Get the latest news from around Illinois.
WQAD: 9 Democrats needed to oust Madigan
Newly elected State Representative Mike Halpin of Rock Island says although not the “perfect choice”, he intends to vote to retain Rep. Mike Madigan as House Speaker next Wednesday.
“I’m going to vote for the speaker I believe, as a Democrat, represents the values that I represent, so yes,” said Halpin, who will be sworn in in Springfield that day.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Senate leaders talk budget in face of major obstacles
The two Democratic and Republican leaders in the Illinois Senate have been talking about ways to try to break the long-running Springfield impasse ahead of next week’s lame-duck session, but both sides are being tight-lipped and downplaying the possibility anything will actually happen.
The private talks illustrate the delicate politics at the Capitol: After two years without agreement on a broad spending plan, neither side wants to spill the beans and compromise even the potential for movement.
State Journal-Register: Chicago Ald. Pawar wants progressive agenda for Illinois
Chicago Alderman AMEYA PAWAR, a 36-year-old Democrat who is running for his party’s nomination for governor in 2018, says he wants to “go big” on “a progressive agenda” including more school funding, universal day care, criminal justice reform, and a capital and jobs bill.
“I think it’s important to hear a counterbalance to what Governor (BRUCE) RAUNER is offering, which is gutting unions, cutting benefits and running government like a private enterprise,” Pawar said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
State Journal-Register: Moving company study: Illinois No. 2 for most out-of-state moves
One of the nation’s largest moving companies says Illinois is second on its list of states with the most outbound moves for last year.
Of the state-to-state moves involving Illinois handled by suburban St. Louis-based United Van Lines in 2016, 62.9 percent of the moves were out of the state, while 37.1 percent were for moves into Illinois. The company said it handled 8,782 moves in Illinois last year, and 5,521 of them were for customers moving out of state.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Public Schools seeks quick fix to budget hole left by Rauner's veto
For the second year in a row, Chicago Public Schools officials are looking to slash expenses after failing to cash in anticipated funding from Springfield.
The budget hole created by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a state aid measure is less than half the size of the nearly half-billion-dollar gap CPS faced last year, but the district could use familiar measures to patch it.
Chicago Tribune: Emanuel says city's job 'not finished' amid impending release of federal report on CPD
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday vowed to continue his efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department, no matter the outcome of a Department of Justice civil rights investigation launched 13 months ago.
The Justice Department report of findings and recommendations on CPD could come as soon as next week, said several sources familiar with the process. The sped-up timeline is the result of Democratic President Barack Obama preparing to hand over the White House Jan. 20 to President-elect Donald Trump — a tough-on-crime, pro-police Republican.
Chicago Sun-Times: Rahm to implement police reforms, with or without consent decree
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he’s determined to implement police reforms outlined by the U.S. Justice Department whether or not President-elect Donald Trump and Attorney General-designee Jeff Sessions pursue a consent decree mandating changes.
Trump campaigned on a promise to take the handcuffs off rank-and-file police officers. Sessions, a U.S. senator from Alabama, is on the record as opposing consent decrees. Still, Emanuel said he’s not about take a wait-and-see approach.
NBC 5 Chicago: Mayor Emanuel Touts Chicago’s Record Tourism in 2016
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Thursday that Chicago hosted a record 54 million visitors in 2016, an increase of 1.5 million visitors from the previous year.
“Three years ago we set a goal for Chicago to reach 55 million visitors by 2020,” Emanuel said in a statement. “We had an incredible and record-breaking year in 2016, but we are not stopping there. We have seen increases in jobs and investment from out tourism industry, which is creating economic opportunities that reach every neighborhood in the city of Chicago.”
Illinois News Network: Costs for Illinois’ beef industry outpace returns
The outlook appears to be trending downward for Illinois’ cattle-producing economy, as farmers wrap up what will be likely their second straight year with costs outpacing revenues.
This decline has Mike Doherty, senior economist at the Illinois Farm Bureau, discussing the end of an era of low feed costs — and a new reality of fallen cattle prices.