Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Majority of Illinois House members sign on as co-sponsors of resolution to slow process of legalizing marijuana
A majority of the Illinois House of Representatives has indicated its support of a resolution to slow down legalization of recreational marijuana in the state.
Sixty of the 118 members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors of a resolution to slow legalization to give more time to consider the societal impact of and data from other states.
Crain's Chicago Business: College Illinois bailout now tops $500 million
That’s the amount per student that Illinois taxpayers will have to shell out to make good on contracts purchased by parents and others to “pre-pay” for tuition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and other state schools under the state’s College Illinois program.
Crain's Chicago Business: It's time to put College Illinois to pasture for good
The latest case in point: College Illinois.
Crain's Chicago Business: Exelon's hand is out for more nuke subsidies—and a power market referee cries foul
Three years after winning ratepayer-funded subsidies for two Illinois nuclear plants, Exelon is back in Springfield with its hand out for more cash for other financially pressured nuclear plants that haven’t yet been bailed out. The House Public Utilities Committee is scheduled to vote March 26 on the bill, and Exelon is pressing for action in this session.
Chicago Tribune: Cook County jury awards $5.1 million in damages in fatal shooting by Chicago cop in 2014
Cook County jury has awarded nearly $5.1 million to the family of an African-American man fatally shot by a white Chicago police officer nearly five years ago on the West Side.
The lawsuit largely hinged on whether Gary Smith, 37, was carrying a gun when he was shot by Officer Arkadiusz Pachnik, then a tactical officer assigned to the Austin District.
Chicago Sun-Times: Civic Federation president urges new mayor to think big in cutting costs
Chicago’s next mayor should think big about cost-cutting to confront a $1 billion spike in pension payments because “low-hanging fruit” on the revenue side has already been plucked, the Civic Federation president said Friday.
Laurence Msall argued that the time to tinker at the margins of reducing government bureaucracy is over. It’s time to get out the meat ax.
WBEZ: Mayor Emanuel Spending For A Time When He Won’t Be Mayor
Chicago Public Schools principals will get an early spring surprise Monday when their school-level spending plans for next year will arrive. More than 100 of them will see extra money to support new preschool classes.
The news about the school budgets came Friday just as Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a $27 million preschool expansion.
Northwest Herald: Alden-Hebron School District 19 residents to face $20.3M referendum question
Residents within the Alden-Hebron School District 19 boundary lines will face a referendum question on the April 2 ballot.
The district is requesting taxpayer approval for a $20.3 million plan to build a new facility for its middle and high school students. A person who owns a $150,000 home could expect to see the school district portion of their property tax bill go up by $913 if the referendum passes.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Gleason: Majority of Bloomington aldermen support doubling motor fuel tax
The City Council will vote Monday night on whether to double the local motor fuel tax from 4 cents to 8 cents.
City Manager Tim Gleason said this week that he would place the gas tax hike on the meeting agenda only if he had the support of a majority of aldermen.
The Southern: Full state ethics report shows Randy Dunn, not Montemagno, made improper hires, then blamed others
In early 2018, former Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor Carlo Montemagno was accused of nepotism for improperly hiring Melissa and Jeffrey Germain, his daughter and son-in-law. But an investigation into the hirings by the Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General has found Montemagno’s superior, former Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn, was at fault.
According to the OEIG report, dated Dec. 13, 2018, Dunn committed to the hirings as a term of Montemagno’s employment, then concealed his agreement with Montemagno from the Board of Trustees.