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Chicago Tribune: Defying calls to step down from ward post over bribery charge, former state Rep. Luis Arroyo pushes to preside over process to choose his replacement
Former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, who resigned his seat in the Illinois House last week after being charged with bribery, is pushing to steer the process to choose his replacement despite calls from Democratic Party leaders that he give up his 36th Ward committeeman position.
Arroyo wrote a letter to the Cook County Democratic Party leaders Thursday requesting to be installed as the chair to oversee the vote for a new representative in the 3rd District in the Illinois House. Arroyo would control roughly 37% of the weighted vote, the largest share of the party leaders who would take part in choosing his successor.
Chicago Sun-Times: Ex-Chicago city official moonlighted for red-light camera contractor that’s part of federal probe
When drivers get red-light camera tickets in Matteson, a portion of their fines has been going to a recently retired deputy Chicago city aviation commissioner who’s at the center of a political corruption investigation, records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.
Bill Helm — a $125,000-a-year deputy aviation commissioner overseeing airfield maintenance at O’Hare Airport until he quit in August — also was a paid sales representative for SafeSpeed, LLC, while on the city payroll, the records show.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Public Schools’ enrollment drops another 6,000 students, extending long downward trend
About 6,000 fewer students go to Chicago Public Schools now than last year, but the loss is mitigated in part by more preschool and kindergarten students, according to CPS data.
That assessment is based on 20th-day student counts released Friday by CPS, which reported 355,156 total students in its 642 schools. Last year, that number was 361,314.
Chicago Tribune: ComEd enjoyed major success in Springfield by hiring lobbyists who were former lawmakers or Madigan staffers. Now the feds are scrutinizing the utility’s practices.
The federal investigation into ComEd’s lobbying efforts is putting a spotlight on one of the most exclusive rites of passage in Springfield: Democratic lawmakers and top staffers to House Speaker Michael Madigan leaving state government to push the utility giant’s agenda in the halls of the Capitol.
This year alone, the lobbying team for ComEd and parent company Exelon included nine former Democratic lawmakers, including two recent members of Madigan’s leadership team and the daughter of a former Cook County Democratic chairman. Also on the list was a former Madigan political director and two of the speaker’s former legal counsels.
Chicago Sun-Times: Police union now on board with Gov. Pritzker’s pension consolidation plan
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced his support for a plan for the state to combine roughly 650 suburban and Downstate police and fire pension funds last month, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police criticized the state for having the “worst in the nation” track record of managing public pensions.
On Friday, the police union — which represents more than 34,000 active duty and retired police officers — said they have changed their tune, signaling that lawmakers can get the ball rolling on the plan next week during the final days of the fall veto session.
Daily Herald: Grayslake District 46 staffers to get pay raises, end strike
Union and school officials in Grayslake Elementary District 46 have reached a tentative agreement to end a one-day strike.
Classes at the district’s seven schools will resume Monday, as the district doesn’t give students the day off for Veterans Day. No classes were held Friday because it was a scheduled day off for students.
State Journal-Register: Two-year school pact includes raises, addresses security at District 186
Security concerns and higher pay are both reflected in a tentative two-year agreement that is now up for approval by the Springfield Education Association and the Springfield School District 186 board, officials said Friday.
The agreement was reached about 10 p.m. Thursday, said Mike Zimmers, president of the school board.
Chicago Tribune: Here’s what Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants in Chicago’s next police superintendent
When Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced his pending retirement on Thursday, he said the job he’d held for fewer than four years had taken its toll on him, the four stars adorning each of his uniform’s shoulders having at times felt like they were “carrying the weight of the world.”
His eventual successor will be stepping into a department that faces many demands and challenges — a mayoral mandate to reduce crime in a city beset by violence and a department under judicial oversight to enact and maintain widespread reforms as part of a federal consent decree.