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Chicago Tribune: Typical homeowner will pay $174 more to City Hall, CPS in 2018
The Chicago City Council is expected to easily approve Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2018 budget on Tuesday, a spending plan that raises taxes for the sixth time in seven years, but doesn’t take as big of a bite as the ones in years past.
Still, thanks to previous decisions made by the Emanuel-controlled City Hall and Chicago Public Schools, the typical homeowner will have to pay $174 more in taxes next year. About $97 of that increase can be chalked up to property tax hikes, but Emanuel also is boosting 911 fees by $40 a year for a family with three phone lines, and water bills will go up $37 for the typical home.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen strike out in bid to block Rahm’s ‘blank check’ to CTA, CPS
Blaming political “shenanigans,” progressive aldermen on Monday struck out in their last-ditch attempt to prevent Mayor Rahm Emanuel from giving the CTA and Chicago Public Schools a “blank check” without City Council oversight.
Monday’s Finance Committee’s agenda did not include the amendments championed by Aldermen Scott Waguespack (32nd) and Brendan Reilly (42nd).
Chicago Tribune: Preckwinkle agrees to fewer Cook County job cuts; hundreds of layoffs still in works
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle agreed Monday to scale back some of the hundreds of layoffs she proposed, a change that was being negotiated just a day before the vote on her $5.2 billion budget plan.
If approved, the eleventh-hour changes would save 22 public guardian staffers, 12 sheriff’s patrol officers and 51 court sergeants from the chopping block, commissioners said.
Chicago Tribune: Looks like a CTA fare hike coming down the track
Will they or won’t they?
CTA officials have been doing the two-step around the question of whether they’ll ask riders to pay more next year to get on a train or bus. “Fare increases and service cuts are always options of last resort, and we’re always doing everything we can to avoid them,” CTA spokesman Brian Steele recently told the Tribune. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said he won’t rule out a fare hike, though he wants the agency to trim as much fat as it can out of its budget first. The Regional Transit Authority, which oversees the CTA, Metra and Pace, has warned the CTA that it must raise bus and train fares to cope with a drop in money from the state.
Chicago Sun-Times: 3 tame referendums to crowd more controversial questions off ballot
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Council allies on Monday used a now-familiar political ploy to keep controversial questions that might embarrass the mayor off the ballot on March 8.
Instead of being asked whether they favor an elected school board, a transaction tax on the LaSalle Street exchanges or some other question that might run contrary to Emanuel’s policy, the Rules Committee authorized three, less controversial questions.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Cook County Jail Population Down 15 Percent After Bond Reforms
It’s been two months since Cook County’s bond system underwent major changes, following an order issued by circuit court Chief Judge Tim Evans that says people shouldn’t be held in jail simply because they can’t afford to pay bail.
The county bond court isn’t actually even called that anymore, it’s called the Pre-Trial Division, and when deciding how someone accused of a crime should be dealt with before their day in court, pre-trial judges use a risk-assessment tool and evaluate the type of crime someone’s accused of and their flight risk, as well as factors like criminal history, how much bail someone could afford to pay and whether something like supervised release would be appropriate.
Northwest Herald: McHenry County Board members offer up IMRF pension alternative for elected officials
A pair of McHenry County Board members have put together a proposal encouraging countywide elected officials to enroll in private retirement plans rather than plans through the state’s pension system.
Developed by board members John Reinert and James Kearns, the plan would offer elected officials in nine county offices the opportunity to enroll in a deferred compensation plan with a one-to-one contribution match – but only if they do not participate in the $35.8 billion Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.
Daily Herald: McHenry County reduces levy 11.2%, asks other taxing bodies to follow
The McHenry County Board authorized an 11.2 percent reduction to the property tax levy, and Chairman Jack Franks is calling on other local governments to follow suit.
The county board last week unanimously approved levying $71.8 million in property taxes for 2017 — an $8 million decline over the previous year — which will provide residents some tax relief without eliminating services or employees, Franks said. The measure exceeds his campaign promise and the county board’s goal to cut property taxes by 10 percent.
Daily Herald: District 62 leader wants 'benefit of the doubt' on sexual harassment allegations
Des Plaines Elementary District 62 Superintendent Floyd Williams Jr. has issued a statement strongly denying accusations he sexually harassed female employees.
In his first comment since agreeing to a separation agreement last week, Williams asked for the “benefit of the doubt” and defended his tenure at the district.
Daily Herald: Elk Grove Village limits tobacco sales to 21 and over
Elk Grove Village now is restricting the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes to people 21 or older.
Village board members voted 4-2 last week to approve the measure raising the minimum age from 18, a less ambitious proposal than the outright ban on tobacco sales pushed by Mayor Craig Johnson.
Daily Herald: College of DuPage holds line on property taxes
College of DuPage will ask for less property tax money next year, despite uncertainty about how much funding it will receive from the state.
The board of trustees agreed to seek $81.7 million in property tax dollars to help pay the Glen Ellyn-based college’s operating expenses for the rest of fiscal year 2018, which started July 1, and the first half of fiscal 2019.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Normal OKs comprehensive plan, to track progress
Town officials made it clear Monday that their work is just beginning after the Normal City Council approved a new comprehensive plan.
In addition to tweaking policy and making future decisions in light of the plan, which lays out the town’s highest priorities for development through 2040, officials will track progress with specific metrics, perhaps in an annual report.
State Journal-Register: Springfield teachers, school board approve two-year contract
A new two-year agreement approved Monday between teachers and Springfield Public Schools will provide needed stability, union president Crysta Weitekamp says.
The Springfield School Board on Monday approved the new two-year contract 5-0 after union members “overwhelmingly” voted to ratify it before the meeting, Weitekamp said.
Belleville News-Democrat: How Springfield self-interest left local students behind
Cahokia School Superintendent Art Ryan is about to retire, which means he and his mission to protect his students are no longer at the mercy of state leaders. He can freely speak his mind, and he recently did.
It’s just too bad those in Springfield seem immune to shame.