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Champaign News-Gazette: Common sense wins out
The third attempt proved to be the charm for a bill sponsored by state Sen. Scott Bennett that eliminates the state’s ability to pull the license of a professional who falls behind on student-loan payments.
It took three tries, some attention from a national publication and the help of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, but state Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, finally got some common-sense legislation passed that should help some Illinoisans pay off their student loans.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed Bennett’s measure, the Career Preservation and Student Loan Repayment Act, on Tuesday.
Daily Herald: New law caps 'golden parachutes' for local government leaders
A new law signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner this week limits the amount of severance local governments can pay to outgoing employees and prevents payouts for any employee fired for misconduct.
Democratic state Sen. Tom Cullerton of Villa Park sponsored the Government Severance Pay Act, calling it “common-sense reform.” The new law caps severance pay at 20 weeks of an employee’s salary.
Associated Press: Illinois to impose tougher penalty for texting while driving
People caught texting while driving will face stiffer penalties under a new Illinois law.
Starting July 1, 2019 drivers caught texting will be issued a moving violation that will go on their driving record. Anyone convicted of three moving violations in a 12-month period may have their license suspended.
Chicago Tribune: Will Chicago's Ald. Cochran be Convict No. 30?
It’s hard to know what passes through the mind of an alderman contemplating acts of public corruption that could land him in prison.
We wonder because Ald. Willie Cochran’s lawyer told a federal judge on Wednesday that the South Side politician intends to plead guilty to corruption charges rather than take the case to trial.
Chicago Tribune: Researchers estimate 20,000 freshman seats remain unfilled in Chicago Public Schools
As of last month, not a single incoming ninth-grader had accepted an invitation to attend Hirsch High School in Chicago’s Grand Crossing neighborhood when classes begin in September. Only one rising freshman took an offer to attend Douglass High School in South Austin.
Hirsch and Douglass were part of a new Chicago Public Schools online application that prompted junior high graduates to rank their most desired high schools out of hundreds of programs.
Chicago Tribune: Service on Metra's BNSF line getting better, but more work needed, officials say
Service on Metra’s BNSF Railway line, plagued this summer by overcrowding and air conditioning breakdowns, is improving but officials say there’s still work to be done.
On-time performance on the line from Union Station to Aurora has improved from 91.6 percent in July to 95 percent in August, DJ Mitchell, assistant vice president of passenger operations at BNSF Railway, said during Metra’s regular monthly board meeting on Wednesday. A train is considered “on time” if it reaches its destination within five minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival.
Peoria Journal-Star: Peoria facing $6 million shortfall in 2019?
Just when Peoria City Council members thought they were getting a handle on this year’s budget, the council heard about the possibility of a deficit in 2019 that might exceed $6 million.
City Manager Patrick Urich shared the bad news with council members at Tuesday night’s meeting while providing an update on budget adjustments being proposed for this year.