Wirepoints https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html Lawsuit: IL state Voting Rights Act unconstitutionally lets Dems divide voters by race – Legal Newsline Chicago Public Schools cut hundreds of custodian jobs last year. Staff say their schools are dirtier. – Chalkbeat Chicago Shoplifting surged 187% at South Side Walgreens before closure announcement, city data shows – CWB Chicago Aldermen advance $55 million tax break for United Center development – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo Cook County liable for property tax sale violations, judge rules – Chicago Sun-Times Calumet City mayor threatens $250K in state funding after television report on his credit card spending – WGNTV (Chicago) Chicago makes official pitch to repeat as host for Democratic National Convention in 2028 – CBS2 (Chicago) Labor stats offer mixed bag for Illinois – Center Square Data center regs proposed as $20 billion, 795-acre Joliet project advances – Center Square Wirepoints Home Officers mourn fallen Chicago cop as policy debate grows – Center Square Illinois gas prices remain among nation’s highest as another tax hike nears – Axios Paul Vallas: Public Employee Unions Hold Key to Checkmating the Chicago Teachers Union – Chicago Contrarian Battle continues over Illinois law to limit credit card fees – Chicago Sun-Times City Lawyers Fought — And Won — Lawsuit Filed by Man Shot Twice by Police. Taxpayers Still Paid $1.37M – WTTW (Chicago) Polling place gun ban proposal draws pushback – Center Square How Illinois county clerks are combating election misinformation – Capitol News IL What Pritzker’s housing plan gets right and wrong – Illinois Policy Letter: Chicago Students Get a Ferris Bueller Day Off – Wall Street Journal Chicago health department leaves millions of federal COVID dollars on the table – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo Column: Brace for impact: Another gas-tax hike – Champaign News-Gazette Gov. Pritzker Sued Over Gerrymandered Districts And Illinois Voting Rights Act – Edgar County Watchdogs Illinois lawmakers face budget deadline, Bears stadium fight and insurance battle with 3 weeks left – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo 3 dead, 15 hurt in Chicago weekend shootings – CBS2 (Chicago) Delevan considers data center to boost economic development – WEEK (Peoria) Valerie Jarrett: The Obama Presidential Center is a unique catalyst for change throughout Chicago – Chicago Tribune* Obama Presidential Center helped by $123 million in public infrastructure improvements – Chicago Sun-Times Commentary: Illinois told a failing Chicago suburb, Harvey, it’s not ‘distressed’ enough for a bailout – Crain’s Paul Vallas: The Boy Who Cried Trump – John Kass News A $10 million investment to reduce chronic absenteeism in Chicago schools: 40% chronically absent – Chicago Sun-Times How do data centers benefit the places where they’re built? Local mayors give mixed reviews – Capitol News IL Facial recognition cracked a street pastor’s murder case, prosecutors say – CWB Chicago Once epicenters of teenage culture, some Chicago-area malls are taking their last breath – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo Video: Ald. Lopez backs Loyola student Sheridan Gorman’s family, calls to end sanctuary policies – FOX News Pritzker calls for justice in Sheridan Gorman’s death as family speaks out – FOX32 (Chicago) Community schools worry about future funding, which might lead to service cuts – WNIU (Northern Public Radio) Editorial: State trying to put bright face on dark educational problem – Champaign News-Gazette Chicago Teachers Union wants $8.5 million dues hike to fund politics – The Last Ward What a survey of residents shows about the Chicago Bears push for a new stadium – WGLT (NPR at ISU) Chicago’s Efforts to Keep Housing Affordable in Woodlawn Falls Short as Obama Center Nears Opening – Illinois Answers Project Chicago Public Schools campus budget could bring cuts amid massive deficit – Chalkbeat Chicago Paul Vallas: Why Did Kim Foxx Secure ‘Certificates of Innocence’ for Men She Believed Were Guilty? – Chicago Contrarian Illinois: Tier 2 Pension Costly Benefit Increases Supercharge the State’s Pension Crisis, and Local Governments Would be Hit Hardest – Truth in Accounting Chinese buyer plans partial residential conversion at Wacker Drive office building – Crain’s Illinois cities unveil rival housing plan to Gov. JB Pritzker’s sweeping zoning plan – Chicago Tribune/Yahoo Illinois gas tax will rise to nearly 50 cents per gallon in July – Illinois Policy Rich Miller: Property tax relief scant in Bears stadium bill, analysis shows – Chicago Sun-Times Chicago exoneree who blew through $25M city settlement back in jail – NewsNation IL Senate passes bill accelerating lead service line replacement – WAND (Decatur) Bill to tax global profits from Illinois meets opposition protesting ‘double tax’ – Center Square