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Matthew Blake

DuPage board chairman warns businesses are leaving Illinois

Tue, 04/30/2013 - 3:33pm

DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin declared on Tuesday that the people of Illinois “are voting with their feet” and leaving a state after “drowning under the cost of government.”

“The state of Illinois is ranked number two in terms of out migration,” Cronin said at a City Club of Chicago luncheon on Wednesday. “Residents and businesses – they can’t flee soon enough.”

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McPier board chairman wants end to Hyatt McCormick Place labor dispute

Mon, 04/29/2013 - 3:13pm

The board chairman for the city-state public agency that owns the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place called for an immediate end on Monday to the four-year dispute between Hyatt and its employees over wages. Jack Greenberg, chairman of the Metropolitan Pier Exposition Authority Board, said at a board meeting that Hyatt must enter into a new contract with employees, who are represented by UniteHere Local 1.

The union, though, is skeptical about Greenberg’s call to action.

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County hospital system cites progress on staffing issues

Fri, 04/26/2013 - 3:26pm

Cook County Health and Hospital System board members on Friday praised the efforts of Gladys Lopez, chief human resources officer of CCHHS, for working overtime to deal with understaffing.

But the board acknowledged that Lopez’s work also underscores the severity of personnel issues at CCHHS. The system is focused on human resources hires, meaning CCHHS is in the process of hiring the people who will then recruit needed medical personnel.

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Aldermen want to expand authority of city inspector general

Thu, 04/25/2013 - 2:07pm

Chicago City Council members proposed amendments to the 1989 City Inspector General Ordinance intended to significantly increase the power of the inspector general, the in-house watchdog of the city’s executive branch.

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Board of education tentatively moves forward on school closings

Wed, 04/24/2013 - 4:29pm

Foreshadowing a vote next month to close 54 Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Board of Education adopted a resolution Wednesday that will add $363.7 million to the CPS annual capital budget. Of that, approximately $217 million is allocated to cover costs directly related to school closings, including the costs of repairs to buildings that would take in students from schools slated to close.

Despite a 6-0 vote approving the supplemental budget, a few board members voiced concern about the closings.  

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Emanuel: There’s an app for energy conservation

Tue, 04/23/2013 - 10:26pm

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants Chicago to dip its toes into “cleanweb,” where public data is used to create web applications for mobile devices that will help Chicagoans save energy.

Emanuel announced Tuesday that, starting this weekend, the city of Chicago will over the next year hold a series of “hackathons,” two-day sessions where people will compete to make applications out of city data on the energy efficiency of buildings.

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38,000 residents signed up in county’s early Medicaid expansion

Fri, 04/19/2013 - 2:00pm

The Cook County Health and Hospitals System has begun processing 38,051 applications in its CountyCare program as of April 17, under which people who are eligible for Medicaid as a result of the federal Affordable Care Act can enroll in the program prior to the act’s Jan. 1, 2014 start date.

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State finance authority head makes case for muni bonds’ tax-exempt status

Thu, 04/18/2013 - 9:31pm

With the federal government considering a sweeping overhaul of the tax code, the Illinois government and Cook County Board are waging a preemptive strike against Washington potentially ending the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.

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Outside firm will audit fairness of RTA funding

Wed, 04/17/2013 - 3:03pm

The Regional Transportation Authority board voted 10-4 on Wednesday to approve a contract with an outside consulting firm that will evaluate whether RTA fairly distributes funds between city and suburban service agencies.

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CHA head cites Bronzeville project as future of housing authority developments

Tue, 04/16/2013 - 2:10pm

The Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Housing Authority trumpeted on Tuesday a just launched development in the Bronzeville neighborhood as representing “the new direction of CHA.”

“That [direction] is to build more mixed-income housing and build new components of neighborhoods that contribute to vibrant communities,” said CHA head Charles Woodyard at Tuesday’s board meeting. The housing agency has been working for more than a year on revising its 13 year-old Plan for Transformation, which aimed to move public housing tenants into mixed-income residencies.

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