Chicago Treasurer fined for ethics violation
The Chicago Board of Ethics plans to fine City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin $60,000 for violating the city’s ethics rules for misusing city resources for personal benefit. The vote follows an investigation by the Chicago Inspector General’s Office that found Conyears-Ervin violated the ethics ordinance by misappropriating city resources for unauthorized purposes by directing an employee to use their city time for her personal goals.
Oberweis announces layoffs
Oberweis Dairy has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, known for its ice cream stores and glass bottles of milk, notified the state of 127 job cuts at its North Aurora plant. The company employs over 1,000 people, including part-time workers at its retail stores. The family business was founded in 1915 by Peter Oberweis, an Aurora dairy farmer who began selling milk from the back of his horse-drawn wagon.
Dust storm shuts down highway
Dust storms hampered travel in central Illinois on Tuesday. Illinois State Police reported that motorists’ visibility was severely diminished by a dust storm between Springfield and New Berlin. Both directions of Interstate 72 were shut down. The National Weather Service in Lincoln extended a dust storm warning until 6:45 p.m. Tuesday’s dust storm comes almost a year after a deadly dust storm blanketed Interstate 55 in central Illinois, resulting in a 72-vehicle pileup that killed eight people.
