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State Journal-Register: Fox Run sues city over mayor’s emergency powers
Less than a week after Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder issued an order tightening mask-wearing requirements and capacity limits in bars and restaurants, a Springfield restaurant is mounting a challenge to the emergency powers he assumed in March.
Fox Run, 1130 Legacy Pointe Drive, filed a lawsuit against the city of Springfield Thursday morning, claiming that Langfelder has exceeded his authority by continuing to issue orders and exercise emergency powers beyond the initial 30-day window.
Chicago Sun-Times: Ex-city official signals plea deal coming in federal bribery case
A former top city official charged with bribing disgraced ex-state Sen. Martin Sandoval has indicated he’s closing in on a plea deal with federal prosecutors in the case.
In a joint status report filed Friday, prosecutors and an attorney for William Helm — a former deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Aviation — said they “anticipate that this case will be resolved without a trial” and requested a status hearing this fall.
State Journal-Register: With mail questions, Gray reviews ballot return methods
As he was planning last month for the rollout of the state’s new rules concerning mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election, Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said he wouldn’t be using the option of having drop-boxes.
Gray, whose office oversees elections in the county, had said that he had “concerns about the chain of custody of ballots” if they weren’t mailed or brought to his office in person during business hours.
Chicago Tribune: ‘The need remains critical’: Rent and mortgage relief arrives as state, county announce $320 million in grants
Efforts to aid Illinois residents struggling to pay their rent or mortgage have been dwarfed by the tidal wave of need, but more help is on the way — and just as the state’s eviction moratorium is set to expire.
The state will give $300 million in rent and mortgage grants this fall to people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, offering one-time grants of $5,000 for tenants and $15,000 for homeowners. The programs, administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, are funded through federal money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed earlier this year.