Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration is awarding one-time bonuses worth a total of between $3 million and $4 million to non-union workers whose bosses say are doing exceptional work.

About 1,100 merit-compensation employees are in line to each receive a $3,016 bonus under the plan.

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration said its Health Care Fraud Elimination Task Force has already identified more than $270 million in savings from fraud, waste and abuse in the past six months, and even more savings for taxpayers are expected to be found.

Rauner’s team unveiled the task force’s first report this week. The effort is working to find ways to save taxpayers money in public health care systems.

Rauner said every dollar that is improperly spent on fraud, waste or abuse is a dollar that should have gone to where it’s needed most.

Chicago Public Schools‘ enrollment dropped by nearly 11,000 students compared with last year, a difference largely driven by a lower number of children in district-operated elementary schools and prekindergarten programs, according to the district.

The district said 381,349 students were in class on the 20^th day of the school year. That number includes all schools that operate under the CPS umbrella, including privately run charter schools and alternative learning programs.

For Chicago food trucks, the fight for business begins before dawn, with a race to save downtown lunch spaces in popular, city-sanctioned serving locations.

Not every operator participates in the early morning scramble, but those who don’t run the risk of losing out on the choicest lunch spots.

“The city just hasn’t given us more food truck zones, so we’re all as food truck operators forced to do these crazy things, like using spot cars and getting there at 5 a.m.,” said Sam Barron, who runs the Fat Shallot and Fat Pickle food trucks with his wife, Sarah Weitz.

Aldermen can no longer take advantage of theChicago Cubs’ offer to buy playoff tickets at face value, city ethics officials ruled Friday.

The offer constitutes a “prohibited gift” under the city’s ethics rules because the tickets are available to the public at a much higher price, according to the revised policy issued Friday by WIlliam Conlon, chairman of the Chicago Board of Ethics.

Originally, Chicago Board of Ethics Executive Director Steve Berlin ruled that MayorRahm Emanuel and any of the 50 aldermen who take advantage of the Cubs’ offer to buy playoff tickets at face value could go in their official capacity. That meant the aldermen would have to use the tickets themselves and be acknowledged by the team by having their names announced or displayed on the digital billboard in center field.

It’s not even Halloween yet, but some say the Grinch could be coming to Campton Hills.

Brian Larsen, whose award-winning Christmas lights show has become a suburban destination, hopes to work with village and public safety officials to craft a plan that will keep traffic backups around Larsen’s Light Show to a minimum while ensuring visitors have enough time to view and appreciate the 20-minute, computer-choreographed show featuring nearly 1 million lights.