Capitol News
Charges filed against man accused of abusing developmentally disabled woman at state-run facility
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A state employee charged last month with molesting a child now faces a charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a patient at the state-run Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna. Union County State’s Attorney Tyler Tripp charged former Choate mental health technician Charles…
Minority contractors line up against liability shift aiming to address wage theft
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A union-backed bill putting primary contractors on the hook for wage theft committed by their subcontractors is facing opposition in the General Assembly from minority contractor trade groups. The measure, House Bill 5412, makes primary contractors – those who contract directly with the customer – liable…
Republican senator urges bills preventing future health outbreaks get a proper hearing
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The state failed to protect 36 veterans who died at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home during a COVID-19 outbreak that began in 2020, said a legislator who has introduced bills she said would ensure the agency has quicker and better responses in the future. Sen. Sue Rezin,…
Man accused of sexual misconduct with patient at state-run facility charged with child molestation in unrelated case
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A man charged last month with molesting a child had been receiving a paycheck from the state for more than a year while on administrative leave during a multi-agency investigation into allegations that he also sexually abused a developmentally disabled woman while working as a mental…
Mendoza urges automatic payments into ‘rainy day fund’
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is pushing legislation that would require the state to make automatic deposits into its so-called “rainy day fund” whenever certain financial conditions are met. Officially known as the Budget Stabilization Fund, it was created in 2001 as a reserve so the state…
Administrator of state-run developmentally disabled center accused of obstructing investigation
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Documents filed in a southern Illinois court this week allege a Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center senior staff member obstructed an Illinois State Police investigation into the abuse of a developmentally disabled patient by accessing confidential investigative files and directing staff to speak to the…
CAPITOL RECAP: Madigan pleads not guilty to 22 counts
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and former lobbyist Michael McClain on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of racketeering, bribery, fraud and extortion. Both were arraigned on those charges during a teleconference hearing before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cole. The two men were charged March…
ISP director talks challenges facing the agency
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly told a state violence prevention task force this week that expressway shootings, gun trafficking, trooper staffing levels and officer wellness are some of the biggest challenges facing the agency. According to the ISP expressway shootings dashboard, in 2021 there were…
CAPITOL RECAP: Former state Sen. Tom Cullerton pleads guilty to embezzlement
By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS CULLERTON GUILTY: Former state Sen. Tom Cullerton pleaded guilty Tuesday, March 8, to one count of embezzlement and could face more than a year in federal prison. During a plea hearing in federal court in Chicago, Cullerton admitted that he received pay and benefits from the Teamsters Joint Council 25 during…
Madigan, McClain plead not guilty to racketeering charges
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and former lobbyist Michael McClain on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of racketeering, bribery, fraud and extortion. Both were arraigned on those charges during a teleconference hearing before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cole, a hearing that…
Administrator of state-run developmentally disabled center accused of obstructing investigation
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Documents filed in a southern Illinois court this week allege a Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center senior staff member obstructed an Illinois State Police investigation into the abuse of a developmentally disabled patient by accessing confidential investigative files and directing staff to speak to the…
Bill aims to rein in Apple, Google app stores
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Two bills pending in the Illinois General Assembly would rein in the ability of tech giants like Apple and Google to dictate how transactions are conducted, and how much of a cut they receive from those transactions, when consumers make certain kinds of purchases using smartphone…
Capitol News Illinois to expand investigations, analysis in year 4
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com When Capitol News Illinois launched in January 2019, Gov. JB Pritzker had just been sworn in, Michael Madigan was elected to his 18th term as House speaker and the Senate’s president was Chicago’s John Cullerton. Now, as our fourth year is well underway, Pritzker is battling a wide…
UPDATED: Appointments pulled for 2 members of Prisoner Review Board
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker yanked the appointment of two appointees to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board Tuesday, the same morning a Senate committee was scheduled to consider them. It was the second time Pritzker pulled the appointments of Aurthur Mae Perkins, 83, of Peoria, and Joseph Ruggiero,…
Appointments pulled for 2 members of Prisoner Review Board
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker yanked the appointment of two appointees to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board Tuesday, the same morning a Senate committee was scheduled to consider them. It was the second time Pritzker pulled the appointments of Aurthur Mae Perkins, 83, of Peoria, and Joseph Ruggiero,…
Illinois House votes to make face masks optional
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House amended COVID-19 protocols Tuesday, lifting face covering requirements following weeks of pushback from Republican members who sometimes refused to wear masks and delayed the start of session on several occasions. In a 104-1 vote, the House passed House Resolution 717 that lifted the…
Appointments pulled, reissued for 2 members of Prisoner Review Board
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker yanked the appointment of two appointees to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board Tuesday, the same morning a Senate committee was scheduled to consider them. It was the second time Pritzker pulled the appointments of Aurthur Mae Perkins, 83, of Peoria, and Joseph Ruggiero,…
Illinois State Police director details response to expressway shootings
By GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois gkinnicutt@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly on Monday outlined the department’s efforts and a proposed response to expressway shootings during a Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force hearing. Kelly said expressway shootings are one of the biggest challenges officers face, and he noted that a…
Former Sen. Tom Cullerton pleads guilty to embezzlement
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Former state Sen. Tom Cullerton pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of embezzlement and could face more than a year in federal prison. During a plea hearing in federal court in Chicago, Cullerton admitted that he received pay and benefits from the Teamsters Joint Council 25…
Campaign season opens as candidates line up to file
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The 2022 campaign season got underway in earnest Monday as candidates lined up in front of election offices to turn in petitions to get their names on the June 28 primary election ballot. Hundreds of candidates and their aides braved cold wind and snow early Monday…
Baby dies amid child abuse allegations
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Sophia Faye Davis loved to eat noodles. She slept with a stuffed hippo that made soothing sounds and reflected stars on her ceiling. She sang and danced as she pounded on the keys of her toy piano. These are the memories of her only child that…
DCFS Director comes under fire for child deaths, improper placements
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A Cook County judge this week found the director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in contempt for the fifth and sixth time this year for housing two girls in locked psychiatric facilities unnecessarily. Director Marc Smith faced four previous contempt citations for…
‘The Madigan Enterprise:’ Inside the federal indictment of the state’s former speaker
By BETH HUNDSDORFER & JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In a 106-page, 22-count indictment, federal prosecutors painted a picture of former House Speaker Michael Madigan as the leader, along with a longtime confidante, of a sweeping criminal enterprise that influenced legislation for personal power and financial gain. “The Madigan Enterprise,” as prosecutors…
Local News
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
By Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time. Although exact…
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was “a man…
Archer Manor Little League starts its 2024 season
. Sunny skies and mild temperatures greeted the boys and girls, moms and dads, umpires and coaches, and everyone else participating in Archer Manor Little League’s Opening Day parade and ceremonies at Archer Park. Since 1952, AMLL has provided athletic opportunities for thousands of boys and girls in Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Central Stickney, Vittum…
Dread over car drifters on streets
. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by a brief…
Don’t raise pilots’ retirement age, García says
. From staff reports U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently led a letter joined by 121 Members of Congress urging House Democratic leadership to reject any changes to the pilot retirement age in a final version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. As it…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer feedback where…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic, officials said.…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to appear legitimate.…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Police Council rallies to save ShotSpotter
. By Alexis Bocanegra Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (773) 949-1509 • grcl.alex23@gmail.com . Chicago Lawn (8th) District Police Council members Mark Hamberlin, Al Cacciottolo and Jason Huff have created an online petition to save ShotSpotter. As you may have read in the Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound back in March, Mayor Brandon Johnson…