- Toni’s time. On her first day as new Cook County Board president, Preckwinkle hands out several dozen pink slips to Stroger insiders and says she’ll hire a chief performance officer to audit personnel, their pay, etc. Trib editorial says her reform pledge seems sincere, unlike her predecessor’s four years ago,
- Referenda rebuffed. Sun-Times reports that most Chicago aldermen skipped a special City Council meeting to consider ballot initiatives on parking privatization, police vacancies and exchange tax, so measures won’t be on February ballot.
- How many aldermen does it take to fix a city? We’ve been thinking about it, and Greg Hinz covers it in his blog.
- Cry out for cash. Elgin Area School District U-46 doesn’t know if it has enough cash to make it through Jan. 1, when a debt payment of $34 million is due. The state is $22 million behind on payments to the district, which may have to issue tax anticipation warrants—like payday loans for schools.
