Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Champaign News-Gazette: Rotten holiday
If Illinois is going to embrace another public-pension-contribution holiday, shouldn’t the public be informed of what the financial consequences will be?
There’s no reason anyone should have thought that new Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker would propose some kind of magic-bullet budget proposal as part of his 2019-20 plan.
After all, Pritzker is confronting the same problem that Illinois governors have encountered going back to the early 2000s — he and legislators are determined to spend more than the state has.
Chicago Tribune: Former Madigan staffer accused of sexual misconduct in court filing
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan’s office failed to respond after two female staffers reported sexual misconduct by a male co-worker, according to a court filing in a lawsuit against the Democratic Party of Illinois.
The new allegation from former campaign worker Alaina Hampton was made in response to questions from attorneys for the state Democratic Party and three Madigan-controlled campaign funds. Hampton filed her lawsuit last year, alleging she was retaliated against after making complaints that Madigan lieutenant Kevin Quinn — brother of 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn — harassed her through phone calls and inappropriate text messages.
Chicago Sun-Times: Madigan’s office: Aides did not notify speaker of two past harassment complaints
A whistleblower whose #MeToo allegations prompted Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan to fire a longtime political operative has put another big spotlight on a former Madigan staffer, detailing in a federal document an allegation that the ex-staffer sexually harassed two women — “but nothing was done in response.”
The allegation against Travis Shea, detailed in Alaina Hampton’s federal lawsuit against the Democratic Party of Illinois and Madigan, claims Shea, who is now a lobbyist, “sexually harassed and/or assaulted” two women.
Daily Herald: Pritzker pot plan gets pushback from some suburban lawmakers
A suburban lawmaker is receiving bipartisan support to put the brakes on fellow Democrats’ and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push to legalize recreational marijuana in Illinois.
“The people of Illinois are going to be safer when it’s legalized,” the new Democratic governor told the Daily Herald’s editorial board Monday.
Chicago Tribune: Lincoln Yards developer, pushing for OK before mayoral change, doubles affordable housing to record 600 units
The $6 billion Lincoln Yards megadevelopment will include 600 affordable housing units — twice as many as required — in a compromise by Sterling Bay as it seeks to gain approval for the sweeping project to remake more than 50 acres along the Chicago River on the city’s North Side.
The new figure is part of an agreement that, if approved by the City Council, would allow Sterling Bay to reduce the number of affordable housing units it builds in nearby communities from 600 to 300.
Chicago Tribune: Ald. Willie Cochran set to plead guilty to federal charges months after he backed away from an earlier deal
For the second time in less than four months, indicted South Side Ald. Willie Cochran is scheduled to plead guilty to federal corruption charges.
Cochran, though, backed away in late November from a plea deal that could have given him no prison time on a single fraud charge. A trial had been set for June 30 after that.
Daily Southtown: Orland Park cuts mayor's hours, salary but changes won't take effect until 2021
Orland Park’s next mayor will see a cut in hours and pay after village trustees on Monday approved a measure making the position part-time, although the changes wouldn’t take effect until the mayoral election in 2021.
The job now pays $150,000 a year and the mayor also receives $3,000 as liquor commissioner. The mayor’s salary would drop to $40,000 with the pay for liquor commissioner remaining at $3,000.
Northwest Herald: Algonquin Township board to reopen road district referendum discussion
The Algonquin Township board soon will reopen discussion about giving voters a chance to eliminate the road district at the polls.
Trustee Rachael Lawrence has requested that “discussion and action regarding proposed Algonquin Township road district ballot initiative/referendum” be placed on the agenda for the board’s March 13 meeting.