Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Democratic panel formed amid sexual harassment scandal says it will be independent of Madigan
The three Democrats heading up a panel appointed by House Speaker Michael Madigan on the future of women in the party said the group will be independent of the state party organization that the longtime speaker chairs.
State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline and state Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana also said they expect “the full cooperation of the Democratic Party of Illinois in working to implement our recommendations.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Rauner backs state helping to pay for Obama Center road work in Jackson Park
Gov. Bruce Rauner said on Monday he supports the state helping to finance some of the $175 million needed to rework roadways in and around the future Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.
Last Friday, Chicago’s City Hall for the first time put a price tag on the work and identified as a potential funding source the state of Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: University of Illinois graduate student employees go on strike
University of Illinois graduate student workers went on strike Monday after last-minute negotiations over the weekend failed to end a protracted contract dispute that has lasted nearly a year.
Leaders of the Graduate Employees’ Organization, representing around 2,700 graduate and teaching assistants on the Urbana-Champaign campus, set up picket lines at buildings around the Main Quad starting at 8 a.m. Hundreds of union members and supporters then gathered for a boisterous rally in front of Foellinger Auditorium and marched around the quad before returning to the picket lines for the afternoon.
Chicago Sun-Times: Old Post Office gets a $100 million Class L property tax break
Five months ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel toured the renovated lobby and dusty guts of Chicago’s Old Main Post Office and touted the building as a potential home for Amazon’s second North American headquarters.
On Monday, the giant hulk of a building that hovers over the Eisenhower Expressway got a major boost — whether or not it or Chicago wins the Amazon sweepstakes.
Daily Herald: Tollway chief talks more tolls and Route 53 extension
The Illinois Tollway is ready and willing to assist with new infrastructure or adopt existing freeways as the federal government considers easing restrictions on interstate tolling, Chairman Robert Schillerstrom said Monday.
President Donald Trump’s recently released infrastructure program recommends allowing states more flexibility to levy tolls on interstates and easing restrictions on the use of toll revenues.
Northwest Herald: Some Algonquin Township officials defend former Highway Commissioner Bob Miller's bonus payouts
Amid scrutiny of more than a quarter of a million dollars in unexplained bonuses distributed inside the Algonquin Township Highway Department, some township officials are defending a $250 payment Clerk Karen Lukasik received from former Highway Commissioner Bob Miller months before she won election.
“I have no problem with that money,” Trustee Dave Chapman said. “Especially when Andy [Gasser] has that procedure going on in his department today.”
Daily Herald: Hoffman Estates looks to extend Sears Centre's management contract
Hoffman Estates officials Monday unanimously recommended another five-year contract extension for the management company largely credited with the profitability of the Sears Centre Arena, which had previously been in danger of shutting down altogether as a primarily private enterprise.
The extension means Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum will continue operating the arena on behalf of the village through at least 2025, with an option for three more years after that.
Rockford Register-Star: Paid on-street parking proposed in downtown Rockford
City officials may explore a proposal to charge for on-street parking in downtown Rockford — one of many suggestions from a resident-led task force that has examined how to close a projected $10.5 million operating budget shortfall.
Finance Director Carrie Eklund said the recommendation to install an electronic app-based system with payment kiosks downtown could generate $1 million annually for the city’s cash strapped parking fund. It would not, however, help close the city’s 2018 general fund shortfall because parking revenue is held in a separate fund within the overall city budget.
Bloomington Pantagraph: City hikes garbage fee, reduces bulky waste pickups
Bloomington residents will pay more for trash collection and a reduction in bulky waste pickup as part of a plan approved Monday to close a $1.1 million annual deficit in the solid waste disposal program.
The City Council voted 6-3 to levy a $4 increase for the two larger trash carts, effective May 1. The new monthly rates will be $25 for the 65-gallon cart and $29 for the 95-gallon cart, but the $16 per month fee for the 35-gallon cart remains unchanged.
State Journal-Register: Aldermen to discuss natural gas tax hike proposal
For the second year in a row, Springfield aldermen on Tuesday will discuss a 4 percent natural gas tax during its Committee of the Whole meeting.
Mayor Jim Langfelder initially said he would not propose a natural gas tax increase this year after it was voted down by seven aldermen last year. But after hearing concerns from aldermen that he was not “diversifying” the city’s revenue source, Langfelder drafted the ordinance that would institute a city natural gas tax for the first time.
This is when you'll have to start paying to park at MidAmerica Airport
Passengers traveling through MidAmerica Airport as of April 2 will have to start paying to park there.
For the first hour, parking will be free, but for each additional hour, travelers will pay $1 per hour. The daily parking rate is $5 per day.
The Southern: Poll conducted by campus group finds majority of SIUC stakeholders disapprove of restructuring
A Southern Illinois University Carbondale group says the findings of a recent survey demonstrate the controversial nature of Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s proposed restructuring plan.
The Coordinating Committee for Change — a group of students, faculty and community members that formed after an Oct. 25 open meeting about the restructuring plan — conducted an online poll between Dec. 11, 2017, and Feb. 11, 2018, to assess stakeholder reactions to the proposal and overall planning process.