Amid a pandemic and civil unrest, Chicago’s mayor chooses to crack down on parties.

Two areas of Illinois faced the same COVID-19 threat but received very different treatment from the governor. One is home to a political power base he needs to pass his progressive income tax in November.

Jeffrey Tobolski is the latest Illinois politician charged in a wide-ranging federal corruption probe into bribes, insider deals, cronyism and red-light cameras.

Illinois’ high levels of corruption damage the state’s economy, costing it $10.6 billion since 2000. States with higher levels of corruption average lower levels of economic growth.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security troubles included scores of unemployed unable to get benefits, nearly 32,500 Social Security numbers exposed and now benefits theft. A simple fix used by many online retailers could have prevented the thefts.

Some activities allowed under the state’s Phase 4 reopening plan have been pulled back.

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

Multiple officials in the southwest suburbs have been implicated on criminal charges in a federal investigation into red-light cameras.