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Chicago Tribune: Union authorizes strike, Rauner doesn't budge
The largest state employee union on Thursday made its latest move in a years-long chess match against Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, announcing its members had taken the unprecedented step of authorizing a strike.
That doesn’t mean state workers will walk off the job — union leaders made a point to say they first want to exhaust “every possible recourse.” Instead, the labor group hopes to use the leverage of having a favorable strike vote in their pocket to bring Rauner back to the bargaining table to restart negotiations over a contract to replace one that expired in July 2015.
Chicago Tribune: State workers should embrace the 40-hour week
There it was again Thursday, in the second paragraph of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s statement in response to the passage of a strike authorization vote by members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents nearly 40,000 state employees:
“AFSCME leaders would rather strike than work 40 hours a week before earning overtime,” said the statement. “They want to earn overtime after working just 37.5 hours per week.”
News-Gazette: AFSCME's tough choice
To strike or not to strike — that’s the question haunting members of the state’s largest employee union.
The ballots have been cast, but the results of a strike-authorization vote by thousands of unionized state employees have yet to be released.
They are expected to be announced today. Also forthcoming will be a decision by a three-judge panel from the Fourth District Court in Springfield as to whether the appeals court will lift a lower court’s order barring the state’s Department of Central Management Services from implementing the state’s final contract offer.
State Journal-Register: Economic stakes high for Springfield in labor showdown
The Springfield economy has performed better than most in Illinois since the Great Recession, but the capital city is among areas with the most to lose from a budget deadlock dragging toward the end of its 20th month.
Now, the possibility of a strike by members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is likely to add to the challenge.
Chicago Sun-Times: Senator’s law firm cashes in on state deals
State Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, is one of the most powerful people in Springfield, talked about as a possible future president of the Illinois Senate.
He’s also a partner in a Chicago law firm that’s been paid more than $9 million in the past five years for doing legal work for state agencies, government workers’ pension funds and local governments whose citizens he represents in the Senate, a Chicago Sun-Times examination has found.
Chicago Tribune: Rauner calls his demands on Senate budget plan 'reasonable'
Gov. Bruce Rauner defended his suggestions on how Senate lawmakers can alter their budget proposal to win his support, saying his ideas are “reasonable.”
The Republican governor offered up potential changes during his annual budget address last week, touting the evolving Senate proposal as a way to break the state’s unprecedented budget impasse. But some Democratic lawmakers criticized the move, saying it could derail sensitive talks.
Chicago Sun-Times: Madigan forms school-funding panel; Rauner doesn’t object
Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, D-Chicago, is forming yet another panel to explore the contentious issue of education funding in Illinois, saying a panel created by his political nemesis, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, left unanswered questions on the matter.
The Rauner-created panel, the Illinois School Funding Reform Commission, recently released a series of recommendations about school funding — a key issue for the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools and other school districts throughout the state.
Chicago Tribune: Rauner: OK on Obama Day, but no one gets to skip work
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said Thursday that Illinois should take a day each year to honor former Democratic President Barack Obama, but it shouldn’t come with a day off work.
Rauner’s comments came in response to a bill that would designate Aug. 4, Obama’s birthday, as a state holiday. The measure seeks to put the first African-American president among the ranks of Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, who also have state holidays in their names. State government is closed for business on state holidays.
Crain's Chicago Business: How Illinois lawmakers have gamed their pensions
When Barack Obama was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 he made what a financial planner might have considered at the time a rash and costly decision.
Just two days after that November election, the then 43-year-old Obama quit his old job as an Illinois state senator even though his new federal gig didn’t officially start for weeks. Had he hung on just one more month, Obama would have qualified to start collecting his Illinois pension when he turned 55 last August and, coincidentally, was preparing to retire from his latest job as leader of the free world.
CBS 2 Chicago: Chicago Bag Fee Is Double Tax, Critic Says
Paying for bags in Chicago is now the law, but some tax advocates think consumers may be overpaying.
Chris Lentino from the Illinois Policy Institute described the “bag fee” as a double tax after examining a receipt from Walgreens.
Chicago Tribune: 4th Ward candidate under scrutiny of lawyer licensing agency
As Ebony Lucas runs in the special election for 4th Ward alderman, she’s billing herself as a real estate lawyer “fighting for distressed homeowners and condominium associations.”
Public documents detailing that work, as well as her foray into real estate investing, show that authorities have questioned the first-time candidate’s honesty and conduct.
Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel saves $4.25M by refinancing Michael Reese debt — again
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has lightened the load of a financial albatross — saving taxpayers $4.25 million — by refinancing $72.8 million in debt used to purchase the former Michael Reese Hospital site for an Olympic Village that was never built.
Shortly after taking office, Emanuel refinanced the Michael Reese debt to save $14.5 million. A fixed interest rate of 7.5 percent was reduced to 5.95 percent.
Chicago Sun-Times: Feds may be ‘moving forward’ with CPD consent decree
Is the clock ticking on the city getting a licking?
Activist priest Michael Pfleger tells Sneed he was contacted by the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday, which “seemed to be moving forward” on a consent decree outlining mandated changes to Chicago Police Department practices.
WBEZ: Experts: Promotion Of Cop With 90 Misconduct Complaints Raises ‘Red Flags’
Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson’s explanation for putting an officer with 90 misconduct complaints in command of a busy West Side district is not sitting well with experts appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to study the city’s police-accountability system.
“The number of complaints here certainly raises some red flags,” said former federal prosecutor Sergio Acosta, tapped by the mayor to serve on the Police Accountability Task Force, which last year issued a scathing report about officer discipline.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Chicago Highlighted as the US Railroad Capital by Trains Magazine
The numerous freight and passenger trains coursing through Chicago define the city as the nation’s railroad hub.
Trains Magazine recently dedicated an entire collector’s edition issue to the city’s rail legacy.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Chicago River Cleanup Efforts Bolstered by Phosphorus Agreement
Spring training has begun. It won’t be long before the Chicago Riverwalk is full of people – and kayaks and canoes are back on the water. This year it might even be possible to swim in the Chicago River. That’s how much the water quality has improved.
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and environmental groups are now working together to limit the amount of phosphorus in the river. Phosphorus produces river-killing algae and green slime.
Chicago Tribune: Sears cuts 130 corporate jobs, mostly at Hoffman Estates HQ
Sears Holdings laid off about 130 corporate employees Thursday, part of a restructuring plan aimed at cutting at least $1 billion in costs this year.
The 130 employees worked in various roles at Sears’ corporate offices, mostly in its Hoffman Estates headquarters, Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite said.
Chicago Tribune: Consulting firm KPMG announces 500 new jobs in Chicago office by 2020
KPMG is buffing up its Chicago office, with plans to add 500 new jobs by 2020, the company announced Thursday.
The Big Four accounting firm expects all three of its audit, tax and advisory functions to grow, said Pat Canning, managing partner of the Chicago office. That includes its practices surrounding cybersecurity, mergers and acquisitions, and cognitive automation, or advising on how to use bots.
Decatur Herald & Review: Ride-sharing drives into mixed reception from Decatur's business community
Uber’s drive into Decatur was greeted with everything from concern to applause by the city’s business community.
Mike Boliard, owner of Decatur City Taxi and Delivery, was most definitely in the concerned camp. He has long-anticipated the arrival of the ride-sharing service and said he has repeatedly asked Decatur city officials how they intended to handle it.
Decatur Herald & Review: Lyft to become second ride-sharing service in Decatur
A second ride-sharing service is set to launch later today in Decatur as part of a nationwide expansion.
Lyft announced plans to make its launch at noon, a day after Uber became available in the city. The launch of Lyft, which was founded in 2012, means those in Decatur will be able to request what is marketed as a safe, affordable ride with the touch of a button.
State Journal-Register: TIF doesn’t stand for ‘Take It Freely’
Springfield city officials seem to think that TIF now stands for “Take It Freely” given the way they keep proposing less-than-ideal ways to spend funds in the downtown Tax Increment Finance district.
First, there was the mayor’s proposal to use TIF money to purchase the former National Museum of Surveying in the Old State Capitol Plaza and open the Center for Human Relations. Then the Illinois Realtors Association asked for $1 million in TIF funds to be used toward its $2.6 million Bicentennial Plaza project, which would turn the Jackson Street corridor between Fifth and Sixth streets into a landscaped pedestrian plaza available for community and civic events.