* Tribune…

Illinois consumers will only be able to use controversial, short-term health insurance plans for about six months at a time now that the state legislature has voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill that sets that limit.

Dozens of Illinois consumer advocacy groups had supported the original bill, which took aim at a recent Trump administration change to the rules surrounding short-term plans. Such plans are generally cheaper than traditional health insurance but cover fewer services.

The plans were meant to serve as a stopgap for consumers between health insurance plans. But new federal rules allow them to be used for a year and be renewed for as long as three years. The Trump administration has said the rule change was meant to help more people get affordable coverage.

Consumer advocates, however, sought to limit the use of those plans in Illinois to just six months at a time through the bill.

* Greg Hinz…

Rahm Emanuel soon will leave as Chicago’s mayor, but that isn’t stopping him from quietly pushing through legislation in Springfield to extend the life of four city tax-increment financing districts—including one in the Goose Island area that’s part of the huge proposed Lincoln Yards development.

Approved late yesterday in the Illinois House was a measure adding another 13 years each to the lives of the Bryn Mawr-Broadway, Goose Island, 95th/Western and 71st/Stony Island TIF districts. The Illinois Senate is expected to concur as soon as today, meaning that districts would continue to get to spend much of the growth in property taxes within their borders until 2032 to 2034, depending on the districts.

Each of the four TIFs has accomplished some of what was intended in the past two decades—TIF districts sunset after 23 years, unless their life is extended—but still have more things that the city wants to accomplish, said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, chief sponsor of the legislation. “They’ve completed phase one and two, but still have phases three and four,” Currie said.

The city Department of Planning and Development confirmed that the legislation was introduced at the city’s request and cited a few specifics for each location. But a spokesman yesterday afternoon was unable to say how much money will be involved over the next 13 years.

The bill is here.

* Press release…

More than half a century since the Civil Rights Act became law, workers in the United States continue to earn different wages based on their race.

Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) is fighting for legislation that would prohibit wage discrimination against African-Americans under the Equal Pay Act.

“Governor Rauner ignored the wage gap for African-Americans and decided he wanted to ‘All Lives Matter’ this proposal,” Lightford said. “Today, we made sure that wage equity continues to be a priority in Illinois.”

According to a 2017 Federal Reserve study, black men and women earn persistently lower wages compared to their white counterparts and this wage gap cannot be adequately explained by differences in education, age, job type or location.

That gap appears to be expanding rather than contracting. In 1979, the average lack man in the United States earned about 80 percent compared to the average white man, by 2016 that gap had grown to 70 percent. The same is true for black women, who in 1979 earned about 95 percent compared to white women, but by 2016 earned only 82 percent of wages paid to white women on average.

House Bill 4743 prohibits employers from paying wages to an African-American employee at a rate less than the rate paid to an employee who is not African-American for the same or substantially similar work.

Governor Rauner’s veto was overridden in the Senate with a vote of 49-01.

The House had already overridden the veto so it’s now law. The lone Senate “No” vote was Sen. Kyle McCarter.

* Other stuff…

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