Get the latest headlines from around Illinois.
ABC 7 Chicago: Chicago rent, mortgage payments missed due to unemployment could lead to post-COVID housing crisis
The first of the month is here again for the ninth time since the start of the pandemic, and millions of people are still unable to make an all-important living payment.
“It’s just one more month deeper in the hole that thousands and thousands of tenants across the state now are in, and it’s not letting up,” said Michael Robin, volunteer at the Chicago Tenants Movement.
The Center Square: House Republican leader demands restart to ethics reform hearings
Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, is demanding the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reforms that was stunted by the pandemic earlier this year restart.
The commission was created by law in the aftermath of months of headlines of state lawmakers being charged with federal crimes, raids on offices and other issues in 2019. After several meetings on a variety of ethics issues earlier this year, the commission missed its end-of-March deadline to issue a report.
“Again and again, we see endless delays instead of action: canceled hearings, using the pandemic as an excuse to not schedule hearings, hiding behind another task force instead of taking action,” Durkin said on Tuesday.
WREX: Member of Madigan’s leadership team plans to vote against him in January
The Illinois House Democratic Caucus Chair says she won’t vote for House Speaker Mike Madigan to remain in power.
Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) said in a letter to Democratic colleagues Tuesday that she didn’t make her decision lightly.
“After a lot of thought and discussion with my family, I have come to the decision to let it be known that I will not be voting for Michael J. Madigan as Speaker for the 102nd General Assembly,” Willis wrote.
The Center Square: Pritzker asks for federal help for restaurants, bars
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is reaching out for help for the beleaguered restaurant and bar industry, the same industry facing restrictions from his state-imposed mitigations.
“I want to urge the Congress to step up and include in the stimulus package support for restaurants and bars that have been so hard hit by the virus,” said Pritzker Tuesday at his daily COVID-19 briefing.
Chicago Crusader: Illinois looks to become the first state to end cash bail
A new piece of legislation would make Illinois the first state in America to do away with the system of cash bail that many have viewed as a pillar of institutional racism within the justice system.
The bill, which was introduced last week, would ensure that people accused of crimes don’t await trial in jail just because they can’t afford bond.
State Senator Robert Peters introduced the bill, called the Pretrial Fairness Act, to the State Senate on November 9, arguing that the cash bail system imposes a different justice system on defendants who can afford their bond compared to those who can’t.
WMAY: Illinois Economic Rebound Stalls In November
Illinois’s sluggish economic recovery seems to be slowing even further.
The University of Illinois Flash Index stalled last month at 95.6, the same reading as in October. The index, which measures economic activity around the state, had been growing gradually since plunging in March at the start of the pandemic.
The flat reading in November appears to reflect new business restrictions and growing consumer concerns about a resurgence of coronavirus.