The Illinois General Assembly voted for a decade to eliminate annual cost-of-living adjustments for lawmaker salaries after the Great Recession. Now, former state lawmakers are suing the state to put that money right back into politicians’ pockets.
Former Illinois Senate president returns to lobby for utility on energy bill
The former president of the Illinois Senate is now a lobbyist for a power utility. Illinois needs stronger rules on when their peers can return to sway state lawmakers.
Exposing insider politics of red-light cameras is aim of Illinois bill
After paying $1 billion in red-light camera fees, Illinoisans deserve to know more about how the devices are being pushed with their local political leaders.
CTU attempted to bully pension fund into hiring Madigan lobbyists
Madigan already faced similar scandals alleging he asked powerful corporations to hire people at his recommendation.
Democratic state lawmakers demand ethics reform in wake of Madigan scandal
Pressure continues to build to repair Illinois’ broken ethics laws, as more Democrats demand reform and more lawmakers face corruption charges.
Illinois lawmakers miss deadline for corruption reforms
State lawmakers putting together ethics reforms have not met since the first week of March, when the coronavirus ended gatherings.
Plea deal drops felony against former Lake Forest city manager who pushed for Amtrak stop
Hiding lobbyist payments led to a felony indictment in October against Lake Forest’s longtime former city manager. His plea bargain drops the felony and could eventually leave his record clean.
Blagojevich comes home to America’s most corrupt city
Chicago and the state of Illinois are notorious around the country for high-profile corruption convictions. Rod Blagojevich settles back in after the former governor’s imprisonment for corruption.
Bill would ban Illinois lawmakers from acting as lobbyists
When Illinois lawmakers work as lobbyists, it creates public distrust and serious conflicts of interest.
New bill would stop suspending Illinois driver’s licenses for unpaid red-light camera tickets
Red-light cameras have been the subject of an ongoing federal investigation that has lead to the arrest of numerous public officials.