Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Paul Vallas: How school choice plays a part in the student debt crisis
How do we tackle the higher education problem in the U.S.?
I’m referring to the student loan crisis that has resulted from higher education costs that have rapidly inflated. More and more students are competing to get into American colleges and universities, and many of them are taking on massive debt to finance their educations. More and more people continue to become part of the student debt crisis each day, and this won’t stop until policymakers get at the root of the problem.
Chicago Tribune: Suburbs, cities facing high costs try new tack: hiring federal lobbyists to pry dollars out of Washington
Crashes at one of the state’s most dangerous rail crossings, in Elmwood Park, have killed seven people and injured at least 27 over the last few decades. Village officials want to build an underpass to make the intersection safer, but the village can’t do it alone — the $121 million price tag is more than four times the western suburb’s annual budget, according to Village Manager Paul Volpe.
Elmwood Park is one of a growing number of Illinois municipalities that’s looked to federal lobbyists in Washington, D.C. to make a case that some of the dollars flowing out of the capital should go toward projects like the underpass.
The Center Square: New Illinois law creates a task force to examine ranked choice voting
Illinoisans may some day take part in a new way of voting for their elected officials, but not everyone is on board with the idea.
A new Illinois law will create a task force to explore options of ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting allows voters to select their candidates in order from their top choice to their bottom. On Election Day, if a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, that person wins the election outright. If no candidate gets the majority of the vote, rankings would be used to determine the winner.
Chicago Sun-Times: Bridgeport bank failure fallout: Ex-city official, second man plead guilty in collapse of Washington Federal Bank for Savings
A former high-ranking City Hall official with close ties to the Daley family’s political organization pleaded guilty Monday in the collapse of Bridgeport’s Washington Federal Bank for Savings, which federal regulators shut down in 2017 over a massive embezzlement scheme involving its CEO.
William M. Mahon — who served on the bank board while working as a deputy commissioner of the city of Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation — admitted he falsified loan documents so banking regulators would think the board was properly overseeing John F. Gembara, the bank’s CEO, president, chairman of the board and chief shareholder.
CBS Chicago: Chicago officials refuse to disclose how they spent more than $120 million in tax money
City of Chicago officials have failed to turn over records detailing how they spent more than $100 million to care for new arrivals. The Chicago Office of Budget & Management denied CBS 2’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for spending records. The city also ignored requests from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) said she has also yet to receive any requested financial records.
“Heads need to roll,” said Taylor.
Daily Herald: Hoffman Estates raises ambulance fees, sets data-center electricity tax for new fire stations
Hoffman Estates trustees on Monday approved increases in the village’s ambulance fees and the electricity tax for such high-volume users as data centers to raise the $25 million needed to replace its two oldest fire stations.
A replacement for the more than 50-year-old Station 21 at 225 Flagstaff Lane could begin construction at neighboring Chino Park next spring.
NBC Chicago: New Illinois State flag could become reality as Gov. Pritzker approves commission
Illinois’ current state flag has remained largely unchanged for more than a century, but Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker paved the way to a new banner for the Land of Lincoln by signing a bill this week.
Senate Bill 1818, appropriately named after the year Illinois became a state, creates a commission to evaluate the state’s current flag, and decide whether or not it is time to design a new one.
Capitol News: In perjury trial, Madigan’s ex-chief of staff will test limits of loyalty
In the summer of 2018, Tim Mapes’ name had only recently faded from unflattering headlines after he was forced to resign from three top jobs he held under powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Mapes, who’d served as Madigan’s chief of staff for more than two decades, had been accused of sexual harassment by a woman who reported to him in his capacity as clerk of the Illinois House. It was the third accusation of sexual harassment within Madigan’s power structure that year, and the speaker was facing pressure to clean house. “At my direction,” a statement from Madigan read at the time, “Tim Mapes has resigned.”