Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Rauner says sweeping Senate budget plan not fully baked
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Tuesday that it’s too soon to advocate for a sweeping Senate plan aimed at breaking through a two-year budget stalemate, saying it’s not fully “baked.”
The Republican governor’s comments came as reporters in Chicago asked if he has tried to bring Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan on board with the bipartisan proposal, which includes everything from tax hikes and gambling expansion to term limits on legislative leaders and an overhaul of the state’s employee pension system.
The Southern: State lawmakers face competing minimum wage proposals in Senate, House
The new Illinois General Assembly will have to address two different proposals on raising Illinois’ minimum wage.
As part of a bipartisan budget package being considered in the Senate, members propose raising the minimum wage, currently $8.25 an hour, by 50 cents each year until reaching $11 in 2021. Meanwhile, a House bill would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by October.
Chicago Sun-Times: Former rivals Rauner, Vallas unite for Chicago State overhaul
Just a bit over two years ago, they were trading barbs on the campaign trail.
School reformer Paul Vallas, who ran as Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate in 2014, called Republican Bruce Rauner’s budget plan “fundamentally dishonest.”
WTTW Chicago Tonight: New Chicago State Trustees Aim for Struggling School Turnaround
Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and three others were appointed to the Chicago State University Board of Trustees on Tuesday by Gov. Bruce Rauner to help overhaul the troubled school.
“I look forward to working with the existing board members, as well as the new board members, as well as with the new advisory team,” said Vallas.
Chicago Sun-Times: Top cop: Bad training bothers me the most
Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Tuesday that of all the Chicago Police Department’s failings highlighted in the Department of Justice report released last week, it’s that his officers are not receiving adequate training that pains him most.
“We owe it to our police officers to give them the best training possible because that makes them better when we go out on the street,” said Johnson, a 28-year police department veteran. “And to think that we failed them is a difficult pill to swallow. It really is.”
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Chicago Police Department Ramps Up Training for ‘Police Legitimacy’
The Chicago Police Department is ramping up an effort to train its entire police force on how to better engage with the community.
The training is called Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy training. The name is a mouthful, but what it basically does is train officers to think a bit differently than what they’ve gotten used to in the line of duty.
Chicago Sun-Times: On blogs, cops offer own take on federal report
Judging by their responses in social media, many of the city’s police officers were totally unmoved by the findings of the federal government’s investigation into the Chicago Police Department.
In the posts and comment sections of the Second City Cop blog, you won’t find any serious discussion of the many disturbing incidents or the systemic, dysfunctional practices detailed by the feds last week.
Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois is short 600 school substitutes a day, study finds
Public-school administrators are scrambling to find substitute teachers for as many as 600 Illinois classrooms a day, a survey finds.
The review released Tuesday by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools revealed that teachers call in more than 16,500 absences each week. School officials have trouble finding replacements for nearly 20 percent of them.
Chicago Sun-Times: Time to ‘fish or cut bait’ on airport security, alderman says
An influential alderman said Tuesday it’s time for Chicago to “fish or cut bait” on the issue of airport security—either by allowing aviation security officers to carry weapons or by privatizing their jobs.
Ald. Mike Zalewski (23rd), chairman of the City Council’s Aviation Committee, was incensed by the email directive issued to aviation security officers after a shooter killed five people in the baggage claim area at an airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Chicago Sun-Times: City Colleges forges cybersecurity training partnership with DOD
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is once again dipping into the unclaimed millions left over after a token property tax rebate — this time to offer cybersecurity training at City Colleges of Chicago in partnership with the Department of Defense.
Last week, President-elect Donald Trump acknowledged for the first time what the intelligence community he distrusts long asserted: that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic Party emails exposed to embarrass Democrat Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign.
Chicago Sun-Times: New clerk vows to expand reach of municipal ID and secure info
Newly-appointed City Clerk Anna Valencia vowed Tuesday to expand the reach of a municipal identification program and prevent that sensitive information from being used against undocumented immigrants.
At a City Council confirmation hearing that was more like a love-fest, Valencia also promised to embark on the familiar “listening tour” of Chicago’s 50 wards to solicit ideas and introduce herself to voters in preparation for a 2019 election that will be her first run for elective office.
Northwest Herald: Woodstock community weighs in on possible school consolidation in District 200
Concerned taxpayers and Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 board members and parents gathered Tuesday for a community forum to discuss a potential plan to consolidate Woodstock schools.
A District 200 facilities committee has focused on how to better use district resources and space while maintaining quality education that meets the needs of all of its students. A subcommittee focused on the district’s facilities recently brought forth an idea to consolidate high schools and close Clay Elementary School, Dean Street Elementary School and Northwood Middle School.
Belleville News-Democrat: City council approves another $2 million for renovation work
Belleville aldermen Tuesday approved a plan to pay additional costs for the renovation of City Hall.
The plan to renovate City Hall and move the police department will cost $20.6 million, up 11 percent from the original estimate of $18.5 million.
Belleville News-Democrat: East St. Louis Township gets remedies, needs suicide pill
Notice a difference in the modus operandi of East St. Louis Township?
The new East St. Louis Township Supervisor Tommy Dancy said this: “Give us time, folks. We are going to get this right.”
The old East St. Louis Supervisor Oliver W. Hamilton would have said this: “Don’t give me time, folks. Amex spending was my right.”