* Illinois hopes to sell debt-ridden Collinsville hotel; more here and here

“Let’s not kid ourselves. This hotel was built on false promises,” said Giannoulias, calling the loans to developers Gary Fears and B.C. Gitcho a “sweetheart deal that never should have been made.”

Though the original debt stood at $13.4 million, the project fell behind almost immediately. Fears and Gitcho continued to renegotiate their financing and eventually won provisions that required them to pay only if they made a profit.

Their last payment was made in 1998, according to state records. Officials have said they believe that poor, and perhaps criminal, management led to the ballooning debt.

* Madigan drops Pepmeyer case - Attorney general won’t pursue charges, but federal harassment suit pending

* CTA reminds commuters of impending ‘doomsday cuts’

* Pace cuts coming

Senate Bill 572, which failed in the House, could save Pace from the cuts. It would triple the existing sales tax of 0.25 percent that supports mass transit in Will County and other suburban areas. But due to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s resistance to sales tax increases, this is not likely.

In four years, $100 million has been transferred from federal capital funds to Pace operations. For 2008, Pace has decided instead to repair and replace transit vehicles and put $2.5 million into operations.

* Editorial: Chicago casino shouldn’t get special break

Daley has every right to seek the best deal for his city, but waiving the license fee is not in the best interests of the rest of the state. If Chicago’s fee is waived, then the other two casino sites are likely to ask that their fees get waived also. That would be $1.2 billion kept from the state treasury and might mean the capital plan would have to be scaled back.

After five years, the state can’t afford to wait or to approve a lesser plan.

* Editorial: Self-exclusion plan for lottery will help state, not gamblers

* City homeowners tax break is fleeting

The biggest difference between the old and new laws is the amount of homeowners exemption granted.

Although it is called a tax “cap,” the recently renewed 7 percent law is really an expanded homeowners exemption. It strives to limit the annual growth in a home’s value for tax purposes by increasing the exemption by a corresponding amount. The tax-increase protection, however, has a limit.

The old law allowed a maximum exemption of $20,000 each year for three years. The new law provides $33,000 of such protection in the first year but only $26,000 worth the second year and $20,000 in the third and final year.

County Assessor James Houlihan estimated Monday that next year, slightly more than half of Chicago homeowners will see their bills increase up to $200. An additional 16 percent of homeowners will see their tax bills jump by $200 to $500, while the remaining one-third of homeowners will get tax bills of between $500 and $1,000 more.

* Chicago property tax bills to be lower this year, then jump up in 2008

That’s because of a state battle over just how much relief homeowners should get in coming years. Once the Legislature agreed on a 7-percent cap plan, the County Board met Monday to approve it…

Assessor James Houlihan’s office said about 74 percent of Chicago homeowners will see a decrease of $1 to $250 this year. But unfortunately, they will see increases in that same range next year

* Editorial: A future in Ag for suburban teens?

But maybe they should. As a Daily Herald report on Monday noted, opportunities in agricultural careers abound, and some suburban students are beginning to take note.

In fact, a study done by the Illinois Leadership Council for Agriculture Education found that about two-thirds of the state’s high school students enrolled in agriculture classes last year live in either a city or suburb.

This unexpected interest on the part of suburban and city young people is a positive development because many agricultural jobs are being created — more than can filled by the dwindling number of young people who grow up on family farms.

* College costs rise faster than inflation

The average cost to attend one of Illinois’ private colleges this academic year is $23,613, up 7 percent from last year, according to the College Board.

Federal student aid for low-income students, meanwhile, covers a smaller percentage of college costs than it did a decade ago, according to the College Board’s annual reports on trends in college pricing and student aid.

* NY Times: Obama Criticized Over Singer

* State board OKs Edward Hospital cancer center in Plainfield

* Many examples of guards napping at Chicago’s water filtration plants

Honor Guard was hired to provide security for several city departments, including Water Management, after submitting the low bid. That’s even though Water Management officials ranked the company dead last among finalists. The $13.3 million contract is now being re-bid.

* Stroger a no show at key meeting on taxes

* Chicago Public Radio: Commissioners sour on tax hike ’sweetener’

* Officials: Chicago in not lagging in it Olympic bid campaign

* Chicago libraries need tax hike to avoid service cuts

* Opinion: Proposed cuts in energy could have chilling effect

Even in tiny DuPage County, an estimated 9,500 households will need help paying their heating bills this winter. They and others throughout the suburbs could be affected in 2008.

“DuPage County has a lot of working poor and fixed-income seniors,” says Brian Kuglich, the county’s community services manager, who oversees the heating assistance funds through DuPage County. “Seniors will sit in 55-degree homes and pay their utilities bills and won’t buy medicine or food.”