In the past 20 years, the total annual amount of property taxes billed by local governments in Cook County increased at nearly three times the rate of inflation, according to a new study out of the county treasurer’s office. The total tax tab went up by 99%, while the regional cost of living went up by just 36%, the study found. Just as Lightfoot and other local government leaders stare down some of the biggest budget shortfalls in decades, Pappas is highlighting the swelling

Top, L-R: Robbins Mayor Tyrone Ward, and Park Forest Mayor Jonathan Vanderbilt; Bottom: L-R: Glenwood Mayor Ronald Gardiner, and Orland Hills Mayor Kyle Hastings An Oct. 20 Chicago Southland Mayors Panel Legislative Series Webinar featured panelists SSMMA President / Robbins Mayor Tyrone Ward, Park Forest Mayor Jonathan Vanderbilt and Orland Hills Mayor Kyle Hastings, as well as Glenwood Mayor Ronald Gardiner, who served as moderator. The event was hosted by the Chicago South

Related: South suburbs urge gaming board to award license for new casino,  and South suburban casino decision at least 6 months away in the Tribune/Daily Southtown, and COVID-19 puts new Illinois casino licenses on hold, in the Sun-Times.

SPC Renews Liquid Calcium Chloride Contract with No Price Increase! Just in time for winter (sorry!), the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC) Governing Board is pleased to announce the first of three possible one-year contract extensions on the 2020-21 Liquid Calcium Chloride (Contract # 194) to Sicalco Ltd. of Hinsdale. The contract extension runs from December 5, 2020 through December 4, 2021 with no price increase as follows: Price Per Gallon     Delivery     Delivered

The Community & Economic Development Assistant Director is an integral part of the executive management team responsible for the supervision and facilitation of key decisions concerning long range and day-to-day planning, zoning, economic development, building, code enforcement and community relations activities. Read more. The Village of Richton Park is offering a competitive benefits package and a starting salary range projected to be $75,000 – 84,000 +/- DOQ.  Candidates s

The session highlighted the south suburban region’s integration of health considerations into project scoring. Transportation choices and the built environment are major determinants of health. These factors impact access to healthcare, healthy foods, good-paying jobs and more. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control, the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) considers four categories of vulnerability — socioeconomic status, household composition and disability, minority stat

For more information, or questions, please contact GIS Analyst Kai Funahashi at kai.funahashi@ssmma.org.

In a press release, IML President Brad Cole applauded the decision, saying that it removes a “one size fits all” approach to the situation and says that many cities and local governments simply couldn’t afford the extra costs….Please click here to read Benjamin Cox’s story on WLDS News.

The Fair Transit South Cook project will provide lower Metra fares on the Metra Electric and Rock Island lines and new service options for Pace bus service to increase use of transit for residents and essential workers. The goal is to launch the program in January 2021 with a 50-percent reduction in Metra fares, which the county says can be implemented immediately as it does not require a change to the commuter rail service’s fare structure…Please click here to read Mischa Wa

Friday, October 23, 2020 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CDT Register at: https://tinyurl.com/y38kf77c Amazon is in peak hiring season right now. CSEDC, OAI, Inc., and the SCICBI at Governors State University have announced that the team will host an online job fair where Kristen Johnson and Niyah Hall, Amazon representatives, will present about the future Amazon job openings in the south suburban region. Amazon is actively hiring now for jobs near University Park and is currently offe

JOB DUTIES:       Responsible for planning, directing and managing departmental activities including recruitment, risk management, labor relations and discipline/discharge.  Advise management and staff on human resources related issues and develop/coordinate policies and procedures. Must be able to work well with a wide variety of people and have excellent organizational skills with the ability to multitask. Read more. To receive consideration, please submit your employment a

The 10 grant recipients were announced recently by the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and the Southland Development Authority. The grants were funded through support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and managed by the mayors and managers association, which received more than 60 grant proposals. Two grants totaling $100,000 will go to Governors State University in University Park and the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corp. The grant

The Cook County hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26 at 3:00 p.m. Preregister to make comments. The Will County hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30 at 11:00 a.m. Preregister to make comments. To make comments during a hearing, you must pre-register for the hearing at least 24 hrs. in advance.

Metra recently proposed a 2021 operating budget of $700 million that does not call for any fare increases or service cuts from present levels but will require expenses to be cut by $70 million unless the agency receives additional COVID-related financial assistance. Metra also detailed a 2021 capital budget of $386.4 million that continues significant investment in railcars, locomotives, bridges and stations. Read more. A public hearing for Metra’s Preliminary 2021 Operating

The Cook County Treasurer’s Office has launched a new initiative called “Black Houses Matter” with the goal of locating Black homeowners and informing them of their property tax status so their homes don’t end up being sold. In Chicago Heights, more than 2,000 homes have been placed on the tax sale list; in Harvey, more than 4,000. By comparison, the northwest suburb of Niles has only 21 homes on the list…Please click here for Samantha Chatman’s story on ABC-7. To check your

Image courtesy of Amtrak Stepping into Amtrak’s Homewood train station is like stepping back into a time when railroads were the country’s primary people movers. Built in 1923 as part of the Illinois Central Railroad system, the station is getting a $15 million rehab that will dovetail with similar plans by Metra to renovate its adjacent commuter station on its Electric District line. Amtrak is using federal funding for the work. Both projects were touted during a recent news

South Holland Firefighter Dylan Cunningham was honored with a funeral procession Wednesday afternoon that travelled from Smits Funeral Home in Dyer, IN, through Lynwood, Lansing, South Holland, and Thornton, to St. John Church in Glenwood. Cunningham died unexpectedly on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, following an underwater dive incident at Haigh Quarry Lake in Kankakee, Illinois. Cunningham had been a member of the South Holland Fire Department since 2011. He started as a p

The BRIC program guiding principles are supporting communities through capability- and capacity-building; encouraging and enabling innovation; promoting partnerships; enabling large projects; maintaining flexibility; and providing consistency. The application deadline is January 29, 2021, 3 p.m. ET. Read more.

FEMA chooses recipients based on the applicant’s ranking of the project and the eligibility and cost-effectiveness of the project. FEMA requires state, local, tribal and territorial governments to develop and adopt hazard mitigation plans as a condition for receiving certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance, including funding for hazard mitigation assistance projects. For more information, go the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance. Read more. FEMA encourages appl

The Unsewered Communities Construction Grant Program – Funding for projects which will provide wastewater collection and/or treatment solutions for areas where wastewater collection and/or treatment are presently nonexistent or inadequate. The construction grant application deadline is December 31, 2020. Read more. Award range: $500,000 – $5,000,000, award amount based on median household income.