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Chicago Tribune: With week to go, Rauner and Madigan can't even agree on meeting
Several days into a special session on the budget, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who run the legislature have made no progress toward an agreement to end the yearslong impasse that threatens schools, universities and social service programs, with Rauner himself dismissing the exercise as a “waste of time” so far.
Such last-minute attempts to cut a deal are normally marked by hours of closed-door meetings between the governor and legislative leaders, but those talks have been nonexistent. In their place remains the political sparring that largely has immobilized state government and put Illinois on path to enter the third straight year without a full budget come July 1.
Associated Press: Cullerton: Special budget session a 'political stunt'
Senate President John Cullerton says his chamber has previously accomplished everything Gov. Bruce Rauner has outlined on a special session agenda called to force a budget deal.
Cullerton told reporters Friday that special sessions are a “political stunt” to offer the governor political cover. Cullerton says the budget the Democrat-controlled Senate approved draws on Rauner’s ideas. The Democrats are pushing a $37.3 billion plan that includes cuts and an income tax increase.
Chicago Tribune: What Rauner really walked into
Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats in Springfield are engaged in a continuous game of tag and “not ‘it,'” blaming each other for the state’s disastrous finances. Certainly at this point, all sides deserve some blame.
Today, though, we’re exploring the frequent Democratic claim that in a cooperative Springfield, lawmakers used to settle on balanced budgets without histrionics. Then that dastardly Rauner came along in January 2015, and look, two years without budgets!
State Journal-Register: Mendoza: By August, there won’t be enough tax money to cover expenses
As legislative leaders argued Friday about who to meet with and when, Comptroller Susana Mendoza said August will be the month when state tax collections are no longer sufficient to cover mandated expenses.
Mendoza said Friday that in a “best-case scenario,” the state will fall $185 million short of what it needs to meet payments required by various court orders, consent decrees and state laws that have been responsible for the state to continue paying some bills in the absence of a full state budget.
Decatur Herald & Review: Decatur video gambling tally tops $878 million
Five years after the first legalized video gaming machine arrived, Illinois now has one terminal for every 481 residents — a ratio so big, so unexpected that even some operators and lawmakers are surprised by the proliferation.
The upturn of the chiming, flashing machines perched in diners, truck stops and sleek gaming parlors has sent millions of dollars into government coffers statewide, but also has raised serious questions about whether the trend has gone too far.
Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel and Rauner continue squabbling over phone-tax increase
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday decried Gov. Bruce Rauner’s opposition to a 28.2 percent telephone tax hike that would free up money the city hopes to use to shore up the Laborers Pension Fund “well into the next decade.”
The mayor noted that the tax was tucked into a statewide 911 telecommunications bill that got bi-partisan support: 51 votes in the Illinois Senate and 81 votes in the House.
Chicago Tribune: Scrutiny builds over Berrios property tax assessments; inspector general investigating
The inspector general for Cook County is investigating issues raised by a Tribune series that documented widespread errors and unfairness in property valuations produced by Assessor Joseph Berrios, the Tribune has learned.
The new inquiry into the Tribune findings is part of a broader investigation by an inspector general’s office that has sparred with Berrios about his authority over the two-term assessor’s operations.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois DCFS names new director, a veteran human services leader
Illinois’ new child welfare director will bring a long resume of human services leadership to an agency battered by scandals, management upheaval and the deaths of children in state care.
Beverly “BJ” Walker in the 1990s led efforts to reorganize Illinois’ human services agencies and won praise for piloting welfare-to-work programs that helped the state collect millions of dollars in federal performance bonuses.
Chicago Tribune: Welcome to Fear City, Illinois: Lessons from the New York financial meltdown
What happens, in the end, when government overspends, runs amok, can’t pay its bills? Is there any way back from the abyss?
We don’t know what will befall cash-strapped, struggling Illinois, but once there was a major metropolis that spent its way into a hole so deep that default was imminent: New York City in the hellish 1970s.
Chicago Tribune: What shoppers need to know about the Cook County pop tax
That 2-liter of pop you’re picking up for the Fourth of July picnic might pack a little sticker shock this year as Cook County rolls out a new penny-per-ounce tax on a wide variety of sugar- and artificially-sweetened beverages.
As one example, a 2-liter bottle, which usually costs about $1, will incur a 67-cent soda tax.
Peoria Journal-Star: Peoria Park District may outsource golf course management
The Peoria Park District has issued a request for proposals to outsource operations and management of its four golf courses as part of an ongoing strategic planning and cost-cutting process.
Executive director Emily Cahill said the proposal is part of an “information-gathering process” and the district’s staff has not made a decision or recommendation to the board whether outsourcing could be in the district’s best interest.
Belleville News-Democrat: Bridge work is two years late, $6 million over budget, one big disappointment
Ahead of time and under budget is the construction project ideal. Late and under budget is still fine. Late and over budget is not so good.
The Illinois 15 bridge project southeast of downtown Belleville is at least $6 million over budget and two years late. That’s a 42-percent cost overrun and double the promised time.