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Friday, November 15, 2019
Amid wide federal corruption probe, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton announces retirement
Governor (44)
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Retirement (70)
Brady, Bill--State Senate, 44
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Cullerton, John--State Senate, 6
Senate President John Cullerton announced his retirement Thursday as the
General Assembly wrapped up its last session day of the year, and the FBI
continued its investigation into alleged political corruption in the senate and
other elements of Illinois government.
Following the final day of fall legislative session Thursday, the senate
president’s spokesman confirmed the Chicago Democra...
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Friday, November 15, 2019
Ethics commission, watered down disclosure bill head to governor
Ethics, Campaign Reform, Transparency (12a)
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Pay to Play, Corruption
Castro, Christina -- State Senate, 22
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Cullerton, John--State Senate, 6
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Durkin, Jim--State House, 82
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Harris, Gregory--State House, 13
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Wehrli, Grant--State House, 41
While most House Republicans voted in favor of a resolution creating an
ethics reform commission, w...
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Friday, November 15, 2019
Counting Chickens Before They’re Hatched: Will Illinois Botch Pension Consolidation?
Fire Marshal, fire, fire fighters (84)
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Governor (44)
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Local Government (60)
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Pensions (70)
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Police (28)
Barickman, Jason--State House, 105
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Righter, Dale--State Senate, 55
Not
much more than a month ago, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s task force < read more >
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Friday, November 15, 2019
Marijuana trailer bill clarifies allowable public use
Recreational Marijuana
Steans, Heather--State Senate, 7
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Villanueva, Celina--State House, 21
SPRINGFIELD – A cleanup bill written to ensure a smooth rollout of the
legalization of adult-use marijuana in January passed both chambers of the
Illinois General Assembly on Thursday.
Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored both the original
legalization bill and the follow-up Senate Bill 1557 in the Senate, made clear
that public consumption of cannabis will be all...
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
'Cannabis Use Disorder' Up in States That Legalized Recreational Pot
Recreational Marijuana
States that legalized recreational marijuana
have seen an increase in problematic pot use among teens and adults aged 26 and
older, a new study finds.
The researchers compared marijuana use in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and
Oregon -- the first four states to legalize recreational marijuana -- before
and after legalization. The investigators also compared trends in those states
with states th...
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
Chicago casino bill stalls, some not happy with state’s smaller cut
Chicago Mayor (16)
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Gambling, Gaming
Cullerton, John--State Senate, 6
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Syverson, Dave--State Senate, 35
In the moments before it was to be called for a vote, state lawmakers put
the brakes on a change to Illinois’ gambling tax rates that would have
delivered Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot a big win.
A spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton said late Wednesday that he
“remains optimistic” lawmakers can come to an agreement on the
legislation.
An amended Senate...
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
Ethylene oxide ban attempt fails, sponsor plans to try again next year
Environment (41)
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EPA (41)
Curran, John--State Senate, 41
A measure that would have phased out the use of ethylene oxide failed to
advance Wednesday, but sponsors of the legislation to ban the use of the
cancer-causing chemical plan start fresh in 2020.
House
Bill 3888 would have phased out the use of ethylene oxide in
sterilization facilit...
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
Op-Ed: Illinois voters will have to force change at all levels of government to reduce property taxes
Legislature (56)
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Taxes, property (87)
The 88-member Property Tax Relief Task Force charged with coming up with a
plan to reduce property taxes was supposed to deliver an initial report to Gov.
J.B. Pritzker and the General Assembly on Halloween.
That didn't happen. There was no treat for the state's overtaxed homeowners
this year. Just crickets.
That Oct. 31 deadline was enshrined in the very law that created the tas...
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
Some consider proposed changes to recreational cannabis law minor, others say substantive
Guns and Gun Control, FOID, Concealed Carry (46)
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Recreational Marijuana
Bryant, Terri--State House, 115
Lawmakers are considering a number of changes to the state recreational
cannabis law, some said the changes are minor, while others said they would
be substantive and require further study.
Lawmakers passed adult-use recreational cannabis legislation in the Spring
session. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill. Legal sales are set to begin Jan.
1.
But Senior Advisor to the Governor o...
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
Still no movement on ethics reforms despite more bills being filed by Republicans
Ethics, Campaign Reform, Transparency (12a)
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Pay to Play, Corruption
Barickman, Jason--State House, 105
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Cullerton, John--State Senate, 6
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Cullerton, Thomas--State Senate, 23
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McConchie, Dan--State Senate, 26
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Sandoval, Martin--State Senate, 11
While the number of ethics reforms filed by Republicans in the Illinois
statehouse continue to stack up, the clock is running out for anything to pass
by the end of the week.
Thursday is the last day of session this year. While Senate President John
Cullerton, D-Chicago, said it’s possible for some reforms to pass in one day,
he wants more time to review the proposals.
“I&#...
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Local pension consolidation proposal passes committee despite objections to changes
Fire Marshal, fire, fire fighters (84)
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Local Government (60)
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Pensions (70)
,
Police (28)
Batinick, Mark--State House, 97
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Hoffman, Jay--State House, 113
Four words – “A third party, including” – in two sections of
a proposed amendment to the suburban and downstate police and fire pension
consolidation bill could sink the effort, but lawmakers said the plan remains a
work in progress.
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
With clock ticking, ethics reforms remain elusive at statehouse
Ethics, Campaign Reform, Transparency (12a)
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Pay to Play, Corruption
Arroyo, Luis--State House, 3
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Cullerton, Thomas--State Senate, 23
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Kifowit, Stephanie--State House, 84
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Madigan, Michael--State House, 22
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Sandoval, Martin--State Senate, 11
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Spain, Ryan--State House, 73
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Wehrli, Grant--State House, 41
Leaders from both sides of the
aisle have called for more stringent ethics rules amid federal corruption
probes involving state lawmakers, but it remained unclear what, if any, reform
proposals would be tackled before legislators leave for the week.
Three state lawmakers have come
under federal scru...
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Loans may be only option left for Illinois residents recovering from flooding
Floods (42)
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Rivers (23)
As hope for federal funding dwindles, residents and business owners affected by
historic flooding in Southern Illinois’ options for relief are shrinking.< read more >
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
How to plug big-time shortfalls in police and fire pension funds? Some cities are selling sewer systems for big bucks
Fire Marshal, fire, fire fighters (84)
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Local Government (60)
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Pensions (70)
,
Police (28)
In 2018, Alton’s pension funds for firefighters and police officers had
about $117 million in unfunded liabilities -- the retirement money that will
have to be paid to retirees.
But in June, the city cut that shortfall nearly in half. How? They sold the
city’s sewer system to a company, Illinois American Water, for $53.8 million.
Godfrey also sold its wastewater syst...
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Secret medical data-mining project is more proof that Big Tech needs rules
Health (49)
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Internet, Social Media (98)
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Technology (98)
In a frightening illustration of how completely Americans today have lost
control over their personal data, Google has partnered with Clayton-based
health care giant Ascension to collect detailed medical information on millions
of Americans — including patient identities and dates of birth — without
notifying them or their doctors.
The search-engine behemoth, trying to nose in on o...
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Illinois businesses boost wages to attract workers as many jobs go unfilled
Business (10)
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Economy (34)
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Employment, Jobs (40)
Small businesses in Illinois and across the country can't find enough
workers to fill open positions.
That’s the word from a recent national survey from the National Federation
of Independent Business in which nearly 90 percent of respondents reported few
or no qualified applicants for job openings.
“Even here in Illinois, where our unemployment rate has lagged behind the
r...
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Illinois lawmakers to hear popular aviation tax bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to veto
Governor (44)
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Taxes, sales (88)
Illinois lawmakers face a political test of wills this week when they are
expected to be asked to vote for an otherwise popular bill that Gov. J.B.
Pritzker has vowed to veto.
Should it be enacted, private jet maintenance companies in Illinois would be
forgiven sales tax tabs from the last five years and would have an exemption
extended to 2024. It passed nearly unanimously in the House ...
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Police group gets behind proposed amendment to plan to consolidate Illinois 649 local pension funds
Fire Marshal, fire, fire fighters (84)
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Local Government (60)
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Pensions (70)
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Police (28)
Batinick, Mark--State House, 97
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Martwick, Robert--State House, 19
A police group that was the major hold out on a proposal to consolidate the
state’s 649 local police and fire pension funds into two funds said it will
support the legislation after a proposed change to the structure of the board
that would oversee investment decisions for the consolidated funds.
Senate Bill 616 would consolidate the state’s 649 suburban and downstate
police and fi...
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Lobbying by sitting Illinois lawmakers under scrutiny
Ethics, Campaign Reform, Transparency (12a)
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Lobbyists (12a)
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Pay to Play, Corruption
Andrade Jr., Jaime--State House, 40
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Arroyo, Luis--State House, 3
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Cullerton, John--State Senate, 6
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Sims Jr., Elgie--State House, 34
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Zalewski, Michael--State House, 23
SPRINGFIELD — A federal bribery charge against an Illinois state legislator has led to questions about whether lawmakers should be allowed to lobby other units of government.
The federal bribery charge last month against former Rep. Luis Arroyo laid bare the potential ethics tangle. Most states allow lawmakers to lo...
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
It’s good to be disliked by all the wrong people
Candidates--Judicial (27b)
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Courts (27)
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Legal System (27)
When State Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier retires from the bench next
December, there’ll be many ways to judge his 16-year career on the high court,
including the quality of the decisions he made, the quality of the company he
kept and the friends he made, and the quality of the enemies he accumulated.
That attorneys Stephen Tillery, Robert Clifford, and Tom Keefe will be
included ...
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Friday, November 8, 2019
Illinois lawmakers push proposal to end automatic pay raises for legislators
Legislature (56)
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Pay Raises
Batinick, Mark--State House, 97
A group of state lawmakers has proposed legislation that would put an end
automatic cost of living pay increases for Illinois legislators.
State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, is one of the chief
co-sponsors of House Bill 3910. He said state lawmakers are already paid
enough.
“We need to be dialing back pay, not increasing pay for lawmakers,” he sai...
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Friday, November 8, 2019
Illinois Republicans push for tighter ethics laws, reduced majority control over bills
Ethics, Campaign Reform, Transparency (12a)
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Governor (44)
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Lobbyists (12a)
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Pay to Play, Corruption
Cullerton, Thomas--State Senate, 23
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Durkin, Jim--State House, 82
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Sandoval, Martin--State Senate, 11
Illinois Republicans in the House want to use the ongoing federal
investigations involving state lawmakers to push for a handful of new ethics
proposals.
Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, was flanked by other House
Republicans on Thursday in the James R. Thomson Center in Chicago to talk about
legislation that he said was a direct response to the recent federal
invest...
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Friday, November 8, 2019
Progressive tax opponents say Gov. J.B. Pritzker went too far to push amendment
Ethics, Campaign Reform, Transparency (12a)
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Governor (44)
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Taxes, Graduated/Progressive
A state government budget projection that said Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s
progressive income tax proposal could solve most of the state's fiscal problems
has opponents crying foul.
The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget released a statutorily
required five-year projection last month that shows the state will have $19
billion in backlogged bills without additional revenue.&n...
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Thursday, November 7, 2019
Illinois Association of School Boards could revisit resolution regarding arming teachers
Education--Elementary and Secondary (36)
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Guns and Gun Control, FOID, Concealed Carry (46)
The Illinois Association of School Boards could revisit a resolution that
would give school districts the option to arm faculty.
Although the legislation failed a year ago, school boards from various
regions will vote again later in November at the organization's annual
conference.
Ben Schwarm, deputy executive director at IASB, said the delegates can
re-engage in the discussion becaus...
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Thursday, November 7, 2019
Illinois' municipal market penalty eases in $750 million bond sale
Bonds, Bonding, Borrowing, Debt, Credit Rating
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois paid a smaller penalty for its financial woes on
Wednesday, selling $750 million of general obligation (GO) bonds at tighter,
but still hefty spreads.
The deal benefited from aggressive bidding by investment banks and yield-hungry
investors, according to Daniel Berger, senior market strategist at Municipal
Market Data (MMD).
The spread for Illinois bonds ...
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