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Chicago Tribune: Illinois lawmakers to get new top watchdog with 'strong background in sexual harassment'
An ethics expert and former central Illinois judge is set to be the Illinois General Assembly’s next top watchdog, filling a role that came under increased scrutiny amid a flood of sexual harassment complaints at the Capitol since late last year.
Former federal prosecutor Julie Porter was picked for the legislative inspector general job in the fall of last year to deal with a backlog of more than two dozen ethics complaints that piled up in the three years that state lawmakers left the post vacant.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: New Democratic Legislator Pushes Against the Machine
There’s a new Democratic state representative who was just elected in Republican-leaning Naperville. In her campaign, Anne Stava-Murray vowed to vote against Michael Madigan for an 18th term as speaker of the House. She’s only the third Democrat to publicly oppose Madigan in 34 years.
And now she’s feeling the heat for that stance.
Daily Herald: Rules Committee: Where thousands of Illinois bills go to die
Hunters can wear bright pink. Children 2 or younger must be fastened into a rear-facing car seat. Nursing mothers are excused from serving jury duty.
These are just some of the more than 200 new laws that will take effect at the start of the new year. But what about the thousands more that seemingly never got a vote from legislators during the last two-year session?
Hinsdale The Doings: Hinsdale District 86 cuts football, swim teams, marching bands; plans for smaller referendum in April
Friday nights may be quiet next fall at the football stadiums at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South high schools. The lights may be off and the stands may be empty, based on the decisions the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board made Monday night to eliminate the football teams, cheerleaders and marching bands in the 2019-2020 school year.
Swimmers’ hopes of competing in sectional or state championships next year may be dashed, as the board also voted to eliminate the girls and boys swim and water polo teams at both schools. The board said the painful decisions were necessary so the school district could afford pressing infrastructure improvements.
Daily Herald: District 220 to seek voter approval to borrow $185 million
Barrington Area Unit District 220 voters in the spring election will decide whether the district can borrow $185 million for upgrades to schools — a move rooted in a community process that began in 2017.
School board members Tuesday night voted 5-2 to place a request to borrow the cash on the April 2 ballot. Officials say the construction work would address how District 220’s schools should evolve over the next 20 years.
Rockford Register-Star: Belvidere aldermen reject $5.9M tax levy
The City Council may convene a special meeting before 5 p.m. Friday to reconsider an estimated $5.9 million property tax levy for 2018 that aldermen rejected Monday.
Friday’s the deadline for adopting a levy that would help pay for city services for the fiscal year that begins May 1. A measure to approve the levy failed Monday on a 4-4 vote after some aldermen voiced frustration over a 0.5 percentage-point sales tax increase that the City Council approved in August and a gas tax that was approved in July. The two tax hikes are supposed to generate about $1.5 million annually.