Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Chicago Sun-Times: Ex-Sen. Martin Sandoval said he was going ‘balls to the wall’ for red-light camera company for thousands in bribes: feds
Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery and tax charges and agreed to cooperate in a burgeoning, widespread probe of public corruption that has sent shock waves from Chicago’s City Hall to Springfield.
During the lengthy hearing in federal court, Sandoval admitted soliciting bribes totaling a quarter of a million dollars over a three-year period in exchange for his political influence or official action, including at least $70,000 from a clouted red-light camera company for acting as its “protector” in the state Senate.
The Center Square: Some lawmakers seek to end ‘corrupt’ red-light camera industry as Sandoval pleads guilty in bribery case
Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval pleaded guilty Tuesday to accepting $250,000 in bribes over several years to protect the state’s red-light camera industry while some lawmakers at the statehouse want to ban the cameras altogether.
Sandoval apologized afterward.
Chicago Tribune: Gov. J.B. Pritzker heads into year two pushing graduated-rate income tax and confronting corruption as federal investigation deepens
Gov. J.B. Pritzker will deliver his first State of the State address on Wednesday and is expected to make a pitch for his signature initiative, a graduated-rate income tax, before a legislature roiled by a federal corruption investigation that led to a guilty plea a day earlier from a powerful ex-state senator.
The income tax proposal, which goes before voters in November, is the centerpiece of Pritzker’s long-term plans to stabilize the state’s chronically shaky finances. But the governor’s case has not been helped by the federal probe that on Tuesday, the first day of the legislative session, saw former Sen. Martin Sandoval plead guilty to taking $250,000 in bribes while in office.
Crain's Chicago Business: Barely moving: Home price growth goes flat in Chicago
The region’s single-family home values grew by 0.4 percent in November from a year earlier, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices released this morning. It was the third straight month of growth so slender it’s essentially flat: October’s figure was 0.5 percent; September’s was 0.6 percent.
Chicago Sun-Times: CPD using controversial facial recognition program that scans billions of photos from Facebook, other sites
The Chicago Police Department is using a controversial facial recognition tool that allows investigators to search an image of unknown suspects to see if it matches a database of three billion photos lifted from websites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — a technology privacy advocates say is so ripe for abuse that cops should stop using it immediately.
Clearview AI, the Manhattan-based firm that developed the software, has come under fire after a lawsuit was filed in federal court in Chicago earlier this month seeking to halt the company’s data collection and after the New York Times published a bombshell reportdetailing the privacy concerns its technology has brought to the fore.
Northwest Herald: McHenry County Board may hold off on health benefit elimination vote for broader compensation debate
A vote to eliminate health insurance benefits for McHenry County Board members might be delayed to allow for a deeper conversation about elected officials’ compensation as it relates to the future size of the County Board.
After a two-hour Committee of the Whole meeting, McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks said a conversation about further reducing the size of the McHenry County Board – which the board voted in September to reduce from 24 members to 18 – should precede any discussions about compensation packages for elected officials.
Daily Southtown: Ousted Harvey police chief claims dismissal was political; mayor says he wasn’t ‘the right fit’
Harvey has removed its police chief four days after he was placed on unpaid leave for undisclosed reasons, but ousted Chief Eddie Winters said Tuesday he was fired after rescinding the promotions of three officers that were ordered by Mayor Christopher Clark.
Clark opened a packed City Council meeting Monday night with a brief statement addressing Winters’ removal, saying that while Winters “possesses impeccable credentials, he’s simply not the right fit.”
Peoria Journal Star: Peoria teachers get new contract, bigger raises
In an atypical show of union and management harmony, the Peoria Public Schools Board of Education on Monday extended its contract with teachers for two years, well before the June 30 expiration of its current one.
The contract received unanimous support of the school board and 98 percent support of the voting body of the Peoria Federation of Teachers. The union has already ratified the contract.
Belleville News-Democrat: Senate bill would outlaw live animal prizes at carnivals in Illinois
It is a mainstay of fairs and carnivals around the country: Sink a ping pong ball into a fish bowl and win the goldfish swimming inside.
But if a bill in the Illinois Senate becomes law, carnivals would no longer be allowed to award live animals — such as fish, reptiles and hermit crabs — as prizes.