Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he won't run for re-election next year
Pugnacious and ever confident, Rahm Emanuel never has been one to back away from a political fight.
But on Tuesday, he did just that, abruptly dropping a bid for a third term as Chicago’s mayor to instead write an undetermined “next chapter” of his life.
Crain's Chicago Business: As Emanuel exits, pressure builds on Chicago's $10 billion pension rescue plan
The bar just got raised for a $10 billion plan to refinance the city’s enormous pension debt in the wake of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision not to seek re-election.
Even if a deal for a so-called pension obligation bond can structured during Emanuel’s remaining eight months in office, uncertainty about his successor is sure to unsettle investors, making the deal a tougher sell on Wall Street.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago-based MillerCoors to cut 350 salaried jobs across company by end of next month
Chicago-based MillerCoors plans to cut 350 salaried jobs by the end of next month as part of a restructuring, the company announced Tuesday. The number of potential layoffs in Chicago isn’t yet known.
The cuts include 150 positions that have been unfilled but held open and also some that were eliminated earlier this year, the company said. MillerCoors is also offering a voluntary severance package to employees who decide on their own to step down.
Crain's Chicago Business: Downtown apartment rents hit new high as boom continues
People are renting apartments faster than developers are building them, pushing rents at high-end downtown buildings to another high.
The average monthly net rent at top-tier, or Class A, apartment buildings in downtown Chicago rose to a record $3.18 per square foot in the second quarter, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier, according Integra Realty Resources, a consulting firm. The Class A occupancy rate was 94 percent in the quarter, even with a year ago.
Daily Herald: Up to $750 fine for Arlington Heights parents of truant kids
Parents of students who attend Arlington Heights schools could face fines of up to $750 if they knowingly let their kids skip school without reporting their absences, under rules approved Tuesday by the village board.
The truancy ordinance, modeled after a similar one in Schaumburg, came at the request of the four school districts in town and the Arlington Heights Police Department, who said officers would cite and fine parents in rare instances when other options have been exhausted. Current village code already allows students to be cited for truancy.
Rockford Register-Star: Belvidere mayor forces tie vote to avoid reconsideration on sales tax increase
Casting a rare vote, Mayor Mike Chamberlain quashed an attempt to reconsider a 0.5-point sales tax hike.
Alderman Clayton Stevens had asked his fellow Belvidere City Council members on Tuesday to rethink the increase they approved Aug. 20.
Peoria Journal-Star: Morton School Board pledges property tax freeze if school facilities sales tax passes
If voters pass a 1 percent Tazewell County school facilities sales tax question Nov. 6, here’s what the Morton School Board will do:
It will use the revenue to pay off bonds issued for a construction project for four years starting in 2020 and not raise the School District’s 2018 tax levy (taxes payable in 2019) by the consumer price index, as Tazewell taxing bodies do annually in their tax-capped county.
Bloomington Pantagraph: Town of Normal: Finances strong, but funding pension costs a problem
Normal has a strong financial outlook but still has some looming concerns, staff members said Tuesday.
Though the town is strong in several key areas, including rising property values, low unemployment and little outstanding debt, others are in real trouble with no clear solutions, said Finance Director Andrew Huhn.
Champaign News-Gazette: An attempt to curb opioid tragedies
Illinois’ experiment in making medical marijuana available as an opioid replacment is worth exploring.
Gov. Bruce Rauner last week signed legislation making medical marijuana available as an opioid replacement.
Given the present opioid epidemic, it’s hard even for those skeptical of medical marijuana claims to take issue with the decision by the General Assembly to pass this bill and Rauner to sign it.
Decatur Herald & Review: Macon County probation department faces cuts, layoffs
State cuts to probation funding could lead to an even greater workload for officers who supervise sex offenders and other criminals, and fewer services to help prevent them from committing other offenses.
In Macon County, the 31 staff members juggle more than 2,000 juvenile and adult cases, interview offenders and write reports for the court. Their job is to oversee people placed on probation by judges and ensure that the conditions of their release — such as substance abuse treatment, community service, restitution to victims and sex offender registration — are being met.
Decatur Herald & Review: Here's what Decatur City Council members are proposing in next year's budget.
From more bike paths to a $12 citywide minimum wage, Decatur city council members shared their goals at Tuesday night’s meeting, a month before they are set to face difficult choices regarding plans for next year’s budget.
“It’s great for us to have great ideas but if we can’t work them into the budget then we’ve got to make some other choices,” said Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe. Her goals reflected the city’s main priorities in recent years — improvements to aging infrastructure, residential home demolitions and a larger rainy day fund for the city.
State Journal-Register: Council approves rules to encourage local labor on city construction projects
Springfield City Council members unanimously voted Tuesday to strengthen an ordinance that encourages contractors to have city residents work on at least half of the hours needed for city construction projects worth more than $100,000.
With the changes, contractors who don’t make any effort to hire locally can be barred from bidding on city construction projects for up to three years, and those that do use a crew made up of more than 50 percent local workers will be awarded.