Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Get lost, voters: Once again an Illinois lawmaker steps down, and party insiders pick the successor
Voters on Chicago’s South Side didn’t have a choice last year in the race for the 27th House district. Longtime Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, briefly faced a challenge from Justin Slaughter, but he dropped out before the primary. Davis ran unopposed in the November election.
Then just before Christmas, she filed paperwork to retire from the seat she has held since 1987. But voters won’t pick her replacement. Local Democratic leaders did it for them. A handful of Chicago aldermen and suburban township committeemen met privately Thursday and selected Slaughter, a Chicago resident who works for the Cook County Board, to fill Davis’ seat. Surprise, 27th District voters! You have a new state rep.
State Journal-Register: 'Grand bargain' to end state budget impasse in works
A “grand bargain” to finally end the state’s nearly two-year-long budget impasse could face lawmakers next week when they return to Springfield for an abbreviated lame-duck session.
While details of the plan apparently are still being negotiated, sources said it would cover spending, an income tax hike, pension reform, workers’ compensation changes, a temporary property tax freeze and possibly even expanded gambling.
Chicago Tribune: Top Democrat: No deal on Chicago schools money expected soon
With Chicago Public Schools facing a $215 million budget shortfall after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a state aid package, a top state Democrat said Friday that she doesn’t expect a deal soon to reinstate the money.
Appearing on WLS-AM 890’s “Connected to Chicago” program, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie expressed pessimism about the Republican governor and Democrats soon being able to resurrect the CPS measure.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois EDGE jobs program could see new life
Illinois’ premier jobs program could see new life under an amendment filed Friday by an Illinois House Democrat.
The amendment seeks to extend the EDGE program, short for Economic Development for a Growing Economy, through the end of April. The program, which provides tax breaks for companies that promise to create jobs in Illinois, expired Dec. 31.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: State Agencies Owed $18M in Domestic Violence Funds
For state agencies providing services to some of Illinois most vulnerable residents, the state’s perilous finances have been particularly painful.
But hope may be in sight.
The Southern: Rauner signs bill in Carbondale to change teacher hiring process
A new law is aimed at alleviating the state’s teacher shortage by making it easier for out-of-state educators to transfer their licenses to Illinois.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the measure into law Friday at Carbondale Community High School. He was joined by outgoing State Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, a co-sponsor of the bill, and State Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphsyboro.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois' financial watchdog finds himself embroiled in spending scandal of his own
Tucked along the main drag that runs through this tiny Illinois River town is an unassuming gas station where Auditor General Frank Mautino’s now-defunct campaign fund reported spending more than $247,000 on fuel and car repairs over 16 years.
Ornamental duck figurines adorn antique-style fuel pumps outside Happy’s Super Service & Food Mart, a convenience store with an attached auto shop now at the center of a federal investigation into Mautino’s political spending during his time as a state lawmaker. The State Board of Elections also is looking at Mautino’s accounting of campaign funds, questioning whether he properly disclosed where the money went and, in some cases, if the expenses were allowed.
Illinois News Network: Moody’s: Illinois’ continued outbound migration a credit negative
With Illinois’ bottom-of-the-barrel credit rating, Moody’s Investors Service says the state’s continued population decline will make it more difficult to pay for government debt — and that could make the state’s credit rating even worse.
The most recent U.S. Census data indicate Illinois lost more than 37,500 people from July 2015 to July 2016. That marks the third straight year of declines, more than any other state in the country.
Chicago Sun-Times: New Illinois prisoner ID law is weak medicine
A new Illinois law, about to be signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, will grant free state IDs to prisoners upon their release from the Illinois Department of Corrections. This, says the governor and the bill’s sponsors, will reduce the likelihood of ex-offenders returning to prison and ease integration back into society.
Perhaps it will, to a point. But recidivism is a massive problem, and one largely created by the state. Responding to it with a free identification card is like using a tea spoon to bail water from a sinking ship.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago food trucks could get longer serving hours, rules compromise after court loss
The new year could bring food trucks in Chicago a little breathing room.
In early December, the future of the mobile food industry in Chicago appeared bleak. A food truck owner lost a four-year court battle to overturn parts of regulations voted in by the City Council that set strict rules on where and when mobile vendors could operate.
Chicago Tribune: City may have goofed again in appeals process for red light camera tickets
In its effort to clean up a mistake it made on 1.9 million red light and speed-camera tickets, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration has blundered again.
In a mass mailing last week to recipients of those tickets, City Hall offered a second chance to appeal the violations. The effort was intended to fend off a class-action lawsuit alleging the city failed to give ticket holders adequate time or notice the first time around.
Chicago Sun-Times: CPD revises street stop form yet again to boost police activity
The Chicago Police Department and the ACLU have once again agreed to simplify a burdensome “investigatory stop report,” but the police union says the changes won’t be enough to reverse an 80 percent drop in street stops.
No longer will the two-page form include the names and badge numbers of officers making the stop. That information will only go to a retired federal judge. Personal information about the person stopped will also be eliminated from the form.
Chicago Sun-Times: FOP president ‘not afraid’ of Justice Dept. report
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson warned the troops this week that the U.S. Justice Department’s findings will be ugly and police officers shouldn’t take it personally.
Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo doesn’t see it that way.
Chicago Tribune: Bill to require school lead testing stalls in Springfield
Despite renewed national attention to the dangers of lead plumbing, most schools and day care centers still aren’t required to guarantee the safety of drinking water provided to children who are most vulnerable to the toxic metal.
Limited voluntary testing shows parents have reason to be concerned. Chicago Public Schools has found lead in the water at dozens of buildings, and a dozen Cook County districts have reported results that ranged from trace amounts of lead to staggeringly high levels at some water fountains.
Chicago Sun-Times: Patti Blagojevich on Obama commutation hope: ‘He didn’t say no’
Patti Blagojevich says in a Facebook post that she hasn’t given up hope of President Barack Obama commuting the prison sentence of her husband, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who’s serving 14 years after being convicted of corruption charges.
Obama was asked in an interview that aired Thursday on NBC5 whether he’d commute Blagojevich’s sentence.
NBC 5 Chicago: Report: Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers Mulling Run for Governor
Chicago City Treasurer Kurt Summers is reportedly mulling a run for governor next year, according to Politico.
According to the report, a top aide to Summers said the city treasurer has met with possible donors and potential staffers as he gears up for a prospective bid.