A federal judge has cleared the way for a lawsuit filed by a 2016 primary opponent of House Speaker Mike Madigan, which alleges discrimination by the speaker for filing “sham candidates.”

Ethics officials are petitioning the Cook County Circuit Court to enforce a subpoena seeking information on potential profits obtained by Commissioner Larry Rogers from his law firm’s lawsuits against Cook County government.

No Americans trust their state government less than Illinoisans.

Madigan, Martwick and Mautino are cogs in a well-oiled political machine that continues to enrich Illinois' political class at the expense of taxpayers.

Administrative costs at Illinois universities have spun out of control. The latest example comes as the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees voted to approve a $600,000 golden parachute for President Doug Baker.

The Illinois State Board of Elections cast a tie vote on whether to refer to the Illinois attorney general or LaSalle County state’s attorney the disclosure violations case regarding Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino’s previous campaign funds.

The details of an investigation into Candace Wanzo, an official in the Illinois secretary of state’s office, are not yet known, but she pleaded guilty to embezzlement before working for the secretary of state’s office.

State agencies have paid more than $270,000 to Mautino Distributing Company – most of it after Madigan brought Mautino into a leadership role in 2009.

With House Speaker Mike Madigan’s longevity comes a patronage army paid with public dollars.

The gas the Mautino campaign claims to have purchased over 16 years would equate to more than 35,000 miles every year. The circumference of the earth is 24,901 miles.