Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday vetoed a bill that was designed to clear the way for a major overhaul of how the state distributes dollars to public schools, saying issues remain that would prevent about three dozen private schools from participating in a new scholarship program.

Rauner used his amendatory veto powers to rewrite the measure, which sponsors said was requested by the Illinois State Board of Education so officials could move forward on a new school funding formula that would prioritize poor and needy schools.

The Bitcoin craze has hit the Capitol as an Illinois House subcommittee was formed to explore the state’s policies toward the decentralized digital currency and others like it.

Though the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation currently does not consider such digital currencies valid, lawmakers believe with the proper measures, digital currencies and blockchain technology can have many benefits, such as making state government more efficient.

Illinois Democrats on Tuesday will hold a hearing in Chicago to question how Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration handled a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a state-run veterans home in Quincy.

The 2015 outbreak of the water-borne illness and the administration’s response to it have been under scrutiny following a WBEZ-FM 91.5 report that found that the administration delayed telling family members about the outbreak until its later, fatal stages. More than a dozen residents have died from the disease since 2015.

For the past several years, Illinois has been losing more college students than any state except New Jersey. Last year, as higher education was starved by the state budget impasse, that trend continued.

Overall, undergraduate enrollment decreased by 2 percent, with even steeper drops at public universities and community colleges.

Chicago Federation of Labor President Jorge Ramirez refused to reveal the size of the five-year pay raise or specifics of the health care concessions.

The Chicago Teachers Union said Monday that the Chicago Public Schools’ plans to close schools including all of Englewood’s open-enrollment high schools and the top-rated elementary school in the South Loop would violate CPS’ contract with teachers.

“Our union built protections from arbitrary and unwarranted school closings into our contract,” said Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the union, which filed a grievance Friday to try to block the school closings.

federal judge on Monday ordered Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown to provide media outlets with immediate access to electronically filed civil lawsuits, giving the clerk 30 days to make the change.

The order by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in a lawsuit brought by a civil litigation news service is the latest judicial decision over Brown’s handling of digital legal documents. Last month, the Illinois Supreme Court gave the clerk an extra six months to meet a statewide deadline to end nearly all paper filings in civil cases after Brown said her vendor wouldn’t be ready by Jan. 1.

Last month, the Chicago Police Department announced a goal achieved one year ahead of schedule: outfitting all of its patrol officers with body cameras.

But the Fraternal Order of Police – the union representing the bulk of Chicago’s 12,000 rank-and-file police officers – is fighting the measure.

Elk Grove Township District 59 school board members could remove a contested $20 million bond referendum from the March ballot.

In an unexpected and last-minute decision Monday, the school board decided to schedule a special meeting this week to potentially nix the referendum just ahead of a Friday deadline.

Business license fees for pawn shops and secondhand stores would increase dramatically under a financial task force proposal going to City Council.

It’s a measure two pawn shop owners said would place an unacceptable burden on their businesses.

Changing starting and dismissal times at Peoria’s three high schools is back on the backburner. Instead, high school students may get out of classes an hour early once a week next school year.

The change is part of the latest proposal to cut costs of teachers’ planning meetings at Peoria Public Schools. With students dismissed early once a week, high school teachers would meet in so-called “Professional Learning Communities,” or PLCs, to discuss topics such as curriculum, instructional practices and how to improve academic achievement.

The Urbana City Council discussed how to make $500,000 in budget cuts Monday evening.

Mayor Diane Marlin said the main issue is the city’s revenues not keeping pace with expenditures.