Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Will Illinois law allow a proposed Chicago casino to make enough money? Mayor Lori Lightfoot isn’t sure
With word on the odds of success for potential Chicago casino sites due this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday she isn’t sure whether a gambling operator can make enough money given the upfront costs they must pay under the current state law.
Consultants at Union Gaming Analytics are expected to deliver their view of a city casino’s feasibility by Tuesday — and supercharge speculation about where a massive gambling hall could stand, and if it can make enough money to soften the city’s budget burden.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Chicago Casino Study to Be Released Tuesday
Where to put a Chicago casino? Chicagoans will have some more insight on that soon.
A $120,000 feasibility study evaluating five potential sites proposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot is now in the hands of the Illinois Gaming Board and will be made public Tuesday morning.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Fact-Finder’s Report Sheds Light on CTU Contract Negotiations With City
Where do the Chicago Teachers Union and Board of Education stand on the key issues that are keeping the two sides from agreeing to a new contract? A new report sheds some light on those negotiations.
WTTW News has obtained a copy of independent arbitrator Steven Bierig’s preliminary report, which has been submitted both to the board and the CTU, but won’t be made public until the end of the month.
Daily Herald: State Rep. McSweeney's next consolidation target: school districts
Now that his legislation making it easier to dissolve townships in McHenry County has been signed into law, state Rep. David McSweeney says he’ll focus on consolidating other local governments, including school districts.
“It doesn’t make any sense for there to be so many small school districts (in Illinois),” McSweeney, a Barrington Hills Republican, said Monday.
Chicago Sun-Times: Lightfoot cracks down on absenteeism and abuse of family leave among city workers
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has put city department heads on notice they will be held personally responsible for employee absenteeism and abuse of the Family and Medical Leave Act that one influential alderman says is costing Chicago taxpayers “tens of millions of dollars.”
In a July 26 memo addressed to “commissioners and department heads,” Lightfoot called reining in absenteeism “an issue of great importance to me.”
Chicago Tribune: Judge gives go-ahead to class-action suits alleging indecent conduct by Cook County Jail inmates against female employees, public defenders
A federal judge on Monday gave the green light to a pair of class-action lawsuits alleging a pattern of “masturbation attacks” allegedly orchestrated by Cook County Jail inmates against female jail workers and public defenders created a hostile work environment that bosses failed to address.
The separate rulings by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly certify potentially thousands of workers in the two classes of plaintiffs, including any female assistant Cook County public defenders who visited the jail over the past four years and most female sheriff’s office employees assigned to the jail or lockups at the county’s main criminal courthouse.
Daily Southtown: Matteson School Dist. 159 settles lawsuit with superintendent, extends her contract
Matteson School District 159 agreed to extend a contract to its superintendent and pay her $25,000 to settle a federal lawsuit she filed against the district after being placed on paid leave earlier this year, officials said.
Mable Alfred, who spent nearly three months on paid leave, sued the district and three individual board members in March, alleging they had interfered with her ability to run the district and brought false complaints to undermine her authority and justify her termination.
Rockford Register-Star: Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney files federal lawsuit to reclaim his authority
Forty-eight Winnebago County voters, including County Board Chairman Frank Haney, sued 13 board members in federal court Monday in an effort to allow Haney to reclaim executive power the board has stripped from him.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights by approving numerous ordinances that have stripped Haney of his executive authority since he was elected chairman in November 2016. The complaint lists nine counts of state and federal violations of law, including denial of equal protection and due process of the right to vote as provided by the 14th Amendment.