As suburban-Chicago drivers dodge potholes and wonder why streets are staying icy longer than usual this winter, they can thank Gov. Bruce Rauner for holding up the money that would make their commutes safer this time of year.

Money that communities in District 39 should be using right now to purchase road salt and repair streets is stuck in Springfield because Rauner vetoed legislation that would have sent those dollars flowing to the communities they rightfully belong to.

Up-to-date figures are unavailable from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which oversees the state’s Motor Fuel Tax distribution, but records show communities in the district collected millions of dollars in MFT money in 2014. Among them:

SPRINGFIELD – A new law sponsored by state Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) will help keep communities and consumers safer by making it more difficult to sell items at pawnshops, if those items are missing serial numbers. The law also sets statewide minimum standards for how long pawnshops must hold onto items before they can sell or transfer them.

“A missing serial number – particularly on something dangerous like a gun or expensive like a phone or computer – is a real problem,” Harmon said. “I know most pawnshops don’t want to support criminal activity, but if you resell a major item that’s missing its serial number, you very well might be.”

The law explicitly prohibits pawnshops from accepting items where the serial number has been intentionally removed or altered. They will be able to accept items where a serial number has worn off because of normal use, but required to hold them for at least 15 days before sale.