Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Attorney general's office: Move to stop state payroll has 'everyone unhappy'
Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s new attempt to stop state worker paychecks from going out on time came more than 10 months after Illinois’ high court overruled what her office called the “sole legal basis” for salaries being paid during the historic budget impasse.
The move caught both Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the largest state worker union — usually foes in the ongoing power struggle at the Capitol — by surprise. And it came from an often-cautious state attorney general, who has stayed out of the daily grind of the budget fight, which is being waged on one side by her father, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Chicago Sun-Times: Rauner vows legal fight to keep state workers’ paychecks coming
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday emailed state workers vowing to use “all available legal options” to make sure they are paid — a day after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion seeking to halt paychecks if no budget deal is reached by the end of February.
“Our administration will use all available legal options to continue pay and avoid any disruption to government services,” Rauner wrote. “I am hopeful Comptroller [Susana] Mendoza will stand with state employees — just as Comptroller [Leslie] Munger did previously — and support our legal arguments to continue employee pay.”
Associated Press: Gov. Rauner blasts Lisa Madigan's plan to stop paying state workers
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner suggested Friday that the state’s attorney general might be trying to “cause a crisis” by asking a court to stop paying more than 62,000 government workers while a historic budget stalemate drags on.
Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed the motion Thursday in St. Clair County, a staunch working-class Illinois suburb of St. Louis where a judge nearly two years ago ordered that withholding paychecks, even without a budget, would violate the state Constitution.
State Journal-Register: Local lawmakers upset over Lisa Madigan's actions
Local lawmakers Friday criticized Attorney General Lisa Madigan for her move to stop state employee paychecks amid the state’s 18-month budget crisis.
If Madigan’s motion is granted, payment of state workers’ salaries would end Feb. 28 unless Gov. Bruce Rauner and Illinois legislators agree on a spending plan to ensure they keep getting paid.
Fox Illinois: State Employees Concerned About No Paychecks
Many state employees are feeling concerned after finding out Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s motion to cut state workers’ pay.
“I was extremely surprised and disappointed,” said Nicole Power an AFSCME member.
News-Gazette: AG's office says proposed pay freeze woudn't affect UI workers
Although University of Illinois officials say the system’s legal team is still studying the matter, a source in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office said a lawsuit seeking to prevent state workers from being paid without an approved budget would not affect university employees.
“They are not included in this because they are paid by the university,” said an official in the attorney general’s office.
Chicago Tribune: Rebellious Democrat complains Madigan stiffed him on engraved clock
The only House Democrat who didn’t vote for Michael Madigan to remain speaker says he’s being punished for his defiance.
The first sign? Rep. Scott Drury said he did not receive an engraved desk clock like the rest of his House Democratic colleagues.
Chicago Tribune: Sell the Thompson Center: Cash out and let new owners reimagine or demolish it
Chicago, a city rich in architecture, lays claim to having the world’s first skyscraper. The striking Home Insurance Building went up in the Loop in the mid-1880s. Alas, it was demolished for something else in 1931.
Middle age is notoriously tough on buildings.
Rockford Register-Star: Illinois budget impasse costs Rockford airport $450K in interest payments for jet repair hub
The ongoing budget stalemate between lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner has cost local taxpayers more than $450,000 in interest payments on borrowed money to build the mammoth jet repair hub at Chicago Rockford International Airport.
Illinois has been without a budget for more than a year. In late 2015, the state delayed payment of $15 million it had pledged as a contribution to the airport’s $40 million maintenance, repair and overhaul facility where jets are repaired and maintained.
QC Dispatch-Argus: Rauner rep calls AFSCME strike vote 'PR publicity ploy'
Illinois’ largest public employees union will start voting Monday on a strike resolution for the first time in its 45-year collective bargaining history.
Through Feb. 19, members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will vote on a strike authorization, according to AFSCME public relations director Anders Lindall. While the vote doesn’t mean a strike will occur, Mr. Lindall said it makes it possible for union leaders to authorize one if negotiations continue to stall with Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Fox Illinois: Illinois Senator Proposes Amusement Tax
It could soon cost you more to attend concerts, plays and sporting events.
This week, an Illinois senator proposed a tax on amusement.
Associated Press: Rauner vetoes bill on overtime pay for home-care workers
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed a bill allowing overtime pay for home-care workers.
The bill passed by the Legislature was in response to a ruling by the U.S. Department of Labor requiring payment of time-and-a-half for each hour worked over 40 hours.
Quincy Herald-Whig: Illinois jobless rate continues trending lower, but job creation lags
Jobless rates have fallen to less than half what they were seven years ago.
That good news comes with a word of caution from Jeff Mays, director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Chicago Sun-Times: A top Claypool aide at CPS resigns amid residency questions
The Chicago Public Schools’ facilities chief — one of schools CEO Forrest Claypool’s hires from the city agency he formerly headed — has resigned from his $165,000 post amid residency questions.
Jason R. Kierna, 30, has headed Claypool’s lead testing and mitigation efforts in schools, and also has been involved in the ongoing move to privatize the management of all school buildings.
Chicago Tribune: Harvey comptroller accuses Chicago of using 'alternative facts' in water dispute
A Harvey city official on Friday denied that the suburb improperly diverted water funds it owes Chicago to instead pay for department store purchases, credit card debt and contribute to a college fund.
Last week, a Cook County judge found the City of Harvey was in default on its efforts to repay millions of dollars for water it took from Chicago. Chicago attorneys alleged in a court filing Harvey had used water funds on other expenses, violating an agreement reached by the cities in 2015.
Chicago Tribune: Cook County courts raise bonds for gun crimes — but suspects getting out faster
Since Chicago’s violence rate began to spike in 2012, Cook County judges have doubled the amount of bond set for people charged with felony gun crimes.
If judges hoped the increase would keep armed gang members off the streets until their cases were decided, that did not happen.
State Journal-Register: Springfield aldermen still making up minds on tax increases
Unlike their counterparts at the Statehouse, Mayor Jim Langfelder promised that he and the Springfield City Council would pass a spending plan before the next budget year begins on March 1.
But there are still plenty of tough discussions to come, including addressing a multimillion-dollar gap in revenue and spending that the mayor has proposed closing with four tax increases.
Belleville News-Democrat: With new president, can St. Clair County get a second shot at landing NGA?
Efforts to land the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency western headquarters may be restarted now that there’s a new president.
In an interview with the Belleville News-Democrat, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, confirmed there have been discussions among metro-east leaders about approaching leaders in President Donald Trump’s administration as soon as lower-echelon appointees are in place.