As Illinois parents prepare their students for the start of the coming school year, some families sending their children to a private school of their choice through the state’s Invest in Kids scholarship program face uncertainty.

Legislators didn’t lift the end-of-year sunset on the Invest in Kids program before they adjourned spring session. Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said discussions continue.

Federal prosecutors for the first time have detailed wiretapped conversations capturing Tim Mapes, the indicted former chief of staff to ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan, discussing issues key to the investigation that rocked Illinois state government — from how to handle a burgeoning sexual harassment scandal to Mapes’ ouster from the speaker’s team and his startling encounter with the FBI.

The 65-page filing Tuesday comes as prosecutors are seeking to play many of the recordings at Mapes’ trial next month on charges he lied to a federal grand jury investigating Madigan and his relationship with longtime confidant Michael McClain.

Residents and local organizations said Tuesday that Cook County should continue funding programs that tackle community violence, provide care for veterans and ensure food availability in next year’s budget.

Speakers expressed their priorities at a virtual hearing on Cook County’s preliminary budget forecast for fiscal year 2024, details of which were released last month.

The forecast shows a projected gap of $85.6 million next year.

Rosemont will give property tax rebates to a hotel and two restaurants under a new program aimed at creating “parity” among local businesses, village officials said.

The property tax incentive program would benefit three existing businesses within The Pearl District, the 16-acre entertainment area south of Balmoral Avenue and west of the Tri-State Tollway: The Rose Hotel Chicago O’Hare, Carmine’s, and Truluck’s Seafood Steak & Crab House.

Several counties across Illinois will now have greater access to state resources and emergency personnel as they recover from severe weather.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for Coles, Cook, Edgar, Hancock, McDonough, Morgan, Sangamon, and Washington counties due to weather occurring on June 29 through July 4.

The appointment of Chicago Public Schools teacher Natalie Toro to represent a wide swath of Chicago’s Northwest Side in the Illinois Senate sets up a fierce battle next spring as the progressive political organizations and labor unions that helped elect Mayor Brandon Johnson push to consolidate their electoral political power.

Toro will represent the 20th District in the Illinois Senate, replacing Cristina Pacione-Zayas, who resigned last month to become Johnson’s first deputy chief of staff. Toro, who has never before held elected office, said she plans to run for a full term in office in March’s Democratic primary.

This year, Illinois officials announced what seemed like a solution to the outcry over abuse and cover-ups at a state-run developmental center: Downsize the facility and move about half the residents elsewhere. Some of the roughly 120 relocated residents of the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center would receive care in community settings. Others are expected to end up in one of the six developmental centers located in other parts of the state.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Grace Hou said the plan would “reshape the way the state approaches care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

The Illinois Community College Board is offering to pay for people to take the GED test.

The test, which gives people the equivalent of a high school diploma, typically costs around $144 to take. The new grant from the ICCB will allow people to take the test for free.