Author: Jim Talamonti | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s fate is in the hands of a federal judge. Madigan’s sentencing on 10 counts of corruption is scheduled Friday afternoon, June 13, at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, with Judge John Robert “Jack” Blakey presiding. Darryl A. Goldberg, a criminal defense lawyer…

(The Center Square) – Cook County officials say maternal morbidity and mortality is a public health crisis. County Commissioner Donna Miller said Black women in Illinois are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than white women. “This disparity is a stark reminder that we have more work to do and…

(The Center Square) – The debate is far from over on Illinois Senate legislation to regulate private water companies. The third reading deadline for Senate Bill 75 has been extended to May 9, but state Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, asked that the proposed legislation be placed on hold. Murphy said communities lack regulation on…

(The Center Square) – A recent study found that Chicago renters are facing some of the steepest increases in the nation, but one central Illinois community is getting hit even harder. The report by ConsumerAffairs focused on the 70 most-populous cities in the U.S. Researchers found that Chicagoans faced the ninth-highest rent inflation, with a…

(The Center Square) – Illinoisans are covering investments and tax breaks for multi-billion-dollar quantum computing companies as Gov. J.B. Pritzker discussed quantum incentives at a festival in Texas. The governor joined IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna at South by Southwest in Austin Tuesday. Pritzker said his administration spends state taxpayer funds on quantum computing…

(The Center Square) – Chicago’s city council has approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $830 million bond issue. By a vote of 26 to 23, aldermen said “yes” to the mayor’s plan to borrow the money for capital projects. Alderman and Vice Mayor Walter Burnett Jr. warned of dire consequences if the bond deal didn’t pass. (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095963150525286,size:[0,…

(The Center Square) – Chicago’s city council has tabled consideration of an $830 million bond issue favored by the mayor. Mayor Brandon Johnson wanted the bond money for infrastructure projects, even though the additional debt would cost taxpayers millions of dollars in the future. The city council met Wednesday and deferred a potential vote on…

(The Center Square) – Federal authorities and state lawmakers say they will keep fighting public corruption in Illinois after the conviction of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Morris Pasqual, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, was asked if the Madigan case might be the one that would finally deliver the message…

(The Center Square) – Illinois taxpayers are off the hook for Michael Madigan’s future pension payments, now that the former Illinois House speaker has been convicted of corruption. Madigan, a Democrat, has received payments from the General Assembly Retirement System (GARS) since he retired in 2021 after 50 years in the Statehouse. When a GARS…

(The Center Square) – Government attorneys say the corruption conviction Wednesday of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was historic. In Courtroom 1203 at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse Wednesday, a jury convicted Madigan on 10 counts of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and use of a facility to promote unlawful activity. Morris Pasqual, Acting…