Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Chicago police threatening lawsuit if not granted same parental leave as teachers
Leaders of the union representing Chicago police are urging Mayor Brandon Johnson for more paid time off and will pursue legal action if not granted.
In June, Johnson and Chicago Public Schools officials announced that school employees would get up to 12 weeks of paid paternity leave.
Chicago Tribune: Feds call defense efforts to gut racketeering case against Michael Madigan ‘flimsy’
Former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s attempt to suppress the dozens of wiretapped calls and secret recordings that form the backbone of the government’s bombshell racketeering case is a “flimsy effort to create an air of impropriety where none exists,” federal prosecutors said in a motion Tuesday.
The 152-page filing also ripped defense claims that the indictment fails to connect any benefits Madigan allegedly received from utility giants Commonwealth Edison and AT&T Illinois to any action the powerful speaker took — or didn’t — on particular legislation.
Chicago Sun-Times: From airfares to used cars to groceries, slowing US inflation eases pressure on households
After two years of painfully high prices, inflation in the United States has reached its lowest point in more than two years — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries.
The inflation figure the government reported Wednesday was down sharply from a 4% annual rate in May, though still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate. From May to June, overall prices rose 0.2%, up from just 0.1% in the previous month but still comparatively mild.
Daily Herald: Apparent twin tornadoes in Kane County, touchdowns in Streamwood, near O'Hare among storms
The National Weather Service confirmed damaging tornadoes moved through the suburbs and Chicago in the late afternoon and evening Wednesday, with one touching down near O’Hare International Airport and “multiple tornadoes in Kane County.”
The weather service office in Romeoville told the Shaw Local News Network it had reports of touchdowns in Lily Lake and South Elgin. Social media users posted images and videos of what appeared to be twin tornadoes in Kane County, west of Elgin and South Elgin in the Campton Hills area.
WGN: Illinois Republicans call for overhaul of state-run developmental facility
Republicans in Springfield are calling for an overhaul at a state-run developmental facility amidst continued issues that include staff misconduct and patient abuse.
On Wednesday, GOP state lawmakers accused the Pritzker administration of not meeting the needs of the state’s most vulnerable.
WAND: Pandemic unemployment benefits: IL Auditor General breaks down latest IDES audit
State leaders have frequently described unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic as a “perfect storm” due to the massive number of people filing for benefits and the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s outdated equipment.
An audit released Thursday stated that IDES failed to maintain accurate and complete data of claimants in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance system.
WCIA: Illinois will not have a sales tax holiday for school supplies this year
It’s often the second most expensive time of the year for families, only behind holidays. Back to school season is around the corner, and prices are higher than ever.
“Depending on how many children you have, or just what your budget can contain, and with household things that are all costing a lot more these days as well, rent, Tiffany Mathis-Posey, CEO of Central Illinois Boy’s and Girl’s Club, said. “Things have gone up. It makes it a struggle.”