The Civic Federation cautions that the City will need to develop contingency plans to supplement unreliable casino revenue when planning for future pension contributions.

“The tax credit is set to expire at the end of this calendar year. The General Assembly took no action to extend the sunset during the 2023 spring session. And the governor has taken three different public positions since early June.”

State Sen. Chapin Rose has joined state Rep. Adam Niemerg to introduce legislation that prevents adjoining construction projects at the same time. “[The legislation] directs IDOT to never place a primary route, an interstate system, under construction at the same time they place the parallel secondary route, Route 40,” Rose said. “That decision that was made a year ago led to what the folks who live here know was complete chaos.”

The project was met with significant pushback from environmentalists and landowners in Illinois, who shared concerns about safety and the company’s request to use eminent domain to obtain land or usage rights if necessary.

State Rep. Charlie Meier filed three measures as part of his “Help Protect Us and Improve Our Home” initiative, which he hopes to discuss during the fall veto session. Suggested changes include a mass hiring of qualified staff, an increase in administrative and security inspections, and an improved effort to remind employees if they see something is wrong, report it.

While House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch poured cold water on the prospect of a supplemental spending plan, advocates for a state private school scholarship program are hoping lawmakers can come to an agreement on keeping the program alive. Without legislative action, that program will sunset at the end of this year.

Legal counsel Sarah Chowdhury made a series of antisemitic remarks to an Instagram account called Big Law Boiz, one which was threatening and another invoking Hitler. Big Law Boiz, “a Jew with Israeli family” who declined to give a real name, told Reuters that Chowdhury had initiated the exchange over Big Law Boiz’s posts relating to media coverage of the conflict unfolding in Israel.

Pritzker also discusses antisemitism, migrants coming to Illinois, and his new organization ‘Think Big America.”

If lawmakers reverse governor’s turndown, nursing homes would pay less in property taxes, passing costs to rest of taxpayer pool

Gov. JB Pritzker said in a televised interview this week, “There needs to be border security. There also needs to be comprehensive immigration reform…We really do need the rest of the country to step up, and only the federal government can really do that. And so, we’ve asked them to take charge at the border, to make sure they’re not just dropping people off at Catholic Charities, where they’re being influenced to send people to Chicago, to New York…”

“The one thing we are doing to put a spotlight on that is we have an Illinois-made makers program, so we have over 236 makers, and we call these artisans, craftsmen, distillers, beer makers,” said Daniel Thomas, Deputy Director of the Illinois Office of Tourism. One brewer credits Lake Michigan water for the sought-after beers.

Among those accepting campaign contributions after supporting what was portrayed as reform legislation: Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and state Rep. Jay Hoffman. “The statutory language does not include a designated penalty, just a prohibition,” said Bernadette Matthews, executive director of the state elections board.