Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois set to collect sales tax on more online purchases after Supreme Court ruling
Illinois is set to collect sales tax on more online purchases after the Supreme Court loosened restrictions on states’ ability to require retailers to charge the tax.
That means Illinois shoppers who are used to checking out tax-free when buying a laptop at Newegg or a sofa at Overstock could find themselves forking over a few extra dollars online. Those dollars will add up to an estimated $200 million a year for the cash-strapped state, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Champaign News-Gazette: Put on a happy face?
No one likes bad news, but it’s important to deal with it in a forthright manner.
There are people — how many is not clear — holding powerful positions in Illinois who decry the negativity surrounding government in this state, most particularly its beleaguered financial status.
Why can’t those who speak too candidly of our myriad of problems accentuate the positive, they wonder? That’s a question often asked about Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who acknowledges that the state has serious issues even as he tries to persuade businesses to move or expand here.
Bloomington Pantagraph: IDOC director: Local, state efforts needed to reduce recidivism
The challenging work of cutting the state’s recidivism rate requires energy and resources from inside and outside prison walls, the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections told an audience Thursday in Bloomington.
The current recidivism rate of 43 percent reflects a downward trend, John Baldwin told about 50 people at a meeting at Mennonite Church of Normal organized by Jobs Partnership, a program of the Joy Care Center.
Chicago Sun-Times: Toni Preckwinkle wants to weaken law that her medical examiner doesn’t follow
The Cook County medical examiner’s office routinely fails to abide by a requirement that it send an investigator to the scene of every suspicious death, including all homicides and suicides.
Now, saying it can’t afford to do that, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has come up with a Chicago-style solution: water down the county ordinance that requires the on-site visits.
Daily Herald: District 54 extends contracts for 8 top administrators
Expressing strong support for their eight top administrators, Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 board members Thursday approved the extension of their contracts to five years.
Superintendent Andy DuRoss, Associate Superintendent Nick Myers and five assistant superintendents also received a raise of 3 percent for the coming school year. Due to pay scale rules, Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations Ric King received a 2 percent raise, board President Mary Kay Prusnick said.
Rockford Register-Star: Rauner assures Rockford that airport money is coming
Chicago Rockford International Airport is going to have to wait until at least next month for $14.7 million from the state to help pay for AAR Corp.’s maintenance, repair and overhaul facility.
The money, included in the fiscal 2019 state budget signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, cannot be released until the new fiscal year starts July 1, said Jamey Dunn, a spokeswoman for the Illinois comptroller’s office.
Decatur Herald & Review: SIU President Randy Dunn keeps his job after trustees split on motion to put him on leave
The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees was split Thursday on whether to oust President Randy Dunn, deadlocking in a 4-4 vote after nearly four hours of deliberating in executive session.
At a special meeting on the Edwardsville campus, a motion to place Dunn on administrative leave failed after the Edwardsville community rallied in his defense during a public-comment period.