Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Fitch: Illinois will perform worse that other states in expected economic downturn
A major U.S. credit rating agency sees a mild recession ahead and while Illinois’ public finances are expected to remain stable, the state will perform poorer than other states.
Fitch Ratings released its sector outlook for state and local governments and it expects the economic conditions countrywide to deteriorate in 2023. But, the group “anticipates credit quality will remain stable and strong given governments’ prudent efforts in recent years to bolster financial resilience.”
Capitol News Illinois: State elections board certifies 2022 results
The Illinois State Board of Elections certified its election results Monday, putting the final stamp on another Democratic sweep of statewide offices.
The board reported that 4,142,642 out of 8,115,751 registered voters cast ballots in the election, a turnout of roughly 51 percent. That’s down from a turnout of more than 57 percent in 2018, but up from a 49 percent turnout in 2014, according to ISBE.
Chicago Tribune: New legislation would end the Illinois corporate welfare civil war
Americans always have a wide variety of sports to watch, especially this time of year. Basketball, hockey and football are all in full swing, reminding us that competition is one of the cornerstones of American life. It’s not just athletics or even our biennial fall political season that reinforces the point.
In America, our whole economy is based on businesses and consumers competing with each other, and, of course, state and local governments also compete for businesses, investments and residents. It’s part of what has made ours the most prosperous and innovative economy in the world.
The Center Square: Pritzker signs amendments to SAFE-T Act
Amendments to Illinois’ SAFE-T Act are now law.
The controversial legislation passed the previous General Assembly in January 2021. It brought about sweeping changes to the state’s criminal justice system and regulations on police. Lawmakers passed three trailer bills with various clarifications since then.
Chicago Sun-Times: Former police commander testifies in CPD whistleblower trial
When then Area 2 Detectives Commander Rodney Blisset told Isaac Lambert that Lambert was losing his job as a detective sergeant and sent to work in patrol, he couldn’t give Lambert a reason for the demotion. More than a year later, when a city attorney suggested Blisset’s boss wanted Lambert moved because he was a problem officer, Blisset was outraged, the retired commander testified Tuesday in Lambert’s whistleblower trial.
Lambert has sued the city and the Chicago Police Department, alleging he was dropped from his job as a detective because he pushed back when supervisors tried to get him to alter reports on a fellow officer’s 2017 off-duty shooting of an unarmed teenager.