Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Own property on Chicago’s North Side or central core? Expect a big tax hike
Homeowners and commercial property owners on Chicago’s North Side and the city’s central core could be hit with much steeper property taxes this year, according to calculations issued by the Cook County clerk’s office Thursday.
A northward shift in the city’s tax burden, though, means many South Side property owners will be spared significant hikes.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois politicians have school choice. But they want to curb it for other people’s kids.
As part of the General Assembly’s continued attack on school choice for underprivileged Illinois schoolkids, lawmakers sent Gov. J.B. Pritzker legislation abolishing a commission that has independently evaluated charter schools since 2011. The bill eliminates the Illinois State Charter School Commission. That would weaken the ability of new charter schools to open, and of existing ones to remain.
If Pritzker signs the bill, it would mark another significant step backward for school choice options for low- and middle-income kids in Chicago and across Illinois.
Daily Herald: How many collecting Illinois pensions have moved to other states, and how much did they take with them?
More than 71,000 people collecting public pensions from six statewide retirement plans have moved out of Illinois, taking more than $2.4 billion annually with them.
That’s roughly 18% of all the pensioners in those systems, according to a Daily Herald analysis of financial data obtained through public records requests with the six pension programs.
Chicago Sun-Times: Casino owner, others with gambling-industry ties helped Lori Lightfoot become mayor
With legal gambling set to explode across Illinois, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be among the government officials who’ll have a strong say in how that plays out in Chicago.
Among those who could benefit from decisions she makes on such matters, including where Chicago’s first casino should go and whether slot machines go in at O’Hare Airport and Midway Airport, are some of Lightfoot’s campaign contributors and clients at her former law firm.
WBEZ: Costly Chicago Program For Juveniles Has Questionable Outcomes, Lacks Transparency
The police station at the corner of Pershing and California on Chicago’s Southwest Side looks like any other station.
It’s brick and stone, with an arched window over a wide door. But this police station is supposed to be different. It only processes juveniles and its goal is to divert kids from the criminal justice system and provide them with services.
Northwest Herald: Richmond-Burton District 157 approves new teacher contract, raises
The Richmond-Burton High School District 157 Board has approved a new teachers contract and raises for its support staff and administrators.
Noncertified support staff, which includes teachers aides and hourly employees, will receive a 5.5% raise, and administrative staff will receive raises between 1.5% and 3.6% based on the position held. The board determines raises for those groups annually, said Superintendent Tom Lind.
Rockford Register-Star: Winnebago County Board considers contract for administrator
Winnebago County Board members are considering offering County Administrator Carla Paschal a contract as a means of providing her job security.
The contract proposal comes as Chairman Frank Haney prepares to sue the board to reclaim executive power that the board stripped from him, placing what he claims is overly broad power in the hands of the county’s unelected day-to-day administrator.
Champaign News-Gazette: A closer look at Urbana's newly approved $59.3 million budget
With budget season coming to a close and all bills now approved, Urbana’s $59.3 million budget is the third to come with deep cuts and revenue increases.
Dealing with a structural deficit and the large amount of one-time spending the city has to do, Urbana is focused currently on growing its economy — “a key component of moving the city toward a sustainable budget,” officials said during the first budget address in May.
The Southern: Illinois AG: John A. Logan College violated Open Meetings Act when discussing layoffs in 2016
The John A. Logan College Board of Trustees violated the Open Meetings Act during a March 2016 meeting when its members discussed a controversial plan to lay off 55 employees at the Carterville community college in a lengthy executive session, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office determined last week.
The public access counselor’s advisory determination states that a review of the executive session recording found that only about eight minutes of the 70-minute executive session met the legal threshold for closed session discussions.