Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Bickering continues upon lawmakers' return to Springfield
Lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Wednesday after being whistled back for a special session on the budget by Gov. Bruce Rauner, and it quickly became apparent that not much has changed in the weeks they were away.
Democrats who control the General Assembly and Republicans led by Rauner remain locked in a political fight that’s left Illinois poised to start a third straight year without a full budget on July 1.
Chicago Sun-Times: On Day 1 of special session, Madigan calls for committees of the whole
With no action on the House floor on Day One of a special session, House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday scheduled two sessions to allow legislators in both chambers to collectively discuss changes in workers’ compensation and a property tax freeze, a move characterized by Republicans as a waste of precious time.
The bottom line remains the same: The state is hemorrhaging without a full budget since July 2015, with Gov. Bruce Rauner and the speaker still at odds over budget priorities and reforms. And it’s impossible to predict whether an agreement will be reached ahead of the new fiscal year deadline, June 30.
Crain's Chicago Business: Could this finally spark a budget deal?
Lawmakers returned to Springfield today to work on a state budget, and so far absolutely nothing of consequence has happened, despite Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “unity” speech last night.
But one area of government has exploded as a potential pressure point: The looming shutdown in billions of dollars worth of roadwork, as soon as July 1.
State Journal-Register: Luciano: Is this Illinois or the Third World?
Sick of Illinois yet?
I have neither the time nor patience here to tick through all of the state’s budget failings over the past three years. Of latest alarm, the fiscal year starts July 1, though deadlines mean nothing at the Statehouse, where politics — hubris at the top, cowardice everywhere else — puts the “ill” in Illinois.
WGN: Deadbeat Illinois: Adult day care owed $160,000 from state
No state in the nation has gone this long without a budget or has a bigger backlog of unpaid bills.
One bill – among thousands – was submitted by Autumn Country Club. It’s a an affectionate name for a family-run Joliet adult day care facility. It’s a facility whose owners are contemplating closing because its biggest client is a deadbeat.
Chicago Tribune: Top Illinois debt owners unlikely to sell if bonds cut to junk
If Illinois’s debt gets downgraded to junk status next month, it’s unlikely there will be a stampede to the exits by the largest bondholders.
The seven largest holders of the debt — who collectively hold about $5.9 billion of the $23 billion in outstanding state G.O. bonds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg — all said they will not be forced to sell should the bonds fall below investment grade. The firms, each of which run mutual funds, said they can own varying amounts of junk-rated debt and can exercise their discretion to avoid unloading bonds under fire sale conditions.
Chicago Tribune: Black exodus accelerates in Cook County, census shows
Cook County in 2016 again recorded the largest black population of any county in the U.S., but it carries that title with less conviction than previous years as more African-Americans move to outlying suburbs or warmer states in the South and West, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Between 2015 and 2016, more than 12,000 black residents left Cook County, an increase from the previous year when about 9,000 residents left. The greater Chicago area, which for the census includes parts of Indiana and Wisconsin, has lost nearly 46,000 black residents since 2010. That exodus is larger than in any other metropolitan area in the country.
Chicago Tribune: 'Chuy' Garcia seeks answers from Assessor Berrios on unfair property tax assessments
Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said Wednesday that he wants Assessor Joseph Berrios to explain troubling inequities in property tax assessments following a Tribune investigation that found wealthier neighborhoods got breaks at the expense of poorer areas.
Garcia, a former candidate for mayor, said he would file a resolution seeking Berrios to appear before the full county board to discuss why the assessor’s office has tended to overestimate the value of properties in neighborhoods like Little Village, where the commissioner lives, and nearby North Lawndale, and to undervalue properties downtown.
Courier-News: Ex-lawmaker Keith Farnham dies in prison serving time for child porn conviction
Former State Rep. Keith Farnham, 69, of Elgin, who was serving an 8-year prison term for trafficking in child pornography over the Internet, died June 18 at Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina, according Federal Bureau of Prisons officials.
In May 2015, the Elgin Democrat surrendered to authorities at Butner and claimed to be in poor health. Farnham reportedly was suffering from bladder cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and hepatitis C when he reported to prison.
Chicago Tribune: Metra OKs $2.7M in lobbying contracts with clouted firms; new seats en route
Metra’s board of directors on Wednesday renewed contracts with six politically connected lobbying firms for new, five-year periods for almost $2.7 million.
Four of the six contracts were set to expire at the end of the year, but will now be renewed through 2022.
Chicago Tribune: Ald. King defends husband who faces fine for lobbying violation
A South Side alderman on Wednesday defended her husband against the Chicago Board of Ethics’ determination that he illegally lobbied Mayor Rahm Emanuel to make sure an annual house music picnic he and his business partners stage each year went on as planned.
Ald. Sophia King, 4th, said the ethics board was “not following the letter or the spirit of the law” when it determined that Alan King had engaged in lobbying activity without registering, as required by city ordinance.
Northwest Herald: cHenry County Board approves March referendum to eliminate recorder's office
McHenry County voters will decide in March whether to keep or consolidate the office of recorder of deeds.
County Board members voted Tuesday evening to put a binding referendum to voters in the 2018 primary. The board approved the question without any debate as part of its routine consent agenda.
Decatur Herald & Review: State budget woes could stop construction at Richland, again
The state’s budget impasse could stall construction again on Richland Community College’s Student Success Center, just a few months after the work resumed following more than a year’s delay.
Without a state budget in place, work on the facility would stop June 30, officials said Tuesday. The announcement came during a meeting at which the college’s board of trustees also approved a budget that included no state funding and represented a $1 million spending cut from this year’s budget.
Belleville News-Democrat: MidAmerica Airport’s cost of success keeps going up, up and away
Good news out of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport: Allegiant Air is starting flights to Phoenix, and there’s enough passenger traffic that the Transportation Security Administration needs to put in a second line with advanced passenger and baggage screening machines.
Success is just around the corner, right?
Except that all this positive momentum is requiring more spending on the airport.