Morning News and Stuff

Former Gov. John Gilligan, a Cincinnati Democrat best known for winning the creation of the state income tax,

died at 92

yesterday. Gilligan’s most lasting accomplishment was also what doomed his career; the state income tax was unpopular when it passed, even though it allowed Gilligan to boost funding for education, mental health and law enforcement programs. Gilligan’s political career began in Cincinnati Council. From there, he rose to U.S. representative and then governor.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio yesterday asked Attorney General Mike DeWine to

shut down a facial recognition program

used by law enforcement until state officials verify and develop safety protocols that protect Ohioans’ rights to privacy. DeWine formally unveiled the program in a press conference yesterday. It allows police officers and civilian employees to use a photo to search databases for names and contact information. Previously, law enforcement officials needed a name or address to search such databases. The program has been live for more than two months and so far used for 2,677 searches, but until now it was kept hidden from the public and hasn’t been checked by outside groups for proper safety protocols.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

stepped down as Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter’s attorney

and called her handling of the court a “judicial circus.” Hunter has been mired in controversy ever since she took the bench: She was found in contempt by a higher court, and she’s been sued multiple times by media, including four times by The Cincinnati Enquirer . Deters, who under state law had to legally represent Hunter, said the legal troubles were too much, but his stepping down also complies with Hunter’s wishes to find her own hand-picked attorney.

The University of Cincinnati is one of the top colleges where students can get the most out of their money, according to

PolicyMic

. UC performs better than average in the graduation rate, debt at time of graduation, percentage of undergraduate students receiving Pell grants and starting salary after graduation, yet the school manages to stay only slightly above the national average for tuition and board and room costs.

Mayor Mark Mallory previously

approved eliminating city parking requirements

, which should allow residential development projects to greatly reduce or completely toss out parking space mandates downtown. “The goal of the ordinance is to encourage development in the urban core by permitting developers to determine their own parking needs for downtown developments,” said Councilwoman Yvette Simpson. “I firmly believe that the market will work to meet parking demands better than government minimum parking requirements.”

The tax changes passed in the state budget earlier this year, including an income tax cut and sales tax hike, will

go into effect

on Sept. 1. The changes have been criticized for favoring the wealthiest Ohioans, as CityBeat covered in further detail

here

.

Gov. John Kasich

approved tax credits

that are expected to create more than 591 jobs statewide, with at least 40 of the jobs being created at the Benjamin Steel Company in Cincinnati.

Nearly one in five workers at Ohio casinos

has quit or been fired

. High turnover isn’t unusual in the casino business, but the numbers give a clearer glimpse at the volatility.

Piloting a military drone can apparently

take quite the psychological toll

.