Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: Pritzker takes oath as state’s 43rd governor: ‘Everything is not broken’
Democrat J.B. Pritzker vowed that the state — despite its immense challenges — is not “broken” and offered jabs to his predecessor as he took office Monday to become the state’s 43rd governor.
With former Gov. Bruce Rauner seated in the front row on stage, Pritzker vowed he “won’t hollow out the functions of government to achieve an ideological agenda.”
WBEZ: Population Loss In Illinois Is Driven By Larger Numbers Of People Leaving For Other States
Illinois has lost population every year since 2014. In all, the state’s population has declined by more than 157,000 in that time.
A new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by WBEZ shows an increasing number of people leaving Illinois for other states with fewer people migrating to Illinois from other parts of the country. People moving between states is known as domestic migration, and Illinois’ losses in that way have deepened the past several years.
Northwest Herald: McHenry County residents, officials weigh in on proposed motor fuel tax increase
Recent gas prices have been a relief for Woodstock resident Martin Jimenez, a construction worker whose daily commute depends on where he’s needed.
“I usually work in Chicago. It’s nice to fill up here, drive there, come back and then fill up more in the morning to avoid the prices over there,” Jimenez said Monday after topping off at Gas Cap Fuels in Woodstock.
Chicago Tribune: Woman forcibly stripped in LaSalle County jail sues sheriff; incident captured on video
Nearly five years after LaSalle County authorities paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle lawsuits by female inmates who were stripped naked in the local jail, another woman is alleging she was “humiliated, degraded and dehumanized” when deputies forcibly removed her clothes and then left her for 12 hours in a padded cell.
Three female deputies stripped Zandrea Askew and removed her undergarments as she lay sobbing face down on the floor of the cell, according to her attorney, Terry Ekl, who provided jailhouse video of the Jan. 20, 2017, incident to the Tribune.
Chicago Tribune: 'Where will the money come from? Rich people,' Chicago Teachers Union says as it seeks increased pay, staffing in contract
Chicago Teachers Union members lodged their first demands for a new contract Tuesday — including pay hikes and a host of topics state law bars the labor group from striking over — months before negotiations will likely accelerate with a new administration.
The CTU’s contract expires June 30. Chicago voters might not elect the city’s new mayor until April if the election goes to a runoff. Even the leadership ranks of Chicago Public Schools could change after the winner takes office. But the earliest stages of formal bargaining with CPS are still set to begin this week.
Northwest Herald: Report: Woodstock TIF fund reaches $319K deficit
The city of Woodstock’s tax increment financing district fund ended the fiscal year with a deficit of more than $300,000, according to an annual report filed with the Illinois Comptroller’s Office.
The city’s existing TIF district was established in 1997. The district is set to expire in 2020, and city officials are in the process of creating a replacement. A vote on whether to establish the district will take place Tuesday.
Daily Herald: DuPage County votes to disband election commission
After years of trying, county board members scored a major consolidation victory Tuesday by dissolving the DuPage Election Commission and transferring its functions to the county clerk’s office.
The board voted 11-7 to approve the merger. The move came more than four decades after the clerk’s office was stripped of its election duties to create the commission.