Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: There’s a lot of talk about an ‘Illinois exodus.’ We took a closer look at the reality behind the chatter.
Perhaps you’ve seen the memes, the ones that poke fun at Illinois and encourage thoughts of moving away. In one, a marijuana plant appears alongside the message, “Illinois: We’ll keep you as high as our taxes.”
An “Escaping Illinois” Facebook group has more than 39,000 followers. One man even wrote a song called “Goodbye Illinois,” lamenting the state’s taxes and political corruption and expressing his desire to leave.
Crain's Chicago Business: Sanders fires up friendly crowd as teachers union starts strike votes
“I think that the Chicago School Board should be very nervous,” Sanders said to open his remarks, migrating to hit stump speech notes about the need to eliminate student debt, tax Wall Street, and provide Medicare for all. He hit union talking points too, including their proposed ban on new charter schools; hiring wraparound support staff like nurses, social workers, and librarians; smaller class sizes, and not making teachers pick up more of the tab for health care.
Crain's Chicago Business: Lightfoot as CTU strike vote begins: 'Absolutely no reason' we can't make a deal
Asked if the city was beginning to make preparations for parks and libraries in case CPS students needed a place to go during a strike, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, “We’re always going to be prepared. We owe that to our students, but our primary focus—both at the mayor’s office and at CPS—is getting a deal done. That’s where we’re spending most of our time.”
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Park District workers, seeking raises and benefits for part-timers, vote to strike
Chicago Park District workers have joined the thousands of other city employees preparing to walk off the job.
At a Tuesday night labor rally at the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters in West Town, with presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in attendance, Park District workers announced to the sound of cheers and a standing ovation they have voted in an overwhelming majority to authorize a strike.
Chicago Sun-Times: State Supreme Court candidate seeks campaign help from alderman under federal scrutiny
Hoping to boost his bid for the state’s highest court, Supreme Court candidate Nathaniel Howse Jr. kicked $1,000 to Ald. Carrie Austin, who is under the federal microscope, all in the name of getting out the vote and elevating “the voices of the otherwise unheard.”
Howse, who lives in the 3rd Ward on the South Side, donated the money to Austin’s 34th Ward Regular Democratic Organization on the Far South Side on Monday.
Daily Herald: Schaumburg lifts 7-year ban on video gambling; Boomers Stadium can get them
Schaumburg trustees Tuesday night voted to overturn the village’s seven-year outright ban on video gambling with a set of lesser regulations.
Trustees voted 4-2 in favor of two video gambling-related ordinances that first will allow the devices in eligible restaurants and hotels to have up to six machines, effective Jan. 1. New businesses must wait until Jan. 1, 2021.
Peoria Journal-Star: Peoria council spars over public safety fee, call center
Showing the wide divide that exists on the Peoria City Council regarding the public safety pension tax, a vote on a $90,000 contract for a call center to field calls from residents narrowly passed by a 6-5 vote.
The vote, which occurred three hours into the council’s Tuesday night meeting, started with debate over having an out-of-town call center handle an estimated 100 calls a day about the new fee and wound up with those around the horseshoe weighing in on how they felt about the fee in general.
Peoria Journal-Star: Peoria votes to tax marijuana sales
Like many other cities around the area, Peoria wants to try to cash in on what is seen as a new and possibly lucrative stream of revenue.
The council, by a 9-2 vote, passed an ordinance that allows the city to levy a 3 percent tax on recreational marijuana sales. The move doesn’t mean pot will be sold within the city limits. Rather, it allows City Hall to meet a state-imposed deadline in order to possibly get tax revenue when recreational pot becomes legal after the first of the year.
State Journal-Register: City Council members advance video gaming changes
The Springfield City Council is moving forward with amending the city’s video gaming ordinance after voting it out of committee Tuesday with some slight modifications.
Reflecting changes in state law, the ordinance would increase the number of video gaming terminals allowed per establishment from five to six. It would also increase several fees associated with applying for and operating video gaming terminals in town. It also calls for annual compliance audits on at least 30 percent of video gaming licensees.
Belleville News-Democrat: St. Clair County Board member calls taxation on cannabis sales a ‘money grab’
A St. Clair County Board member is calling a new county tax on recreational cannabis sales a “money grab.”
St. Clair officials voted Monday night to set an official taxing rate on recreational marijuana during a special meeting, where all board members who were present voted in favor of the ordinance but one.
The Southern: Pot sales likely to be green lit in Carbondale
As the deadline for legal pot in Illinois creeps closer, Carbondale has started serious discussions about what legal cannabis sales would look like in the city.
Come January 1, residents in Illinois will be able to walk into a store and buy up to an ounce of marijuana at a time in forms ranging from flower to edibles to wax to oil. But where these stores end up has been a topic of debate for many municipalities. According to the law passed this year, cities can opt out of allowing the sale within their city limits. Murphysboro and Marion have already done this.