(The Center Square) – Tuesday is Day One of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's and co-defendant Michael McClain’s trial on racketeering and bribery charges. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch announced a federal jury’s indictment of Madigan on March 2, 2022. “The indictment accuses Madigan of leading, for nearly a decade, a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan’s political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates,” Lausch stated. Illinois state Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport ..read more

(The Center Square) – After investigating Illinois' former House Speaker Michael Madigan for more than a decade, prosecutors need to convince a jury that he is guilty of a multi-year racketeering and bribery scheme. Federal prosecutors face at least two new challenges that didn't factor into a string of recent corruption convictions related to the case against Madigan. Prosecutors have tied together a couple of corruption convictions in northern Illinois in recent years with ties to Madigan. A jury in 2023 convicted four former ComEd lobbyists and leaders of paying out $1.3 million in jobs and ..read more

(The Center Square) – More than a year after being convicted in a high-profile corruption case, a former ComEd leader plans to visit relatives in Italy. A jury convicted former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore in May 2023 of nine counts of conspiracy, bribery and willfully falsifying books and records. At trial, prosecutors presented secretly recorded videos, wiretapped phone calls and hundreds of emails to show how Pramaggiore and the three ComEd lobbyists were "the grandmasters of corruption." Prosecutors said that the utility paid $1.3 million in jobs, contracts, and payments to Madigan's associa ..read more

Japanese subsidiary announces Illinois expansion The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has announced that Sysmex America, Inc., a subsidiary of a Japanese company, will expand its operations in Illinois. The company, which manufactures medical diagnostic equipment, will expand its northeastern Illinois facilities in Lake County. New investments will create 110 new full-time jobs and retain nearly 550 existing jobs. The announcement came as Gov. J.B. Pritzker travels to Japan. Respiratory virus season The Illinois Department of Public Health is reminding the public that a ..read more

(The Center Square) – The assault on the Biden administration's tough tailpipe emissions standards continue. Under the rules, the auto industry could meet the standards if 56% of new vehicle sales are electric vehicles and at least 13% of sales are plug-in hybrids by 2032. The Illinois Corn Growers Association is commending the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a resolution overturning the EPA’s emissions standard. “Corn farmers in Illinois applaud the House vote on a resolution that would overturn what ICGA calls the EPA’s de facto electric vehicle mandate,” said Dave Rylander, presid ..read more

(The Center Square) – Following another leak at the Archer Daniels Midland carbon injection facility in Decatur, Illinois, some are looking for more protections for water supplies. In September, the U.S. EPA announced a proposed enforcement against ADM for alleged violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act after a fluid leak. “EPA alleges the company violated its Class VI Underground Injection Control permit when injected fluid migrated into an unauthorized zone roughly 5,000 feet deep,” the federal agency said. “The fluid migration was caused by holes in one of ADM’s monitoring wells. Accordin ..read more

(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday introduced six nominees for the Chicago Board of Education, but he has refused to say if the newly-appointed members are endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union. The mayor introduced the nominees three days after announcing the resignations of the seven current members. The nominated members are CTU member Deborah Pope, environmental activist Olga Bautista, political strategist Michilla Blaise, community organizer Mary Gardner, the Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson and Frank Niles Thomas, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former Streets and ..read more

(The Center Square) – Professional sports teams and government officials promise tax revenue benefits when taxpayer subsidies are used to build new or renovation stadiums and arenas. But those benefits consistently do not come to fruition, according to a report from the Tax Foundation. The report is consistent with years of economic research showing the same. "The empirical evidence shows repeatedly that stadium subsidies fail to generate new tax revenue and new jobs or attract new businesses," said Adam Hoffer, Director of Excise Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation. "While attending a sporting e ..read more

(The Center Square) – A new report found that 27 states did not have enough money to pay their bills at the end of fiscal year 2023, while Illinois failed to disclose its financial report. The government finance watchdog Truth in Accounting has released its latest Financial State of the States report. The report found that the majority of state debt can be attributed to their unfunded retirement liabilities, including in Illinois. Altogether, the debt among the 50 states totaled $2.9 trillion while assets total $2.1 trillion. This debt includes $840 billion in pension liabilities and $492 bill ..read more

Japan trade mission continues Gov. J.B. Pritzker and business leaders from Illinois are continuing with their Gubernatorial Trade Mission in Japan. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said they are learning about the Japanese economy, details about the new prime minister, and the significance of the U.S.-Japanese alliance. Crews respond to field fire Parts of Illinois have been under an elevated fire risk due to a drop in humidity and windy conditions. Several fire departments around the state have urged residents not to burn, and warned farmers to be extra careful during harvest with the pote ..read more