New federal corruption charges state a former Illinois House member conspired to use bribes to get a red-light traffic camera contract renewed and more of them installed in a suburban Chicago community. Traffic cameras collected $5.5 million during a decade in the suburb.
The Illinois General Assembly busies itself with limiting balloon releases and regulating pitchfork fishing along highways when ethics reform is the need in a state with a rich history of corruption.
The Illinois House unanimously passed a bill intended to help make Chicago and Illinois a hub for financial technology companies.
Illinois state representatives almost unanimously voted to stop legislative leaders from again building a 36-year dynasty like former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan. The Illinois House passed a 10-year term limit on party leaders in both the Illinois House and Senate.
Oct. 1 deadline looms even as five Chicago-area driver’s service centers have remained closed for a year and 1.2 million licenses and IDs have expired.
Chicago’s longest-serving alderman, Ed Burke, tried to extort redevelopers of the old West Loop post office and others. They said there was no need to entrap Burke because his hand was regularly out.
State workers are still being paid as their five Chicago-area driver’s license facilities remain closed for nearly a year. That’s as 1.2 million Illinoisans are driving on expired licenses.
A recent comprehensive analysis found the real number of government units in Illinois is 30% higher than the U.S. Census Bureau’s count. Too many government units mean too many taxes.
Putting the public’s business on public display can help Illinois reform its culture of corruption and control government waste. An Illinois House bill will put more local government records online.
COVID-19 cases are again on the rise. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker may again impose restrictions on parts of the state.
A longtime political operative for Chicago Ald. Ed Burke and the late state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about bribes.
High courts in Wisconsin and Michigan have both ruled governors cannot repeatedly issue disaster declarations as a basis for mask mandates and other orders without legislative approval. A year into the pandemic, Illinois’ governor is still doing it.
A former Illinois state senator was charged with federal income tax crimes. Her Senate financial disclosure statement shows why they are known as ‘none’ sheets. Reforms are needed.
A longtime political operative for Chicago Ald. Ed Burke and the late state Sen. Martin Sandoval was charged with lying to the FBI about bribes.