IRMA's Featured Retailer
We Are Retail: M.D. Trains
M.D. Trains in downtown Woodstock is a full-service hobby shop owned by Matt Drennan, offering model trains, cars, and collectibles for hobbyists of all ages.
The store has become a welcoming community hub for those with a passion for railroading and model building. From vintage finds to modern supplies, M.D. Trains has it all for nostalgic and creative collectors.
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The Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates voted 364-242 late Wednesday to approve a tentative agreement for a five-year contract with the Chicago Board of Education, but schools will remain closed for an 11th day because of an impasse over whether the missed school days will be made up.
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Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown asked commissioners on Wednesday to reverse years of cuts to allow the county’s 366 courtrooms to be fully staffed, expunge hundreds of thousands of marijuana convictions and smooth the office’s transition to an e-filing system.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she would use $30 million from the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund for grants to boost businesses in 10 South and West side communities.
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Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart plans to reassign hundreds of jail guards to oversee the growing number of detainees who have been placed on electronic monitoring, a system he said “wasn’t designed” to handle the ramifications of the county’s 2017 bail reform.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart addresses the Board of Commissioners. [Alex Nitkin/The Daily Line]
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Democratic leaders of the Illinois House and Senate announced Wednesday they would advance legislation backed by the Chicago Teachers Union to end mayoral control of Chicago Public Schools, as well as a bill that would lift restrictions on what issues the union can strike over — but not until the spring.
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OCT 30, 2019
State’s Attorney Kim Foxx used her budget hearing on Tuesday to hit hit back against criticism of her office’s move to soften prosecutions against shoplifters.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx defended her record to the Cook County Board of Commissioners. [Alex Nitkin/The Daily Line]
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The Chicago Board of Ethics Tuesday unanimously affirmed its ruling that banned aldermen who are also criminal defense attorneys from representing clients whose cases involve the Chicago Police Department.
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Chicago Public School students will spend their 10th day out of class Wednesday after Mayor Lori Lightfoot accused union leaders of “moving the goalposts” with demands that she support legislation to end mayoral control of CPS as well as a state bill that would lift restrictions on what issues the union can strike over. CPS CEO Janice Jackson said the two sides were also far apart on the union’s demand for an additional 30 minutes of prep time for elementary school teachers. Jackson said that was unacceptable because it would shorten the school day. “What’s holding this up now is a set of political issues, and an effort to try and cut instructional time, which we cannot agree to,” Jackson said.
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OCT 30, 2019
Authors of the $1.8 billion budget for the Cook County Health and Hospital System were able this year to cut vacant positions and reshuffle appropriations to make up for an “astonishing” growth in unfunded hospital costs, system CEO Dr. Jay Shannon told Cook County Commissioners on Tuesday.
Cook County Health and Hospitals System CEO Dr. Jay Shannon warned commissioners about an "astonishing" increase in unfunded health care costs. [Ales Nitkin/The Daily Line]
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Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) said state lawmakers “were pretty close to a compromise” on changes pushed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in an effort to make a Chicago casino more attractive to investors and operators.
Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) tells reporters Tuesday that his caucus does not know who the FBI source is within the Senate, despite it being widely reported to have been State Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills). [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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Chicago Public Schools students will spend the ninth day out of class Tuesday, as both sides said a deal remained out of reach amid disagreements over "big issues."
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OCT 29, 2019
The 16 extra staffers budgeted to join the Cook County Board of Review next year won’t be enough to handle the grueling workload imposed by an unprecedented spike in property tax assessment appeals, the board’s three commissioners told members of the county Board of Commissioners on Monday.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s finance team sought Monday to reassure aldermen that they were confident that $213 million from the state and federal governments would materialize before aldermen are scheduled to approve the budget Nov. 26.
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Owners of Chicago-area medical cannabis dispensaries have until Nov. 8 to apply for a lottery that will decide who can fill the limited number of spots where recreational pot can be sold under city zoning rules.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot struck an ominous note Friday morning when asked about the state of negotiations between Chicago Public Schools officials. If there wasn't "significant" progress on Friday, it would be "difficult" to get reach. deal and get students back in class "quickly." That warning proved prescient, as the strike stretched into Monday — one day longer than the 2012 strike — and became the longest teachers work stoppage since 1987.
- 'We're stuck' — Although negotiations stretched for 14 hours Saturday, CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade told reporters Sunday morning "quite frankly, we're stuck." McDade said the two sides agreed "philosophically" that Chicago schools needed more resources — but were far apart on how to enshrine those promises — and pay for the additional staff and programs.
- Dollars and cents — Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey on Saturday said the union and the city were only $38 million apart, but Arnie Rivera, chief operating officer for CPS, said the two sides were separated by more than $100 million. CPS CEO Janice Jackson joined the negotiations late Sunday for several hours and students announced a rally at 10 a.m. City Hall.
- SEIU deal done — Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced late Sunday that the city had reached a tentative agreement with Service Employee International Union Local 73, which represents approximately 7,500 support staff workers. Once the deal is ratified, those workers will return to work — but schools will not reopen until a deal with CTU is reached. Lightfoot said she was "enormously disappointed that CTU simply cannot take yes for an answer.” However, in a series of tweets, union leaders said the mayor could meet the union's demands by having the city pay $33 million to cover the cost of police officers to be assigned to Chicago high schools and $60 million toward teachers' pensions, as the city has in the past. Lightfoot has consistently said the city can't afford to cover any more of the school district's costs. CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates responded to Lightfoot that agreeing to the city's current offer would mean "saying yes to inequity."
