Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: As Illinois gambling expands: Don't meddle with the Gaming Board, Gov. Pritzker
If the prospect of Illinois wildly expanding gambling doesn’t make you nervous, this should: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and lawmakers evidently are considering stacking the state’s oversight agency with friendlier gatekeepers.
State Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, a longtime sponsor of gambling legislation, recently predicted a push for more “pro-gaming” influence at the Illinois Gaming Board, the agency that regulates casinos and video gambling.
Decatur Herald & Review: With Illinois' smoking age going to 21, what happens to the 19-year-old smoker?
Dalton Gentry’s time as a legal smoker is running out — at least for a year.
The 20-year-old Decatur resident in three weeks won’t be allowed to light up under state law. Gov. J.B. Pritzker in April signed legislation banning the sale of cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and nicotine-based products to anyone under 21 starting July 1. The current age is 18.
Chicago Sun-Times: Police union fires back at Lightfoot over reform measures
Chicago’s rank-and-file police union fired back against Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday with an open letter marking the latest volley in a rhetorical battle between the new mayor and her longtime political nemesis.
The Fraternal Order of Police slammed the “inflammatory and false allegations” they say Lightfoot has lobbed against the officers’ union, most recently during the City Council meeting on Wednesday when she said she’d sit down for contract negotiations with the FOP “any time you’re willing to move forward on reform and not block every single issue.”
Northwest Herald: McHenry Township to consider eliminating senior bus service program at special meeting
McHenry Township trustees are considering eliminating the township’s senior bus service program, and they could vote on the matter at a special meeting Tuesday.
Trustees have been discussing the matter as part of the budget process. Some have said the service is duplicating what McHenry County’s “McRide” and Pace buses offer, while others contend that the program is needed.