Politics and Government

Gov. Bruce Rauner says he's taken steps to improve Illinois during his first year in office, but the job ``is nowhere near complete.'' Tomorrow/today marks one year since the Republican businessman's inauguration. Since then, Rauner and Democratic leaders have been unable to agree on a state budget or other major issues such as how to eliminate Illinois' $111 billion unfunded pension liability.  
    

The top Republican in the Illinois Senate says "it's possible" the standoff over a state budget could last for several years if Democrats aren't willing to compromise. She says if Illinois continues to spend money at current levels without raising taxes the state's backlog of unpaid bills could reach almost $25 billion in four years. That's based on a report from GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget office. Radogno says "While I hope it doesn't happen, I think it's possible." Radogno says Democrats are too concerned with maintaining the status quo.

McLean County Board Chair Matt Sorensen will wait a couple more days for his first court appearance on federal wire fraud charges. He faces five counts related to an alleged false billing scheme to defraud State Farm Insurance. The appearance had been set for Monday but is now slated for Wednesday afternoon. Sorensen's co-defendant Navdeep Arora allegedly gave Sorensen more than $370,000 when Arora was a partner in the consulting firm of McKinsey and Company. Sorensen was an internal consultant at State Farm until 2012, also the year Arora left McKinsey and Company.

The state recently released a survey showing that many colleges won’t credit MAP grants for low-income students this spring semester. But those Monetary Award Program students aren’t the only ones whose grants have gone away.

When a police officer, firefighter or prison guard is killed or disabled in the line of duty, the state promises to provide their dependents with a college education.  But the budget impasse has put that promise on hold, says Eric Zarnikow, director of the Student Assistance Commission.

More than 30-thousand state employees are members of AFSCME, Illinois' largest public employee union. The union says Governor Bruce Rauner has walked away from contract talks.

It was clear early on that Rauner, a Republican, was no fan of AFSCME. He once bestowed a nickname upon the union:

"the children in poverty. I'd rather have my tax dollars going to that, than SEIU or AFSCammy, who are out there for their own interests."

Flood waters are continuing to recede across Illinois as residents begin the recovery process after dealing with more than a week of high waters. Officials with the Illinois Department of Emergency Management say the agency has asked affected counties to provide it with initial damage assessments by Jan. 18.

Spokeswoman Patti Thompson says the agency will review the reports and could ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with a more thorough assessment if it appears the state would meet federal disaster declaration thresholds.  

Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration has named an insurance company executive to lead Get Covered Illinois, the state's health insurance marketplace. The Illinois Department of Insurance says Karen Woods will fill the post. Woods previously worked as executive director of Blue Cross Blue Shield's retail claim operation. She succeeds Karin Zosel who left in early August to return to MacMurray College in Jacksonville where she worked before the Republican appointed her.

Some McLean County Board members have been asking how much of a distraction Chairman Matt Sorenson's legal troubles will be for board business? But, State's Attorney Jason Chambers says there is no way to resolve it if that does become an issue.

Former Bloomington Alderman Jim Finnegan has died at the age of 82. Finnegan served 12 years on the council  until 2009. Former Mayor Steve Stockton says he relied on Finnegan for institutional memory and advice when he took office, "Jim was very even tempered, stable, and always worked for compromise. If the council would get split on something, Jim would always look for ways to try to help me bring the council together."

McLean County Board Chair Matt Sorensen will be arraigned on federal fraud charges Monday. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois says the 2 p.m. hearing will be in the Dirksen Federal Building on South Dearborn in Chicago.

Sorensen is accused of colluding with a member of the firm McKinsey and Company to falsely bill State Farm Insurance for work not performed. Sorensen allegedly took more than $370,000 of the proceeds in kickbacks from Navdeep Arora.

The five count indictment of Sorensen also refers to another person called Co-schemer A.

Gov. Bruce Rauner says Illinois won't help Chicago Public Schools avert a financial "disaster" unless Mayor Rahm Emanuel starts pushing some of the Republican governor's legislative agenda. Rauner says he won't change that position even if CPS begins laying off thousands of teachers.  

CPS faces a $1 billion budget shortfall, due largely to increasing pension payments. Emanuel wants state lawmakers to change how pensions are funded to reduce CPS' costs and make the system more equitable for Chicago taxpayers.  

Black legislators say Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner hasn’t done enough in the wake of the release of police shootings of LaQuan McDonald and other African Americans.

When asked by reporters, Gov. Rauner said he cried after watching the 2014 video of black Chicago teenager LaQuan McDonald getting shot 16 times by a city cop.