Get the latest news from around Illinois.
WBEZ: Madigan’s ComEd Legal Bills Surpass $1 Million Since October
During the final three months of 2020, ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan spent more than $1 million for work by a Chicago law firm specializing in white-collar criminal cases, newly filed state campaign records show.
The $1.03 million the Friends of Michael J. Madigan political fund spent with Katten Muchin Rosenman represents a sharp uptick in legal spending by the Chicago Democrat and comes as a federal bribery probe intensified.
Capitol News Illinois: Mitigations scaled back in several regions
Only one of the state’s 11 COVID-19 mitigation regions remains at the highest level of restricted activity Thursday, Jan. 21, as the statewide case positivity rate continues to decline.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Thursday that Region 7, which includes Will and Kankakee counties, was moved to Tier 1 mitigations, while Region 6 in east-central Illinois moved back to base Phase 4 guidelines.
Chicago Tribune: Limited indoor dining could return Saturday in Cook County
Chicago and suburban Cook County are on track to have limited indoor restaurant and bar service resume Saturday under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus reopening plan, state public health officials said Friday.
If pandemic trends hold for another day, establishments would be permitted to reopen at 25% capacity or 25 people, whichever is less. Among other loosened rules, gyms and fitness centers would be allowed to reopen with 50% capacity limits and other public health precautions in place.
The Center Square: Survey: Illinois’ small businesses want COVID-19 liability, check on governor’s authority
The vast majority of Illinois small businesses want COVID-19 liability protection and a check on the governor’s unilateral authority, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
NFIB Illinois State Director Mark Grant said nearly 98 percent of respondents to a recent survey want the state legislature to give them liability protection.
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Public Schools announces teacher vaccinations to begin in February, as union preps for possible walkout
Chicago Public Schools unveiled its coronavirus vaccination plan for teachers Friday, saying the district will start providing doses to staff members in mid-February.
School nurses will administer the vaccines at four CPS buildings after receiving training, CEO Janice Jackson said Friday.
Chicago Sun-Times: Teachers, do what’s best for your profession and your students and vote ‘no’ on a strike
Not a single Chicagoan, we suspect, will be surprised if teachers vote this weekend to essentially go on strike and refuse to return to classrooms on Monday because of fears of COVID-19.
That’s how toxic the stalemate over the reopening of schools has become between the Chicago Teachers Unions and school district officials.
Capitol News Illinois: GOP lawmakers raise concerns about ‘decoupling’ bill
A bill endorsed by Gov. JB Pritzker that would eliminate expanded federal tax deductions for businesses created under the CARES Act, failed to pass in the lame duck session.
While Pritzker has said he’s confident it will come up for a vote in the upcoming regular session, Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about the impact the bill would have on small business owners, potentially affecting 440,000 taxpayers statewide.
The Center Square: GOP lawmaker questions if Pritzker was ‘sitting on’ billion-dollar tax issue to protect failed progressive tax
After a decoupling measure died last week in the previous General Assembly, the battle over hundreds of millions of dollars in tax liabilities for Illinois small businesses continues, and time is running out.
Part of the COVID-19 relief package the U.S. Congress passed last April was a provision that allowed small businesses certain tax allowances for losses due to the pandemic and government orders impacting the economy.
Associated Press: Documents: Illinois House spent $330K for 2 weeks of rent
The Illinois House spent $187,000 to rent out Springfield’s downtown convention center last week due to fears about conducting business at the Capitol during the coronavirus pandemic, according to documents disclosed to The Associated Press.
Lawmakers in the House have now spent a total of about $330,000 in taxpayer money to rent the center for less than two weeks during the pandemic because officials decided the House chamber does not allow sufficient distance between legislators to avoid transmission of the virus.
The Center Square: Illinois' cannabis licensing lottery ‘complete failure’ says minority access committee co-chair
Some lawmakers in Illinois are being critical of the governor’s attempt to distribute cannabis dispensary licenses, calling it inequitable.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s license distribution plan involves a scoring system and lottery that some believe shuts out minorities.
Chicago Tribune: City inspector general makes recommendations on search warrants in wake of botched Chicago police raid
The city inspector general’s office on Friday released recommendations on what it considers urgent fixes needed to improve how Chicago police officers verify information used to secure search warrants.
The recommendations from Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s office were sent to the Chicago Police Department ahead of two major pending investigations, one into search warrants in general and a second looking at the improper 2019 raid executed at the home of Anjanette Young, which has roiled City Hall.