Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: Feds seized $51K in cash from safe at Cook County commissioner’s home during last year’s raids
Federal agents seized more than $51,000 in cash from a safe found inside Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski’s house last year, according to a just-obtained federal document that indicates authorities are interested in yet another suburban mayor: Oakbrook Terrace’s Tony Ragucci.
Agents seized a whopping $60,000 in cash from Ragucci’s west suburban home late last year, the document shows, though it does not indicate whether he’s being eyed as part of the same political corruption investigation that’s been rocking local governments.
Chicago Tribune: Nearly $3.2 million in legal weed was sold in Illinois on the first day of sales, and the long lines continue
Customers spent almost $3.2 million on legal weed in Illinois on Wednesday, the state’s first day of recreational marijuana sales.
The state said more than 77,000 customers bought products at dispensaries, many of whom were eager to take part in the historic end of marijuana prohibition.
The Center Square: As trade deals come together, business advocate warns Illinois policies could hinder growth
Illinois’ agriculture and manufacturing sectors will reap gains from trade deals coming together through the Trump administration, and those deals could pave the way for more agreements with other countries. That’s according to U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria.
A leading business advocate says if Illinois wants maximum benefit from such deals, state policy makers should work on the business climate.
Chicago Sun-Times: Sales of recreational pot — and long lines for buyers — resume on second day of legalization
Kayte Moody and her boyfriend, Jack Crawford, drove 4 1/2 hours from Kentucky Wednesday — only to be turned away from a North Side pot dispensary because too many people were ahead of them in line.
So the 20-something couple rose early Thursday to be sure they wouldn’t encounter the same problem.
Crain's Chicago Business: Hundreds of applicants seek new weed-sale licenses
Hundreds of people streamed into an auditorium in the basement of the Thompson Center downtown, where many waited hours to file their applications in person at the offices of the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation upstairs.
The Center Square: Want to get around Illinois new vehicle trade-in tax in 2020? Buy a pickup
If you want to be exempt from Illinois’ new sales tax exemption when trading in a vehicle, buy a truck.
Illinois will now no longer give a full exemption on the trade-in value of a car. Instead, Illinois’ sales tax will apply to any trade-in vehicle worth more than $10,000. That means trading in a $30,000 car for one worth $60,000 will cost the customer an extra $1,200 in additional sales taxes.
Rockford Register Star: Pot remains illegal at federal housing developments
While Illinois became the 11th state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana on Wednesday, people living in federally funded housing may not use marijuana for recreational or medical purposes inside their homes, the executive directors of two local housing agencies stressed this week.
The use or possession of marijuana in any form on HUD funded property, in or outdoors, is against federal regulation and constitutes a lease violation, punishable up to and including eviction, Rockford Housing Authority Housing Policy Manager Christine Manley said in a news release.
Chicago Sun-Times: After 66,000 CPS students missed 1st strike makeup day, many kids skip 2nd one Thursday — will more stay home Friday?
Evelia Zavala was on the fence as late as Wednesday night about whether to send her son to school Thursday and Friday, the latest of the five makeup days stemming from last fall’s teachers strike. An earlier makeup day resulted in tens of thousands of students skipping class.
Zavala was questioning the potential productivity and the fairness of having school in session on what otherwise would’ve been the last two days of winter break. In the end, she left the decision up to her 7-year-old son, a 2nd grader at Linne Elementary in Avondale who had perfect attendance in Kindergarten and 1st grade.
Chicago Tribune: Flashback: As Illinoisans greet the era of legal pot, here’s what happened when the repeal of Prohibition let Chicagoans drink again
Shortly after noon on Dec. 5, 1933, John Burke, vice president of the Congress Hotel, and H.L. Kaufman, the owner, went down to the hotel’s wine cellar. The keys to the padlocks on the cellar’s outer door having been lost, Burke smashed the door with a sledgehammer. The inner door was unlocked by Joe Mack, once again the Congress’ wine steward 14 years after the 18th Amendment had put the kibosh on alcoholic beverages.
Inside the wine cellar was $250,000 worth of liquor, encrusted “in cobwebs and crusty molds,” the Tribune reported.