Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Journal Star: Reps. Hammond, Spain named to COVID spending oversight panel
Two local Republican House members have been named to a state panel overseeing state spending of federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Reps. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, and Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, were among the four House GOP members named to the Legislative Budget Oversight Commission, Republican leader Rep. Jim Durkin announced Friday.
The Center Square: Illinois Treasurer says progressive tax needed to tax high-earning retirees
Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs told attendees of a recent chamber of commerce event that the state needs a progressive income tax because it would allow for the taxation of retirement income above a certain level.
Frerichs spoke at the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce’s Mid-Year Economic Summit.
Crain's Chicago Business: Real property tax relief must come from Springfield
My colleague Alby Gallun reports that commercial and industrial property tax bills in northern Cook County rose 15.8 percent on average, an alarming figure underscoring the need to end Illinois’ overreliance on property taxes before it suffocates our economy. Northern Cook was the first section reassessed by County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, and property owners in that area are the first to receive bills based on higher assessments resulting from his new valuation methods. Similar increases likely are coming for commercial properties elsewhere in Cook County as Kaegi completes triennial reassessments over the next couple of years.
Crain's Chicago Business: Vote by mail explodes in Chicago
The explosion in remote voting is only expected to continue, driven by long-term trends and voters’ reluctance to mingle in crowds amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chicago Sun-Times: CPD supervisors can be investigated for anonymous misconduct complaints, arbitrator says
Chicago police sergeants, lieutenants and captains will soon be subject to misconduct investigations even if their accusers remain anonymous.
The change in longstanding policy comes after an independent arbitrator — overseeing four years of contract negotiations between the city and the three bargaining units that represent CPD supervisors — announced his award in a 106-page ruling Friday, largely finding in favor of the city in several contentious areas that have been placed under renewed scrutiny in the wake of several high-profile killings by police officers across the country.
The Center Square: Illinois prepares to borrow $3.8 billion for unemployment fund
As the state looks to borrow $300 million to pay out unemployment claims through the end of the month and up to $3.8 billion through September, it has paid out more than $7 billion in unemployment benefits, mostly from federal funds so far during the pandemic, but a state legislator said it has not been transparent.
About 1.4 million Illinoisans have applied for unemployment benefits since March. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported 46,000 people in Illinois had filed for unemployment, that’s about 1,300 more than the week before.
Chicago Tribune: Corrupt Chicago police sergeant sentenced to more than 7 years in federal prison for falsifying search warrants, stealing drugs
Convicted Chicago police Sgt. Xavier Elizondo may not have gotten rich off his scheme to use bogus search warrants to steal drugs and cash, but his corruption still has cost plenty, a federal judge said Friday.
In sentencing Elizondo to more than seven years in prison, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said corrupt officers like him are a big reason why “people don’t trust the system and don’t trust law enforcement.”
Rockford Register Star: Pritzker’s eviction moratorium challenged by Rockford landlord
Property owner Mark Dauenbaugh of Rockford is challenging Gov. JB Pritzker’s moratorium on eviction of tenants who fail to pay rent because of COVID-19.
Dauenbaugh, 66, is a member of the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association. He and two other association members, JL Properties Group and Steven Cole, filed suit Tuesday in Will County Circuit Court. They are challenging the governor’s legal authority to deny landlords the power to evict.
Daily Herald: Naperville Park District drops suit against Pritzker over pandemic reopening
Naperville Park District has dropped a lawsuit that sought local authority to make reopening decisions independent of the regulations issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
In a 4-3 vote, the park board Thursday voted to dismiss the suit, which it filed May 19, claiming Pritzker overstepped his bounds when he issued executive orders that closed, prevented or limited nonessential activities including gyms, playground use and golf.
Crain's Chicago Business: Odds improve for Lightfoot's casino, but . . .
The key word is “proposed.” If the pandemic finally ends and the casino actually gets built, it easily could produce $100 million to $150 million a year to shore up badly underfunded city police and fire pension systems. But what are the odds?