Get the latest news headlines from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois House, Senate play political games on constitutional amendments
Despite a flurry of action on ideas to change the Illinois Constitution that include eliminating the lieutenant governor’s office, overhauling how legislative districts are drawn and setting up a graduated income tax, it’s getting increasingly unlikely voters will have any lawmaker-backed amendments to consider on the November ballot.
A time-tested political strategy is unfolding at the Capitol this spring: push similar but competing measures in the House and the Senate. Each chamber approves its version and doesn’t take up the other, allowing lawmakers to say they voted for the publicly popular changes even if they had no chance of becoming law.
The gamesmanship was on full display Thursday in the Illinois Senate. Democrats pushed through a proposal to amend the highly politicized way legislative boundaries are mapped.
Illinois News Network: Rep. Jack Franks opposes progressive tax
Less than a week after Democrats proposed replacing Illinois’ flat income tax with a graduated tax system, the measure may already be on its way to defeat.
State Rep. Jack Franks told the Illinois Radio Network Thursday that he opposes the progressive tax proposal, which sponsors say would generate $1.9 billion.
“I’m not supportive of that,” said Franks. The longtime lawmaker represents McHenry County in northern Illinois – a heavily Republican district.
Daily Herald: Despite consolidation push, lawmakers let lieutenant governor job survive
Illinois lawmakers Thursday rejected eliminating the state office now held by Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti of Wheaton, who has championed government consolidation in her first term in office.
State Sen. Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat, pushed the amendment to the constitution, saying the lieutenant governor job comes with no real responsibilities and eliminating the post would save $1.6 million per year.
“Your constituents have told you they want this to occur,” Cullerton said.
DNAinfo: Wife Of Chicago's Former No. 2 Cop Got Top Score on Disputed Exam
One of three newly minted police lieutenants named in an Internal Affairs investigation into cheating on a department promotion test earned the highest score on the exam, DNAinfo Chicago has learned.
Lt. Maryet Hall — who is married to former First Deputy Police Supt. Al Wysinger, the department’s No. 2 cop who retired last year — recorded the top score on the lieutenants exam, according to police test rankings obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Hall — along with Lt. Nakia Fenner and Lt. Davina Ward — was named in a tip made by an anonymous whistleblower that led to a police Internal Affairs Division investigation. That investigation was launched in November of 2014, nine months before the lieutenants exam.
Crain's Chicago: Come together, right now, Chicago business
Chicago is facing serious financial challenges. The city should take a pointer from Detroit. While Chicago is by no means Detroit, there is a corollary for Chicago in the role that leaders of business and nonprofits played in Michigan to address Detroit’s complex challenges. Most significant, these organizations contributed to the “Grand Bargain,” which was the final piece of the puzzle leading to the historic settlement between Detroit and its creditors. As a politician and state official during this period, I can say Michigan’s private sector leaders made a big difference.
Chicago’s businesses and nonprofits have a vested interest in a functioning city and state government. That includes reliance on services, infrastructure, a talented workforce and a quality of life needed to attract and retain residents. Accordingly, these organizations should be a catalyst for change. They have the credibility, financial means and skills to help forge Chicago’s version of the Grand Bargain.
Quad-City Times: Illinois Senate approves redistricting amendment
The Illinois Senate has approved a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn but rejected one that would have eliminated the lieutenant governor’s office.
Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, sponsored the redistricting amendment, which is similar to one the Senate approved in 2010 that failed to win approval in the House. Unlike a current proposal from House Democrats and another backed by the group Independent Maps, Raoul’s measure would leave the task of redrawing boundaries largely in the hands of state lawmakers.
“Here in the state of Illinois, we are fortunate to have a state with a diverse population,” Raoul said, arguing that his measure would do the most to protect influence of minority voters.
Chicago Tribune: Delay the pay for Illinois politicians? Nothing else has worked.
In Illinois, where the state’s main checking account is perpetually in the red and overdue bills are piled high, the comptroller’s job is more complicated than sending out checks. It’s a juggling act, prioritizing payments to vendors who really, really, really need the money over vendors who really, really need the money. Last in line are those who really need the money.
Without a budget — the state has been operating without one since July 1 due to political stalemate — Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger‘s job is even more complex.
Court orders require her to pay certain bills on time. That includes cutting paychecks for rank-and-file state workers.
Chicago Tribune: How the school year ends
Chicago teachers now face a grim choice: Will they sabotage this school year or the next one with a strike over their unrealistic contract demands?
And Chicago Public Schools officials confront an equally grim choice: Will they try to borrow more money to meet teachers’ demands — driving the district even deeper into disastrous debt? Or will they make draconian cuts that could boost classroom sizes and cut curriculum choices?
That’s the state of play after independent fact-finder Steven Bierig recommended that the union accept the district’s proposal for a new contract with the teachers. Bierig faced facts: CPS is barely able to pay its bills. Its bonds are rated as junk. Its pleas to Springfield for a cash infusion have yielded not a penny. Nonetheless, the district made a generous offer to the teachers.
The Washington Post: One of the nation’s largest pension funds could soon cut benefits for retirees
More than a quarter of a million active and retired truckers and their families could soon see their pension benefits severely cut — even though their pension fund is still years away from running out of money.
Within the next few weeks, the Treasury Department is expected to announce a crucial decision on whether it will approve reductions to one of the country’s largest multi-employer pension plans.
The potential cuts are possible under legislation passed by Congressin 2014 that for the first time allowed financially distressed multi-employer plans to reduce benefits for retirees if it would improve the solvency of the fund. The law weakened federal protections that for more than 40 years shielded one of the last remaining pillars that workers could rely on for financial security in retirement.
Daily Herald: College funding vote called off in surprise move
An Illinois House vote on an apparent bipartisan compromise to pay for community colleges, state universities and a key scholarship program was called off minutes before it was set to be taken Thursday night.
The surprise move made without explanation by state Rep. Rita Mayfield, a Waukegan Democrat, means the 10-month state budget stalemate that has led universities to threaten closure and community colleges to lay off staff will continue for at least one more day.