Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: CPS strike updates: Chicago teachers union, city talks end at 2 a.m. with no deal; sides still ‘far apart’ on big issues as walkout enters 9th day
The Chicago teachers strike will continue and classes in Chicago Public Schools are canceled again Tuesday despite another marathon session in contract negotiations.
Following over 16 hours of bargaining into Tuesday’s predawn hours, Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade emerged from talks and expressed disappointment over the failure of the sides to reach a deal, meaning the strike will now extend into its ninth school day.
Chicago Tribune: Feds allege state Rep. Luis Arroyo caught on undercover recording paying $2,500 bribe. ‘This is the jackpot.’
State Rep. Luis Arroyo was supposed to be with his fellow lawmakers in Springfield on Monday for the first day of the busy fall veto session.
Instead, the Chicago Democrat was ducking reporters as he left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, where he was the latest elected official to be charged in what has become a sprawling federal public corruption investigation.
WTTW Chicago Tonight: Latest Corruption Charge Has Legislators Squirming
Illinois lawmakers returned to Springfield on Monday for the start of the fall veto session.
But any new legislation could be overshadowed by a bribery charge filed against Democratic state Rep. Luis Arroyo. The charge comes amid an ongoing federal corruption probe targeting other Democratic lawmakers in the state.
Chicago Sun-Times: Aldermen demand to know Lightfoot’s Plan B
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has averted a City Council rebellion — for now — by steering clear of a massive property tax increase and raising the library portion of the city’s levy by a modest $18 million to open Chicago Public Libraries on Sundays.
But, that doesn’t mean her $11.65 billion 2020 budget faces smooth sailing from Chicago aldermen. Far from it. Opening day of City Council budget hearings made that clear.
Chicago Tribune: Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget staff talks possible property tax increase, hike to downtown parking meter rates
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget team started defending her 2020 spending plan on Monday against aldermen worried they’ll eventually be called on to raise property taxes if the mayor doesn’t get the financial help she needs from Springfield.
Days after Lightfoot delivered a budget address in which she called for hardly any property tax increase in a package that tries to close an $838 million hole, city Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett and Budget Director Susie Park kicked off hearings on the plan in front of aldermen who wondered whether that prognosis was too good to be true.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago sets lottery for recreational pot businesses to choose locations
Businesses seeking to open recreational marijuana dispensaries in Chicago will be able to select where they want to operate through a lottery next month, city officials said.
Any business with a license to operate a medical cannabis dispensary in Chicago will be permitted to enter its location choices in the lottery, which will be held Nov. 15 at City Hall.
Daily Southtown: Country Club Hills, Crestwood drop casino bids; field down to four in south suburbs as state deadline passes
Country Club Hills dropped out of the crowded field competing for a coveted south suburban casino license, as other communities filed applications touting multimillion-dollar developments with the Illinois Gaming Board to meet Monday’s deadline.
Country Club Hills, which last week had approved plans to seek a casino license, has since reversed course and is instead backing a proposal filed Monday by Matteson, according to Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin. Country Club Hills Mayor James Ford did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Daily Herald: Arlington Heights could ban recreational marijuana sales
Reversing an earlier preference, Arlington Heights village board members indicated Monday they will decide to prohibit the sale of recreational marijuana within the town’s borders, arguing a ban would preserve the village’s image as a family-oriented community.
Six members of the nine-person elected panel said they would vote to outlaw pot sales, following the path of towns like Park Ridge and Long Grove that have also chosen to opt out. Others, like Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, have decided to permit cannabis shops once the state law legalizing adult use takes effect Jan. 1.
Daily Herald: Teachers, staff members rally as strike looms in Grayslake District 46
Accompanied by the honking horns of passersby, Grayslake Elementary District 46 teachers and support staff members rallied outside Frederick School on Monday to demonstrate for higher pay.
With contract negotiations stalled, unions for the workers have notified the school board of their intent to strike, with a walkout possible as early as Nov. 7.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Bloomington Planning Commission to examine zoning rules for cannabis sales to adults
The Bloomington Planning Commission will start next month considering how to amend city zoning regulations for businesses selling recreational cannabis if the City Council decides, possibly in December, whether to allow them.
Monday night, the council voted 7-2 to authorize the commission to hold a public hearing Nov. 13 and subsequent meetings, if needed, but to have its recommendations ready for the council to consider in December.
Decatur Herald & Review: Over 500 kids to stay home from Decatur schools as teaching assistants' strike begins
Hundreds of students in special education and prekindergarten programs will not attend school today, the result of a strike by teaching assistants who say they are seeking better health insurance offerings from Decatur Public Schools.
The school district and Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants have been in negotiations since April, including several meetings with a federal mediator. On Monday, as the union’s strike deadline ticked closer, neither side showed signs of softening. District leaders alleged at a press conference that the union’s leadership had not effectively communicated health insurance offers to members. Later in the day, union members gathered with supporters and parents outside of the Keil Administration building, where they rallied with chants of, “We teach, we care, just be fair.”