Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Thousands of protesters in Illinois demand police reforms
Thousands of protesters gathered across the state on Saturday to demand more accountability for police officers after the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minneapolis.
In Chicago, an estimated 20,000 people gathered in Union Park and marched through the streets. Smaller gatherings were held in cities across the state, according to media reports.
Crain's Chicago Business: Coronavirus is only adding to retail's ailments
With the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the retail business, many mall owners are handling a lot these days. Department stores, the engines that propelled malls for decades, were slowly slipping into irrelevancy before the health crisis, as shopping habits changed and e-commerce ate into their business.
WBEZ: Chicago mayor says police union is 'extraordinarily reluctant' to embrace reform
With nationwide protests focusing renewed attention and urgency on the issue of police brutality, Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago says that police unions continue to be one of the biggest obstacles to reform.
“Unfortunately, in history in our city, and I think the history of other cities, unions are extraordinarily reluctant to embrace reform and that’s a current state of affairs here,” Lightfoot said in an interview Saturday with NPR’s Weekend Edition. “We have had to take them to arbitration to win very modest reforms, and that’s a shame of the history of collective bargaining where there hasn’t been an emphasis on reform and accountability.”
Rockford Register Star: Group pushes for body cameras for all Rockford police
Petitions seeking to have all Rockford police officers equipped with body cameras will be circulating Monday afternoon outside of City Hall.
The petition drive, organized by a local group known as Action 4 Change, is part of a rally and march starting at noon at Davis Park.