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Chicago Tribune: Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants a 5-cent bag tax across Illinois. Shoppers aren't buying it.
For more than two years, Chicagoans have struggled with a nagging decision at grocery stores and other retailers – pay 7 cents for a disposable bag, or somehow do without.
Now, if Gov. J.B. Pritzker has his way, shoppers across the state will face a similar choice.
Chicago Sun-Times: Pritzker’s budget and pension plans could irritate bond markets
Gov. J.B. Pritzker offered an ambitious plan to lawmakers this week to pay down the state’s backlog of unpaid bills, slow down payments into the state’s troubled pension systems while at the same time asking them to put together an ambitious, multi-billion-dollar plan to repair the state’s crumbling roads, bridges, airports and college buildings.
But to accomplish that, the state would need to borrow a lot of money. And there are significant questions about how the financial markets would respond to that.
Chicago Tribune: Gov. Pritzker wants more than $1 billion in new revenue. Here's how that might affect you.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget proposal includes several new taxes or tax hikes, part of a spending plan that includes more than $1 billion in new revenues.
WBEZ: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton On Criminal Justice Reform
Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order earlier this month to reexamine Illinois’ criminal justice system, tapping Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton to spearhead the reform effort.
The new program will be called the Justice, Equity and Opportunity (JEO) Initiative, and will have three full-time staff and will be housed under the office of the lieutenant governor.
State Journal-Register: With three members added, tourism board becomes more diverse
With the addition of three appointments requested by aldermen, the city now has a tourism advisory council.
The board, which was created to find ways to increase tourism and promote the city, while also evaluating local applications for grants, was approved by city council members Tuesday.
Chicago Tribune: Elk Grove Village spent $300,000 to sponsor the Bahamas Bowl. It resulted in $12 million in media exposure, the mayor says.
Elk Grove Village’s decision to sponsor a college football bowl game was an “unprecedented” publicity coup and has resulted in some promising leads for new businesses, the village’s mayor said.
The village’s $300,000 fee to sponsor the Bahamas Bowl resulted in $12 million in media exposure, according to an independent audit, Mayor Craig Johnson told the village board Feb. 12. The village has an option to sponsor this year’s contest, which would entitle it to again tie its slogan — “Makers Wanted” — to the bowl game. A decision on whether to exercise that option is expected later this month.
Northwest Herald: 2 former McHenry County Board candidates name Jack Franks as defendant in defamation suit
Accusations that previously appeared on campaign flyers have come into question again with the filing of a second defamation lawsuit.
A pair of former McHenry County Board candidates, Orville Brettman and Ersel Schuster, claimed in a 15-page court filing that they were targets of “humiliating” and “false” claims that were printed and distributed throughout the county before the March primary election.
Daily Herald: U-46 school board hopefuls discuss taxes, school funding
Eight candidates vying for four seats on the Elgin Area School District U-46 school board are divided on whether raising taxes is necessary to maintain programs and provide quality education.
Incumbents Jeanette Ward of West Chicago and Sue Kerr and John Devereux, both of Bartlett, face newcomers Tina Rio of Bartlett, Kathleen Thommes of Elgin, and Eva Porter, Daniel Hancock and Ina Silva-Sobolewski, all of Hanover Park, seeking 4-year terms on April 2.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Road weary: City officials eye doubling local motor fuel tax to fix streets
For some time, Mayor Tari Renner has wanted a motor fuel tax increase to speed up fixing the city’s crumbling streets.
So he is quick to embrace City Manager Tim Gleason’s suggestion to raise the local motor fuel tax from 4 cents to 8 cents per gallon to generate $2.3 million more that could be dedicated to annual road repairs.
Decatur Herald & Review: 'You can do this': Macon County drug court graduates new class of 5
John Ziegler walked into the Macon County Courthouse on Friday nearing the end of his pursuit for a fresh start. With the strike of a gavel, he got what he had been working for.
Ziegler was one of five people who graduated on Friday from the Macon County Hybrid Court. The program combines drug and DUI court services, and allows people with substance abuse issues a chance to avoid jail time by assisting them in finding sobriety and introducing them to a support system.