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Chicago Tribune: Gov. J.B. Pritzker praises release of report on bullying and harassment in Michael Madigan’s office but sidesteps questions about speaker’s leadership
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday praised the release of a report detailing a culture of sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation that pervaded Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office and his Democratic caucus, but skirted questions about whether he has confidence in the speaker’s leadership.
“The culture of sexual harassment exists in Springfield on both sides of the aisle,” the rookie Democratic governor said Wednesday at an unrelated event in Chicago. “It has been pervasive for a long time. I think anybody that’s worked in Springfield has talked about it and knows about it. And it is a very positive thing that these things have come to light.”
Champaign News-Gazette: Illinois House of horrors not exactly a surprise
A 200-page report examining the employment culture at the Illinois General Assembly revealed a climate of fear and intimidation where lower-level functionaries feared retaliation and loss of employment if they displeased Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan’s chief enforcer.
In other words, it was operating exactly as intended.
Chicago Sun-Times: Cash-strapped Chicago gets $11M interest-free loan, thanks to 22,000 uncashed checks dating back 22 years
The cash-strapped city of Chicago has essentially received an $11 million, interest-free loan because of its failure to abide by a law requiring checks left uncashed for three years to be turned over to the state.
The first of the newly-discovered, unclaimed checks was issued on Aug. 25, 1987. That’s when the city wrote a $200.77 check to the National Geographic Society.
Chicago Sun-Times: As CPS starts investing in neighborhood school improvements again, some are happy and some feel left out
Parents and educators of Sullivan High School heaped praise on Chicago Public Schools administrators at a public hearing Wednesday for their proposed $25 million investment to fix a crumbling roof at the Rogers Park school.
The hearing was one of a trio of sessions across the city that offered members of the public a chance to weigh in on the school district’s $619 million capital budget plan for the new fiscal year — which pays for improvements and repairs to school facilities, such as building infrastructure, heating and cooling systems and technology.
Chicago Sun-Times: Black mayors to Pritzker: Stacked deck deals south suburbs a losing casino hand
A coalition of mayors from mostly African American south suburbs are calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reconsider a key portion of the state’s new gambling law, which they say gives the house edge to owners of a combination horse racetrack-casino over majority-black towns vying for a separate casino license nearby.
Not only would the two new full-blown gambling dens compete with one another for customers in a saturated suburban market, but the law also potentially allows the racino owners to block a traditional casino from setting up shop in the first place. That “11th hour” provision to the gaming bill only benefits “a wealthy, white track owner,” according to Matteson Village President Sheila Chalmers-Currin.
WBEZ: Former Head of City’s Daley College Cited For Behavior 'Unbecoming Of A Public Employee'
The interim president of Richard J. Daley College allowed a private basketball program attended by his sons to use Daley College’s gym for free, waiving $70,800 in fees the program should have paid the college, according to a City Colleges of Chicago’s Inspector General report released this month.
The inspector general called the president’s behavior “unbecoming of a public employee.”
Bloomington Pantagraph: Second installment property taxes due
The second installment of McLean County property taxes is due Sept. 3.
Payments are accepted from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. business days at the Government Center, 115 E. Washington St., Bloomington. Tax payments may also be mailed, paid at most local banks, paid online or placed in the drop box on the east side of the Government Center.