Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Senate Democrats poised to vote on major tax hikes Tuesday
Senate Democrats on Tuesday plan to push ahead with a new budget proposal that includes an income tax hike and an expansion of the state sales tax, saying they are no longer willing to wait for a broader deal with Republicans.
The move comes after months of bipartisan negotiations aimed at ending the state’s two-year budget impasse that so far have failed to produce a package that can be supported by Democrats, who control the General Assembly, and Republicans, led by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago school board to consider up to $500 million more long-term borrowing
Chicago Public Schools said on Monday it plans to add up to $500 million in debt to its load of long-term obligations, an annoucement that comes just days after Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the district would use a short-term loan to settle bills, including a massive pension contribution.
The half-billion dollars of bond debt would be used in the district’s coming budget year, which begins July 1, to bring cash into the system and modify the terms of some of the district’s existing bond debts, a district spokeswoman said.
Chicago Sun-Times: Red-light cameras reap suburbs millions
Red-light cameras brought in nearly $67 million last year for 86 Chicago suburbs and the companies that operate the devices, an investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times and ABC7 Chicago’s I-Team has found.
Fines collected from drivers accused of running red lights in the suburbs now far surpass the amount of money reaped by the city of Chicago’s extensive and unpopular network, the Sun-Times and ABC7 found.
Chicago Tribune: Tollway committee advances $25 million study of Illinois 53 extension
An Illinois Tollway board committee on Monday approved spending $25 million to study a long-debated and controversial extension of Illinois Route 53 north into Lake County.
The Customer Service and Planning Committee recommended awarding the environmental impact study project to two engineering firms — CH2M Hill and Knight E/A Inc., based in Englewood, Colo., and Chicago, respectively. Both have worked with the Tollway before.
Crain's Chicago Business: Public finance campaign bill picks up momentum
A proposal to begin a limited system of public financing of races for state office has quietly picked up some momentum in Springfield. It still faces some big potential roadblocks, but I wouldn’t sell its prospects short at a time when voters perhaps are getting tired of watching millionaires and billionaires snatch top slots.
Last week the Illinois Senate voted 31-23 to approve a bill sponsored by Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, who also happens to be running for governor.
Chicago Tribune: Preckwinkle: Soda tax will stand despite repeal campaign
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle believes efforts to sway a commissioner to help repeal a countywide sweetened beverage tax before it takes effect in July will come to naught.
Preckwinkle said during a radio interview that the tax was important for both the county’s finances and public health. Her take that the tax would survive was bolstered Monday when Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele, a Chicago Democrat who had been targeted by a campaign to overturn the tax, told the Tribune that he backed keeping it.
Chicago Tribune: Trial begins for West Side nonprofit head accused of using grant money for spending spree
As the leader of a small nonprofit in Chicago’s poverty-stricken West Garfield Park neighborhood, Franshuan Myles was supposed to use a $60,000 state grant to help impoverished youth learn new skills and stay out of trouble over their summer break.
Instead, federal prosecutors allege that Myles started stealing the funds the moment they hit her bank account in 2011, using cash for shopping sprees at shoe outlets and Home Depot and paying the loan on her Dodge Charger as well as utility bills and old debts.
DNA Info: Controversial Jeff Park Storage Facility OK'd By Key City Council Panel
A proposal to build a five-story storage warehouse in the heart of Jefferson Park overcame a thicket of obstacles and delays to score the unanimous blessing of a key committee on Monday, all but closing the book on a months-long saga that became intertwined with a plan to build mixed-income apartments next door.
Under the plan approved by the City Council’s zoning committee, LSC Development would demolish the building now standing at 5150 N. Northwest Hwy., the former home of the FSP food distribution center. In its place would stand a five-story, 68-foot masonry building with offices on the first floor.
Rockford Register-Star: Rockford City Council debates more breaks for Mercyhealth hospital
Mercyhealth is a step closer to winning Rockford City Council approval for an additional $200,000 in fee waivers as it builds an estimated $505 million hospital on the city’s far eastside.
The measure tonight won the recommendation of the Planning & Development Committee over the passionate objections of Alderwoman Venita Hervey, D-5, whose debate with Alderman Chad Tuneberg, R-3, spilled out into the City Hall parking lot after the meeting was over.
Quincy Herald-Whig: School district's bond rating downgraded
The Quincy School District plans to move forward with selling another $20 million in bonds in June tied to its K-5 elementary school construction project.
But the district’s bond rating has been downgraded due to the state’s ongoing budget impasse.
State Journal-Register: Developer Chris Stone pushing for casino in downtown Springfield
A lobbyist and local developer has proposed bringing a casino to downtown Springfield, an effort that faces significant political obstacles.
City officials have expressed initial support for putting a gambling palace steps from where Abraham Lincoln served as a state lawmaker, but the idea hasn’t yet been seriously considered by the current General Assembly, which continues to fight a budget battle.
Belleville News-Democrat: Save $12K in taxes by ‘investing’ as little as $500
Michael Crockett is on the St. Clair County Board of Review until 2018. The justice system failed to prove he took a bribe to lower a tax assessment. Now it is up to voters to remove him from office.
Crockett reduced the 2013 property tax assessment for Rodney Fults, owner of A&E Auto Sales at 3330 and 3338 Camp Jackson Road in Cahokia. An assessor said Fults’ land was worth $124,758, but the board kicked that down to $46,596.