Quick Hits: Illinois News In Brief For Oct. 7

From The Center Square:

Mendoza says Trump holding states hostage

Illinois’ comptroller says President Donald Trump is holding Americans hostage by not continuing talks on another COVID-19 package. Critics of Democratic proposals in Congress say they include bailouts for poorly run states. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said the state is not looking for covering legacy debt, but is requesting coverage of lost revenues. State and local government tax revenue took a hit when leaders ordered businesses closed amid COVID-19 concerns.

Tax Foundation says state's ranking would drop with progressive income tax

If Illinois voters were to change the state’s flat income tax to a progressive income tax, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation says it would lower the state’s ranking to near the bottom of all states, from 36th to 47th.

Such a change could tax corporate income at nearly 10.5 percent, the second highest in the nation, the group said.

Election officials vow to fix issues

Elections officials in Illinois say local authorities are doing their due diligence to keep Illinois’ voter rolls clean, and ballots correct, but there may be mistakes from time to time. In Bloomington, voters who already sent in their ballots weren’t being asked about certain judge retentions.

In Madison County, some voters got their mail-in ballots and it had their party affiliation publicly labeled.

Group seeks to create New Illinois without Chicago

A group called New Illinois says it plans to declare independence from Chicago to create the country’s 51st state.

In a weekend email, the group says on Oct. 17 members will make a public declaration on the steps of the Hancock County courthouse in Carthage.

The U.S. Constitution says a new state can only form out of an existing state with the consent of the involved legislative bodies, as well as Congress.

IDNR looks to boost participation in hunting

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says the number of hunters in Illinois has been declining for the past two decades and the goal of HuntIllinois.org is to promote hunting and streamline getting licenses and permits. The website has useful information, no matter what species individuals want to hunt or what season someone plans to go.

Staff official encourage Illinoisans to prepare for winter

Illinois homeowners are encouraged to prepare for colder weather.

Among many tips are to clean out air filters and airflows of heating sources, test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and check gutters to prevent ice dams that could cause other damage.

The focus of the work of The Center Square Illinois is state- and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility. For more stories from The Center Square, visit TheCenterSquare.com.