Springfield News
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Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday the state must consolidate 649 downstate pension funds, promising such a change would dramatically increase the rate of return on investments in those funds.
“There have been reports and more reports and more reports. and nothing was done about it,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “I really believe now is the time." [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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Gov. JB Pritzker will unveil a long-awaited report from a task force looking at consolidating Illinois’ 641 downstate police and firefighter pension funds, while lawmakers are set to weigh bills promising to phase out the use of ethylene oxide in Illinois, or let local governments ban the chemical.
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Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature on a new tax credit for large-scale data centers makes Illinois the 30th state with such a tax incentive, which advocates hope will beat back growing competition from neighboring states — and boost economic development in downstate Illinois.
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Of the nearly 77,000 people in Illinois who are qualified through the state to use medical marijuana to treat a host of chronic conditions, more than 8,600 of them use cannabis to treat post-traumatic stress disorder — far and away the most frequent use of medical marijuana licenses, according to a new report from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
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The watchdog charged with investigating sexual harassment by aides to House Speaker Mike Madigan urged Attorney General Kwame Raoul to consider bringing criminal charges against Kevin Quinn, the brother of Ald. Marty Quinn (13), for harassing a former Democratic campaign worker, according to revelations in a long-awaited report released Wednesday.
Alaina Hampton addresses reporters in March 2018 at Chicago City Hall. [A.D. Quig/The Daily Line]
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Chicago’s 9 percent amusement tax on streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and Spotify survived a second round of legal challenges this week when the First District Appellate Court upheld a Cook County judge’s ruling dismissing the suit last year brought by the libertarian-leaning legal advocacy organization Liberty Justice Center.
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OCT 01, 2019
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ hotline is often referred to as the agency’s front door because it’s the primary way abuse and neglect can be reported, after which kids and families can receive services.
In recent years, the volume of calls coming into DCFS’ hotline — 800-25-ABUSE — has risen precipitously, and hotline staffers have not been able to keep up with the increase in calls. A May audit from Auditor General Frank Mautino’s office found that timeliness for completing investigations declined significantly between 2015 and 2017, both the focus of the biennial audit and the timeframe in which the state went without an operating budget for two years. -
A planned transition for nearly 36,000 foster children and former youth in care from traditional fee-for-service Medicaid to a Medicaid managed care system has been delayed until February after advocates said the change could put thousands of the state’s most vulnerable children at risk.
Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith addresses reporters. [Hannah Meisel/The Daily Line]
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The Illinois Human Rights Commission on Wednesday voted in favor of enforcing an earlier ruling allowing a trans woman employee to use the women’s bathroom at the Aurora Hobby Lobby where she’s worked for nearly two decades while her case is on appeal.
“I’m good at what I do,” Sommerville said. “I have a huge clientele of customers that come to me for my specific talents of framing and everything else. I shouldn’t have to leave,” said Meggan Sommerville. [Submitted]
