Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Unable to pass own spending plan, Rauner to weigh in on Senate version during budget speech
After staying away from a controversial Senate budget blueprint for the last month, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday is expected to nod toward the stalled framework as a potential way forward to break state government’s unprecedented stalemate.
The Republican governor offered a preview of his third budget speech, which he’ll give at noon at the Capitol, during an administration-controlled Facebook Live appearance Tuesday. Rauner said he plans to weigh in on the bipartisan measure that’s being crafted in the Senate to try to “get a final deal done.”
Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Frustrated’ Rauner to push for ‘grand bargain’ in budget address
Calling himself the “most frustrated person in the state,” Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday offered a glimpse into his third budget address — saying he’ll try to push along the Illinois Senate’s “grand bargain” plan.
Noting the high-pressure stakes of the plan – which includes a temporary property tax freeze, an income tax hike and changes in pension reform — Rauner spoke on Facebook Live to urge senators to “stay strong and do the right thing for the long-term for the people of Illinois.”
Crain's Chicago Business: Rauner set for his most important speech ever
In the morning, a close ally publicly blasted him for preparing to cave on taxes. In the afternoon, Chicago Public Schools sued for alleged racial discrimination. And in between, Gov. Bruce Rauner showed a little leg on Facebook Live, saying he’s finally going to get specific about what he needs for a new state budget deal—at least a little specific.
That was the setup yesterday as Rauner today prepares to deliver what is the most important speech of his tenure, one that will indicate whether hopes of compromise finally will move forward or die a most inglorious death, cursing Illinois with two more years of fiscal warfare.
NBC 5 Chicago: Rauner's 3rd Budget Likely to be Shelved Like First 2
Gov. Bruce Rauner faces the difficult task Wednesday of outlining his third budget proposal to a Legislature that shelved his first two.
The first-term Republican is scheduled to address a joint session of the General Assembly to outline spending priorities for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Rockford Register-Star: Lock 'em in until Illinois lawmakers come up with a budget
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first words when he steps to the podium to give his budget address Wednesday should be directed toward the security guards.
“Lock the doors.”
Peoria Journal-Star: How does Madigan dodge darts of candidate's criticism?
Chris Kennedy — yes, of that Kennedy family, son of RFK — was in Peoria last week to announce he’ll be seeking the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor next year. Statewide candidates and elected officials are always welcome. Appreciate the attention. Gov. Bruce Rauner stopped by, too.
Unsurprisingly, Kennedy was critical of Rauner here, saying the latter has “taken a narrow government budget problem and turned it into a statewide government crisis … The fact that we don’t have a budget is totally on Gov. Rauner.”
Associated Press: Rauner to push funding 200 more state police cadets to patrol Chicago expressways
A Chicago toddler was shot and killed on Tuesday in what police suspect was a “gang hit” on a man in a vehicle with her, just a few days after two young girls were shot in the head. It marked the latest spasm of violence in a city struggling to contain such attacks.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said police suspect the man, a well-known gang member with an extensive criminal history, was the target of the shooting that also left a woman wounded.
Chicago Tribune: Rauner legal team resists AG Madigan's move to withhold state paychecks
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s lawyers have filed formal opposition to Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s request that a Downstate judge lift an order that’s allowed state employees to be paid despite the lack of a budget, arguing her legal move is aimed at creating an “artificial emergency.”
The administration wants the court order to remain in place, saying the attorney general’s contention that the state does not have the authority to cut paychecks without a budget in place ignores numerous other legal avenues that have kept salaries flowing during the record-long impasse.
Chicago Tribune: $9 million cut from domestic violence programs, Rauner administration blames 'confusion'
Illinois officials waited more than five months to alert dozens of domestic violence programs that their funding had been eliminated, an omission that has forced layoffs and other cuts at some facilities, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
No one knows — or is saying — why approximately $9 million in state funding for 62 programs that provide shelter, counseling and advocacy for victims of domestic abuse was left out of a six-month budget that took effect July 1.
Chicago Tribune: Rauner cracks wise into hot mic before Facebook Live appearance
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s more frequent use of Facebook Live as a communication tool to go around the media also carries some risks, like comments that can be picked up by a hot microphone before the show begins.
On Tuesday, when some technical problems cropped up prior to putting the feed on the governor’s Facebook page, a hot mic on the governor’s state website revealed that Rauner added a “Happy Valentine’s Day” to his public remarks after an aide told him the greeting would make him more human.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago school board sues state, alleges 'separate and unequal' funding
Moving a long-running political battle into the courtroom, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school board sued Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois State Board of Education on Tuesday, accusing the state of employing “separate and unequal systems of funding for public education in Illinois.”
Chicago Public Schools officials described the legal move as the “last stand” for a cash-strapped district that’s “on the brink,” while deepening what had been a war of words between Emanuel’s school system and Rauner’s administration over education funding.
Associated Press: Exelon rivals sue to block billions of dollars in state subsidies
Competitors of Chicago-based Exelon Corp. filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday opposing legislation that provides billions of dollars in subsidies to the power giant.
The legislation approved at the Statehouse in December provides as much as $235 million per year to Exelon to keep unprofitable nuclear plants running in Clinton and the Quad Cities. More than 4 million customers of power-distributing subsidiaries ComEd and Ameren will pay more to finance the plan.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago's downtown apartment construction boom may be nearing peak
The massive apartment construction boom in downtown Chicago is starting to show signs of saturation, and rents will likely start to decline by fall, Appraisal Research Counselors reported Tuesday.
Rents fell about 14.7 percent during the fourth quarter to $2.89 a square foot for the top-quality, or Class A, apartments and to $2.52 for the Class B apartments that are considered to be the next rung down. But for the full year, rents rose 2.85 percent for Class A and 4.13 percent for Class B apartments.
Chicago Tribune: What's the case for Emanuel's proposed rail service to O'Hare?
Mayor Richard J. Daley engineered Chicago’s most prolific era of massive construction projects. Generous influxes of federal money helped build this city’s runways and expressways. Subsequent mayors have yearned to provide the same sense of ever-expanding infrastructure — and to prompt the hiring of Chicago construction workers by the thousands. Last week, speaking to an audience at a West Side union hall, Mayor Rahm Emanuel revived talk of one such potential project: high-speed rail service from the city’s downtown to O’Hare International Airport. “To connect people to O’Hare even faster, we’re going to embark on a project that has been imagined and discussed for decades, but is essential for our city’s future,” Emanuel said.
We approach Emanuel’s exhortation with an open mind but also with fundamental questions, starting with: Why, exactly, is this service to and from O’Hare essential to Chicago’s future? Would customer demand generate sufficient patronage to justify the comparatively high fare? Judged against existing (and potentially improved) Blue Line service, by how many minutes could rail service actually shorten a traveler’s trip door to door? As you mull that, bear in mind that riders who now can board those CTA trains at multiple stations across central Chicago presumably would lose time traveling — via CTA or auto or on foot — between their Loop locales and a single downtown train station.
Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel’s surprise pitch: Overhaul south leg of CTA Green Line
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday he used his first meeting with President Donald Trump’s senior staff to make a surprise push to rebuild the CTA’s Green Line.
Last week, Emanuel announced plans to build a new Green Line station at Damen and Lake to fill a 1.5-mile gap in the CTA system and serve a burgeoning residential and business area, students at the new Malcolm X College and fans attending events at the United Center.
Chicago Tribune: Emanuel: Feds will be in town next week to continue Police Department work
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday said federal officials will soon come to Chicago to continue work with the Police Department after a major report last month found systemic problems at the department.
Emanuel met Monday in Washington with senior members of President Donald Trump’s administration, among them new Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Asked Tuesday whether a federal consent decree for the Chicago Police Department came up in their conversation, the mayor didn’t say.
Chicago Tribune: Suit alleges IPRA investigator leaked confidential records on Chicago cop
Two years into a bitter child custody battle, Chicago police Officer Emily Hock said she became fearful after her son’s father seemed to have an uncanny knowledge of her daily work schedule.
Hock said she had her personal car swept for GPS trackers and even asked for an investigation to be opened into who was accessing her work records after her former boyfriend, Kristopher Weiss, used Chicago police jargon to refer to obscure internal reports.
Peoria Journal-Star: Bid questions raised at Peoria City Council
Questions about bids were raised at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
Walter Deemie, the owner of River City Demolition, questioned the scoring system the city uses in selecting a contractor to knock down abandoned homes.
State Journal-Register: TIF funds should be used only for their designated purposes
The renderings for the Illinois Realtors’ proposed Bicentennial Plaza look beautiful.
If the $2.6 million project comes to fruition, the Jackson Street corridor between Fifth and Sixth streets would become a landscaped pedestrian plaza available for community and civic events. There would be green space along with plenty of room for social gatherings.