Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Lori Lightfoot's wide-awake take on the 'Illinois Exodus'
If she keeps talking truth around her fellow Illinois Democrats, Chicago’s next mayor will make them squirm. She must be ignoring the memos instructing her to “Shush up about the ‘Illinois Exodus.’ Bad for our brand.”
Lightfoot offered her comment to the Tribune’s Lisa Donovan about U.S. census data showing that the Chicago metro area lost another 22,000 residents from 2017 to 2018. In total numbers and in percentage change, the drop here exceeded comparatively smaller losses in New York and Los Angeles.
Chicago Tribune: Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks are all-in on sports betting — if their leagues get a cut
Professional sports teams historically have taken an arm’s-length approach to gambling, but after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a prohibition on state-sanctioned sports betting, the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks are ready to embrace it — if their respective leagues get a piece of the action.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is counting on $200 million in licensing revenue from sports betting to help fill an estimated $3.2 billion hole for the budget year that begins July 1. With a lengthy agenda awaiting them when they return to Springfield on April 30 from a two-week break, lawmakers are still wrangling over what legal sports betting would look like in Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: New director means a full sweep for Illinois Tollway board
The Illinois Tollway on Thursday named Jose Alvarez, the former COO of the Chicago Housing Authority, as its executive director, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration completed a full sweep of the tollway’s board.
Alvarez also served as deputy chief of staff for Chicago Public Schools and chief of staff for the state superintendent of education for Washington, D.C., schools.
Chicago Sun-Times: Wage-theft bill sparks debate about ‘repeated’ offenders
Legislation that punishes employers in Illinois that short workers’ pay left Republican representatives with questions about the bill’s impact on state businesses.
The measure enhances penalties against companies convicted of wage theft; each day an employee’s paycheck is withheld would be a separate felony offense instead of a misdemeanor.
WBEZ: Chicago Activists Look For New Ways To Oppose Megadevelopments
Last week, incoming 25th Ward alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez was among a half dozen aldermen-elect blocking traffic outside City Hall to protest nearly $2 billion in public subsidies going to two controversial new megaprojects, Lincoln Yards and The 78. The two TIFs sailed through a lame-duck City Council that day.
This week, Sigcho was inside a swanky downtown bar hosting a low-key community meeting about The 78 that included a 30-minute presentation from developer Related Midwest. The proposed new riverfront neighborhood of gleaming apartments, condos, office space and retail sits entirely within Sigcho’s ward.
Northwest Herald: Construction of $44M McHenry School District 156 expansion to begin this summer
McHenry High School District 156’s improvement and expansion plan has cleared another hurdle.
The McHenry Planning and Zoning Commission gave a positive recommendation for the plan this week, although some commissioners brought up concerns with traffic around the high schools.
Daily Herald: Lame-duck District 59 board could give raise, contract extension to Fessler
Elk Grove Township Elementary District 59 Superintendent Art Fessler could get a raise and contract extension from the outgoing school board just before new members are seated.
The seven-member panel has met behind closed doors three times since March to discuss Fessler’s evaluation, and has scheduled a final closed session meeting for Monday.
Rockford Register-Star: Embattled Winnebago County Board chairman mulls lawsuit
Embattled Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney will ask State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross next week to sue the County Board over an ordinance it approved last month that diminished his executive power.
A fractured relationship between Haney and a majority of the 20-member board has, in recent weeks, erupted into a supercharged legal controversy that has now ensnared the county’s top prosecutor. Haney claims that Hite Ross has a conflict of interest and cannot represent both him and the board while they are at odds.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Bloomington wants to limit VenuWorks' losses to $350,000
City administrators and the management firm for the city-owned arena have agreed to limit city subsidies for the entertainment venue’s operating losses to $350,000 a year.
The change is subject to approval by the City Council, which will vote on amending VenuWorks’ contract when it meets at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
Belleville News-Democrat: Emails about future of Lindenwood’s Belleville campus suggest school is in trouble
After Lindenwood University unexpectedly dismissed the leaders of its two campuses, several people — especially at the Belleville location — have been left to wonder what the departures mean.
The city of Belleville made a $3 million taxpayer commitment to Lindenwood University’s Belleville campus. So it’s understandable that Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert was concerned about the future of the campus when Lindenwood-Belleville President Brett Barger was placed on administrative leave Nov. 1 without explanation.