Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Madigan Democrats to present wish list to skeptical Rauner on Tuesday
Illinois House Democrats led by Speaker Michael Madigan say they plan to unveil an economic agenda Tuesday, saying they are hoping to work with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to find “common ground” on efforts to jump-start job growth in Illinois.
The move could amount to a counter of sorts to the various businesses-friendly policy changes Rauner has pushed as a prerequisite to reaching a budget deal. Democrats have remained largely opposed to those ideas, and that feud has left Illinois without a budget for nearly two years.
Chicago Tribune: Lawmakers want answers from state child welfare officials
Some Illinois lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Children and Family Services about recent child abuse deaths and new policies that push investigators to speed up abuse and neglect investigations.
“What happened in these cases?” asked state Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, who will be participating in a joint House-Senate hearing on DCFS scheduled for May 26 in Springfield. “I’m going to focus on any cases that were closed early, any and all.”
Belleville News-Democrat: Crime doesn’t pay, unless you steal public dollars
There’s an old saying that you can’t get blood from a turnip, and too often those stealing public funds have no funds with which to repay their debt to society.
Oliver W. Hamilton owes $40,000 in restitution, the amount federal prosecutors could prove he stole out of the $230,000 in personal expenses he charged to an American Express card issued to East St. Louis Township. The feds want to seize the $23,252 the former township supervisor contributed to his government pension.
Chicago Tribune: 4 insurers out of running for Rauner's Medicaid overhaul
Illinois Medicaid beneficiaries are about to see a major shake-up of the program, with several insurers now out of the running to be part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s overhaul plan.
On Monday, the state released a list of insurers that responded to a request for proposals to be part of Rauner’s re-imagined Medicaid managed care program. In Medicaid managed care, private insurers administer Medicaid benefits, whereas the state administers benefits in traditional Medicaid.
Decatur Herald & Review: City plans to charge state interest on more than $1 million in late payments
The city of Decatur is set to charge the Illinois Department of Transportation interest on the more than a million dollars of grant money owed for public transit.
Gregg Zientara, the city’s finance director, said the city would seek to collect interest close to the market rate on top of money it is owed by IDOT. The state is behind in paying about $1.13 million for the fiscal quarter that runs from April 1 to June 30, he said shortly before Monday’s meeting of the Decatur City Council.
NPR Illinois: Small And Mid-Size Public Universities Feeling Brunt Of Budget Stalemate
Higher education has been among the areas feeling the state budget impasse as funding has been cut. It has forced some schools to reduce classes, lay off employees and, in some cases, close for several days.
But a review of enrollment indicates small and mid-sized public universities are taking a double hit.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Tribune owner seeks to buy Sun-Times
In the long and raucous, altogether lively if recently beleaguered history of Chicago newspapers, Monday will rank as a “stop-the-presses” day after it was announced that, in short headline style: “Chicago Tribune Seeks To Buy Chicago Sun-Times.”
Tronc, the parent company of the Tribune, has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire Wrapports Holdings, which owns the Sun-Times as well other assets such as the Chicago Reader alternative weekly, the Aggrego digital content business and the syndicated column The Straight Dope.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Legislator: Bill Would Trigger $2.2B in Illinois Wind Energy Projects
An Illinois legislator says striking seven words from the state’s massive energy bill would clear the way for more than $2 billion in new wind energy projects.
State Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, filed a bill in January to remove language concerning wind projects from the Future Energy Jobs Bill, which passed in December and was hailed as one of the most significant pieces of state energy legislation in the U.S. in decades.
Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel considering taxes on rich, downtown businesses to fund CPS
Mayor Rahm Emanuel may seek new taxes on downtown businesses, “high net-worth individuals” or both to dig the Chicago Public Schools out of a $596 million hole without state help, City Hall sources said Monday.
Last week, Emanuel said he was prepared to do “some very difficult things” to stave off a threatened early closing of Chicago Public Schools that would run contrary to the longer school year he was able to achieve only by enduring a teachers strike.
Chicago Sun-Times: Racist Water Department emails found during probe of alleged gun sales
Inspector General Joe Ferguson uncovered racist and sexist emails circulating in the Department of Water Management while investigating allegations that the son of a former alderman had used his city email account to sell guns, City Hall sources said Monday.
Paul Hansen, a now-fired, $122,280-a-year district superintendent in the Department of Water Management, is the son of former longtime Ald. Bernard Hansen (44th). The elder Hansen presided over Wrigleyville during the Cubs’ marathon battle for lights at Wrigley Field.
Chicago Tribune: CPS to recommend merger of Ogden and Jenner schools
After nearly two years of mulling the merger of two economically and racially dissimilar elementary schools on the North Side, Chicago Public Schools announced Monday it will recommend the consolidation of Ogden International and Jenner Academy of the Arts in an effort to “expand academic opportunities for all students.”
In a letter to parents and staff, CPS officials said they are supporting a merger of the two schools by the 2018-19 academic year. The move would bring together students from predominantly black and poor Jenner in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood with the more white and affluent student body at Ogden, which has campuses in West Town and the Near North Side.
WBEZ: City Of Big Potholes: Is Asphalt The Best Choice For Chicago's Streets?
Every driver in Chicago knows the sound and sensation of driving over a pothole. There’s a two-fold thump — “D-DUNK!” — as your front and rear tires go in, and if you’re extra unlucky, the accompanying “HISSSS!” of a flat tire.
Chicago’s pothole-ridden streets are topped by blacktop asphalt, but highways, like the Dan Ryan, are paved with smooth cement concrete. As a Chicagoan, it’s always made me wonder why we use asphalt in the first place.
Northwest Herald: New Algonquin Township highway commissioner fires predecessor's sons-in-law in first minutes on the job
Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser fired the two sons-in-law of predecessor Robert Miller immediately after taking office, sparking a battle with the union that now represents his employees.
After taking the oath of office early Monday, Gasser delivered termination notices to Derek Lee and Andrew Rosencrans, as well as Nick Chirikos, a former McHenry County Board member recently hired by Miller to replace a retiring employee, according to accounts.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Council open to hearing more about civilian review board
The City Council is open to further research and discussion about a request by the local Black Lives Matter chapter to create a community board to review public complaints about interactions with Bloomington police officers.
“To summarize, it seems like there is some degree of interest, not universal, in at least exploring some options … for an advisory group that might filter complaints,” said Mayor Tari Renner after the council’s lengthy discussion at its nonvoting, committee-of-the-whole meeting Monday night.
News-Gazette: Proposed Urbana budget includes cuts, separation incentives
With the city facing financial uncertainty from the state budget impasse and Carle Hospital court case, Urbana’s proposed fiscal 2017-18 budget recommends cuts, including voluntary separation incentives for nonunion employees, and increasing the food and beverage tax by .5 percent.
The proposed budget was unveiled Monday morning. Residents will have the opportunity to comment on it at a June 5 public hearing.
Belleville News-Democrat: Belleville officially takes over township’s duties
As part of Belleville’s plan to take over the duties of the Belleville Township on Tuesday morning, the city will staff the office with two part-time, non-union employees instead of hiring the two full-time, union employees who have been working at the township for several years.
Also, people who are seeking general assistance will still go to the township’s office at 111 W. A St. until about September when they will be asked to go to the city’s human resources offices at 512 W. Main St.
Belleville News-Democrat: Belleville school board makes cost-saving change to school lunches
On Monday night, the Belleville District 201 School Board agreed to another partnership for school services that is expected to save the district money.
Board members voted to sign on to Belleville District 118’s school lunch program. Several other metro-east schools already receive their meals from District 118.
The Southern: 'Nearly bankrupt': A multi-part review of how the ACHA ended up broke: Retirement contracts
In a heartbreaking letter, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson recently told the Cairo school district that there’s just not a lot of options for new housing in Cairo for a “nearly bankrupt housing authority.”
Carson wrote the letter in response to pleas from sixth graders that he step in to save their town because they don’t want to lose their community, school and friends.