Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: Don’t use forfeiture laws to target innocent people
Illinois shouldn’t be permitted to seize your property just because someone in authority has a hunch it’s tenuously connected to a crime.
But, right now, that’s the law. The state’s forfeiture rules let Illinois and local law enforcement officials grab cars, cash, real estate or pretty much any personal property at any time. They just have to suspect that property — usually cars or cash — was involved in a crime or was purchased through the profits of an illegal enterprise.
Associated Press: General Assembly takes 2-week break, with no budget
The Illinois General Assembly left the capital city last week for a two-week spring break — without progress on an annual budget.
The House approved an $817 million spending plan Democrats call a “lifeline.” It would take money from special funds to help universities and human services.
Chicago Tribune: Must be fun to be a state lawmaker these days
Some people say Illinois politics is mired in gridlock and that nothing is getting done these days.
That’s not fair, though. Illinois lawmakers have been plenty busy.
Chicago Tribune: State budget gridlock forces another Northeastern campus shutdown
Northeastern Illinois University is temporarily shutting down and furloughing employees for the second time in three weeks, the latest sign of escalating havoc unfolding at college campuses through a 22-monthlong state budget deadlock.
The Northwest Side campus will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and again May 1, interim President Richard Helldobler announced Friday afternoon. All services, including computer labs, the library and the writing center, will be unavailable. Only some police officers and engineers will work as needed. All other employees and administrators are required to take unpaid days off when the campus is closed. In all, the shutdown affects about 10,000 students and 1,100 workers.
Chicago Sun-Times: Donor spares struggling NEIU from paying Valerie Jarrett $30K fee
Three class days were cancelled to cut costs during the budget impasse, and union leaders are planning a rally to protest the school’s financial straits — but Northeastern Illinois University was planning to pay former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett $30,000 to speak at its commencement ceremony.
Those plans changed after a few university trustees objected — and the Sun-Times began asking questions. Northeastern said late Monday that a donor came forward to pay the five-figure speaking fee.
NPR Illinois: Money Pressure Grows At SIU
The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees last week pushed off a major financial decision.
President Randy Dunn has outlined a plan to cut $30 million from the Carbondale campus, along with reductions elsewhere in the system. Dunn also wants the Edwardsville campus to loan money to SIUC.
Illinois News Network: Illinois income tax code leads nation in one category: Confusion
April is tax season. The month accountants across the country stand on their heads for countless hours to finish as many filings as they can before the government’s deadline.
While there is currently a conversation in Washington to simplify the federal tax code, there is a state-level tax that varies so widely across the country that nearly all involved agree it needs to be standardized.
Chicago Tribune: Democrat who bucked Speaker Madigan mulling governor bid
A north suburban state representative who briefly hinted at challenging Michael Madigan for House speaker now says he’s exploring a run for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Rep. Scott Drury, a Highwood Democrat in his third term representing a Lake County district, attacked the leaders of both Illinois political parties in his announcement.
Associated Press: Rauner launching 2-day campaign tour as 2018 rivals attack
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is launching the first official campaign tour of his re-election bid on Tuesday, as Democrats line up to unseat him in 2018 and the Republican tries to turn around his sagging approval ratings.
Rauner will kick off a two-day, multi-stop swing with a morning event in the Chicago suburb of Bloomingdale, followed by events in northern and western Illinois and an evening rally at Fulgenzi’s Restaurant on Sangamon Avenue in Springfield, his campaign said. On Wednesday he’ll appear at five restaurants and businesses in southern Illinois, Quincy and Champaign.
Chicago Tribune: John Oliver mocks deceased Illinois state senator on HBO show
The wife of deceased Illinois lawmaker Vince Demuzio said she “did not find the humor” in John Oliver’s comparison of Demuzio to a pool urinator on Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”
“It’s one thing to talk about gerrymandering, but I did not find the humor in his portraying my husband, who is now deceased, in that manner,” Deanna Demuzio, the mayor of downstate Carlinville, told the Tribune.
News-Gazette: Education reform?
Limited financial resources require government to spend wisely. So why does government in Illinois waste so much money?
How much money can the people of Illinois afford to squander on unnecessary units of government?
One would think the answer would be that they can’t afford to squander even a single dollar. Then again, the public squanders many, many millions of dollars, perhaps billions, every year because the public’s representatives, sometimes even the people themselves, insist on it.
NBC 5 Chicago: Emanuel, Cubs Quick to Note No Tax Dollars Used in Wrigley Renovations
As the Chicago Cubs celebrate the start of a new baseball season, both the mayor and the team’s owners are quick to point out that the major renovations at Wrigley Field were not done using any taxpayer funding.
The Ricketts family is spending nearly $600 million over five years to update the Friendly Confines.
Chicago Tribune: CPS allows budget director to stay on job despite residency violation
The budget director at Chicago Public Schools has been allowed to remain on the job until this summer despite an investigation that late last year found he lived in the southwest suburbs, a violation of the district’s residency requirement.
Matthew Walter turned in a resignation letter in January after CPS Inspector General Nicholas Schuler’s office found he didn’t live in the city, district officials said. Living outside city limits can be grounds for termination for CPS employees.
Chicago Sun-Times: Ferguson seeks new term, says police oversight never more vital
Inspector General Joe Ferguson said Monday he’s seeking another four-year term because the federal government’s retreat from police reform means local oversight is critical.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that police reformer and researcher Laura Kunard wanted assurances that the man who chose her to be Chicago’s $137,052-a-year deputy inspector general for public safety would not depart in a few months.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Chicago Creates Office to Address, Prevent Chronic Diseases
In an effort to help improve residents’ health, the Chicago Department of Public Health will have an office dedicated to preventing and combating chronic diseases.
“By establishing this new office, we can both better coordinate our current efforts to combat chronic disease, and identify new, innovative ways to help our residents get and stay healthy,” CDPH Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita said in a press release.
Northwest Herald: Resolution to cut McHenry County Board levy by 10 percent makes progress
The McHenry County Board this month is taking up a resolution to cut the county tax levy by at least 10 percent next year.
The resolution going before the County Board was watered down somewhat last week by its Finance and Audit Committee in that it sets the 10 percent cut as a goal rather than an absolute.
Rockford Registar-Star: Rockford City Council approves Amerock hotel project
The Rockford City Council tonight narrowly approved on a 7-6 vote a development agreement and financial incentive package to spur the renovation of the former Amerock factory into a hotel and conference center.
Construction and trades workers, downtown business owners and downtown boosters at City Hall carrying signs of support cheered loudly when the vote was complete. Council Chambers was standing room only for the debate and vote. More people were in the lobby where seats have been assembled for overflow crowds.
State Journal-Register: Developer wants TIF money to help buy former museum
A downtown developer has plans to purchase the former National Museum of Surveying and turn it into a salon and spa, with the help of tax increment financing funds.
Chris Nickell, who owns the Kerasotes and Bridge Jewelry buildings, is requesting $120,000 in TIF money to buy the former museum on the Old Capitol Plaza.
Belleville News-Democrat: Belleville school board renews five administrators’ contracts
The Belleville District 201 School Board voted to renew five administrators’ contracts during its meeting Monday night.
Contracts for these were renewed until 2022 with no salary increases:
▪ Jeff Dosier, superintendent, with a salary of $174,280.
▪ Brian Mentzer, assistant superintendent, with a salary of $132,763.
▪ Rich Mertens, principal at Belleville West High School, with a salary of $131,171.
▪ Melissa Taylor, director of student services, with a salary of $130,079.
▪ Andrea Gannon, director of alternative education, with a salary of $130,079.
The Southern: With plan to tear down housing, HUD could hollow Cairo
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has decided on the most extreme option in Cairo.
If you’ve been following stories coming out of Alexander County Public Housing, you know there has always been a chance that HUD would tear down the run-down Elmwood Place and McBride Place housing complexes in Cairo.