Statewide Update—Jan. 31, 2011

• The Southern—Public takes advantage of changes to open government laws, “Instead of filing a lawsuit, members of the public can ask the Public Access Bureau in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to review withheld documents or meetings complaints, to make sure government bodies are not violating the Freedom of Information Act or the Open Meetings Act.”

• Chicago Tribune—Rules let educators cross state line for new jobs while collection pensions, “A Tribune investigation has found that crossing state lines is one of the most lucrative ways for retired superintendents to collect multiple government checks without breaking pension rules…”

• (AP) Rockford Register Star—Pat Quinn to sign historic civil unions legislation, “Five states already allow civil unions or their equivalent, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Five other states and Washington, D.C., let gay couples marry outright, as do countries including Canada, South Africa and the Netherlands.”

• State Journal-Register—Lawmakers seeking more money from state retirees for health care, “The legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability will meet Wednesday to talk with two Quinn administration officials about how the state can craft an income-based formula for how much retirees will have to pay.”

• Daily Herald—Law firm donates to DuPage board members, wins contract, “Nine of the 15 DuPage County Board members who approved a no-bid contract for an Itasca law firm to help redraw the county’s electoral boundaries have accepted campaign contributions from the group or its attorneys, a review by the Daily Herald and the Better Government Association shows.”

• Chicago Tribune—CTA puts brakes on talk of closing Red Line stations, “The agency is in the early stages of soliciting feedback for an overhaul of the north branch of the Red Line and the Purple Line, from about Belmont north through Evanston and to Linden in Wilmette.”

• Peoria Journal Star—TIF board going back to beginning on East Bluff proposal, “At-large City Councilman Gary Sandberg noted that the Joint Review Board ratified the TIF district with only five of 11 members attending a meeting, which he said lacked a quorum.”

• Rockford Register Star—Lawsuit for Harlem Township records nears its end, “The township also has called the Freedom of Information Act requests by Mullins unduly burdensome and argues that some of the records she requested simply are not on file at the township.”

Statewide Update—Jan. 21, 2011

• Bloomington Pantagraph—AG: Pontiac school board broke meeting law, “For the second time in less than a year, the Illinois attorney general’s office has notified the Pontiac Elementary District 429 that its board violated the terms of the state Open Meetings Act.”

• State Journal-Register—Opinion: Clean house in workers’ comp agency, “A study by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services ranked Illinois’ workers’ comp premiums third highest in the nation for 2010.”

• Chicago Tribune—Watchdog: Cook County employees were pressured for $100 Todd Stroger fundraiser, “A Cook County Bureau of Human Resources manager pressured employees to contribute at least $100 each to a fundraiser last fall for outgoing County Board President Todd Stroger, a county watchdog reported Thursday.”

• State Journal-Register—Not all roads get salt in bad weather, “State highways and county roads usually receive doses of salt to remove ice, but many township road commissioners use no salt. Most cite cost as the reason, and they add that the practice isn’t new.”

• Trib Local (Joliet)—Will County Sheriif’s Office to offer online report filings, “Residents can file reports for minor crimes and incidents via the Will County Sheriff’s Office website starting Monday.”

• Trib Local (Oak Park/River Forest)—Oak Park considers eliminating, replacing some commissions, “Oak Park officials are looking to reconfigure, and even scale back, some of their volunteer commissions as many struggle to keep the positions full.”

• Daily Herald—Fiscal woes widen between county board and circuit court clerk, “The number of employees in Seyller’s office is at the heart of the disagreement.”

• Southtown Star—SD 225 strips principal of his duties, “A Rich Township High School District 227 administrator—who is suing the district and who was at the center of a monthslong controversy after a photo of him was burned at a party attended by Rich Central staff—has been stripped of his duties as principal.”

• State Journal-Register—Coroner’s jury rules Davlin death a suicide, “But inquest proceedings shed no light on why Davlin, 53, shot himself. Police investigators and the Sangamon County coroner’s office have not released records that could answer whether the mayor’s apparent financial difficulties prompted the suicide.”

Statewide Update—Jan. 7, 2011

• (AP) State Journal-Register—Public using stronger open government laws, “Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Thursday that the state’s 2009 overhaul of its Freedom of Information and Open Meetings laws brought long-overdue transparency to Illinois government.”

• Bloomington Pantagraph—On 2^nd try, state House votes to abolish death penalty, “Illinois has not enforced the death penalty since then-Gov. George Ryan imposed a moratorium in 2000 after more than a dozen men on death row were exonerated. Just before leaving office in 2003, Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 inmates to life in prison and pardoned four others.”

• Daily Herald—Kane finance committee to explore ethics of seeking financial advice, “The Kane County Board may have a new panel of financial experts chiming in with advice in 2011 as it tries to avoid another year of deficit spending.”

• State Journal-Register—Dems push income, cig tax increases, property tax break, “The plan calls for borrowing $8.75 billion to pay off old bills. And to prevent the state from sinking into a financial abyss again, lawmakers will be asked to approve bills limiting spending increases and imposing a prohibition on new programs for the next three years.”

• Southtown Star—Daley rips admission fee for Taste of Chicago, “During that the Taste of Chicago will ‘always be free,’ Mayor Richard Daley said Thursday he would oppose a lone bidder’s proposal to charge a $20 admission fee to the lakefront festival.”

• Daily Herald—DuPage seniors can defer property taxes, “A DuPage County program allows qualified seniors, 65 and older, to defer their property taxes until they sell their home.”

• State Journal-Register, Editorial—Clout carries the day vs. Tenaska, “As things stand now, it appears that the Tenaska clean coal power plant proposed for Taylorville is dead.”