Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Food stamp benefits disrupted for thousands as state launches new eligibility system
Tens of thousands of Illinois households aren’t receiving federal food stamp benefits leading up to the holidays because of problems with a state computer system.
In 2013, the state’s Department of Human Services began rolling out a new computer system to administer entitlement benefits, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, more commonly known as SNAP or food stamps.
Chicago Sun-Times: Rahm’s trust a bust? Fails to raise a dime but has cost taxpayers $5M
Since the J. Geils Band left the stage on Dec. 19, 1981, Chicago’s fabled Uptown Theatre has remained dark, waiting for someone with deep pockets to pay for a massive renovation.
Jerry Mickelson, the legendary concert promoter who owns the theater, thought he’d found an angel: the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, a not-for-profit agency Mayor Rahm Emanuel created with great fanfare five years ago to find private investors willing to bankroll public improvement projects.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Restaurants, Advocates Prep for New Food Allergy Law Starting Jan. 1
Whether they know it or not, some restaurant managers starting next month must be trained in food allergy awareness and safety.
But not all of the affected restaurants are prepared or even aware of the 2018 law, according to Julie Campbell, president of the Illinois Food Allergy Education Association, a nonprofit dedicated to advocacy and education on food allergy issues in the state. (The group was not involved in crafting the legislation or training program.)
State Journal-Register: Illinois’ $2 billion, high-speed rail project in final phase
Amtrak passenger service at speeds up to 90 mph should begin in the summer of 2018 with Illinois’ seven-year, nearly $2 billion high-speed rail project in its final months.
Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said in an interview this week with The State Journal-Register that much-promoted speeds up to 110 mph between St. Louis and Chicago should follow in 2019, pending installation of automated train-control and detection technology required for faster trains.
Chicago Tribune: High-ranking Cook County prosecutor resigns after inquiry into case referrals to former employer
top member of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office resigned Friday after an internal review found he had referred business to his old law firm, allowing it to charge up to $315 an hour above the county’s standard rate, according to an official and county records.
Chaka Patterson, a 49-year-old former partner at the Chicago offices of the global law firm Jones Day, became head of the county prosecutor’s office’s civil division in February just months after State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s 2016 election victory. The Civil Actions Bureau defends nearly all civil lawsuits filed against the county. As head of the division, Patterson was able to refer cases in which the office had a conflict — such as if a judge were being sued — to outside counsel.
Chicago Tribune: State panel to examine special education practices at Chicago Public Schools
The Illinois State Board of Education has launched an unprecedented inquiry into special education practices at Chicago Public Schools, which have met with fierce criticism since a 2016 overhaul.
The inquiry will “address the central question of whether there is a policy environment in CPS preventing students from being served,” state schools Superintendent Tony Smith said in a statement issued Friday.
Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel unveils jobs program for ‘disconnected’ youth
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday showcased an innovative corporate partnership tailor-made to tackle a problem at the heart of Chicago’s crime wave: the fact that 60,000 young people are “disconnected” from school and work.
The program is called, “Beyond the Diploma.” It calls for Walgreens, CDW, Freedman Seating and Rush University Medical Center to provide “jobs with career pathways” for 1,125 high school graduates living in Chicago between the ages of 17 and 24.
Northwest Herald: Algonquin Township legal bills top $312,000
Lawyers representing elected officials have billed Algonquin Township more than $312,000 in the past six months, and legal costs are expected to climb, with taxpayers footing the bills.
That’s more than the $299,000 the township has in its general assistance fund to help low-income residents meet basic living requirements.
Peoria Journal-Star: Peoria County voters to decide on auditor position
Voters in Peoria County will soon get to decide if the County Auditor position should be elected or appointed.
The issue was approved at Thursday’s Peoria County Board meeting by a 16-2 vote with Brad Harding and Brian Elsasser the dissenters.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Butler seeks return of assets in arena theft case
The owner of the management firm formerly in charge of the city-owned arena has asked that bank assets frozen since his arrest on theft charges be released.
In one of several motions filed by defense lawyer Steven Beckett, John Y. Butler argues that the state improperly seized several checking and savings accounts of his and his sons as part of a search warrant tied to his indictment on multiple counts of theft, money laundering and other criminal offenses.
State Journal-Register: Mayor defends size, cost of Springfield police, fire depts.
With Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder seeking solutions to the city’s budget woes, some residents offered a proposal at Friday’s Citizens Club of Springfield public policy forum: cut back on the police and fire departments, which take up the lion’s share of expenses.
Langfelder, who was the featured speaker at Friday’s event, disagreed, saying much of the departments’ budgets were swamped with increasing pension payments.
Belleville News-Democrat: East St. Louis debt rounds corner to wind up back where it was
Thirty years ago, East St. Louis was in financial meltdown with $35 million in debt, trash piling up thanks to unpaid bills and paydays being missed because firefighters owed $600,000 in back pay got city accounts frozen. Massive police and firefighter layoffs were discussed and a lawsuit after a jail inmate was beaten cost the city the deed to City Hall.
It was the era of Mayor Carl Officer and attorney Eric Vickers. Bombast accompanied every financial dispute.
The Southern: SIUC faculty, students speak out against restructuring plan at Board of Trustees meeting
Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s impending academic reorganization became the focal point of the SIU Board of Trustees meeting in Carbondale Thursday, despite appearing nowhere on the agenda.
During a fiery public-comment period, several speakers argued against SIUC Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s plan to restructure the university by eliminating its 42 departments and housing programs in newly created schools.