, we have everything you need to know about the process of voting.
WTTW: New Poll Explores Key Issues for Latino, Black Voters in Chicago Mayoral Election
A new poll conducted by Northwestern University’s Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy and a coalition of Black and Latino nonprofits — including the Hispanic Federation, Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative, Latino Policy Forum and Latino Victory Project — found Black and Latino voters have common ground on key issues in the upcoming Chicago mayoral election.
The study found that Black and Latino voters are no longer rallying behind the candidate of their race or ethnicity. In a city like Chicago, which has seen its fair share of racial tension, this is not surprising to some community leaders.