Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Bloomington Pantagraph: 'What we owe our veterans': Specialty court offers path to recovery
They served their country and after returning home, found themselves fighting enemies from within and little sympathy for their battle against the lingering effects of their military service.
Veterans are less likely to be incarcerated than non-veterans, but when they do become involved with the criminal justice system, a link commonly exists between their trauma, mental health or substance abuse issues and their time in the military.
State Journal-Register: Senate bill would raise state gas tax by 19 cents per gallon to fund road and bridge repairs
A bill introduced last week in the State Senate would double the Illinois gas tax, from 19 cents to 38 cents per gallon, and hike vehicle registration fees to pay for repairs to roads, bridges and transit systems.
Senate Bill 103, proposed by State Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, could create almost $2 billion in additional revenue annually. The bill also proposes increasing driver’s license fees.
Chicago Tribune: Independent pharmacies across Illinois say they can’t afford to stay open. Here’s why.
The pharmacy’s workers cleared the shelves. A maintenance crew took down the signs. And then they shut the pharmacy’s doors for the final time in July.
Dave Falk said he was forced to close his Sav-Mor Pharmacy in rural Mount Pulaski after the recent expansion of a state program that relies on private insurers to administer Medicaid benefits for the state.
Chicago Sun-Times: South Side students stuck with longest school commutes, study shows
The average high school student living in Pilsen or Little Village spends 22 minutes traveling 2.4 miles every morning to get to school.
But it takes South Side high schoolers in the Greater Stony Island region about 35 minutes to cover the 4.6 miles separating them from the first bell.
Northwest Herald: McHenry County state's attorney refers Algonquin Township salt bid case to Illinois AG
The findings of a McHenry County Sheriff’s Office investigation into whether Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser broke the law when he ordered more than $225,000 in road salt without going through the competitive bidding process has been submitted to McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally to determine whether prosecution is warranted.
But Kenneally won’t touch the case.
Northwest Herald: Algonquin Township board moves $50K to pay legal bills
Mounting legal fees from multiple attorneys remain a central storyline in Algonquin Township.
On Wednesday, the Algonquin Township board unanimously voted, 4-0, to transfer $50,000 to its legal budget to cover $25,975 in attorney bills submitted in March.
Belleville News-Democrat: Signal Hill superintendent using vacation days, will retire amid state investigation
A Belleville area school superintendent, who was disciplined in late 2018 for failing to adequately investigate a testing breach in the district, is using some vacation days to travel before officially retiring with three months left in the school year.
Signal Hill School District 181 Superintendent Janice Kunz and other staff members received written reprimands from the school board in November for their involvement in distributing copies of the state science test to students before they took the exam last March and later not adequately investigating how it happened.