Illinois
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) turned down a four-year contract offered by the district this week. The contract was a significant compromise for both sides, but the CTU rejected it in large part because of a lack of trust in the district’s ability to stick to the deal. A state board could overrule the Chicago Board of Education’s decisions, and the uncertainty over the state budget also adds concerns. In response to the union’s rejection of the deal, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Forrest Claypool said he will need to go ahead with cost-cutting measures, including layoffs and stopping the district from paying teachers’ shares of their pension contributions, unless a deal is reached soon. Read more in the Tribune hereand here.
Gov. Rauner announced he is already preparing for a state takeover of CPS and has asked the state Board of Education to find a new superintendent. At a news conference, Gov. Rauner said, “I hope the rejection by the Chicago Teacher’s Union is a wake up call for the mayor and the taxpayers in Chicago and around the state.” He added that CPS has been mismanaged and overly influenced by the CTU, and the state will be better equipped to reach a deal. Despite the governor’s instructions to the state Board of Education, the state cannot take over CPS unless legislation is passed to allow it, and that seems unlikely. Democrats in the legislature, especially the House Speaker and Senate President, are strongly opposed. Read more in the Sun-Times.
Mayor Emanuel is pushing for another property tax hike to fund teacher pensions even without the compromise he previously requested from Springfield in exchange. He had demanded that the legislature either create a uniform pension system for teachers all across the state, or rewrite the school funding formula to prevent districts with large populations in poverty or in need of special assistance from bearing an undue burden. Now, he is proposing reinstating the school property tax increase without any compromise from the capitol. Read more in the Sun-Times.
CPS issued $725 million in high-interest bonds this week to cover debt payments and critical school projects. According to a market analysist in the Chicago Tribune, “Bonds issued by taxing bodies like CPS are normally considered sound investments, but that’s not the case with a school district weighed down by debt, labor uncertainty and politicaltumult.” The 28-year bonds are being sold with 8.5% yields, but there is no guarantee that investors will actually recoup this amount. Read more.
House Speaker Michael Madigan is creating a legislative panel to consider changes to Illinois’s school funding formula. The new Education Funding Task Force, led by Democratic Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, will draft legislation aiming to fund schools throughout the state more equitably. Read more in the State Journal-Register.
Rep. Thaddeus Jones filed HB 4661, the Local Government Stabilization Authority Act. The bill would create a pilot program authorizing Calumet Township, Thornton Township, and Bremen Township to create an authority charged with facilitating “the return of vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties to productive use, combatting community deterioration and creating economic growth.”
Gov. Rauner’s administration again refused to add more conditions to the list of qualifying illnesses that can be treated with medical marijuana. An advisory board, which considered patient testimony and medical evidence, recommended adding eight conditions to the list, but the Department of Public Health turned all of them down. The conditions included PTSD, chronic pain, autism, irritable bowel syndrome, and osteoarthritis. So far, only 4,000 patients have been approved to buy medical marijuana in Illinois, and the new industry is floundering. Patients and advocates are fighting back, however: five residents have filed lawsuits aiming to expand the program to cover more conditions. Read more in the State Journal-Register.
Sen. William Haine introduced SB 2378, which would require medical marijuana dispensaries to provide written explanations of the risks and benefits of medical cannabis at the time of dispensing to a patient or caregiver. The bill would also require dispensaries to transmit information to the Prescription Monitoring Program, including patient name and address, amount and strain of marijuana dispensed, and dispensary identification number, within seven days.
Rep. Dwight Kay filed HB 4692 to require medical marijuana products to contain a warning label with potential side effects in their packaging. The bill would require such a label on all marijuana harvested for distribution to dispensaries and on all products that contain marijuana in dispensaries.
Gov. Rauner created the Illinois Business and Economic Development Corporation, a private, nonprofit group that will take over a public agency’s task of attracting businesses to Illinois. Since legislators would not pass his privatization plan last year, Gov. Rauner used his executive authority to create the corporation this week. Read more in the State Journal-Register.
Although Democratic Rep. Ken Dunkin is running for reelection, many powerful Democrats are supporting his primary challenger, Juliana Stratton. Stratton previously served as the executive director of Cook County Justice for Children, and she now directs the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Supporters include Secretary of State Jessie White, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, and several Chicago aldermen. Read more in the Sun-Times.
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