Get the latest news from around Illinois.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Will Illinois Blow Up its Tax System? We Ask State Lawmakers
Illinois lawmakers will be faced with a lot of work when they reconvene from spring break in a couple of weeks.
There’s a push from Gov. J.B. Pritzker to pass a graduated income tax, the business of restructuring pension payments, the legalization of recreational marijuana, and any other revenue measures that might dry up Illinois’ rivers of red ink.
Champaign News-Gazette: Courts responsible for letting legislators be irresponsible
On its face, the Illinois Constitution mandates the governor and Legislature to pass an annual balanced budget. Illinois is one of 46 states whose constitutions mandate spending no more revenue than the state takes in.
Yet the governor and Legislature — year after year — pass deficit budgets, driving the state into effective bankruptcy.
Chicago Tribune: The opioid crisis in Illinois: How to combat drug overdoses
The United States is in the grip of a relentless, lethal epidemic. More than 70,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2017, twice as many as in 2006. Two of every three of the fatalities involved opioids — including heroin, prescription painkillers and fentanyl. It’s a devastating crisis that has been felt in both rural towns and big cities.
This plague has hit Illinois hard. Since 2013, drug overdose deaths in the state have jumped by 60 percent, to an estimated 2,525 last year. Those involving opioids have nearly doubled.
Chicago Tribune: Google backs off plans for retail flagship in Fulton Market district property
Google has backed off plans to open its first retail flagship store in a Fulton Market district property.
The company last year was in advanced negotiations to open a store in a two-story, 14,000-square-foot space in connected brick buildings at 845 to 853 W. Randolph St., the Tribune reported in August, citing people familiar with the deal.
Northwest Herald: Construction season kicks off across McHenry County
Even in mid-April, Illinois can’t escape a heavy snowfall.
However, Jeremy Stull, construction engineer for the McHenry County Division of Transportation, said this untimely weather should not have any impact on road projects in the county.
Daily Herald: New Dist. 59 policy would bar board members as subs
Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 school board members would be barred from taking jobs as substitute teachers for the district, under a proposed policy discussed Monday.
The draft rules, proposed by Board President Janice Krinsky as an amendment to the board’s existing conflict-of-interest policy, comes in the wake of the election of Patti Petrielli, a District 59 sub who was the top vote-getter in a contentious seven-way race for school board.
Decatur Herald & Review: IDOT pledges to fix part of Eldorado Street as part of 5-year plan
Repair work for a stretch of Eldorado Street through the heart of the city could begin later this summer after the Decatur City Council approved a $4.1 million state project to fix the roadway.
The improvements would cover Eldorado, or U.S. 36, from North Fairview Avenue to North Church Street. Council members voted 6-0 on Monday to allocate funds to cover the city’s share of the project costs, $85,950, in addition to approving repair plans and entering an agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the work.
The Southern: SIU Carbondale to add recruiters on the ground in St. Louis, Chicago
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is beefing up its student outreach in two cities that have long been key sources of new Salukis: St. Louis and Chicago.
In the next few months, the university will transfer a new, full-time recruiter to each city, and advertise for an additional full-time Chicago-based recruiter, to be hired soon, according to SIU Associate Chancellor for Enrollment Management Jennifer DeHaemers.