Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Lawmaker: 'Reform' necessary to consolidate Illinois' 6,000 units of government
Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins fumes that Illinois taxpayers are being forced to pay for the state’s more than 6,000 units of local government.
“It’s symbolic of one of the biggest problems we have here in Illinois and that’s too much government,” Caulkins told The Center Square of a new Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) study that concludes the state is home to more units of government than any other state in the country. “There’ too much government, too much bureaucracy and too much red tape, which in turn makes for high taxes as a way to pay for all the overhead.”
Chicago Tribune: More than 1 million dropped from Medicaid as states start post-pandemic purge of rolls
More than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork.
Chicago Sun-Times: New stadium call gets tougher for Chicago Bears, and Soldier Field is back in the mix
Where the Chicago Bears will play their roughly 10 home games per year and how much taxpayers will be on the hook for it threatens to become a long-running civic soap opera. It’s made frequent headlines for a couple of years, and odds are this show has more years left to run, as nothing could stop the Bears from playing out their lease at Soldier Field through 2033.
Certainly, big decisions have to happen before then. For now, there’s time for sideshows, feints and bravado. We’ve had plenty of that lately, with more towns lining up to offer the Bears a stadium site.
WGN: ‘I knew what I was inheriting,’ says Mayor Johnson after another violent weekend in Chicago
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson held an event celebrating funding for a memorial to those who were victims of police torture. It’s what he wanted to talk about today, but questions about summer violence remain on the front burner.
Johnson highlighted something good in the city — grant money for eight new monuments. But the news comes after another reminder this past weekend that violence persists in Chicago.
WTTW: Johnson Set to Start Tackling Chicago’s Pension Woes, Hemmed in by Vow Not to Raise Property Taxes
The working group formed by Mayor Brandon Johnson to tackle Chicago’s acutely underfunded pensions is set to meet for the first time this week to confront one of the major fiscal challenges facing Chicago’s new leader.
The group of state lawmakers, city officials and union leaders faces a daunting task, complicated by Johnson’s campaign promise not to raise Chicagoans’ property taxes, the city’s largest source of revenue and the most effective way for city officials to raise revenue and ensure expenses do not outstrip costs.
The Center Square: Bill on Pritzker's desk would allow noncitizens to become police officers in Illinois
A measure on the governor’s desk would allow certain work-eligible immigrants to become police officers in the state of Illinois.
Current federal law prohibits a non-U.S. citizen from becoming a police officer throughout the country. House Bill 3751 looks to change that law in Illinois.
State Journal-Register: Illinois has $3.5 billion in unclaimed funds. Is any of it yours?
The state of Illinois has billions of dollars sitting around and some of it may be yours. Here’s what you need know about unclaimed property in Illinois:
Capitol News: Illinois expands use of police surveillance drones
Next time you attend a parade, there might be an eye in the sky.
A new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday expands local police departments’ authority to use drones to surveil certain events, respond to certain 911 calls, inspect buildings and participate in public relations events.