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Chicago Tribune: State Sen. Terry Link charged with federal income tax evasion
Longtime state Sen. Terry Link was charged Thursday with a federal count of income tax evasion — the third Democratic state senator to face felony charges in a little more than a year.
The one-page criminal information filed in U.S. District Court accused Link, of Vernon Hills, of failing to report income on his 2016 tax return to the IRS.
The Center Square: After patronage scandal, Democrats differ on whether to take political money Madigan controls
While Republicans seem to be unanimous that House Speaker Michael Madigan should step down for office and as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, the Democrats in the party Madigan chairs aren’t on the same page.
Madigan, D-Chicago, has been implicated, but not charged, in a patronage scandal involving ComEd. He has denied any wrongdoing.
State Journal-Register: Democratic lawmakers propose ethics changes
Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate are proposing a nine-bill package of ethics legislation that they want the General Assembly to take up during the veto session later this year.
The group of bills covers lobbying reforms, legislative reforms and leadership reforms. They are geared at addressing ethics issues that have surfaced in recent months as no fewer than three legislators faced federal charges for various alleged wrongdoing.
Chicago Sun-Times: COPA launches 170 investigations of alleged police abuse since killing of George Floyd
Of nearly 1,000 complaints filed against Chicago Police officers since the death of George Floyd, roughly 170 had enough supporting evidence to warrant full-blown investigations by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, COPA’s chief administrator said Thursday.
The pending cases include: an activist seen on video being punched in the face by a Chicago Police officer during a confrontation at the now-removed Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park; a woman who claims she was dragged out of her car by her hair by a police officer who knelt on her neck and Police Board President Ghian Foreman’s claim that he was struck in the legs five times by a police baton after encountering a demonstration in Kenwood.
The Center Square: Sudden shift to remote learning leaves some Illinois parents with few options, big bills
Many public school districts in Illinois, including the state’s largest, quickly shifted from offering some in-person learning options for students to offering only remote learning at the start of the school year.
The change in plans sent many working parents rushing to find either a place for their kids to go while they work or to find a caregiver they could pay to supervise remote learning at home. Either option could end up costing parents thousands of dollars.
Chicago Sun-Times: Bleaker-than-ever picture for Illinois restaurants
Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia on Wednesday painted a bleaker-than-ever picture of a restaurant industry decimated by the stay-at-home shutdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and thrown for a loop yet again by two rounds of looting.
In a virtual address to the City Club of Chicago, Toia ticked off devastating statistics telling the heartbreaking story of restaurant owners who are “barely hanging on” now — and will have trouble doing even that when warm weather ends and outdoor dining isn’t possible.
Capitol News Illinois: Illinois Senate conducts first-ever virtual committee hearing
An Illinois Senate committee met for the state’s first-ever virtual hearing Thursday in a Zoom teleconference focusing on diversity in state contracts granted through the Illinois Tollway.
The new Senate rules for virtual hearings were approved by the chamber in the abbreviated May legislative session. They allow the Senate president, in consultation with the minority leader, to create a process in which committee votes can be taken, but such a process has not yet been approved.
Chicago Sun-Times: South Side groups call for federal investigation of Chicago’s zoning
The city of Chicago’s role helping General Iron move from affluent white Lincoln Park to a majority-Latino Southeast Side neighborhood to make way for the Lincoln Yards redevelopment violated federal fair housing laws and should be investigated, community groups say.
The move is an example of years of unfair zoning and land-use practices that discriminate against Black and Latino residents while benefiting white neighborhoods that have seen their home values soar, the groups said in a complaint filed with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Wednesday. These longtime practices violate the U.S. Fair Housing Act and the city should be ordered to change the way it plans and zones for industrial operations that pollute, the groups allege.