Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: ‘Have to be some teeth,’ audit chair says of repeated findings at Illinois state agencies
A state legislator says the Illinois General Assembly may have to use the power of the purse to force state agencies to clean up repeated audit findings.
In the past week, a series of audits were released by the Illinois Auditor General. In one, a rare “adverse opinion” was given for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The agency had 37 findings. Ten were repeats.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois may lift historic ban on building nuclear power plants as state continues transition from coal and gas
Already home to more nuclear power plants than any state in the nation, Illinois is on the verge of lifting a nearly four-decade-old ban on building reactors as the state transitions from coal and natural gas.
The move comes as other states have rescinded similar bans and policymakers are taking a fresh look at nuclear as another alternative to generate energy without increasing carbon output.
Sun-Times: Did NASCAR pay enough to use Grant Park, downtown streets? Chicago Park District boss defends agreement
Under fire for giving away the store, Chicago Park District Supt. Rosa Escareño is defending the terms of NASCAR’s agreement to rent Grant Park as “consistent with how Lollapalooza was treated when it started.”
The three-year agreement, with a two-year renewal option, for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race calls for the Park District to receive a $500,000 permit fee, 15% of net commissions on the sale of concessions and merchandise, and $2 for every admission ticket sold.
Daily Herald: State ends fiscal year with $726 million surplus
State revenues once again reached a record high in the fiscal year that ended June 30, creating what Gov. J.B. Pritzker called a “one-time” budget surplus of more than $700 million.
The $50.7 billion in base general revenues that the state collected in fiscal year 2023 — which exclude one-time pandemic-related federal funds — topped last year’s previous record by $373 million.
Capitol News: IDOT unveils 6-year, $41 billion plan for infrastructure projects
The Illinois Department of Transportation unveiled a plan on Friday for spending nearly $41 billion in federal, state and local funds over the next six years to repair and upgrade roads, bridges, airports, rail lines and other infrastructure throughout the state.
The latest version of the plan, which IDOT updates annually, is the largest multiyear plan in state history. It’s driven by the state’s 2019 Rebuild Illinois capital infrastructure program. The initial six-year Rebuild Illinois plan included $33.2 billion for transportation, funded largely by annualized increases to the state’s motor fuel tax and increases to driving-related licensing fees that took effect in 2020.