Cities across the state should have to keep police misconduct records permanently, leaders of the Chicago NAACP and State Rep. La Shawn Ford said Monday.

The call comes as the Chicago officials are locked in a legal battle with police unions that want all complaint files older than five years destroyed, and amid outrage over recent police shootings in the city.

Here is a  snapshot of proposed legislation for Illinois lawmakers to consider in the 2016 session, which begins Wednesday:

Recalls: Chicago voters would have the power to launch recalls against mayors, a response to public outcry over recent police shootings. State law currently allows only a governor to be recalled.

Fantasy sports: Identical proposals in the House and Senate seek to regulate fantasy sports gambling. Among other things, the bills would forbid employees of fantasy sports companies from participating in the contests or sharing confidential information to help others win. The state attorney general has declared daily fantasy sports betting illegal.

Police body cameras: Police departments in municipalities with more than 1 million residents would have to require officers use body cameras. Last year, lawmakers passed guidelines for the cameras’ use but did not mandate that officers wear the devices.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to introduce an ordinance Wednesday that will raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, from 18 to 21, according to a statement released by the mayor’s office.

The statement notes that cities such as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Kansas City and Evanston have already made similar ordinances.

The city says the proposal is designed to help prevent young people from becoming addicted to nicotine at an early age.

Chicago is still paying a price for mounting pension obligations as the junk-rated city returns to the municipal bond market for the first time since a record property-tax increase.

The city is selling $500 million of general-obligation bondsto refinance existing securities and cover some debt- service bills. The federally tax-exempt securities are being offered at a top yield of 4.93 percent, according to three people with knowledge of the issue who requested anonymity before the deal is final. That’s about 2.3 percentage points higher than benchmark debt, according to Bloomberg data.

While the proceeds of the levy will shore up the police and fire fighter pensions, Chicago’s $20 billion pension shortfall across its four retirement funds remain a significant challenge. The city’s bonds traded more than 4 points above benchmark securities this month as Mayor Rahm Emanuel‘sadministration came under increased criticism.

The future of unions in the United States: that’s what many say is at stake in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association Supreme Court case.

Ten California teachers who have opted out of joining the teachers union argue that they should not be forced to pay what’s called “fair share” fees, which are union dues that even non-union members are forced to pay.

The Supreme Court’s decision could have a chilling effect on the labor movement, especially in states like Illinois, where Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has made labor reform a top priority. Last year, Rauner signed an executive order to allow workers who choose not to join a union from paying “fair share” fees to fund union activity.

Governor Bruce Rauner says the state will not help out struggling Chicago schools as both the city and state deal with financial problems in the new year.

CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley spoke with the governor in Springfield Tuesday as Rauner starts his second year in office.

On frigid day in Springfield, Governor Rauner is turning up the heat on Democrats opposing him in a budget stalemate. He wants control over social service payments and is flatly telling Chicago schools, forget about additional money

An interesting topic that we’ve seen a lot of news about recently is the status of three different municipal issuers: The City of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and the State of Illinois. Despite their different names, each entity serves the same basic function, faces the same set of legal circumstances governed by state courts, and has a similar liability profile.

We have compiled a historical analysis of distressed state and local government issuers over the past four decades and have concluded that all have faced similar decision-making pitfalls in the course of their budgetary processes, year-in and year-out.

For yet another year, the most common view of Illinois is in the rear-view mirror. United Van Lines just released its annual “National Movers Study,” which examines the number of inbound moves to and outbound moves from all 50 states. The majority of Illinois moves – 63.2% – are outbound. The only states with a more abysmal outbound move rate are New Jersey and New York (at 66.6% and 64.6%, respectively).

United Van Lines’ study is just the latest in a series of disheartening reports about Illinois. Last month, newly released U.S. Census data showed a sharp decline in domestic population. During just one year (July 1, 2014 through July 1, 2015), 105,200 more people left the state than moved to it. While it may be tempting to position this loss as a “Midwestern problem” – in other words, people leaving the heartland states for sunnier coasts or more tech-centric urban centers – in fact all five of Illinois’ contiguous neighbors experienced net gains during the same time period.

Mark Fitten, of the Illinois News Network, reported that a substantial amount of the loss owes to Illinois’ burdensome tax structure and economic volatility. David Yepsen, Director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said that while “businesses don’t like taxes, they hate uncertainty” – and uncertainty definitely hangs heavily over the state of Illinois, with its $111 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and corporate tax rates that rank among some of the nation’s highest.

Healthcare is moving its corporate headquarters from the U.K. to Chicago, its CEO said Monday.

John L. Flannery said he didn’t yet know how many jobs would come to Chicago but that only his “senior executive leadership team” is making the move.

The General Electric subsidiary plans to move into office space already leased by GE Transportation in the 500 West Monroe building sometime in the first half of this year, he said.

Cook County Jail was placed on lockdown Tuesday, restricting the movement of inmates, after 18 percent of workers on the day shift did not make it to work, officials said.

The 142 correctional officers gave reasons ranging from illness and family issues to the weather for not showing up for the 7 a.m.-to-3 p.m. shift, according to Cara Smith, a spokeswoman for the Cook County sheriff’s office.

Smith said jail officials attempt to “avoid lockdowns at all costs,” but they are not uncommon because of understaffed shifts.  “I would say it happens maybe once a month, maybe more frequently,’’ she said.

Its pizza may be world famous, but Chicago recently added a new attribute to its menu: one of the most active crowdfunding cities in the world, notes ChicagoInno.

With 132 live projects as of Jan. 16, 2016, Chicago ranks behind only London, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, according to analysis by the Crowdfunding Centre, a British data organization. The database is currently tracking more than 1,300 projects across 166 countries, and reveals how the industry has expanded beyond the United States.