Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: CPS strike watch: Chances of averting a walkout over next 3 days is getting ‘more remote,’ teachers union president says
Chicago schools were closed Monday for Columbus and Indigenous Peoples Day, but the big looming question remains whether they will be closed on Thursday for a teachers strike.
School district and union officials said Monday’s talks offered notable progress on two key issues, but there was still little sense whether a deal could land in time to avert the Chicago Teachers Union’s Thursday strike deadline.
Chicago Tribune: We asked readers their views on a potential Chicago teachers strike. They had some thoughts.
If Chicago leaders and its teachers union are at odds over a potential strike, the city’s residents, it seems, are no less divided.
The Chicago Tribune invited readers to share their opinions and concerns about the prospect of tens of thousands of schoolteachers and other public employees walking off the job Thursday if they don’t reach new contract agreements.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: CPS Teachers, Staff Rally and March as Strike Countdown Continues
Negotiators took a break from the bargaining table Monday as thousands of teachers and school staff took to the streets, calling for what they believe to be a “fair contact.”
They have less than three days to reach a deal before teachers form picket lines Thursday morning.
Northwest Herald: More call for statewide elimination of photo-enforced traffic lights
A proposed statewide ban on red-light cameras is garnering support in the Illinois General Assembly, where critics of the photo-enforced intersections say the measure has done the opposite of promoting public safety.
Bipartisan support is adding up in an effort to prohibit red-light cameras, which have collectively generated more than $28 million for cities within McHenry County since 2008, according to a recent Illinois Policy Institute study. Leading in the push for a statewide ban on the devices is state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, who said the cameras do little more than generate money for local governments.
State Journal-Register: State school board to vote on legislative agenda
The Illinois State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on its legislative agenda for the upcoming fall veto session and regular spring 2020 legislative session when it meets in East St. Louis this week.
On the agenda for that regular meeting, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the East St. Louis School District 189 administration building, are recommendations for a pair of trailer bills for the fall veto session and safeguards relating to educator misconduct to be discussed in spring session.
Chicago Sun-Times: Under pressure, Lightfoot scales back plan to prohibit pot sales in downtown area
Facing pressure from residents and aldermen alike, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday announced a scaled-back version of her much-maligned plan to prohibit recreational pot sales in most of the downtown area.
Lightfoot’s office plans to introduce the modified ordinance ahead of Tuesday’s meeting of the Zoning Committee.
Bloomington Pantagraph: McLean County officials tangle over setting fiscal policy
A dispute between McLean County’s top financial officials could turn into a legal battle between one of them and the County Board.
Following a bitter disagreement between Auditor Michelle Anderson and Treasurer Rebecca McNeil about bookkeeping practices, a County Board committee moved forward Monday with a plan to craft a new policy — despite Anderson’s insistence that only she can set that policy under state law.