Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Champaign News-Gazette: Pull the plug
It’s time to cut back on legislative perks.
A Barrington Hills state legislator has a good idea how this state’s politicians can demonstrate that they’re not just looking out for themselves, but the public’s best interests.
David McSweeney wants to do away with the lavish pensions that state legislators qualify for once they take office.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Democrats in talks to raise minimum wage to $15 per hour, an early priority of Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Some Democratic lawmakers are trying to nearly double Illinois’ statewide minimum wage to $15 per hour over several years, aiming to give raises to more than a million workers and an early victory to new Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The state minimum wage has been $8.25 since 2010 despite Democrats’ repeated efforts to raise it. It’s $12 in Chicago and $11 in Cook County, with both set to go up by $1 per hour this summer. In 2017, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill that would have raised it statewide to $15 over five years.
Chicago Sun-Times: Speaker volume: Judge dials down public access to Madigan deposition
A federal judge on Monday ordered lawyers to remove the deposition of Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and others from a publicly accessible court web site.
The order stems from a federal lawsuit filed by Jason Gonzales, a former Madigan political rival, who contends the head of the Democratic Party of Illinois planted two “sham” candidates in the race to split the opposition vote. Gonzales’ lawyers have tried to dissect Madigan’s political operations in the matter.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: 13 Revelations from House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Deposition
The nation’s longest-serving House speaker, Illinois’ Michael Madigan, has been a player in state politics for the better part of his 76 years. But it wasn’t until last September (Sept. 13, 2018, to be exact) that he gave his first-ever deposition. Madigan answered questions for nearly five hours from attorney Anthony Peraica, who is representing Jason Gonzales in a federal lawsuit. Gonzales accuses Madigan of recruiting a pair of “sham” candidates to split the Hispanic vote, to Gonzales’ detriment, in the 2016 House 22nd District primary race.
Madigan ultimately won that contest; he went on to win his 24th two-year state representative term this past November.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago charter school teachers launch city's latest strike after stalled contract negotiations
Unionized educators at four Chicago International Charter School campuses went on strike Tuesday, launching the city’s second work stoppage at the independently operated campuses after hours of negotiations failed to reach a last-minute contract agreement.
Educators at Wrightwood Elementary School, Ellison High School, Northtown Academy High School and ChicagoQuest High School have been bargaining for months with Civitas Education Partners, which manages those four CICS campuses. The 175 teachers and paraprofessionals, represented by the Chicago Teachers Union, rejected a recent proposal that union leaders described as inadequate. About 2,200 students attend those four schools.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen named in secretly recorded chat admit sending business to Reyes’ firm
Ald. Danny Solis wanted lawyer and political power broker Victor Reyes to help raise money for him, but Reyes had a complaint, according to a transcript of an August 2015 cellphone call between the men secretly recorded by the FBI.
Reyes said four other aldermen — George Cardenas (12th), Roberto Maldonado (26th), Proco Joe Moreno (1st) and Rick Munoz (22nd) — had referred him business. But Reyes griped that Solis, then the powerful chairman of the City Council’s Zoning Committee, had given him nothing.
WBEZ: Prosecutor Talks With Illinois Attorney General About Challenging Jason Van Dyke’s Sentence
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Special Prosecutor Joseph McMahon had what they say was a “productive” phone call on Monday about possibilities for challenging the sentence of Jason Van Dyke, the former Chicago police officer convicted of murder in Laquan McDonald’s killing.
The sentence, handed down last month, would allow Van Dyke’s release from prison in as few as three years. Police accountability advocates have characterized that penalty as far too lenient.
Daily Herald: U-46 board questions why state tax relief grants didn't come
Elgin schools officials say they are disappointed unit districts that applied for a portion of $50 million in property tax relief grants from the state this year were sidelined due to the criteria used for calculating eligibility.
Elgin Area School District U-46 sought roughly $43 million — the maximum for which it was eligible — for fiscal year 2019.
Champaign News-Gazette: For those with clout, employment rules differ
Given all the rules that bar governmental bodies in Illinois from hiring people based on their political connections, it’s not as easy as it once was for the average Joe to get a job based strictly on clout.
But there are ways to get it done at all levels, as a report by the state’s Executive Inspector General recently revealed. The 35-page document is an exhaustive examination of how Eric McKennie landed an $81,000-a-year position at the Chicago Transit Authority.