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BND: Chicago proposal to revamp police misconduct probes advances
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to create a new agency to better investigate police shootings and misconduct allegations is moving toward approval, even as critics say it’s not strong enough to keep a close eye on a police force plagued by a reputation for brutality and experts say it doesn’t match efforts of other cities facing similar challenges.
After months of community hearings about the need for an agency with enough money to conduct adequate investigations, the freedom to take those investigations wherever they lead and the need for input from residents, a City Council committee on Tuesday took up an ordinance recommending the creation of Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) .
The aldermen sitting on the committee voted 21-4 late Tuesday to recommend that the new agency be approved by the full City Council on Wednesday.
Chicago Tribune: Appeals court reopens door to Election Day voter registration in Illinois
Same-day voter registration in Illinois is back for now after a federal appeals court on Tuesday stayed a judge’s order that blocked the practice for the Nov. 8 election.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked attorneys to file briefs by Thursday on why the case should face an expedited appeal.
On Sept. 29, U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan declined to reconsider his ruling that the same-day registration option benefited Democratic strongholds, like Chicago, and disadvantaged rural regions that may favor Republican candidates. The state law that created Election Day registration applied only to counties of 100,000 people or more with electronic poll books.
WSIL: First Illinois inmate to get cosmetology license behind bars leaves Vienna Prison
Almost 50 percent of inmates in the Illinois Department of Corrections end up returning to prison within three years of being released, according to state data.
Prison officials say a new program implemented by Governor Bruce Rauner earlier this year could help change that. IDOC now allows inmates to obtain professional licenses while they are still behind bars.
It began in April of this year as a way for offenders to find and keep work after being released. The first inmate in Illinois to complete the program walked out of Vienna Prison Tuesday morning, a free man and licensed cosmetologist.
Bloomberg: Illinois Renegotiates Derivative Deals as Rating Approaches Junk
Illinois renegotiated interest-rate derivative contracts with banks to avoid having to pay about $150 million of fees if its credit rating gets cut closer to junk.
The step comes after S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service lowered Illinois to the second-lowest investment grade, below any other U.S. state. Without the agreement, another downgrade could have allowed Barclays Bank Plc, Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG to demand multi-million fees to break the $600 million worth of contracts, which the state entered into more than a decade ago to protect against rising interest bills on variable-rate bonds.
The changes, which were finalized on Sept. 28 after months of negotiation, will allow Illinois to avoid the fees as long as it’s not dropped below investment grade, according to bond documents. Chicago, the state’s biggest city, was forced to refinance derivative-laden debt deals after its rating was downgraded to junk by Moody’s last year.
WMAY: Poll: Rauner, Madigan ‘Unpopular’ with Illinois Residents
This won’t surprise you, but a new statewide poll finds that both Governor Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Mike Madigan are unpopular with Illinoisans.
A majority of those surveyed disapprove of the job both are doing, although Madigan fares slightly worse, with a 63-percent disapproval rating compared to 55-percent for Rauner.
Rauner is most popular Downstate, where 45% of voters like the job he’s doing.
Sun-Times: Vote fraud, intimidation allegations hurled about in Kankakee Co.
The Kankakee prosecutor on Tuesday announced an “unprecedented” investigation into allegations of “individuals from Chicago” offering gifts to residents in exchange for votes — only to have his office itself accused of harassing and intimidating voters.
The Kankakee County State’s Attorney’s Office said it opened the voter fraud investigation in response to allegations that “gifts” were given to voters in exchange for a vote for Democratic state Rep. Kate Cloonen, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and “others.”
The state’s attorney’s office on Tuesday called the investigation an “unprecedented action,” saying it will also focus on the authenticity of vote-by-mail requests.
DNAinfo: The Reason LA Has 10,000 Food Trucks and Chicago Only Has 70
Chicago’s food truck vendors are facing an uphill battle when it comes to finding places to serve their wares. Even as Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced a crackdown on trucks that violate city policies — such as parking in one spot for longer than two hours or violating downtown tow zones — owners continue to argue that some of those same policies hurt their businesses.
It’s an operational conundrum that has found its way to court as two vendors fight against a rule prohibiting food trucks from standing less than 200 feet away from a brick and mortar restaurant. The city has tried to make the restrictions more palatable by creating food truck stands in the Loop, but with more vendors getting licenses there’s not enough space for all the trucks that want to sell there.
The city’s ordinances place the rolling food vendors in a precarious position, advocates say. A violation of the two-hour rule can cost upwards of $1,000 plus the loss of a workday so the vendor can go to court.