Herald & Review: Property taxpayers take a big hit
Illinois property owners pay among the highest property taxes in the nation, and those taxes have grown for the last several years faster than personal income, inflation or population growth.
A recent study by the Illinois Policy Institute points out clearly why so many taxpayers are frustrated over the ever-growing tax bill.
Looking at residential property taxes alone since 1990 the Institute found:
Chicago Sun Times: Math doesn't add up for Emanuel’s $1 billion CPS savings claim
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has repeatedly claimed that the financially beleaguered Chicago Public Schools system has cut its budget by about $1 billion since he took office in 2011.
For months, CPS has refused to provide records to back up the $1 billion figure. But a CPS summary report obtained from another source and other records cast doubt on Emanuel’s claimed cost-cutting.
Among the savings the school system has claimed are $42 million as a result of cuts in special education, $17 million more by firing janitors and privatizing school-cleaning through a contract with Aramark and another $13 million by “reducing Chicago Police Department expense.”
Chicago Tribune: As Harvey suffers corruption, no one's stepping in to help
In September, aldermen for the city of Harvey collected 1,000 signatures from residents and delivered them to Attorney General Lisa Madigan, requesting her help investigating allegations of corruption in the troubled south suburb.
For months, Aldermen Christopher Clark, Joseph Whittington, Shirley Drewenski and Lamont Brown have been trying to attract the attention of law enforcement to stop what they consider rampant lawlessness of public officials in the city. The response? Mostly silence.
The Guardian: Families of two people killed by Chicago police seek answers: 'When does it end?'
Family members of two people killed by Chicago police on Saturday demanded answers after police acknowledged that one of the victims was killed accidentally.
Chicago police fatally shot Bettie Jones, 55, and Quintonio Legrier, 19, around 4.25am while responding to a domestic disturbance call where they lived, said police.
On Saturday night, police said that Jones was “accidentally struck and tragically killed” in the shooting. Police said an officer’s weapon was discharged after police were “confronted by a combative subject”.
Chicago Tribune: School board wants to throw out CTU strike vote
The Chicago Board of Education is asking the state’s educational labor relations board to invalidate the recent strike authorization vote by teachers, arguing that the three-day process was “inherently flawed.”
The Chicago Teachers Union said last week that 88 percent of eligible members authorized union leaders to call a strike, well above the 75 percent threshold required before a walkout. The union has maintained that it could call for a strike authorization vote at any time during talks to replace a contract that expired June 30.
The school board disputes the union’s position in a memo attorney James Franczek sent last week to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. The board says the union cannot vote on a strike until contract talks have gone through a final stage known as “fact-finding,” which has yet to begin.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago's next top cop faces daunting to-do list
Heal a deep lack of public trust. Cooperate with a federal civil rights investigation into the use of force. Reform a police department with a history of corruption. Deal with some of the nation’s most intractable gun and gang problems. And work for a famously demanding mayor now governing in the midst of his most severe crisis.
It’s a daunting to-do list for Chicago’s next police superintendent, a person Mayor Rahm Emanuel will hire in the coming months to navigate the turbulent environment that has erupted since the court-ordered release of a video showing a white police officer shooting a black teen to death.
Law enforcement experts say the new top cop should have a strong personality, understand police work and its dangerous nature, and recognize past abuses. And if Chicago is to realize true change, they say, it’s important that the person brought in have a large measure of independence from the mayor — or at least be working on the same reform goals — and the freedom to make decisions without political influence.