Water levels on the Kankakee River continue to rapidly decrease after “life-threatening” flooding in Wilmington forced residents and businesses to evacuate Friday. Now, county and local officials are taking stock of the damage left behind.
Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Chicago mayor not on board with blocking DNC in exchange for federal funding for migrants
A Chicago state representative has called on the state to refuse to host the Democratic National Convention until the city receives federal funding for migrant care. Mayor Brandon Johnson is not on board with that idea, however.
The DNC will be hosted in downtown Chicago in August as the city deals with more than 35,000 migrant arrivals from the southern border.
Chicago Sun-Times: In crooked Bridgeport bank failure case, City Hall insider under 3 mayors faces a reckoning
William “Billy” Mahon, the youngest son of a Bridgeport cop, spent 33 years at City Hall, serving as a high-ranking aide to Mayors Richard M. Daley, Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot and managing to stay on even in the face of repeated misconduct.
Mahon was 23 when he first went to work in the Daley administration in 1989 — at a time, he admits in newly filed court documents, that he was starting a daily cocaine habit he says lasted five years. There’s no evidence to show he was ever punished for his illegal drug use.
The Chicago Tribune: No help: The federal immigration deal won’t fix the migrant crisis in Chicago — and it’s unlikely to pass Congress anyway
Thousands of newly arrived migrants have stepped off buses into freezing Chicago temperatures over the past few weeks, and most city-run shelters are at capacity. But any chances of help from Congress look slim.
In negotiations that have lasted weeks, congressional Republicans have refused to approve any further aid for Ukraine without major U.S. border policy changes, which congressional leaders cannot agree on.
The Daily Herald: How much property taxes per person does it cost to run your town?
Property taxes used to fund daily operations of suburban municipalities have climbed an average of $44 per resident from 10 years ago.
In at least nine suburbs, the amount of property taxes charged per resident has climbed more than $100 from a decade ago.
The Pantagraph: As Kankakee River water levels decrease after flash flood, Will County assesses damage
The National Weather Service issued flash flood and flood warnings due to water levels that reached 15.62 feet Friday evening because of an ice jam that formed near I-55 between Wilmington and the Des Plaines River confluence.
The Chicago Tribune: Illinois appeals courts see ‘dramatic increase’ in cases following elimination of cash bail
In October in Livingston County, Judge Jennifer Bauknecht issued a lengthy decision following a detention hearing just weeks after cash bail was abolished across the state.
“All right. Since its founding, this country has used monetary bonds in conjunction with pretrial conditions as an effective tool for ensuring that a defendant is not a risk of harm to others in the community, does not commit any criminal offenses while out on bond, and that he appears as directed at all future court dates,” Bauknecht began.