Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Coronavirus disruptions could strain Chicago’s finances and pension funds
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread around the world and cause disruptions across the United States, it is also threatening to upend the city of Chicago’s budget and further stretch its already tight finances.
Already, the rapidly spreading disease has cost the city potentially millions of dollars in tax revenue from canceled conventions and celebrations such as the St. Patrick’s Day parades. With Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot banning public gatherings of more than 1,000 people and strongly discouraging events with more than 250, it’s clear Chicago’s finances are going to take a hit from COVID-19.
The Center Square: As classes move online, businesses in college towns brace for economic hit
As Illinois colleges and universities extend spring break for students and move to online classrooms amid growing concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, businesses in college towns are already feeling the pinch.
The University of Illinois, Illinois State, Bradley University, and Northwestern are just some of the schools that have announced plans to move classes online after spring break.
Crain's Chicago Business: Pritzker orders all schools shut
In a press conference, Pritzker said the move will apply to more than two million elementary and secondary school students statewide.
WBEZ: Illinois prisons halt visits to protect against COVID-19, advocates call for release of elderly prisoners
The Illinois Department of Corrections is temporarily suspending visits to keep prisoners and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. A spokesperson says the department will increase access to phone calls and video visiting and is making sanitizer, antibacterial soap, and cleaning supplies available to staff and prisoners.
People in prisons are at heightened risk of the novel coronavirus because of close quarters, poor sanitation, limited medical care and an aging population, according to prison watchdogs.
The Center Square: New bill would limit use of solitary confinement in Illinois prisons
The harrowing story of a man who spent more than two decades in solitary confinement is now the call to arms for advocates looking to limit how Illinois prisons can use the practice.
In 1994, Rock Island native Anthony Gay was put in solitary confinement after being arrested for stealing a hat and a $1 bill.
Crain's Chicago Business: This tax hike will backfire on affordable housing
A consensus has emerged among Springfield lawmakers and Mayor Lori Lightfoot to authorize Chicago’s switch to progressive rates on real estate transfers. Though the framework would provide welcome relief for smaller homeowners, it would hammer the multifamily residential market and undermine the initial goal of stimulating more affordable housing.
News-Gazette: Champaign council OKs emergency powers for mayor, city manager in response to coronavirus
At a meeting Friday morning, the Champaign City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that gives the mayor and city manager certain emergency powers in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
It allows them to suspend licenses for special events, delay deadlines for paying bills to the city and restrict access to city buildings.
Chicago Tribune: Bill would allow campaign funds to cover child care in effort to create 'a system that’s more available to moms’
When Alexandra Eidenberg ran for Illinois state representative in 2018, she hired a nanny to watch her four children — all under the age of 5 — while she was on the campaign trail. She assumed she’d be able to use campaign funds to pay for a portion of the child care.
After Eidenberg submitted her first campaign receipts, her treasurer told her that child care was a nonreimbursable expense. Eidenberg was taken aback because hiring a nanny had allowed her to campaign full time. Instead, to reduce the financial strain on the family, her husband began watching the children one day a week.
Crain's Chicago Business: Peoples Gas' bad debt goes under the microscope
Attorney General Kwame Raoul is asking state regulators, who must approve Peoples’ charges to paying customers to cover its costs for unpaid bills, to compel the utility to change its strategies for collecting from households behind on heating bills. Despite historically low costs for natural gas, heating costs are rising in the city thanks to Peoples’ costly and over-budget pipe-replacement and infrastructure program.