A PACE bus picks up passengers in Naperville. State lawmakers received a set of recommendations on Thursday to save public transit agencies from a fiscal cliff when federal COVID-19 funding dries up. Rich Hein/Sun-Times (file) Chicago-area public transit faces a crisis when federal COVID-19 dollars run out in two years, forcing transit agencies struggling with reduced ridership to make major service cuts. With this fiscal cliff looming, regional leaders tasked with saving public transit sent a set of policy recommendations to state lawmakers Thursday. Lawmakers now face politically tough ..read more

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails nearly 3 million books a month in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and Ireland, is expanding. Counties in Illinois will begin receiving books as they sign up through local partner programs. Getty Children under 5 years old throughout Illinois are expected to receive free books through the expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program, which began in the state this summer. Counties in Illinois will begin receiving books as they sign up through local partner programs, a spokesperson with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office said. Counties wi ..read more

Mayor Brandon Johnson faces a budget shortfall of more than $500 million next year. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times For most Chicago residents, quality of life is greatly impacted by the community in which they live. This in turn means every Chicagoan’s well-being in large part depends on the tax policies of both Illinois and Chicago being well-designed and capable of generating adequate revenue over time. While most folks don’t make the connection between taxes they pay and the quality of life they experience, the nexus between the two is undeniable.  In fact, many public services and goo ..read more

Brandon Johnson was Chicago’s mayor-elect when he appeared with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in April, before a news conference to discuss details of the 2024 Democratic National Convention to be hosted by Chicago. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Mayor Brandon Johnson campaigned on a promise to be the likable consensus-builder that Lori Lightfoot wasn’t. He touted lessons learned as one of 10 siblings in a home with one bathroom, along with his previous work as a paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union. Listening, negotiating and collaborating is part of his DNA. And yet, Johnson’s relatio ..read more

The Illinois Capitol in Springfield. Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget released a revised state revenue and spending forecast last month for the current fiscal year, and it’s pretty good. Its projections for the next fiscal year, however, were not nearly as strong. Projected fiscal year 2024 revenues have been revised upward by $1.4 billion. However, “most of this fiscal year 2024 revenue forecast revision is assumed to be one-time in nature,” the budget office warned. Spending has also been revised upward by $969 million, leaving a $422 million net sur ..read more

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (left), businessman James T. Weiss (center) and former Gov. George Ryan are among those convicted in political corruption scandals in Illinois. Sun-Times, AP Once again, corruption was on the docket in a wood-paneled courtroom in downtown Chicago’s historic federal building.  It was October, and newly convicted Chicago businessman James T. Weiss was about to learn how much time he would have to serve for bribing two state legislators and lying to the FBI. While not a household name, Weiss came with real machine clout. His father-in-law, who wasn’t charged ..read more

Attorney Jonel Metaj represented Fredy Guiracocha in his lawsuit against insurer Direct Auto. The firm denied Guiracocha’s claim that his son was entitled under his uninsured motorist coverage for treatment when he was struck by a car while biking. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that insured pedestrians or bicyclists struck by a hit-and-run or uninsured driver should be entitled to uninsured motorist coverage from their insurance companies. The court said auto insurance companies whose policies include language requiring a person to be in an insured mo ..read more

The Thanksgiving window at the now-shuttered Country Shop in Winnetka. Sun-Times files Well. Well. Well. The world seems to be in quite a state these days. Hearts and minds in quite a tussle. Debate raging worldwide over the price of a human life. Chicago’s own struggle with the reality of actually being a sanctuary city. Thousands of immigrants struggling to exist in a city paved with cold.  A month-long horror engulfing Israelis and Palestinians providing troubling TV footage in our living rooms. To wit: a 10-month old Israeli baby held hostage in a nightmare underworld in Gaza, a ..read more

Water pools on the ground near Riot Fest’s Rise Stage on Sunday during a rain delay on the final day of the festival in Douglass Park. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday approved a disaster declaration for parts of Cook County hard hit by storms and flooding on Sept. 17 and 18. The White House said in a release that the declaration unlocks a package of federal financial assistance that include “grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recov ..read more

Lawmakers on the House floor at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. Seth Perlman/AP file I don’t know whether the legislative Democratic leadership would’ve allowed a vote, but it is puzzling to me the people behind the extension of the state’s Invest in Kids Act program didn’t at least try to run a bill that would’ve wound the program down over a period of years. Continuing to allow income tax credits for donations to private school scholarship funds for kids who were already enrolled in the program would’ve protected those individual children from being kicked out of the schools ..read more