Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Why Illinois lost thousands of jobs to Alabama
There was zero surprise in Illinois when Toyota and Mazda unveiled their decision a few days ago to locate a $1.6 billion assembly line in Alabama. That’s because Illinois was dropped from the competition months ago.
Here is a defeat worth pondering, more evidence that in the global race for jobs, growth and prosperity, the Land of Lincoln is falling behind. Remember: Foxconn last year picked Wisconsin for a major electronics factory.
Chicago Tribune: Cook County assessor not cooperating with investigation, IG complains
Cook County’s inspector general took Assessor Joseph Berrios to task Friday for failing to cooperate with an investigation into allegations that an employee took property tax exemptions he was ineligible to receive.
A top Berrios aide strongly disagreed, saying the office had fully cooperated.
Chicago Sun-Times: State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s deals benefit benefactor Ald. Edward M. Burke
As the owner of a law firm that seeks to reduce property taxes for big business clients including companies that work for City Hall, it’s important for Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke to have a good working relationship with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
When Kim Foxx was running for state’s attorney, Burke hosted a fund-raiser at his home in the Southwest Side’s 14th Ward to help elect her.
Chicago Tribune: CPS announces new special ed hires just before aldermen publicly blast them for cuts
Chicago Public Schools said it would spend millions of dollars to fill dozens of new special education positions, a plan the district announced Friday just over an hour before aldermen were scheduled to publicly grill school officials about spending cuts.
The district said $2.6 million will finance 65 new positions at schools throughout the city. Many will be English language specialist teachers and bilingual paraprofessionals.
Chicago Sun-Times: One more Burge-era claim looms, even after aldermen sign off on $9M settlement
Chicago taxpayers face one more massive settlement tied to the Jon Burge torture-era after aldermen on Friday added $9.3 million to the $111 million mountain of Burge-related liabilities.
First Deputy Corporation Counsel Jennifer Notz acknowledged that Burge had “very little, if anything to do with” the investigation that triggered James Kluppelberg’s claim that he was beaten into confessing to setting a 1984 fire that killed a woman and five children in Back of the Yards.
Crain's Chicago Business: Presence Health TIF passes City Council panel
Illinois’ largest Catholic health system is a step closer to getting $5.5 million in blight-fighting tax money for its downtown headquarters move, despite opposition from several aldermen over how the hospital system restricts access to birth control and reproductive health services.
In a 13-7 vote, the city Finance Committee today approved a deal between the city and Presence Health to use the tax-increment financing funds as a bargaining chip to benefit blighted neighborhoods.
Chicago Tribune: University Park getting forensic audit of misappropriated TIF funds
Years of mismanagement and reliance on improper financial maneuvers to pay the bills have left the far south suburb of University Park mired in a monetary crisis of monumental proportions that is drawing scrutiny from the FBI, officials said.
For years, officials improperly shifted tax increment finance dollars into the village’s general fund to plug University Park’s multimillion dollar budget shortfalls, officials acknowledge. The transfers, which had been standard village practice for years, created a massive TIF debt from which University Park, a village of around 7,000 in Will and Cook counties, must now dig out.
Daily Herald: Suburban lawmaker wants to end towns' spending for conventions, training
A suburban lawmaker wants to stop local governments from spending money for elected officials and employees to attend conferences or trainings, saying taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill in “a time of crisis.”
State Rep. David McSweeney, a Republican from Barrington Hills, introduced bills Friday that would prohibit all expenses for such events, including registration, meals, hotels and transportation, as well as any state spending to rent exhibition space there. The only exception would be for public safety events.
Northwest Herald: Rep. David McSweeney files bill to allow voters to abolish townships
State Rep. David McSweeney has filed a bill that could allow voters to eliminate townships and transfer their responsibilities and assets to McHenry County officials.
On Friday, the Barrington Hills Republican filed House Bill 4244, a proposed law that applies only to the 17 townships in McHenry County and puts abolishing townships at the top of McSweeney’s legislative priorities.
Chicago Tribune: Vernon Township assessor declines to enact anti-nepotism policy
A new anti-nepotism policy was adopted Wednesday by the Vernon Township Board of Trustees, but Assessor Gary Raupp’s refusal to recognize it has prompted some trustees to consider budget sanctions against his office.
The policy comes after Vernon Township Supervisor Daniel Didech called for the firing of two male employees in the assessor’s office in early December while outlining what he believed to be a hostile work environment for women and misconduct by two male employees. One of the men is a close relative of Raupp’s.
Northwest Herald: Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoes bill aiming to allow McHenry County Board chairman to create committees
Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed a bill that aimed to give McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks the power to create standing committees and appoint members with the consent and approval of the board.
“We should not be codifying in state law carve-outs and special solutions that only apply to certain counties to account for local concerns,” Rauner said in a statement. “Passing state law on such specific question of local authority undermines local control and the ability to create rules as elected boards may deem appropriate.”