Afternoon news update: May 14, 2015

State support for Amtrak would go down by more than one-third, under the governor's proposed budget. While they did not come out and ask lawmakers to spare the rail service, Amtrak officials did want to make it clear just what the state gets for $42 million a year. "Amtrak is not here to tell the state what to do," board member Tom Carper told reporters after his appearance before a House transportation committee in Springfield. "We want to make sure that everybody has everything before these decisions are made." Carper, the former mayor of Macomb, was a last-minute replacement for Amtrak president Joe Boardman, who was called to Philadelphia because of the derailment there the night before. The railroad's Chicago-based lobbyist, Derrick James, said Amtrak cannot cut its way to prosperity, describing the concept of "aggressively managing the revenue," as in its Northeast Corridor routes. "That is driven by frequencies and trip time. The more attractive the service is, the more you can charge the customer," James said. "If we degrade the level of service by reducing frequencies, that makes it even less attractive to travel." Amtrak's place in Illinois is not lost on State Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb), who said, "If you take the small stretch between Quincy and Galesburg, the service touches four entities of higher education."
16 convicted illegal aliens were arrested in Rockford and one in Loves Park as part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) ongoing efforts to focus agency resources on the arrest and removal of criminal aliens. The three-day operation, which concluded Tuesday, was part of ICE's commitment to prioritize the removal of individuals previously convicted of a crime. Two of those arrested have outstanding deportation orders against them; two others were previously deported and illegally re-entered the United States, which is a felony.
A second attempt to establish a bobcat-hunting season in Illinois is headed to the Senate floor for a final vote. The Senate agriculture committee Thursday voted 8-1 to advance the bill. The measure would establish a four-month season on the big cats. Experts with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources say the state's bobcat population is growing. DNR officials say they plan to issue 500 permits in the first season.
A Rockford family got the shock of their lives early this morning. Police Officers are searching for two young men who forced their way into a home on Searles Avenue around 1-30 this morning and held the family at gunpoint. Both are described as around 19-year old black males, five-eight and around 120 pounds.
Existing relationships, local traditions and cooler heads have helped keep the streets of Madison peaceful after a white police officer killed an unarmed biracial teen. Officer Matt Kenny killed Tony Robinson in March. A prosecutor announced that the officer would not be charged earlier this week. But an investigation has been ordered in Milwaukee after reports that an officer pepper sprayed a ten year old child during a demonstration over the police shooting. A community group claims the boy was among those sprayed as dozens of people marched last night.
Gov. Bruce Rauner says he plans several simultaneous pension strategies, now that he knows it's difficult to predict what the Illinois Supreme Court will do. The Supreme Court on Friday tossed out a 2013 pension fix, declaring it an unconstitutional diminution of benefits and criticizing the Illinois General Assembly for not considering other solutions. "We went through in detail some of his ideas and recommendations, and we talked a little about some of our ideas," the governor said of a Wednesday meeting with Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago). "I think we all have some concerns now with the Supreme Court's ruling about what's constitutional. We've got some concerns about whether his ideas will work constitutionally, and we've got some concerns whether our ideas will work, and we are feverishly endeavoring to come up with a solution that we have a high confidence level will pass constitutional muster." As for the governor's ambitious legislative agenda, "They pass 600 bills a year," Rauner said of the legislature, "and we're going to ask for passing eight or nine. It's very doable, and everything can still get done by May 31. We've taken a number of things off the table. This is all part of a negotiation and a compromise." Rauner was asked about a report this week in Capitol Fax that he could be open to an income tax increase from the current 3.75 percent to 4.5 or 4.75 percent. "We need to raise enough revenue that we can fund the key essentials in government, but we also need a tax code to be competitive and allow us to grow. Right now, we're not growing, and we need a tax code that is pro-growth."

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