Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Jacksonville Journal Courier: State entering 'bridge phase' next week, on path to emerge from pandemic
Illinois will make its biggest jump toward normality next week and could be on track to reopen fully as early as June 11.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday that the entire state will move into “bridge phase” on May 14. The phase further relaxes business restrictions and limitations on crowd sizes, including for dining and social and spectator events.
State Journal-Register: Former Illinois Secretary of State administrator sentenced in fraud case
A former Illinois Secretary of State office administrator and supervisor of vehicle services was sentenced last week for her part in defrauding that office and the Illinois Department of Revenue of nearly $350,000.
Candace Wanzo, 58, of Centralia, was sentenced to 18 months each on two counts of theft and one count of fraud in federal court in Springfield. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Associated Press: Illinois regulators answer queries on predatory lending law
Illinois state regulators have released answers to frequently asked questions about payday-type loans after new restrictions took effect this spring.
The information from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is aimed at helping consumers understand the Predatory Loan Prevention Act.
MSN: ‘Freedom!’: After Three Trials and 19 Years in Prison, Illinois Man Walks Free After Appeals Court Criticizes Murder Conviction ‘Riddled with Holes’
An Illinois man walked out of prison Thursday after being tried three separate times for a murder he has insisted all along that he did not commit. Three federal judges on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the evidence prosecutors used to convict him was fraught with lies and inconsistencies.
The man, Kenneth Smith, now 45, was convicted of murder after a botched stick-up job at a Burrito Express restaurant ended with kitchen staff chasing two suspects out of the building and with one of those staff members being shot and killed. Police zeroed in on Smith and a group of alleged accomplices: Justin Houghtaling, Jennifer McMullan, and David Collett. Houghtaling’s statements to police and subsequent actions would prove troublesome.