Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Herald-News: Batinick files bill to end ComEd subsidy amid federal probe
State Rep. Mark Batinick filed legislation on Thursday that he said would deny ComEd a state subsidy, amid investigations into the company’s lobbying practices.
The bill would revoke aspects of the comprehensive state energy bill passed in 2016, which Batinick, R-Plainfield, said he was opposed to at the time.
Chicago Tribune: Two state workers out at DCFS over AJ Freund case
State officials confirmed Friday that two child welfare professionals who were recommended for dismissal for their handling of a hotline investigation into AJ Freund four months before the 5-year-old boy’s tragic death are no longer employed with the agency.
Carlos Acosta and his supervisor, Andrew Polovin, are no longer state employees following a lengthy internal disciplinary process, according to a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. He declined to say whether the men were fired or voluntarily quit.
The Center Square: Report: As the nation’s homes gain equity, Illinois’ still lay stagnant
Illinois is still dealing with a recession hangover due to a mix of mortgage-friendly laws, high property taxes, and population declines, per a new analysis.
Q4 of 2019 marks 10 years since the low-point of the national housing crisis. Nearly one in four mortgaged homes had negative equity, meaning the market value of the property is worth less than the value owed in mortgage.
Chicago Sun-Times: No ambulance fee approval — yet; No problem, Lightfoot’s budget team says
Chicago is still waiting for the federal approval Mayor Lori Lightfoot claimed was imminent for a $163 million increase in ambulance fees, but it will come, averting the need for a “midyear correction” in her $11.6 billion budget, top mayoral aides said Friday.
Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett and Budget Director Susie Park portrayed the ambulance fee delay as routine for a large bureaucracy. They’re certain it has nothing to do with the mayor’s repeated attacks on President Donald Trump.
Chicago Tribune: CPS adopts new policy on timeouts and physical restraints following Tribune, ProPublica Illinois investigation
The Chicago Board of Education has updated its policy on physical restraints and timeouts to comply with recent emergency action by the Illinois State Board of Education following a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois investigation into the misuse of seclusion and isolation in public schools statewide.
The board voted unanimously Wednesday to update the policy, which states that timeout and physical restraints cannot be used as punishment and may only be used for therapeutic purposes or as a way of keeping a safe learning environment.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Police Board suspends sergeant for 6 months for shooting unarmed teen with developmental disabilities
A unanimous police disciplinary panel has suspended a Chicago police sergeant for six months without pay after he admitted that he unjustifiably used deadly force when he shot an unarmed teen with developmental disabilities in an off-duty incident two years ago.
The 7-0 decision by the Chicago Police Board on Thursday night short-circuited the usual process that takes months to play out as administrative charges are filed and hearings on the evidence are held.
Crain's Chicago Business: Tussle over who can sell marijuana here goes down to the wire
After Black Caucus Chair Jason Ervin, 28th, moved to force a vote on his proposal to halt recreational marijuana sales in Chicago until July 1, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s floor leader says he’s working on a legislative middle ground.
Ervin filed what’s known as a Rule 41 notice with the City Clerk this week, stating his intent to ask all 50 aldermen to vote on his ordinance at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. It’s the last scheduled meeting of the year and two weeks shy of the start of recreational sales statewide.
Northwest Herald: McHenry Township Board moving forward with study on township elimination costs
The McHenry Township Board on Thursday agreed to move forward on a possible study related to the financial impact of township elimination.
The board met to discuss a host of agenda items including the possible hiring of Virginia-based Urban Analytics Inc. to complete a cost study analysis on the subject before the March primary, when voters will have a chance to decide whether McHenry Township and its road district should be eliminated and all of its assets and responsibilities transferred to McHenry County through a binding referendum question.
Chicago Tribune: Head shops come out of the shadows as weed becomes legal
Head shops, once a business catering to the hippie counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, are getting a second life.
The shops, which sell bongs, pipes and other smoking paraphernalia, never really went away. The industry has been evolving quietly for decades as new forms of smoking — like vaping — became popular and women increasingly patronized the shops, experts say.
Northwest Herald: Marengo City Council to vote on property tax levy extension
The Marengo City Council will vote Monday on a property tax levy of about $1.65 million, which represents an estimated 4% increase over the city’s 2018 tax extension.
The council adopted a resolution determining this levy amount at its Nov. 25 meeting. The projected property tax extension amount for 2019 is about $1.62 million, a 2.17% increase over the 2018 extension.