Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Under last assessor, property valuations failed to meet legal requirements
For more than a decade, the Cook County assessor’s office hid a secret inside the massive computer programs used to calculate property tax assessments for single-family homes.
It didn’t look like much — just a few snippets of code amid thousands of lines — but it created erroneous valuations for homes throughout the county, affecting the tax bills sent to more than 1 million residential property owners every year.
Fox Illinois: Governor Rauner May Call Special Session
Governor Bruce Rauner said Thursday he may call a special session if lawmakers don’t return to Springfield to negotiate a budget soon.
“Right now, while talking with the members of the General Assembly, we had our Chiefs of Staff meetings, if they don’t come back pretty quickly we’re going to have to look at calling a special session,” Rauner said.
Chicago Tribune: State budget impasse victims rip Rauner, who says Democrats using them as 'props'
Illinois House lawmakers spent Thursday listening to people who’ve been affected by the ongoing budget stalemate, a public display meant to put pressure on Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has dismissed such hearings as a “sham.”
The hearing in Chicago was the first since the Democrat-controlled legislature left town last week unable to agree on sending the Republican governor a spending plan.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois still has no budget, but lawmakers approved almost 500 other bills
Bickering between Democrats and Republicans that once again has left Illinois without a budget and dominated state politics, but lawmakers still managed to approve about 500 pieces of legislation in their spring session.
That means Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk is set to be cluttered with bills this summer, leaving him with lots of decisions to make even as he continues to tangle with lawmakers over big budget questions like whether schools will open in the fall.
News-Gazette: Is process really broken?
Holding a constitutional convention has surface appeal in a state whose leaders refuse to compromise.
An Illinois House member from Springfield — Rep. Tim Butler — has an interesting, but not persuasive, suggestion for fixing Illinois.
He contends that it’s time to hold another constitutional convention to revise the Illinois Constitution voters adopted in 1970. His proposal was motivated by complaints he’s heard from constituents who argued that the state’s framing document is insufficient to allow the state to move forward, whatever that means.
NPR Illinois: Community Colleges: 'Can't Keep Pulling Rabbits Out Of Hats'
The ongoing budget impasse has been particularly difficult for Illinois’ institutions of higher education, which have received a mere fraction of their usual state funds. Community colleges depend on the state to supply 30 percent of their overall budget, but that formula has evaporated over the past two years.
John Avendano is the president of Kankakee Community College, but he’s also president of the Presidents Council — the group made up of all Illinois community college presidents. He spoke with our Education Desk reporter about the special challenges these schools face.
Chicago Sun-Times: Amazon unveils Romeoville facility, may hire 8,000 by next year
Gov. Bruce Rauner, Romeoville Mayor John Noak and others who helped lure Amazon to Illinois gathered Thursday to get a look inside the e-commerce giant’s new fulfillment center in Romeoville.
The Romeoville facility is one of nine that will employ more than 8,000 workers in Illinois by next year. Two also are operating in Joliet, one in Edwardsville, near St. Louis, while others in Monee and Aurora and will open later this year. It also has Amazon Fresh, a new online grocery shopping business that opened a facility in Wood Dale. Another facility has been leased in Waukegan.
Chicago Tribune: Emanuel doles out developer money to neighborhood businesses on South, West sides
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday announced a total of $3.2 million in grants to restaurants, event centers, a dentist’s office, and other South and West side businesses, the opening salvo in what he expects will be a much larger series of payouts.
Emanuel has faced criticism that the payments from his Neighborhood Opportunity Fund could turn into a political slush fund of sorts to reward supporters and try to build new alliances in parts of the city where his popularity has suffered in the years since the Laquan McDonald police shooting amid stubbornly high violent crime.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Report: For Minimum Wage Workers, Affordable Housing ‘Out of Reach’
A new report offers a bleak look at the cost of housing in Illinois for those earning minimum wage.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s “Out of Reach” report released Thursday, those earning minimum wage in Illinois likely pay more than 30 percent of their incomes on rent for an average one- or two-bedroom apartment—a financial state called being “rent burdened.” The state’s minimum wage would have to increase by more than $12 per hour for these workers to be able to afford housing without being rent burdened, the report finds.
Rockford Register-Star: Winnebago County Board rejects latest proposal to provide funds to chief judge
Unfazed by a threat of litigation, the Winnebago County Board rejected a request for funding by 17th Judicial Circuit Court Chief Judge Joe McGraw.
Nine of 17 board members at tonight’s County Board meeting voted against a budget amendment that would release funds to McGraw to pay for the hiring of four juvenile detention corrections officers, a bailiff and law books. Three of the board’s 20 members were absent. The amendment needed a supermajority of at least 14 votes to pass.
Peoria Journal-Star: Peoria has high hopes for Caterpillar block
Expectations still run high for this Downtown city block, even after Caterpillar Inc. decided to abandon plans to build its headquarters campus there.
“That block is very important,” said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis, referring to the Adams Street block between Main and Fulton streets. While Caterpillar may not be locating a 21st century HQ on the site, the company is still involved to have something happen there, he said.
State Journal-Register: Springfield police contract headed to binding arbitration
Nearly a year after the Springfield City Council approved requiring new city employees to live within the city limits, the two largest public safety unions do not have contracts implementing the requirement.
Negotiations that started in early 2015 between the city and police union, which represents more than 220 officers, have reached an impasse.