Democratic state lawmakers demand ethics reform in wake of Madigan scandal

By Mindy Ruckman

08/17/2020

Pressure continues to build to repair Illinois’ broken ethics laws, as more Democrats demand reform and more lawmakers face corruption charges.

TAGS: corruption, Democratic Party, ethics, federal investigation, lobbying, Mike Madigan

Illinois government unions give Madigan $10 million reasons to stay together

By Mailee Smith, Abigail Holtzman

08/13/2020

The state’s government unions have heavily funded the election committees run by longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan – who then uses his influence to pass union-friendly bills.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, corruption, Democratic Party, Mike Madigan, unions

53 more Illinois Democrats call for Madigan’s resignation

By Ben Szalinski

08/12/2020

Despite potential political repercussions, a growing list of Democrats are demanding Mike Madigan resign his leadership positions after he was implicated in a ComEd corruption scheme.

TAGS: corruption, Democratic Party, federal investigation, Mike Madigan, resignation

9 Democrats demand Madigan’s resignation as Illinois House speaker

By Ben Szalinski

08/06/2020

America’s longest-serving House speaker is facing mounting pressure from within his own party over corruption implications in the federal case against ComEd.

TAGS: ComEd, corruption, Democratic Party, Mike Madigan

Will County board to vote on 4-cent countywide gas tax following doubled Illinois tax

By Vincent Caruso

12/10/2019

Included in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s capital plan is increased taxing power for some county governments to create or raise countywide gas taxes. Will County could be the first to exercise that authority.

TAGS: capital plan, Democratic Party, excise tax, gas tax, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, infrastructure, JB Pritzker, Republicans, sales tax, Springfield, tax increase, transportation

Sexual harassment case against Madigan campaign ends with $275K settlement

By Brad Weisenstein

12/09/2019

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan settled a sexual harassment case involving his former political lieutenant, but the related corruption implications are far from over.

TAGS: #metoo, AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Alaina Hampton, ComEd, Democratic Party, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, federal lawsuit, house rules, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois House of Representatives, Kevin Quinn, Legislative Inspector General, lobbying, Mike Madigan, sexual harrassment, Springfield, Tim Mapes

FBI asking about Madigan money, political clout in corruption investigation

By Austin Berg

12/06/2019

There is little doubt the FBI is targeting the longtime House speaker and Democratic political boss in their sweeping investigation of Illinois corruption.

TAGS: ComEd, Commonwealth Edison, corruption, Democratic Party, ethics, fair maps, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, gerrymandering, house rules, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, independent maps, lawmakers, Mike Madigan, revolving door, rules committee, Springfield, watchdog

Leaked emails from federal investigation reveal Madigan as ‘Himself’

By Austin Berg

11/21/2019

Federal authorities have obtained phone calls and emails from a key member of Madigan's political inner circle. Now that information is leaking.

TAGS: #metoo, Chicago Tribune, ComEd, corruption, Democratic Party, federal investigation, Illinois, Illinois House of Representatives, Kevin Quinn, Mike Madigan, Mike McClain, sexual harrassment

Pension apocalypse? COVID-19 exposes long-running fragility of Illinois public pensions

Illinois’ pension crisis has been a growing problem for decades, and its negative effects on state residents are well documented.1 Economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and related government shutdown orders threaten to bring that long-running crisis closer to its breaking point. The state’s five pension systems collectively held nearly $139 billion of debt at...

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Pension apocalypse? COVID-19 exposes long-running fragility of Illinois public pensions

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Joanne Troesch

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students