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The Illinois Finance Authority will go to market with an $850 million deal for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency next week, replenishing the state revolving fund loan program’s clean water initiative and refunding two series of bonds previously issued by the authority.
Chicago is among the top U.S. markets where consumers expressed concerns over retail crime, with 49% of residents saying it is a serious problem compared with 30% nationally, according to a survey by Flock Safety and Zencity released this morning.
The federal government is pulling back $125 million in funding from the Illinois Department of Public Health and 97 local health departments for activities related to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, the state health department said Wednesday. In all, the federal government is slashing $11.4 billion in federal funding across the country for state and local health departments and other health organizations for COVID-19-related activities.
Citing a 2017 report from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, the brief argues economies are stronger in places where local governments have sanctuary policies. Undocumented immigrants contribute an estimated $1.5 billion in taxes annually in Illinois, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy included in the filing.
Numerous speakers highlighted the need for substantive structural change to address funding disparities, conflicts of interest, and an overall dearth of data about public defense in Illinois.
During a packed meeting Tuesday, board President Larry Lawrence explained the decision to increase the salary, approved at a special meeting March 18, was because Nohely stayed on past his contract’s end date in June 2022 as the board searches for his replacement.
Pritzker: “We will not blindly follow illegal orders because Donald Trump wrote them down on a piece of paper. Illinois follows the laws of the land – not the decrees of an aspiring king hell bent on disenfranchising millions of voters who deserve to have their voice heard.”
New efforts to regulate homeschooling in Illinois have touched off a heated debate.
In a split with organized labor, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., vetoed Democratic-sponsored and union-backed legislation to protect warehouse workers.
“Chicago Mayor Brandon “Six percent” Johnson announcing he’s the second coming of the late Harold Washington is a good story. Johnson has the lowest approval rating in history. Only six percent of Chicago voters think he’s doing a good job.”
Illinois one of 13 states with higher taxes.
Lawmakers won’t pursue the structural reforms needed to fix CPS, so the only real short-term fix is to cut the district’s ballooning costs. Like shuttering the district’s dozens of near-empty schools. Or rolling back the massive increase in non-teacher staff hired during covid. Or holding the line on teacher salaries, which are now among the highest in the country.
“As the extreme Republican agenda in Washington impacts the state, the attorney general’s office should work with the legislature to seek an appropriate amount needed,” Gov. Pritzker’s spokesman said. “As always, the governor appreciates the attorney’s general efforts to protect Illinoisans against unnecessary encroachment by the federal government.”
A minor scandal in Chicago in recent years has involved residents learning that the people who preside over the city’s unreliable and unpleasant public transportation rarely use the services themselves. Now one can imagine how commuters will react to news that in some cases they’ve been forced to pay for the transit bosses to avoid the city’s trains and buses.
The Sun-Times isn’t naming the employees because they haven’t been charged with crimes. Their cases represent just a tiny fraction of the estimated $64 billion in fraud in the PPP program in 2020 and 2021.
Charters create the core elements, standards and processes needed for an effective, transparent and accountable system of government decision making. Charter creation and revision that is led by community leaders who have no direct interest in government and the requirement that voters approve the charter makes it possible to build good government structures and practices. By laying out the explicit authority and limits of the city government, a charter could provide limits for the many functions within city government.
Fifteen independent City Council members put Mayor Brandon Johnson on notice Tuesday: Any move he makes to use city funds to cover a $175 million pension for nonteaching school employees must be made with legislative consent.
A new study released Wednesday by the Cook County Treasurer’s Office found that wealthier, white voters are deciding the outcome of property tax referendums.
Disproportionate and low voter turnout presents challenges for municipal democracy nationwide. However, a straightforward reform acknowledged by scholars and policymakers – aligning the timing of municipal elections to coincide with general elections – offers a clear solution to enhance voter participation significantly.
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