Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Crain's Chicago Business: State makes no progress on pensions despite rising stock market
Total debt, or unfunded liability, on the state’s combined employee pension funds in fiscal 2019 actually increased from $133.5 billion to $137.2 billion, the report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability states. The funded ratio of assets to liabilities did improve slightly, but only very slightly, moving from 40.2 percent to 40.3 percent.
The Center Square: As U.S. shatters job gains, Illinois faces long recovery
More Illinoisans went back to work last week as the nation posted record job gains, but a full recovery remains far off.
The U.S. Department of Labor posted both its weekly unemployment figures and June unemployment data ahead of the holiday weekend. The department announced the nation added 4.8 million jobs in June, shattering previous records and expectations. The last record was in May when the U.S. added 2.7 million jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent in June.
Chicago Tribune: Federal judge denies GOP request to prevent Pritzker’s crowd limit rule from applying to political gatherings
A federal judge on Thursday denied the Illinois Republican Party’s request to temporarily block Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s ban on gatherings of more than 50 people from applying to political gatherings.
The lawsuit, filed last month by the state GOP and three local Republican organizations, alleges the rules in Pritzker’s order violate the First and 14th amendments. It asks the court to exempt political parties from the cap on gatherings and seeks permission to hold in-person events without size restrictions in the run-up to the November election.
Capitol News Illinois: Unemployment claims dip slightly as state reopens
The number of Illinois workers receiving state unemployment benefits fell by more than 29,000 during the last week of June as many businesses resumed operations after 14 weeks under a stay-at-home order brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday there were 676,338 people in Illinois receiving continuing unemployment benefits during the week that ended June 27. That was 29,511 fewer than the previous week.
Chicago Tribune: Mayor Lori Lightfoot, city officials threaten to shut down bars that don’t follow social distancing guidelines
The city of Chicago will shut down bars that aren’t following social distancing guidelines and increase patrols in “problem areas,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other officials told liquor license holders on a conference call ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.
“If you squander this opportunity we will shut you down and you will not reopen anytime soon,” Lightfoot said on the call, according to two sources.
Chicago Sun-Times: Feds zeroed in on O’Hare Airport deals during Daley administration, FBI files show
In April 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times published a blockbuster story that rattled then-Mayor Richard M. Daley: His pal Oscar D’Angelo had collected $480,000 or more “to broker a lucrative deal” allowing the W.H. Smith company to keep operating shops for travelers at city-run O’Hare Airport.
The concession deal also stood to benefit two friends of Daley’s wife.
The Center Square: Illinois’ increased minimum wage during pandemic will impact local governments, nonprofits
Illinois’ minimum wage, which increased to $10 an hour this week, isn’t just affecting business owners, some expect it to impact taxpayer-funded local governments already taking in less revenue because of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and nonprofit groups who are taking in less money because of canceled fundraising events.
A group called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage said when the minimum wage is increased in places like Illinois, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, D.C., it means more money in the pockets of workers and more consumer spending at local businesses.
Crain's Chicago Business: Here's how much Chicago spends on policing
On paper, CPD appears beefier than most other large police departments, deploying more officers per capita than any big city in the country: According to 2018 FBI data, Chicago has 48 cops per 10,000 residents, compared to New York City’s 42, Philadelphia’s 41 and just 24 in Los Angeles.
The Center Square: Commission to 'Restore Illinois' issues first report without meeting
The first report from the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission surfaced Thursday, a day after it was supposed to be shared with state lawmakers, and without any kind of meeting of the commission.
The state law creating the Restore Illinois Collaborative Commission was signed by the governor last month and required an initial report on how to revive the state’s economy to be issued July 1.
Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois casinos angling to clean up now that coronavirus closing is over
Imagine Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra sitting down for a hand of blackjack, with their trademark banter muffled by surgical masks — not to mention a plexiglass partition separating all three.
Pass on the Rat Pack star power, take a hit of hand sanitizer, and you’ve got an idea of what a COVID-19 casino looks like.
Crain's Chicago Business: Why local school districts are lining up against Fritz Kaegi
After Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi more than doubled the property’s estimated market value, to $67.8 million, last year, the shopping center’s owner, Chicago-based Newport Capital Partners, sought a reduction from the county Board of Review, which hears assessment appeals.
State Journal-Register: Two former SMTD employees face multiple theft charges
Two former employees of the Sangamon County Mass Transit District are facing multiple charges against the company.
In both cases, the thefts against SMTD were over a period of years.
Northwest Herald: Cary District 26 school board approves salary increases, gets update on return to school task force
The Cary School District 26 Board approved a 3% salary increase for all administrators, except the superintendent, and a 3% salary increase for nonunion education support personnel, for the 2020-21 school year at its Tuesday meeting.
“We feel that 3% is needed to maintain our competitiveness to bring in quality people,” Superintendent Brian Coleman said. “We’re always concerned about turnover in the school district, and we want to maintain quality people for our students and our staff to work with.”
Rockford Register Star: Bustos joins Rockford officials to push $1.5T infrastructure bill
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, joined Rockford-area officials on Thursday in a virtual news conference to tout a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that would invest in broadband, water infrastructure, rail, transit, roads, bridges and health care.
Infrastructure is about an investment in the future, but is also about improving connections, Bustos said.