Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Crain's Chicago Business: How city power players diverted millions in blight-fighting TIF cash to Navy Pier
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration signed off on an elaborate financial shell game that obscured payment of $55 million for renovations at Navy Pier with tax dollars reserved to fight urban blight, records show. The bookkeeping jiujitsu appears to violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the controversial tax-increment financing program, which critics say has been widely abused and not used for its intended purpose of spurring development in or near economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
A joint investigation by the Better Government Association and Crain’s Chicago Business finds that the administration began filtering the money in 2014 through a hotel project at McCormick Place, capitalizing on its Near South Side location as a rationale for tapping funds reserved for struggling communities.
Chicago Tribune: Why black homeownership rates lag even as the housing market recovers
A decade after the housing crash destroyed the American Dream for millions of homeowners, black homeownership rates have dropped to levels not seen since the 1960s, hobbling African-Americans’ efforts to build their wealth.
Nationally, only 42.2 percent of blacks owned homes in 2016, compared with 71.9 percent of whites, according to a new report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Associated Press: Moody's: Illinois avoids 'junk' credit rating, but risks remain
A major credit rating agency says Illinois’ rating won’t be lowered to “junk” but warns the state still faces serious financial challenges and long-term risks.
Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday affirmed Illinois’ current rating with a negative outlook, saying a downgrade remains possible in the next two years.
Chicago Tribune: Preckwinkle calls Rauner 'evil'
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle faces a world of woes on her own turf, with key ally Joe Berrios under fire for his work as county assessor and a lucrative tax she was counting on held up by the courts.
That hasn’t stopped her from criticizing other politicians, though.
Chicago Tribune: The flaws of Rauner and Madigan: Fatal or fixable?
If Illinois state government stumbles through another 16 months of standoff, no one should be surprised. Because regardless of the recent staff shakeup in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office, Illinois taxpayers still are stuck with two politicians, Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose yin and yang will never fuse.
Rauner’s recent ouster of his top aides, from his chief of staff to his communications team, popped the lid open on an administration that struggles to get its footing. Rauner has been unable to build consensus around his pro-growth policy agenda or shepherd to his desk any meaningful legislation that he advocated for as a gubernatorial candidate in 2014.
Belleville News-Democrat: While Rauner and politicians argue about education funding, local schools just want their money
In the last few weeks before students expect to return to school, education funding from the state remains uncertain.
The state approved a budget earlier this month by overriding the governor’s veto of the spending plan. But schools won’t get any of the money appropriated for general state aid until lawmakers agree on a funding formula, which is how the money will be distributed to them.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago schools to receive more money per student, but less overall as enrollment dips
Chicago Public Schools principals will receive slightly more money for each student in the coming academic year, district officials said Thursday, though a substantial portion of the increase will go toward higher salaries etched into recent labor contracts.
Despite the increase in per-pupil funding, a projected enrollment decline of about 8,000 students for the 2017-18 school year will mean district-operated schools receive roughly $43 million less than they did last year, officials said.
The Southern: Rauner: Amendatory veto of K-12 funding bill would help Southern Illinois schools
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Thursday that his plan to change the language of a key K-12 funding bill would funnel more money into downstate schools and avoid an unfair “bailout” of Chicago Public Schools.
During an interview with The Southern’s editorial board, Rauner called for the General Assembly to send him the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act, also known as SB1, which passed both chambers of the legislature on May 31 and has been held from the governor’s desk ever since.
Chicago Tribune: Harvey illegally diverted water cash owed to Chicago, millions missing, judge rules
In a rare move, a Cook County judge has taken away a south suburb’s control over its lucrative water operations after ruling the suburb’s leaders “failed to grasp the severity of their years of illegal conduct.”
Records show the city of Harvey had long taken water from Chicago, resold it and used the cash to keep the financially shaky town afloat. It joined a host of other questionable financial moves by the suburb’s leaders that have spurred federal investigations but no criminal charges.
Daily Herald: Metra: More fare hikes, service reductions possible
The state’s fragile budget could haunt Metra with possible service reductions and fare increases, officials said Wednesday.
In 2018, “we are ramping up for a very challenging budget year,” Chief Financial Officer Thomas Farmer said. “The combination of funding cuts and slowing sales taxes will put a lot of pressure on the 2018 budget. We will have to put everything on the table.”
Northwest Herald: In partnership with McHenry County Mental Health Board, Metra to install suicide prevention signs
Metra is partnering with several mental health organizations to install suicide prevention signs on station platforms along each of its 11 lines.
There have been 16 apparent suicides on Metra lines this year, said Michael Gillis, Metra’s director of media relations. Last year, there were 20 apparent suicides, and in 2015, there were 19, he said.
Rockford Register-Star: Property values on the rise in Rockford, Winnebago County
The region’s ailing housing market appears on the mend as assessed value of property in Winnebago County and Rockford is ticking up for a second consecutive year after property values took a steep dive amid the housing market crash in 2008.
Winnebago County Supervisor of Assessment Tom Walsh this week mailed notices of changes in assessed value to 9,867 property owners. The vast majority of those notices are informing property owners that their assessed value is going up. The changes won’t be final until after a review process, when property owners have the opportunity to challenge the increases before the Winnebago County Board of Review.
Decatur Herald & Review: ADM planning layoffs
Archer Daniels Midland Co. is laying off an unspecified number of workers, the company confirmed Thursday.
The Chicago-based global agribusiness giant, which has its North American headquarters and more than 4,000 employees in Decatur, said affected workers were being notified of “reductions of certain positions.”
Belleville News-Democrat: Will MidAmerica Airport start charging for parking?
The St. Clair County Public Building Commission on Thursday approved $23,000 for a study to help decide how to improve parking conditions at MidAmerica Airport near Mascoutah.
The current parking lot has 1,281 spaces that are “continuously over” 80 percent full, and there are times when “less than a handful” of spaces are available, according to the airport.