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Chicago Tribune: The Illinois Eclipse: It's not about Aug. 21. It's every day.
Face it: No one comes to Illinois for the weather or to climb mountains. People come — or came — for opportunity. But that once-thriving state has receded into the shadow.
Why? Because while surrounding states add jobs, Illinois grinds private-sector concerns in its gears. The nation generated a 1.3 percent average annual growth rate from 2006-16, but Illinois managed just 0.4 percent, according to James Broughel of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Wisconsin outstripped Illinois with a 0.7 percent rate, and Indiana’s was more than double this state’s, at 0.9 percent.
Crain's Chicago Business: Don't buy the spin on CPS. It's still a dumpster fire.
Eat your peas and carrots. Take an umbrella when the sky is gray. Don’t spend money you don’t have.
I never did follow the first two bits of advice from dear old Mom. (Does anyone out there really like peas and carrots?) I did take that third adage to heart. But then I don’t work for Chicago Public Schools, which has almost never in recent decades lived by the quaint notion of limiting its spending to what it actually has in the bank.
News-Gazette: Consolidation bills are an OK start
Sprawling units of government at the local level cost property-tax payers a fortune, and they’re not worth it.
Last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed potentially important pieces of legislation, ones that might play a role in reducing the size and scope of government in Illinois.
But it remains to be seen whether these bills, in their limited scope, represent real reform or, as is the case in so much purportedly good-government legislation passed by the General Assembly, the illusion of reform.
State Journal-Register: Rauner signs law to eliminate township collector in Sangamon County
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation Friday to eliminate, eventually, the position of township collector in Sangamon County.
House Bill 3521, which does away with the position in 2022, was sponsored by Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield.
Northwest Herald: McHenry City Council to consider $50K loan request for Smith's Central Garage
Smith’s Central Garage soon could start hosting larger events with help from the city of McHenry.
John Smith, owner of Smith’s Central Garage, is seeking a $50,000 loan from the city to install a sprinkler system at his event center, located at 3315 Pearl St. near McHenry’s Riverwalk. Fire code regulations state that without the system in place, no more than 100 people can be in the building at a time. Once the system is in place, Smith will be able to accommodate larger crowds, according to city documents.
State Journal-Register: City of Springfield getting better at collecting debt
In the last month, the Springfield City Treasurer’s Office collected a traffic fine from 2006, and another from 2002.
The long-overdue payments, from two residents who were applying for a job and trying to get a business permit, were the result of new practices the city has implemented, according to Treasurer Misty Buscher.
Belleville News-Democrat: East St. Louis on track to regain local control of its housing authority
A federal housing official said once again Thursday that the East St. Louis Housing Authority would be returned to local control, but no timetable was announced.
Bill Tamburrino, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office in Baltimore, Maryland, said, “I anticipate the transition back to local control, but we have not yet executed the transition agreement.”