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WBEZ: Former Madigan aides, political allies power ComEd’s Springfield lobbying
Fifteen of the 23 firms that worked for Commonwealth Edison in Springfield this year deployed lobbyists with direct ties to powerful Illinois House Speaker and state Democratic boss Michael Madigan, a WBEZ investigation has found.
For a generation, it’s been common practice for powerful private interests to hire Springfield lobbyists who previously worked for Madigan or were loyal House Democrats under his reign. Madigan heads the state’s Democratic Party and is the longest-serving House speaker in the country’s history.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago police still providing former Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel taxpayer-funded security details
Like other big city mayors, Lori Lightfoot receives around-the-clock police protection.
But Chicago may be unique in providing a police detail to former mayors, sometimes long after they’ve left office.
More than eight years after Richard M. Daley walked out of City Hall for the last time as its chief executive, the Chicago Police Department continues to provide him with a taxpayer-funded security detail.
Chicago Sun-Times: Top mayoral aide defends $40 million congestion fee
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration pushed back hard on Tuesday against claims that imposing the nation’s highest ride-hailing fee to combat downtown congestion would pose an undue hardship on neighborhoods nowhere near downtown.
Uber has argued Lightfoot’s proposal amounts to a nearly 80% increase on the South and West sides and more than triples taxes and fees during peak hours downtown.
Chicago Tribune: At Democratic fundraiser, Gov. J.B. Pritzker says public right to be angry at indicted pols and that he’ll push ethics reform
As hundreds of people sipped cocktails and snacked on hors d’oeuvres at a Cook County Democratic fundraiser, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday night he was “disgusted” by Democrats caught up in sweeping federal investigations and proposed broadened lobbyist disclosure rules for legislators to consider in the final week of the fall veto session.
Pritzker said more robust lobbyist disclosure would be a first step that could be accomplished in the three-day legislative session next week, and that comprehensive ethics legislation must be on the agenda when the General Assembly starts a new spring session in January.
Chicago Sun-Times: Pritzker’s ‘fair tax’ dissected at Oak Park forum
The pros and cons of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature issue — a proposed graduated income tax — were discussed and dissected at length during a panel discussion in the west suburbs Tuesday evening.
At a forum hosted by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Illinois AARP in Oak Park, Adam Schuster of the Illinois Policy Institute and Greg Baise of the Coalition for Jobs, Growth & Prosperity argued against the ballot measure. Bob Gallo of AARP Illinois and Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, meanwhile, advocated for its passage.
Chicago Tribune: Cook County Democratic leaders ask Ald. Edward Burke and former Rep. Luis Arroyo to quit ward committeeman posts
Cook County Democratic Party leaders are asking former state Rep. Luis Arroyo and Ald. Edward Burke, both facing federal charges as part of a sweeping federal corruption investigation, to step down as ward committeemen.
Arroyo resigned from the House of Representatives on Friday after being arrested a week earlier on a federal bribery charge. He remains 36th Ward committeeman, and would hold the largest share of the vote when party leaders meet to choose his replacement.
Chicago Tribune: CPS plan to make up days lost to teachers strike would cut into Thanksgiving, winter and summer breaks; teachers union criticizes proposal
A plan by Chicago Public Schools to shorten school holidays to make up days lost to the teachers strike has been met with criticism by the teachers union and mixed reaction from parents.
The five days would be made up Wednesday, Nov. 27; Thursday, Jan. 2; Friday, Jan. 3; Wednesday, June 17; and Thursday, June 18.
Chicago Sun-Times: Police raided home, pointed guns at kids but should have known their target was in prison: lawsuit
When police smashed through Jolanda Blassingame’s door, threw stun grenades in her apartment and pointed assault rifles at her kids, they should’ve known the guy they were looking for was in prison for murder — and hadn’t lived there for nine years.
Her complaint was spelled out in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Chicago Police Department and the SWAT and plainclothes officers who entered her South Side apartment in January 2015.
Chicago Sun-Times: Man who spent 26 years in prison for murder he didn’t commit sues Chicago police, city
A man who spent 26 years locked up for a murder he didn’t commit — a victim, he says, of officers working under former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge — is suing the city and the police officers.
“They had a pattern of picking on people who basically couldn’t withstand coercive interrogations using physical violence, as in Arnold’s case, and psychological intimidation,” attorney Jon Loevy said in announcing the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Journal Star: Peoria City Council passes 2020 budget with fee hikes
With little fanfare and in less than 45 minutes, the Peoria City Council approved three fee increases and passed its 2020 budget on Tuesday.
It is true that much of the details regarding the fee increases for garbage collection, foreclosed properties and for cigarette licenses had been hashed out at prior meetings and that the council was able to get next year’s budget passed at the first possible meeting was a far cry from last year’s contentious and dollar-slashing budget process.
Herald & Review: Decatur council discusses $179.6 million spending plan, goals
City council members on Monday heard the basics of a $179.6 million spending plan for 2020 that includes a focus on neighborhood revitalization and several other major strategic goals.
Under the proposal, the city’s property tax levy would go up by about $309,000, for a total proposed levy of roughly $14.2 million. Growing public safety pension costs are driving a 2.2% increase in the proposed tax levy, according to the document.