Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Landlords required to build EV chargers at renters' request with new Illinois law
Those in the housing industry are weighing in on the state’s new law that requires landlords to build electric vehicle charging stations into residential buildings upon tenants’ request.
Senate Bill 40 was approved earlier this year and starting Jan. 1, the law requires single-family homes and newly constructed residential buildings with parking spaces to provide a conduit allowing EV charging if needed. During fall veto session, the measure was amended to require a charging station capabilities for each available parking space.
Chicago Tribune: With Supreme Court to weigh in on federal bribery statute, ripples felt quickly in Chicago corruption cases
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a Chicago-area bribery case has already reverberated in several of the city’s biggest public corruption cases, where defense attorneys have long complained that prosecutors overreach when it comes to charging public officials under the federal bribery statute.
On Monday, the lawyer for a co-defendant of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan told a federal judge he will seek to delay the landmark case set for April following the Supreme Court’s announcement last week.
Chicago Sun-Times: Controversial West Loop homeless encampment cleared for street cleaning
Johnny Figueroa packed up his things half-heartedly as volunteers and city employees lingered near his tent under the viaduct near Clinton and Fulton Streets Monday morning.
The city was in the process of clearing the viaducts for routine street cleaning, but Figueroa, 52, said he was planning to stay and protest the clearing of homeless people from the area. His resistance to moving isn’t for him, he said — he is scheduled to move into an apartment Thursday with the help of the organization Inner Voice, which provides affordable housing and support options to people in Chicago experiencing homelessness.
“It’s not even about me, it’s about those who come after me, the homeless child who’s yet to be born,” Figueroa said.
WTTW: United, American Airlines Push Back Against Rising Costs of O’Hare Airport Expansion
United and American airlines want to ground — or significantly scale back — the massive O’Hare International Airport redevelopment designs.
The change comes after the airlines signed an agreement to foot much of the bill through increased gate fees. But now the airlines say the project is over budget, and pandemic-era losses put them at a disadvantage. Will the elaborate Jeanne Gang-designed Terminal 2 ever take flight?
The Center Square: Study finds Illinois near bottom of all states for residents' social mobility
Illinois is one of the worst states in the country for social mobility, according to a new study.
The Archbridge Institute, a nonpartisan, independent public policy think tank, released the report titled “Social Mobility in the 50 States.”
Daily Herald: Illinois is the only state with age-based tests and seniors are not happy
Describing the policy as anywhere from “unfair” to “terrible,” numerous Illinois drivers are fired up about living in the only state requiring seniors to take road tests.
As of Thursday, more than 150 readers, mostly seniors, had emailed or called the Daily Herald with comments about last week’s column on the policy.
CIProud: New training aims to cut down on wrongful arrests in Illinois
Illinois leads the country in prison exonerations, according to the National Registry of Exonerations and the Center for Wrongful Convictions.
In Illinois, the number one reason for wrongful arrests is police misconduct.
WCIA: Illinois to ban e-cigarette use in indoor public spaces in 2024
Starting next month, Illinoisans will not be able to use their vapes or other e-cigarette products inside public places.
When the Smoke-Free Illinois Act went into effect in 2007, it prohibited the use of cigars and cigarettes inside and within 15 feet of entrances. Now, the law going into effect on Jan. 1 will strengthen the Smoke-Free Illinois Act.