Illinois judge rules against Pritzker’s extension of stay-at-home order

By Joe Tabor

04/27/2020

The judge said Pritzker’s executive orders “shredded the constitution,” highlighting the need for the Illinois General Assembly to play a role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TAGS: coronavirus, COVID-19, executive order, JB Pritzker, stay at home order

Patronage hires lead to federal oversight of Cook County Clerk’s office

04/22/2020

An illegal patronage operation brought on federal oversight when Karen Yarbrough was Cook County’s recorder of deeds. It’s happened again to her as county clerk.

TAGS: Cook County Clerk, corruption, ethics violation, Mike Madigan, patronage

Chinatown developer who recorded Madigan, Solis charged with fraud

03/18/2020

The developer’s recordings helped federal investigators charge Chicago Ald. Ed Burke and deepened the investigation into Illinois state corruption.

TAGS: corruption, Danny Solis, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, fraud, Mike Madigan

Bill would lift ban on out-of-state wine delivery

03/17/2020

Illinois’ strict regulations on wine shipments deprive residents of choice and the state of critical tax revenue. The anti-competitive law may be unconstitutional.

TAGS: competition, consumer choice, cronyism, National Association of Wine Retailers, Sara Feignholtz, three-tier system, Wine & Spirits Distributors of Illinois

Records involving Madigan sought by federal probe into southwest Chicago suburb

By Brad Weisenstein

02/21/2020

Federal investigators are seeking records from a small village near Chicago. The subpoena names Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, his political lieutenants and former ComEd lobbyists.

TAGS: Chicago, Commonwealth Edison, conflict of interest, corruption, ethics, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, Kevin Quinn, Marty Quinn, Michael McClain, Mike Madigan, red light cameras, revolving door, Timothy Mapes

Blagojevich returns to an Illinois as corrupt as he left it

By Austin Berg

02/20/2020

Illinois’ political leadership learned nothing from the Blagojevich nightmare. And now it may be coming back to bite them.

TAGS: Commonwealth Edison, commutation, corruption, Donald Trump, ethics task force, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, Mike Madigan, Rod Blagojevich

Illinois Forward: A 5-year plan for balanced budgets, declining debt and tax relief

By Adam Schuster

02/15/2020

The years 2010 through 2019 will go down in Illinois history as a decade of public policy failure and economic decline. High fixed costs for pensions and government worker health care have prevented the state from balancing its budget in any year since 2001. Since the Great Recession in 2008, the state’s fiscal imbalance has...

Illinoisans want cleaner state government more than great schools, less crime

By Austin Berg

02/13/2020

A common misconception in Illinois is that voters are numb to this reality. But polling released this week, commissioned by the Illinois Education Association, shows that’s not true.

TAGS: bipartisan, corruption, education, ethics, federal investigation, Legislative Inspector General, revolving door

Illinois lawmakers operate under honor system on conflicts of interest

By Joe Tabor

02/10/2020

Prairie State politicians are allowed to determine when they have a conflict of interest, and whether they should recuse themselves from voting or disclose a conflict. HB 4041 would change that.

TAGS: bribery, Carol Ammons, Chicago, Chicago City Council, conflict of interest, corruption, crime, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Luis Arroyo, Mike Madigan, Springfield

Bipartisan bill would block ‘revolving door’ from lawmaker to lobbyist

02/10/2020

Illinois is one of the few states that lets lawmakers or state agency chiefs become a lobbyist the day after leaving office. A new ethics bill would stop that.

TAGS: cooling off period, corruption, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, ghost payroll, Heather Steans, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, lawmakers, lobbying, Michael McClain, Mike Madigan, Mike McClain, Paul Schimpf, revolving door, Scott Bennett, Springfield, Suzy Glowiak-Hilton

Michael Madigan

Illinois judge rules against Pritzker’s extension of stay-at-home order

Patronage hires lead to federal oversight of Cook County Clerk’s office

Chinatown developer who recorded Madigan, Solis charged with fraud

Bill would lift ban on out-of-state wine delivery

Records involving Madigan sought by federal probe into southwest Chicago suburb

Blagojevich returns to an Illinois as corrupt as he left it

Illinois Forward: A 5-year plan for balanced budgets, declining debt and tax relief

Illinoisans want cleaner state government more than great schools, less crime

Illinois lawmakers operate under honor system on conflicts of interest

Bipartisan bill would block ‘revolving door’ from lawmaker to lobbyist

4 ways to break out of Illinois’ pension trap

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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