Get the latest news from around Illinois.
State Journal-Register: Rauner to consider allowing medical cannabis for opioid patients
Gov. Bruce Rauner soon will be asked to weigh in on a bill designed to avoid addiction to prescription painkillers and reduce opioid overdoses by giving certain patients quick but temporary access to the state’s medical marijuana program.
The legislation, which passed with bipartisan support and supermajorities in the Illinois House and Senate, soon will be sent to the Republican governor’s desk, said Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, sponsor of Senate Bill 336.
State Journal-Register: Illinois pharmacies pushing for more data on Medicaid managed-care deals
Independent pharmacies were unable to win protections in the recently adjourned legislative session against what they see as predatory business practices and misuse of state dollars in the state’s Medicaid managed-care program, HealthChoice Illinois.
But they hope to pass legislation in the General Assembly’s fall veto session that requires disclosure of information from the often-secretive dealings between managed-care organizations, subcontracting companies known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and pharmacies that depend on PBMs for payment.
Crain's Chicago Business: Can Elon Musk really deliver O'Hare express for less than a billion dollars?
Elon Musk made his reputation, and his fortune, proving skeptics wrong.
He built an electric car that turned heads and created a rocket company that launched one of those vehicles into space. But now he faces more doubt than ever over the seemingly pedestrian task of digging a hole in the ground. Skepticism surfaced almost as soon as Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Musk’s Boring Company had been chosen to build a super-fast shuttle between downtown and O’Hare International Airport that will be more than twice as fast as current trains and cost half as much as a taxi.
Northwest Herald: Some McHenry County officials flee homes in search of cheaper property taxes
First it was McHenry County College Board of Trustees President Chris Jenner moving to Florida.
Then it was moving trucks in front of Lakewood Village President Paul Serwatka’s house and an announcement that he plans to resign and move to Alabama.
Northwest Herald: Algonquin Township highway commissioner's attorney has no malpractice coverage, records show
Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser sued fellow Algonquin Township officials for trying to control parts of the highway department, but they still expect his lawyer, Robert Hanlon, to provide proof he has malpractice insurance.
“If he has a different policy, then why didn’t he show it in the first place?” Trustee Melissa Victor said. “This is another political game and a way for him to make more money and take more taxpayer dollars.”
Northwest Herald: McHenry Township officials send letter to Gov. Bruce Rauner supporting elimination bill
McHenry Township officials voted, 4-1, last week to send a letter to Gov. Bruce Rauner in support of a proposed bill that could allow voters to eliminate townships at the polls.
The correspondence was sent Thursday to counteract an oppositional letter the McHenry County Board sent to the Republican governor in May, McHenry Township Trustee Bob Anderson said.
Daily Herald: 1 slot machine for every 46 residents: The suburbs with the most gambling
Oakbrook Terrace doesn’t have a casino, but residents don’t have to go far to gamble.
The city has one video gambling machine for every 46 residents, the highest density among 58 suburban locations that allow video gambling, a Daily Herald analysis shows.
Daily Herald: Rosemont hikes water rates 7 percent
Rosemont is hiking its water rates by some 7 percent to pass along expected increases from the city of Chicago.
The average residential water bill, which comes every three months, is $112 — a number expected to go up by $7.84, village officials said.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Council eyes TIF policy vote expected Monday
The city of Bloomington would use tax increment financing for economic development only as a “last resort” under proposed TIF guidelines that also stop short of guaranteeing taxing bodies such as Bloomington District 87 won’t lose revenue.
The City Council will meet in a special voting session at 5:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall to consider adopting the guidelines drafted, in part, to address the school district’s concerns. District 87 is worried about the erosion of its tax base over the life of a TIF district, which typically lasts up to 23 years.