After nearly 50 years, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Governor’s Office no longer needs federal oversight to halt patronage hiring. His request came three days before federal prosecutors said Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan turned public utilities into patronage havens.
America’s longest-serving politician is at the center of a federal corruption investigation into lobbying, bribery and using ComEd for political patronage jobs.
Lawmakers made no serious attempt to balance the new budget, instead counting on a federal bailout. They accepted an $1,800 raise for themselves, while only making significant cuts to education.
The contractor who removed toilets from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mansion in a $331,000 property tax scandal received a nearly $9 million COVID-19 contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The contractor hadn’t worked with the Corps in 76 years.
Illinoisans who have struggled without paychecks because of the COVID-19 shutdown could get a delay on their property taxes. The hope is they are working again before they must pay the bill.