On Oct. 3, U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang formally vacated the so-called Shakman Decree over the governor’s office and agencies under the governor’s supervision. For the first time in decades, Illinois state government agencies under the purview of the governor’s office will no longer be subject to federal oversight to ensure neither the governor nor his political allies can continue Illinois’ long political tradition of using government jobs to cement and grow power.

While Illinois sees the risk of higher fuel prices due to international decisions, Molly Hart of AAA also discussed how a fire at a refinery in Ohio would also impact fuel.

The Illinois Municipal League, a group that advocates for local governments, opposes the measure. In a fact sheet, the IML urged a no vote and said the measure is not needed. “Illinois already has enacted legislation prohibiting local right-to-work ordinances; a constitutional provision for that purpose is unnecessary.”

The Illinois Department of Employment Security will pay down $450 million of the $1.8 billion Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund deficit. The problem is the final deadline to pay off the remaining $1.4 billion is Nov. 10. After that, the federal government hits Illinois businesses with an automatic unemployment tax hike until the deficit is paid off.

From 2017 to 2022, Illinois’ ranking in the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index dropped 13 spots, the second-highest decline in the nation. CNBC ranks Illinois as the third-least friendly state for businesses.

Constitutional questions are at the heart of the 39-page lawsuit filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court Wednesday. It alleges a violation of bail provisions in the state constitution and procedural violations such as a failure to confine the bill to one subject. Named as defendants are Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel C. Welch and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon.

They argue it’s unconstitutional, it violates the single subject rule, it violates the separation of powers clause, it’s unconstitutionally vague, and it violates the three readings of charges requirement.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, who is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Defense, said, “Defund the police was a very unfortunate three-word phrase that I wish had never come out. And certainly it’s not, as the wife of the sheriff of Rockland County, Illinois, (something I believe in). And the vast majority of Democrats did not believe that either.”

“This legislation doesn’t just make our communities less safe,” said State Rep. Chris Bos. “It is ultimately going to make them more expensive.”

Greising, president and chief executive of the Better Government Association, debates Proft on the merits of traditional journalism and the definition of fake news.

Tyson said Wednesday that it is closing offices in Chicago, Downers Grove, Ill., and Dakota Dunes, S.D., which currently house many of its prepared-foods and beef-division employees. Employees will be given the chance to relocate to the company’s Springdale, Ark., headquarters in early 2023. Roughly 1,000 employees work in the two Illinois offices and the Dakota Dunes location, the company said.

Jim Dey: “That of course, raises an unanswerable question — what will the state’s budget picture looks like once the federal money spigot is turned off? Here’s a number that illustrates the problem: Illinois’ general fund is up $829 million over the same time period in the last fiscal year, a nearly 13% increase. But of that $829 million boost, almost all of it — $764 million — came in the form of federal pandemic aid.”

“In a practical sense, local prosecutors will have a tough choice: pull staff from other court calls — i.e., stop prosecuting other cases — to help cover daily bond court, or forget about asking for bond at all on some defendants. But for most of the smaller counties around us, who are already working on shoestring budgets and typically only have a single assistant prosecutor on staff, pulling in prosecutors from other court calls is not an option, because they don’t exist.”

State’s Attorney Kate Watson and Sheriff Nathan Chaplin filed the suit at the Douglas County Courthouse on Tuesday, claiming the 764-page act contains “numerous constitutional violations.” Watson said, “This is not about politics; it is about public safety.”