* Illinois Public Radio…

Even after the Illinois General Assembly approved legislation meant to tackle the backlog of discrimination cases before the Illinois Human Rights Commission, Gov. Bruce Rauner is putting forth his own plan.

In an Executive Order filed last week, the governor calls for the commission to develop a plan within 60 days to reduce the backlog and achieve more transparency. But critics say it lacks specifics on how to get through the more than 1,000 cases pending that deal with claims of discrimination on the basis of race, religion and other factors.

Carl Draper, an employment and civil rights attorney with the Law Office of FeldmanWasser in Springfield, said the executive order only adds more planning and no action. “It spends two pages talking about the problem and giving it the attention that it needs. And then it has one page that simply results in another study. Public officials can study things to death, but concrete steps need to be taken.” […]

The General Assembly approved a plan this year to restructure how the commission works — including turning some part-time staff into full-time to streamline caseloads. The commission currently has 13 part-time staff members; the changes would turn that to 7 full-time. Critics say they hope Rauner considers this a part of his executive order and signs it into law. Rauner’s office has yet to say if he would go along with that approach, noting that the measure has not been sent to his desk for his review.

Could the EO be political cover for a veto?

* Media advisory…

Illinois’ top utility watchdog will join with suburban Chicago leaders to urge Gov. Bruce Rauner to stand up for consumers and veto House Bill 4508, legislation that favors two powerful private water companies and opens the door for higher water bills across the state. […]

HB 4508, which passed the General Assembly this spring, renews earlier legislation that allows Aqua Illinois and Illinois American Water to automatically raise their existing customers’ rates to fund municipal acquisitions. This bill also repeals a 7,500-connection limit on the size of systems that the water companies can buy.

Consumer advocates fear the legislation will allow Illinois’ two biggest private water companies to march across the state buying up municipal water systems and raising customer rates. The parent companies of Aqua and Illinois American made a combined profit of $150 million in the first quarter alone, and past reviews have shown that the two companies charge up to 70 percent more than public systems in the region.

State Sen. Sue Rezin and Bryan McDaniel, director of governmental affairs for the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), will lead the news conference. The event will also feature Homer Glen Mayor George Yukich, who can speak about his constituents’ history of skyrocketing bills under Illinois American Water.

* Other stuff…

* SJ-R Editorial: Hearing should focus on solutions for DCFS children: Lawmakers are rightfully livid about the report, and have demanded hearings be held so officials with the child welfare agency can explain these numbers. And hearings should be held — but not just to bash DCFS officials. The hearings, likely to be held in August, must focus on solutions too.

* Editorial: Don’t subject kids to more tumult. Give Walker time to fix DCFS: Are there problems that plague this agency? Yes. Walker acknowledges difficulties with older children, especially a lack of suitable treatment centers and group homes, a lack of foster families willing to take teens with mental health issues, and kids spending too much time hospitalized in psychiatric wards, which a ProPublica Illinois investigation recently exposed. But one year on the job is not enough time to revolutionize an agency with the toughest mission in state government.

* DuPage mayors: Fight against state funding cuts not over: The newly appointed leaders of the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference say municipalities must continue working together to prevent the state from taking local tax revenue to fill gaps in its budget.

* Woman who had tax-funded abortion says they ‘help people in bad situations,’ but critics decry public money for ‘immoral act’: The patient was surprised and relieved to learn state Medicaid would cover the cost of the roughly $500 procedure, the result of a controversial Illinois law that expanded taxpayer-subsidized abortions and went into effect Jan. 1.

* Tribune Editorial: Another whack at Illinois pension spiking. Good: Remember that, taxpayers, the next time your district cries poor. How much money flew out the door in penalties? How much of that could have been used to hire more teachers or aides or social workers?