Springfield News
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MAY 10, 2018
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MAY 10, 2018
Civic Fed Dings Rauner Budget - In a fiscal analysis released Wednesday, the Civic Federation said it did not support Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed budget for FY2019, calling it "precariously balanced" and asserting it does not sufficiently address the state's $7.7 billion backlog. The group's Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability focused its caution on the governor's projected $1.8 billion revenue plan which relies on the sale of the James R. Thompson Center, "speculative" group health plan savings, and shifting pension costs to Chicago Public Schools. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said in the release: “The possibility of renewed political stalemate hangs over Springfield, and it would be financially reckless to wait until after the upcoming election to start working toward long-term stabilization. The state narrowly avoided a downgrade to junk status last year and another impasse could squander recent progress.” [Civic Federation Report: Governor's FY2019 Budget Proposal]
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MAY 09, 2018
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MAY 08, 2018
Equal Rights Amendment supporters have rallied a coalition of women groups who are scheduled to lobby the statehouse Tuesday, calling for Illinois House members to vote for the amendments long-awaited ratification. At least eight buses have been chartered to bring the groups from across the state for ERA Lobby Day.
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MAY 07, 2018
Coroner accused of holding bodies hostage - In a grim story about counties where impoverished people struggle to pay for the burial of their deceased, one county coroner has them sign over the rights to the bodies of their loved ones, leaving them without a death certificate, then withholds the cremated remains until he’s paid $1,000. The Associated Press’ Sara Burnett reports that, in one such case, a bereaved widow said Adams County Coroner James Keller, who also works as a funeral director, told her: “if she didn't pay, he'd bury the ashes in a cemetery and not reveal the location.” [AP]
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MAY 07, 2018
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MAY 04, 2018
On a unanimous 56-0 vote Wednesday, the Illinois Senate cleared an anti-carjacking measure drafted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office which aims to crackdown on juvenile offenders.
The legislation is Emanuel’s latest tough-on-crime campaign tout following months of reporting on the nearly 1,000 carjackings recorded in Chicago last year, a 10-year high in the city. And after months of political attacks by Emanuel’s mayoral challenger, the city’s former top cop.
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MAY 03, 2018
