$180 million more sought for Illinois higher education – Bloomington Pantagraph

The request distributes the increase to the public universities based on the percentage and number of students at each institution receiving federal Pell grants, IBHE Executive Director Ginger Ostro said. The board is using the federal grants, which are awarded to students with great financial need, as a temporary funding procedure while the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding seeks a more permanent solution.

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Pritzker: Biden classified document horde ‘vastly different’ than Trump’s – Center Square

After it was revealed several collections of classified materials were found at the home and private office of Democratic President Joe Biden from the time he was vice president, Pritzker said there should be an independent investigation, but said the Trump stash story is “vastly different…Where he was literally hiding documents and refusing to turn them over whereas this White House has turned them over and has encouraged an investigation.”

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Illinois gun ban ruling expected Friday as eyes remain on other gun control measures – Center Square

Attorney Thomas DeVore was given an emergency hearing Wednesday for the case he filed in Effingham County state court the day before. “We had argument for about two hours on the elements of whether the temporary restraining order would be an appropriate thing for the judge to do,” DeVore said. “Judge took it under advisement and said he will issue his opinion by the close of business on Friday.”

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Bill awaiting Pritzker’s signature would create new funding mechanism for local governments to use for tourism promotion - Daily Line

Allowing Illinois municipalities to create these districts will boost budgets for local tourism bureaus and make Illinois more competitive in efforts to attract visitors and events that bring visitors to Illinois, Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association President Michael Jacobson said. More than 200 cities and 19 states already have similar districts in place. “When you look at the additional funds that those districts have generated to local convention and visitor bureaus, our Illinois… groups were falling behind,” Jacobson said.

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Swept Into Office by Promises of Reform, Lightfoot Faces New Scrutiny on Ethics Record – WTTW (Chicago)

For much of Lightfoot’s time in office, concerns about ethics, transparency and good government were eclipsed by the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 8,000 Chicagoans, the economic catastrophe it unleashed and a public safety crisis that sent violent crime to the highest levels in nearly 25 years. But her campaign for a second term has been weighed down by a growing amount of evidence that not only has she failed to fulfill campaign promises to “bring in the light,” but also that she has at times governed more like an old-school machine politician than a reformer.

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Kwame Raoul among the 18 state AGs voicing support for New York gun-industry liability law – Center Square

The law in question aims to hold the firearms industry legally liable for what the prosecutors label “irresponsible sale and marketing of firearms when that conduct results in harm to the public. In the amicus brief submitted Wednesday, the coalition led by Raoul asserts the law’s legitimacy to protect residents public health, safety and welfare.

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Illinois and California account for a third of America’s public-sector pension crisis – MarketWatch

California’s public-sector pensions have a staggering accounting hole of $274 billion, according to the latest report from the Equable Institute. Illinois public-sector pensions are in the hole to the sum of $210 billion — and you could argue that is even more remarkable because Illinois, the U.S.’s sixth most populous state, has just one-third the population of California

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Striking UIC faculty pickets, rallies with local, national leaders: ‘Without you, this place would not run’ – Chicago Sun-Times

Several hundred union members gathered at the quad for a rally with officials, including Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, state Rep. Lakesia Collins, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez. Since 2014, faculty at all three University of Illinois campuses — Chicago, Urbana-Champaign and Springfield — have gone on strike.

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It’s back…Illinois’ Sen. Martwick to again push for a progressive tax, even as U.S. states overwhelmingly move toward flat or zero income taxes. – Wirepoints

Illinois Sen. Bob Martwick, an ally of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, is reportedly planning to offer a new version of a progressive tax scheme for Illinois “as soon as next month.” A quick scan of national reporting reveals the foolishness of any such tax hike proposal. States across the country are overwhelmingly moving towards flat and zero income tax structures. An Illinois tax hike would be moving in the exact opposite direction, further crippling the state.

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It’s not wealthy residents losing their homes. Governments are taking the homes of lower income people in South Cook County and other places. – Wirepoints on AM 560 Chicago’s Morning Answer

Ted was on Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan and Amy to talk about the absurdity of Mayor Lightfoot selling city “social bonds” to Chicagoans, why its akin to the city selling its own body parts off piece by piece, the injustice of governments taking and selling people’s homes to recoup unpaid property taxes, why poor residents in South Cook are suffering the most from Illinois’ property tax regime, and more.

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