Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Who's watching the watcher? How local governments fall prey to big thefts
Small town trust. Big time theft. Again?
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office has announced the arrest of an official in rural Kankakee County, Essex Township Clerk Traci Freytag, on allegations she spent taxpayer money on personal expenses. She faces charges of theft of government property, financial institution fraud and two counts of official misconduct. If convicted, she could face up to 15 years in prison.
WBEZ: Rauner Has Plan To Keep Government Running In Case Of Strike
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner said that if state workers go on strike, he has a plan to keep essential government services running. However, Rauner’s office hasn’t said exactly what those essential services are, and his office didn’t immediately respond when WBEZ posed that question today. The largest union representing state workers – AFSCME – has voted to authorize a strike. No strike date has been announced, and AFSCME said the strike vote should encourage Rauner to resume contract negotiations. Rauner said he’s done talking.
Chicago Sun-Times: Rauner sales pitch: Thompson Center ‘noisy … smelly’ — must go
“It’s noisy. It’s a little bit smelly.”
That was part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s pitch Friday for the sale of the 32-year-old Thompson Center.
Chicago Sun-Times: Plan for higher speed limit begs for a speed bump
State Sen. Jim Oberweis is always in such a rush. He runs for governor. He runs for the U.S. Senate.
Life for Jim is a superhighway, and not just metaphorically.
Chicago Tribune: Metra CEO Don Orseno says he's retiring at end of year
Metra CEO Don Orseno, a 43-year rail veteran credited with helping restore stability to the agency after years of turmoil, said on Friday that he plans to retire in December.
The announcement comes two months after the Metra board handed him a $28,000 raise — boosting his salary to $300,000-plus — though agency officials said this would not increase his pension.
Chicago Sun-Times: Six more lobbyists face fines for using Emanuel’s private emails
Six more clout-heavy lobbyists face hefty fines in the continuing fallout from the massive information dump that ended Emanuel’s legal battle to keep 2,700 of his private emails concealed from public view.
One week after slapping former Uber executive David Plouffe with a record, $90,000 fine for emailing Emanuel without registering as a lobbyist, the Chicago Board of Ethics issued “probable cause letters” to five more unregistered lobbyists and the companies they represent.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Public Schools restores $15 million from spending freeze to hardest-hit schools
Chicago Public Schools will refund $15 million to schools hardest-hit by a recent spending freeze, a move that deepens the district’s budget gap and blunts criticism that cuts disproportionately affected schools with mostly poor and minority students.
The reversal by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school system comes two days after 16 members of a CPS advisory committee for Latino students resigned to protest the effects of the budget freeze, which was part of an effort to make up for $215 million in unrealized state aid.
Chicago Tribune: Despite city tweaks, court extends order blocking Chicago Airbnb rules
Chicago is facing another delay in rolling out some of the more controversial aspects of its new regulations on Airbnb and other home-sharing platforms.
Aldermen approved a change to the rules Wednesday that altered the trajectory of two lawsuits challenging the home-sharing ordinance. Under the change, city inspectors would need a search warrant or subpoena to access the lists of guest information that hosts must keep.
Chicago Sun-Times: Rid cop contracts of loopholes that protect misdeeds
It is no secret that a series of indefensible provisions in Chicago’s contracts with police unions make it hard to weed out cops who engage in misconduct.
As the city negotiates new police contracts, it is imperative that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council insist on a thorough rewriting. Unnecessary rules that protect bad cops finally must go.
Chicago Tribune: Challengers cite Ald. King's political advantages, say 4th Ward needs change
Planted in the front lawn of former President Barack Obama’s Kenwood house are a pair of campaign signs for interim Ald. Sophia King, an illustration of the high-level backing she has going into Tuesday’s 4th Ward special election.
King was endorsed by Obama. She was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who once held the South Side ward’s seat on the City Council, has gone door to door to campaign with King.
WBEZ: Civil Rights Investigation Into Cicero Schools Not Its First
Cicero teacher Sandra Davila quit her job in December to draw attention to what she considers deep problems in the school district’s bilingual program.
Her training didn’t match the curriculum, she said, and the curriculum didn’t seem to match the goals of the bilingual program. She was pushed to teach without the proper manuals and materials, Davila added.
Chicago Tribune: Judge rules against couple in Park Ridge treehouse case
A Park Ridge family trying to save their backyard “treehouse” has lost a legal fight against the city.
Cook County Judge Celia Gamrath ruled Feb. 9 to uphold the Park Ridge Zoning Board of Appeals decision that the wooden play structure and elevated walkway built in the backyard of a home on the 900 block of North Western Avenue in 2015 is not allowed under the terms of the city’s zoning ordinance.
Chicago Sun-Times: Former Lake County coroner pleads not guilty to perjury
Former Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd, who has clashed over the years with Lake County law enforcement investigators, pleaded not guilty Friday to five counts of perjury.
Rudd, 70, is accused of having nominating petitions with signatures of people who were dead or who later claimed they didn’t sign when he was seeking re-election in 2016. Rudd dropped out of the Democratic primary after it was determined he didn’t have enough valid signatures on his nominating petitions.
Belleville News-Democrat: Political laser tag in Belleville misses; tax breaks look like a hit
Let’s make a deal: I’ll hand over $3.36 million up front, then another $30,000 per year. You give me $201,000, or maybe less, but you don’t really give me the money — I just don’t pay you that money atop the $3.36 million and the $30,000 a year.
Do we have a deal?
Belleville City Council members overwhelmingly said “yes” to the owners of The EDGE entertainment complex. City Clerk Dallas Cook, who wants to be mayor, said he would have said “no” if he had a vote on the matter.
The Southern: Marion VA official: Center spared from much of Trump's hiring freeze
The Marion Veterans Affairs Medical Center is permitted to actively recruit workers for medical personnel positions despite President Donald Trump’s 90-day federal hiring freeze, the office has confirmed.
In one of his first acts as president, Trump on Jan. 22 signed an executive order freezing hiring for all new and existing federal jobs, except those in public safety, national security and the military.