Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Chicago City Council approves $51 million for migrant care
The city of Chicago is appropriating millions of dollars more to deal with the influx of migrants coming from the southern border.
The additional $51 million in appropriation comes from opioid and vaping settlement funds and is expected to last a few months. After contentious debate, the measure passed Wednesday.
Chicago Tribune: Gov. J.B. Pritzker touts higher education funding to kick off tour promoting state budget
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday kicked off a statewide tour to promote the $50.6 billion budget passed by lawmakers days earlier, with a focus on increased higher education funding during a stop at the University of Illinois at Springfield campus.
Pritzker said the budget allows for “nearly every student” from a working-class family to attend community college for free and it sets aside an additional $100 million for Monetary Award Program grant funding for college scholarships.
Chicago Sun-Times: Peoples Gas rate hike should be slashed by $63 million, consumer watchdogs say
Consumer advocates at the Citizens Utility Board are urging state regulators to slash $63 million from a record-high rate hike request filed by Peoples Gas, arguing customers shouldn’t have to keep “bailing out” the natural gas utility for its over-budget pipeline replacement program.
Peoples Gas maintains that most customers’ bills would remain “largely flat” despite the $402 million rate increase it’s asking the Illinois Commerce Commission to approve, which it says is the cost of keeping Chicago’s natural gas system safe and reliable.
Daily Herald: Arlington Park's property tax bill reduced by more than half
After an agreement between Churchill Downs Inc., the Cook County Board of Review and several suburban school districts, the property tax bill for Arlington Park this year was reduced to $7.8 million.
That’s less than half the initial $16.1 million tax bill estimated when the property was reassessed by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office last year.
AP News: House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate
Veering away from a default crisis, the House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.
The hard-fought deal pleased few, but lawmakers assessed it was better than the alternative — a devastating economic upheaval if Congress failed to act. Tensions ran high throughout the day as hard-right Republicans refused the deal, while Democrats said “extremist” GOP views were risking a debt default as soon as next week.
NBC Chicago: Another Popular Summer Chicago-Area Event Canceled Due to ‘Safety Concerns'
Another popular summer event in the Chicago area is canceled as village officials cite safety concerns.
Chicago Ridge’s RidgeFest announced late last week that its July festival will be canceled following a “difficult decision” from the village’s board.
CBS Chicago: Minimum wage to rise for Chicago, suburban Cook County on July 1
In just a matter of weeks, the minimum wage will jump for workers in Chicago and suburban Cook County.
Effective July 1, suburban Cook County’s minimum wage will increase from $13.35 an hour to $13.70 an hour for non-tipped workers ages 18 and up. It will go from $7.80 to $8 per hour for tipped workers ages 18 and up.
Capitol News: Lawmakers approve measure giving utilities control over new downstate transmission lines
In the final hours of their spring session last week, lawmakers approved a controversial measure that would give existing power companies in downstate Illinois, notably Ameren Illinois, the first crack at installing new transmission lines.
The measure applies to companies that already own or operate electric transmission lines under the purview of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, the grid operator for a wide swath of the Midwest, including much of downstate and parts of northwestern Illinois.