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Chicago Tribune: Who wants to attend Zombie High in CPS?
One good thing (among many) about Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s choice of Janice Jackson as the interim Chicago Public Schools CEO: She hits the ground running. Jackson, the district’s former chief education officer, knows the players and the politics. She inherits a district in improving financial shape, but one with a fast-shrinking student population.
We hate to pile another folder in her in-box, but there’s a vital job that remains unfinished: closing high schools hit by shriveling enrollment and faltering academics. There are at least 17 schools on that list, according to a recent analysis by Tribune reporters Juan Perez Jr. and Jennifer Smith Richards.
Crain's Chicago Business: Another CPS scandal. Another day in Chicago...
Fighting to reform corrupt government is always an uphill slog. In the case of Illinois, however, it’s practically a trek up Everest.
Two revelations of government corruption over the past month show the steepness of that slope.
Chicago Tribune: Aldermen advance proposals aimed at fixing noise-limiting windows near airports
Aldermen on Monday advanced two ordinances aimed at giving homeowners living near Midway and O’Hare airports assurances that the city will pay to replace faulty noise-dampening windows that give off a foul odor.
Residents have been complaining for months that the windows and storm doors installed to reduce the roar of low-flying jets give off the stink of burning plastic in warm weather.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen sign off on $31M settlement to Englewood 4 after FOP tirade
Ignoring an angry plea from the Fraternal Order of Police, the City Council’s Finance Committee on Monday authorized a $31 million settlement to four Englewood teenagers coerced into confessing to the rape and murder of a prostitute before being exonerated by DNA evidence.
FOP’s second vice-president, Martin Preib, warned that the settlement to be shared by Michael Saunders, Vincent Thames, Harold Richardson and Terrill Swift will send a dangerous message to rank-and-file police officers.
Northwest Herald: District 300 board to vote on property tax levy increase
Community Unit School District 300 is requesting a 26 percent increase from 2016 to 2017 in its property tax levy, Chief Financial Officer Susan Harkin said.
A typical homeowner with a $200,000 home will likely see an increase in next year’s property tax bills. If an average homeowner’s equalized assessed value is the same as last year, the homeowner would see a decrease of $378, and if the EAV increases because of overall market conditions, the homeowner will see an increase of $66, Harkin said.
Daily Herald: Why the average tax bill is set to drop $670 for District 303 homeowners
The vote St. Charles Unit District 303 taxpayers have been waiting for finally arrived Monday night. Grins accompanied a sense of mission accomplished as school officials voted in a levy that will bring significant savings in local tax bills.
The 2018-19 tax levy year will mark the full repayment of about 75 percent of all the district’s outstanding debt. That means the district needs less money from local taxpayers.
Daily Herald: Developers seeking sales tax rebate for East Dundee business park project
Developers are seeking a sales tax rebate deal with East Dundee to help spur a wave of economic activity at the Terra Business Park.
Joe Palumbo of PAL Land LLC has proposed constructing two new developments along Route 72 and Christina Drive — a $6.8 million investment, not including the cost of infrastructure upgrades, said his attorney, Peter Bazos.
Rockford Register-Star: Rockford panel approves $30 million road plan
A City Council committee on Monday approved a $30 million Capital Improvement Program that would devote more money to repaving residential streets and $60,000 to a Spring Creek Road multiuse path study.
Roughly half of the money in the plan would come from the city’s voter-approved 1 percent infrastructure sales tax. The state would fund about 20 percent, or $6 million, 18 percent, or $5.3 million, would come from state motor fuel tax proceeds, and 12 percent, or $3.8 million, would come from other capital funds.
Peoria Journal-Star: PPS enrollment seen as steady overall but alarming for some schools
Overall, enrollment should remain steady in Peoria Public Schools over the next 10 years. But enrollment projections paint a sobering picture for schools on the city’s south and near north sides.
Manual Academy, Trewyn and Lincoln were among the schools expected to show the greatest decreases in enrollment, according to a demographics study presented to board members Monday. Other schools in that category include Roosevelt, Whittier Primary, and Harrison Community Learning Center.
Peoria Journal-Star: Washington high school property tax rate to rise slightly
Residents will see a slight increase in their property tax rate next year for Washington Community High School.
School Board members Monday approved a $13.9 million property tax levy for 2017, payable in 2018. That will require an estimated tax rate of $2.70 per $100 equalized assessed valuation.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Council keeps city tax levy at last year's level
The 2017 property tax levy for the city of Bloomington will remain at $20.6 million, the same as last year’s, but the City Council has approved slight levy hikes for the City of Bloomington Township and Bloomington Public Library.
Aldermen voted unanimously Monday night to adopt the 2017 levy for property taxes payable in 2018 for the city and the library. The council, acting as trustees for the township, set its levy Nov. 27.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Normal scales back capital spending plan
Residents eager to see Normal tighten its belt just got a preview.
Projected capital fund spending, which helps Normal provide and improve amenities such as parks, buildings and other public facilities, will drop more than $4 million in the town’s new capital improvement plan, which forecasts spending from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2023.
Belleville News-Democrat: District 189 has the largest payroll of all metro-east schools
Arthur Culver, the superintendent of the East St. Louis School District 189, was paid $244,155 during the previous school year, according to public salary records provided by the district.
The salary is a $6,000 increase from the previous year, putting him at No. 3 out of more than 21,500 salary records acquired by the BND in 2017, the same spot he occupied last year.
The Southern: Marion City Council approves slight increase in tax levy
Marion City Council voted Monday evening to approve a tax levy on corporate and special purpose property taxes of $1,831,152, an increase of 1.86 percent over last year.
The council had a public hearing on the tax levy before the regular council meeting. City Treasurer Steve Hale told those gathered for the hearing that taxes on a home valued at $100,000 will increase $4 per year or about 33 cents per month.