Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: What the Janus case means for Illinois and the First Amendment
By the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, a case that indirectly takes up the future of public unions in Illinois. Will the court effectively clip the wings of labor power, or will it protect the unions’ financial clout? That question only begins to address the stakes.
Chicago Tribune: Latest retaliation claims spark new push for lawmakers to address sexual harassment
Rocked late last year by allegations of a pervasive culture of sexual harassment in the Capitol and campaign offices across the state, Illinois’ political leaders vowed to do better.
They required lawmakers, staff and lobbyists to take harassment prevention training, filled a long vacant watchdog post, and formed groups to come up with ways to curb threatening and inappropriate behavior at work.
Champaign News-Gazette: Sending a clear message
Democrats know it’s not wise to make waves with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan remains — and probably will continue to do so — a lightning rod in Illinois politics, and not just among the Republicans he steam-rolls on a regular basis.
A couple of his fellow Democrats who dare to speak out against him publicly expressed outrage this week after state Rep. Kelly Cassidy charged that one of the Madigoons — the nickname for Madigan henchmen — got her ousted from her part-time job at the Cook County sheriff’s office.
Chicago Tribune: Thursday state budget deadline looms in first year of talks after historic stalemate
State lawmakers took advantage of an unusually drama-free lead-up to their looming Thursday budget deadline, spending the holiday weekend in their districts with plans to return to the Capitol Monday afternoon for the final days of their scheduled session.
The late-May calm at the Capitol follows the 736-day budget stalemate that ended last summer but dominated the first half of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s term.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago is the 13th most segregated metro area in U.S., study find
Housing segregation in the Chicago area continued its gradual decline between 2009 and 2016, a new study shows.
A study released Thursday by Apartment List, a website devoted to apartment listings, painted a picture of a metro area that remains significantly segregated but slowly is becoming less so. The study’s author, Apartment List housing economist Chris Salviati, found that by his study’s measurement, the Chicago area is the 13th most segregated metro area in the U.S.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen approve police academy funding during heated City Council meeting
The City Council voted during a heated meeting on Friday to approve a fund transfer needed to bankroll a $95 million police and fire training academy in West Garfield Park –– a move that community groups opposed to the project had sued to block following a controversial game of parliamentary hardball at a council meeting two days earlier.
The vote passed 39 to 2 to appropriate $20 million from the sale of a valuable North Side fleet maintenance facility for the new academy — a plan slammed as symptomatic of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s misplaced priorities by critics including Chance the Rapper, Black Lives Matter and other groups operating under the #NoCopAcademy label.
Northwest Herald: Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Gasser denies plan for paving pro Rabine to take over road district duties
After he won the election but before he took his oath of office, Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser consulted paving magnate Gary Rabine to rate the roads.
For free, an employee of the Rabine Group – a multimillion-dollar company known for its work in roofing, snow removal and paving – drove township roads gathering data with a 360-degree camera to condense into a report for Gasser before his first day in office.
NPR Illinois: SIU: Should Edwardsville And Carbondale Split? Or Stay Together For The Kids?
Legislation that could have severed the Southern Illinois University board of trustees into two separate organizations may be put on ice to allow time for an independent study.
Think of it like a couple considering divorce, and the judge sends them to mediation instead.
Belleville News-Democrat: Everybody deserves a prize, so why not MidAmerica Airport?
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport opened 22 years ago. Illinois’ Airport of the Year award started about 30 years ago. Guess it was time.
The staff at MidAmerica certainly deserves recognition. Congrats to them. Everyone likes an underdog, and it becomes legendary when a small group is asked to defend against overwhelming forces, you know, like at the Alamo.