Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Pritzker hopes for federal money for Illinois after Democrats regain full control in D.C.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was all smiles about Georgia’s U.S. Senate election results Wednesday, saying he’s optimistic that the federal government will come through with more state aid now that Republicans can’t block it.
At a news conference in Chicago, Pritzker was asked about how soon he thinks the state’s multi-billion dollar budget deficit would be closed now that it’s more likely that Illinois and other states would see federal revenue passed down.
NPR Illinois: GOP Lawmakers Again Demand Answers On State Unemployment Agency Failures
GOP lawmakers are again demanding answers from Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Employment Securities over the state’s processing of unemployment benefits.
Since COVID-19 hit Illinois, IDES has been inundated with unemployment claims from Illinoisans impacted by the state’s stay-at-home orders and pandemic-related recession.
Chicago Tribune: Ex-Ald. Proco ‘Joe’ Moreno ordered into custody after alleged DUI
Ex-Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno was booked into Cook County Jail on Thursday after a judge ordered him into custody for picking up DUI and reckless driving charges while out on bond for his pending insurance fraud case.
Judge William Hooks went above and beyond prosecutors’ request to simply impose stricter bond conditions such as drug-testing and a curfew. Instead, he called Moreno “a danger to the community” during a videoconferenced court hearing and ordered the former alderman to turn himself in.
Chicago Sun-Times: CPS’ reopening plan to be subject of City Council hearing on same day students go back
The City Council’s Education Committee will hold a hearing Monday to question schools and health officials a week after nearly three-quarters of Chicago aldermen said they were “deeply concerned” with the city’s school reopening plan,
The virtual hearing is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. the same day the first Chicago Public Schools students return to classrooms after schools closed 10 months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plan to reopen classrooms as the virus still rages through the city at levels comparable to the spring has concerned families and teachers who don’t trust schools will be safe.
Chicago Tribune: Former CPS head who went to prison for kickback scheme also steered a $6 million school contract to friends, new watchdog report says
While former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett adjusted to a life of home confinement after years in federal prison for defrauding the public in a kickback scheme, the district’s inspector general continued to investigate her dealings on behalf of the nation’s third-largest school district.
The CPS watchdogs have uncovered another multimillion-dollar contract Byrd-Bennett allegedly steered to her friends, along with efforts to get the same friends another deal, according to a report released Wednesday by Inspector General William Fletcher.
Chicago Tribune: Op-ed: Illinois’ do-nothing legislature will finally convene. Its inaction took a big toll.
The Illinois General Assembly is set to start a lame-duck session in Springfield on Friday. The purpose is to consider laws that, if enacted, could affect daily life across the state.
The return to work is long overdue. The state legislature skipped its traditional veto session in November and December. COVID-19 took the blame, but House Speaker Mike Madigan was a reason too. It would have been a distraction to hold even a fall veto session with the speaker at the center of a federal corruption probe.