A week after Illinois Democrats’ decisive general election victories, Illinois lawmakers returned to the capitol Tuesday for the start of the annual fall veto session.

This can typically be a time that controversial measures have a chance to be called: On the heels of the election, the General Assembly is packed with more than 30 so-called lame ducks who won’t be returning to Springfield – and therefore don’t have to worry about winning their next campaign. But this year, there’s no need to rush controversial measures through; come January, Democrats will control both the governor’s mansion and they’ll hold supermajorities in both the Illinois House and Senate – margins that, should the party stay unified, will easily allow Democrats to pass whatever laws they want.

In the aftermath of last week’s elections, voters will be thrilled to know that 58 former state lawmakers are receiving annual pensions of over $100,000.

Of those 58 former lawmakers, 44 “have accumulated over $1 million in total pension benefits,” according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

A two-hour hearing Tuesday on the saga surrounding a hat purportedly owned by Abraham Lincoln failed to produce consensus on whether the state should pay millions to help pay off a debt connected to the hat.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum staffers who testified before the House Tourism Committee said it would be a “tragedy” if the loan isn’t repaid and the Lincoln memorabilia in the Taper collection had to be sold at auction.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel should have no problem Wednesday getting the overwhelming City Council majority he needs to pass his election-year budget, even as aldermen face the prospect of much tougher financial decisions after he leaves office.

The $8.9 billion 2019 package includes no vote on new tax or fee hikes, music to the ears of the council members who will be up for re-election in February and don’t want to give opponents that cudgel as they try to defend their seats.

Chicago’s most powerful alderman on Tuesday joined the growing chorus of leaders calling for reforms to the city’s ticketing and debt collection, introducing a measure to substantially limit the decades-old practice of seeking driver’s license suspensions over unpaid tickets.

The proposal from Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke would require the city to take into account motorists’ income before taking away their driving privileges and create more affordable payment plans for them.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is running for mayor of Chicago, but that isn’t stopping her from mapping out a course for piloting county government.

The Hyde Park Democrat plans to release the cornerstone of her next term on Wednesday — a policy roadmap to strengthen the communities within the county.

Noble Network of Charter Schools CEO Michael Milkie is being investigated for inappropriate behavior with at least one female graduate, officials said Tuesday, one week after the leader of Chicago’s most prominent charter operator announced abrupt plans to retire at the end of the year.

The school’s board of directors has hired an outside law firm to conduct “a full investigation of the scope of Mr. Milkie’s conduct and to review and improve our internal reporting processes regarding allegations of inappropriate professional behavior,” according to a statement distributed by Noble on Tuesday.

The DuPage County Election Commission spent more than $28,000 to mail notices to 55,000 Naperville residents about a ballot problem that meant they could only vote early at two of 11 locations — only to have the mail arrive after many people had already gone to vote.

And two days after early voting started — about the time some of those residents were receiving the notice — the location restriction was lifted.

An expanding tax base means Crystal Lake property owners could see lower property taxes, finance director George Koczwara said.

The City Council will review a proposed property tax levy ordinance next month that reduces the city’s property tax rate by 5.11 percent from the previous year. The new tax rate would be 1.486 percent.

More than 100 union workers are expected to flank six inflatable rats Wednesday night outside Algonquin Township in protest of Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser’s firing of workers last year and the hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees the road district spent in a subsequent legal fight.

“They’re coming out to protest Andrew Gasser’s actions,” said Ed Maher, spokesman for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. “The way this has been handled by the highway department is just shocking. The public should hold Andrew Gasser accountable for this.”

Robert Werderich used to pay the property taxes he owed for operating his Illinois Aviation Academy out of space he rents from the DuPage Airport Authority.

But he stopped paying years ago, which explains why his company now owes $187,937 in back taxes to 13 taxing bodies, including the airport itself.

The larger the property, the more you have to pay. That’s the mentality West Dundee officials are adopting as they restructure the yearly fees paid by owners of businesses and rental housing units.

Hoping to more adequately cover the cost of inspections, the village board this week approved a tiered structure that sets annual fees for business licenses based on square footage and rental property registration based on the number of units.

Parking tickets could cost you more next year, and the city could open its first pay-to-park surface lot at State and Church streets.

Those are measures sent to City Council by the Code & Regulation Committee on Monday to close a projected $110,200 deficit in the city’s proposed 2019 parking fund budget.

The Peoria City Council voted 8-3 Tuesday to approve eliminating 22 firefighter and 16 police positions as part of a move to close a $6 million budget hole.

Additionally, reductions were made in the city’s community development department. Voting no on the cuts were Beth Jensen, Chuck Grayeb and Jim Montelongo.

After going eight years without salary increases, the next Springfield City Council could get up to a 1.75 percent raise annually.

At its Tuesday Committee of the Whole meeting, the city council moved forward two ordinances for final approval that would set salaries for the city council and other city elected officials that will be seated after the April 2019 election, as well as tie future salary increases to the consumer price index.