Chicago Tribune: A crumbling, dangerous South Side creates exodus of black Chicagoans
In my mind’s eye, the South Shore of my youth was pristine.
With its big old homes and apartments, four grocery stores and doctors’ offices, South Shore had all kinds of residents — laborers, city workers, artists, businessmen and executives — raising their families side by side. A black child in the ’80s could feel insulated from the trappings of urban life. It’s where first lady Michelle Obama called home.
Auburn-Gresham, the Southwest Side neighborhood where I would later attend and graduate from grade school, was no different. My block on South Aberdeen Street felt downright suburban, with boys my age more concerned with riding bikes, watching cable TV and playing video games than engaging in gang conflict.
U.S. News: America's bankrupt schools
Last week, in Flint, Michigan, Democratic presidential candidates were asked what they’d do to turn around financially flailing and academically failing school systems, like that of nearby Detroit.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders blamed congressional inaction and front-runner Hillary Clinton said she would create a “SWAT team” at the Department of Education and reinstate a federal program to assist states and districts with funding to repair and modernize schools.
The list of big-city school districts around the country that are broke or well on their way to being in the red is growing. But the real reasons behind their dire financial straits weren’t mentioned by either candidate.
Sun-Times: Uber, Lyft sued; McPier, others say taxes owed on airport pickups
Two local tourism agencies and a northwest suburb filed suit Friday against Uber and Lyft, claiming the ride-hailing services have refused to pay a tax imposed on all persons providing transportation from O’Hare and Midway airports.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, commonly known as McPier, along with the Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism bureau, and the village of Rosemont filed the lawsuit, claiming the ride-hailing companies have neither collected nor paid the fee, called the Airport Departure Tax, since the city allowed them to pickup passengers at the airports in November 2015.
The departure tax pays for McPier’s capital improvement projects and funds Choose Chicago and the maintenance and improvement of the Donald E. Stephen Convention Center, according to the lawsuit. McPier manages McCormick Place convention center and Navy Pier.
Pensions and Investments: Low returns skyrocketing public pension fund liabilities
Recent market volatility could result in higher unfunded U.S. public pension liabilities in fiscal year 2016 and erase funding improvements seen in fiscal years 2013 and 2014, said a new report from Moody’s Investors Service.
ABC News: How Chicago Racked up a $662 Million Police Misconduct Bill
In this city’s troubled history of police misconduct, Eric Caine’s case may be unrivaled: It took more than 25 years and $10 million to resolve.
For decades, he maintained he didn’t brutally kill an elderly couple. The police, he said, beat him into a false confession. Locked up at age 20, he was freed at 46, bewildered by a world he no longer recognized. Caine ultimately was declared innocent, sued the city and settled for $10 million. But victory brought him little peace.
“They wouldn’t give anybody that large amount of money if they didn’t believe that person was wronged,” he says. “But I also look at it as a way for them to just want me to go away. … Nobody cares if I live or die.”
Chicago Sun Times: CTU’s April 1 strike legal or illegal? State board would decide
The Chicago Teachers Union has threatened to walk off the job on April 1 in a one-day strike, saying their employer unilaterally nixed their raises for education and experience.
Chicago Public Schools insists that any walkout, as the two sides continue bargaining, would be illegal. CPS has informed teachers who call off without a doctor’s note or written proof of an emergency that they will not be paid that day.
Despite the rhetoric, determining the legality of a strike at the end of next week isn’t up to either one.
News Gazette: Tax study cites Illinois
Taxes at all levels in Illinois are high — but just how high may come as a surprise.
The personal finance website, WalletHub, studied each of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and concluded that the Land of Lincoln is the worst state to be a taxpayer.
Taking into account property taxes, income taxes, sales and excise taxes, and vehicle property taxes, WalletHub calculated that this state has an effective total state and local tax rate of 14.54 percent.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Teachers Union leaders herald walkout plan with membership
The Chicago Teachers Union‘s governing body will vote this week on a call from its leaders for a one-day walkout April 1, a tactic union President Karen Lewisacknowledged has sparked internal debate.
“I’ve had some people say this harms the kids, so my question back to them is: ‘What do you want to do? Tell me what it is that you want to do.’ You have to ask people questions if they have reservations,” Lewis said Friday.
Lewis plans to speak to members in a teleconference Monday to present the case for a walkout, which has to be approved by the union’s House of Delegates.