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Crain's Chicago Business: Madigan's inner circle had ties to ComEd, emails show
Emails obtained by WBEZ show that former Madigan Chief of Staff Tim Mapes had a direct line of communication with those doing the hiring at ComEd.
Chicago Tribune: In his first days home, Blagojevich spun a web of half-truths and — to some — hypocrisy
As disgraced ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich stood in front of TV cameras this week and declared himself a political prisoner finally home from eight years of exile, his former running mate watched in disbelief.
Former Gov. Pat Quinn — the lieutenant governor who became the state’s chief executive after Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office in 2009 — had heard most of the routine before. The story of his immigrant parents, the poetry recitations and the historical references have been part of Blagojevich’s repertoire since his earliest days in politics.
Crain's Chicago Business: Gerrymandering is cheating—no matter which side does it
I remember that story now whenever I hear a Democrat tell me they don’t want to “disarm” or quit gerrymandering unless every other state in the nation does the same.
Chicago Tribune: Sales of Chicago commercial buildings plunged in 2019: ‘Everyone was asking me what’s wrong with Chicago’
Investors cast a wary eye on Chicago last year, causing commercial property sales to plummet amid worries about property taxes, and adding to already mixed signals about the city’s real estate outlook.
Sales of office, apartment, hotel and industrial buildings in the city totaled $8.07 billion in 2019, down from the post-recession peak of $16 billion a year earlier, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
Chicago Sun-Times: Video gambling ‘push tax’ sparks industry pushback — but is proposed ban a favor to operators?
Leaders of a southwest suburb want to increase their cut of the action in the lucrative video gambling market with a first-of-its kind local tax, but a new bill filed by a powerful state lawmaker could block them from upping the ante.
The so-called “push tax” approved last fall by Oak Lawn village trustees would charge gamblers a penny every time they push a button to place a bet at one of the 200 slot machines sprinkled across 40 bars, restaurants and lounges in town.
Chicago Sun-Times: Feds say key player in CPS scandal has offered ‘substantial assistance,’ should get sentencing break
Federal prosecutors asked a judge Friday to reduce the prison sentence of a key player in the scandal that brought down former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, citing his “substantial assistance” to an investigation in Maryland.
The unusual move comes almost three years after U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang sentenced Gary Solomon in 2017 to seven years in prison. Prosecutors said he orchestrated Byrd-Bennett’s hiring at CPS to scam the district out of millions.
Chicago Tribune: Federal judge orders city to cease enforcing free speech restrictions at Millennium Park
The federal judge in a case involving free speech at Millennium Park has temporarily barred the city of Chicago from restricting where people can evangelize and campaign in the park.
In granting a preliminary injunction Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey called the city’s approach to enforcing rules preventing park visitors from exercising their First Amendment right to free speech “constitutionally flawed in several respects.”
Chicago Sun-Times: CPS agrees to overhaul standardized test practice after OIG finds ‘unusual patterns’
Chicago Public Schools officials have agreed to overhaul testing procedures after the CPS inspector general pointed out “unusual patterns” and “irregularities” in some standardized test results, including unusually long test times and high numbers of pauses in the computerized exams.
In a news release issued Friday afternoon — traditionally when bad news gets dumped — CPS announced major changes to the rules and security around its highest-stakes test — the Northwest Evaluation Association, or NWEA test, used to evaluate teachers and principals, screen for selective enrollment admissions and determine each school’s rating.
Chicago Tribune: Lincoln Park High School removes another staff member after altercation with student
A staff member installed at Chicago’s Lincoln Park High School as the school tries to move on from a series of recent scandals has been removed from the school after an altercation involving a student, according to an official letter obtained by the Tribune.
“Today, I’m writing to inform you that a staff member temporarily assigned to the school was removed after an altercation with a student,” states a letter to families sent Thursday evening from Jerryelyn Jones, an administrator-in-charge appointed by Chicago Public Schools following the abrupt termination of Interim Principal John Thuet and Assistant Principal Michelle Brumfield.
Rockford Register Star: Trial set for next week against Rockford city and cops accused of wrongdoing
Three Rockford men who each spent more than a decade in prison before being acquitted in 2015 of the murder of an 8-year-old boy will go to court next week seeking damages from the city.
The men — Anthony S. Ross, 39, Tyjuan T. Anderson, 38, and Lumont D. Johnson, 46 — are set to take their case to trial March 2 in federal court in Rockford, unless a settlement is reached before then.