Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Texas, Florida top destinations in one-way U-Haul rentals in 2022
Texas and Florida were the top destinations of one-way U-Haul® truck customers in 2022, according to U-Haul’s annual Growth Index.
The company announced that migration to the Southeast and Southwest U.S. continued last year, with the no-state income tax states of Texas and Florida topping the list for inbound movers. Both states are led by Republican governors.
State Journal-Register: Legislators return to Springfield for lame-duck session
The lame-duck session, the final five days of the 102nd Illinois General Assembly, begins today at the state Capitol.
Much attention has already been given to House Bill 5855, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which would ban the manufacture, delivery, sale or purchase of assault-style weapons among other changes to gun law.
Chicago Sun-Times: Schools masking absenteeism by misreporting truant CPS students as transfers, dropouts, IG says
There appear to be widespread problems with the tracking of truant students at Chicago Public Schools, according to an inspector general report released Thursday that said chronic absenteeism is likely being masked by some administrators aiming to make their schools look better.
The Center Square: Report: Illinois overspending taxpayer money year after year
A recent study sheds some light on Illinois’ history of overspending taxpayer money over the years.
An analysis by Pew Charitable Trusts shows that Illinois is one of only two states in the country with total tax revenue shortfalls exceeding 5% of total expenses, and the only ones with annual deficits in each of the past 15 years. The other state is New Jersey.
NPR Illinois: Latex gloves are no longer allowed in Illinois food service, next is health care in 2024
Metro East food service providers are now barred from using latex gloves as a new state law takes effect.
The Illinois General Assembly passed the Latex Glove Ban Act this year, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law in June. The goal of the new law is to protect workers and customers who may be allergic to latex.
Capitol News Illinois: Bills target pawnbrokers for tighter rate limits
Members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus are pushing legislation to put pawnbrokers under the same interest rate caps as payday lenders and other small-dollar, short-term lenders, but the pawn shop industry says the proposed caps would effectively put them out of business.
On the first day of a brief “lame duck” session Wednesday, state Sen. Jacqueline Collins and Rep. Sonya Harper, both Chicago Democrats, joined other advocates in accusing the pawn industry of exploiting a “loophole” in a 2021 law known as the Predatory Lending Prevention Act that was aimed at reining in the high-interest, short-term loan industry.