Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Illinois' population loss may take out 2 congressional seats
The mass of people leaving Illinois could soon add up to another loss — one of the state’s 18 seats in Congress.
The exodus dropped Illinois from the fifth-most populated state to the sixth in December, based on U.S. Census data showing that 33,703 moved out between July 2016 and July 2017.
Belleville News-Democrat: Progressive tax may be dead, but Illinois' progressives likely to seek resurrection
Illinois Republicans just scored a rare victory on behalf of taxpayers, likely killing any effort to get a progressive tax on the Nov. 6 ballot.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, wrangled 50 colleagues to sign on to a resolution opposing a progressive tax. House Democrats were pushing a ballot initiative to change the Illinois Constitution, but they needed 71 representatives to vote for it. Simple math: 118 minus 50 is 68, which isn’t enough to put a constitutional question on the ballot.
State Journal-Register: Gov. Rauner sets achievable budget goals
Sometimes the key to success is to set achievable goals. Or another way of putting it is to set the bar low enough you can’t fail.
Which brings us to Gov. BRUCE RAUNER’s budget goals for the spring session. He’s set out three things he wants from the budget lawmakers craft this year: That it be for a full year, that it be balanced and that it not include any new taxes.
Chicago Sun-Times: CPS custodians’ union ratifies new contract with district contractors
Following a threat to strike last week, Chicago Public Schools janitors voted Saturday to ratify a new three-year contract with the district’s contractors.
The union, which represents about 1,700 custodians, voted “by an overwhelming margin” to ratify the deal with CPS contractors Aramark and SodexoMAGIC, which provides for yearly raises, protects benefits and “includes language that will help keep schools clean,” according to a statement from the union, SEIU Local 1.
Crain's Chicago Business: Why Amazon might like Indianapolis more than Chicago
Two weeks before Amazon executives pulled into Indianapolis on their tour of possible HQ2 cities, the state of Indiana decided to exclude internet-delivered software from sales tax.
Indiana says it became just the fourth state to specifically declare subscription software, or software as a service, off-limits from sales tax. Although the legislation wasn’t aimed at Amazon, you can bet it didn’t go unnoticed by the world’s largest provider of cloud data storage, which generates the bulk of its operating income. Amazon’s site selection team visited Indianapolis within days of touring Chicago, where the city’s so-called Amazon tax is in full force.
Daily Herald: Amid leadership changes, Franks proposes shifting McHenry County auditor duties
As the McHenry County auditor’s office prepares for new leadership, County Board Chairman Jack Franks has proposed shifting the department’s responsibilities to put a greater emphasis on investigating waste and fraud.
Under his plan, which will be considered by the county board next week, the accounting and financial reporting duties previously performed by the auditor will be given to the county administration’s finance division, Franks said in a statement. The auditor’s office then would have more time and resources to spend on its primary function: auditing.
Rockford Register-Star: Mystery employer promises 75 jobs, wants incentives to build in Winnebago County
As many as 75 jobs are in the offing, but the employer is a mystery.
A 67-acre farm field located directly east of the FedEx Ground facility at 5460 Baxter Road is being considered as a possible location for a 675,000-square-foot distribution center.
The Southern: Legislation seeks to separate SIU campuses after failed funding shift
Shortly after the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees voted down a proposal to shift $5.1 million in state appropriation funding from Carbondale to Edwardsville on Thursday, SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook sent out a message to his campus community.