Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: For the ‘Not Rahm’ mayor, there are no easy answers to Chicago’s fiscal woes
There’s never a good time for a Chicago mayor to publicly plumb the city’s fiscal crisis, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot is headed straight there — though her chances of getting help from Springfield appear slim.
Not that she has much choice in the timing. Lightfoot this fall must prepare a 2020 city budget that’s expected to have a deficit of more than $700 million, much of it due to state-mandated increases in pension payments. She has scheduled a televised speech Thursday night to address the problem and broach solutions.
Chicago Tribune: Critics call on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to keep campaign promises as she prepares to outline Chicago’s massive budget deficit
As Mayor Lori Lightfoot prepared to address Chicagoans on Thursday evening about the city’s looming near-$1 billion budget deficit, advocates for the homeless urged her to keep campaign promises to help fight homelessness.
The mayor’s 100th day in office on Wednesday also brought calls from progressive aldermen for Lightfoot to make the wealthy contribute more to closing the massive budget shortfall she is set to address in her citywide speech. Fail to do enough to “tax the rich,” they said, and she risks losing their support in passing a 2020 budget.
Crain’s Chicago Business: Progressives to Lightfoot: Tax biz to fill budget hole
Lightfoot said earlier this week she would not get into “granular” detail in the speech. Aldermen said Wednesday they had not heard a specific shortfall number, but expected the budget hole to lie between $750 million and $1 billion. Progressive aldermen pledged proactively to “say no to regressive revenue measures” that hit working families’ pocketbooks.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Teachers Union knocks CPS $7 billion spending plan as a ‘Rahm budget,’ but school board passes it 6-0
The Chicago Teachers Union may have just rejected Lori Lightfoot’s latest contract offer and loudly opposed her budget proposal, but the school board chosen by the new mayor passed its first schools budget and capital plan.
The union wanted the school board to delay Wednesday’s vote on the $7.7 billion spending plan, claiming it doesn’t address critical staffing needs or fulfill Lightfoot’s campaign promise of equity in education.
Chicago Tribune: What fate lies ahead for the James R. Thompson Center? The state of Illinois is taking the first steps to finally sell the controversial Loop building.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is taking the first real step toward the long-discussed sale of the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop.
The state’s Department of Central Management Services announced Tuesday that it will put out a request for proposals this week for “an array of technical and project management expertise” for the sale of the state’s controversial Chicago headquarters.
Chicago Sun-Times: Arlington’s future in doubt as owners pass on casino expansion, threaten to move track
The corporate owners of Arlington International Racecourse announced Wednesday they won’t apply for newly authorized state licenses for slot machines and casino table games, putting the fate of the struggling 91-year-old suburban racetrack in limbo and leaving industry advocates in shock.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said high taxes and a “hyper-competitive” Illinois gambling market make it “untenable” for the corporation to invest in the additional gaming positions that have long been viewed as a financial lifeline for Illinois’ floundering horse-racing industry.
WBEZ: State’s ‘Lowball’ Settlement Offers ‘Insult’ Quincy Legionnaires’ Families
Initial offers by Illinois’ attorney general to settle a dozen lawsuits linked to the state’s mishandling of fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans’ home have been so sparse, some families are calling them “insulting.”
During Kwame Raoul’s campaign to become the state’s top law enforcement official, the Democrat called the state’s mishandling of the outbreaks “unconscionable.” Fourteen people died after getting Legionnaires’ at the largest state-run veterans’ home.
Daily Herald: After former actuary suspended, Elgin sees 26% increase in required pension contributions
A year after its former actuary got a two-year suspension from a national professional organization, the city of Elgin has to contend with a $4 million jump in required public safety pension contributions.
The Elgin City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to use general fund reserves to contribute $2 million each to the fire and pension funds. That means homeowners will again see a flat property tax levy increase for police and fire pensions next year, just as they did this year, City Manager Rick Kozal said.
Belleville News-Democrat: Bi-State development board changes by Illinois upset St. Louis County executive
The balance of power on the region’s transportation authority board has shifted toward St. Clair County in Illinois — and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page isn’t happy about it.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a new state law this week that gives St. Clair County another permanent seat on the Bi-State Development Corporation board. The change effectively gives St. Clair veto power over operations that include local light rail and bus service.