Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Emanuel boosts O'Hare express train, but future foggy
Imagining an express train from downtown to O’Hare International Airport takes some suspension of disbelief.
It’s not quite the effort needed to believe in elves, but enough to get over cynicism nurtured from years of living in Chicago.
Chicago Sun-Times: Love or hate it, Thompson Center has had its day
America went big in the 1980s.
That helps to explain how the James R. Thompson Center in the Loop came to be. Opened in 1985 as the State of Illinois Center under then-Gov. Thompson, the postmodern glass and steel behemoth belongs to a period known for excess.
Fox Illinois: AFSCME Voting Whether To Authorize Strike
AFSCME members are voting on whether to authorize a strike as contract talks with Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration remain stalled.
Sunday was the last day for members to vote.
Chicago Sun-Times: Bring back legislative scholarships? You’re kidding
What can the Legislature do for public higher education after trimming spending for two decades and then watching as university budgets were whacked even harder in the last two years?
Well, it could consider reinstating scandalous “legislative scholarships” — all unfunded, of course. And, in fact, there is a bill pending in Springfield to do just that.
Associated Press: GOP criticizes Illinois comptroller for buying used $32K SUV
Illinois Republicans criticized Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza on Sunday for spending $32,000 on a used SUV when the state is months behind in paying its bills, an attack her office dismissed as an attempt to distract from GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “failure.”
The comptroller’s office, which controls the state checkbook, bought the 2016 Ford Explorer from a central Illinois dealership and paid for it in full in January, shortly after Mendoza took office, the Chicago Sun-Times first reported.
Rockford Register-Star: State lawmaker wants to increase interstate speed limits, again
After succeeding once with legislation that increased Illinois’ interstate speed limits, a state lawmaker wants to go even faster.
Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, is chief sponsor of Senate Bill 2036, which seeks to increase the speed limit from 70 to 75 mph on most interstates outside of Chicago.
Chicago Tribune: Mayoral candidates square off in suburban election primaries
A five-way primary race for the mayor of Evanston has been called as contentious as politics in neighboring Chicago.
In west suburban Aurora, several mayoral candidates have criticized an opponent’s ties to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, accusing the powerful lawmaker of trying to “buy control of the next Aurora mayor.”
Chicago Tribune: School workers in state must know how to handle asthma crises, new law says
Each time Sheri Hurdle sends her 12-year-old daughter, Imanni, off to school, the mother worries that her child’s severe asthma will act up in her absence.
Even with daily medication, a slight change in weather or exposure to dust can leave the child wheezing, hoarse or with uncomfortable chest tightening that requires an inhaler, nebulizer or other treatment. For years, it was up to Hurdle to make sure school staff had the medication and training needed to keep her daughter safe while she attended Walter S. Christopher Elementary School in Chicago.
Decatur Herald & Review: Large buildings add to Decatur's demolition backlog
Vacant houses aren’t the only type of building posing problems for some of Decatur’s neighborhoods.
The city’s demolition list includes a handful of larger buildings that could eat up a significant portion of the funding secured for such purposes.