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Chicago Tribune: Rauner aides say Senate budget plan short $4.3 billion
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday effectively threw cold water on a sweeping Senate budget blueprint, with his aides estimating the plan would fall $4.3 billion short of closing the state spending gap.
The analysis by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget was conducted at the request of the House Republicans, who are not directly involved in the talks led by Democratic Senate President John Cullerton and Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno. The governor’s budget team says that $4.3 billion deficit for the current financial year would fall to $2 billion in the next one as money begins to roll in from the taxes proposed in the Senate’s budget framework, according to a copy the Chicago Tribune obtained.
State Journal-Register: Battle lines drawn over sugary-beverage tax
A proposition to tax sugary beverages is being revived as part of the Illinois Senate’s “grand bargain” to pass a state budget.
Senate Bill 9 will tax any beverage that has five grams of sugar or more, meaning drinks like soda and certain juices will be affected. The bill requires distributors to impose a penny-per-ounce tax on retailers, which would produce an estimated $560 million for the state.
News-Gazette: Much at risk for union members
Strikes generate many losers and few winners.
Unionized state employees have a big decision to make: whether to submit to a four-year contract agreement they dislike or engage in a first-ever strike.
It’s our hope they do not walk out, the costs being too high and the risks too great for all concerned. But it’s their choice to make, one that has been slowly moving from the back burner to the front burner over two years of contentious negotiations.
Chicago Tribune: Rauner-Madigan feud leads to $31 million spent by outside groups on state races last year
Illinois politics saw a watershed year for cash on legislative campaigns in 2016, with newly released financial reports documenting Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s lead role in funding GOP candidates and Democrats under House Speaker Michael Madigan relying on union and labor allies to keep General Assembly majorities.
Tens of millions of dollars were churned through various political campaign funds for television ads, mail brochures, automated phone calls and more for an election which saw Republicans gain four House seats and two Senate spots.
Chicago Tribune: Emanuel has $1 million in campaign fund, spent thousands on legal fees
Mayor Rahm Emanuel kept his campaign fundraising machine cranking through the final quarter of last year and now has a little more than $1 million as he weighs a run for a third term, newly filed records show.
Emanuel started October with $670,000 in his campaign fund, and he raised $563,000 during the final three months of 2016. During the same period, Emanuel spent $217,000, including nearly $40,000 on legal fees.
Chicago Sun-Times: City employee accused of sending ‘sexually explicit’ emails
An employee of the city’s Department of Planning and Development was accused Wednesday of using city computers to send “more than 50 sexually explicit emails” over a three-month period and using city resources for more than a decade to moonlight at a second job.
The explosive allegation is one of two involving allegations of sexual misconduct contained in Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s quarterly report.
Chicago Tribune: Sluggish tax rebate program leaves Emanuel millions to spend
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and aldermen offered a property tax rebate program last year to try to ease the financial pain of their record tax increase, but it failed to gain traction, leaving the mayor with millions to spend on other programs of his choosing.
On Wednesday, Emanuel announced his latest project to benefit from the leftover money — cybersecurity job training in the city’s community colleges. Earlier in the day, though, more than a dozen aldermen pressed for more of a say on how the money is spent.
Chicago Sun-Times: Mayor defends CPS furloughs as CTU joins school-cuts protests
As Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday defended four unpaid furlough days just imposed on Chicago’s public schools, the Chicago Teachers Union announced plans to join national protests against school spending cuts.
CTU officials and members plan to stage walk-ins at schools across the city to lodge their opposition to policies enacted by the mayor, governor and president-elect that they deem harmful.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen want rebate leftovers spent on violence prevention
Aldermen, parents and community leaders demanded Wednesday that an estimated $17 million left unclaimed from a token property tax rebate be earmarked for violence prevention in inner-city neighborhoods that have “turned into war zones.”
Even before providing a full accounting of rebate spending, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has already used the unspent money to bankroll more than $6 million worth of programs.
Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago cop charged with murder in fatal shooting of unarmed man
A veteran Chicago Police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on the Northwest Side earlier this year has been charged with first-degree murder, records show.
Lowell Houser, 57, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, Cook County court records show.
Chicago Sun-Times: Preckwinkle: CPD afflicted by ‘pervasive racism’
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday stopped short of throwing the shortcomings of the Chicago Police Department at the feet of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, but said she wished he had done more, and done it sooner.
“I think there’s a lot of responsibility to go around here. I think he inherited a department that is very troubled. And surely I would have wished that he would have responded to some of the difficulties sooner than he did,” Preckwinkle said at a news conference steps from her Loop office to discuss the Department of Justice report released last week that outlined police department failings.
Chicago Sun-Times: IPRA accused of leaking document in Glenn Evans case
A former investigator for the soon-to-be-abolished Independent Police Review Authority was accused Wednesday of leaking a confidential IPRA memo about the agency’s investigation of a high-ranking Chicago Police official, who sources identified as Glenn Evans.
The explosive information about a much-maligned agency accused by the U.S. Justice Department of failing to adequately investigate police misconduct and covering for wayward officers is contained in Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s quarterly report.
Chicago Sun-Times: 4 cops at Laquan McDonald shooting suspended for faulty dashcams
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson has suspended four officers who were at the scene of the Laquan McDonald shooting in 2014 for not ensuring their dashboard cameras were working properly.
In a quarterly report released Wednesday, the Office of Chicago’s Inspector General said it “issued findings and disciplinary recommendations of suspension for four other officers, on the basis of which the Superintendent issued one-week suspensions for each of the four individuals.”
Chicago Tribune: Community policing panel starts work to help Chicago, police
Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson met with city leaders and experts Tuesday to discuss changes to the department’s community policing strategy.
“In the ’90s, we were the leader in community policing throughout the country and we kind of lost some of that luster, but we fully intend on returning to the No. 1 position,” Johnson said. “We are going to reform as an agency. We are going to move forward to be the best.”
Chicago Tribune: University of Illinois plans major enrollment growth, tuition freeze
University of Illinois is rolling out an ambitious effort to boost enrollment by 15 percent over the next five years, growing the three campuses to more than 93,600 students.
School leaders are aiming to add around 12,150 students by 2021, pinpointing increases in undergraduate programs at the Chicago campus, and graduate and online programs in Urbana-Champaign.
News-Gazette: Rauner talking to 'superstar' candidates for UI Board of Trustees
Gov. Bruce Rauner says there is potential for “superstar” talent to join the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
The Republican governor is tasked with filling the seats for three trustee terms that expired this month. Rauner said he is interviewing a number of high-caliber candidates.
Associated Press: Lisa Madigan alleges fraud at student loan company
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is suing the nation’s largest student loan company, alleging unfair and deceptive practices with lending and debt collection.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cook County seeks restitution and penalties. It names Navient Corp. and subsidiaries, including Sallie Mae Bank.
QC Dispatch-Argus: East Moline teachers plan one more day of pickets
East Moline Education Association members held information pickets Tuesday outside Glenview Middle and Ridgewood Elementary schools.
Without a contract since June 30, 2016, the union continues to work under the terms of its expired agreement. Bargaining began in April, with an impasse declared Oct. 13 over salary increases and the contract’s length.
Quincy Herald-Whig: Union starts to vote on contract proposal
Quincy Federation of Teachers and Educational Support Personnel heard details and started voting Tuesday night on a tentative contract agreement with the Quincy School Board that offers a creative alternative for a salary increase.
“The last financial proposal had been a step from the board. We were able to work creatively to think of how we could increase our members’ take-home pay past that step,” QF spokesman Jen Drew said.
Effingham Daily News: Organizers question amusement tax
Blake Yager said events like the Luke Bryan Farm Tour wouldn’t come back to Effingham if ticket buyers have to pay an additional 5 percent tax.
The event was hosted on the grounds of Mid America Motorworks this past summer. Yager, corporate director of Mid America, said 20,000 tickets were sold for the performance.
Belleville News-Democrat: Madison County employees may have to work more hours to qualify for state retirement
Fewer Madison County employees will qualify for retirement if a measure proposed before the county board is approved during its meeting on Wednesday night.
Government agencies can choose whether employees must work a minimum of 600 or 1,000 hours a year in order to qualify for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Madison County has usually had a minimum of 600 hours, or roughly 12 hours per week of a 50-week year. The new requirement would bring it up to about 20 hours a week.