Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Rauner administration tells workers 'a strike against the taxpayers is reckless'
As the state’s largest employee union began voting Monday on whether to authorize a strike, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration tried to stress the financial consequences workers could face.
In a memo from John Terranova, deputy director of the Office of Labor Relations, the administration noted that if workers strike, they would go without pay and health insurance subsidies. Also, their pensions would not grow during that time.
Chicago Sun-Times: Rauner lawyer urges Mendoza to fight state worker pay filing
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top lawyer on Monday urged Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza to keep paying state workers, even if a temporary order requiring the paychecks is tossed out.
And the Republican governor’s lawyer also asked the comptroller to retain her own independent counsel to fight off fellow Democrat Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s motion to halt state employee pay.
Chicago Tribune: Senate tax hike is a raw deal for Illinoisans
Sick of the status quo, Illinoisans are leaving our state in record numbers. But politicians continue to peddle the same old snake oil.
The reasons for the exodus aren’t a mystery. Public polling shows the No. 1 reason Illinoisans want out is high taxes. So what’s the response from the Illinois Senate? Raise taxes again, forcing the families that stay in our state to pay more for the sins of the political class. It’s insanity. Illinoisans deserve better.
News-Gazette: Is Lisa Madigan rescuing 'Dadigan'?
Little Lisa is making a big splash.
The Diminutive Daughter of the Diminutive Don of Illinois politics shook things up big time last week when she inserted herself into the 19-month-old state budget battle between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and her father, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Bloomington Pantagraph: State of Standoff: Rauner vs. Madigan
First-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and long-serving Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan agree that Illinois’ long-term budget deficits are a major threat to the state’s economic vitality.
Where they diverge is how to address those deficits, and that fundamental disagreement has been at the root of an impasse that is now more than two years old.
Associated Press: IDOT announces $4M for Chicago bridge inspections
Illinois transportation officials say $4 million in state and federal funds will be used to conduct bridge inspections in Chicago.
The Illinois Department of Transportation announced the funding Monday. It includes $800,000 in state money and $3.2 million in federal funds.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Metra Fare Increases Begin Feb. 1
As of Wednesday, CTA trains won’t be the only elevated feature of local railways. Metra fare increases going into effect at the start of the month include 25-cent increases for one-way tickets and an $11.75 jump for monthly passes.
The Metra Board of Directors approved the price hikes in November in an effort to produce more funding for capital improvement projects. While Metra expects the fare increases to generate $16.1 million, the agency reported that its extensive backlog of projects requires $1.2 billion annually over the next decade. The agency projects it will have less than $300 million yearly, leaving a significant gap in the budget even after the price increases.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago's racial wealth gap far worse than U.S. average, report finds
About 65 percent of African-American, Latino and Asian households in Chicago have so little savings and other assets that a sudden job loss, medical emergency or other income disruption would throw them into poverty within three months, according to a report on wealth inequities in the city.
The report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development identified the divide between the incomes of white households and minority households as wider in Chicago than the nation as a whole. And the national divide is large. Not only do Chicago’s white households on average far exceed African-Americans, Latinos and Asians in income, but there is a sharp difference in the city between the wealth held by whites and that held by minority communities.
Chicago Tribune: Police Superintendent asks IG to look into incident involving fiancee's son
Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has asked the city’s watchdog to look into whether Johnson’s fiancee, a police supervisor, inappropriately intervened for her son on a traffic offense, a police spokesman said Monday evening.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that Johnson asked the Office of Inspector General Joseph Ferguson to look into the whether a traffic case involving Lt. Nakia Fenner’s son was handled appropriately.
Chicago Sun-Times: Former Emanuel aide out of the shadows on golf project
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s former campaign manager came out of the shadows Monday to make the case for merging the Jackson Park and South Shore golf courses into a single, championship-caliber course.
Michael Ruemmler’s role as a founding director of the Chicago Parks Golf Alliance has fueled speculation that the fix was in for a project that gained momentum when President Barack Obama chose Jackson Park for his presidential library.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Chicago to Give Away 25,000 Reusable ‘ChiBags’ for Start of Bag Tax
Chicago will give away 25,000 reusable bags at grocery stores this week to help spread the word about the city’s new 7-cent tax on paper and plastic bags, which takes effect Wednesday.
Approved in November, Chicago’s Checkout Bag Tax is part of an effort to decrease the use of disposable bags. Chicago is one of 12 cities nationwide to enact bag bans and fees, which the National Tax Association says reduces the use of disposable bags.
WBEZ: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's ‘Code Of Silence’ Speech Still Burdens City Attorneys
During the national outcry after the release of a video showing a white police officer fatally shooting black teen Laquan McDonald, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel went before the City Council on Dec. 9, 2015, and acknowledged a problem with the city’s cops.
“This problem is sometimes referred to as the thin blue line,” Emanuel said. “Other times it is referred to as the code of silence. It is the tendency to ignore. It is the tendency deny. It is the tendency in some cases to cover-up the bad actions of a colleague or colleagues.”
Rockford Register-Star: Rockford City Council could spend reserves to balance budget
Aldermen are considering a 2017 budget that sacrifices city reserves, but spares residents tax and fee increases while boosting public safety spending.
Faced with a $5.3 million shortfall, members of the city’s Finance and Personnel Committee voted to forward the plan to the Rockford City Council.