Since 1983 with the exception of two years, Michael Madigan has held the title of Illinois House speaker. As his influence grew, so did his ability to ply silence and loyalty from his Democratic members. Rarely do they publicly challenge him, and when they do, there can be a price.

The latest insurgent is Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, who worked for now-Senate President John Cullerton and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office before being appointed to her North Side seat in 2011. Last week, Cassidy resigned from her part-time job working on criminal justice projects for the Cook County sheriff’s office; she claims Madigan’s emissaries pushed her out. She is unopposed for re-election to her House seat in November.

The process for investigating ethics complaints in the Illinois General Assembly is rife with “trap doors, blind alleys and loopholes” set up to bury politically sensitive grievances, a lawmaker who claims retaliation from the House speaker said Thursday.

Rep. Kelly Cassidy called for an overhaul of the Legislative Ethics Commission, the same panel to which House Speaker Michael Madigan turned this week. The powerful Chicago Democrat asked the legislative inspector general to open an investigation into Cassidy’s claim that her outspoken stance on rooting out sexual harassment in the Capitol was met by Madigan allies making her employment with the Cook County sheriff difficult. She has said she was forced to resign the part-time position.

Legislation to get back pay to thousands of state workers who have been owed it since 2011 got overwhelming approval in the Illinois House Thursday.

The House voted 98-10 on House Bill 4290, which authorizes payment of the back wages. The bill will now go to the Senate, where an identical measure has been pending, but never given a vote by the full chamber.

A bill aiming to bring state jobs back to Springfield unanimously passed the Illinois Senate Thursday, and now just needs Gov. Bruce Rauner’s signature to become law.

If signed, House Bill 4295 would make Springfield and Sangamon County the default location for employees of most state agencies. The director of Central Management Services would have to establish a geographic location for each state job and specify why positions located outside the capital city need to be there. The legislative and judicial branches are exempt, as are the offices of the state’s constitutional officers and those employed directly by the governor’s office.

Commonwealth Edison customers will see their electricity rates rise modestly this summer, but that’s just a prelude to a more dramatic increase beginning in the fall and running through next May.

The price ComEd charges for electricity, along with its charge to move that power from plants to its local delivery system via high-voltage lines, will increase 2.3 percent in June to 7.358 cents per kilowatt-hour. The increase will be more than 10 percent beginning in October. That’s when the cost will hit 7.941 cents per kilowatt-hour, the Chicago-based utility said.

The non-summer price is ComEd’s highest in more than five years.

The Illinois tollway reversed itself Thursday by releasing names of members on an influential committee that recommends engineering firms, a disclosure that revealed officials with political connections attending meetings and in one case voting on contracts.

Tollway leaders stress the selection committee that ranks professional firms and recommends finalists to tollway board directors is transparent and independent of politics. Directors are appointed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Bob Anderson is seeking donations to stock the war chest of his campaign to consolidate the McHenry Township Highway Department.

“We’re out to raise enough cash to be competitive and win in November,” said Anderson, a McHenry Township trustee and Wonder Lake barber who has been fighting to consolidate Illinois government since the early 1990s.

A nearly $1.6 million renovation of Hanover Park’s village hall and finance department is the next step in an effort to incrementally update services for resident, Deputy Village Manager David Webb said.

The renovation will include an expansion of the village hall lobby, construction of a new entry canopy, reconfiguration of finance department spaces and new finishes. Work will begin June 25, according to Dan Rosenberg, the project manager with Leopardo Companies, Inc.