Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: After election victories, Madigan to air statewide TV ad in new year saying, 'Democrats are on your side'
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan will begin airing a TV ad in the new year, weeks before fellow Democrat Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker is inaugurated, according to a memo distributed to lawmakers.
The 30-second spot paid for by Madigan’s campaign fund is unusual in that it won’t run in advance of a state election. Instead, it’s meant to “set the tone for our efforts to create a better Illinois and move beyond the failures of Bruce Rauner and the extreme agenda of Donald Trump,” the memo reads.
Northwest Herald: McHenry County state's attorney subpoenas Algonquin Township for records on road salt purchase
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office has opened an official misconduct investigation into the case of almost 1,200 tons of road salt Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser bought without going through a competitive bidding process in an apparent violation of state code – a move that cost the road district almost an additional $30 a ton than the price charged to area road districts for salt.
On Dec. 3, the McHenry County state’s attorney served a grand jury subpoena to Algonquin Township Clerk Karen Lukasik to collect records for the sheriff’s office, according to documents reviewed by the Northwest Herald.
Peoria Journal-Star: Unemployment ticks up in Peoria, but job availability grows, too
Unemployment grew in the Peoria area from last November to this November. But so did the number of available jobs.
Data released Friday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security shows the unemployment rate ticked slightly upward from 4.6 percent in November 2017 to 4.8 percent in November this year.
Champaign News-Gazette: Still community support for casino?
Yes, we’ve heard this discussion for years, only to see it fall apart, but there really does seem to be a strong bipartisan coalitionin favor of some sort of expanded gamblingin Illinois. And that could include thelong-elusive casino for Danville.
Everyone from Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker to Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady of Bloomington to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to two local legislators, state Sen. Scott Bennett and state Rep. Mike Marron, say they’re on board with some kind of gambling expansion in Illinois, primarily to help finance a much-needed infrastructure program for the state.
In Danville, that could mean a casino, perhaps along the lines of the 10 that already exist in Illinois.