Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Bond Buyer: How Long Can Illinois Hold Onto Investment Grade Ratings?
Illinois’ sovereign powers over spending and revenues and its sturdy general obligation repayment statute are being tested as its budget gridlock inches toward the two-year mark.
The two factors have propped up the state’s credit profile but as the state’s budget deficit, bill backlog, and unfunded pension obligations climb to record levels, some market participants and politicians are questioning how long Illinois can preserve investment-grade status.
They see risk in the state’s failure to overcome political gridlock and use its sovereign powers to fix its budget problems, and the threat that liquidity strains could overwhelm the GO repayment provisions.
Chicago Tribune: CPS and CTU: The War of Bad Ideas
Chicago Public Schools leaders and Chicago Teachers Union officials are tussling over who can rob city students of more class time in the upcoming weeks. Call it: The War of Bad — OK, Terrible — Ideas.
First, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool threatened to shutter classes three weeks early because the district didn’t get $215 million in state funds the district had relied on in its current, fiscal 2017 budget. The district has filed a lawsuit in Cook County court to get more money from Springfield.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago aldermen shouldn't take free White Sox tickets, ethics official says
White Sox fans in the Chicago City Council shouldn’t accept the South Siders’ offer of free seats, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for next month’s home opener, the city Ethics Board said.
In a letter dated Monday to aldermen and other city officials, Ethics Board Chairman William Conlon writes that the package violates the city’s gift ban because it is worth more than $50. Conlon noted that the team said some officials already had accepted the tickets.
Chicago Tribune: Initiative pledges to get 10,000 Chicago youths back to work or school in 3 years
A new citywide initiative to slash the stubbornly high number of youths who are neither working nor in school will start by connecting the dozens of organizations that already serve them.
Thrive Chicago, a nonprofit founded two years ago to align the efforts of youth service providers, on Tuesday plans to announce the 10,000 Reconnected campaign, which pledges to get 10,000 “opportunity youths” ages 16 to 24 back to work or school by 2020.
Chicago Tribune: City change to pay-as-you-go loading zones begins
Commercial truck drivers using loading zones just north of Millennium Park will have to pay for the privilege starting Wednesday under a change Mayor Rahm Emanuel hopes will bring the city millions of dollars.
For now, the switch to pay-as-you-go loading and unloading will start in a sliver of downtown. Drivers will have to pay $14 an hour to leave their trucks in loading zones east of Michigan Avenue to the lake and north of Randolph Street to the river, according to the city.
Chicago Sun-Times: J.B. Pritzker sets up exploratory committee for governor
Billionaire venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday filed to establish an exploratory committee for governor as he inches closer to deciding whether he’ll try to take on Gov. Bruce Rauner in next year’s election.
The move allows Pritzker to start raising money for a potential campaign. Pritzker will contribute $200,000 to cover day-to-day operations with the committee.
Belleville News-Democrat: Lawsuit alleging rigged lottery moves from St. Clair to federal court
A class-action lawsuit alleging an Illinois lottery company defrauded players and businesses has moved from St. Clair County courts to federal court.
The lawsuit, filed in February in St. Clair County, accuses Northstar Lottery Group of manipulating the number of winning tickets available for purchase and discontinuing scratch-off games before large payouts, depriving customers from jackpots. The company misrepresented the actual chances of winning jackpots, the suit alleges, and violated contracts with ticket vendors, who would have earned commissions and bonuses from sales.
News-Gazette: Talking sense in Springfield?
Governments at all levels simply cannot afford to ignore opportunities to save taxpayer dollars.
Good luck to Champaign County Clerk Gordy Hulten in his attempt to sell some common sense to members of the Illinois General Assembly.
He fell short in a similar effort before the Champaign County Board, when he tried to persuade a majority to allow him to consolidate nine low-turnout, university-area polling places for the Feb. 28 primary and April 4 general election.
Decatur Herald & Review: Illinois House panel seeks school funding reform proposal
Illinois House members are picking up education funding reform where they say a commission convened by the governor left off.
Lawmakers gathered Tuesday to discuss proposals to revise the way Illinois finances its public schools. They plan this spring to write legislation to overhaul what many say is an outdated education funding model.
Associated Press: State rep seeks $25M anti-terrorism grant for Jewish groups
An Illinois lawmaker is seeking $25 million to help Jewish organizations tighten security after a series of threats and vandalism at Jewish institutions nationwide.
Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang introduced the legislation Monday. It would fund a grant program in the secretary of state’s office for “emergency” upgrades to prevent or respond to “acts of terrorism.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Parents and older teens boozing it up together in Illinois?
As my generation rebelled against the Vietnam War and protests demonstrations rocked the country, an important victory was won that I felt would surely be our legacy.
The drinking age for beer and wine in Illinois was lowered from 21 to 19.
Peoria Journal-Star: Washington High School dips into reserves for future facilities work
Nearly $1.6 million has been set aside for future facilities and transportation repairs and improvements at Washington Community High School.
School Board members Monday approved the transfer of $1.236 million in reserves from the high school’s education fund and $350,000 in reserves from the transportation fund to the operations and maintenance fund.
Belleville News-Democrat: St. Clair County hopes to add deputies, help firefighters if sales tax increase is approved
When St. Clair County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean McPeak begins a shift, the K-9 officer is wearing about 35 pounds of gear. He checks to see if there are any calls he has to respond to at the start of his 4:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. patrol.
During a round of business checks, McPeak finds two businesses with doors unlocked. He does a quick walk through to make sure nothing suspicious is taking place and then locks the door from the inside before leaving.
Wirepoints: A Horrible Bill Illustrates Illinois General Assembly’s Bumbling Dysfunction
You might remember when the capitol lights almost were shut off a couple years ago because the bill wasn’t getting paid. That was avoided but, figuratively, the lights are off.
Consider what the story of House Bill 2584 says about how our General Assembly works. The bill would give a massive windfall to existing bondholders that they didn’t bargain for. But the real story is about how such a bad bill could get as far as it has, unquestioned, and what that shows about how Illinois operates.
The bill would retroactively slap a blanket mortgage on all future tax revenue and fee income to secure repayment of all bonds issued by Illinois towns and cities, both bonds already issued and those to be issued in the future. Why is that important? Because every cent of your local tax money will go to bondholders if needed to pay bonds, not towards government services. And for countless Illinois municipalities that are insolvent or headed that way, bondholders indeed may have to use that mortgage to seize tax dollars to get paid. For those places, if the bill passes, no tax revenue would ever be available for services until bonds get paid in full.