Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Electronic cigarettes banned in public places starting Monday
Starting Monday, electronic cigarette products will be banned inside public places in Illinois.
Kristina Hamilton of the American Lung Association said the association has been leading the charge to encourage states to expand their smoking bans to include e-cigarettes. A coalition of partners across Illinois have been working with the association for several years to prohibit vaping indoors, she said.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois skirted a recession last year. Here’s what to know about the job market in 2024.
Vanessa Tejeda, 25, started a new job at Swedish Hospital in November.
Tejeda, a certified nursing assistant, lives in the Albany Park neighborhood with her three kids, who range in age from 1 to 6. She left her old job at a nursing home last year to care for her sick grandfather. When it was time to find a new job, she applied to work for a handful of nursing homes and hospitals on Indeed.
WTTW: Chicago’s 2024 Budget Takes Effect, as Johnson Starts Making ‘Down Payment’ on Promises Amid Migrant Crisis
Chicagoans won’t have to pony up in 2024 to cover the cost of a city-imposed property tax hike to keep up with inflation, or any new fees.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget, which took effect Monday, includes no new taxes, fees or service cuts, which ensured it passed in November with the overwhelming support of the Chicago City Council.
CBS Chicago: Only 1% of newly arrived migrants in Chicago have received work permits so far, city data show
With more than 14,000 migrants still living in one of more than two dozen city-operated shelters in Chicago, only a fraction of all the asylum seekers who have arrived in Chicago over the past 16 months have received the permits they need to start looking for jobs.
As of Monday morning, city officials said 14,717 asylum seekers were staying in the city’s 27 shelters, and more than half of those are coming up on the city’s 60-day limit for staying in shelters.
Chicago Tribune: Leadership turnover, officer deaths, robbery spike challenged CPD in 2023
For Mayor Brandon Johnson and new leaders of the Chicago Police Department, the dust has started to settle.
After a year of sweeping changes and more controversy, the department enters 2024 with a new permanent boss facing a long to-do list: Foster stronger community relationships. Reduce violent crime and shootings. Raise the homicide clearance rate. Maintain officer wellness and morale.
Daily Herald: Trying to ‘make it happen’: How Arlington Heights is working to resolve tax dispute between Bears, schools
Though they’ve mostly been quiet publicly, Arlington Heights and Chicago Bears officials have been working behind the scenes for months to resolve a property tax dispute over the NFL franchise’s 326-acre Arlington Park property, according to records obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.
The memorandum of understanding on property tax assessments and payments would have to be approved by all three school districts whose boundaries fall within the sprawling site. So far, they haven’t said no to the proposed deal.
WBBM: Now in effect: Illinois laws targeting utility shutoffs, child support payments and more
More than 300 new laws took effect Monday in Illinois, and as the New Year began, Attorney General Kwame Raoul took some time to highlight a trio of those new pieces of legislation.
The three new laws were initiated by Raoul’s office, and they include House Bill 1541.