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WTTW Chicago Tonight: Illinois Lawmakers Debate Financial Steps Amid Pritzker Deficit Report
As new Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker prepares to make his first budget address next week, his deputy governor, Dan Hynes, today released a study called, “Digging Out: The Rauner Wreckage Report.” It estimates a $3.2 billion budget deficit, a looming $9.2 billion pension bill due next year and the state’s unpaid backlog of bills – also in the billions.
So how can lawmakers and the governor tackle the state’s overwhelming financial burdens? A progressive income tax is one of the ideas being floated, but that would require an amendment to the state’s constitution.
Peoria Journal-Star: Local business owners warn of consequences from minimum wage hike
With an increase in Illinois’ minimum wage apparently headed for approval, Springfield business owners joined colleagues from around downstate Monday to warn that a big increase could hurt downstate businesses.
At a Statehouse news conference, they made a plea that downstate Illinois be spared having to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. The statewide rate is now $8.25 an hour.
State Journal-Register: Pritzker names Lt. Gov. Stratton to lead criminal justice reform initiative
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday named Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton to lead a new office that will coordinate the administration’s criminal justice reform initiatives, especially prison reform.
In an executive order, Pritzker established what he’s calling the “Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative,” or JEO, which will centralize and coordinate criminal justice reforms across a number of different state agencies, with particular emphasis on the state’s prison system and sentencing guidelines.
Chicago Sun-Times: Van Dyke’s sentence challenged by attorney general, special prosecutor
Nearly a month after a Cook County judge sent Jason Van Dyke to prison for killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, it turns out the legal battle over the former cop’s fate may not be over.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Special Prosecutor Joseph McMahon filed a petition with the Illinois Supreme Court on Monday seeking a new sentencing hearing in the criminal case that has already roiled Chicago for years. Last month, Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan gave Van Dyke 81 months behind bars.
WBEZ: Chicago’s Police Suicide Rate Is Higher Than National Average. What’s Being Done About It?
In September 2017, Chicago Police Officer Regine Perpignan was hospitalized for depression, relatives said.
Perpignan was a 26-year veteran of the department. She was 54, with two daughters and a granddaughter.
Chicago Sun-Times: City files new lawsuit against 27 e-cigarette retailers
The City of Chicago filed a voluminous lawsuit against more than two dozen companies that sell e-cigarette vapor liquid and accessories, alleging their online retail and marketing operations violate the city’s municipal code by targeting and selling to minors.
“Chicago’s young people are our future, not Big Tobacco’s future customers,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “We will continue to take aggressive steps to keep our children free from the dangers of addiction, protect our residents and fight for a healthier Chicago.”
Chicago Sun-Times: State lawmakers turn attention to marijuana
Attention at the Statehouse is expected to begin focusing on one of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s top priorities — legalizing recreational marijuana — with the deadline for lawmakers to introduce new bills on Friday.
Two key Chicago Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, have met with interested groups around Illinois and are expected to introduce legislation soon.
Champaign News-Gazette: Recreational-pot proponents riding wave of support
Earlier this month, in an effort to slow down legislation to legalize marijuana in Illinois, Catholic bishops spoke out against the proposal.
Citing marijuana’s addictive qualities, its status as a “gateway” toward the use of more serious illegal substances, its links to mental-health problems by heavy users and the danger of commercializing the sale of such a potent substance, the religious leaders issued a broad appeal.
Rockford Register-Star: Sheriff threatens to sue Winnebago County Board
Sheriff Gary Caruana may lead a nearly two-year-old budget brawl with the Winnebago County Board to a new battleground in a matter of weeks: a courtroom.
The county’s top cop said he is prepared to sue the board for interfering with the daily operation of his department.