Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Court: Illinois union lobbyist can keep public pension windfall he got for one day of substitute teaching
The Illinois Supreme Court handed a major victory Thursday to a teachers union lobbyist who qualified for a public pension windfall by spending one day as a substitute teacher, thanks to a controversial 2007 law.
The high court’s ruling came on a 4-3 split decision, with a strong dissent stating that the majority opinion “whitewashes” key facts.
Chicago Tribune: UIC forced to cancel hundreds of classes amid teaching assistants' strike
Hundreds of classes were canceled at University of Illinois at Chicago in the week after graduate and teaching assistants went on strike, a walkout now into its third week.
And some students are starting to worry about the impact on them as the walkout continues.
Northwest Herald: McSweeney's township consolidation bill passed in House
A slightly modified version of a township consolidation bill introduced by Rep. David McSweeney, R-Cary, last session was voted out of the Illinois House on Thursday.
The bill outlines a referendum process for voters to dissolve the 17 McHenry County townships. It also requires the abolishment of road districts in McHenry and Lake counties that maintain less than 15 miles of road.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois House approves bill creating elected Chicago school board — an idea Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot supports
Two days after Chicago voters chose a new mayor who supports an elected school board, the Illinois House on Thursday was nearly unanimous in its approval of a measure that would make that change.
Lawmakers have discussed and debated several versions of such a bill in recent years, but none has ever reached the governor’s desk, thanks in part to staunch opposition from Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The push to replace the only appointed school board in Illinois is an outgrowth of the animosity between the Chicago Teachers Union and Emanuel over school closings during his first term.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Illinois community colleges would get 5 percent funding boost under Pritzker plan
Representatives of the Illinois Community College Board told a Senate appropriations committee Thursday they were looking forward to a period of stability in higher education after weathering several years of state government dysfunction.
“I’m excited to come before you and not be talking about drastic budget cuts,” board Executive Director Brian Durham told the committee, noting that community colleges have “continued a rich history of student success” despite “the challenges and uncertainty of a prolonged budget impasse, and declining state support.”
Crain's Chicago Business: Insurer agrees to acquire struggling Medicare plan
CCAI would be incorporated into Clear Spring under the proposed agreement. Employees would continue working out of the Chicago office and its more than 4,800 policyholders would have no change in medical or prescription drug coverage, said Terrence Richardson, a spokesman for Clear Spring’s parent company Group1001.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Burke’s Finance Committee Paid Aldermen’s Phone Bills, Travel Expenses, Records Show
Ald. Ed Burke, former chair of the City Council Finance Committee and arguably City Council’s most powerful member for much of his 50-year reign, had various ways of dishing out perks and favors to colleagues. One of those, apparently, was to help some aldermen pay their bills.
Burke approved the use of Finance Committee funds to pay for things like aldermanic travel and an office phone system, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
Chicago Sun-Times: Liquor license law relaxed after heated debate about aldermanic prerogative
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to make it easier to get a liquor license near churches, schools and day care centers cleared a City Council committee Thursday, but not before a heated debate about aldermanic prerogative.
That’s the unwritten rule giving each aldermen iron-fisted control over zoning and licensing issues in his or her ward. It’s a tradition Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot has vowed to end because it’s at the root of nearly every City Hall corruption scandal, as well as the current scandal that threatens to bring down Ald. Edward Burke (14th).
Chicago Sun-Times: Lightfoot urged to back off proposal to raise hotel tax
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot risks killing the golden goose that is Chicago’s 55-million-visitors-strong tourism industry with her proposal to raise the city’s hotel tax to provide more grants for local artists, a trade group warned Thursday.
Michael Jacobson, president of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, noted the total tax on a Chicago hotel room already stands at 17.5 percent. That’s the highest of any of Chicago’s leading competitors for conventions and tourism.
Hinsdale The Doings: 'Back in the groove': Hinsdale District 86 reinstates suspended athletic programs after $140 million referendum passes
It’s back to business as usual for Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South athletic programs that had been cut from next school year’s budget.
Voters approved a $140 million bond referendum Tuesday, and the next day, the Hinsdale High School District 86 board voted unanimously to reinstate the football, swimming, water polo, wrestling and cheerleading teams.
Northwest Herald: $15M Valley Hi refund up for a vote
A resolution to authorize a $15 million rebate of Valley Hi Nursing Home reserves to eligible taxpayers will be taken to a vote during the McHenry County Board’s April 16 meeting, according to chairman Jack Franks.
During a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, Franks said this decision is one of the rare times where the County Board can have its cake and eat it too.
Daily Herald: Des Plaines recommends tax incentive for $4.4 million industrial facility
Des Plaines aldermen have recommended approval of a Cook County property tax incentive for a developer that wants to build a $4.4 million speculative industrial building on Wolf Road.
Aldermen voted unanimously Monday in favor of the 6b property tax break for Seefried Industrial Properties, which plans to buy the building that Radco Tools is operating in at 2100 S. Wolf Road.