The additional contributions “would be helpful,” Fitch Ratings said in its analysis of the proposal Pritzker presented last month for the budget year that begins July 1. “But on their own, they would not materially affect Fitch’s view that the state’s budget remains structurally unbalanced.”

Officials from the Illinois Municipal League said communities have concerns about the governor’s proposal to hold 5 percent of Local Government Distributive Funds in reserve from local governments if voters don’t approve a progressive income tax in November.

The task force also recommended eliminating the use of gendered language. “For example, district staff should call students ‘students’ or ‘scholars’ instead of ‘boys and girls.’

Officials estimate an economic impact of nearly $560 million in job creation and local expenditures across the state over the past twelve months. That’s an 18 percent increase from 2018 levels.

While hospitals owned by nonprofits like Advocate have long qualified for property tax exemptions, stand-alone outpatient centers usually pay property taxes. The dispute comes at a time when hospitals are opening outpatient centers across metropolitan Chicago amid pressure to bring down healthcare costs.

Should the ban be lifted, the National Association of Wine Retailers estimates that the state’s tax revenue would increase immediately. “In the first year, the state of Illinois would reap somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million to $6 million in tax revenue.”

Some Champaign County residents reported getting multiple election ballots in the mail, and the county’s early voting totals have not yet been reported to the State Board of Elections, as required by law. Rright now, someone who has voted in Champaign County can register in another county and no one would be able to tell they already filled out a ballot.

Comment: In this instance, we recommend you vote early and often.

State Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, wants high schools with Native American imagery to provide classes and schoolwide programs teaching Native American culture and societal contributions in order to keep its team name and imagery.

“Bloomington Police Chief Dan Donath had hoped to hire as many as 16 new officers this year. Academy training costs nearly $7,000 per officer. Donath said he will have to find an extra $100,000, somewhere.”

“It frequently seems that some of those mandates involve more reporting and measuring, but we haven’t even taken the time to figure out if we still need to measure this or that,” State Rep. Jeff Keiche said. “Do we still have a need for this information? Does this information actually further what we’re trying to do in the schools?”