Get the latest news from around Illinois.
The Center Square: Illinois unemployment remains higher than national average
Small business advocates say Illinois’ regulatory climate continues to hinder job creators.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its most up-to-date unemployment numbers for Illinois, and they show Illinois has a 4.7% unemployment rate, trailing only Nevada for the worst in the country.
Chicago Sun-Times: Clusters of pandemic relief loans went to the same Chicago addresses, including homeless shelters, Sun-Times finds
As COVID-19 raged in the spring of 2021, the federal government sent $1.4 million of pandemic relief checks to a single address a few blocks north of Garfield Park.
Most of the 69 applications for the federal Paycheck Protection Program loans asked for about $20,000 each. That meant they had claimed to previously have had at least $100,000 in yearly revenue.
Chicago Tribune: Tax evasion trial with ties to ComEd bribery probe gets underway for son of former state Rep. Edward Acevedo
As the son of a longtime state lawmaker, Alex Acevedo was sophisticated enough to know that he had to report money he made from his brother’s lobbying business on his tax returns, but failed to do so out of greed, federal prosecutors told a jury Thursday.
“It was intentional all the way along,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman said during his opening statement in Acevedo’s trial on charges of tax evasion, which has ties to the massive ComEd bribery probe involving ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan. “He knew he was getting the money, and he was spending the money.”
ABC 7 Chicago: IL attorney general files brief with state Supreme Court contesting ruling that blocked bail reform
The Illinois attorney general’s office on Thursday filed its opening argument with the state’s highest court as it seeks to overturn a judge’s ruling that found parts of the controversial SAFE-T Act unconstitutional.
Among the goals of the landmark criminal justice bill was the elimination of cash bail in the state, which would have made Illinois the first state in the nation to do so.
Chicago Sun-TImes: CPS warned Lightfoot aide over emails seeking student volunteers before campaign defended recruitment effort
A senior Chicago Public Schools official had notified Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection campaign that soliciting student volunteers through their teachers was not permitted hours before the campaign publicly defended its recruitment effort as a “common practice,” email records show.
Lightfoot, who has since apologized and admitted the tactic was “clearly a mistake,” has faced heavy criticism for the misstep and is under scrutiny by the inspectors general for both the school district and the city. The Chicago Board of Ethics this week asked for full-blown investigations by the watchdogs before issuing a ruling on whether Lightfoot’s campaign violated local ethics rules.
ABC 20 Springfield: Springfield city budget shows future pension concerns, officials say
Springfield City Council has already got a look into the fiscal year 2024 budget.
The Office of Budget and Management told aldermen about concerns with pensions and taxes in Springfield.