Statewide Update—Jan. 25, 2011

• Southtown Star—3 area men charged in ‘Cookie Jar’ probe, “A Tinley Park man, an Oak Forest man and a Burbank man, all of whom allegedly took part in a scheme to steal road salt from IDOT, were among seven people charged Monday in an ongoing crackdown on local public corruption.”

• Trib Local (Evanston)—CTA considers chopping two Evanston stations, “As the Chicago Transit Authority seeks community input on potential improvements to the aging Purple and Red lines, three of the agency’s six options include eliminating the South Boulevard and Foster Street stations in Evanston — losses that city officials said would be a blow to commuters.”

• Chicago Tribune—Editorial: Judicial arrogance, “With startling arrogance and audaciously twisted reasoning, two appellate judges ignored more than 100 years of legal precedent, invented a new definition of “residency” and ordered Rahm Emanuel off the Feb. 22 mayoral ballot.”

• Rockford Register Star—Which School(s) could be closed? “Consolidating schools could help the district slash part of its $50 million budget shortfall for fiscal 2012.”

• Trib Local (Wilmette/Kenilworth)—Group formed to push D39 (tax increase) referendum, “If residents of the elementary school district approve the referendum, it would mean an increase of $58.80 for each $1,000 of taxes paid.”

• Daily Herald—East Dundee trustees discuss merits of PD merger, “Citing upcoming police contracts, a loss of autonomy, potential coverage issues and other reasons, several East Dundee trustees are balking at the idea of consolidating their police force with the ones in West Dundee and Sleepy Hollow.”

• Rockford Register Star—Vehicles, EMS among Rockford outsourcing possibilities, “According to a report from Chicago-based Baker Tilly, the consulting firm hired last fall to assist in an outsourcing study, the city could realize up to $10.5 million is savings if it moved forward on five outsourcing and four service delivery suggestions.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statewide Update—Jan. 13, 2011

• Southtown Star—Will lawmakers pay for tax hike? No way. “Voting in favor of the state’s largest income tax increase won’t make outgoing state Rep. Mike Carberry popular on his Oak Lawn block. But the vote was needed, he and other Southland Democrats said Wednesday, to avoid state insolvency.”

• Bloomington Pantagraph—Central Illinois debates income tax increases, “It was a debate taking place across Central Illinois on Wednesday after the General Assembly worked into the early morning to send Gov. Pat Quinn a controversial tax increase bill.”

• (AP) State Journal-Register—Cook County medical examiner double-bunked bodies, “The head of the Cook County medical examiner’s office says it was forced to store bodies two to a cooler tray for a short time.”

• State Journal-Register—Quinn: Will ‘follow my conscience’ on death penalty abolition, “Gov. Pat Quinn won’t say whether he will sign legislation abolishing the death penalty, but even if he does, it won’t empty death row, as then-Gov. George Ryan did before he left office in 2003.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Trial starts in IDOT suit; former state workers say they were laid off because of politics, “The trial got under way Wednesday in the federal lawsuit filed by 16 former state workers who claim they were sacked seven years ago because they were Republicans.”

• Daily Herald—West Chicago, Warrenville chambers merge, “The two chambers merged, effective Jan. 1, into the Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce. The new chamber will serve more than 400 members in the two communities.”

Statewide Update—Dec. 23, 2010

• Daily Herald—Preckwinkle gets support for 21% budget cuts: “Preckwinkle has estimated that the county budget deficit is $487 million against last year’s spending figure of $3.5 billion. The 21 percent cuts reflect a 16 percent cut annually…”

• Chicago Tribune—Hearing officer recommends Rahm stay on Chicago mayoral ballot: “You can read the (Morris) report by clicking here: Download Morrisrecommendation.  The three-member elections board doesn’t have to abide by Morris’ recommendation, but can consider it along with testimony from last week’s hearing and legal arguments made by lawyers from both sides.”

• State Journal Register—IDOT, railroads reach $1.1 billion deal on high-speed rail: “The Illinois Department of Transportation has reached agreement with Amtrak and the Union Pacific Railroad to allow $1.1 billion in improvements for high-speed passenger rail between St. Louis and Chicago.”

• Bloomington Pantagraph—Prosecutors: No problems with DNA testing in Beason case: “Prosecutors and defense lawyers have been in constant contact with officials with the crime lab to ensure there are no problems with the evidence…”

• Rockford Register Star—South Beloit to limit public comment time: “The city has never before limited how much time a resident may take to address the City Council during its meetings.”

• Southtown Star—District 227 concludes party probe: “Those interviewed denied that a noose or an effigy of the principal was present, and no one could remember how the poster got into the fire.”

• Daily Herald—Six to compete for three Roselle board seats: “Seven candidates filed petitions to run for three open seats, including incumbents Barbara Rendall Hochstadt, Richard Rhode and Ron Sass.”