Rich Miller: Gov. Pritzker can’t expect to escape Bears stadium bill blame – Chicago Sun-Times

“Pritzker has been sharply criticized for quite a while for focusing more on the national political front than on governing Illinois. And while all or parts of several bills on his priority list did pass, the danger for Pritzker is that this Bears failure will overshadow everything else and highlight his national ambitions because it’s something that transcends the statehouse. His attendance record, while not a complete look at his work, does him no favors.”

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Tax tribunal to remain funded – Center Square

The General Assembly established the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal in 2013 to resolve taxpayer disputes with the Illinois Department of Revenue. After Gov. JB Pritzker sought to transfer the tribunal’s responsibilities back to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the tribunal’s chief administrative judge, James Conway, turned to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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Attorney General Raoul Co-Leads Lawsuit Challenging Unlawful Trump Administration Mandates On Federal Contractors – RiverBender (Alton)

President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14398, issued March 26, directs federal agencies to adopt new contract terms prohibiting federal contractors, including state agencies and instrumentalities, from engaging in “racially discriminatory DEI activities” in connection with their contract work. Illinois and its agencies regularly contract with the federal government, and the coalition states collectively hold existing federal contracts worth billions of dollars.

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IL rewrites property ‘tax sale’ rules; IL counties keep fighting ‘tax sale’ suits – Legal Newsline

In the lawsuits pending against DuPage and the other northern and central Illinois counties, the counties have again filed a so-called third party complaint, seeking to either escape liability or force some of the larger private “tax buyers” to join in any liability and potential payout to people whose homes were unconstitutionally taken. In March, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis rejected the counties’ attempts to also force the state of Illinois to shoulder some of the blame.

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Cocaine money launderer’s Illinois cannabis license goes up in smoke – Chicago Sun-Times

David Berger, who co-founded Ivy Hall, was found guilty last year in federal court of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds by converting cocaine money into private jet flights for a trafficker. His cannabis license was terminated May 11. A separate development involving a newer Fox Lake cannabis shop raises new questions about the opaque system for licensing cannabis businesses and Berger’s continued role in the industry.

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Chicago’s sustainable community high schools: Lower outcomes, higher costs – Illinois Policy

CTU leadership and other proponents of the sustainable community schools model argue that they will uplift neighborhoods and provide students needed support services. But at the eight CPS high schools that have used the model since 2018, proficiency is lower while absenteeism and spending is higher. Those eight schools also are seeing enrollment fall as families flee them.

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