Results tagged “govquinn”

Gov. Quinn signed a bill today that shifts state primaries back a bit on the calendar. The primaries had been moved in 2007, allegedly to help out home-state then-candidate Barack Obama, according to CBS 2. But the more skeptical pundits suggested it was to help incumbents by assuring lower turnout, which certainly happened this year. Either way, the next time around - 2012 - the state primary will be March 3. Said Gov. Quinn via press release: "Having the general primary election in March will increase voter turnout and encourage the people to have a greater voice in the election process, which is what democracy is all about. It provides voters with more time to delve into the issues and to know the candidates who seek to represent them." more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, Illinois is on the verge of a big financial fail and has been for quite some time. Today, Governor Pat Quinn’s office launched a website to show the dire straits we’re in and ask the people of Illinois for help. According to the site, almost three-quarters of current spending goes towards education, health care and human services. The site reports that because those funds are sometimes tied to federal matching funds, cuts could mean more lost revenues. more ›

• A disturbing update to last week's NIU shooting.
• A Cook County judge rejected a motion by the Chicago Teachers Union to block the closing and consolidation of a pair of local schools.
• Tammy Duckworth has ever-so-politely withdrawn her name from consideration to run for Lt. Governor.

Yesterday, Governor Quinn signed into law a bill that regulates oversight for the state's cemeteries, a bill introduced in the wake of the horrific Burr Oak scandal. The Trib reports, "The new regulations will require cemetery owners, managers and customer-service employees to be licensed and undergo continuing education courses. Cemeteries will be required to keep burial maps, which will be stored in a database maintained by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation." State Sen. Donne Trotter (D-Chicago) said, "We cannot legislate morality, but as lawmakers ... it is our responsibility and our duty to ensure that those that provide services in this state operate under regulations, operate with oversight." more ›

• Once terrorism detainees are transferred to Thomson Correctional Center, the prison will also be the site of military commission trials.
• The Sun-Times suggests there's a rift between Todd Stroger and the Daleys, though Mayor Daley denied such a rift exists.
• Gov. Quinn went on the defensive over his decision to shut out WBEZ from investigating the state's juvenile prison system.

An announcement will be made later today that President Obama has given the go-ahead for the federal government to purchase the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois to hold federal inmates and some detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. Gov. Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin will be in Washington, D.C. today to meet with officials over details of the acquisition. Both have supported the move which they claim could create over 3,500 jobs. The Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet, who indicated over the weekend this move was coming, reports: more ›

Over the weekend, the Associated Press reported on "MGT Push," a "program" of sorts that has allowed over 850 prisoners to be released early from prison. And in the wake of that report and outrage over it, Gov. Quinn suspended the program yesterday. The "MGT Push" program, according to notes obtained by the AP, is saving money by ignoring a policy that requires inmates to serve at least 61 days and is instead awarding them discretionary good-conduct credit as soon as they enter prison, which means some prisoners have enough good-conduct days to be released almost immediately. "MGT Push" is different than the early prisoner release program that Gov. Quinn announced earlier this year in an attempt to save money for the state's budget; plans finalized in September arranged for the release of 1,000 prisoners of which so far only 117 have been released. more ›

WBEZ's Rob Wildeboer has been fighting to get access to the state's juvenile prisons to see how they're run, especially given the fact taxpayers fund the $100 million-plus budget for the prisons. But Gov. Quinn is shutting them out. Wildeboer's requests were in response to allegations from teens who had spent time in these facilities, such as young man from a St. Charles facility who told him: more ›

Yesterday, we curiously awaited the number of Asian carp the Illinois Department of Natural Resources killed with their poisoning of the the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Romeoville. This morning, after they sifted through thousands of dead fish, we know the number: One. But this is actually good news. The poisoning project - which lasts three days and will cost around $3 million (the federal government is covering most of the cost) - is designed as a last ditch effort to prevent the invasive species from making it into Lake Michigan and wreaking havoc not only there but throughout the Great Lakes while maintenance work is performed on electric barriers in the canal. John Rogner, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said, "It's not something that anyone going into a career in fisheries-management looks forward to, but we thought it was an absolutely essential step. This is the closest to Lake Michigan the natural body has been collected." more ›

The plan to house and put some Guantanamo Bay detainees on trial on the U.S. mainland has predictably generated a flurry of debate, both nationally and locally. On the national level, politicians and pundits alike are up in arms over the decision to bring accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four accomplices to trial. Right here in Illinois, the controversy surrounds the potential transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the Thomson Correctional Center in Thompson, Illinois. more ›

We mentioned yesterday morning the deal struck between the RTA and the state of Illinois which would provide enough funding to prevent a fare hike at the CTA for the next two years but wouldn't prevent the $90 million in service cuts originally proposed by the CTA. At a press conference yesterday, we got some of the details of the deal. Well, "deal" is a loose term as you'll see. The move isn't so much eliminating the CTA's debt as it is slightly reducing and really prolonging it. The Tribune breaks down the deal like so: more ›

Yesterday evening, news broke of a deal between the RTA and Gov. Quinn providing funding so that the CTA could avoid fare hikes through 2011. Details of the deal haven't been announced - Quinn is expected to outline those in an afternoon press conference - but Greg Hinz at Crain's reports: more ›

• Sen. Burris continues to be in the health care debate spotlight thanks to his stance on a public option. Well, sort of.
• The Sun-Times discovers commuting by bike.
• Clean-up continues of a major freight train derailment in the Glenview area.

Today Gov. Quinn called on the CTA and Metra to not raise fares in exchange for state aid. Meanwhile, with just a little over 24 hours left in the fall session, state legislators are considering a bill that would cut back on those free senior rides that Blago forced the CTA to institute. The new bill would set a threshold that only those seniors who earn below a yearly income of $22,218 would qualify for free rides. As the Trib points out, though, Quinn didn't say if he would refuse to sign this new legislation should the CTA and Metra raise fares anyway. more ›

• Chicago-based United Airlines has officially retired its full fleet of 737s.
• The Chicago News Cooperative continues to lure writers away from the Tribune. [via]
• The on-again, off-again fuel surcharge on the city's taxis goes into effect once more starting tonight at midnight.

Once a role playe, always a role player. Former Bulls All-Star BJ Armstrong has been picked by Gov. Quinn to help out with youth outreach as part of Quinn's plan to fight youth violence. Armstrong, who won was part of the first Bulls three-peat of the early 90's will, according to ABC 7, "advise Quinn on youth sports, anti-obesity programs and promoting sportsmanship." Armstrong still has ties to Bull, serving as agent to the Bulls young star Derrick Rose. more ›

While we wait to see if the CTA will indeed make good on its threat to raise fares and cut services in an attempt to close a budget gap numbering in the hundreds of millions of dollars, at least one high-ranking government official is ready to do his part. With the RTA already supporting such a measure, Gov. Pat Quinn is also giving some thought to repealing the free CTA rides for senior programs infamously instituted by then-governor Rod Blagojevich. Speaking to WGN Radio today, Quinn supported the idea of reviewing program and possibly altering it to offer free rides to veterans, active military, and seniors whose income falls below a certain threshold. Said Quinn: more ›

Gov. Pat Quinn said he expects University of Illinois president B. Joseph White to resign today in the wake of the school's clout controversy. Quinn said, "He's let me know that something is imminent and I think that'll happen today," adding, "This is totally voluntary." The Tribune has more here. more ›

It may not be Chicago-related, exactly, but we'd be remiss in not mentioning today's eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Here are some stories of local interest in relation to the anniversary. more ›

• The Tribune catches up with the elderly man who was involved in yesterday's shooting incident in the Loop.
• CPD Supt. Jody Weis wants the city to fight lawsuits brought against the police department rather than simply settle each one.
• Gov. Quinn has ordered the closing of Tinley Park's Howe Developmental Center.

• Two men were charged with the murder of retired Bartlett attorney Carl Kuhn; the men allegedly suffocated Kuhn to death and stole his extensive gun collection.
• The Sun-Times has the uplifting story of 11-year-old "hero" Adonis Bell.
• A pair of University of Illinois trustees refuse to go gentle into that good night in spite of pressure from Gov. Quinn.

• Gov. Quinn outlined today how he plans to cut $1 billion from the state budget, including job cuts and asking some employees to give up pay raises.
• A violent month is drawing to a close; so far, 225 people have been shot in Chicago in July with 42 of those being deaths.
• A suspicious package found this morning outside Oprah's Harpo Productions, Inc building was proved to be safe.

• The City has awarded contracts connected to the demolition of Michael Reese Hospital to make way for the proposed Olympic Village for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
• Unemployment for the Chicago metro area is up again, hitting 11.3 percent for June.
• The battle over a helipad at the new Children's Hospital in Streeterville continues.

• Two Chicago Police officers were shot today while trying to execute a warrant on the Southeast Side. Each officer was shot in a leg and both were reported in good condition.
• The police shooting followed last night's violent six hour window which saw four killed and eight wounded in shootings.
• Gov. Quinn has joined the fray over Burr Oak Cemetery, appointing a task force to look at cemetery operations state-wide.

Fox 32 is reporting that House Minority Leader Tom Cross has said a tentative agreement has been reached on the state budget, which has been in limbo for weeks after the last legislative session ended without a new budget in place. There's no income tax increase in the budget, though State Senate President John Cullerton said that an increase of some kind was inevitable in the future. Gov. Quinn backed off his push for an income tax hike last week in a bid to increase the chances of a speedy resolution. more ›

As expected, Gov. Quinn signed a $31 billion construction plan today. Hopes are that the plan will fund a rebuilding of the state's infrastructure - prompting repairs and creations of things like bike trails and state highways - while also creating thousands of new jobs. Meanwhile, Quinn has also backed off his push for an income tax hike as state lawmakers return to Springfield tomorrow to see if they can finally hash out a new state budget. [AP via CBS 2] more ›

Yesterday we mentioned Gov. Quinn is exploring the early release of many non-violent inmates as a means to help cut from the state budget. Now, reports say the number of inmates released could go as high as 10,000 in a bid to save up to $125 million on the budget. more ›

With the state budget mess well documented already, Governor Quinn is hacking away at state spending to save money. One possible solution Quinn is considering? Early release of inmates, something that's already legal for inmates who are less than a year away from their scheduled release date. Of course, this is just one of several possible moves under consideration by Quinn, who said at a press conference yesterday, "We're going to take a look at everything under the Department of Corrections." Read more over at The Daily Herald for reactions to the high-risk potential move. more ›

• The Chicago Public Schools are holding hearings this week on a potential new set of schools, including a pair of live-in schools.
• The number of state worker layoffs coming from Gov. Quinn's budget cuts? 2,600.
• Weird Science story of the day: using Facebook to crack Social Security Numbers.

With the state budget crisis growing worse by the day, Governor Quinn has prepared $1 billion in state cuts he plans to announce today in an effort to show legislators he's done all he can to save the state money. A good portion of the cuts will include laying off state workers and Quinn also plans to ask those who remain employed to take 12 furlough days. Said the Governor, "Nobody should be exempt from making sacrifices when all of our state finances are in peril. If the rest of state government is taking 12 furlough days, including my office, I think all the legislators and all the legislative staffs should participate in the sacrifice." more ›