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Capitol News Illinois: Mendoza: New fiscal year will be even more challenging than height of budget impasse
The state of Illinois, like most states, began a new fiscal year on July 1 and the person in charge of managing the state’s bank accounts said she fears it could be one of the most difficult years in modern memory.
“This is going to be, I think, by far perhaps the most challenging year that I’ve had to manage as comptroller,” state Comptroller Susana Mendoza said in an interview Wednesday. “And that’s saying something because, you know, I had to navigate the state through what was, when I took office, the worst fiscal crisis that our state had ever experienced, that two-year budget impasse.”
The Center Square: State denies accusations of 'forum shopping' in Bailey lawsuit
Attorneys representing Gov. J.B. Pritzker are scheduled to appear in a Clay County Courtroom on Thursday afternoon to defend the state’s closure orders before a judge who had previously issued a scathing opinion unfavorable to the governor.
After seeking to have the case heard elsewhere, Pritzker was accused of “forum shopping” by opponents.
Capitol News Illinois: Raoul asks federal judge to force recognition of Equal Rights Amendment’s ratification
Illinois’ top lawyer wants a U.S. court to compel a federal official to formally acknowledge the Equal Rights Amendment received enough state support to be added to the U.S. Constitution – a largely procedural step that has thus far blocked the amendment from ratification.
Ensuring that happens, however, is not a simple matter.
The Center Square: Pritzker’s COVID-19 orders face court challenge in Clay County court
A state lawmaker who filed a lawsuit challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive authority amid the COVID-19 pandemic returns to state court Thursday, where a judge will hear his motion for summary judgment.
Illinois businesses are still operating under the restrictions Pritzker imposed more than 15 weeks ago. Two phases ago, state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, challenged the governor’s orders.
Chicago Sun-Times: Ticketing and booting reprieve ending for Chicago motorists
The temporary reprieve is over for Chicago motorists. Ticketing and booting are making an unwelcome comeback.
On March 18, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Chicago would stop ticketing, booting and towing illegally parked vehicles, except for public safety reasons, through April 30 to give some measure of relief to residents whose jobs and paychecks have been impacted by the coronavirus.