Naperville bans assault weapon sales
An Illinois community is banning the sale of assault weapons.
With a large crowd on hand featuring opinions on both sides of the issue, the Naperville city council Tuesday voted 8-1 in favor of the ban. The ban does not affect the sales of the weapons to law enforcement agencies and police officers.
West Nile detected in downstate mosquitoes
West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes in downstate Illinois. The Jackson County Health Department reports the first batch to test positive was collected Tuesday near Murphysboro.
West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. One out of five people who have been stung by an infected mosquito will experience symptoms within a few days.
Class action lawsuit alleging college price-fixing scheme moves forward
A class action lawsuit against 16 universities, including Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, accusing them of holding back financial aid to students who qualified is moving forward.
A federal judge has denied several motions from the schools’ legal teams to dismiss the case. The lawsuit accuses the schools of taking part in a price-fixing scheme that reduced or eliminated financial aid. The lawsuit claims some schools discriminated against low-income applicants.
AG Raoul files for injunction against Kroger store over asbestos
Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul has filed an injunctive order against a Kroger store and a contractor for improper asbestos removal.
The Kroger location in Taylorville was shuttered by the Illinois EPA earlier this month after a complaint was made that materials with asbestos were escaping the removal containment.
Feds cancel loan debt of former ITT students
Students who used federal loans to attend ITT Technical Institute, which had three Illinois locations, will automatically get that debt canceled by the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Education said the action will cancel $3.9 billion in federal student debt for 208,000 borrowers. ITT was among the largest for-profit college chains in the country, with locations in Mount Prospect, Oak Brook and Orland Park.
The school filed for bankruptcy in 2016 following accusations that the company pushed students into risky loans and misled them about academic programs.
State partners with companies to produce corn-based lactic acid
The state of Illinois is teaming up with two companies for joint ventures in Decatur.
GreenWise Lactic would produce high-purity corn-based lactic acid. ADM would be the majority owner of GreenWise, and would contribute fermentation capacity from its Decatur bioproducts facility.
Then LG Chem Illinois Biochem would build a facility and use the lactic acid to produce polylactic acid. More than 125 jobs are expected to be created by the ventures.
