The McLean County Board, not the county auditor, is authorized to determine the basis of accounting for county government, the county state’s attorney’s office said.
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Chicago Sun-Times: Pritzker backs former Senate Republican leader for ethics commission after mistakenly appointing recent lobbyist
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday appointed former Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno to a newly formed ethics commission — after his administration mistakenly appointed a former lobbyist to the post.
Legislators last month passed a resolution to create the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform to take up the many issues unearthed by federal investigations into state Rep. Luis Arroyo, state Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, and state Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago.
Crain's Chicago Business: When a ComEd rate cut is actually a rate hike
The commission yesterday approved a $17 million reduction in ComEd’s delivery rates as requested by the utility. In a release, ComEd delivered the good news, saying the average residential customer would see their monthly electric bill decline by 60 cents next year.
Chicago Sun-Times: After scandal, Preckwinkle shifted security detail to forest preserves police, with raises — again
When Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle shifted her security detail to the forest preserves police after a scandal last year that cost the head of the unit his job, she gave pay raises to her three “security specialist operators,” records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.
One of her officers got a pay boost of more than 9%, the records show.
WBEZ: Chicago drivers have 10 more days to get city sticker tickets dropped
Indebted Chicago drivers have 10 more days to take advantage of a debt relief program for outstanding city sticker tickets.
Only a fraction of drivers have applied so far, and city officials are urging residents not to wait.
Chicago Sun-Times: Trial date set for Sen. Tom Cullerton, charged with embezzling from the Teamsters
A judge Thursday set a trial date for next summer for state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, one of three elected officials hit with federal charges so far this year.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman set the trial for July 21, putting aside five days for prosecutors to put on their case that Cullerton embezzled from the Teamsters.
The Pantagraph: McLean County State's Attorney: Auditor has no authority to set accounting policy
In an opinion delivered Wednesday evening to the board’s finance committee, the state’s attorney’s office disagreed with county Auditor Michelle Anderson, who had argued that she had authority to make accounting policy under a state attorney general’s opinion.
Chicago Sun-Times: Police shouldn’t ticket pot smokers in backyards or on balconies, Lightfoot says
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and interim Chicago Police Supt. Charlie Beck issued a statement Thursday clarifying the CPD’s new pot enforcement plan after the Sun-Times reported that Chicagoans could be still ticketed for using marijuana in backyards or on porches or balconies that are visible to the public when the drug is legalized next month.
“The Chicago Police Department recognizes that an individual using cannabis in their own backyard or balcony poses no direct threat to public safety, and no resident should be arrested or ticketed solely for such a scenario,” the statement reads. “Any characterization to the contrary is simply wrong.”
Chicago Sun-Times: Attorneys, mother of man body-slammed by police officer say he’s schizophrenic, call for his release from jail
A week after he was thrown to the pavement by a Chicago police officer, Bernard Kersh’s head still hurts, his family says.
“His head is killing him,” his mother, Keshia Johnson, told reporters Thursday after Kersh appeared before a Cook County judge for a preliminary hearing.