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State Journal-Register: House task force to review sexual harassment
Three Springfield area lawmakers are part of the House task force assigned to examine further ways to combat instances of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
That includes Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove, who was named the ranking Republican on the 40-member task force.
Chicago Tribune: DCFS workers face violence on the job
At least a dozen Department of Children and Family Services workers have been attacked or seriously threatened as they entered homes to protect children or investigate mistreatment allegations since 2013, a Tribune analysis of government records and interviews found.
The violence, though rarely publicized, can be serious.
Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel’s 2018 budget surrounded by red flags
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is certain to take a bow this week when the City Council signs off on his 2018 budget, balanced with higher taxes on telephone bills, ride-hailing and large-venue amusements along with previously approved tax increases on property, water and sewer bills.
Emanuel is rightfully proud that the $8.6 billion budget will complete his two-year police hiring surge while spending more on everything from police reform, crime-fighting nerve centers, summer jobs and after school-programs to rodent control and broken garbage carts.
Chicago Tribune: Transit leader says CTA fare hike justified
Kirk Dillard, the former Republican state senator who chairs the Regional Transportation Authority, says that a slight hike in fares for CTA riders is justified after eight years without an increase.
“We only spend in Chicagoland 40 percent per capita on mass transit as compared to (what is spent in) New York,” Dillard said Sunday on WGN-AM 720. “I just want people to know and understand that nationally we’re the cheapest (when it comes to) operating costs. We do the best at holding down cost of any of our peers in the country.”
Crain's Chicago Business: Coming soon to Chicago: More bikes. Maybe lots more.
After the upheaval wrought by Uber and Lyft on local politics, municipal revenue and public and private transit, another ride-sharing showdown is looming in Chicago. So-called dockless bicycles, which can be rented and left at will, may be the next disrupters, delighting green transportation advocates. But City Hall, which controls the four-year-old Divvy system, views them less enthusiastically—perhaps as another nobody nobody sent.
Dockless bicycle, or DoBi, startups have quickly raised hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists in hopes of blanketing the world. Here they will confront an entrenched Divvy and a city government wary of two-wheel clutter and potential lost revenue.
NBC 5 Chicago: Chicago Prepares to Sue U.S. Steel Over Chromium Leaks
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city is planning to take legal action against U.S. Steel for a pair of chemical spills that have dumped pollutants into a tributary of Lake Michigan.
In a press release, the mayor’s office says that they intend to send a Notice of Intent to sue the plant, a necessary first step before filing the suit. The company has 60 days to respond before the city is legally allowed to file.
Northwest Herald: Algonquin Area Public Library District approves 15 percent tax levy increase
The Algonquin Area Public Library District approved a request for a 15.5 percent increase in its property tax levy for 2018.
The request – for about $7.2 million – is made to Kane and McHenry County library district residents.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Normal to approve comprehensive plan
After a quiet public comment period, residents have one last chance to share their thoughts on Normal’s direction for the next generation.
Normal City Council is set to approve the town’s new comprehensive plan, which maps out development priorities through 2040, during its next meeting 7 p.m. Monday on the fourth floor at Uptown Station. Each council meeting includes a public comment period before any action.
Belleville News-Democrat: Public safety, taxpayers both win after bi-partisan work
Another deputy. Four new jailers. A new public defender, a deputy coroner, a probation officer. One more full-time and one part-time prosecutor.
All that extra firepower in law enforcement, and they did it while asking for $1.8 million less from Madison County’s property taxpayers.