Statewide update—March 2, 2011

Belleville News Democrat—Illinois circuit judges must undergo evaluations, “The state Supreme Court announced the mandatory evaluations Tuesday. Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride [pictured] says the move is about “making a good judiciary even better.”

• SouthtownStar—Educators give ‘F’ to proposed countywide districts, “A bill to dissolve all 869 school districts in Illinois by July 2012 and create 102 countywide school districts has created a firestorm of protest among local school officials.”

• State Journal Register—City refuses to identify workers disciplined for viewing porn, “A public body must also show that a privacy interest outweighs legitimate public interest in the requested records before documents can be withheld.”

• State Journal Register—Lawyer fees for IDOT firings defense total over $1 million, “The state of Illinois has spent more than $1 million on outside lawyers hired to defend Illinois Department of Transportation officials against charges they fired 16 Republicans in 2004 because of their party affiliation.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Home repairs part of TIF plan, “Residents who are not facing criminal problems would be able to apply for up to $30,000 in grants and loans for home repairs on properties they own…”

Statewide update—March 1, 2011

Bloomington Pantagraph—Top Democrat: School consolidation shouldn’t be forced, “Senate President John Cullerton [pictured] said he agrees the state needs to reduce the number of school districts from 869, but is against Quinn’s proposal to force districts to merge.

• SouthtownStar—Cook County law aimed at tax lawyers questioned, “A Cook County ordinance aimed at Assessor Joe Berrios and the piles of money that tax attorneys threw at him during last year’s assessor’s race may be unconstitutional. That’s the opinion of the state’s attorney’s office…”

• Peoria Journal Star—Mayor: School mergers can be costly, “Norm Durflinger says he believes in school consolidations if they are done for the right reasons.”

• Daily Herald—Public pension forums in Highland Park, Northbrook, “State Sen. Susan Garrett, state Rep. Karen May and state Rep. Elaine Nekritz will host two public forums that look at public pension systems… 10-11:30 a.m. March 12 at the Highland Park Public Safety Building, 1677 Old Deerfield Road, [and] 12:30 p.m. March 12 at Northbrook Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Editorial:Wanted for ICC: Fairness without bias, “The nomination of the pro-consumer Flores isn’t expected to survive, Crain’s Chicago Business reported last week.”

Statewide update—Feb. 28, 2011

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Northwest Herald—Editorial: Reject efforts at secrecy, “[A]ttempts to curtail transparency laws should be considered an assault on democracy. Unfortunately, the assault continues in Springfield, where no fewer than seven bills have been filed this year that seek to scale back the state’s Freedom of Information Act.”

• Daily Herald (Glen Ellyn)—Ethics ordinance slated for final vote, “An ethics ordinance and policy meant to sensitize elected officials and staff to potential dishonorable activity will go up for a final vote Monday at the Glen Ellyn Village Board meeting.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Word on the Street: Elected officials can serve two posts, “[W]hile there isn’t anything prohibiting politicians from serving dual roles, there are plenty of ethical questions that can be raised.”

• (Illinois Statehouse News) The Southern—School chief says Illinois needs to consolidate districts, “Illinois Superintendent of Education Chris Koch says the state needs to consolidate school districts, a move that could save millions of dollars.”

• Chicago Tribune—Hendon abruptly quite state Senate, “The surprise announcement by the veteran lawmaker comes months after revelations that a federal grand jury issued subpoenas for records on dozens of state grants, some of which he sponsored.”

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.”