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Champaign News-Gazette: When national economy stops humming, Illinois is in trouble
Laissez le bon temps rouler.
You can say that again — “let the good times roll.” Because when the national economy stops humming like a top — as it eventually must — Illinois’ dire financial status will — hard as it is to imagine — get even worse.
Champaign News-Gazette: 'Shell' bill packs wallop
When it comes to the serious business of government in Illinois, there’s always time for gaming the system.
No one should be shocked to discover politics sometimes intrudes on politics.
So there’s no point to pretending that a recent piece of legislation proposed by Democratic state Rep. Carol Ammons is about anything other than feathering both her nest and that of the Democratic Party.
Chicago Tribune: From green screen computers to staff shortages, a new audit says Cook County's property tax system needs more resources
Cook County’s assessor has one quarter of the staff needed to evaluate the area’s more than 1.8 million property parcels. Despite plans for new technology, the office still relies on a green screen computer mainframe. The system’s low-quality data is so outdated that investigators can’t calculate its precise age.
A new audit warns that a monumental and costly task is in store to reform the county’s troubled property tax system. The report released Thursday offers few specific price tags for fixing problems first identified by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois, but does suggest overhauls that could cost millions of additional dollars.
Chicago Sun-Times: Lightfoot tries out City Council rostrum for the first time
Mayor Lori Lightfoot won’t face the first test of her City Council muscle until next week, when aldermen vote on her plan to reorganize the Council and install Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) as her Finance Committee chairman.
But, the new mayor got a chance to try out the rostrum in the City Council chambers on Thursday when she addressed a group of high school students at the NextGen City Council.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: DCFS Acting Director on Plans for Reform of Troubled Agency
For a department long known for its troubles, where do you start when it comes to addressing issues?
A recent report from the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall tackles that question for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Researchers looked at the agency’s Intact Family Services – a program that aims to keep families together – and listed nine recommendations for improvement.
Northwest Herald: Child welfare providers request $30 million for rate increases
Community-based child welfare providers are asking the state for $30.7 million in emergency funding to combat low wages, high employee turnover rates and inadequate resources which have caused some of them to cut programs or close.
Representatives of several of those private providers, which serve more than 80 percent of children and families in the state’s child welfare system, held a news conference Thursday calling on lawmakers to include the money in the fiscal year 2020 budget which could be passed by May 31.
Daily Herald: Hundreds of Lake County properties were overtaxed, officials admit
Hundreds of Lake County property owners received tax bills this month that wrongly demanded too much money because of computer errors that eliminated legitimate credits, officials admitted Thursday.
The majority of those mistakes affected properties in the Wauconda area, said Bob Glueckert, the county’s new chief assessment officer.
Daily Herald: Tollway promises new vote after chairman approves subcontract with former employer
On Feb. 27, Will Evans resigned as chief diversity officer with HBK Engineering LLC. Seven weeks later, as the new chairman of the Illinois tollway board, he voted to approve a contract involving his former firm.
Responding to questions from the Daily Herald about Evans’ vote, tollway officials said it was a mistake and a new vote is scheduled.
Rockford Register-Star: No one in Winnebago County’s human resources department has proper credentials
Winnebago County’s human resources department employs five people, and none of them, including the director, possess the appropriate certifications or licenses.
That’s what County Administrator Carla Paschal told County Board members Thursday as they grilled her over the findings of a consultant’s review of the county’s finance and human resources operations.